The Official PC/Computer Thread

Rabbit2k7

This post is a work in progress. I need your help to complete this, and make it a better list. PM me any information that you think should go here.

Where to buy parts:

www.newegg.com
www.tigerdirect.com
www.microcenter.com (better selection and pricing if you have a local store)


Custom built machines:

www.clockworkit.net
www.pugetsystems.com
www.digitalstormonline.com
www.falcon-nw.com

Hardware benchmarks:

www.passmark.com
www.benchmarkreviews.com
www.tomshardware.com

FreezerB

Specs?

I'm always a fan of form-fitting designs, especially with mini-ITX/DTX stuff.

Rabbit2k7

Windows 7 64bit pro
1tb HDD
40gb SSD (boot drive)
Bluray Drive
8gb DDR3 1333 G.Skill
Intel i-3 550 clarksdale

Also built in wifi, and a remote with media center support and a dedicated netflix button. It's pretty rad.

Darksakul

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor @ 3.40 Ghz
8 GB of DDR3 ram, G.Skill
AMD Radeon 6800 series video card
1 TB Wester Digital Black HDD
1 CD/DVD/Bluray RW Drive
Edimax PCI Wifi card capable of A,B,G and N
Modified Cool Max Case
Acer P35H 23" Monitor

das

ohhh we tossin out comp spec? woot. here's the stuff in mine that matters i guess

Intel Core i5 2500k
8gb ram
120gb Vertex 2 SSD
GTX 460
M-Audio Fast Track Pro & a Native-Instruments Audio 8 sound card
Antec Sonata Case (not a fan of all that light-up junk in my cases, + 120mm fans are quiet = minimal background noise for the studio)
Acer H233H 23" monitor

Rabbit2k7

Nice. I recently installed The Witcher 2, and its murdering my PC on ultra. Thinking about putting another GTX 480 in SLI.

FreezerB

Rabbit2k7, post: 6443447, member: 10547 wrote:

Windows 7 64bit pro
1tb HDD
40gb SSD (boot drive)
Bluray Drive
8gb DDR3 1333 G.Skill
Intel i-3 550 clarksdale

Also built in wifi, and a remote with media center support and a dedicated netflix button. It's pretty rad.

Eep, 1156? Why not Sandy Bridge? Costs?

I'll post my specs when I get home. My gaming rig and my miners.

PaperTigre

Win7 64-bit/Arch Linux
120gb Intel SSD (I wanna say 320 series)/1tb hdd (rest of my stuff is on my NAS with 4 2tb drives)
Samsung DVD Drive
12gb Corsair DDR3 1333
Intel Core i5 2500k
Radeon HD 6870
Seasonic PSU, can't remember model.

Ding-dong

ding-dong here... would it be ok if i ask for some advice? I have my pc parts picked out for the most part. it is a budget gaming pc.. My question is I have my motherboard picked out, it is an ASRock 870 extreme3 R2.0. my graphics card is a sapphire ati 6870. I have yet to pick my processor and psu out, but I would like to go the AMD route and get the FX-8120. what would be a good PSU that could handle these two for under 100$? or if you have any suggestions i would greatly appreciate it, this is my first build :) my case is a thermaltake v3 black edition.

Rabbit2k7

FreezerB, post: 6443825, member: 12604 wrote:

Eep, 1156? Why not Sandy Bridge? Costs?

I'll post my specs when I get home. My gaming rig and my miners.

This is one I'm just giving away. Its main purpose is to play blurays and have a fat hdd.

Nerrage

It's nothing special, really.

Darksakul

Ding-dong, post: 6444940, member: 59181 wrote:

ding-dong here... would it be ok if i ask for some advice? I have my pc parts picked out for the most part. it is a budget gaming pc.. My question is I have my motherboard picked out, it is an ASRock 870 extreme3 R2.0. my graphics card is a sapphire ati 6870. I have yet to pick my processor and psu out, but I would like to go the AMD route and get the FX-8120. what would be a good PSU that could handle these two for under 100$? or if you have any suggestions i would greatly appreciate it, this is my first build :) my case is a thermaltake v3 black edition.

ASRock 870 extreme3 R2.0 is a AM3+ socket motherboard, so you would be running along the lines of one of these processors
AMD Phenom II X6 / X4 / X3 / X2 (except 920 / 940) / Athlon II X4 / X3 / X2 / Sempron processors
I believe the FX-8120 should work as well.

As for the Power Supply

New Egg has a Power Supply Watt Calculator
http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html

Enter your PC parts (or the closes approx to your parts) in the appropriate fields and hit calculate

The number you get is the amount of watts you system requires. Example for me, I just did the calc and got this result 483 Watts

Now there is no 483 watt rated PSU. And that is the number of watts I need minimum on paper, in reality you want something more.
And you also do not want to get the bare minimum ether. You want to add at least 50 to 100 watts more to that number.

I have a system what needs 483 watts, I have installed a 700 watt PSU as it more than cover my requirements as well as include room for future upgrades.

Darksakul

Ding-dong, post: 6444940, member: 59181 wrote:

ding-dong here... would it be ok if i ask for some advice? I have my pc parts picked out for the most part. it is a budget gaming pc.. My question is I have my motherboard picked out, it is an ASRock 870 extreme3 R2.0. my graphics card is a sapphire ati 6870. I have yet to pick my processor and psu out, but I would like to go the AMD route and get the FX-8120. what would be a good PSU that could handle these two for under 100$? or if you have any suggestions i would greatly appreciate it, this is my first build :) my case is a thermaltake v3 black edition.

ASRock 870 extreme3 R2.0 is a AM3+ socket motherboard, so you would be running along the lines of one of these processors
AMD Phenom II X6 / X4 / X3 / X2 (except 920 / 940) / Athlon II X4 / X3 / X2 / Sempron processors
I believe the FX-8120 should work as well as the above list was made prior to the FX release.


As for the Power Supply. Tips how to find your own PSU
Long explanation because I don't want to leave anything out

New Egg has a Power Supply Watt Calculator, use it even if you do not shop from them.
http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html

Enter your PC parts (or the closes approx to your parts) in the appropriate fields and hit calculate

The number you get is the amount of watts you system requires. Example for me, I just did the calc and got this result 483 Watts

You can go further and click on the Button Find PSUs. That will generate a list of PSUs that meets your requirements
But I will skill that entirely, instead take your number you receive


Now there is no 483 watt rated PSU. And that is the number of watts I need minimum on paper, in reality you want something more.
And you also do not want to get the bare minimum ether. You want to add at least 50 to 100 watts more to that number.

So 483 + 100 is 583. Round that number up to the nearest Hundred. You Should have 600. So if you get a result for 483, you should be shopping for a 600 Watt PSU or more.

When you search on new egg for PSU sort by BEST RATING
You do not want to sort by Lowest price first, as the first few PSUs you see will be junk.

I have a system what needs 483 watts, I have installed a 700 watt PSU as it more than cover my requirements as well as include room for future upgrades.

When you go shop for a PSU, DO NOT GO FOR THE CHEAPEST PSU YOU CAN FIND. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to PSU.
A good PSU should be heavy, those are power capacitors and other components that regulate and smooth out the flow of electricity for your PC.

Look for PSU that have the 80 PLUS certification. The 80 Plus verification comes in 5 levels, Regular, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
The higher the Cert, the more energy efficient your PSU is. At the Regular level your PSU will be 80% (or more) power efficient, and that heavy loads and high heat your grantee 80% of the wattage on the PSU label. Hence why I said look for a PSU that supplies more watts that you need.

Heat will reduce the efficacy and life of all PC parts and components.

Here is a listing of 600 Watt PSU which is what I recommend for you. Most PSU in there are less than $100.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657 600014021 600014078&IsNodeId=1&name=600W

Sort by Best Rating and see which one fits your needs.

Rabbit2k7

So I built that PC and it isn't quite what I wanted. I think I'm going to sell it and start over.

Valaris

Is this the place to ask tech questions as well? I'm curious about hard drives. I have a regular sata internal hard drive which I've been using for over 5 years now with probably about 30 reformats (don't ask). What's the lifespan on this piece of shit you think I got left?

Rabbit2k7

Valaris, post: 6447542, member: 4869 wrote:

Is this the place to ask tech questions as well? I'm curious about hard drives. I have a regular sata internal hard drive which I've been using for over 5 years now with probably about 30 reformats (don't ask). What's the lifespan on this piece of shit you think I got left?

What is the capacity on it?

Valaris

Rabbit2k7, post: 6447586, member: 10547 wrote:

What is the capacity on it?

It's only a 250gb hard drive.

Rabbit2k7

Eh, as long as its kept cool (which shouldnt be a problem) and you aren't banging your case around, it still has some years in it.

Valaris

Good. I mean I'm probably going to change it by the end of the year but I wanted to make sure it wasn't able to blow up in the near future.
I'll post my (really shitty specs in comparison to you guys) this weekend but I'll also post along the upgrades I plan on doing if some of you don't mind giving me input on the situation.

Darksakul

Valaris, post: 6447592, member: 4869 wrote:

It's only a 250gb hard drive.

I agree with Rabbit here. Although I would not force too many more reformats if they are not required if you get what I mean.

Valaris, post: 6447610, member: 4869 wrote:

Good. I mean I'm probably going to change it by the end of the year but I wanted to make sure it wasn't able to blow up in the near future.
I'll post my (really shitty specs in comparison to you guys) this weekend but I'll also post along the upgrades I plan on doing if some of you don't mind giving me input on the situation.

I don't think any one would mind at all. I would be glad to help.

Rabbit2k7

Valaris, post: 6447610, member: 4869 wrote:

Good. I mean I'm probably going to change it by the end of the year but I wanted to make sure it wasn't able to blow up in the near future.
I'll post my (really shitty specs in comparison to you guys) this weekend but I'll also post along the upgrades I plan on doing if some of you don't mind giving me input on the situation.

As long as the HDD isn't clicking or making any weird sounds, you should be fine for a while. Yeah, post your upgrades and that and I'd be glad to help.

Valaris

Alright thanks for the info. Yeah I'll post everything this weekend. Rabbit, I'm just looking at my empty case right now drooling.

Rabbit2k7

Valaris, post: 6447642, member: 4869 wrote:

Alright thanks for the info. Yeah I'll post everything this weekend. Rabbit, I'm just looking at my empty case right now drooling.

What kind of case is it again?

Valaris

Rabbit2k7, post: 6447678, member: 10547 wrote:

What kind of case is it again?

Azza Triton 401

spenzalii

I've come to realize building a computer is just like building a fight stick. It's simply not cost effective to build your own anymore. That, unfortunately, makes me want to build one even more, as I seriously need to reup damn near every computer in my house. I think the fastest thing I have in the house is an Athlon II (can't even remember the clock speed) on Win7 Ultimate and 4gb RAM. I won't even mention what other rigs I've got in the house. Suffice it to say, one can be used as a home media server and the others, well, donation time is in order.

Rabbit2k7

spenzalii, post: 6448052, member: 16556 wrote:

It's simply not cost effective to build your own anymore.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. Building a PC yourself can save you hundreds on the low end, and thousands on the high.

spenzalii

High end, possibly. Low end? Can't see it. EIther way, I still want to build one though!

RoboKrikit

Valaris, post: 6447542, member: 4869 wrote:

Is this the place to ask tech questions as well? I'm curious about hard drives. I have a regular sata internal hard drive which I've been using for over 5 years now with probably about 30 reformats (don't ask). What's the lifespan on this piece of shit you think I got left?

You already got good answers, just don't forget to back up anything important. Your current drive and the brand new drive you get to replace it are both just as likely to shit the bed at any time. They never die when you don't need them anymore. :)

spenzalii, post: 6448503, member: 16556 wrote:

High end, possibly. Low end? Can't see it. EIther way, I still want to build one though!

Depends on how you think about it. For low end to midrange stuff it's often more affordable to buy a system, even for some "high end" stuff. To me though, reliability trumps up front cost, and manufacturers are using a lot of questionable components in (especially) low end and even in more expensive PCs. To get the best components you still need to build it yourself, or buy it from a place that will build a list of stuff for you.

Ding-dong

many many thank yous darksakul. Im gonna take your advice and not get a poop psu. i hope to post a picture in a few weeks :)

spenzalii

RoboKrikit, post: 6448778, member: 6739 wrote:

You already
Depends on how you think about it. For low end to midrange stuff it's often more affordable to buy a system, even for some "high end" stuff. To me though, reliability trumps up front cost, and manufacturers are using a lot of questionable components in (especially) low end and even in more expensive PCs. To get the best components you still need to build it yourself, or buy it from a place that will build a list of stuff for you.

Pretty much what I've been seeing. As with anything, you get what you're paying for. For me it's just a matter of balancing what I really use the computer for and what I want to spend. I mean, an overclocked i7 and a huge graphics card sound great, but I'm not doing any gaming any time soon. BUt I would like to build a decent rig so if I do change my mind I'll have something decent to work with.

I guess the first place to start is which camp to go with, AMD or Intel. AMD always comes in on cost, but most of what I've read seems to show for most things the Sandy Bridge chips outperform them, even with fewer cores. On the one hand I don't want to start out the gate behind the curve, but on the other handif I'm not doing that much heavy lifting how much would it matter?

Rabbit2k7

spenzalii, post: 6451764, member: 16556 wrote:

*snip*

Depends on your budget and exactly what it is that you'd like to achieve. With the exception of the i series, Intel and AMD are neck and neck, and that changes depending on the day of the week. I highly recommend both, though AMD is a little cheaper where as Intel has a little more power. Now that isn't always the case, but you can generally bet on that every time.

What I would do is get a nice MOBO that has the room to upgrade. AMD or Intel doesn't really matter, its like Ford vs Chevy. Chocolate vs Vanilla. There are multiple tiers of CPUs that use the same socket type in each chipset, so you can save money by getting a cheaper CPU now and upgrading later if you need/want to. Same goes with video cards. Hell, I have a GTX 480 in my pc, and instead of upgrading to a new card, I can just drop another one in there and run them in SLI because my MOBO allows it.

I do consultation as well as full on builds, and I'm currently giving SRK members a discount because I love you guys. Also, my site needs content. So if you decide to put something together let me know. I promise I don't charge Alienware prices.

spenzalii

Thanks for the heads up. I do want to build something just to say I put it together myself, but haven't balanced out the price/performance ratio yet. I always look at the bare bone kits at TigerDirect and have a Microcenter 15 minutes from my job, so getting parts isn't a problem. Figuring out how to spec everything is a different story.

In my head I was going to take my wife's super old, super slow P4 based box, toss everything in it, get some inexpensive mobo/cpu combo and toss something together for my 10 year old to do his homework on and whatever silly online games. Nothing serious or expensive at all. The Athlon II based machine I have in the basement still hums along (I was given the assembled barebones kit from my IT guy; i just changed the cooler, added a gigabit card, more memory and a bigger drive), but I think I'd start from the ground up on this build. Not sure what to do with this machine just yet.

FreezerB

With commentary!

Main Gaming Rig: the-hive
Mobo: ASUS P5E-VM DO
CPU: Intel Q9550 @ 2.83 GHz (LGA 775 but still going strong)
GPU: PNY GTX 560 Ti
RAM: 6 GB DDR2-800
PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 500W
Case: Antec 300 (every ghetto gamer's case)
OS: Windows XP/7, K/Ubuntu

New Gaming Rig/Miner 1: machalite-miner
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T @ 3.3 GHz (because Bulldozer is ass)
GPU: Sapphire HD 5850 x 2 in CrossFireX
RAM: Patriot G2 Black Edition 16 GB DDR3-1600
PSU: PCPNC Silencer 910W (everything you hear about PCPNC is true)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi Window - White (one of the nicest cases under $80, totally love it)
OS: Windows 7

Miner 2: morris-miner
Mobo: MSI 870-G45
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 4 GHz
CPU: Sapphire HD 5830 x 2 in CrossFireX
RAM: Patriot 8 GB DDR3-1333
PSU: OCZ Z series 850W
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 (non USB3 revision)
OS: Windows 7

I got morris-miner for $500 with another 2 GB stick of RAM, a Sempron 140 and a 5850.

Miner 3: rustshard-miner
Mobo: Gigabyte MA78LMT-S2
CPU: AMD Sempron 140 @ 2.7 GHz
GPU: Powercolor HD 5970 (single core processor with a single-slot dual GPU for the mismatch of the century)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB DDR3-1600
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 (yes, an mATX case can hold a 12" GPU)
OS: Windows 7

I don't have my other miners off-hand, these are just the machines that are in my room.

dariru

Should I build a new computer around this time, or should I wait for Ivy Bridge or even Piledriver to release? My computer is quite old and is slowly dying on me but it can still run a bunch of the current games on the market (as long as it's not as intense as Crysis...)

Currently running on:
Windows XP Professional
AMD Phenom X4 9650 2.3 GHz
ATI Radeon X1950
4 GB Corsair DDR2-1066
80 GB HDD + 500 GB HDD
PSU and case are forgettable and I don't remember the motherboard (although I think it is an old Asus).

FreezerB

Are you on AGP or PCI-E for your video card?

Check if your board is AM3 compatible. You may be able to avoid an expensive overhaul and breathe new life into your system until Ivy Bridge/Piledriver.

dariru

GPU is PCI-E. The real problem is that it's my motherboard and PSU are slowly dying. If I were to upgrade, I would replace pretty much everything except my hard drives.

blcpl

dariru, post: 6456165, member: 37857 wrote:

GPU is PCI-E. The real problem is that it's my motherboard and PSU are slowly dying. If I were to upgrade, I would replace pretty much everything except my hard drives.

I'll echo what's been said already RE: PSUs and advise you to spend a bit more to ensure you get a decent power supply. Most pc problem that are not an inherent hardware defect end up being caused by trouble with the power output (no surge protectors, failed attempts at overclocks/overvolts and power failures). Any PSU you may buy now will still work with your current pc, so it may be wise to replace it now before the whole thing croaks, and shop around for the rest of the parts at your leisure... But if you want a new rig now, go midrange (ie. i5 2600 + 6850, for example) and you'll be plenty fine for the foreseeable future.

For the motherboard dying: what are the symptoms? Does it fail to boot randomly? Gives you some error code?

Rabbit2k7

dariru, post: 6454885, member: 37857 wrote:

Should I build a new computer around this time, or should I wait for Ivy Bridge or even Piledriver to release?

Given that Bulldozer was a dud, I wouldn't count on Piledriver being exceptional. Also, given that Sandy Bridge is good as hell, the price difference between it and Ivy Bridge is probably going to be pretty steep despite small gains in power. I say go for Sandy Bridge now, or wait until Ivy drops and the price goes down on Sandy. Unless you're an enthusiast who NEEDS every last ounce of power I wouldn't sweat it.

KaboXx

Is it ok if i ask for some help in this thread about some computers issues i've been having lately? I asked in the other thread but never got a response :(

blcpl

KaboXx, post: 6456471, member: 18935 wrote:

Is it ok if i ask for some help in this thread about some computers issues i've been having lately? I asked in the other thread but never got a response :(

There's no harm in asking :)

Rabbit2k7

KaboXx, post: 6456471, member: 18935 wrote:

Is it ok if i ask for some help in this thread about some computers issues i've been having lately? I asked in the other thread but never got a response :(

Yup, that's in the original post.

KaboXx

Thanks guys appreciate it :D anyways here it is

I've been doing some research but tought i should get a second opinion. So after awhile of using my computer it seriously starts to slow down to the point i have to restart my sytem just to make it run normal. I've run some programs to see if i have malware or viruses messing my system up but its clean. My friend told me it could be my hard drive is acting up or hardware failure im not to good in the hardware department any advice or what to look for? Btw i have a windows xp sp3 with pentium 4, 160gb hd,and 2 gigs of ram -__- i know its time to upgrade but i only use this rig for photoshop and surf the webz. Ever since i encountered the issue i noticed now that it happens more often after about 10 minutes of me watching a stream 15 on a good day its just slows down to the point i cant use the computer anymore.

blcpl

It -could- be a memory leak with flash and your browser, if this happens after you watch videos via streaming... plugins should be checking for updates by themselves, so this shouldn't be happening, but you could try uninstalling and reinstalling it fresh. If it doesn't fix the slowdown, try using chrome (it has a built-in version of the flash player...which has been on the fritz for the last couple of days, so it may not help much), use adblocker with your browser (some ads are flash based and weigh down slower PCs), or try to run your computer without flash (uninstall it) for an hour or so and see it it still chokes up.

(http://get.adobe.com/it/flashplayer/ if you need the link)

KaboXx

I tought it was that aswell i uninstalled flash player already and reinstalled and i still got the same issue. Funny that it doesnt happen with youtube only streams and other types of players. Same thing happened with chrome, the problem use to be worse i couldn't have firefox, photoshop, or my media player all running at once or the comp would slow down aswell. Could it mayb be my video card?

Darksakul

blcpl, post: 6457527, member: 56322 wrote:

, use adblocker with your browser

Paraphrasing what Mr Wizard said in the past (the site's head admin, and guy in charge of Evo).
Careful, talking about ad blocking can be an ban level offense on SRK, especially when it comes to this forms ads.

gimpo2

KaboXx, post: 6457653, member: 18935 wrote:

I tought it was that aswell i uninstalled flash player already and reinstalled and i still got the same issue. Funny that it doesnt happen with youtube only streams and other types of players. Same thing happened with chrome, the problem use to be worse i couldn't have firefox, photoshop, or my media player all running at once or the comp would slow down aswell. Could it mayb be my video card?

Next time this happens go into your Task Manager. Look at the Performance tab and see how much RAM you have free. Signs point to memory leak or running out of ram.

KaboXx

gimpo2, post: 6457762, member: 58822 wrote:

Next time this happens go into your Task Manager. Look at the Performance tab and see how much RAM you have free. Signs point to memory leak or running out of ram.

Yea done that as well it shows im only using 545mb of my ram and im running on 2gigs right now. When it use to happen while running browser,mediaplayer, and photoshop it was only using 1.1 gigs. This all started around two months ago before that never had an issue.

gimpo2

Is CPU usage maxed out or low when you are experiencing problems? It could be time to reinstall your operating system.

KaboXx

gimpo2, post: 6457817, member: 58822 wrote:

Is CPU usage maxed out or low when you are experiencing problems? It could be time to reinstall your operating system.

You know what i never bothered to check that -__-. I've been thinking about reinstalling my os but man im going to lose all my shit and i don't have a hd to back up my shit. Other from what i've gathered it might not be hardware issues or a virus, malware fucking with my shit?

blcpl

Seconding what gimpo2 wrote, if it's not a flash related issue I don't know what else could it be, but a clean windows install should fix it. What other programs are you running? Antivirus? Dedicated firewalls? Ati catalyst drivers (personally had a lot of problems with these)? IM programs? Torrent/mule/bitcoin mining? Did you happen to change/update your installed media codecs, or any of the above, since you've started having this issue? Try killing any programs running in the background and see if it improves the situation.

KaboXx

Im not running any antivirus the only things i have that i can think of the top of my head are photoshop, fl studio, malware bytes,combofix,ccleaner, windowslive messanger, and ggpo including mame no torrents or struff havent changed my codecs lately. I did kill alot of unused shit and clean some stuff out and it did help the problem a lil. One more thing i forgot to mention playing ggpo , mame. or sf4 also chokes my system up. Allright guys thanks for all the help im about to head to work i'll mess with the comp more when i get back and update you guys what else i find!