Build Thread

[Sarex]

Only thing I can think of is...maybe a third party PCI USB or PS/2 controller? Not sure. I tried plugging in the front panel USB, just to see if that might work, but still nothing.

 

That's a good idea, if you have something like that or a ps/2 keyboard try that.

[Bartimaeus]

 

Only thing I can think of is...maybe a third party PCI USB or PS/2 controller? Not sure. I tried plugging in the front panel USB, just to see if that might work, but still nothing.

 

That's a good idea, if you have something like that or a ps/2 keyboard try that.

 

 

You might've missed it, but I already tried a PS/2 keyboard. Works on my computer, doesn't work on his. Unlike the USB stuff, it won't even power on. The ports might as well be completely dead for all I can tell. Stupid broken hardware...

[Sarex]

You might've missed it, but I already tried a PS/2 keyboard. Works on my computer, doesn't work on his. Unlike the USB stuff, it won't even power on. The ports might as well be completely dead for all I can tell. Stupid broken hardware...

 

Ah sorry, I missed it. Then your best bet is to try a PCI usb, but to be honest from everything I read it seems like both your north and south bridge are broken. If you somehow manage to reflash the bios that will rule out any software errors, the question now is how to do that.

[Bartimaeus]

Yeah. I'm pretty sure the motherboard is shot to at least some degree - I'm surprised I was able to consistently make it to Windows desktop before I cleared the BIOS, to be honest - in fact, that confuses me more than anything, really. What I really need is some random compatible motherboard to test out the CPU...but I just don't have one, and the cheapest one I can find online is like $60, which would be a bitter pill to swallow if the CPU is shot, too.

[Bartimaeus]

Ooh, how I hate Windows. For some reason, after having started it up again, it suddenly decided to go into the Windows Startup Repair tool. Couldn't stop it because...you know, no keyboard...and by the time you're in it, it doesn't let you freaking cancel what it's doing - says the process cannot be stopped. Ridiculous. With the clocks at 1.1GHz, this is going to take forever for it to oh hey it just finished as I was writing this. Cannot find anything to repair. GEE, I WONDER WHY, GUYS. How about you let me decide if it needs to be repaired or not, eh?

 

Have no idea why it suddenly let me go through without needing to set BIOS values...but it did. I switched the power supply back from my own to my brother's old one, (who actually owns the computer, in case you haven't been keeping up, ), and now it suddenly isn't requiring it...gosh darn I hate computers.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Bartimaeus

[Humanoid]

Eh, running at 1.1GHz will have little to do with how slow the repair process goes.

 

Honestly now, it seems you've already spent more time on the machine than what the machine is worth, time being money and all that. I wouldn't be going any further, and I wouldn't put a PCB full of volatile and/or toxic substances in an oven that I still plan to use for food.

 

$60 gamble or $120 for a new board and CPU (a Pentium of Athlon X4), I'd go the latter every time, especially since you're already on a DDR3 platform.

[Bartimaeus]

Yeah, it was supposed to be a favor for him, but at this point, I think it's done for. The very last thing I wanted to do before I called it quits, though, was screw around with the BIOS, possibly reflash it to see if that would help at all. Tough luck, I guess, as it's completely obstinate at this point. Not being able to use a keyboard means messed up beyond repair, I guess, haha.

[ManifestedISO]

Oh, that explains it. Nightjar. I thought, that is the most weird-ass name for a product in the history of--what the hell goes into jars at night ... dentures, quarters, vinegar ... flowers, probably, at cool people's houses. Then I looked it up, and it's the name of a bird, as well as a modular, fanless PSU from Silverstone. Never, ever, ever heard of it, before. 

[Bartimaeus]

Oh, that explains it. Nightjar. I thought, that is the most weird-ass name for a product in the history of--what the hell goes into jars at night ... dentures, quarters, vinegar ... flowers, probably, at cool people's houses. Then I looked it up, and it's the name of a bird, as well as a modular, fanless PSU from Silverstone. Never, ever, ever heard of it, before. 

 

Haha, what's this in reference to? Can't find a mention of "nightjar" in the last few pages of this topic...

 

Bought a GTX 660 for $87 after MIR. Hopefully it's not canceled. My first nvidia card - not because I've had something against them before, but it's just how it's worked out in the past.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Bartimaeus

[Gorgon]

I just thought it was rather funny. 

 

Perhaps you have heard of Samsungs SSD line, the 840 evo. Careful to get the model number rigth when you order, or they might send you one of these. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Keyrock]

Well, I'm glad I wound up getting a Haswell chip and not waiting for Broadwell as the rumor is now that we won't be seeing desktop Broadwell until at least a year from now.  That switch to 14nm is really whoopin' Intel's ass. 

[Bartimaeus]

Corsair 300R obtained for $35 after rebate, ($55 before). Yay! At this point, I just need a motherboard...and some cheap DDR3 for my computer so it can at least run, but I can wait for that.

[Bartimaeus]

And finally, a motherboard: namely, the Asus Maximus VI (Z87). My former pick was the ASRock Extreme4, whenever it dropped down to about $120, but the Asus board just did that today, and it's a much higher quality board. I didn't really want to get an Asus board, because they seem to be having a lot of problems with their boards lately, but...it's from newegg, so hopefully I'll be good even if there are any problems - not getting rid of my current desktop, so I'm not exactly desperate for a computer ASAP anyways.

 

Recap:

Chassis: Corsair 300R (Non-Windowed, 'cos windows are ugly) @ $35

PSU: Silverstone ST50F-ESG @ $25 (it's an FSP Aurum S rebrand)

MB: Asus Maximus VI (Z87) @ $120

CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k @ $100

RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 2x4GB DDR3 1600/CAS 8 @ $50 (holdover from my previous build because DDR3 is too danged expensive nowadays - giving the old desktop some very cheap 2x2GB Gskill stuff)

GPU: AMD XFX 5770 (for now - my previous GTX 660 for $90 order actually did end up being canceled, sadly, so I'll have to wait for something decent to come by again)

System SSD: PNY XLR8 120GB @ $35

Storage HDD: Some 5 year old or so 1TB Seagate holdover that I'm surprised is still working

Storage HDD: Some 3TB WD Green that I got for free

 

Total: $365 (discounting HDDs, since they're not specifically a part of this build, really, and the video card, since it'll end up being replaced sometime in the future most likely). Not too shabby - the retail cost of the CPU is almost more than that total. I'm fairly pleased. If I bought these all at closer to MSRP, (let's say within 10% of their current, about), it'd be closer to $800, (again, discounting HDDs and video card). All new, too, of course, (except holdovers, obviously).

Edited July 12, 2014 by Bartimaeus

[Bartimaeus]

Update on that computer problem: I'm a moron.

 

 

 

 

I need to work with more Intel CPUs...I assumed that was like that on purpose because, you know, AMD CPUs have a few blank spots here and there. Nope.

[ShadySands]

I'm looking to build a new computer by the end of the month and am looking for suggestions on components

 

My budget is about $1,800 in US American currency and I will be using it mostly for gaming, viewing pornographic materials, and work... in that order

 

Thanks in advance

[Bartimaeus]

Crossfiring/SLI? Not a fan of doing it myself, but if that's what you're looking to do...

 

(e:) Whoops, thought that read $1,000, not $1,800. At that budget, I'm not sure how you can avoid it, really...not unless you buy a $1,000 GPU, haha. Someone else will have to help you with that - $1,800 is more money than is sensible for me, 

Edited July 14, 2014 by Bartimaeus

[ManifestedISO]

Yeah, no kidding, for that kind of money, you can have two blondes, a redhead, and Japanese twins. 

 

Keeping the same monitor or upgrading that, too. For DIY, I would stay at 1080p and put the cash into a single GPU system (R9 280, at most) with all solid-state storage. Even though I'm an AMD guy, it's almost a crime against performance to not recommend Intel CPU.  

[ShadySands]

I'll be keeping the same monitors I have now. I was looking at an R9 280x and an i7-4790k or some such on new egg and amazon but I haven't been a hardware guy in a long time so I'm fishing for second opinions as I don't really know what's better or worse as far as value and performance.

[Bartimaeus]

A 280X at its most expensive is like...what, $300? Can probably get it closer to $250. A $120-$180 motherboard, a $60-120 PSU, a $200-300 CPU, $150's worth maybe of RAM, a $50-100 case...even at the highest values, that leaves you a little less than $700 for storage...

Edited July 14, 2014 by Bartimaeus

[Guest Slinky]

I'll be keeping the same monitors I have now. I was looking at an R9 280x and an i7-4790k or some such on new egg and amazon but I haven't been a hardware guy in a long time so I'm fishing for second opinions as I don't really know what's better or worse as far as value and performance.

 

If you don't mind using most of that $1,800,  I would wait a couple months and get a Haswell-E rig when they arrive. Their bang for buck value is most likely going to be highly dubious, especially since the cost of DDR4 will likely be ridiculous, but with that budget I would still go for it. Add 16Gb RAM and R9 290x and you are more than set for the next 4 years.

 

But if you rather build more sensible rig, that 4790k with 280X or GTX 770 will work quite nicely. You could actually go even lower without losing that much performance.

[Humanoid]

Yeah, main question here is whether your budget is a maximum amount but would rather spend less, or whether you want to extract the maximum performance for the budget.

[ShadySands]

Thanks guys

 

That's really about my max budget and my current rig is having lots of issues so I kind of need something new sooner than later because I don't really want to put anymore time and money into the current rig. Ideally I'd like to pull the trigger by the end of the month but I suppose I can work off a laptop if I need to wait longer

[Humanoid]

Nah, no real reason to wait. Quick sample build below, if you want to spend more you can go to a i7, get 16GB RAM, get a 1TB SSD, a good sound card, etc.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)

CPU Cooler: Scythe SCMG-4000 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($41.71 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate 600 Series 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($219.99 @ TigerDirect)

Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ NCIX US)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($349.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1505.60

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

[Gfted1]

These deals from Dell on the XPS series don't look too shabby.

[Bartimaeus]

With a budget of $1800, I'd get a motherboard with at least six full phases...

 

(edit): Maybe not. Can't seem to find a single >=six phase Z97 motherboard under <=$140 at the moment. I was expecting at least one or two...unless you're overclocking, 4+1 is fine, I guess.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Bartimaeus