Build Thread

[Malcador]

Think I've settled on

• Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core
• Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid
• MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150
• Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
• Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM     
• Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX     
• Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower     
• EVGA 750W ATX12V / EPS12V     
• Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer     
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)
• Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Rx   

Might change that RAM - is a low profile one so that's a plus. Might not need the sound card but I am pretty sure my X-Fi from '07 won't work with 8.1

[Sarex]

@Malcador

 

Get an SSD, that's is the biggest jump in performance you are going to get from a new rig.

[samm]

I agree with Sarex regarding the SSD! Other than that, it will certainly perform nicely

 

Regarding the sound card: Before taking that potential step down in technology and replacing an X-Fi with an Audigy, I'd try whether the X-Fi really does not work under 8.1. Because imo, it should. Of course, this is only worth trying if

- it's a PCIe card (and not a PCI card, because your mainboard does not have a PCI slot)

- it's a real X-Fi (not that... hm, I think xtreme gamer it was without the real X-Fi EMU chip?)

 

I wasn't even aware that Audigys are still produced oO

[AwesomeOcelot]

SSD is a must. Premium boards have really good sound, see if you need one before getting one.

[Malcador]

Oh, already have an SSD, got a 730 480Gb on Black Friday - just sitting around my room now

[Humanoid]

Yeah, for a system of that calibre, SSD all the way. You may be able to get some of the savings back by going for a WD Red hard drive instead since with the SSD present you won't really ever need the Black's performance advantage.

 

Also worth noting that the Define R5 is now out, incremental improvements in every area, but particularly so with the included case fans.

[Humanoid]

Didn't know anything about the Audigy Rx, did a bit of poking around and it looks like%2

 

**Oh wow, never knew a post to go through partially if my internet dies while posting it**

 

Didn't know anything about the Audigy Rx, did a bit of poking around and it looks like it's just that, an Audigy (2), barely changed from over a decade ago. Sounds like the 'current' Creative line is the Z series which has good reviews, though again I have to admit knowing precious little about it. If you're going stereo only, the Asus Essence STX would be the better choice though - I do like Asus' sound card range better than Creative's these days, though driver updates can be slow. Then again, Creative has been famous for iffy drive updates for two decades now.

 

I'd note that it appears that the MSI Gaming series boards' main selling point seems to be its audio processing, so if you're set on a standalone sound card (and it's still strictly superior to do so), you might find a cheaper board would have no meaningful downside.

 

Miscellaneous notes:

- Personally not convinced on these pre-packaged liquid cooling solutions, as in terms of performance-to-noise ratio, they're still handily outdone by simple tower coolers. Can perhaps see a point if you plan to absolutely flog the CPU with a big overclock/overvolt, but for milder uses I don't see an advantage.

- 1866/2133MHz RAM, while a very marginal performance improvement, doesn't cost meaningfully more either, so unless you're going with low-voltage DDR3L/DDR3U (1.35V/1.25V), there's probably no reason not to bump it up.

- No model number on the PSU so no real comment on that.

Edited December 17, 2014 by Humanoid

[Malcador]

Ah the PSU is a EVGA 220-G2-0750-XR. Friend suggested EVGA, so I nabbed one I saw listed for the price range. Might go with a Corsair offering. I may OC this machine after it is done, but am not sure and heard the H100i was decent enough for that - noise isn't that much of a concern for me, well as long as it's not turbine engine loud or something. One problem cooling PCs here is my room is a sauna in summer due to it being upstairs and poorly placed w.r.t. HVAC fan.

 

I was not really convinced on the MSI main board, was looking at ones from ASRock or Gigabyte as an alternate. I guess I will spend more time looking up on features

 

I agree with Sarex regarding the SSD! Other than that, it will certainly perform nicely

 

Regarding the sound card: Before taking that potential step down in technology and replacing an X-Fi with an Audigy, I'd try whether the X-Fi really does not work under 8.1. Because imo, it should. Of course, this is only worth trying if

- it's a PCIe card (and not a PCI card, because your mainboard does not have a PCI slot)

- it's a real X-Fi (not that... hm, I think xtreme gamer it was without the real X-Fi EMU chip?)

 

I wasn't even aware that Audigys are still produced oO

 

Hah, yes, good spot on the PCI slot - dumb mistake by me. Was a lazy grab off what the vendor had available. As Humanoid points out, the onboard may be good enough (past two Realtek experiences have turned me off, but things may have changed.) especially as I'm not using amazing headphones (some Sennheiser headset)

Edited December 17, 2014 by Malcador

[Humanoid]

Could go ahead and grab a motherboard with a legacy PCI slot then so you can reuse your sound card. They're not uncommon, I know the mainstream Asus boards have them for example.

 

For PSUs the definitive resource remains (the stupidly named) RealHardTechX, which links to professional reviews for just about every PSU out there, but more critically lists the technical details of OEMs that the vendors aren't usually keen to publicise. For example, the EVGA G2 that you listed can be easily looked up to in actuality be manufactured by Super Flower (link). Not a bad thing as such, they make good PSUs for many vendors.

[Malcador]

Wish I had space for a full tower, hm. I'll look around for one with a PCI that is still decent (MSI's Gaming 3 has 3, interestingly), but am not really averse to retiring the old XtremeMusic X-Fi.

[teknoman2]

Think I've settled on

• Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core
• Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid
• MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150
• Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
• Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM     
• Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX     
• Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower     
• EVGA 750W ATX12V / EPS12V     
• Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer     
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)
• Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Rx   

Might change that RAM - is a low profile one so that's a plus. Might not need the sound card but I am pretty sure my X-Fi from '07 won't work with 8.1

 

i ve been asking this question since i was in university but where do you people find the money for rigs like that? i work a full time job and i can barely scrounge up money for moderate upgrades every now and then... this one around my parts would cost  3 months worth of pay. inb4 credit card... i'd rather keep the bank's hands out of my wallet

[Sarex]

Just a matter of what are you willing to give up to get it. I saved money for 2 years to get a rig that is equal to Malcs. Then I started working and went overboard.

[Humanoid]

Well the other thing is that hardware costs are generally not that variable around the world, compared to software, rent, or food. So for residents of countries with higher average income (and higher average living costs), the cost of PC hardware is probably not a big deal at all, relatively speaking. For a median income earner here, I'd estimate that's one month's take-home salary, as opposed to three. Which, if it's an 'investment' that will last 4-5 years, I think is pretty good going.

[Malcador]

 

 

Think I've settled on

• Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core
• Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid
• MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150
• Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
• Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM
• Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX
• Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower
• EVGA 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
• Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)
• Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Rx

Might change that RAM - is a low profile one so that's a plus. Might not need the sound card but I am pretty sure my X-Fi from '07 won't work with 8.1

i ve been asking this question since i was in university but where do you people find the money for rigs like that? i work a full time job and i can barely scrounge up money for moderate upgrades every now and then... this one around my parts would cost 3 months worth of pay. inb4 credit card... i'd rather keep the bank's hands out of my wallet

Easy. Have no life.

[CoM_Solaufein]

Would it be overkill to have two 29" monitors? It would cost me another $700. $500 for another monitor and $200 for the duel stand.

[Humanoid]

Two 21:9 screens might be a bit weird. Two 16:9 or 16:10 screens, hell yeah. For utility I guess you could mix it up, even have the second screen in portrait mode, say.

[teknoman2]

my brother has 4GB DDR3 1600 and an AMD FX6350. he wants to get a new GPU (something non very expensive) and i was thinking to suggest either the R7 260 or the GTX750 (for both the 2GB version) that are at about the same price

what do you think is best

Edited January 1, 2015 by teknoman2

[samm]

In my country, he'd get a significantly faster R7 265 for the same price as a GTX 750 (non-Ti).

But to make a good suggestion: What are the real constraints here: Budget, target resolution and visual quality options, preferred games or other application to run on the graphics card, preferred vendors, space- or power constraints?

Edited January 1, 2015 by samm

[Sarex]

Just wait for the 960 that is coming out soon.

[teknoman2]

In my country, he'd get a significantly faster R7 265 for the same price as a GTX 750 (non-Ti).

But to make a good suggestion: What are the real constraints here: Budget, target resolution and visual quality options, preferred games or other application to run on the graphics card, preferred vendors, space- or power constraints?

the prices in my country are 125 euro for the R7 and 129 euro for the GTX.  he does not want anything more expensive (he wants to spend so little that he was even considering to get a 6450 and i gave him an implied punch over the phone for even thinking to get that for gaming), since he rarely plays demanding games (but there is DA inquisition on his "to play" list). his old card is just too old and wants something decent to replace it.

speaking of constraints, he has a 19" 1366x768 screen, he does not care for more than medium settings as long as it runs smooth and as for power he has a 700W corsair PSU so no worries there. the 129 of the GTX is the max he is willing to pay and may even take some convincing to get him to spend it. and he is partial towards AMD

the 265 costs the same as a 750ti, 145 euro and i bet the 960 will cost even more so they are out. the ony other cards near that max price are the GTX650ti and the HD7770 (curently not availbale in any shop)

so, having examined the evidence and having reached the conclusion that the most expensive cards he is willing to buy are the R7 260 and the GTX 750 (not ti, or the GTX650ti). the question remains: which is better (especially on the longevity department)?

[Humanoid]

On average I believe 750Ti > 260X > 750 > 260. The nVidia cards will consume 20-30W less power under load though.

[teknoman2]

ASUS RADEON R7 260X R7260X-OC-2GD5 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E RETAIL

i ll tell him to get this since the shop he usually buys from has a discount

[Bartimaeus]

Bought 2x 4TB WD Blacks at ncixus for $68 each in a super special flash sale...I don't need them at all, but the price was too good. Thinking about selling one to recoup my costs and using the other as a backup...or, actually, I'd probably use it as a main and then make my old 1TB Barracuda the backup.

 

Right after I got them, I refreshed the page and they were already out of stock.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[Keyrock]

My new Atomic Lamborghini Gallardo Evo racing wheel and pedals setup

 

Sorry about the blurry pic, I'm a terrible photographer.

 

I don't much care about the Lamborghini branding, though I don't mind and it does look cool.  The biggest downside to this wheel is only 270 degree rotation, but I would have had to pay at least double what I dished out for this to get a wheel with the full rotation like a real car.  Less rotation is common with less expensive wheels, some have as little as 180 degrees.  Beyond that, it has a bunch of buttons, well placed, including 2 buttons on the back of the wheel which are very useful, and the standard sequential paddle shifters.  Gas and brake only, no clutch, but again, to get pedals with a clutch I would generally have to spend a lot more.  Pretty cool so far.  One bummer is that I didn't realize that the power adapter it came with has a European plug, which is my bad, I mean it's a European company after all.  No problem, I ordered some wall plug adapters which will get here Monday, and the AC adapter can handle US voltage.  Until then, the wheel works, just no force feedback until I get the plug adapter.  I'm mostly using it to play Euro Truck Simulator 2, but I'll break some racing games out too.  Once Project CARS comes out this bad bod will get tons of use. 

Edited January 10, 2015 by Keyrock

[Gorth]

Still waiting... and waiting... to see if Intels skylake chipset is any good (and if it will hit the market this year). PC needs an upgrade, but I'm not going to bother with the 97 chipset.

 

Edit: Just some tidbits for good measure about the chipset itself

 

Link

 

"we'll see a new '100-series' chipset, codenamed Sunrise Point. The Z170 will be the replacement for Z97, which itself was not a massive upgrade from Z87. It will feature more PCIe lanes (up to 20), SuperSpeed USB and motherboards will likely have 10 USB ports as standard. There will also be up to three SATA Express ports. "

 

"The H170 chipset will - unsurprisingly - replace the H97 for mainstream PCs, while the H110 will be the 'value' offering, replacing the H81 and various other chipsets."