Official Building/Upgrading thread

[jerche]

Originally Posted by Manic!

In what tasks? Are you gaming? how much hard drive space do you need? Is long battery life important to you?

It's going to be for school but won't mind some light gaming such as Hearthstone/Diablo 3 etc

[skyxx]

Need Input on this build. Will be doing medium video/photo Editing. Probably won't game, but I might. Budget is roughly 2K before taxes. I'll have some HDDs from my previous rig to add on as extra storage.

Intel 4790K
Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 board.
Corsair Vengeance Pro Black 2x8GB 1866mhz X2(32GB)
Intel 535 Series 120GB X2(In raid as boot drive) But apparently it's pointless to raid SSD as boot.
Intel 730 series 240GB as either programs/or Scratch disk
XFX Radeon R9 270x (Not sure what Video card to use at the moment)
Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3 cooler
Corsair Professional Series HX750I 750W ATX
Corsair Obsidian 450D(might change)

Thoughts? I've been out of the loop for a while. Just whipped up something.

Thanks, Appreciate it!

[twitchyzero]

you said no gaming but i would still allocate more than 10% of the budget to a video card
i'd get 16gb ram instead of 32 and a better card
but if you're set on 32gb...perhaps pass on ssd raid

[Razor Ramon HG]

+
1x MSI Z97S Krait
2x Sandisk Extreme Pro 240GB
1x EVGA Supernova G2 750W
1x NZXT S340

-
1x Asus Sabertooth Z97 M2
2x Intel 530 120GB
1x Intel 730 240GB
1x Corsair HX750i
1x Corsair 450D

Save about $200 without compromising anything at all.

It'll be a nice looking black/white build similar to what I had before.

If you're up for liquid cooling, one of those all-in-one coolers such as the Corsair H110i GTX or NZXT X61 would be worth looking into as well.

As for your video card, I'd skip on that until AMD announces their new cards in a few weeks. But judging from what you said, you'll probably do fine with something around the $300 price point.

[see.lai]

is there a way to boost my microphone? I already went through the volume settings and put it to 100 and +30db and it's still pretty quiet. I don't know if it has something to do with the motherboard that I bought (maximus vii hero).

[lilaznviper]

^what mic do you have? i know some are really shitty. and no matter how much you boost the volume it still sounds horrible.

[see.lai]

just some $5 mic that I've been using for the past 8 years, transferred it over to this computer and it sucks lol

[Razor Ramon HG]

If you're gaming, just get the Kingston HyperX Cloud headset.

Kingston HyperX Cloud Gaming Headset Black - KHX-H3CL/WR

Best headset under $100

[Mr.Money]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

you said no gaming but i would still allocate more than 10% of the budget to a video card
i'd get 16gb ram instead of 32 and a better card
but if you're set on 32gb...perhaps pass on ssd raid

Agree.
i can't even scratch the surface with 16gb ram and video edit with Sony Vegas in full 1080p....i think 32gb is overkill unless you program & code,have 5 different virtual machines open

[wix]

Hello,

My Samsung 850 EVO SSD arrived yesterday and I need your guy's help. I am currently using a partitioned HDD as my Boot/Storage device. I want to plug in my SSD, install a fresh copy of Windows on it.

If I do set the boot sequence correctly. Can I boot up to windows with my SSD, then access my HDD and get to the files?

Thank you

[twitchyzero]

yes I don't see why there would be a problem...majority of SSD users have that setup.

[wix]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

yes I don't see why there would be a problem...majority of SSD users have that setup.

Am I able to do it without formatting my HDD. Reason is.. I don't have anything to transfer my files to. So I want to:

1. Install windows on my SSD
2. Boot into SSD
3. Transfer about 100 gb of files from old HDD into SSD
4. Format and unpartition HDD

[underscore]

Just unplug the HDD while you install Windows to the SSD

[heisenberg]

anyone know how durable the hyperX cloud 2s are? How thick are the cables?

[terkan]

hmm anyone can help me solve my problem? i have a gtx 980ti connected thru displayport to my xb280hk which works fine, however my secondary monitor an asus connected thru DVI is detected by the computer and the display setting however the monitor keeps showing no DVI signal and goes into stand by mode. any suggestions?

both monitor doesn't display if i have both of them plugged in at the same time after reboot.. and it works fine when i'm using just the display port.. and the DVI doesn't boot even if i take out the display port cable

[terkan]

nm fixed

[iam_dan]

Originally Posted by heisenberg

anyone know how durable the hyperX cloud 2s are? How thick are the cables?

I have a pair of the Cloud II's.
They feel very durable and flexible to me. The cables are braided and thicker than my mouse cable.

[geeknerd]

Friend wanted a 800-1000 gaming PC.
picked these parts, Intel Core i5-4460, Sapphire Radeon R9 280X, Corsair 200R - System Build - PCPartPicker Canada

thoughts?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $632.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-09 13:30 EDT-0400

+ $309 for the 280x from newegg, = $941 gets about 20$ cheaper if pricematching at ncix.

total $1050~ taxes included.

[willystyle]

^ If I'm spending a G on a build, there better be a SSD.

[Razor Ramon HG]

I'd wait until AMD announces new video cards.

And at $309 + taxes for a 280X, I'd rather buy a used one at half the price. Most of them are still covered under warranty.

[Jmac]

Originally Posted by willystyle

^ If I'm spending a G on a build, there better be a SSD.

Not only that, but it's a Caviar Blue

[jerche]

So I went to the Genius Bar and found out that I need to replace my hard drive on my Macbook Pro. He told me I could buy a standard 2.5" hard drive and install it on my own which would be a lot cheaper or they can install a standard SATA one for $185. Anyone have experience installing the hard drive on the macbook themselves? Is it fairly straight forward?

Also, what is the best bang for the buck for a 2.5" hard drive right now? Is it worth to get an SSD?

TIA

[heisenberg]

Originally Posted by jerche

So I went to the Genius Bar and found out that I need to replace my hard drive on my Macbook Pro. He told me I could buy a standard 2.5" hard drive and install it on my own which would be a lot cheaper or they can install a standard SATA one for $185. Anyone have experience installing the hard drive on the macbook themselves? Is it fairly straight forward?

Also, what is the best bang for the buck for a 2.5" hard drive right now? Is it worth to get an SSD?

TIA

YouTube

EDIT: I've seen Kingston 240gb ssds go for $100, but also have seen 1TB 2.5HDD go for $100... so your pick

[underscore]

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG

Intel i3-4160 - $135 @ DirectCanada

This might be a stupid question, but I just noticed this is a dual core CPU, not a quad core. Any particular reason to go dual over a quad?

[Razor Ramon HG]

Originally Posted by underscore

This might be a stupid question, but I just noticed this is a dual core CPU, not a quad core. Any particular reason to go dual over a quad?

Your friend's budget. i3 is fine for most gaming purposes. It still has HyperThreading.