Computer Problems/Upgrades/Info

[Bonecrusher]

My first build was from Cyberpower. Personally I'd say stay away, because I had a bad experience with them. Other's have had a good experience. They do have good prices, but it's the same with buying anything "customizable". It's only customizable to a certain point. You can't choose what the memory timings are etc. You can bet your ass they use the cheapest one as long as it's still a name brand. For instance, Corsair Dominator series memory ranges from $150 to $300 for a 2x2GB set (this is just an example, I don't know ACTUAL prices right now). But the same with Video cards. You can have the same card as someone else, but they could have higher clock speeds or more memory because they make numerous cards under the same "model".

On top of that they sent me a computer with an incomplete windows install on it and the wiring job on the inside was atrocious. Building a pc is not hard, and actually quite satisfying once you button it up and fire it up for the first time. And I know Taz has offered his services to you plenty of times... pay him a visit and kick back with some Black Label... I'm sure there is some left, lol.

This way when you say it's build time... you find the stuff, you buy it, it's on your doorstep two days later and you build it. Cyberpower will have you waiting two weeks after you order.



Lurk: I haven't the slightest idea what's causing that. Do you have any other spare parts to help with the trouble shooting? You've verified it's not the Ram, HDD... those ARE the most likely culprits. This system isn't more than a couple years old is it?

 

[TAZTG]

pay him a visit and kick back with some Black Label... I'm sure there is some left, lol.

OMG, sad but true there are 3 left in the little fridge...

 

[Iceburgs]

Thanks, BC. The truth is, I posted that question before looking at their website (I had seen an ad), and once I started looking at the builds and the customizations, I became so hopelessly lost. Their finished product pictures look impressive, but the user-friendliness of their website sucks. Anyway, aside from that, the build I was looking at was just a bit too expensive and didn't leave me any money for a monitor. I was just thinking simplicity, and once it got so entirely complicated, I switched back to looking forward to building my own.

Taz, back away from the skunky beer!

 

[TAZTG]

Taz, back away from the skunky beer!

Been saving them for Aaron..

 

[Devastator]

Hey if you guys want I can bring something else this year

http://www.labatt.com/

http://www.molsoncoorscanada.com/en/Index.aspx

Keep in mind that some of those are hard to find here

Edit here is some more

http://www.unibroue.com/en/home/

If I'm not mistaken, the "maudite" (Damned) is 7% and the "Fin du monde" (End of the world) is 9%.

 

[TAZTG]

We have a few Micro Breweries in Frederick that has some good beer. I wouldn't worry to much about beer Dev, bring some Labatt's that is really good..

 

[Devastator]

Alright

Bank on topic

 

[Bonecrusher]

Icey... you have a fix on the budget yet? If you're getting a monitor too that plays quite a factor in the hardware budget. My last two builds I didn't buy a monitor at the same time, and I still spent $1500 But really you can buy a monitor anytime... just keep your eyes peeled on slickdeals, amazon, newegg etc and eventually a nice 22" LED LCD will pop up for $120 - $150.

Hey Taz,

In your experience... does painting the inside of a case black take away from the amount of light it gives off from the LED fans etc.? Like... If I paint the inside black, is it still easy enough to see the hardware through the side panel when it's turned on? I bought an Antec Nine Hundred case off of my buddy at work for cheap since he's had it for a year or so and still hasn't used it, just bought a laptop so he wanted to unload it. The case is really nice, but I think I want to paint the inside black. Any words of wisdom?

 

[Iceburgs]

Yikes! I picked out a mobo, CPU, and RAM, and that sucked up 60% of what I wanted to spend. Guess I might be spending a bit more. That budget was to be ~$1,000, but it might have to be a couple hundred more, since I do indeed want to buy a monitor as well. I'm having a real hard picking out a video card: I need to find a list of them and how they stack up against each other. Does anyone here have preferences of ATI or nVidia?

 

[Bonecrusher]

I went shopping for you on Friday and had cpu, mobo, Ram, vid card, psu, and monitor picked out and it came out to $938. Still needed a case and I forget if you said you were buying new drives...

I prefer Nvidia now. Haven't had an ATI since the 9800, but I think it's a pretty even playing field these days.

Tom's Hardware benchmarks most of the new cards.

 

[Iceburgs]

Link to the list or post the parts?

 

[TAZTG]

Fresh Build from New Egg! Subtotal: $914.92
That covers all the basics parts. Now you ned to do some research and make some decisions for yourself ICE!

select item 1
RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEB 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811156078
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$10.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate11-156-078

$89.99
$79.99

select item 2
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136795
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



$59.99

select item 3
Acer P215HBbd Black 21.5" Full HD WideScreen LCD Monitor
Item #: N82E16824009299
Return Policy: Monitor Standard Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options24-009-299|hide options24-009-299)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info24-009-299.0.120)

* 1 year: $14.99
* 2 year: $24.99

-$30.00 Instant


$159.99
$129.99

select item 4

EVGA 01G-P3-1372-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video ...
Item #: N82E16814130571
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options14-130-571|hide options14-130-571)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info14-130-571.0.18)

* 1 year: $16.99
* 2 year: $29.99


$30.00 Mail-in Rebate Card14-130-571

$184.99

select item 5

RAIDMAX Blackstone series RX-700AC 700W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active ...
Item #: N82E16817152042
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options17-152-042|hide options17-152-042)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info17-152-042.0.18)

* 1 year: $9.99
* 2 year: $14.99


$10.00 Mail-in Rebate17-152-042

$69.99

select item 6

CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M2A1600C8
Item #: N82E16820145348
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy



$59.99

select item 7

ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131634
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options13-131-634|hide options13-131-634)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info13-131-634.0.120)

* 1 year: $14.99
* 2 year: $24.99

-$10.00 Instant
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate Card13-131-634

$149.99
$139.99

select item 8

Intel Core i5-650 Clarkdale 3.2GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I5650
Item #: N82E16819115220
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options19-115-220S31111|hide options19-115-220S31111)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info19-115-220.0.120)

* 1 year: $16.99
* 2 year: $29.99



$189.99

1

Intel Gift Game - Star Trek Online

Intel Gift Game - Star Trek Online
Item #: N82E16800995097
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$49.99 Saving


$49.99
$0.00

 

[Bonecrusher]

Intel Core i5-2500K - $225
MSI P67A-GD55 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 - $165
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) - $95
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 - $248
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W - $110
Acer X223WDbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD - $130
Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s - $40


Comes out to $1013. All thats missing is the shell to put it in. This build is with little to no compromise...so some corners can be cut.

 

[Iceburgs]

I think if I hold back on buying a monitor, I can get a core i7. The one problem I'm having with the GeForce cards is that they all have mini-HDMI out. I know, not a big deal, but why have more than one type of HDMI cable on hand if you don't need it? What's the performance increase of the Fermi 500 series over the 400? Worth it enough to spend ~$100 more on a GPU?

 

[TAZTG]

I am running a GTX285 and it has zero issues with Frame Rates in games. No idea about Fermi, read some reviews and decide. Make sure your Monitor and Graphic card have same connectors. HDMI is pretty nice.

 

[TAZTG]

There is a difference in the Sockets for the motherboards me and Boney selected. With just a quick google search I found this article.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/04/21/intel-sandy-bridge-details-of-the-next-gen/1

Something else to keep in mind when building a PC..

 

[Bonecrusher]

Yeah, problem is its hard to find previous gen high-end cards. My 295 can still hang with the cards being manufactured today, you just can't buy them anymore. I hate buying things that are already "obsolete". So I'd try and get 5 series GPU. As far as the mini HDMI... they probably sell an adapter (or come with one). But just so you know, an LCD with an HDMI port right in it will most likely mean a considerable amount more dough, unless you're just trying to hook it up to your TV... I'd say DVI would be just fine. I also read an article somewhere that if you're building a modern system, since memory is at an all-time low price wise, 8 GB is recommended.

I think Dave missed my question lol

Hey Taz,

In your experience... does painting the inside of a case black take away from the amount of light it gives off from the LED fans etc.? Like... If I paint the inside black, is it still easy enough to see the hardware through the side panel when it's turned on? I bought an Antec Nine Hundred case off of my buddy at work for cheap since he's had it for a year or so and still hasn't used it, just bought a laptop so he wanted to unload it. The case is really nice, but I think I want to paint the inside black. Any words of wisdom?

 

[Devastator]

I am currently running a GTX 460 1Gb in this rig. Pretty good card.

 

[TAZTG]

Sorry, missed that question.
If you remember I painted the inside of the Fragbox Blue and the Unreal was Red. I don't think it would hide your Hardware all that much. Choosing the right LED Color is important. I would also consider the type of LED fans your going to use. You could always add extra LED lights like a Cold Cathode or even a Laser LED.

Here's a Great Link for some Modding Tips. Check out Bill's new You Tube stuff.
http://www.mnpctech.com/case-mod-paint-computer-pc-case-mod-how-to.html

 

[Iceburgs]

So, if the Sandy Bridge (LGA 1155) chipset is supposed to be better than the LGA 1366 sockets, why are the less expensive? I'm not saying I feel that I need to pay more for performance, but from what I'm reading, the Sandy Bridge chips are champions at overclocking. It's just a shame that it seems like the current LGA 1155 mobos are a PITA when it comes to overclocking. Boney, I'm really liking what you put together there, btw.