First build

monster1 · 09-09-2012 1:09pm #1

1. What is your budget? 1200/1300

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? gaming, CAD

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes]

5a. If yes, what size do you need.

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? no

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/laser/credit card]

9. When are you purchasing? [next 2 to 3 weeks]

Hi, need a new pc as my old packard bell died, it was 7 years old anyway so was much too slow.
I am new to gaming on PC, only ever played on consoles so I dont know too much about it. I am also starting mechanial engineering this week so need it for CAD and any other software involved with it.
So would I benefit from getting an i7 over the i5? I will probably get 16GB of ram, will that be plenty? and I was looking at a 7950, is the 7970 worth the extra cost?
And for a monitor I dont know. I was reading here about the catleap monitors, are they the best?
Cheers

U_Fig · 09-09-2012 1:54pm

for CAD it depends on the software, if it supports hyper-threading then an i7 would be of benefit.. especially in rendering... 16gb of ram would be enough..also catlep monitors are great but i don't think they'd fit into you're budget especially if you want a good GPU

here's somewhat of a build you could have

Item|Price
Intel Core i7-3770K Box, LGA1155|€313.11
ASRock Z77 Extreme4, Sockel 1155, ATX|€133.34
LG GH24NS bare schwarz|€17.19
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€99.74
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€54.38
Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 OC 950M, 3GB GDDR5, full retail|€308.67
BenQ G2255|€99.00
2 x 8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€65.08
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower USB 3.0 black, ohne Netzteil|€52.49
Cooler Master Hyper TX 3 EVO - Intel/AMD|€18.74
WD Caviar Green 1TB, SATA 6Gb/s (WD10EZRX)|€73.21
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1253.94

get a copy of windows from software for students for €55 (i think)...

monster1 · 09-09-2012 2:17pm

Id like at least a 24 inch monitor. I could stretch the budget a bit for the monitor I think. Plus is there any chance of getting a case with a window to see all the components in action? thanks for the reply

U_Fig · 09-09-2012 4:06pm

monster1 wrote: »

Id like at least a 24 inch monitor. I could stretch the budget a bit for the monitor I think. Plus is there any chance of getting a case with a window to see all the components in action? thanks for the reply

I'm not 100% sure about the monitor I use a tv so never had to buy one..but someone else here with a better idea can shed some light on that. I'm also not sure off had what a good case with a widow would be look at the atx cases on hardwareversand and see what cases they have that you like

monster1 · 21-10-2012 6:20pm

I will be able to order this in the next 2 weeks, just wondering if there is any need for the i7? I will be using creo parametric. and is the gtx 670 better than the 7970?

monster1 · 05-11-2012 2:33pm

Could someone do me a build again please?I have the money to order today, but budget is now €1100. Thanks

monster1 · 05-11-2012 3:33pm

monster1 · 05-11-2012 5:41pm

anybody? would like to order today

Monotype · 05-11-2012 5:45pm

Blue is pretty much the same price -
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7200+RPM/62133/WD+Caviar+Blue+1TB+6Gb's.article

Get faster RAM if you have any intention of overclocking, If not, don't bother.
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/1600+Low+Voltage/44321/8GB-Kit+G.Skill+RipJaws-X+PC3-12800U+CL9.article
You could probably overclock the cheap stuff anyway as it usually doesn't get that hot to make big heatsinks a necessity.

monster1 · 05-11-2012 5:49pm

ok thanks, the first link isn't working, i will be getting 16gb of ram, so 2 of the ones you linked to would be fine?

Monotype · 05-11-2012 6:00pm

Or you could get 2x8GB sticks, if you want more room for upgrades. You should buy windows 7 professional if you're looking at RAM over 16GB.

First link is working fine for me. Just search for WD10EZEX and you should see it.

monster1 · 05-11-2012 6:03pm

ok i found it, thanks. so everything iv listed is ok and i can order? i will get 2 sticks of the ram you linked to. could you pick a hd7950 for me? im unsure about the one i picked

monster1 · 05-11-2012 6:48pm

i have 100 euro left over so is it worth putting that into a better graphics card, or is the 7950 good enough?

Monotype · 05-11-2012 9:12pm

Just pick anyone to be honest, as long as it's not an infamously bad brand, and I don't think there's really any of those around at the moment. If it has a decent looking cooler on it, it's usually better for a quieter system. A quick glance at a review can help too, to be sure. The gigabyte looks fine.

What is your resolution? 1920x1080? If it is, a 7950 is kind of already above your needs as you'll already be at maximum settings, so there's not a need to spend more here.

256GB SSD maybe? Or card reader? Modular PSU or higher efficiency like the Superflower golden green? What you have is fine, these are just possibilities.

Just reading through your posts there - if you got a Catleap, you'd be talking about very high resolution, so a faster card is always better. Alternatively, the Dell U2412M is a nice monitor to go with and has a bit extra vertical resolution.

I won't be around again till tomorrow evening probably, so hopefully I've answered your questions and maybe someone else can help if you're stuck. Good luck with you purchase & build.

monster1 · 05-11-2012 10:18pm

I went ahead with the order, I think the dell will be fine for what I want. cheers for the help

monster1 · 13-11-2012 8:32pm

hey, parts came today and i am currently trying to put it all together, there does not seem to be sata cables to connect the harddrives to the motherboard, did I have to order them, if not they must be misplaced, cant find them though, cheers

Monotype · 13-11-2012 8:34pm

Motherboard box?

monster1 · 13-11-2012 8:37pm

no, they are not there. so they should of came? I will have a look again.

monster1 · 13-11-2012 8:40pm

oh sorry, I'm stupid, I found them

monster1 · 13-11-2012 8:46pm

It says on the mother board to connect the sata cable to port 0-5 for faster boot. is that the grey or black ports?

Monotype · 13-11-2012 9:41pm

It probably says on the motherboard in small writing. If it doesn't, it should be labelled in the manual. If it isn't, plug into any one and it will be listed in the UEFI menu, so you can adjust afterwards.

It's usually 2x6Gbps Marvell, 2x6Gbps Intel and 4x3Gbps Intel. You'd usually use the 6Gbps Intel for an SSD and throw hard drives anywhere, or the 3Gbps if you wanted RAID.

monster1 · 13-11-2012 11:46pm

ok, i have everything hooked up, accept there is no sata cable for the dvd drive to the mother board, there was only 2 cables with the motherboard...

monster1 · 14-11-2012 12:00am

ok, i powered it up for the first time, all the fans and everything start, then for a second the motherboard logo appears on the screen and disappears, then nothing.. what could be the problem?

monster1 · 14-11-2012 12:46pm

anyone? I'm getting A2 code on the debug.

Fluffy88 · 14-11-2012 12:58pm

Check your motherboard manual for what the code means.

You can try disconnecting everything that is not necessary and try booting.
Disconnect, HDD, SSD & remove all but one stick of RAM.

Serephucus · 14-11-2012 1:26pm

A2 is listed as IDE Detect. You should have whatever drive you're using for your OS, as well as your DVD drive plugged in. Set your DVD drive as the first boot device, install Windows, then swap out the DVD drive for your other hard drive (if you have one).

monster1 · 14-11-2012 1:32pm

Ok i can get into the motherboard settings when i hit delete. I installed windows onto the ssd. Everything is working except i have to hit delete everytime i start the computer, go into motherboard settings and exit from there to get into windows.

Serephucus · 14-11-2012 1:33pm

Did you have only the SSD and DVD drive plugged in when you installed Windows? Have you set the SSD as the first boot device, and taken the Windows DVD out of the drive?

Monotype · 14-11-2012 3:28pm

Yeah, I'd check boot priority.

monster1 · 14-11-2012 8:12pm

Yes only the ssd and dvd drive were installed when i was installing windows. When i turn the power on. I get the asrock screen for less than a second. It says d6 on the debug led on motherboard. I hit delete and it enters the motherboard bios. Exit that and windows start. So it must not be booting properely.
Do i set boot priority in the bios menu?

Monotype · 14-11-2012 9:29pm

Are you set to AHCI in the BIOS?

Maybe try around some of the other SATA ports to see if that helps.

Double check that the RAM is in properly. That can cause all seemingly unrelated problems with booting.

monster1 · 15-11-2012 7:31pm

The cpu fan seems to be on full the hole tim. I changed the fan settings in the bios to auto. And for some reason that solved the boot issue. But the fan is still loud. Spinning at 2200rpm.
There is only one connection for it and i connected it correctly i think. So why is it spinning so fast? The computer is flying it otherwise. Cheers for all the help

Monotype · 15-11-2012 8:34pm

On the Asrock boards, you can usually set a target temperature. The fan will reduce speed if it's below that temperature. Set it to 55 and see how it goes. Reduce the target speed as well.

monster1 · 15-11-2012 9:33pm

The target is set to 55. The temp readin i am getting on the cpu is 22 °C.
And are you supposed to only get 2 sata cables with the motherboard?

U_Fig · 15-11-2012 11:07pm

i have my fan set to be off until it reaches 55 degrees.. and then only level 2 i bought and aftermarket one tho with a lot of passive cooling fins but mine has yet to get higher than 37 even playing 1080p video and downloading at the same time

monster1 · 19-11-2012 10:33am

Here it is now:

Thanks for all the advice here.

monster1 · 01-03-2013 2:19pm

hi, Im trying my hand at overclocking the hd 7950, when i overclock it with afterburner, the screen flickers. like deskop, google chrome ect. but when i launch a game, it stops flickering, what could be the cause of this?

alex1997123 · 01-03-2013 4:54pm

monster1 wrote: »

hi, Im trying my hand at overclocking the hd 7950, when i overclock it with afterburner, the screen flickers. like deskop, google chrome ect. but when i launch a game, it stops flickering, what could be the cause of this?

Your overclocking it too much and the computer is unstable, low your overclock until it stops
(That's what I think it is anyway, kinda new to the computer stuff lol)

BloodBath · 01-03-2013 4:57pm

monster1 wrote: »

hi, Im trying my hand at overclocking the hd 7950, when i overclock it with afterburner, the screen flickers. like deskop, google chrome ect. but when i launch a game, it stops flickering, what could be the cause of this?

This is a common issue. It happens when CCC and afterburner or whatever ocing program you use both compete for the 2d clock settings. The flicker is caused by the 2d clocks being changed by either program. It can only be fixed by rebooting after changing settings.

Even then there can be issues if Afterburner loads before CCC.

alex1997123 · 01-03-2013 4:59pm

BloodBath wrote: »

This is a common issue. It happens when CCC and afterburner or whatever ocing program you use both compete for the 2d clock settings. The flicker is caused by the 2d clocks being changed by either program. It can only be fixed by rebooting after changing settings.

guess I was wrong than

BloodBath · 01-03-2013 5:00pm

I was just reading up about it recently as I had the same problem

monster1 · 01-03-2013 6:36pm

I downloaded sapphire trixx, and now the horizontal flickering is gone, stable at 1200mhz so far

BloodBath · 01-03-2013 6:45pm

Good stuff. How are temps and fan speed?

monster1 · 01-03-2013 6:56pm

ran heaven bench mark there a few times, temp went up to 60c, average fps was 75, not sure how good that is,

BloodBath · 01-03-2013 7:00pm

Depends on the settings used but looks good and your temps are still low. Have you touched voltages?

You should have max tessellation as well as maxing all other settings and maybe 2-4 times AA to really stress it for stability. I find 2 x Super Sampling AA to be the most effective for both picture quality and performance.

monster1 · 01-03-2013 7:32pm

Got 47fps average with AA x8, tessellation at normal, aristropy x16, shaders high at 1440p. i have the voltage set at 1210mV.

BloodBath · 01-03-2013 8:06pm

Looks good but you would want to put tessellation to max to stress it properly. Heaven is not a stressful benchmark without max tessellation.

From my own testing you should try using supersampling AA. Standard AA does not AA transparent textures where as supersampling does and 2 x SSAA imo looks superior to 8 x MSAA as well as performing better on those cards.

I had big fps gains going from 8 x MSAA to 2 x SSAA while offering similar if not better results as it AA's transparencies.

You are at 1440p though so you may not get the same results.

monster1 · 02-03-2013 1:32pm

i tried it last night with full tessallation, but it crashed. does it mean its not stable? its running crysis 3 at these settings without crashing

First build

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