Off-Topic Thread

What equipment should I have for building a PC?

The only stuff I can think of are anti-static wristband, screwdrivers, cable ties & thermal paste (for adding after-market cooler).

As for screwdrivers, do I need to buy a special set containing various sizes?

Pfft, screwdriver...
Real nerds use their teeth!

^^^^ Thanks for posting that, they look decent for 150. I need speakers as the old sony 5.1 I was using passed away:(

I could just squeeze two of them onto my desk, would I be right in saying its not an issue to stick the sub on the floor(apart from no hardware volume control)?

Check out the Corsair SP 2500 as well. A bit over budget at around €200 but an awesome 2.1 system

seanbmc wrote: »

Hey lads, what do you think of this build, my budget is 1050, so with shipping that should be all of it used up. :P

Item|Price
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€82.61
ASUS VS228H|€130.55
Alpenföhn CPU-Kühler Brocken - AMD/Intel|€30.79
8GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws PC3-10667U CL9|€40.79
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€190.81
MSI R7850 TwinFrozr 2GD5/OC, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€221.76
Super-Flower SF650P14P 650W|€42.90
Seagate Barracuda 7200 500GB SATA 6GB's|€62.56
Corsair Force3 120GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") SATA|€110.24
CM Storm Enforcer - black, ohne Netzteil|€78.53
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1010.53

This one has an (arguably) better case. Better GPU that is whisper quiet and can OC like a boss (review). Much better SSD (Corsair Force = Super Fast, Samsung 830 = warp speed!). Changed the RAM, put in a great CPU cooler, and a monitor of great quality.
Oh, the PSU you had isn't great. I dropped it down to the 550 watt Amazon.

Item|Price
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€35.55
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€190.81
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€82.61
Seagate Barracuda 7200 500GB SATA 6GB's|€62.56
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€52.40
Thermalright HR-02 Macho|€33.89
Sapphire HD 7870 OC 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express|€317.74
BenQ GL2250|€111.18
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower USB 3.0 black, ohne Netzteil|€55.94
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€111.29
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1072.96

seanbmc wrote: »

Oh cheers, I think I'll keep the CM case, not sure though, but I didn't see that grahpics card yet, looks pretty nice. Just a matter of getting the cash.

Thanks for that.

For your info, and everyone really, even if you know what you're doing, the macho is a *very* difficult cooler to install.

its huge. even with a big case, its very difficult to get your standoff screws into the motherboard after installation. you need 3 small hands and also a thin screw driver.

Its a great cooler, honestly, and good value for money, but my god its horrible to install. nearly threw the PC out the window style. easily the hardest install I've ever had. :mad:

seanbmc wrote: »

Oh cheers, I think I'll keep the CM case, not sure though, but I didn't see that grahpics card yet, looks pretty nice. Just a matter of getting the cash.

Thanks for that.

The CM Storm Enforcer is a great case. Great looks, great airflow, removable HDD cage for improved airflow/longer GPUs. USB3. Space for 2 huge 200mm fans. Only thing it's missing IMO is an inbuilt fan controller.

The Shinobi is nice as well but a bit overused around these parts. :cool:

Monotype wrote: »

How is it vs the mugen?

definitely more difficult. the macho has to be installed in 3 stages. partial assemble, install onto board, install board (very difficult, and I was using a carbide 400R), then the rest, which is just as difficult. I spent 3 hours assembling the PC, and almost all of it was working out how to install the bloody thing. I must have removed it 6 times to work it out.

it is a great cooler, but definitely not for a novice or those in a rush.

you could probably run it passive its so good, but the fan is quiet enough not to be the loudest part in the rig.

So, we just bought a 42" 1080p TV, on the box it says 120Hz, I assume its the same as with monitors means it can do 120 frames per second? So I could just connect my PC to it and play as if it was a 120Hz monitor?

FlyingIrishMan wrote: »

So, we just bought a 42" 1080p TV, on the box it says 120Hz, I assume its the same as with monitors means it can do 120 frames per second? So I could just connect my PC to it and play as if it was a 120Hz monitor?

highly doubt it.

it'll only accept a 60hz input, then 'upscale' it using some form of a 'motion engine' to trick the image.

if its a true 3D TV, it might work, but otherwise, definitely not.

I love how they advertise 400hz screens now. seeing as sky HD still broadcasts in 720p, it'll be a very long time before we see 1080p@400hz. if my calculations are correct (1920*1080*400*24 [24bit video]) youre looking at ~2Tbps bandwidth. a good dual link DVI cable can handle about 15gbps, and HDMI even less. were a hell of a long way off. I guess maybe 10 years?

I'm quite hammered so I could be well off on my maths

Anyway, I was browsing HWVS today and I came across this gem, a reference Powercolor 7950. And I thought the Devil 13 editions were bad!

could anyone tell me if i can plug a Sata 600 into a sata 300 mobo?

If you've read the Yamakasi Catleap thread you know I'm getting a new monitor, but my 6850 I feel won't cope very well with the resolution. So, I need a new graphics card. My budget is around €350-400.

These are what I had in mind:

Gigabyte 7870 - €334 delivered

EVGA GTX 670 - €380 delivered

Powercolor 7950 PCS+ - €386 delivered

Bear in mind I will be overclocking and voltage tweaking whatever card I get. I'm leaning towards the GTX 670 as it's a monster GPU. However, I feel the 2GB might be a bottleneck at this resolution, and as I am dropping nearly €400 I want it to be fairly future-proof. I have the 7870 in there because it seems to be a great overclocker, despite the 2GB VRAM and is a good bit cheaper than the others. The 7950 is a good bit worse than the GTX 670 but the PCS+ model is virtually silent (28db at load!), runs very cool and can overclock brilliantly. In the TPU review they get a 22% core overclock and 42% memory at stock volts.

I won't be getting it for a few weeks, as I have to let my wallet recover after the monitor, but I don't think there are any cards being released in that price bracket soon. The only change I can see happening is a price drop by either company, but I doubt that.

Any ideas? I'm just using hardwarevsand so I can measure all the cards against each other from one retailer, but if someone else is offering it cheaper I'll go with them.