PC build thread

[Valkyrie-Favor]

That sucks. It sounds like you have at least 4 RAM slots, but maybe your sticks aren't all quad-channel?

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D8fhsXqq4o

RAM issues are a damn pain, they can take days to figure out, so it might be better to just sell your 4GB sticks (assuming they're all good) and buy a set of identical quad-channel sticks or two identical dual-channel sticks. No problems in the future if the hardware is good.

[noiseredux]

I've got four 4's. I'm starting to think the PNY's are maybe single channel. That would explain why I had to sink em next to each other instead of staggered. Hmm. The Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory are def dual, so prob I'd just keep those and intend to eventually get two more of those. Maybe I'll put the PNY's aside in case we can get Mike's build going...

[isiolia]

I've got four 4's. I'm starting to think the PNY's are maybe single channel. That would explain why I had to sink em next to each other instead of staggered.

Did you get them in a pair, or did they come separately? RAM isn't inherently single channel. Like that video says, a kit is really just a matched set. If the specs are the same, it should still work. Even if it's different, usually things just get set according to the lowest performance stick (might be able to force that manually).

'course, just going with the matched pair you bought is fine too. If it won't work in the proper slots, then that's kind of odd to start with.

[noiseredux]

old: PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (I bought each stick separate though)
new: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (came as a set)

[isiolia]

The only models I see there, unless you bought one of their XLR8 sticks and one not, are ones that are priced a couple bucks different due to including a heat spreader or not.

There's a lifetime warranty though, so you could always drop PNY a line and see if they'll swap 'em. Might also update your BIOS, or look up the update notes at least, to see if any RAM issues get addressed.

[noiseredux]

The only models I see there, unless you bought one of their XLR8 sticks and one not, are ones that are priced a couple bucks different due to including a heat spreader or not.

There's a lifetime warranty though, so you could always drop PNY a line and see if they'll swap 'em. Might also update your BIOS, or look up the update notes at least, to see if any RAM issues get addressed.

emwearz mentioned that it looks like my mobo doesn't handle the 1866 of the new ones, at least not w/ a BIOS update.

[Jmustang1968]

Yeah, the Ram doesnt know what channel it is, that is all done by the chipset/mobo. They should play nice with each other. But it is normally not good to mix up Ram speeds. It is more of an interaction with the mobo. It could also be that the new stick are not compatible with the motherboard, that is usually the issue with ram not working.

[flex wood]

Hey guys so I'm putting together a computer for a friend of mine. Would you guys want to give the parts list a look over and see if I'm missing anything or see some glaring issue taht I should be worried about? My friend bought a laptop recently from best buy and was upset that he couldn't game on it So he returned it and got got about $485 in store credit so that's why most of the parts are from Best Buy. I think I've done pretty well for a budget build. Let me know if I'm missing some glaring flaw.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Fg2BhM

Edit so on the linked build page it says that I'll need to remove hard drive cages to fit the video card in but I've read that the case can take a 11" gpu with no problem. I am guessing that since that the case compatibility thing is new it's probably just a screw up.

Double edit the video card is also going to be bought at microcenter and is about $20 more then the one listed, same card though, just that they don't have the cards listed at microcenter on pcpp

[Cronozilla]

Quick word of advice. Don't buy MSI.

I used to swear by them, and after about 2007, I was consistently burned by every product of theirs I bought. And everyone I knew whom had components from them in the same time frame also experienced the same issues. Massive component failure, cards not designed with cooling in mind. Terrible, just absolutely TERRIBLE customer service.

Just don't even bother. Choose another brand. For motherboards, if you want to keep it low, but you want some quality, go with ASrock, which is Asus' budget brand. People also say Gigabyte, but I read so many problems with them. It sounds really hit or miss.

I would recommend XFX for AMD GPUs, and EVGA for Nvidia GPUs. They both have great warranty service, and their cards aren't outrageously priced. It's more, but like $10 or something. I would also recommend shooting for the 4GB version of the R9 270X. It's less than $50 or so more, and there's already games that utilize more than 2GB of VRAM.

System RAM, buy it in a quantity that allows you to max the board out. If you buy 4GB sticks, you're basically saying, this board will not hold more than half its capacity without re-buying sticks of RAM. Just get the most condensed size RAM stick your board can take ... within reason. (If it could do 64GB, I wouldn't recommend getting a 16GB stick, as they're about $300). An 8GB stick, that's even faster than the RAM you have there, is only about $6 more. Just get an 8GB stick, not an 8GB Kit. I would even suggest, getting two 8GB sticks. It's become really apparent to myself while using my own system, that 8GB can actually get filled pretty quickly in the age of YouTube. 16GB would be beneficial, especially with an optimized pagefile configuration.

It would essentially mean, the system would never lock up from normal use.

Intel CPU. Yeah, it's fine. I'd go with AMD, especially if you wanted to save money, but I also think in the sub-$200 range, AMD chips are just better. If you look that CPU up, you'll find benchmarks declaring the Intel chip the victor, but they don't acknowledge actual system environments. They're benchmark environments. Which basically means, one application at a time. Intel is better at single threaded and single core performance. AMD is better at multi-core and multi-application performance. Which relates closer to real-world usage? Depends on the user. Myself, the AMD chip I have, which is slower than the AMD chip I'd suggest, is the FX 8320, hasn't ever hiccuped at all. I can't make it max out from normal applications. Running three games, HD videos, and a bunch of other shit? Yeah, no, they're all still running full speed, until Windows slows background processes down due to lack of focus.

I think Intel's main perk is if you want something higher end than what AMD can offer. The i5's aren't that. And, I can't actually think of a single normal application that would even benefit from the difference. If we're talking games, the GPU does the heavy lifting. So, even there, it would make sense to go with AMD, and dump the difference into the GPU. Then you'd have performance the Intel system you were going to build couldn't even dream of.

Look at SeaSonic power supplies also, they're kind of the best around, and EVGA PSU's are usually more. Also, pay for modularity. It's a godsend.

You want to max out the fans in the case. Anyplace where it says "supports optional fan" you'll need to buy a fan. It's not because its mandatory, but it'll give the components the best chance for longevity if they just have awesome air flow around them.

Well, those are the things I'd suggest. I'd be more than happy to suggest some specific parts. Though, your store restrictions are somewhat confusing. (It has to be bestbuy, but it isn't?)

[flex wood]

Basically my friend is an idiot that had microcenter build him PC then he had some software issue, threw a fit, got his money back and picked up a laptop only to return it when he realized that he couldn't use it to game. I'm not even sure why I agreed to build this for him or why I'm doing it for free but hey I'm a nice guy so why not. So yea he had $485 to spend at best buy. I don't know if you've ever looked at prices for PC components at best buy but they are extremely overpriced and they don't even stock any of it not even in their flagship store right down the street from bb corporate. Also they have the absolute worst online store to try to pick out components I have ever seen, almost no options to narrow results down in almost every category. Pcpp really made the whole parts list simple.

I've heard nothing but bad stuff about MSI. I actually have an Asrock mobo in my PC and am playing on going with a real Asus for when I plan on rebuilding my computer. Now that I think about it and I hate the coil whine from my MSI card. Not really sure why I didn't think that one through but it's too late on the mobo now but the video card will get changed for sure.

It's funny that you recommend xfx for amd, I always figured sapphire was the evga of radeon. The thing is he's going to mostly be playing dayz and probably world of warcraft so even the 2 GB of vram is still probably more then enough. Honestly he has some of the most uninformed opinions I've ever heard about video games and usually just complains about how every single game should be more like WoW.

As for ram I just don't see him doing any more than light web browsing and gaming so I think 8 will be perfect. I mean he doesn't even look up reviews for games before he buys them usually so I can't imagine him having enough programs open to even use 4 GB of ram.

The PSU now that was the cheapest one that was available at bb that wasn't a no name brand that was also 80 plus certified. I actually had a hard time trying to find anything that I couldn't just find cheaper online or just two miles away at microcenter and I didn't want to deal with price matching everything.

Fans! That's the other thing I wanted to look at. The case comes with 2 but both are exhausts so I was going to look into some half decent cheap fans to maybe fill up the rest or at least get a two pack to throw in the front to pull air in.

Thanks for the great reply dude. I might not be taking your advice now but when I finally decide to rebuild MY PC I'll definitely be looking to go kinda stupid high end and will probably go with a lot of it. Although you're not going to be able to talk me out of motherboard armor just because that shit looks cool.