PC build thread

[flex wood]

I would do this:

That system seems to be a bit constrained, no? The 500W PSU is pretty wimpy (minimum specs for the suggested GPU) and only 4GB of RAM seems to be a real bottleneck….I'd think he'd probably want to drop another $50 on RAM and another $40 or so on a bigger PSU.

I am myself wondering I can keep my 630W PSU for the new build or if I need to go bigger...

Eh I think 500w is prefect for that card as long as he doesn't use an AMD processor or over clock heavily. The 280s usually use around 230 watts at full load and I think most I5s are right around 100 watt power draw. Manufactures specs on recommended power supply wattage is always extremely higher than actually needed.

As for your power supply since you aren't over clocking I'd say that 630w is perfect for pretty much any card you pick. Especially since you said you want to go with Nvidia and their cards use a lot less power then AMD cards.

Actually now that we are talking power I'm curious what s1mple has in his setup.

[dsheinem]

I would do this:

That system seems to be a bit constrained, no? The 500W PSU is pretty wimpy (minimum specs for the suggested GPU) and only 4GB of RAM seems to be a real bottleneck….I'd think he'd probably want to drop another $50 on RAM and another $40 or so on a bigger PSU.

I am myself wondering I can keep my 630W PSU for the new build or if I need to go bigger...

Eh I think 500w is prefect for that card as long as he doesn't use an AMD processor or over clock heavily. The 280s usually use around 230 watts at full load and I think most I5s are right around 100 watt power draw. Manufactures specs on recommended power supply wattage is always extremely higher than actually needed.

As for your power supply since you aren't over clocking I'd say that 630w is perfect for pretty much any card you pick. Especially since you said you want to go with Nvidia and their cards use a lot less power then AMD cards.

If he wants to upgrade his card later, though, that will be another thing to pile on.

I always think of more memory and a better card as the two things I most likely will add to a new build later on, so I try pick other components (e.g. a PSU or CPU) that I think will be able to come along for the ride when starting a new build.

[flex wood]

If he wants to upgrade his card later, though, that will be another thing to pile on.

I always think of more memory and a better card as the two things I most likely will add to a new build later on, so I try pick other components (e.g. a PSU or CPU) that I think will be able to come along for the ride when starting a new build.

Actually power consumption should be going down when graphics cards start moving towards 20nm chippys. Even if it doesn't as a first build for Marlowe it is a great way to get his foot in the door since budget and knowledge is an issue. Him putting together a half decent system now will help further his know how of building and that build should last the majority of this gen. The upgrades you're suggesting aren't bad but are pretty simple upgrades further down the line when budget isn't an issue.

[noiseredux]

Sure, but I've had 4GB for 6 years or so and it doesn't really cut it for stuff now. I suppose it depends what he's looking to play.

I don't know if RAM is really what's not cutting it in your rig. I mean, you have DDR2 don't you, so maybe? But 4GB tends to be the required on everything. You don't see much of anything requiring more. I'd think that whatever it is that isn't cutting it in your build is probably more the CPU or GPU? I agree, he SHOULD upgrade to 8 as soon as he can. But 4 should cut it for plenty to get him started.

[dsheinem]

Sure, but I've had 4GB for 6 years or so and it doesn't really cut it for stuff now. I suppose it depends what he's looking to play.

I don't know if RAM is really what's not cutting it in your rig. I mean, you have DDR2 don't you, so maybe? But 4GB tends to be the required on everything. You don't see much of anything requiring more. I'd think that whatever it is that isn't cutting it in your build is probably more the CPU or GPU? I agree, he SHOULD upgrade to 8 as soon as he can. But 4 should cut it for plenty to get him started.

Well, looking at these two most recent big games:

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cy ... =11968&p=r

and

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cy ... =11845&p=r

4GB is less than the minimum for one and is the minimum for the other.

So if you want to play games from pre-2014, you're probably good with 4GB. Going forward, you'll want more.

[noiseredux]

Right. So basically what I was saying. Not much yet requires more than 4. He can upgrade when he needs to easily.

[dsheinem]

thoughts on this for a mobo/memory?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157511

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231746

[Cronozilla]

The primary thing to look at when looking for boards is what chipset does it have. That's the difference between most payment tiers. Beyond that, it's what brands do I want? I'd generally recommend Asus. Asrock, the ones I've tried are alright, but they're from when they were apart of Asus. MSI used to have great boards, but the last ones I used were not very good. A lot of people will swear by Biostar or Gigabyte. For your money, in terms of quality and after purchase support, I would only go with EVGA or Asus, personally. But they come at a slight premium.

With the LGA 1150 socket, you're looking at the Intel H97 and Z97 chipsets (currently), if you want 9 series, there's also 8 series, and you may be able to get some of those cheaper.

The main difference is, Z97 allows overclocking, the H97 doesn't. You might think, "why would I want to overclock", but if you want a front side bus that is faster than 1600 Mhz, you have to overclock on Intel (Might be 1333, now that I think about it).

The Z97 allows up to, currently, DDR3 3200 RAM. Where as the H97 stops at DDR3 1600. That's just going to allow you to get more performance later, for about $40 now.

And, you could get DDR3 1866 sticks for about $10 more than that set. It's something that'd be beneficial.

Something else to keep in mind is both of those chipsets enhance support for hybrid SSD and HDD drives, as well as SSD caching. Something that people might want to look into to get some extra speed if they need it.

At the end of the day, though, they're both considered "enthusiast" level chipsets. So they both have a lot of the same features. But, the primary difference, again, as far as I know, is the H97 can't OC at all. The Z97 will utilize unlocked CPUs.

[dsheinem]

The primary thing to look at when looking for boards is what chipset does it have. That's the difference between most payment tiers. Beyond that, it's what brands do I want? I'd generally recommend Asus. Asrock, the ones I've tried are alright, but they're from when they were apart of Asus. MSI used to have great boards, but the last ones I used were not very good. A lot of people will swear by Biostar or Gigabyte. For your money, in terms of quality and after purchase support, I would only go with EVGA or Asus, personally. But they come at a slight premium.

With the LGA 1150 socket, you're looking at the Intel H97 and Z97 chipsets (currently), if you want 9 series, there's also 8 series, and you may be able to get some of those cheaper.

The main difference is, Z97 allows overclocking, the H97 doesn't. You might think, "why would I want to overclock", but if you want a front side bus that is faster than 1600 Mhz, you have to overclock on Intel (Might be 1333, now that I think about it).

The Z97 allows up to, currently, DDR3 3200 RAM. Where as the H97 stops at DDR3 1600. That's just going to allow you to get more performance later, for about $40 now.

And, you could get DDR3 1866 sticks for about $10 more than that set. It's something that'd be beneficial.

Something else to keep in mind is both of those chipsets enhance support for hybrid SSD and HDD drives, as well as SSD caching. Something that people might want to look into to get some extra speed if they need it.

At the end of the day, though, they're both considered "enthusiast" level chipsets. So they both have a lot of the same features. But, the primary difference, again, as far as I know, is the H97 can't OC at all. The Z97 will utilize unlocked CPUs.

Yeah, I don't care about overclocking. Never have. That MB takes DDR3 1600, so I think I'll be fine for the 5 years or so that I want to be able to use it.

[Cronozilla]

Again, I'm not talking about CPU overclocking, and DDR3 1600 has been the standard for years and it's being edged out right now. It's just something to keep in mind.