PC build thread

[marurun]

The problem with swapping out the mobo is that it is such a PAIN. You effectively have to almost disassemble your whole PC to replace it. I do not recommend getting a cheaper mobo with plans to upgrade it later. Get the motherboard that supports the feature set you want at the level of quality you think you need (typically this just means buying an appropriate model from a reputable mfr). Make sure it has an appropriate level of expandability. Don't invest in features that seem "fun" or "cool" because, chances are, they will actually do nothing for you. And don't pay more than you have to.

I actually encourage buying a cheaper video card as long as it runs what you want to run right now. Though they are a little expensive to upgrade, they are EASY to upgrade, so long as you were forward-looking when you picked your mobo and power supply. And you don't want to be stuck unwilling to upgrade later, even when it would be a good idea, because you paid so much for your last card that you have to get your value out of it.

I also encourage not skimping on the CPU. Get what you need, and not less.

As long as you have a good backup plan, you can easily add hard drives. So go for quality over capacity. If you can't afford a high quality 1TB drive, get a high quality 500GB drive, and then add another one later when you start running out of space.

Memory is easy and cheap to add after the fact (as long as you don't wait so long your memory is no longer available affordably on the market). Don't screw yourself on memory, though. If you get a mobo with only 2 memory slots, don't buy 2 2-GB sticks to get the dual-channel speeds if you know a year down the road you have to toss those sticks because you don't have any slots free when it's time to upgrade. Either go for 4 slots, or only get a single memory stick so that when you DO upgrade, you'll get a speed boost AND more memory.

That's my advice, FWIW.

[dsheinem]

"As long as you get me a speedier new laptop, just get whatever" she said.




CPU
-Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I74790K

GPU
-EVGA 03G-P4-3784-KR GeForce GTX 780 3GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Dual FTW w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card

MOBO
-GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM
-G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM

HD
-ADATA Premier Pro SP600 ASP600S3-256GM-C 2.5" 256GB SATA 6Gb/s MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
-Seagate Desktop HDD.15 ST4000DM000 4TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

PSU
-Thermaltake Toughpower TPD-0750M - SLI/ CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Gold Certification and Semi Modular Cables Black Active PFC Power Supply Intel Haswell Ready (PS-TPD-0750MPCGUS-1)

Monitor:
-BenQ GL2760H Black 27" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor TN Panel

KB/MOUSE:
-RAZER Blackwidow Ultimate 2014 RZ03-00384600-R3U1 Black Gaming Elite Mechanical Keyboard
-Razer DeathAdder 2013 Ergonomic PC Gaming Mouse

[TSTR]

^Sick build, Dave.

[dsheinem]

^Sick build, Dave.

Thanks

And thanks to folks here and via IM that helped me think through some choices. I went with brands that I've used and trusted in the past, and I tried to make it fairly future proof (for the entirety of the new console generation, at least). I feel confident in most of the choices I made and where i spent or saved money, but am a bit curious how the 4TB drive will perform since it has some mixed reviews, but it was quite cheap and should be a good place to store all my music/videos/isos/games/etc.

Quick question: I know Steam lets you install to diff places upon download, but is there an easy way to transfer stuff between drives (is it just c/p folders?)? I was thinking I may keep a few of the games that I use most often on the SSD but would like to be able to easily transfer them between the SSD and the regular, slower drive as needed without Steam getting all confused and without having to redownload them. For example, if I wanted to transfer Bioshock Infinite or Titanfall (~50GB) to the SSD for a month or so and then transfer it back to the standard HD, is this fairly unproblematic?

[noiseredux]

Impressive!

Also be sure you format the HDD correctly, else Windows will only see 2TB's of it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/28229 ... e-internal

[s1mplehumar]

You did good, Dave. Real good. You're all set for the Witcher 3.

[flex wood]

Dave looking nice!

Your question about moving games, you can't copy paste games because steam won't know the path to get to the games after they are moved. BUT! There is a program called steam mover that will move the games and change the pathing. This only works for steam games though so Titanfall and other Origin games you are kind of screwed on though. Although maybe if you change the install location you could move the games manually and Origin would figure it out but you would have to move every game on Origin to have access to them.

[dsheinem]

Dave looking nice!

Your question about moving games, you can't copy paste games because steam won't know the path to get to the games after they are moved. BUT! There is a program called steam mover that will move the games and change the pathing. This only works for steam games though so Titanfall and other Origin games you are kind of screwed on though. Although maybe if you change the install location you could move the games manually and Origin would figure it out but you would have to move every game on Origin to have access to them.

What a pain in the ass on the Origin stuff. I'll check that program when the time comes for Steam, perhaps…

I guess the other question is how much does the SSD get me for loading times on games (given the other components above)? Would it be worth the hassle?

[Jmustang1968]

Nice Dave, now you are really in the elitist PC snob club.

[noiseredux]

you should be able to run Wolfenstein: The New Order now. Do your new PC a favor, and do that.