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October, 2024

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NS computer builders, come hither.

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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
I want to build this summer probably. I've been drawing up components list and making it slightly cheaper each time. What are the computer nerds of NS running? Anybody know when there's going to be super deals going down? 4th of july sales?
Jun 18 2013 11:58AM
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SlurbnBeef
Posts: 1462 - Karma: 321
I actually built my gaming computer last year around this time. I have a good understanding on how the stuff works and such, and helped like 2 other NSers find their parts so if you need any help or want someone to go over your list of components just shoot me a PM I can help you out! As for deals, always be checking in on Newegg, by far the best place to shop for computer parts and they always seem to have deals going.
Jun 18 2013 12:18PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
just got mine put together last night

use pcpartspicker. site is crazy helpful
http://pcpartpicker.com/


also here is my specific build i just put together
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/16Rjr
Jun 18 2013 12:23PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
this is what i made just now, 800 bucks

it's a new hawell chip too. I believe that psu will work with that. Newegg has a section for psu's that work with new haswell chips and that was in there i think.
Jun 18 2013 12:30PM
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CashmereCat
Posts: 2211 - Karma: 2,394
Has anyone had experience with a water cooled pc? I may be building a new one soon and was looking into water cooling
Jun 18 2013 12:43PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Have you got a list of the components op I'm on my phone and can't see the list. I built my most recent workstation about a month ago so if you need any advice let me know.

And to guy wanting water cooling advice, are you looking to go full water or just a smaller hydro cooling unit like the h100?
Jun 18 2013 12:47PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
i think you only need liquid cooling if you're going to be overclocking. just get your airflow right and you should be just fine i'd imagine.
Jun 18 2013 12:47PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
It depends. If the CPU is going to be in constant use for example rendering 24/7 then water cooling can be goo in the long run. Good airflow is always inportant though. I use a hybrid system which uses both currently
Jun 18 2013 12:52PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
oh yeah, i figured only for gaming or something. If i was rendering stuff a lot i'd consider it. hyrbid sounds nice.
Jun 18 2013 1:01PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Just had a look at your list looks pretty good.

What are your main uses going to be for the computer?
Jun 18 2013 1:07PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
gaming, photo editing, general computer stuff, school work, potentially some 3d rendering of either longboard, surfboard builds or a protein modeling program. i figure i'd have to run windows to get most compatibility with stuff, and I could partition one for linux just cause i can. And probably eventually add another one of those hard drives for the sake of backup. I have a screen.
Jun 18 2013 1:16PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
well i would go with either EVGA or ASUS in terms of graphics cards plus right now i think you could get one of either of those for cheaper then the current card you have. EVGA ive heard some really good things about and my radeon Asus card is really well made.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42660kr
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx660dc2o2gd5

they had a deal on Newegg for the Asus for like 10% off and then the 20 dollar rebate. but I think that just expired.
Jun 18 2013 1:19PM
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.qzyxya
Posts: 1479 - Karma: -26
That psu stenches of rip off. Plus you shouldn't need 650w if you're not doing sli/crossfire
WD hdds are also pretty shit compared to seagate. Why spend $75 for 500gb when you could spend like $60 and get 1tb. They're even faster.
For gpu, the only reason to go nvidia is for CUDA support, but even with adobe cs6 they're moving to openCL, so something like a 7870 or 7950 would be much better. (I'm stuck with a 660 ti myself, silly adobe)
Overclock.net is a pretty nice place to get advice.

But what are the uses of the computer. For gaming or rendering or anything else it can totally change what you're going to want.


Jun 18 2013 1:19PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
also for the hard drive, wait for one of their email sales, i predict one in the next few days, and they will knock down a hard drive. I got my WD TB for like 65 bucks.
Jun 18 2013 1:22PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Well for what your after if you can an i7 would make a big difference. For just $100 more you could get the i7 3820. Its LGA 2011 so differnt mother board but the top end i7's are 2011 so it lets you upgrade in the future. The 3820 is 3.6GHz standard so much faster. If you want to stick with haswell you could get the i7 4770 for just $110 more. The benefit is hyperthreading. Basically it gives you twice the threads then an i5. So for multi threaded programs its the equivalent of two i5's for less then $100 more. Well worth it for rendering ect. I would go 3820 if I was you, but 4770 would be great too.

As for harddrives, if you can get a SSD just for os and programs. It will really speed things up. Does not need to be big, but if you can have a SSD then maybe you could get a WD blue 1TB drive. Twice the storage of the black but prob still less cost. I admit it will be more once you have the SSD too but it would be a good fast setup.
Jun 18 2013 1:22PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
With regards to PSU is that one modular? modular will definatly help with good airflow. I also noticed you have not got a CPU cooler on there.
Jun 18 2013 1:25PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
power supply is modular and someone told me to ge that wattage but parts picker says around 300w so i'll have to look. i don't need hyperthreading.
Jun 18 2013 1:29PM
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eheath
Posts: 61604 - Karma: 123,113
I highly suggest buying a SSD for your boot drive, it makes a word of differnece. I have 120gb ssd and its almost too small, but it works. If you can afford a 256 do it for sure, but at least a 120/180gb ssd will make your computer cruise, i highly recommend it. Then you can go for a lower end hhd to go along with it.

Also, you should bump up to 16gb of ram, its pretty cheap to add another 2x4tb.

I don't know much about your processor, is it better than the 3550k? bigger number usually means newer and better but I thought i'd just ask.
Jun 18 2013 1:35PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
more power is a good thing, but you still want to keep you loads about 70-80% to get the efficiency of a lot of the 80 plus standards. if your're using a huge amount less power then your psu supplies you might be negatively effected.

I picked up a 650W psu, but im also running a power hungry 8350 and if I overclock i might need the extra juice. but im also only running on video card off a 6 pin power cable.


make sure your case has good cable management, I overlooked that with this case and regret it quite a bit.
Jun 18 2013 1:38PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Why do you say you don't need hyperthreading? Do you know what it does?

Psu sounds good. No point buying low then needing to upgrade later.

And yeah listen to ehv about ssd
Jun 18 2013 1:51PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
And about ram. I would go 2x8gb though that way you have room for expansion when you want to go 32gb. If you get 4x4 you will need to replace them all if you want to upgrade
Jun 18 2013 1:53PM
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.qzyxya
Posts: 1479 - Karma: -26
I'd go to a reputable site and look at a comparison of power supplies. I'm pretty sure seagates are still some of the best, but it could have changed. $100 bucks for a 650w seems way too much, but idk.
Jun 18 2013 1:55PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
100 for a fully modular gold rated is pretty good. I went corsair modular just bronze but it cost more then that, so I would say its pretty good.
Jun 18 2013 1:57PM
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fortyvalve
Posts: 1442 - Karma: 1,573
figured i'd post here and not clog up nsg; i'm familiar with computers but not building, so if someone could put like a general list of recommended specs for building a computer focused on visual design and gaming, running photoshop/illustrator/after effects/premiere simultaneously. like if i pick the 8 core CPU, would i need to pick a higher RPM CPU cooler so it could keep up with it?
Jun 18 2013 2:01PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Well for adobe for example it's recommended that you have at least 2gb of ram per thread. So if you had a 8core CPU with hyperthreading you would want 32gb as the CPU would have 16threads. So if you go quad i7 go at least 16gb. This should work fairly well for you. Cooler wise, stock coolers will work obviously but aftermarket ones will give you better cooling which could mean longer longevity.
Jun 18 2013 2:06PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
wattage doesn't matter as much as the voltage on the rails, and how many rails.

Jun 18 2013 2:31PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
I could go more ram but multitasking won't be huge for me, nor do games or anythign i do really need 16gb ram. I dont need the i7. games don't make use of hypertheading yet. some programs do, i'm guessing cs6 might but I don't have that. I'll edit photos in gimp or cs2, which i do have cause they gave it away free. Advanced photoshop is nice and all but i don't need it.

I'm doing a price to performance thing here, the power increases for better parts in most cases is small while the price increase is great.

if i had cash (so eventually) i'd have two regular hd's, one for use one for backup, and an SSD for the OS and any games i'm playing at the time and other frequently used things.
Jun 18 2013 2:31PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
also, for all your charts and stuff, www.tomshardware.com

so many charts and comparisons to find what is the best for what




also, for the kid who wanted info on water cooling, www.overclock.net
Jun 18 2013 2:32PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
For $100 more going i7 is the best performance to cost ratio. Basically if you have hyperthreading, rather then just having 4 cores like the i5, its 8, so twice as fast. Add too that, they are both faster to begin with, so you are getting a CPU which is more then twice as fast for less then 50% more on top. It really is worth it, more then any thing else you could spend the money on.

Ram wise if your really going to be using Photoshop only then its not hugely important, but if you get into 3d or after effects thats when you will want it, but that is easy to upgrade later if you need it.

But really spend just a bit more on the CPU, you will not regret it.
Jun 18 2013 2:39PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
ehh, i'll consider it. But I don't need the 8 cores or faster performance. it's not like the i5 is slow.
Jun 18 2013 3:04PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Its not slow no, but why go more then half as slow for just a little saving. The CPU is the main power of the computer so if you spend on anything make it the CPU.

You can save money on the GPU, that will do barly anything for what you are doing. Infact for photoshop CS2 the built in hd graphics would be fine.
Jun 18 2013 3:12PM
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gusestomp
Posts: 1377 - Karma: 746
I think you're gonna bottleneck with the components you have. The GPU is stronger than all of the other parts you have I think.

And the new haswell chips need a new power supply? Wow, I'm not familiar with the new intel chips.
Jun 18 2013 3:16PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
they need one on a list that can deal with the new Haswell chips to get the benefit.

From my understanding the Haswell chips are really efficient in terms of power. And at the lower end some more powerful power supplies won't support that lower power usage so you have to sacrifice that feature
Jun 19 2013 12:58PM
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mt.hemel
Posts: 115 - Karma: 1,150
I didn't want to make a new thread so I thought I would join in this one. Is there anything you would recommend or change on this list of components? Comes to about £1500 with peripherals.


Case: Corsair 300R

Mother Board: Asus P8Z77V-LX

Processor: i7 3770k

Heatsync Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212

GPU: GTX 660 Ti

OS drive: 240GB Corsair Neutron

Storage: WD Caviar Black 2TB

Ram: 2x8GB Low Profile Vengence Ram

PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX600

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB

Card Reader: IcyBox Multiport Front Panel

Cooling: Corsair 120mm air series twin pack


Jun 19 2013 3:18PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
with that CPU cooler I recomend going with the EVO version at least if your aren't already because the heatpipes are together on the base for better thermal paste application and better thermals as well.

this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

over

this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065


I have a CoolerMaser Hyper N520 and I frankly love it. My CPU while not being overclocked at all yet is pretty cold with it and I didn't have an issue installing it. Maybe for your build which is a more expensive build, it might be wise to look into water cooling, as its quieter and more efficient plus with that case you have prime rel-estate for a radiator I've heard great things about corsairs H-100
Jun 19 2013 3:30PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
The h100 is great, it's wht I am currently using, but you do need a fairly big case. The radiator needs either the fans below or above it which means you need a case which can fit all that above the motherboard. I have the cooler master 609 case and it fits well. I have the radiator mounter to the top of the case and then the two fans mounted above on the top panel. Fits well and gives great cooling. It helps a lot with the general airflow too as you don't have a huge heat sink and fans in the middle if the case. Well worth looking into.

Other then that the build looks good.
Jun 19 2013 3:40PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
well i said it due to his case choice.
Jun 19 2013 3:42PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
It won't fit in a 300r case unfortunately. Not without modding it to fit in the front where the hd bays are. The smaller h60 will fit but not the 100
Jun 19 2013 3:50PM
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t-roy
Posts: 4041 - Karma: 52
if you aren't in a rush to build it, check newegg daily for new rebates and deals.

slickdeals.com also has pc components come up as deals. i see deals on cases, GPUs and RAM a lot.
Jun 19 2013 4:38PM
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Bagina
Posts: 849 - Karma: 2,888
EVGA is what I use, super great price and it runs like baws. I recommend getting and EVGA graphics card. Also look into an AMD processor over intel.
Jun 19 2013 5:21PM
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eheath
Posts: 61604 - Karma: 123,113
ahhhh no.
Jun 19 2013 5:22PM
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.qzyxya
Posts: 1479 - Karma: -26
Just because the i7s will have hyper threading and technically twice as many cores doesn't mean it will actually preform twice as fast. Most programs aren't optimized to take advantage of that many cores.
also, please don't get a 660. amd's gpus are much better. (inb4 downvoting nvidia fanboys)
Jun 19 2013 5:23PM
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Bagina
Posts: 849 - Karma: 2,888
For value, yes. He's not going to need a Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition Sandy Bridge-E 3.5GHz. There are so many better processors value wise when it comes to AMD.
Jun 19 2013 5:31PM
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whoa-dere
Posts: 10596 - Karma: 7,103
how do i know if a component is going to fit in a case?
Jun 19 2013 5:37PM
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eheath
Posts: 61604 - Karma: 123,113
You just named one of their top end processors, the 3530k and 3770k are both great processors for a good price. amd processors are garbage, why do you think a 8 core amd costs the same as a 3770k?
Jun 19 2013 5:42PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,248
put your money where your mouth is, QZYXYA. Lets see some info
Jun 19 2013 5:44PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
It depends on what you use the computer for. If its for video or 3d you won't find many program's which can't utilise multi threading at least for rendering. Rendering is the biggest time consumer aspect of video so if you can save time there its defiantly worth it. Also if he wants this computer to still be relevant in a year or two he may as well get it as most applications are adding multi threading support.

I won't comment on the GeForce cards as I don't use them any more. But I am on quadro rather then fire pro. Certainly for workstation cards quadro is the way to go, but I have never gamed on a pc so if that your thing and may be the way to go
Jun 19 2013 7:10PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7147 - Karma: 17,507
Amd may be the way to go that should say at the end.
Jun 19 2013 7:13PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
well it depends on which one, what processor you're using plus the use you are using for the gpu.

As cuda cores and stream processors are pretty much the same thing just optimized for different programs. Like OpenGL for amd processors and adobe stuff usually working better on nvidia

Then you factor overclockability plus which can also be related to the manufacture that makes it as well as the nvidia processors work better with intel CPUs and ATI(which is now AMD) work better with AMD processors.

Certain games and programs utilize AMD cpus better and others use nvidias better


as for AMD vs Intel. Intels top of the line blows AMD out of the water in terms of price and power. They are also more efficient in terms of power plus they have better single core performance. I was looking into some of the top of the line mobo from ASUS with the new haswell chips and they have some crazy sick features, but also while cost you quite a bit too.

Low to Mid end is straight up AMD though. They might suffer in single core performance but you usually get more bang for your buck . Their APUs are pretty sick if you're going on a budget. None of their Mobos actually have PCI 3.0 even though some of their cards do but the difference isn't that bad and they are backwards compatible.


I got a AMD FX 8350 and love it. Much cheaper then an i7 but has better multitasking capabilities to the i7 but severely lacks in single core performance. I'm still not having any problems at running games at max settings.
Jun 19 2013 10:28PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
I have the 8350, it was much cheaper then a 3770k. I got it on sale for 179. then you factor in the cheaper price for the mobo. It's really good bang for your buck in terms of gaming, and the multicore performance while lacks in single core performance still will perform well for programs that are optimized for multicore performance which is becoming more and more standard.

Intel is great with artsy fartsy crap you probably use more often.


though a 3770K right now is 319 while the top of the line amd is 179 on sale....he could get an i3 for a bit less or an i5 for a bit more, both of which can be argued to be close to that of the AMD, but also ive seen some comparisons where the AMD does better in certain circumstances then even the 3770K.

It'll give you a lot of the mobo features with the 3770K are much better too, the ethernet, the audio, and then they have wifi, bluetooth, thunderbolt(which is an intel creation) as well as many others things that AMD mobos lack. hell AMD mobos don't even have PCI express 3.0. But again at a price.
Jun 19 2013 10:37PM
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Parrish
Posts: 8695 - Karma: 1,009
sorry for the triple post but for those curious of some of the haswell features in terms of the new mobos I found this video very intriguing, even though I can't afford a haswell system.




also this is where im getting my info on the 8350 besides my personal use currently




same guys, but I generally like their opinions on things, and they seem to know what they are talking about. and they don't seem too biased. And the information video about the mobos is with the ASUS rep that really knows his shit about their mobos and the chipsets. Thus why I highly recommend ASUS board as they are a bit more expensive, but they make really good shit.
Jun 19 2013 10:41PM
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