how much better is a dedicated sound card compared to the mobo's integrated sound?
also do you really need a 1000 watt power supply? unless pound-equivalent of $32 or $52 is immaterial.
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how much better is a dedicated sound card compared to the mobo's integrated sound?
also do you really need a 1000 watt power supply? unless pound-equivalent of $32 or $52 is immaterial.
a decent sound card makes a difference if you have a decent pair of speakers/headphones that plug into the sound card.
my number one rule when building pcs, or giving advice to people building pcs, is this. overspend on the psu.
getting a decent brand will ensure it doesn't fuck up on you, and if it does you have a nice warrentee (sp?). also, it allows you to be sure you're ok for power, should you want to upgrade in the future. whether it be a new graphics card, new hdd, a 2nd graphics card...it will need more power.
i've seen 2 people now who have just "lol ya wateva man ill just get wat i barely need itll b fine" and then when they decide they want to upgrade, buy thier shit, nothing works. oh look your psu isn't powerful enough HAHAHA FUCKING BELLEND SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO ME RIGHT??HUH?????COCK.
uh
yeah so, no i don't need it but its a good rule of thumb for future proofing. i am thinking about possibly doing xfire sometime in the distant future so yeah.
1200 GBP for that computer that doesn't come with a video card? Yeah, nope.
A week in, my build is running perfectly fine. I'll need to upgrade my PSU and video card eventually. I'm glad I finally have an i5 though because my GTX 460 was feeling the bottlenecking. Now my video card is working near full load for DotA2 :]. I only have a 500W PSU, I'm gonna upgrade to 700W eventually and either run SLI GTX 460 or get a more expensive card. That'll be a while from now though.
This guy makes sense.
I like OCZ lately. I took a shot in the dark with them a few years ago after swearing by their RAM products, and ended up jumping on the OCZ bandwagon as well. They are clean (come with detachable wires that are already wrapped for a cleaner look), not really overpriced, and I never had a problem with them. Never had an issue with their memory either.
Onboard audio has some a very long way and works just fine for the average user.
I am going to use my current graphics card. Figured may as well spend on other luxuries if I already had a graphics card sorted.
I spent quite a bit on silent shit because my brother is a wanker with super hearing and our house is made of rice paper.
Harner: I only got an ssd for the OS, so figured it wasn't worth splashing out on a really nice one, since it won't get much use. If it fails, I can just reinstall windows on a new drive.
I would like to buy a bigger ssd, but I just can't afford it. I'm getting a 40gb ssd though for windows, and a z68 mobo, so I assume windows will take up like 10gb, I might set up intel smart response with the other 30gb, which would be a nice medium between ssd speed and hdd capacity.
Apparently it increases speed by up to 60% compared to systems with no ssds. So yeah that's what I'm thinking.
Also I know nothing about ssds so i just got the basic one.
Depends on the quality of the integrated sound on the mobo and the quality of the sound card. The prices of the mobo and the sound card will tell you. Higher quality mobos come with THX kind of stuff, not high priced sound card quality. but better then the low ends.
Well, I sat down and built up a list I really like. I been looking into the i7, but I'm going to pass. While hyperthreading sounds really neat, I don't really have much of a need for it, yet. Maybe in a year or two, I will build a new computer and spend more for something like this or whatever is the latest and greatest. As for the GTX 570 or 580, I'm going to pass on that too. Ideally, I wanted to play on ultra graphics though I'm not going to be using a good monitor and high graphics will be fine. As sponge and Nick 2.1 mentioned earlier, if for some odd reason I don't like the graphics I'll return it or SLI that bitch. Also, I upped the power supply because I think that's what I might need if I decide to use two graphic cards or upgrade other parts. I got a cheaper case because looks is the least important thing to me. My main concern is fitting everything in and good airflow.
So I got this in around $1318 compared to my old list of 1297 that was priced without monitor and keyboard/mouse. I'm going to start ordering in a couple of days unless anyone wants to suggest getting something else.
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($179.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1.25GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Case: XClio WTBK ATX Full Tower Case ($89.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 700W ATX12V Power Supply ($101.74 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Hannspree HF225DPB 21.5" Monitor ($118.99 @ Mac Connection)
Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Combo MK260 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1226.62
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-01-21 21:11 EST-0500)
As much as I wanted to build some kind of awesome gaming rig, I'll settle for less and ultimately enjoy the learning experience I got from all of you and this thread. I learned and still am learning a lot about computers. The next big hurdle will be ordering and putting it together then maybe upgrading components or utilizing SLI. In about a year or two I'll aim at a budget of $2000, and this one will go to my little sister or my lesser fortunate cousins in the Philippines. Once again, thanks everyone for your awesome advise.
Looks pretty good, you don't need 1600MHz ram, but it's only a 7 dollar difference for the 1333MHz ram. Stock GTX 570s aren't very good at overclocking in case you decide to try it sometime.
So I was checking my bank account and well I decided to go with some changes......
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 580 3GB Video Card ($537.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 850W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($183.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Sony BD-5300S Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($89.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VE276Q 27.0" Monitor ($273.42 @ Mac Connection)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) ($138.99 @ B&H)
Keyboard: Logitech K800 Wireless Slim Keyboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G700 Wireless Laser Mouse ($76.57 @ Amazon)
Total: $2260.74
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-01-25 06:58 EST-0500)
lol just an extra grand, no big deal.
yeah if you're going to spend that much then yeah, no point moaning about what you don't need and value for money etc.
specs look good, will run everything on max for years to come.
nice choice on the high speed ram.
maybe get different keyboard and mouse? really just personal preference though so...i have a friend who is semi pro at sc and swears by logitech mice. i prefer razer.
Looks good! I am a Logitech fan and really like their mice. The only thing I would have done different was bump up to a 10000 RPM drive, maybe even smaller. You can upgrade down the road, as well.
I would keep the size at 1tb really; you will use it eventually.
but yeah 10k rpm would be nice.
You don't need 3GB VRAM for a 1080P screen. Past 1.5GB for that monitor won't make a difference.
Also, if you have time to wait, the GTX 700 series will be coming out soon enough.
VRAM isn't just used as a frame buffer (which is proportional in size to screen resolution), it also provides fast access to textures, and likely other things.
That's memory clock speed and bandwidth, not the actual amount of ram.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...-2,1292-7.html
Well, there is a 60" 3D TV in the room, so I could probably use that. I can't remember if it is plasma or LCD as I haven't nor has anyone used it much, and it is going to be right next to where I plan on setting up the computer.
So clarify this for a computer noob.
The 128 MB with 256-bit memory will be faster as long as the RAM usage doesn't exceed 128 MB, but the 512 MB model at 64-bit memory will not move as fast but in the overall scheme of things handle larger textures. Really, that's just a bunch of a numbers, and I wish that article came with a visual representation. So if I were to play Skyrim or BFBC2 with ultra settings with the first card mentioned it wouldn't look as good but the 2nd card would but maybe there would be something noticeable about the way it loads or handles throughout gameplay? idkQuote:
Considering the amount of RAM, note that a graphics card with 128 MB of 256-bit memory would have much higher memory performance than a 512 MB model with 64-bit memory.
I looked at my card at it says 384-bit.
The article is from a few years ago, but it's still the same principle. The amount of memory is how much you can see, memory bandwidth and memory clock is how fast things become rendered.
I've always loved using a TV as my computer monitor. I had a 36" LCD that worked great when my computer monitor shit out on me.
I played WoW for a few days at my ex's brother's place on a 72" TV, not sure if it was Plasma or LCD, but I imagine it was LCD because I didn't have to find a sweet spot to sit in.
The problem with TVs is they sometime have a lower response time, which results in ghosting, but if it's a newish tv then it should be fine.
I have a 2gb GTX 460 on a 22" monitor.. how does that extra GB of ram fare out for me?
Damn bitches I never got my rebate. It was $120AR (was same price as the 1gb at the time so that's why I picked it) Though I suppose I probably didn't have to go with Zotac.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500182
The inches of your monitor doesn't mean anything, the resolution does. For 1920x1080 VRAM past 1GB makes minor difference, past 1.5GB makes almost no difference.
Well, everything is here. Click for the full image.
http://madpinorage.com/virgins/var/t...G?m=1328227472http://madpinorage.com/virgins/var/t...G?m=1328227753
Six days free of any obligations... or so I thought. I spent quite a while reading the various instruction manuals and curiously studying the parts. I've overcome the feeling that this is an incredibly daunting task because its my first time and everything cost quite a bit of cash. Now I'm fairly confident and just want to get this done. I started yesterday, but as soon as I put in the power supply I get interrupted. So now I have the open case with the power supply install. I was about ready to install the motherboard, CPU, and the CPU cooler but I've been interrupted again. I won't be able to work on it now until Sunday afternoon. I think I might just not answer my phone or the door and become a hermit until Tuesday so I can get this done.
Install the optical drives and hard drives before hand. Install the memory and cpu+heatsink to the motherboard before installing into the case(preferably on it's side while doing this. Make sure the screw fits are in the case before putting the motherboard in the case(little copper fittings).
Yewouch thats a fat card. Well I only can run at 1680x1050 anyways, I'd love to buy a new monitor and tv but not sure what to do with the old monitor and tv I have, guess I could resell.
Is there any danger mixing ram sticks? I got 2x4gb Kingston DDR3-1333 Ram, and I was looking to grab 2 more sticks, but was maybe thinking G.series ripjaw, or should I stick to buy the same two identical sticks.
I really feel like I need more ram, maybe the ram I got is shitty or something? I'm not sure.. I seem to be having issues now.
I just opened up task manager, and I have 5.78GB of ram being used. Currently, I have 8 tabs of youtube videos buffered (45 minutes worth of videos to watch), and then those 2 pictures up above, about 4 tabs of casual discourse threads, and a tab of facebook.
I also have Skype, uTorrent, iTunes, AIM, mIRC, Logitech G-series profiler, Steam, and PS3 Media Server (takes about 700mb or so of ram to stream to my PS3 or something like that I believe).
I really don't get it, because I used to run all this shit when I had 4gb of DDR2 Ram, and now my usage has spiked way up. Should I maybe invest in some better ram? Probably just end up getting 16gb of G.series or something, but I have no clue. It worries me that my ram usage is so high, and I usually would be running a video game with all these chrome tabs and applications open.
I would say it idles around 3gb with chrome closed, all my apps open though.
Also I have Avast, MSE, and Adaware running in the background. Should I be dumping Avast and Adaware all together and stick solely to MSE? I just started using it so I'm not sure how much I can trust it compared to my trusty Avast.
^ I mean that's probably my problem there... if anyone could follow up with a suggestion :p. Though adding up the numbers, all 3 barely even add up to 100,000 mb.
You have too much shit running at once, I usually don't go above 2GB or ram unless I'm playing a video game. I have Chrome, MPC and uTorrent running right now. Make sure to a reformat once a year so you don't get a bunch of background programs running at once.
No, takes an hour, just get an external hard drive and put all your stuff on it and the .EXEs you need to install after (drivers and main programs).
Maybe during spring break when I have the time, don't want to be losing some things in the middle of a semester :P.
But yeah, I just recently did a clean install of Windows 7 on my moms computer, only boots using 500mb ram.. T_T.
This is good advice, although I never follow it.
I tried to keep my background programs to a minimum, but after 6 years or so I find myself running a lot of shit in the background that I actually use so...
This is one of the reasons why I think 4gb ram isn't enough anymore.
edit: atm i'm using 2.75gb ram. =s
It's the only reason I'd recommend more then 4GB, never reformatting builds up.
idd it does.
i'm just lazy really. I think i've reformatted once in the past 6 years.
That makes me feel physically ill. I reformat once I notice performance issues.
The lowest I can seem to get to is 2.7gb at idle, and i've closed basically everything. T_T
Even though I'm sure they're only slightly related...
I calculated everything in the Memory column of Processes in my Task manager, and only adds up to about 900mb. Hopefully it's not a memory leak, and that that column is missing a few vital things that is supposed to make it add up to 2.7gb.
I rebooted and it's at 2.6gb with a lot of my junk open (steam/AIM/skype/etc).
So I'm not even sure I have everything connected in the right spot. I thought I did. Well, I plugged in the power supply, switched it on, and tried turning on the computer. Nothing. No sound, nothing moved. I guess I'll look through the manuals to see if there is anything that can guide me with the wiring. Or maybe it is something else. Maybe one of the parts is dead. Maybe the power supply is dead. I wouldn't know how to go about checking that. Argh. I'm frustrated. >:|