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Buying a New Desktop computer


Jenksismyhero

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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 03:23 PM)
The only reason I ask is that I can spend an extra 20 bucks and get the unlocked i5 chip. If it's something I might eventually do (i.e., easy enough to do) I'll just do that. My ATI Radeon graphics card from back in the day had that feature and it rarely worked properly.

 

I think the unlocked version has HD3000 graphics instead of HD2000. It's a pretty substantial difference if you were at all considering using the integrated graphics for at least a little while.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-san...-2100-tested/11

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I have built a couple systems from newegg parts and consider them to be the gold standard for on line businesses. Never a problem. My son just built one and he loves it. It has become much easier than crawling on the floor looking for jumper pins and trying to figure out setting that do not conflict with each other.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I ended up buying a bunch of parts to build my own. I'll be one of those nerdy kids on message boards and post my specs:

 

Processor: INTEL CORE I5 3570K

 

Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H (Z77 LGA1155)

 

Video Card: SAPPHIRE AMD HD6850

 

Power: ROSEWILL RG530-S12 530W

 

Memory: 4GB X2 PATRIOT DDR3 1600

 

SSD Drive: 60G OCZ SATAIII

 

HDD: 500G WD SATAIII

 

All for $755 with tax/shipping and about $55 bucks in rebates/credits, a free $50 game (Dirt 3) and a free 1 year additional warranty on the power supply. My only "regret" is that the power supply is 530W and if I ever wanted to add a 2nd AMD card and do the whole crossfire thing it's technically supposed to have 600W. I might try it out, or worst case just buy another 50-60 dollar power supply. With my current AMD card I always intended to get a second one but never did, so chances are I'll never do it.

 

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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ May 8, 2012 -> 09:24 AM)
So I ended up buying a bunch of parts to build my own. I'll be one of those nerdy kids on message boards and post my specs:

 

Processor: INTEL CORE I5 3570K

 

Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H (Z77 LGA1155)

 

Video Card: SAPPHIRE AMD HD6850

 

Power: ROSEWILL RG530-S12 530W

 

Memory: 4GB X2 PATRIOT DDR3 1600

 

SSD Drive: 60G OCZ SATAIII

 

HDD: 500G WD SATAIII

 

All for $755 with tax/shipping and about $55 bucks in rebates/credits, a free $50 game (Dirt 3) and a free 1 year additional warranty on the power supply. My only "regret" is that the power supply is 530W and if I ever wanted to add a 2nd AMD card and do the whole crossfire thing it's technically supposed to have 600W. I might try it out, or worst case just buy another 50-60 dollar power supply. With my current AMD card I always intended to get a second one but never did, so chances are I'll never do it.

 

You should double that amount of ram...it'll only cost about ~50$. also, make sure you get a 64 bit version of Windows...I assume you will be running Windows, as you don't appear to be much of a Linux type. ;)

Edited by Y2HH
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QUOTE (Y2HH @ May 8, 2012 -> 10:15 AM)
You should double that amount of ram...it'll only cost about ~50$. also, make sure you get a 64 bit version of Windows...I assume you will be running Windows, as you don't appear to be much of a Linux type. ;)

 

I've got some from my old computer i'm going to put in this, so i'll have 12gb total.

 

And I got a sweet deal on my Windows. $40 bucks. A buddy of mine works with Microsoft and can buy a copy from them directly. Saved me $60 bucks from buying a new copy on newegg.com

 

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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ May 8, 2012 -> 11:00 AM)
I've got some from my old computer i'm going to put in this, so i'll have 12gb total.

 

And I got a sweet deal on my Windows. $40 bucks. A buddy of mine works with Microsoft and can buy a copy from them directly. Saved me $60 bucks from buying a new copy on newegg.com

 

If you are mixing ram, you have to make sure they run at the same speeds, or all of your ram will run slow...new memory is usually 1333mhz+, your old memory might be half that...

 

Memory: 4GB X2 PATRIOT DDR3 1600

 

Edit: That's 1600mhz memory. If your old memory isn't 1600 (and I doubt it is), don't mix them. ;)

 

Whatever the case on Windows, just make sure its 64bit -- if it's not, you'll only have about 3 gigs of usable memory (with your gfx memory), regardless of how much ram you actually have installed.

Edited by Y2HH
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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ May 10, 2012 -> 02:04 PM)
Sigh, got all my parts yesterday, took it home and meticulously dismantled/cleaned my old computer case......and then realized the mobo doesn't fit. Thanks Gateway. Assholes.

 

Bro, I warned you that companies like Dell/gateway make proprietary cases. They don't want you making anything for yourself.

 

Oh well, now you can get a new case which will almost certainly look nicer than the Gateway box.

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QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ May 10, 2012 -> 03:48 PM)
Bro, I warned you that companies like Dell/gateway make proprietary cases. They don't want you making anything for yourself.

 

Oh well, now you can get a new case which will almost certainly look nicer than the Gateway box.

 

Honestly I thought I could just jerry-rig the thing in there. I probably could have if i bought the micro board, but oh well. I got a pretty cool looking case for $50 bucks that came with like 4 fans. This way I can keep the old machine up and running as a movie server or something for the TV, so win-win I suppose.

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QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 10, 2012 -> 04:16 PM)
Mounting holes usually aren't the same for proprietary cases. MicroATX boards have the same mounting pattern as ATX but just a few less screws since they're smaller.

 

The Gateway case I have literally could not fit the board in there. The two expansion bay slots for the hard drives and optical drives got in the way.

 

New question re: overlocking. I got that gigabyte mobo and it looks like the overclocking is pretty easy to do. Is there a danger that overclocking ruins components/wears them out faster? And by danger, I mean like a proven danger where it's expected that a component will lose 20% off its life? Seems like all of these parts are specifically marketed to be overclocked. Is it just a matter of making sure the temperatures stay within the acceptable range?

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Running chips at higher speeds increases the thermal loading (heat). If your system currently has excess cooling capacity, you shouldn't even notice a temp increase, but your fans will be running more. Generally, though, you can expect case temps to be a little higher. This does reduce the longevity of components in the case, but a few degrees shouldn't matter too much.

 

edit: this is if you're just adjusting multipliers and clock speed, which is the easy way to do it. If you start getting into messing with voltages, you can easily fry your chip.

Edited by StrangeSox
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