The New Hardware Thread

[Rapture_Rising]

I thought i would revive the old hardware thread, post any new hardware you have bought, anything from a new USB stick to a brand spanking new PC.

Anyways to get the ball rolling, i thought it was time for new video card. My old EVGA GTX 680 is now two generations old and it was having some BSOD issues with the latest drivers so i have retired my old friend after many, many gaming sessions.

I have bought an MSI GTX 980, been saving up for this baby for months now.

[fast-1]

Belkin ADSL In-Line Filter. But when the modem is on and I use the telephone, I hear the internet sound.

[Rapture_Rising]

I got my new TV today.

It's a 50" TCL 4K UHD LED LCD. It was cheap and the reviews didn't seem too bad. It's not in the same league as LG, Sony or Samsung tv's but it manages to hold up for what tests i have put it through so far.

4K looks gorgeous albeit locked at 30fps because of the lack of HDMI 2.0 ports although it supports 1440p at 60hz. To get that i had to customise the resolution from the Nvidia Control panel.

I can't wait to try Far Cry 4 at 1440p.

[Stevey Boy]

Bought another one of these to protect my stuff.

[smashed pumpkin]

Has anyone ever had any experience or purchased a DIY combo from NewEgg or a similar website?

What else would you need? I know there's the obvious like monitor, keyboard, mouse, a windows install, etc.

Are these a good deal? I'm considering going this route in the future.

Here are some examples:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...=Combo.1744488

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...=Combo.1719460

[X-Vector]

I haven't paid attention to hardware in a while, but that 1300W PSU seems like complete overkill (even if you were to add another graphics card in the future).
Likewise, the i7 4790k doesn't appear to be the most cost efficient gaming CPU out there.
For $100 less, you could get an i5 4690(k) and unless you're using your system for heavy video editing or rendering it'll offer virtually the same performance.
As for the VGA card, it's obvious you should go for the newer GTX 970 over the 770; similar price, 20-25% performance hike at 1080p and twice the VRAM.

Apart from these specifics, is there anything else concerning the PC build that's important to you?
When I assembled my system a couple of years ago I aimed at combining good perfomance with low noise, heat and power consumption, which meant doing some extra research into appropriate versions of case, PSU, CPU + aftermarket cooler and graphics card.

[smashed pumpkin]

Originally Posted by X-Vector

I haven't paid attention to hardware in a while, but that 1300W PSU seems like complete overkill (even if you were to add another graphics card in the future).
Likewise, the i7 4790k doesn't appear to be the most cost efficient gaming CPU out there.
For $100 less, you could get an i5 4690(k) and unless you're using your system for heavy video editing or rendering it'll offer virtually the same performance.
As for the VGA card, it's obvious you should go for the newer GTX 970 over the 770; similar price, 20-25% performance hike at 1080p and twice the VRAM.

Apart from these specifics, is there anything else concerning the PC build that's important to you?
When I assembled my system a couple of years ago I aimed at combining good perfomance with low noise, heat and power consumption, which meant doing some extra research into appropriate versions of case, PSU, CPU + aftermarket cooler and graphics card.

I was just using those as an example, but I think I would want something similar.

I wish there was an option to customize these, as I would prefer the 900 series GeForce over the 700 series being offered in these combos. I also have a 1200w power supply from my current desktop I would use so I wouldn't need a new one. Maybe even a different case.

Would ordering all of the parts I want separately be more expensive than the combo?

As far as other things concerning the build, I'm not really concerned with noise. I would like to keep it under 2k.

[Stevey Boy]

Originally Posted by smashed pumpkin

Would ordering all of the parts I want separately be more expensive than the combo?

Just price it up yourself man

[Alyxx]

Got myself the XFX branded R9 280X last year and it's been fueling my gaming ever since. Seems to do most modern games on rather high settings without any lag which I am happy for. Powerful beast in my opinion for an affordable price. I've got a pure AMD PC build so I prefer going for AMD GPU's these days just for the sake of brand loyalty and because I have good experience with it. nVidia does cool stuff but are pricey for me.

[8IronBob]

Originally Posted by Alyxx

Got myself the XFX branded R9 280X last year and it's been fueling my gaming ever since. Seems to do most modern games on rather high settings without any lag which I am happy for. Powerful beast in my opinion for an affordable price. I've got a pure AMD PC build so I prefer going for AMD GPU's these days just for the sake of brand loyalty and because I have good experience with it. nVidia does cool stuff but are pricey for me.

Yeah... I like Intel/nVidia builds, but for the same reason as you, both seeing that AMD is cheaper to build, and also, AMD is an easier architecture to build around, too, since the pins are on the CPU still, Intel's pins are on the mobo, so if your build goes bad, you'd have to buy both a new CPU *and* a new mobo, AMD, you only have to buy a new CPU. Also, it just seems that I love eVGA's GPUs (having had a GTX 680 for the past two and a half, almost three years), it seems that it's been great. Probably might see what AMD comes up with soon, and see if I can get another build when Windows 10's released.

[NutWrench]

I got a Seagate hybrid drive a week ago. It's basically a regular hard drive with an 8 gig SSD drive built into it.


Note the Page File use. Or rather, the lack of it.

[Stevey Boy]

Put some new RAM in today.

[Jeff]

Nexus 9 LTE 32 GB

[Bam050196]

What are your guys' opinion on APUs? I had just bought an A8-6600k, I'm on a very tight budget so all I could get was this(plus motherboard). Not bad for a cheap CPU/GPU.

[8IronBob]

Could potentially use this as a PC display at some point, but for now, I'll use it as my bedroom TV:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(49" version).

[smashed pumpkin]

Ordered parts for a build this week. This will be my first build. Wish me luck!

Here's a link to the parts list:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Dryheaves/saved/cffkcf

[Stevey Boy]

Originally Posted by smashed pumpkin

Ordered parts for a build this week. This will be my first build. Wish me luck!

Here's a link to the parts list:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Dryheaves/saved/cffkcf

Shouldn't need to upgrade that for a while

What monitor do you have?

I'd get a 144HZ one or a 1440p one, there's no point holding that build back to 1080/60

[smashed pumpkin]

Originally Posted by Stevey Boy

Shouldn't need to upgrade that for a while

What monitor do you have?

I'd get a 144HZ one or a 1440p one, there's no point holding that build back to 1080/60

I have an Acer 27". My old monitor died during law school so I needed to pick this one up in a cinch. May upgrade later on but this build is putting me at the top of my budget

http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/UM.HS1AA.D01

[X-Vector]

Originally Posted by smashed pumpkin

O
Here's a link to the parts list:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Dryheaves/saved/cffkcf

Why have you chosen such expensive components?
I can understand going for the 980 over the 970 if you're gunning for maximum performance, but the $900 CPU/mobo/RAM combo and the Velociraptor seem like complete overkill.
Again, are you using your PC for any heavy duty work apart from gaming?

[smashed pumpkin]

Originally Posted by X-Vector

Why have you chosen such expensive components?
I can understand going for the 980 over the 970 if you're gunning for maximum performance, but the $900 CPU/mobo/RAM combo and the Velociraptor seem like complete overkill.
Again, are you using your PC for any heavy duty work apart from gaming?

Really? You're going to seriously ask me why I've chosen "expensive" components?

First off, it's none of your business how much money I'm willing to spend. I was merely sharing a parts list with the ongoing thread. Asking me why I've chosen expensive components contributes NOTHING to the thread and I take offense to it. I think it was incredibly rude of you.

Secondly, to answer your question, I was wanting a build with a high level of performance. Gaming is the most heavy duty stuff I do with a PC. Not that it's any of your business anyways.

[Nukkus]

Originally Posted by smashed pumpkin

Ordered parts for a build this week. This will be my first build. Wish me luck!

Here's a link to the parts list:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Dryheaves/saved/cffkcf

That's a damn beefy rig. Only thing I'd have done different is the case, Corsair Vengeance C70 Military Green is all I'm using forever now xD

[smashed pumpkin]

Decided to go ahead and start putting some of it together tonight and ran into a snag.

Apparently the H50 Cooler is not compatible with my processor. My processor is a 2011 socket and according to the instruction manual, is not supported. The Corsair website says it is supported, however. Screws don't even match up.

I've ordered the H80i cooler. Hopefully this one will work.

[X-Vector]

Bought a 2.0 speaker set yesterday, because I finally figured it's really a bit ludicrous to still be using the 10+ year old system that came with my previous PC, especially when for years now I've been spending more time listening to music on my computer than through my hifi set.

http://www.focal.com/en/focal-xs-boo...052690620.html

I'm currently breaking them in with the CD player in my bedroom; it's a good looking set that has received a lot of positive feedback and I'm happy with it so far.
The only worry I have concerns the fairly high noise level created by the built-in amplifier, I'll have to wait and see how intrusive that's going to be when placed on my computer desk.

BTW, concerning the monetary aspect, this set me back €300 - not cheap, but still a lot less than I've spent on hifi equipment over the past 20 years.

[smashed pumpkin]

Finished the build today. It wasn't the nightmare I was anticipating (this is my first build) but it wasn't exactly a cake walk either. This post is being made from the new machine!

Poor planning and organization on my part resulted in me having to pull components and reinstall them in order to have an easier time putting in a different component. While there was a lot of trial and error, I eventually got all the components in.

I think the most difficult portion of the build was plugging everything in. Having boxes and cables, screws, etc. strewn about the room caused some difficulty. There were several times I thought I was finished, was wondering why it wasn't booting or not getting video, only to find yet another cable I forgot to plug in.

All is well now. All components and peripherals are recognized, temps are stable, Windows is installed, and it appears to be running smoothly. It was definitely a learning experience, and I'm glad I stuck it out and did it on my own.

If I ever do another build, organization of all the components and thinking the order in which to install everything will definitely be given more thought.

[Stevey Boy]

When I built this PC, it was my first build too, and at one point the room was completely full of boxes and cables.

I was dreading it really, but it is a lot easier than you think.

[8IronBob]

Considering a new build later on this year around Windows 10, as well as for a dedicated 4K gaming rig/HTPC combo. Certainly going to see what nVidia and Intel release throughout 2015 in anticipation for what DX12/Win10 will provide.

[Rapture_Rising]

Originally Posted by 8IronBob

Considering a new build later on this year around Windows 10, as well as for a dedicated 4K gaming rig/HTPC combo. Certainly going to see what nVidia and Intel release throughout 2015 in anticipation for what DX12/Win10 will provide.

In my (probably not that informed) opinion it will be a couple of years before 4K gaming gets any real traction, 4K monitors are insanely expensive and only top end 4K tv's at the moment have HDMI 2.0 ports meaning that 4K content is locked to 30Hz and iirc only the top end panasonic sets have a displayport connector.

So for the next couple of years either 4K becomes a new standard or it will fade into obscurity like 3D did.

[Damien_Azreal]

Personally, 4K is hugely overrated.
Right now it seems like more of an "e-penis" thing, bragging that you've got a 4K setup when only a small portion of games even support it. And then, the hardware isn't really there for a lot of it.

I'm going to be upgrading my PC in the next month. My PC is starting to show it's age, mostly because more and more games are becoming very CPU heavy.
I'm still using an AMD Phenomx4 965 CPU. And while it still holds it's own... it's struggling at times. Newer games like Dying Light and others are showing that.
And since I want to be ready for the new Batman game, Hellraid and a few others... decided it was time for an upgrade.

It's not going to be a full upgrade, I'm keeping my current case, GPU, PSU and RAM. I'll be upgrading the mobo, HDD and CPU for the time being.
Most likely increasing RAM later this year, and soon after that GPU. Possibly PSU based on need.

But, a friend got me an awesome deal due to his job, so...

CPU - Intel i7 4970K (only cost me 100 bucks)
CPU cooler - Cooler Master 212 Evo

Those are the only two things I've got "ordered" at the moment. They will be here in probably a week.
Then, it's the mobo... which I've picked out a new Gigabyte one. As I've been using Gigabyte boards for a long time, and I've always liked their setup.
Then, a new HDD. Sticking with Win7 as well.

I use Win8 at work, and I'm not a fan. And since Win10 is coming out... and offering Win7/8 users the option to upgrade to it... I can check it out and see if I want to go that way or not.

[8IronBob]

Okay...true, but 2015 certainly does seem to be the year to build new rather than upgrade, imo. Especially with Windows 10 on the horizon, and certainly with DirectX 12, certainly builds like mine that date back to Windows 7's launch, probably won't exactly cut the mustard now. Since we're this close to Windows 10, instead of buying Windows 7 or 8.1, and getting the upgrade, might build the PC right with Windows 10 itself...clearly the better way out of it.

EDIT: Right now, I'm eyeing one of two possible builds, one being an AMD FX-8350/990FX/290X build, and the other being an i7 4970K/Z97//GTX970 one. Now I know that there were all sorts of stories of the GTX 970 receiving a bad rap for not performing as nVidia advertises it... Let's hope that gets straightened out. Either way, we shall soon see which of these two builds win out.

[8IronBob]

Playing around with the wishlist on Newegg a bit.

I think I might have a lock down on what build I am looking at for later this year(if both the prices and these components are the same, if not better by summer):

Intel i7-4790K
EVGA Z97 FTW Mobo
16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3-1866
EVGA GTX970 FTW
Intel 730 480GB SSD
HGST Deskstar 4TB HDD
16x LG Blu-ray Burner/12x BD-ROM
EVGA SuperNOVA 750W PSU
NZXT Phantom 530 Full ATX
Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit

All in all, seems really solid for an approx. $2K build. Might last well into the Windows 10 era.

[Damien_Azreal]

Ordered the last two parts I needed.

WD Black 2TB HDD
Gigabyte GA-G1.Sniper Z97

Should be here sometime next week. Then, it's a matter of getting everything all setup and such.

[8IronBob]

Speaking of HDDs, I'm kind of curious on how HGST Deskstars rate. I know the ones Newegg are selling are marketed for NAS/Servers, but I've heard people that do use these as data/storage drives as well for standard desktops. Wonder how well these would work vs. that of an ordinary WD Black or Seagate Barracuda.

EDIT: Also, in terms of mobos, I've been playing them by ear, as you well know. I've moved from Foxconn to ASUS to Gigabyte. Now I'm eyeing perhaps an MSI Gaming 7 or an ASUS Maximus VII Hero. Was thinking of the EVGA Z97 FTW, but I noticed that the connectivity features in the EVGA were certainly limited compared to the other two I mentioned.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by 8IronBob

Speaking of HDDs, I'm kind of curious on how HGST Deskstars rate. I know the ones Newegg are selling are marketed for NAS/Servers, but I've heard people that do use these as data/storage drives as well for standard desktops. Wonder how well these would work vs. that of an ordinary WD Black or Seagate Barracuda

Take a look at this

I personally use Western Digital hard drives (since 2009), which I have yet to have one fail on me. I had Seagate in the past (2004-2008). Think it was around 2008 you heard tons of reports of bricked Seagate drives.

[8IronBob]

Ahh. Well, considering that Western Digital OWNS HGST, I probably could expect similar quality.

EDIT: And yes, I did pull the trigger on the 4TB HGST and a 480GB Intel 730 SSD. Loads of space for the Windows boot and Steam games, and a solid 4TB (considering that most Z97s will normally have UEFI or DualBIOS), for some healthy storage. Also, I actually plan to use the 4TB monster as the data drive, the main drive will clearly be the Intel SSD.

[8IronBob]

Originally Posted by Rapture_Rising

I thought i would revive the old hardware thread, post any new hardware you have bought, anything from a new USB stick to a brand spanking new PC.

Anyways to get the ball rolling, i thought it was time for new video card. My old EVGA GTX 680 is now two generations old and it was having some BSOD issues with the latest drivers so i have retired my old friend after many, many gaming sessions.

I have bought an MSI GTX 980, been saving up for this baby for months now.

Yep. Looking at pulling the trigger on that in my next pay, that along with the matching Z97-Gaming 7 Mobo. Although that looks like a pic of the 970 rather than the 980, but either way, still a good GPU to go with. Either way, even with that 3.5GB + 500MB fiasco of the 970, I don't think that performance difference would matter much on a 1080p monitor.

[Damien_Azreal]

My motherboard and hard drive arrived today.

Now it's just a matter of actually doing the upgrade.

[Rapture_Rising]

Originally Posted by 8IronBob

Yep. Looking at pulling the trigger on that in my next pay, that along with the matching Z97-Gaming 7 Mobo. Although that looks like a pic of the 970 rather than the 980, but either way, still a good GPU to go with. Either way, even with that 3.5GB + 500MB fiasco of the 970, I don't think that performance difference would matter much on a 1080p monitor.

Yeah, i noticed that the pic was a GTX 970 a while ago, long after the chance to edit the post, the card pretty much looks the same.

With a GTX 980, i was getting around 100fps at 1080p on Far Cry 4 and Dying Light and about 60fps at 1440p. Looking at a few benchmarks it looks like the GTX 980 only produces about 10 more frames per second than the 970 and is nearly twice the price.

[8IronBob]

Originally Posted by Rapture_Rising

Yeah, i noticed that the pic was a GTX 970 a while ago, long after the chance to edit the post, the card pretty much looks the same.

With a GTX 980, i was getting around 100fps at 1080p on Far Cry 4 and Dying Light and about 60fps at 1440p. Looking at a few benchmarks it looks like the GTX 980 only produces about 10 more frames per second than the 970 and is nearly twice the price.

Understood. Although I think the Gaming Series of the GTX 9xxs are certainly the better ones of MSI's lineup. Seems that it should overclock better, too.

[8IronBob]

Mleh... Now I'm struggling to find out which full tower is better between the HAF X and the Phantom 630! It seems those are the two biggest bangs for the buck, and both seem to have almost equal bells and whistles to them. Wow...

[Rapture_Rising]

Originally Posted by 8IronBob

Mleh... Now I'm struggling to find out which full tower is better between the HAF X and the Phantom 630! It seems those are the two biggest bangs for the buck, and both seem to have almost equal bells and whistles to them. Wow...

Go with the one you think looks better, if you still can't decide... flip a coin.