Official "System Builders" Thread

[charly]

Hey guys. I am looking for a laptop so that I can game on the go for about R7.5k-R8.5k. I have a 120GB agility 3 SSD lying around and I was wondering if there are any laptops with space for 2 drives. Which is better: use the SSD as a cache or install windows on it and put the programs folder on it. I don't really want to worry about deleting something so I can install something, although I could install the big games on the HDD.

[Toxxyc]

care .. it will be a US plug and you would need an adapter for it :D

I checked. It's a UK plug, adapter for which you can buy at any caravan and outdoor store. Even some Mr Price Sport stores have them! :)

[nickrohrbs]

http://www.takealot.com/imports/more...ply,b004ulycvs

This you're looking for? Free shipping?

Thanks! I thought I had looked at Talealot, seems not!

[Toxxyc]

You probably did, but this was on their import section. As mentioned above, this thing has a UK plug attached to it. This means the plug pins are of the flat kind, and not the round like ours here in SA. To adapt to this, visit your nearest Outdoor Warehouse or Cape Union Mart or whatever other outdoor/travel shop you have around and ask them if they have a plug to adapt to this. They cost about R50 or even less, depending on where you look, and it's good to have if you ever want to import something from there yourself (which TAKEALOT handles very well, and sometimes stuff from the UK is cheaper on import than locally).

EDIT: Found an adapter here at Mr Price Sport for R60. Worth it: http://www.mrpricesport.com/ProductD...ode=6355020186

[Cranky]

Thanks! I thought I had looked at Talealot, seems not!

You did .. but Toxxyc is a take alot groupie haha.. He used the US imports section :D




And soz at indicating wong adpater then. I couldnt open link but assumed as its coming from the US it wil be a US plug. I could only read the URL and saw imports abut missed the UK imports parrt :D

[Wesley]

AMD System Builder's Guide: July R8500 to R10,500

Following on from my AMD System Builder's Guide this month where I looked at competing options from the red team at the R4000 to R6000 price points, today I'm going to try take that further and see if the AMD build will allow me to squeeze in more powerful hardware for a lower price point. Remember, AMD's play since the Athlon FX days has been one of value-for-money and superior price-performance ratios. Lets see if they still have the chops to keep up that tradition with today's builds. Note that I'm not able to test out any of these configurations, so performance at this point is purely theoretical. Sadly.

Linky

Hey guys. I am looking for a laptop so that I can game on the go for about R7.5k-R8.5k. I have a 120GB agility 3 SSD lying around and I was wondering if there are any laptops with space for 2 drives. Which is better: use the SSD as a cache or install windows on it and put the programs folder on it. I don't really want to worry about deleting something so I can install something, although I could install the big games on the HDD.

Here's my most recent Laptop Buyer's Guide for you, Charly. I'd go for the Lenovo Y570 if I were you, its a steal with those hardware specs.

You can get laptops with space for two hard drives, but those are mostly restricted to 17" chassis and not all manufacturers implement it. I'd say install Windows to the SSD and use an external drive to keep your media and some of your game files which you can swap over from time to time. The Steam SSD Optimiser is great for this kind of thing. AFAIK, there aren't any laptops currently available that support Intel's RST technology to use a drive cache for a SSD that you yourself can install.

On the other hand, have a look at the Dell Inspiron 15R I linked. If you put the spare hard drive into a USB 3.0 chassis, you could even install games to it and use it over USB when you're playing titles you don't frequent to often. There's not much of a speed drop (if any) and you're still getting the extra space you need.

[tarisma]

Ok my situation has changed for the better it seems my budget has moved up to 11k now including an OS. I have put together 2 builds
what would you do?

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php...bcd67844371635

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php...877ecf24946956

I will be gaming on a 1080p screen and if I get the k processor one I will overclock it. What are your opinions. Unfortunately the PC cannot go above 11k, and with the bottom PC i would mostlikely upgrade the graphics card in 2 years

[Wesley]

I'd go for the bottom option, its more well-rounded. If you're patient, the GTX660Ti should be out later this month and would be a better buy over the HD7850 if its priced around the R3500 mark. Its close enough to the builds I had in my System Builder's Guide, so you're pretty much good to go. If you're interested, make a few changes for better performance (you'll have to drop the air cooler):

Antec One S3 @ R536
LG GH24NS90 @ R162
Club 3D HD7870 2GB DDR5 @ R3689

Total: R11410

I know you said stay below budget, but that's a possibility you could look at.

[tarisma]

Ya i was leaning towards the bottom one as well. I know the 660 is coming out soon but rumors are saying that its only gonna be released in August now. So im not sure I can hold off ordering till mid August but I would like to have it this month

Edit: and there so close to the builds on your system builders guild because they are based on those builds

[Sylar_dl]

Hi, so I have come up with my final build, please if you see any problems or have any tips or ideas etc let me know, here it is:
Intel Core i7 3770 3.4GHZ - 8 Threads
16GB Kingstoft value ram (2x8GB)
Gigabyte B75M-D3H
WD 500GB HDD Primary
Seagate 230GB HDD Secondary due to speed
ThermalTake Spacecraft (gonna install all 7 fans)
Cool Master GX 550W PSU
Gigabyte KM7600 Keyboard mouse
Gigabyte HD 6950 OC
Deepcool Rock Master, Black, 4x channel fan controller, 2x USB port, DC-Master
DEEPCOOL - CPU Cooler - GAMMA 200
Any old DVD drive
Ligthing Strip
Please if you see any problems let me know, its been a while since I built a pc and I havent bought parts and assemblyed it from scratch yet.

[Miz3r]

Alright ladies and gentlemen

its upgrade time

here is what i am planning on getting, lemme know what you think if the choices are good

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz LGA1155 Quad Core Ivy Bridge CPU
http://www.wootware.co.za/intel-core...ridge-cpu.html
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA1155 Intel Z77 ATX Desktop Motherboard
http://www.wootware.co.za/asrock-z77...therboard.html
G.Skill F3-2133C9D-8GAB 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-2133MHz 1.65V CL9 Dual Channel Ares Desktop Memory
http://www.wootware.co.za/g-skill-f3...op-memory.html

Let me know what you think, or if something needs to change

[Wesley]

I like it Miz3r, post pics of it when you're finished :-)

[Sylar_dl]

I like it Miz3r, post pics of it when you're finished :-)

Is everything on my build good or did I forget something

[tarisma]

Everything looks fine to me but I am not the expert. Only question is why choose that graphics card?

[Toxxyc]

The 2GB HD 6950 runs the same stuff as the HD6970, so with a simple BIOS flash (it has Dual BIOS, so it's fairly safe) you can run an HD6970 2GB card for the price of a 6950, meaning a lot more bang-for-buck.

[Sylar_dl]

Everything looks fine to me but I am not the expert. Only question is why choose that graphics card?

I choose it cause it is relatively low cost but it can play any game on Max and I might be wrong but no card for that price can beat it performance wise.

[Toxxyc]

I choose it cause it is relatively low cost but it can play any game on Max and I might be wrong but no card for that price can beat it performance wise.

I just checked out your build, and I can recommend you to increase your PSU size a little. Consider a good 600W or 650W PSU instead - you're going to be pulling a lot from the GX550, trust me...

Also, it's worth dropping the 6950OC version to a 6950 2GB version instead. OC can be achieved in 5 minutes using MSI Afterburner, but additional VRAM is always needed and impossible to upgrade to in a second.

[MonsterMan]

I've chose some parts for a build of mine but it is mostly based off of a build that Wesley posted for somebody a while ago and I would appreciate it if you guys took a look. How long will this rig last for? I'm not asking how long it will run the most recent games at ultra-high settings I'm just wondering how long it will take for it to become hard to game on with low settings. Please tell me if I must remove the picture for taking up too much space. I have about 1.2k left of my budget, maybe I should buy an SSD with it. What would be better: use the SSD as a cache or install the OS + My games? Will it be big enough and if it isn't should I buy another one and put the in RAID 0 or a RAID that just combines the drives?

Rig:

[Sylar_dl]

I just checked out your build, and I can recommend you to increase your PSU size a little. Consider a good 600W or 650W PSU instead - you're going to be pulling a lot from the GX550, trust me...

Also, it's worth dropping the 6950OC version to a 6950 2GB version instead. OC can be achieved in 5 minutes using MSI Afterburner, but additional VRAM is always needed and impossible to upgrade to in a second.

Thanks, I was gonna get the 2GB one but a friend of mine who is doing a BsC IT said the oc will perform better, is there anything else I need to get like thermal gel or brackets and my motherboard gigabyte will msi afterburner work

[Sylar_dl]

I've chose some parts for a build of mine but it is mostly based off of a build that Wesley posted for somebody a while ago and I would appreciate it if you guys took a look. How long will this rig last for? I'm not asking how long it will run the most recent games at ultra-high settings I'm just wondering how long it will take for it to become hard to game on with low settings. Please tell me if I must remove the picture for taking up too much space. I have about 1.2k left of my budget, maybe I should buy an SSD with it. What would be better: use the SSD as a cache or install the OS + My games? Will it be big enough and if it isn't should I buy another one and put the in RAID 0 or a RAID that just combines the drives?

I recommend buying the CPU I am getting maybe even the 3770K cause CPU plays a bug role in gendering, my friend got the HD6970 but can't play games on crysis 2 on Max due to a bad CPU (core 2 quad) also buy more ram which will also increase your performance