Official "System Builders" Thread

[MonsterMan]

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

Thanks, is that the CPU that you are getting? I am buying 2 sticks of 4GB RAM.

[Wesley]

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

Do NOT get the OC version if the 2GB stock version is cheaper. You're not getting any more performance than you would raising up the sliders in Catalyst Control Center to their max. 2GB RAM is especially essential because even at medium settings some games like Battlefield 3 will easily suck up 600MB just for the multi-player component. Once you start applying some MSAA and turn up the quality settings your frame rate will stumble and stutter, just like my rig with a 1GB HD6870 on Metro 2033.

Also, the HD7850 is comparatively cheaper and uses less power. And overclocks better.

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 like your build so far. I'd substitute the HD6950 for a HD7850 2GB, the latter is more powerful and consumes less power. You're only going to be playing games so the i5-3570K is plenty powerful, stick with that.

As for SSDs, you can afford a decent 128GB drive so that will hold your OS, your apps and about five or so frequently-played games. If you wanted to simplify things by using a drive cache, you'll only need a cheaper 64GB drive because Intel's RST drivers have a 64GB storage limit. If you're still interested, I can recommend the OCZ Agility 4 128GB for its better all-round performance.

And while you're still mulling over your purchase decisions, read this SSD Optimisation guide and when you're busy with it use the Steam SSD Optimiser to make your life simpler when swapping over games that you play using your Steam account.

Also, you'll have to turn all settings to medium/low at 720p by year 5, so longevity-wise you're perfectly fine.

[MonsterMan]

You're only going to be playing games so the i7-3570K is plenty powerful, stick with that.

Thanks for the reply but that is only an i5. Is it still good enough?

[Sylar_dl]

yeah i am getting that CPU 3770 but not the k, and I am getting 2x8GB ram and Wesley, I am not sure on the price, can't find anything on rebel tech by gigabyte, I only trust gigabyte really, I won't by Club 3D

[Wesley]

Thanks for the reply but that is only an i5. Is it still good enough?

You can blame my recent onset of anemia for that one :-P Yes, it'll be good enough for a good few years, I know people still rocking Core 2 Quad Q600 chips and they're pretty happy (I was part of that camp until a year ago). Games are more GPU-limited when you're scaling up from 1080p, so you'll be easily matching what most online sites get with their test rigs.

yeah i am getting that CPU 3770 but not the k, and I am getting 2x8GB ram and Wesley, I am not sure on the price, can't find anything on rebel tech by gigabyte, I only trust gigabyte really, I won't by Club 3D

There's at least a dozen Gigabyte graphics cards on Rebeltech. I'm pretty much a ECS and MSI/Club 3D fan, since their warranties are all handled locally and very quickly at that. Asrock too is pretty good and their local supplier is Sahara! (which, let me tell you, is a pretty crap supplier as far as choice and customer service goes these days.)

[Toxxyc]

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

Your friend is going to cost you dearly. That card has git a fat memory bus, NOT getting the 2GB version would render that useless (it'd be like buying a BMW and choosing the 320d because, LOLz, it's got a turbo and the 330i isn't gotten one so LOLz but they cost the same price). Honestly, give me a 2GB reference card from someone like MSI or EVGA or Inno3D and I'll OC it higher, faster and cooler than the OC Gigabyte card, not to mention you'll have double the VRAM meaning AA on the card will be a BREEZE.

Also, there's nothing wrong with Club 3D.

[Sylar_dl]

You can blame my recent onset of anemia for that one :-P Yes, it'll be good enough for a good few years, I know people still rocking Core 2 Quad Q600 chips and they're pretty happy (I was part of that camp until a year ago). Games are more GPU-limited when you're scaling up from 1080p, so you'll be easily matching what most online sites get with their test rigs.



There's at least a dozen Gigabyte graphics cards on Rebeltech. I'm pretty much a ECS and MSI/Club 3D fan, since their warranties are all handled locally and very quickly at that. Asrock too is pretty good and their local supplier is Sahara! (which, let me tell you, is a pretty crap supplier as far as choice and customer service goes these days.)

The reason I don't like club 3D is I bought a nvidia card from them a few years ago and on the same day i installed it it broke, it overheated and then the picture invented and I had to go buy a new card

[Legion]

The reason I don't like club 3D is I bought a nvidia card from them a few years ago and on the same day i installed it it broke, it overheated and then the picture invented and I had to go buy a new card

no hardware warranty?

[Toxxyc]

The reason I don't like club 3D is I bought a nvidia card from them a few years ago and on the same day i installed it it broke, it overheated and then the picture invented and I had to go buy a new card

Dude... Warranty? If they didn't cover, you probably messed up the install?

EDIT: Legioninja.

[Wesley]

Dude... Warranty? If they didn't cover, you probably messed up the install?

EDIT: Legioninja.

The retailer he bought it from probably screwed him over by saying it was overvolted or something. A day one failure is usually treated with suspicion even by distributors. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, sadly.

[Wesley]

Laptop Buyer's Guide: July R18,000 to R25,000

Good afternoon boys and girls. So today we're back to the Laptop Buyer's guide again in the R18,000 to R25,000 range, and I've gotta say this month there are a good deal of gaming laptops available at these price points. That's not to say that there weren't any in my previous episodes of the guide this month but they weren't capable of the kind of settings and resolution that could make your desktop reconsider slimming itself down in order to not feel overweight.

While there are ways to get a similar kind of portability from a desktop system based on a ITX chassis, its still not the same as having the entire PC shoved into something barely five centimeters thick and capable of fitting neatly into a shoulder bag. Are you an avid gamer or a mobile professional with some money burning in your pockets? Look no further than today's guide as I trudge through the dearth of online websites to figure out what best fits your budget here.

Linky

[Sylar_dl]

What other shops are there, I went through all the places u mentioned and rebel tech was best but I can't find Asus or msi HD6950

[tarisma]

get the 7850 then?
http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php...oducts_id=5311 they have that one in stock

[Sylar_dl]

get the 7850 then?
http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php...oducts_id=5311 they have that one in stock

Do you guys think that a HD7850 will perform better and last longer than the HD6950
Edit: to be more precise The gigabyte HD6950 with a core of 870Mhz and 5000mhz memory and 1GB vram 1400 and something stream processors and the HD7850 with 970mhz core and 48000mhz memory and 2Gb vram and 1024 stream processors

[tarisma]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2234521
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2250040
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/s...d.php?t=708123
The above forums say yes

http://www.digitalversus.com/graphic...sus-table.html
The above comparison says yes

[Wesley]

Do you guys think that a HD7850 will perform better and last longer than the HD6950

Yup, it'll perform better in every metric you can think of.

[Sylar_dl]

Yup, it'll perform better in every metric you can think of.

OK thanks,
1. will I still need the 600w psu since the HD7850 uses less power
2. Will the HD7850 perform better then the HD6970
sorry for all the questions. I just want this rig to be perfect and last along time

[Wesley]

I'd still recommend a 600w if you're planning on overclocking the processor and GPU over time. You'll also be adding in extra hard drives, fans, lights and perhaps even some PCI cards over time, so that all adds up eventually.



On average the HD7850 performs on the same level as the HD6970 and will overtake it when overclocked. Once overclocked, it also hangs in there with the GTX580 in every benchmark you can find. So that's GTX580 performance with half the power consumption for half the price!

[Sylar_dl]

I'd still recommend a 600w if you're planning on overclocking the processor and GPU over time. You'll also be adding in extra hard drives, fans, lights and perhaps even some PCI cards over time, so that all adds up eventually.



On average the HD7850 performs on the same level as the HD6970 and will overtake it when overclocked. Once overclocked, it also hangs in there with the GTX580 in every benchmark you can find. So that's GTX580 performance with half the power consumption for half the price!

OK thanks you should get an award for most helpful of the month, the one reason why I am against a big psu is eskom and there powerbills will a 600w psu always use 600w of mains or will it only use what it needs or am I missing the point completely
2. Are there sata power connectors to molar adapters out there
3. Is there a way to make 2 fans go into one connector if that make sense, I am getting a 4 channel fan controller but I have 7 fans so I want to combine the cables to make 2 fit into one channel, can that be done.
4. With the benchmark is that real playing or simulated cause I have seen a HD 6970 from asus get 50-60FPs on Bf3

Edit: never mind saw. the max resolution thing

[MonsterMan]

the one reason why I am against a big psu is eskom and there powerbills

Whether you have a 400w PSU or a 1200w PSU your PC will still use the same amount of power. Wesley is recommending a more powerful PSU because you will eventually want to upgrade/overclock.