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Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 4:16 pm
by Neutronbeam
Re newegg reviews...I find them very valuable. I start with the one eggs first and then go up. Some low scores are for shipping problems or pricing and have nothing to do with the *actual usage of the product*. Accepting that any product can be DOA and require RMA, read them carefully to see what the nature of the complaint is, remembering that people don't need a reason to complain, they only need an opportunity. As back-up, after reading the reviews you can come to the forums here ask what people think about the product--which is just what you've been doing.

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:34 pm
by sherlock
Thanks for your comment on the newegg reviews, I have been reading the 1s and 5s mostly and I will ask around if I am conflicted about a product.

After some reading on IPS I found that they aren't optimal for gaming but photo editing instead, I am doing some reserach on whether my GTX670FTW(or the MSI GTX670 PE) is good enough to support a 120HZ monitor, if so I am getting that, if not I am getting a ASUS 248 60Hz and be happy I saved over $100 compared to the IPS.

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:40 pm
by JustAnEngineer
Please don't waste your money on a nasty TN LCD monitor. Yes, it's the fastest of the three main LCD panel technologies, but the color and brightness accuracy are horrible, especially when you are not looking looking directly perpendicular to the screen. IPS LCD monitors are plenty fast enough for 60 Hz gaming. What you want to look for are IPS monitors that have low input lag (or that can turn off some of their processing to reduce input lag).

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 11:28 am
by DPete27
sherlock wrote:
Thanks for your comment on the newegg reviews, I have been reading the 1s and 5s mostly...


In my experience, 1 star reviews are almost completely from people that recieve DOA products or think the product is DOA because they didnt check compatability, etc. The only good thing about 1s reviews is to see how many there are. If there's a lot, that product probably doesnt average 4 stars or above; in which case I'm usually not looking to buy the product anyway. 5s reviews are the opposite end of the spectrum, but can sometimes be helpful if you read the "cons" section. I like to read the 3 and 4 star reviews because they generally come from people that have a working product but have constructive criticism (4s) or aren't happy with some design choices (3s). Other than that, yes, someone who is dissatisfied with their purchase is much more likely to come back and write a negative review. The person that is happy with the product is more apt to move on and forget about writing a review.

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:05 pm
by superjawes
For any review (on a product I am interested in), I start with the assumption that all listed fatures are positive points for the product (otherwise I would not be looking at it). Then I look at low scores and see how saturated it is with DOA and user error reviews. Then I look at higher scores and see what gripes people have even though they liked the product. I mainly look for whether or not the features are executed well and live up to expectations.

And generally speaking, I hate scoring systems overall. As others have mentioned, writing a review only means that the owner is vocal enough to post something, and that biases the data toward their opinions. On top of that, scores imply objectivity that isn't there. When I pay more for a product I expect better quality, and just because I like something for a specific application does not mean that I would issue a blanket recommendation for it.

/rant?

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:22 pm
by Chrispy_
JustAnEngineer wrote:
but the color and brightness accuracy are horrible


Don't forget that many many game engines use horrible low-saturation colour filters <sarcasm>for dramatic effect</sarcasm> and the post-processing HDR, glare, and lens-flare idiocy that devs seem to implement mean that IPS's brightness and contrast uniformity is worthless for the sort of games Sherlock is posting about.

Diablo3 looks stunning on IPS as do a few other more colourful titles like Trine, but 120Hz TN screens are definitely not to be dismissed as rubbish for fast-paced, competetive FPS gaming. Black levels on a good TN screen are on average much darker than an IPS screen too, which massively improves the look of dark levels such as the subway maps in BF3, or any horror game, or dungeon game, or night level or.... Anyway, I'm pretty sure more games are dark than colourful, and even the colourful games have their dark and moody moments.

There's a lot of TN-hatred in these forums, some of it even from myself but it has to be directed at bad TN screens. TN as a technology has advantages and disadvantages over IPS; For a fast-paced gamer sitting directly in front of the sceen, TN's major disadvantage is irrelevant.

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:28 pm
by superjawes
Chrispy_ wrote:
TN's major disadvantages are irrelevant.
I disagree. Perhaps before the discovery of Korean IPS it would be different, but with some more reasonably priced IPS displays and (hopefully) a coming IPS price war, TN's major advantage (price) is going to become less relevant, and the value proposition is going to lean heavily in favor of IPS displays.

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:47 pm
by sherlock
Alright, latest update:
1. Upgraded to the G.Skill Ares F3 from Corsair Vengence because I liked their low profile 4G design and I prefer low profile models to increase air circulation.
2. Settled on ASUS 23" VG236H 23” 120Hz because it is a good value at $329.99 counting rebate and ASUS customer service.
3. Decided Seagate Baracuda 3TB, at 149.99 they have the best GB/$ I found and no big reliablity issues.
4. Need help spend the 118.5 left in my budget.

Component Item Price (from newegg.com)
Processor Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz $229.99
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V LK $119.99
Memory G.Skill Ares F3-1600C8D-8GAB(2X4) 8G $54.99
Graphics EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW $407.99
Storage Samsung 830 256G $229.99
Seagate Baracuda 3TB $149.99
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $18.99
Enclosure NTZX Phantom 410 $99.99
Power supply Corsair HX650W $114.99
CPUFan COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO $34.99
Monitor ASUS VG236H 23” 120Hz 329.99
Total: $1792
Cap Room($1800-$1792) $8
Reserved Budget:$130.5 for Keyboard+Shipping

Shipping: Free 2 Shipping offered by Amazon/newegg as a free 30 day trial=0, -20 for keyboard as there are legions of em on ebay->110.5 leftover budget

New Total free money: $118.5

Now I found money outside of the budget for my Gaming Mouse & Pad, I am wondering what do I do with that 118.5 extra:

1. Get the BenQ 2420T for the extra 1" at $61, don't seem to be worth it

2. Get ASRock Extreme 4(+$15) or ASRock Extreme6(+60) Mobo instead of my ASUS LV-K, both ASRock offer 4 STATIII instead of 2. p.s Someone please explain to me how much I can gain from going to Extreme 6 from Extreme 4? If you owned either please tell me your experience with them, thanks.

3. Get ASUS DC2T(sold out everywhere)/MSI N670 PE/another 670 factory OC build, not enough to get a 680 plus I doubt it will be worth it in term of performance/dollar, I don't see a clear cut review of any of these out performing FTW in BF3.

4.118.5/5.35= 22 Five Dollar Footlongs :D

5. upgrade Ram to 16, although that's really overkill.

p.s I apologize for starting quite a few other threads in other forums when I could have asked those questions here, I am quite knew and unfamiliar with how things work here.

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:20 pm
by Chrispy_
superjawes wrote:
TN's major advantage (price)


If you're buying a cheap TN you're doing it wrong ;)
120Hz screens are not cheap, their advantages are response time and black levels, not price.

sherlock wrote:
$118


Don't spend it if you don't have to. Save it, spend it on something else. The only relevant thing I could suggest would be perhaps a really decent set of stereo headphones.

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:23 pm
by sherlock
Chrispy_ wrote:
superjawes wrote:
Chrispy_ wrote:
TN's major advantage (price)


If you're buying a cheap TN you're doing it wrong ;)
120Hz screens are not cheap, their advantages are response time and black levels, not price.



After I got confirmation that GTX 670 is good enough for 120Hz monitor I switched to a 120Hz monitor instead.

Update: upgraded from Asus V-LK to ASRock Extreme 6 for size & SATA III ports
Component Item Price (from newegg.com)

Category Item Price
Processor Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz $229.99
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme 6 $179.99
Memory G.Skill Ares F3-1600C8D-8GAB(2X4) 8G $54.99
Graphics EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW $407.99
Storage Samsung 830 256G $229.99
Seagate Baracuda 3TB $149.99
Optical Drive ASUS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $18.99
Enclosure NTZX Phantom 410 $99.99
Power supply Corsair HX650W $114.99
CPUFan COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO $34.99
Monitor ASUS VG236H 23” 120Hz $329.99
Total: $1,851

Reserve: $58.5 left in my budget for Thermal Paste/Price changes/Any hardware changes.

So Please review my build and if there is anything wrong/need fix/should upgrade please let me know.

Re: PC Build almost set, $118.5 budget left need evaluation

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:42 pm
by Airmantharp
Build's looking hawt bro, glad you are cornering some things in- and don't worry too much about the threads. Many of those topics haven't been thoroughly discussed amongst forum folks in a while, so we could all use a refresher.

G.Skill vs. Corsair RAM: essentially interchangeable, I have stacks of both. I'd expect Corsair to have the edge in customer support, if any edge overall. I also don't believe you gain anything from the change, but since it suits you and you also don't lose anything, no problem.

120Hz panels are still a conundrum, with the obvious crux being between pixel refresh and higher input rates on TN versus panel quality on the IPS; cost is about the same for either in the ~23"-27" range at 1080p/1200p. I will say that every FPS gamer, including myself, would prefer to have a 120Hz panel. The benefits are obvious as stated by forum members in your threads. Vsync works 'better' at 120Hz literally because the wait time for a frame is cut in half from 60Hz and that has a direct affect on playability of twitch shooters sporting immediate-mode renderers such as Counter-Strike. Also, while sending 120Hz to the monitor does not guarantee faster pixel refreshes which the 120Hz IPS monitors available can attest to, TN monitors are usually around twice as fast as IPS monitors when it comes to average effective pixel refreshes. This means that the TN monitors are more likely to be able to take advantage of the higher refresh rate.

But here's the thing. 120Hz is really only going to be a real advantage in those twitch shooters. But a TN panel, even if properly calibrated for color accuracy, will still have worse viewing angles and constant color shift regardless of viewing angle, and at best will achieve the color accuracy of the lowest-end IPS panels. As long as you're getting a monitor that has a no-frills input setup like the HP I linked above, input lag isn't an issue, and the IPS panels absolutely keep up with TNs for gaming. Only the very best TN will outshine a good IPS in gaming, and it'll still be behind in every other category.

That's why we push IPS over TN here. We all want 120Hz panels, but they just don't provide enough of a benefit for their added cost over a regular TN nor to make up for their deficiencies next to IPS panels in the same price bracket.

Further, with respect to BF3, you'll find as most of us have that enabling Vsync simply does not incur the input lag penalty that is so very visible in Counter-Strike. The reason I/we believe that it does not is centered on DICE's deferred rendering strategy which seems to incur input lag regardless of any other setting which means that Vsync is essentially free for that game. Turning it on doesn't make the game less responsive. This means that part of the benefit you'd be wanting to get from using a 120Hz panel is lessened somewhat, making a better case for an IPS panel for you.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:51 pm
by Airmantharp
For the motherboard- there is simply no reason to upgrade. If you're not going to go for record overclocks, and you're not based on your component choices (cooling, enclosure, PSU), then spending any more for a board just does not make sense. I own ASRock's Z68 Extreme4, and I'll vouch for it's chops, but it's unnecessary overkill for you. I wanted dual-GPU capability to run a 2560x1600 monitor.

Next, the GTX670 is 'enough' for many games at 120Hz, but be prepared to sacrifice quality in BF3 if you actually want to run it at a solid 120FPS in multi-player. BF3 MP is not the game you see in benchmarks; that game is something much less intensive. If you want 120FPS at 1080p with higher than medium settings in BF3, you need a pair of top end GPUs, or preferably a GTX690.

If you're going to stick to the GTX670, EVGA's FTW is as good as it gets with a blower, but your case is set up in a way that you could benefit from one of the cards using an aftermarket cooler. Don't worry about rated clock-speeds, every single one of these cards overclocks to a point, but focus on reviews that show how loud each card gets when overclocked.

Upgrading memory isn't necessary, but at the same time, I have 16GB in both my desktop and mobile workstations. RAM is seriously cheap, so if you can get 2x8GB DIMMs for a decent price, it might be worth; but remember, you should probably get Windows 7 Professional as well, so that you can use another 16GB if you decide to drop it in later.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 3:10 pm
by sherlock
Airmantharp wrote:
For the motherboard- there is simply no reason to upgrade. If you're not going to go for record overclocks, and you're not based on your component choices (cooling, enclosure, PSU), then spending any more for a board just does not make sense. I own ASRock's Z68 Extreme4, and I'll vouch for it's chops, but it's unnecessary overkill for you. I wanted dual-GPU capability to run a 2560x1600 monitor.

Next, the GTX670 is 'enough' for many games at 120Hz, but be prepared to sacrifice quality in BF3 if you actually want to run it at a solid 120FPS in multi-player. BF3 MP is not the game you see in benchmarks; that game is something much less intensive. If you want 120FPS at 1080p with higher than medium settings in BF3, you need a pair of top end GPUs, or preferably a GTX690.

If you're going to stick to the GTX670, EVGA's FTW is as good as it gets with a blower, but your case is set up in a way that you could benefit from one of the cards using an aftermarket cooler. Don't worry about rated clock-speeds, every single one of these cards overclocks to a point, but focus on reviews that show how loud each card gets when overclocked.

Upgrading memory isn't necessary, but at the same time, I have 16GB in both my desktop and mobile workstations. RAM is seriously cheap, so if you can get 2x8GB DIMMs for a decent price, it might be worth; but remember, you should probably get Windows 7 Professional as well, so that you can use another 16GB if you decide to drop it in later.


I got Windows 7 Professional with Keys and a ISO USB/DVD so yeah I could use the 16G Ram upgrade.

I guess +60 for Extreme 6 is overkill, I can downgrade to Extreme 4(-45) without losing much beside 1" in width.
After reading more into the demand of 120Hz monitor I plan on getting a second FTW in October and that in SLI should be good for what I need, I might buy a 690 during the holiday season and sell both FTWs. In the Phantom 410 I decided to buy as my case there is a mount for a 120mm fan blowing right at the intake of the GPU(s) so I should be fine cooling a SLI.
Plus someone on another forum recommended this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151088 to me over my HX650, seems like a upgrade in noise level and with their 15% coupon it is only 118(+4 from HX650), should I jump on this?

Corsair vs G.Skill, the reason I picked G.Skill is that the Ares model(54.99) I picked offer a Cas Latency of 8 and is low profile, the only Corsair Vengeance model with Cas Latency of 8 cost 59.99. If I want to keep the 8 Cas Latency, the upgrade 16G is 60 extra (114.99) that makes me want to keep my money. I don't know how much Cas Latency helps but I'd rather get the best I can get(haven't seen a 2X8 set with Latency below 9).

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 3:50 pm
by DPete27
sherlock wrote:
over my HX650, seems like a upgrade in noise level and with their 15% coupon it is only 118

Definetly!!

sherlock wrote:
I plan on getting a second FTW in October and that in SLI should be good for what I need, I might buy a 690 during the holiday season and sell both FTWs.

Are you kidding??? That's an insane waste of money IMO unless you KNOW you've got somewhere you can sell both 670's for almost retail price. Otherwise, if you're planning on getting a 690 in 4.5 months, just get it now. It's so overpowered that it should last you about 8 years.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 3:53 pm
by sherlock
DPete27 wrote:
sherlock wrote:
over my HX650, seems like a upgrade in noise level and with their 15% coupon it is only 118

Definetly!!

sherlock wrote:
I plan on getting a second FTW in October and that in SLI should be good for what I need, I might buy a 690 during the holiday season and sell both FTWs.

Are you kidding??? That's an insane waste of money IMO unless you KNOW you've got somewhere you can sell both 670's for almost retail price. Otherwise, if you're planning on getting a 690 in 4.5 months, just get it now.



While that's true if I had enough money on hand to budget a GTX690 rig I would have done so already, I couldn't budget one so I plan on getting a single FTW and SLI a month later. Yeah I probably will hold off on the selling both and get 690 part.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 3:58 pm
by DPete27
sherlock wrote:
While that's true if I had enough money on hand to budget a GTX690 rig I would have done so already, I couldn't budget one so I plan on getting a single FTW and SLI a month later. Yeah I probably will hold off on the selling both and get 690 part.


I think you'll find even a single 670 to be quite the performer. You're on the right track with the 670/s. Not to mention that two 670's is more-or-less equivalent to a 690.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 4:01 pm
by superjawes

Re: Building my own Gaming PC, $1.8K Budget need advice

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 4:10 pm
by rogue426
JustAnEngineer wrote:
Please don't waste your money on a nasty TN LCD monitor. Yes, it's the fastest of the three main LCD panel technologies, but the color and brightness accuracy are horrible, especially when you are not looking looking directly perpendicular to the screen. IPS LCD monitors are plenty fast enough for 60 Hz gaming. What you want to look for are IPS monitors that have low input lag (or that can turn off some of their processing to reduce input lag).


I've really avoided the whole IPS vs TN debate, until now. I have monitors of both kinds but until recently felt no bias towards one of the other. I have a 30" Dell that I originally bought in 07 or 08 for gaming , that has been my business monitor for a few years now.My gaming monitors have been TN 's since the 30 Moved to business duties. Everything was fine until the 2412M arrived ( bearing in mind it's a 6 bit and not true 8 bit panel), the new Dell sits next to a 1080p Viewsonic now. The difference is night in day in color reproduction. The 30" Dell is coming home and the Dell and Viewsonic 24"'s are going to the office. Whether 120hz would make a difference in the games I play is questionable, I don't play FPS's but I can say I'll take an IPS any day over TN now seeing them side by side. By the way the build you've chosen should keep you happy. I went SLI once ,not again.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 4:28 pm
by sherlock
superjawes wrote:


Yeah, that's my original plan. I wanted get a single FTW and see the performance is good enough which it should be, I also saw from alot of sources that SLI might not be necessary, however I read from a few SLIer say for 120hz having 2 card each outputing 60hz is very useful. At any rate I will see how my single FTW goes on my 120hz monitor then decide : A. SLI in October, B. If 690 goes on a 30% discount on Black Friday I might get it and sell the FTW.

First piece ordered: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... nic%20x650, Seasonic X650 with promotional code for 118.99, picked this over my 114.99+shipping HX650 b/c I heard from a few X650 is better in noise level and efficiency.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 8:54 pm
by superjawes
sherlock wrote:
superjawes wrote:


Yeah, that's my original plan. I wanted get a single FTW and see the performance is good enough which it should be, I also saw from alot of sources that SLI might not be necessary, however I read from a few SLIer say for 120hz having 2 card each outputing 60hz is very useful. At any rate I will see how my single FTW goes on my 120hz monitor then decide : A. SLI in October, B. If 690 goes on a 30% discount on Black Friday I might get it and sell the FTW.

First piece ordered: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... nic%20x650, Seasonic X650 with promotional code for 118.99, picked this over my 114.99+shipping HX650 b/c I heard from a few X650 is better in noise level and efficiency.

I posted that old article because it pointed out a potential problem with SLi and Crossfire setups. Mainly that the GPUs split the load, and the latency from transferring from one card to another can cause micro-stuttering.

I'm not sure what that might do at 120Hz, but I feel like it's too much of an inconvenience when you consider how much SLI costs, how much power it requires, and how much heat it generates. I'd rather save my money and just get a significantly faster GPU.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:34 pm
by sherlock
superjawes wrote:
sherlock wrote:
superjawes wrote:


Yeah, that's my original plan. I wanted get a single FTW and see the performance is good enough which it should be, I also saw from alot of sources that SLI might not be necessary, however I read from a few SLIer say for 120hz having 2 card each outputing 60hz is very useful. At any rate I will see how my single FTW goes on my 120hz monitor then decide : A. SLI in October, B. If 690 goes on a 30% discount on Black Friday I might get it and sell the FTW.

First piece ordered: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... nic%20x650, Seasonic X650 with promotional code for 118.99, picked this over my 114.99+shipping HX650 b/c I heard from a few X650 is better in noise level and efficiency.

I posted that old article because it pointed out a potential problem with SLi and Crossfire setups. Mainly that the GPUs split the load, and the latency from transferring from one card to another can cause micro-stuttering.

I'm not sure what that might do at 120Hz, but I feel like it's too much of an inconvenience when you consider how much SLI costs, how much power it requires, and how much heat it generates. I'd rather save my money and just get a significantly faster GPU.



I think you are right, I will see how it goes and decide if I want to SLI or sell and get GTX690 in the Holiday season, if my graphics are fine and GTX690 don't get a significant discount I will probably stick with single FTW.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:07 am
by Airmantharp
There is no 'significantly faster' GPU than the GTX670/HD7950. If those aren't close, you need more than one GPU. Running high settings in BF3 MP at 2MP/120Hz or >=4MP at 60Hz requires more than one high-end GPU of this generation.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 8:54 am
by TheEmrys
Airmantharp wrote:
There is no 'significantly faster' GPU than the GTX670/HD7950. If those aren't close, you need more than one GPU. Running high settings in BF3 MP at 2MP/120Hz or >=4MP at 60Hz requires more than one high-end GPU of this generation.


This is right on point. It will be a waste of money.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:07 am
by sherlock
TheEmrys wrote:
Airmantharp wrote:
There is no 'significantly faster' GPU than the GTX670/HD7950. If those aren't close, you need more than one GPU. Running high settings in BF3 MP at 2MP/120Hz or >=4MP at 60Hz requires more than one high-end GPU of this generation.


This is right on point. It will be a waste of money.


cough "GTX690" cough.

Granted I would only getting this when it falls into the 600 range which might be next year but depends, if my 670 really can't cut it(not really playing all ultra setting, stuff like AA I might turn off entirely) I will consider SLI.

At anyrate, My Seasonic X650 Gold have cleared payment on newegg and will be shipped soon, so that part is set.

Edit: just got LG Black SATA 24X DVD Burner on sale at newegg for $14.39 free shipping, item #2 is set as well.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 11:10 am
by Airmantharp
The GTX660 is cleared to be released soon- maybe wait to get two of those?

I've got a GTX670 FTW in the mail to replace my whiny SC, and I'm thinking about selling it so I can grab two GTX660's.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 1:05 pm
by sherlock
Regarding GTX660 I would wish to see a few reviews online and a few good Manufacture OC models before I pick them over FTW, I won't be able to budget the graphic card till end of the month anyway so I have time to wait(660 release date is either next Tuesday or Thursday, Thursday more likely).

Update: Purchased the PSU: Seasonic X650 Gold( over HX650 b/c less noise and more efficient) $118.99
Purchased Optical: LG 24X DVD burner(Shellshocker deal today) $ 14.39

Any recommendation for 120mm case fans, I have heard about those sell in cheap 4 packs for about 12-15 but couldn't find those deal s anywhere.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 1:31 pm
by Airmantharp
sherlock wrote:
Regarding GTX660 I would wish to see a few reviews online and a few good Manufacture OC models before I pick them over FTW, I won't be able to budget the graphic card till end of the month anyway so I have time to wait(660 release date is either next Tuesday or Thursday, Thursday more likely).

Update: Purchased the PSU: Seasonic X650 Gold( over HX650 b/c less noise and more efficient) $118.99
Purchased Optical: LG 24X DVD burner(Shellshocker deal today) $ 14.39

Any recommendation for 120mm case fans, I have heard about those sell in cheap 4 packs for about 12-15 but couldn't find those deal s anywhere.


If you're sticking with the 410 and a single GPU rig, you probably don't want any more fans, but if you do, what size do you want, how many, and where do you intend to put them in the case? Do you want to hook them straight up to 12v (4-pin Molex) from the PSU, run them through a fan controller, or use the motherboard headers and BIOS controls?

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:28 pm
by kumori
I really like Samsung memory. It's low profile, very high quality, and will overclock very well.

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:58 pm
by sherlock
kumori wrote:
I really like Samsung memory. It's low profile, very high quality, and will overclock very well.


I like all that except this "Timing 11-11-11-28, Cas Latency 11"

The G.Skill Ares F3-1600C8D-8GAB I am geting "Timing 8-8-8 Cas Latency 8" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231548

The Cas Latency difference is too big to ignore.

Airmantharp wrote:
If you're sticking with the 410 and a single GPU rig, you probably don't want any more fans, but if you do, what size do you want, how many, and where do you intend to put them in the case? Do you want to hook them straight up to 12v (4-pin Molex) from the PSU, run them through a fan controller, or use the motherboard headers and BIOS controls?


http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/man ... 203-5.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTY4fD6c ... detailpage



The case have 5 unoccupied Fanmounts, I'd like to add 3 120mm fans, one I really want to add is the fan mount on the removeable hard drive cage(see the Tomshardware review), that location is perfect for a 120mm fan to push air through my GTX 670 FTW mounted next to it on the Mobo. I want to mount another 120mm on the fan mount shown at the 2:20 mark of the youtube video and one more on the fan mount at the left side of the case. I think Connect the fan directed at the GPU into the Mobo and I connect the rest of fans to the 3 speed fan controller on my Phantom 410 case.

I think I won't have problem budgeting these if I need them http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103052

Re: Gaming PC built finished, Review before I buy plz

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:06 pm
by Airmantharp
G.Skill RAM is great- if you want the CAS8 low-profile stuff, there isn't a better choice. Not knocking Samsung RAM, my laptop has 4x4GB at the above mentioned DDR3-1600 CAS11, but it's not as nearly as a solid bet as Corsair/G.Skill.

For the case fans- that Coolermaster kit is cheap, but really? I really think that you're over-estimating the level of airflow you're going to need. Still, if you want to put the fans in, it sounds like you have the tools to run them at inaudible speeds.