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Tinycrash246
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Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:57 am

Hey guys, could you tell me how I went with this build? I'm new to computer building. I want a decent gaming computer that can run most games on the highest settings, and I tend to multitask quite a bit, tell me how I went, what's good and bad about it, and what I could change to save money and provide better performance, my budget is $1000

Thank you! (:

https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?ma ... wish_lists
 
superjawes
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:20 am

Welcome to TR! You should probably start with the latest System Guide to get a general idea of what performance meets your budget. With that, I see a few major things that you probably want to change.

First, you've chosen a laptop drive for a desktop system. It's going to be much slower than a 7200 RPM drive (your choice is 5400 RPM), and more expensive than full-size drives at similar speeds. Try checking out the WD Black and Green lines. The Black drives will give you much better performance if that is the only drive you want to put in your system. However, the Green could be an excellent choice if...

You go with a SSD. SSDs are much faster than mechanical drives, and with a $1,000 budget, I think it will be easy to work in. In that case, a 5400 RPM drive makes for excellent storage to compliment the speed of your SSD.

For $1,000, the 3770K eats up a huge chunk of your budget that could be spent adding a SSD or investing more into your GPU. A 660 Ti gives a solid upgrade over the "vanilla" 660, and your GPU will have a much bigger impact on your gaming performance than the CPU.
On second thought, let's not go to TechReport. It's infested by crypto bull****.
 
DPete27
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:25 am

1) Are you interested in overclocking? If so, you'll need a Z77, Z75, or B75 series motherboard and an i5-3570K. If not, you can keep your mobo of choice and go with a non-"K" series processor like this i5-3470. You can see the gaming performance differences between the two in this TR article along with "multitasking" while gaming here.

2) You should use a power supply calculator to determine your PSU needs. (I use 25% capacitor ageing) Something like this 500W 80Plus Bronze rated Corsair CX500 V3 would be a good choice.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Tinycrash246
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 1:58 am

the i7 3770k is epic though, quad core that supports hyperthreading and runs at 3.5ghz, is this hard drive any better? http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=17282 i cant find any ssds that are at least 1TB for a cheap price.. I am willing to go a bit out of my budget for better parts, i am not too much of a rush to get this computer, within a year i am hoping though, i am 14 and live in australia, which is why i would prefer to get all my parts from pccasegear

I want the best of the best for the cheapest i can. And i want to be able to run games such as arma 2 on the highest settings with fps of 30+ and other games like dayz, battlefield 3 etc. (: i would get an i5, but i want the hyperthreading support. (: maybe on of you guys could make me a good gaming/multitasking computer thats will do what i said earlier, using the parts offered on pccasegear? I want the NZXT case though. (:

thankyou so much!
 
Khali
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 2:42 am

You want the most performance for the lowest price. It looks like your starting out like I did on picking out parts for a new computer. I picked out all the newest and probably most expensive items available. To get the most for the money this is not the way to go with computer parts. My starting list and what I finally ended up ordering were not even close to each other.

I too had the i7 picked as my processor of choice but look at the specs once and you will see the i5-3570k is about $100 cheaper than the i7-3770k. You only lose .1 GHz between the two. Plus there have been reports of Hyperthreading causing issues with some games. Why get it if your just going to have to disable it? Which ever way you end up going be sure to get a better CPU cooler besides the one that comes with the CPU. Stock coolers are not up to the job. You can get a good after market cooler for $50 or less.

For the motherboard I went with the ASUS P8Z77-V LK Motherboard. I do not know anything about the motherboard you have chosen so I will leave that one alone.

I would highly suggest getting a 120/128 GB SSD for your boot drive. You will love the super fast boot up time going this route. For you main data drive you can get a 1TB HDD for under $100. I went all out on my storage drives. I ended up with two 512 GB Samsung 830 SSD's and a Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD.

I would go with the TI version of the GTX 660. It will cost you a little more but worth it. I took the money I saved after changing things around on my Motherboard and CPU choices and got the EVGA GTX 680 2 MB video card.

For the power supply I went with Seasonic due to good reviews. Which ever brand of PSU you pick be sure to get the Modular version. This will make the build a whole lot easier.
For this system I think a 500W would be plenty big enough.
 
kumori
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 4:28 am

Khali wrote:
Which ever brand of PSU you pick be sure to get the Modular version. This will make the build a whole lot easier.
For this system I think a 500W would be plenty big enough.


I think when building a $1000 system a modular PSU is not worth the money. The extra 20 or 30 could be better spent elsewhere.

[quote="Tinycrash246]I want the best of the best for the cheapest i can[/quote]

Don't we all?

Follow the system guide. The guys at Techreport have already done all the hard work by identifying the best cost to performance ratio.
 
Tinycrash246
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:01 am

Well, I have gone with the i5-3570K. I switched the hard drive for a 2TB western digital WD green for $100 here is my build at the moment, https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?ma ... wish_lists all I need to do now is switch the graphics card for a better one and get myself an SSD. What is the difference between a 60GB SSD and a 120GB SSD? What's does that extra memory do? I don't know much about SSDS haha (:

Thankyou very much for your help guys, I really appreciate it! (:
 
Tinycrash246
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:02 am

Also how can I tell if all of the stuff is compatible? I also forgot to mention I need to get a different PSU lol
 
Firestarter
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:05 am

Tinycrash246 wrote:
Also how can I tell if all of the stuff is compatible?

Well, you have to make sure that you pick the right motherboard/CPU/RAM combination, the motherboard has to have the correct CPU socket (1155 in your case) and support the RAM that you want to use. The motherboard also has to fit into the case, which it will because you have selected an mATX board and a case that fit mATX. Next up us the PSU, which has to be able to deliver enough power to power all your components AND have the proper connections, especially for your graphics card. The PSU you chose has plenty of both, and you can probably safe a few dollars and lower your power bills slightly if you choose a quality PSU with a lower wattage rating. You would have to make sure that it has the proper connectors for your graphics card though.

Anyway, your build looks ok, and I'm confident that it will work.

However, it seems that you want to overclock (given that you chose a i5-3570K), but you did not choose a motherboard that is aimed at overclockers, nor did you pick a heatsink/fan for your CPU. The motherboard you picked is a budget one, and while it may support overclocking, it probably won't let you push it far. I too got a relatively cheap motherboard for my build (Asrock P67 Pro3 Gen3), and that's the reason I can't push my CPU further than 4.3ghz without my motherboard cowering in fear of overheating the VRMs. YMMV, but if you're looking to push it hard, you'll want to invest in something with more serious overclocking potential. Also, the motherboard you picked has only 2 RAM slots, so you can't upgrade from 8GB to 16GB later on without purchasing 2x8GB modules.

You can overclock with the stock heatsink/fan that comes with the CPU, but it would be a loud and hot affair. I would add the Coolermaster 212 EVO to the cart, there are better coolers on the market but they're way more expensive and won't make much of a difference. If you choose not to overclock, I'd still get it BTW. Speaking of the heatsink, you should switch out the Corsair Vengeance RAM for RAM that does not have these huge heatsinks on top. The heatsinks don't actually help as far as I know, and they'll probably make it impossible to install the 212 EVO cooler. Get these instead or upgrade to 16GB. Keep in mind that you probably want RAM that runs at 1.5V, which is the standard. There is still plenty of RAM that you can get that requires 1.65V to run at the rated speeds, which may or may not be supported by your motherboard/CPU. It'll probably work, but I'm just saying that 1.5V is available as well and the standard.
 
superjawes
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:32 am

SSD stands for solid state drive. It's basically flash memory in place of a spinning platter. That is why you never want to go for a 5400 RPM hard drive for your primary system drive, as it will slow the performance of Windows considerably (the WD Green drives fall into this category). If you pass on the SSD, you need to go with at least a WD Black, which spins at 7200 RPM.

And SSDs are relatively new, so no, you aren't going to find any at similar prices to mechanical hard drives. What you want to do is pick up a solid state drive and a mechanical sidekick for storage. I would go with at least a 120GB SSD, as more space means less data must go on the mechanical drive, and you can get away with storing your data on something like a WD Green much easier.

Now new question: do you need a copy of Windows to go with this? I know your original configuration was around $1000 without it, but if you need to pick up a license, I would include that in the cost of the system. It's relatively minor, but Windows licenses can easily knock $100 out of your budget.

On GPUs...ick. The 660 Ti and 7950 cards on PC Case Gear are running $30 more than similar ones on Newegg without mail in rebates, and that changes the value perspective, especially since the "vanilla" 660s have similar prices. Go figure =/
On second thought, let's not go to TechReport. It's infested by crypto bull****.
 
DPete27
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:43 am

DPete27 wrote:
Are you interested in overclocking? If so, you'll need a Z77, Z75, or B75 series motherboard

Apparently that needs to be restated. You CANNOT overclock your processor with a "H" series mobo. Try this AsRock Z77 Extreme4-M on for size. I was going to purchase the Extreme4-M, but I got the Pro4-m on a sale I couldn't refuse. The Asus P8Z77-M is also a very good board. Newegg.com has many customer reviews and the ability to compare products side-by-side which is very hepful.

Tinycrash246 wrote:
i cant find any ssds that are at least 1TB for a cheap price

You get a 120GB SSD that you put your OS, programs, and games on. Your pictures, music, documents, movies, etc go on the mechanical hdd.

Tinycrash246 wrote:
And i want to be able to run games such as arma 2 on the highest settings with fps of 30+ and other games like dayz, battlefield 3 etc

You can find this information by reading TR articles. The GTX 660 can play BF3 at 1080p and Ultra detail settings and crank out 45fps average (35fps in the 99th percentile graphs).

Tinycrash246 wrote:
i am not too much of a rush to get this computer, within a year i am hoping though

If that's the case I recommend reading TR articles until you're ready to purchase. Intel Haswell processors are due out in June along with AMD 8000 series GPUs. Nvidia 700 series GPUs will probably be out closer to the end of the year.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Firestarter
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 1:52 pm

Tinycrash246 wrote:
i am not too much of a rush to get this computer, within a year i am hoping though, i am 14

If you're not hurting for a PC right now, I advise you to start reading reviews and build guides, and in general acquaint yourself with the do's and don't's of building a PC. You already have the basics down, but the more you read about this stuff the better you'll know what you really want! Don't waste all your hard cash on a PC though.
Last edited by Firestarter on Tue Feb 05, 2013 2:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
frumper15
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 2:18 pm

I second (third? fourth?) the recommendation to read the system guides - even if one of the builds doesn't fit your goals or budget exactly, you can be assured they are quality components with good price/performance ratios.

That being said, your current build could potentially benefit from some tweaks. First of all - do not plan on using that 2tb Green drive as your boot drive. You won't like it very much that way. Unless you've already got 2TB of stuff that you know you need to store I would say you would be better off spending the money on an SSD and keep an eye out for a storage drive or just use what you currently have - speed isn't too much of an issue if you're just using it to store things on. Speed is an issue if you're running your OS and programs/games/etc. off it. If you need to balance speed and storage in a single unit, get something like the Samsung F3 or the WD Black

You're looking to spend $165 on your case and PSU - I wonder if you might look at some cheaper combinations there to allow for the aforementioned SSD or possibly upgrading the GPU. The system guide has some good suggestions so I won't reinvent the wheel there.

As others have mentioned, you haven't specified a motherboard that will allow overclocking the processor you have chosen so I would recommend that you either select a different processor or motherboard.

I think you're going to be closest to the sweet spot build, so take a look if you haven't already: http://techreport.com/review/24059/tr-christmas-2012-system-guide/4
i7-8086K | Z370 AORUS GAMING WIFI | 32GB DDR4-2400 | EVGA GTX 1080 Ti | 512GB 960 Pro | 27" Dell 2560x1440 Gsync | Fractal R6 | Seasonic Focus Plus 850W | Win10 Pro x64.
 
Voldenuit
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 05, 2013 2:45 pm

DPete27 wrote:
DPete27 wrote:
Are you interested in overclocking? If so, you'll need a Z77, Z75, or B75 series motherboard

Apparently that needs to be restated. You CANNOT overclock your processor with a "H" series mobo. Try this AsRock Z77 Extreme4-M on for size. I was going to purchase the Extreme4-M, but I got the Pro4-m on a sale I couldn't refuse. The Asus P8Z77-M is also a very good board. Newegg.com has many customer reviews and the ability to compare products side-by-side which is very hepful.


What DPete said. Get a Z77 board for your 3570K or save yourself some money by getting a non-K CPU (I would personally go for the latter option as you generally don't need much CPU in most modern games).

Also, the Powercolor 7870 Myst Edition is $10 cheaper than the GTX 660 you listed and will be noticeably faster, as it is based on a Tahiti core (7950, 7970) instead of the standard 7870's Pitcairn. That said, the Gigabyte GTX 660 is a pretty good card with a very quiet cooler (very likely to be significantly quieter than the Powercolor 7870 Myst Edition's single fan cooler), so if quietness is a priority, the Gigabyte is the better option.
Wind, Sand and Stars.
 
Tinycrash246
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Wed Feb 06, 2013 5:54 am

https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?ma ... wish_lists there is my build, all up it around $1125 including the OS and shipping, i AM willing to spend perhaps an extra $100 for a graphics card, providing it is a much better card and the difference will be somewhat noticeable. what do you guys think of this build so far? i decided on the 600w psu, so i have a little wiggle room if i wish to upgrade in the future, and the upgrade requires more power. I will purchase an SSD sometime after i get my computer, i don't wish to run my budget up too much more than $1200.

tell me what the build is like, it seems pretty good to me, (: is it all compatible still? (:
 
superjawes
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Wed Feb 06, 2013 7:11 am

It's all compatible, but you need to lose the WD Green drive if you're not getting a SSD. Your system will be very sluggish if you don't. Western Digital still has Black drives that are full speed. More expensive, but the performance increase will be substantial.

Here's the 1TB
Here's the 2TB
On second thought, let's not go to TechReport. It's infested by crypto bull****.
 
Captain Ned
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Wed Feb 06, 2013 7:56 am

superjawes wrote:
It's all compatible, but you need to lose the WD Green drive if you're not getting a SSD. Your system will be very sluggish if you don't. Western Digital still has Black drives that are full speed. More expensive, but the performance increase will be substantial.

Here's the 1TB
Here's the 2TB

All depends on what the drive is used for. As a boot/programs drive a WD Green isn't a good idea, but for simple spinning storage a Green makes perfect sense.
What we have today is way too much pluribus and not enough unum.
 
Tinycrash246
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Wed Feb 06, 2013 8:05 am

Sorry for so many questions and such, I just don't want too screw anything up. https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?ma ... wish_lists Build with different hard drive, will this build allow my PC to run at optimum performance with the parts chosen? Oh and what's the deal with static electricity and frying your processor or motherboard, and how can I prevent it? Also, how do I apply the thermal paste? And how quiet will this system be?

Thank you so much everyone, you have helped so much!! (:
 
superjawes
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:34 am

Captain Ned wrote:
superjawes wrote:
It's all compatible, but you need to lose the WD Green drive if you're not getting a SSD. Your system will be very sluggish if you don't. Western Digital still has Black drives that are full speed. More expensive, but the performance increase will be substantial.

Here's the 1TB
Here's the 2TB

All depends on what the drive is used for. As a boot/programs drive a WD Green isn't a good idea, but for simple spinning storage a Green makes perfect sense.

That's why I said he doesn't want the Green if he isn't getting a SSD :wink:

Greens are great for storage...and Reds for that matter, although I've never actually owned one of them, but a SSD is the one thing I wish I had in my system. Soon...
On second thought, let's not go to TechReport. It's infested by crypto bull****.
 
DPete27
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Wed Feb 06, 2013 1:56 pm

The system should be decent in terms of noise as long as that side-panel fan isn't too loud. That's probably the one you'll hear the easiest. You can always switch it out for a quieter one if needed.

You should read/watch TR's System Building Guide. That will take you step-by-step through everything you need to know in order to put a system together.

Oh, and you might be better off getting memory with shorter heatsinks to eliminate the possibility of clearance issues when/if you install an aftermarket CPU cooler.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Tinycrash246
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Wed Feb 06, 2013 3:10 pm

 
DPete27
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Wed Feb 06, 2013 5:08 pm

Tinycrash246 wrote:
Are these RAM sticks any better?

Same height as the ones you had before, exact same memory as you had before, just a different color.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Tinycrash246
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:16 am

What should i be looking for in new RAM sticks then?
 
DPete27
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:17 am

If you follow the link I posted earlier (the words are a hyperlink just without all the ugly adress showing BTW) you'll see the Vengeance low-profile heatspreaders dont stick up nearly as far above the circuitboard. You should be looking for memory either with no heatspreaders (heatspreaders are just an aesthetic marketing ply anyway) or low profile heatspreaders like those Vengeance sticks I linked or something like these G-Skill Ares sticks unless you know for sure that you won't have a clearance problem with your chosen aftermarket CPU heatsink and mobo.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Tinycrash246
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Gaming Rig - Parts Compatible?

Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:45 am

Hey guys, you all helped me so much in my last thread and for that i thank you very much!!

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... wish_lists
The main reason i'm posting this is becuase i want to know if all of these parts are compatible with each other?
Also, the case i chose is no longer on the site, so i need some suggestions for a cheap case that looks good for under $100 give or take $20 (:

thankyou! (:
 
Arclight
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Re: Gaming Rig - Parts Compatible?

Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:53 am

All the parts are compatible.

A sub 100$ case suggestion:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811112354
nVidia video drivers FAIL, click for more info
Disclaimer: All answers and suggestions are provided by an enthusiastic amateur and are therefore without warranty either explicit or implicit. Basically you use my suggestions at your own risk.
 
DPete27
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Re: Gaming Rig - Parts Compatible?

Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:43 pm

Why isn't this being posted in your previous thread. I see it's the same build.

Anyway, if you want a mATX case to go with your mATX mobo, I'd suggest:
Silverstone TJ08-E for $99 (review)
Fractal Design Arc Mini for $120

Here's a comparison between the two cases on newegg.com. Even though you can't purchase from newegg, it's a much better organized, helpful, and detailed site. I would shop on newegg, then see if the cases you like are offered on PCCaseGear.com.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
ludi
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Re: Gaming Rig - Parts Compatible?

Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:59 pm

IMO the best case under $100 has always been some variant of the Antec Sonata. Everything fits exactly where it should without superfluous puff, and the quick-release side panel and side-accessible hard drive bays are particularly nice touches.

For more space and ventilation choices, variants of the Antec Three Hundred are also widely available under $100.
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Tinycrash246
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Re: Gaming Rig - Parts Compatible?

Tue Feb 19, 2013 3:22 pm

Sorry Peter, i thought I should make a new thread for this D:

This case has really grabbed my attention http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=18366
Does it work with my build? (:
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: Good or bad multiple purpose build?

Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:54 pm

Yes, they'll work together.

"Parts is parts."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_oem9BqUTI&t=00m04s


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