Like/want to build computers? Get in hurrrrrr

[fox_racing_guy]

You will need a new CPU cooler as well, that Scythe will not work with any current socket according to the spec (Scythe SCNJ-1000 Nijna CPU Heatsink

for socket 478 / 754 / 775 / 940 / 939)

Z77 is the most current Intel chipset for the Ivy/Sandy series and includes USB 3.0 native.

[Oryon]

To move user folders, try the group policy settings, for folder redirection. That is how we put user files on a network server, in a domain. I would assume the same would work for a local machine, with local folder redirection.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab using Tapatalk 2

[Cheech]

I knew there was a reason why I kept exarch on ignore, now to just have all of you yahoos stop quoting him so I stop seeing his posts completely.

jizzbotopotamus, I'm running that OCZ Vertex 3 in my gaming rig, and a Crucial RealSSD C300 in my HTPC. I'll venture to say that the OCZ is a faster drive, however I only have a i3 2100 in the HTPC vs. the i5 2500 in the gaming, so overall processing I know is faster which may skew my observations. With SSD prices being as they are, there really isn't a reason why you wouldn't run one as a OS drive. Just remember if you're going to chop capacity for budget, that not only are you providing for the OS (at least 8GB or so, I haven't looked at a vanilla Win7 install in a while), but the pagefile (however much RAM you have, you carry the same amount in a pagefile on the local drive, if you rock 12GB, you're chewing up 12GB of usable SSD space), and the entirety of Diablo 3 plus any other games you want to install locally to cut down on load times. You could move the pagefile to a spinning disk if you have one, but performance would suffer as a result.

[Cheech]

Oh yeah, and Microcenter's got some sweet prices on parts, at least processors and mobo's. I picked up my entire rig from there, you should stop by when you're next in Columbus. If you want some build help (or just want me to do it ), you're welcome at my house anytime.

[magley64]

microcenter in eastgate, mayfield heights is closer for our resident jbot...

[ScubaCinci]

Yeah, Microcenter usually has the best prices on processors (they match or beat Newegg) and have good bundle deals with motherboards. Their RAM and other parts tend to be pricey though. You can usually find some great used parts on hardforum.com. I can't disclose details but the NVIDIA vid cards coming out this fall should be the shit. The latest round of cards is nothing special over the previous gen. If you can, get a decent cheap card now and save for the fall...

[r1crusher]

I knew there was a reason why I kept exarch on ignore, now to just have all of you yahoos stop quoting him so I stop seeing his posts completely.

jizzbotopotamus, I'm running that OCZ Vertex 3 in my gaming rig, and a Crucial RealSSD C300 in my HTPC. I'll venture to say that the OCZ is a faster drive, however I only have a i3 2100 in the HTPC vs. the i5 2500 in the gaming, so overall processing I know is faster which may skew my observations. With SSD prices being as they are, there really isn't a reason why you wouldn't run one as a OS drive. Just remember if you're going to chop capacity for budget, that not only are you providing for the OS (at least 8GB or so, I haven't looked at a vanilla Win7 install in a while), but the pagefile (however much RAM you have, you carry the same amount in a pagefile on the local drive, if you rock 12GB, you're chewing up 12GB of usable SSD space), and the entirety of Diablo 3 plus any other games you want to install locally to cut down on load times. You could move the pagefile to a spinning disk if you have one, but performance would suffer as a result.

I can concur with most of this as I'm running Vertex 3's as well. Believe it or not, I have almost filled a 120GB version already with only the OS and programs. Also, if you're running at least 12-16GB or more of RAM just turn off the stupid pagefile. You don't need it writing to any disk as long as you have the memory. I run without one and it does just fine (again I have 24GB of RAM though )

If you really want the pay the money and want one of the fastest SSD's I've ever seen, look into Revo's.

[crb]

I just realized I way behind, I haven't kept up with computers for years. When this desktop goes sounds like will have to do a lot of reading and research to get up to speed.

[ScubaCinci]

If you really want the pay the money and want one of the fastest SSD's I've ever seen, look into Revo's.

Revo's can be a PITA. Since they require special drivers to work properly, if you ever have an issue where you need to boot from the Windows disk to repair you OS, it will not see the PCI-E based drive without first loading the driver. Fairly easy process but a pain if you don't have the driver saved off somewhere accessible. I had another issue where it was a pain but can't remember what it is at the moment. I have 2 Revodrives laying here (X2 480GB and 1TB hybrid) and I don't use them because of this. They are VERY fast though.

IMO the Samsung 830 or Intel 520 are the drives to have right now from a performance/reliability standpoint. OCZ drives are nice (I used to moderate their SSD forum when they first launched their SSDs) but they tend to rush product out and follow it up with firmware updates to fix bugs. For many users this is not a good situation.

[r1crusher]

I've not had any issues with my Vertex SSD's to this point. One 60GB and currently on 2 120GB. But yeah, the Revo's as a boot drive are a complete pain. Most will use a good standard SSD with a Revo as the storage drive. The latest ones didn't look a ton better than the previous models spec wise.

[Cheech]

Anyone dick around with the Momentus XT's as a storage drive? I'm curious to get a 750GB with the 8GB NAND "cache", but I noticed they only made a notebook form factor. I can fit it in my case, just wondering if anyone had any real-world experience with it.

[r1crusher]

We have started using these in our work laptops for storage drives. I don't think we've seen any huge improvements in performance honestly. We do a lot with VM's and if they are small and can fit into the NAND area they seem a little faster than a normal drive but not enough for cost increase honestly.

It might behave differently as a boot drive though.

[ScubaCinci]

Yes, I did a review of one HERE.

They work pretty well. Not quite the same as a pure SSD but you will see improvements depending on how you use the PC. If you are limited to one drive (i.e. laptop) and you need large storage (making an SSD too expensive) it's a very good alternative.

BTW, the 120GB Vertex 3 is on sale for a nice price - $84...

http://forums.legitreviews.com/about41238.html

[jbot]

you guys are so nice. thanks for all the helpful posts.

i did a bit more reading on i5 versus i7. as per posts in this thread, it seems that i5 is still more than adequate for anything out there now, but if i can find a decent motherboard without spending a gazillion dollars on it to go with it, i'll probably just go with the i7.

anyone have a recommendation on a 1155 or 2011 socket atx motherboard (I honestly dont even know if there's a difference) and a good heatsink? it sounds like my scythe ninja will not work. let's be honest, i only bought that heatsink cause of the name.

[ScubaCinci]

Unless you plan on doing manual overclocking and/or doing very CPU intensive stuff (i.e. video editing, folding,etc) the i5 is the WTG. Also, the stock heatsink is just fine if you aren't doing what I described in the first sentence.

As far as mobo's go, there are few stinkers anymore and most of those are just fine, just don't overclock very well. Stick with ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI and you can't go wrong. Just make sure they support the features you need/want (i.e. USB 3.0, SATA III, etc).

[jbot]

Unless you plan on doing manual overclocking and/or doing very CPU intensive stuff (i.e. video editing, folding,etc) the i5 is the WTG. Also, the stock heatsink is just fine if you aren't doing what I described in the first sentence.

As far as mobo's go, there are few stinkers anymore and most of those are just fine, just don't overclock very well. Stick with ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI and you can't go wrong. Just make sure they support the features you need/want (i.e. USB 3.0, SATA III, etc).

i know that right now, the i5 is more than adequate, but i'm also guessing that in the next couple years software companies will find ways to bloat their crapware to match (if history is any indicator). i'd rather overkill it now than say to myself "great, windows 9 or crysis 4 is out and now i have to upgrade my processor (and probably motherboard) again" 2-3 years from now.

maybe i'm being paranoid. lol

Edited May 30, 2012 by jbot

[jbot]

not sure if this will help anyone, but this site kinda lays it out for stupid nubs like me:

http://www.gamingpcbuilds.com/

it says exactly what hardware is recommended. i'm looking at the $1500 build:

http://www.gamingpcbuilds.com/best-gaming-pc-build-under-1500/

any thoughts?

[Cheech]

not sure if this will help anyone, but this site kinda lays it out for stupid nubs like me:

http://www.gamingpcbuilds.com/

it says exactly what hardware is recommended. i'm looking at the $1500 build:

http://www.gamingpcbuilds.com/best-gaming-pc-build-under-1500/

any thoughts?

Check out reddit.com/r/buildapc, the sidebar there has a shit ton of information. I understand what you mean about futureproofing, even with that once it's time to upgrade you'll probably be into a better video card before a better processor. Get the i5, and sink that extra cash into a better vid card out of the gate. Stock HSF is fine, unless you want to dick around with overcocking, (one, two penis jokes! ah ah ah!) and at that point you're going to be in a struggle with heat/noise/room in case. Stick to stock for now, it's plenty fast for what you want to do.

[jbot]

Check out reddit.com/r/buildapc, the sidebar there has a shit ton of information. I understand what you mean about futureproofing, even with that once it's time to upgrade you'll probably be into a better video card before a better processor. Get the i5, and sink that extra cash into a better vid card out of the gate. Stock HSF is fine, unless you want to dick around with overcocking, (one, two penis jokes! ah ah ah!) and at that point you're going to be in a struggle with heat/noise/room in case. Stick to stock for now, it's plenty fast for what you want to do.

ok, so i saw and read this:

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/diqq9/your_thoughts_on_future_proofing/

is this the general consensus?

should i even bother trying to at least get the motherboard i think i could swap a "better" processor into later? what socket would that be? or is there even a point? that last part is basically my basis for wanting a socket 2011 system. is that foolish? cause right now, i can get a i7 3820 processor for 200 at microcenter and a suitable mobo for about 250-ish... the mobo, i could put a "newer" processor into later, but will they even be releasing "newer" 2011 socket processors 2-3 years from now?

Edited May 30, 2012 by jbot

[CoolWhip]

If anyone needs and SSD, LMK, I've got some I need to sell.

I may be interested in upgrading my desktop boot drive from an Agility 3. Let me know what you have. Jbot, I was going to post some stuff on here, but my head hurts from shaking it so much at Exarch's posts. I have built and worked on literally hundreds of computers over the years. Let me know if you have any specific questions or want some help.

[jbot]

I may be interested in upgrading my desktop boot drive from an Agility 3. Let me know what you have. Jbot, I was going to post some stuff on here, but my head hurts from shaking it so much at Exarch's posts. I have built and worked on literally hundreds of computers over the years. Let me know if you have any specific questions or want some help.

if i can get your (and whoever else has been paying attention to the game for the last... say... 6 years) opinion on this bit:

should i even bother trying to at least get the motherboard i think i could swap a "better" processor into later? what socket would that be? or is there even a point? that last part is basically my basis for wanting a socket 2011 system. is that foolish? cause right now, i can get a i7 3820 processor for 200 at microcenter and a suitable mobo for about 250-ish... the mobo, i could put a "newer" processor into later, but will they even be releasing "newer" 2011 socket processors 2-3 years from now?

[CoolWhip]

That is a hard question to gauge since no one knows the future, but AMD and Intel have ON AVERAGE (not hard science) put out around two generations of processors for their sockets. It depends on how much the processor architecture changes from one generation to the next and if they have to change the dies. If you aren't going to upgrade for three year, you might be getting toward the end of life on your average Micro Center motherboard if you like to stay up to date. That isn't to say it won't still work, it just won't be cutting edge.

[CoolWhip]

You have to decide if you are trying to build a cutting edge computer now, or if you want a cutting edge computer in three years. There would be some major differences in the way you would approach your build.

[Cheech]

if i can get your (and whoever else has been paying attention to the game for the last... say... 6 years) opinion on this bit:

should i even bother trying to at least get the motherboard i think i could swap a "better" processor into later? what socket would that be? or is there even a point? that last part is basically my basis for wanting a socket 2011 system. is that foolish? cause right now, i can get a i7 3820 processor for 200 at microcenter and a suitable mobo for about 250-ish... the mobo, i could put a "newer" processor into later, but will they even be releasing "newer" 2011 socket processors 2-3 years from now?

Personally, I wouldn't bet money that the socket that I'm using now would still be available 3-4 years from now. Even if that were the case, there would be enough northbridge improvements and faster RAM that may or may not fit/work with the northbridge that would cause me to seriously look at upgrading motherboards. I'm taking my laptop as an example: I bought a ZOMGWTFBBQ high-end Dell in 2004. During its life I ended up maxing out the RAM, and that was the extent of the upgrading, however, that rig was able to play decent games (half-life2, TF2) for about 5 years before it seriously began to show its age. In the desktop world, that's a complete gutting as your processor is outdated, and since the socket isn't used anymore your motherboard is going, so therefore you need to replace RAM, and you'd be about 4-5 generations behind in vidcards so that'll have to go as well.

tldr: When you swap processors, you'll be swapping mobo's as well.

[Cheech]

You have to decide if you are trying to build a cutting edge computer now, or if you want a cutting edge computer in three years. There would be some major differences in the way you would approach your build.

That doesn't make any sense. If you want a cutting edge computer in 3 years, you're building a new PC in 3 years. Even with the most expensive of everything currently available, it won't be "cutting edge" in 3 years. Passable? Sure.