The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

bit late for April Fools isn't it?

 

Actually I found 21 (was 24) at a Chicago location.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0298864

 

Walk-In only though, What a Shame

 

Hey Russ what do you think of this ram here?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

may buy some for the heck of it for backup or customer build later

 

I was always a bit wary about cheap RAM, but truth is, there's little evidence to knock A-Data stuff. Obviously it won't fare up to being overclocked, but apart from that, solid cheap memory.

 

Man is Everybody afraid to get away and step out box and try other Memory Sticks besides Corsair all the time ,you can't trust reviews all the time it's has to be a (Hands on review) parts work different in many ways together,but each his own on what you like

I guess these are cheap also sam

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144212
I like the heat sinks that they come with

 

I'm happy to pass through systems with Corsair, G-Skill or Mushkin memory, but tend to recommend Corsair because it seems to fare best from the compatibility and reliability standpoint. GeIL seem to do well though.

 

sam,
Since you've decided to attack what I decide to build, I'm going to answer a few of your remarks!

First off, I'm not building a high end gaming rig, so my overall needs are far less than yours. If I was building something like your Quad rig, with a high power video card like you have, I would use a better, higher wattage PSU! I've only had 4 PSUs in the last 4 years. Five, if you want to split hairs because of the couple of days I used the C/M 460. The first one was this No Name, POS Black Chrome 480w unit that I used for the P4 and Pentium D. When it fried, it took my MB and my DVD Burner with it. Asus replaced the MB and Newegg replaced the Burner, and I bought a C/M I thought was a Cooler Master, that turned out to actually be a coolMax piece of crap that failed in a day or so, so Newegg replaced it with the Thermaltake W0093RU 500w, which had the same airflow design as the one you had with that piece of Lexan plastic blocking about 1/3 of the fan's airflow. It ran hot as hell and died in less than a month! Thermaltake was well aware of the problem and quickly came out with Rev.2.0 to replace it, which Newegg sent me. I promptly tortured the hell out of it with the Pentium D. I moved it along when I built the E4300, and again when I built the E6750 using it. A very good value for the dollar, for the purpose intended. The entire 3 years I had it, it ran cool, quiet, and I never had any power related problems at all, in fact it was overkill for the power demands I was placing on it. Now I've got the Cooler Master 500w, and I have to say that between it and the motherboard's 5 power regulation stages, my voltages are rock solid and Vdroop barely exists, as the correction is so fast that you have to be watching to see the transition at all. For their intended purpose, based on my needs, they are both excellent PSUs. BTW I have no idea where you got the "original Phenom" from as I've never had one of those! If you are referring to my 7750BE, it's not the original Phenom, it was made from! It's actually the latest “B3” chip, that doesn't have the infamous TLB bug that hobbled the performance of the original Phenom chips. It also has all the features of AM2+.

A bit of a far cry from the "God awful fans" you proclaimed the other day, don't you think? You've also proven nothing! You tried to use the Silverstones in a way that they weren't designed to be used, so that's the fault of the fans? I'm not much of a fan of automatic fan controls, other than the CPU cooler, as the change in RPMs all the time, are annoying to me!

What do you mean by "advanced systems"? My motherboard is just as advanced as yours is! Maybe even more so Before the bios flash, I would have agreed that your MB was more advanced, but after the bios flash which let the MB know that my CPU was an AM2+ CPU, I've got a slew of additional adjustments and features added to what was already there. in fact it's right up there with the Rampage Formula in terms of adjust-ability. I know, I downloaded the Manual and compared them to try and help a friend solve some overclocking problems. I don't have all the "Bling Bling" of all those LEDs, but I think I'll live!

Don't try to foster that idea on 6402 then! He's the self proclaimed "King of Cheap", and Sophocles still marvels at some of the really good finds he's wound up with over the years. I still buy what I can afford, but I get the best components to fit the needs of what I'm building, within the money I have to work with. If I can't afford to build something right, I don't build it! Sometimes it's taken me months to get everything I need, but I wait until I can afford what I need. I also don't buy junk! While the Earthwatts you recommended is a "Catch 22"! It's a reasonably decent PSU, but hey are noisy because of the 80MM fan, and they run hot enough to get the top cover of the case, pretty warm, which is why the fan is so noisy in the first place! In contrast, mine has been on for 36 hours straight, doing all sorts of work. I never hear it, and in spite of having a stack of books on top of my computer, the cover just above the PSU is cool to the touch! I will probably upgrade the PSU after I get an AM2+/AM3 Phenom II for it, as I have some future plans for my computer that will require more power.

You've already admitted that the Silverstones "are of Negligible Superiority" to at least two on your list. To me, that means that they are at least as good! Please! Now that that's been established, I see no reason for you to be bothering me every time I recommend the Silverstones to someone.

The PSU? I'm satisfied that the CoolerMaster PSU I recommended is well built, right down to their choice of components, and the overall quality is excellent. I'll continue to recommend it if it suits the need! The Thermaltake is a good buy, when it's on sale for $39.99, and suits your needs. At it's regular price there are others available that would be a better choice!

Enough Already, please
Russ

 

hey Will,
I use it for all my customer builds since last summer. Decent enough, and I've yet to have a problem with any sticks.

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I have a Silverstone psu and I really like it. I have been running it for months without any problems. It is very quiet and runs cool. I would have no problem recommending a Silverstone psu.

 

man please this memory can be overclocked maybe not as much as others but atlease some or more over 450 and you can't knock something you hav'en tryed yourself personal some cheaper things last longer than some brands names remember some brands are cover ups just for people to Buy by the Name only just like buying a porsche but buying a souped up voltswagon instead it's just a name and more money to spend on the Name

 

krj15489,
These were Silverstone's fans that were the issue!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Oh. Well I don't have any of those but I am sure they work great.

 

Will,
I can vouch for that. I had the first pair I ever bought to 920MHz on that first BioStar build I did. I haven't played around with any since. Seems to me that they were pretty equal, if not better than the Corsair Value Select memory I've previously been using. The customers like the heat shields too!

Russ

 

Never used that particular memory but I've used some PC400 RAM on a friends build and NEVER had a problem with it at all. NOW the video cards are a different story. I bought to low end for him and should have just spent twice as much on a single card.... This was over 1 year ago.. soooo NOT up to date.

I've used quite a few sticks of memory... NOT all name brand per se. lol.

PNY
Kingston
A-data
Corsair
OCZ
Mushkin (fanboy here. )
Crucial
Centon

I think that's it... all different types of RAM really but NOT as much experience as Russ or someone like that. lol.

....gm

 

You know what I was thinking about today. I've put a substantial amount of cash into this baby! LOL! Im gonna tally it all up in the morning, for a giggle, a jaw drop, which ever the case may be for you fine people And now...another precious gem is joining my rig. I know I know. I could have done better. But, the money was right, its supposedly a good/above average card for GTA 4, so im sure I'll love it. And considering how much a gamer I am ROFL, Im sure it will last at LEAST a year.
LOL! I may have bought the last one! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143173

 

There's not really much that needs saying in response to that point. So blinded by your defense you've completely misinterpreted why I started the argument in the first place.
Here's a few quick responses though, to save the thousand words you posted.
1. High END and High Quality are completely different.
2. Pentium D systems with basic graphics still use less than 200W.
3. Most weak PSUs will survive up to about half load with no noticeable issue
4. Most weak PSUs will not stand up to running the wattage they are rated for
5. A weak PSU is any PSU designed to the standard layout for a wattage figure lower than what is printed on the label.
6. The speed of correction is because Loadline Calibration is a relatively instantaneous technology. That's not hardware quality, that's just how the tech in your board has been designed
7. There is a lot more to a fan than just how much noise it makes and how much air it moves.
8. To use three 120mm fans at once (not uncommon in a lot of systems) FM121s will mean at least two fan controllers lying in the middle of the case, or modification to use a backplate.
9. To use any number of 120mm fans from any other manufacturer, plug it in and away you go
10. 'Cheap' is a relative concept. Just because something is expensive does not mean it is good. That is Donald's principle, and even moreso in reverse.
11. The worst thing to do to convince people in an argument is to make false accusations regarding their choices, but oh look!
12. Contrary to the Thermaltake, the EarthWatts 380W is a 380W unit.
13. Since spotting an 80mm fan in the PSU you immediately assume it's noisy. That isn't always the case.
14. The fan in the Earthwatts PSU typically runs no higher than 1400rpm in a system drawing 180W (7-blade). Remind me, what speed is your 80mm fan when you say it's super quiet and you can hear a pin drop?
15. The top cover of my file server with its Earthwatts is cool to the touch. It would be cooler still if I used a faster exhaust fan, right now it's at 950rpm.






Omegaman: It's alright, you didn't do bad for the price. HD4870s are better value overall, but for an out and out GTA4 fanatic, the GTX260 would have been the better buy.

 

Yup. Thats about what I figured. Some of these things were bought in their prime, and were a bit more expensive than they are now. The WD 1tb drive for instance. I was quite irritated to see the price drop 50$ shortly after buying it However, I do not regret purchasing it. Its one of my more favored components!!!
700W OCZ PSU (OCZ700GXSSLI) - $109.99
Amd Phenom II 940 B.E. $229.00
Samsung 24" (2433BW) -$ 299.99
Cooler Master HAF 932 full tower Chassis - $169.99
Arctic cooling Freezer 64 Pro 92mm (CPU cooler) - $29.99
BFG Nvidia GTX260 OCBE 896MB - $194.99
Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H Mobo AM2+ $134.99
Kingston 2GB X2 DDR2 800 - $48.99
WD FALS 1TB HDD (can now get MUCH cheaper) - $209.99
WD 5000AAKS 500GB HDD - $84.99
WD Velociraptor HDD(WD1500HLFS) 150GB - $179.99
WD 5000AAKB 500GB HDD(2007) $109.99
=1802.89(excluding shipping and 6+dvd-rom/burners

Soon, I'll be purchasing Mushkin 1066 Ram as well. And next year(hopefully sooner), I can get the 30" samsung, which boasts its incredible resolution!!!

 

You did well on the monitor and motherboard. The Case is expensive though, that's a lot more than I paid in the UK. Even after shipping and with our 15% VAT it only worked out at $155.
Good luck using a 30" with the GTX260.. haha.

 

Ehhh...the case was worth it. Trivial cost difference anyway(To me)

And actually, I screwed up with my bank account at the time of the Mobo, and paid more there than you see. Had to pay an insufficient funds penalty(as well as 2nd day shipping)! Actually, in my opinion the bank screwed up! But in all reality, I DID!

Running games at that resolution may not work, but windows itself will im sure(currently 1920 stutterless). I didnt expect my 8600 to play GTA at 1680, it did! Granted, it was a bit rough, but it tried. Besides, in a years time, I may be into trying a Sli/CF config. 1yr is both fast for me, as well as a long time for a computer LOL! I grow bored. Heck, in the next year or so, Usb 3.0 will be released, S-ata Rev 3 will be released. So mobo's will be substantially different in the next year or so.