Post your gaming setup!

[DeltrusDisc]

Shame on that warm winter!

[Asera]

I am sure if I put my case next to an open window in the depths of a cold Canadian winter, I could get temperatures below 20 degrees easily. Unfortunately for me it has hardly been a cold winter, hell it's only -1 outside right now. Screw global warming!

Yeah, it's been the same here. Hardly worthy of being called winter. Yet HRM still can't seem to figure out snow removal despite getting next to none so far. -_-

Anyway, on topic... new parts!



"R"AID0, here I come!

[Deleted]

Looks nice Asera!

I almost ordered a Corsair Force 3 128GB SSD today. They sold them out for 1300SEK (~$130) which is a pretty good price. I'll settle for the Crucial M4 64GB I have in my work PC for now though. I guess I'm too cheap to get a SSD while my HDDs still do a decent job ^^

Although I just ordered some new peripherals plus that I'm planning to expand this sometime soon.

[Lockmybllz]

Nice, currently deciding if i will go with 2x64gb crucial m4's or save up a bit more and go with 2x128gb like yourself.

[Asera]

Looks nice Asera!

I almost ordered a Corsair Force 3 128GB SSD today. They sold them out for 1300SEK (~$130) which is a pretty good price. I'll settle for the Crucial M4 64GB I have in my work PC for now though. I guess I'm too cheap to get a SSD while my HDDs still do a decent job ^^

Although I just ordered some new peripherals plus that I'm planning to expand this sometime soon.

That's a pretty good price, about the same price I paid for my refurbished Force3 120GB. Hopefully you don't have any issues with yours. Mine has a few quirks that I'm guessing would be far worse if I actually used it as a boot drive. Thankfully the last firmware update I did seemed to fix it.

I decided to keep away from Sandforce for a main drive array. xD

[Ztringz]

Hi!

First time poster, long time browser.

Just want your opinion on my new build, I`m no computer savant,but have tried to think ahead so I can upgrade in the future.

Case: Cooler Master HAF X Big Tower

PSU: Corsair HX 1050W

Processor: Intel® Core i7-960 Socket-LGA1366, Quad Core, 3.2Ghz, 8MB, 130W

MOBO: ASUS SABERTOOTH X58, Socket-1366 ATX, X58, DDR3, 3xPCIe(2.0)x16, CFX&SLI,SATA6Gb/s, USB 3.0, FW, TUF, CeraM!X

Cooling: Corsair H80 Hydro Series

RAM: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz 12GB CL9 Kit w/6x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL9-9-9-24, for Core i7,1.65v

GPU: Gainward GeForce GTX 580 1536MB PhysXPCI-Express 2.0,"GOOD", GDDR5, 2xDVI, native-HDMI,DisplayPort, 783MHz

SSD:Corsair SSD Force Series GT 120GB 2.5"SATA 6 Gb/s (SATA3.0), 555MB/515MB/s read/write,85k IOPS(4k aligned), w/bracket

HDD:Seagate Barracuda® 1TB SATA 6Gb/s (SATA 3.0), 64MB Cache, 7200RPM, 3.5"

[Naididae]

You should go with a 1155 socket cpu, if you really plan to "upgrade in the future". You'll get more for your buck too.
Don't be fooled by the numbers, socket 1155 is newer than 1366

[Voytrekk]

Hi!

First time poster, long time browser.

Just want your opinion on my new build, I`m no computer savant,but have tried to think ahead so I can upgrade in the future.

Case: Cooler Master HAF X Big Tower

PSU: Corsair HX 1050W

Processor: Intel® Core i7-960 Socket-LGA1366, Quad Core, 3.2Ghz, 8MB, 130W

MOBO: ASUS SABERTOOTH X58, Socket-1366 ATX, X58, DDR3, 3xPCIe(2.0)x16, CFX&SLI,SATA6Gb/s, USB 3.0, FW, TUF, CeraM!X

Cooling: Corsair H80 Hydro Series

RAM: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz 12GB CL9 Kit w/6x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL9-9-9-24, for Core i7,1.65v

GPU: Gainward GeForce GTX 580 1536MB PhysXPCI-Express 2.0,"GOOD", GDDR5, 2xDVI, native-HDMI,DisplayPort, 783MHz

SSD:Corsair SSD Force Series GT 120GB 2.5"SATA 6 Gb/s (SATA3.0), 555MB/515MB/s read/write,85k IOPS(4k aligned), w/bracket

HDD:Seagate Barracuda® 1TB SATA 6Gb/s (SATA 3.0), 64MB Cache, 7200RPM, 3.5"

That build is using the first generation i7, which is using an older socket type. If you want to save some money, get an 1155 P67/Z68 board with an i5-2500k. If you want an i7 because you frequently use applications that use it(editing for example), then the 2600k is a good choice. You're PSU is beyond overkill for what you need. I would recommend dropping down to a 650-700W PSU. This motherboard would be a pretty good choice with your CPU, and it allows for you to add a second 580 in the future if you want.

[Drunkenvalley]

So I finally got some information on the case I ordered.

[Ztringz]

That build is using the first generation i7, which is using an older socket type.

I see that both you and Nadidae recommend the 1155, will upgrading in the future be a big issue if i stick with 1366?

I started with a prebuilt gaming rig and made a few upgrades. I know the PSU is overkill but it was not an expensive upgrade over what was originally in the build,so I just put it in for giggles

[Drunkenvalley]

It's no big deal if you have 1366 over 1155 in terms of upgrading. Everything but the CPU otherwise use the same connections.

[noteworthynerd]

I see that both you and Nadidae recommend the 1155, will upgrading in the future be a big issue if i stick with 1366?

Upgrading your CPU in the future will be impossible if you stick with the 1366, it is an outdated socket, meaning no new CPUs are being designed for it. Even now, it is extremely expensive to buy 1366 parts (I found that out the hardway when I tried to find a new MoBo for my i7 950).

Go with the Intel i5 2500k CPU and the ASRock z68 Extreme3 Gen3 MoBo, they're the best CPU/MoBo gaming combo for your money at the moment, and since the MoBo is a z68, it offers a great path for upgradeability.

[Ztringz]

Thanks for the feedback, guess I`ll have to research processors abit more in the future! But sockets aside, is the rest of it reasonable? I usually replace my desktops every 2 years, and my upgrading experience is limited to replacing blown GPUs every now and then.

[Poppasan]

Was the 7950 scheduled for the 9th of Feb? I'm quite excited to see it's price!

[Drunkenvalley]

Umm... The HD 7950 released already.

[Poppasan]

Huh? Oh... It's 500€ here in Finland... I guess it's back to waiting

[Deleted]

That sounds about right to be fair. The 7950 goes for around 4200-4500 SEK here in Sweden.

Anyway, lets get this back on topic please. There is a thread already for discussing the new AMD cards, and if you need help with parts and so forth there is the "Computer Build Help" sub-section. Cheers!

[Max Rebo]

Here's my new homebrew rig that I built this past weekend:
(Sorry, no pics at the moment.)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced (full tower)
Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K (OC to 4.2GHz)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900MAX
GPU: eVGA GeForce GTX 570 SC 1280MB (stock clocks and cooling for now)
GPU Cooler: Soon-to-be installed Arctic Cooling Accelero Extreme Plus II
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1866 (9-10-9-28)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 128GB SATA3 #VTX3-25SAT3-120G
ODD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST (SATA)
PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W
OS: Win7 64 Home Premium (OEM)

Recycled Components:
Sound: SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
HDD: ~3-4 year old WD Caviar 320GB (might be time to upgrade this one soon)
Card Reader: Rosewill USB 2.0 unit; can't remember the model #
Speakers: Swan M50W 2.1
Keyboard: Logitech G11
Mouse: Logitech M500
Monitor: Samsung 24" 2ms LCD (1080p) #P2450H Rose Black (touch sensitive bezel)

I think it's also time for a new battery backup. Mine is a fossil from APC. :|

I've also been away from overclocking for a long time, so my 4.2 GHz OC isn't really amazing. I set it to 4.5GHz initially, but something wasn't right because it threw a BSOD at me. I'm currently sitting at stock RAM timings, 100 MHz bus speed (also stock, I think), and simply a 42x multiplier on the CPU with voltage raised a hair to 1.3V (from 1.2x). It has been stable running Prime95 with no errors. There must have been something I was missing for it not to work at 4.5... maybe not. I figured since 4.5 is so common with an i5-2500K, then I should be able to see the same speed. I just have to read more and tweak.

Just a note... I tried an overclock with the ASUS AI software and it pushed to 4.4 GHz, but at the same time raised bus speed to 103 MHz and set RAM to DDR3 1600-ish with loose timings -- something like 10-11-10-28. The sticks are rated for DDR3 1866 @ 9-10-9-28, so I'm not sure what the heck the ASUS program was doing.

[DeltrusDisc]

Hey Max Rebo, looks like a nice setup! Zalman CNPS 9900 cooler pride! /fistbump

I see you were having some overclocking issues - yeah, auto-OC stuff sucks, they all pretty much do the same crap, no matter the brand, it seems. Honestly I wonder if your RAM is actually 1.5v RAM, as you don't want higher than that voltage of RAM with Sandy Bridge, it can cause issues and ultimately torch the CPU's memory controller, so it's best to just get 1.5v RAM. Plus 1866MHz is way faster than you need, you could easily drop down to 1333 or 1600MHz and likely never see the difference. That's just how Sandy Bridge works, better to get some 1333/1600MHz RAM @1.5v with CAS timings of 9-9-9-24.

In the mean-time though, if you wanted to do some good OC, I think this guide should work out alright for ya, even though it's for the P67 chipset, I think most of the things are the same, though I could be slightly wrong. :P

(I suggest printing it out, since it's a lot of steps and you'll be in BIOS to do all of this, obviously.)

http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overc...beginners.html

Couldn't find the guide I used for OC'ing. This one looks pretty damn similar though.

[Xuvial]

That is the go-to guide for SB overclocking pretty much, exactly what I used.