The PC Build Thread

[Kwaai]

Hi looking for any advice on a R7500 build that will be used for gaming, virtualisation and as a HTPC (Already have the media HDDs). Has there been anything similar already been posted?

 

[ponder]

Hi looking for any advice on a R7500 build that will be used for gaming, virtualisation and as a HTPC (Already have the media HDDs). Has there been anything similar already been posted?

Gonna be tough on that budget.
How many hdd's do you need to connect?
What type of games you intend on playing?

 

[Kwaai]

Gonna be tough on that budget.
How many hdd's do you need to connect?
What type of games you intend on playing?

4 Hard drives (currently 3 media, 1 OS+apps), the games would be a bit of everything. The budget could be stretched for the GPU, how much more would be needed for the best bang for buck?

 

[Neoprod]

Tough one...I look forward to your response, Ponder

30 FPS, no frills 1080p gaming is achievable at that budget constraint.

 

[ponder]

4 Hard drives (currently 3 media, 1 OS+apps), the games would be a bit of everything. The budget could be stretched for the GPU, how much more would be needed for the best bang for buck?

Ok so 4 SATA ports would suffice then?

R727 - MSI Intel H81M-P33 H81 Chipset Motherboard - Socket 1150
R1850 - Intel® Core™ i5-4590 Processors (6M Cache, up to 3.70 GHz)
R228 - Coolermaster Hyper TX3 Evo CPU Cooler
R732 - Corsair Value Select A - 8GB DDR3 DRAM Desktop Memory - 1600Mhz
R3599 - PowerColor AXR9 380 4GBD5-PPDHE R9 380 PCS+ 4GB 256-bit PCI Express 3.0 Desktop Graphics Card
R849 - Super Flower SF-500P14XE(HX) Golden Green HX 500W 80 Plus Gold Certified Desktop Power Supply
R7985 Excluding chassis

Unfortunately prices have been on the increase with the rands decline. If you got a Galax GTX 960 & Super Flower 450W PSU you can shave R500 off the above price.

I only spec'd 1x8GB stick in case you wanna up to 16GB later seeing as you mess around with virtualisation & MB only has two dimm slots.

Pick your own case, seems to be determined by personal likes. Some suggestions,
http://www.takealot.com/cooler-master-k280-black-usb3-0-chassis-no-psu/PLID29401873
http://www.takealot.com/corsair-carbide-100r-atx-case-black/PLID38535087
http://www.takealot.com/corsair-carbide-series-chassis-200r-black/PLID29422715

The budget could be stretched for the GPU, how much more would be needed for the best bang for buck?

You never said by how much so I took some liberties there. The above system will be fine for 1080p gaming, many games you will be able to max out at 60fps, some others you would have to turn down shadows etc a notch or so.

 

[ponder]

Tough one...I look forward to your response, Ponder

This is becoming harder & harder with the rands decline, you notice the price difference in things. SF 600W PSU went up by R100, Galax gtx960 by R300, cpu by R200-R250, that h81m-p33 MB I think I purchased for R620 some months ago. At this rate someone is gonna ask what can I get for R7.5k and I'll respond with an empty chassis

 

[Neoprod]

That's a better build than I was expecting...well done.

I must check out carbonite when I do a build next.

 

[Kwaai]

Ok so 4 SATA ports would suffice then?

R727 - MSI Intel H81M-P33 H81 Chipset Motherboard - Socket 1150
R1850 - Intel® Core™ i5-4590 Processors (6M Cache, up to 3.70 GHz)
R228 - Coolermaster Hyper TX3 Evo CPU Cooler
R732 - Corsair Value Select A - 8GB DDR3 DRAM Desktop Memory - 1600Mhz
R3599 - PowerColor AXR9 380 4GBD5-PPDHE R9 380 PCS+ 4GB 256-bit PCI Express 3.0 Desktop Graphics Card
R849 - Super Flower SF-500P14XE(HX) Golden Green HX 500W 80 Plus Gold Certified Desktop Power Supply
R7985 Excluding chassis

Unfortunately prices have been on the increase with the rands decline. If you got a Galax GTX 960 & Super Flower 450W PSU you can shave R500 off the above price.

I only spec'd 1x8GB stick in case you wanna up to 16GB later seeing as you mess around with virtualisation & MB only has two dimm slots.

Pick your own case, seems to be determined by personal likes. Some suggestions,
http://www.takealot.com/cooler-master-k280-black-usb3-0-chassis-no-psu/PLID29401873
http://www.takealot.com/corsair-carbide-100r-atx-case-black/PLID38535087
http://www.takealot.com/corsair-carbide-series-chassis-200r-black/PLID29422715



You never said by how much so I took some liberties there. The above system will be fine for 1080p gaming, many games you will be able to max out at 60fps, some others you would have to turn down shadows etc a notch or so.

Looks good! Thanks so much

 

[TrelliPaste]

Hi guys,

My PC is from 2008. Lately I've been having some problems with memory (3 long beeps on boot) and/or windows waking from sleep (not sure if it's related to the memory issue). I'm looking at either recommendations for where I can get a quality built-to-order/pre-built PC in Cape Town, or if it's worthwhile going the build-it-yourself route.

Monitor, speakers, mouse & keyboard are all still fine, so it's the box I'm looking to replace. Some requirements:

1. Must be able to run Windows10 (my E8400 apparently can't).

2. Relatively future-proof (type-C USB? ...what else?)

3. Play 4K HEVC (if Ï decide to get a 4K display).

4. Decent gaming performance (maybe see how much more to get a better gaming rig).

5. At least 8gb of whatever the most popular RAM is now.

6. SSD main drive...what's the best value size now, worth going larger that 256?

7.. Profit?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ponder]

Hi guys,

<snip>

Thanks in advance.

Budget?

 

[TrelliPaste]

Budget?

I guess R5k-10k. Somebody linked to some sites selling boxes a while back, so I just want to get some idea of what I can get versus how much to build it myself.

Edit: Is this normal (just noticed this on my current PC):

Intel Corporation DG35EC (LGA 775) 82 °C

?

 

[ponder]

I guess R5k-10k. Somebody linked to some sites selling boxes a while back, so I just want to get some idea of what I can get versus how much to build it myself.

You will get more for your money if you build it yourself.

Edit: Is this normal (just noticed this on my current PC): ?

I don't think so as the E8400's thermal limit is below that. Remove, the heatsink/fan, clean off all old thermal paste and apply new paste, ensure heatsink/fan is properly seated.



On my way out but look at the build above your first post, #1485. I assume you already have hdd's and don't need new ones but would like a ssd of say 250GB? Might have to go slightly over your R10k budget. SSD is ~ R1.5k for 250GB, chassis you can pick up for ~R500-R700.

 

[Progenix Oj101]

Anyone know where I can get another Titan?

Additionally, what are the best air coolers available locally at the moment? Best overall, not value for money. My CPUs saw over 90'c yesterday.

 

[Progenix Oj101]

On my way out but look at the build directly above your first post, #1488. I assume you already have hdd's and don't need new ones but would like a ssd of say 250GB? Might have to go slightly over your R10k budget. SSD is ~ R1.5k for 250GB, chassis you can pick up for ~R500-R700.

To me it looks as though it's reporting chipset temperature, not CPU temperature. Either way it's high.

 

[ponder]

To me it looks as though it's reporting chipset temperature, not CPU temperature. Either way it's high.

Yeah, whatever it is it's way to high. It could be a malfunctioning sensor but we won't know.

 

[Progenix Oj101]

Yeah, whatever it is it's way to high. It could be a malfunctioning sensor but we won't know.

He could always try the tongue tippy test

 

[Bryn]

Hi guys,

My PC is from 2008. Lately I've been having some problems with memory (3 long beeps on boot) and/or windows waking from sleep (not sure if it's related to the memory issue). I'm looking at either recommendations for where I can get a quality built-to-order/pre-built PC in Cape Town, or if it's worthwhile going the build-it-yourself route.

Monitor, speakers, mouse & keyboard are all still fine, so it's the box I'm looking to replace. Some requirements:

1. Must be able to run Windows10 (my E8400 apparently can't).

2. Relatively future-proof (type-C USB? ...what else?)

3. Play 4K HEVC (if Ï decide to get a 4K display).

4. Decent gaming performance (maybe see how much more to get a better gaming rig).

5. At least 8gb of whatever the most popular RAM is now.

6. SSD main drive...what's the best value size now, worth going larger that 256?

7.. Profit?

Thanks in advance.

I'd recommend buying with Wootware, as their service is amazing and prices are good.

What I would probably do if I was buying new with your budget:
i5-4460 - R2.6k
16GB (8x2) G.Skill 1866 RAM - R1.5k (great price, so may as well get 16GB)
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD - R1750 (amazing drive, worth the extra few bucks)
Gigabyte LGA1150 M/B - R1236
Total: ±R7100

If the remainder of your budget can go towards a GPU, I'd recommend either the Powercolor 280X 3GB for R3.4k or the Galax GTX 960 2GB for R3.3k. They're sort of on par and will both provide a good gaming experience at 1080p, although the Galax will be more power efficient.

If you need a PSU, that complicates things. I'd recommend a Corsair 650W for R920.

What I would actually do is browse Carbonite for a good secondhand special. The performance of a system you could find there for the same money will probably be nearly double what you'd get buying new. And forget about future proofing. You can't future proof for R10k.

 

[ponder]

3. Play 4K HEVC (if Ï decide to get a 4K display).

As far as I know the only GPU that supports hvec hardware decoding at this time is the GTX 960, no other GPU has full hardware decoding support.


Option 1:

R879 - MSI Intel H81-P33 ATX Motherboard
R1850 - Intel® Core™ i5-4590 Processors (6M Cache, up to 3.70 GHz)
R228 - Coolermaster Hyper TX3 Evo CPU Cooler
R732 - Corsair Value Select A - 8GB DDR3 DRAM Desktop Memory - 1600Mhz
R3599 - PowerColor AXR9 380 4GBD5-PPDHE R9 380 PCS+ 4GB 256-bit PCI Express 3.0 Desktop Graphics Card
R849 - Super Flower SF-500P14XE(HX) Golden Green HX 500W 80 Plus Gold Certified Desktop Power Supply
R1424 - Transcend SSD370 Series 2.5" SSD - 256GB
R767 - Corsair Carbide Series Chassis - 200R Black
R10328


Option 2:

R879 - MSI Intel H81-P33 ATX Motherboard
R1850 - Intel® Core™ i5-4590 Processors (6M Cache, up to 3.70 GHz)
R228 - Coolermaster Hyper TX3 Evo CPU Cooler
R732 - Corsair Value Select A - 8GB DDR3 DRAM Desktop Memory - 1600Mhz
R3299 - http://www.wootware.co.za/galax-96nph8dvd9xx-geforce-gtx-960-exoc-2048mb-gddr5-128-bit-pci-express-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html
R849 - Super Flower SF-500P14XE(HX) Golden Green HX 500W 80 Plus Gold Certified Desktop Power Supply (450W version is out of stock)
R1424 - Transcend SSD370 Series 2.5" SSD - 256GB
R767 - Corsair Carbide Series Chassis - 200R Black
R10028


Option 3:

R879 - MSI Intel H81-P33 ATX Motherboard
R1850 - Intel® Core™ i5-4590 Processors (6M Cache, up to 3.70 GHz)
R228 - Coolermaster Hyper TX3 Evo CPU Cooler
R732 - Corsair Value Select A - 8GB DDR3 DRAM Desktop Memory - 1600Mhz
R5499 - Galax 97NQH6DNB4TX GeForce GTX 970 EXOC Black Edition 4096MB GDDR5 256-bit PCI-Express 3.0 Desktop Graphics Card
R849 - Super Flower SF-500P14XE(HX) Golden Green HX 500W 80 Plus Gold Certified Desktop Power Supply
R1424 - Transcend SSD370 Series 2.5" SSD - 256GB
R767 - Corsair Carbide Series Chassis - 200R Black
R12228


Option 4:

R879 - MSI Intel H81-P33 ATX Motherboard
R1850 - Intel® Core™ i5-4590 Processors (6M Cache, up to 3.70 GHz)
R228 - Coolermaster Hyper TX3 Evo CPU Cooler
R732 - Corsair Value Select A - 8GB DDR3 DRAM Desktop Memory - 1600Mhz
R5399 - PowerColor PCS+ AXR9 390 8GBD5-PPDHE Radeon R9 390 8GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Desktop Graphics Card
R1599 - Super Flower SF-750F14MG Leadex 750W 80 Plus Gold Certified Fully Modular Desktop Power Supply
R1424 - Transcend SSD370 Series 2.5" SSD - 256GB
R767 - Corsair Carbide Series Chassis - 200R Black
R12878

 

[ponder]

Additionally, what are the best air coolers available locally at the moment? Best overall, not value for money. My CPUs saw over 90'c yesterday.

We don't have many options in that regard, Noctua NH-D15 would be cool if you could find one.

Have a look at the Raijintek Tisis Black Edition, http://www.wootware.co.za/raijintek-tisis-black-edition-140mm-pwm-fan-dual-tower-cpu-cooler.html

http://www.raijintek.com/en/products_detail.php?ProductID=10
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2015/03/11/raijintek-tisis-review/2
http://www.reviewstudio.net/1900-ra...ctions-speak-louder-than-words/temp-and-noise

 

[Neoprod]

As far as I know the only GPU that supports hvec hardware decoding at this time is the GTX 960, no other GPU has full hardware decoding support.

Intel added some HEVC hardware decode support for Haswell and later chips via a driver update earlier this year. Skylake has some support baked in.

https://communities.intel.com/thread/59216

In other words, you don't necessarily need a GPU for hardware decode of HEVC streams. I see OP wants to game so not much changes with regards to the build.