Should I build around a XFX 5870

[mfenn]

I probably would have gotten the ASUS P8Z68-V LX because I think that VGA and DVI out are more useful than a parallel port, but there isn't anything wrong with the Gigabyte.

As for the cooler, yeah the Hyper 212+ is a good one.

 

[Murz]

I probably would have gotten the ASUS P8Z68-V LX because I think that VGA and DVI out are more useful than a parallel port, but there isn't anything wrong with the Gigabyte.

Well I haven't picked up the parts yet. I was planning to go tomorrow after work, I did however pay in full already. I wonder if they will allow me to trade out the two boards when I get there? I'll try - if not, not a big loss.

Thanks again!

 

[mfenn]

They should allow you to swap them out. At worst, they will have to process a return for store credit and then charge you the $10 difference in price. Like you said though, no biggie if it turns out to be a hassle.

 

[Murz]

Ok, I'm back from Micro Center. They allowed me switch out the mobo's which was nice. I almost got a extra discount too, lol. Somewhere between switching out the mobo's and ringing up the total (I added a Antec 300, Hyper212 & Thermal Paste to the order) the girl helping me missed something and only tried to charge me $20, haha. As nice as it would have been to save $80 I let her know the total seemed a bit low.

I now have:

XFX 5870
2500k
Asus P8Z68-V LX
Hyper 212
XFX 650W
8g of G Skill Ram
Antec 300
Windows 7

The only thing I don't have is the HDD. Im kind of stuck on what route to take here. I have a $50 gift card to Best Buy so I was thinking I might just buy one from there saving me some money. Should I just get a cheap 500g HDD, or get a SSD and no HDD until the prices drop?

 

[mfenn]

Nice haul!

Luckily, Best Buy is actually a somewhat-decent place to get HDDs. You can get a Seagate 1TB for $140, which after your gift card costs you $90 out of pocket. That represents "only" a 50% increase from pre-flood prices.

However, if you are OK with having limited storage for the time being, they have the Crucial M4 128GB for $223, which is a decent price. After the GC, it becomes a great price.

 

[Murz]

Decided to go with the 1TB Seagate. I figure I'll grad a SSD in a few months when I have some extra cash and see a good deal.

I think I’m pretty much ready to start putting this bad boy together. One question though – I bought some IC Diamond at Micro Center. Should I use that, the paste that came in the Hyper 212 box, or get some Arctic Silver?

 

[mfenn]

It doesn't really matter what paste you use, the temperature differential is maybe 2 degrees at most. Proper application technique matters far more.

 

[Murz]

Finally got the ram in the mail today. Now I have everything except the gpu. My friend has a nice warranty on it so he sent it in to get checked out and have a fan replaced before he sells it to me. It&#8217;s supposed to be here by Monday <crosses fingers>. My question is; Can I, or should I build the comp before I get the gpu? I would like to get things started if I can so it takes as little time as possible to get everything running once I actually get the card.

 

[mfenn]

Yes, you can go ahead and get the PC put together before you get the GPU. The P8Z68-V LX has graphics output, so you can even install Windows and start using it. Once you get the GPU, just pop it in and install the drivers.

 

[Murz]

Ok, all put together and posted! The heat sink fan was a major pain in the ass to install. Once I got that in there the comp posted and I called it a night, lol.

So I'm about to start loading Windows 7 on it. After I get that all installed what programs/tests should I run to make sure the comp is working properly? I know I need to have something checking the cpu temps and some programs that check stability... And help would be appreciated!

 

[mfenn]

Prime95 is a good program to use to check stability and HWMonitor gives you a nice readout of all your temps. You can also loop Memtest86+ overnight if you want to check your RAM.

 

[bcoupland]

whenever I install windows or build a new pc, after windows updates are finished, I go to ninite.com, it's a really handy site that lets you select and then bundles all of the common programs that you would want on your pc (browsers, flash, utorrent, media players, etc.). It is fully automated and downloads the latest version and installs everything in the background. Also auto-detects os version and 32/64bit.

 

[Murz]

Ok, everything's looking good so far. One thing though, my Windows Experience rating shows my hard disk data transfer rate scoring the lowest at 5.9. Is the about where it should be? I'm not sure if I have it plugged into the correct SATA plug.

Should http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....3332167&amp;loc=01 be plugged into SATA3 or 6? Or does it matter?

 

[fffblackmage]

WEI is not a good benchmark for anything. I believe 5.9 is the best you can do with any HDD you can get.

 

[mfenn]

Ok, everything's looking good so far. One thing though, my Windows Experience rating shows my hard disk data transfer rate scoring the lowest at 5.9. Is the about where it should be? I'm not sure if I have it plugged into the correct SATA plug.

Should http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....3332167&amp;loc=01 be plugged into SATA3 or 6? Or does it matter?

SATA 3Gb/s vs. SATA 6Gb/s doesn't matter for HDDs, even the fastest top out at about 170MB/s. A 5.9 WEI score is perfectly normal for an HDD, you have to have an SSD to get much higher.

 

[Murz]

Everything's running nice and crisp! Getting the video card tomorrow morning, I'll let you know how it's running once I get that bad boy in there.

Thanks again for all the advice everyone!

 

[Murz]

Got the video card in there and this thing is beasting! Been playing SWTOR on max settings for the past week with zero problems. This is the first time I've been able to play any pc game on high. I dident know what I was missing, lol.

Anyways, now that everything seems to be in order I want to OC. Can someone suggest a good instructional link to OCing? I have a i5-2500k + ASUS Z68 mobo + Hyper212.

Again, Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread!

 

[mfenn]

Glad you are enjoying everything! Doing a mild OC on an i5 2500K is actually pretty easy.

1. Go into BIOS
2. Set CPU multiplier to 40
3. There is no step 3

If you want to get higher multipliers, you will want to do things like disable turbo boost, increase the core voltage, and turn off EIST, turn on load line calibration.

 

[Murz]

Ok I'll try that tonight, thanks mfenn!

On a side note, after all my time spent on these forums and talking to friends I have realized that my monitor is very outdated. Its 720p and is vga only. Since I'm giving my old comp to my Sister I figured I would go ahead and give her the old monitor too (was going to buy a cheap 17" to go with her comp, she will not play games) and buy a new one for my rig.

What do you think of these from Amazon? (using Prime next day to get it by Saturday).

ASUS VS247H-P 23.6-inch LED $159.99 ($189.99 @ Best Buy) (This is the one I'm leaning toward. No tax through Amazon and will recieve tomorrow with Prime over night)

ASUS VS238H-P 23.6-inch LED $184.00 ($179.99 @ Best Buy)

Viewsonic VA2223wm 22-inch LED $165.99

Or from Best Buy (in-store pickup)

Dell SR2320L 23" LED $159.99

HP 2311x 23' LED $179.99

ASUS VS247H-P 23.6-inch LED $189.99


ASUS VS238H-P 23.6-inch LED $179.00


The monitor will be used for gaming.

 

[mfenn]

I may be a little late, but here goes:

All of those 23" 1080P monitors are very similar. I'd get whichever one costs the least and will arrive by the time that you want it.

 

[Murz]

I ended up going with the ASUS VS247H-P 23.6-inch LED $159.99 ($189.99 @ Best Buy (looking at the link now the price went up by $30 since I ordered on Friday). Got it all hooked up and it looks great! I am thoroughly enjoying SWTOR on my new comp at the moment

Thanks go out to everyone who helped along the way with advice! Especially mfenn! Anandtech is a priceless site for information. I will be sending some people this way in the future.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks, glad everything worked out for you.

 

[Murz]

Prime95 is a good program to use to check stability and HWMonitor gives you a nice readout of all your temps. You can also loop Memtest86+ overnight if you want to check your RAM.

What should I be paying attention to when looking at HWMonitor? I see temp readings for: (I listed current readings while typing this)

SYSTIN = 25C
CPUTIN = 84C
AUXTIN = 55C

I also see core temps:

Core#0 = 34C
Core#1 = 30C
Core#2 = 31C
Core#3 = 32C
Package = 35C

Are these temps where they should be? The "CPUTIN" reading at 84C kind of worries me. I have a couple firefox tabs open, HWMonitor and SWTOR running at the moment.

 

[mfenn]

The first group of readings are coming from the motherboard and the second from the CPU itself. Generally speaking, the CPU's readings are more accurate than what you will get from the mobo, which can be miscalibrated.

What you are seeing for CPUTIN is either a bad reading or the MOSFET temperature. I wouldn't worry about it either way, your ambient and core temps are very good.

 

[Murz]

The first group of readings are coming from the motherboard and the second from the CPU itself. Generally speaking, the CPU's readings are more accurate than what you will get from the mobo, which can be miscalibrated.

What you are seeing for CPUTIN is either a bad reading or the MOSFET temperature. I wouldn't worry about it either way, your ambient and core temps are very good.

Ok, thanks!