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Jabo

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Posts posted by Jabo

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    You won't need to use a soundcard with the new mobo. It's all built in!

    The usual airflow direction with a gfx card is cool air in at the front, passing thru the heatsink and blown backwards out of the back of the machine and down by the fans.

    As far as airflow in general is concerned I have a 120mm fan in the front of the case to draw in cool air and another 120mm in the back to exhaust the hot air. When I had a shark case I actually blocked the mesh side with a sheet of acetate film to try and smooth the airflow as far as possible. Never had a component overheat though so I doubt you'll have much of a problem.

     

    Standard mount for a PSU like yours is to draw warm/hot air from inside the case and exhaust it out the back - why anyone would decide to do anything else is a bit of a mystery. A lot of modern cases mount the PSU at the bottom of the case with a vent beneath it so the PSU draws air from outside (under the case) and blows it out of the back - keeps the PSU cooler and prevents other components being affected by generated heat. Again though don't worry about this - the shark's top-mount PSU bracket will be fine with your new PSU.

     

    Don't forget to pay careful attention to routing of cables inside the case when you build this, it's a pity to have paid attention to the cooling only to have a bird's next ot wiring in the case blocking the airflow.

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    Yup, I've heard that about at least the 770 from reviews.  Shades of "My god this things huge!  It barely fit in my case!" etc.  I have all kinds of room in the Shark that isn't being utilized.  Still, I need to be careful about placement as I really don't want to go through what some have on their first build with regards to X doesn't fit with Y, but neither does Z, try W, etc and so on.

     

    Talked to someone who knows far more about power than I.  He said that a 750W power unit is capable of up to 750W, but isn't putting that out all the time.  Just as I suspected.

     

    The other day, a friend gave me some RAM.  Unfortunately it wouldn't fit in my current board... and I now I think I know why.  I have 3x2GB sticks of Kingston 2GB 2Rx8 pc3-8500U (I'm pretty sure DDR3) RAM!  Now to find out for certain.  If so, and I can match it with this new board, I may go with just one 4GB stick, and use these as well, totaling 10GB.  I've heard that can be a problem with boards with four slots, though.  Basically they run #1 and #3 slots paired, and #2 and #4 slots paired.  So I could do 2 and 2, but not 1 and 3.  I'm currently running 2 and 2 on my board in this machine with 1 and 2 the same, 3 and 4 the same.  No issues.  Perhaps better would be 4+4+2+2=12GB, half of it new.

     

    Just to clarify, on the majority of mobos with 4 DIMM slots, they are organised into two banks (numbered 1 & 2) each bank containing 2 slots (DIMM0 & DIMM2 and DIMM1 & DIMM3). My approach is to ensure that I have identical RAM in a bank but this can differ between banks so using your example I would have;

     

    RAM Slot :        0    1    2    3

    RAM Capacity: 4    2    4    2

     

    Here's the thing - most modern mobos are far more tolerant of mixing and matching RAM than older ones, but as I am an old-school builder I tend to stick to doing things the way I know works and not being too adventurous.

     

    Getting close here.  I think I've found the graphics card.  Scratch that, I need to do some more searching in this sector.  Not that it's a bad choice, just need to make sure it's the best choice.  I was considering the 760 X2, but I think that power consumption trumps card capability in this case.  It's over twice the power for roughly twice the capability in some areas.  If I ever wanted that much more, I could just get another 960 in SLI, right?  I'd certainly save enough in energy in the mean time.

     

    http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-960-vs-GeForce-GTX-760-X2

     

    Regarding RAM, the options:

     

    (% costarrow-10x10.png is regarding GB to $ ratio, which I've found is close to 100% for most at $10 per GB)

     

    1x 8GB $64 = 80% costarrow-10x10.png 1333 DDR3 (GSkill)

    or

    1x 8GB $82 = 102% cost 1600 DDR3 (GSkill)

    or

    1x 8GB $67 = 85% cost  1600 DDR3 (Corsair)

    or

    2x 4GB $65 = 81.2% cost 1333 DDR3 (GSkill)

    or

    2x 4GB $61 = 76% cost 1866 DDR3 (Kingston)

     

    Being so much lower cost for higher capability, is there something wrong with Kingston?  Just less advertising?  Why's their product cheaper?

     

    I've run across information stating that you don't really need the 1600, that 1333 will do just fine, thanks.  Not being a nitpicker on these things, I'm inclined to forgo the 1600... but only if there's something seriously wrong with Kingston RAM.  Considering the 100% positive review rate on Newegg, I'd say that's not likely.

     

    Major question remains:  1x 8GB with future options up to 32GB (MB maximum) or 2x 4GB per the problems Jabo had with the 8GB ram sticks...?

     

    As far as slapping in an extra gfx card and going SLI - I don't know it's as easy as all that - particularly as I think you need two PCI-ex16 slots rather than one PCI-ex16 and one PCI-ex4. The slots may look the same but that doesn't mean they are the same. I wouild be inclined not to worry about this at all and buy the best graphics card you can afford and stick with that. Oh and your two cards would need to be identical right down to the manufacturer.

     

    As for why Kingston is cheaper - who knows? They have a deserved reputation for solid, reliable products - that's all I would consider.

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    Kira, it's highly unlikely that a modern mobo would have the memory slots placed in such a way that the memory slots are fouled by larger gfx cards. That said it could be pretty tight. The Shark case is so big that HDD placement is unlikely to be an issue, but in any case you've got room to move them if necessary. My 580 gets in the way of a HDD slot on my rig but I've had to go for a smaller case so things are tighter anyway

     

    EDIT: This might be an issue on micro ATX boards

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    Like FT says.

     

    IMO 24" is a useful sort of size for a monitor although the dots on a 40" running at the same resolution would be bigger because the pixels are bigger.

     

    Regardless of the 770 or the 960 - you'll have no problems with the resolution

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    Hi Kira,

    1. RAM - I've used both Corsair Vengeance (current) and Kingston HyperX memory without any problems - recommended. I'd go for 8GB rather than 4 and you'll need to buy pairs of sticks so 2 x 4 would be the way to go.

    2. GPU - there can be a number of factors affecting GPU price, but graphics memory is a major one. Personally I'd go for a slower card with more memory particularly if you're flight simming. My 3GB 580 still holds up well against 600 and (some, at least) 700 series cards running less memory. Manufacturer is also a factor in the price but EVGA is as good as any.

    3. Power - you know my views on this - overspec and you won't need to worry about any peculiar power issues because you've go plenty in reserve. Likely to make the PSU last longer too.

    4. Monitor - frankly if you're still using a CRT a $12 punt on a refurbed LCD has to be worth a try if just to get that monster off your desk. That said, monitors up to 24" are pretty reasonable new if you're looking foe something fairly standard..

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    Re: PSU - I tend to go for a larger capacity PSU than required so it doesn't have to run at full tilt all the time thereby reducing the wear and tear on the internals. Incidentally although the k series chips are marginally more efficient than the corresponding standard chip, they are a lot more expensive and only really worthwhile if you're planning to overclock the rig.

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    Here's my rig spec Kira - plays everything we use here without any problems at all;

     

    Intel i5 2500K

    Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H

    12GB DDR3 RAM (Corsair Vengeance - 2 x 4GB & 2 x 2GB) - only really need 8GB

    Palit Nvidia GTX580 (3GB DDR5)

    2 x 120GB OCZ SSD - only really need 1 (if at all)

    1 x 1.5TB WD Black HDD

    1 x 1 TB WD Black HDD (probably enough on it's own - and you don't need the black edition)

    700W OCZ Modular PSU (complete overkill)

     

    Cooling is by air - some coolermaster thing on the CPU - stock cooler would be OK

     

    I reckon you can go close to this without paying the earth for it.

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    Motherboards tend to come in a few different formats - The ones you are most likely to come across are ATX and mATX (miini ATX IIRC). The good news is either will fit into the Shark case with plenty of room to spare - It's frickin' huge (I used to use one too)

     


    Another point, just reading up on motherboards, and it seems that the motherboard, so long as it's working, has little to no effect on performance.

     

    Yes, and then again no. The main problem is the socket type for your new processor. Whichever CPU you choose, your new mobo needs to have a corresponding socket otherwise it won't fit - This might sound a bit condescending, but you'd be surprised how many people fall into this trap. Fortunately it's pretty simple to work out. My mobo for example has an LGA 1155 socket (it's written on the box in large friendly letters - just like the Hitchikers Guide) which is the correct socket for the i5 2500K CPU I use. Don't assume it'll be the same socket for you (it almost certainly won't be), just make sure the mobo and CPU match.

     

    The majority of modern graphics cards use a PCIEX16 socket - you need to make sure your mobo has at least one of these. Also to the best of my knowledge all graphics cards use additional power connectors which are fed directly from your PSU - it's better to have them wired directly if possible, but if you're not changing the PSU (and I really would) and don't have the right connectors, a few minutes on ebay will turn up lots of adaptors for just a few euros (substitute local currency of your choice)

     

    Your mobo will also dictate the sort of RAM to buy, These days it's usually DDR3  - DDR or DDR2 will not fit.

     

    Looking at the spec of my mobo all the above (apart from the PSU thing) looks like this (text in brackets is just explanation)

     

    GA-Z77-D3H (mobo model) - Intel Z77rev.1.1 (chipset), Socket 1155 (CPU socket), PCI-Ex16 (Gfx card slot), ATX (mobo format), 4 DDR3 2-ch (number of RAM slots/type), 7.1-CH HD Audio (onboard sound card), GbE LAN (Gigabit Network card), 2 SATA 6Gb/s (number of SATA III sockets - the board has a further 4 SATA II sockets but they don't mention that), 6 USB3.0 (number of USB 3.0 sockets - again there's another 6 USB 2.0 sockets as well)

     

    Check the spec details of your mobo and it'll have stuff that looks similar to the above - Alternatively pop your proposed purchases into this thread and someone will check that it should all fit together.

    Pc Replacement And Windows 10

    in Jim's Place

    Posted

    Like he said, go for windows 7 64-bit, pretend windows 8 & 8.1 never happened and let the user community sweat the bugs out of win 10 before switching. Another point is that I'm a beta tester for MS and we've not had 10 yet and that means it's at least six months away, probably more.

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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