Building computers

[Camacha]

Nah, I don't have any family pictures, this is my own computer (parents wouldn't trust me with those on my PC, which is good since I don't want the responsability )

Do your parents have those backup up? Without wanting to resort to stereotypes, parents often have little clue of proper data safety. Doing proper backups is not a matter of or, but and. Put them on your computer too, the more copies the merrier.

Back on topic, which wireless card should I use?

Which options have you reviewed? We do not mind helping, but the emphasis is on helping Like I said, the n-protocol is fast and available, that might be a good starting point.

[TerrificToby]

Firstly, do your homework.

Learn what makes a good processor, graphics card etc. Working out what you need to buy is the hard part, as for building it there are plenty of tutorials on youtube.

Regarding storage, i would go for a hybrid drive rather than an ssd hdd combo. that way you have some insurance, should the drive fail, so that you an recover the data. If an ssd dies, game over. You lose everything.

Regarding my build, which i built back in february, i definately regret going for the gpu i went for a geforce gtx 660, i could have got much better for the same money, that's first on my upgrade list but that won't happen for a few years.

be wary of a non-stock cpu cooler also, if it is less powerful than the stock, it voids the cpu's warranty.

just a little advice, first and formost, do your homework.

[Camacha]

Regarding storage, i would go for a hybrid drive rather than an ssd hdd combo. that way you have some insurance, should the drive fail, so that you an recover the data. If an ssd dies, game over. You lose everything.

Relying on the fact that you might recover some data with a hybrid drive is a terrible way of handling things. Making proper backups is the only way to go. Relying on recovery or similar techniques is a very risky approach.

be wary of a non-stock cpu cooler also, if it is less powerful than the stock, it voids the cpu's warranty.

Who on earth would use a CPU cooler that is less powerful than stock? Besides that this is hard to prove for the vendor, but that is another thing.

[Javster]

The CPU cooler comes with the CPU then? Can I remove the CPU cooler' date=' or do I have to match it to the CPU?

Haven't heard of hybrid drives, I'll look into them.

(I think my parents backed up some pics onto an external hard drive, but I'll check with them. The most important pics aren't stored on a computer I'm pretty sure.)

For the wifi things I'm considering these two:

[url']http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-wireless-network-card-62205anhmwdtx1

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/edimax-wireless-network-card-ew7822uac

NOTE TO SELF: MOST RECENT VERSION http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/HgFddC

Edited July 9, 2014 by Javster

[Nuke]

Thanks for the ideas for the cable, but it really wouldn't be practical... Can anyone recommend a good wireless thingy?

And how realistic would it be to get just the SSD first, then the HDD a bit later, to spread the cost? Would it be pointless, since I'd only have a bit of space left on the SSD? How much space (approx) does an OS take up on the SSD?

i partitioned my 500gb 2 ways. 150gb went to the os, the rest was used for data. usage on the c drive seldom goes above 2/3.

the idea is i dont put anything on c: that you will miss if it got deleted. things that need to be on the c drive, but i dont want to loose, are symlinked over to the d drive where they actually reside (i have batch scripts to set these up). this way if the os goes kaput, a format of c: results in no loss of data. i just re-install and run my batch script.

[Nuke]

The CPU cooler comes with the CPU then? Can I remove the CPU cooler, or do I have to match it to the CPU?

Haven't heard of hybrid drives, I'll look into them.

(I think my parents backed up some pics onto an external hard drive, but I'll check with them. The most important pics aren't stored on a computer I'm pretty sure.)

For the wifi things I'm considering these two:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-wireless-network-card-62205anhmwdtx1

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/edimax-wireless-network-card-ew7822uac

if you get a retail boxed cpu, they usually do. i mostly use the stock cooler.

if you go with a third party cooler it would have to match the cpu socket type. its easier just to use the stock cpu cooler. id only ever get a better one if i was overclocking, or if i had heat issues, or i wanted to go liquid, or passive.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Nuke

[Camacha]

(I think my parents backed up some pics onto an external hard drive, but I'll check with them. The most important pics aren't stored on a computer I'm pretty sure.)

Computer or no computer does not matter (well, a little bit), the fact that they should be in different places on different drives does.

For the wifi things I'm considering these two:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-wireless-network-card-62205anhmwdtx1

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/edimax-wireless-network-card-ew7822uac

I would go with the PCI-E NIC, although I am not familiar with this specific one.

the idea is i dont put anything on c: that you will miss if it got deleted. things that need to be on the c drive, but i dont want to loose, are symlinked over to the d drive where they actually reside (i have batch scripts to set these up). this way if the os goes kaput, a format of c: results in no loss of data. i just re-install and run my batch script.

Added bonus is that the fastest part of your HDD is reserved for files that benefit. I did the same with my game/files drive: the first 500 GB is reserved for games, the rest for files.

if you go with a third party cooler it would have to match the cpu socket type. its easier just to use the stock cpu cooler. id only ever get a better one if i was overclocking, or if i had heat issues, or i wanted to go liquid, or passive.

I have an after market cooler for one reason: noise. Can't stand it.

[Javster]

the fact that they should be in different places on different drives does.

By that I meant they weren't in digital format...

LATEST:http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NX3t99

I'll investigate hybrid drives tomorrow.

[Dedjal]

I am talking to you. Your advice is incomplete at best and plain wrong at worst. With the information you supplied you can be sure someone with little experience will damage his hardware without knowing why.

Liquid cooling is not necessary for overclocking. It will get you a little bit further, but the gains do not warrant the trouble, dangers and cost for most people. Jus

Playing with voltage is also not strictly necessary for overclocking. I would advise anyone to start out with the clockspeeds. When you get a feel for what you are doing and run out of options with clockspeed alone, you might consider fiddling

with voltages. Be careful though, as voltage will kill hardware easily when not used wisely and will increase wear in most cases.

I can only go on what you say here and I feel the information is far from complete. The fact that you seem to fry gear on a regular basis does not instill confidence.

There is no paint on a CPU. Copper is indeed a better conductor, but you are still forgetting the important part of lapping: to reduce the roughness of the IHS. With a properly lapped processor you would not need TIM at all. Yet all this is advanced material and not something you should push onto a novice that does not understand what is going on.

Just sanding a CPU will ruin it, you will need to make sure it is as flat as it can be. That can only be done with a lot of patience and knowledge of proper sanding techniques.

yes, I was not writing a guide for the fella, just throwing out ideas. Surely you understood that it was not an tutorial.

And yes, i forgot to mention clockspeed specificly, but considering that the fella either knew about OC, and thus why one raises the voltage, or if he did not know, visit a forum that deals with OC where the knowledge of voltage would have been bestowed upon him.

So to mention it again, it was not a guide, everyone who saw it, knew that, except you.

But now you do

[Camacha]

Surely you understood that it was not an tutorial.

I knew plenty was missing there, other people might not. Since it could mean breaking your new and expensive hardware, I would rather be clear.

[Javster]

I knew plenty was missing there, other people might not. Since it could mean breaking your new and expensive hardware, I would rather be clear.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Javster

[Javster]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/QY2VmG Are there any obvious parts missing? If I were to build it would it be fine?

[Camacha]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/QY2VmG Are there any obvious parts missing? If I were to build it would it be fine?

Looks pretty good. The CPU is compatible with the motherboard. The memory is not on the QVL, but that should not be a problem, as very similar memory is and it is widely used in all kinds of systems.

You are aware that you left out the SSD and an optical drive?

[Javster]

Looks pretty good. The CPU is compatible with the motherboard. The memory is not on the QVL, but that should not be a problem, as very similar memory is and it is widely used in all kinds of systems.

You are aware that you left out the SSD and an optical drive?

I replaced them with a hybrid drive.

Also I'm not sure what you mean by QVL

[Camacha]

Also I'm not sure what you mean by QVL

the Qualified Vendor's List is a list on the website of the manufacturer of the motherboard. It lists compatible hardware, which in case of the memory means it has actually been physically tested. That does not mean that memory not on the list does not work, just that it has not been tested. It looks like similar memory has been tested, so I would not worry too much about it. Even a different colour could mean that the numbers are slightly different.

Personally I would opt for a HDD combined with an SSD, as your control is a bit better and speed too. Hybrids are a decent alternative, but with SSD prices the way they are I would just go for that.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Camacha

[Javster]

the Qualified Vendor's List is a list on the website of the manufacturer of the motherboard. It lists compatible hardware, which in case of the memory means it has actually been physically tested. That does not mean that memory not on the list does not work, just that it has not been tested. It looks like similar memory has been tested, so I would not worry too much about it. Even a different colour could mean that the numbers are slightly different.

Personally I would opt for a HDD combined with an SSD, as your control is a bit better and speed too. Hybrids are a decent alternative, but with SSD prices the way they are I would just go for that.

I'll stick with http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NX3t99 then. It is £50 more, but that isn't too much if you consider total cost

(ignore the below it's my personal ramblings)

FINAL CHOICE

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NX3t99

vs

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/QY2VmG

Edited July 11, 2014 by Javster

[Camacha]

FINAL CHOICE

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NX3t99

You will get a terrifyingly fast system with a lot of bang for your buck that will serve you for years to come. Not bad!

[Javster]

You will get a terrifyingly fast system with a lot of bang for your buck that will serve you for years to come. Not bad!

That's what I was going for. Terrifyingly fast was not completely intended, I just wanted a fairly fast gaming computer, but terrifyingly fast sounds great!

Following the advice of a friend I changed it to this http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NX3t99

Planning on getting one of these instead of wi-fi card

[Camacha]

That's what I was going for. Terrifyingly fast was not completely intended, I just wanted a fairly fast gaming computer, but terrifyingly fast sounds great!

After two years I am still impressed by the smooth operation of my computer, and yours is two generations fresher. You could throw hundreds more at it, but the computer will not get much faster - specific situations like rendering with dual Xeon's excepted of course. This is close to the limit of what consumer computer technology can do at the moment.

Following the advice of a friend I changed it to this http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NX3t99

I am not sure I see the difference. Could you elaborate?

Planning on getting one of these instead of wi-fi card

I do not have much experience with LAN over the power grid, but they seem a reasonable alternative to a fixed line with a little less hassle.

[Javster]

I am not sure I see the difference. Could you elaborate?

I changed the SSD slightly and I think that's it.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Javster