[MEGATHREAD] Personal Computer - Updated builds thanks to Logical Increments

[Plexious]

So, with that in mind, would a GTX 780 or the AMD equivalent still be fine?

Yes, or a 780 Ti if you have the cash.

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[Oasis]

What should I look for when finding a specific card from a specific manufacturer?

[Plexious]

What should I look for when finding a specific card from a specific manufacturer?

The only differences between specific cards from specific manufacturers is the clock rate and the cooler. Look for high core clocks and good reviews.
Also: keep and eye on the power requirements as some require more powerful PSU's and different external power connectors.

[Treynolds416]

The only differences between specific cards from specific manufacturers is the clock rate and the cooler. Look for high core clocks and good reviews.
Also: keep and eye on the power requirements as some require more powerful PSU's and different external power connectors.

All those things you mentioned as well as price and warranty. I usually sort by best review and then pick the one that offers the best value. Don't stress over clockspeeds too much, both nvidia and amd make it extremely easy to bump up your clock rate if the 2fps difference bothers you

Edit: don't worry too much about the details. I know it seems like we're making a big deal about everything, but as long as part a fits into part b you're not going to have a computer that doesn't work well

[Oasis]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zyvQcf

Alright, tear through this. Pretty sure everything is compatible and anything important not included is something I already have. Still a bit iffy on the Radeon 290, but otherwise I'm pretty comfortable with the price.

[Oasis]

Alright Treynold, I can't answer pm's but I've listened to your advice.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fhgcGX

I have tweaked it quite a bit, but otherwise it follows your intel route. I do want to know if I'm getting what I'm paying for between the i7 I picked and the i5 you recommended.

[Treynolds416]

Well the main difference between the 4790k and the 4690k is that the i7 has 8 effective cores instead of 4. You will not notice the difference in all but a handful of games. For encoding video or doing heavy/calculation work though, it's very helpful.

So if this computer is just for games then it's a much better idea to do the 4690k and either buy a nice monitor (trust me, the difference will be unbelievable) or pocket the spare cash

Aside from that I think everything else in your build is 100% fine

[Oasis]

Well the main difference between the 4790k and the 4690k is that the i7 has 8 effective cores instead of 4. You will not notice the difference in all but a handful of games. For encoding video or doing heavy/calculation work though, it's very helpful.

So if this computer is just for games then it's a much better idea to do the 4690k and either buy a nice monitor (trust me, the difference will be unbelievable) or pocket the spare cash

Aside from that I think everything else in your build is 100% fine

Alright, I think I might downgrade to the i5 you recommended then. Thanks for all the help, and I'll post back later when everything is ordered or whenever I build it. :)

[Oasis]

So another quick question. The hard drive I ordered is being delivered within a few hours now here, and I was just wondering what the recommended way of essentially transfering all my data from my current WD hard drive to the new WD one. The old one is 1 TB and the new one is 2 TB if that matters.

[Plexious]

So another quick question. The hard drive I ordered is being delivered within a few hours now here, and I was just wondering what the recommended way of essentially transfering all my data from my current WD hard drive to the new WD one. The old one is 1 TB and the new one is 2 TB if that matters.

Method 1:
1) Download or purchase Acronis True Image
2) Make a full image of your primary hard drive
3) Restore the image to your new hard drive
I'm unfamiliar with this program and won't be able to help you on anything
Method 2:
1) Install Windows separately on your new drive
2) Manually copy your documents and program files over from your old drive
Yes this will take longer but it's a great way to clear out clutter from system to system and improve performance
Method 3:
Clonezilla
GPartEd
Shadowcopy
Method 4:
It is possible to use Windows system restore but this requires a third drive and not usually works.

[Tokthree]

Unless you pay for Acronis I think it only lets you make images and restore them to the same HDD, not sure though.

[Treynolds416]

You could also build your new computer, install windows on the new drive, then plug in your old drive through a sata port that won't boot and just copy them over. This is the method I've used in the past, not sure of what the pros/cons are

[Doomonkey]

You may wish to look for a utility from Western Digital. When I got my Samsung SSD, it came with a program that cloned my regular hard drive for me.

[Tokthree]

WD has a version of Acronis but I'm not sure what the difference is

[Oasis]

I ended up using a third party tool to clone the hard drive, however once I removed the old one and installed the new one in its place, it won't boot from it. In-fact, its not even detecting it on the BIOS setup. What should I have done here?