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

[Tokthree]

Double check the connections, if it's not showing in the BIOS then either it's not connected properly or you've got a problem.

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[Oasis]

Double check the connections, if it's not showing in the BIOS then either it's not connected properly or you've got a problem.

Yeah, must've not been connected properly.

[Treynolds416]

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?

Have you formatted it yet? You shouldn't need to do that if you installed windows on it fresh, but if you're using an old image it may not work properly

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.

Samsung includes a proprietary tool that does this for their own stuff. I think Norton has something as well, called Ghost

[Doomonkey]

I think Norton has something as well, called Ghost

I am familiar with Norton Ghost. My old school district used Ghost. I have ghosted many machines.

[Oasis]

Yeah, must've not been connected properly.

Should have followed up with it all worked perfectly. It's really nice having a full TB free. Probably will use the old drive as a back-up or perhaps just excess storage of stuff I don't care about.

Anyways, really excited about the build I've asked you guys about, kinda sucks that I don't think I'll be able to afford buying it in one swoop though. Are there any big computer part sales that I should watch for?

[st8terblock]

I'm not very good at computers could somebody build me a computer that costs around $600-$700? Also no amd at all

[SiliconCactus]

Also no amd at all

Why?

[Georges]

Also no amd at all

what? Why?

[Bisjac]

wihh a 700 budget. perhaps you should consider amd.

[Plexious]

I'm not very good at computers could somebody build me a computer that costs around $600-$700? Also no amd at all

I think I have a pretty good build here though I'll wait and see what the gurus in this topic say about it.
Tell me what your current build is so I can see if we can salvage anything from it.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 Ivy Bridge Quad-Core 3.2 GHz
Mainboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 LGA 1155
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (4x2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti Superclocked 2GB 128-Bit
PSU: Cooler Master Elite Power - 460W Power Supply
Case: Some $20 case I found with 285 reviews
Rear Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition 120MM

Cost is around $620 exluding shipping.

[Clear Glass]

Why?

what? Why?

Intel > AMD

[Jerome]

their gpus are actually really well priced and especially since you're on a budget they're worth looking at

i would recommend a intel cpu however

[Clear Glass]

their gpus are actually really well priced and especially since you're on a budget they're worth looking at

i would recommend a intel cpu however

this.

[HerpaDerp]

heres a picture to generally explain why intel is better than amd



although amd is getting better intel is still on top in terms of performance

[Treynolds416]

I think I have a pretty good build here though I'll wait and see what the gurus in this topic say about it.
Tell me what your current build is so I can see if we can salvage anything from it.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 Ivy Bridge Quad-Core 3.2 GHz
Mainboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 LGA 1155
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (4x2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti Superclocked 2GB 128-Bit
PSU: Cooler Master Elite Power - 460W Power Supply
Case: Some $20 case I found with 285 reviews
Rear Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition 120MM

Cost is around $620 exluding shipping.

Here's a better build. I'll explain my decisions for each change

CPU: i5-4590
  - The i5-3470 isn't a bad choice, but this one has better performance through IPC improvements in haswell, as well as a 0.1 ghz increase in clockrate as well as more modern socket/chipset for only $10 more.
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Pro4 microATX or ECS B85 microATX board
  - This is just for futureproofing in case you want to get another broadwell/haswell processor further down the line and want to overclock. If you don't want to overclock or you're going to upgrade the motherboard anyway you can save like $25 bucks by using the second board.
RAM Corsair 1600mhz 2x4GB kit
  - There's no point in getting a 4x2 kit of memory instead of a 2x4. You don't have any space to upgrade on the motherboard and it's more expensive.
HDD WD Blue 1TB
  - Same as your build
GPU Gigabyte R7 265 (AMD) or EVGA 660 (NVIDIA)
  - So, both of these cards are siginificantly better than the 750 ti for not much more (like 25% better). Do not get a 750 ti. However, the 265 is only $10 more than the 750 ti while the 660 is $30 more than the 750 ti. Keep in mind, the 265 is SLIGHTLY better than the 660 too. I think you should reconsider your "no amd" mantra.
Case/PSU Apevia Qboii w/ 500W PSU
  - I've built with this combo several times before, the case is surprisingly sturdy and the PSU has all the connectors you'll need. It's a great value, though you'll want to add this 80mm fan to improve cooling for only $4 more.

So, the total cost for this machine is $608.91 with the AMD board and the B85 motherboard. That's cheaper than plexious' build with a better cpu and much better gpu.

If you readd the Z97 motherboard and 660, the total cost is $663.92 and you get no added performance benefit.