Yeah, I was just swapping out the motherboard and processor for those three setups. I forgot to account for the case, so if they go with that option, they should just grab a standard ATX case if they decide to pull the trigger. He mentioned he wants these machines for 24/7 operation, so there's no way that Zalman Z3+ is the right call. Like I’ve said before, those fans are about as loud as old NVIDIA cards used to be when you're gaming. It'll definitely bother him if he's trying to sleep while a torrent is downloading.
1 x Asrock FM2A88M EXTREME4+, FM2,FM2+, AMD A88X (Bolton-D4), DDR3 1 x AMD Trinity Athlon ii x4 760 3.80GHz 4cores 1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, Hyper X, KHX1600C9D3B1 1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 260 x OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm 1 x WD 1TB Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mj 1 x XFX Core edition 80 + 450 w pas - EasyRail Technology 1 x Fractal design Core 1000 Black 1 x Fractal design Core 1000 Black , 2 x 3,5" interni utor 1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo,2011,1366/1156/775/AM3/ 626g,13-32dB
$1196
1 x Asrock s1150 H81M-HDS - Intel H81, mATX, dual Channel 2 xDDR3 1 x Intel Core i3-4130, 3.40GHz 1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, Hyper X, KHX1600C9D3B1 1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 260 x OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm 1 x WD 1TB Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mj 1 x XFX Core edition 80 + 450 w pas - EasyRail Technology 1 x Fractal design Core 1000 Black 1 x Fractal design Core 1000 Black , 2 x 3,5" interni utor
$1165
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866 1 x AMD FX-Series X6 6300 3.5GHz,14MB,95W,AM3+, FD6300WMHK 1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, Hyper X, KHX1600C9D3B1/ 1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 260 x OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm 1 x WD 1TB Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mj 1 x XFX Core edition 80 + 450 w pas - EasyRail Technology 1 x Fractal design Core 1000 Black 1 x Fractal design Core 1000 Black , 2 x 3,5" interni utor 1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo,2011,1366/1156/775/AM3/ 626g,13-32dB
$1308
Micro Center
You could go even bigger—swap in an i5 for the second build and grab an R9 270X card. But honestly, that’s all wasted effort if you don't have the budget for it or a high-resolution monitor to actually see the difference.
The noise might not bother him, but it definitely bothers me. I’m just pointing this out for anyone considering buying this specific case down the road. Other than that, I have no issues. There’s a button on top to control the fans, but honestly, it doesn't make a bit of difference in the noise level.
I’ll pass it along if my buddy asks, though I doubt he will—he already mentioned he doesn't have an issue with it. For someone who plans on running torrents all night long while sleeping in the same room as this rig, they might want to look for a different setup elsewhere, because this thing is a disaster.
Just a heads-up: the Zalman Z3 Plus mid tower case comes with some seriously loud fans right out of the box (there are 4 of them). Hearing that noise immediately after booting up felt like a total flashback to the days of the 8800 GT era, when terrible cooling solutions used to make gaming a noisy nightmare. On the bright side, the actual design of the chassis—the transparent side panel, the placement of the USB ports, and a few of the internal extras—is actually pretty solid.
Bradley Smith88 said:I'm actually thinking about grabbing a new PSU, because ever since I installed the GTX 460 OC, the power supply has started getting louder...
http://www.amazon.com/power-supplies/b?node=16310902011&keywords=500W http://www.amazon.com/power-supplies/b?node=16310902011&keywords=silent_fan - this one is cheaper http://www.amazon.com/power-supplies/b?node=16310902011&keywords=430W http://www.amazon.com/power-supplies/b?node=16310902011&keywords=500W http://www.amazon.com/power-supplies/b?node=16310902011&keywords=450W http://www.amazon.com/power-supplies/b?node=16310902011&keywords=450W http://www.amazon.com/power-supplies/b?node=16310902011&keywords=550W
Any of these will do the job; you won't go wrong. Each link points to a specific model, sorted by price from lowest to highest.
Motherboard: Gigabyte P35DS3P Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 2,66 (planning to overclock to at least 3.0 soon) GPU: Nvidia GTX 460 OC External sound card, EMU 1820m + 2PCI module 4 x 1GB Ram DDR2 800 Currently running a Chieftec 450 W.
That's overkill for you... honestly, if your current unit is rock solid and doesn't whine or buzz, there’s zero reason to swap it out. Your entire rig pulls about 320-330 watts max. You can push that CPU to 3.2 GHz on the stock cooler without any issues.
You can go ahead and drop an HD 6850 or 6870 in there. Even though that Dell Inspiron power supply isn't exactly top-tier, it’s not total junk either. It puts out north of 400W, though you shouldn't expect much more than that.
It really boils down to how much cash you're willing to sink into a GPU, but if we're talking the GTX 460 or HD 6850/6870 tier—whatever the reason for that comparison is—it should work.
Maybe check if any local shops have decent deals lately? If you want to be safe, just grab something reliable from XFX or Seasonic and call it a day.
Ronald Jones7 said:What’s the actual difference between these power supplies, besides the price tag and the fact that modular units cost more? Is one quieter, more powerful, or just built better? What should I go with? I need enough juice for a Phenom X4 paired with either a Sapphire 6850 or a Sapphire 6770.
Seasonic power supply, SS-520GB, 520 W, 120mm fan, active PFC from $169
Seasonic power supply, SS-520GM, 520 W, 120mm fan, active PFC from $193
I already told you on the first thread that the GPU is fine and the PSU will handle it. Regarding the GB and GM models, you hit the nail on the head—the second one is modular, or specifically semi-modular if you want to be precise.
Honestly, even for a Phenom and a beefier HD6870, an xfx450W is plenty. It costs $120 and, in my opinion, it's the best value pick for builds like yours.
Out of everything you listed, the HD6870 is clearly the heavy hitter here, and it blows that first HD6790 you mentioned out of the water.
You can grab it for $420 It comes with a 3-year warranty; Microsoft offers that much, whereas everyone else just gives you two years.
The power supply is solid, and so is the processor, especially for those racing sims—though let’s be honest, most modern racers have basically become arcade games like Need for Speed lately. That said, with this card, you’ll be able to crush the new Call of Duty coming out in October on max settings without breaking a sweat. If you're looking for a cheaper route, check this out:
neonseal55 said:Look, having a 1TB hard drive would actually be pretty great for me—even if I don't always sit around reviewing everything I download, I just want to know that the downloading part is seamless. 😁
On another note—and please don't take this as me trying to act like an expert or anything, since I'm certainly no hardware guru—but I can't help but notice how heavily CoolerMaster markets themselves. I used to listen to their TDI radio segments quite often, and it honestly makes me wonder... is it possible they sacrificed some build quality once demand spiked? It seems to me like a common pattern: once a brand becomes massive, they lean on the name alone to drive sales, sometimes letting the actual product quality slip in the process. That’s just my hunch, anyway—I'd love to hear from those of you who have actually had the chance to compare them against other brands to see if my theory holds any water.
Look, if you aren't going to be mindful about what you're actually downloading, then don't bother getting a 1 TB drive in the first place. Honestly, just stop downloading stuff altogether. 🙂 So, we're sitting at 1 TB now. $867. CoolerMaster is solid. Honestly, they blow brands like Thermaltake, Gigabyte, Frontier, and Linkworld out of the water—those other guys are basically just selling half-baked tin cans in this price bracket. If you're looking to spend under $50, the CM 430 is a great pick. It actually has some style, too, with that clear side panel and the blue LED on the front fan that gives it a decent look when you're staring at your setup. And the best part? It’s cheap. $117Where exactly do you think you're going?
neonseal55, here’s a slightly more modern setup for someone looking toward the future (motherboard with 2x USB 3.0 and AM3+ processors and all that good stuff):
1 x Asrock 880GMH U3S3 , AM3+, AMD 880G, AMD SB710, Micro ATX 1 x Intel Core i3-2100, socket AM3, BOX , 1.5MB cache 1 x DDR3 4GB (2x2GB) Kingmax, 1333MHz, FLFE 1 x HDD WD 500GB, 5000AAKX, SATA 3, Buffer 16MB, 7.200 rpm , 8,9 ms 1 x Samsung DVD Writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R 1 x XFX Core edition 80 450W PSU - EasyRail technology 1 x CoolerMaster elita 360, black, window, (W)190 x (H)424 x (L)490 1 x Ventilator Spire 120mm, SP12025S1M3, sleeve bearing, 32 dBA, 120
$830
Throw in another 120mm fan for the rear of the case and you'll have some serious airflow. The thing is, Intel is still overpriced, and their motherboards aren't any cheaper. You could swap in a 1 TB drive and still stay within the budget limits$833.
I honestly thought we were talking about a 450W unit. It’s nothing fancy, but it should provide enough juice since that GTX460 OC isn't exactly a power hog. Going with MSI is a solid move because of that 3-year warranty, though you aren't going to squeeze everything out of that card while paired with an E6750. That said, they're close enough in performance. Also, don't bother wasting your cash on those used Intel Quad cores floating around on Craigslist; people ask for insane prices for them. In my opinion, skip that entirely. Just pick up a decent used CPU cooler and overclock the chip you already have—you can push those things pretty high.
That power supply should cut it, provided you're actually buying a legitimate brand. In any case, I'd go with the GTX460 over the GTX550... I'm guessing this
Upgrading your GPU would bump up those frame rates, but it wouldn't be some massive leap that leaves you speechless.
It would just be -$250 on your bank account.
If you ask me, what you’ve got right now is solid. Honestly, it's still pretty decent by today's standards. You’re running a CPU that’s basically at the top end for dual-core chips, paired with a card that handles that specific combo perfectly. I wouldn't touch a thing for a while... There isn't any game out there right now that would justify throwing money at a new graphics card in your position. Maybe Call of Duty: Battlefield down the road, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Based on what's being said, you won't be stuck playing on ultra-low settings; you should be able to run it on medium without much trouble.
If you’re already feeling bad about spending money on those $233, you might as well just walk away from the whole purchase right now.
Look, if your goal is to actually play Call of Duty: Battlefield, nothing like a 6770 or a GTS 450 is going to cut it when you try to launch the game. You'll just be disappointed.
If you actually want to get something done here, my advice is to liquidate what you have. Sell that Core 2 Duo for about $167, the 8800GTS for roughly $133, your RAM for about $67, and let's guess your motherboard is worth around $83. That brings you to a total of approximately $450. If you add the $750 you were already budgeting for a new GPU, you're looking at over $1,500. With that kind of cash, you can actually build something decent—provided you have a reliable power supply and your current hardware (case, DVD drive, fans) is still functional.
If you go that route, I’d suggest aiming for an AM3+ motherboard ($233), a Phenom X4 955 BE ($262), and 4GB of DDR3 ($53). From there, see what kind of GPU you can stretch for and weigh your options carefully.
Trust me, I've been caught in this exact same trap before.