Has anyone ever ordered a custom machine from NCIX? I do not currently have the time to teach myself how to build a PC and they seem to have the best price for what I'm looking for. I've looked at ibuypower, cyberpower, and few others but either the reviews were terrible or they didn't offer the components I want.

Currently, I am tempted by this: http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc/ncixpc.cfm...914F95-4270267

Is that price about right? It's the GTX 680 card that most other places were missing so I keep coming back to NCIX.

Originally Posted by measureless Has anyone ever ordered a custom machine from NCIX? I do not currently have the time to teach myself how to build a PC and they seem to have the best price for what I'm looking for. I've looked at ibuypower, cyberpower, and few others but either the reviews were terrible or they didn't offer the components I want. Currently, I am tempted by this: http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc/ncixpc.cfm...914F95-4270267 Is that price about right? It's the GTX 680 card that most other places were missing so I keep coming back to NCIX.

What games are you playing and at what resolution that makes you think you need a GTX 680? I mean, for sakes, for about $1000 you can build a screaming machine without the liquid cooling that will give you about 95% of the performance of that machine. Take it to $1200-1300 and you have almost the same system by bumping up the video card.

I would suggest taking a look at the video card again as well. I mean the reality is that Video cards can randomly fail. Also a nice 250-$300 card will run mostly everything out at High to ultra settings at very good frame rates. (45 and above) If you're thinking that buying a $500 video card is going to last you more than 5 years without something happening to it "maybe" think again.

That card will only last all the years you would pay for if you use preventive maintenance every few months. If you're not comfortable with touching anything inside the machine i say don't spend that much on the card.

Has anyone used ASRock or Biostar motherboards? I've noticed that ASRock has won some customer choice awards on newegg, but I have only had experience with ASUS motherboards.

I'm running an ASRock board (ITX) in my rig atm. It's running fine. I assume it'll be fine in the long run since ASRock is just the child company of ASUS. I'll be sure to chime in if I have any problems. Though prior to this I was mainly a GIGABYTE sort of person.

I'm frustrated.

So, after I did my new build for my computer, I was planning on using the old parts for my wife's replacement computer. Worked great last time. But, this time I'm having an issue.

The old motherboard is throwing a CMOS checksum error when I try to boot it up. I've tried changing the battery and clearing the CMOS and that did nothing. I've pretty much ruled everything out except for motherboard, processor or memory.

The problem here is I can't see replacing any of that piecemeal. It is a 775 motherboard with DDR2, and there aren't any full sized 775 motherboards anymore. So, it would mean I have to toss all of these parts and spend another couple of hundred bucks to get a low-end AMD Llano processor, motherboard and new memory. Not something I really wanted to do now.

The urgency comes because my wife's current computer is unstable and reboots all the time. That, and I need to get Skype working on it so that she can talk to her sister in Spain.

Originally Posted by TheLongshot The problem here is I can't see replacing any of that piecemeal. It is a 775 motherboard with DDR2, and there aren't any full sized 775 motherboards anymore.

Funny, Newegg still has ATX sides 775 motherboards listed that support DDR2. Most are refurbs but this Biostar is not: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138157

I've made the choice to upgrade/build a new pc....I'm going from a P4 3.2ghz-4GB of ram-ATI X800 PRO to this planned build:


Computer build front runner!

** Motherboard -$ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

$140 -

$http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ock-_-13157293

** Graphic card - $EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

$420 -$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130787

**memory -$G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

$47

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231428

**Power supply -$OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

$90-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341018

**HDD -$Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$120-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

**SSD -$OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

$90-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

**CPU -$Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000$

$230-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

** CPU Cooler -$COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

$35-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103099

** Case -$NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case

$120-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

**DVD Burner -$LITE-ON DVD Burner

$20$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%2fCD%20Writer



I've been out of the hardware side of pc for awhile so I did some research on the web and came up with this....am I on the right track?

I'm looking to play games at max setting as well as getting into app dev.

After lots of reading and skimming discussions, I have decided to build my own gaming rig as well. Here is what I have come up with.

Case - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
GPU - HIS IceQ X H785QN2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
Motherboard - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU - Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core ...
Disk Drive - LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM

I would like any recommendations or suggestions. Saving a more money would be nice. Keep in mind I'm am a total "noobz"(?) when it comes to computers and their components so be gentle!! Thanks guys.

I wouldn't get a Z68 motherboard now (personally). I'd get a Z77, something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128543 for the same price.

Also for the CPU, why not get an Ivy Bridge for that price? You can get a 3450 for less. The 3570 is $10 more.

Saving $$ but it is your call. You can get a 6870 for about $60-70 less and it is about 5-10% slower depending on the resolution you are using.

Originally Posted by nastyislegend After lots of reading and skimming discussions, I have decided to build my own gaming rig as well. Here is what I have come up with. Case - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive GPU - HIS IceQ X H785QN2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... Motherboard - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard PSU - Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core ... Disk Drive - LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM I would like any recommendations or suggestions. Saving a more money would be nice. Keep in mind I'm am a total "noobz"(?) when it comes to computers and their components so be gentle!! Thanks guys.

Check out this link:
http://www.hardware-revolution.com/c...ems/gaming-pc/

I used that when building mine. I didn't follow any of the builds exactly, but I just used it as a guide (I wouldn't recommend going with the PSUs they recommend though, I would personally go with Corsair or another reputable brand.)

A few questions:

1. Which of these laptops (for gaming) is better?

HP Pavilion dv6-6135dx

Acer Aspire 7750 AS7750-6458

It is to my understanding that both of these have almost identical graphics cards, but the Acer has the edge on processing power (4 threads at 2.4 GHz up to 3.0 GHz with the i5 compared to 4 threads at 1.5 GHz up to 2.4 GHz with the AMD quad-core).

Apparently Acer laptops are not the best, is this true?

Are there any other refurbished or new laptops you guys would recommend with good gaming graphics cards for ~$500-600?

Thanks.

Nasty adding at least a Blu-ray reader isn't that expensive but I would also just suggest a writer for backup data use.

Sager(or Saeger) is who produces some of the best laptops Twisted. My laptop has a desktop i7 in it, take that as you will. It's a beast but the battery life is for shit obviously.

So I just got my ASRock Z68 motherboard in from newegg and I had one question for all of you. There is some plastic film (similar to what you find on cell phones or other electronics) covering the metal cover of the chipset. I am assuming I take it off, but not really sure.

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Hey guys, would love to know if any of you could give me help on how to build/order a gaming PC here in Germany. I Really want to have an english operating system and have looked at some places but there is always the problem with shipping and the german os. Budget of around 1000 euro

Thanks for any help!!!

Going to be trying to build a gaming pc towards the end of August. But I am completely lost as to what to do and what components work together. Anyone have any helpful advice or links? Kinda overwhelmed and not sure what to look at as far as parts.

Edit: As far as my Budget, hm somewhere between $700 to maybe as high as $1000. Ideally I want to end up with a desktop that can run The Witcher 2 really well (since thats a fairly taxing game as far as I know and something I'd like to play at high settings.)

Edit 2: I've looked back through the thread some and found a site that had this build on it.
http://www.gamersnexus.net/pc-builds...e-pc-build-may

Being a novice when it comes to this, how good of a pc is that? Could it run the Witcher 2 well? How long before I'd need to consider upgrading anything? Thank you for any responses.

I like that PC, the i5-2500k is awesome and so is the GTX 570.

Going to kill The Witcher 2 with that setup. Keep researching the sales, you can use that as a way to piece together a cheaper PC.

Thanks for the reply J-cart, I will keep researching and looking at things in my spare time. Thankfully I have over a month before I will be looking to start making purchases. So if nothing else hopefully things will be a bit cheaper.

College student here, looking to build a computer for the first time. The budget is 700-800, looking to play manly strategy games like Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Civ 5, and eventually Company of Heroes 2.

I'll have the money saved up come November, or December. Where should I start to look at sample builds, websites, etc. ?

Found this thread on Reddit, seems helpfull.

Been juggling the idea of getting new PCs.

Would need 2x. I have a P4 2.8 GHz with half a TB of stuff that I haven't touched since November 2009. GF still uses an AMD 4200+ or something from the same time period, I forget. Also have an HP laptop with an onboard video card.

I currently only really want to play some strategy games I've missed, like Sword of the Stars, Galactic Civilizations, Starcraft 2, etc. And Torchlight, Diablo III, and Grimrock. Being able to play some multiplayer FPS would be nice, but I haven't played them since CS.

GF seems like she wants a laptop, so she could play while watching TV, or I'm playing a console game. She also doesn't like that her computer is in the guest bedroom, even though we only get guests a couple times a year. We don't have a tablet either.

Thing is, I don't have a desk or chair anymore. We sold the desk, and she stole my chair, which is probably 8 years old anyways.

I can't decide on getting 2 laptops (ASUS G75s or similar), two desktops, or the combination.

I'd like to get an i7 Ivy Bridge, but it also seems like an overkill.

Doubt the GF needs an i7, but she sounds mildly bitter that her ex always gave her lesser products.

It'd be a plus to have a desktop to get rid of all my old backup CDs and DVDs, which would require at least 2TB. GF has about 300GB, and never filled that up.

Being able to play Borderlands 2 on it might be a plus, but we'll play on the PS3 if not. Not a big deal.

While price isn't a concern, I'm cheap, and we're saving for a house. I don't mind dropping $3k on two laptops, but I worry they won't last even three years. Battery life doesn't matter, since it most likely won't leave the house much, if at all.

Already have one 24" monitor I can use, so it does cut down a desktop price a bit. But I would need a new case/psu/etc.

Any advice? Should I just build something cheaper, like an i3/i5, or i7 without a video card, or get mid-range gaming laptops?