Buy it separately. You can get a better quality paste if you do.
[Question] Building a PC question.
- Thread starter Dave
- Start date
Most aftermarket coolers come with either a small tube of "special" paste or they tend to have paste pre-applied to the base. You can get premium pastes (textbook example is "arctic silver" brand) separately, and they do work better, but this is because they usually contain granulated/powdered metal in order to further lower their thermal resistance. If you use one, MAKE SURE you do not accidentally put any of this sort of paste where it doesn't belong, as the metal content can short other components. Misplaced thermal paste can be cleaned up pretty easily with isopropyl alcohol, but if it gets on your clothes you will pretty much just have to get used to the stain.
--Patrick
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
You know, I tried hooking up a 38 inch TV as my monitor a few years ago, and found I just couldn't deal with it. In order to use it effectively, I had to place it so far across the room that it really didn't take up any more of my field of view than a 22" monitor, but I had to focus further away than I'm used to. Honestly I'm still kind of adjusting to the 27 inch monitor I got in feb when my 22" started dying. I don't think I ever will want a monitor larger than this. I already have to lean back sometimes when I game.
I mean, you can do it and get by if your current monitor dies, but hooking up a huge TV as a primary gaming monitor ended up being disappointing for me.
I mean, you can do it and get by if your current monitor dies, but hooking up a huge TV as a primary gaming monitor ended up being disappointing for me.
I find my 32" tv to be just about perfect for a monitor.
GasBandit
Staff member
That. That's exactly what it was like.
When I was in Virginia alone for 6 months, while my family was still in Texas, I did exactly this. I mostly used it to play Eve and it was glorious.
Dave
Staff member
I think it was awesome for some things and just neck-wrenching for others. What I plan on doing, then, is getting a wall mount and moving my desk back.
Gotta be careful with computer input to giant TVs, too. Computer screens usually have some sort of static content (menu bar, HUD, whatever) and it's really easy to ruin a TV by burning some kinda shape into the screen.
--Patrick
You can heap a lot of crap on Blizzard, but all of their games I've ever tried have been incredibly well-optimized. Bugs, yes, a lot, but low system requirements and they'll actually run on their listed minimums.
Dave
Staff member
TOMORROW TOMORROW TOMORROW!!!
I order the parts. And some of the parts have gone OFF sale, so I did a little tinkering and it's now under $1400! Moved from the i7-4770k to the -4770, which is a 12% uptick in price/performance (saved $50) and changed from the DDR3-1866 Corsair Vengeance Pro to the DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance ($15 saved).
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Edrondol/saved/kfzkcf
I'm happy and excited!
I order the parts. And some of the parts have gone OFF sale, so I did a little tinkering and it's now under $1400! Moved from the i7-4770k to the -4770, which is a 12% uptick in price/performance (saved $50) and changed from the DDR3-1866 Corsair Vengeance Pro to the DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance ($15 saved).
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Edrondol/saved/kfzkcf
I'm happy and excited!
Losing the -K just means it doesn't have an unlocked multiplier (much less overclock-friendly) and it's 100MHz (3%) slower at base speed . Otherwise, the 4770 and 4770k are pretty much identical*.
Also, you should not be able to notice any difference from the slight loss in DDR3 speed. I like that you're going with 16GB...less worry about running out later.
Just make sure you have all the piddly stuff...SATA cables, etc. Would be a shame if you built the whole thing and then couldn't hook up your HDD or something. Also, I assume you have a copy of Windows you'll be installing on this, since I don't see it in your list of parts (unless you're gonna go Mint or something).
--Patrick
*There are some differences, but they are probably in things you don't care about. Trusted Platform support, built-in vPro Out Of Band management capability, etc.
Also, you should not be able to notice any difference from the slight loss in DDR3 speed. I like that you're going with 16GB...less worry about running out later.
Just make sure you have all the piddly stuff...SATA cables, etc. Would be a shame if you built the whole thing and then couldn't hook up your HDD or something. Also, I assume you have a copy of Windows you'll be installing on this, since I don't see it in your list of parts (unless you're gonna go Mint or something).
--Patrick
*There are some differences, but they are probably in things you don't care about. Trusted Platform support, built-in vPro Out Of Band management capability, etc.
Yup..i have half-dozen spares for this very reason.
Dave
Staff member
You, sir, have read my mind already.[DOUBLEPOST=1404186295,1404186205][/DOUBLEPOST]
Question. Wouldn't most of this be PnP?
When the board is newer than the OS, it's good to plan ahead.
It doesn't do much good to have a brand-spanking new computer ready to go...and then discover that your Ethernet isn't working because you don't have the drivers loaded. And then you can't download them...because your Ethernet isn't working.
Or to need your RAID drivers installed prior to your OS install...except you forgot to get them until after you installed your OS.
Just plan out your process and go through it a couple times before you start putting anything together or taking anything else apart. I wanna hear about how awesome the new system is, not how much of a pain it was to put together.
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
You wouldn't actually load them, you'd just have them handy so you won't have to go hunting for them one by one later.
Always have the NIC driver on hand when you start. Then you can download the rest if you need.
There are some drivers (like RAID) that need to be available (on a floppy/USB stick) during the installation process, because otherwise the OS install won't be able to "see" that hardware thingie (whatever it is) during installation. Having the NIC driver or chipset drivers handy avoids the situation where portions/features of the motherboard hardware are "missed" during the rest of your installs, leading to things like not being able to use the Ethernet port, or not properly enabling the CPU power saving/turbo features. Most of these sorts of things are fixable, but they can get annoying quickly, especially since the fix for some of them is, "Now you need to start over from scratch."
--Patrick
Yes. Learn from our mistakes. Our pain and suffering leads to a better tomorrow (for you).
--Patrick
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Dave
Staff member
Figures. I went back into PC Part Picker to make sure I had the right hardware for the downloading of the drivers, when I noticed that the motherboard was reduced from $158.98 to $144 and would use a company that had better shipping. In fact, the new company has already shipped the other two parts I ordered from them. Damned shame that, but what can you do?
Anyway, here's the completed list with prices, which include all shipping and applicable taxes.
Anyway, here's the completed list with prices, which include all shipping and applicable taxes.
Dave
Staff member
I also JUST REALIZED that my OS is 32 bit and everything I ordered was 64 bit. Thankfully I'm reading that the OEM key will work with the 64 bit iso that I just downloaded.
And I apologize if I'm boring you guys with all of this. I'm just over the top excited. This is my first "real" gaming computer. I've always had old or cobbled together rigs that were a step behind current tech.
And I apologize if I'm boring you guys with all of this. I'm just over the top excited. This is my first "real" gaming computer. I've always had old or cobbled together rigs that were a step behind current tech.
I honestly believed you had already gotten the 64bit.
Now make sure to use your old computer to burn the iso (or write it to a flash stick) before you start harvesting its organs.
You're not boring us. It took my dad until he was in his 50's to buy his first "new" car (in 1996).
So he bought a Chevy Caprice with an LT1 motor and the heavy towing suspension...
...and lemme tellya, he overclocked the Hell outta that car. I've never seen him giddier than his first few months driving that thing.
--Patrick