The Member's Systems Discussion Thread

[g-unit1111]

Air for sure. Water is pointless under $120.

The H110 is a big waste of money in my opinion. Loud and annoying and barely better than an $85 air cooler.

So that rules out the H110i! So now I'm looking at either the Cryorig, Phanteks TC-14PE, or the BeQuiet! cooler. I'd get another Noctua but those prices on Newegg - OMG!

I'm thinking more the Cryorig with the green top to stick with my system's color scheme.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Okay, I think I am set on buying an R9 390. It's time I purchase an AMD graphics card! I was looking at the Saphire card here http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-Version-Graphics-11244-00-20G/dp/B00ZGL8CYY but it is too large to fit in my case (NZXT H440). The height of the card is 8.5 inches and my case, while it technically has a width of 8.6 inches, might not if you consider the motherboard is about 3/4 an inch off the side panel. With that said, the card is 13.2 inches long which would require me to remove an HDD cage (which wouldn't be a huge deal but still...

So, the card I am thinking of buying is the MSI Radeon R9 390 Twin FrozrZ. http://www.amazon.com/MSI-R9-390-GAMING-8G/dp/B00ZGF0UAE/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1443568349&sr=1-1&keywords=msi+r9+390

The card is 10.9 inches in length, which is just enought to fit in my case without having to remove a HDD cage. The height is only 5.1 inches compared to the 8.5 of the Saphire card. And only 2 inches wide. My case has good airflow and with the 850W G2 arriving soon I'll be set! Thoughts? Think I'm making the right decision?

Oh, and my CPU is an I5-4460. Also, I plan to upgrade my motherboard. I currently own an MSI H81M-E33 which I hope will not be a problem for the time being until I upgrade.

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay, I think I am set on buying an R9 390. It's time I purchase an AMD graphics card! I was looking at the Saphire card here http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-Version-Graphics-11244-00-20G/dp/B00ZGL8CYY but it is too large to fit in my case (NZXT H440). The height of the card is 8.5 inches and my case, while it technically has a width of 8.6 inches, might not if you consider the motherboard is about 3/4 an inch off the side panel. With that said, the card is 13.2 inches long which would require me to remove an HDD cage (which wouldn't be a huge deal but still...

So, the card I am thinking of buying is the MSI Radeon R9 390 Twin FrozrZ. http://www.amazon.com/MSI-R9-390-GAMING-8G/dp/B00ZGF0UAE/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1443568349&sr=1-1&keywords=msi+r9+390

Good choice. When I bought my TwinFROZR V - I was a hair away from buying that same card but opted for the 970 ME instead. I found out the extra 4GB of VRAM doesn't really do anything which is why I opted against the R9.

I think I'm either going to purchase the Cryorig or the Phanteks, still deciding which to get. I'd get another Noctua but those prices right now - holy crap!

 

[Turb0Yoda]

Cryorig seems to have stellar reviews. Same with Phanteks.... Are you looking at the H7 or H5?

 

[RazerZ]

Both of those coolers are great, I would also go with an air cooler over a similarly priced AIO. Both perform similarly though the R1 Ultimate offers a 6 year warranty compared to 3 (DP3). I am personally a fan of the sleeker design as well.

edit: Just saw you are looking at the Phanteks. Also a solid cooler for the money w/ a 5 year warranty. Performance should be similar to the D-14.

---
The Sapphire Tri-X version of the 390 is the same price on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202164&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[turkey3_scratch]

8GB vRAM might not be useful now but you never know when it will. Plus, it is great for Crossfire.

 

[Turb0Yoda]

So I bought some Low End audiotechnicas after my last pair got stolen... They are this "sport" type which go over your ear, which I have never used and won't use those add ons thanks to glasses. The audio is pretty clear, but isn't as noise canceling as my last, cheapo 10 ones... That is possible because I have no clue how to wear these and put them on like the picture shows, which isn't clear... The cheapo ones would block out a lot of noise when simply put in my ear, and I couldn't hear anyone on medium ish volume... They also had a large amount of base, which made some songs amazing and some not as good...

The model number seems to be COR15...
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/b288e49e43e1ada4/

 

[Deleted member 217926]

8GB of VRAM is never going to be useful on a 290/390 since the GPU isn't powerful enough to use it unless you run Crossfire. I don't understand anyone buying a 390 or 390X when you can still get the exact same GPUs for cheaper by buying a 290 or 290X. Just overclock the 2xx cards. They are identical clock for clock. AMD just added some useless VRAM and called it something new. In all fairness the 3xx series is a slightly matured revision and will probably overclock a bit higher. The 3xx series also draw more power.

Identical clock for clock performance.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/06/18/msi_r9_390x_gaming_8g_video_card_review/9#.VgtQdGtimBc

 

[Turb0Yoda]

Because people want to have what is "new" and to appear "cool". I never cared about that much...

 

[g-unit1111]

Cryorig seems to have stellar reviews. Same with Phanteks.... Are you looking at the H7 or H5?

I was actually looking at the R1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF1H68938

Kind of a toss up between that and the Phanteks. I'd get another Noctua but I want to keep the black / green theme of my rig and I don't want to have to pay for new fans.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The Phanteks comes in different colors. It usually performs similar to the NH-D14 in testing. Even beats it sometimes.

http://www.phanteks.com/ph-tc14pe.html

 

[g-unit1111]

The Phanteks comes in different colors. It usually performs similar to the NH-D14 in testing. Even beats it sometimes.

http://www.phanteks.com/ph-tc14pe.html

That's one of the things I like about the Phanteks is that it comes in different colors. I was also looking at the beQuiet Dark Rock Pro 3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68V21E0640

Any opinions on that one?

 

[Turb0Yoda]

If you want to stick with your color scheme, the R1 is better. I'm unsure how those two would compare(phanteks and the Cryorig)...

 

[turkey3_scratch]

No, I legitimately want the 390 not to be "cool" and "new" but because I think it's a better decision than the 970 for 1440p. Plus if I wanted to be "cool" I would get a 970 because that's what most people have.

 

[MrRockyboxer]

My brother and I were talking about building a server for work, so we could access files on all the computers, like programs for the CNC machines, and shipping stuff. Looks like research time!

 

[Deleted member 217926]

No, I legitimately want the 390 not to be "cool" and "new" but because I think it's a better decision than the 970 for 1440p. Plus if I wanted to be "cool" I would get a 970 because that's what most people have.

For 1440p I would be looking at a 290X/390X or GTX 980 even if you need to delay the purchase a bit to save some extra money. You will be happier long term especially if you play newer games and want eye candy.

 

[g-unit1111]

If you want to stick with your color scheme, the R1 is better. I'm unsure how those two would compare(phanteks and the Cryorig)...

I ordered the R1, I will post some pics once I get it installed!

After having a really bad experience with a closed liquid loop, I will never use one again. I will stick with big air coolers from here on out.

 

[Turb0Yoda]

I took this test called NOCTI, which is administered to four year college students. I was told that the par for them is ~55%(not sure on that...) and I got 69.9 with little to no experience.. its not bad for someone who hasn't graduated college...

 

[Turb0Yoda]

@g unit, did you see the RVZ02?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

My 850W G2 arrived today (a day early!) and I have it installed and it's working properly! BTW, PSU cables can be bent to the death, right? Because I feel like I have to really bend some of them quite a bit.

 

[tiny voices]

Yeah pretty much. Bend them all you need.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

No, I legitimately want the 390 not to be "cool" and "new" but because I think it's a better decision than the 970 for 1440p. Plus if I wanted to be "cool" I would get a 970 because that's what most people have.

For 1440p I would be looking at a 290X/390X or GTX 980 even if you need to delay the purchase a bit to save some extra money. You will be happier long term especially if you play newer games and want eye candy.

I'm really not looking to spend more than the 390, and the 390X will produce more heat. The GTX 980 is still not worth the money IMO.

Honestly, you may say the 8GB vRAM is completely useless because it does not even have the processing power to use it all and current games don't use it, but the vRAM can still come in handy. If you have more vRAM, the graphics card can store a lot more texture data in the vRAM rather than constantly having to re-request it from the RAM (which makes the CPU do more work). Additionally, you never know when games will start using more than 4GB vRAM. vRAM has uses aside from the vRAM that is actually being processed every frame. It stores other data.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Yeah pretty much. Bend them all you need.

Also, the power supply is held in place only by the screws, correct? The power supply is a couple millimeters above the steel part of the case (basically it is floating and being held in place by the screws). Is this normal or is it supposed to actually lay flat on the steel beneath it? Because it seems if I try to lay it flat, then one of the screw holes is unreachable and hidden behind the case.

 

[g-unit1111]

@g unit, did you see the RVZ02?

Kinda too late on that one! :lol:

Although I was checking out some of the new In Win cases - OMG these are all amazing looking. I really like the 904 Plus and the 808.

The Z01 is fine - it works great. I plan on installing the optical drive later tonight.

 

[Turb0Yoda]

Yeah, just a wee bit late.