will the motherboard fit?

[Crius]

Kind of a random question I know, but i figured you guys would be able to answer it without a sweat. Will this motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637) fit into the case from this computer? (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c01616202#N746) If not, what are some good, cheap computer cases that will work? I'm new with building computers so any additional details are appreciated. Such as, how do I know if a case will work? Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

 

[Crius]

Also, I have a 400W graphics card and a 430W power supply, will the power supply be enough for the graphics card and the CPU above? How do I tell if a power supply is enough?

 

[Radicool]

Also, I have a 400W graphics card and a 430W power supply, will the power supply be enough for the graphics card and the CPU above? How do I tell if a power supply is enough?

No. You will need a bigger power supply. The power supply must be able to power everything. That is your processor, graphics card, RAM, HDD, etc. You need to find out how many Watts your processor and everything else uses. Add it all up, and thats how big your power supply needs to be. The processor and graphics card are usually the most power hungry things in your computer.

Edit: Looking at the processors which match with your motherboard, they take roughly 125W. Your graphics card and processor draws 525W then. Take note this is what they use when they are blasting at 100%. Computer parts rarely work this hard to actually use this amount. I think a 650W power supply will be more than enough to handle everything. You should tell us everything you plan on having in your computer for us to accurately determine how much power you will need though.

 

[Radicool]

I've never been good at identifying sizes. Heres the specs from the website though:

Case

Height: 37.7 cm (14.84 inches)
Width: 16.9 cm (6.65 inches)
Length: 42.6 cm (16.77 inches)

Bay size

13.33 cm (5.25 inch) 2 Bays
8.89 cm (3.5 inch) 1 Bay

Motherboard

Physical Specs

Form Factor: ATX
Dimensions: 12" x 8.86"
Power Pin: 24 Pin

I'm not sure if the motherboard is suppose to fit into the bay size of the case or not.

 

[Crius]

I've been looking around on the web for awhile now and come up with this as my build:

CPU/Motherboard (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7741613&csid=_22)

GPU (http://www.amazon.com/XFX-HD-667X-CDFR-Edition-Dual-Link-HD667XCD/dp/tech-data/B008CQQKGC) - I own this already.

PSU - W0070RU: TR2 430W W/O PFC (couldn't find a link for this one, but I didn't look very hard either.) - I own this already.

I will be using the case, hard drive and disk drive of the computer that I bought off the shelf a long time ago. Here's the URL to the specs - (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c01616202#N746)

Finally, I'd like to pick up at least 8gb of RAM, maybe 16GB if I can get it for roughly 70$, but I'm not sure exactly what type to pick up. I found something about DIMM memory and I don't know what that is. Really, I have no idea so as much info on RAM as possible would be great xD

Also, I took another look at the GPU box and it said you should have a minimum power supply of 400W to run it, my current CPU and Graphics card would exceed the 430W PSU if the GPU was 400W so maybe I'm running on a computer that could just shut down at any time, but I'm pretty sure that would have happened by now. In any case, what I'm trying to say is that I have no idea what the GPU requires power-wise, but I don't think it's 400W.

So, will all of this work together?

 

[Radicool]

Finally, I'd like to pick up at least 8gb of RAM, maybe 16GB if I can get it for roughly 70$, but I'm not sure exactly what type to pick up.

What do you need 16GB of RAM for? Do you open many applications on your computer at once? Do video editting or advanced picture editting? I have 4GB of RAM and I can alt tab into the internet to play music and have my game running at once. Warcraft 3, Starcraft 2, LoL all runs fine with other programs in the background. You could save $20-30 and go for 8GB of RAM.

I found something about DIMM memory and I don't know what that is. In any case, I have no idea so as much info on RAM as possible would be great xD

DIMM means Dual Inline Memory Module. This is different to SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module). To keep it really simple, DIMM is a little faster, however the peformance isnt that higher. SIMM's arnt very common nowdays. On the motherboard website you can see supported memory in a table. It support DDR3 whith many different clock rates. You are looking for RAM which matches any of the supported RAM's listed in the table.

Will all of this work together?

Yes, I think everything is compatible with eachother.

 

[Crius]

I was going to go for 16gb because I figured overkill is better than underkill. I want to be able to play Planetside 2 with at least 30fps and that mofo eats up ram like a fat man eats bacon. I think I'll just stick to 8 though, if you think that'll be enough.

Thanks for all the help man, I'm clueless to this stuff.

Just to be sure before I buy this stuff, the PSU will be enough right?

 

[Radicool]

Just to be sure, the PSU will be enough?

You can see what others think, but personally I dont think 430W is enough enough for your setup. It will run fine when your computer is idling or not working hard, but if you play a graphic intensive game, there might not be enough power for the computer.

I'd reccommend something a little bigger than 430W, but you can see what others have to say.

I was going to go for 16gb because I figured overkill is better than underkill.

I remember reading a very interesting benchmark test, where they tested many computers with different setups with controlled amounts of RAM. All the results came to the conclusion that too much RAM does in fact make your computer slightly slower. So there is no benefit of going overkill with RAM unless you need it for certain programs or operating styles.

The performance decrease was small, its not something to worry over. Just thought I'd disproove your "overkill is better than underkill" theory

 

[Nuclear]

If you're upgrading your PC from a brand computer such as that HP, I'd just recommend to get a new case too. Doesn't cost that much and gives a lot better cooling performance. Take a look at Bitfenix cases, and for PSU I recommend one of the XFX Core Editions.

 

[Crius]

Well, how many watts do you think I should go for on the PSU? About 650 still?

 

[Radicool]

650 will definately be enough. If your budget is tight and you need to get something smaller, you can wait for other people to reply and see what they think.

 

[Crius]

Alright.

I guess it time to ask about power supplies and computer cases then.

I need a cheap case that will be able to hold all of this stuff but I don't know anything about them. How can you tell if everything will fit? How can you tell if the motherboard will line up with all of the expansion slots in the back?

How do I know if the power supply will have the right connectors for everything?

 

[saphiree]

It looks like that GPU uses a bit more than 100watts http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6570-radeon-hd-6670-turks,2925-15.html

So with that and the CPU you linked to, You would not need more than 500w, actually you might even argue you could go as low as 300-350.

I would get 6-8GB of RAM, with at least 1600Mhz, as it seems you don't have a big budget. (If you do please buy a new GPU ).

I would get a new case as well. I don't know anything about the cheaper cases, but I am sure you can find one for not too much money, and still get something with good cooling.

I don't know about that CPU for gaming. It won't be your bottleneck for sure, but some intel core i3s perform better in most games as you can see here: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/147?vs=289.
Just remember you'll have to buy another mobo if you go for that one. This CPU is cheaper though, so for gaming it might be better, and then you might have some money for a better GPU?

EDIT: I can see the core i3 uses a lot less power as well, so you probably would do fine with a low wattage PSU if you decide to go for that

 

[Dr Super Good]

Add it all up, and thats how big your power supply needs to be. The processor and graphics card are usually the most power hungry things in your computer.

You usally want a PSU capable of atleast 20%-25% more than your system uses to cope with mains level voltage dips and non-average power spikes in components. Running without such a tolerence will put heavy strain on the PSU at times and you may find your system shutting down every time some nearby high-power equipment changes state.

 

[Velgen]

Well here is my own personal suggestion for parts.

CPU: i5 3570

Motherboard: Intel BOXDH77EB

RAM: RAM is RAM

GPU: MSI Radeon HD 7850

HDD: 1 TB

Case: Bitfenix Outlaw

PSU: 430w Seasonic

Now for the reasoning behind my decisions. For the CPU I went with an Intel instead of an AMD because atm Intel is ahead on CPU perfomance. Also their motherboards are of a more modern design which is another plus. I did not go with a k model because I assumed you didn't want to do any OCing. Which is why I also didn't list a heatsink since the stock heatsink should be fine. Honestly this is probably more than you want, but I wanted to do an Intel list and I don't like recommending dual cores that much (the i3 is still a great CPU though).

Now onto the motherboard since you aren't doing any overclocking an H series board should be fine. As for why I picked the Intel board it's simply because I am a sucker for better LAN controllers. I went with micro atx simply because I dislike bigger boards you can pick a bigger one if you feel you need more expansion slots or you think you may want to do Crossfire/SLI in the future (not worth the money imo)

RAM is RAM really the main thing that matters for gaming is the Cas Latency/timings. The speed, by this I mean the MHz, has less impact really. Either way you probably won't notice the differance it's so small. If you want to know more about this take a look at this article.

For the GPU I feel your 6670 will be the main bottleneck honestly. Now this may be more than you want to spend but I felt like it was a big enough perfomance jump over the $100-150 GPUs compared to what you have that it was a better value for your money. There is a 1GB version of this GPU but honestly I feel like that may hold you back in the future so why not spend the 20 extra bucks (note with the rebate that GPU costs just $5 more than the 1 GB). Oh and I just noticed it comes with a free copy of Bioshock: Infinite and Tomb Raider, which the 7750 or 7770 do not come with.

Well I just picked a 1 TB HDD just in case you needed one, but you could probably reuse your old HDD if you wanted.

The case is really good for the price really there isn't really much to say about it. Here is a review of it if you want details of what it is like.

Finally the PSU, 430w should be enough, but if you don't feel comfortable you can always get one that is slightly bigger. As for the brand it's Seasonic which is a very good brand.

Now the total of all of this assuming you don't reuse the HDD, find any bundles, or use any rebates is $745.93. Now I did not include any rebates/bundles in here because they can be region/time specific so you can change around what I listed. If you want to save some money I would either go with an i3 3220 (Here is a comparison of the 1055T and i3. The i3 is much better in single threaded but the 1055T pulls ahead in most of the multi-threaded stuff. For gaming though most loads are single threaded and even multi-threaded games don't take full advantage of the multiple threads) or a FX6300 (pretty much just plain better than the 1055T). You can find better deals I would assume for those 2 processors than the 1055T you were looking at, not to mention you could also find a deal on the i5.

Hopefully I covered everything, but if I missed something please ask.

 

[Nuclear]

You know if the motherboard is good for the case by looking at their form factors, which are represented in this picture.

 

[Crius]

Vel, your post is very helpful but I don't have enough money for everything. Ultimately I want to get my computer up to the recommended requirements for PS2 which are

Processor:Intel i5 processor or higher / AMD Phenom II X6 or higher
Memory:6 GB RAM
Graphics:nVidia GeForce 540 or higher / AMD HD 6870 or higher
DirectX®:9.0
Hard Drive:15 GB HD space
SoundirectX compatible Sound Card
Other Requirements:Broadband Internet connection

So if I were to use my old power supply, which is also 430 watt just a different brand and pick up the motherboard/CPU combo you suggested as well as the case I think I could stay under budget which is about $300 for upgrades. I guess my question is, would this work? Will I have enough power and are all the parts compatible? Just for clarification the system would be:

motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121601
cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286
case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345013
GPU: same
PSU: same
hard drive, disk drive: same

I also noticed that the motherboard is intel while the CPU is AMD. That's not going to present any problems?

 

[Velgen]

Ya you would need a different motherboard if you went with AMD. I can't think of a simple way to explain it because I am tired atm. So I will just ignore explaining it entirely. All you need to know is they use different sockets and chipsets. So an AMD CPU will not work with a mobo that an Intel CPU would work with and vice versa.

Okay, I do have a suggestion for you but this is reliant on you having a Micro Center near you. Micro Center runs CPU/Mobo combo deals if you get the FX6300 with the Gigabyte 970 UD3 it will run you $169.98 (also has a $10 rebate). That way you could also get the graphics card I mentioned. My only concern is whether that 430w PSU you have actually puts out 430w. The reason why everything gives such high estimates for how high wattage your PSU should be, is because they assume that you would be running the worst PSU possible. There are some PSUs that can only do half their rated wattage, and this isn't even going into whether the lines will give the correct voltage. So to be on the safe side and well cover their asses they give some rather high estimates. The 6670 you have atm can only pull at maximum 75w (it probably pulls less) because the maximum amount of power the PCI-E can deliver is 75w. So that 400w requirement estimate is rather high honestly. If you want to see my earlier rant on this subject click here.

Anyway that with the case, and graphics card I earlier linked would probably run you around $400 (with rebates). You can sell the game codes you get with the 7850 to make up for the extra amount you are spending over budget if you want, or if you intended to get Bioshock: Infinite and Tomb Raider consider it money you would of spent anyway to get those games. Also, you could sell the 6670 on eBay to make up for it as well if you don't think you would have a use for it if you got the 7850. If you do not have a Micro Center near you though, I would say hold off on upgrading till you have a little more cash because with the $300 budget you won't really be able do much.

I probably missed some stuff, but I sort of am falling asleep so if I missed something again please tell me.

 

[Radicool]

You know if the motherboard is good for the case by looking at their form factors, which are represented in this picture.

Thats a nice picture. It pretty much sums everything up, thanks for posting this! One question though. If the motherboard and case are both "Standard - ATX", will all the USB ports, VGA port, etc fit nicely out the case? I dont know how to phrase that properly. All cases have a rectangular hole in the back where the USB ports "poke out". So the motherboard and case will always align properly given they are both of the same form factor?

 

[Zakamutt]

You must always check what sockets a motherboard supports, then compare it with the CPU. There are other things as well, so really what you want to do is pull out a compatibility list from somewhere.

As for the 75w thing, that might not be as correct as you think.

EDIT: holy simultaneous post batman!

Anywaysies, that would be the back I/O panel. It should fit quite well, though if you're unlucky or it's gotten bent a bit you may have to perform surgery on the little flimsy plate protecting it. Tends to be a bit annoying. I'm not an expert by any means, though.

 

[Ralle]

400W is plenty for your current configuration.
According to the spec for the processor it draws maximum 125W.
The video card does not even have extra power cables, which means it is powered by PCI Express. Looking at the spec for PCI Express you can maximum draw 25W from that.
This gives us 150W for the CPU and GPU. I don't know much about the motherboard and RAM, but giving it 50W is probably more than generous. This gives us 200W. Then 5W per HDD. Assuming you have only one and we end at 205W. This means that 400W is MORE than enough.
I would only recommend a more than 400W PSU if you have dual high end video cards or dual high end CPUs.

 

[Velgen]

400W is plenty for your current configuration.
According to the spec for the processor it draws maximum 125W.
The video card does not even have extra power cables, which means it is powered by PCI Express. Looking at the spec for PCI Express you can maximum draw 25W from that.
This gives us 150W for the CPU and GPU. I don't know much about the motherboard and RAM, but giving it 50W is probably more than generous. This gives us 200W. Then 5W per HDD. Assuming you have only one and we end at 205W. This means that 400W is MORE than enough.
I would only recommend a more than 400W PSU if you have dual high end video cards or dual high end CPUs.

Ralle, the maximum amount of power you can draw from the PCI-E is 75w to quote wikipedia "PCI Express Graphics 1.0 (PEG) cards may increase power (from slot) to 75 W after configuration (3.3 V/3 A + 12 V/5.5 A)" so the maximum power PCI-E cards can draw is indeed 25w, but the maximum of a PCI-E graphics card is 75w.

Anyway if he decided to upgrade the CPU and use the GPU he has I would say the 430w PSU is fine. My only concern was if he moved up to a 7850 was how much of its rated output does the 430w put out (I know some cases of where the PSU could only supply half of it's rated wattage). Since I don't know the brand/model I just put that out there it most likely won't be a problem, but it is certainly something to consider. I just don't want to say that it will 100% work because well you never know.

As for the 75w thing, that might not be as correct as you think.

Zakamutt, the 6670 I was referring to has no power connections so ya it's 75w. Now if you thought I was saying that the 7850 pulls 75w I never said that.

 

[Dr Super Good]

Also, I have a 400W graphics card

I would really like to know where this figure came from...

 

[Zakamutt]

Well, if we assume they double the figures it's at least theoretically possible, you just have to make assumptions about the rest of the system as well. Take a 75w gpu and a combined draw of 125w from other stuff, and you've got something...

 

[Crius]

I would really like to know where this figure came from...

That was me being stupid. On the box it says you should have a power supply of at least 400w and I thought that meant the thing drew 400w.

In any case, thanks for all the help guys. Despite Vel's advice I'm still going to upgrade my computer. I've never really had a gaming PC so getting it to the point where I can play all the games I currently have at a decent framerate is really my only goal. I'm tired of being the guy who runs around at 15fps and dies because of a sudden drop to 7fps. So my only question now is will this computer work to fulfill the recommended requirements for planetside 2 and are all the pieces compatible with one another?

planetside 2 requirements:

Processor:Intel i5 processor or higher / AMD Phenom II X6 or higher
Memory:6 GB RAM
Graphics:nVidia GeForce 540 or higher / AMD HD 6870 or higher
DirectX®:9.0
Hard Drive:15 GB HD space
SoundirectX compatible Sound Card

Computer:

Processor: http://shop.amd.com/us/All/Detail/Processor/FD6300WMHKBOX?SearchTerms=fx-6300
Memory: 8GB
Graphics: AMD 6870
Motherboard: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1963472&CatId=7248
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156268 - I'm open to suggestions on this. Any good cheap cases that fit my motherboard and that you guys have had good experiences with.

 

[Velgen]

That was me being stupid. On the box it says you should have a power supply of at least 400w and I thought that meant the thing drew 400w.

In any case, thanks for all the help guys. Despite Vel's advice I'm still going to upgrade my computer. I've never really had a gaming PC so getting it to the point where I can play all the games I currently have at a decent framerate is really my only goal. I'm tired of being the guy who runs around at 15fps and dies because of a sudden drop to 7fps. So my only question now is will this computer work to fulfill the recommended requirements for planetside 2 and are all the pieces compatible with one another?

planetside 2 requirements:

Processor:Intel i5 processor or higher / AMD Phenom II X6 or higher
Memory:6 GB RAM
Graphics:nVidia GeForce 540 or higher / AMD HD 6870 or higher
DirectX®:9.0
Hard Drive:15 GB HD space
SoundirectX compatible Sound Card

Computer:

Processor: http://shop.amd.com/us/All/Detail/Processor/FD6300WMHKBOX?SearchTerms=fx-6300
Memory: 8GB
Graphics: AMD 6870
Motherboard: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1963472&CatId=7248
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156268 - I'm open to suggestions on this. Good, cheap cases.

Well I stand by my recommendation of the Bitfenix Outlaw, but if you feel like saving $10-15 I guess you could get the Rosewill Challenger it's an okay case.

Keep your 6670 for now, because I just don't see you being able to get a card to meet the PS2 recommended specs as well as afford a CPU/Mobo/Case/RAM in the $300 budget. As for what GPU to get you can make a post about that when the time comes that you have some more money. Generally for a good mid-range graphics card I would say you should be looking to spend around $200. The current generation is getting a little old so prices are honestly getting lower which is nice.

So I am guessing you do not have a Micro Center near you? The Micro Center deal I listed is limited to in store pick-up. That is the reason I asked whether you had a Micro Center near you. I would definitely look into whether you have one nearby, because their CPU/motherboard combo deal is really good. Scroll down to the 6300 area the 6300 with the motherboard you linked would run you $144.98. So ya if you have a Micro Center near you take advantage of them for that deal, and if you do not well ignore it I guess.

 

[Crius]

Yeah, I wish I had a micro center near me but the closest one is a few hours away. It still might be worth the drive though because I don't have to wait or pay for shipping and I get the discount. So I might go on a bit of a road trip I suppose.

As for the GPU, I'm pretty sure the GPU listed under their requirements is the one I own. Am I wrong?

And all the parts will work together, correct? I'd hate to buy everything and find out the power cord doesn't match the motherboard. I noticed the case your recommending is micro ATX. while the motherboard I'm looking at is just standard atx so it wouldn't fit, right?

 

[Velgen]

You linked a 6670 the one they list in the recommended specs is the 6870, but it should be strong enough to at least play it (this is actually being a little hopeful I think, but what choice do you have?). So you can use it till you have enough money to afford a better GPU. BTW I am in chat for the next 50 minutes if you want to talk.

 

[Zakamutt]

Lower-numbered families of ATI cards within a generation are sometimes substantially weaker than their more esteemed counterparts.

 

[Nuclear]

Thats a nice picture. It pretty much sums everything up, thanks for posting this! One question though. If the motherboard and case are both "Standard - ATX", will all the USB ports, VGA port, etc fit nicely out the case? I dont know how to phrase that properly. All cases have a rectangular hole in the back where the USB ports "poke out". So the motherboard and case will always align properly given they are both of the same form factor?

Yeah, the backplate size is a standard. Sorry took a bit time to respond.

 

[Crius]

Thanks guys! I'm writing this from my new and improved computer! It's running great! Never would've been able to do it without your help! Thanks again folks!

 

[Ralle]

Do send some pictures

 

[Zakamutt]

(for us to masturbate to)

 

[Nuclear]

We should make a thread for people to post pics of their rigs.

 

[Crius]

Lol, you kids! Unfortunately I don't actually have any cameras other than the crappy one on my phone (not a smartphone). Sorry.