Upgrading my pc ASAP (buying this weekend)

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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Jan 10, 2014
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Hey! I built a gaming pc for 500$ nearly 4 months ago and here are the specs:
x4300, ga78lmt-usb3,cx430 v2, 2tb seagate green, rosewill ranger m, 2gb asus hd 7770, and 8 gigs of ddr3 1333mhz ram. So my 14th birthday is late this year, but I got around 40$ of birthday money which I plan on biking down and trading in for an amazon giftcard. So if I got it, I plan on buying this ssd in around a week: Pny xlr8 128gb, http://www.amazon.com/PNY-120GB-6Gbps-2-5-Inch-SSD9SC120GMDF-RB/dp/B007WT9SU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402104568&sr=8-1&keywords=120gb+ssd
Yeah. So I am using the stock amd cpu cooler, so should I buy this aswell? http://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-Alpine-Pro-Rev-Cooler/dp/B002CIDIPW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402104646&sr=8-1&keywords=am3+cpu+cooler
I plan on upgrading three things this summer: My case (probably near the end of summer to an nzxt source 210, cpu cooler, and my ssd. So yeah. I made a long thread about a hyper tx3, and concluded the tx3 would hardly fit in my case, and installing it would likley need removing my motherboard, not willing to do this until I upgrade my case. My audio setup, and keyboard and mouse are all great. e3lue cobra, sidewinder x4, bose qc3, jawbone jambox.
 
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Zircoben


1. Isopropyl alcohol, 90% or higher is best, but 70% is good.
2. Oh yeah, I still have a lot to spare. You can mess up a lot.
3.Should be plenty. Your case is bigger than mine (it's an ATX) and I fit mine in with plenty of room. It will fit in the Core 1000 too.
4. If you have another...
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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The Hyper TX3 does not require removing your motherboard. I bought one and installed it myself, and it was moderately easy.

Unless you are overclocking, the stock AMD cooler should be fine.

You'll love the SSD! I have the Crucial M500, which is very similar, and I have a similar CPU (AMD A10-5800K) and my computer boots in about 5 seconds. Incredible.

Instead of the Source 210 I would look at this: http://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Design-Core-Computer-FD-CA-CORE-1000-USB3-BL/dp/B00CUSUV0O/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1402120748&sr=1-4&keywords=fractal+design+core

With your MicroATX motherboard, you might as well get a smaller computer case. I think this one is particulary beautiful and it looks like it will cool well.

Hope that helps!
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Hello! Thanks for the help. With how hot it is here in California, I usually have room fan, and also my noise cancelling headphones also quiet out the cpu cooler, and my temperatures are great. I am running at stock voltages (1.35v) and at 4.2ghz, and idle in the high 30's to low 40's 38-42, and max at around the mid 60's (59-65) so yeah. I will get the ssd first, and then later go with the core 1000 (is it micro atx?) or the source 210. The ssd should be quite a bit better, right? I don't mind losing my data, since I upgraded to windows 8.1 on my hdd from 7 and already lost everything (all my games, still have documents, though) The case is really pretty. I am using a 1680x1050 22" inch monitor, which I will upgrade to a 23" or maybe 24" 1080p panel next summer. I have 1 cpu fan header, and one 4 pin case fan header on which I'm using a splitter, so will m fans fit okay, or should I get a fan controller first? Thanks!
A pic of my pc: http://imgur.com/5irrBBO
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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Oh yeah. SSDs are dirty fast. Like I said before, your PC will boot in seconds, and file transfers and program installs will be considerably faster.

Your CPU temps are hot, but they are okay for now. As long as it doesn't go above 70C, you are good. Definitely don't overclock until you have the TX3. and even then, don't overclock much.

You should be able to control your fans in BIOS, but I have no expierence with fans. Ask the Cooling forum on tomshardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/all.html?refine=cooling

Just make sure with the Core 1000 that you give it time and that you are careful. Some people say that it is a very tight fit in that case and that you have to bend your motherboard to get it in. I doubt you should encounter that problem, but if you want to be safe, take a look at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119274

I have the above case, and it is bigger, but it still looks nice and it is very well built. The Core 1000 is cheaper and looks better, but from a space and upgradeability standpoint, the Cooler Master N200 is better. My TX3 fits in with plenty of room to spare.

Hope that helps!
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Hello! So do you think I should upgrade in this order: ssd, case, cpu cooler. I will probably do the core 1000 or the nzxt source 210. I will do fresh install of windows 8.1, but my case fans are running nice and quiet because i'm using a 12v to 7v adapter, so that keeps my case fans quiet. I use noise cancelling headphoens, so i'm good on that aspect, too. Maybe, first the ssd and then the case, and then the cooler. How does that sound? I have scratches and stuff on my case so it kind of annoys me.

Here are some pics of my setup right now:
UmzpeCj.jpg

516PYF1.jpg
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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I ordered the tx3 today for 18$ new. I will buy the ssd near the end of the month and then buy my casein mid July. Was installing the tx3 easy. I originally was going for another crappy cooler, but buy it right or buy it twice hmm
 
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Zircoben

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The TX3 was a little bit difficult to install, I had to get someone else's help to push down one side while I latched in the other. It took me like 10 tries on my own, but then once I got someone else to help, I got it quickly.

SSDs are very easy to install, just put it in the bay and screw it in. You'll love it!

If i've helped you, could you please select my best answer and "Pick as the solution." I'd appreciate it.

Thank you and good luck!
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Ya, I will chose best solution but a few questions 1st

1. What did you use to remove the thermal.paste
2.with the amount of times you messed up, is one bottle of thermal compund enough?
3.do you think the amount of room.in my case is sufficient for installing it?
4.should I be concerned about installing it?
LAlso, is it pissbile to install it horizontal instead of vertical, unlike the video
5irrBBO.jpg


Here is a video of the install, seemed easy to me..http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xYyqe4N1ZT4
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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1. Isopropyl alcohol, 90% or higher is best, but 70% is good.
2. Oh yeah, I still have a lot to spare. You can mess up a lot.
3.Should be plenty. Your case is bigger than mine (it's an ATX) and I fit mine in with plenty of room. It will fit in the Core 1000 too.
4. If you have another person helping, it will be no issue.

Have fun!
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Did you take your motherboard out of your case, and does the n200 have a cutout? Is it a lot quieter than the old one? Do you think o can over clock with it. I think.its worth the struggle if its really good. can it be mounted vertically?
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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No you don't need to take the motherboard out, it isn't like the 212 EVO where you need to put a backplate in.

Oh sorry, forgot the Ranger-M is MicroATX. The TX3 will fit just fine.

The N200 has the ability to take the panels off from both sides, so if you need to access the other side of the motherboard, you can without taking the motherboard out. It's nice.

The TX3 mounts perpendicular to the motherboard, so it mounts horizontally when the case is bottom side down.

Don't use a paper napkin, haha. Use an old white shirt, or something like that, and wet it with the 70% alcohol. Wipe it off 5 times more than you think you need to, basically scrub it until you see nothing coming off on the shirt.

It is very quite. I can't hear anything in my computer right now, and I have 2 case fans (included in N200) and the Hyper TX3. My swamp cooler on low (crappy A/C thing if you didn't know) drowns it out easily, and even with the A/C off you can barely hear anything.

I have overclocked my A10-5800K to 4.5 GHz (from 3.8) and I wasn't checking the temps at all, but it seemed fine. I really can't attest to it though, because no temperature programs are accurate for AMD and I don't run it OC'ed very often. You should be able to overclock, but probably not too far if it's hot in your room like you said.

Hope that helps!
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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OK thank you so much! Hopefully by the time I finish upgrading, I will have a noticeably better PC. The difference between the core 1000 and the 210 will just be size right and maybe airflow a little. I hope all goes well! Sad that you cant mount the cooler so air can't go out the back of the case.
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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You can! I have my TX3 pointed and the fan goes right out the back. Just make sure you put it on the right way.

The problem with your build is really the GPU. It looks like you got everything good around it, but that CPU is subpar. For now it will be okay for most things, but in the long run you will want to replace it.

I'm glad I could help!
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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In the beginning of the post you said the gpu, but later said the cpu is subpar. hmm? lol, presumably a typo. How did you install it like that? In the video I showed you it was vertical, so I am a bit confused. Did the clip go through the heatpipes? btw:thanks so much for the help!
Also, I plan to overclock my cpu near 4.5ghz with a very small voltage bump. How do you know how much to increase the voltage? Do you leave it at stock? Also, I don't play to many super demanding games. At the moment sleeping dogs runs fine at medium and high settings at higher than 70fps, bf3 at medium at 70-90fps (textures at ultra thanks to the v-ram), and I finished bioshock infinite at high with like 80ish fps at all times. Web browsing and text editing and everything is great. I just really want to make my pc really good before I get a 1080p monitor for christmas. I was about to go for 1 gig r7 260x, but the 7770 just looked really kick-ass (dumb move, but oh well, will probably upgrade next summer or something. Maybe I should get a source 210 so that I can later on get a bigger mobo for crossfire or something. Out of curiosity, what are your specs?
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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Yeah, typo sorry!

Oh yeah I didn't look at the video... I have a web filtering thing that blocks Youtube and it is a pain to open those.

Here, it's WAY late here where I live, so I will send a picture of what I did with my TX3 tommorow.
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Alright, sounds awesome! A few pics could probably give me better perspective.


Don't want to mount it like this
maxresdefault.jpg
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Hey. I decided when I buy my case, I should not cheap out (went for a good cooler, might as well go for a good case, and I found this. A budget corsair case....
mind-blown.jpeg

anyways, heres the links http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-SPEC-01-CC-9011050-WW/dp/B00I6BJATW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402252494&sr=8-1&keywords=Corsair+SPEC-01
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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Cool! Looks like a very nice case. It will be BIG, but should work great!

Here's my TX3 setup: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0bRewdttz_7YjFTdDVSMWdGUmc/edit?usp=sharing

and here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0bRewdttz_7eTB1TXROak1jekE/edit?usp=sharing

and here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0bRewdttz_7cFU0V0J1NVNSdEE/edit?usp=sharing

The CPU fan pushes it out the back, and the back case fan pushes out too, so it works great!

Hope that helps!
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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Awesome! What case are you using? I think you should probably try to work on cable managment, on a 28$ case I was able to make it look fairly nice. Are you using a micro atx motheboard? Seems like it. When you mounted it, did you put the bracket around the heatpipe? How hard was it to install. Would you mind taking a picture of the actual mounting mechanism?
also: what cpu are you using? Does it run okay? Is it quiet?
and:hows the ssd? I'm buying one in a few weeks to run simultaneously with my hdd (hdd as storage)
 
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Pcbuilder123

Pcbuilder123

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I never looked at the freaking dimensions. Don't think that it would fit on my desk. Hahahah. I would need to modify my desk a bit...
XJbNGfi.jpg
 
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