chocobo7779, you are right, the SG05 solution looks like it is the best fit for jimhorn, just slightly wider than 20cm, but at about RM500 with included SFX power supply, it is also reasonable in cost.

The SG05 does come with a SFX 450W 80Plus Bronze power supply for RM500.

It will definitely fit the standard GTX750Ti with space to spare. It might fit some higher end cards as well, but since jimhorn did mention he did occasional gaming, then I do not think it is worth it to get a GPU higher than GTX750Ti.

This is a common question - should I upgrade now, or wait a little later for newer hardware? I normally tell people, there will always be a newer, better CPU and GPU coming out every year, so do not wait, get what you want when you need it at the best value.

However, to add some perspective to your question:

1. CPU I think is not worth it to wait for the next gen like Broadwell. If you see the past few Intel CPU generations - Ivy Bridge, and Haswell, there is really not that much improvement of performance per dollar, it is more like power efficiency which is good for mobile devices like notebooks, but not much impact to desktop.

2. Nvidia's next gen GPU (Maxwell) seems to also focus on power efficiency instead of outright performance. The GTX750 / GTX750Ti is actually Nvidia's next gen Maxwell available today for desktops. Even the latest generation of GPUs for performance seems to be recycled designs with minor tweaks, both Nvidia and AMD seem to be doing this.

As we progress forward, I think the focus will be on energy efficiency, meaning higher performance in a lower power envelope, rather than outright performance. That is actually not a bad thing, today's CPU and GPU is more than enough to game at "normal" resolution of 1920x1080. There is the law of diminishing returns here when it comes to absolute performance.

The Palit StormX Dual is highly overclocked GTX750Ti card, and its price is about RM600, which is the same price for a Sapphire R7 265 Dual-X.

If you compare its performance, the Palit GTX750Ti StormX Dual card will beat a standard R7 265 card, so price/performance is about the same, not that much difference.

However, given a choice, I would still choose the GTX750Ti because the GTX750Ti is smaller, runs cooler, requires less power (no 6-pin power connector needed) and is much quieter. Also, from my experience, Nvidia drivers are generally more stable as compared to the AMD drivers.

encikapat, although it seems like a good idea to CrossFireX your GPU, but the stability of multi-GPU set ups are not very good, and you might have issues when playing the latest games, and will always need to latest drivers.

If you want to get more performance, consider selling your current GPU on LYN, and then with the added cash, buy a better discrete GPU, like a GTX750Ti for less than RM600, or a GTX760 for less than RM900.

You will have more fun playing games, instead of trying to fix things with a higher end single discrete GPU compared to CrossFireX.

octavius_inc, based on my experience, for recent graphic cards, it is better to buy factory-overclocked instead of buying a standard hardware, and overclocking it yourself. Saving some money by overclocking yourself today is not worth the extra effort, and additional risk.

Also, most GPUs and also CPUs today have some form of overclocking built in when it is needed (boost/turbo mode, etc.), so that makes it even less relevant to overclock yourself. Long gone are the days of the Celeron 300.

Of course, if you like tinkering and overclocking your PC hardware, and enjoy the satisfaction, and do not mind the issues that come up, then by all means, try it out ... it is actually quite fun, sometimes.

For Windows 8 OS, you should buy the Windows 8 Pro upgrade for RM220. It is the cheapest option to buy a Windows OS. You can install and activate the Win8 Pro upgrade just like any normal OS ....

I hope everyone is putting aside some budget for Windows OS ... This is a hardware thread but i sometimes see folks stretching the budget, so don't forget the OS and also the AVR.

Enermax is actually well known for designing good power supplies, and also manufacturing those power supplies. However, the NAXN series is actually made by CWT, and is the same as the Corsair CX series of power supplies. Hardware Secrets has done a review on the 600W version, and it is good for its price, thus giving better value compared to similar power supplies.

Based on the circuit designs, and the load tests (information obtained from techpowerup for Antec, and Hardware Secrets for Enermax), I would put my money on the Enermax power supply. Also, the fact that CWT also makes the same PSU for Corsair as the CX series, then that also helps to reinforce the design since it passed both Enermax's and Corsair's validation tests. Enermax and Corsair are famous for good power supplies, and they have a reputation to maintain.

Thanks, chocobo7779, for sharing the OEM on the Antec. It is also stated in the techpowerup review as well that Delta makes the Antec PSU. Delta is one of the largest manufacturers of power supplies, and they do have large contracts with the OEMs like Dells, HPs, Lenovos, etc. This does provide the opportunity for Delta to gain a lot of experience in the design and manufacture of PSUs.

I consider a few things when assessing between ATX PSUs, and trying to decide which to buy, with the fundamental facts that the PSUs being compared are in stock at my favorite seller, similar in cost, and similar in power output.

First priority is the PSU design including choice of components, and this can only be obtained through reviews that open up the PSUs, and dissect their designs. Second priority are the load measurements of the PSU which is validation of the design, especially the efficiency measurements, power quality, and of course the noise level. Third priority is the quality of the assembly including assessment of the PCB soldering quality, and components used like capacitors and MOSFETs, and this provides an idea of how reliable the PSU can be. Fourth priority is the manufacturer, and I would only be wary if the manufacturer was either totally unknown, or is infamous for bad design and/or manufacturing quality.

The original Signature series that made Antec famous was a very good design. However, the Basiq is not the same design as the Signature, and therefore the performance will be different. Unlike what you have mentioned, the Basiq's design does include active PFC, but the design is only using one MOSFET so it handles 230V only, and I am not sure what is the reason it is done that way, maybe to save cost. The Basiq's load measurements in techpowerup show average to below average performance.

I mentioned it earlier in this thread, the FSP Raider Silver's design is actually similar to the FSP Aurum Gold design, so it does seem that this FSP Raider is good value.

Yes, looks like the PSU that HardOCP tested did not do as well as expected. As usual, there is balance in the world and there are at least 4 reviews from reputable hardware sites that say positive remarks for the FSP Raider series of PSUs.

In any case, FSP now states that the Raider is 80Plus Silver rated, when the PSUs reviewed and tested by almost all the hardware sites were 80Plus Bronze rated. This might indicate a change in the design, but without a direct comparison it is hard to tell. This shows how PSU marketing and comparisons are not always accurate, as the designs or build quality can change, and it will not be easily detectable, unless you open the PSU, which is not always possible, or would void your warranty.

HardOCP itself is a challenging reviewer, they have failed quite a number of PSUs, including those from Corsair (OEM Chicony/HiPro), EVGA (OEM Etasis), Antec (OEM Delta), and CoolerMaster (OEM Seventeam).

Seasonic and Enermax, both companies that design and manufacture their own PSUs, have sent in multiple models to be reviewed by HardOCP, and all have passed.

This post has been edited by mykchin8: Mar 29 2014, 01:18 AM

The ODD uses a SATA port, and there is 4 on the mobo, enuf for 3 devices, SSD, HDD, and ODD.

The 4 SATA ports are 2 6Gbps (SATA 0 and SATA 1, grey in color), and 2 3Gbps (SATA 2 and SATA 3, black in color). Connect SSD to SATA 0, HDD to SATA 1, and the ODD to SATA 2 port.

This post has been edited by mykchin8: Mar 29 2014, 02:10 PM

If it is 6-pin, then it is for GPU. The mobo ATX 12V AUX connector is either 4pin or 8pin. GPU is either 6pin or 8pin.

If your Gigabyte Powerock 500W is the same one as what is shown on the Gigabyte website, then the PSU should have one 4+4 mobo 12V AUX connector, and you would have two 6+2 PCI-E connectors for your GTX760, but for each of the two connectors, you would only use the 6-pin connector only, without the additional 2 pin connector which will not be connected. Slowly try to confirm all the wires from the PSU, and then once you have the identified wires, try to connect them slowly into the mobo and GPU, if you have to use a LOT of force, then most likely you have the wrong connector, or the wrong orientation.

This post has been edited by mykchin8: Mar 29 2014, 02:18 PM

Please advise what does COA mean? Certificate of Authenticity? Please also help let me know why is it able to be used for 3 times only.

Yes, HDD only use less than 5W of power so it should be any issue at all.

Yes, if u want to use back your HDD, it is OK ... The sustained speeds of HDD is like 1Gb/s, so it will not be a bottleneck, cache might be affected but real world use will see no difference between SATA2 and SATA3.

Sorry to hear this, you must be disappointed. Since you cannot do much as IdealTech is off, then maybe you can try the following.

Please help to confirm that when you installed the mobo into the casing, you did use the exact quantity of mobo stand offs and all are used to secure the mobo ... These stand offs are screwed on the casing first before you screw your mobo on the stand offs. I have experienced before additional stand offs shorting the mobo traces, and these caused similar symptoms to what u r seeing.

Please also confirm all connections between the casing and mobo are good, including the polarity of the connections. I have had situations before where the mobo did not start when the connections were not connected correctly, it is easy to make a mistake since the wires are tiny. Luckily Asus has a really good solution for it now.

Once you do troubleshoot and find out the root cause of the issue please help to share so that I can learn as well.

creative zn, very happy now to hear that you have figured out what is the root cause of the issue. Yes, no stand offs will also cause the mobo traces to be shorted to the casing and thus ground, and this will cause the signal to be grounded, and there will be no definite signal for the mobo to start up.

Hopefully you have managed to install everything, and enjoying your new rig.

faridz, unless you absolutely need Win7, I would recommend Win8 Pro, which you can buy the upgrade version of Win8 Pro for ~RM210, and it installs exactly like a normal Win8 Pro. If you prefer the Win7 interface, you can boot to desktop, or you can also install apps that will make the Win8 look like Win7. Win8 Pro will also upgrade for free to Win8.1 Pro, and that brings some more improvements to the OS. Also you save RM220, which is real money, and you can either pocket the money, or invest it in some other item.

This post has been edited by mykchin8: Mar 31 2014, 02:11 PM

Yeah, I agree that for DVD-RW, it is a case of very matured technology, so all DVD-RWs from reputable manufacturers like Lite-ON, Samsung, and LG should be OK ... For the last few builds I assembled, I used Lite-ON BluRay drives, and Samsung DVD-RW drives, and all are quiet, and have not failed in any way at all. I have installed LG and Samsung DVD-RW drives more than 6 years ago, and up till today, all those drives are still working well.