hccard

I am looking into getting the Audio Technica LP60: http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/turntables/9a7f42b88ee1e14b/ To preface, I know very little about turntables or audio stuff in general. While this probably doesn't make a ton of sense in the context of a turntable setup, I prefer to listen to music with headphones almost exclusively. This being said, I have tried to do some research about what I'll need and have found inconclusive results. From what I understand, I should be able to directly plug my headphones (I have the Audio Technica AT-M40X) into the turntable with an RCA-to-Aux adapter and be able to listen right away. However, I would have no way to adjust volume with that method, and I'm also unsure if that would affect the quality of sound. So I've looked into getting a headphone amp, which would give me a way to control the volume, but apparently my headphones don't need an amp to work. Would a simple volume controller like this: https://www.amazon.com/Koss-155954-VC20-Volume-Control/dp/B00001P4XH give me the same result as an amp? Additionally, this is the amp I was looking into getting, should I go that route: https://www.amazon.com/SMSL-sApII-TPA6120A2-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00J2PJQ0O Any suggestions on what I should do/get would be greatly appreciated!

I currently have a GTX 650 and Corsair CX430M in my system, and have been looking to upgrade for some time now. I don't do a whole lot of serious gaming, mostly just stuff like Civilization and CS:GO. It's been awhile since I've looked into computer hardware, so I was hoping to receive some input on which components to buy. I've heard lots of good things about the RX 480, but I know the new NVIDEA cards came out recently as well. Additionally, I have been told that I would need a new power supply if I do upgrade my graphics card and I really don't know what to get there. Only looking to spend about $300 - $320. Thanks in advance.

I actually do live near a MicroCenter so that would work out great. One thing about the 390 though, I've heard a lot about how the current generation of AMD gpus are just rebrands of the last gen. If this is the case, is it worth the extra money for the newer card? All that I meant by that is that I know some people will use AMD APUs in conjunction with an AMD GPU in crossfire to get some extra performance boosts, so obviously it makes since to go AMD over NVIDEA in that case. That's all I meant.

I haven't been paying nearly enough attention to computer hardware these days, but my system is really due for an upgrade in the graphics department soon. Running the latest hardcore titles at 4K isn't really my thing, but I would like a card that's good enough to play something like Battlefront at 1080p with good FPS and most importantly, last me a while. I'm looking for something in the neighborhood of $300, and I most likely won't be doing to much (if any) overclocking, nor will I be trying to mess with water-cooling. Also, I should add that I'm using an Intel CPU, so crossfire with a AMD graphics card obviously isn't a factor. Additionally, my motherboard only has one graphics card spot. Any suggestions as to what card I should get would be greatly appreciated!

I apologize in advance if this is in the wrong section... Basically, I'm looking for a way to play (exclusively) old school games on an emulator and stream them from my desktop to my TV. I have done a decent amount of research, but I'm not sure which of these two options would best fit my need. Obviously the Steam Link is more attractive at only $50, but Shield has actual hardware (twice as powerful as an Xbox 360 according to Linus) and the whole Game Stream thing going for it. This all being said, I'm not rocking a $2000, latest and greatest, high end gaming machine, and nor do I have a blazing fast connection. My specs are: - Intel Pentium G3258 - Gigabyte B85M-DS3H-A Motherboard - Corsair Vengeance (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory - Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 2GB Factory OC'd Video Card And I consistently 14Mbps down, and 14Mbps up. Given what I have to work with, can anyone provide any suggestions as to which route might give me the best results?

I updated the OP to hopefully provide some better insight.

After a lot of research and seeking help on the forums, I finally was able to start testing the overclocking waters. I've been messing around with it for the last few hours, I've read some guides (notably this one: watched some videos, but I still have a few questions. My components are as follows: -Gigabyte B85-DS3H-A Motherboard -Pentium G3258 CPU -Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler At the moment, I've got the g3258 running at 4.2GHz, but the settings concerning my voltages appear to be high, and if I try to take any of them down just a little bit, I get blue screens while stress testing using Prime95. I can boot at 4.4GHz, but it quickly crashes under stress. My Uncore (AKA Ring Bus or Cache) Ratio is set at 3.50GHz. My CPU VRIN Voltage is at 1.900V, CPU Vcore Voltage is at 1.30v, and the CPU Ring (AKA Uncore or Cache) Voltage is at 1.149V (which appears to be the limit for my motherboard). Temps are fine under load. Those are the only settings in my BIOS that I've modified. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips as to how I may continue to push the Clock Ratio on my CPU with turning up the voltage seriously high? Or is it that I just got a bad chip, or that the Ring Voltage limit on my motherboard is holding me back? Or should I just be happy with my current configuration? In this video: , the guy is using the same motherboard and recommends setting the Uncore Ratio to 100MHz below the Core Ratio. Is it possible to increase the frequency of my core by raising the Uncore ratio? All the guides I read seem to suggest keeping it at the stock ratio... Another odd thing to add, I downloaded Gigabyte's EasyTune program, which is supposed to provide an "auto tuned" overclock and for some reason it set the Core Frequency to 4.0GHz, but undervolted the CPU VCore Voltage to under 1V. It also raised the CPU Ring Voltage to 1.149V (as high as it'll go), but I was unable to tell what the Ratio had been set to. I would like to note however that my system was able to boot with this config, but almost immediately crashed once loading the desktop.

So should I then take that rear exhaust fan and put it in the front of my case or something?

The recommended RAM config is 2,4 so that's not an issue. I'm sure I can get it to fit, because I know other people have used this cooler with my particular case. What I was wondering is if I put the fan on the heat sink so that it faces the rear of the case, should I then take my rear exhaust fan and move it to the front of my case. The only issue with is that I'm not sure if that fan on the heat sink would be an adequate "exhaust" fan for the whole system.

That's the one. I assume the fan is set up on that side because the RAM would be in the way on the other?

I realize there are a couple different variants on the Corsair Vengeance series so just to clarify, I've got this: http://www.corsair.com/en/vengeance-8gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9 which is the one with the big heat sink fans.

I've already asked a couple questions about this cooler and hopefully this is the last one. I'm very interested in putting the CM Hyper 212 EVO in my machine in order to begin overclocking but now that I've actually decided that I definitely want to get it, I've hit a few roadblocks. My PC components are as follows: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6LXNVn - Intel Pentium G3258 (with Cooler Master 212 EVO) - Gigabyte B85M-DS3H-A MicroATX Motherboard - Corsair Vengeance (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (The kind with the big heat sink) http://www.corsair.com/en/vengeance-8gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9 - Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 2GB Factory OC'd Video Card (from my previous PC) - Corsair CX430W 80+ PSU - Asus DRW Optical Drive - 2 120mm Cooler Master Case Fans (looking to add two more) - Cooler Master N200 Case My biggest concern at this point is that if I install the Hyper 212 EVO is that my RAM (which I made the mistake a picking the cheap kind with huge heat sinks) will be in the way of the fan for the CPU heat sink. I've done a lot of research, and continue to find conflicting answers as to whether or not the RAM will be in the way, even with it installed in the second and fourth slots. This led me to look into mounting the fan on the opposite side of the CPU heat sink. Again, there is conflicting answers regarding whether a push setup or pull setup is really better, but from what I can tell it isn't a huge difference. If I did setup a pull configuration, I'm worried then that the CPU heat sink fan either wont fit with my rear exhaust fan in the way, or at least will be very, very close to it. So does anyone have any idea whether or not my RAM will allow for a push setup, and if I have to do a pull setup if I will need to take out my rear fan? If it took out the rear fan and moved it to the front, would a pull configuration to an adequate job of moving air out of my system (because I have a spot for a fan at the top of my case if needed)? I'll try and upload a picture later.

This build was to replace my old Dell PC as I move away for college. The main point of this build was to give me something that was above par compared to my old computer, with options to upgrade in the future. I would say that this is certainly a gaming build, but the games I play are all pretty old and not very demanding although that could change, I don't really know at this point. With my current setup, I have no problems running any of the games in my steam library, like Skyrim on Ultra High graphics, CS:GO, Civ5, etc. Even on my old computer, I was able to run everything at a playable condition with some super old AMD dual-core CPU.

First things first, please forgive me for being a noob. So I've decided to start overclocking my new system once I can get my hands on a CM Hyper 212 EVO. I've watched many videos, including the one on LinusTechTips regarding the overclocking of the G3258, but still had a couple of questions. From what I understand, overclocking generally leads to higher CPU temperatures, and higher CPU temps generally lead to short lifespan of hardware. My goal with this build (and specifically this CPU) is to get as much value out of it while I can, and then upgrade to a higher profile, more expensive i3, i5, or i7 several years down the road when they're a little cheaper and I have more money to spend on a computer. With that being said, I need this CPU to last me as long as I need it, but the end goal is to ultimately get rid of it. Which brings me to my point: I'm looking for the highest possible overclock in the ideal temperature range given my situation. I don't know much about overclocking, and I certainly don't know much about ideal temperatures, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Parts for reference: - Intel Pentium G3258 (with Cooler Master 212 EVO) - Gigabyte B85M-DS3H-A Motherboard - Cooler Master N200 Case

Do you know off hand if that's smaller than the 212 EVO? I have a microATX Mid tower, so fitting a big cooler in might be tricky, but I do know for sure that the 212 EVO fits.