Low_Battery

Ahh, I see... I guess I don't understand why you came here asking for advice and then went completely no where near what anyone here recommended though...

Are you saying she gave you a budget to build her computer with, you offered to help, and you are pocketing whatever is left over?

*Deleted* (wrong thread)

At the time I purchased mine, the Gigabyte Xtreme 980ti was the best bang for buck. I was able to get at $660, and it actually was running at 1430mhz out of the box compared to the advertised 1317mhz. The ASIC was 76% and will OC to 1525 without increasing the voltage (stock 1.18). There are better, but they were another $80+. It also seemed to have the best combo in terms of performance and low noise. So narrow it down to two or three, and go for the one you can find the best deal on. The Gigabyte Xtreme, ASUS strix, and MSI Lightning are all good options. Not as familiar with the Zotac, but it has scored pretty high on reviews..

Have not used AMD for 15 years, so not sure how their processors are doing on modern games, but I would suggest using some monitoring utilities to see if your CPU is maxing out. Doesn't really matter how good the new GPU is if you are bottlenecked at the CPU. I would imagine the 660ti is a decent card for sub 1080p, and could possibly pick up a second one (used) to sli on the cheap.

I went over by $77, but this is the perfect build in my opinion: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w3G8Lk CPU Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor $374.99 CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken X41 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler $106.99 Motherboard MSI X99A MPOWER ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard $289.99 Memory Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory $149.99 Storage Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive $181.99 Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $72.99 Video Card MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) $599.99 MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) $599.99 Case Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case $105.82 Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX $109.99 Total: $2577.73

Compatibility feature removed it...one of the GPU I had selected for another build has a warning (super long GPU)...even though it will still fit, just might lose a bay or two.

That was weird, it disappeared from pcpartpicker... but here is the newegg link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811853012&cm_re=deep_cool-_-11-853-012-_-Product

bollocks! I will fix..

Also, here is a good mid range: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-caph240w1 or budget: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811853012&cm_re=deep_cool-_-11-853-012-_-Product that offer similar air flow, function, and style (to a lesser extent on the last one) If you are looking for a small case, then that is a whole different story...

I absolutely love this case: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-air540 And it is on a great sale right now, something rare for this particular case. The case gives tons of room to fit anything you want, tons of air flow, and I just like its aesthetics. Of course, there will be cheaper that will get the job done ...

I rarely use the optical drive, but occasionally do find it handy - just get a real cheap one. I am not really an AMD guy, and not familiar enough with that CPU to know much, so Ill have to pass on commenting on this build. There are plenty other AMD guys to help though. However, it would be more helpful if you listed your absolute budget and linked to your build in pcpartpicker.com so that people can alter recommendations easily. good luck!

It sounds like you probably have a bard part of the board and it is causing the board to not turn on due to over-voltage and tripping a protection mode. Probably the only way to fix is to RMA the board, but here is where I would start: 1) Check driver for you MB compared to latest version on website. 2) If you know how, test the amount of current during powering up your board with a voltage meter. 3) Replace original PSU cabling (or try an old but working PSU if you have one - don't need to plug in GPU). 4) Triple check that you have all the connections correct. 5) Search your board and PSU (with flashlight if you can see in) to see if any of the capacitors (big cylinder things) are bulging or leaking. 6) Call manufacture / RMA the motherboard

And last question, for now, when you try and start it, is it 100% dead, or do parts of the MB light up but just never post?

Is your LED debugger throwing any codes?

Has it done this since you put it together? Or was it working fine before this happened? When you get it to work, will it work until you shut if off, or how long?

Sometimes MSI boards have a small button where you can do that, usually labeled, but you can also remove the battery for a little bit.

If you are like me, and want to run your card cooler, you should be able to set a custom fan curve in a utility like MSI Afterburner to lower the temp. I don't know what is average for that specific card, but it does sound a bit higher than typical (although as others have mentioned, well within safe operating zone).

This would be a good start. Couple tweaks could be made depending on your needs and budget flexibility. Other options to consider would be a R9 380 or 390. Different monitor depending on size preference or what games you will be playing primarily. Case depending on personal aesthetics. But overall this is definitely a solid and well round build in my opinion. Windows can be obtained for $20 as a last resort, but if you can get a hold of a retail version of a Windows 7, 8, or 10, that would be ideal. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mYg7f7

What are you going to be using it for? Are you set on AMD, or did you only pick because of price?

Try OC'ing without increasing the voltage at first (you can increase the power % offset though). Once you start getting unstable, then try upping the voltage in low increments.

This has already been discussed within this thread. See previous posts.

Both are good builds, Matty's has slightly better components in a couple of instances, but Lotus' build includes Windows 10 ... so it ultimately depends on your budget and where you decide to get your copy of Windows from.

I believe 2133 is the default speed for most 170 boards, and XMP shouldnt be needed unless you are trying to clock higher, which is not the case in this situation. What DIMM slots do you have the RAM installed into? You manual should tell the optimal slots for two sticks. For example, for my board, it suggested installing in DIMM #2 and #4. Also, triple check that the RAM has been pushed down hard enough - they actually require quite a bit of force. It is possible that the RAM just doesnt work with the board, although unlikely given the RAM you selected is pretty common / generally compatible, so best to try these other solutions first.

Ok, valid opinion, but here are a couple other points to ponder as well: 1) You get the Kinguin buyers insurance to protect against fraudulent / bad keys (base price is ~$19 and insurance is ~$1). 2) Kinguin will show which region the license you are buying is good for, and if the license is good for the US, is that really immoral if Microsoft has approved that it be used in the US? I think there are other ways that these keys are acquired. 3) If you are actually poor and in need of an affordable key, then does it really matter that your address is located in the US vs somewhere else? I personally have not purchased a license from Kinguin, and wouldn't even bring it up to someone who has, for example, a $2000 budget. But in this case it sounds like money is tight and he is really stretching himself thin, and should he really have to pay 1/5 to 1/6 of the cost of the build on just the OS? I think if Microsoft knew about his/her particular circumstance, they would be OK with it being used for this purpose. 4) Just because a company reacts in a way to lock down products regionally, is that a) really a bad thing, and b) the fault of the consumer? If a product is locked down regionally, perhaps that is because it is not intended to be bought by other locations, so why would that be bad? It sounds like it would fall into the moral and optimized market solution. Or, if this is a really inappropriate and less than ideal solution, perhaps its the fault of the implementer, not the end user. Open markets will always find the most efficient and optimal use of funds, and that is not immoral, it is how that sort of economy works by design.