VMaxMuffin

However there are reasons to buy new lower end, e.g. new technologies, lower power consumption, longer support, the fact that you're buying new rather than used...

My car (in my dreams):

No, I think you misunderstand what a "successor" means. It means the next directly in line, i.e. the x80 series, the x70 series, the x60 series and so on. That's like calling some modern Pentium the successor to an early i5, just because it's better.

The real reason from memory basically was they were getting increasingly behind the mobile chips. The 800 series for laptops came out way before the 800 desktops were rumoured to be out, then they were delayed, so they were almost ready to release 900 series mobile. To prevent the "WHY ARE YOU GIVING US OLD TECHNOLOGY ON DESKTOPS AND NOT THE LATEST STUFF LIKE THE LAPTOPS????" emails, they rebranded the 800 series to be the 900 series.

"Build help" is appropriate for all your concerns, given that you're doing an entire build.

*2 threads

Imma bump this

That's only Windows 8 though AFAIK. Can't find it in W7 at least.

Yeah I think I'll just keep using Windows backup for now. I'll report back if I discover anything.

Hey guys, quick question on backup software. Basically I want the most time machine-like software for Windows 7, because I really like it for OSX, and whilst Windows Backup seems to be doing the job I was wondering if any of you have any suggestions for better programs? Basically the main features I want is that it has incremental backup, is easy to "set and forget" (and will automatically resume when the backup drive is reconnected like time machine), and I also would prefer a method that has the files easily manually accessible if I wish (although if you can give an argument why another method of backup storage that's not manually accessible is better then I'm all ears). Also, given that I have 3 drives, all of which I want backed up, the software will need to be able to handle this as I can see it being a potential issue (however my 1.5TB of internal drives all up is less than the 2TB backup drive so space is not an issue). Thanks.

In a way you could see "more" actually in a field of view sense. For most people, upgrading to 4K would mean going to a bigger monitor too (going to 28" or 32" from 24" for most people). Assuming you put the new monitor the same distance from you, the larger screen size would mean the "correct" FOV would, in fact, be larger. This is due to the larger display though, not due to it being 4K.

I disagree - that motherboard only has 2 ram slots and presumably the OP wants to upgrade it to 8GB later. Obviously this is a very budget build so it won't be brilliant but it should work OK. Only change I would make is a 1TB HDD for only about $5 more: Seagate Barracuda or WD Blue

Yep DFGT it is. Then when you have a bit more money the next step will be a pedal upgrade because whilst the included ones get the job done they're not very good.

I guess you can talk to Corsair and your card's manufacturer. Worst they can say is no. But yes you likely killed it I think.

Enthoo Pro is probably the right choice but I'll just throw these other two out there: Nanoxia Claw (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_547&products_id=26830) (other colours available) Thermaltake Urban T31 (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_547&products_id=26961) (don't know much about this one but it looks like Thermaltake is trying to lift its game)

This is correct. You could also use the sulphate of any metal below zinc on the reactivity series e.g. iron, lead, tin but copper sulphate is much more commonly used.

I'm no expert but there's a reason why not all the cards were that small - compromises have to be made. It's no surprise it doesn't perform as well as other 970s.

Or alternatively the latest ones can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website (on another computer and transferred with USB of course).

^This is also a good option if you'd rather stick with the more "arcadey" games

Assetto Corsa fits your bill, provided you're OK with the (massive) step up in realism from NFS.

If you clean out your PC regularly I wouldn't worry about carpet too much from a debris point of view. The only other problem with carpet is it can "smother" your bottom fans, particularly an issue with the PSU. That case has feet that sit it off the ground though so it shouldn't be a problem (you'll definitely want a filter on though). If you're really worried about it you could flip your PSU over to draw in air from inside the chassis, provided that it doesn't get too warm inside (I don't think it would be an issue unless you're running lots of hot GPUs and a hot CPU).

I use a 27" 1080p display and I'm fine with it (it isn't "horrible" or anything) however it is noticeably not as good as 1440p (also have a 27" 1440p iMac, which was mine but has now replaced the slightly older family iMac). For most people, I would recommend 1440p if you can afford it, OR a 24" screen if you can only afford 1080p. However, there are reasons to go with a 27" 1080p screen, because the resolution you need in order to be unable to see pixels ("retina" resolution) is dependent on the distance you sit from the screen - after all, people have massive 1080p TVs without complaining about poor pixel density. I play a lot of racing sims, so when I'm sitting in my racing setup I sit further away from the screen than people normally would. As a result, the screen looks perfectly fine. When playing "mouse and keyboard games" (in other words, not racing games) I can see the pixels but it's not so bad it bothers me - in fact I generally don't notice if I'm not looking for it. I think people tend to make it seem worse than it is.

I think it really depends on what you're playing. Since you asked what I'd prefer, I voted 21:9, but I play a lot of racing sims so a 34" 21:9 monitor would be much more beneficial for that than a 4K monitor.

If by "cost effective" you mean "cheap" but "still looks good" and "doesn't look like it was cheap" then it's pretty hard to go past the NZXT S430. Cheaper than that there's most of the Fractal Design, BitFenix and (non-gamer-oriented) Corsair cases (the cheap "gamer" ones look a bit tacky to my eye).