"I Need a New PC!" 2014 Part 2. Read OP, your 2500K will run Witcher 3. MX100s! 970!

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Alex Riveiro said:
Oh thank you, this is very helpful. What a great way to ruin the other 2 points that were actually informative. Was it needed at all? My question is legit, I'm not massively familiar with Intel CPUs, always have been using AMD (and I'm not even familiar with current AMD CPUs these days).
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He probably just means that trying to build a rig that'll be good for a few years/a generation is pretty much folly. We just don't know what games will look like in five years ya know? Might be fine, might not be. Anyway, you listed a non-K series proc initially and a K when you asked again. K is for over clocking (and require a suitable motherboard) which will go a long way towards the elusive "future-proofing."

that's a dirty word 'round these parts :P


Edit: for gaming 16GB RAM is more than enough. Really not necessary but not a bad investment if you do image work or hella multitasking I guess. 8GB is standard.
 
Jackpot said:
quick question, I have a CPU cooler for an AM2/AM3 socket. It's the one where you have two hooks on one side, 1 hook on the other side and a retention bar you throw 180 degrees to tighten it. Is that compatible with this motherboard? I don't know what specs to look up.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97pro3
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Who made the cooler? If it's a stock AMD cooler, then no. AMD and Intel's socket designs are very different and the methods used to attach a heat sink are also very different. Some heat sink manufacturers make universal* fit coolers but they have several different adapter plates and pieces.

*Universal doesn't mean it works on every socket style or motherboard due to varying component layouts.
 
kharma45 said:
Best off going Intel. For emulation Intel stuff absolutely mullers AMD and in most games you're going to have a better experience with Intel too.

Fiver more but a fiver well spent. What are you doing about PSU etc? Got stuff you can carry over?
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Thanks. I've got a 650W PSU, that should be enough, shouldn't it?

Regarding intel, i will be emulating a lot but the benchmarks made it look like AMD ones of the same price trounced them. Worth the changeover?

edit: also, I've had really bad experiences with Gigabyte mobos, is there something similar but another brand you'd recommend?
 
ekgrey said:
He probably just means that trying to build a rig that'll be good for a few years/a generation is pretty much folly. We just don't know what games will look like in five years ya know? Might be fine, might not be. Anyway, you listed a non-K series proc initially and a K when you asked again. K is for over clocking (and require a suitable motherboard) which will go a long way towards the elusive "future-proofing."

that's a dirty word 'round these parts :P


Edit: for gaming 16GB RAM is more than enough. Really not necessary but not a bad investment if you do image work or hella multitasking I guess. 8GB is standard.
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Ah damn, sorry, the K slipped there for no good reason (other than my inability to realize that K cpus have unlocked multipliers). It's the 4570. The reason to go 16GB and not 8 is because looking at games like Watch Dogs that's already the recommended RAM (FIFA 15 also, and I'm guessing The Witcher III and AC: Unity will do as well?), so I guess eventually we'll get to 10 or 12GB recommended.

I've never overclocked anything and to be honest it's something that has always sounded rather scary to me (always had the feeling that it's easy to break your components if you aren't super careful with everything).
 
Jackpot said:
Thanks. I've got a 650W PSU, that should be enough, shouldn't it?

Regarding intel, i will be emulating a lot but the benchmarks made it look like AMD ones of the same price trounced them. Worth the changeover?

edit: also, I've had really bad experiences with Gigabyte mobos, is there something similar but another brand you'd recommend?
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Can you link the benches?

Also if budget is a worry wait a week for the new Devils Canyon Pentium benches. $75 cpu that is supposed to overclock to 4.5 ghz with minimal extra cooling.
 
Alex Riveiro said:
Ah damn, sorry, the K slipped there for no good reason (other than my inability to realize that K cpus have unlocked multipliers). It's the 4570. The reason to go 16GB and not 8 is because looking at games like Watch Dogs that's already the recommended RAM (FIFA 15 also, and I'm guessing The Witcher III and AC: Unity will do as well?), so I guess eventually we'll get to 10 or 12GB recommended.

I've never overclocked anything and to be honest it's something that has always sounded rather scary to me (always had the feeling that it's easy to break your components if you aren't super careful with everything).
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Do not use Watch Dogs as a reference for anything PC related. 8GB will be ok for a while and you can upgrade later if it is needed.

Your processor would serve you better if you got the K version. OC for the most part involves changing two - three values in BIOS and then testing that it is stable. There's software included with motherboards that will do it for you if you like. These parts are built for overclocking. You will not break anything and the CPU/mobo will shut down before you are even able to get to that point.
 
Jackpot said:
Thanks. I've got a 650W PSU, that should be enough, shouldn't it?

Regarding intel, i will be emulating a lot but the benchmarks made it look like AMD ones of the same price trounced them. Worth the changeover?

edit: also, I've had really bad experiences with Gigabyte mobos, is there something similar but another brand you'd recommend?
Click to expand...

Any half decent 650W wil be fine yes.

Which benchmarks are you looking at? Anything gaming Intel is a clear winner. See OP, not a single AMD CPU is recommended for a gaming rig.

Gigabyte is probably the better board, but there is this MSI. I like MSI, it will do you what you need it to. http://www.cclonline.com/product/14...49/?siteID=8BacdVP0GFs-91fYG9P5ANv9w9PilCtziw

Yes make the move to Intel.
 
Alex Riveiro said:
Oh thank you, this is very helpful. What a great way to ruin the other 2 points that were actually informative. Was it needed at all? My question is legit, I'm not massively familiar with Intel CPUs, always have been using AMD (and I'm not even familiar with current AMD CPUs these days).
Click to expand...

Sorry, but we get asked so often to predict years into the future that it gets very tiresome. When you bumped your own question, it pissed me off. It was a little harsh I guess.

The general recommendation is for an i5 with their 4 hardware threads, but instructions per clock is still king at the current time. No-one knows about the future.

The best value for money is still a K series i5, as they can be over clocked relatively easily. 100Mhz wont do anything, but a 600-700Mhz overclock is achievable in most cases and will give you about 15-20% improvement in some situations.

There's no such thing as future proofing, but having a CPU that can improve its performance by up to 20% with minimal cost is helpful when you don't know what future requirements will be and don't want to replace components for a few years.
 
My buddy has a bunch of MSI 290x's he used for mining (lite + doge coins) during the winter. He wants to sell them. How much would you offer for one of them?
 
LordAlu said:
Which motherboard is it you're looking at, the Z97MX Gaming 5? Coz that's quite a nice board as well. Any RAM that is low profile and 1.5V is fine, the Corsair LP is just an easy choice :)

The Corsair CX is an average power supply. Do you have a particular site you're looking at so we can see if there's anything better within the price range?
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Yeah, it's a Gaming 5. The one you listed is not available at any of the shops so I thought that looked like the closest.

Here's the site I think I'll be ordering from (overall lowest price for all parts and no shipping), specifically the modular power supply section.
 
Hazaro said:
Guess I'll start with the good news first:
290 Idle:..........................................................................................290 Load (Valley) Easy 24/7 OC:.......................................................290 Load (Valley) Higher OC:

Bad news:
Everything else, VRM1 is actually unacceptable. More to follow.
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You should just bite the bullet and get some full blocks :P
 
My PC blue screened earlier and I lost my overclock. Most odd.

Jackpot said:
oh. In that case is an MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card comparable in performance to a Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card? Prefer nvidia due to some modelling utilities.
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760 is a better card than the 270X, about 10% or so. Plus if Nvidia has software features you need then stick with it. It's a very solid card.
 
I've got a bit of a weird problem. The USB 3.0 ports on my GA-X79 UD3 are not working as USB 3.0, the drivers are installed and devices are recognised and charged, even when my PC is turned off but I'm not getting USB 3.0 speeds with data or charging. When I plug my S5 in I get the Windows 7 message about your device can perform faster if it's plugged into a USB 3.0 port, any suggestions?
 
If I get ArmA 3 during next week's Steam Sale, will it be time to overclock?

I'm running an i5 4670k @ 3.4GHz base clock on Windows 7 64bit with a Z87 (I think) motherboard. ArmA 2 bounces between 30 and 60fps and I know it's mainly due to CPU load.

If I overclock, what precautions do I need to take? If it matters the whole thing is in an NZXT Phantom case. I don't even think I'm using all the fans, at least not a full power.
 
Anyone know when Devil's Canyon will release in the UK? Dabs does't have a delivery date, Amazon doesn't even have listings...

Also, what's the deal with AIO water coolers, get one if you fancy paying the extra money? Is there one that's recommended? I was thiniking H100i/H110 unless there's something better?
 
Smokey said:
Do not use Watch Dogs as a reference for anything PC related. 8GB will be ok for a while and you can upgrade later if it is needed.

Your processor would serve you better if you got the K version. OC for the most part involves changing two - three values in BIOS and then testing that it is stable. There's software included with motherboards that will do it for you if you like. These parts are built for overclocking. You will not break anything and the CPU/mobo will shut down before you are even able to get to that point.
Click to expand...

Won't I need additional cooling for that? My case is a Coolermaster HAF 922 (if it's of any help).

Keeping in mind what you and riflen have said, would this be better then?

Motherboard: Asrock Z87 Pro3
CPU: Intel Core I5 4670K
RAM: 8 GB DDR3 (G.Skill Ripjaws, 1600, 2x4GB sticks).


riflen said:
Sorry, but we get asked so often to predict years into the future that it gets very tiresome. When you bumped your own question, it pissed me off. It was a little harsh I guess.

The general recommendation is for an i5 with their 4 hardware threads, but instructions per clock is still king at the current time. No-one knows about the future.

The best value for money is still a K series i5, as they can be over clocked relatively easily. 100Mhz wont do anything, but a 600-700Mhz overclock is achievable in most cases and will give you about 15-20% improvement in some situations.

There's no such thing as future proofing, but having a CPU that can improve its performance by up to 20% with minimal cost is helpful when you don't know what future requirements will be and don't want to replace components for a few years.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have realized you guys probably get this kind of questions way too often. I wasn't so much about future proofing but just if anyone had any experience with these CPUs already (just thinking about the 2500K, which I don't know how old it is, but apparently is still holding its ground quite well, or the Geforce GTX 285, which for its price was actually an awesome graphic card).

There's no way we can future proof at all, I know that, I was just hoping to find anyone that may have a similar processor and already knows how well is handling the games that are coming out these days.
 
Alex Riveiro said:
Won't I need additional cooling for that? My case is a Coolermaster HAF 922 (if it's of any help).

Keeping in mind what you and riflen have said, would this be better then?

Motherboard: Asrock Z87 Pro3
CPU: Intel Core I5 4670K
RAM: 8 GB DDR3 (G.Skill Ripjaws, 1600, 2x4GB sticks).


Sorry, I should have realized you guys probably get this kind of questions way too often. I wasn't so much about future proofing but just if anyone had any experience with these CPUs already (just thinking about the 2500K, which I don't know how old it is, but apparently is still holding its ground quite well, or the Geforce GTX 285, which for its price was actually an awesome graphic card).

There's no way we can future proof at all, I know that, I was just hoping to find anyone that may have a similar processor and already knows how well is handling the games that are coming out these days.
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Yes you'll need an aftermarket CPU cooler. There should be some listed in the OP.

The 2500k is 3 years old. The 4670k came out last year for reference. The CPUs handle games fine. They are much faster than what is in the PS4/X1. It's the VRAM on GPUs that need to be taken into account on the PC side
 
mkenyon said:
The reason why you see a lot of those posts in here is because people don't post for help when everything is working fine :P

If you by chance live in SoCal or the Pac NW, you have some GAFers that will help you build everything. If you're pretty set on not doing it yourself, that's totally fine. If a few hundred or so dollars is worth your piece of mind, then that's that.

Basically just try to find parts that are similar to what is in the OP for your given budget at whatever online builder you end up choosing. There aren't a lot of recommendations for those in here given the DIY nature of the thread. I have a lot of respect for Maingear and the work they do there, but they're probably a bit more expensive than another random place that would end up being less expensive. You may even have a local computer store that will do assembly for you for a fee, which is also a good avenue. Having local support can be huge.
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Thanks again. Good point on people not posting when everything is working fine. :)

I'm in the Bay Area, so maybe I'll reach out to some local GAFers to see if they'd be willing to lend me their knowledge. Good idea.
 
Amazon are pretty good with returning stuff right? I'm not really a fan of my monitor but I've opened up one or two of the accessories (cables etc.), think they'll take it back?
 
What can we expect from the GPU scene over the next year or so?

I've got a Radeon 7970 3GB and, while it certainly gets the job done, optimized ports of PS4/Xbox One games look like they might give it some trouble.

Anything on the horizon that will offer a substantial performance increase in the $300~$400 range?
 
Zefah said:
What can we expect from the GPU scene over the next year or so?

I've got a Radeon 7970 3GB and, while it certainly gets the job done, optimized ports of PS4/Xbox One games look like they might give it some trouble.

Anything on the horizon that will offer a substantial performance increase in the $300~$400 range?
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Horizon = Q3/Q4 2014 at the earliest.
 
Hello Gaf im from Germany and while having basic knowledge abotu hardware i need your help for some educated tips.

So im having the following rig:

Asrock z68 pro 3 gen 3
I5 2500k - 4,4 ghz
Asus Gtx 670 CU II 2gb
8 Gb Ram
256 SSD.
Corsair TX650W
Cooler Master Cosmos

While im still able to play most games on near perfect settings im trying to plan out what my next step would be.
I guess the PSU is pretty old but it still delivers. On the CPU front i hope to be fine for 2 more years.
Was putting my eyes on a Radeon R9 290 but i kind of became a Nvidia fan with my 670.
Anyhow i want to play hardline and some of the spring 2015+ titles without playing around too much in the settings and worrying about fps. 1080p is more than fine.

So what would you guys do?
( on a related note .. the 290 apparantly needs an 8pin and 6 pin power cable but my psu only has 6 pin adapters -> is that an issue?)
 
Any comments about future GPUs are just guesses.

There were rumours about the 880 test samples having 8Gb of VRAM:

TZPOGUj.png


Beyond that, any comments on how they compare to existing cards, or how they'd be expected to run future games are pure speculation.
 
8GB VRAM. That would be great lol
Though wasn't the speculation that those are test samples, so the retail ones might have 4 GB as standard? Or maybe at this point VRAM prices and densities work for 8GB...
 
No idea at all, but I agree with everyone else who says that 8Gb would be great!

Might even be able to run Watch Dogs
;)
 
Noobish question:

PSU fan up / fan down / doesn't matter? It's gonna be sitting on carpet if that matters and there's about 1/2 inch of clearance between case and floor.
 
Bobbyrawlins said:
Noobish question:

PSU fan up / fan down / doesn't matter? It's gonna be sitting on carpet if that matters and there's about 1/2 inch of clearance between case and floor.
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter too much. If it's fan down, just be sure to clean out the filter frequently, or if there isn't a filter, then the PSU.
 
You could always put something underneath the rear of the tower. A thin piece of wood, a place mat or something to give it some clearance to take air in.
 
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