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[kennah]

Yeah going 980 in Canada is a terrible move however, if it's on a 1080p TV you could get away with a 970 or a 290 or wait for the new and cards to be released.

And unless you need the hyperthreading a 4690k is probably fine for your uses.

Since its on a TV, you should go itx for a small case that fits near your setup. I'll do a more Canadian build shortly. Where are you located?

 

[bro1]

Reseat the heat sink

Anyone have some advice for my heat problem?

I played Alien: Isolation last night and my CPU temps stayed around 80c with CPU and case fans going full speed.

I know 80c isn't dangerously hot, but with my liquid cooler it shouldn't even be a problem. Am I going to have to redo the thermal paste?

 

[SirMossyBloke]

Yeah going 980 in Canada is a terrible move however, if it's on a 1080p TV you could get away with a 970 or a 290 or wait for the new and cards to be released.

And unless you need the hyperthreading a 4690k is probably fine for your uses.

Since its on a TV, you should go itx for a small case that fits near your setup. I'll do a more Canadian build shortly. Where are you located?

Burlington, Ontario.

Is this a decent setup for the price?

http://www.wintroniccomputers.com/977-3791/computer-systems/gaming-systems/intel/wintronics-wcp-2700

 

[kennah]

Burlington, Ontario.

Is this a decent setup for the price?

http://www.wintroniccomputers.com/977-3791/computer-systems/gaming-systems/intel/wintronics-wcp-2700

Terrible

 

[SirMossyBloke]

Terrible

Urgh. Damn.

One stupid question, if I'm running HDMI from my video card through my receiver, will it also pass sound or no?

 

[kennah]

Urgh. Damn.

One stupid question, if I'm running HDMI from my video card through my receiver, will it also pass sound or no?

Yep. It will pass sound.

Do you have a passport? For what you'd save, it'd be worth driving to Detroit to go to the microcenter there.

 

[SirMossyBloke]

Yep. It will pass sound.

Do you have a passport? For what you'd save, it'd be worth driving to Detroit to go to the microcenter there.

I do, I may try that.

Looking at that same website, if I drop to the i5 and go to the gtx 970, I'm around the $1500 mark. I may try that.

 

[kennah]

I do, I may try that.

Give me a bit and I'll do up two builds. Even with the 25% échange plus 5% duty it still comes out way cheaper.
Edit can't do anything for it tonight. At my mother in laws and can't get on her wifi until she wakes up in the morning

 

[Rand0m TAG]

damn this thread...
now i want to build another pc.
where to find money ...

 

[Jimrpg]

Yes, it should be possible, there are unofficial non-microsoft tools for that. On the computer with the DVD drive, use a program like IMGBurn's read mode to make an ISO file from the Windows disc. Then use another program like Rufus or even the official Microsoft Windows 7 USB tool to load the ISO onto a USB drive and make it bootable.

Yep that's what I did last night, thanks for the reply. Actually it was quicker than downloading 4 gbs... but there really should be an official Microsoft tool to do it. Windows is up and running now, probably the easiest windows installation yet.

I also wasn't able to use the VGA port in the motherboard. I assume this is because I have a GTX 970 plugged in? It doesn't have VGA ports... very annoying... so I have to get a DVI cable for now. The HDMI to TV works so that's what I used last night.

Thanks to PC Gaf for all the help and advice. Truly amazing.

 

[Enthus]

Anyone have a preferred headset? I'm looking at the Sennheiser 363D since my Megalodons are dying, but I want to hear some opinions first.

 

[Hazaro]

Anyone have a preferred headset? I'm looking at the Sennheiser 363D since my Megalodons are dying, but I want to hear some opinions first.

Modmic 4.0 + whatever headphones you want

 

[Iacobellis]

So I just ordered a Dell U2515H and already have a Logitech C920 webcam. From some previous research, it seems that the bezels are too thin to accommodate the mount on the webcam, leaving it hanging a bit over and covering the screen.

Is there any possible fix for this?

 

[Jordan]

[Basic Desktop Questions]

• Your Current Specs: CPU / RAM / Motherboard / GPU (Graphics) / PSU (Power Supply) / Case / HDD (Hard Drive) -- 1x2TB HDD which can be used.
• Budget: Price Range + Country -- £700 UK
• Main Use: Rate 1-5. 5 being Highest: Light Gaming, Gaming, Emulation (PS2/Wii), Video Editing, Streaming games in HD, 3D/Model work (and what program), General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback). -- Gaming 5, General Usage 5
• Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? Are you going to upgrade later? Are you buying a new monitor? -- 1080p No new monitor.
• List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Is 30FPS acceptable? 60? 120? How important is PhysX / SuperSampling / CUDA to you? -- Not a huge issue, wants to play GTAV on it.
• Looking to reuse any parts?: List make and model (e.g. Corsair 520HX, 640GB SATA HDD, Antec 900) - Just HDD
• When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? - Next week
• Will you be overclocking?: Yes, No, Maybe (This means yes!) - Probably not.

Edit: Priced one together myself:
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z97X-SLI
Processor - i5-4690k - Paired with motherboard £272.98
Graphics Card - MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB - £175.99
Memory - I have some spare lying around at home which I can use
Power Supply - SuperFlower Golden Green 550W - £62.99
Case - Antec VSP5000 Silenced - £39.95
CPU Heatsink - Rajintek Themis - £19.99
SSD - BX100 256GB - £69.99
HDD - 2TB x1 - £0

Total £691.89

Any changes to this?

 

[pahamrick]

Anyone have some advice for my heat problem?

I played Alien: Isolation last night and my CPU temps stayed around 80c with CPU and case fans going full speed.

I know 80c isn't dangerously hot, but with my liquid cooler it shouldn't even be a problem. Am I going to have to redo the thermal paste?

Reseat the heat sink

Completely this.

I've been running a Hyper 212 cooler since I built my PC 5 years ago. It's an i7 920, and I was unable to leave HT on when I started OCing originally because the temps just got too hot. Even with HT Off at 3.8 I'd hit in the low 80s when running Prime95 for awhile.

Had both my vid cards die recently, but a friend set me up with a loaner until I can get a replacement so I decided to rip out my heat sink and clean it out completely with a cleaning solution. After letting it dry for 24 hours, and cleaning all the fans with a cloth I re-seated the heat sink with a fresh thermal paste job.

Now, I don't know if I just did really poorly originally applying the thermal paste (I originally use the 'rice' method, but this time I did the pea sized drop in the middle). My temps were so insanely good all of a sudden (Under 60C using my original OC settings) I turned HT on to see.

Now at 3.8 with HT On, my temps never exceeded 73C even after running Prime95 for 2 hours.

 

[LilJoka]

I can link to what I posted: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=159383239#post159383239

It's just intermittent freezing that I can't seem to figure out (usually I can but this time, no such luck). A few days ago I had to toss a stick of ram that was consistently causing blue screens. That was fixed, but the freezing remains. I've reformatted and reseated things and tested temps of my main components with nothing really helping. It could be a driver issue but I'm struggling to pinpoint it. I'm just venting about the troubleshooting process as it's immensely tedious for me since I don't have a great lead. I kinda have to test everything.

Have you used HDTune to check the SMART statistics of your drives? Sounds like a dying drive to me.
Next check Event Viewer for any errors that are occurring.
Download LatencyMon, it will report the process/dll/driver that is holding up the CPU and possibly leading to intermittent lockups.

Post results here.

And when you say freezing, you mean the mouse can't be moved and soon after the PC responds to your input? How long can this freeze last? Does it freeze and require a reboot to regain access?

Some other things to try:
Reset the bios to optimised defaults
Update the bios to the latest version

 

[Exile550]

I want to buy an ssd, but I really don't know where to start or what specs to be looking for. Can any one help me?

I will use it mainly to move games over to improve perfomrnace so I'm guessing 120g could be enough.

I'm in canada and will be buying through NCIX.

Thanks!

 

[LilJoka]

I want to buy an ssd, but I really don't know where to start or what specs to be looking for. Can any one help me?

I will use it mainly to move games over to improve perfomrnace so I'm guessing 120g could be enough.

I'm in canada and will be buying through NCIX.

Thanks!

Cheapest out of the Crucial line up or Samsung 850 line up.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Edit: Priced one together myself:
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z97X-SLI
Processor - i5-4690k - Paired with motherboard £272.98
Graphics Card - MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB - £175.99
Memory - I have some spare lying around at home which I can use
Power Supply - SuperFlower Golden Green 550W - £62.99
Case - Antec VSP5000 Silenced - £39.95
CPU Heatsink - Rajintek Themis - £19.99
SSD - BX100 256GB - £69.99
HDD - 2TB x1 - £0
Total £691.89

Any changes to this?

Looks good, but it is an overclockable setup. You said maybe not. It can be cheaper with non-overclockable part.

I suggest overclocking anyway.

 

[WhirlwindMonk]

So I'm checking stability in preparation to (finally) overclock my 4770K, and I'm getting errors only on the Hammer Test in memtest. Reading a bit, it sounds like that's really only a concern for data-critical applications where you should probably have ECC memory anyway, but is that accurate? Is it something I should be concerned about for overclocking and is it likely to cause crashes while gaming?

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Guys I installed Windows 7 on an SSD but I've just got my hands on a faster m.2 drive and want my OS to boot from that.

What's the best process to do this? I know you can clone the files from one drive to the next but apparently that doesn't give you the full speed of the new drive.

Is a clean install the only way? Should I wipe the OS off the old drive first?

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

I want to buy an ssd, but I really don't know where to start or what specs to be looking for. Can any one help me?

I will use it mainly to move games over to improve perfomrnace so I'm guessing 120g could be enough.

I'm in canada and will be buying through NCIX.

Thanks!

Get a Crucial MX100 256Gb - these are very reliable and have decent speed. Alternatively, get a BX100 if your budget is a little tighter.

I wouldn't bother with 120Gb, it's too small and 256Gb can be had for cheap these days (£75/$90?).

 

[ohyouagain]

I was wondering about what environmental actions could beneft my employer and, well, here I am asking stuff on GAF.

Is it technically possible to recharge your laptop battery with physical movements ? I was thinking more precisely about a dynamo I could action with the circling movement of my legs which would recharge a laptop powerbank.
The laptop would then be plugged in the power bank and occasionally on the grid if I get tired moving my butt.

Does that sound compelling/feasible ?

 

[Skyfireblaze]

So alright I think I'm finally comfortable overclocking my i5 3570k a bit after flipflopping on the idea for years with respect. I read a tonne of guides now and from what I read, all I have to do is to increase the Turbo Multiplier from x38 to x42 for 4.2 ghz? I read Ivy Bridge can take 4.1-4.2ghz easy without additional voltage, is that right?

 

[Shadowhaxor]

So alright I think I'm finally comfortable overclocking my i5 3570k a bit after flipflopping on the idea for years with respect. I read a tonne of guides now and from what I read, all I have to do is to increase the Turbo Multiplier from x38 to x42 for 4.2 ghz? I read Ivy Bridge can take 4.1-4.2ghz easy without additional voltage, is that right?

Yes. 42 x 100 will get you to 4.2Ghz, without any extra voltage. Also check and see if your mobo has an overclocking tool, most do anymore. My 3570k has been sitting at 4.3GHz on air and I just got the H100i. As soon as my new case gets in I'm sure I'll be able to hit 4.4Ghz or higher.

 

[LilJoka]

So alright I think I'm finally comfortable overclocking my i5 3570k a bit after flipflopping on the idea for years with respect. I read a tonne of guides now and from what I read, all I have to do is to increase the Turbo Multiplier from x38 to x42 for 4.2 ghz? I read Ivy Bridge can take 4.1-4.2ghz easy without additional voltage, is that right?

Not right, the Vcore will increase automatically if you do this.
You should first use CPUz and Prime95 to find the current peak CPU Vcore.
Then use the offset Vcore in BIOS to match this Vcore at the desired overclock speed. Start at +0.00v on the CPU Vcore and tweak from there. This setting will be equivalent to Auto Vcore, so will likely need a negative offset to reach the stock vcore.

I have my i7 3770 at 102x42 for 4.21Ghz at 1.05v. As you have an unlocked K CPU you only need to adjust the CPU Multiplier to change the CPU speed.

 

[HarryDemeanor]

Can anyone recommend a good fan for my Hyper 212+ Evo? The stock fan on it just died on me after installing a new PSU. I'm sure it's not the PSU causing it because everything else in the case is working fine. When I turn the PC on I can see it struggling to make a turn every couple of seconds. I made sure to plug it into another CPU Fan plug on the motherboard but the same thing is happening, so here I am.

 

[bbd23]

How are the ASUS GPU's?

looking at the ASUS strix GTX 970

 

[Dave_6]

Probably a dumb question, but can a failing HD cause graphics issues such as flickering? My 970 is only ~6 months old and has not ever been OC'd and the games I have installed are on my HD.

I've only seen it in one game lately though.

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

How are the ASUS GPU's?

looking at the ASUS strix GTX 970

Awesome. Do it.

 

[Reckoner]

How are the ASUS GPU's?

looking at the ASUS strix GTX 970

It's cool. I had one. No coil whinning, fresh and really quiet.

 

[cleveridea]

can anyone recommend a good temperature program to run on windows 8? (Good as in works reliably & doesnt impact system performance)

I see this one from google:

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

 

[LuffyZoro]

I'd like to get a new GPU. My 9800 GT has served me well, but at nearly 8 years old it's time to move on. I'd like to be able to run Star Citizen well. I have an i5-4570 (3.2 GHz quad) and 8gb of RAM. I currently run a 1080p monitor and a 1280x1024 monitor, though I might upgrade one of those to a 1440p Korean 27". I have a budget of around $250, though most of that is in Amazon credit so it pretty much has to be from there.

 

[Broadbandito]

i7 3770k
Hyper 212 Evo
16 GB GSKILL Ripjaws 1600
MSI Z77 MPOWER 1155
Sapphire 7970 3GB
CM Silent Pro M 1000W
CM Haf 932 FULL TOWER
Adata 256 gb SSD
asus dvd drive

This is my current build. I have grown tired of my full tower case because I would like to transport it more easily so I'm looking to move my build to a mid tower.

Any recommendations? I have my eye on (cheaper ideas)
NZXT Source 210 Elite White
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124160
More Expensive:
Fractal Design Define R4 White
Corsair Carbide Series 500R White

Also, my friend has a 6950 and is looking to upgrade. I offered him my 7970 and told him I'd figure a fair price between $150-$175. Should be about a 40-50% upgrade for him, is that a fair price range? I'd probably end up getting a 970 then

 

[LilJoka]

i7 3770k
Hyper 212 Evo
16 GB GSKILL Ripjaws 1600
MSI Z77 MPOWER 1155
Sapphire 7970 3GB
CM Silent Pro M 1000W
CM Haf 932 FULL TOWER
Adata 256 gb SSD
asus dvd drive

This is my current build. I have grown tired of my full tower case because I would like to transport it more easily so I'm looking to move my build to a mid tower.

Any recommendations? I have my eye on (cheaper ideas)
NZXT Source 210 Elite White
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124160
More Expensive:
Fractal Design Define R4 White
Corsair Carbide Series 500R White

Also, my friend has a 6950 and is looking to upgrade. I offered him my 7970 and told him I'd figure a fair price between $150-$175. Should be about a 40-50% upgrade for him, is that a fair price range? I'd probably end up getting a 970 then

You could buy a brand new R9 285 for $175 which matches your GPU.

 

[Broadbandito]

You could buy a brand new R9 285 for $175 which matches your GPU.

I thought r9 280x is a rebranded 7970? Also isn't the 7970 faster and better frame buffer than 285? Plus 2gb vs 3gb

 

[LilJoka]

I thought r9 280x is a rebranded 7970? Also isn't the 7970 faster and better frame buffer than 285? Plus 2gb vs 3gb

Yes R9 280X is a rebranded 7970 Ghz Ed. R9 285 trades blows with the 7970, depends how well clocked the 7970 is. Just saying the price difference is small comparing a brand new card vs 2nd hand. 2/3GB is a valid point though, not sure how much itll effect cards of this caliber though.

 

[Broadbandito]

Yes R9 280X is a rebranded 7970 Ghz Ed. R9 285 trades blows with the 7970, depends how well clocked the 7970 is. Just saying the price difference is small comparing a brand new card vs 2nd hand. 2/3GB is a valid point though, not sure how much itll effect cards of this caliber though.

my 7970 is clocked at 950 and easily oc'd at 1000. Realistically I still believe somewhere around $150 seems fair. Not trying to rip him off or anything and would really like him to be at 3gb or higher for vram

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Is there anything like this out there that is sheathed?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=sata_extension_cable-_-12-400-019-_-Product

When I upgrade, I'm still going to have my BD Burner and would like to use to so I only need to use one SATA power cable from my PSU for 1 SSD, 1 HDD and 1 ODD (make this extension cable be able to reach down to that one cable). I can survive if there's a threaded power one, because I can get a longer SATA cable no problem.

 

[ohyouagain]

I am fairly happy with my 750ti. I can now confidently say that gaming on a SFF office desktop with a low profile GPU is a convincing experience.

I am just a bit annoyed by the sound of the card but that would be about it.
I have previously owned a 560ti four years ago and although this and the 750ti should roughly have the same performance, the whole experience I had today was smoother. The minimum frame rate and variance with the 750ti is probably higher I guess.

On to Pillars of Eternity now.

 

[LilJoka]

my 7970 is clocked at 950 and easily oc'd at 1000. Realistically I still believe somewhere around $150 seems fair. Not trying to rip him off or anything and would really like him to be at 3gb or higher for vram

$150 seems fine to me.

 

[RGM79]

Yep that's what I did last night, thanks for the reply. Actually it was quicker than downloading 4 gbs... but there really should be an official Microsoft tool to do it. Windows is up and running now, probably the easiest windows installation yet.

I also wasn't able to use the VGA port in the motherboard. I assume this is because I have a GTX 970 plugged in? It doesn't have VGA ports... very annoying... so I have to get a DVI cable for now. The HDMI to TV works so that's what I used last night.

Thanks to PC Gaf for all the help and advice. Truly amazing.

You can probably find a DVI to VGA adaptor or a similar cable if you really need VGA connectivity. Make sure you're using a DVI-I or DVI-A port, though.

Is there anything like this out there that is sheathed?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=sata_extension_cable-_-12-400-019-_-Product

When I upgrade, I'm still going to have my BD Burner and would like to use to so I only need to use one SATA power cable from my PSU for 1 SSD, 1 HDD and 1 ODD (make this extension cable be able to reach down to that one cable). I can survive if there's a threaded power one, because I can get a longer SATA cable no problem.

Not that I know of and can find. You could twist or tape the cables together so they're not as easy to tangle and take up space, I guess.

I was wondering about what environmental actions could beneft my employer and, well, here I am asking stuff on GAF.

Is it technically possible to recharge your laptop battery with physical movements ? I was thinking more precisely about a dynamo I could action with the circling movement of my legs which would recharge a laptop powerbank.
The laptop would then be plugged in the power bank and occasionally on the grid if I get tired moving my butt.

Does that sound compelling/feasible ?

I am by no means an expert on electrical or battery systems, but it seems that unless a person would have to be exerting a lot of effort or movement specifically just to recharge the battery, more than needed from just simple movement. Anything that requires more energy/movement like say a handheld crank-operated flashlight or cellphone charger would require the user to be preoccupied with operating it and it'd get in the way of daily life if you had to be constantly turning the crank. Laptop chargers are rated for relatively high requirements (~20 volts, at least 65 watts, etc) for a reasonably short charging time (a few hours depending on the battery and whether the laptop is operating or not, of course), I don't know if the dynamo you're designing will have a strong enough output to charge the laptop battery.

 

[EroticSushi]

What are the chances of them pushing out a 980ti? Currently running a 780ti but was thinking about jumping to SLI 980. Might just save some money though and grab the 980ti if they do it.

 

[RGM79]

What are the chances of them pushing out a 980ti? Currently running a 780ti but was thinking about jumping to SLI 980. Might just save some money though and grab the 980ti if they do it.

There have been rumors of a "GM200 cut down" graphics card with 6GB VRAM which points to a new graphics card based on the Titan X and is thought to be faster than the GTX 980, but nothing concrete yet.

 

[EroticSushi]

There have been rumors of a "GM200 cut down" graphics card with 6GB VRAM which points to a new graphics card based on the Titan X and is thought to be faster than the GTX 980, but nothing concrete yet.

Any guesses on how much it'll be? Leaning towards waiting and seeing if that comes to be since I'm not really in any rush right now to upgrade.

 

[Atlas157]

I'm having a problem with my Strix 980, I have the fans set to 0% on the ASUS GPU Tweak but the card idles at 80c while doing light web browsing. When I first got the card it would idle around 45c with the fans at 0%, why is this happening?

 

[KHlover]

Considering the Overclocking thread seems to be pretty dead I'll ask you guys instead. Currently my system is

GTX 770 4GB
Core i7-4790k @4.0GHz
8GB RAM

Just ran the 3DMark2011 benchmark and got a combined score of 9003, CPU temp was at ~47°C. CPU Cooler is Thermalright Macho REV.A. Do you think I can overclock the CPU a bit without risking it getting too hot?

 

[Effect]

Is there any drop in performance if a PCI Express 3.0 graphics card is plugged into a 2.0 slot?

Thinking of replacing my GTX 560 1GB with a GTX 960 2GB (also comes with The Witcher 3 which is nice) but the one listed on NewEgg is listed as a 3.0. I know I can plug the 3.0 into the 2.0 slot but not sure if there will be a negative upon doing so performance wise? Looking to have it match a AMD FX 8320 3.5 GHZ CPU I got earlier in the year.

If anyone knows how big of a boost could I be looking at here between the two cards. I know there will be one but how significant I'm still not sure about.

This would be the final piece for the moment to complete my upgrade save for a new monitor but the one I have now is working well enough. That should hopefully kill any urges to pick up a PS4 or XBO when I really can't afford it. This would be a significantly cheaper move overall and make the Wii U/PC pairing complete for the time being.

Thanks.

 

[KHlover]

Is there any drop in performance if a PCI Express 3.0 graphics card is plugged into a 2.0 slot?

Thinking of replacing my GTX 560 1GB with a GTX 960 2GB but the one listed on NewEgg is listed as a 3.0. I know I can plug the 3.0 into the 2.0 slot but not sure if there will be a negative upon doing so performance wise? Looking to have it match a AMD FX 8320 3.5 GHZ CPU I got earlier in the year.

If anyone knows how big of a boost could I be looking at here between the two cards. I know there will be one but how significant I'm still not sure about.

Thanks.

Seems like the difference is pretty minor.
EDIT:...smh, I'll try to rehost the images
EDIT2: Done

 

[RGM79]

Any guesses on how much it'll be? Leaning towards waiting and seeing if that comes to be since I'm not really in any rush right now to upgrade.

No idea. All that exists that we know of the GM200 cut down are unverified performance benchmarks from less than reputable sources (Chinese tech forums).

I'm having a problem with my Strix 980, I have the fans set to 0% on the ASUS GPU Tweak but the card idles at 80c while doing light web browsing. When I first got the card it would idle around 45c with the fans at 0%, why is this happening?

Has anything else in your PC changed since then? Does it only shoot up to 80 degrees when web browsing, or will it also do that when completely idle?

Check your GPU clock settings, it should be clocking down to a low speed to cut heat and power, unless you accidentally set it to always be at high clock speed.

Considering the Overclocking thread seems to be pretty dead I'll ask you guys instead. Currently my system is

GTX 770 4GB
Core i7-4790k @4.0GHz
8GB RAM

Just ran the 3DMark2011 benchmark and got a combined score of 9003, CPU temp was at ~47°C. CPU Cooler is Thermalright Macho REV.A. Do you think I can overclock the CPU a bit without risking it getting too hot?

You should be good enough to try to overclock up to 4.4GHz? Any further might be too hot, I'll admit I'm not familiar with the Macho Rev.A model, but a quick look at some reviews seem to say it's a decent midrange cooler.

Is there any drop in performance if a PCI Express 3.0 graphics card is plugged into a 2.0 slot?

Thinking of replacing my GTX 560 1GB with a GTX 960 2GB (also comes with The Witcher 3 which is nice) but the one listed on NewEgg is listed as a 3.0. I know I can plug the 3.0 into the 2.0 slot but not sure if there will be a negative upon doing so performance wise? Looking to have it match a AMD FX 8320 3.5 GHZ CPU I got earlier in the year.

If anyone knows how big of a boost could I be looking at here between the two cards. I know there will be one but how significant I'm still not sure about.

This would be the final piece for the moment to complete my upgrade save for a new monitor but the one I have now is working well enough. That should hopefully kill any urges to pick up a PS4 or XBO when I really can't afford it. This would be a significantly cheaper move overall and make the Wii U/PC pairing complete for the time being.

Thanks.

You'll be absolutely fine, PCI-E 2.0 is not a major bottleneck in any way for a single graphics card, not even for a GTX 980. Unless the slot is stuck in x4 mode or something.

Performance-wise, the GTX 960 would be a huge improvement over your GTX 560. I can't find exact comparisons though, the two models are quite far apart in age and it doesn't seem like anyone has bothered to make benchmarks. There is this "close enough" comparison of the GTX 560 Ti (stronger than yours) and the R9 285 (roughly equal to the GTX 960) to give you an idea of the difference in performance.

What are your system specs? For a little cheaper than the GTX 960, you could pick up this Sapphire R9 280X ($190 after $30 discount) instead. It's older and isn't as efficient as the GTX 960 but has the raw power to beat the GTX 960 in most benchmarks, although in certain games like BF4 the GTX 960 leads over the R9 280X slightly. It also has 3GB of VRAM which is somewhat better for the future than the GTX 960's 2GB VRAM.