"I need a New PC!" 2013 Part 2. Haswell = #IntelnoTIM, but free online. READ THE OP.

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Hi all,

My current PC is reaching its dying days, so am looking to upgrade possibly at the end of this month / beginning of the new year. I've had my current one for the past 5 1/2 years, and am pretty much clueless when it comes to more recent advances.

I'm looking to use it for gaming, and would like the best value per FPS - am unlikely to go beyond 1920 x 1080 resolution, so was just wondering if it was at all worth opting for an Intel i7 4770k, and whether I'd notice any kind of improvement at that resolution over an i5 4670k?

Sorry if it sounds like a daft question - will hopefully put something together and get the kind folks in this thread have a look at it before I go ahead and bite the bullet!
 
Manik said:
Hi all,

My current PC is reaching its dying days, so am looking to upgrade possibly at the end of this month / beginning of the new year. I've had my current one for the past 5 1/2 years, and am pretty much clueless when it comes to more recent advances.

I'm looking to use it for gaming, and would like the best value per FPS - am unlikely to go beyond 1920 x 1080 resolution, so was just wondering if it was at all worth opting for an Intel i7 4770k, and whether I'd notice any kind of improvement at that resolution over an i5 4670k?

Sorry if it sounds like a daft question - will hopefully put something together and get the kind folks in this thread have a look at it before I go ahead and bite the bullet!
Click to expand...

If it's gaming stick to an i5 and overclock it.
 
SpeedySwaf said:
So after a previous poster snagged an Alienware, I've been looking on Craigslist in my area as well, to see if anything pops up. I've found one guy who is selling a custom build for $800 dollars, and is throwing in a Razer-brand keyboard, mouse and Dell monitor for free, but I'm not sure if the PC itself is a good deal, or if something similar/better could be created with less money. I've scanned Google and Newegg, and it seems on the surface I'm getting it for less than what the parts are worth individually, more so if the keyboard, mouse and monitor are included. Specs he listed are:

Intel i5 3570k Processor
Nvidia GTX 660 TI
8 GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM
600 Watt Power supply
AS Rock A4 Motherboard
Corsair 300R Case
1 TB HD
Windows 8 OS

He claims it can run BF4 on Ultra at 60 FPS, but YouTube vids have me kinda skeptical on that :\ Not that I need Ultra settings or anything. And of course there's always that concern that the PC is dead, or that there's something wrong with it, but I guess that goes with buying anything second hand.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
You'll be able to get 60fps with a mix of high and ultra. I'm running a similar setup(670 instead of 660Ti, though) and I'm getting around 80fps average in multiplayer with a mix of high and ultra. Haven't even overclocked my CPU yet, either. With the updated drivers, BF4 really runs quite amazingly. I should probably crank up a few settings, actually. :)

That's definitely not a bad deal for $800, considering that it comes with Windows and a monitor and all the work is done for you.
 
kharma45 said:
She could honestly get away with something like this. Not SFF but very cheap and would fulfil her needs.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

SFF wise

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

AMDs Kaveri could be decent too come January 14th. Also depending on what size of hard drive space she needs you could ditch that 1TB HDD for an SSD and give her a real speed boost.

She'll not need a massively powerful machine for those tasks, anything over an i3 is overkill. Pentium would suit well enough imo.
Click to expand...

Thanks kharma45 for the help on the build, i went pretty similar to what you suggested. Didn't know i could get away with low 300 (318$) with taxes and shipping.
 
Hi GAF, just a heads up on anyone wanting to buy a GTX 780. I would stay away from the Gigabyte ones from now. They seem to have a problem with some of the cards (mine was the newest revision) that as a result of the bios is not compatible with some motherboards (I'm using a LGA 1156 board so it's old but its not THAT old). I've also discovered others complaining about this on newegg as well.

I had no problems with the Gigabyte GTX 770, for some reason it only happens to the 780, which is a pity cause I really liked the Gigabyte aftermarket cooler. Basically, it results in your computer rebooting in a continuous loop (with or without BSOD) after first install, which forces you to boot into safe mode and re-install the nvidia drivers everytime after a shutdown. Complete system restore had no effect.

I've switched over to the MSI GTX 780 OC Gaming Edition and it is working like a charm right out of the box. Just a note: had a hard time finding out if the latest edition of the Twin Frozr cooler was quiet, since the one I had on my 560Ti sounded like a jet engine on load, and this one is silent and great. Temperatures are on par with the Gigabyte one and might be 1 or 2 degrees higher on occasion.

A note About Scan.co.uk:
I bought my card from there and regret it. Don't know if its just bad luck or maybe I'm expecting too much, but I think I'm just going to stick to amazon from ow on. Basically this is what happened:

Event Date
Received GIGABYTE GTX 780 & Installed with latest Drivers 11/1/2013
"Next morning computer boots to windows then immediately crahses; This repeats continuously. Dumpfiles available.
nvlddmkm.sys nvlddmkm.sys+994074 fffff880`0f4ab000 fffff880`100e2000 0x00c37000 0x52676afe " 11/2/2013
"Clean install of latest nVidia drivers with complete removal of old ones; Same problem persists.
Note: Motherboard is already flashed to latest Bios. " 11/3/2013
Took day off work to do a Complete Re-install of windows fresh from the DVD with all data wiped; Problem persists. 11/5/2013
Tried with borrowed GIGABYTE GTX 770; No problems as with GIGABYTE GTX 780; Reinstalls GIGABYTE GTX 780 with latest nVidia driver, Problem PERSISTS. 11/6/2013
Took ANOTHER day off work to do a Complete Re-install of windows fresh from the DVD with all data wiped; Problem persists. 11/7/2013
Contacts gigabyte for tech support, found out this bios problem exists for some users with their cards and told to contact supplier for replacement 8/11/13 - 11/11/13
Contacts Scan for Replacement: Gareth 11/7/2013
Told to return card via collection 11/11/2013
"Told a full refund will be provided and I can order a new card first as I couldn't wait due to urgent need for workstation;
Ordered an MSI GTX 780 over the phone; scan called me. Told not to keep the free games and not return them and they would not be sent out with the new card" 11/11/2013
Received MSI GTX 780 and installed with latest drivers. No previous problems from the get go. 19/11/13
Confirmed collection date for RMA, wrong address provided to courier by Scan; 1 day off leave wasted 19/11/13
Reconfirmed collection date, finally returned to courier 21/11/13

Even so, they had the nerve to tell me after they received my RMA that the card was working fine and that they would deduct shipping costs from my refund, which left me at a loss of over 15pounds (yes I know this is nothing to some but as a student I'm broke all the time). Thing is, the card clearly wasn't working for me, Gigabyte admitted to the fault and I had proof of it and even sent it to scan. But they just kept telling me that they tested the card on Battlefield 4 for 3 hours and there were no problems so the card was perfect. That may be the case, but clearly if the card's bios is not compatible with mu own Gigabyte motherboard, something is clearly defective. I thought I was entitled the FULL refund, well apparently not. Never had such problems with amazon ever.

Do you think I might be asking to much/am wrong?

Cheers!
 
I've used Scan for over 10 years and had no complaints at all.
It sounds like you got a raw deal though. I would complain about the delivery charge they held, especially as they gave the courier the wrong address too.
 
riflen said:
I've used Scan for over 10 years and had no complaints at all.
It sounds like you got a raw deal though. I would complain about the delivery charge they held, especially as they gave the courier the wrong address too.
Click to expand...

I tried. E-mailed them many times explaining the situation in detail. The guy just kept saying no and it's their policy. Didn't even apologize. I gave up in the end after trying so many times. I'll just be more careful next time and use amazon if I can and the prices are competitive.

Probably bad luck with the Gigabyte card as well that aggravated the problem. Oh well.

In any case anyone whos shopping for a gfx, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the GTX 780 (:

Battlefield 4 runs so smooth at 1080p Ultra, without Vsync there's even tearing :P
 
So I was plaing BF4, fresh install since it had disconnect issues last night for some reason after playing fine all week. Anyways, my mouse kept selecting items like the mouse wheel was being moved so I quit the game ducked under and moved my computer a bit to replug in the mouse cable. My computer shut off and rebooted. Should I be worried, as some will know I have ocd and shit like this scares the shit out of me. CPU and GPU are both overclocked, I tried to replicate it by moving my computer and the psu cable, no dice. Any ideas :(
If it short circuited would it reboot? Everything is fine now but I want to know why it happened.
 
maneil99 said:
So I was plaing BF4, fresh install since it had disconnect issues last night for some reason after playing fine all week. Anyways, my mouse kept selecting items like the mouse wheel was being moved so I quit the game ducked under and moved my computer a bit to replug in the mouse cable. My computer shut off and rebooted. Should I be worried, as some will know I have ocd and shit like this scares the shit out of me. CPU and GPU are both overclocked, I tried to replicate it by moving my computer and the psu cable, no dice. Any ideas :(
If it short circuited would it reboot? Everything is fine now but I want to know why it happened.
Click to expand...

Happened to me as well. Twice. Totally random. System is running fine. No clue what's the cause.

Quick Tip: Don't waste your time trying to find out what it was. I'll spare you the trouble, there's no explanation. might jsut be a game bug or a driver bug (I'm using a GTX 780).

See you on the Battlefield =D
 
I hate how, in canada, no computer store seems to offers free shipping. I'd like to buy the Bit Fenix Merc Alpha on sale at NCIX(35$) but it's 16$ shipping!

Right.
 
maneil99 said:
So I was plaing BF4, fresh install since it had disconnect issues last night for some reason after playing fine all week. Anyways, my mouse kept selecting items like the mouse wheel was being moved so I quit the game ducked under and moved my computer a bit to replug in the mouse cable. My computer shut off and rebooted. Should I be worried, as some will know I have ocd and shit like this scares the shit out of me. CPU and GPU are both overclocked, I tried to replicate it by moving my computer and the psu cable, no dice. Any ideas :(
If it short circuited would it reboot? Everything is fine now but I want to know why it happened.
Click to expand...
Could be something got squished or angled wrong and caused a temporary short. It's totally harmless, and nothing to worry about.
 
I'm considering a 1440P monitor as a holiday present to myself. Do I really need to worry about driving it with a 2GB 680? I mostly play Dota 2 so I know that won't be an issue, but I can probably upgrade in the next year or so anyway if I really want to push upcoming games. Any suggestions/alternatives to something like this? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUI44US/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Any new models/deals on the horizon I should know about?
 
Zeth said:
I'm considering a 1440P monitor as a holiday present to myself. Do I really need to worry about driving it with a 2GB 680? I mostly play Dota 2 so I know that won't be an issue, but I can probably upgrade in the next year or so anyway if I really want to push upcoming games. Any suggestions/alternatives to something like this? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUI44US/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Any new models/deals on the horizon I should know about?
Click to expand...
There will be possible G-Sync 1440p monitors released next year, which could mean native lightboost and/or 120Hz+.

Since you play competitive games, I'd say it's something that is worth waiting a little on. The QNIX does OC to 120Hz though, just no lightboost.

Read more here.
 
SpyGuy239 said:
Happened to me as well. Twice. Totally random. System is running fine. No clue what's the cause.

Quick Tip: Don't waste your time trying to find out what it was. I'll spare you the trouble, there's no explanation. might jsut be a game bug or a driver bug (I'm using a GTX 780).

See you on the Battlefield =D
Click to expand...
780 here too. Did it happen to you in bf4 or just randomly?
 
mkenyon said:
Since you play competitive games, I'd say it's something that is worth waiting a little on. The QNIX does OC to 120Hz though, just no lightboost.
Click to expand...

Is QNIX QX2710 still the best game in town for cheap 1440p korean monitors?

Been looking at it and Crossover 27QW and X Star DP2710.

EDIT: Also would be gtx770 be powerful enough to push mostly high settings in games?
 
Thought i post it here also :

http://www.legitreviews.com/evga-geforce-gtx-780-ti-kingpin-6gb-video-card-made-overclocking_130114

UPDATE 12/4/2013 3pm CT: EVGA responded to our inquiry on the EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Kingpin Edition and informed us that it would have higher clock speeds than the standard Classified version, that it is aimed at LN2 cooling users and that it is just 3GB contrary to what the rumors have said. So, no 6GB version is to be had here.
Read more at http://www.legitreviews.com/evga-ge...-made-overclocking_130114#xfJ99X0KkQqJMAlb.99
Click to expand...
Sad news really .
 
musicjunkie said:
Is QNIX QX2710 still the best game in town for cheap 1440p korean monitors?

Been looking at it and Crossover 27QW and X Star DP2710.

EDIT: Also would be gtx770 be powerful enough to push mostly high settings in games?
Click to expand...
Yeah, QNIX definitely. It almost always does 120Hz without hiccups. The others don't.
Thorgal said:
Thought i post it here also :

http://www.legitreviews.com/evga-geforce-gtx-780-ti-kingpin-6gb-video-card-made-overclocking_130114


Sad news really .
Click to expand...
Not too sad, it's made for breaking records. More VRAM doesn't help that. If you want to be pushing those kinds of displays where you need that sort of memory, Titans are where it's at.
 
Two questions:

1) is 12 gb ram enough? How much would 2x2 ram cost to upgrade 2 16gb?

2) I got a gtx 780 sc dual fan, a used one though for a little cheaper. It looks pretty good but at the end of the card next to the 6pin input, the last metal railing thing that looks like rolls of blades (don't know what it's called) is slightly loose. It wiggles but does feel firmly in place. The other metal blades are firm.

Is this normal? Did the last blade break off at the top is it how it's designed? Nothing to worry about?

Thanks.
 
so it seems the cables on the Hives are no longer sleeved.

my question is to creative PC GAF: is there any way to dress up the ribbon cables? something I can do so they dont look like plain shite ribbons?

not even sure if its possible or worth my time to see if I can get them to give me a comparable replacement.


TheFLYINGManga_Ka said:
Two questions:

1) is 12 gb ram enough? How much would 2x2 ram cost to upgrade 2 16gb?

2) I got a gtx 780 sc dual fan, a used one though for a little cheaper. It looks pretty good but at the end of the card next to the 6pin input, the last metal railing thing that looks like rolls of blades (don't know what it's called) is slightly loose. It wiggles but does feel firmly in place. The other metal blades are firm.

Is this normal? Did the last blade break off at the top is it how it's designed? Nothing to worry about?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

8Gb is plenty for gaming
 
TheFLYINGManga_Ka said:
Two questions:

1) is 12 gb ram enough? How much would 2x2 ram cost to upgrade 2 16gb?

2) I got a gtx 780 sc dual fan, a used one though for a little cheaper. It looks pretty good but at the end of the card next to the 6pin input, the last metal railing thing that looks like rolls of blades (don't know what it's called) is slightly loose. It wiggles but does feel firmly in place. The other metal blades are firm.

Is this normal? Did the last blade break off at the top is it how it's designed? Nothing to worry about?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Yes and yes.
 
TheFLYINGManga_Ka said:
Two questions:

1) is 12 gb ram enough? How much would 2x2 ram cost to upgrade 2 16gb?

2) I got a gtx 780 sc dual fan, a used one though for a little cheaper. It looks pretty good but at the end of the card next to the 6pin input, the last metal railing thing that looks like rolls of blades (don't know what it's called) is slightly loose. It wiggles but does feel firmly in place. The other metal blades are firm.

Is this normal? Did the last blade break off at the top is it how it's designed? Nothing to worry about?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

12 gigs is more than you need currently for gaming. Probably more than enough for PS, depending on the size of the photos you are editing.

Don't stress about the wiggle as long as it isn't coming off/still making contact.
 
mkenyon said:
Yeah, QNIX definitely. It almost always does 120Hz without hiccups. The others don't.

Not too sad, it's made for breaking records. More VRAM doesn't help that. If you want to be pushing those kinds of displays where you need that sort of memory, Titans are where it's at.
Click to expand...

Oh i agree . i find it just sad that Nvidia does not have a card that has that much Vram ( i like to downsample my games and it comes in handy for modding games ie Skyrim etc ) and that kind of power at a price point competitively to AMD's 290X .

One of those baby's would last me the entire next gen .

Titan is outclassed by an oc 780 TI anyway so the price for a titan is not justified for me 6 GB or not .
 
maneil99 said:
Temps, artifacts and hardlocks
Click to expand...
Thanks. Don't know what artifacts are but I'll research. :)

kennah said:
12 gigs is more than you need currently for gaming. Probably more than enough for PS, depending on the size of the photos you are editing.

Don't stress about the wiggle as long as it isn't coming off/still making contact.
Click to expand...
The wiggle scared me a bit because it wasn't attached on the top while the others were. Are they designed that way?

And no photo editing just amateurish comic, illustration, manga crap mostly at 300dpi.
 
Alright, I'm trying to troubleshoot an issue here. I have this memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231653

When I set the bios to their appropriate XMS profile 10 11 11 12 31 @ 1.6v with one DIMM it boots successfully. If I boot with both DIMMS with the same setting, the PC fails to boot. I tried one and the other singularly but it booted fine.

I tried this ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445
Using it's XMS profile 8 8 8 24 @ 1.5v with both DIMMs the machine boots fine.

Is this likely a memory issue or something else?
 
Felix Lighter said:
Alright, I'm trying to troubleshoot an issue here. I have this memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231653

When I set the bios to their appropriate XMS profile 10 11 11 12 31 @ 1.6v with one DIMM it boots successfully. If I boot with both DIMMS with the same setting, the PC fails to boot. I tried one and the other singularly but it booted fine.

I tried this ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445
Using it's XMS profile 8 8 8 24 @ 1.5v with both DIMMs the machine boots fine.

Is this likely a memory issue or something else?
Click to expand...

Run memtest
 
Right now my current plan is to sit the computer on a TV table turned sideways so I don't have it flat on the carpet (which I understand leads to dust and heat problems). Would a CPU stand accomplish the same effect even though it's lower to the ground? The TV table I just bought is around the same prices as most CPU stands.
 
RedSwirl said:
Right now my current plan is to sit the computer on a TV table turned sideways so I don't have it flat on the carpet (which I understand leads to dust and heat problems). Would a CPU stand accomplish the same effect even though it's lower to the ground? The TV table I just bought is around the same prices as most CPU stands.
Click to expand...

Put a board under it.
 
Any of you guys recommend upgrading to a R9 270x from a MSI Twin Frozr 560ti? I recently got a new CPU and motherboard with 8GB of ram but my GPU is holding me back a bit. I want try to keep it under 200$ so it looks like the 270x is my best choice right now.

I'm mostly playing AC4 and BF4 if that helps with anything, I want to try to get a mix of High/Ultra settings if that's possible with my budget lol.
 
kennah said:
Run memtest
Click to expand...

The problem is with both installed, I can't even load the bios when I have the XMS profile set. I can either disable the profile or boot with one in at a time, I guess. Would this influence the results?

Right now I'm re-stress testing my 4.4Ghz OC with the other set of DIMMS to try and determine if the RAM was causing the crashes and not the CPU.
 
So this is where the 7950s all went then
T5BbvrG.jpg


pA6Xd0Zh.jpg


G8jT0D9h.jpg
Click to expand...

Litecoin mining.

If anyone has a 7950 and wants rid, they're going for crazy money now, over $400 on eBay.
 
What's the general consensus on how much ventilation space you need for a full tower on either side. Depending on what happens I may only have a couple inches of space on either side.
 
Sectorseven said:
Is that like the poor man's Bitcoin?
Click to expand...

Yep, but it has went from $2.25 to $40 over the last few weeks.

mkenyon said:
Any reason they're going for the 7950s over 7970?

The 280x is still widely available for $300.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it's widely available, Newegg only has the ASUS one in stock, everything else is as it was last week, out of stock.

As to why it was 7950s, they have the best hashrate per watt apparently. I'd imagine the 280Xs are being bought up as they're fairly close, this 7970 was listed at seven hundred and fifty fucking dollars on eBay and I presume the seller got close as it was a best offer that was accepted http://www.ebay.com/itm/MINT-MSI-R7...435?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2a34dfa11b

Even this ref 7970 is sitting at $394 with 4 hours to go http://www.ebay.com/itm/Diamond-AMD...600?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item233305ec80
 
Ugh. I'm having no luck over clocking this damn CPU. i7 3770K @ 4.2 Ghz failed at 1.35v. Anything lower doesn't even seem worth it. I don't know if it's just a weak chip or the motherboard is getting in the way. Stress tests at stock are stable. I just started another one now that I'll run over night I guess at stock just to be sure. No fun.

I guess I'm paying the price for the super easy time I had with the CPU I over clocked a few weeks ago
 
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