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[Owzers]

You mention lowest settings; does that point to your budget, or expectations?

Either way, this HP is the lowest you should go.

AMD Triple-core and Mobility 5650 should handle 45 to 60fps, without resorting to lowest settings.


4850

Do you mean quad-core? How much better is the 2.0 quad than the 2.1 triple, both with 5650.

There are two ones i'm looking at:

Triple core 2.1GHz
5650
17.3'' screen, 1600x900 resolution
7200rpm HD

vs.

Quad Core 2.0
5650
15.6'' screen, 1366x768 resolution
5400rpm HD

 

[Lkr]

He's probably best off with a prebuilt machine tbh.

what I was afraid of. $570 was getting everything except Windows.
23in hans g 1080p monitor
geforce 9400
athlon ii x2 2.9 ghz
2gb ddr3-1333
case
psu

I'll look at HP and Dell's offerings tomorrow

 

[Phloxy]

Fucking lame, get all my stuff set-up, nice super rig, and my brand new asus 3d monitor has a big rainbow vertical line from top to bottom on the left side. FUCK MY LIFE.

 

[grkazan12]

Hey quick question guys, so I was looking into buying a new monitor for a new rig I'm about to build and I was wondering(my bad for sounding oblivious)

What's a really good choice for a gaming monitor?

What company is solid with monitors?

and Is it better to use an LED or LCD monitor for pc gaming?

 

[Phloxy]

So anybody have experience with newegg rma? Specifically from the east coast. So frustrated right now.

 

[Borman]

I had no issue years ago when I built my last PC (Im in NY, though not the city). Had a case delivered twice broken, and they finally sent me just a piece to fix it, and didn't want the broken crap sent back

 

[Luthair]

Hello fellow GAF'ers,

I was thinking of upgrading my current rig to something a bit more on par with the times and wanted to see what you guys think of my ideas, since I am torn on what to do.

Current Rig,

Intel Core Duo E8400
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L
8 Gb 800mhz DDR2
Nvidia Geforce 260 (216)
Creative SB X-Fi Fatal1ty Sound Card
And A older Dell 24 inch monitor with Swan speakers.

Now I have two paths, I start fresh and build a new computer. Or I can upgrade the CPU and Videocard in my current PC and go off that. I am torn with what I should do. I would get the 9550 quad core if I upgraded the CPU but is that well below the i5's on the market now? Suggestions?

 

[Str0ngStyle]

Hey I had a question about using an HDTV as your primary monitor. Does anyone have an idea what the resolution for a 32inch 720p/1080i TV would be? I want to see if my Video card can handle it or will I need to buy a new one. Thanks

 

[Corky]

So things to do when changing gpu :

- (Reset CMOS, I forgot but was this neccessary?)
- Reinstall drivers
- ???
- Profit?

 

[Tonza]

Okay, my GTX 460 arrived. Threw it in and tested with FFXIV benchmark (not the best one but it's short and I want to play that game) My High setting score raised from 1950ish to 2500 which is pretty nice.

Have to test some other games too. Also the GTX runs a lot cooler than the GTS250 (which is broken though). Idle temps at 36 degrees celsius when mu 250 was 55. :lol

Also kinda weird but after I put the 460 in, my hard drive freed up almost 70 gigabytes. Have no idea what's up with that. Can't see anything missing...

I did get a Roccat Kova as my gaming mouse which is nice. Kone/ Razer Lachesis would've been better but I wanted to save the 20 euros.

 

[Darkatomz]

EVGA really needs to put out their new cooler for the GTX460 soon, this wait is getting a little too long... Same with their 2GB version.

 

[Smokey]

Any guesses as to when we'll see a 470/480 refresh?

 

[Aurarian]

I'm not a fan of the brand, but yeah, it'll be fine.

I just remembered that I was going to give my mother my PC since she's still rocking a Dell Inspiron from 04. She's really hardheaded when it comes to this stuff. So this won't even matter. Anyways, to my previous question, I'm willing to spend more on the mobo, could you recommend me a better one? Also, I'm willing to maybe pay a little more to go up to 470, the card I have now in the case is a HD 4890. Is it worth the extra 50-60?

 

[Salaadin]

Any guesses as to when we'll see a 470/480 refresh?

I was thinking about the same thing the other day. Ill probably ditch my 5850 then and go with Nvidia once this happens.

 

[Sanjay]

Hello fellow GAF'ers,

I was thinking of upgrading my current rig to something a bit more on par with the times and wanted to see what you guys think of my ideas, since I am torn on what to do.

Current Rig,

Intel Core Duo E8400
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L
8 Gb 800mhz DDR2
Nvidia Geforce 260 (216)
Creative SB X-Fi Fatal1ty Sound Card
And A older Dell 24 inch monitor with Swan speakers.

Now I have two paths, I start fresh and build a new computer. Or I can upgrade the CPU and Videocard in my current PC and go off that. I am torn with what I should do. I would get the 9550 quad core if I upgraded the CPU but is that well below the i5's on the market now? Suggestions?

I moved from a PC just like yours to a i7 920 with a GTX 460. Personally I was very happy with the performance increase I got from moving on up. What you could do is get a better GPU and see if your happy with the performances and if not then upgrade the rest too, it all matters on if you got the money to upgrade and then sell your old all parts too.

 

[StarEye]

I have an Abit IP35 Pro motherboard, which doesn't apparently have a PCI Express 2.0 slot. But I was considering getting a GTX 460 to replace my GeForce 9800GT - will the motherboard be a big bottleneck for the card? How much of an actual difference are we talking (not theoretically)?

Also, it's easy to think higher number, better card. I've seen GTX 465 and 470 cards at approximately the same price as the 460. Should I avoid those, or are they better options?

Last question, my current card is huge as fuck, and I was told that I should use it for PhysX. I don't think there's a chance it'll work with my current mobo, is that right? Should I perhaps just hold on to this card until I can use it next time I decide to upgrade (that would be the mobo and CPU)?

 

[Omiee]

Ok GAF so i have almost everything for my new rig but i still have to decide.

either 460 in SLI or spend 100 more and get
a 470 SLI
or just get one 480

 

[Sanjay]

Ok GAF so i have almost everything for my new rig but i still have to decide.

either 460 in SLI or spend 100 more and get
a 470 SLI
or just get one 480

What resolution do you play games at? If you get a good GTX 460 you can OC that baby to 5870/GTX 470 levels, save money. I over-clocked my gigabyte GTX 460 OC to 900/1800/2000.

The route you go really depends on the resolution you play at, say if you play at low/medium resolution you should get a GTX 460 then go SLI later on when you need to upgrade and by then another GTX 460 would be cheaper.

 

[Omiee]

What resolution do you play games at? If you get a good GTX 460 you can OC that baby to 5870/GTX 470 levels, save money. I over-clocked my gigabyte GTX 460 OC to 900/1800/2000.

The route you go really depends on the resolution you play at, say if you play at low/medium resolution you should get a GTX 460 then go SLI later on when you need to upgrade and by then another GTX 460 would be cheaper.

I'll play at 1080P

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

.

 

[Omiee]

reason i posted here is because a lot of people say sli and crossfire is stupid and useless.
so i was thinking of just getting the 480 but i saw that the 460 SLI has better performance than a single 480 yet its the same price and will take less power from my power supply.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

reason i posted here is because a lot of people say sli and crossfire is stupid and useless.
so i was thinking of just getting the 480 but i saw that the 460 SLI has better performance than a single 480 yet its the same price and will take less power from my power supply.

Depends on your patience I guess you can say of things. I've got 2 8800GTs in sli and don't regret it at all for the same reason that they outperform the 8800GTX at the time and were cheaper. The problem come in where you will get microstuttering if you notice little quirks about your picture a lot and also the drivers aren't the best. Some games support SLI when they come out, others I've had to wait until they get patched to get better performance since it was only using one card even though SLI was enable. Similar to a program using a single core not making use of other cores. Like it's been stated a lot it causes more potential problems and areas of possible failure. I've loved my SLI setup and wouldn't mind doing it again but I can understand someone's preference to a single card solution.

 

[Omiee]

i think im just gonna go for the 460 SLI and buy a new card in 2 years or so.
i mean the 460 SLI outperforms the 480 and takes way less power in SLI

 

[Classic_Gs]

Hey I had a question about using an HDTV as your primary monitor. Does anyone have an idea what the resolution for a 32inch 720p/1080i TV would be? I want to see if my Video card can handle it or will I need to buy a new one. Thanks

I would think 1366x768.

 

[brain_stew]

Ok GAF so i have almost everything for my new rig but i still have to decide.

either 460 in SLI or spend 100 more and get
a 470 SLI
or just get one 480

Well 460 SLI is definitely the worst option. That 1GB framebuffer is a disaster waiting to happen.

I'll play at 1080P

Then just get a single GTX 480.

 

[brain_stew]

I have an Abit IP35 Pro motherboard, which doesn't apparently have a PCI Express 2.0 slot. But I was considering getting a GTX 460 to replace my GeForce 9800GT - will the motherboard be a big bottleneck for the card? How much of an actual difference are we talking (not theoretically)?

Also, it's easy to think higher number, better card. I've seen GTX 465 and 470 cards at approximately the same price as the 460. Should I avoid those, or are they better options?

Last question, my current card is huge as fuck, and I was told that I should use it for PhysX. I don't think there's a chance it'll work with my current mobo, is that right? Should I perhaps just hold on to this card until I can use it next time I decide to upgrade (that would be the mobo and CPU)?

Your PCIe slot is a non-issue.

If you can get a 470 at the same price, jump on that, its a much better card.

 

[brain_stew]

i think im just gonna go for the 460 SLI and buy a new card in 2 years or so.
i mean the 460 SLI outperforms the 480 and takes way less power in SLI

SLI 460s definitely don't draw "way less power" (quite the opposite really) than a single GTX 480. I wouldn't say it really outperforms it either. Due to microstutter and just the way SLi works, a higher framerate, will "feel" less than it is as frames are not delivered at consistant intervals as they should be. You'll also get much lower minimum framerates, which again will make your perceived framerate seem much lower than it is.

Then if a game uses more than 1GB of memory or SLI drivers aren't upto snuff and its going to be a none contest. I just couldn't recommend SLI 1GB 460s over a single GTX 480, especially at 1080p. SLI 470s is possibly worth considering but I can't see where SLI 460s become the preferable option.

For power consumption, have a look here:

At idle in particular (which is what really matters) SLI 460s draw way more power than a single 480.

The situation isn't much better at load either:

This is comparing stock 460s to a 480 with a hefty factory OC as well.

 

[Smokey]

^^You posted the same chart twice stew.

 

[brain_stew]

^^You posted the same chart twice stew.

Oops, fixed.

 

[dankir]

Okay so my friend who works at EA Montreal got me a copy of Crysis Maximum Edition.... now I need a PC to play it lol.

GAF here is your task.

I have a budget of 1500 - 1750 dollars for a Desktop PC. I have a nice monitor and peripherals already

BUILD ME SOMETHING KICK ASS!

I live in Canada so if I could build something from newegg.ca or ncix or whatever I would prefer. I used to be big into PC gaming back in the mid ninties and haven't been into it in ages.


Thanks for all the help!

 

[brain_stew]

Okay so my friend who works at EA Montreal got me a copy of Crysis Maximum Edition.... now I need a PC to play it lol.

GAF here is your task.

I have a budget of 1500 - 1750 dollars for a Desktop PC. I have a nice monitor and peripherals already

BUILD ME SOMETHING KICK ASS!

I live in Montreal so if I could build something from newegg.ca or ncix or whatever I would prefer. I used to be big into PC gaming back in the mid ninties and haven't been into it in ages.


Thanks for all the help!

If you check the last few pages I put together something towards a similar specification for a Canadian GAFer.

 

[Corky]

since I'm bored and I have yet to get my gpu, I might as well ask useless questions for the sake of curiousity ...


When having a dedicated physX gpu, how much of a theoretical ( if any ) performance-loss are we talking about, when physX is enabled. Compared to just running game X without a dedicated physx gpu & physx off.

 

[brain_stew]

since I'm bored and I have yet to get my gpu, I might as well ask useless questions for the sake of curiousity ...


When having a dedicated physX gpu, how much of a theoretical ( if any ) performance-loss are we talking about, when physX is enabled. Compared to just running game X without a dedicated physx gpu & physx off.

Completely dependant on the game. Enabling PhysX will mean there's more stuff on screen for the primary GPU to render so you're going to get a lower framerate.

 

[Corky]

Completely dependant on the game. Enabling PhysX will mean there's more stuff on screen for the primary GPU to render so you're going to get a lower framerate.

Ah ok, I was mainly thinking about the first two games I'm going try out. Namely mafia 2 and batmang dark asylum.

 

[Unicorn]

How's this for a build? looking for a way to cut the price back a bit.

Perhaps I should hold off on the video card until my birthday next month?

I decided I may as well bite. But, does everything fit? I mean, with that MoBo and such.

 

[Hawk269]

reason i posted here is because a lot of people say sli and crossfire is stupid and useless.
so i was thinking of just getting the 480 but i saw that the 460 SLI has better performance than a single 480 yet its the same price and will take less power from my power supply.

Go to Anandtech.com and click the GPU...scroll down and they have reviews of the 460 and also a sperate review comparing the different brands of 460's. In several tests, 460 in SLI runs very well. The articles are very long, but alot of benchmark tests where they rate all the different cards and the framerates at different resolutions.

Just alot of great information that may make your decision a bit better...I too contiplated going with a single 480, but in the end I chose to go with the dual-sli 460's...and it benchmarks really well.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I decided I may as well bite. But, does everything fit? I mean, with that MoBo and such.

If your going to build a micro ATX gaming machine, keep a very close eye on temperatures and airflow.

 

[King of Custard]

incorrect thead sorry

 

[Omiee]

Go to Anandtech.com and click the GPU...scroll down and they have reviews of the 460 and also a sperate review comparing the different brands of 460's. In several tests, 460 in SLI runs very well. The articles are very long, but alot of benchmark tests where they rate all the different cards and the framerates at different resolutions.

Just alot of great information that may make your decision a bit better...I too contiplated going with a single 480, but in the end I chose to go with the dual-sli 460's...and it benchmarks really well.

i seriously dont know what to do now, u both have good arguments.
i might go for a 480 and maybe down the line get a second for sli but u have a good point as well for the same price as a 480 i can get a 460 sli outperforming it.

 

[Aurarian]

What about this brain_stew?
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=383771&page=128

Also should I go for a 470 instead of a 460?

 

[Smokey]

i seriously dont know what to do now, u both have good arguments.
i might go for a 480 and maybe down the line get a second for sli but u have a good point as well for the same price as a 480 i can get a 460 sli outperforming it.

you do not need a second 480 especially if you're just gonna game at 1080p.

What about this brain_stew?
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=383771&page=128

Also should I go for a 470 instead of a 460?

I'm not exactly sure what you're linking at but...

if you can wing the extra $80 I'd go with the 470. They can be had for around $300 on newegg (after rebate). It looks like newegg raised the price the EVGA 470. A couple days ago you could get it for $280 after the mail in rebate.

 

[-COOLIO-]

SLI 460s definitely don't draw "way less power" (quite the opposite really) than a single GTX 480. I wouldn't say it really outperforms it either. Due to microstutter and just the way SLi works, a higher framerate, will "feel" less than it is as frames are not delivered at consistant intervals as they should be. You'll also get much lower minimum framerates, which again will make your perceived framerate seem much lower than it is.

Then if a game uses more than 1GB of memory or SLI drivers aren't upto snuff and its going to be a none contest. I just couldn't recommend SLI 1GB 460s over a single GTX 480, especially at 1080p. SLI 470s is possibly worth considering but I can't see where SLI 460s become the preferable option.

For power consumption, have a look here:

http://techreport.com/r.x/dx11-multi-gpu/power-idle.gif[IMG]

At idle in particular (which is what really matters) SLI 460s draw way more power than a single 480.

The situation isn't much better at load either:

[IMG]http://techreport.com/r.x/dx11-multi-gpu/power-load.gif[IMG]


This is comparing stock 460s to a 480 with a hefty factory OC as well.[/QUOTE]

if someone was making a 460 rig though do you think it would be worth the extra $100~ in motherboard and psu upgrades to open the door to sli for future upgrading?

 

[Hawk269]

i seriously dont know what to do now, u both have good arguments.
i might go for a 480 and maybe down the line get a second for sli but u have a good point as well for the same price as a 480 i can get a 460 sli outperforming it.

There are alot of agruements or opinions on what is a better solution. I went with the Dual 460's, but even then, I debated going just 480...in the end I chose the dual 460's, but still think about being that I have the 30 day window to change my mind.

I looked alot at the benchmarks and for the money right now, the SLI 460's made sense to me. I am gaming at 1080p on my big screen tv in my living room and although I have not played alot of games on it yet (it is only a few days old and I have been working alot), the few demo's/benchmarks I played looked really good.

I spend more time reading about stuff to make sure I made the right decision, the more I read the more I think I made the wise choice...but I can also see the benefits of a single card GPU.

 

[Corky]

hey hawk, since you went 460 sli what PSU w did you get? I'm thinking about getting a 2nd 460 in the future ( first I need to get the 1st one ._. ) but I'm not sure wether or not my 650w corsair psu is up for it.

 

[brain_stew]

if someone was making a 460 rig though do you think it would be worth the extra $100~ in motherboard and psu upgrades to open the door to sli for future upgrading?

Meh, probably not.

SLI isn't a very good upgrade path.

 

[Lonely1]

if someone was making a 460 rig though do you think it would be worth the extra $100~ in motherboard and psu upgrades to open the door to sli for future upgrading?

Even if you aren't going to sli, you might want the extra PCiE 2.0 x8-16 slot for physics or other stuff in the future. I tried to go the cheap route and got a an only 1xPCiE board and have been regretting it ever since.

 

[brain_stew]

hey hawk, since you went 460 sli what PSU w did you get? I'm thinking about getting a 2nd 460 in the future ( first I need to get the 1st one ._. ) but I'm not sure wether or not my 650w corsair psu is up for it.

It definitely is, though you'll probably have to ditch the GTS 250 along the way.

 

[Tain]

AYO NEOGAF

Roommate of mine is planning on dropping roughly 1600 on a PC.

Make it magic. Wants a hex core.

He already ordered the HDD.

It's a lot of cash, so I'm not really sure where to start.

 

[brain_stew]

if you can wing the extra $80 I'd go with the 470. They can be had for around $300 on newegg (after rebate). It looks like newegg raised the price the EVGA 470. A couple days ago you could get it for $280 after the mail in rebate.

They did!? I bet me recommending that card so many times in this thread has more than a little something to do with that! :lol

I need to start charging commision.

 

[Omiee]

hmm well im just gonna go for the 480 than and hope for the best.
i still dont understand why people are against 460 sli when it clearly is faster than a 480 on benchmarks.