Odious Tea
Member
I was wondering if it was just me that noticed a resurgence in interest.chespace said:
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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
Odious Tea said:
I think it's pretty cyclical. PC tech is at a point now where it is so cheap to build a rig that is SO MUCH more powerful than a 360 that the idea in itself is super appealing. 2 or 3 years ago it would cost $800+ to build a PC moderately more powerful than a 360 but now you can build one for ~$500 that blows it out of the water. It's just the way things are. When Xbox 720/PS4 come out you'll see threads like this die fast.
Ecto311
Member
I bet it has been covered a million times but search doesn't want to let me search just this thread unless I am missing something so here it is:
If I upgrade my CPU do I have to reinstall windows 7? If that is the case do I need to uninstall so I don't count against my 3 installs on my set? Thanks for any advice.
If I upgrade my CPU do I have to reinstall windows 7? If that is the case do I need to uninstall so I don't count against my 3 installs on my set? Thanks for any advice.
BravoSuperStar
Member
Ecto311 said:
No you shouldnt have to reinstall windows if you upgrade your CPU.
evil solrac v3.0
Member
Amir0x said:With the help of some e-friends, they totally helped me gather the parts together to start the process of FINALLY getting a up-to-date PC.
I've ordered most of the parts, and some have already arrived.
The final bits...
Sony Optiarc Drive (Link)
Intel 80GB SSD Harddrive (Link)
Western Digital 1TB Internal Harddrive (Link)
Antec Twelve Hundred Case (Link)
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX Power Supply (Link)
Gigabyte ex58-HD5 motherboard (Link)
Intel i7 930 Processor - Quad Core x 2.8ghz (Link)
6GB of Corsair DDR3 RAM (Link)
Ati 5870 Graphics Card (Link)
+
Windows 7 (Link)
A Monitor (range $300 or so) that I haven't picked out yet
New KB+Mouse
New Speakers
All in all it's gonna cost me around $2500, but I know it's gonna feel good to finally have a PC that can let my inner graphics whore out again.
Also, a bit overwhelmed. Never really built my own PC and this stuff looks intimidating. Should be a fun experience. I won't be overclocking or anything, just playing it straight.
for a monitor i liked this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254043
SEGAvangelist
Member
This thread has me itching for a video card upgrade...
I'm so close to going for one of those shiny 5850s. I booted up Shattered Horizon and Crysis again and I just need more horsepower.
I'm so close to going for one of those shiny 5850s. I booted up Shattered Horizon and Crysis again and I just need more horsepower.
TheLegendary
Member
Sorry for possibly retreading old ground but are laptops a valid option for "serious" PC gaming? I'm interested in starting to get back into PC gaming but I don't want to have to buy a desktop PC for it when the trend has been towards mobility and I'm frankly just spoiled by my laptop.
How much is truly upgradeable on a laptop? I know that my old Dell the graphics card (even though it was an ATI card) was fixed to the mobo. Maybe that has more to do with it being a Dell but I assume that's the case with many laptops.
I already know I'd be sacrificing the latest and greatest processors and cards etc by gaming on a laptop...but I was just curious what the state of laptop gaming is. I know a few years ago there was a lot of promise around the market.
How much is truly upgradeable on a laptop? I know that my old Dell the graphics card (even though it was an ATI card) was fixed to the mobo. Maybe that has more to do with it being a Dell but I assume that's the case with many laptops.
I already know I'd be sacrificing the latest and greatest processors and cards etc by gaming on a laptop...but I was just curious what the state of laptop gaming is. I know a few years ago there was a lot of promise around the market.
diztrukted
Member
Kosma said:
thank god for that, as i am just getting back into pc gaming after a long hiatus playing (dare I say it) console games.
Also, any recommendations on a good mouse and keyboard?
diztrukted
Member
TheLegendary said:
if you have the money, alienware make pretty solid gaming laptops and netbooks (used one @ PAX and played assassins creed 2 and it ran pretty well)
TheLegendary
Member
diztrukted said:
Oh right, forgot about those. Those certainly can game...but yea, I was hoping to avoid those super gaudy Alienware ones. For me that sort of defeats the purpose of a laptop because I'd never ever want to bring that thing with me when I go somewhere. Not to mention that I believe they only offer them in 17" which is almost to the point where it's no longer portable (not really...but those are massive).
I guess I'm just asking is the typical high end laptop able to game decently and more importantly are there ones that are upgradeable. My main function for my next computer isn't necessarily gaming (obviously, if I'm going to get a laptop), but I don't want to be shut out of playing some PC games by buying a laptop.
diztrukted
Member
TheLegendary said:
actually the netbook one doesn't look alien-y (is that a word?)
http://gizmodo.com/5442711/dell-alienware-m11x-is-their-first-ultraportable-gaming-netbook
Spiderjericho
Member
catfish said:
More of a general question. I'm thinking of upgrading my desktop. Do you think if I took the old parts, a Q6600, Radeon 4890, 6 GB of RAM, retarded Xifi (I'm not a fan of their products, especially all of the software it installs onto your PC) and two hard drives and threw them in a HTPC case, would it create an internal heating nightmare?
brain_stew
Member
Konosuke said:
The 5770, the 5830 is a complete POS. Since you can afford a 5830, I'd have a look at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102885&cm_re=5850-_-14-102-885-_-Product
Its a 5850 with custom cooling that comes with a free copy of Modern Warfare 2 and since that's a Steamworks title that retails at $60 you should have no trouble selling it for $40/$50 either here or Ebay. Brings the 5850 into 5830 territory price wise.
Edit: Though if you don't plan to upgrade that monitor in the next year or two, the 5770 will of course serve you just fine.
brain_stew
Member
Weenerz said:
There was never any GTX 280s released with 512MB of RAM afaik, so double check that in GPU-Z. Honestly, I don't think there's anything that warrants an upgrade from a GTX 280 atm, the new 4GB 5970s, maybe.
brain_stew
Member
diztrukted said:
MX518 for the mouse, can't be beat for the price, it was available for like $25 the other day, it still might be, have a look a few pages back.
You'll find pretty much everyone in this thread plays console games to some degree, so i don't see why you'd be "afraid" to admit that.
Spiderjericho said:
They're certainly not ideal HTPC components, that's for sure. It would depend on the case, airflow and whether or not you're using a nice custom HS/F for your CPU/GPU. It can definitely be done, but you'll have to think it through.
brain_stew
Member
TheLegendary said:
Even if you do have an upgradable graphics slot, finding a replacement that is reasonably priced and then fitting it is about 10x as difficult as it is for a desktop. You'd be making huge sacrifices on performance and mobility and paying more. I'd personally recommend picking up a CULV machine + a custom desktop, you'll get both better mobility and performance though this isn't ideal for everyone, I know.
It must be noted that you won't be playing any high powered games "on the go" with a "gaming notebook" you're still going to need a power outlet nearby unless you want the battery to be sucked dry in 30 minutes.
TheLegendary
Member
brain_stew said:
Thanks, that's what I figured.
I knew I wouldnt actually be able to game on the go. But I'd be using the laptop for business or other functions while away from home and then have it plugged in at home when I want to game.
Hanns-G is ok as a brand, but I wouldn't go for that monitorAmir0x said:
or the brand
What are you looking for? More specifically, what kind of gaming are you doing, FPS or not? And by the way, I'm not a fan of NewEgg's monitor policy involving dead pixels, returns, and whatnot. If you can, I would say look for a different place.
Amir0x said:
As far as I know, and I don't know much, there is literally no downside to overclocking and all you're doing is getting more for your money. Third party coolers are no expensive, and even if you want to run a stock speeds at the beginning, at least the option to overlock is always there as your rig gets older.
5770 if you are gaming at 1280x1024 for over a year...
Use the money saved to upgrade.
*Also if you are spending that much on an all out rig there is no reason not to get a custom cooler.
Cooler and quieter. Plus you can overclock
There are so many built in safety catches today that it is really hard to mess anything up. Let alone kill a component.
Use the money saved to upgrade.
*Also if you are spending that much on an all out rig there is no reason not to get a custom cooler.
Cooler and quieter. Plus you can overclock
There are so many built in safety catches today that it is really hard to mess anything up. Let alone kill a component.
Melhisedek
Member
Any info on possible ATi price cuts or refresh perhaps? Have this 8800GT that is not cutting it anymore and I hoped that GF 400 would be my next card but I think I'll go with 5850 instead if there are no price cuts or refreshes happening soonish
Amir0x said:
Modern hardware is to a large extent built with overclocking in mind. The days of fiddling with jumpers or altering the chip itself are long behind us.
Install everything like you normally would, but don't overclock. Once you're happy that all components works with each other and ran some stress tests (i.e. you're certain your system is stable), go into your BIOS and gradually increase the clocks. A modern BIOS will allow you to make tiny incremental changes. You may even find some pre-set overclocking schemes. Focus on increasing the clock first, only up the voltages when the clock won't go higher.
Then reboot, run some stress tests (or games) and watch the temperatures. Rinse and repeat until you get errors or you feel enough is enough.
I'm looking to buy a new base platform as well and it will be very similar to yours. That stuff should last you for years, especially if you can squeeze a bit more out of it.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
Spiderjericho said:
Probably, my case above is low profile and as brain_stew pointed out, new cheap motherboards (around 50$ mark) do hdmi native out and can take care of blueray playback without that 4890.
Also, 2Gb of ram is all that's needed for an HTPC. Especially if you put ubuntu and XBMC on it (which is easy to do and works amazingly well)
You could keep the vid card and 4Gb ram (or sell them) and get a functional media centre.
However, you could get the largest case around that's still an HTPC case and maybe be OK?
if you sold of those components, you could then probably drop one of the harddrives out as well and invest in some network storage.
network storage and a gigabit router and gig cards in the storage and HTPC = endless storage options without packing the case of the HTPC or ever needing to upgrade its internal storage. It runs hi-def content flawlessly over a 1Gb link, I've just been testing it. Wouldn't recommend 100Mb though (think it probably would still be alright)
Baloonatic
Member
Would my E8400 act as a bottleneck if I got a 5850? I tried overclocking it but it got too hot. I need a new case I think, mine is about 6 years old.
Orellio said:
I have to agree with this, and also throw in the fact that Blizzard is finally releasing another game. The last time I upgraded my PC was when World of Warcraft was released (which I think is the last game Blizzard released until the upcoming SC2). I built my new rig last week with the help of PC GAF for ~$600, and I couldn't be happier with it. I've been going back through all my Steam classics replaying them on high settings. Some games (CoH, STALKER) I couldn't even play on my old rig, but bought because of Steam sales :lol
I also wanted to point out that having a relevant gaming PC has made my decision making process MUCH more difficult. Do I buy my games on the PC or my 360? The 360 has the majority of my friends for online play, achievements, no hassle setup, controller/TV/couch, and a nice selection of Arcade games.
The PC on the other hand has far superior graphics, far superior controls for shooters, free internet play, better online communities, cheaper games, Steam, Valve, Blizzard, and mostly free content downloads (although this is changing).
So far I think I've decided I will only play Valve games on the PC. And then there are a host of games you can only play on PC such as STALKER, Crysis, MMOs, etc... However, even though I have a capable rig now, I will stick to the 360 for games like Mass Effect, Fallout, and Bioshock. Following those games development, it was clear they were being made for the console crowd.
metareferential
Member
Uhm, so: hypothetical scenario.
If I wanted to jump on the 3D-wagon and - say - playing on a 3D projector (a 1280x720 hdmi 120hz one), which gpu should I pick, starting with a Core i5, 4x 2.66 GHz and 4gb ddr3?
Since it's nvidia-only, I really don't know.
If I wanted to jump on the 3D-wagon and - say - playing on a 3D projector (a 1280x720 hdmi 120hz one), which gpu should I pick, starting with a Core i5, 4x 2.66 GHz and 4gb ddr3?
Since it's nvidia-only, I really don't know.
metareferential
Member
Minsc said:
Eh, I knew this answer would have come, sooner or later :lol
On a more serious note: I'm a bit scared about reliability and power consumption; is there a viable alternative? Like - I'm completely guessing here - a 2xx SLI of sort?
PatzCU said:
You're right about Bioshock (PC Bioshock was a very lazy port), but your other examples have signifcant benefits when played on PC. ME had a very nicely adjusted PC port and the same type of changes that were modded in for Morrowind and Oblivion will occur with Fallout 3.
anonymousAversa
Member
metareferential said:
Don't have an SLI setup myself but I'm fairly sure SLI will consume more power than a single card, although the new NVidia cards are beastly...
brain_stew
Member
metareferential said:
Honestly, at 720p a factory overclocked GTX 260 would do unless you're the sort of gamer that demands 60fps in everything you play. This is a decent deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433&cm_re=gtx_260-_-14-130-433-_-Product
Lifetime warranty, nice factory overclock and a free copy of SFIV/RE5/Dark void.
Though ideally a GTX 470 is what you want, avoid SLI.
brain_stew
Member
PatzCU said:
Why though? What does "console focused" mean anyway? They all play and look significantly better on the PC and are cheaper with free online so why hobble yourself with a console version? If you feel they play better on a pad, then go ahead, the majority of multi platform releases these days have perfect 360 controller support anyway.
The idea of there being certain games that aren't "suited" to being played on the PC is just silly really, its capable of improving games from every genre available and often does. Just look at Just Cause 2, that's a distinctly "console" game by most measures but it looks and performs much better on even moderate PC hardware, it controls better, its cheaper to buy and its a whole load more fun because of the awesome mods that are popping up. By what measure does it being a "console focused" game in any way change the fact that the PC version is just flat out better by every reasonable measure?
I've said it before but for me, in an ideal world every game would be released on the PC, I only use consoles these days because they have exclusive games but I'd rather play all those games on the PC given the option because cheaper prices, better hardware and more control options can and do benefit just about any game under the sun. The excellent 360 controller support that's now standard has gone a long way in making my consoles close to redundant, my PC is just better at being a console than any of my consoles ever were, oh and it plays all those nice and complex, unique PC games as well.
Minsc
Gold Member
brain_stew said:
What's the point of spending all that money for the setup if you need to turn down the graphic settings in your games otherwise suffer 20ish framerates? Loading up Metro 2033 after buying all that stuff would frustrate the crap out of me, make me feel like I wasted my money.
I guess if you were willing to turn off details to get acceptable framerates, but with newer games like Metro, Risen, STALKER, Crysis, and upcoming games like Witcher 2 (which sport the "best graphics in an RPG to date"), you'll be turning back options real far to get those comfortable framerates.
Here's a pretty good review, only from a few weeks ago:
Definitely how I feel on the matter, though some GTX 480 3DVision benches may change my mind.
Edit:
That's something I didn't realize... just by running the 3DVision version of the game, the graphic settings are reduced without even touching the game's options. Maybe that's why some game's don't suffer as much a hit in 3DVision mode as others?
Hey guys, I'll be building a new rig for college in mid july/early August, when I have the cash. I'm trying to spend as little as possible on a rig that will last me two years without any upgrading; hoping to play every game (with maybe the exception of crysis) at max settings, 1080p, and at least 30 fps. What sort of price range am I looking at here?
brain_stew
Member
Minsc said:
He's planning on using a 720p projector though, performance @ 1680x1050 or 1080p isn't really all that relevant. I use an OCed GTX 260 @ 1080p and I'm more than satisfied with my performance in most games. You'd be getting similar performance @ 720p with 3D Vision to what I get @ 1080p and I guarantee that'd be more than enough for most.
The GTX 470 is a decent enough deal at $350 though, if he can pick up one at that price.
ACE 1991 said:
$600. 5770 Athlon X4 630, 4GB DDR3, 770/785G AM3 motherboard.
metareferential
Member
brain_stew said:
Well, it could be a decent temporary solution, the gtx 260. And it's quite cheap too, which is a plus (though when building a new rig from scratch and buying a new 3d monitor or a projector a couple of hundred dollars are not going to make a difference either).
I'll wait to see the prices for the gtx 470 here in good old Europe (though outside of euroland and crazy-vat-land xD).
Minsc said:
A little compromize has to be made, I guess. But then you're right too, having a proper machine and not being able to exploit it fully could result in some frustration.
Here's a pretty good review, only from a few weeks ago:
Minsc said:
But then again the article gets the point: 3D now is as temporary as a solution could be. So maybe brain_stew has a point suggesting a gtx 260.
On the other hand, should the 3D mode cost too much graphic fidelity, with a gtx4xx I could always turn off 3d and crank up everything else.
And the electricity bill as well xD
IMACOMPUTA
Member
TheLegendary said:
I'll have to second the Alienware m11x.
(I'm actually using mine right now)
It's really amazing for what it is.
It's an 11.6 inch gaming "netbook" (actually an ultra-portable)
I can get almost 10 hours of battery life after tweaking settings. (not gaming)
When gaming i can get around 3 hours. It depends on what you want though, if you're interested in mega battery life and decent gaming capabilities, this thing is a no-brainer. Otherwise you might be better off finding a 15.6" Asus gaming laptop.
For what its worth i can run Crysis Warhead @ 30fps average on medium.. UT3 at 60 fps on standard settings.. pretty much any GPU intensive games run VERY well, while CPU bound games have some trouble.
I absolutely love this little guy though, it's in a class of its own as far as build quality and feel.