DanDeschain
Member
I am building a budget gaming pc and going with the i5 750. Will be ordering in a couple of days and I need a mobo rec as the link in the OP is no longer available.
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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
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drhankmccoyphd
Member
Are any recent budget AMD builders considering upgrading to a Phenom X6 in the next few months? I'm seriously contemplating an upgrade from my AII X3 that I got for $60 with newegg bundles. the reason being that I've spent an ungodly amount of time with GTA4 and with the DLC coming I might just bite the bullet. Are there any other CPU intensive games coming down the pipe to make me feel better about that purchase?
IMACOMPUTA
Member
I went cheap on my motherboard and got an Asus p7p55d LE. Had it since sept. and its great so far, but i maybe should have gone for the pro or deluxe version instead of LE.DanDeschain said:
No problems overclocking with it either.
brain_stew said:
Okay, awesome. Would it make a huge difference to spring for one of the i5's, or will that significantly jack up the price?
EDIT: looks like putting an i5 750 will add about $100 more to the price. Will that $100 make a significant enough difference to warrant spending the extra bones? Thanks!
I'm pretty sure the consensus is that if you're just focused on gaming performance, you may as well go AMD and spend the money you save elsewhere (or pocket it). If you plan on using the PC for CPU intensive tasks (video encoding, PS2 emulation, etc), then the extra price for the Intel i5/i7 might be worth your time.
Ultimately, I went with an i5/5770 combo since I'm hooking it up to the HDTV @ 720p (maybe upgrade to a 1080p soon), and I do a lot of media encoding.
It all depends on your needs.
Or you can go the Amirox route and just go top-of-the-line across the board. A lot simpler, and quite effective, just not cheap. :lol
Ultimately, I went with an i5/5770 combo since I'm hooking it up to the HDTV @ 720p (maybe upgrade to a 1080p soon), and I do a lot of media encoding.
It all depends on your needs.
Or you can go the Amirox route and just go top-of-the-line across the board. A lot simpler, and quite effective, just not cheap. :lol
Follow up...
I think I found my perfect match.... ASUS N61JQ-X1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM
Newegg Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220696
Bitch of the thing is that it weighs 6.5 pounds... but I am coming from using a Core i7 Desktop system w/ a GTX 285.... so this looks to fit my needs in terms of performance.
I think I found my perfect match.... ASUS N61JQ-X1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM
Newegg Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220696
Bitch of the thing is that it weighs 6.5 pounds... but I am coming from using a Core i7 Desktop system w/ a GTX 285.... so this looks to fit my needs in terms of performance.
brain_stew
Member
Pctx said:Follow up...
I think I found my perfect match.... ASUS N61JQ-X1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM
Newegg Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220696
Bitch of the thing is that it weighs 6.5 pounds... but I am coming from using a Core i7 Desktop system w/ a GTX 285.... so this looks to fit my needs in terms of performance.
The GPU is a 5730 which is a 128 bit GPU with GDDR3 memory so its actually slower than even a 9600GT in terms of desktop parts. Its a >$1000 machine with gaming performance significantly worse than what you'd get from a $100 desktop GPU with limited or no GPU upgrade options. Its no bad, but it is what it is.
Since someone mentioned Dell's 11" gaming machine its worth noting Anand just reviewed it here:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3620/alienware-m11x-worlds-smallest-gaming-laptop/4
Between the two I'd definitely take the Dell, about 3x as much battery life, considerably more portable and gaming performance isn't all that different once you OC the processor in the BIOS. I'd still recommend a super portable CULV machine + a ~$600 desktop of course (maybe in a m-atx or m-itx case) for the same money as just one of these machines but I think the Dell is the better compromise, personally. Amazingly it actually can game on the go for two hours.
Façade said:
well except you can burn shit out. I just know I'll fuck the process up! This shit is too expensive...
I mean:
Scipius said:
...he makes it sound easy. Maybe it is. But I wouldn't know how to do any of this. Plus, there's no way I am going to have the patience to sit there tweaking BIOS clock speed and watching for stability and temperature issues.
Just not my thing.
Darkatomz said:
Definitely all types of genres. Certainly, FPS will be a big one. Minimal ghosting plz.
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:
I have a very similar machine to you, almost exact same specs, and I was the same way. No intention of overclocking. It is very, very fast with no overclock, the quad-core i7s destroy everything that comes their way, especially just when you're doing casual PC tasks. It will be a huge improvement over whatever you had before, so don't feel any pressure to overclock!
After a month or so went by, I got curious and went to my bios, and there was an auto-overclock feature. It's literally (no joke) one simple, single item. You pick if you want a low, medium, or high overclock, and it does the rest.
I tried medium, it worked fine, I rebooted, and switched to high, and have been using the high setting ever since.
You worry about the CPU frying, well, just get the free app, real temp, even if you don't over clock, I'd recommend it. It sits in your system tray like this:
And you know your CPU is 34C. With the i7s, it's safe to get to around 80C at load for 24/7 use.
Before my overclock I was in the upper 20s idle, and now it's the mid 30s, and around the upper 60s at 100% load, so no worry about frying anything! It's all quite safe, once you've become comfortable, and it certainly helped my BIOS had an "easy button."
You should look (even if only briefly) in to the 120hz displays if you're buying a new monitor. At the very least you'd have the advantage of quicker refresh rates, so less ghosting and smoother motion. Then if you ever want to play around with 3D Vision down the road you're all set!
I don't know if you ordered your parts yet, but if you are interested in 3D gaming at all, a GTX 470 is probably a viable alternative to a 5870 (I got my 5870 before the Fermi line was out, back in Dec.).
BravoSuperStar
Member
cory said:
Could be fan/heatsink issues. I'd take it out and clean it up with compressed air, make sure the heatsink is still secure.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
So ive been saving up a little bit of money for some upgrades and im almost there. i have a P5N-E SLI thats been running a 6320 for what seems like forever and my money situation (or lack of) has been depressing for a PC gamer like me that used to upgrade all the time.
The CPU im going to upgrade to is the 8400 and i plan to clock it up a bit.. was going to get a 9505 since thats officially on the boards cpu support list now but its $100 more, wont OC as well, and from what i read is kind of finicky on the nforce chipsets.
Anyway.. the question i have is about video cards. i currently have an 8600 GTS and have been looking into getting either an nvidia 240 or 250. i know the ATI cards are better deals but ive always been very skittish on hardware/driver issues since i had a hellish experience with the V770 :lol i dont mind sacrificing a little power or a little cash if it means stability. From everything ive read it seems the 240 or 250 would be a decent upgrade for the price.. is this correct? Is there anything else out there that would be good for the price/performance ratio that im missing?
The CPU im going to upgrade to is the 8400 and i plan to clock it up a bit.. was going to get a 9505 since thats officially on the boards cpu support list now but its $100 more, wont OC as well, and from what i read is kind of finicky on the nforce chipsets.
Anyway.. the question i have is about video cards. i currently have an 8600 GTS and have been looking into getting either an nvidia 240 or 250. i know the ATI cards are better deals but ive always been very skittish on hardware/driver issues since i had a hellish experience with the V770 :lol i dont mind sacrificing a little power or a little cash if it means stability. From everything ive read it seems the 240 or 250 would be a decent upgrade for the price.. is this correct? Is there anything else out there that would be good for the price/performance ratio that im missing?
Minsc
Gold Member
Colkate said:
Went from a 920 @ 2.66Ghz > ~965 speeds @ 3.33Ghz. I think the preset name "high" might be a bit exaggerated, as there's plenty of people with 4+GHz overclocks, I'm quite a bit away from that.
But I have a SFF case, so that's technically working against me and my temps!
Minsc said:I have a very similar machine to you, almost exact same specs, and I was the same way. No intention of overclocking. It is very, very fast with no overclock, the quad-core i7s destroy everything that comes their way, especially just when you're doing casual PC tasks. It will be a huge improvement over whatever you had before, so don't feel any pressure to overclock!
After a month or so went by, I got curious and went to my bios, and there was an auto-overclock feature. It's literally (no joke) one simple, single item. You pick if you want a low, medium, or high overclock, and it does the rest.
I tried medium, it worked fine, I rebooted, and switched to high, and have been using the high setting ever since.
You worry about the CPU frying, well, just get the free app, real temp, even if you don't over clock, I'd recommend it. It sits in your system tray like this:
And you know your CPU is 34C. With the i7s, it's safe to get to around 80C at load for 24/7 use.
Before my overclock I was in the upper 20s idle, and now it's the mid 30s, and around the upper 60s at 100% load, so no worry about frying anything! It's all quite safe, once you've become comfortable, and it certainly helped my BIOS had an "easy button."
Dude, I don't even know how to go into my BIOS. I'm not curious about that shit. I just want a PC that turns on and does pretty visuals when I want it to. Without the effort! Or any additional cooling systems! If something goes wrong I would fucking shit breaks. Then I'd be totally helpless because I wouldn't even begin to know how to troubleshoot anything. And then, I'd have to hook this dumb crappy PC up again just to post a rant about how shitty building PCs are and that I should never have tried to overclock anything!
I just want peaceful, no trouble build with no complications. Just plug shit in, and press power. Then forget! :lol
Minsc said:
Recommend some decent 120hz displays for me if you have any in mind (please). I never really went shopping for Monitors before, usually I just got whatever pre-selected crap came with the retailer prebuilds.
Minsc said:
Nah I think 3D is retarded and ruins visuals.
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:
Sounds like you're going to enjoy your build then, and not get any temptations like I ended up getting. I think ATi cards suit people who don't like to tweak stuff better, as you have fewer options with them. The simplicity (lack of options) doesn't bother me.
The thing about monitors is, as soon as you spend ~$250 or more, I don't know anyone who ends up with a monitor they don't love. I'm not sure what size you're after, but bigger is better! Go with a 22-24" 1080p monitor, that's generally the sweet spot for a 5870, the 30" 2560x1600 ones can end up being too much for that card.
Dell makes really great monitors. If I were buying a monitor today, I'd probably do what I did before, and find a great deal from a local store, unless there was an amazing deal online. It turned out my monitor was defective, so I was able to replace it the same day I bought it, which was nice. It would have been annoying to deal with shipping, etc.
What's your price range again? Sorry if I missed it earlier... monitors can range from $200 or so, to $600+
Intel Core i5-520M 2.40GHz (2.93Ghz Turbo Mode, 3M cache)
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
15.6Inch Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 512MB
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Disk Drive
Windows 7 OS
I'm mostly curious about the GPU. How good, or awful, is it?
In addition to that, what would be the best use for this laptop? I mean, what could this laptop be good at, where could it's strengths most shine?
It's my niece's laptop, she got it a bout 2 weeks ago. I'd liek to know what she can do with it, how it can be productive... aside from school work.
She asked if I could get her a game, though I'm not really into PC gaming.
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
15.6Inch Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 512MB
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Disk Drive
Windows 7 OS
I'm mostly curious about the GPU. How good, or awful, is it?
In addition to that, what would be the best use for this laptop? I mean, what could this laptop be good at, where could it's strengths most shine?
It's my niece's laptop, she got it a bout 2 weeks ago. I'd liek to know what she can do with it, how it can be productive... aside from school work.
She asked if I could get her a game, though I'm not really into PC gaming.
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:
I know exactly what I'm going to recommend, and it's even avaliable at Best Buy for a good price, $300, right at your budget.
There was a bit of a debate between IPS and TN monitors around post 3550 +/-, and Druz could not have enough great things to say about what a great monitor the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370.
Obviously it may be cheaper elsewhere, but an excerpt from a quick review:
Sounds like exactly what you're after (only real big negative is it seems it has a little bit of a flaky base/stand). Druz will certainly stand behind it! :lol
Edit: And don't expect to always just throw everything to max... even a 5870 will struggle from time to time (except for Blizzard/Valve/Indie games)! Crysis will still tear it apart if you go to the enthusiast settings, and a couple of other games too (like Metro), where they cater to the people running the craziest setups like the 5970 or 2 graphic cards.
brain_stew
Member
ImperialConquest said:
No.
Edit: Oh she's got it already, ouch laptops with a competent GPU are usually very similarly priced to those with a 4570 and give like 3x the performance in games. It'll play stuff but you're going to have to crank those settings right down.
Play at 720p or 1024x600 with GPU scaling.
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:Those 5970's are sold out everywhere damn it!
What happened to investing? :lol
They're serious cards, and rely on game profiles via drivers to support them properly (same with any SLI/XFire setup), since they're basically 2 cards in a single card.. Very few people on GAF have better than a 5870, and those that do have it in the form of a 295 or 4870x2 (*cough* DennisK4), or see below:
You could always just add a second 5870 down the road it even beats the 5970 according to anandtech... once you get in to dual cards you get micro-stuttering, which some people will say stay away from and others won't notice. Don't have any experience with SLI/XFire myself.
Amir0x said:
It is easy because it's been made easy by the manufacturers. But yes, if you don't have the confidence for it, don't do it, at least not for now. You can always try it once you're more accustomed to what your PC can and can't do.
By the way, are you going to assemble it yourself? Because entering the BIOS would certainly come in handy should you encounter some problems.
brain_stew
Member
Amir0x said:Those 5970's are sold out everywhere damn it!
I definitely wouldn't recommend a 5970. Too many potential headaches, too many drawbacks and that 1GB framebuffer is huge bottleneck waiting to happen. There's no way a console gamer is going to be disappointed with the performance of a 5870 (or 5850 for that matter), its a beast.
brain_stew
Member
Masaki_ said:
Very decent if you can pick one up around the $100 mark. Otherwise you're better off just going with a 5770 imo. Performs about the same as a 4850/GTS 250/5750.
Look elsewhere if you're playing in 1080p or above.
Edit: Amirox, there's a 5870 up for $390 on a 24 hour special right now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883&cm_re=5870-_-14-102-883-_-Product
ImperialConquest said:
It's a decent mid-range mobile GPU. You're looking most games running on medium settings with decent but not great framerates. Worst case scenario it will run any game fine on lower settings and it will run any older games very well. My notebook is running on a GPU about half as powerful and I still make use of it gaming although games like L4D must be set at minimum settings in order to be playable. How much did the laptop cost?
Masaki_ said:
It has pretty similar performance to the 4850 if that gives you more perspective. Fairly high end for last generation. For 1680x1050 of ME2 on max settings it's a tough call. It might pull it off or it might leave you a little under max framerate. The GTS 250 can be found for a smiliar price to the 4770 lately but out-performs it. At this moment it's probably a safer bet. Don't worry about crysis, it's a GPU raper at max settings, and even under max it looks terrific.
brain_stew said:
Alright, I'm just looking for a card that can run ME2 and similar games on the highest settings at a 1680x1050 resolution.
Though I noticed the image Minsc posted and I seriously hope the benchmarking was done on max settings.
Edit: Oh, yeah, would the 4770 be considered high-range (by last year's standards, maybe)? Seriously, I so hope it's more than just decent.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
I'm feeling the overclocking dilemma at the moment, too. I've ordered all of my bits, and the temptation to OC my 955 and 5850 is very strong, as I know the 5850 can nearly hit 5870 standards with a bit of work, but I've never before even thought about OCing and since I'm paying £220 for the card I don't exactly want to fuck it up.
Is there a really good step-by-step, for dummies, guide on overclocking? I too never even venture into bios so that alone is daunting.
Is there a really good step-by-step, for dummies, guide on overclocking? I too never even venture into bios so that alone is daunting.
what possible things would i need to tweak? I mean, give me a possible scenario!
I mean, if my hardware works fine, the system should run perfectly well... why should I have to tweak anything or fiddle with anything?
If one of my hardware is not working fine, however, I doubt I'll ever be able to figure out the problem even with GAF guiding me.
I mean, if my hardware works fine, the system should run perfectly well... why should I have to tweak anything or fiddle with anything?
If one of my hardware is not working fine, however, I doubt I'll ever be able to figure out the problem even with GAF guiding me.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
Really? It's that easy?Shambles said:
Awesome. How about CPU overclocking, though? Is there a newbie friendly way of doing that?
Amir0x said:
Ideally you wouldn't need to tweak anything. Modern BIOS have become quite adept at trying to make components work with each other. But in case they don't, the BIOS can at the very least help provide you with some information since it is accessible before the OS loads. You can e.g. check if the CPU temperatures, voltages or fan speeds are in order.
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:
The only trouble I had (and I have a very similar setup) is with the RAM. RAM & Motherboards are extremely finicky at best, and the more RAM you have the more likely (albeit still slim chance) a problem will surface. I hope it all goes smoothly, but I ran in to trouble with my RAM not being seated properly, even though I was sure it was.
I didn't worry one bit about tweaking, and won't, unless there's problems. I didn't tweak a thing, and my system is right in line with all the benches I find online. You can tweak things like voltage and RAM timings, but I'd just as soon not myself.
After you install windows, don't use your CD to install your GPU drivers, they will be outdated! Definitely just go to AMD/ATI's homepage and download the 10.3 drivers off their site.
brain_stew
Member
If something's wrong, 9 times out of 10 it'll be one of your RAM sticks.
Make sure you get the latest Catalyst drivers, should be 10.3 now.
Oh and I'd recommend setting up D3DOverrider if tearing irritates you, seehere.
You got yourself a 360 wireless dongle? Most games support it natively, plug and play with icons and everything these days so its great to have one around for games that aren't suited to the kb+m. Amazon sell the controller + dongle in a pack for $40, a wired 360 controller will work plug and play of course.
Don't install Steam on your SSD.
Check and double check everything before booting and don't be afraid to read the manual. Work in a static free environment (i.e. not on a carpet) and discharge yourself regularly.
Make sure you're using the brass standoffs for your motherboard.
Installing the heatsink will probably be the hardest part, don't be afraid to use a little force here.
Download FRAPs so you can post in the PC screenshot thread!
Make sure you get the latest Catalyst drivers, should be 10.3 now.
Oh and I'd recommend setting up D3DOverrider if tearing irritates you, seehere.
You got yourself a 360 wireless dongle? Most games support it natively, plug and play with icons and everything these days so its great to have one around for games that aren't suited to the kb+m. Amazon sell the controller + dongle in a pack for $40, a wired 360 controller will work plug and play of course.
Don't install Steam on your SSD.
Check and double check everything before booting and don't be afraid to read the manual. Work in a static free environment (i.e. not on a carpet) and discharge yourself regularly.
Make sure you're using the brass standoffs for your motherboard.
Installing the heatsink will probably be the hardest part, don't be afraid to use a little force here.
Download FRAPs so you can post in the PC screenshot thread!
Technosteve
Banned
Amir0x said:
you need a flash drive to update your Bios and run memtest86+ you should burn in your pc so you can see if any parts of your pc is bad.
Technosteve said:
Read what he's said earlier, let's not make it harder than it needs to be (like flashing the BIOS).
Now, this is entirely optional, but RAM issues can sometimes be avoided by checking which memory sticks the motherboard vendor has tested your motherboard with. Gigabyte is a major vendor, so they should have some overviews on their website, or even printed in the manual.
If your memory isn't listed, that's not to say they won't work (there's thousands of memory sticks out there; too many to test them all), but if it is listed, it will give you assurance your memory sticks (or similar variants from the same memory vendor) have at least been tested.
That said, I don't think you'll have an issue with this. Corsair is a well-known brand, not some no-name RAM vendor.
GHG
Member
Masaki_ said:
It was mid range. I had one before I built my new rig about a month ago. Very good card for the money. They run cool, are very quiet and have good performence to boot. It should cope with most things you throw at it provided you don't get too ambitious with the resolution and keep the AA settings dialed down.
They overclock like beasts as well with ease. I had mine clocked to 4870 performence levels and it never missed a beat. The best ATI card for a long time IMO when it comes to price/performence ratio.