I just budgeted ~$200 to replace my video card, an aging Radeon x1950 Pro. I've bought ATI my whole life, but Adobe software has a huge bias towards nVidia cards. I'm thinking of going with the BFG GeForce GTX 260 Overclocked MAXCORE -- $190cdn right now at TigerDirect. I've noticed that the card's already a couple years old, though. In short: for the $200 price, am I going to be happy with it, or are there other cards in that price range that I should be considering?
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
BronzeWolf
Banned
I am building a new PC. These are my objectives:
- Must be able to play Starcraft II 4v4 on max settings
- Must have low profile factor such as microATX
- Must be as silent as possible, as will be used for recordings and HT
- Must be as wireless as possible.
- Must be less than $800 tax and shipping included
- Sometime later next year I'll definitely get a 120GB SSD for my OS and program needs.
So far I've come with this list, but I don't know if there is anything else. I went with amazon for most of the things, but I am linking newegg for specifications
Item Price (shipping + tax)
Apevia X-QPACK X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 micro ATX $95.45
Intel Core i5 750 Processor 2.66 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I5-750BOX $199.99
Gigabyte Micro ATX Motherboard GA-H55M-UD2H - Gigabyte $97.99
500W Power Supply EA-500 - Antec $76.21
MSI ATI Radeon HD5450 1 GB DDR3 Video Card R5450-MD1GH - MSI COMPUTER $72.48
OCZ Gold Edition 2 x 2GB DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) $102.99
LITE-ON 4x Blu-ray Disc SATA Internal Optical Drive iHOS104 $64.99
AZiO AWD102N PCI Wireless Adapter $24.63
12CM Turbo Fan - Thermaltake $11.63
Total $746.36
- Must be able to play Starcraft II 4v4 on max settings
- Must have low profile factor such as microATX
- Must be as silent as possible, as will be used for recordings and HT
- Must be as wireless as possible.
- Must be less than $800 tax and shipping included
- Sometime later next year I'll definitely get a 120GB SSD for my OS and program needs.
So far I've come with this list, but I don't know if there is anything else. I went with amazon for most of the things, but I am linking newegg for specifications
Item Price (shipping + tax)
Apevia X-QPACK X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 micro ATX $95.45
Intel Core i5 750 Processor 2.66 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I5-750BOX $199.99
Gigabyte Micro ATX Motherboard GA-H55M-UD2H - Gigabyte $97.99
500W Power Supply EA-500 - Antec $76.21
MSI ATI Radeon HD5450 1 GB DDR3 Video Card R5450-MD1GH - MSI COMPUTER $72.48
OCZ Gold Edition 2 x 2GB DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) $102.99
LITE-ON 4x Blu-ray Disc SATA Internal Optical Drive iHOS104 $64.99
AZiO AWD102N PCI Wireless Adapter $24.63
12CM Turbo Fan - Thermaltake $11.63
Total $746.36
Well you're going with GTX 260, and don't mind a slightly used one, check the buy/sell threadaasoncott said:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21158152&postcount=25990
aasoncott said:
If you're looking for a 260, g35twinturbo's selling a few for $120 each in the buy/trade/sell thread. Take a look.
EDIT:
BronzeWolf
Banned
esc said:
My monitor display is a Samsung T220HD that has a max display of 1680 x 1050 / 60 Hz
I need my card to be fanless, what other option is there
BronzeWolf
Banned
Xyphie said:
I am open to this idea.
I just don't know if form factor is going to be a problem
I also am thinking of using this case instead
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P7SBPE/?tag=neogaf0e-20
which includes multiple card reading, a thing that I forgot.
What are good video cards that can do the trick?
Here are some benchmarks for SC II running at max settings:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/blizzard-entertainment-starcraft-ii-benchmark,2611-6.html
Btw, some of those cards can be had for $100-150, so you'll be okay for budget. They will not fit in your case however, and they certainly aren't fanless.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/blizzard-entertainment-starcraft-ii-benchmark,2611-6.html
Btw, some of those cards can be had for $100-150, so you'll be okay for budget. They will not fit in your case however, and they certainly aren't fanless.
BronzeWolf
Banned
esc said:
This is great info
Actually, if I think about it, I won't be recording when playing starcraft II, so I don't know how much it makes sense for my system to have a fanless VGU, unless it is super loud at idle.
form factor is an issue
Am I right here?
BronzeWolf
Banned
esc said:
never heard of it... will research
Hey Guys, building a rig from the group up with a 1100 budget able to run pretty much any game. ( Don't need to worry about win 7)
Wonder what you guys think of these parts.
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor $199
CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler $79
ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard $140
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $105
LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X $25
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 $79
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $79
HIS H585F1GDG Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $315
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $49
Comes out to around 1050, thoughts? Thanks for the tips guys!
Wonder what you guys think of these parts.
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor $199
CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler $79
ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard $140
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $105
LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X $25
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 $79
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $79
HIS H585F1GDG Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $315
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $49
Comes out to around 1050, thoughts? Thanks for the tips guys!
vicktormerv said:Hey Guys, building a rig from the group up with a 1100 budget able to run pretty much any game. ( Don't need to worry about win 7)
Wonder what you guys think of these parts.
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor $199
CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler $79
ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard $140
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $105
LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X $25
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 $79
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $79
HIS H585F1GDG Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $315
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $49
Comes out to around 1050, thoughts? Thanks for the tips guys!
Everything looks good to me...but the hard drive. Only 320gb?
hectorse said:
I recommend a P55 GA-P55-UD4 motherboard. An i5-750, 4GB 1333 DDR3, 5770 GPU, Silverstone SG02 case, then what ever HDD, DVD you want.
Getting a speedy 1TB that has 2 500GB platters is a good investment for only $35 more I think.vicktormerv said:Thanks!!, going for something cheap till I can save up for a performance drive, plus I got a couple 500gig externals
You can either use an aftermarket cooler like an Accelero S1 (but this rasies the cards height so it might not fit in your case).hectorse said:
Cards today are decently low noise when not in use, you can always lower the fan speed at which they run at while idle so I wouldn't think it would be a big problem. But levels of silence are relative. You might some better answers over at http://www.silentpcreview.com/ (along with telling them the case / asking for GPU / and silence)
Minsc
Gold Member
esc said:
Fixed for reality (you're still 100% right about the GPU lacking in that build, that needs to be replaced too), you need like a 4GHz+ CPU with hyper-threading to truly max SC2. Generally speaking, a 3GHz+ CPU with 2 cores is a great start, but the game is stupid dependent on CPU speed, and the more the better, with hyper-threading giving you another small fps boost.
aasoncott said:
GTX 465 is coming out in under a month. Would you be upset spending $200 on a GPU which will be a thing of the past in a few weeks? MSRP of the 465 is $250, and it should destroy the 260, in addition to having CUDA i think, and DX11 and all that other jazz Fermi comes with.
vicktormerv said:Hey Guys, building a rig from the group up with a 1100 budget able to run pretty much any game. ( Don't need to worry about win 7)
Wonder what you guys think of these parts.
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor $199
CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler $79
ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard $140
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $105
LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X $25
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 $79
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $79
HIS H585F1GDG Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $315
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $49
Comes out to around 1050, thoughts? Thanks for the tips guys!
A Samsung Spinpoint will be a decent bit faster than that WD Blue, for another $40, and it has 3x the storage! Buy that first, and avoid the need for an external drive for some extra time, it's a PITA to replace a system drive down the road, and the WD Blue will be your weakest link (so would the Spinpoint, but not by nearly as much!).
Minsc said:
I did a little digging on this matter and was quit surprised about the CPU dependence of SCII. But a decent dual core will do and any quad will breeze it in. But there are definite advantages, one of the few games that there are.
Tom's Hardware ran the benchmarks, quit interesting.
THE:MILKMAN
Member
I currently have a HTPC that i now want to add a GFX card to. This is the spec.
E5200
4GB OCZ Memory
500GB WD HDD
460W Coolermaster PSU
Antec NSK2480 HTPC Case
Looking at adding the 5770 but would like to know if it will work well without the need to overclock the CPU.
Just want games to run @30FPS 1080P with IQ that matches the consoles.
Is this a fair ask?
E5200
4GB OCZ Memory
500GB WD HDD
460W Coolermaster PSU
Antec NSK2480 HTPC Case
Looking at adding the 5770 but would like to know if it will work well without the need to overclock the CPU.
Just want games to run @30FPS 1080P with IQ that matches the consoles.
Is this a fair ask?
devilchicken
Member
Minsc said:
Does that mean that i'd be better off returning my 5770 to fry's and waiting for the 465 to come out and go that route instead? Or are the specs somewhat comparable?
That is fair to ask, just OC that little CPU to a nice 3Ghz and you should be solid.THE:MILKMAN said:
Well I'm not expecting it to be sold at $250 with the issues nVidia is having, maybe more like $290 after retailer markup.devilchicken said:
Playing the waiting game is always iffy with GPU's and the 5770 is a fine card in itself.
Perhaps low power consumption is important to you? I'm a sucker for what you can do with nVidia drivers so I go with them usually.
devilchicken
Member
This is starting to get annoying, as now I'm looking at an Ati Sapphire 5830 instead. Only $200 and it seems a better performer/upgrade from a 4870 than a 5770. Of course, I was thinking of getting an msi hawk which can be easily oc'd for a decent performance gain. Should I just spring for the 5830? Decisions, decisions..Hazaro said:Well I'm not expecting it to be sold at $250 with the issues nVidia is having, maybe more like $290 after retailer markup.
Playing the waiting game is always iffy with GPU's and the 5770 is a fine card in itself.
Perhaps low power consumption is important to you? I'm a sucker for what you can do with nVidia drivers so I go with them usually.
Minsc
Gold Member
devilchicken said:
I'd wait until benchmarks hit before spending anything more than $150 on a 3D card. At $200, you could have snagged a GTX 465 for just $50 more, and there may be a large framerate boost over a GTX 260 / 5830. We should see benchmarks by the end of the month I'd guess, and Hazaro is right, to get the $250, you'll probably need to place a pre-order, but to me, buying a $200-$250 GPU right now (unless it's the 5850 for $250) is like buying a iPhone 3GS, when you know full well in just a month the new model will be out.
You are just over thinking it a bit.
You have a 5770 right now. Is it good enough?
If it isn't just keep it and wait for the new card benchies to land.
Sell the 4870 when it comes back from RMA.
I'm sitting on my GTX 260 because I always wait for the sweet spot $200-$250 card to hit that offers a 40-60% boost in fps that I NEED. Right now I'm good with my GTX 260 and Core 2 at 1920x1080. For some that might not be enough and you can look at a 5850/new GTX when benches come out.
You have a 5770 right now. Is it good enough?
If it isn't just keep it and wait for the new card benchies to land.
Sell the 4870 when it comes back from RMA.
I'm sitting on my GTX 260 because I always wait for the sweet spot $200-$250 card to hit that offers a 40-60% boost in fps that I NEED. Right now I'm good with my GTX 260 and Core 2 at 1920x1080. For some that might not be enough and you can look at a 5850/new GTX when benches come out.
my friend brother is considering selling his gtx 295 to buy gtx 480.
i want to buy it to do quad sli with my gtx 295.
the price is quite nice ( 230$ ).
my only main concern is the cpu bottleneck.
i have i7 920 overclocked to 3.6 ( turbo enabled ) + 6 gb ddr3 1333mhz ram.
i don't have problem with power consumption since i bought 1200w thermaltake psu 2 month's ago.
i want to buy it to do quad sli with my gtx 295.
the price is quite nice ( 230$ ).
my only main concern is the cpu bottleneck.
i have i7 920 overclocked to 3.6 ( turbo enabled ) + 6 gb ddr3 1333mhz ram.
i don't have problem with power consumption since i bought 1200w thermaltake psu 2 month's ago.
SundaySounds
Banned
Can someone explain to me why Intel processors are so much better than AMD? How does the Core i5 750, with a clock speed of 2.66Ghz out perform AMD's 6-core processor with a 3.2Ghz clock speed? I simply don't understand.
The Lamonster
Member
Going to install some RAM for the first time tonight.
I heard to leave the PC plugged in and to do it barefoot and make sure to touch the metal case while working so I don't cause a shock.
Is this info correct?
I heard to leave the PC plugged in and to do it barefoot and make sure to touch the metal case while working so I don't cause a shock.
Is this info correct?
I tend to switch the power switch on the psu, but I don't take too many more precautions than that, and I've taken apart and I've messed around with my computer innards more times that I'd like to count.
As long as you're not shuffling around on shag carpet with big woolly socks I wouldn't sweat it.
Also, one thing that I really had to get used to when dealing with RAM (and especially CPUs) was the amount of force required to pop them in properly. As long as you have them lined up properly (there's only one way they can go in) don't be afraid to use a little elbow grease to get them settled properly.
As long as you're not shuffling around on shag carpet with big woolly socks I wouldn't sweat it.
Also, one thing that I really had to get used to when dealing with RAM (and especially CPUs) was the amount of force required to pop them in properly. As long as you have them lined up properly (there's only one way they can go in) don't be afraid to use a little elbow grease to get them settled properly.
The Lamonster
Member
Perfect, thanks dude!Boonoo said:
THE:MILKMAN
Member
Hazaro said:
Ok. Sounds good.
As a complete noob at OC'ing, i need someone to hold my hand!:lol
I understand i'll need to up the FSB and change the memory speed?
I would like to keep this as simple as possible. Don't want to get into changing voltages ect.
Would like very simple instructions to get a stable 3ghz. All the online guides are very confusing....
Gigabyte G31M-ES2L
OCZ TITANIUM PC2-6400
Cheers.
THE:MILKMAN said:
CPU Clock Ratio 12x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio 0.5
CPU Freq 240 (3.00Ghz)
PCI Express Freq 101
Performance Enhance Standard
System memory multiplier 2.66
Cas Latency Time 5
Ras to Cas Delay 5
Ras Precharge 5
Precharge Delat (tras) 15
Advanced Timing Control on all Auto
System Voltage Control Manual
DDR2 Overvoltage Normal
FSB Overvoltage +0.1v
CPU GTLREF Voltage Ratio 0.67
CPU Voltage Control 1.28000v
1) If it crashes raise the voltage
2) When it is stable check the temperature under load using RealTemp + Prime95, ORTHOS, or OCCT
3) Make sure load temp stays under 70C (Wait at least 10-15 minutes)
4) Make sure voltage stays under 1.3V (preferable, low voltage = less heat) You might even be able to get a 2.8Ghz stable at ~1.25V
If the temperature, speed, and voltage are all good let it run loaded for 2 hours or so, then overnight if you are comfortable with your clock speed and have time.
THE:MILKMAN
Member
Thanks a lot hazaro.
I will try it out tomorrow after work. I'll let you know how i get on...
I will try it out tomorrow after work. I'll let you know how i get on...
rohlfinator
Member
What's wrong with the performance at 2.7GHz? Or am I reading the chart wrong?Minsc said:
Felix Lighter
Member
Welp, I just built my PC and now I'm going through the long painful process of downloading drivers and software. Thanks to everyone that helped out. I definitely appreciate it. I think I may consider overclocking at some point. I'd love to get the CPU from 2.80 GHz to something like 3.2 GHz.
Minsc
Gold Member
rohlfinator said:
The performance is still scaling linearly up to 3.2GHz. Linear scaling alongside CPU or GPU means you don't have a fast enough component. :lol Going from 3.2 to 3.7GHz results in half the increase, so as you get towards 4GHz, improvements to CPU speed seem to pay back less than before.
Keep in mind as well, a X4 GHz is inferior to a i7 GHz, as a 2.6GHz i7 comfortably beats a 3.5GHz X4 in Tom's benches.
What's wrong with the ~60fps @ 2.3GHz with a 8-threaded 4-core i7? Well, nothing until you have double the units on the screen as they did in that test! Then you're likely down closer to 30 fps. They only mention they tested a 5-minute 4 player battle, so it's hard to say exactly how stressful the test really was.
I believe the original question was what was necessary for maxing SC2, and I was just pointing out that CPU makes a hell of a difference in that game. Look here, and you'll see at lower resolutions (1080p and below), you're generally CPU bound, as a $150 GPU (5770) scores roughly the same as a $600 one (XFire 5850), while that is not true of the CPU.
Looking to upgrade, but I'm completely clueless about anything hardware related.
Last time I built a PC it was via brain_stew's excellent budget PC guide, starting from scratch.
This time though I'm hoping I won't need to build a completely new PC (bought this one last summer).
If I want to upgrade can I just upgrade a graphics card or will the RAM/CPU have to scale upwards as well?
Last time I built a PC it was via brain_stew's excellent budget PC guide, starting from scratch.
This time though I'm hoping I won't need to build a completely new PC (bought this one last summer).
If I want to upgrade can I just upgrade a graphics card or will the RAM/CPU have to scale upwards as well?
rohlfinator
Member
Ah, gotcha. I guess I just disagree with this:Minsc said:
if you're already over 60fps. There's no point in pushing it further if your screen can't display the difference.
As you said, you can always throw in more units to stress it further. But then, in a game like SC2 with a theoretically unlimited number of units with their own AI, you'll be able to eventually max any CPU with enough units. I guess it's pretty hard to call unless the game has a hard limit on units, and someone benchmarks with that.
You can just upgrade the graphics card. That CPU/RAM should hold you for a good while. You might consider an X4 or X6 Phenom down the road, but the X3 should keep up with most things for now.bwtw said:
DanDeschain
Member
I just built a new pc this past weekend and everything is working fine, except for the dvd drive. The drive is an older writemaster that somebody gave me. It worked fine in my old pc. Now, it is having alot of problems reading dvds. It kept erring out when I tried to install Windows 7, so I used a buds portable drive to do the install. When I put a game disc in, it takes up to half an hour to read it. I can't get it to do an install on any game, from Ass Creed to Kotor 2. I used my buds drive to install Crysis, but it takes half an hour to read the disc just to play it. It seems to read cds fine. Windows 7 says it is functioning properly. Any ideas?
beast786 said:
I might be reading your post wrong, but isn't the sound and heat complaint moot once you decided to liquid cool them? I don't know how that complaint is overrated since out of the box, they do not come with liquid cooling. But I suppose if you're spending that much on video cards, you may as well go that route.