Support NeoGAF

[LordCanti]

I think the "sweet spot" is generally the 560 Ti or the 6950, but I could be wrong. Usually in the $200-$250 range.

Edit: Well, as you can see from what LordCanti said, opinions differ... but, yeah the 570 is probably generally regarded as "above the sweet spot."

I wouldn't suggest a $300 card to someone that didn't have a purpose for it. A specific game they wanted to play, for instance.

Quiet cards can certainly be had for less. It's all a matter of what games you want to play, what resolution, and whether or not you care if you can turn all the sliders to maximum.

Hm, think I could get away with a GTX 560 in my current rig? If I could spend under $200 (i.e. not having to replace the PSU) and get a more capable card that isn't so effing loud, then that would be my ideal. Although I imagine purchasing a PSU is semi-future proof, if I plan on replacing the rest of the PC within the next year.

I'd imagine that a GTX 560 would blow that PSU out. Probably an additional 50-60w over a 5770.

 

[LaneDS]

I'd imagine that a GTX 560 would blow that PSU out. Probably an additional 50-60w over a 5770.

I think I'll replace the PSU with something like the Corsair Enthusiast Series, 600W or higher, and go with a GTX560 with a custom cooler (I'm assuming those exist). Seems like that'll be right around my budget and then I'll be set power-wise whenever I replace the rest of the components.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

well i have everything setup for the $1000 build in the op. i'm reading through the manual (well, .pdf's as it were) for the asrock p67 extreme4 motherboard and it doesn't really give me any recommended settings for optimum performance of the motherboard. it basically just gives a run down of what i COULD choose. should i just leave everything default as it is? i was reading in a few other forums that people had the sata mode set to AHCI mode instead of the default IDE mode. not really sure what all this shit means and if i should even tinker with it at all.... any advice?

 

[Hazaro]

ACHI
BLCK locked at 100

That's all you need. Overclocking is something else.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

ACHI
BLCK locked at 100

That's all you need. Overclocking is something else.

sweet, thank you!

i still need to install the extra fan i bought, i just have the default one that came with the CPU on right now. there are 3 other fans that came with the case as well.

 

[Hazaro]

Hm, think I could get away with a GTX 560 in my current rig? If I could spend under $200 (i.e. not having to replace the PSU) and get a more capable card that isn't so effing loud, then that would be my ideal. Although I imagine purchasing a PSU is semi-future proof, if I plan on replacing the rest of the PC within the next year.

You are really cutting it close if your PSU is a 300W rosewill. I would not recommend even trying.

Good performance for money is GTX 460 and 6950/GTX 560 Ti

 

[Herpes Reasons]

speaking of case fans. i exchanged my asus h67 mobo for a p67 today.
when i install all the wiring i realized that my intake fan is a 3-pin connection.
i have an exhaust fan and a cpu fan, but i have no where to connect my intake fan.
there's 2 chassis connections, but they are 4-pin.

 

[Hazaro]

speaking of case fans. i exchanged myasus h67 mobo for a p67 today.
when i install all the wiring i realized that my intake fan is a 3-pin connection.
i have an exhaust fan and a cpu fan, but i have no where to connect my intake fan.
there's 2 chassis connections, but there are 4-pin.

The 4th pin is not needed to power the fans. Simply plug them in on the 3 pin connections.

 

[Herpes Reasons]

it works. sweet. thanks.

 

[TommyT]

I think I'll replace the PSU with something like the Corsair Enthusiast Series, 600W or higher, and go with a GTX560 with a custom cooler (I'm assuming those exist). Seems like that'll be right around my budget and then I'll be set power-wise whenever I replace the rest of the components.

I just went with the EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti and it's really good. I can play BC2 at a solid 60 fps with damn near max settings. I'm currently testing some things out as heating is an issue with the card, so I'd recommend you get a custom cooled one.

I've had the fan up to 80% on this and while I can hear it (the case is open and I have an external fan blowing in for the process of testing currently) it's nothing bad. Even more so now that I got my G35s (!!!!!) you can't hear anything.


edit: Thanks to all who were helping with my card crashing issue. I've played BC2 for the last 2 days without crashes at all. Looks like it's going to be the heat that was causing it. I set up a profile to give me 80% fan at 60C to prevent any spikes in heating and to make sure it doesn't get close to a dangerous temp. While I have an external fan blowing in, I imagine once I get a few more case fans (probably going to go with 3 140mm - 2 on the side panel and 1 more at the top) I HOPE I can have enough airflow to not have to worry about an outside air source.

 

[Definity]

Just about ready to finish my build...gotta another dumb question. My gpu is a MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr II/OC. Can I just download drivers right from Nvidia or do I need get them from MSI?

 

[Horsemama1956]

Just about ready to finish my build...gotta another dumb question. My gpu is a MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr II/OC. Can I just download drivers right from Nvidia or do I need get them from MSI?

Get the drivers from nVidia, but be prepared to try older versions if you have issues. AMD and nVidia drivers have been hit or miss for a while now.

 

[LaneDS]

I just went with the EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti and it's really good. I can play BC2 at a solid 60 fps with damn near max settings. I'm currently testing some things out as heating is an issue with the card, so I'd recommend you get a custom cooled one.

I've had the fan up to 80% on this and while I can hear it (the case is open and I have an external fan blowing in for the process of testing currently) it's nothing bad. Even more so now that I got my G35s (!!!!!) you can't hear anything.

Excellent. That sounds like my current frontrunner for GTX 560 purchase. Reviews of the general GTX 560 suggest it is a quieter card in general, so that's encouraging to hear.

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Will plunk down on PSU and GPU sometime today at work.

 

[Confused101]

Gentlemen! I need some help. I'm looking to update my gaming rig and I keep going back and forth with my CPU choice. Here are the two that I've been looking at:

1. Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)

2. AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz

The Intel is $40 more but I keep going back to it because I feel it's the correct choice. Now keep in mind that this is basically a gaming rig. I don't do crazy amounts of multitasking or rendering or anything off the wall. So I keep thinking that even though I'm getting 6 cores for cheaper with the AMD, Intel's 4 cores will still give better performance. Thoughts?

Also, I'm running Win 7 Home Prem 64bit. Considering RAM is kind of cheap at the moment, would it be worth it to bump my RAM up to 8GB? I know 4GB is adequate for gaming, but it wouldn't hurt anything to go overboard right? Or maybe I should save the $40 for the extra 4GB of RAM and put it towards the Intel CPU?

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Darkman M]

Gentlemen! I need some help. I'm looking to update my gaming rig and I keep going back and forth with my CPU choice. Here are the two that I've been looking at:

1. Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)

2. AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz

The Intel is $40 more but I keep going back to it because I feel it's the correct choice. Now keep in mind that this is basically a gaming rig. I don't do crazy amounts of multitasking or rendering or anything off the wall. So I keep thinking that even though I'm getting 6 cores for cheaper with the AMD, Intel's 4 cores will still give better performance. Thoughts?

Also, I'm running Win 7 Home Prem 64bit. Considering RAM is kind of cheap at the moment, would it be worth it to bump my RAM up to 8GB? I know 4GB is adequate for gaming, but it wouldn't hurt anything to go overboard right? Or maybe I should save the $40 for the extra 4GB of RAM and put it towards the Intel CPU?

Decisions, decisions.

Get the sandy bridge and 8 gig of ram.

 

[Ryan_]

Can anyone recommend me a cheap but good 550 Watt PSU
to power a system with these components:

- GTX 560 Ti Hawk
- Intel Core i5 2500
- P8P67 mobo
- 8 gigs of ram

or can I run this rig without overclocking at a 500 watt PSU?

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: What do you think about the Sea Sonic S12II-520 Bronze

 

[garath]

Get the sandy bridge and 8 gig of ram.

Yeah. What he said.

 

[kagete]

Can anyone recommend me a cheap but good 550 Watt PSU
to power a system with these components:

- GTX 560 Ti Hawk
- Intel Core i5 2500
- P8P67 mobo
- 8 gigs of ram

or can I run this rig without overclocking at a 500 watt PSU?

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: What do you think about the Sea Sonic S12II-520 Bronze

I used to have that exact seasonic but moved up to a Seasonic X660 when my apartment refused to fix their faulty AHCI breakers and my PSU would sometimes trip them when I turned my PC on. I had to run an extension cord outside my bedroom for a while.

The Seasonic 520 bronze will be enough for all that easily. Right now my UPS software is showing 318 watts at full load during video benchmarks for my entire system:

2500k
6950
8GB RAM
27" LED monitor
24" LCD monitor

Here's the review for the 520

Seasonic isn't the cheapest or the best but I will probably never buy another PSU brand ever again. I've just had 3 builds with them and can really see the quality in everything about their PSUs.

 

[Bit-Bit]

GAF, my friend just got a new graphics card and has offered to sell me his 5870 for $150. What do you guys think? I'm currently running Dual 8800s right now in my rig. Do you guys think a 5870 will set me for another year? I need something to play Battlefield 3. But I can't spend $300 right now.

 

[Shambles]

GAF, my friend just got a new graphics card and has offered to sell me his 5870 for $150. What do you guys think? I'm currently running Dual 8800s right now in my rig. Do you guys think a 5870 will set me for another year? I need something to play Battlefield 3. But I can't spend $300 right now.

Overpriced. You can basically get a new card with that performance now for the same price. Offer him $120.

 

[Bit-Bit]

Overpriced. You can basically get a new card with that performance now for the same price. Offer him $120.

Sweet, thanks Shambles.

 

[Goldrusher]

FrenchMovieTheme
viakado

Looks like your shift-keys are broken.

 

[iSurvivedTheOutage]

guys newegg is having a blowout special!!!

 

[mkenyon]

GAF, my friend just got a new graphics card and has offered to sell me his 5870 for $150. What do you guys think? I'm currently running Dual 8800s right now in my rig. Do you guys think a 5870 will set me for another year? I need something to play Battlefield 3. But I can't spend $300 right now.

That's a killer price for that card. For reference, 5870 ~=~ 6950. Jump on it right away.

Overpriced. You can basically get a new card with that performance now for the same price. Offer him $120.

So not true. 5870 is the same performance as a 6950 and 560Ti, which are both around $250.

 

[Ultrabum]

guys newegg is having a blowout special!!!

On what?

 

[Tallshortman]

Gentlemen! I need some help. I'm looking to update my gaming rig and I keep going back and forth with my CPU choice. Here are the two that I've been looking at:

1. Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)

2. AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz

The Intel is $40 more but I keep going back to it because I feel it's the correct choice. Now keep in mind that this is basically a gaming rig. I don't do crazy amounts of multitasking or rendering or anything off the wall. So I keep thinking that even though I'm getting 6 cores for cheaper with the AMD, Intel's 4 cores will still give better performance. Thoughts?

Also, I'm running Win 7 Home Prem 64bit. Considering RAM is kind of cheap at the moment, would it be worth it to bump my RAM up to 8GB? I know 4GB is adequate for gaming, but it wouldn't hurt anything to go overboard right? Or maybe I should save the $40 for the extra 4GB of RAM and put it towards the Intel CPU?

Decisions, decisions.

With the same quality RAM you won't really notice a difference right now between 4 and 8 GB for gaming however it is a bit of future proofing if you get 8. Get the i5 2500k. The 1090T is just not that great a value-performance proposition you usually expect from an AMD.

 

[Gvaz]

I currently have this setup:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 @ 3.2
8GB DDR2
XFX 1GB HD4890
@ 1920x1200

I was hoping to eek out a little bit more performance in gaming at this resolution with as high of graphics as possible, but I can probably only afford $200 tops worth of parts. What would you suggest I replace, and with what?

 

[Tallshortman]

Overpriced. You can basically get a new card with that performance now for the same price. Offer him $120.

Um no I don't think so... you must be thinking of a different card. The 6870 is inferior in performance and costs ~$180 brand new. The 5870 is between the 6950 and 6870 in performance. $150 is a fine price however you may be able to haggle a little more since it's used. There is definitely no card out there you can buy new for $150 up front and get near the same performance as the 5870.

 

[iSurvivedTheOutage]

On what?

Mostly Computer components.

 

[mkenyon]

I currently have this setup:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 @ 3.2
8GB DDR2
XFX 1GB HD4890
@ 1920x1200

I was hoping to eek out a little bit more performance in gaming at this resolution with as high of graphics as possible, but I can probably only afford $200 tops worth of parts. What would you suggest I replace, and with what?

A new mobo (990fx) and some DDR3 ram would set you up nicely for a Bulldozer upgrade a few months down the line.

This + some Gskill 4GB kit of DDR3 of your choice will put you right around $200.

 

[Tallshortman]

I currently have this setup:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 @ 3.2
8GB DDR2
XFX 1GB HD4890
@ 1920x1200

I was hoping to eek out a little bit more performance in gaming at this resolution with as high of graphics as possible, but I can probably only afford $200 tops worth of parts. What would you suggest I replace, and with what?

For under $200 get a 560 (no Ti) or 6870. both are ~$180-$190 before rebates. You'll want to upgrade CPU sometime by the endish of the year but that will cost you 200+ alone (mobo + CPU). I'd spend on the GPU first since it will be compatible with your current setup and increase gaming performance the most and then save up for mobo+cpu+RAM upgrade.

 

[black_vegeta]

On what?

Stuff

 

[mkenyon]

For under $200 get a 560 (no Ti) or 6870. both are ~$180-$190 before rebates. You'll want to upgrade CPU sometime by the endish of the year but that will cost you 200+ alone (mobo + CPU). I'd spend on the GPU first since it will be compatible with your current setup and increase gaming performance the most and then save up for mobo+cpu+RAM upgrade.

Either of those would be mild, I'd rather see him spend the money on something that will be a good stepping stone to something serious. That 4890 should carry him to the 7000 series release.

 

[Horsemama1956]

For under $200 get a 560 (no Ti) or 6870. both are ~$180-$190 before rebates. You'll want to upgrade CPU sometime by the endish of the year but that will cost you 200+ alone (mobo + CPU). I'd spend on the GPU first since it will be compatible with your current setup and increase gaming performance the most and then save up for mobo+cpu+RAM upgrade.

I would just go with a 460 or 6850 which aren't far off of an overclocked 560 or 6870. Either a 460/6850 or step up the budget by 30 and grab a 560ti/1GB 6950.

 

[Gvaz]

I was hoping to upgrade to intel actually since they have the instruction sets that seem to work better with emulation.

There's a 560 brand on newegg that's like $180 or $155~ after rebate or so that looks appealing. Never heard of the brand myself though.

I can get like 30-45fps in witcher 2 on medium, if that's any guide. a 460 isn't that big of performance jump to justify the price.

I also have a 500W (I think) earthwatts power supply, would I have to update that?

 

[sk3tch]

When I was shopping for my CrossfireX setup I quickly disqualified 6950s due to a couple reasons:

A) true reference cards (BIOS switch, unlock able to 6970 shaders, etc) are unavailable or real hard to find
B) they are only slightly cheaper than 6970s (5-10%)

I think the Bitcoin craze kind of ruined the 6950. Prices have gone up. Don't you guys agree? My reference 6970s were 310 after rebate...

 

[mkenyon]

When I was shopping for my CrossfireX setup I quickly disqualified 6950s due to a couple reasons:

A) true reference cards (BIOS switch, unlock able to 6970 shaders, etc) are unavailable or real hard to find
B) they are only slightly cheaper than 6970s (5-10%)

I think the Bitcoin craze kind of ruined the 6950. Prices have gone up. Don't you guys agree? My reference 6970s were 310 after rebate...

It's still at a great price point for the performance you get, but yeah, I'd go for a 6970 if I were in the market due to the lack of unlockable cards.

I was hoping to upgrade to intel actually since they have the instruction sets that seem to work better with emulation.

There's a 560 brand on newegg that's like $180 or $155~ after rebate or so that looks appealing. Never heard of the brand myself though.

I can get like 30-45fps in witcher 2 on medium, if that's any guide. a 460 isn't that big of performance jump to justify the price.

I also have a 500W (I think) earthwatts power supply, would I have to update that?

You sure it's the instruction set? Right now, intel is just way more powerful core for core. That might switch on Bulldozer. Pretty interesting tech.

If you are set on that, the 500W PSU should do you fine for the time being.

 

[Spectacular Dr Dawg]

Holy shit PC part are expensive in Finland!

I tried to do put together some components just for fun. I wasn't sure if I should build now or wait for the new GPUs, but now I'm definitely waiting if it's going to be that expensive.
Edit: Also, is this a good build? Did i do anything wrong or is there something that i should "downgrade"?
Edit2: Shit! I forgot to include win7. It's now 2619.40€. What's the difference between retail win7 and OEM win7?

 

[Ryan_]

I used to have that exact seasonic but moved up to a Seasonic X660 when my apartment refused to fix their faulty AHCI breakers and my PSU would sometimes trip them when I turned my PC on. I had to run an extension cord outside my bedroom for a while.

The Seasonic 520 bronze will be enough for all that easily. Right now my UPS software is showing 318 watts at full load during video benchmarks for my entire system:

2500k
6950
8GB RAM
27" LED monitor
24" LCD monitor

Here's the review for the 520

Seasonic isn't the cheapest or the best but I will probably never buy another PSU brand ever again. I've just had 3 builds with them and can really see the quality in everything about their PSUs.

so... I could do with less than 520? for example a 450 or a 500? or is that a tad risky?

Thnx for the feedback btw

 

[CarbonatedFalcon]

With the same quality RAM you won't really notice a difference right now between 4 and 8 GB for gaming however it is a bit of future proofing if you get 8. Get the i5 2500k. The 1090T is just not that great a value-performance proposition you usually expect from an AMD.

8GB of RAM is what 4GB was a few years ago. 4GB is the new 2GB. I definitely plan on getting 8GB in my new rig since I notice a bottleneck if I have lots of tabs or windows open in Safari (on my laptop) which I am wont to do. That and better performance in Photoshop and the like.


EDIT: One of the Newegg deals is Halo: Reach Legendary Edition for $49. The computer components were nothing to write home about. Some fairly cheap G.Skill RAM, but nothing that I'm interested in.

 

[Chinner]

okay guys, just need a little bit of helpz:

just tried out crysis fully maxed out, and it works fine. however, whenever I open crysis my (wifi) internet connection dies. any words?

also, temperatures for crysis show that the GPU (580) peaks at 80 degrees. is that acceptable?

 

[mkenyon]

okay guys, just need a little bit of helpz:

just tried out crysis fully maxed out, and it works fine. however, whenever I open crysis my (wifi) internet connection dies. any words?

also, temperatures for crysis show that the GPU (580) peaks at 80 degrees. is that acceptable?

1. Get a cable.

2. I believe so. What's your case situation like? Good amount of airflow getting to the card? Is it the blower type card or does it dump the heat into your case?

 

[cartman414]

Holy shit PC part are expensive in Finland!

I tried to do put together some components just for fun. I wasn't sure if I should build now or wait for the new GPUs, but now I'm definitely waiting if it's going to be that expensive.

Heh, wow.

Is Blu-ray something you really want?

 

[garath]

I was hoping to upgrade to intel actually since they have the instruction sets that seem to work better with emulation.

There's a 560 brand on newegg that's like $180 or $155~ after rebate or so that looks appealing. Never heard of the brand myself though.

I can get like 30-45fps in witcher 2 on medium, if that's any guide. a 460 isn't that big of performance jump to justify the price.

I also have a 500W (I think) earthwatts power supply, would I have to update that?

Truthfully I don't know if there's anything you can do for $200 that would be a big hike in performance. Graphics card is the best bet but you'll probably end up CPU bottlenecked for the highest resolutions.

My suggestion would be to look at benchmarks of the different graphics cards and decide if a $200 card is worth it for you. If I was to buy a gfx card right now it would be a 560Ti and that's in the ~$225 range.

 

[Chinner]

1. Get a cable.

2. I believe so. What's your case situation like? Good amount of airflow getting to the card? Is it the blower type card or does it dump the heat into your case?

Getting a cable isn't really an easy option, router is downstairs and I'm upstairs. My case is the fractal r3, there is airflow getting to it yeah.

 

[Spectacular Dr Dawg]

Heh, wow.

Is Blu-ray something you really want?

Well i only have 2 blu-rays(The dark knight and Big trouble in litlle china) but my ps3(which is my only blu-ray player) is dead and I'm not getting another one so i just figured i might as well get a blu-ray drive for my PC.

 

[Gvaz]

Truthfully I don't know if there's anything you can do for $200 that would be a big hike in performance. Graphics card is the best bet but you'll probably end up CPU bottlenecked for the highest resolutions.

My suggestion would be to look at benchmarks of the different graphics cards and decide if a $200 card is worth it for you. If I was to buy a gfx card right now it would be a 560Ti and that's in the ~$225 range.

I figure I can upgrade my GPU and then later on (like maybe next spring) spend $400~ (was thinking i5-2500, 8gb ddr3, and a new mobo)

I wonder if I can sell my HD4890 for any sort of appreciable cash at this point? It's still a beast but I want DX11 and I want better performance in some games.

 

[mkenyon]

Getting a cable isn't really an easy option, router is downstairs and I'm upstairs. My case is the fractal r3, there is airflow getting to it yeah.

So yeah, it is the blower type or the open type? If it's the open type, you might want to open up that case a bit mroe. R3 is pretty restrictive when it comes to airflow. I think 80C is fine though for that card.

I figure I can upgrade my GPU and then later on (like maybe next spring) spend $400~ (was thinking i5-2500, 8gb ddr3, and a new mobo)

I wonder if I can sell my HD4890 for any sort of appreciable cash at this point? It's still a beast but I want DX11 and I want better performance in some games.

Probably not. Maybe like $50-100. I'd suggest saving that $200 until you can make a full system upgrade. That's why I was recommending the 990fx and DDR3, would make a full system upgrade a lot less expensive at a time.

 

[Gvaz]

So yeah, it is the blower type or the open type? If it's the open type, you might need to open up that case a bit mroe. R3 is pretty restrictive when it comes to airflow.

Probably not. Maybe like $50-100. I'd suggest saving that $200 until you can make a full system upgrade. That's why I was recommending the 990fx and DDR3, would make a full system upgrade a lot less expensive at a time.

I see why you made the suggestion, and I'm making a note of it, but I was looking more for something I could use now, instead of ram and a mobo that would just lie around until the middle of next year.

 

[garath]

I figure I can upgrade my GPU and then later on (like maybe next spring) spend $400~ (was thinking i5-2500, 8gb ddr3, and a new mobo)

I wonder if I can sell my HD4890 for any sort of appreciable cash at this point? It's still a beast but I want DX11 and I want better performance in some games.

Well most of the 560 Ti cards I see on newegg right now are ~$230 before rebate. After rebate you are looking at a little over $200 on most of them. It's probably the best bang for your buck right now.