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[Isaccard]

Do I need an additional heatsink with that build? I don't plan on overclocking.

 

[border]

why not use a boutique like ibuypower or cyberpower? although I must say the PC being sold at craigslist is pretty good. you could buy and build a current better one, but if you don't want the hassle of building (and let's face it, sometimes it's a bit, A BIT of a pain) this is pretty good.

Base configurations at iBuyPower and Cyberpower start well above what I'm looking to spend. There's no point in buying a prebuilt PC if you aren't going to get a decent warranty on it, and neither of those companies provides onsite service. If your PC dies you have to mail it to them and lose use of your computer for probably 2 weeks or more. Not to mention that they only cover parts and labor for 1 year, and after that you have to pay for the labor (which means warranty service will probably be more expensive than just replacing it yourself).

I actually did buy an iBuyPower system years ago when they did have onsite service warranties, and it came with a faulty DVD drive and LED light. A repair guy came out to my dorm and it was no big deal, but how furious would you have been if you had to mail an entire computer back just to get the DVD drive replaced?

 

[Black_Stride]

Why did they go with 3770 instead of 3700?
I had thought the Ivybridge CPUs would all be 3xxx replacing thier 2xxx counterparts
i.e 2500K replaced by 3500K, 2700K replaced by 3700K

Nonetheless, the performace gains dont seem that amazing, i wonder if the 3570K and 3770K will be as overclockable as the 2500K and 2600K...Id really like to touch the 5GHz club again but this time with hyperthreading. If the 3770 isnt as keen as the 2600/2700 then depending on price differences i might go with a 2600K instead.

But either way as soon as these things drop im gonna be back in the Race your PC thread to take back my single GTX570 crown(only reason i lost was because of the damn Hyperthreaders)

 

[border]

If you want to get ripped off, fine, do it. Not my money. But I will always do my best to give you solid suggestions on getting the best for your money.

Solid suggestions are good. But having to put together the whole thing piecemeal and wait around hoping that I get lucky on some incredible sales is another deal altogether. I'd like to go out and buy a steak dinner for $25 and you're telling me that's a ripoff because you can buy steak and cook it at home for $7. I ask how and you tell me that I have to sit around waiting for steak to go on sale for half off and constantly monitor the prices at every butcher in the area. I'm not opposed to making dinner at home, but it's too much hassle to do it that way.

Plus if I wanted to watch prices and research every single part there would be no point in this thread, which I thought was meant to be a sort of shortcut for others looking to evaluate and buy. If I can build a much better rig for less, then it needs to be with regular, everyday prices and not every single component bought at some rock-bottom closeout.

 

[Juice]

Shoot, my case just got delayed nearly a week thanks to the holiday (fucking hate Newegg -- I put the order in w/ 3 day delivery & rush on 12/24 and it won't be here until 1/3)

Please help, can anyone help me find a case on Microcenter's site and find me a cheap case that'll fit my HD 6950 card?

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?N=4294964318

After assembling everything, how hard is it to transfer to a new case from an old one?

 

[jwhit28]

Solid suggestions are good. But having to put together the whole thing piecemeal and wait around hoping that I get lucky on some incredible sales is another deal altogether. I'd like to go out and buy a steak dinner for $25 and you're telling me that's a ripoff because you can buy steak and cook it at home for $7. I ask how and you tell me that I have to sit around waiting for steak for steak to go on sale for half off and constantly monitor the prices at every butcher in the area. I'm not opposed to making dinner at home, but it's too much hassle to do it that way.

Plus if I wanted to watch prices and research every single part there would be no point in this thread, which I thought was meant to be a sort of shortcut for others looking to evaluate and buy. If I can build a much better rig for less, then it needs to be with regular, everyday prices and not every single component bought at some rock-bottom closeout.

Border you have to do whats best for you. If you really feel that uncomfortable building than go for it.

The cons are you are buying into a no longer supported motherboard socket and a now two generation old value level graphics card.

 

[kpeezy]

Okay, I want to post before I checkout.

I currently have an i7 920 setup built the week of the i7 launch. My GPU from the build is a Radeon 4870 and it's getting old. I'm looking at getting the Radeon 6950 OC from Gigabyte but I don't know if I should pay a little extra for the 560ti 448 or wait for the new AMD lineup.

Does anyone know when the new AMD GPUs are being released? OC 6950 vs 560ti 448?

edit: I was looking at the 1GB 6950, should I be looking at more VRAM or is 1GB sufficient?

 

[yamo]

Trying to help a friend pick together a gaming PC. He wants it as cheap as possible and able to run Skyrim well, here is what I have come up with so far (prices in Swedish krona).

Please share any opinions you may have!

 

[ToyMachine228]

So the budget build is definitely a capable rig? Basically all I want to do is play Blizzard and Valve games. I don't need to be able to run Crysis 2 on the highest settings. Thinking of jumping in on that build right now.

 

[Hazaro]

Do I need an additional heatsink with that build? I don't plan on overclocking.

Boxed (NOT OEM) CPUs come with a Heatsink.

Okay, I want to post before I checkout.

I currently have an i7 920 setup built the week of the i7 launch. My GPU from the build is a Radeon 4870 and it's getting old. I'm looking at getting the Radeon 6950 OC from Gigabyte but I don't know if I should pay a little extra for the 560ti 448 or wait for the new AMD lineup.

Does anyone know when the new AMD GPUs are being released? OC 6950 vs 560ti 448?

edit: I was looking at the 1GB 6950, should I be looking at more VRAM or is 1GB sufficient?

2 weeks for 7 series hopefully. Check back then. Anandtech Bench in OP can help you compare.

Trying to help a friend pick together a gaming PC. He wants it as cheap as possible and able to run Skyrim well, here is what I have come up with so far (prices in Swedish krona).

Please share any opinions you may have!

Looks fine to me

So the budget build is definitely a capable rig? Basically all I want to do is play Blizzard and Valve games. I don't need to be able to run Crysis 2 on the highest settings. Thinking of jumping in on that build right now.

Absolutely. ~60fps high settings for most titles you want to be playing at 1080p. SC II is a lot more CPU demanding so it'll probably drop a bit there, but overall very good.

 

[Lionel Mandrake]

Thinking about getting a new graphics card and getting into newer games.

I've been using an ATI Radeon HD 4350, and it's gotten the job done for playing Source games and stuff, but that's about the extent of its abilities, and I'm getting a little tired of my limitations.

Can anyone recommend a new card for around $150 or less ? (I'd like to be able to play GTA IV, Skyrim, and such)

Also, I'm still using the stock power supply and it has a fairly low wattage, so if I need to get another one for a newer card, could someone link me to a decent cheap one?

 

[Hazaro]

Find out your PSU wattage first

 

[Lionel Mandrake]

Find out your PSU wattage first

Wattage is only 250 currently, but I was hoping someone could link me to a new supply for a decent price.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Alright, PC GAF, I'm finally jumping into the pool. First time builder so I need pretty much a new everything. Looking for 1080p, some emulation, getting most of the big name multiplatform stuff (BF3, Arkham City, Skyrim, Deus Ex, etc. etc.). Looking to keep it around $1500, and am open to suggestions:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Processor ($180 @ Microcenter around me)
Motherboard: ASUS LGA 1155 Intel Z68 ($170)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8 GB PC3-12800 1600mhz 240-Pin DDR3 ($42)
GPU: ASUS GTX570 DirectCU II ($350)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM ($157)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series 750TXV2 ($105)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 500R ($122)
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST ($20)
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ($20)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit ($100)
Mouse: Logitech G400 ($35)
Moniter: ASUS VS228H-P 21.5-Inch LCD Monitor ($144)
+ Controller: Xbox 360 Wired ($34)

Total: $1480 before tax.

How does this look? Also, am I forgetting something in typical nub fashion?

 

[yamo]

Looks fine to me

Thanks Hazaro

 

[WarMacheen]

Alright, PC GAF, I'm finally jumping into the pool. First time builder so I need pretty much a new everything. Looking for 1080p, some emulation, getting most of the big name multiplatform stuff (BF3, Arkham City, Skyrim, Deus Ex, etc. etc.). Looking to keep it around $1500, and am open to suggestions:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Processor ($180 @ Microcenter around me)
Motherboard: ASUS LGA 1155 Intel Z68 ($170)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8 GB PC3-12800 1600mhz 240-Pin DDR3 ($42)
GPU: ASUS GTX570 DirectCU II ($350)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM ($157)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series 750TXV2 ($105)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 500R ($122)
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST ($20)
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ($20)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit ($100)
Mouse: Logitech G400 ($35)
Moniter: ASUS VS228H-P 21.5-Inch LCD Monitor ($144)
+ Controller: Xbox 360 Wired ($34)

Total: $1480 before tax.

How does this look? Also, am I forgetting something in typical nub fashion?

Looks good and should be very capable, though AMD is releasing the 7xxx series in a couple of weeks.

 

[RebornYeti]

So, my brother wants to build a computer, and neither of us know a thing about building one. I thought I'd look over this thread to read up on a few thing and just to ask you guys for help and suggestions. Here is a bundle my brother found on Newegg, and he would like some opinions on it:

I don't think the bundle comes with a graphics card, so my brother would like to know what kind of cheap graphics card would be compatible with the Mobo. He would like it to be able to run Star Wars: The Old Republic and - if possible - Battlefield 3.

The bundle will probably cost him around $430, so that leaves him with a budget of $140 for a graphics card. I assume he would also need a sound card, but that can wait 'til later.
He already has a Monitor (resolution 1680 x 1050), KB/M, and OS.

Again, I would just like to clarify that we know next to nothing about the technical mumbo jumbo. We would like PC GAF's help!

 

[border]

The cons are you are buying into a no longer supported motherboard socket and a now two generation old value level graphics card.

I thought the 5770 was top-of-the-line in its own time?

Thanks for the info, though. I never really cared about upgrading processors. It seems like by the time I want and am ready to upgrade, I might as well get a whole new system anyhow. But just in case, is there a decent mobo+CPU I can buy and be sure of support for the next couple years?

 

[AwesomeSauce]

I thought the 5770 was top-of-the-line in its own time?

Thanks for the info, though. I never really cared about upgrading processors. It seems like by the time I want and am ready to upgrade, I might as well get a whole new system anyhow. But just in case, is there a decent mobo+CPU I can buy and be sure of support for the next couple years?

The 4870 which the 5770 is a rehash of was the top of the line ATI/AMD when it was released IIRC.

 

[border]

So Im looking to build or buy a PC that can last me a couple years of gaming.

I can get this from the Dell Outlet for $580 before taxes (Maybe even less if a coupon comes out)
Dell Studio XPS 8300
I7 2600
500gb HDD
8gb RAM
460W power supply

What would be the best graphics card I would be able to put in there? And does anyone know if I could upgrade its power supply if I want to put in a better card?

This actually sounds like a pretty awesome deal. Do you have a link? And how do you know the wattage of the power supply?

My last machine was a stock Dell that I got from their outlet store for about $500, plus a GeForce 8800 that I bought on clearance for around $100.

 

[number386]

Ugggg, I knew I should of built my rig last october/november. I could of got a i5 2500k + mobo for $220, a gtx580 + free batman AC for $330, 8gb ram for $30, and a 2TB hard drive for $70. I wanted to wait for the 7xxx gcn cards, turns out amd decides to troll everyone with a $550 price tag, not to mention hard drive prices have more than doubled. I'm currently "gaming" on my macbook with a 330m gpu. Feels bad, man.

Now I'm thinking I should just wait until april eight, when ivy bridge comes out. :sadface

 

[Kadey]

Found a solution to my open case. Oh yeah!

 

[SYNTAX182]

Nice man, but wouldn't that thing get dusty as hell and fuck up your components?

Edit: Silly me didn't see the glass on the front, very stealthy )

 

[TheExodu5]

Running a Fractal R3 with an open side is kind of wasteful. The whole point of the R3 is sound dampening.

edit: ooooh, there's glass?

What's the box to the left of your 360? I recognize that...

The 4870 which the 5770 is a rehash of was the top of the line ATI/AMD when it was released IIRC.

The 5770 is its own card, not a 4870 rehash, however it does offer similar performance. 5770 was mid-range when it came out.

 

[TheExodu5]

That's a horrific deal. I built my rig that's over 2x as powerful as that one for under $500. Huge ripoff. It's hard to recommend buying a PC on Craigslist, the prices are so inflated. I would pay maybe $250 for that rig at most.

You're blowing things out of proportion. It's not a great deal, but he's not really getting ripped off either. And sorry, but you're not building something 2x as powerful for $500.

Let's take a look:

Intel® Core™ i7 860 Processor, stock 2.8ghz but it believe it's overclocked 3+ ghz.
8gb DDR3-1600 memory
Asetek liquid cooling
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB graphics card.
ASUS P7P55D LE Motherboard with Intel P55 Chipset that supports crossfire.
500gb hard drive (I'm not a big space guy)
700w PSU/SLI ready
Windows 7 home premium installed (unless you wanted the drive formatted)
NZXT Tempest EVO case

Let's approximate the component pricing:

CPU: $150
Motherboard: $80
RAM: $30
GPU: $100
HDD: $80
PSU: $50
Case: $80
OS: $100

You're looking at $670 new to equal that build. Considering it's a used system, it's definitely overpriced, but I just wanted to shine some light on the situation.

For the $500 you're touting, you're not getting the OS or a hard-drive included at that price. If you want to take the budget build in the OP as an example, it would only equal this build in terms of power, and you have to up the price due to the current HDD prices and the exclusion of Windows 7. The case he'd be getting is also far better than a $30 case.

I think he should bargain and get that PC for $450-500 (maximum). At that point, he's getting something pretty good for the price.

 

[xero273]

Running a Fractal R3 with an open side is kind of wasteful. The whole point of the R3 is sound dampening.

edit: ooooh, there's glass?

What's the box to the left of your 360? I recognize that...

pretty sure that's the hd pvr

 

[BoobPhysics101]

You're blowing things out of proportion. It's not a great deal, but he's not really getting ripped off either. And sorry, but you're not building something 2x as powerful for $500.

Let's take a look:



Let's approximate the component pricing:

CPU: $150
Motherboard: $80
RAM: $30
GPU: $100
HDD: $80
PSU: $50
Case: $80
OS: $100

You're looking at $670 new to equal that build. Considering it's a used system, it's definitely overpriced, but I just wanted to shine some light on the situation.

For the $500 you're touting, you're not getting the OS or a hard-drive included at that price.

Already built something 2x more powerful for $500.

Who the hell would buy a 5770 for $100 when a 6870 is $130 on Newegg? Who would spend $80 on a case for a budget build? etc

Trying to rationalize the price of that system is silly.

 

[TheExodu5]

Already built something 2x more powerful for $500.

Who the hell would buy a 5770 for $100 when a 6870 is $130 on Newegg? Who would spend $80 on a case for a budget build? etc

Trying to rationalize the price of that system is silly.

List me your build for that price. I'm curious.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

List me your build for that price. I'm curious.

i5 2500k + Asus z68 $190
GTX 570 = $60
HAF 912 = $50
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile RAM 2x4GB DDR1600 = $50
PC Power & Cooling PSU 760w Silencer Mk II = $70


(Misc)
NZXT Sentry Mesh Fan Controller = $25
5x Scythe Kaze 120mm fans = $25
Hyper 212+ = $20

Total = $490

Threw in my old X-Fi and my Vertex 2 SSD. Had Windows 7 already too. Skipping the 'flair' (fans + conttoller + cm212), it would've been $420.

Anyways, I'll piece together an example build for border.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

i5 2500k + Asus z68 $190
GTX 570 = $60
HAF 912 = $50
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile RAM 2x4GB DDR1600 = $50
PC Power & Cooling PSU 760w Silencer Mk II = $70


(Misc)
NZXT Sentry Mesh Fan Controller = $25
5x Scythe Kaze 120mm fans = $25
Hyper 212+ = $20

Total = $490

Threw in my old X-Fi and my Vertex 2 SSD. Had Windows 7 already too. Skipping the 'flair' (fans + conttoller + cm212), it would've been $420.

Anyways, I'll piece together an example build for border.

I don't know how you bought the GPU at that price but most people can't buy at that price.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

I don't know how you bought the GPU at that price but most people can't buy at that price.

I stated this above. However, a 6870 can be had for $130, which blows away a 5770. But all of this is rather moot since border doesn't want to do it himself...

 

[captive]

is there a media center thread, or is this it? Searched and couldnt find much. I'd like information on ripping blu-rays to put on a drive for media center purposes. Also like information on different media center apps as I have an Apple tv and a ps3, and i know you can flash the apple tv with something like xmbc.

 

[Jtrizzy]

Anyone have a sec to help me with my sound card? I have a Sound Blaster X Fi titanium...(Best Buy gift card) I got it because my receiver only does spdif, and I wanted DTS 5.1 for my PC games.

it does DTS Connect/DD Live, but I can't get it going with my receiver. Whenever I click the DTS Connect option under encode in the sound blaster control menu, it moves back to non supported, and the connection seems to doing 2 channel audio. I've been doing DD/DTS with consoles on this receiver for many years, so I'm not sure what the issue is.

Right now I'm letting the receiver turn stereo through the spdif into 5ch stereo, but it sounds really weak, especially in Skyrim.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Anyone have a sec to help me with my sound card? I have a Sound Blaster X Fi titanium...(Best Buy gift card) I got it because my receiver only does spdif, and I wanted DTS 5.1 for my PC games.

it does DTS Connect/DD Live, but I can't get it going with my receiver. Whenever I click the DTS Connect option under encode in the sound blaster control menu, it moves back to non supported, and the connection seems to doing 2 channel audio. I've been doing DD/DTS with consoles on this receiver for many years, so I'm not sure what the issue is.

Hmm I kinda remember something about 2 channel audio being forced for some reason. You know how you can switch between Entertainment mode, Game Mode, and Audio Creation mode? I think one of the modes forces 2 channel audio. Try switching.

Oh, and use these drivers: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/pax-d...hd-driver-suite-v1-20-release-redownload.html

I use these with my old X-Fi XtremeMusic. They blow away stock Creative drivers and are more stable, with more featureset and much better audio quality.

 

[TheExodu5]

i5 2500k + Asus z68 $190
GTX 570 = $60
HAF 912 = $50
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile RAM 2x4GB DDR1600 = $50
PC Power & Cooling PSU 760w Silencer Mk II = $70


(Misc)
NZXT Sentry Mesh Fan Controller = $25
5x Scythe Kaze 120mm fans = $25
Hyper 212+ = $20

Total = $490

Threw in my old X-Fi and my Vertex 2 SSD. Had Windows 7 already too. Skipping the 'flair' (fans + conttoller + cm212), it would've been $420.

Anyways, I'll piece together an example build for border.

You got your GTX 570 for $250 less than it should cost. You did not have to buy an OS or hard drive. It's not a fair comparison.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

You got your GTX 570 for $250 less than it should cost. You did not have to buy an OS or hard drive. It's not a fair comparison.

I never once stated that he could get the same prices as me. Almost nobody can. Merely used it as an example of what can be done by looking for good deals and building it yourself. But the fact remains: for the cost of that Craigslist system, he could build something better, with higher quality components, and with the peace of mind that he knows what was put into the system and how it's treated.

That's been my point all along, despite the tangents.

That being said, that Dell XPS system above doesn't sound like a bad deal. Throw a Radeon 6870 into that and it'd be a very solid machine for around $700~.

 

[Jtrizzy]

Hmm I kinda remember something about 2 channel audio being forced for some reason. You know how you can switch between Entertainment mode, Game Mode, and Audio Creation mode? I think one of the modes forces 2 channel audio. Try switching.

Oh, and use these drivers: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/pax-d...hd-driver-suite-v1-20-release-redownload.html

I use these with my old X-Fi XtremeMusic. They blow away stock Creative drivers and are more stable, with more featureset and much better audio quality.

Well, kind of embarrassing but I can't find the actual link for the drivers.

 

[Branson]

So I might be building a new computer soon. And here is what I was thinking. Any suggestions?

The card and black case is free so disregard the price on those lol.

So my build that I posted earlier didnt get any feedback and Id like some before I bite and do this. But now Im not so sure on spending so much if someone can build a better computer for $400-500? Disregard the 4gb card price and straight black case, those are free for some reason.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Well, kind of embarrassing but I can't find the actual link for the drivers.

Uninstall your Creative drivers, use Phyxion's Driver Sweeper in Safe mode to clean them out.

http://dl.technewshw.com/driver/PAX/PAX MASTER PCIe Titanium HD Driver Suite V1.20.7z

There's the download link. These drivers work wonders. The author is constantly updating them and tweaking them. I hope they fix your problem.

So my build that I posted earlier didnt get any feedback and Id like some before I bite and do this. But now Im not so sure on spending so much if someone can build a better computer for $400-500? Disregard the 4gb card price and straight black case, those are free for some reason.

Word of advice: Drop the 1 TB HDD. Look on Slickdeals for HDD deals. I have seen deals on there where you can get 2 TB drives for $80-100.

Also, the HAF 932 for $160 is kinda ridiculous. Get the 922, I think it's like $70-80?

 

[BoobPhysics101]

gd double post

 

[Krauser Kat]

so i have an 80gb ssd and i want to do a full clone of it onto a new 120gb ssd drive i have. Is there any free ways to do this.

 

[Branson]

Uninstall your Creative drivers, use Phyxion's Driver Sweeper in Safe mode to clean them out.

http://dl.technewshw.com/driver/PAX/PAX MASTER PCIe Titanium HD Driver Suite V1.20.7z

There's the download link. These drivers work wonders. The author is constantly updating them and tweaking them. I hope they fix your problem.



Word of advice: Drop the 1 TB HDD. Look on Slickdeals for HDD deals. I have seen deals on there where you can get 2 TB drives for $80-100.

Also, the HAF 932 for $160 is kinda ridiculous. Get the 922, I think it's like $70-80?

Alright thanks, the 922 is a mid tower case, would that cause any problems space wise?

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Alright thanks, the 922 is a mid tower case, would that cause any problems space wise?

Absolutely not. I have the 912 and it's very spacious, and the 922 is even bigger. Even when I had 2 GTX 570's in there + my sound card + the Hyper 212+ cooler, still plenty of room. All the HAF 9x2 cases are awesome. They're also very customizable. I took out the mid HDD rack, for example, for even more airflow.

really shittin on us here with your $60 570. . .
i paid some over 300!!

Don't worry, I'll probably get raped when I upgrade. :\ But yeah, a kindly GAF member hooked me up with it.

 

[drexplora]

really shittin on us here with your $60 570. . .
i paid some over 300!!

 

[Branson]

Absolutely not. I have the 912 and it's very spacious, and the 922 is even bigger. Even when I had 2 GTX 570's in there + my sound card + the Hyper 212+ cooler, still plenty of room. All the HAF 9x2 cases are awesome.

Awesome. Video card wise is the 560 ti still a good option? Price to power ratio. Not like I can get a 570 for $60 lol

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Awesome. Video card wise is the 560 ti still a good option? Price to power ratio. Not like I can get a 570 for $60 lol

Depends on your games. The 560 Ti is a great card, but the 560 Ti 448 Core is basically a $280 GTX 570, so I'd look into that too if you have the budget. It has a bit more VRAM too.

If you're playing Skyrim and you want to load up on high res texture mods, I gotta recommend the 6950 2 GB. With all my high res texture mods + 4x MSAA, I'm hitting the 1280MB VRAM limit on my GTX 570 and it causes slowdown, so I had to take out one of the texture mods.

Just a warning if you're doing anything that'll use over 1280 MB VRAM (which Skyrim will if you do texture mods.)

 

[Branson]

Depends on your games. The 560 Ti is a great card, but the 560 Ti 448 Core is basically a $280 GTX 570, so I'd look into that too if you have the budget. It has a bit more VRAM too.

If you're playing Skyrim and you want to load up on high res texture mods, I gotta recommend the 6950 2 GB. With all my high res texture mods + 4x MSAA, I'm hitting the 1280MB VRAM limit on my GTX 570 and it causes slowdown, so I had to take out one of the texture mods.

Just a warning if you're doing anything that'll use over 1280 MB VRAM (which Skyrim will if you do texture mods.)

Well game wise its the usual, steam, skyrim, battlefield 3, some racing sims, probably get the witcher 2. Im coming from a 9800gt so this will still be a substantial upgrade I would imagine.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Well game wise its the usual, steam, skyrim, battlefield 3, some racing sims, probably get the witcher 2. Im coming from a 9800gt so this will still be a substantial upgrade I would imagine.

Hm... it's really, really hard to recommend the 560 ti with 1 GB of VRAM over the 6950 2 GB. The 6950 might unlock to a 6970. Yeah, Nvidia has some nice perks, but 2 GB VRAM is very useful.

I'm not biased towards Nvidia or AMD, I like them both a lot, so you can't go wrong either way.

 

[Branson]

Hm... it's really, really hard to recommend the 560 ti with 1 GB of VRAM over the 6950 2 GB. The 6950 might unlock to a 6970. Yeah, Nvidia has some nice perks, but 2 GB VRAM is very useful.

I'm not biased towards Nvidia or AMD, I like them both a lot, so you can't go wrong either way.

I prefer Nvidia personally but that is honestly a good price for the 2gb. I upgraded to the 448 core ti. With the case being cheaper it comes out to about the same. When it comes to drivers and games working correctly I just trust Nvidia a bit more. I havent heard great things when it comes to drivers on AMD. But man that 2gb is temping. Ive never had an AMD card though. hmmm..

I dont suppose the 580's are dropping in price anytime soon eh? lol.

 

[ToyMachine228]

So I'm pretty close to ordering the budget build. I need two things;

A) A recommendation on a monitor. Shopping on Newegg.
B) Can someone tell me if Newegg assembles? And if they do, where do I utilize that option?