Might as well stick to traditional if you're paying for hybrids. The only thing you get on hybrids is fast start-up speed. Unless you have a setup that requires you to reboot often, there's no point.
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"I need a New PC!" 2012 Thread. 22nm+28nm, Tri-Gate, and reading the OP. [Part 1]
- Thread starter Hazaro
- Start date
- Status
Might as well stick to traditional if you're paying for hybrids. The only thing you get on hybrids is fast start-up speed. Unless you have a setup that requires you to reboot often, there's no point.
StudioTan
Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Hey guys, I need some advice.
I currently have a dedicated media computer hooked up to my projectors and TV. Since I recently got a 3D projector I've been wanting to use it for gaming from time to time. Since both my projectors are 720p I don't run any higher resolutions than that. Nevertheless it's not up to the task of a game like Batman AC which looks fantastic in 3D and I don't want to keep dragging my main gaming rig over there. So I'm looking to upgrade it enough to run the newest games with high settings at 1280x720.
Currently the machine has an Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 and an Nvidia 550ti videocard. Obviously the CPU is really old so I would need a new MB, CPU and RAM but I'm trying to keep my budget as low as possible.
If I went with a Core i5 2400 with 8 gigs of RAM would my 550ti be able to handle 720p at high settings? Could I go with a cheaper CPU even? If I got something like a 560ti (which I have on my main rig) I know it'll run everything but with all the other parts I'm looking at just over $600 CDN and that's a bit much right now.
Any advice?
EDIT: I should add I'm not a stickler for high frame rates. Anything over 30fps is just fine for me.
I currently have a dedicated media computer hooked up to my projectors and TV. Since I recently got a 3D projector I've been wanting to use it for gaming from time to time. Since both my projectors are 720p I don't run any higher resolutions than that. Nevertheless it's not up to the task of a game like Batman AC which looks fantastic in 3D and I don't want to keep dragging my main gaming rig over there. So I'm looking to upgrade it enough to run the newest games with high settings at 1280x720.
Currently the machine has an Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 and an Nvidia 550ti videocard. Obviously the CPU is really old so I would need a new MB, CPU and RAM but I'm trying to keep my budget as low as possible.
If I went with a Core i5 2400 with 8 gigs of RAM would my 550ti be able to handle 720p at high settings? Could I go with a cheaper CPU even? If I got something like a 560ti (which I have on my main rig) I know it'll run everything but with all the other parts I'm looking at just over $600 CDN and that's a bit much right now.
Any advice?
EDIT: I should add I'm not a stickler for high frame rates. Anything over 30fps is just fine for me.
PC GAF, bless me with your wisdom! I'm building a new PC and I require your assistance.
I have a PC from 2 years back that I need to upgrade. I am currently running an AMD Phenom II X4 945 on a Gigabyte motherboard. I want to upgrade to a Core i-5 so I need a new mobo, graphics card, RAM and all that jazz. To save a bit of money, I'm hoping to be able to use the same PSU, HD, SSD and case that I currently have. Going off the OP, the 'Excellent-Best Overall' build is the one I want and I was wondering if I can get some feedback on whether or not I can get away with reusing my case and my PSU specifically. My SSD and HD should be fine either way.
My Current Specs
Budget: $900-1000 including taxes
Main Use
Resolution:: My current monitor goes up to 1920x1080 and I'm fine with that. I may be able to afford a second monitor, so dual monitor support would be nice.
Games I must be able to play:: I don't really have the time anymore, but I'd love to be able to play:
Reused parts
Hard Drive: Western Digital 640GB
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
DVD/CD Drive: Sony Optiarc
PSU: SeaSonic M12D 750W
Case: Antec P183 ATX Mid Tower
As I said, I'm not sure that I can reuse the case or the PSU with Haz's build, but I'd like to be able to.
Thoughts?
I have a PC from 2 years back that I need to upgrade. I am currently running an AMD Phenom II X4 945 on a Gigabyte motherboard. I want to upgrade to a Core i-5 so I need a new mobo, graphics card, RAM and all that jazz. To save a bit of money, I'm hoping to be able to use the same PSU, HD, SSD and case that I currently have. Going off the OP, the 'Excellent-Best Overall' build is the one I want and I was wondering if I can get some feedback on whether or not I can get away with reusing my case and my PSU specifically. My SSD and HD should be fine either way.
My Current Specs
- CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 945
- RAM: G Skill 4GB 240-Pin DDR2
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-UD5P
- GPU: Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit
Budget: $900-1000 including taxes
Main Use
- Gaming: 3
- 3D Work: 5
- Video Editing: 2
- General Usage (1080p Playback would be great): 4
Resolution:: My current monitor goes up to 1920x1080 and I'm fine with that. I may be able to afford a second monitor, so dual monitor support would be nice.
Games I must be able to play:: I don't really have the time anymore, but I'd love to be able to play:
- Starcraft 2 maxed out online. Can't do this right now.
- Crysis 1 and 2 maxed
- The Witcher 2 maxed
Reused parts
Hard Drive: Western Digital 640GB
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
DVD/CD Drive: Sony Optiarc
PSU: SeaSonic M12D 750W
Case: Antec P183 ATX Mid Tower
As I said, I'm not sure that I can reuse the case or the PSU with Haz's build, but I'd like to be able to.
Thoughts?
Celcius
°Temp. member
I would give the 290.53 drivers a shot. I haven't played star wars, but they've been rock solid for me in all my games.
For any single GPU setup, that case and PSU are fine.
I'm assuming that there would be no issues with the CD/DVD drive, HD and SSD too, correct?
Nope, it's good to go.
You're super cool.
Just grab the Excellent main parts.
The 2500K will actually help a lot in all the titles you listed.
If possible wait for AMD's mid range GPUs or Kepler on your 4890... Maybe buy used if you feel comfortable, something like a 560Ti or 6950.
GPU value isn't bad now, just it could be decently in not took long.
The 2500K will actually help a lot in all the titles you listed.
If possible wait for AMD's mid range GPUs or Kepler on your 4890... Maybe buy used if you feel comfortable, something like a 560Ti or 6950.
GPU value isn't bad now, just it could be decently in not took long.
cmonmanreally
Member
Thanks again. I'll try checking on the OP every so often for updates.
I can wait on my GPU as you suggested.
My 4890 will work on the new motherboard with the i5? Sweet!
drugstore_cowboy
Member
My PC is dusty and hasn't been opened for months, maybe even a year and I want to clean out the PSU.
I got a little compressed air here but it makes a hell of a mess.
Would just securing the fans and vacuuming it out be ok?
I got a little compressed air here but it makes a hell of a mess.
Would just securing the fans and vacuuming it out be ok?
Yeah, just stick something in the fans and go nuts.
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
ITS ALIVE!!!!!
Pics later on today. I'm still installing everything.
Pics later on today. I'm still installing everything.
Angelus Errare
Banned
Ditto
Trying to decide on an ssd that is around $100-150. Are either of these two ssds any good?
Kingston SSDNow V200 128GB
or
OCZ Vertex Plus 120GB
Or would it be better going with a Crucial M4 64GB which is for $100. I'd kinda like having the extra space though.
Kingston SSDNow V200 128GB
or
OCZ Vertex Plus 120GB
Or would it be better going with a Crucial M4 64GB which is for $100. I'd kinda like having the extra space though.
Ninite if you haven't already gone through everything.
I'd get a 128GB M4 or 830.
Those drives are much cheaper for a reason. Slower older drives and not supported as well, higher failure rates, etc.
If you don't need one now, just wait to buy.
Do you know how good the 830 is compatibility wise with Sata II (3 Gb/s)? I want to buy one for my brother, but his pc only supports Sata II. I know the M4 should be compatible with his system(his motherboard specifically), but I like how the 830 comes with a total transfer kit.
I just wanted to double check . . .
You're saying that my 4890 will work with the i5 and, say, this ASUS Z68 board? If so, I have no problems holding off on purchasing a GPU for a little while.
Got a bump in salary this year and looking to upgrade my rig a bit!
Currently
Phenom X4 940 @3.5Ghz
4GB Ram
Radeon 5870 Vapor-X
With all of the new mods out for Skyrim I'm thinking I might want to get another card. But considering what I'm running now I'm curious if I should grab another card or just keep using what I have now.
Currently
Phenom X4 940 @3.5Ghz
4GB Ram
Radeon 5870 Vapor-X
With all of the new mods out for Skyrim I'm thinking I might want to get another card. But considering what I'm running now I'm curious if I should grab another card or just keep using what I have now.
I always just use a vacuum. And for the nasty dust that cakes itself on, I hold the vacuum hose in one hand and free it up with a Q-tip.
Yes!
GoingGreen
Banned
Why is the i5 2500k sold out on Amazon? Is the other chip coming this soon?
The Ivy Bridge i5-3570K replacement is launching in around (slightly less) two months. Maybe they don't want another restock this close.
Damn you people for making me look at the 2120's performance. I could get an ASUS P8H61-M and 2120 for 200 dollars. And I could sell my current CPU on ebay for about 150 bucks profit. That means for about 100 dollars I could replace the CPU, motherboard, and RAM. That's tempting. Especially since it would allow me to hold out for new architecture from Intel (next gen beyond Ivy) and when I did upgrade, I'd have a killer, low power system for a HTPC system. I need to think about this. I just worry that with the next set of GPUs, the benchmarks won't be so friendly to the 2120.
I felt something move
I'm about to get the 2120 and a 6870 when my tax refund clears the bank. I'm not really worried about it tbh. I already know It's not top of the line, but it will let me play most anything at good settings for awhile. That's all I can ask for really for 750 including a monitor.
Rickenslacker
Banned
Hey guys, I could really use some help right now. I'm trying to make the transition between AMD to Nvidia at the moment and AMD is making that pretty difficult.
I have the new card that I want to install, but right now I'm having a problem uninstalling the AMD drivers. I still have the AMD card in my PC, but when I go to uninstall all the software it fucks my desktop's colours and contrast beyond all recognition to where I have to set myself into high contrast and take screengrabs of the CCC install screens and adjust their levels in Photoshop to see what I'm doing. My colours normalize the moment I reinstall them, but I want to be rid of this already.
What do I do?
I have the new card that I want to install, but right now I'm having a problem uninstalling the AMD drivers. I still have the AMD card in my PC, but when I go to uninstall all the software it fucks my desktop's colours and contrast beyond all recognition to where I have to set myself into high contrast and take screengrabs of the CCC install screens and adjust their levels in Photoshop to see what I'm doing. My colours normalize the moment I reinstall them, but I want to be rid of this already.
What do I do?
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
Try Driver Sweeper.
I think everybody and their brother speculated that once we heard about all the OC headroom these cards had. Hope it's the case. The better performance we get now, the better performance we should see when the refreshes hit late this year/early next year (when I'm upgrading).
DrBaalzamon
Member
I thought drive sweeper was no longer supported because the developer started putting ads or something in the software? I seem to remember trying to find a copy to download and being unable to find it. Anyone?
Hey, I have a question about thermal paste.
I have an stock i2500 with the pre-applied thermal paste and CPU fan.
However, my PC fell over (don't ask how), Leaving the CPU fan unattached to the CPU. I simply re-installed it, and thankfully everything else was OK.
So, does this mean I have to reapply some thermal paste? My temps vary between 30-40C when idle which seems higher than before, but I can't be sure.
I have an stock i2500 with the pre-applied thermal paste and CPU fan.
However, my PC fell over (don't ask how), Leaving the CPU fan unattached to the CPU. I simply re-installed it, and thankfully everything else was OK.
So, does this mean I have to reapply some thermal paste? My temps vary between 30-40C when idle which seems higher than before, but I can't be sure.
That's because there was some conflict between Guru3D, and the Driver Sweeper dev. some time ago.
http://phyxion.net/item/driver-sweeper.html
You should always reapply TIM when your cooler, and CPU are separated. Obviously, clean both surfaces first.
Rickenslacker
Banned
That did it. What accursed software. Now to see how things are on the green side.
If you don't have some extra paste on hand you can get to it when you get to it, not urgent.
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Kingston HyperX Grey Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory
Combo for 148.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...tion&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na
Bad idea? The RAM supposedly runs at 1.5v. Any opinions on that board? It looks nice.
As I've been looking around some today, it really does seem like the mobos are a lot more limited today than they used to be. So many crummy reviews. Used to be companies that had gold reputations in that space. And I'm in no mood to spend 200 bucks on one. If that's the case, I'll let my current system ride till my board dies.
EDIT: Nevermind. After reading all those DOA reviews, I think I'll just wait for something decent to pop up on Amazon. Don't want to deal with Newegg's lousy return service.
2nd EDIT: What a POS. Finally found a review on this board. They were having an issue a lot of eggheads were having, and ASrock told them:
The problem can be solved by downloading and updating your BIOS to 5.0.2v. After doing so ASRock suggest you try insering the RAM moduals into A2 and B2 slots instead of A1 and B1, after this the RAM worked fine.
Quality control at it's worst. Reviewer seemed to think this was an acceptable solution :lol and still gave it a 9/10.
Kingston HyperX Grey Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory
Combo for 148.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...tion&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na
Bad idea? The RAM supposedly runs at 1.5v. Any opinions on that board? It looks nice.
As I've been looking around some today, it really does seem like the mobos are a lot more limited today than they used to be. So many crummy reviews. Used to be companies that had gold reputations in that space. And I'm in no mood to spend 200 bucks on one. If that's the case, I'll let my current system ride till my board dies.
EDIT: Nevermind. After reading all those DOA reviews, I think I'll just wait for something decent to pop up on Amazon. Don't want to deal with Newegg's lousy return service.
2nd EDIT: What a POS. Finally found a review on this board. They were having an issue a lot of eggheads were having, and ASrock told them:
The problem can be solved by downloading and updating your BIOS to 5.0.2v. After doing so ASRock suggest you try insering the RAM moduals into A2 and B2 slots instead of A1 and B1, after this the RAM worked fine.
Quality control at it's worst. Reviewer seemed to think this was an acceptable solution :lol and still gave it a 9/10.
After a couple of years of gaming with SLI I can genuinely say that I've found my first game where I got severe microstuttering exclusively due to SLI ( obviously not the first time I've had problems but the first time I've been bothered to the point of actively trying to troubleshoot the issue).
Played some Dead Island with all the tweaks and patches and got a sense that something wasn't right, slowly moving or turning the camera would result in a little "jitter" that pulled me out of it. Almost like a sped up lagspike, it was so bad I had to turn off SLI and voila it worked flawlessly without.
I'm fortunate enough not to notice, when it exists, this dual gpu micro stuttering in mild cases but if more games would act like the way Dead Island acted I'd never ever keep with it.
Played some Dead Island with all the tweaks and patches and got a sense that something wasn't right, slowly moving or turning the camera would result in a little "jitter" that pulled me out of it. Almost like a sped up lagspike, it was so bad I had to turn off SLI and voila it worked flawlessly without.
I'm fortunate enough not to notice, when it exists, this dual gpu micro stuttering in mild cases but if more games would act like the way Dead Island acted I'd never ever keep with it.
Yeah dead island was terribly coded and had tons of bugs and issues on launch. Surprised it works at all now.
That looked like a good combo to me, I have an Asrock mobo and Kingston HyperX memory and both work great. I wouldn't let bad reviews on motherboards scare you away, personally I think a good number of them are the result of installer errors rather than actual DOA hardware. Building a system has never been more accessible and there are more people than ever doing it. I've been building systems since the 286 days and have ordered hundreds of components over the years and can't recall a single piece of DOA hardware, and I tend to buy the cheaper stuff. I have had some mobos that appeared to be DOA only to find out the mobo was shorting out against the case, or I didn't have the CPU or memory properly installed, etc.
Didn't really bother since I realized one 560 was apparently more than enough for the game, but thanks for the tips if it happens again I'll try that out.
I guess. I'm just weirded out by the fact the manufacturer's official solution is to avoid two of the memory slots.
Honestly, I'm only at this point because the recommended boards all have warts too.
That cheap Asus board, which is what I was looking at this morning, had a ton of reviews that talked about the video out plain not working in Windows 7 64-bit. A lot of reviews.
My initial thinking was to go really cheap and have a good DVR system in a year or two when I scrapped it. So if that's questionable, the board would be useless.
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