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[mkenyon]

For audio equipment, also check out Headphone GAF, and Mad Lust Envy's Gaming Headphone Guide. These headphones are chosen for positional quality. A budget headset has been omitted because they're all pretty much garbage. Don't buy the Zalman clip on mic because it's also garbage.

[HEADSETS]

$100 - SteelSeries Flux .

$150/225 - Sennheiser PC350/360 - 360s have better speakers and are open ear.

[HEADPHONES]

$20 - Sennheiser HD201

$100 - AT AD700

$250 - AKG Q701

[MICS]

$33 - ModMic (Preorder) . .

$15 Logitech USB

$3 - Clip-on mic

[KEYBOARDS]

Mechanical switches are referred to Cherry MX switches. MX Brown = Quiet tactile, MX Blue = loud tactile, MX Black = stiff linear, MX Red = soft linear

$10 - Rosewill RIKB . . .

$25 - Logitech K200 . . .

$44 - Razer Arctosa

$80 - CM Quickfire Rapid

$65 - Logitech K750 . . .

$50-100 - Rosewill Mech

$100 - Noppoo Choc . . . .

$110 Vortex KBT Race

$344 - Happy Hacking Pro

[MICE]

Xornet is great for the price, but the Spawn has a better sensor. Customization on Sensei is unparalleled.

$30 - CM Storm Xornet . . .

$40 - CM Storm Spawn

$60 - SteelSeries Sensei RAW

***please ignore for the time being, saving progress***

 

[Koroviev]

Hey all, So it looks like I"m getting an end of the year bonus (woo!) and it should get me in a good place to build a PC.

so here's my current thinking,
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD55 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($128.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force Series GT 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower New 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.65 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG23AH 23.0" Monitor ($217.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1260.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-20 00:43 EST-0500)

That holds the primary parts around $1000, which is my budget (OS/software I'll be grabbing through my work MSDS subscription).

A couple of questions,

1) Is that SSD any good? Reliability is important here, as I'll be using this PC for programming.

2) With the resolution I"m targeting, and the games I'm looking to play (Bio shock Infinite, Indies, Civ V, Xcom, Skyrim) and at the resolution of that moniter, would a 660 GTX ti be a better choice? Will the keplar streaming features matter in the future for streaming to the TV/ Possibly getting a shield, or should I just stick to the 7870 which seems to be a slightly better performer at higher resolutions?

3) Would this build need a seperate CPU cooler or sound card? For sound I'd probably be mostly using headphones, or possibly running an HDMI cable out to my TV/Home theater system.

Thanks, I'd appreciate any feedback, especially any places where I have overkill, and could save a few bucks .

Last time I built a PC was 10 years ago... wow things seem way different.

If you can stretch the budget at all, you might want to consider a 240-256GB SSD...you can find several for less than $200 each including tax. You're only paying ~50% more to double the capacity. While 120/128GB is by no means unmanageable, those SSDs are slower and you will probably find yourself having to shuffle program files to make space.

 

[zRebellion]

I've been trying to build a new PC. This is what it looks like so far.

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/ywzq

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Zalman Z9 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Other: i7 860 & Asus P7P55D Pro ($200.00)
Other: TP-Link TL-WN721N Wireless LITE-N USB Adapter IEEE 802.11N/G/B 150Mbps ($9.99)
Total: $476.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-20 00:37 EST-0500)

Getting the i7 860 & Asus P7P55D Pro from a friend of mine. How do the specs look, and will the 450W PSU be sufficient?

@Koroviev: Should be alright...

I have a few more questions though...

1. Is it worth it to spend a few extra dollars in any of the sections?
2. Will I be able to use my laptop hard drives with this system?
3. Could I go cheaper with anything while maintaining the same performance?
4. What kind of performance would I get on games like Skyrim or something at 1920x1080?

 

[electricpirate]

Thanks for the tips everyone!

I updated the build, it upped the price, so I'll have to see how the bonus comes out If it's a little lower I may hold off on the moniter for a bit (Are there any of those amazing deal/gamble 23" Korean IPS' floating around? all I find are the 27" which is overkill for me)?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper N520 43.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD55 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($128.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower New 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.65 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG23AH 23.0" Monitor ($217.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1346.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-20 01:18 EST-0500)

 

[Koroviev]

@Koroviev: Should be alright...

I have a few more questions though...

1. Is it worth it to spend a few extra dollars in any of the sections?
2. Will I be able to use my laptop hard drives with this system?
3. Could I go cheaper with anything while maintaining the same performance?
4. What kind of performance would I get on games like Skyrim or something at 1920x1080?

You might want to upgrade the 7850 to the 2GB model. It's not that much more expensive and vram usage is only going up.

 

[subversus]

With that budget, go for the Standard build. I can vouch for it as that's what I built and so far it has been rock solid.

The problem with the standard build is that it uses i3-3220 and it has two cores. Judging from my experience with Battlefield and some other games two cores aren't enough... Bad Company 2 and BF3 aren't playable one two cores. Same goes for Planetside 2.

 

[mkenyon]

i3's are hyper threaded, which means that they have 4 virtual cores. In either case, per-thread/core performance means more than anything in games.

 

[subversus]

I need to check benchmarks. I might went with 3220 then. Because CPU isn't budget enough in my build.

 

[mkenyon]

I need to check benchmarks. I might went with 3220 then. Because CPU isn't budget enough in my build.

Go here for the reviews.

There's been some new techniques developed over the last 6 months that allows us to more accurately test gaming performance. TechReport is the only website to use it on a massive scale for most modern hardware so far. A number of other websites are using it now, but just don't have the data that TR does.

 

[sorijealut]

Any users of Deathadder 2013? we could probably add it too? heard good things.
As for keyboards CM Trigger is Costar made, and G710+ seems good despite apparent LED problems, it looks good.

 

[mkenyon]

Any users of Deathadder 2013? we could probably add it too? heard good things.
As for keyboards CM Trigger is Costar made, and G710+ seems good despite apparent LED problems, it looks good.

G710 overpriced, Death Adder falls apart when you squint at it.

 

[sorijealut]

G710 overpriced, Death Adder falls apart when you squint at it.

lol true... and really for DA2013...? at least Cooler Master Trigger then!!!

 

[scogoth]

lol true... and really for DA2013...? at least Cooler Master Trigger then!!!

Great keyboard but more expensive than other red switches.

 

[mkenyon]

lol true... and really for DA2013...? at least Cooler Master Trigger then!!!

Yeah, it has this thing where Razer built it. Granted, they have a wonderful RMA service, but sending in your mouse every year or so is ridiculous when you can buy a Xornet that has an amazing sensor and build quality for $30. We try to filter out everything and just provide you with the best parts that you can get for the money.

 

[subversus]

can somebody suggest cheaper/the same price alternative to this?

 

[mkenyon]

Have you seen a 27" 1080p monitor in person? The pixel density is pretty low.

 

[Koroviev]

Have you seen a 27" 1080p monitor in person? The pixel density is pretty low.

Yeah, that's one of the things I don't like about my 25" monitor :\

 

[subversus]

Have you seen a 27" 1080p monitor in person? The pixel density is pretty low.

damn, I linked the wrong monitor. The one I saw was 21,5

 

[Addnan]

Any need for a 4GB card? I may have a bit more money to spend on my build than I had originally thought. GTX 670 4GB or a 2GB 680, or maybe just stick with 2GB 670?. Will be playing at 1920x1080, not upgrading any time soon.

 

[mkenyon]

Only if modded Skyrim is a core requirement of your gaming experience.

Put the money towards 120hz.

 

[Addnan]

Only if modded Skyrim is a core requirement of your gaming experience.

Put the money towards 120hz.

Modded Skyrim is not, nothing modded is really.

Will look into 120hz monitors more, saw some of you guys discussing it earlier. Will read back. Thanks.

 

[SneakyStephan]

Yeah. In the light of things, I think the Asus VG23AH is the best all-round monitor on the market right now. Completely negligible input lag, tonnes of inputs, height adjustment, uses a semi-gloss IPS panel, can be pushed to 76hz, has extremely solid default presets. Close to perfect if you don't wear polarized or filtered glasses.

Something that might interest you. Monitors with Lightboost seem to have a trick where you mess around with the 3D and backlighting to make it behave like a CRT. So basically you're doing black frame insertion if I understand it right. Info here and here. Since its a NV 3D thing, obviously AMD GPU owners are left in the dark.

It's also very blurry apparently (which for me disqualifies it as an option for gaming) and suffers from nasty backlight bleed.
72 hz is pointless since almost no games have an option to run at that (though most games have 70 and 75 hz options).

edit: 76? the reviews I read said it only did 72, maybe I'm mistaking the name.

 

[Kammie]

I've got a question now that I hooked up some good speakers to my computer. In the OP the Xonar DG is recommended as a soundcard. I've never used anything but onboard audio and an external 96/24 USB dongle that killed all the bass. Apart from the basic surround, do soundcards have any noticeable difference in terms of output? Is the fact it has an amp going to noticeably affect my active speakers, or really make little to no difference from the onboard to justify the purchase? I ask since 1) limited funds, and 2), it's more expensive here than in the U.S.

 

[Hazaro]

I was glossing over some of the Reddit /buildapc/ posts. I'm sure glad you guys aren't part of some stupid hivemind of sheep. I'm not perfect, but holy shit some of those comments and builds make me weep.
New Thread coming soon

I've got a question now that I hooked up some good speakers to my computer. In the OP the Xonar DG is recommended as a soundcard. I've never used anything but onboard audio and an external 96/24 USB dongle that killed all the bass. Apart from the basic surround, do soundcards have any noticeable difference in terms of output? Is the fact it has an amp going to noticeably affect my active speakers, or really make little to no difference from the onboard to justify the purchase? I ask since 1) limited funds, and 2), it's more expensive here than in the U.S.

What motherboard are you using? Different ones use different chipsets for audio.
What speakers are you driving?

And yes it should make a solid difference. The DG is PCI only and the DGX (I've heard) is worse and is PCI-E.

You can also look into getting a Creative Z soundcard (ty Mkenyon), but that's more expensive.

 

[Kammie]

What motherboard are you using? Different ones use different chipsets for audio.
What speakers are you driving?

And yes it should make a solid difference. The DG is PCI only and the DGX (I've heard) is worse and is PCI-E.

You can also look into getting a Creative Z soundcard (ty Mkenyon), but that's more expensive.

I'm using an ASUS M4N68T-M LE V2. For speakers, I'm using these right here.

I was interested in the DG you mentioned because I'm unemployed and the price is still accessible over here... a Creative is like twice the price, which is too much for me.

 

[Hazaro]

Actually rereading that I'm not 100% positive it would make a big difference. I am not an audio person (saves me money). I'd go ask head-fi.org or see if someone here or at headphoneGAF would know.

Now off to bed since it's almost 4.

 

[Kammie]

All right, thanks for the honest input If anyone else can chime in, it'd be appreciated.

 

[doniewhalberg]

With that lightboost trick, the BenQ XL2420T will have better motion performance but other problems like desaturated colours, possible flickering if you're sensitive to that stuff, and a bunch of other problems.

It also has the problem where you pretty much have to maintain 120 FPS near constantly, which is a hard for just about everything but the most powerful desktop.

The Asus VG23AH is just great out of the box and making it run at 76hz has no visual negatives.

Cool, thanks for the info again, mkenyon too. I think I'm going to hold up on a decision until the reviews hit for the VG248QE that's just coming out and what price point it'll run at in the uk and then I think it'll really just be between that and the VG23AH. I still have about 6 weeks until I was gonig to start pulling the trigger on actually purchasing so hopefully I'll be sure then haha

 

[NobleTalal]

Hello GAF, I'm building a new gaming rig and I've already chose the parts. I just want some final thoughts before ordering it.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K ($224)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($30)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V ($170)
Graphics Card: MSI GTX 660 Ti OC ($310)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB ($57)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series SSD 128GB ($144)
Storage: WD Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache ($95)
Power Supply: Corsair HX750 ($150) (I might get another GC running on SLI)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 ($102)
Optical Drive: Asus Blu-ray drive ($56)
Operating System: Windows 8 ($96)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 ($65)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 Elite ($120)

Total: $1619

I'm ordering all of my parts from Amazon since I have the Prime membership. However, I've seen sites like Microcenter.com that sell some parts way cheaper, but I've read a lot of complaints about the site. So if there is any site that is cheaper, please let me know. I live in the United States.

 

[GHG]

Hello GAF, I'm building a new gaming rig and I've already chose the parts. I just want some final thoughts before ordering it.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K ($224)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($30)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V ($170)
Graphics Card: MSI GTX 660 Ti OC ($310)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB ($57)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series SSD 128GB ($144)
Storage: WD Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache ($95)
Power Supply: Corsair HX750 ($150) (I might get another GC running on SLI)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 ($102)
Optical Drive: Asus Blu-ray drive ($56)
Operating System: Windows 8 ($96)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 ($65)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 Elite ($120)

Total: $1619

I'm ordering all of my parts from Amazon since I have the Prime membership. However, I've seen sites like Microcenter.com that sell some parts way cheaper, but I've read a lot of complaints about the site. So if there is any site that is cheaper, please let me know. I live in the United States.

If you're set on the 660 TI as a GPU go for this 3GB version:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-SUPERCLOCKED-Graphics-03G-P4-3663-KR/dp/B008S15X64/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1358685528&sr=1-1&keywords=GTX+660+Ti+3gb

The 2GB versions are slightly crippled in the VRAM usage (can't properly utilise more than 1.5GB) due to the modifications that needed to be made to the architecture to fit the non-standard ratio of 2GB onto the 192bit bus. Also, if you're thinking of going SLI in the future, 3GB will serve you better in the long run than the crippled 2GB will.

Apart from that, looks good. 660's are nice in an SLI setup.

 

[kharma45]

Hello GAF, I'm building a new gaming rig and I've already chose the parts. I just want some final thoughts before ordering it.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K ($224)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($30)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V ($170)
Graphics Card: MSI GTX 660 Ti OC ($310)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB ($57)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series SSD 128GB ($144)
Storage: WD Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache ($95)
Power Supply: Corsair HX750 ($150) (I might get another GC running on SLI)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 ($102)
Optical Drive: Asus Blu-ray drive ($56)
Operating System: Windows 8 ($96)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 ($65)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 Elite ($120)

Total: $1619

I'm ordering all of my parts from Amazon since I have the Prime membership. However, I've seen sites like Microcenter.com that sell some parts way cheaper, but I've read a lot of complaints about the site. So if there is any site that is cheaper, please let me know. I live in the United States.

Change your RAM to this stuff http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00592002W/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Your PSU to this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ETEFTK/?tag=neogaf0e-20 (it is about $20 cheaper on Newegg though as it's on promotion).

Are you going to really make use of a Blu-ray drive? Also, wholly set on going Nvidia?

 

[memecomplex]

If you're set on the 660 TI as a GPU go for this 3GB version:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-SUPERCLOCKED-Graphics-03G-P4-3663-KR/dp/B008S15X64/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1358685528&sr=1-1&keywords=GTX+660+Ti+3gb

The 2GB versions are slightly crippled in the VRAM usage (can't properly utilise more than 1.5GB) due to the modifications that needed to be made to the architecture to fit the non-standard ratio of 2GB onto the 192bit bus. Also, if you're thinking of going SLI in the future, 3GB will serve you better in the long run than the crippled 2GB will.

Apart from that, looks good. 660's are nice in an SLI setup.

660ti's memory bandwidth will hold you back if you are looking to SLI in the future and play games downsampled with a good amount of AA. I'd go with at least a GTX 670 if the budget allows because downsampling is really, really awesome! See this thread if you haven't:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509076

But if you're not interested in all that, the 660 Ti's perfect for 1080p, it's been designed to deliver the most bang for that res.

 

[NobleTalal]

If you're set on the 660 TI as a GPU go for this 3GB version:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-SUPERCLOCKED-Graphics-03G-P4-3663-KR/dp/B008S15X64/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1358685528&sr=1-1&keywords=GTX+660+Ti+3gb

The 2GB versions are slightly crippled in the VRAM usage (can't properly utilise more than 1.5GB) due to the modifications that needed to be made to the architecture to fit the non-standard ratio of 2GB onto the 192bit bus. Also, if you're thinking of going SLI in the future, 3GB will serve you better in the long run than the crippled 2GB will.

Apart from that, looks good. 660's are nice in an SLI setup.

Well, the reason that I picked the 660ti is that I'm going to be running games on 1920x1080 resolution and this card is perfect for it and has a very affordable price.

But my question is, does it really make a difference getting the 3GB version in terms of performance? Because I really loved how the MSI power edition version stays really cool and has the highest benchmarks, and it's also designed for overclocking. But if the 3GB version makes a noticeable difference, then I might reconsider. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[NobleTalal]

Change your RAM to this stuff http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00592002W/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Your PSU to this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ETEFTK/?tag=neogaf0e-20 (it is about $20 cheaper on Newegg though as it's on promotion).

Are you going to really make use of a Blu-ray drive? Also, wholly set on going Nvidia?

Okay, I've changed my RAM since this one has less voltage. Also, the PSU has more wattage, fully modular, and cheaper, so thanks for that too!

Well, it's a Blu-ray reader not writer, I've picked it since it's not much more expensive and I might be watching Blu-ray movies.

660ti's memory bandwidth will hold you back if you are looking to SLI in the future and play games downsampled with a good amount of AA. I'd go with at least a GTX 670 if the budget allows because downsampling is really, really awesome! See this thread if you haven't:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509076

But if you're not interested in all that, the 660 Ti's perfect for 1080p, it's been designed to deliver the most bang for that res.

Well, when overclocking the 660ti, it gives close performance of the 670. I don't think I'm going to be using downsampling for now. Also, there are some rumors about Nvidia releasing new GPUs in the next few months, so I might even pass on the SLI.

 

[kharma45]

Okay, I've changed my RAM since this one has less voltage. Also, the PSU has more wattage, fully modular, and cheaper, so thanks for that too!

Well, it's a Blu-ray reader not writer, I've picked it since it's not much more expensive and I might be watching Blu-ray movies.

If you're just gaming at 1080p there is a good alternative from AMD in the shape of the 7870 XT

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWKYB1M/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Also, if you take my suggestions from up above you'll save $20 which could even say go towards a 670 or a 7970, and if you aren't going to make use of a Blu-ray drive (saying you might watch them means you might well not I've a BR drive in my laptop and I could probably count on two hands the number of times I've used a BR on it over the last two and a half years) and decide to swap to a DVD writer then you could easily if one of those into your budget.

 

[NobleTalal]

If you're just gaming at 1080p there is a good alternative from AMD in the shape of the 7870 XT

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWKYB1M/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Also, if you take my suggestions from up above you'll save $20 which could even say go towards a 670 or a 7970, and if you aren't going to make use of a Blu-ray drive (saying you might watch them means you might well not I've a BR drive in my laptop and I could probably count on two hands the number of times I've used a BR on it over the last two and a half years) and decide to swap to a DVD writer then you could easily if one of those into your budget.

Well, I've done a lot of research for buying the graphics card, and it seems that I'm sticking with the MSI GTX 660ti Power Edition since it has the highest benchmarks in its range, is very capable of overclocking, and stays really cool.

Good point on the BD lol, you're right, I don't think I'm gonna go to a store and buy a movie and watch it. Plus, I have my PS3 in case I needed to watch bluray movies. Do you have any recommendation for an Optical drive?

 

[Whiteshirt]

If we're talking about DVD drives, they're all the same. The only time it matters is if you're going the Hackintosh route, where Sony Optiarcs work best.

 

[kharma45]

Well, I've done a lot of research for buying the graphics card, and it seems that I'm sticking with the MSI GTX 660ti Power Edition since it has the highest benchmarks in its range, is very capable of overclocking, and stays really cool.

Good point on the BD lol, you're right, I don't think I'm gonna go to a store and buy a movie and watch it. Plus, I have my PS3 in case I needed to watch bluray movies. Do you have any recommendation for an Optical drive?

Fair enough if you want to stick to Nvidia. I'd just get something like this since you'll probably rarely, if ever, use the drive

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YIG9AQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20

With that money saved you could always look to a 670 now too.

 

[SneakyStephan]

660ti's memory bandwidth will hold you back if you are looking to SLI in the future and play games downsampled with a good amount of AA. I'd go with at least a GTX 670 if the budget allows because downsampling is really, really awesome! See this thread if you haven't:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509076

But if you're not interested in all that, the 660 Ti's perfect for 1080p, it's been designed to deliver the most bang for that res.

If you read his post, only 1.5GB of the 2GB gets the full bandwidth, the other 512 is crippled.

 

[kharma45]

Any good way to see what drivers I have installed?

edit: through the "Catalyst Control Center"?

I think I just figured it out.

GPU-Z would be able to tell you. If you downloaded the drivers from AMD's website in the last day or two it should be the 13.1 ones.

 

[Addnan]

120hz monitors are expensive. Did not think it would be that much more than normal ones. Scan has a BenQ monitor with 3D vision equipment for £368.69. I've always wanted 3D gaming and watching couple of videos about this monitor people say it also supports 3D over HDMI. Would be nice for blu rays. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/24-b...itor-hdmi-dvi-1920x1080-250cd-m2-10001-2ms-pl

Not really sure what else to look for.

 

[doniewhalberg]

Amazon has a benq xl2411t fooor £230 I believe. Doesn't come with 3d equipment, but just as the monitor I'd say that's price comparable to something like a dell u2412m or whatever, it's not horrific. I was just saying on the las tpage how suprised I was that 3D/120hz monitors are a decent price compared to non XD

 

[Addnan]

Amazon has a benq xl2411t fooor £230 I believe. Doesn't come with 3d equipment, but just as the monitor I'd say that's price comparable to something like a dell u2412m or whatever, it's not horrific. I was just saying on the las tpage how suprised I was that 3D/120hz monitors are a decent price compared to non XD

Will look into that, looks pretty good. Pricing is much closer to what I was hoping. Can get 3D stuff later if I want.

£230 with next day at Overclockers. I must resist, tempted to order it right now. What is wrong with me, until this morning a new monitor was not even on my radar.

 

[blindrocket]

SSD question!

I've been considering a 256GB SSD, however I've read advice to install the OS on that drive but apps and games on a secondary HDD.

So, with that said wouldn't the 256GB be overkill?

I'm not sure how much space Win 7 will take up, but not even close to needing 256 gigabytes. I'm sure my Steam folder will be freaking HUGE, but I'm not sure.

If I could save some money and just get say, a 128 gigabyte drive... maybe that's the better route to take?

 

[scogoth]

SSD question!

I've been considering a 256GB SSD, however I've read advice to install the OS on that drive but apps and games on a secondary HDD.

So, with that said wouldn't the 256GB be overkill?

I'm not sure how much space Win 7 will take up, but not even close to needing 256 gigabytes. I'm sure my Steam folder will be freaking HUGE, but I'm not sure.

If I could save some money and just get say, a 128 gigabyte drive... maybe that's the better route to take?

I would stick apps and some games on the SSD. Apps will launch a lot faster and seem more responsive. Games won't make a huge difference but you can use Steam Mover to keep your most used games on the SSD

 

[doniewhalberg]

£230 with next day at Overclockers. I must resist, tempted to order it right now. What is wrong with me, until this morning a new monitor was not even on my radar.

Damn haham that is a good deal. Just as warning if it helps, I'm currently holding off for the Asus VG248QE to pop up on uk sites and check the price on that before I decide on a monitor. It looks like it has the same screen as the Benq I mentioned, but what they've got behind it might make for a better product at (hopefully) the same price. So you might want to read up on that too. If you're not so bothered about 3d Vision specifically , and you just want 3d in general, there was a real good asus monitor mentioned above too, the VG23AH. Again though, I'm holding off on that new 144hz monitor to see its price.

 

[Addnan]

Is this the cheapest way to get Windows 8 for a new build. ?

Tried my university, but they only offer it to students that to computer related subjects.

 

[LeleSocho]

Can someone point me to the best gpu i can buy without being cpu limited?
I have an old C2D e8400 with stock everything.

 

[2San]

SSD question!

I've been considering a 256GB SSD, however I've read advice to install the OS on that drive but apps and games on a secondary HDD.

So, with that said wouldn't the 256GB be overkill?

I'm not sure how much space Win 7 will take up, but not even close to needing 256 gigabytes. I'm sure my Steam folder will be freaking HUGE, but I'm not sure.

If I could save some money and just get say, a 128 gigabyte drive... maybe that's the better route to take?

Well if you only have one SSD install the games and apps on the SSD as well. That advice would only make sense if you have 2 SSD's(even then performance gain should be unnoticeable for the average user).

 

[scogoth]

Is this the cheapest way to get Windows 8 for a new build. ?

Tried my university, but they only offer it to students that to computer related subjects.

If you have windows 7 you can upgrade for $30US (not sure what they charge in the UK but it will be cheaper)

Can someone point me to the best gpu i can buy without being cpu limited?
I have an old C2D e8400 with stock everything.

That will be heavily game dependent, what games do you play most?