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[The English Conquistador]

Is an upgrade from GTX 580 at 1440p to a Radeon 7970 or GTX 680 worth it?

The rest of my system is i5 2500k @ stock, 4 gigs of ram, 1 tb HDD etc.

Thanks!

 

[dragonballjoseph]

So all my parts will be in tomorrow (my SSD, HDD, and optical drive are here already). Gonna go by my school because a friend wants to build it for me for his class. So it'll be nice getting that help on my first build.
Also, since my school has that T1 internet, I can get my games downloaded fast. ^_^

 

[Windom Earle]

Is a GTX 680 still worth buying or should I wait? I currently have a 7850 which is a great card, but I am getting a bit sick of ATI and want to heavily mod GTAIV.

Is something better on the horizon? 500€/$ is around the max I want to spend.

 

[diztrukted]

Frozen CPU. Performance PCs has the DCII blocks in stock.

That thread in particular has a group of haters that just post snark all day.

cool. I think I'm just about ready to buy this thing (all the parts).

 

[DeuceGamer]

A few pages back I asked for some advice in building a machine over the next few months. I was wondering if anyone has tried this tower.

Diablotek Abyss CPA-8818-WT White Edition SECC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-110112-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11822011-L05C

Diablotek ABYSS CPA-8818-BK Black Edition SECC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-110112-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11822012-L0C

Is there anything I should know about these towers (limitations, problems, etc...)?
Any reason I shouldn't get one of these?

They are on sale for free after using a mail in rebate according an email they sent.

 

[mkenyon]

Is an upgrade from GTX 580 at 1440p to a Radeon 7970 or GTX 680 worth it?

The rest of my system is i5 2500k @ stock, 4 gigs of ram, 1 tb HDD etc.

Thanks!

It's so incremental, that you're the only person that can answer the question.

Whatever you do, get a 3GB or 4GB card if you upgrade.

Alright, so I'm hoping for a bit of advice. I bought some parts from a fellow GAFfer in the B/S/T thread a couple months back. They're not new, but they were MUCH better than what I had:

- ASUS M4A78 PLUS motherboard
- Phenom II X3 720 (?) Black Edition
- 4 GB of RAM
- PowerColor Radeon 5850

With the other parts I scrounged up in town, I was able to put together a new machine for a couple hundred bucks. However, I'm considering upgrading the processor to an X4 or an X6.

I can get an X4 965 for around $90 it seems. Is this going to be a worthwhile upgrade? I'd like to play some games from this generation, and other than that it's mainly just used for web browsing, etc. Nothing too intensive. I'd like an X6 1090 or 1100, but they seem to sell for a lot of money on eBay. Would the gains of going to hexacore even be worth it?

My other question is if I should buy another 5850 and SLI them. I think I can get one for a reasonable amount of money, and it seems like I'd get pretty good gains (closer to what the 6xxx cards get?) for a relatively inexpensive upgrade. I do not plan on buying a monitor that's over 1080P (costs), and this is sort of a stop gap until I finish school and can buy something better in a couple of years.

Any advice is appreciated.

Save your money, and don't spend it on minor upgrades on this system. There's not much of a difference in performance between a 720 and a quad Phenom II X4. You could spend money on getting a motherboard to unlock/overclock it, but I think that money is better tucked away waiting for a proper upgrade.

I'd skip out on a second 5850 too. Crossfire profiles aren't worth the hassle unless you know and are okay with getting into it. Just keep everything and save money for a total system upgrade.

I am still looking around for a graphics card to purchase for a friend of mine. He gave me the money to buy something for him, because he has no idea what to shop for. So I am looking at this card to purchase before the day is over:

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69829&vpn=FX787ACDFC&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1296

The card looks great at this price, especially with the never settle bundle games and mail in rebate. Plus most reviews I have read on the new 12.11 drivers suggest that they give a 7-10% performance increase on the 7870, which makes this card look even more appealing. But whats the reputation on FXF? Are the coolers quiet on these cards? Are there any problems I should be aware of with this manufacture?

XFX Double D coolers are some of the worst. There's a few that perform worse than reference coolers. I'd pass on that. Get Sapphire, Powercolor, Gigabyte, or ASUS.

Can anyone recommend a good replacement fan for a CoolerMaster Hyper212+? I guess that any 120mm compatible with the cooler mounting system will work?

Any fan will work. You want something that is high static pressure. From least expensive to most, ~1200RPM Yate Loon, BitFenix Spectre Pro, Corsair SP 120 Quiet Edition, Scythe Gentle Typhoon, Noiseblocker eloop.

Is a GTX 680 still worth buying or should I wait? I currently have a 7850 which is a great card, but I am getting a bit sick of ATI and want to heavily mod GTAIV.

Is something better on the horizon? 500€/$ is around the max I want to spend.

No new cards for awhile. I think 670 is the must buy on the high end if you are truly looking at performance and not bragging rights. Get two if you need super high performance. You can find them on the used market for ~$300.

A few pages back I asked for some advice in building a machine over the next few months. I was wondering if anyone has tried this tower.

Diablotek Abyss CPA-8818-WT White Edition SECC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-110112-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11822011-L05C

Diablotek ABYSS CPA-8818-BK Black Edition SECC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-110112-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11822012-L0C

Is there anything I should know about these towers (limitations, problems, etc...)?
Any reason I shouldn't get one of these?

They are on sale for free after using a mail in rebate according an email they sent.

Looks like they are both sold out. Diablotek makes some great stuff for the money.

cool. I think I'm just about ready to buy this thing (all the parts).

If you need any help on part selections or just want a second opinion, let me know.

 

[SoulClap]

I think I'm going to make my first case mod this week. I'm going to cut off the top half of the hard drive cages in my Fractal R3. I hope I don't screw this up too badly.

 

[mkenyon]

Do some research first. There's a number of cases where if you do that the cage becomes a source of tons of vibration/noise. Don't know whether the R3 is one.

 

[Moonkeis]

Is there a big difference in temps if you have the Cool Master 212 pulling air instead of pushing? This is how I currently need to set it up since I forgot to consider clearance when I purchased these corsair sticks.

 

[Mangotron]

Is there a big difference in temps if you have the Cool Master 212 pulling air instead of pushing? This is how I currently need to set it up since I forgot to consider clearance when I purchased these corsair sticks.

It's not HUGE, but reversing it on mine was like a 4c difference.

Quick question, I remember reading somewhere that hibernate is bad for SSDs, is that actually true? It's kind of convenient on Windows 8.

 

[mkenyon]

Is there a big difference in temps if you have the Cool Master 212 pulling air instead of pushing? This is how I currently need to set it up since I forgot to consider clearance when I purchased these corsair sticks.

4-8c difference. Don't do it if you can avoid it.

It's not HUGE, but reversing it on mine was like a 4c difference.

Quick question, I remember reading somewhere that hibernate is bad for SSDs, is that actually true? It's kind of convenient on Windows 8.

Yes, it reduces their life. Why not just turn off the computer?

 

[Azzurri]

Someone is selling an Apple Cinema Display 27" for $700, this that's a good deal? I want to barter it down and try 600, but 650 would do.

 

[kennah]

Someone is selling an Apple Cinema Display 27" for $700, this that's a good deal? I want to barter it down and try 600, but 650 would do.

Depends what year it is from and what you want to do with it. If you're plugging a MacPro or MacBook* into it then probably, but if it's for a PC you can get as good for cheaper.

 

[Azzurri]

Depends what year it is from and what you want to do with it. If you're plugging a MacPro or MacBook* into it then probably, but if it's for a PC you can get as good for cheaper.

It's non thuderbolt, I already have 1 Apple Cinema Display, I just wanted another one or 2 for my setup.

 

[mkenyon]

Buy a 120hz screen first.

 

[Infinite Justice]

4-8c difference. Don't do it if you can avoid it.

Yes, it reduces their life. Why not just turn off the computer?

Yea it loads up so fast anyway you would think it was on hibernate already LOL

 

[AwesomeSauce]

Thanks everyone!

A little shameless plug, would love some votes on the Cooled PC Competition

Just voted for you brah. Good luck.

 

[mkenyon]

Thank you!

 

[DTKT]

Thank you!

Looks awesome. You have my vote!

 

[Mangotron]

4-8c difference. Don't do it if you can avoid it.

Yes, it reduces their life. Why not just turn off the computer?

Windows 8 (or Start8, I'm not sure since that's how I shut it down) defaults shut down to hibernate for some reason. Only reason I was keeping it is because it skips the BIOS screen, but thanks for the tip! Voted for you in the contest too.

edit: I guess Win 8 has a fastboot setting that's a hybrid sleep mode that it defaults to.

 

[Ledsen]

Yes, it reduces their life. Why not just turn off the computer?

I've disabled hibernate on my SSD, but what about sleep mode?

 

[Mangotron]

I've disabled hibernate on my SSD, but what about sleep mode?

I think it depends if it's hybrid sleep or not. Win7 and 8 both do this and it writes the contents of your ram to the hard drive. If it's pure sleep then it just saves to the ram and it should be fine.

 

[Ledsen]

I think it depends if it's hybrid sleep or not. Win7 and 8 both do this and it writes the contents of your ram to the hard drive. If it's pure sleep then it just saves to the ram and it should be fine.

Hmm I've no idea, it's called "energy saving mode" in Swedish, hibernate is called "rest mode". I haven't seen any other modes than those.

 

[Zzoram]

Question about hybrid drives.

A friend of mine is considering a laptop with 500GB HDD and 20GB SSD hybrid drive. What is the SSD used for in this case? Is it purely for caching? Hibernating? Windows?

 

[scogoth]

Question about hybrid drives.

A friend of mine is considering a laptop with 500GB HDD and 20GB SSD hybrid drive. What is the SSD used for in this case? Is it purely for caching? Hibernating? Windows?

Caching


Got all the new parts in I ordered and the mayhem continues! More fans, lighting and two aquacomp poweradjusts to control everything

 

[mkenyon]

Very nice! AC makes some seriously nice hardware.

 

[DeuceGamer]

Looks like they are both sold out. Diablotek makes some great stuff for the money.

Yea, I was going to pull the trigger at lunch since I had nothing to lose for free, but they were gone by then

Hopefully they re-stock since it lasts till the 5th.

 

[scogoth]

Very nice! AC makes some seriously nice hardware.

But very confusing, there isnt an english manual for the poweradjusts...

 

[Dacvak]

(Couldn't find this thread before, but I was just redirected here.. so I'll ask this here.)

I'm building a new PC, and I'm trying to settle on a processor. The PC will primarily be for gaming, Wii emulation, and a bit of audio/video editing. Currently, I already have settled on two GTX 660 Ti video cards (purchased), so keep that in consideration.

I'm essentially looking at the 3770k vs the 3820. I'm definitely going to OC whichever processor I get, so that's a factor. Additionally, I'll be using 4x4GB (16GB total) of memory.

Which processor would be the smartest one to choose? I'm leaning toward the 3820 with the X79, because then I'd get 16x 16x with my cards, plus the machine would be relatively future-compatible. However, I'm just not sure.

Money isn't a huge issue, but I also don't want to needlessly spend if I'm not going to see a performance increase either now, or sometime down the road (when software starts taking advantage of certain features).

What are your thoughts - X79 or Z77?

Also: Here is rest of my build, here it is. Any input on that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[n0n44m]

But very confusing, there isnt an english manual for the poweradjusts...

if I recall correctly it goes like this

connect them separately to PC via USB - one at a time (always power off when you're messing with wires)

download (latest?) aquasuite, flash firmware if needed, configure both of them to different aquabus addresses

then you can connect them to the Aquaero via aquabus and control them that way

"Leistungsausgang" = fan/pump header

"Durchflusssensor" = flowrate sensor header

"Tachosignal" = RPM header

and Pin 1 for the USB should be the RED one

 

[scogoth]

if I recall correctly it goes like this

connect them separately to PC via USB - one at a time (always power off when you're messing with wires)

download (latest?) aquasuite, flash firmware if needed, configure both of them to different aquabus addresses

then you can connect them to the Aquaero via aquabus and control them that way

"Leistungsausgang" = fan/pump header

"Durchflusssensor" = flowrate sensor header

"Tachosignal" = RPM header

and Pin 1 for the USB should be the RED one

Thanks! I manage to figure out the pins. I'm going to try my luck without USB and flashing the firmware, going straight for aquabus.

For anyone who though cable management was too much work at least you don't have this to deal with...

 

[Zeliard]

Whatever you do, get a 3GB or 4GB card if you upgrade.

Would this be in order to SLI them later on? Seems like a lot of people recommend against the 4 giggers for single-monitor setups due to gpu power potentially being more of a bottleneck than memory when having +2GB memory will start becoming really critical.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Can anyone recommend a good replacement fan for a CoolerMaster Hyper212+? I guess that any 120mm compatible with the cooler mounting system will work?

I have a Cooler Master 120mm PWM fan that came off a Cooler Master V6 CPU cooler (functionally a 800-2200 RPM version of their Blade Master fan) laying around that I'd be willing to ship off to you for free, actually. It's only seen about a hundred hours' worth of use, but has red LEDs (the reason I replaced it).

If you want it, let me know.

 

[n0n44m]

Thanks! I manage to figure out the pins. I'm going to try my luck without USB and flashing the firmware, going straight for aquabus.

For anyone who though cable management was too much work at least you don't have this to deal with...

err pretty sure that won't work due to all device coming out of the factory with the same aquabus number/identifier/channel/whatever-it-is ---> that's why you set them to different numbers via a USB connection

and yeah I did a lot of (ugly) soldering to get cables to the length I needed

 

[mkenyon]

Would this be in order to SLI them later on? Seems like a lot of people recommend against the 4 giggers for single-monitor setups due to gpu power potentially being more of a bottleneck than memory when having +2GB memory will start becoming really critical.

If you are planning on keeping it for 2 years, I'd imagine that games will be beyond 2GB of VRAM at 1080p.

 

[scogoth]

err pretty sure that won't work due to all device coming out of the factory with the same aquabus number/identifier/channel/whatever-it-is ---> that's why you set them to different numbers via a USB connection

and yeah I did a lot of (ugly) soldering to get cables to the length I needed

O_O

- _ -

O_O


I should stop putting finishing touches and start tearing apart again

 

[n0n44m]

O_O

- _ -

O_O


I should stop putting finishing touches and start tearing apart again

just connect the USB for a moment

well ... "just" only in case you can still reach them

 

[Celcius]

Did gtx 680 price recently go down? On newegg.com, for example the 4gb msi model is $530 and used to be $600...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-1&isNodeId=1&Description=4gb+gtx+680&x=0&y=0

 

[Zanosuke]

I'm a sad panda since yesterday evening. I had finally bought the following parts for a new rigg:

Asus P8Z77-V PRO
Be quiet! Straight Power E9 680W 80+ Gold m
Corsair 8GB (2x4096MB) CL9 1600Mhz VENGEANCE Low Profile (CML8GX3M2A1600C9)
Samsung SSD Basic 830-Series 256 GB
ASUS GeForce GTX 670 2 GB DirectCUII
Fractal Design Define R4
BenQ 24" LED XL2420T
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM English
Logitech G400 Gaming Mouse
Western Digital® Desktop Blue 500GB
Plextor DVD±RW Writer PX-891SA
Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 Black
Fractal Design Silent Series R2 140mm x 3

but...it doesn't boot. The CPU, VGA and RAM-onboard LED flashes together for half a second while all the fans moves for an inch, but then nothing. I have assembeled a few computers in my days but I can't figure out what is wrong. I've remounted the CPU-cooler, trippelchecked all the connected cables, checked the CPU for broken/bent pins, tried to start without the graphics card installed, checked every inch of the computer chassi for something that might cause a short and I have also tried different memory configurations (one DIMM, two DIMMS).

Maybe the motherboard was DOA, broken CPU or power supply? GAF, what do you think?

 

[Dacvak]

Well, no one here said anything, so I went ahead and bought that PC. Roughly $2000. I'm pretty excited.

 

[Syphon Filter]

What is the latest cpu out from intel now? Last i heard and got was the i5 2500k. how many since then?

 

[kennah]

Just one. The same class as that one is the 3570k

 

[Celcius]

hmm...the cosmos 2 is $200 refurbished @ the CM store ($30 shipping). Worth taking the chance?

 

[x3r0123]

wooo r4 case for $100. good or wait for black friday?

 

[mkenyon]

hmm...the cosmos 2 is $200 refurbished @ the CM store ($30 shipping). Worth taking the chance?

CM Refurbished stuff is pretty good. Likely the issue was something silly like fan controller. If you like GIANT (and I mean really freaking giant) cases, then go for it.

Well, no one here said anything, so I went ahead and bought that PC. Roughly $2000. I'm pretty excited.

Any chance of cancelling part of it? Two 660Ti's was a bad move.

What is the latest cpu out from intel now? Last i heard and got was the i5 2500k. how many since then?

3770K, 3570K, 3970K, and 3820.

The latter two are meant for multimedia/workstations. The OP information is really up to date.

wooo r4 case for $100. good or wait for black friday?

Go for it. Black Friday generally sucks.

 

[bro1]

I'm a sad panda since yesterday evening. I had finally bought the following parts for a new rigg:

Asus P8Z77-V PRO
Be quiet! Straight Power E9 680W 80+ Gold m
Corsair 8GB (2x4096MB) CL9 1600Mhz VENGEANCE Low Profile (CML8GX3M2A1600C9)
Samsung SSD Basic 830-Series 256 GB
ASUS GeForce GTX 670 2 GB DirectCUII
Fractal Design Define R4
BenQ 24" LED XL2420T
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM English
Logitech G400 Gaming Mouse
Western Digital® Desktop Blue 500GB
Plextor DVD±RW Writer PX-891SA
Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 Black
Fractal Design Silent Series R2 140mm x 3

but...it doesn't boot. The CPU, VGA and RAM-onboard LED flashes together for half a second while all the fans moves for an inch, but then nothing. I have assembeled a few computers in my days but I can't figure out what is wrong. I've remounted the CPU-cooler, trippelchecked all the connected cables, checked the CPU for broken/bent pins, tried to start without the graphics card installed, checked every inch of the computer chassi for something that might cause a short and I have also tried different memory configurations (one DIMM, two DIMMS).

Maybe the motherboard was DOA, broken CPU or power supply? GAF, what do you think?

Take it out of the case and try a bench boot?

Try one stick of ram at a time? No gpu?

 

[bro1]

CM Refurbished stuff is pretty good. Likely the issue was something silly like fan controller. If you like GIANT (and I mean really freaking giant) cases, then go for it.

Any chance of cancelling part of it? Two 660Ti's was a bad move.

3770K, 3570K, 3970K, and 3820.

The latter two are meant for multimedia/workstations. The OP information is really up to date.

Go for it. Black Friday generally sucks.

Why are two 660 bad?

 

[RedSwirl]

Just asking here, but what currently is considered the best bang-for-your-buck mid-range card? The 8800GT was considered a venerable card and then the HD6850 after it. Has anything proved to be the next successor yet? Or what will be next year?

 

[mkenyon]

They perform pretty terribly in high AA/resolution situations because of memory bandwidth issues. As games evolve and eventually get higher than 1.6GB of VRAM (660Ti's effective memory), then that trend will continue.

Having two in SLI doesn't fix that issue, as you maintain a single bandwidth and total VRAM.

Just asking here, but what currently is considered the best bang-for-your-buck mid-range card? The 8800GT was considered a venerable card and then the HD6850 after it. Has anything proved to be the next successor yet? Or what will be next year?

7850.

 

[RedSwirl]

They perform pretty terribly in high AA/resolution situations because of memory bandwidth issues. As games evolve and eventually get higher than 1.6GB of VRAM (660Ti's effective memory), then that trend will continue.

Having two in SLI doesn't fix that issue, as you maintain a single bandwidth and total VRAM.

7850.

Oh. Okay. That's what I was gonna go with anyway. I'm guessing the hypothetical 8850 next year right? What if I wanted to make the switch to Nvidia?