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[mkenyon]

Yeah, any upgrade on the cpu at this time will require a new motherboard, and possibly new memory. Some of the initial DDR3 doesn't play well with the newer 1155 motherboards, I'd assume that will carry over to 1150 as well.

The 660Ti should be replaced by the 760Ti in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on that. Even still, I'd almost say wait for AMD's new Volcano Islands offerings to be out in Nov/Dec, or just go with a 7950. The lack of memory and memory bandwidth on the 660/670/680 and therefore 760Ti/770 is worrisome for me.

 

[kharma45]

Currently I'm running:

• i7-950 (OC @3.8GHz) Socket 1366
• EVGA Nvidia GTX 460
• 6GB of DDR3 1600 (supports up to 3 channel 2100+)
• no SSD.

I know that in terms of next-gen I'm probably going to:

• Replace my RAM with a 3 stick 12GB set, or whatever is best at the time.
• Upgrade the GPU to a 660ti whenever one goes on offer (or again, whatever's best at the time).
• Reinstall the OS to a decent SSD.
• I suspect I may need a better PSU, but I'll have to test that sometime.

But in terms of the CPU, should I be looking towards this Haswell line when it comes out, will my board even support them? What would be a good long-term replacement on a 1366 board? I can push the OC a bit further (4.2GHz apparently), but for the moment it does everything I want just fine. Just trying to think ahead. Thanks in advance.

For Haswell you'll need a new motherboard, it's socket 1150. In the long term there is that or you could go Socket 2011 and upgrade to Ivy Bridge-E down the line when it launches if you need it.

Why would you bother with 12GB of RAM? Are you frequently using all 6? if not don't bother and get new stuff if you're getting a new mobo/CPU. SSD is a good shout, best upgrade you can do. GPU wise the 7950 is a better VFM buy, could all change though when the 760 Ti comes out.

 

[iavi]

Guys, I have a question: to be somewhat ready for next-gen, would it be a better move to get a second 7950 once AMD's fixed Xfire drivers roll around, or bump up to whatever their next flagship is going to be?

I know the single gpu > sli/xfire talk, but why? With both 7950s OCd, It'd be more power than the next single gpu card can offer.

 

[kharma45]

Guys, I have a question: to be somewhat ready for next-gen, would it be a better move to get a second 7950 once AMD's fixed Xfire drivers roll around, or bump up to whatever their next flagship is going to be?

I know the single gpu > sli/xfire talk, but why? With both 7950s OCd, It'd be more power than the next single gpu card can offer.

Next-gen console stuff won't be troubling your 7950, not for a while. I'd go for a single card from their next generation of cards. No issues with multi GPU scaling, cooler, quieter, less power, no driver issues.

 

[Baleoce]

For Haswell you'll need a new motherboard, it's socket 1150. In the long term there is that or you could go Socket 2011 and upgrade to Ivy Bridge-E down the line when it launches if you need it.

Why would you bother with 12GB of RAM? Are you frequently using all 6? if not don't bother and get new stuff if you're getting a new mobo/CPU. SSD is a good shout, best upgrade you can do. GPU wise the 7950 is a better VFM buy, could all change though when the 760 Ti comes out.

Audio/video editing. And yeah I frequently bottleneck it. So there's definitely nothing on 1366 that's worthy of an upgrade? I don't mind switching mobos if I have to though, gives me an excuse to get a better case/PSU.

 

[HoosTrax]

Are there any microATX cases other than the Corsair 350D and Arc Mini that are designed to take 2x120mm rads right out of the box?

 

[kharma45]

Audio/video editing. And yeah I frequently bottleneck it. So there's definitely nothing on 1366 that's worthy of an upgrade? I don't mind switching mobos if I have to though, gives me an excuse to get a better case/PSU.

That's fair enough then, you'd be wanting plenty of it. There is nothing really to go for on 1366 bar the 980x, and it's not worth doing that. So you can either go Socket 2011 or wait for Haswell with 1150 which should be here this day next week at worst.

 

[Baleoce]

That's fair enough then, you'd be wanting plenty of it. There is nothing really to go for on 1366 bar the 980x, and it's not worth doing that. So you can either go Socket 2011 or wait for Haswell with 1150 which should be here this day next week at worst.

Much appreciated man. Cheers.

 

[BigBoss]

I have a dilemma, hopefully someone can help me out. I currently have a GTX 570, I bought it 1 year ago and I'm thinking about upgrading. I can get an AMD 7970 for $330 after rebate with 4 free games, should I pull the trigger or should I ride it out with my 570 until nextgen arrives?

 

[thuway]

I just wanted to pop in and say I am thinking of building a PC in the next two years, which means jack diddly squat as of this second. My goal is to run next-gen games at 4k with all features turn to 11 at 60 FPS.

 

[Eaten By A Grue]

I have a dilemma, hopefully someone can help me out. I currently have a GTX 570, I bought it 1 year ago and I'm thinking about upgrading. I can get an AMD 7970 for $330 after rebate with 4 free games, should I pull the trigger or should I ride it out with my 570 until nextgen arrives?

I have the exact same card and I added price alerts for 680's on New Egg. I am hoping the new 780's bring down the price, but who knows how long that will be. The 780's are waaaaay out of my price range.

 

[kennah]

I have a dilemma, hopefully someone can help me out. I currently have a GTX 570, I bought it 1 year ago and I'm thinking about upgrading. I can get an AMD 7970 for $330 after rebate with 4 free games, should I pull the trigger or should I ride it out with my 570 until nextgen arrives?

Do you want the games?

I just wanted to pop in and say I am thinking of building a PC in the next two years, which means jack diddly squat as of this second. My goal is to run next-gen games at 4k with all features turn to 11 at 60 FPS.

That's... nice?

 

[plainr_]

I just wanted to pop in and say I am thinking of building a PC in the next two years, which means jack diddly squat as of this second. My goal is to run next-gen games at 4k with all features turn to 11 at 60 FPS.

Start saving up. That's at least a 3.5k+ dollar investment.

 

[appaws]

So I know this is frowned upon, but I don't have any time to build a PC nowadays and I found the following for $1,499. The power supply isn't listed, but I called Dell and this comes with an 875W power supply that can be upgraded to as much as 1100W. I always like to buy a new PC when the next console generation is revealed.

How does this compare to the next gen consoles? Should I be able to play anything they can comfortably? Is 875W enough power to run any mid range cards coming out now/in the near future? Or am I simply throwing away my money? Thanks for helping me out.




PROCESSOR 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3820 processor (10M Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1 GHz)

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

MEMORY 16GB (4 X 4GB) Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz

VIDEO CARD 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660

HARD DRIVE 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s

MONITOR No Monitor

SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

Building yourself is easy. It's great to keep the control of everything yourself.

Also, for $1500 bucks you should be able to build a much better machine than that, rocking the new Haswell i5 and a 780, or at least a 680 or a 7970 Ghz and a bunch of free games.

 

[iavi]

I just wanted to pop in and say I am thinking of building a PC in the next two years, which means jack diddly squat as of this second. My goal is to run next-gen games at 4k with all features turn to 11 at 60 FPS.

See you then.

 

[mkenyon]

Are there any microATX cases other than the Corsair 350D and Arc Mini that are designed to take 2x120mm rads right out of the box?

Parvum Systems, Caselabs SM5, upcoming Caselabs Mercury S5. The CM Scout II is smaller than either Caselabs case, and fits 2 120mm rads.

 

[CaptainZombie]

I'm actually about to use a Fractal Design Define R3 on it's side for a HTPC case. I'd recommend this if you don't care about the number of internal HDDs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352028

I had the Fractal Design Node 605 for a week and while it was a great case, it was very constrained of a case. I have read and seen many reviews on the Silverstone Grandia GD08 http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=331&area=en which I just ordered from Newegg today. I also have a HAF XB from Microcenter, but will be returning it this weekend since I'm getting the Grandia. The Grandia is a bit bigger than the Fractal Design Node 605 so you have more room to work with inside and still get that HTPC horizontal look.

Here are some pics of this case online. I'll post pics from my build when this case comes in.

Install Video:

http://youtu.be/k5L1V6p2RHE

 

[nbthedude]

So I know this is frowned upon, but I don't have any time to build a PC nowadays and I found the following for $1,499. The power supply isn't listed, but I called Dell and this comes with an 875W power supply that can be upgraded to as much as 1100W. I always like to buy a new PC when the next console generation is revealed.

How does this compare to the next gen consoles? Should I be able to play anything they can comfortably? Is 875W enough power to run any mid range cards coming out now/in the near future? Or am I simply throwing away my money? Thanks for helping me out.




PROCESSOR 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3820 processor (10M Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1 GHz)

OPERATING SYSTEM Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

MEMORY 16GB (4 X 4GB) Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz

VIDEO CARD 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660

HARD DRIVE 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s

MONITOR No Monitor

SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

You don't have an hour or two? How do you have time to play games?

In all seriousness, people aren't just putting you on, it really is pretty easy and a rewarding experience. There are a ton of video guides that will walk you through the process from start to finish in under an hour step by step. A buddy of mine just used this Techreport guide to build his own PC last month and he had no former knowledge of PCs at all.

In terms of that system, that's not terrible. It's probably pretty comparable to what the consoles will do. However you do could do a lot better for cheaper by putting it together yourself. Just look at the stats and costs of the estimated builds in the OP and compare them to that.

 

[HoosTrax]

Parvum Systems, Caselabs SM5, upcoming Caselabs Mercury S5. The CM Scout II is smaller than either Caselabs case, and fits 2 120mm rads.

And with design aesthetics comparable to a Honda Ridgeline or Cadillac Escalade truck to boot...yikes. Not too fond of those angles.

 

[mkenyon]

I know I shouldn't given my tastes, but there is something about the Scout that I love.

Aesthetics aside, it is a great case.

There's also the CM 690II. Not small, but not huge either.

 

[BigBoss]

Do you want the games?

Yes, all 4.

 

[kennah]

Yes, all 4.

Then go for it. I think the deal is for a few months longer but I don't know how they'll change it when the new cards come out. But if they are all ones you actually want and don't already have then it is a deal you really can't go wrong with.

 

[Akai__]

A coupple questions, would appreciate it, if somebody can answer them:

1.) I think my PSU is making a high pitched noise. It's the Corsair AX850. I already excluded the case fans and the graphics card, so just leaves CPU fan or PSU as possibility. Can't test them right now, because it's too late.

If it's the PSU, I should RMA it immediately, right?

It's only some weeks old, though.

2.) I saw a coupple of previews for Haswell motherboards and on some of them, they are using 4 PIN connectors for case-fans instead of 3 PIN. This should mean, I will need some adapters for my 6 Cougar Vortex fans, right?

They already came with 3 PIN to Molex adapters, but I liked to plug them in to the board.

3.) Friend was asking me, what minimum wattage, he would need for a single GTX780?

Thanks in advance.

 

[HoosTrax]

I saw a coupple of previews for Haswell motherboards and on some of them, they are using 4 PIN connectors for case-fans instead of 3 PIN. This should mean, I will need some adapters for my 6 Cougar Vortex fans, right?

It doesn't matter. I think I've owned a few heatsinks that came with 4-pin PWM fans, but I seem to end up just tossing them and using my 3-pin fans anyway. I think the fourth pin is used for some more advanced fan speed control, but I get by just fine with voltage-based fan control with my three pin fans.

 

[10k]

Gtx 780 order complete!

 

[threetri333]

I can't wait for Broadwell CPU and 20nm GPU. I don't have money to buy a desktop now.

 

[mkenyon]

A coupple questions, would appreciate it, if somebody can answer them:

1.) I think my PSU is making a high pitched noise. It's the Corsair AX850. I already excluded the case fans and the graphics card, so just leaves CPU fan or PSU as possibility. Can't test them right now, because it's too late.

If it's the PSU, I should RMA it immediately, right?

It's only some weeks old, though.

2.) I saw a coupple of previews for Haswell motherboards and on some of them, they are using 4 PIN connectors for case-fans instead of 3 PIN. This should mean, I will need some adapters for my 6 Cougar Vortex fans, right?

They already came with 3 PIN to Molex adapters, but I liked to plug them in to the board.

3.) Friend was asking me, what minimum wattage, he would need for a single GTX780?

Thanks in advance.

1) That is coil whine, and typical for Seasonic's 850W+ PSUs. Go ahead and RMA, or do some googling for possible options on how to cure it.

2) Nope. 4 pin = PWM which means the fans can be sped up and down using pulse width modulation. Your Cougars run quiet at full voltage, so there's no reason to change them.

3) Depends on the rest of the PC, but most 500-550W PSUs in the OP should suffice.

I can't wait for Broadwell CPU and 20nm GPU. I don't have money to buy a desktop now.

Broadwell might be BGA only, which means chips soldered to the motherboard.

 

[wandering goat]

Excited that Haswell and the new Nvidia cards are coming out now. I'll be upgrading from an i5-760 to probably the 4770K, and from my HD 6950 to the GTX770. Hopefully the Haswell overclocks well - my i5's at 4GHz already, hoping to overclock the hell out of this thing to run Dolphin really nicely. I've been hearing good things about the Titan/GTX780 stock coolers in terms of balance between noise/heat, and that's probably what I'll get the 770 in (it seems like it'll have the same cooler, among other open options.) Always used to have open air coolers, but it just dumps too much heat into my case where I want to keep my set-up of two intake and one exhaust at relatively low speeds.

The 660Ti should be replaced by the 760Ti in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on that. Even still, I'd almost say wait for AMD's new Volcano Islands offerings to be out in Nov/Dec, or just go with a 7950. The lack of memory and memory bandwidth on the 660/670/680 and therefore 760Ti/770 is worrisome for me.

Is your concern about memory bandwidth in relation to gaming above 1080p or how the new consoles coming out may push the memory requirements? I'll be gaming at 1080p / 60Hz, and like how the 770's performance /cost relative to AMD's offerings is looking, so I'm definitely curious. Don't know of any other blower style cooler that's said to be in the same ballpark in terms of quietness as well (going by reviews, anyway).

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Oh my... what do we have here?

 

[10k]

Oh my... what do we have here?

No man can handle that much power.....

 

[vehn]

nm

 

[Stumpokapow]

If I had a choice between buying an i7 3770k for $105 or an an i7 3930k for $185, which is the better deal? Ignore actual MSRP, go off those figures. Looks like there's about a 25%-30% performance increase on PassMark benchmarks at default clocks, but you can obviously overclock, and I'm not sure what kind of performance increase 6 cores is going to give me over 4. I expect that my GPU upgrading plans will be lagged behind my CPU upgrading plans so for games my GPU will be a bottleneck; that's fine, I'm not worried about that.

Use cases:
Gaming
Encoding videos

 

[teh_pwn]

If I had a choice between buying an i7 3770k for $105 or an an i7 3930k for $185, which is the better deal? Ignore actual MSRP, go off those figures. Looks like there's about a 25%-30% performance increase on PassMark benchmarks at default clocks, but you can obviously overclock, and I'm not sure what kind of performance increase 6 cores is going to give me over 4. I expect that my GPU upgrading plans will be lagged behind my CPU upgrading plans so for games my GPU will be a bottleneck; that's fine, I'm not worried about that.

Use cases:
Gaming
Encoding videos

3930k if it doesn't have the heat wall issue that Ivy has. Because if so, you're more likely to get a higher OC which means comparable performance in games. While video encoding will be much faster with 2 more cores.

 

[VVV Mars VG]

I'm a bit of a n00b at this stuff and just have one quick question.

I'll be buying a new PC soon and will be using triple screens but in terms of graphics card, what is better for this purpose; 1x GTX Titan, or 2x GTX 780's?

Great OP btw, always helpful.

 

[mkenyon]

If I had a choice between buying an i7 3770k for $105 or an an i7 3930k for $185, which is the better deal? Ignore actual MSRP, go off those figures. Looks like there's about a 25%-30% performance increase on PassMark benchmarks at default clocks, but you can obviously overclock, and I'm not sure what kind of performance increase 6 cores is going to give me over 4. I expect that my GPU upgrading plans will be lagged behind my CPU upgrading plans so for games my GPU will be a bottleneck; that's fine, I'm not worried about that.

Use cases:
Gaming
Encoding videos

What in the fuck?

The latter, by a long shot. You can also overclock the 3930K to 4.8-5.0 with the right cooling. You hit a heatwall with Ivy around 4.4-4.6 unless you delid.

I'm a bit of a n00b at this stuff and just have one quick question.

I'll be buying a new PC soon and will be using triple screens but in terms of graphics card, what is better for this purpose; 1x GTX Titan, or 2x GTX 780's?

Great OP btw, always helpful.

Two 780s.

 

[ACE 1991]

Then go for it. I think the deal is for a few months longer but I don't know how they'll change it when the new cards come out. But if they are all ones you actually want and don't already have then it is a deal you really can't go wrong with.

I was planning on picking up a 7950 since almost every model on Newegg comes with Bioshock: Infinite (the game I am most anticipating tearing through when I come home for the summer) in addition to 3 other games, do you suspect the free games will still be available towards the end of June when I am home and ready to order the GPU? Sitting on my 1GB 6950 right now, hopefully I'll be able to get at least $100 for the card on ebay to defray the cost of the 7950.

 

[keeblerdrow]

Welp. I'm fairly sure tonight I'm seeing the first signs of my video card dying. Flickering pixels that will right themselves in a change of state (moving a mouse over them or a window over the spot). They're all tending toward green flicker at the moment. This sounds like the video card and not the monitor, right?

Secondary, what would be a good sidegrade/upgrade from a Radeon 5850 right now? I could probably scrape together $150 or so at the moment. Any particular chips I want to stay away from? (The rest of the system is a i5 2500K, 4gb RAM, 7200rpm HDD, 27" 1080p screen.)

Also relevant! I have one of the first Sandy Bridge mobos. The one with the SATA error. Never had a problem and only ever plugged my headphones into the SATA3 ports. I don't think it's the root, but it's worth mentioning.

 

[mkenyon]

Welp. I'm fairly sure tonight I'm seeing the first signs of my video card dying. Flickering pixels that will right themselves in a change of state (moving a mouse over them or a window over the spot). They're all tending toward green flicker at the moment. This sounds like the video card and not the monitor, right?

Secondary, what would be a good sidegrade/upgrade from a Radeon 5850 right now? I could probably scrape together $150 or so at the moment. Any particular chips I want to stay away from? (The rest of the system is a i5 2500K, 4gb RAM, 7200rpm HDD, 27" 1080p screen.)

Also relevant! I have one of the first Sandy Bridge mobos. The one with the SATA error. Never had a problem and only ever plugged my headphones into the SATA3 ports. I don't think it's the root, but it's worth mentioning.

Why not send it in for RMA? Might still be under warranty depending on make.

You can't plug in headphones into SATA3 ports.

 

[keeblerdrow]

Why not send it in for RMA? Might still be under warranty depending on make.

You can't plug in headphones into SATA3 ports.

Yeah, sorry. I meant USB3.0 Complete mistake on my part. It's been a long day.

I got the card from Newegg, I think. And it was back in 2011. Do warranties even last this long on most products? edit: Crap, just looked. Bought in 2/2011. Two year manufacturer warranty. It was from Sapphire.

 

[Ocho]

Is the crossover still the best 1440 monitor to buy?

 

[Hazaro]

As reason recommending the MSI board over say ASUS or GB?
Best for OCing or something?

The MPower is sexy and has a lot of nice OC features for enthusiasts. ASUS I wouldn't buy except for their ROG or Sabertooth (For looks), just not the defacto any more.

3. Z87 MPower is meant for people wanting to push their systems hard. You'd be better served by a less expensive motherboard once we find out which are good 'uns. Right now, my money is on the Gigabyte D3H as the best Z87 board for the money.

Leaning this way too.

Guys, I have a question: to be somewhat ready for next-gen, would it be a better move to get a second 7950 once AMD's fixed Xfire drivers roll around, or bump up to whatever their next flagship is going to be?

I know the single gpu > sli/xfire talk, but why? With both 7950s OCd, It'd be more power than the next single gpu card can offer.

Make a decision once XFire is fixed.
Day 1 support, possibility of 1/2 performance, extra frame latency, consistency problems, etc.
When it works well you can't beat it for value, but when it's broke it's real ugly.

If I had a choice between buying an i7 3770k for $105 or an an i7 3930k for $185, which is the better deal? Ignore actual MSRP, go off those figures. Looks like there's about a 25%-30% performance increase on PassMark benchmarks at default clocks, but you can obviously overclock, and I'm not sure what kind of performance increase 6 cores is going to give me over 4. I expect that my GPU upgrading plans will be lagged behind my CPU upgrading plans so for games my GPU will be a bottleneck; that's fine, I'm not worried about that.

Use cases:
Gaming
Encoding videos

3930K, but you have to factor in a much higher motherboard cost (Different socket) as well. Used market on that is much slimmer too.
Will do wonders for video encoding though.

 

[nbthedude]

I still wince a bit when anyone rcommends dual card set ups for fresh builds. Never again.

 

[Hazaro]

I still wince a bit when anyone rcommends dual card set ups for fresh builds. Never again.

Dual GPU for fresh setups is the only time it makes sense to buy them.
Obviously if you go dual high-end only.

Anything below that doesn't make sense, and should be single GPU.

 

[Demon Ice]

The 660 in the X51 is actually more akin to the 660Ti. They have a special one off 660.

But, that's why I said wait for a refresh. I'd imagine that there will be a pending 760Ti/Haswell refresh soon for the X51.

The Revolt can have the Titan though.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the same GTX 660 is found in the Aurora though. It's the 1.5 GB OEM 660 that's somewhere between retail 660 and 660 Ti.

Still looking forward to seeing what Alienware announces at E3, would love an X51 refresh with a better PSU.

 

[ACE 1991]

I was planning on picking up a 7950 since almost every model on Newegg comes with Bioshock: Infinite (the game I am most anticipating tearing through when I come home for the summer) in addition to 3 other games, do you suspect the free games will still be available towards the end of June when I am home and ready to order the GPU? Sitting on my 1GB 6950 right now, hopefully I'll be able to get at least $100 for the card on ebay to defray the cost of the 7950.

Just bumping for new page, I would appreciate some input =)

 

[nbthedude]

Just bumping for new page, I would appreciate some input =)

I think it is hard to know because the current promo is "as long as supplies last." No way of knowing how many keys they have. I'd be willing to bet you are safe for a couple more weeks, though.

 

[ACE 1991]

I think it is hard to know because the current promo is "as long as supplies last." No way of knowing how many keys they have. I'd be willing to bet you are safe for a couple more weeks, though.

Okay, thanks. I may hold off on buying the GPU towards the end of the summer if the deal goes away before I return home from Australia.

 

[nbthedude]

Okay, thanks. I may hold off on buying the GPU towards the end of the summer if the deal goes away before I return home from Australia.

Usually the next promo picks up right at the tale end. I doubt you'll miss out either way. aMD has been pretty agressive with those bundles.

 

[Hieberrr]

I'm coming from:
Intel E8400 3GHz
HD 5450
4 GB RAM

I'm thinking about building a new cheap (~$300-$400) work PC for home. It's mainly for Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and MS Office stuff. I'll be using it for 720p/1080p MKV movies and whatnot too. I need something that can switch between all of these programs at the same time seamlessly.

My questions are:
1. Is such a build possible for that price? (I can salvage my graphics card and HDD). The reason why I can't just upgrade my CPU is because I'm using an old Dell XPS 420 (weird case and all).

2. If I do decide to build one from scratch, would an onboard GPU (e.g., Intel HD 4000) work well enough or will it bottleneck?

 

[iavi]

Yeah, AMD'll probably have another package all ready to go by the time you're ready to buy.
I wouldn't worry.