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[Sir Abacus]

I would expect games to start using >2GB of VRAM once the nextgen consoles are release. So, yeah, I would only recommend 3GB or more VRAM video cards.

I don't disagree that this will eventually happen but mid range users shouldn't need to worry about this until they buy their next video card in two years.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

You'll not go wrong with the 660 or 7870, both are good cards. Check too to see what shops you're buying from, there is one listed in Germany where you get the free games as part of the Never Settle bundle. The 7800 comes with Tomb Raider and BioShock Infinite.

And I hope so too, I'll know next time either to go Gigabyte as their RMA stuff is all UK based or buy from Amazon for their returns policy.

Ah okay I see I own both of them already but I might aswell gift them to a friend and I think I will go for the 7870 because it seems to perform generally better. And yeah that sounds far easier than shipping elsewhere, good luck! :/

 

[Ocho]

So today I get my first SSD. Do I need to install any specific drivers to get the maximum performance from SSDs? I usually only install GPU/Audio/Chipster drivers on a new install.

Second question: I'll try LightBoost today. http://www.blurbusters.com/zero-motion-blur/lightboost/ Instructions now recommend a bin that auto setups the whole process. Has anyone tried this? Or should I follow the normal set of instructions. I'm going Option B since I have a VG248QE.

 

[brentech]

So today I get my first SSD. Do I need to install any specific drivers to get the maximum performance from SSDs? I usually only install GPU/Audio/Chipster drivers on a new install.

Second question: I'll try LightBoost today. http://www.blurbusters.com/zero-motion-blur/lightboost/ Instructions now recommend a bin that auto setups the whole process. Has anyone tried this? Or should I follow the normal set of instructions. I'm going Option B since I have a VG248QE.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

read through it. maybe have it available on laptop or another device as you're installing. Lots of it is optional, based on how you use your computer or just preference.
Then there are key attributes you want to make sure get done.

.

 

[Nightz]

Anyone have experience with Gigabyte's RMA process? Requested an RMA for my GTX 670 on Thursday, got my approval on Friday and I shipped the card on Saturday. Thankfully their center is like 2 hours away from me so it'll arrive there today. Just wondering how long I'll be waiting for them to handle everything.

 

[Ocho]

.

Thanks! Changing to AHCI mode won't affect my other non SSD drives? By the way, I have four SATA 6.0 slots, two are Intel and the other two are default ASUS tech I suppose. Any idea which one works best? I have a Maximus V Gene MB. Edit: Also, should I install Windows without the other drives connected?

 

[brentech]

Thanks! Changing to AHCI mode won't affect my other non SSD drives? By the way, I have four SATA 6.0 slots, two are Intel and the other two are default ASUS tech I suppose. Any idea which one works best? I have a Maximus V Gene MB. Edit: Also, should I install Windows without the other drives connected?

Disconnect the other drives for install of the SSD and all the way through it being set up proper.
Use the Intel SATA, as you're less likely to have an issue with it.

AHCI should be fine to change since those aren't your OS drives. If you make the change after already having an OS installed, that's when people will get a BSOD.

 

[fuzzylogic]

Any advice would be dandy, thank you.

Old PC: Phenom II x4 970BE 3.5GHz, 8GB DDR2 RAM, Radeon 6950 2GB, 550W ePower, ASUS M4A78 PLUS AM2+ MoBo, 500GB WD

New Build (Have not ordered yet; I game at 1080p 60Hz):

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Already have this case)
MoBo: Asus P8Z77-V LK
PSU: SeaSonic 650W Gold
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3-1600 1.35V
GPU: UNDECIDED. Thinking a GTX 660 for $189.99, a 7870 for $215 or a Tahiti LE PowerColor 7870 for $250.
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2 TB
ODD: Asus Black 12X BD-ROM

Carrying Over From Old Build:
128GB Crucial M4 SSD
1TB Western Digital Black

So, I wanted a new build that will hopefully last me 3 years (as far as everything but the GPU goes), but with a budget GPU just good enough to run The Witcher 2 well. When the 8xx and 9xxx series release, I'll go big. Wanted the 3770k because I have the budget and wanted the better video encoding performance. Also have a crazy notion that the 4 hyper threads will work better with the 8-core console ports than a regular i5 quad. But that's probably just crazy thoughts.

Any problems I haven't seen with this build? What should I sell my old PC for? $300, $400?

 

[Sir Abacus]

Any advice would be dandy, thank you.

Get one of these, split it in half. Boot drive on the first half, SRT on the other.

Everyone on Intel should at least have a small SSD for boot and SRT. It's only $70 and OS responsiveness is dramatically improved.

 

[HoosTrax]

Thoughts on Gigabyte motherboards? Oddly enough, it's the only major mobo manufacturer I've never had a product from before. Their previous sky blue + multicolor slots color scheme was enough of a turn off to cause me to never consider them.

 

[fuzzylogic]

I already have a 128GB Crucial M4 SSD. Do I still need to split that into a boot and SRT partitions? Does SRT make a difference on top of having frequently used programs already on my SSD?

 

[Sir Abacus]

Thoughts on Gigabyte motherboards? Oddly enough, it's the only major mobo manufacturer I've never had a product from before. Their previous sky blue + multicolor slots color scheme was enough of a turn off to cause me to never consider them.

I've always used them because they've never given me too much grief. I've got a GA-Z87X-UD5H at the moment and it's been pretty awesome.

 

[Sir Abacus]

I already have a 128GB Crucial M4 SSD. Do I still need to split that into a boot and SRT partitions? Does SRT make a difference on top of having frequently used programs already on my SSD?

Yes. If you can't go all-SSD then SRT is the next best thing.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

Is a pea sized drop of thermal paste in the center of the processor still the recommended way? I have some mx2 coming with the rest of my build today. It's a Haswell chip.

 

[Sir Abacus]

Is a pea sized drop of thermal paste in the center of the processor still the recommended way? I have some mx2 coming with the rest of my build today. It's a Haswell chip.

Yes.

 

[Regret Truth]

Problem: it's impossible to find either ASUS or eVGA GTX 770 with 4 gb. I can find Gigabyte and Zotac. I'm not as familiar with these names. Should I stay clear?

If anyone knows where I can grab one please let me know.

 

[RSTEIN]

If anyone knows where I can grab one please let me know.

lol, good luck. I'm convinced they don't exist!

Went to the store at lunch. Got Define R4 White case, Corsair 750 W modular power supply (on sale + opened box), and Corsair Vengeance 8gb RAM.

Just have to pick up my i5 3570k processor, 770, and blu ray drive.

 

[mkenyon]

There hasn't been any conclusive evidence yet that suggests the 4GB 680/770 performs better than the 2GB version when that extra headroom is being used. The limited memory bandwidth seems to be the bottleneck before amount of VRAM is.

 

[Tak3n]

Guys

on my R4 Fracture case the left most usb3 slot on the front of case is not working, is there any reason for this apart from the case being faulty?

 

[Hazaro]

Guys

on my R4 Fracture case the left most usb3 slot on the front of case is not working, is there any reason for this apart from the case being faulty?

Check that the USB plug goes onto the mainboard and is seated nicely

 

[Flaxh]

ASUS GTX 770 DirectCU II OC 2 GB
SAPPHIRE HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB GDDR5 VAPOR-X

These 2 GPUs cost exactly the same at my local store so it's mostly a matter of performance. I've read some reviews that give an average edge of 0.7FPS in favor of the 7970 but say that it overheats easily and makes a lot more noise.

I'm buying an 1080p 60hz monitor (Asus VX638h) and I'm planning on having a good nextgen experience on PC.

Quote to try to get a reply.

Last question: 650W enough for those GPUs right?

 

[bro1]

Any advice would be dandy, thank you.

Old PC: Phenom II x4 970BE 3.5GHz, 8GB DDR2 RAM, Radeon 6950 2GB, 550W ePower, ASUS M4A78 PLUS AM2+ MoBo, 500GB WD

New Build (Have not ordered yet; I game at 1080p 60Hz):

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Already have this case)
MoBo: Asus P8Z77-V LK
PSU: SeaSonic 650W Gold
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3-1600 1.35V
GPU: UNDECIDED. Thinking a GTX 660 for $189.99, a 7870 for $215 or a Tahiti LE PowerColor 7870 for $250.
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2 TB
ODD: Asus Black 12X BD-ROM

Carrying Over From Old Build:
128GB Crucial M4 SSD
1TB Western Digital Black

So, I wanted a new build that will hopefully last me 3 years (as far as everything but the GPU goes), but with a budget GPU just good enough to run The Witcher 2 well. When the 8xx and 9xxx series release, I'll go big. Wanted the 3770k because I have the budget and wanted the better video encoding performance. Also have a crazy notion that the 4 hyper threads will work better with the 8-core console ports than a regular i5 quad. But that's probably just crazy thoughts.

Any problems I haven't seen with this build? What should I sell my old PC for? $300, $400?

I know you are thinking of going to a 8000 series GPU at some point, but I would drop the blu ray player and upgrade the GPU now. I think the 8000 series is going to be 18 months out before we see it.

 

[Horse Armour]

There hasn't been any conclusive evidence yet that suggests the 4GB 680/770 performs better than the 2GB version when that extra headroom is being used. The limited memory bandwidth seems to be the bottleneck before amount of VRAM is.

Is that still true where a lot more memory than 2GB (e.g. 2.5/3GB) is being used? Wouldn't performance tank after going a lot over 2GB since you'd be relying on the slow PCI E bus? Do any current games even use significantly more than 2GB VRAM at non ridiculous resolutions?

 

[Sir Abacus]

Quote to try to get a reply.

Last question: 650W enough for those GPUs right?

Depends on the CPU. If you're running an 80W+ TDP CPU then you'll probably want 750W just to be safe. Flat strap those cards will pull 300W (75+75+150) on their own.

 

[Flaxh]

Depends on the CPU. If you're running an 80W+ TDP CPU then you'll probably want 750W just to be safe. Flat strap those cards will pull 300W (75+75+150) on their own.

This is my build atm:

FRACTAL DESIGN DEFINE R4
INTEL i5 3570k
ASUS P8Z77-V LK
2x CORSAIR PC3-12800 1600MHZ 4GB VENGEANCE LP CL79 DDR3
WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR BLUE 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA III 3.5
ASUS GEFORCE GTX770 DirectCu II OC 2GB
XFX PRO650W CORE EDITION

Asus VX238H

Sorry for not using partpicker but I couldnt find some of the parts there.

Im building this new PC to do a bit of everything, inclduing playing nextgen games at 1080p. Ill probably buy an SSD and a cooler later this year to OC.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

Depends on the CPU. If you're running an 80W+ TDP CPU then you'll probably want 750W just to be safe. Flat strap those cards will pull 300W (75+75+150) on their own.

I hope I don't regret my seasonic 550w. I went with an Msi gtx 770 and an i5-4670k. I was told 550w should be more than fine for that. Is it true?

 

[Sir Abacus]

This is my build atm:

Depends on how hard you overclock it. I'd still want 750W doing anything with a K.

I hope I don't regret my seasonic 550w. I went with an Msi gtx 770 and an i5-4670k. I was told 550w should be more than fine for that. Is it true?

Sorry but even Nvidia don't recommend less than 600W for a GTX770.

Thermal and Power Specs:
Maximum GPU Temperature - 98C
Graphics Card Power - 230 W
Minimum Recommended System Power - 600W

 

[Tak3n]

Check that the USB plug goes onto the mainboard and is seated nicely

thanks mate, it is seated nice and firm, all the other usb3 ports work going to be a butt ache if they have to take it all back for that

 

[Addnan]

I hope I don't regret my seasonic 550w. I went with an Msi gtx 770 and an i5-4670k. I was told 550w should be more than fine for that. Is it true?

You will be fine. The minimum set by Nvidia is because people by shitty power supplies. The Seasonic will be more than enough.

 

[mkenyon]

Sorry but even Nvidia don't recommend less than 600W for a GTX770.

770 only draws about 190W at full load, more like 160-180 in games. Total system draw will be around 350.

thanks mate, it is seated nice and firm, all the other usb3 ports work going to be a butt ache if they have to take it all back for that

Should be a max of two ports per USB 3.0 connector, and there are only two USB 3.0 ports total. The others are USB 2.0.

I know you are thinking of going to a 8000 series GPU at some point, but I would drop the blu ray player and upgrade the GPU now. I think the 8000 series is going to be 18 months out before we see it.

All of the rumors are pointing towards Q4 this year, Q1 next year at the latest.

 

[Tak3n]

770 only draws about 190W at full load, more like 160-180 in games. Total system draw will be around 350.

Should be a max of two ports per USB 3.0 connector, and there are only two USB 3.0 ports total. The others are USB 2.0.

All of the rumors are pointing towards Q4 this year, Q1 next year at the latest.

I have 6 blue USB ports in total, 2 on front, and 4 on the back, so are you saying there is more than one connector?

 

[Flaxh]

Depends on how hard you overclock it. I'd still want 750W doing anything with a K.

I know nothing about OC because I've only used an old pc and a cheap laptop so far but I'm interested in it from what my friends told me.

 

[scogoth]

I have 6 blue USB ports in total, 2 on front, and 4 on the back, so are you saying there is more than one connector?

The four on the back are all connected directly to the motherboard. The front 2 use one connector to plug into the motherboard is what he is saying.

 

[RoKKeR]

Very frustrating that this has not come back in stock, and everywhere else the price is jacked to high hell.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125462

 

[Sir Abacus]

770 only draws about 190W at full load, more like 160-180 in games. Total system draw will be around 350.

OpenCL workloads on stock will draw 250W. Factory OC parts will edge extremely close to the hard 300W power limit on OpenCL workloads. That's before you even get to peak power on an OC K series.

Why would you edge that close to the limit of your PSU to save $20? Give it a good 30% over the worst case draw.

 

[mkenyon]

I have 6 blue USB ports in total, 2 on front, and 4 on the back, so are you saying there is more than one connector?

Yeah, the case itself only has 2 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports. Those need to be connected by a USB 3.0 internal header and USB 2.0 internal header, respectively.

OpenCL workloads on stock will draw 250W. Factory OC parts will edge extremely close to the hard 300W power limit on OpenCL workloads. That's before you even get to peak power on an OC K series.

Why would you edge that close to the limit of your PSU to save $20? Give it a good 30% over the worst case draw.

Source?

Because Guru3D says otherwise:

 

[kaioshade]

After flood in my apartment took out my PC, i rebuilt.

Case: Silverstone Temjin TJ-08e
Motherboard: Asus Maximum Gene V
Memory: Corsair 16GB DDR3
HDD 2X256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD
GPU: 2X EVGA GTX 670 4GB
PS: Corsair 850W Professional Modular.

I am pretty happy with the way it came out.

And now to get back on GW2

 

[Sir Abacus]

Source?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-770-gk104-review,3519-25.html

By the way, I'm not saying you're wrong. It's probably perfectly possible for a normal person to run a GTX 770 on a 550W power supply and never see a thing go wrong since even with very conservative power draw numbers a system would still probably pull under 550W. But when the difference is so little why would you run so close to that theoretical edge?

 

[bro1]

I hope I don't regret my seasonic 550w. I went with an Msi gtx 770 and an i5-4670k. I was told 550w should be more than fine for that. Is it true?

550 may be pushing it. I have a 600w Silverstone and a MSI GTX 770. It needs two 6+2 connectors.

 

[mkenyon]

1) It's Tom's.

2) How do they do this?

All measurements were taken directly at the card

 

[bro1]

770 only draws about 190W at full load, more like 160-180 in games. Total system draw will be around 350.

Should be a max of two ports per USB 3.0 connector, and there are only two USB 3.0 ports total. The others are USB 2.0.

All of the rumors are pointing towards Q4 this year, Q1 next year at the latest.

I read recently that the 8000 series is being delayed due to market issues.

 

[Sir Abacus]

1) It's Tom's.

2) How do they do this?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-benchmarks-charts-review,3154-11.html

Actually that's not directly at the card. So I have no idea.

 

[Haint]

Are any future CPU's going to use 1150/Z87 Mobo's or are they one and done with Haswell and the 2014 Haswell rebadges/OC's?

 

[mkenyon]

Broadwell would be the next chip on 1150, but it's unlikely that you will be able to buy the processors separately of a motherboard. They are supposed to be BGA only.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-benchmarks-charts-review,3154-11.html

Actually that's not directly at the card. So I have no idea.

Yeah, this smells fishy as hell. Tom's per usual.

*edit*

Snippet from Guru3D

Above, a chart of relative power consumption. Again the Wattage shown is the card with the GPU(s) stressed 100%, showing only the peak GPU power draw, not the power consumption of the entire PC and not the average gaming power consumption.

Here is Guru3D's power supply recommendation:

GeForce GTX 770 - On your average system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit.
GeForce GTX 770 2-way SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have a 750 Watt power supply unit as minimum.
GeForce GTX 770 3-way SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have a 1000 Watt power supply unit as minimum.

Those PSU recommendations are conservative as well. They always leave quite a bit of headroom.

That Tom's review has contradicting sentences. I wouldn't even pay attention to it, to be honest. It's contrary to just about every other review out there.

 

[RSTEIN]

This is my build atm:

FRACTAL DESIGN DEFINE R4
INTEL i5 3570k
ASUS P8Z77-V LK
2x CORSAIR PC3-12800 1600MHZ 4GB VENGEANCE LP CL79 DDR3
WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR BLUE 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA III 3.5
ASUS GEFORCE GTX770 DirectCu II OC 2GB
XFX PRO650W CORE EDITION

Very similar to the build I'm working on. I think I'm going to go with the eVGA or Gigabyte 770 instead of ASUS. I went with a SSD, too. Many people have told me it's a must for the OS.

 

[Sir Abacus]

Only the <55W parts are supposed to be BGA. Broadwell-D is supposed to be an LGA1150 part.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

550 may be pushing it. I have a 600w Silverstone and a MSI GTX 770. It needs two 6+2 connectors.

I have the Seasonic G series gold certified. It has two of those for the card. I will hope for the best.

 

[mkenyon]

Only the <55W parts are supposed to be BGA. Broadwell-D is supposed to be an LGA1150 part.

First I heard of this, did some googling:

TY for the update!

 

[Horse Armour]

Bad News for people waiting for the 760:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Comes With Faster Clocks, Lower Cores

The GeForce GTX 760 was supposed to be a rebadge of the GeForce GTX 670 but it isn’t. From the latest GPU-z screenshot, we can see that NVIDIA made a few changes with the new GK104-225 A2 Kepler core. The notable change is that NVIDIA has cut down 2 SMX units off the Kepler core which amount to 1152 Cuda cores, 32 ROPs and 96 TMUs within the new graphics processing unit. Compared to both the GeForce GTX 660 Ti and the GTX 670, this would mean a massive hit to performance but at the same time NVIDIA brought a 2 GB GDDR5 memory running across a 256-bit interface compared to the 192-bit memory interface on the GeForce GTX 660 Ti.

NVIDIA also made sure that the performance deficit caused by the reduction of an SMX unit can be overcome by boosting the clock speeds. The core of the GeForce GTX 760 GPU is configured high at 1072 MHz with a Boost clock of 1111 MHz. If that’s not enough, then NVIDIA has also pumped the memory clock at the reference 7 GHz speed for the GeForce 700 series (excluding GeForce 780). These are great numbers which bring the frequencies upto the mark of overclocked GeForce 600 series cards and we would be looking at even faster clocked custom models with the ability to overclock here.

For cooling, it would be a miracle to see the card in its reference design since almost every manufacturer are using their custom coolers with the new GeForce GTX 760 GPU. Even so that each cooler looks distinctively similar to those used on GeForce GTX 770/670/660Ti. NVIDIA is also said to not release the GeForce GTX 760 under the TI branding. The specific reason was not detailed. The GeForce GTX 760 is said to launch within this week at a price of $299.

What a complete joke. So nvidia are basically saying bye to the mid range market since you'd be foolish to pick this up over a 7950 or 770 and soon enough supply of the 670 and 660 Ti is going to dry up so you won't even have those as an alternative.

 

[mkenyon]

Bummer.