• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

"I need a New PC!" 2013 Part 1. Haswell, Crysis 3, and secret fairy sauce. Read da OP

Status
Not open for further replies.

Flaxh

Member
Which display are you buying?

Im trying to decide between the Benq 24" XL2411T for 280€ and the Asus VG23AH for 250€.

I really like the Benq but it has only one HDMI port and no speakers and I'll also use the display to play on the 360 so I dont know how I could get sound from it.

Again, this is probably a lame problem but Im really new to all of this as I use mostly old hardware.
 
I started playing Witcher 2 and it crashes to the desktop every 40 mins or so with no error message. I assumed the issue was isolated until Max Payne 3 did the same. Looking around on the internet, it's possibly being caused by the PSU being so old. It's the one I had when I got the PC 5 years ago. Is anyone aware of old PSUs causing crashes like this in the past? Thanks.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
I started playing Witcher 2 and it crashes to the desktop every 40 mins or so with no error message. I assumed the issue was isolated until Max Payne 3 did the same. Looking around on the internet, it's possibly being caused by the PSU being so old. It's the one I had when I got the PC 5 years ago. Is anyone aware of old PSUs causing crashes like this in the past? Thanks.
Post your specs.

What temperatures do you get under load for CPU/GPU?
All utilities are at bottom of the first post.
 

Tomas

Banned
Is there any reason there's very little information about new GPU releases until a month or less before launch? Granted, this is the first year of I've taken an interest in new releases, but so far it seems like there's nothing, no new information for a while, then all of a sudden all the details are known and the GPUs come out in a week or two.

Announcing cheaper or faster GPU would cripple the demand for the current cards on the market. That is one reason, perhaps someone knows more.

Seems like some 770s hit Lithuania (and the rest of Eastern Europe) retailing less than 400 Euros. Spotted MSI 770 Gaming Edition for about 360 Euros. MSI/Gigabyte 7950 is about 280Euros... Literally torn between them. By any chance someone can test Kepler and GCN architectures in 3DS MAX and Maya 2.0 Viewports? Internet is a witch hunt looking for this kind of info... I literally spoke with Autodesk staff about which card performs better in their applications, he pointed out that the biggest difference is memory. However, internet tests suggest that memory might only be useful in 30m+ polygons scenes...
 

feel

Member
Just found out about the latest Nvidia driver issues. I personally haven't noticed any problems but better safe than sorry.

Why the need to go all the way to the drivers from March instead of any of the more recent ones? Not judging it, just wondering.
 

Foxyone

Member
Announcing cheaper or faster GPU would cripple the demand for the current cards on the market. That is one reason, perhaps someone knows more.

Seems like some 770s hit Lithuania (and the rest of Eastern Europe) retailing less than 400 Euros. Spotted MSI 770 Gaming Edition for about 360 Euros. MSI/Gigabyte 7950 is about 280Euros... Literally torn between them. By any chance someone can test Kepler and GCN architectures in 3DS MAX and Maya 2.0 Viewports? Internet is a witch hunt looking for this kind of info... I literally spoke with Autodesk staff about which card performs better in their applications, he pointed out that the biggest difference is memory. However, internet tests suggest that memory might only be useful in 30m+ polygons scenes...

Ah, that makes some sense. Thanks. I've just been trying to keep an eye on any new rumors regarding whatever AMD will hopefully release later this year, but there's nothing but speculation. Don't want to get a 7000 series when they'll probably release some better bargain around the same time.
 

sgjackson

Member
Contemplating getting a new desktop over buying a PS4 or Xbone. Looking around, I think I can afford about 1500 or so on this if I can flip a couple of things I have around and put the money I had budgeted to the PS4 on this. Relevant points:

1. I'm going to be using this primarily for gaming and general use.
2. My monitor's resolution is 1900x1200 (old BenQ G2400W I got a long time ago).

Here's what I'm looking at.

Case: Corsair Carbide 400R
PSU: Seasonic M12II-650
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-C
Processor: i5 4450
SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe 240GB
Video Card: EVGA GTX770
Mouse: Logitech g400s
Keyboard: CM Storm Quickfire Pro (Brown switches)
Price: 1358.66

I've got 8GB of G-Skill DDR3-1333 and a 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 laying around from a prior build that I plan on using unless someone raises objections. Question time!

1. I've always had this shitty inclination to skimp on the processor. Is it worth jumping a bit of extra money in to get an i5 4670? I don't really OC, so I probably don't need a K model.
2. Is there a build quality difference between Z87 mobos and B85s, or is the main difference overclocking features and I could save some money with a B85? Along the same lines, what's everyone's favorite motherboard manufacturer right now?
3. Is it worth spending extra on a faster SSD such as an 840 Pro versus a more affordable Sandforce drive? Is the reliability or performance difference noticeable in real world use, or is it the kind of thing that only shows up in benchmarks?
4. I feel like I'm spending too much on the video card considering my monitor's resolution. Is it worthwhile to stay here, or could I drop to something along the lines of a 660Ti or even a 660 and get decent performance at native res for a few years?
5. I've been using Logitech mice my whole life and been happy with them, but is anything new going on in the mouse world?
6. Should I be considering a monitor upgrade?
7. I hated the last case I bought and returned it, continuing to use my old Sonata 3. I'd like to upgrade this, naturally. I'm looking for a ~100$ mid-tower that's easy to manage cables in and build with, preferably as toolless and roomy as possible, with good cooling. Absolute silence isn't super important as I usually use headphones, but I'd like it to not sound like a jet. Reading case reviews has led me to the 400R, but is there anything else that meets my specifications better I should be looking at?
8. Anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance. I tend to be super anal when I think about upgrading PCs.

Edit: Actually if it's still around if/when I order I'm switching to the deal below me.
 

LordCanti

Member
Just saw this deal:

4670K and ASRock Z87 Extreme6 for $335. Yay or nay? Been putting off upgrading for a long time (coming from a Core 2 Duo, foolishly paired with a GTX 580 I got for cheap during a price mistake).
 

gabbo

Member
So I'm looking into getting a new rig, and am going to give my current system to my younger brother who's been a console gamer, but has gotten into pc gaming more recently and this laptop isn't pulling its weight. He doesn't mind it being old, as he doesn't have the extra money to dump into a whole new machine at the moment I come to NewPCGAF in the hopes someone can tell me what's salvageable in this, if anything.

Mobo: Asus P5K Premium
CPU: C@Q9450 2.66Gh
RAM: 4gb OCZ DDR2
VC: ATI 4870 512
Storage: WD 1TB/640GB
SC - Creative X-Fi

I know he needs to up the ram (this mobo is limited to 8gb) and get a new GPU (this 4870 caused me headaches for nearly a year with driver crashes/blue screens and overheating problems), but I hope some of this system will hold out a while longer.
 

M3z_

Member
These 780's are beastly, and they don't even go over 70 degrees

LL


Currently running 320.11 drivers, not 320.18 which is why it says drivers not approved.
 

Mr. Hyde

Member
How good is the OC genie button on these MSI buttons? I was bored and decided to turn it on to see how it would work. It has all cores running at 4.0 ghz right now, it says.

I am not sure if I believe it. I am running prime 95 and my temps are only staying at 55c. I would expect higher than that at a 4.0 ghz overclock.
 

kennah

Member
How good is the OC genie button on these MSI buttons? I was bored and decided to turn it on to see how it would work. It has all cores running at 4.0 ghz right now, it says.

I am not sure if I believe it. I am running prime 95 and my temps are only staying at 55c. I would expect higher than that at a 4.0 ghz overclock.
These processors are designed to run at 4.2-4.4 and beyond. I'm not surprised that such a modest overclock didn't increase your temps
 

Mr. Hyde

Member
These processors are designed to run at 4.2-4.4 and beyond. I'm not surprised that such a modest overclock didn't increase your temps

Ah. I guess the higher voltages is where temps begin to rise? it shows the cpu voltage at 1.1. I am just playing with oc genie 4. I plan to do it manually soon.

I raised the voltage to 1.2 and set the oc to 4.2ghz. Let's try this again...
 

Mr. Hyde

Member
Which mode in prime 95 is best to test the cpu's heat? I have it on blended right now and I have the oc at 4.2 ghz @ 1.2v. It's staying at around 63c so far. I might run it all night to see how it goes.
 

ss_lemonade

Member
I just noticed something when I plugged an lcd monitor being used for another computer here to my rig. I used the dvi to vga adapter that came with my 780 since the monitor currently uses a vga cable. Everything looked great at 1920x1080 but when I start a game, or anything that uses cpu/gpu resources, the screen starts showing very faint horizontal lines that move vertically (they were really faint but noticeable in dark scenes). Closing the app makes the lines go away. I even tried running something like an emulator in window mode (just to make sure it wasn't a resolution thing) and as soon as cpu usage goes up, the lines start to appear again. Same thing when minimizing a game and returning to the desktop. Not sure if its my monitor or the cable or something else. Anyone have an idea?

Doing a screenshot or recording a video with afterburner do not show the lines so I'm guessing its the monitor? Why would it only happen when the computer is being stressed?
 
Perfect way to so it.

SSD's bring enlightenment to games too though. Everything but your porn should be on SSD.

I was going to say media, but you really cut through the bullshit here.

I disagree with you guys - you need the fast indexing and search.


Also - Pump Top and Reservoir came in today! Now I just need two radiators, a pump and the rest of the fittings and I can build! (once the case comes in)

The trouble is I'd have to keep moving games around so I'd rather they were kept on my hard drive, I'm not even sure if I'd put my music and pictures on the SSD.
 

mkenyon

Banned
Here's the build sheets for the updated SFF post. Let me know what you guys think or if you spot any errors.

MU3ft20.png


jAIqooM.png


WZbsYTD.png


nB9oFOM.png


fm5mOeg.png


Decided to go with just 5 distinct cases. Thoughts on adding a 6th ultra SFF APU/HTPC?

*edit*

Just noticed my first mistake on the Node 304 heatsinks.
How good is the OC genie button on these MSI buttons? I was bored and decided to turn it on to see how it would work. It has all cores running at 4.0 ghz right now, it says.

I am not sure if I believe it. I am running prime 95 and my temps are only staying at 55c. I would expect higher than that at a 4.0 ghz overclock.
4.0GHz can usually be done with stock or even lower than stock voltages. Are you running Prime 95 in Blend or Small FFT?
 

Fredescu

Member
Here's the build sheets for the updated SFF post. Let me know what you guys think or if you spot any errors.

No optical drive slot for Node 304. Perhaps worth noting with Node 304 that it won't take three slot GPUs like the DCUII, although maybe that goes without saying with SFF. Also worth suggesting buying a GPU with the power connectors at the top rather than the back, or to at least take it into account.
 

Nekrono

Member
So what would you guys consider a safe and too high temperature for a Radeon HD 7970 (reference card)?

I usually try to keep it around 74c under load with a custom fan curve in Afterburner but I'm trying to see If I can push the temperatures a bit higher without blowing out the fan more.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
So what would you guys consider a safe and too high temperature for a Radeon HD 7970 (reference card)?

I usually try to keep it around 74c under load with a custom fan curve in Afterburner but I'm trying to see If I can push the temperatures a bit higher without blowing out the fan more.
I'd aim to keep it under 80C if possible, but them reference coolers make it hard at a good noise level.
 
Hi PC GAF, I’ve got yet another question.

My Corsair H100i is not lighting up, moving the sliders in Corsair Link 2 has no effect and I suspect that it has been like this since the system was built (two months ago).

The company that built my PC sent an engineer round yesterday for something unrelated and whilst he doesn’t go near water coolers in a professional capacity he did seem to think that the LED requires an additional power cable which isn’t plugged in.

So my question is, can someone please confirm that the LED on the Corsair H100i does require a separate power cable to work? If so, can anyone point me towards a photo of a H100i with lights so I can compare the cables to mine.

If the H100i is faulty, it will require my PC being shipped back to base for a replacement to be fitted so obviously I’d rather eliminate simple causes first.

Thanks
 

Akai__

Member
Are you sure? I haven't kept up with CF, but with 6970 & 6950, they both run at full speed. It's just the 6970 has a slighly higher load balance while the 6950 slightly lower to compensate for the different speeds and processing power. I don't see why ATI would change it for newer card, like a 7970 & 7970GHz.

I was pretty sure, but now I'm not anymore. Maybe someone can clarify.

---

Anyways parts are on the way. Finally :p

-Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC
-i7-4770K
-Seasonic X Series 650W
 

Dizzy-4U

Member
Finished installing the Hydro H100i in my trusty i7 950. It went from 50 degrees idle to 29. This thing is wizardry I tell you. Very happy with the purchase.

Next step, overclock this thing to infinity.


Hi PC GAF, I’ve got yet another question.

My Corsair H100i is not lighting up, moving the sliders in Corsair Link 2 has no effect and I suspect that it has been like this since the system was built (two months ago).

The company that built my PC sent an engineer round yesterday for something unrelated and whilst he doesn’t go near water coolers in a professional capacity he did seem to think that the LED requires an additional power cable which isn’t plugged in.

So my question is, can someone please confirm that the LED on the Corsair H100i does require a separate power cable to work? If so, can anyone point me towards a photo of a H100i with lights so I can compare the cables to mine.

If the H100i is faulty, it will require my PC being shipped back to base for a replacement to be fitted so obviously I’d rather eliminate simple causes first.

Thanks
SmqXHY9.png


The Sata Power is the one you need to plug to your power supply. It's connected to the corsair block. I don't think you can remove it, it's already attached.
 

kharma45

Member
mkenyon it might be advisable for the APU build to go for 1866MHz RAM, especially if for the A10 6800K. Quite often you can find 1866 stuff at normal prices.
 
Finished installing the Hydro H100i in my trusty i7 950. It went from 50 degrees idle to 29. This thing is wizardry I tell you. Very happy with the purchase.

Next step, overclock this thing to infinity.



SmqXHY9.png


The Sata Power is the one you need to plug to your power supply.

I've been advised that there is no separate power cable for the LED and that if the cooler itself is working then so should the LED. is that correct?
 

Dizzy-4U

Member
I've been advised that there is no separate power cable for the LED and that if the cooler itself is working then so should the LED. is that correct?

I believe so yes. I only connected those two cables from the picture and everything worked fine. Are your fans connected to the corsair block or directly to the motherboard?
 

Osiris

I permanently banned my 6 year old daughter from using the PS4 for mistakenly sending grief reports as it's too hard to watch or talk to her
So, I've done a small bit of tweaking to my Dino PC build, just waiting for the funds to clear (I hate waiting on cheques clearing, speed up damn it! :p)

Be a bit more gaming capable than my current i5-750 / Radeon 7750 set-up, and has a little bit of upgrade potential still by adding an SSD and maybe a 7970 at a later date:

CPU:- Intel Core i7 3770K
Cooler:- Corsair H100i Extreme Water Cooler
Motherboard:- Gigabyte Z77-D3H
Memory:- 16GB Corsair 1600mhz Vengeance (2x8GB)
Hard Drive:- 2TB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Graphics card:- AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Case:- Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
PSU:- 650W Corsair TX V2

Plans are to later add a 256GB SSD, replace the H100i and Case fans with Noctua's, and eventually, when necessary, put in a beefier GPU.

Looking good?
 

News Bot

Banned
Amazon didn't require me to sign for my SSD, RAM and cooler that arrived yesterday, and the online order is still "Dispatched."

Should I say I never received them and double-up? :p
 

appaws

Banned
Contemplating getting a new desktop over buying a PS4 or Xbone. Looking around, I think I can afford about 1500 or so on this if I can flip a couple of things I have around and put the money I had budgeted to the PS4 on this. Relevant points:

1. I'm going to be using this primarily for gaming and general use.
2. My monitor's resolution is 1900x1200 (old BenQ G2400W I got a long time ago).

Here's what I'm looking at.

Case: Corsair Carbide 400R
PSU: Seasonic M12II-650
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-C
Processor: i5 4450
SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe 240GB
Video Card: EVGA GTX770
Mouse: Logitech g400s
Keyboard: CM Storm Quickfire Pro (Brown switches)
Price: 1358.66

I've got 8GB of G-Skill DDR3-1333 and a 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 laying around from a prior build that I plan on using unless someone raises objections. Question time!

1. I've always had this shitty inclination to skimp on the processor. Is it worth jumping a bit of extra money in to get an i5 4670? I don't really OC, so I probably don't need a K model.
2. Is there a build quality difference between Z87 mobos and B85s, or is the main difference overclocking features and I could save some money with a B85? Along the same lines, what's everyone's favorite motherboard manufacturer right now?
3. Is it worth spending extra on a faster SSD such as an 840 Pro versus a more affordable Sandforce drive? Is the reliability or performance difference noticeable in real world use, or is it the kind of thing that only shows up in benchmarks?
4. I feel like I'm spending too much on the video card considering my monitor's resolution. Is it worthwhile to stay here, or could I drop to something along the lines of a 660Ti or even a 660 and get decent performance at native res for a few years?
5. I've been using Logitech mice my whole life and been happy with them, but is anything new going on in the mouse world?
6. Should I be considering a monitor upgrade?
7. I hated the last case I bought and returned it, continuing to use my old Sonata 3. I'd like to upgrade this, naturally. I'm looking for a ~100$ mid-tower that's easy to manage cables in and build with, preferably as toolless and roomy as possible, with good cooling. Absolute silence isn't super important as I usually use headphones, but I'd like it to not sound like a jet. Reading case reviews has led me to the 400R, but is there anything else that meets my specifications better I should be looking at?
8. Anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance. I tend to be super anal when I think about upgrading PCs.

Edit: Actually if it's still around if/when I order I'm switching to the deal below me.

- I have that 400R....I'm not that impressed with it to be honest. It's Okay. People have a lot of different opinions on cases, a lot of it is personal taste. Look at the OP...and watch some of the OC3D.com case videos.

- A lot of people say they don't plan on overclocking, but they don't realize how easy it is to get some free performance these days, just clicking a few settings. Get the "k" processor.

- Logitech mice are fine. The mice in the OP are recommended. I have a Corsair M65 and I really like it.

- Don't go any lower on the Graphics card. Always go for as much as you can in that area, because that is the main thing for modern gaming.
 

Mad Max

Member
So, I've done a small bit of tweaking to my Dino PC build, just waiting for the funds to clear (I hate waiting on cheques clearing, speed up damn it! :p)

Be a bit more gaming capable than my current i5-750 / Radeon 7750 set-up, and has a little bit of upgrade potential still by adding an SSD and maybe a 7970 at a later date:

CPU:- Intel Core i7 3770K
Cooler:- Corsair H100i Extreme Water Cooler
Motherboard:- Gigabyte Z77-D3H
Memory:- 16GB Corsair 1600mhz Vengeance (2x8GB)
Hard Drive:- 2TB S-ATAIII 6.0Gb/s
Graphics card:- AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Case:- Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
PSU:- 650W Corsair TX V2

Plans are to later add a 256GB SSD, replace the H100i and Case fans with Noctua's, and eventually, when necessary, put in a beefier GPU.

Looking good?

If you want to improve price/performance: get a 7950 now instead of the 7870 and drop the h100i down to a smaller model or a decent air cooler. In terms of overclocking potential for the 3770K it probably wont matter if you don't plan to delid the CPU. Also if you overclock the 7950 a bit it can easily outperform a stock 7970.
 

diaspora

Member
After weeks of struggle, I finally managed to get my CPU to hit under 35C while idle. The sub-60C temps for a while were worrying...
 
Post your specs.

What temperatures do you get under load for CPU/GPU?
All utilities are at bottom of the first post.

My specs:
Intel Quad Q6600 2.4Ghz
GTX 460
Gigabyte P35-DS3R

I can't remember what RAM is in this, but I'm doubtful it's causing the problem.

Okay, I rolled back my Nvidia driver to the march release and the crash still occurred. I used Speedfan to record the temp and my GPU is barely over 60 degrees when the crash occurs. Surely it would get a pushed a bit more with something like Witcher 2/Max Payne 3?
 

theytookourjobz

Junior Member
Finally replacing my 6870. It's treated me well over the past year and a half but I caved and pulled the trigger on 2 MSI TF OC 660s to SLI. After rebates they will be $175 a piece. Do I need to buy anything special to connect them or do they come with shit for SLI?
 

Addnan

Member
Finally replacing my 6870. It's treated me well over the past year and a half but I caved and pulled the trigger on 2 MSI TF OC 660s to SLI. After rebates they will be $175 a piece. Do I need to buy anything special to connect them or do they come with shit for SLI?
Your motherboard should have come with an SLI bridge, if you can't find it they are pretty cheap.
 

Addnan

Member
Nice, just found it. Surprised I didn't throw that shit out. I ordered a new more powerful PSU too, will it have the cables I need for 2 cards? Thanks for the help btw.
Should do, which one is it? You will need 4 6pin PCI-E.

If they haven't already been sent I would really recommend just getting one big graphics card instead of two mid tiers. The two will be fine, but SLI can be a bit of hassle sometimes.
 

kharma45

Member
Should do, which one is it? You will need 4 6pin PCI-E.

If they haven't already been sent I would really recommend just getting one big graphics card instead of two mid tiers. The two will be fine, but SLI can be a bit of hassle sometimes.

Each 660 only needs one 6 pin.

I would agree with one big powerful card over two lesser ones.
 

theytookourjobz

Junior Member
Should do, which one is it? You will need 4 6pin PCI-E.

If they haven't already been sent I would really recommend just getting one big graphics card instead of two mid tiers. The two will be fine, but SLI can be a bit of hassle sometimes.

Got a Rosewill 80+ Gold 750w and it looks like its got 4 6+2 PCI-E so I'm good to go. I was wary about going SLI at first too but after looking at numerous benchmarks the performance to value ratio was awesome. $350 and it beats 7970ghz and 680 at almost everything. I understand that SLI scaling can be shitty for most games at launch but I usually wait a month or two before I play games anyway. Thanks for the help again though guys!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom