Have you tried OCing that one? I'm interested in knowing if it faces the same throttling issue as the sapphires, or if it's a 7950 wide prob, in other words. Supposedly, the boost bios of the sapphire dual x has a lot to do with it, but...
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"I need a New PC!" 2013 Part 1. Haswell, Crysis 3, and secret fairy sauce. Read da OP
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Have you tried OCing that one? I'm interested in knowing if it faces the same throttling issue as the sapphires, or if it's a 7950 wide prob, in other words. Supposedly, the boost bios of the sapphire dual x has a lot to do with it, but...
I second Sapphire.
OP Guide updated with some text changes in info section. Also added SSDs to the Enhanced and Excellent builds.
I've used an i3 2100 + gtx460 on occasion (And streamed from it) it really gets the job done. Budget PC no joke.
There's an argument for both the FX6100 and 3220. It's something I've been looking into (Especially with Steamroller being on AM3+ socket), but there is not a lot of information on the subject from an end GAMING user experience, especially with all this new information about frame latency. I can only recommend from what I pickup online as I don't have a test bench or money to throw around. :/
I've used an i3 2100 + gtx460 on occasion (And streamed from it) it really gets the job done. Budget PC no joke.
my cards are the Gigabyte ones with 680 PCB and watercooling , one of them clocks pretty good the other one is very average
http://www.overclock.net/t/1265110/the-gtx-670-overclocking-master-guide/0_100
is a good guide to follow
http://www.overclock.net/t/1289489/gtx-600-series-unlocked-voltage-bios-downloads-and-tools/0_100
I followed the instructions and got the modified bios from this thread to get some extra voltage in my cards which increased my core overclock by about 30 MHz
http://www.overclock.net/t/1340182/online-600-series-firmware-modifier-version-0-7/0_100
here you can actually upload your own cards' bios to get it modified with the extra voltage, though I haven't tried this site myself
yeah I can absolutely recommend the Bitfenix Alchemy extension cables, absolutely the best feeling/looking cables I've ever had in my hands. Best option if you want the looks without doing all the sleeving work yourself
good fittings for a reasonable price
used 18 of them in my build .... your fingers will feel raw for a day or two after building though 
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Thanks, I think I ran into that thread upon a google search as well
I did manage to OC and and run some test including OCCT and Furmark. Core up 50mhz and memory 395mhz. On the reference MSI 670 cards it seems like you can't really OC the core that much before getting crashes but the memory can sure OC. Will have to try some BF3 today as that's one of the games that my drivers fail when OC'ing
I did manage to OC and and run some test including OCCT and Furmark. Core up 50mhz and memory 395mhz. On the reference MSI 670 cards it seems like you can't really OC the core that much before getting crashes but the memory can sure OC. Will have to try some BF3 today as that's one of the games that my drivers fail when OC'ing
Reckless Onion
Member
May i ask why? a 660ti runs everything out there at +60fps and is just a great card unless you are running some crazy resolutions?
Budget suddenly expanded and I can't say no to more power. I enjoy lots of AA, downsampling, and it'll open me up for a monitor upgrade later this year. Also might be able to exchange original card rather than resell it, but I won't know until tomorrow.
on my 3570 and 670 I don't OC and Skyrim plays great modded out. I don't have SweetFX installed though
Huw_Dawson
Member
I've been fishing around for headsets today. Why is it that every single pair of headphones I've found is at least 60% more than they are in the US (UK here)? Bonkers. I can't find the AT 700 ones (listed as $100) for less than £170 ($260!)
EDIT: Amazon has 'em for £125. Which is about $175. :|
EDIT: Amazon has 'em for £125. Which is about $175. :|
Ok, sorry for the dumb question, answered it myself. I should be below 400w even with an OC on the 3570K so the 550w should serve me well unless I go SLI in the future.
I think I'll be happy with a 2gb 680, but then I start thinking about an OCed 670 4gb. Ergh. I only game at 1080p (for now) but I quite enjoy maxing out the IQ with AA options. Will the 4gb cards benefit me now or is it best for modded skyrim and future games at this point?
Either one would give me a solid foundation for a future SLI upgrade/high res monitor down the road.
Edit: these are the front-runners so far. 2gb Twin Frozr 680:http://www.microcenter.com/product/402986/N680GTX_TF_2GD5-OC_NVIDIA_GeForce_GTX_680_Twin_Frozr_III_OC_2048MB_GDDR5_PCIe_30_x16_Video_Card
4gb Asus DirectCUII 670: http://www.microcenter.com/product/406094/GTX670-DC2-4GD5_NVIDIA_GeForce_GTX_670_DirectCU_II_4096MB_GDDR5_PCIe_30_x16_Video_Card
I'm leaning toward the 680
Huw_Dawson
Member
Okay, given the obnoxious pricing I've had to increase my planned budget to £90. This is for my little bro's 18th. He plays FPSs competitively and I want to get him the absolute best thing I can find for the money.
I'm happy to get a pair of headphones and grab a cheap clip-on mic for a few quid more, but if it's as one set I can only really justify £90.
Anyone got any suggestions? I could spend £40 on the headset and grab something else for his computer too, but I don't know if you can find a really good pair of headphones for that price. He's on pretty knackered equipment so a new KB would be a nice gift. :\
I'm happy to get a pair of headphones and grab a cheap clip-on mic for a few quid more, but if it's as one set I can only really justify £90.
Anyone got any suggestions? I could spend £40 on the headset and grab something else for his computer too, but I don't know if you can find a really good pair of headphones for that price. He's on pretty knackered equipment so a new KB would be a nice gift. :\
killertofu
Member
http://www.microcenter.com/product/388575/Core_i7_3770K_35GHz_LGA_1155_Processor#
Is this a good deal?
Is this a good deal?
electricpirate
Member
Fuck yea it is.
That's a fantastic deal!
schandmann
Member
Hi there,
I built a little budget PC a while back that runs everything I throw at it pretty smoothly (min 30 fps at max settings in most games) but I'm looking to upgrade for more demanding games like Far Cry 3 and to improve my fps.
I'm still using an old-ass monitor (1440x900) but in the course of the year I'll buy a 1080p TV that my PC will be hooked up to.
Not looking to upgrade everything at the same time, but if it's wise to wait a few months and save up, then that's what I'll do.
Aside from gaming, I'm doing a little audio production, but nothing too complex.
On to my specs:
CPU: Intel G860
RAM: 4GB 1333MHZ Corsair XMS3
Mobo: ASRock H77M-ITX
GPU: Gigabyte GTX460OC
PSU: Corsair CX430v2
Storage: WD Scorpio Blue 500GB
All in a cute little CoolerMaster Elite 120 case.
My bottleneck here is probably the CPU, right? The HDD is also a little slow (5400rpm), but big enough for me, so an SSD might be in order. The GPU obviously isn't up to snuff either.
What I'm planning on doing:
Does that sound reasonable to you, GAF?
I built a little budget PC a while back that runs everything I throw at it pretty smoothly (min 30 fps at max settings in most games) but I'm looking to upgrade for more demanding games like Far Cry 3 and to improve my fps.
I'm still using an old-ass monitor (1440x900) but in the course of the year I'll buy a 1080p TV that my PC will be hooked up to.
Not looking to upgrade everything at the same time, but if it's wise to wait a few months and save up, then that's what I'll do.
Aside from gaming, I'm doing a little audio production, but nothing too complex.
On to my specs:
CPU: Intel G860
RAM: 4GB 1333MHZ Corsair XMS3
Mobo: ASRock H77M-ITX
GPU: Gigabyte GTX460OC
PSU: Corsair CX430v2
Storage: WD Scorpio Blue 500GB
All in a cute little CoolerMaster Elite 120 case.
My bottleneck here is probably the CPU, right? The HDD is also a little slow (5400rpm), but big enough for me, so an SSD might be in order. The GPU obviously isn't up to snuff either.
What I'm planning on doing:
- Upgrade CPU to i5 model. (Would it be wise to just get a used last-gen CPU like the 2500 or should I save up for a 3XXX one?)
- Add an SSD (128GB Samsung 840?).
- Upgrade GPU (2GB Radeon HD7850?).
Does that sound reasonable to you, GAF?
I almost got an FX 6300 until mkenyon made me change
if you ignore frame latencies it seems awfully good for the price.For most games your bottleneck is the GPU, SSD and 7850 would be nice upgrades.
If you're doing a lot of CPU heavy games like BF3 multiplayer then maybe upgrade it too but the G860 holds its own in most games.
If you don't live next to a microcenter, you can always try best buy. they were able to price match the 229.99 for that i7. It's a fantastic deal that everyone should take advantage of if your building at the moment.
good fittings for a reasonable price
I guess I could get an estimate from counting what I'll need for the blocks, reservoirs, and the pumps. As for elbows and whatnots... I'll have to wait and see.
I'm in Germany and I don't know about any deals here. Would be awesome, if someone could tell me a couple of sites/shops, which have some deals.
Deal ends 2/16
Granted they are for the 360, but my little brother had a pair and he swapped between his PC and 360 all the time. I tested them and out and they get the job done, and for that price you can't beat it
Granted they are for the 360, but my little brother had a pair and he swapped between his PC and 360 all the time. I tested them and out and they get the job done, and for that price you can't beat it
SteelSeries Flux is in the OP and on amazon.co.uk ? 60 so you should have some left for a KB
there are lots of components that can cause BSOD/freezes , but RAM usually is a good bet yeah ... run memtest86+ first
yeah I just got as many EK fittings as I needed (twentysomething) , then bought a couple of 45 and 90 degree Alphacool ones and started puzzling until I had a loop I was pleased with ... (so I have some EKs lying around I'm not using)
Wow great deal
CrashPrime
Member
It's a killer deal. I went with microcenter for my CPU as well, however, I took advantage of another deal they run.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor
Reason I went 3570k was the limited use of HT in gaming, combined with the value proposition of Micro Center offering $50 off any Z77 motherboard when buying a 3570k.
You can get something like an OC Formula + 3570k for $380. (I went with the MSI MPower for the ease of onboard wifi, and more value).
For me the it wasn't worth the $90 price difference to jump to a 3770k over a 3570k. For you it might be, and you won't find a better deal at retail either way.
I'd say that's a pretty reasonable deal, but you can get them all day long at Gamestop for under $50. They are not $150 headphones as advertised. Consistently $30 from amazon too.
60FPS isn't an upper boundary of acceptable for a lot of people. Historically, that's been the lowest boundary of acceptable.
I did some investigation on those, lots of mixed reviews. HD201 for budget and then the Flux, IMO.
Cheap headphones all generally suck.
I think both are good in comparison to other shitty headsets.
Compared to a good set of similarly priced cans + mic? No way.
Flux is the only sub-$100 headset that has seriously quality speakers.
The difference between this and the Prescott vs. Athlon 64 days is that the Athlon 64 was actually good for gaming.
Vishera, however, is not. Vishera is basically on par with the first gen Core series processors, Lynnfield. They're great value when you're talking about non-gaming related heavy processor usage though. I'd recommend them in a heartbeat to someone who was looking for a budget multimedia workstation.
cyen
Member
Well just finished my build, it has to last me at least two years without upgrading it.
Here is a photo without the graphics card:
Here is the finished build:
Complete specs:
BitFenix Prodigy Case
3770K @ 4.5 Ghz
Asrock Z77E-ITX
8GB Gskill 1600 CL9 Ripjaws
MSI 7970 1125/1575
Corsair TX650W
1TB Seagate
120GB Samsung 840 (non pro) SSD
Corsair H100 for cpu cooling
I´ve had this buid for almost a month but only today finished the stability tests on the CPU so i only consider it finished today
PS: Sorry for the crappy cellphone pics
Here is a photo without the graphics card:
Here is the finished build:
Complete specs:
BitFenix Prodigy Case
3770K @ 4.5 Ghz
Asrock Z77E-ITX
8GB Gskill 1600 CL9 Ripjaws
MSI 7970 1125/1575
Corsair TX650W
1TB Seagate
120GB Samsung 840 (non pro) SSD
Corsair H100 for cpu cooling
I´ve had this buid for almost a month but only today finished the stability tests on the CPU so i only consider it finished today
PS: Sorry for the crappy cellphone pics
I cannot wait for GPU accelerated encoding.
I'm using an app that supports decoding only, and my GPUs average < 4% while my OCed i7 is 100% for 40 minutes for mkv ac3 1080p. Shit will bottleneck on SSD it will be so fast.
I'm using an app that supports decoding only, and my GPUs average < 4% while my OCed i7 is 100% for 40 minutes for mkv ac3 1080p. Shit will bottleneck on SSD it will be so fast.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
I asked last night to no avail, what is a good PC speaker set for the 50-70 range?
Sexy!!! I've been thinking about switching over to an itx build myself. Solid work.
cyen
Member
yep, it was the only place i could fit the H100 and since i rarely use a dvd drive i removed the bay (and the second HDD cage).
That's what you do to get a 240mm rad up top.
Besides, who uses optical drives anymore? Just gotta make that mix CD for a new girlfriend or something?
I doubt there is one. Probably varying shades of bad.
Audio stuff is so gdamn expensive.
cyen
Member
thanks
. I debated for a long time if i would build a normal atx or an ITX but since i discovered that bitfenix case (not really that small but smaller than a standard case) and Z77 motherboards in itx form factor i could not see any disavantage in choosing that form factor, and that sealed the deal.
Garou
Member
Well just finished my build, it has to last me at least two years without upgrading it.
Here is a photo without the graphics card:
Here is the finished build:
Complete specs:
BitFenix Prodigy Case
3770K @ 4.5 Ghz
Asrock Z77E-ITX
8GB Gskill 1600 CL9 Ripjaws
MSI 7970 1125/1575
Corsair TX650W
1TB Seagate
120GB Samsung 840 (non pro) SSD
Corsair H100 for cpu cooling
I´ve had this buid for almost a month but only today finished the stability tests on the CPU so i only consider it finished today
PS: Sorry for the crappy cellphone pics
How are the acoustics on that machine?
cyen
Member
Fantastic.. until the GPU starts working, then its noisy, been studying alternatives to that horrible reference cooler but didnt find any without costing a small fortune.
When doing anything but gaming its pretty quiet, the fans are all low profile and i use the H100 in quiet mode.
Confusion Illusion
Banned
I'm having a bit of a dilemma; I can't decide whether to upgrade my cpu/motherboard or just get a new video card.
My current setup is
AMD Phenom II X3 BE @ 3.2GHz
Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
8GB DDR3 1333Mhz Ram(Corsair XMS3)
EVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GB
Corsair 650TX PSU
Option A - CPU and motherboard upgrade, I'm looking at these
Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA 1155
Intel Core i5-3570K
Option B - Just the video card
EVGA GeForce GTX660 Ti
I would love to get some input on this. Thanks.
My current setup is
AMD Phenom II X3 BE @ 3.2GHz
Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
8GB DDR3 1333Mhz Ram(Corsair XMS3)
EVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GB
Corsair 650TX PSU
Option A - CPU and motherboard upgrade, I'm looking at these
Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA 1155
Intel Core i5-3570K
Option B - Just the video card
EVGA GeForce GTX660 Ti
I would love to get some input on this. Thanks.
SquiddyCracker
Banned
Alienware?
It's not like you can build a laptop, and Alienware comes with pretty decent guarantees (and they are reasonably well-built).
I'd say go with the processor/mobo first, but shoot for both in the long run.
The GTX 460 is still a pretty decent card and can still max out a lot of games now (minus AA)
If you were to go with the 660 ti I think your current CPU would be bottlenecking it.
cyen
Member
That´s a pretty tought question.
It depends if you will upgrade the rest later.
I would go with the 660ti since haswell is right around the corner.
But that x3 will be a big bottleneck for the card thats for sure.
Don't know much about gaming laptops, but the Sager NP9570 looks great
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP9570
Sell the H100. Put the GPU and CPU under water.
Get the new video card, start saving for a new motherboard/processor.
dragonbane
Member
Shit. I can't decide between the Gigabyte HD 7970 Windforce and the EVGA GTX 670 FTW. Any suggestions? How good are the drivers for the 7970 now, because based on the (early 2012) reviews the GTX 670 is beating the 7970 pretty hard in many games including BF3 and Crysis 2. Has the situation changed or is the 7970 more future proof maybe?
Well, it's a long story.
It went something like 670>7970, then 7970>680 (by a good margin), then with some new more accurate testing procedures, 670>7970. With the newest drivers, it's more like 7970=680, but I expect that gap to widen in the 7970's favor.
Also, I have no idea if the new 3DMark is an accurate representation of what to expect over the next few years, but the 7970 is dominating pretty hard there.
Top Haz, bottom me. Look at the Physics score difference too. That's pretty huge.
cyen
Member
The 7970 GHZ Ed. is pretty much neck to neck with a 680.
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