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[LiquidMetal14]

Yes, all C states are. I can go auto on C1E and report back but it will be about 7-8 hours as I'm working now.

Followup

Enable auto C1E and actually went down on my manual vcore to 1.340. CPU temps down at least 10C from my previous 4.7ghz OC so that is big for me. Ran a 10 pass Intel Burn Test and it passed so I will sit on this manual voltage for now. Max temp was 68C so that is more than acceptable.

 

[kennah]

Good to hear!

 

[TheNatural]

Im looking to build a PC again, with a specific set of parameters.

I plan on installing a Linux distro, and doing light gaming of mostly indie games and Valve Source games like L4D2 and TF2 at the most powerful (not like there's much more natively anyway.)

Im looking to spend only about $300 and without AMD components, because their Linux support is apparently terrible. So basically an Intel processor and nVidia card.

Im not in a hurry, and I'm always about best bang for the buck. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[NoRéN]

Im looking to build a PC again, with a specific set of parameters.

I plan on installing a Linux distro, and doing light gaming of mostly indie games and Valve Source games like L4D2 and TF2 at the most powerful (not like there's much more natively anyway.)

Im looking to spend only about $300 and without AMD components, because their Linux support is apparently terrible. So basically an Intel processor and nVidia card.

Im not in a hurry, and I'm always about best bang for the buck. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Reusing any parts?

 

[TheNatural]

Reusing any parts?

Nope, I sold my last build I made years ago that I had a Core 2 Duo in. Im kind of out of the loop on components and their prices these days.

 

[NoRéN]

Nope, I sold my last build I made years ago that I had a Core 2 Duo in. Im kind of out of the loop on components and their prices these days.

Did you check the OP?

Looks like the Budget build would good for you but you may need to up your budget.

 

[LAUGHTREY]

When are new CPU/GPUs supposed to come out, and how long does it usually take for prices to drop after that?

I'm gonna start saving up cash and just save up until a price drop in some stuff. I'd like to spend around 600 dollars and build a good WoW/Elder Scrolls Online capable PC.

 

[kennah]

New CPUs in June. Don't expect price drops ever.

New GPUs later than that, so don't expect price drops on anything anytime soon.

 

[TheNatural]

Did you check the OP?

Looks like the Budget build would good for you but you may need to up your budget.

Yeah checked it out. Budget in this thread seems to mean playing newer games reasonably well at the minimum, and for me I guess the most I'm asking for is fairly below that standard - playing simple indy games and Source games that could probably run well on a Pentium 4 or something.

I see a few solid after rebate deals on Tigerdirect.com I may use on a barebones combo for around $200 including everything but the video card and hard drive, but it would be an AMD processor.

 

[wilflare]

still looking for a good promotion on the 7800 or 7900 series..
which should I go for though.

 

[rohlfinator]

Im looking to build a PC again, with a specific set of parameters.

I plan on installing a Linux distro, and doing light gaming of mostly indie games and Valve Source games like L4D2 and TF2 at the most powerful (not like there's much more natively anyway.)

Im looking to spend only about $300 and without AMD components, because their Linux support is apparently terrible. So basically an Intel processor and nVidia card.

Im not in a hurry, and I'm always about best bang for the buck. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Yeah, I'd start with the budget build and maybe whittle away a couple things to bring the price down a bit. You could probably bump the GPU down to something in the $60-70 range if you're going to stick with Source engine games. Maybe switch out the CPU for a Celeron G555 if you want to shave off a few more bucks.

 

[bananas]

Posting from my new gaming PC!

GTX 670
Intel i5 3570k
8GB DDR3 RAM
128GB SSD


Now just waiting for OS and drivers to finish updating and for games to finish downloading... lol

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Posting from my new gaming PC!

GTX 670
Intel i5 3570k
8GB DDR3 RAM
128GB SSD


Now just waiting for OS and drivers to finish updating and for games to finish downloading... lol

The future is now.

Good feeling to know everything is working. Now keep an eye on things like temps and make sure things are stable.

 

[TheNatural]

Yeah, I'd start with the budget build and maybe whittle away a couple things to bring the price down a bit. You could probably bump the GPU down to something in the $60-70 range if you're going to stick with Source engine games. Maybe switch out the CPU for a Celeron G555 if you want to shave off a few more bucks.

Thanks for the advice. A few years ago I paid that for an E5200 and paid literally about $10 for a Radeon 4550 that ran these types of games well, so I can't imagine a lot of cash is necessary.

 

[bananas]

The future is now.

Good feeling to know everything is working. Now keep an eye on things like temps and make sure things are stable.

First game I'm installing to test everything is Sleepy Dawgs.

 

[mkenyon]

Thanks for the advice. A few years ago I paid that for an E5200 and paid literally about $10 for a Radeon 4550 that ran these types of games well, so I can't imagine a lot of cash is necessary.

Yeah, you will have to buy used to get those prices. Older parts don't really come down in price.

 

[catmincer]

First game I'm installing to test everything is Sleepy Dawgs.

Hahaha yeah I installed it first too. Maxed out and I can generally get ~30Fps. It looks stunning on PC vs the 360 version. 360 controller works perfectly too.

 

[NoRéN]

Thanks for the advice. A few years ago I paid that for an E5200 and paid literally about $10 for a Radeon 4550 that ran these types of games well, so I can't imagine a lot of cash is necessary.

Look for a 650 or below used. That should fairly cheap while alowing you to play games.

 

[Xisiqomelir]

PS/2 being relegated to "legacy interface" status is kind of bumming me out. Just about every new mobo I look at only has one combi KB/M port, and some of them have 0. I consider just about all my PS/2 hardware (rollerball mice, my 1390120 model M) superior to the available modern equivalents. Does anyone have a reasonable guess as to when it will vanish completely from new motherboards?

 

[CrashPrime]

Hmmm, so I am attempting to install Windows 8 on my new build, but I can't seem to get my USB drive to boot.

I made the drive using the official Microsoft Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool, which is what everyone recommends for making a Windows 8 install from the downloaded ISO.

It is selected as the primary boot drive in the UEFI, but when it boots past that, it says "Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key".

This is the first time I've attempted to install off USB instead of optical media. I wanted to try and keep the filthy spinner off my new rig. Any suggestions on how I might get this to work?

 

[Varg]

For my 7970, it has two eight pin connectors that need to be filled . Looking at my psu, I see I have a 12v connector which I connected to the motherboard , the 24 pin big connector I plugged into the motherboard , and I have a 6 pin connector with 2 right next to it. I assume you out these together to fill one of the slits on the card but here's my question. That 6 + 2 pin connector also has another 6+2 pin connector directly linked to like a chain . Can I use this one to fill the second 8 pin slot in my card or do I have to add another connector to my psu and route it up?

 

[wilflare]

Posting from my new gaming PC!

GTX 670
Intel i5 3570k
8GB DDR3 RAM
128GB SSD


Now just waiting for OS and drivers to finish updating and for games to finish downloading... lol

is a 128GB SSD sufficient? I have one unopened.. thinking of selling it off and get those $150 256GB models.

 

[mr2xxx]

is a 128GB SSD sufficient? I have one unopened.. thinking of selling it off and get those $150 256GB models.

As long as you have a standard HD to go with it. If not then it will be a hassle.

 

[NoRéN]

Any reason other than price why people aren't going completely SSD yet?

 

[iavi]

Any reason other than price why people aren't going completely SSD yet?

Still too expensive for many.

 

[mr2xxx]

Any reason other than price why people aren't going completely SSD yet?

Its price, if a 3 TB SSD was $150, no one would go back to a regular HD.

 

[Horse Detective]

Is there a reason that large SSDs aren't in abundance? Is the technology not there, or is it just very costly to make?

 

[NoRéN]

Still too expensive for many.

Its price, if a 3 TB SSD was $150, no one would go back to a regular HD.

Makes sense. I was worrying that maybe it just wasnt good for the SSD to be the main drive.

Is there a reason that large SSDs aren't in abundance? Is the technology not there, or is it just very costly to make?

My next question. Anyone think the tech will drop in price in the foreseeable future and become the standard?

 

[Mogwai]

For my 7970, it has two eight pin connectors that need to be filled . Looking at my psu, I see I have a 12v connector which I connected to the motherboard , the 24 pin big connector I plugged into the motherboard , and I have a 6 pin connector with 2 right next to it. I assume you out these together to fill one of the slits on the card but here's my question. That 6 + 2 pin connector also has another 6+2 pin connector directly linked to like a chain . Can I use this one to fill the second 8 pin slot in my card or do I have to add another connector to my psu and route it up?

Use any PCI-E 6+2 connectors you have. I guess you also got some molex adapters with you card? (2xmolex to 8 pin PCI-E)

 

[Pandemic]

Basic Desktop Questions:
Your Current Specs:
- WDC WD10EAVS-00D7B1 1000.2GB (WD stands for Western Digital Corporation)
Total - 953865 MB, Free - 524237 MB;
- RAM : 4096 MB DDR2 Dual Channel
RAM Speed : 400.8 MHz (1:2) @ 5-5-5-15
Slot 1 : 2048MB (6400)
Slot 1 Manufacturer : Team Group Inc.
Slot 2 : 2048MB (6400)
- Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor, AMD64 Family 16 Model 2 Stepping 3
Processor Count: 4
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT, 512 Mb
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd., GA-MA78G-DS3HP
- Not sure the name of the PSU but it's only 500W
- Case: Thermaltake (not sure the specifics, sorry)

Budget: $2000-$2500
Country: Australia

Main Use: Gaming, General Usage, work (Word, Web, 1080p playback).

Monitor Resolution: Uh, not sure.. 1080p I guess...? I have a pretty crap monitor at the moment, it's a.. ViewSonic 24 inch monitor, pretty old, guess I could do with a new one, but still works perfectly. New monitor could be added on top of the $2000-$2500 if I were to upgrade.

List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Anything that will run the latest games on high/ultra settings and will last me for a few years (probably asking for to much, but then again I know nothing about computers)

Looking to reuse any parts?: Doubt any of my current PC specs are worth keeping.

When will you build?: Whenever is fine. I'll also probably get someone to build it for me since I'm terrible at using computers, let alone building one.

Will you be overclocking?: Uh.. Not sure if I've ever overclocked this current PC, so I don't know.
[/QUOTE]

P.S. Hopefully these responses are adequate, I know nothing about computers so details are probably scarce. Appreciate any help.

 

[mr2xxx]

Basic Desktop Questions:
Your Current Specs:
- WDC WD10EAVS-00D7B1 1000.2GB (WD stands for Western Digital Corporation)
Total - 953865 MB, Free - 524237 MB;
- RAM : 4096 MB DDR2 Dual Channel
RAM Speed : 400.8 MHz (1:2) @ 5-5-5-15
Slot 1 : 2048MB (6400)
Slot 1 Manufacturer : Team Group Inc.
Slot 2 : 2048MB (6400)
- Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor, AMD64 Family 16 Model 2 Stepping 3
Processor Count: 4
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT, 512 Mb
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd., GA-MA78G-DS3HP
- Not sure the name of the PSU but it's only 500W
- Case: Thermaltake (not sure the specifics, sorry)

Budget: $2000-$2500
Country: Australia

Main Use: Gaming, General Usage, work (Word, Web, 1080p playback).

Monitor Resolution: Uh, not sure.. 1080p I guess...? I have a pretty crap monitor at the moment, it's a.. ViewSonic 24 inch monitor, pretty old, guess I could do with a new one, but still works perfectly. New monitor could be added on top of the $2000-$2500 if I were to upgrade.

List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Anything that will run the latest games on high/ultra settings and will last me for a few years (probably asking for to much, but then again I know nothing about computers)

Looking to reuse any parts?: Doubt any of my current PC specs are worth keeping.

When will you build?: Whenever is fine. I'll also probably get someone to build it for me since I'm terrible at using computers, let alone building one.

Will you be overclocking?: Uh.. Not sure if I've ever overclocked this current PC, so I don't know.


P.S. Hopefully these responses are adequate, I know nothing about computers so details are probably scarce. Appreciate any help.

Front page there in the first post it has different builds. You can easily get the top one with your budget. The only thing that is happening is the new Nvidia Titan card is coming out. It cost around $900 US but is by far the best graphics card in the market, you could probably fit it in your budget.

 

[Pandemic]

Front page there in the first post it has different builds. You can easily get the top one with your budget. The only thing that is happening is the new Nvidia Titan card is coming out. It cost around $900 US but is by far the best graphics card in the market, you could probably fit it in your budget.

Thanks for the response mate, appreciate it.

By the ''top one'', do you mean the one that costs $1349?

And with the graphics card, is their a release date?

Thanks.

 

[mr2xxx]

Thanks for the response mate, appreciate it.

By the ''top one'', do you mean the one that costs $1349?

And with the graphics card, is their a release date?

Thanks.

Yeah the $1349 one. The card will release the Feb 18-25 but supply will probably be limited.

 

[wilflare]

As long as you have a standard HD to go with it. If not then it will be a hassle.

I do.. it's like a 640GB black.. but was wondering if I should go 256GB to fit most of my applications (games) on it..

still not sure on what to upgrade to from my 5830

 

[Pandemic]

Yeah the $1349 one. The card will release the Feb 18-25 but supply will probably be limited.

Interesting, alright thanks for the response mate, appreciate it. A lot of difficult decisions when it comes to computers.

 

[JayDub]

Hey guys, is a AX750 PSU good for 3570k (hoping to OC to 4.3-4.4), SLI GTX 670s?

 

[Pandemic]

I found this build (not sure if it was custom built or not) off a local store website, and just wanted to check if it's worth it?

Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz
Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 motherboard
Intel Sock LGA2011 CPU Fan
GA 2GB NVIDIA GTX670 PCIE Graphic
LG Blueray Writer
Kingston 16Gb 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
Kingston 120Gb SATA3 SSD Hard Disk
Seagate 2.0Tb SATA Hard Disk 7200RPM
8-channel Integrated Sound Card
Antec Three Hundred ATX Med. Tower Case
Thermaltake 700W power supply
Internal Flash Card Reader all in one
24� Samsung S24B300H LED Monitor
Logitech Z506 5.1 subwoofer with Speakers
Microsoft DT5000 wireless Keyboard
Microsoft 4000 wireless Mouse
3x Front USB2, 8x Rear USB2, 2x Rear USB3

All that for $2290AUD (2369USD/1528£) or could I get a better PC if I were to build a PC myself? P.S. The mous, keyboard and speakers aren't really needed but wouldn't mind if it was involved.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Baconsaurus Rex]

I found this build (not sure if it was custom built or not) off a local store website, and just wanted to check if it's worth it?


All that for $2290AUD (2369USD/1528£) or could I get a better PC if I were to build a PC myself? P.S. The mous, keyboard and speakers aren't really needed but wouldn't mind if it was involved.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

No idea how the pricing of hardware is down under, I'm guessing it is fairly expensive, but you should get a far more efficient rig for that kind of money.

 

[JayDub]

Alright, finalized my build. Inputs?

Will be using it for gaming.

3570k
Asrock z77 Extreme4
Hyper 212 Evo
Fractal R4
8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz RAM (buying everything locally, so no Samsung RAM)
Corsair AX750
2x GTX 670 FTW (SLI)

$1700 after tax.

 

[neoanarch]

Alright, finalized my build. Inputs?

Will be using it for gaming.

3570k
Asrock z77 Extreme4
Hyper 212 Evo
Fractal R4
8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz RAM (buying everything locally, so no Samsung RAM)
Corsair AX750
2x GTX 670 FTW (SLI)

$1700 after tax.

what country?

 

[Hazaro]

Alright, finalized my build. Inputs?

Will be using it for gaming.

3570k
Asrock z77 Extreme4
Hyper 212 Evo
Fractal R4
8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz RAM (buying everything locally, so no Samsung RAM)
Corsair AX750
2x GTX 670 FTW (SLI)

$1700 after tax.

Low Profile RAM at least right?

$400 for 670's just... isn't worth the price unless you want nVidia.
Also if you have any dual fan options for 670's over the FTW's I would take those instead. Rest of your system should be quiet. Pickup some quiet fans to move the heat as well.

 

[Hazaro]

Basic Desktop Questions:
Your Current Specs:
- WDC WD10EAVS-00D7B1 1000.2GB (WD stands for Western Digital Corporation)
Total - 953865 MB, Free - 524237 MB;
- RAM : 4096 MB DDR2 Dual Channel
RAM Speed : 400.8 MHz (1:2) @ 5-5-5-15
Slot 1 : 2048MB (6400)
Slot 1 Manufacturer : Team Group Inc.
Slot 2 : 2048MB (6400)
- Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor, AMD64 Family 16 Model 2 Stepping 3
Processor Count: 4
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT, 512 Mb
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd., GA-MA78G-DS3HP
- Not sure the name of the PSU but it's only 500W
- Case: Thermaltake (not sure the specifics, sorry)

Budget: $2000-$2500
Country: Australia

Main Use: Gaming, General Usage, work (Word, Web, 1080p playback).

Monitor Resolution: Uh, not sure.. 1080p I guess...? I have a pretty crap monitor at the moment, it's a.. ViewSonic 24 inch monitor, pretty old, guess I could do with a new one, but still works perfectly. New monitor could be added on top of the $2000-$2500 if I were to upgrade.

List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Anything that will run the latest games on high/ultra settings and will last me for a few years (probably asking for to much, but then again I know nothing about computers)

Looking to reuse any parts?: Doubt any of my current PC specs are worth keeping.

When will you build?: Whenever is fine. I'll also probably get someone to build it for me since I'm terrible at using computers, let alone building one.

Will you be overclocking?: Uh.. Not sure if I've ever overclocked this current PC, so I don't know.

If you want to keep the PC for years wait 4 months for Haswell if possible. Otherwise a custom 3930K build will certainly do.
Should have better SSD and Monitor options as well. And you can buy GeForce Titan (Hopefully).

I found this build (not sure if it was custom built or not) off a local store website, and just wanted to check if it's worth it?


All that for $2290AUD (2369USD/1528£) or could I get a better PC if I were to build a PC myself? P.S. The mous, keyboard and speakers aren't really needed but wouldn't mind if it was involved.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Trash PC for the price.

 

[kennah]

Alright, finalized my build. Inputs?

Will be using it for gaming.

3570k
Asrock z77 Extreme4
Hyper 212 Evo
Fractal R4
8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz RAM (buying everything locally, so no Samsung RAM)
Corsair AX750
2x GTX 670 FTW (SLI)

$1700 after tax.

If you're spending that much you may as well wait a couple weeks for Titan

 

[RumblingRosco]

Does anyone know why Windows 7 takes up over 27 GB of space? Here's the issue; when I built my PC in 2011 I put Windows 7 on a 40 GB SSD. Of that 40 GB, only 37 GB is usable. Of that 37, 27 is used by W7, leaving me only 10 GB of headroom... but 2 GB of that is used for my user profile and another 1.5 is used for another profile on my PC, leaving me with 6.5 GB. nVidia stuff is using another 1.5 (leaving me with 5 GB free) and then various "Common Files" and things like Java, my printer drivers, and a few very basic things seem to use up another 3 GB or so... leaving me with <2 GB of space, which I know is bad. I clear my browser cache from time-to-time to free up a gig or so, but I'm obviously concerned with how little space I have left.

So, is there anything in the W7 folder that can be removed? Maybe left over shit after the service pack update?

Alternatively, I could just re-install to my other SSD that is 120 GB, but I am just feeling lazy about having to wipe/transfer that drive and then put it all back... but maybe that's the best route at this point.

Any advice is appreciated! I've used WinDirStat to try and remove any extra non-sense already.

EDIT: Ah, I just freed up a decent amount of space using Disc Cleanup; I forgot to ever use the "Cleanup System Files" button to give me a few more options. Still tighter than I'd like, but better.

 

[xptoxyz]

I've been away from PC tech too long to know what's what, I need a bit of help on behalf of someone.

Basically the Graphics card crapped out, it was a GTX 295, on a PCI-E 2.0 board (I think a P6T), I'm trying to get the person a modern replacement within a reasonable budget, but have some questions.

Do graphics cards from nVidia's 600 series need PCI-E 3.0? Do they even need it for the full advantages or will they play nice with the PCI-E 2.0 board.

This person wants to stick with nVidia rather than go AMD, which I understand, but may make choosing a mid-budget card harder.

The 660 Ti seems like a common option, although it starts to stretching the budget quite a bit. What is the reasonable nVidia thing to get near the 650 Ti to base 660 range. Is trying to stretch the budget that much worth it? Buying 500 series second-hand does not seem like an option by the way.

 

[killertofu]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16814162108&cm_sp=

Deal?

 

[CrashPrime]

Hmmm, so I am attempting to install Windows 8 on my new build, but I can't seem to get my USB drive to boot.

I made the drive using the official Microsoft Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool, which is what everyone recommends for making a Windows 8 install from the downloaded ISO.

It is selected as the primary boot drive in the UEFI, but when it boots past that, it says "Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key".

This is the first time I've attempted to install off USB instead of optical media. I wanted to try and keep the filthy spinner off my new rig. Any suggestions on how I might get this to work?

Quoting myself because I found the solution to my own problem. If anyone ever runs into this, it might be the fact that your newer UEFI motherboard wants to boot off of FAT32.

http://www.servethehome.com/uefi-bootable-usb-drive-windows-8-windows-server-2012/

This pretty much solves the problem. It involves just prepairing the drive a certain way using the FAT32 file system and copying over the files.

After being up to the wee hours of the morning, I seem to have a good Windows 8 install, and tonight I'm planning on hooking up the 2nd 670 and doing some temp stress tests and benchmarks at stock to make sure it's safe to travel into the realm of overclocking.

Porn shots of the interior to follow this evening. It wasn't as clean as I hoped, but it's the cleanest I've ever put together.

 

[M.Bluth]

Anyone recommends a SATA power extension cable of sorts?

I'd like to use one cable [for optimum cable management] coming out of my PSU to hook up both hard drives as well as the DVD drive, but the power cable is a little short of reaching the drive at the top :/

I've looked around and thought about this one, but I don't really need that many connectors, and $11 seems a bit much for something that I won't use fully. The rest are mostly multi-color and I prefer to use black cables for better consistency inside the case

for the two new pages >.>

 

[Shambles]

Does anyone know why Windows 7 takes up over 27 GB of space? Here's the issue; when I built my PC in 2011 I put Windows 7 on a 40 GB SSD. Of that 40 GB, only 37 GB is usable. Of that 37, 27 is used by W7, leaving me only 10 GB of headroom... but 2 GB of that is used for my user profile and another 1.5 is used for another profile on my PC, leaving me with 6.5 GB. nVidia stuff is using another 1.5 (leaving me with 5 GB free) and then various "Common Files" and things like Java, my printer drivers, and a few very basic things seem to use up another 3 GB or so... leaving me with <2 GB of space, which I know is bad. I clear my browser cache from time-to-time to free up a gig or so, but I'm obviously concerned with how little space I have left.

So, is there anything in the W7 folder that can be removed? Maybe left over shit after the service pack update?

Alternatively, I could just re-install to my other SSD that is 120 GB, but I am just feeling lazy about having to wipe/transfer that drive and then put it all back... but maybe that's the best route at this point.

Any advice is appreciated! I've used WinDirStat to try and remove any extra non-sense already.

EDIT: Ah, I just freed up a decent amount of space using Disc Cleanup; I forgot to ever use the "Cleanup System Files" button to give me a few more options. Still tighter than I'd like, but better.

Have you disabled the hibernation file and shrunk your page file and recycle bin size for that drive?

 

[kharma45]

I've been away from PC tech too long to know what's what, I need a bit of help on behalf of someone.

Basically the Graphics card crapped out, it was a GTX 295, on a PCI-E 2.0 board (I think a P6T), I'm trying to get the person a modern replacement within a reasonable budget, but have some questions.

Do graphics cards from nVidia's 600 series need PCI-E 3.0? Do they even need it for the full advantages or will they play nice with the PCI-E 2.0 board.

This person wants to stick with nVidia rather than go AMD, which I understand, but may make choosing a mid-budget card harder.

The 660 Ti seems like a common option, although it starts to stretching the budget quite a bit. What is the reasonable nVidia thing to get near the 650 Ti to base 660 range. Is trying to stretch the budget that much worth it? Buying 500 series second-hand does not seem like an option by the way.

The only GPU on sale that needs PCIe 3 really is the 690, and probably AMDs 7990 variants that are around. You're fine with PCIe 2 for a 680/7970 and below.

650 Ti isn't a great buy, you're better off with AMD at that price point. 660 is the lowest Nvidia card I'd go for and even then it's limited if you get the 2GB version as the 192 bit memory bus can only utilise 1.5GB of VRAM.