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[WonkyPanda]

Sorry, another question:

It's been a while for me and I am wondering if it's worth going to Asus' site and dowloading all the drivers for my mobo. I remember way back when, your computer was pretty bunk without installing the chipset drivers, etc. However, it seems Win 8 has done a pretty good job and nothing seems broken. But, are these just generic drivers that Windows installs?

 

[Sir Abacus]

Words cannot express the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz strobing. I move the mouse cursor from my 60Hz IPS panel over to the 144Hz panel and it's like night and day the difference in how smooth they track.

 

[kakashi08]

What's the best wireless adapter to use if you game online?
I know it won't be fast as the Ethernet cable, but in case you have no choice and need an wireless adapter, which one would you recommend?

 

[Instro]

What's the best wireless adapter to use if you game online?
I know it won't be fast as the Ethernet cable, but in case you have no choice and need an wireless adapter, which one would you recommend?

You could try a power line adapter, it'll run you a bit more than a typical wireless adapter but its better.

 

[kakashi08]

You could try a power line adapter, it'll run you a bit more than a typical wireless adapter but its better.

Whoa, I didn't even know something like that existed. LOL
Do those work fast as an Ethernet Cable from a modem?
On amazon they have different Mbps ones, 100 and 200mpbs. There only $44 without the wifi. That's not bad.

 

[mkenyon]

Words cannot express the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz strobing. I move the mouse cursor from my 60Hz IPS panel over to the 144Hz panel and it's like night and day the difference in how smooth they track.

Spittin' truth here.

 

[Mad Max]

Ordered this beast a few minutes ago to replace my dying TX650:

Pretty much a Corsair AX860/Seasonic X-850 KM3 internally, but about €40 cheaper. Total overkill for my system, but hopefully it will save me from having to buy another PSU in the next 3 to 5 years.

 

[CountAntonius]

I know Xornet was for claw grip because thats the grip I use. Shouldn't had laid my hand on the pictures but I am definitely not a palm user.

And It still feels too small? This kinda worries me. I have large hands and was thinking of picking this mouse up.

 

[Soodanim]

Oh my word, RAM prices take the piss now! It's only been a couple weeks since I checked on the Samsung Green out of curiosity and it's gone up again! Is there going to be something that stops this, or is the case going to be that because of DRAM supplies running low I'm going to have to pay somewhere between double and triple what I would have paid last Xmas for the foreseeable future?

 

[fozzy]

I have the same setup (athlon x2 4200+, 2gb ram, amd 4850 512mb) and the last game i could run was Mass Effect 3. You should be able to play Oblivion, maybe Fallout but i dont think the 4200+ will handle Skyrim. Basically, if you want to upgrade, try a new CPU/Motherboard/RAM combo. If you need it to be cheap, go with something like a i3 3220/4gb DDR3/B75 motherboard (~250$).

Thanks for the help. I'll probably just leave it.

 

[maneil99]

Ordered this beast a few minutes ago to replace my dying

Pretty much a Corsair AX860/Seasonic X-850 KM3 internally, but about €40 cheaper. Total overkill for my system, but hopefully it will save me from having to buy another PSU in the next 3 to 5 years.

How old was the TX650. Was it a V1 or V2

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

Just bought one of these bad boys from Newegg (MSI 780 Twin Frozr). Got a free copy of Splinter Cell Blacklist, too!

 

[Mad Max]

How old was the TX650. Was it a V1 or V2

It is the V2 and about 3 months old, this is my 2nd unit, as the first had a broken fancontroller after 3 months. I'll RMA this one and sell it after I get a new one back.

 

[Danj]

Got a free copy of Splinter Cell Blacklist, too!

I am salty that the Geforce Gear Up offer apparently does not apply to GTX Titans.

 

[maneil99]

Broken fan controller? What do you mean
How do you know its dyong

 

[Mad Max]

Broken fan controller? What do you mean
How do you know its dyong

The fan wouldn't turn on properly after a while but switch on->off rapidly which made an aweful lot of noise.

I know it's dying because half the time I push the on button on my PC nothing happens, and I have to use the button on the back to turn it off, wait until the mobo LED turns off, and then try again. This even happens when I start the PSU with just a paperclip so I know it's not mobo related either. Under load the PSU is also very hot to the touch and makes a lot of noise, which comes from a combination of: fan noise, hard clicking sounds and coil whine. This is despite the thing getting plenty of cold air through the bottom of my case.

 

[maneil99]

The fan wouldn't turn on properly after a while but switch on->off rapidly which made an aweful lot of noise.

I know it's dying because half the time I push the on button on my PC nothing happens, and I have to use the button on the back to turn it off, wait until the mobo LED turns off, and then try again. This even happens when I start the PSU with just a paperclip so I know it's not mobo related either. Under load the PSU is also very hot to the touch and makes a lot of noise, which comes from a combination of: fan noise, hard clicking sounds and coil whine. This is despite the thing getting plenty of cold air through the bottom of my case.

Arent the tx series made by seasonic though

 

[Mad Max]

Arent the tx series made by seasonic though

Yeah, or atleast the V2 is made by seasonic. It's based on a completely different platform than their newest X-series though, which is widely regarded as being pretty damn good . But if it wasn't as praised as it is I would have thought twice considering my recent experience.

 

[kharma45]

Ordered this beast a few minutes ago to replace my dying TX650:

Pretty much a Corsair AX860/Seasonic X-850 KM3 internally, but about €40 cheaper. Total overkill for my system, but hopefully it will save me from having to buy another PSU in the next 3 to 5 years.

That could well last you 10 years.

 

[Addnan]

Doesn't the X850 suffer from coil whine?

 

[Polymath]

You have about ~500W of heat trying to be dissipated by a radiator that can only dissipate about 200-300W of heat. You need another 240-360mm radiator. Simple as that. If you don't want to mod your case, get a new case. 800D requires cutting to be an adequate watercooling case.

I understand but is 40c water temps something to worry about?
i mean i had cards run 80-90c so i don't get scared with 50 to me it's still decent.

I think i found a solution how to add 240mm worth of rads by using 2x 120mm or 2x 140mm rads by replacing the 2 140mm standard fans.

 

[Mad Max]

Doesn't the X850 suffer from coil whine?

I've heard some do, but it seems that risk exists for any switched-mode PSU and only increases with the unit's rated capacity. As long as it's not appearent when idle I'm fine, my HD7950 squeals like a pig in most games anyway . But if it's really bad I can return it and get my money back, since I live in euroland.

@Polymath

40°C water temps is still okay, you should probably start worrying for your pump when it goes above 50°C though. The way heat transfer works is that, if you have (say) 500W of heat to dissipate, you can either transfer that heat by increasing the temp difference at which it is transfered (in this case between the water and ambient) or increase the thermal contact area (rad space). This is assuming everything else remains equal ofcource. So a 360 is okay as long as you're fine with increased temperatures.

Also I wouldn't add those 120/140 rads, it's just not really worth it imo if you can't add atleast a 240mm rad.

 

[kharma45]

Ok guys, time to start building. Wish me luck!

Also, I bought two additional 120mm fans to put into my 200r carbide.

Where do you guys recommend I put them? One exhaust on the top and one exhaust on the side over the GPU? Or have intake on top and exhaust on bottom. What creates the best airflow?

You could stick another in the front and have one on the top. Front ones are a fucking arse to mount, I nearly had an aneurysm doing it on mine. I've now two at the front blowing in, two at the top sucking out and one exhausting at the rear.

 

[RukusProvider]

anything better than Titan coming out soon? Feel like buying something new.

 

[Danj]

anything better than Titan coming out soon? Feel like buying something new.

This image amused me.

Really enjoying my Titan so far, had a great session of L4D2 with it yesterday - not the most demanding game of course but looks good anyway and plays really smoothly.

 

[ColR100]

Oh my word, RAM prices take the piss now! It's only been a couple weeks since I checked on the Samsung Green out of curiosity and it's gone up again! Is there going to be something that stops this, or is the case going to be that because of DRAM supplies running low I'm going to have to pay somewhere between double and triple what I would have paid last Xmas for the foreseeable future?

You are correct in your assumption there. Prices are apparently expected to still creep up slightly before the end of the year.

Smasung Green is also EoL, and the stock which is currently out there is all that's left. So I'd advise grabbing it now if it must be that memory.

 

[erick]

Danj, if you haven't tried it yet, check out downscaling. It works really well on GTX Titans (as I can attest), you can render games in 4K and the GPU flawlessly downscales it to 1080p.

More here: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2252699

 

[Morphine1680]

Hi, I currently have a Dell UltraSharp U2410 monitor, planning to upgrade to a triple monitor setup, what are he best options to pair up this monitor with? Looks like they are not making more 2410s and there is a new 2413 but is almost $500

Here is my pc:

 

[Oracle Dragon]

I'm pretty out of date with this stuff, I've tried sifting through some review sites the past few days but I am having difficulty sorting it all out TBH.

Q1: Essentially, I was looking to upgrade I/O a bit by investing some in the Z77 SSD Caching method on my existing PC. I have a 3TB main drive with everything on it right now. My idea was to buy a 120GB or so SSD as use it as my cache drive. I know that it tops out at 64GB or so for the cache, so I assume the other space will just be wasted, but I really did not have the time nor the inclination to re-format and re-install the OS and other things now.

However, has anyone tried this SSD caching method before? Are the results comparable to running everything from an SSD? I must admit, I really like the idea of not having to manage the stuff that is on or off of the SSD, the caching algorithm will take care of all of that. I can't possibly justify the cost of a 512GB+ SSD, so it seems no matter what if I use it as my primary drive I will be installing/uninstalling things on it to manage what is fast and what is not. Having the OS do this for me automatically instead, even if it is a slight performance penalty is... appealing. Heck if that is the case maybe I can even save a bit of money and buy a smaller drive and forget the eventual reformatting altogether.

Q2: In that vein, what are some good SSD's to do this with? From what I have read the Samsung 840 is a good price/performance deal right now. I am concerned though that Samsung rates it for "only" 1000 program/erase cycles. Is this an issue to be worried about? The Adata SX900 seems to be on sale in my area right now and the paper specs look good, but is it a decent drive? I have trouble finding good reviews on it, is it something to avoid?

Q3: For SSD caching, is it worth it paying the extra for a "performance" drive vs non? For example the price difference between the Samsung 840 and 840Pro is about $30. I'm understanding that the 120GB drives are more run-of-the-mill while the 128GB are "enthusiast" models. Is that important for SSD caching?

Q4: Last one; I was going to replace my old Razer Abyssus at the same time. I wanted something with more buttons. I was eyeing the Roccat Kone XTD, but oof that price... but then I see a Corsair M90, I guess an older model, being dumped for $29 (regular $79). The M95 is one of the reccomended mice in the OP, I am assuming it is the reason that M90 is being slashed, but is the M90 worth getting?

 

[Macro.]

Currently a PC only gamer, have a PS4 on Pre Order but the closer we get to the date the more I think I should just upgrade my system.

Currently;

Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4-B3 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB DDR3
Gigabyte Radeon HD6950 1GB Overclocked x 2 in CF
Corsair HX-750 Power Supply
Western Digital Green 1TB x 2 in Raid.
Intel Core i7 2600 CPU at 3.7Ghz

What would some recommendations be in terms of upgrades to handle the "next generation" of games.

 

[kennah]

Currently a PC only gamer, have a PS4 on Pre Order but the closer we get to the date the more I think I should just upgrade my system.

Currently;

Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4-B3 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB DDR3
Gigabyte Radeon HD6950 1GB Overclocked x 2 in CF
Corsair HX-750 Power Supply
Western Digital Green 1TB x 2 in Raid.
Intel Core i7 2600 CPU at 3.7Ghz

What would some recommendations be in terms of upgrades to handle the "next generation" of games.

An SSD and new video card. That's all you need. Overclock your cpu more if you can. If you can't then sell it for a K version and get up to 4.2-4.4 ghz and be good to go for a while.

Also you might see an improvement on your existing setup when the fixed Crossfire drivers are released.

 

[Macro.]

An SSD and new video card. That's all you need. Overclock your cpu more if you can. If you can't then sell it for a K version and get up to 4.2-4.4 ghz and be good to go for a while.

Also you might see an improvement on your existing setup when the fixed Crossfire drivers are released.

Yeah a SSD and new GPU are along the lines of what I was thinking. Been looking at the 7970 3GB and GTX 770 2/4GB, they seem relatively close in terms of performance.

Do you think having an AMD card with the next generation of consoles also using AMD could be an advantage as far as drivers / general performance?

 

[tycoonheart]

Push that 2600k to at least 4.5ghz. It'll do that very easily.

 

[kennah]

Yeah a SSD and new GPU are along the lines of what I was thinking. Been looking at the 7970 3GB and GTX 770 2/4GB, they seem relatively close in terms of performance.

Do you think having an AMD card with the next generation of consoles also using AMD could be an advantage as far as drivers / general performance?

None whatsoever.

Good card choices there too. And your 6950s should still fetch a good price second hand as well.

 

[Sir Abacus]

Hi, I currently have a Dell UltraSharp U2410 monitor, planning to upgrade to a triple monitor setup, what are he best options to pair up this monitor with? Looks like they are not making more 2410s and there is a new 2413 but is almost $500

Usually you want something with a similar bezel but the biggest problem is that the U2410 is also a $500 monitor as well. I use two VS247H-P monitors and a VG248QE in my setup. You could probably sell your monitor on eBay or Craigslist and buy three VS247H-P monitors with the proceeds. They're $137.73 after $20 rebate right now which is an absolutely ridiculous price for such an astounding quality monitor.

 

[Talents]

Can anyone recommend a good gaming keyboard? The one I currently have is wireless and absolutely sucks. I've looked at the ones in the OP but would like to see if there are any others available. My budget is about £50 ($76), maybe a bit more. Any help would be really appreciated as I've been looking for quite a while but to no avail.

 

[Sir Abacus]

I'm pretty out of date with this stuff, I've tried sifting through some review sites the past few days but I am having difficulty sorting it all out TBH.

Q1: Essentially, I was looking to upgrade I/O a bit by investing some in the Z77 SSD Caching method on my existing PC. I have a 3TB main drive with everything on it right now. My idea was to buy a 120GB or so SSD as use it as my cache drive. I know that it tops out at 64GB or so for the cache, so I assume the other space will just be wasted, but I really did not have the time nor the inclination to re-format and re-install the OS and other things now.

However, has anyone tried this SSD caching method before? Are the results comparable to running everything from an SSD? I must admit, I really like the idea of not having to manage the stuff that is on or off of the SSD, the caching algorithm will take care of all of that. I can't possibly justify the cost of a 512GB+ SSD, so it seems no matter what if I use it as my primary drive I will be installing/uninstalling things on it to manage what is fast and what is not. Having the OS do this for me automatically instead, even if it is a slight performance penalty is... appealing. Heck if that is the case maybe I can even save a bit of money and buy a smaller drive and forget the eventual reformatting altogether.

Anandtech did.

The relative differences in performance should be similar even today. Keep in mind you need to change the boot method from AHCI to RAID to activate SRT which is a kind of involved proces. You can find the method here

Q2: In that vein, what are some good SSD's to do this with? From what I have read the Samsung 840 is a good price/performance deal right now. I am concerned though that Samsung rates it for "only" 1000 program/erase cycles. Is this an issue to be worried about? The Adata SX900 seems to be on sale in my area right now and the paper specs look good, but is it a decent drive? I have trouble finding good reviews on it, is it something to avoid?

It's not worth worrying about. P/E cycles will still last quite a few years at most consumer level usage. Even a budget SSD is going to have faster write performance than your hard drive's sustained read.

Q3: For SSD caching, is it worth it paying the extra for a "performance" drive vs non? For example the price difference between the Samsung 840 and 840Pro is about $30. I'm understanding that the 120GB drives are more run-of-the-mill while the 128GB are "enthusiast" models. Is that important for SSD caching?

SSD caching is limited to 64GB by design. An 840 delivers almost the same read speeds and about half the write speeds of the Pro. It will be completely sufficient for your needs.

If you're a glutton for punishment you can take a 120GB drive, install Windows on it, setup SRT, setup an SRT cache partition then reinstall Windows again on the new, smaller partition so that you have the fastest possible boot drive and a cached data/game install drive.

 

[metareferential]

This image amused me.

Really enjoying my Titan so far, had a great session of L4D2 with it yesterday - not the most demanding game of course but looks good anyway and plays really smoothly.

L4D2 on my Titan is 120fps locked (thank God for 120hz monitors). Soooo good.

 

[Sir Abacus]

Can anyone recommend a good gaming keyboard? The one I currently have is wireless and absolutely sucks. I've looked at the ones in the OP but would like to see if there are any others available. My budget is about £50 ($76), maybe a bit more. Any help would be really appreciated as I've been looking for quite a while but to no avail.

It all depends on what you want for gaming because it means many things to many people. Do you want a mechanical keyboard? Backlit? Macro keys? The ability to turn off Windows keys? Each of these are useful to different people for different reasons. It'd be helpful to know what you find most important in a keyboard since most of the keyboards that have all or most of these are well over $100.

 

[Addnan]

This image amused me.

Really enjoying my Titan so far, had a great session of L4D2 with it yesterday - not the most demanding game of course but looks good anyway and plays really smoothly.

To be fair, my old 9600GT could run L4D2 pretty well

 

[br0ken_shad0w]

Can anyone recommend a good gaming keyboard? The one I currently have is wireless and absolutely sucks. I've looked at the ones in the OP but would like to see if there are any others available. My budget is about £50 ($76), maybe a bit more. Any help would be really appreciated as I've been looking for quite a while but to no avail.

Buy a mechanical keyboard which just costs a bit more. I personally use a Corsair K70 (~$120), which is a bit pricey but one of the very few mechanical keyboards that also has media control settings.

 

[mkenyon]

Buy a mechanical keyboard which just costs a bit more. I personally use a Corsair K70 (~$120), which is a bit pricey but one of the very few mechanical keyboards that also has media control settings.

Been using a new K65 for the last few days. I'm pretty amazed.

 

[theSlacker]

I'm not a big fan of the corsair mechanicals, but its a looks issue. Prefer the more "standard" looking keyboards.

 

[Talents]

It all depends on what you want for gaming because it means many things to many people. Do you want a mechanical keyboard? Backlit? Macro keys? The ability to turn off Windows keys? Each of these are useful to different people for different reasons. It'd be helpful to know what you find most important in a keyboard since most of the keyboards that have all or most of these are well over $100.

I want a mechanical keyboard and I don't care too much about the noise it makes. I couldn't really care about macro keys or backlit keyboards either. Although I do want a Number pad on it.

 

[lostsupper]

3570k overclocking question:

After delid, I need 1.4v to run at 4.7. Less than that crashes. Temps running Prime95 blend right at 70. Is that voltage OK?

 

[Instro]

Whoa, I didn't even know something like that existed. LOL
Do those work fast as an Ethernet Cable from a modem?
On amazon they have different Mbps ones, 100 and 200mpbs. There only $44 without the wifi. That's not bad.

Yeah they are supposed to be pretty awesome, I wanted to get one myself but I was lacking an extra power socket.

 

[Oracle Dragon]

If you're a glutton for punishment you can take a 120GB drive, install Windows on it, setup SRT, setup an SRT cache partition then reinstall Windows again on the new, smaller partition so that you have the fastest possible boot drive and a cached data/game install drive.

Thanks a lot for the info! I went over Anads site quite a bit but TBH I find it not that easy to find what I am looking for with their layout as it is now.

My original plan was to use the 120GB as a SSD cache for now, and then later when I have time for such a "rainy day" project I will wipe it and make it my primary drive with the 3TB only for storage, and hopefully see a significant performance gain from that as well.

 

[clav]

To be fair, my old 9600GT could run L4D2 pretty well

9600 GT

beast

5 years have passed quickly.

 

[Confusion Illusion]

I'm considering switching over to a modular PSU and I (after doing some research) decided to settle for the Seasonic Platinum 760W (SS-760XP2). Would you recommend it?

The price seems to be either 179.99 or 189.99 depending on where I buy it.

 

[Addnan]

9600 GT

beast

5 years have passed quickly.

I had an XFX Black edition one and it was pretty beast for the time. A friend has it now and its going strong.

I'm considering switching over to a modular PSU and I (after doing some research) decided to settle for the Seasonic Platinum 760W (SS-760XP2). Would you recommend it?

The price seems to be either 179.99 or 189.99 depending on where I buy it.

What are you trying to power? The Seasonic X750 is fully modular, a bit cheaper than the platinum and is one of the best units out there.