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[Sectorseven]

Can you tell us what type of inputs are on your monitors.

If you can get all display port AMD has a single card that would take care of that.

In the end while you are not looking for a gaming application this is still something that is pretty demanding so having a decent video card to do it is nice.

Most of the PCI cards do 2 monitors from what I was able to read so you will end up buying a few.

6xx series Nvidia stuff can do 4 monitors but they are 3 different outputs

I actually haven't bought the monitors yet, but I was figuring DVI since it's common and those monitors can be had relatively cheap. It looks like even the cheapest video cards have dual outputs these days, so in addition to my current card I'm figuring I'll need to buy another two.

 

[Azulsky]

Can you post up your full system specs. Also the desired resolution of your monitors.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

The X1 and PS4 GPUs are weaker than the 760. Is it "overkill" for them to have 8GB? I really wish people would stop spreading wrong info base on benchmarks using 1440p plus resolution and high AA to show 256 bit bus not enough power to use >2GB VRAM developer coded limit. Hell, my SLI Titans can sometimes have problems running at those settings. But, a 760, X1, PS4 and etc. is fine using >2GB VRAM at 1080p and low AA. Now, all developers have to do us increase their coded ram limits from 2GB to 3-4GB.

And, I fully expect someone else to repeat this same false info again next week.

You say this with such conviction, when the fact is, nobody knows at this point. I never said I did, either. I was just giving my opinion.

Also, I said nothing about the bus width. I know there is no evidence for that argument.

 

[knitoe]

You say this with such conviction, when the fact is, nobody knows at this point. I never said I did, either. I was just giving my opinion.

Also, I said nothing about the bus width. I know there is no evidence for that argument.

I say it with conviction because evidence points to me being correct. Examples, Skyrim with user mods, Bioshock Infinite stuttering <2GB VRAM, launch title Killzone SF uses at least 3GB VRAM, Microsoft / Sony didn't research and include 8GB (which add hundred millions in cost) for "overkill", and etc.

And, the bus width is what most people use for their wrong justification. Sorry, for assuming you are the same.

 

[Sectorseven]

Can you post up your full system specs. Also the desired resolution of your monitors.

Q6600
4gb ram
9400 GT 1gb
GA-P35-DS3L mobo

Ideally I'd want them all 1080p

 

[mandiller]

I've got a 570GTX but I'm hoping to upgrade either later this year or next year as I just recently bought a 2560x1440 monitor and it makes my graphics card melt (or close to it). Is the 770 a worthy upgrade or is it best to just keep on waiting?

CPU is an overclocked 2500k

 

[kennah]

You would need minimum a 770. 780 would be better. Those monitors need a hell of a lot of power.

 

[Rizific]

Supposedly, AMD's next cards are going to be release in October. If you can wait, might be best to what for the 9000s. Otherwise, the 7950 is a good value.

with regards to the 7950, how far into the next generation do you think ill be able to get by at 1080p 60fps?

 

[knitoe]

with regards to the 7950, how far into the next generation do you think ill be able to get by at 1080p 60fps?

Since the 7950 is more powerful than GPUs in X1 and PS4, you should be able to play ported games at the same or better performance for years. But, since PC graphics card continue to advance yearly, there will always be games that tries to push the envelope. With those games, you will have to lower settings to maintain 1080p 60fps. Really, nothing different from today.

 

[teh_pwn]

Okay, I was running 4.0ghz at 1.1VCore. Max Temps were about 60C with the H80i.

Im just bumped it up at 4.4ghz at 1.20 Vcore, and my temps are hitting 77-81C with intel burn test. Something wrong with my heatsink install?

The temps at 1.2V are high. Not dangerous, but high for 1.2V. I would expect it to exceed no higher than 70C at that voltage.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

I've read that getting a GTX 760 4GB is useless as the card isn't fast enough to support the memory. Is there any truth to this? I won't be going SLI as my mobo doesn't support it, if that makes any difference.

For gaming it might be. I don't think it's worth the extra money.
Oh, and if it has bandwidth similar to PS4 then it should be fast enough to support 4GB.
But if you are loading data for rendering, and the application uses the GPU for that, then it can be very beneficial. One example would be using Blender for rendering. Having the extra GPU memory available lets you load larger scenes. In my case, for an extra $24, I might as well go for it. Now if I hadn't missed that $222 2GB GTX760 slickdeal a few days ago I wouldn't be getting a 4GB card.

 

[NinjaCatfish]

I've got a 570GTX but I'm hoping to upgrade either later this year or next year as I just recently bought a 2560x1440 monitor and it makes my graphics card melt (or close to it). Is the 770 a worthy upgrade or is it best to just keep on waiting?

CPU is an overclocked 2500k

Honestly, I was using a 660 Ti with my 2560x1440 monitor, and it ran most games at native resolution just fine. Had to turn down some settings in Tomb Raider/BF3 (things like AA, which are less necessary with the higher pixel density anyway).

That said, I upgraded to a 7970 and it's heaps better even than the 660 Ti.

TLDR; if you're going for a 770 you'll be fine IMO.

 

[Kevin]

Looking for a nice gaming monitor for under $400. What does GAF recommend? The two I am currently looking at are

This: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Perfect-Pix...2506?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item4ac52ae4aa

And this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313

Anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[Angst]

Hi PC GAF, I'm considering upgrading my PC and I think I need some advice.

Current build:
AMD Athlon II X4 640
MSI 770-C45, Socket-AM3, DDR3
6 GB RAM
XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5

I think my system's weak point is the GPU and I'm considering either a 7870 or maybe something from nvidia.
At the moment I play mostly Civ 5, but I also need new games like tomb raider, Bioshock etc to be playable with a workable fps.
Edit - oh, I have a 500 W 12 volt PSU.

Quoting myself from last page.

To clarify: Would the 7870 be a good upgrade, or is my CPU too weak so my system won't really benefit from a better GPU?

 

[Addnan]

Looking for a nice gaming monitor for under $400. What does GAF recommend? The two I am currently looking at are

This: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Perfect-Pix...2506?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item4ac52ae4aa

And this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313

Anyone else have any suggestions?

What are you looking for high pixel count and image quality or smooth gameplay and computer usage. If the latter get the 144hz, it's what I would do too.

 

[nicjac]

Quick question, is there a significant (i.e. measurable) difference between DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600?

 

[Azulsky]

Q6600
4gb ram
9400 GT 1gb
GA-P35-DS3L mobo

Ideally I'd want them all 1080p

Yeah I think the best way to do this is get a new video card that can handle 6 outputs or get a new card and 2 MST(Multi-Stream Transport Hubs).
The workstation card that handles 6 outputs on its own is this
FirePro W600

Gaming cards that do it are here
7750 Eyefinity 6

7870 Eyefinity 6

In theory you also can get any AMD card with 2 DP outs and then get 2 MST's. Im not knowledgeable on this but I will link you so you can do more research.
Club 3D MST Hub

Personally the 7750 should do the trick

 

[Seanspeed]

I have a fair amount of games that are on DVDs, as well as other programs such as photoshop that I only have on DVDs, so the DVD isn't entirely necessary but it certainly would be useful to me, it is a valid option to get that later though.

What I did was buy an external disc drive(very cheap as well). Allowed me to conveniently install Windows without needing to put an ISO of it on a USB stick from another computer and all that jazz. I need a disc drive occasionally, too, but not that often, so I can just pull it out when I need it and retain the nice clean look of my computer case and a slightly less busy interior.

Quick question, is there a significant (i.e. measurable) difference between DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600?

Not really, no.

Well I think I've made some progress on my monitor situation.

I've upped the budget a little bit. I figure if I'm going to upgrade, I should get something that is going to make a very worthwhile difference. I've decided on an IPS over 120hz performance. I really am quite happy with 60fps, especially coming from being a mainly console gamer. Plus I'd rather my standards not be too concerned with boosting FPS beyond 60, as it might agitate upgrading itches for my graphics card. I do play a lot of FPS's, but I don't really think my competitiveness is going to be affected that much.

Another factor is that I watch a lot of videos on my computer. Between Netflix, racing and the NFL, I'll spend almost as much time doing this as I will gaming. So a big improvement with the colors and viewing angle sound really nice to me.

I've narrowed down my choices to these two:

Asus MX239H

This one has AH-IPS tech, which is supposedly a tier above the often criticized bottom-level IPS technology. It has 5ms response time, which is quite good for an IPS. It features speakers, which isn't a big deal, but it would be nice to not have to use headphones all the time. And it looks really, really nice. Its got a bezel-less sort of look to it which I freakin love. Would prefer 24", but everything else about this just seems really hard to pass up.

Dell U2412M

Has my desired 24" size. Biggest difference over the Asus, though, is the 1920x1200, 16:10 res/aspect ratio, which I think I'd prefer. No speakers and a fairly dull design overall are negatives.

Having a tough time with this. Both seem to come highly recommended.

 

[Azulsky]

Quick question, is there a significant (i.e. measurable) difference between DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600?

Splitting nanoseconds in terms of latency when it comes to all memory speeds.

 

[fierrotlepou]

This is the pc I'm probably going to order.

http://azerty.nl/winkelmandje/winke...452330]=1&product[618929]=1&product[626143]=1

GFX: Palit GeForce GTX 770 JetStream
Screen: LG 22EN43T-B
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003
PSU: Sea Sonic M12II-520Bronze
CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 200R
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670 / 3.4 GHz
MTB: MSI H87-G43

I just noticed that there isn't an SSD but I don't know what I should replace. Just adding an ssd will bring up the costs too much. :/

Any help? Thanks!

 

[Addnan]

This is the pc I'm probably going to order.

http://azerty.nl/winkelmandje/winke...452330]=1&product[618929]=1&product[626143]=1

GFX: Palit GeForce GTX 770 JetStream
Screen: LG 22EN43T-B
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003
PSU: Sea Sonic M12II-520Bronze
CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 200R
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670 / 3.4 GHz
MTB: MSI H87-G43

I just noticed that there isn't an SSD but I don't know what I should replace. Just adding an ssd will bring up the costs too much. :/

Any help? Thanks!

Not really anything you can replace to get an SSD. You can drop the HDD, spend a bit more and get an SSD. That would mean living on 120-250GB of storage depending on how much more you can spend. Otherwise, just buy it later.

 

[kharma45]

I say it with conviction because evidence points to me being correct. Examples, Skyrim with user mods, Bioshock Infinite stuttering <2GB VRAM, launch title Killzone SF uses at least 3GB VRAM, Microsoft / Sony didn't research and include 8GB (which add hundred millions in cost) for "overkill", and etc.

And, the bus width is what most people use for their wrong justification. Sorry, for assuming you are the same.

That's all well and good but the RAM on those consoles is their system RAM as well as their video memory. Between 3-3.5GB is used by the OS off the bat with 4.5GB of conventional RAM for the devs to use for their game.

Skyrim with mods may use a lot of RAM, but that's with user created mods so I don't see the point in bringing it up. 4GB VRAM on cards is still overkill generally at this point in time.

 

[knitoe]

That's all well and good but the RAM on those consoles is their system RAM as well as their video memory. Between 3-3.5GB is used by the OS off the bat with 4.5GB of conventional RAM for the devs to use for their game.

Skyrim with mods may use a lot of RAM, but that's with user created mods so I don't see the point in bringing it up. 4GB VRAM on cards is still overkill generally at this point in time.

On nextgen consoles, currently, ~3GB is reserved, for OS and other stuff, but like past consoles, that footprint gets smaller overtime and free up for game uses. As I already mention Killzone SF already uses 3GB VRAM. I would expect next KZ to use even more. If consoles are using >2GB VRAM, PC games won't follow?

Skyrim with unoptimized mods shows >2GB VRAM usage very possible in today's video cards. What will happen when developers do it? Yeah, I can see why there's not point in bringing it up...

 

[kharma45]

On nextgen consoles, currently, ~3GB is reserved, for OS and other stuff, but like past consoles, that footprint gets smaller overtime and free up for game uses. As I already mention Killzone SF already uses 3GB VRAM. I would expect next KZ to use even more. If consoles are using >2GB VRAM, PC games won't follow?

Skyrim with unoptimized mods shows >2GB VRAM usage very possible in today's video cards. What will happen when developers do it? Yeah, I can see why there's not point in bringing it up...

It might potentially get smaller, but that's just guesstimation. Killzone isn't using it all purely as VRAM though, when you're playing a game on PC you'll be using system RAM too not just VRAM, that's part of that. PC games will no doubt increase VRAM usage, but it's not going to spike the second these consoles come out. Good games can dynamically make use of the amount of VRAM available to them, like BF3 did. It runs equally as well on a 1GB card as a 2GB card for instance but it just toned some things down like draw distance.

There is no point in bringing up Skyrim purely for the fact they are un-optimised, third party modifications to the game. If it had of been released by the developers fine, but even then they would be optional. Skyrim with mods is not a good reason to advocate more VRAM.

You can keep on banging this drum but at this moment in time, and for the foreseeable future, 2GB of VRAM is a perfectly fine amount for what most people on here will be doing, gaming at 1080p.

 

[fierrotlepou]

Not really anything you can replace to get an SSD. You can drop the HDD, spend a bit more and get an SSD. That would mean living on 120-250GB of storage depending on how much more you can spend. Otherwise, just buy it later.

Well I just thought of the fact that I still have an external 500GB HDD. So yeah I'll drop the HDD.

 

[Kamaji]

How big would the performance difference between Intel Core i5-3550S and i5-4570 be?

I've reconsidered my plans i'm now looking to get a mITX rig since i'll soon be living on 24sqm/260sqf. I'm thinking about Cooler Master 120 Elite Advanced as a case.

I'm guessing the i5-3550S would be cooler as it's not a Haswell processor and since it has a smaller TDP rate. 3550S is also slightly cheaper so i'm basically contemplating if it would be worth it.

 

[kharma45]

How big would the performance difference between Intel Core i5-3550S and i5-4570 be?

I've reconsidered my plans i'm now looking to get a mITX rig since i'll soon be living on 24sqm/260sqf. I'm thinking about Cooler Master 120 Elite Advanced as a case.

I'm guessing the i5-3550S would be cooler as it's not a Haswell processor and since it has a smaller TDP rate. 3550S is also slightly cheaper so i'm basically contemplating if it would be worth it.

Heat with Haswell only is an issue when overclocking. I'd lean towards the Haswell part since you won't be able to overclock either of those CPUs, get the one with the better performance off the bat.

 

[RukusProvider]

Have their been any reviews of a overclocked sandy bridge 2600k vs Haswell?

Would love to know how my 2600k @ 4.8 hangs with a Haswell for gaming.

 

[kharma45]

Have their been any reviews of a overclocked sandy bridge 2600k vs Haswell?

Would love to know how my 2600k @ 4.8 hangs with a Haswell for gaming.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013...74770k_ipc_overclocking_review/5#.UhtDvz_9WbQ

Haswell can't get to those clocks realistically though, 4.2 on average at best. With your 2600K at those speeds it'll be pretty much on par.

 

[RukusProvider]

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013...74770k_ipc_overclocking_review/5#.UhtDvz_9WbQ

Haswell can't get to those clocks realistically though, 4.2 on average at best. With your 2600K at those speeds it'll be pretty much on par.

Awesome! Appreciate the quick link. At 2560x1600p, my resolution, 0 difference. That makes my decision to only upgrade the GPU a lot easier.

 

[kharma45]

Awesome! Appreciate the quick link. At 2560x1600p, my resolution, 0 difference. That makes my decision to only upgrade the GPU a lot easier.

The only limit on SB is PCIe 2 and its still far from saturation point. Few cards yet justify 3 and even then the difference is minimal.

 

[diaspora]

Doesn't modded skyrim use ~2GB of system RAM, and ~2GB VRAM?

 

[RukusProvider]

The only limit on SB is PCIe 2 and its still far from saturation point. Few cards yet justify 3 and even then the difference is minimal.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2013/06/01/intel-core-i7-4770k-cpu-review/6

Found the perfect article for my setup. Outside of power consumption, which I don't care about honestly, there's no value. It's crazy to think what a great CPU the 2600k has been now for what 2 years?

I don't plan on sli so single PCIe 2.x is hopefully ok.

 

[knitoe]

It might potentially get smaller, but that's just guesstimation. Killzone isn't using it all purely as VRAM though, when you're playing a game on PC you'll be using system RAM too not just VRAM, that's part of that. PC games will no doubt increase VRAM usage, but it's not going to spike the second these consoles come out. Good games can dynamically make use of the amount of VRAM available to them, like BF3 did. It runs equally as well on a 1GB card as a 2GB card for instance but it just toned some things down like draw distance.

There is no point in bringing up Skyrim purely for the fact they are un-optimised, third party modifications to the game. If it had of been released by the developers fine, but even then they would be optional. Skyrim with mods is not a good reason to advocate more VRAM.

You can keep on banging this drum but at this moment in time, and for the foreseeable future, 2GB of VRAM is a perfectly fine amount for what most people on here will be doing, gaming at 1080p.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-inside-killzone-shadow-fall

demo used around 4.6GB of memory, with 3GB of that reserved exclusively for graphics

Yes. Dynamic loading games will work on 700MB, 1GB, 2GB and etc. will run, but you are making sacrifices, draw distance, texture details and etc. Why, when you wouldn't have to if you bought a video card with more VRAM.

User mods are optional. If a developer does it, I would say it's important to how they want the game to be imagine. Sure, you can lower settings, but as I already stated, why when you don't have to.

Most people buy video cards to last a few years. It's not all about "at this moment". And, that's why I can't recommend <3GB VRAM card today.

 

[Jordan]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£156.96 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£57.12 @ Scan.co.uk)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste (£11.27 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£146.33 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£105.96 @ Dabs)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£73.19 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (£189.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.90 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£76.26 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £866.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-26 13:45 BST+0100)

Decided that I'm going to build a new PC sooner rather than later - even if it does mean I'm skint. Will probably be buying part by part and then build at the end. Debating whether to go for ATX or mATX and go with the new Bitfenix Prodigy M cases.

Any suggestions on how to make it cheaper or any changes?

 

[Kamaji]

Heat with Haswell only is an issue when overclocking. I'd lean towards the Haswell part since you won't be able to overclock either of those CPUs, get the one with the better performance off the bat.

I see. I looked at motherboards now and even the cheapest 1150-one was 65-70$ more expensive than it's 1155 equivalent so I guess that makes the Ivy Bridge-processors much more attractive.

My current idea is something like this

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 64MB 1TB
PSU: Be-Quiet Pure Power L8 530W (modular)
CASE: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced
RAM: A-Data DDR3 PC12800/1600MHz CL11 8GB
CPU: Intel Core i5 3550 (or the -S version)
MTB: Asus P8H61-I R2.0

I'll get a GPU (7850 or 7870 or something in that range) second-hand from a swedish gaming site. Since i'll mostly emulate things and play Civilization V in 1080p I don't need a better GPU right now. I'll order the parts as soon as I get some tax returns later this week if no one has any objections/recommendations for other parts.

Would these parts work good together in a small mITX case?

 

[schandmann]

Decided that I'm going to build a new PC sooner rather than later - even if it does mean I'm skint. Will probably be buying part by part and then build at the end. Debating whether to go for ATX or mATX and go with the new Bitfenix Prodigy M cases.

Any suggestions on how to make it cheaper or any changes?

Without a K processor, both the Z87 motherboard and the H60 are pointless because you won't be able to OC. Either get a K-CPU or go B85/H87 & stock cooler.
If you're not doing media work, get 2x4 GB RAM, also go for low-profile modules, not the Vengeance with the tall heatspreaders.

Don't buy part by part unless there's an amazing deal on something. By the time you have all the parts, something might have dropped in price significantly or better parts might be available. Save up and buy everything at once.

Edit: Are those stupidly cheap 670s still available in the UK? Get one of those instead of the 660 Ti. That would probably be one thing I'd buy right away.

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 64MB 1TB
PSU: Be-Quiet Pure Power L8 530W (modular)
CASE: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced
RAM: A-Data DDR3 PC12800/1600MHz CL11 8GB
CPU: Intel Core i5 3550 (or the -S version)
MTB: Asus P8H61-I R2.0

If your main use is emulation, consider getting an i5 3570K and ditching the Elite 120. Shit airflow, really noisy, just not worth it trying to get it up to snuff. Prodigy and Node are both better choices for ITX. If you have the space, just get an ATX Mid-tower. For the most part, it's cheaper.

Also, replace the Barracuda with a WD10EZEX.

 

[kharma45]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-inside-killzone-shadow-fall

Yes. Dynamic loading games will work on 700MB, 1GB, 2GB and etc. will run, but you are making sacrifices, draw distance, texture details and etc. Why, when you wouldn't have to if you bought a video card with more VRAM.

User mods are optional. If a developer does it, I would say it's important to how they want the game to be imagine. Sure, you can lower settings, but as I already stated, why when you don't have to.

Most people buy video cards to last a few years. It's not all about "at this moment". And, that's why I can't recommend <3GB VRAM card today.

So basically you can only recommend a handful of cards?

People I agree buy hardware to last a few years but those cards with 2GB will need replacing for their lack of graphical grunt before their VRAM becomes an issue. There is no hard empirical evidence out there to back up your guesstimations that anything with less than 3GB of VRAM is essentially a bad buy.

Decided that I'm going to build a new PC sooner rather than later - even if it does mean I'm skint. Will probably be buying part by part and then build at the end. Debating whether to go for ATX or mATX and go with the new Bitfenix Prodigy M cases.

Any suggestions on how to make it cheaper or any changes?

A Hyper 212 will perform better than an H60, and that money saved can get you a 4670K. Are you looking to do a lot of emulation with your PC? You also don't need 16GB of RAM if you're just gaming. Only lots of media work can justify it. No need for thermal paste either.

660 Ti is also a poor buy, 670 is the same price.

£100 shaved off with this Haswell one

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£182.39 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£22.85 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£116.06 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£73.19 @ Aria PC)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.90 @ Amazon UK)
Other: MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (£191.99)
Other: Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530W PSU (£66.34)
Total: £755.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-26 14:13 BST+0100)

or if you're not going to emulate Ivy Bridge is cheaper again

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£172.59 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£22.85 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£104.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£73.19 @ Aria PC)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.90 @ Amazon UK)
Other: MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (£191.99)
Other: Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530W PSU (£66.34)
Total: £734.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-26 14:13 BST+0100)

I see. I looked at motherboards now and even the cheapest 1150-one was 65-70$ more expensive than it's 1155 equivalent so I guess that makes the Ivy Bridge-processors much more attractive.

My current idea is something like this

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 64MB 1TB
PSU: Be-Quiet Pure Power L8 530W (modular)
CASE: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced
RAM: A-Data DDR3 PC12800/1600MHz CL11 8GB
CPU: Intel Core i5 3550 (or the -S version)
MTB: Asus P8H61-I R2.0

I'll get a GPU (7850 or 7870 or something in that range) second-hand from a swedish gaming site. Since i'll mostly emulate things and play Civilization V in 1080p I don't need a better GPU right now. I'll order the parts as soon as I get some tax returns later this week if no one has any objections/recommendations for other parts.

Would these parts work good together in a small mITX case?

If you're emulating Haswell would be worth the extra outlay imo.

 

[terrdactycalsrock]

What do you guys think of this build? Could it be possibly be strong enough to get through an entire console generation without needing an upgrade?

MotherBoard: MSI Z87-G41

CPU: Intel Core I5 4570 3.2 Ghz

RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengence DDR3-1600

GPU: Nivida Geforce GTX 770 2 GB RAM

HDD: 1TB Segarte Barracuda 7200 rpm

PSU: 500W Corsair Builder Series 80 Plus Certified GPU

 

[kharma45]

What do you guys think of this build? Could it be possibly be strong enough to get through an entire console generation without needing an upgrade?

MotherBoard: MSI Z87-G41

CPU: Intel Core I5 4570 3.2 Ghz

RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengence DDR3-1600

GPU: Nivida Geforce GTX 770 2 GB RAM

HDD: 1TB Segarte Barracuda 7200 rpm

PSU: 500W Corsair Builder Series 80 Plus Certified GPU

Don't get that PSU, better options for the same money. If you want longevity get an overclocking CPU.

Where are you in the world?

 

[Jordan]

Without a K processor, both the Z87 motherboard and the H60 are pointless because you won't be able to OC. Either get a K-CPU or go B85/H87 & stock cooler.
If you're not doing media work, get 2x4 GB RAM, also go for low-profile modules, not the Vengeance with the tall heatspreaders.

Don't buy part by part unless there's an amazing deal on something. By the time you have all the parts, something might have dropped in price significantly or better parts might be available. Save up and buy everything at once.

Edit: Are those stupidly cheap 670s still available in the UK? Get one of those instead of the 660 Ti. That would probably be one thing I'd buy right away.

A Hyper 212 will perform better than an H60, and that money saved can get you a 4670K. Are you looking to do a lot of emulation with your PC? You also don't need 16GB of RAM if you're just gaming. Only lots of media work can justify it. No need for thermal paste either.

660 Ti is also a poor buy, 670 is the same price.

£100 shaved off with this Haswell one

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£182.39 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£22.85 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£116.06 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£73.19 @ Aria PC)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.90 @ Amazon UK)
Other: MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (£191.99)
Other: Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530W PSU (£66.34)
Total: £755.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-26 14:13 BST+0100)

or if you're not going to emulate Ivy Bridge is cheaper again

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£172.59 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£22.85 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£104.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£73.19 @ Aria PC)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.90 @ Amazon UK)
Other: MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (£191.99)
Other: Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530W PSU (£66.34)
Total: £734.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-26 14:13 BST+0100)

Cheers for the help guys, if I'm having to hold off until I have the money saved then it may need to wait a little while. At least I have some sort of idea on parts. What do you guys think of doing a mATX build with the aforementioned case?

Edit: Was going for 16GB because I am going to ... eventually... be working towards my MCSE and will probably have a few virtual machines up and running.

 

[maneil99]

Kinda rattled I cannot get my OC unstable, slowly lowering the vcore but still nothing, no wheas or bsods. Gonna enable round checker in prime and try one more time before I leave it and just play hames

 

[terrdactycalsrock]

Don't get that PSU, better options for the same money. If you want longevity get an overclocking CPU.

Where are you in the world?

Rural United States

 

[kharma45]

Cheers for the help guys, if I'm having to hold off until I have the money saved then it may need to wait a little while. At least I have some sort of idea on parts. What do you guys think of doing a mATX build with the aforementioned case?

Yeah that'd be good too. Not sure what the best mATX board is for OCing but the ATX G45 is good so I'd hope the mATX is too, obviously we'd need to look into that more before buying but you could end up with something like this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£172.59 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£22.85 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£72.50 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£73.19 @ Aria PC)
Other: MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (£191.99)
Other: Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530W PSU (£66.34)
Other: BitFenix Prodigy M 'Yin' MATX Cube Case - White/Black (£69.95)
Total: £722.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-26 14:20 BST+0100)

Edit if you need 16GB you can get it for around £90 rather than the stuff you were looking at.

Rural United States

Cheers. What sort of budget are we talking? Is it just gaming, or are you wanting to do emulation and stuff too? Fill out the OP to give us some more info.

 

[schandmann]

What do you guys think of doing a mATX build with the aforementioned case?

The Prodigy-M looks solid, but best wait for the reviews before pre-ordering or whatever.
Other viable mATX alternatives would be the Corsair 350D and the Fractal Arc Mini/Define Mini.

 

[knitoe]

So basically you can only recommend a handful of cards?

People I agree buy hardware to last a few years but those cards with 2GB will need replacing for their lack of graphical grunt before their VRAM becomes an issue. There is no hard empirical evidence out there to back up your guesstimations that anything with less than 3GB of VRAM is essentially a bad buy.

A handful of cards? Every card recommended in this thread has 3-4GB VRAM versions.

And, we are back to the incorrect "physical grunt" needed to use 3-4 GB of VRAM argument. And, I thought put this crap to rest for at least a week, but that's to hopeful since its here again in less than a day. Call me surprise. Nope...

 

[kennah]

BUY ANY VIDEO CARD THAT WORKS NOW

REPLACE WHEN STOPS DOING WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO.

REPEAT

 

[knitoe]

BUY ANY VIDEO CARD THAT WORKS NOW

REPLACE WHEN STOPS DOING WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO.

REPEAT

I hear you. But, I am a guy with SLI Titans. Not sure many have disposable income that allow then can buy video cards anytime they want.

 

[scogoth]

BUY ANY VIDEO CARD THAT WORKS NOW

REPLACE WHEN STOPS DOING WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO.

REPEAT

Copy and paste this every 50 posts.

 

[kharma45]

A handful of cards? Every card recommended in this thread has 3-4GB VRAM versions.

And, we are back to the incorrect "physical grunt" needed to use 3-4 GB of VRAM argument. And, I thought put this crap to rest for at least a week, but that's to hopeful since its here again in less than a day. Call me surprise. Nope...

Not every card.

Alright then give me some solid evidence then about the 760 for example using all that 4GB where i was arguing against it for (1080p single monitor), and user created content does not count.

BUY ANY VIDEO CARD THAT WORKS NOW

REPLACE WHEN STOPS DOING WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO.

REPEAT

Exactly. There is no point trying to guess what might happen. Buy what is needed in the here and now.