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"I need a New PC!" 2013 Part 2. Haswell = #IntelnoTIM, but free online. READ THE OP.

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Is it worth upgrading to Windows 8.1 (from 8.0)? I'm buying a new SSD today (840 Evo) and I'm considering installing 8.1 right away.

I never use Metro.
 
I was thinking about framerates last night (what a life), and a question occurred to me. I read that th reason developers try and lock console games to either 30 or 60fps is because TVs have refresh rates which are multiples of 30, and its smoother to have it th framrate aligned with the Hz. Does this mean that it would be better for me to lock my framerate to 60 when possible, since I will be connecting the PC to the TV?
 
I was thinking about framerates last night (what a life), and a question occurred to me. I read that th reason developers try and lock console games to either 30 or 60fps is because TVs have refresh rates which are multiples of 30, and its smoother to have it th framrate aligned with the Hz. Does this mean that it would be better for me to lock my framerate to 60 when possible, since I will be connecting the PC to the TV?

Yes, usually, but just turning on VSync or triple buffering already takes care of that.
 

maneil99

Member
Your not suppose to plug the fan into the mb. Its suppose to plug into the cpu block which should be using corsair link
 

Madridy

Member
Guys, a friend is going to study abroad, and he is selling his PC. Just wanted your estimation for his parts. He doesnt want to sell part by part, and will sell for someone whos going to buy everything together:

Spec:

CPU: Core i7 3770K 3.5Ghz

RAM: Crosair Vengeance 2x 4gb 1666Mhz

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-VLK

PSU: NZXT Silent 850w

GPU: 2x AMD Sapphire 7970 Flashed the secondary BIOS with GHz Edition BIOS

Storage: total of 4.68TB of storage
SSD: OCZ 128GB Velocity 4
HHD's:
  • 2x 1TB 7200rpm, Hitachi and WD Green
  • 1x 2TB WD Green
  • 1x 500GB Matrox

Displays: 3x (Yes,Three) 24" 1080p LED Samsung SyncMaster S24B300 Fit with every cable you need for seamless eyefinity pleasure.

Sound: Logitech 5.1 X-530

Total Price: $2000

Everything is at good to excellent condition.

I'm thinking of buying it and selling some parts while using others for my Brother's new PC.

I think it is an excellent bargain, but I need other opinions and suggestions before I pull the plug.
 

Addnan

Member
All of that are new stuff, so as long as you are playing just below retail price your got yourself a good deal I would say.
 

valouris

Member
I just got my new ssd, but it came with no brackets! Didn't expect that. I have to format today, is it okay if I let it working lying on the desktop's floor for one day until tomorrow when I get the brackets???
 

Addnan

Member
I just got my new ssd, but it came with no brackets! Didn't expect that. I have to format today, is it okay if I let it working lying on the desktop's floor for one day until tomorrow when I get the brackets???

Yeah, just make sure it doesn't come loose by moving the case or something. SSD doesn't have any moving parts so it's fine.
 

Yuripaw

Banned
Hey guys...so I've been lurking this thread for a while...just looking at the OP for information on what if I did build a new PC. I haven't decided yet if I am going to, because one of my problems is I am not really familiar with PC performance enough to know "is this going to be good enough for me?" based purely on talking about specs. I do know that my CPU and ram is old, and that it's been time to upgrade that shit for a long time. I also know that if I build a PC, I might as well try to do the best I can, but I don't want to waste money when I might not notice a huge difference in performance for the kind of games I'll be playing for a while.

Based on information I've seen on this thread, I was hoping you guys could help me decide what direction I should go in if I did build a PC. Just to give you guys an idea, I've been running a fairly old PC for a while with only a dual core Intel E7400 @ 2.80 ghz cpu for years. Older 4gb of ram. Some of my drives still run through IDE, because I didn't buy this when SATAs were always common. I did buy this newer video card last year, which is a Geforce GTX 560 ti. Not the latest, but it was a huge improvement over what I had before. Surprisingly I can still run a fair amount of games on my PC. Stuff like Borderlands 2 still look and play really well considering the old specs. Yet there are other games I've played this year that have made me go "ugh, time for an upgrade" like Saints Row 3, and Tomb Raider.

Recently when I was watching the Giantbomb quick look for Saints Row 4 and seeing how amazing that game could run compared to how I was running it...I was starting to feel like "shit, I need to build my PC finally" but I do have to stay within a certain range of funds. Probably no more than $600-700, with $800 being the maximum. Considering these limitations, and based on the information from the OP of this thread, this is what I've started consider:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K or Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard: ASRock B75 PRO3-M LGA
Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3
GPU: GeForce GTX 760 2GB or reuse my GTX 560 ti
Storage: OS drive - Samsung SSD 64gb
Storage: Steam/Games drive - WD 2tb sata HDD
PSU: (this is something I'm not sure about, because I honestly don't know what kind of power I'd need) Antec VP-450 450W ATX or Antec BP550 Plus 550W
Case: NZXT Source 210

That's pretty much the gist of it...I honestly don't know what kind of difference I'd be looking at between the 2 CPUs, and if I did go with the Core i7, I would probably have to wait until the spring for a new GPU, and reuse my 560ti until then. I would appreciate any advice you guys can give me. Thanks :)

Sorry to do this, but I feel like because my post was right at the bottom of the last page, that no one saw it =/
 

Addnan

Member
Sorry to do this, but I feel like because my post was right at the bottom of the last page, that no one saw it =/
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ Outlet PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($111.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $766.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-03 05:51 EDT-0400)

Would go with this and depending on when you order some deals will be different so some different parts will need to be picked, eg PSU is on sale right now.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ Outlet PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($111.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $766.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-03 05:51 EDT-0400)

Would go with this and depending on when you order some deals will be different so some different parts will need to be picked, eg PSU is on sale right now.
The 7950 has the shitty reference cooler, though. Maybe re-use the 560Ti (still a pretty good card!) and save up some money to get a new GPU when the big AAA games hit.
 

Addnan

Member
The 7950 has the shitty reference cooler, though. Maybe re-use the 560Ti (still a pretty good card!) and save up some money to get a new card when the big AAA games hit.

Heh, didn't see that. pcpartpicker didn't have a thumbnail.

Think there is a Sapphire one at the same price.
 
A couple of days ago someone mentioned using the on-board video card to use the PC while I wait for the GPU (I think that was the suggestions anyway)

Are on-board cards good enough to even run Steam so I can get some games downloaded in anticipation of the card arriving. Would also let me get my folders sorted.

Is it easy to add a GPU to an otherwise full setup, or would I have to disassemble a hefty chunk of the thing?
 
A couple of days ago someone mentioned using the on-board video card to use the PC while I wait for the GPU (I think that was the suggestions anyway)

Are on-board cards good enough to even run Steam so I can get some games downloaded in anticipation of the card arriving. Would also let me get my folders sorted.

Is it easy to add a GPU to an otherwise full setup, or would I have to disassemble a hefty chunk of the thing?
Steam will run just fine, as will a lot of indie games.
Adding a GPU means taking the side panel off, jamming the thing into the PCIe-slot and connecting it to the PSU. Really easy to do even with the whole thing already assembled.
 

kharma45

Member
A couple of days ago someone mentioned using the on-board video card to use the PC while I wait for the GPU (I think that was the suggestions anyway)

Are on-board cards good enough to even run Steam so I can get some games downloaded in anticipation of the card arriving. Would also let me get my folders sorted.

Is it easy to add a GPU to an otherwise full setup, or would I have to disassemble a hefty chunk of the thing?

They are. You could even run indie games with them and some stuff like Skyrim will be playable too.

Adding in the GPU is easy beans.
 
Holidays are rolling around and I've been debating upgrading my rig with a second GPU. Not even sure if it's worth it as I haven't looked PC parts these days.

Off hand this is what I have, it's a year old rig.

1 x ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
1 x MSI R7970-2PMD3GD5 Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5
1 x CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
1 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V

Basically was hoping to do a RAM and GPU addition, my questions are.

Is it even worth getting a second GPU?
If so, what GPU would work with my current card?
Will I need a new power supply?
 

kharma45

Member
Holidays are rolling around and I've been debating upgrading my rig with a second GPU. Not even sure if it's worth it as I haven't looked PC parts these days.

Off hand this is what I have, it's a year old rig.

1 x ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
1 x MSI R7970-2PMD3GD5 Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5
1 x CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
1 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V

Basically was hoping to do a RAM and GPU addition, my questions are.

Is it even worth getting a second GPU?
If so, what GPU would work with my current card?
Will I need a new power supply?

Just overclock your CPU and GPU, still a great system that. What is making you think of upgrading?
 
Just overclock your CPU and GPU, still a great system that. What is making you think of upgrading?
Yeah both are overclocked. 4.5 Ghz and 1125/1575 respectively.

Mostly FFXIV framerates although it's mostly an optimization issue. I figured since costs of the stuff I bought went down, I could give it a bit of an upgrade.

I'm just not sure how much performance increase I would see in games, and if there's way better tech coming up in the next year or so. I'm happy with this PC, but it still buckles with some games.

Plus crossfire still isn't as good as SLI, so really no point unless you just want more raw power.
Ah alright. :( Damn it AMD!
 

Addnan

Member
Yeah both are overclocked. 4.5 Ghz and 1125/1575 respectively.

Mostly FFXIV framerates although it's mostly an optimization issue. I figured since costs of the stuff I bought went down, I could give it a bit of an upgrade.

I'm just not sure how much performance increase I would see in games, and if there's way better tech coming up in the next year or so. I'm happy with this PC, but it still buckles with some games.

Ah alright. :( Damn it AMD!
It has improved greatly to be fair. Although upgrading just for Final Fantasy doesn't seem right. Game is not well optimised as you said. Does it even have good SLI/Crossfire support?
 

valouris

Member
Guys I really need your help.

I just got my new SSD, a Samsung 840 Pro 128Gb.
My MOBO is a Gigabyte GA-MA-770T-UD3P, rev 1.0, and I have the latest BIOS.

I've been trying for 4 hours to fresh install Windows 7 on it but to no avail whatsoever.

I have disconnected all other drives and leaving only the SSD to make the install. The drive gets recognized both by Windows and by the BIOS.

At first Windows couldnt format the drive and couldnt install on it at all, giving me some error messages. After some research I found out that I have to set the mode to AHCI. Which I did. After that the setup of Windows doesn't start at all! I tried both with a USB and with a DVD, same thing. In order to rule out problems with the disk and usb I have, I formatted my old HDD and installed it on there, and it worked perfectly.

What is going on? Is there any other BIOS options that I need to enable for the SSD to work??
 

knitoe

Member
Guys I really need your help.

I just got my new SSD, a Samsung 840 Pro 128Gb.
My MOBO is a Gigabyte GA-MA-770T-UD3P, rev 1.0

I've been trying for 4 hours to fresh install Windows 7 on it but to no avail whatsoever.

I have disconnected all other drives and leaving only the SSD to make the install. The drive gets recognized both by Windows and by the BIOS.

At first Windows couldnt format the drive and couldnt install on it at all, giving me some error messages. After some research I found out that I have to set the mode to AHCI. Which I did. After that the setup of Windows doesn't start at all! I tried both with a USB and with a DVD, same thing. In order to rule out problems with the disk and usb I have, I formatted my old HDD and installed it on there, and it worked perfectly.

What is going on? Is there any other BIOS options that I need to enable for the SSD to work??
Are yiu installing on Windows 7 with SP1? Reg Windows 7 doesn't work on SATA and requires drivers during installation. If yes, have you tried updating the SSD firmware?
 

valouris

Member
Are yiu installing on Windows 7 with SP1? Reg Windows 7 doesn't work on SATA and requires drivers during installation. If yes, have you tried updating the SSD firmware?

Yes it is with SP1, but maybe it has outdated drivers?

No, I haven't updated the ssd firmware. How do I do that? Do I need to do it through windows?
 

knitoe

Member
Yes it is with SP1, but maybe it has outdated drivers?

No, I haven't updated the ssd firmware. How do I do that? Do I need to do it through windows?

If SP1, it's fine. You should be able to update the firmware through Windows or by dos. Search for the update software and firmware should be on Samsungs support website.
 

valouris

Member
If SP1, it's fine. You should be able to update the firmware through Windows or by dos. Search for the update software and firmware should be on Samsungs support website.

Thanks for the immediate responses first of all. Hm, I managed to make it work, I changed the SATA cable and the power cable, so its probably one of those two culprits. Is it possible that my PSU cant provide enough power through one line of cables for multiple devices, and I had to use different cable lines?
 

knitoe

Member
Thanks for the immediate responses first of all. Hm, I managed to make it work, I changed the SATA cable and the power cable, so its probably one of those two culprits. Is it possible that my PSU cant provide enough power through one line of cables for multiple devices, and I had to use different cable lines?

I am leaning to a bad sata cable. Running multi devices off one power line shouldn't be an issue unless your PSU is going bad or just crappy quality.
 
Whatever the best Haswell you can afford. If it's more than 160 euro it would still be worth saving up for the 4670K.

Thanks for the quick reply, I'm new to Intel though isn't it said that Haswell runs quite hot and all so it's still advisable to use the older ones? That's what the OP says anyway :( The thing is I plan to do a unplanned "out of order" update since my motherboard gives me troubles lately and with a new iPhone and the PS4 around the corner 300€ is all I can spend for a new motherboard, CPU and one new HDD (I need one since I have to replace my two old IDE drives since I'm sure no curent Intel boards have IDE channels :p) RAM, GPU, PSU and case I would take from my current PC.
 

Addnan

Member
Thanks for the quick reply, I'm new to Intel though isn't it said that Haswell runs quite hot and all so it's still advisable to use the older ones? That's what the OP says anyway :( The thing is I plan to do a unplanned "out of order" update since my motherboard gives me troubles lately and with a new iPhone and the PS4 around the corner 300€ is all I can spend for a new motherboard, CPU and one new HDD (I need one since I have to replace my two old IDE drives since I'm sure no curent Intel boards have IDE channels :p) RAM, GPU, PSU and case I would take from my current PC.
What country are you in? Haswell is advisable for emulation.

edit: Germany, let me see Amazon.
 

kennah

Member
Thanks for the quick reply, I'm new to Intel though isn't it said that Haswell runs quite hot and all so it's still advisable to use the older ones? That's what the OP says anyway :( The thing is I plan to do a unplanned "out of order" update since my motherboard gives me troubles lately and with a new iPhone and the PS4 around the corner 300€ is all I can spend for a new motherboard, CPU and one new HDD (I need one since I have to replace my two old IDE drives since I'm sure no curent Intel boards have IDE channels :p) RAM, GPU, PSU and case I would take from my current PC.

You'll likely need new RAM as well if your motherboard has IDE... New CPUs need DDR3, not DDR2.

And Haswell only runs hot if you try to push massive overclocks. It's fine with a modest over clock but it also is 10-20% faster than Ivy when emulating, even at stock.
 

Dawg

Member
Guess I might as well ask here.

My house doesn't have a LAN connection and our modem etc is in the garage. There's one single power outlet there and there's an extension plugged in (like this http://www.lulusoso.com/upload/20120517/The_Newest_Type_European_Electrical_Extension_Socket.jpg )

Now my question is: in this extension, a powerline adapter of my ISP is plugged in for HD TV. Now, I need good internet too because my room is on the second floor. I have a powerline adapter system too. Can I add one of my adapters (other one goes into the room) in the same extension plug as the HD TV one? I'm asking this because I don't have any other choice. There's only one power outlet near the modem and garage.
 
You'll likely need new RAM as well if your motherboard has IDE... New CPUs need DDR3, not DDR2.

And Haswell only runs hot if you try to push massive overclocks. It's fine with a modest over clock but it also is 10-20% faster than Ivy when emulating, even at stock.

Oh I have DDR3, my current AMD board is a limited made GIGABYTE AM3+ DDR3 board with one IDE channel (GIGABYTE GA 870A-UD3) And alright that doesn't sound as bad as I feared I will look into Haswell then thanks! :)

EDIT: Seems like there is one in my price-range: Intel i5 4430 FC-LGA4 Haswell, how would that one do?
 

Tomodachi

Member
Would a non-overclockable Haswell be better than an overclockable Ivy Bridge (say, a 4430 vs a decenty overclocked 3570K) for emulation as well?
 

larvi

Member
Guess I might as well ask here.

My house doesn't have a LAN connection and our modem etc is in the garage. There's one single power outlet there and there's an extension plugged in (like this http://www.lulusoso.com/upload/20120517/The_Newest_Type_European_Electrical_Extension_Socket.jpg )

Now my question is: in this extension, a powerline adapter of my ISP is plugged in for HD TV. Now, I need good internet too because my room is on the second floor. I have a powerline adapter system too. Can I add one of my adapters (other one goes into the room) in the same extension plug as the HD TV one? I'm asking this because I don't have any other choice. There's only one power outlet near the modem and garage.

You should just need to plug a powerline adapter into your room and it will find the network created by the existing adapter that's already in the garage. Assuming that your room is on the same electrical circuit as the garage.
 

Addnan

Member
Oh I have DDR3, my current AMD board is a limited made GIGABYTE AM3+ DDR3 board with one IDE channel (GIGABYTE GA 870A-UD3) And alright that doesn't sound as bad as I feared I will look into Haswell then thanks! :)

EDIT: Seems like there is one in my price-range: Intel i5 4430 FC-LGA4 Haswell, how would that one do?

You can get the build I listed above for just over €300 or for €340 get 3570K, MSI G43 + a hard drive. The latter would be much better.
 

Dawg

Member
You should just need to plug a powerline adapter into your room and it will find the network created by the existing adapter that's already in the garage. Assuming that your room is on the same electrical circuit as the garage.

Even if my model is different than the one already in the garage?
 

larvi

Member
Even if my model is different than the one already in the garage?

Yes, there is a homeplug standard where the devices all use the same networks. I have adapters from different manufacturers in my house and they all see the same network.
 

Dawg

Member
Yes, there is a homeplug standard where the devices all use the same networks. I have adapters from different manufacturers in my house and they all see the same network.

That is actually... pretty cool. It makes sense too, no idea why I didn't think of it before :p
 
This whole "Haswell is great for emulation" thing, are we talking game emulation or like virtual OS's and stuff?

Cause if it's games, what game console needs that kind of processing power to run well?
 
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