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[LordAlu]

1. I will have 2 4 GB sticks of DDR3 1866 RAM that I bought for the new PC, and I have several 1 GB DDR3 1066 sticks left over from my old PC, and there are 4 RAM slots on my motherboard. It's generally a bad idea to mix RAM of different speeds right? But for future upgrades is it okay to mix different memory sizes, i.e. if I buy a couple 8 GB of 1866 later on, would that be fine?

Don't put your old RAM sticks in there - you won't need the extra 2GB you'd get and it would slow your other 8GB sticks down to 1066MHz. You can install more 1866MHz sticks later just fine.

2. I bought an SSD, but I plan to re-use my HDD as well. Currently my HDD has Windows Vista on it, but I will be installing Windows 8 on the new PC. I'm guessing I will want to reformat the HDD for long term use, but would I be able to mount it as is in the short term, so that I can retrieve all of my files from it before doing a reformat? I did not make a backup, so I need some way to get the data off that drive.

First things first, only have your SSD in your PC to begin with and no other hard drives. Once you've got Windows 8 installed, open your PC up and fit any other drives, and in Windows you should then be able to access your old one so you can back up your stuff. Once you're done, format it and you're good to go.

3. I've never used an SSD before, but mine will definitely not have enough capacity to store everything. Obviously I would want my OS on the SSD, and a handful of games I am currently playing, while the bulk of my storage would go on the HDD. Is there anything else I would definitely want to put on the SDD, or anything that I really shouldn't put on there?

Just the programs and games you use all the time. Everything else can just go on your storage drive (music/documents/pictures/downloads/other games and so on).

4. Along with the previous question, if I'm only storing a small portion of my games library on my SSD at any given time, about how long does it take to move games on and off of the SSD? Edit: I realize that question was a bit too generic to have a specific answer, so assume the games in question are 10 GB.

Not that long really, it would be minutes - maybe 10 if that.

 

[Knch]

2. I bought an SSD, but I plan to re-use my HDD as well. Currently my HDD has Windows Vista on it, but I will be installing Windows 8 on the new PC. I'm guessing I will want to reformat the HDD for long term use, but would I be able to mount it as is in the short term, so that I can retrieve all of my files from it before doing a reformat? I did not make a backup, so I need some way to get the data off that drive.

Install your SSD first, install windows, shutdown, install HDD, start, copy stuff, reformat (you could also remove the windows/program files folder, but a quick format will be faster)

3. I've never used an SSD before, but mine will definitely not have enough capacity to store everything. Obviously I would want my OS on the SSD, and a handful of games I am currently playing, while the bulk of my storage would go on the HDD. Is there anything else I would definitely want to put on the SDD, or anything that I really shouldn't put on there?

Only run a minimal page file (Windows will tell you how large this should be when you try to set it too small,) disable hibernate. Put anything you want to start/run fast on your SSD, everything else on your HDD.

4. Along with the previous question, if I'm only storing a small portion of my games library on my SSD at any given time, about how long does it take to move games on and off of the SSD? Edit: I realize that question was a bit too generic to have a specific answer, so assume the games in question are 10 GB.

As fast as your HDD (or other source) can read/write. (10GB should take about 73 seconds to move from my SSD raid to my spinpoint F4)

 

[BlazinAm]

Running into this issue with putting my motherboard (Asus z87 A) into my caseGigabyte GZ-G2 Plus Plus. The I/O shield raises the inputs on the motherboard to the put in which the two nearest screw holes might require bigger screws than the ones that were provided. Also when i screw them in the motherboard looks like it starting to bend a bit in the area nearest to the I/O so I haven't even bothered to reinstall it. The board is an ATX board that is measured at 12in x 8.8in so it is a bit smaller than your normal ones and the case is capable of fitting ATX and mini AtTX boards.

 

[Addnan]

New Corsair Power Supplies came out, not sure who makes them. Can only seem to find Corsair PR write up on tech website.

Guessing not as good as AX series just because of pricing, but it is a gold rated PSU and fully modular now. Supposed to be replacing the TX series

750W fully modular less than £100. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w...-plus-gold-92-eff-eps-12v-1x135mm-fan-atx-v24

 

[kittens]

I want to build my first ever gaming PC, and I need help. A lot of help. I have zero clue what I'm doing. I'm going to be selling my Macbook Pro to help justify this, so I'll be working entirely from scratch. Any advice or guidance would be appreciated!

Okay, so quick list of pertinent info:

• Battlefield 4 and Titanfall are probably the highest end games I'm interested in right now.
• 60 FPS / 1080p are good enough for me.
• I want to run Dolphin and as many other emulators as possible.
• I’d be willing to go as high as $1000, but I would prefer to stay around $800.
• I'm in the United States.
• I'd like it to run relatively quietly. I'd like for the case to look minimalistic. Like the simple black monolithic look.
• I'll be using my Samsung SyncMaster BX2231 monitor and my cheapo Logitech speakers.
• I'd like it to be built by the time BF4 is out (October 29).
• I don't know what overclocking really even means, so I have no idea if I'll want to do it.

I looked at Hazaro's builds spreadsheet. Should I just go with one of those builds? And if so, is there a significant jump between the "Great" and the "Excellent" builds? Would the "Great" probably be good enough to meet my needs?

I'm kind of rushing through this post so I can get to bed, so please let me know if there's any important info that yall need so that you're able to help me out. I really appreciate it! I'm excited to finally get my shit together and jump in.

 

[Addnan]

I want to build my first ever gaming PC, and I need help. A lot of help. I have zero clue what I'm doing. I'm going to be selling my Macbook Pro to help justify this, so I'll be working entirely from scratch. Any advice or guidance would be appreciated!

Okay, so quick list of pertinent info:

• Battlefield 4 and Titanfall are probably the highest end games I'm interested in right now.
• 60 FPS / 1080p are good enough for me.
• I want to run Dolphin and as many other emulators as possible.
• I’d be willing to go as high as $1000, but I would prefer to stay around $800.
• I'm in the United States.
• I'd like it to run relatively quietly. I'd like for the case to look minimalistic. Like the simple black monolithic look.
• I'll be using my Samsung SyncMaster BX2231 monitor and my cheapo Logitech speakers.
• I'd like it to be built by the time BF4 is out (October 29).
• I don't know what overclocking really even means, so I have no idea if I'll want to do it.

I looked at Hazaro's builds spreadsheet. Should I just go with one of those builds? And if so, is there a significant jump between the "Great" and the "Excellent" builds? Would the "Great" probably be good enough to meet my needs?

I'm kind of rushing through this post so I can get to bed, so please let me know if there's any important info that yall need so that you're able to help me out. I really appreciate it! I'm excited to finally get my shit together and jump in.

Does your budget include OS and other stuff like keyboard/mouse?

 

[senahorse]

One thing I will say, if you're wanting to run Dolphin, get a Haswell CPU.

 

[kittens]

Does your budget include OS and other stuff like keyboard/mouse?

Nope. I'm used to Windows coming pre-installed, but I guess if I'm buying parts individually, that's not the case, huh? So adding that stuff to the budget, I think I'll definitely want to go with the $800ish machine.

One thing I will say, if you're wanting to run Dolphin, get a Haswell CPU.

Cool, I'll keep that in mind!

 

[OminoMichelin]

Guys I think my GPU is toast...
I was watching a youtube video yesterday, and suddenly my imac froze, giving everything on the screen a green outline.
Today I rebooted it, started using it normally and then... it froze again on a video, same outlines.
I tried to boot on macOS but it won't let me, and on windows my device manager says that the GPU was disabled due to a ''problem''.
So...is it finally dead? (it's an 8800GS).

EDIT: I tried to reinstall the drivers, still error 43 according to the device manager. I think it's gone for real, although strangely I can still set the display to 1920*1200

 

[Azulsky]

My thoughts exactly. Would kill for the same thing made by Lian Li or Silverstone. The CaseLabs M8 is about as close as you get as it is.

I basically see it as a M8 my wallet can tolerate.

I would like to get an M8, and I might before all is said and done so i can get more room for rads than the 540. But I havent spent more than 150 on a case ever. Consequently I usually end up getting a new case every time a build myself a new rig (3 years).

It would be cool if Corsair made an Obsidian version of the 540 that was a poor mans M8.

Didn't think I would, but I now feel the same way. Played with a friends new xl2420te for like a day and even though the higher frame rate was really nice, and definitely noticeable compared to a constant 60, I could not get the colors to not look washed out, and the closer I got to settings to improve it, the more the blacks started being indistinguishable. Couldn't stand it and found that I would prefer a constant 60 with better blacks and colors instead of 144.

Of course ymmv and I don't play any competitive fps really.

I dont play any fps games aside from Planetside 2, although I might try BF4 in the foolish hope that they restored some dignity to the series more akin to 2.

 

[Addnan]

Nope. I'm used to Windows coming pre-installed, but I guess if I'm buying parts individually, that's not the case, huh? So adding that stuff to the budget, I think I'll definitely want to go with the $800ish machine.


Cool, I'll keep that in mind!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G55 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($147.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($203.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $844.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-13 06:44 EDT-0400)

That is $874 before rebate and 844 after, but no OS/accessories. Windows 7/8 OEM can be bought for $80-90. If the 800 is just for parts and you are still going to your 1000 with software and accessories this would be perfect. Keyboard/mouse/OS will be less than $130-160. If you want a DVD drive add another $20.

 

[railGUN]

So I upgraded my video card from an 8800 GTX to an AMD 7950 - my PSU is 500W, which the card lists as minimum. I've noticed when I'm gaming, my PSU fan is really spinning, and the air is quite warm. Never noticed it with my old card, guessing the new card is really pushing it?

Should I be worried? And could I damage my new vid card?

Vid card seems quiet and cool (whereas my 8800 was hot as fuck) but now the PSU is loud and hot. Would a 750W or 850W run cooler?

 

[Dawg]

Ok, my system:

8GB RAM
I5-3570K (stock cooler atm)
GTX 670 FTW
Asrock Z77 Extreme4 motherboard
pc power & cooling silencer mk iii 500w

So this is my build, I'd like to upgrade it with a 120hz screen because I want less blur etc etc.

Thing is, I only have around €300 budget. (I need the rest for ps4 etc etc). I can buy the Asus VG248QE with that, but is it worth it? My GTX 670 FTW is getting older too and I can imagine it won't get 120fps on that many games.

Should I wait till I have the money for both the monitor and gtx 770? Or wait till gtx 870?

 

[kidko]

Ok, my system:

8GB RAM
I5-3570K (stock cooler atm)
GTX 670 FTW
Asrock Z77 Extreme4 motherboard
pc power & cooling silencer mk iii 500w

So this is my build, I'd like to upgrade it with a 120hz screen because I want less blur etc etc.

Thing is, I only have around €300 budget. (I need the rest for ps4 etc etc). I can buy the Asus VG248QE with that, but is it worth it? My GTX 670 FTW is getting older too and I can imagine it won't get 120fps on that many games.

Should I wait till I have the money for both the monitor and gtx 770? Or wait till gtx 870?

I say get the monitor. I have one and love it, even just for doing stuff outside of games... and I still run an old ass GTX 470. Gotta admit, Minecraft at 120fps /144hz looks real crisp. It's a nice monitor besides... zippy UI, bright, nice colors. Whenever I finally upgrade my card (probably 800 series next year), it's gonna be amazing in modern games.

 

[Dawg]

I say get the monitor. I have one and love it, even just for doing stuff outside of games... and I still run an old ass GTX 470. Gotta admit, Minecraft at 120fps /144hz looks real crisp. It's a nice monitor besides... zippy UI, bright, nice colors. Whenever I finally upgrade my card (probably 800 series next year), it's gonna be amazing in modern games.

One question: if I play a game at 60 fps or near 60 fps, will it be the same blur/ghosting quality as a regular 60hz screen?

I know you can activate lightboost to completely eliminate ghosting and blur and all, but my gtx 670 isn't that powerful I think

 

[factorybelt]

Ok, my system:

8GB RAM
I5-3570K (stock cooler atm)
GTX 670 FTW
Asrock Z77 Extreme4 motherboard
pc power & cooling silencer mk iii 500w

So this is my build, I'd like to upgrade it with a 120hz screen because I want less blur etc etc.

Thing is, I only have around €300 budget. (I need the rest for ps4 etc etc). I can buy the Asus VG248QE with that, but is it worth it? My GTX 670 FTW is getting older too and I can imagine it won't get 120fps on that many games.

Should I wait till I have the money for both the monitor and gtx 770? Or wait till gtx 870?

Your 670 should have some legs left in it. If you aren't plagued with upgradeitis, you might want to skip on the 700-series. The difference between the two in a single GPU configuration isn't going to make a ton of difference for 120hz gaming.

I have the Asus 144hz, and it basically coerced me into buying SLI 770s. Beware.

 

[diaspora]

Ok, my system:

8GB RAM
I5-3570K (stock cooler atm)
GTX 670 FTW
Asrock Z77 Extreme4 motherboard
pc power & cooling silencer mk iii 500w

So this is my build, I'd like to upgrade it with a 120hz screen because I want less blur etc etc.

Thing is, I only have around €300 budget. (I need the rest for ps4 etc etc). I can buy the Asus VG248QE with that, but is it worth it? My GTX 670 FTW is getting older too and I can imagine it won't get 120fps on that many games.

Should I wait till I have the money for both the monitor and gtx 770? Or wait till gtx 870?

Your 670 will be fine until 800 series drops.

 

[Zaph]

Anyone here got experience upgrading from Win 7 to 8? 8.1 has me curious, but if upgrading is problematic, I'll most likely wait until my next free weekend and do a full clean install.

 

[Arkanius]

Guys, I'm up for a GPU upgrade.
I'm weighing my options between a EVGA GTX760 SC AC vs a HIS 7950 ICEQ BOOST
Both around 250€. I don't know what to pick. It's basically a coin toss from all the reviews I've seen

Also, shouldn't, theoretically, since most multiplatform games will be based on AMD APU's (PS4 and XOne), shouldn't AMD get an edge against Nvidia on the PC side?

 

[kennah]

Also, shouldn't, theoretically, since most multiplatform games will be based on AMD APU's (PS4 and XOne), shouldn't AMD get an edge against Nvidia on the PC side?

Nope. Doesn't work that way.

 

[Addnan]

Anyone here got experience upgrading from Win 7 to 8? 8.1 has me curious, but if upgrading is problematic, I'll most likely wait until my next free weekend and do a full clean install.

I upgraded from 7 to 8, didn't do a clean install, but that was because my Windows 7 install was just a day old. There shouldn't be any problem upgrading. It's always nice to get a fresh install though.

 

[Deitus]

.

.

Thank you both for your helpful answers. That should get me started, but I wouldn't be surprised if I am back with more questions.

Now on to ţhe excruciating wait for the last few components to be delivered.

 

[yatesl]

3 months later and I'm back, with another itch to upgrade.

Summary
Operating System
Windows 8 Pro 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 4670K @ 3.40GHz: 32 °C
Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. Z87X-D3H-CF (SOCKET 0): 28 °C
Graphics
DELL ST2410 (1920x1080@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Gigabyte)
2048MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (Gigabyte): 46 °C
Hard Drives
2795GB Seagate ST3000DM001-1CH166 (SATA): 38 °C
SAMSUNG HD204UI (SATA)
119GB M4-CT128M4SSD2 (SSD

I can't think of a major upgrade I can do, aside from RAM. Unless I want to drop another £300 to SLI 2x 770s... Which I don't think I'm prepared to do. Unless I can't run Battlefield 4 at max settings 60fps

How much would another 8GB of RAM benefit me?

 

[Addnan]

3 months later and I'm back, with another itch to upgrade.



I can't think of a major upgrade I can do, aside from RAM. Unless I want to drop another £300 to SLI 2x 770s... Which I don't think I'm prepared to do. Unless I can't run Battlefield 4 at max settings 60fps

How much would another 8GB of RAM benefit me?

Gaming? Zero. Even 8 isn't needed.

 

[Arkanius]

Nope. Doesn't work that way.

Probably because of DirectX.
Anyway, I'm leaning towards the EVGA

 

[Dawg]

Does anyone know if the VG248QE is suited for ps3 games too? PS4 soonish as well

 

[mkenyon]

Does anyone know if the VG248QE is suited for ps3 games too? PS4 soonish as well

It has HDMI ports. You can't run 120Hz over HDMI 1.3 though.

 

[kidko]

One question: if I play a game at 60 fps or near 60 fps, will it be the same blur/ghosting quality as a regular 60hz screen?

I know you can activate lightboost to completely eliminate ghosting and blur and all, but my gtx 670 isn't that powerful I think

I can't say for certain without doing tests, but I'm gonna say based on my short time of ownership that it will be less blurry.

 

[Dawg]

It has HDMI ports. You can't run 120Hz over HDMI 1.3 though.

Well, it's not like the ps3/ps4 can run games at 120 fps anyway

I'm going to guess it has a 60hz standard setting? It's just easier if I have one screen for my pc and console.

 

[OminoMichelin]

Since my GPU died (but for some reason the iMac still works on the windows partition), I started to plan a build, although I would have preferred to wait a bit more for new parts and lower prices

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (€194.33 @ Amazon Italia)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€102.29 @ Amazon Italia)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (€74.00 @ Amazon Italia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€48.00 @ Amazon Italia)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (€178.40 @ Amazon Italia)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 370 ATX Mid Tower Case (€43.06 @ Amazon Italia)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (€46.50 @ Amazon Italia)
Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor (€111.36 @ Amazon Italia)
Total: €797.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-13 19:13 CEST+0200)

It's about 1k$, even with me trying to get the cheapest parts possible. Living in EU sucks sometimes :/
I DON'T plan to overclock the CPU, for 199 euros I can get a 7950, is it worth it?

 

[kidko]

Well, it's not like the ps3/ps4 can run games at 120 fps anyway

I'm going to guess it has a 60hz standard setting? It's just easier if I have one screen for my pc and console.

You don't have to change any setting, it will adapt to the input. You could run DL-DVI from your PC for 144hz and HDMI to your console and just switch between them with a button press on the bottom of the monitor. (I like the buttons on it too, nice feel)

 

[Unknown One]

I need help picking out a monitor. I want a 1080p screen with good color that is around 20-24 inch. I want at least 5 ms response rate.

 

[mkenyon]

I need help picking out a monitor. I want a 1080p screen with good color that is around 20-24 inch. I want at least 5 ms response rate.

Check out the OP.

I DON'T plan to overclock the CPU, for 199 euros I can get a 7950, is it worth it?

You should. It'll extend the life of your rig by making it usable for a longer period. Socket 1366 and 1156 stuff is still relevant because of their OC potential.

 

[OminoMichelin]

Check out the OP.

You should. It'll extend the life of your rig by making it usable for a longer period. Socket 1366 and 1156 stuff is still relevant because of their OC potential.

That would cost about 25 euros more

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (€206.91 @ Amazon Italia)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master RR-T4-18PK-R1 70.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler (€28.11 @ Amazon Italia)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (€85.82 @ Amazon Italia)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (€74.00 @ Amazon Italia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€48.00 @ Amazon Italia)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (€178.40 @ Amazon Italia)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 370 ATX Mid Tower Case (€43.06 @ Amazon Italia)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (€46.50 @ Amazon Italia)
Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor (€111.36 @ Amazon Italia)
Total: €822.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-13 19:52 CEST+0200)

 

[sestrugen]

I plan to buy a new PC soon but I am wondering if it will be worth it to wait for a few weeks for new components to be released. Also, since I am not based in the US but parts will be bought through Amazon. I know the prices vary a little but its really the only retailer that accepts my credit card.

Your Current Specs: A netbook, nothing to salvage
Budget: USD $850-950, excluding case and OS which I will buy locally due to tax+shipping
Main Use: Games, learning video editing, light programming and mostly browsing the internet
Monitor Resolution: 1080p, I have a 23" monitor
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well:no specific game in mind,i just want a pc that can substitute a console and being able to play every game through the rest of this gen and the next one with mid settings
Is 30FPS acceptable? 60? 120? How important is PhysX / SuperSampling / CUDA to you?:60fps prefered
Looking to reuse any parts?: I have a monitor, keyboard, mouse and headphones
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline?:No deadline, undecided due to AMD GPU's being released relatively shortly
Will you be overclocking?: I don't know how to do it so most likely no, maybe a really small increment

 

[Diomedes]

Thinking about new GPU. Coming from 560ti and considering a 7970 for $300, seems like a great deal on this card. Should also be a considerable jump in power.

Debating whether I should wait until 8000 series is released to see what happens/further price drops. Also debating about sticking with Nvidia.

Convince me in either direction please!

 

[Felix Lighter]

I think there is nothing bad that can come out of waiting if you don't have an immediate need.

 

[mkenyon]

Yap, the R9 should be out next month.

 

[BoboBrazil]

I think I'm gonna wait too. Its been so long since the 7x series came out that it should be a big jump. Plus its rumored to come with BF4 free. Isn't it also supposed to be at a smaller silicon process?

 

[OminoMichelin]

I think I'm gonna wait too. Its been so long since the 7x series came out that it should be a big jump. Plus its rumored to come with BF4 free. Isn't it also supposed to be at a smaller silicon process?

People are skeptical. It doesn't seem like there will be a die shrink so many think it wont be such an huge upgrade

 

[Azulsky]

People are skeptical. It doesn't seem like there will be a die shrink so many think it wont be such an huge upgrade

Optimistic to think they will outdo Nvidia for performance crown with any super definitive margin.

Reasonable to think they will be on parity at top end single gpu benchmarks, probably even better value at low end(which is true now with the 7950 vs 760).

 

[Polymath]

Parts are in time for some minor upgrades.

Sorry for the crap quality. was taken with my phone.

 

[badb0y]

Parts are in time for some minor upgrades.

Sorry for the crap quality. was taken with my phone.

What kind of coolant is that? Some coolants suck and mess up your blocks, I would suggest straight distilled water to you.

 

[graywolf323]

reposting for the new page

so I have a question for desktop GAF

I've been gaming on laptops for a while now but was thinking of finally getting a gaming desktop (it would be my first one) but after some research it seems maybe I should just try to make by with my new macbook air and the PS4 when it releases this fall and wait until next year to build a gaming desktop because of all the new tech coming (like DDR4, SATA-Express, Broadwell, Maxwell, etc.)

basically would it be wise to wait?

edit: also any thoughts on Ivy Bridge-E would be appreciated ^_^ I had been looking at the Alienware Aurora because I have a credit line with Dell

edit 2: the fact that BF4's recommended specs request 3GB of VRAM make me nervous to get the GTX 780 in SLI since it only has 3GB of VRAM instead of 4GB (seems odd to me since the 780M has 4GB)

 

[Addnan]

reposting for the new page

so I have a question for desktop GAF

I've been gaming on laptops for a while now but was thinking of finally getting a gaming desktop (it would be my first one) but after some research it seems maybe I should just try to make by with my new macbook air and the PS4 when it releases this fall and wait until next year to build a gaming desktop because of all the new tech coming (like DDR4, SATA-Express, Broadwell, Maxwell, etc.)

basically would it be wise to wait?

edit: also any thoughts on Ivy Bridge-E would be appreciated ^_^ I had been looking at the Alienware Aurora because I have a credit line with Dell

edit 2: the fact that BF4's recommended specs request 3GB of VRAM make me nervous to get the GTX 780 in SLI since it only has 3GB of VRAM instead of 4GB (seems odd to me since the 780M has 4GB)

There is no wrong time to build a PC. There is literally something new launching every month. DDR4 might be available next year if Haswell-E launches. GTX 780 SLI will destroy Battlefield 4 and then some. Ignore the VRAM specs. A 4GB lower card won't even come close to comparing to the 780.

 

[Coldsnap]

Video card running at 40%, frames dip down to 57fps sometimes. Why doesn't card just work harder and get me locked at 60? Guess there's a bottleneck somewhere else? or game is just poorly optimized?

 

[Zaph]

Video card running at 40%, frames dip down to 57fps sometimes. Why doesn't card just work harder and get me locked at 60? Guess there's a bottleneck somewhere else? or game is just poorly optimized?

MMO by any chance? So often they barely touch the GPU and just rock the shit out of a single core.

 

[Tonezorz]

I know this is a dumb question before asking it, but I haven't been able to find a solid utility around the web that seems simple and legitimate.

I just want to get a number associated with my CPU, so that when changing/overclocking CPUs I can compare them apples to apples.

Any recommendations? (Is super Pi still used?)

 

[mkenyon]

You mean like a benchmark tool?

 

[BoboBrazil]

Any chance I could flash this Dell motherboard With a bios from the actual motherboard manufacturer? Its a dell xps 8500.