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

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Addnan

Member
Are the Be Quiet dark power PSU like the greatest thing to ever grace existence or something? The things are more expensive than the Seasonic X-Series and its many variants.
 

Derpcrawler

Member
Hey guys, I am thinking about upgrading my PC. Any suggestions?

I am currently on old Core i7 860 on socket 1156, to be honest I don't feel like it's a bottleneck since I have it overclocked to 4.2Ghz. This year I upgraded to Titan, then sold my Titan for GTX780 when that came out.

I am pretty happy with most games, but I play at 1440p resolution and in some games 780GTX just doesn't cut it. So I wanted to ask, will upgrading to R9 X290 benefit me at all? Or will it be better to buy 2nd GTX780? I think if I go with 2nd GTX780 I will need to upgrade my PSU and my old motherboard/CPU might become huge bottleneck for performance and I would need to upgrade those as well and I was planning to wait for Socket 2011-A and DDR4 to upgrade my CPU and motherboard. What should I do?
 

rafbanaan

Member
Oh no, it's straight from amazon itself. I just wondered if they provide the correct plug.

In Belgium, we have these

Ac_Power_Supply_Cord_European_style_Belgium.jpg


I think UK has different ones. I'm a noob at this stuff, don't know if they provide multiple plugs or something :p

UK has indeed another one, so you will have to buy a converter or a Belgian powercord.
 
I've been searching the web to determine if saving $15 on a single 8GB dimm vs 2 x 4GB dimm is worth losing the benefits of dual channel memory and everything I'm seeing is that it shouldn't really impact real world performance. Is it something worth considering?
 

kharma45

Member
Are the Be Quiet dark power PSU like the greatest thing to ever grace existence or something? The things are more expensive than the Seasonic X-Series and its many variants.

They do seem to be pretty good. A review of the 850w platinum one said 'When it comes to quality, it might be sufficient to simply mention that this is a Seasonic design improved upon by a German engineering company. Be Quiet! went with some of the best quality components currently available for commercial products and the assembly quality is astounding'.

High praise indeed but I think they're priced too high.
 
So GAF how badly did I screw up? Last week I bought this Sapphire 7950 Boost for 230€ http://www.alternate.de/SAPPHIRE/SA...ith_Boost,_Grafikkarte/html/product/1060525/? and today I see to me personal shock they have this MSI 7970 for measly 20€ more at 250€ http://www.alternate.de/MSI/MSI+R7970_TF_3GD5-OC_BE,_Grafikkarte/html/product/1077654/?

How is this 7970 so cheap when all other are 300€+? o.o

In spite of this I tried to overclock my 7950 Boost by upping both the Core and Mermory clock by 100mhz and upping the power-level to +20% though BF3 always crashed after two minutes :( Do I even have to raise memory and core clock equally? I never OC'ed something before...
 

Akros

Neo Member
How does the below look to you?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($283.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($95.87 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($266.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1500.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-27 15:02 EDT-0400)

The main reason I went for an i7 is for the streaming part, although you would likely still be fine on an i5. Monitor wise I've gone for the 144Hz Asus for you for dat smoothness :)

Looks good although i got a tip that there is new amd gpu coming october...gonna wait till then for price drop on the ghz edition :D
 
If I was to get a 1440p monitor would I need to upgrade from a 6950 1 GB GPU?

I don't really play super demanding FPSs and don't have a compulsion to play at max settings. My biggest worry would be Total War games.

Thanks for any opinions.

Also, I'd need a Display port cable, right?
 

kennah

Member
So GAF how badly did I screw up? Last week I bought this Sapphire 7950 Boost for 230€ http://www.alternate.de/SAPPHIRE/SA...ith_Boost,_Grafikkarte/html/product/1060525/? and today I see to me personal shock they have this MSI 7970 for measly 20€ more at 250€ http://www.alternate.de/MSI/MSI+R7970_TF_3GD5-OC_BE,_Grafikkarte/html/product/1077654/?

How is this 7970 so cheap when all other are 300€+? o.o

In spite of this I tried to overclock my 7950 Boost by upping both the Core and Mermory clock by 100mhz and upping the power-level to +20% though BF3 always crashed after two minutes :( Do I even have to raise memory and core clock equally? I never OC'ed something before...

Pretty big... we've known about this conference for a while.
 

Azulsky

Member
If I was to get a 1440p monitor would I need to upgrade from a 6950 1 GB GPU?

I don't really play super demanding FPSs and don't have a compulsion to play at max settings. My biggest worry would be Total War games.

Thanks for any opinions.

Also, I'd need a Display port cable, right?

You only have to upgrade from DVI-D when you go to 4k

When you get a 1440p monitor you are forcing your hand to get higher end graphics hardware.
 

kennah

Member
Has it been confirmed if PS4 or XB1 controllers will be PC compatible?

Let me just check my crystal ball...

Rumour has it that the XB1 controller will continue the pc compatible trend. No word one way or the other for PS4 but I assume hacks will eventually exist.
 

delta25

Banned
Well I finally decided to go with a i5-3330, 8.0GB of ram and a GTX 650Ti 2gb edition. I think I made the right choices, what do you guys think?
 
Im after a decent-to-good mouse for gaming. From what I have seen, I use palm grip. I have checked out some of the logitech offerings, in addition to the SteelSeries Sensei series mice, and the Razer Deathadder. Ideas GAF? I really do not know what to choose, there are so many mice.. The $60 -$70 range is what I am hoping to stay in.
 

LCGeek

formerly sane
So GAF how badly did I screw up? Last week I bought this Sapphire 7950 Boost for 230€ http://www.alternate.de/SAPPHIRE/SA...ith_Boost,_Grafikkarte/html/product/1060525/? and today I see to me personal shock they have this MSI 7970 for measly 20€ more at 250€ http://www.alternate.de/MSI/MSI+R7970_TF_3GD5-OC_BE,_Grafikkarte/html/product/1077654/?

How is this 7970 so cheap when all other are 300€+? o.o

In spite of this I tried to overclock my 7950 Boost by upping both the Core and Mermory clock by 100mhz and upping the power-level to +20% though BF3 always crashed after two minutes :( Do I even have to raise memory and core clock equally? I never OC'ed something before...

Overclock.net has an excellent section in the amd part for 7950 overclocking. You may need a higher power level for stability. You might need more voltage as well, but if you're new to ocing a graphics card go slowly and do only the memory or core separetly not at once. Benchmark with heaven or occt and look for errors or try certain high end games like bf3 as you mentioned.
 
Im after a decent-to-good mouse for gaming. From what I have seen, I use palm grip. I have checked out some of the logitech offerings, in addition to the SteelSeries Sensei series mice, and the Razer Deathadder. Ideas GAF? I really do not know what to choose, there are so many mice.. The $60 -$70 range is what I am hoping to stay in.

Steel series, though honestly any high level mouse will work for you more than likely

Got my 144 hz monitor. The smoothness is great and all, but by far the greatest part about it is that I don't get tearing anymore. No more Vsync bullshit. It's completely changed everything for my 680 sli setup. No stuttering, tearing , nothing. May not even bother with the 290x unless it and Mantle are too much to ignore.
 

M3z_

Member
Cooler%20Master%20Elite%20130.jpg


SAPPHIRE HD 7990 for $579.99 after rebate. Yay or nay? Driver issues fixed for single monitor 1080p/1440p?

Or wait for R-290x?

Just wait for the 290, especially if you game @ 1080p, One card is always the way to go if one card can provide you with the framerates you want and at 1080p I see no reason a 290 would not do just that.
 

M3z_

Member
Im after a decent-to-good mouse for gaming. From what I have seen, I use palm grip. I have checked out some of the logitech offerings, in addition to the SteelSeries Sensei series mice, and the Razer Deathadder. Ideas GAF? I really do not know what to choose, there are so many mice.. The $60 -$70 range is what I am hoping to stay in.

If you have a larger hand or like a larger mouse get the deathadder. I recently bought a m40 from corsair because I thought it looked real nice and ended up instantly re-saling it because it just felt much to small coming from a deathadder. Deathadder has definitely been the most comfortable mouse I have ever used. Only reason I am in the market for a new mouse is because I've completely frayed the cord sheeth on my deathadder and I don't like how that looks. The mouse itself is going strong after 3 or 4 years.
 
If you have a larger hand or like a larger mouse get the deathadder. I recently bought a m40 from corsair because I thought it looked real nice and ended up instantly re-saling it because it just felt much to small coming from a deathadder. Deathadder has definitely been the most comfortable mouse I have ever used. Only reason I am in the market for a new mouse is because I've completely frayed the cord sheeth on my deathadder and I don't like how that looks. The mouse itself is going strong after 3 or 4 years.

The cheap mice I have been using lately have really weak middle mouse buttons (I use the middle click A LOT, and they break quick). Will the DeathAdder last me a while?
 

M3z_

Member
Well I finally decided to go with a i5-3330, 8.0GB of ram and a GTX 650Ti 2gb edition. I think I made the right choices, what do you guys think?

Looking at the 650ti on newegg the 2GB ones seem to be selling for about $175. If that is what you are paying I would say to DEFINITELY tray and save up just $25 more and buy a 7950. It would be a night and day difference in terms of power. The 7950 is just leaps and bounds better than a 650ti and if you are only $25 off I would do my best to save for it. If you are spending less than $175 and thus would have to save even more than certainly do what best fits your budget, just keep in mind the option.
 

M3z_

Member
The cheap mice I have been using lately have really weak middle mouse buttons (I use the middle click A LOT, and they break quick). Will the DeathAdder last me a while?

Yeah, I've never had any problems with my scroll wheel click and like I said this mouse is 3 or 4 years old.
 

gblues

Banned
My parts arrived! Things went fairly smoothly:

First was data transfer, which took the most time out of everything thanks to slow transfer speeds.

After cloning the OS drive to the SSD, it was time to get down to the build.

The BioStar Z87 is a joy to work with, with all connectors easy to find and actually use. My only warning to other builders is to install the memory before the heatsink, especially if using the CoolerMaster 212 EVO, because it blocks access to the first two slots. Even then, this is only an issue if you plan to fill all 4 DIMM slots. The board works just fine with only using slots #3-4.

Another warning specific to the hi-fi Z87w board is to flash the latest BIOS as early as possible. I experienced random spontaneous rebooting (not related to CPU temp or overclocking) until I did this.

Of course, the entire point of the EVO 212 was to facilitate an over clock. I bumped the voltage up to 1.25v and bumped the multiplier to 43, and it's running stable. I haven't had time to push it further.

The SSD is awesome! My PC spends more time in POST than it takes to start Windows. :D
 
Is the Samsung S27B970D worth it at £500? Never really considered it before at it always seemed massively overpriced but £500 is a lot closer to similar monitors I've been looking at like the 2713HM and PB278Q. It's still a bit more than either of those though so is it worth the bit extra or should I save my cash?
 
I'm in the market for a 2tb HDD to use to store my steam games via steam mover while keeping the games I"m currently playing on my SSD (my first SSD and I"m blown away by the speed difference!). The HDD in the OP says its for NAS/RAID stuff which I have zero interest in. Its strictly for steam games and I suppose games for other services like desura or something. Any other recommendations for a 2tb hdd or is the one in the OP good for regular ol' storage use without that nas/raid stuff?
 
Not sure if I should ask here or maybe the TF2 thread, but:

When I bump the AA and anisotropic filtering to maximum I get significant input lag when playing TF2. When I lower them to the second-highest settings everything is perfectly fine.

2500k @ 4ghz, AMD 6950 2GB, Win 8, 1920x1200. Everything else on max.

Any ideas why this would be? The Catalyst center stuff is all set to default/application setting. Vid drivers up to date.
 

LCGeek

formerly sane
Not sure if I should ask here or maybe the TF2 thread, but:

When I bump the AA and anisotropic filtering to maximum I get significant input lag when playing TF2. When I lower them to the second-highest settings everything is perfectly fine.

2500k @ 4ghz, AMD 6950 2GB, Win 8, 1920x1200. Everything else on max.

Any ideas why this would be? The Catalyst center stuff is all set to default/application setting. Vid drivers up to date.

That's an odd problem as input lag would be caused more by vsync than aa/af settings. Check steam forums they have good tech support especially for popular games.
 

Barzul

Member
So PC GAf, I was going to build a new PC but I think I'll just buy one and upgrade it as I go forward. I was searching low spec ibuypower and cyberpowerpc builds from Newegg and I came across this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227476R . Anyone have experience with something like this. Ignore the power supply it actually ships with a 400W one and I can upgrade if necessary. It just seems like a good price for a PC, Keyboard, Mouse and OS included, but it has been opened. It says it has been tested and it works, and there's a 30 day refund policy with it but no warranty. I can get that or another this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229437 which comes with a 1 year warranty and all that jazz, but a weaker graphics card. So are Neweggs open boxes generally good?
 

Enordash

Member
Hey, bros. I'm new to the PC building community here so I thought I'd post up the basic questions and see if one of you lovely people could give me some advice.

Current Specs:
Intel Core i5 650 @ 3.2GHz
8GB DDR3
Dell 0T568R (http://tinyurl.com/mt5ca28)
NVIDIA GeForce GT640
350W power supply
Standard Dell XPS case
75GB SSD / 1TB HDD

Budget: $1200 Max / USA

Main Use: Want to maximize for gaming and video / sound editing

Monitor Resolution: 1080p, 60 Frames is the lowest acceptable, only other thing I care about here is vsync for the Rift

Looking to reuse any parts?: Could reuse anything acceptable above

When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? End of year would be best.

Will you be overclocking?: Maybe (so yes? lol)

I have received error beeps for RAM a month or two ago. I took all the sticks out, then replaced them one by one, but everything is back in and working. Every so often, I'll get crazy stutter during gaming where the Frames will drop hard for five seconds or so.

Any help would be amazing. If you need any more info, I'll do my best to provide it.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
I'm in the market for a 2tb HDD to use to store my steam games via steam mover while keeping the games I"m currently playing on my SSD (my first SSD and I"m blown away by the speed difference!). The HDD in the OP says its for NAS/RAID stuff which I have zero interest in. Its strictly for steam games and I suppose games for other services like desura or something. Any other recommendations for a 2tb hdd or is the one in the OP good for regular ol' storage use without that nas/raid stuff?
Just grab a 2TB that isn't a Samsung/Seagate Green.
So PC GAf, I was going to build a new PC but I think I'll just buy one and upgrade it as I go forward. I was searching low spec ibuypower and cyberpowerpc builds from Newegg and I came across this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227476R . Anyone have experience with something like this. Ignore the power supply it actually ships with a 400W one and I can upgrade if necessary. It just seems like a good price for a PC, Keyboard, Mouse and OS included, but it has been opened. It says it has been tested and it works, and there's a 30 day refund policy with it but no warranty. I can get that or another this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229437 which comes with a 1 year warranty and all that jazz, but a weaker graphics card. So are Neweggs open boxes generally good?
Bad deals. Meh PSU, probably meh Mobo, weak graphics. Either look at some Dell outlet deals and hunt there or build.
Hey, bros. I'm new to the PC building community here so I thought I'd post up the basic questions and see if one of you lovely people could give me some advice.

Current Specs:
Intel Core i5 650 @ 3.2GHz
8GB DDR3
Dell 0T568R (http://tinyurl.com/mt5ca28)
NVIDIA GeForce GT640
350W power supply
Standard Dell XPS case
75GB SSD / 1TB HDD

Budget: $1200 Max / USA

Main Use: Want to maximize for gaming and video / sound editing

Monitor Resolution: 1080p, 60 Frames is the lowest acceptable, only other thing I care about here is vsync for the Rift

Looking to reuse any parts?: Could reuse anything acceptable above

When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? End of year would be best.

Will you be overclocking?: Maybe (so yes? lol)

I have received error beeps for RAM a month or two ago. I took all the sticks out, then replaced them one by one, but everything is back in and working. Every so often, I'll get crazy stutter during gaming where the Frames will drop hard for five seconds or so.

Any help would be amazing. If you need any more info, I'll do my best to provide it.
If you are building now, check the 1k build and bump the graphics, i7, MSI Gaming board. If you can wait a bit, the new AMD cards are coming out in ~1 month and might be a better buy.
 

Anton668

Member
so... um... I just came across a guy who basically said that if you spend less than $2000 on your rig you're doing it wrong......

*picardfacepalm.gif*
 

Enordash

Member
Just grab a 2TB that isn't a Samsung/Seagate Green.

Bad deals. Meh PSU, probably meh Mobo, weak graphics. Either look at some Dell outlet deals and hunt there or build.

If you are building now, check the 1k build and bump the graphics, i7, MSI Gaming board. If you can wait a bit, the new AMD cards are coming out in ~1 month and might be a better buy.

Thanks, man!
 

fader

Member
I'm in the market for a 2tb HDD to use to store my steam games via steam mover while keeping the games I"m currently playing on my SSD (my first SSD and I"m blown away by the speed difference!). The HDD in the OP says its for NAS/RAID stuff which I have zero interest in. Its strictly for steam games and I suppose games for other services like desura or something. Any other recommendations for a 2tb hdd or is the one in the OP good for regular ol' storage use without that nas/raid stuff?

grab a wd black for speed, or a wd green for energy saving
 

kharma45

Member
Would an upgrade from a 1gb 6950 to a 3gb 7970 be significant? Or am I better of waiting for the newer cards?

It would be. Since the new AMD cards are so close I'd wait off to see how it affects 7000 series pricing, might knock the 7970 down a bit more as they'll want to sell the rebranded version of it.
 

Casanova

Member
Okay, so I'm sort of going back on my initial plan to build my PC in one go-round. I've decided to remain patient and start purchasing parts progressively, twice monthly (once per paycheck); and purchasing great parts instead of mediocre parts so that I'll end up with a very nice PC, overall.

Is there a recommended order for people who plan to build their machine gradually like I have decided to do?

An order in which I will be less likely to see a price decrease in the near-future - yet will, all the while, be prepared for the near-future?

Are there any current or upcoming updates/milestones in the PC hardware world that would force the prices/quality of certain parts in any way significantly?

I think I'm going to order a case first, because I'm assuming that if I buy a good case, it will be relatively future-proof because almost any motherboard will fit in a decent case (right?), but I really don't know where to go from there..

Thanks again, GAF.

Excuse my indecisiveness.
 
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