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[kharma45]

Cool thanks. How close is close, October sometime?

I think the date for the 290X was the 3rd for pre-orders, so I'd imagine the new line should be on shelves by the end of the month at worst. There are still some great 7970 deals though at the minute if you fancy a change right now, I've seen them for around $260/€250/£230, depending on where you are in the world.

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.

Buy your RAM first would be my advice. Two parts a month will leave you with your finished build around February or so my that sort of reckoning. By that time prices could well have changed on loads of items, it's hard to tell what way stuff will go. Deals come and go, but as for hardware only things coming out that will matter is AMD GPUs in October, Nvidia Maxwell sometime in Q2 2014 and AMD Kaveri either end of this year or start of next, but Kaveri is an APU so won't be in your shopping basket.

 

[Erebus]

A couple of weeks if you send it to the manufacturer. If it's not all sticks you can RMA just what's wrong. If it's the vendor they have their own policies.

If you live in Greece I have no idea. You'd look up EU return centers and probably just try and get a return from where you bought it if possible rather than the maker of the part.

For me a G.Skill or Corsair RMA takes 5 days (California, US), but in the EU it can take a lot longer since they have different divisions and their product shipments are from elsewhere(?)

I'll probably ask the retailer I had bought them from on Monday to see what they have to say.

The thing is, I went ahead and bought some 2x4GB Kingston RAM today only to find out that they're not compatible with my motherboard the hard way (the system won't boot at all). Since it's an old 775 mobo, it doesn't support 4GB DIMMs as a result the only way to have 8GB on it, is by going for 4x2GB DIMMs.

Long story short, I've now decided to go full in and upgrade my old mobo + CPU since I've already purchased new RAM.

I'm on a budget of 300€ and I'm contemplating whether I should go for Haswell (4670K) or IB (3570K). I know the differences are miniscule between the two CPUs but going for Haswell and the new 1150 socket will probably give me more options for upgrade in the future (won't the Broadwell platform be on 1150 too?). On the other hand, I guess going for the 3570K will be more affordable overall since motherboards are older and thus cheaper.

You have to get the MSI Z87 G45 if you're going for the 4670k. It's lower OC potential compared to 3570k but should be marginally better at lower clock speeds.

Right, I got them mixed up. Thanks for clarifying!

 

[LCGeek]

Cool thanks. How close is close, October sometime?

Has to be. The current 290x deal and BF4 beta are going down soon on the 3rd. I'm in the same situation as you and am waiting on 7950 or 7970 prices to drop even more than they already are.

 

[WavekSra]

The rig i have right now has AMD Fx-6300 @ 4.3 ghz, 8 gb ram, overclocked HD 7950
Will it run Battlefield 4 on ultra?

 

[kharma45]

The rig i have right now has AMD Fx-6300 @ 4.3 ghz, 8 gb ram, overclocked HD 7950
Will it run Battlefield 4 on ultra?

Yes.

What resolution though will dictate how well with regards to frames, and we won't know until it comes out. BF3 performance will give you a rough idea.

 

[Dmax3901]

Has to be. The current 290x deal and BF4 beta are going down soon on the 3rd. I'm in the same situation as you and am waiting on 7950 or 7970 prices to drop even more than they already are.

This may be a silly question, but how soon after the new cards release will the prices of the 7000 series drop? Will it be a release day thing or several days later etc?

Also, I'm used to buying a new card every two generations, I went from a HD 4000 to a 6950 for example, I know people in here have already said it would be a significant upgrade from a 6950 to a 7970, but will a 7000 series last me well into 'next-gen' whatever that may mean for PCs?

 

[Hazaro]

This may be a silly question, but how soon after the new cards release will the prices of the 7000 series drop? Will it be a release day thing or several days later etc?

Also, I'm used to buying a new card every two generations, I went from a HD 4000 to a 6950 for example, I know people in here have already said it would be a significant upgrade from a 6950 to a 7970, but will a 7000 series last me well into 'next-gen' whatever that may mean for PCs?

Highly doubtful, those things are at bottom barrel prices right now making their performance/$ insane.
A 7950 is a fantastic card and a steal at $200. We'll see prices and OC performance on the new cards soon.

 

[Felix Lighter]

My fear is that when the new cards launch the 7000 series cards won't be sold with the never settle codes.

 

[kharma45]

My fear is that when the new cards launch the 7000 series cards won't be sold with the never settle codes.

I know it's a different company but Nvidia (at least in the UK) is bundling games with both 600 and 700 cards still. It's up to the retailers to distribute them too, I'd imagine they'll keep them bundled to keep the value proposition high and get the stock shifted.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

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

Well the thing is I knew about the conference too but all other models of the 7970 didn't drop below the 300€ price-point, this is literally the only model that went this cheap which stumps me a quite alot especially since the Rx 1x series will likely be just a rebrand of the 7xxx series. It makes me wonder if something is wrong with the MSI 7970 or if they mistakenly put the price of a 7950 on a 7970 o.o

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.

Oh alright thanks I will check them out! And so as I guessed I can just overclock the core and leave the memory alone for example?

 

[Felix Lighter]

I know it's a different company but Nvidia (at least in the UK) is bundling games with both 600 and 700 cards still. It's up to the retailers to distribute them too, I'd imagine they'll keep them bundled to keep the value proposition high and get the stock shifted.

I hope you're right.

 

[todd360]

Hi pc gaf. I finished moving my stuff from a nzxt phantom to a bitfenix prodigy. Dat space saving. lol tell me what you think.

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/G3a





Holy crap I don't know why the picture is taking up half the page. Sorry

 

[grosvenor_92]

Hey fellow gaffers I need to get a new graphics card soon. Mine is currently on it's last legs. What would you guys suggest in the $150-$300 dollar range ? Also I need the card to be around or smaller than 10.8x8.2x2.8 inches.

 

[fader]

OKAY! Finally parts came in and I finished the build yesterday.

 

[Hazaro]

Hey fellow gaffers I need to get a new graphics card soon. Mine is currently on it's last legs. What would you guys suggest in the $150-$300 dollar range ? Also I need the card to be around or smaller than 10.8x8.2x2.8 inches.

What is it paired with, what are you looking to play, when do you need it? New AMD cards within a month.

 

[fader]

Hey fellow gaffers I need to get a new graphics card soon. Mine is currently on it's last legs. What would you guys suggest in the $150-$300 dollar range ? Also I need the card to be around or smaller than 10.8x8.2x2.8 inches.

yea, you should wait for the new amd cards, if not, then you cannot go wrong with a 7850

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

Is there a decent resell market for cards these days? I have a ~4 month old 7970 that I might replace with the new R9 290x because I'm a crazy person.

 

[fader]

Is there a decent resell market for cards these days? I have a ~4 month old 7970 that I might replace with the new R9 290x because I'm a crazy person.

meh... I know there is a market for oc used cards.

 

[Hazaro]

Is there a decent resell market for cards these days? I have a ~4 month old 7970 that I might replace with the new R9 290x because I'm a crazy person.

Of course. Try the B/S/T thread here, or on various tech forums. eBay / CL as well.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

Ah, ok. Thank you both. I'll track down that thread.

 

[LCGeek]

Is there a decent resell market for cards these days? I have a ~4 month old 7970 that I might replace with the new R9 290x because I'm a crazy person.

Ebay, Craigslist are obvious spots.

A lot of tech boards have boards for selling and most people there will gladly snatch that 7970. See how much it ocs that will really get some bucks. Do this before price drops so you get max money.

Also I will buy that 7970 if the price is right, pm me if serious and lets discuss details.

 

[Coldsnap]

How long should I run Canyon to test my graphics card stability?

 

[grosvenor_92]

What is it paired with, what are you looking to play, when do you need it? New AMD cards within a month.

Off the top of my head
4 gigs ram
CPU 2.66 GHz

Looking to play The Witcher 2. I'll probably need it within the next couple months and I know the new AMD cards are coming soon but I dont wanna spend that much.

 

[Sora2k7]

Off the top of my head
4 gigs ram
CPU 2.66 GHz

Looking to play The Witcher 2. I'll probably need it within the next couple months and I know the new AMD cards are coming soon but I dont wanna spend that much.

what is the CPU?

 

[Serandur]

I noticed recently that RAM is more expensive than I remember it being months ago. Why is that and how long will it be before the prices go back down a bit, do you think? Thanks.

 

[OldAsUrSock]

This may be a silly question, but how soon after the new cards release will the prices of the 7000 series drop? Will it be a release day thing or several days later etc?

Also, I'm used to buying a new card every two generations, I went from a HD 4000 to a 6950 for example, I know people in here have already said it would be a significant upgrade from a 6950 to a 7970, but will a 7000 series last me well into 'next-gen' whatever that may mean for PCs?

Wait for benchmarks before deciding what to purchase.

 

[Hazaro]

Off the top of my head
4 gigs ram
CPU 2.66 GHz

Looking to play The Witcher 2. I'll probably need it within the next couple months and I know the new AMD cards are coming soon but I dont wanna spend that much.

7950, but make sure the specific model is under 10.8 or 11"

I noticed recently that RAM is more expensive than I remember it being months ago. Why is that and how long will it be before the prices go back down a bit, do you think? Thanks.

factory fire and no

How long should I run Canyon to test my graphics card stability?

FURMark if you wanna test for 5 minutes is long enough imo. Once you do get errors you back down 2 steps and test longer.

 

[ChiliManiac]

Wow, this thread is amazing! Thanks GAF!!! I'm planning on putting a 2000 dollar build together in a few months. I will be stopping back her often to ask for some help.

 

[runnin_blue]

So I just put together my new PC and after a couple of little hiccups, everything is running well.

I've been playing some older games, namely Half Life 2 & Amnesia and I'm noticing a peculiar trait where when I turn with the mouse fast, the screen kind of flickers with lines across it. Please excuse my noobness but I'm guessing this is what people refer to as "screen tearing". Turning v-sync on fixes this but also makes the game feel not as smooth.

My question is, is this just a result of trying to play an older game with a new setup and has to be put up with or is there another way around it?

My setup is:

>> Intel BX80646I54670 Core i5-4670 3.4GHz 6MB LGA1150 Haswell Boxed CPU
>> Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H Intel Z87 S1150/4xDDR3/6xPCI-E/ SATA3/USB3.0/HDMI/DVI-D/DP/GBLAN/RAID/ATX MB
G.Skill Ripjaws-X 8G Kit(4Gx2) DDR3 2133 F3-17000CL11D- 8GBXL
>> Sandisk Ultra Plus SSD SDSSDHP-256G-Q25 256G SAT A3 SSD
WD 3.5" Black 1TB WD1002FAEX SATA3 7200rpm HDD
> Gigabyte N770OC-4GD 4G GTX 770 PCI-E VGA Card

 

[gblues]

Well, fuck.

I thought the BIOS update took care of the BSODs, but it didn't.

- went back to stock speed
- memtest seemed to pass
- I did a clean windows reinstall so I know it is not a driver issue
- I used a CPU temp monitoring app, and the max temp never went above 65 C
- is not a dodgy SSD because I re-reinstalled windows on a spare SATA drive with the SSD detached and it still crashed.

Tomorrow I'm going to try underclocking the RAM and experimenting with removing a stick to see if I can isolate it.

The memory is Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR 1600 1.5v

 

[Hazaro]

So I just put together my new PC and after a couple of little hiccups, everything is running well.

I've been playing some older games, namely Half Life 2 & Amnesia and I'm noticing a peculiar trait where when I turn with the mouse fast, the screen kind of flickers with lines across it. Please excuse my noobness but I'm guessing this is what people refer to as "screen tearing". Turning v-sync on fixes this but also makes the game feel not as smooth.

My question is, is this just a result of trying to play an older game with a new setup and has to be put up with or is there another way around it?

My setup is:

>> Intel BX80646I54670 Core i5-4670 3.4GHz 6MB LGA1150 Haswell Boxed CPU
>> Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H Intel Z87 S1150/4xDDR3/6xPCI-E/ SATA3/USB3.0/HDMI/DVI-D/DP/GBLAN/RAID/ATX MB
G.Skill Ripjaws-X 8G Kit(4Gx2) DDR3 2133 F3-17000CL11D- 8GBXL
>> Sandisk Ultra Plus SSD SDSSDHP-256G-Q25 256G SAT A3 SSD
WD 3.5" Black 1TB WD1002FAEX SATA3 7200rpm HDD
> Gigabyte N770OC-4GD 4G GTX 770 PCI-E VGA Card

Try enabling adaptive vsync, then try triple buffering with regular vsync and see if those are better or not.

Easy solution: Buy a 120Hz/144Hz monitor

Well, fuck.

I thought the BIOS update took care of the BSODs, but it didn't.

- went back to stock speed
- memtest seemed to pass
- I did a clean windows reinstall so I know it is not a driver issue
- I used a CPU temp monitoring app, and the max temp never went above 65 C
- is not a dodgy SSD because I re-reinstalled windows on a spare SATA drive with the SSD detached and it still crashed.

Tomorrow I'm going to try underclocking the RAM and experimenting with removing a stick to see if I can isolate it.

The memory is Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR 1600 1.5v

Have you tried it with 1 stick of memory in the manual specified 1st slot? What mobo / BSOD error code?

 

[runnin_blue]

Try enabling adaptive vsync, then try triple buffering with regular vsync and see if those are better or not.

Easy solution: Buy a 120Hz/144Hz monitor

Thanks for the tip man. I probably should have mentioned that I'm playing on a Sony Bravia tv that's about 5 years old. I'll try your suggestions.

 

[Saty]

Are Haswell builds recommended now? Even for potential overclocking?

 

[Hazaro]

Thanks for the tip man. I probably should have mentioned that I'm playing on a Sony Bravia tv that's about 5 years old. I'll try your suggestions.

Yeah that TV is not helping your input lag :/

Are Haswell builds recommended now? Even for potential overclocking?

Price difference is low enough now I felt like it was time to swap over as some of the lower end mobos are going to be Out Of Stock.
If you OC it's roughly the same for clocks up to 4.3 or 4.4Ghz.

 

[JORMBO]

Question about power supplies!

Current I am running: i7-3770 @ 3.40ghz, 16gb RAM, Radeon 7700, 400watt PS

I am not in immediate need to update the video card since it has treated me well so far. I am assuming the PS will not be strong enough when I do want to upgrade though? Can anyone recommend a good one for my set up? I don't know much about them and don't want to get something that doesn't have all the connectors (is that possible?).

I'd like the split the two purchases up so I am not spending tons of money at once. I can get the PS upgraded this year and then do the video card sometime next year when I feel the need.

 

[kharma45]

Question about power supplies!

Current I am running: i7-3770 @ 3.40ghz, 16gb RAM, Radeon 7700, 400watt PS

I am not in immediate need to update the video card since it has treated me well so far. I am assuming the PS will not be strong enough when I do want to upgrade though? Can anyone recommend a good one for my set up? I don't know much about them and don't want to get something that doesn't have all the connectors (is that possible?).

I'd like the split the two purchases up so I am not spending tons of money at once. I can get the PS upgraded this year and then do the video card sometime next year when I feel the need.

Depends on the quality of the unit. A good 400w will be able to handle most upgrades to the GPU.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I hope some folks actually consider what I'm about to ask because it's an important money spending decision I need clarity one......

I have 670's right now. I plan on either upgrading to dual Titans or a good price/power nvidia GPU or 2 290X's.

My question is should I keep one of the 670's (instead of selling both) and use it as a dedicated PhysX GPU? Even if I go with 2 Titans would this still benefit me? It seems like it would be beneficial if I get 2 AMD GPU's since I will have a dedicated PhysX GPU.

Last bit, I have a Seasonic 850W PSU. Would I need to upgrade that if I have 3 GPU's in my system or would having 2 fully running GPU's and a PhysX GPU be less demanding than doing something like 3 way GPU's (at full bore) configs? If the PSU isn't enough to run 2 GPU's and one PhysX GPU then I may just scrap that plan. That Seasonic is known to pull 1000W as well so it's a very competent PSU.

 

[Smokey]

I hope some folks actually consider what I'm about to ask because it's an important money spending decision I need clarity one......

I have 670's right now. I plan on either upgrading to dual Titans or a good price/power nvidia GPU or 2 290X's.

My question is should I keep one of the 670's (instead of selling both) and use it as a dedicated PhysX GPU? Even if I go with 2 Titans would this still benefit me? It seems like it would be beneficial if I get 2 AMD GPU's since I will have a dedicated PhysX GPU.

Last bit, I have a Seasonic 850W PSU. Would I need to upgrade that if I have 3 GPU's in my system or would having 2 fully running GPU's and a PhysX GPU be less demanding than doing something like 3 way GPU's (at full bore) configs? If the PSU isn't enough to run 2 GPU's and one PhysX GPU then I may just scrap that plan. That Seasonic is known to pull 1000W as well so it's a very competent PSU.

I too am interested in the 290x, however we really need to wait for NDA's to be expire so we can get some clarity on their Crossfire situation. I wouldn't upgrade to dual Titans at this point. If you want to go that route you'd be better served getting 780s. You don't need the 670 as a dedicated Physx card. SLI 780s or Titans are plenty.

Any reason why you didn't think of the 780 and are thinking of Titans?

 

[Jburton]

Selling Windows 8 Professional 64-bit key on the buy/sell/trade thread.

Legitimate source, all above board.

Just a heads up.

 

[Addnan]

I hope some folks actually consider what I'm about to ask because it's an important money spending decision I need clarity one......

I have 670's right now. I plan on either upgrading to dual Titans or a good price/power nvidia GPU or 2 290X's.

My question is should I keep one of the 670's (instead of selling both) and use it as a dedicated PhysX GPU? Even if I go with 2 Titans would this still benefit me? It seems like it would be beneficial if I get 2 AMD GPU's since I will have a dedicated PhysX GPU.

Last bit, I have a Seasonic 850W PSU. Would I need to upgrade that if I have 3 GPU's in my system or would having 2 fully running GPU's and a PhysX GPU be less demanding than doing something like 3 way GPU's (at full bore) configs? If the PSU isn't enough to run 2 GPU's and one PhysX GPU then I may just scrap that plan. That Seasonic is known to pull 1000W as well so it's a very competent PSU.

How easy is it even to get Physx working with AMD cards and having Nvidia card in the system too? From reading, it's a bit of a hassle, having to mess with hacked drivers and stuff. If you go Titans don't bother with the dedicated Physx, they are more than enough.

If you go AMD, you might wanna check just how easy is it to set up as physx cards.

 

[kennah]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352031&Tpk=PPSSDKBBLENCGL

From mkenyon

$65 dollar Fractal R2

 

[lostsupper]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352031&Tpk=PPSSDKBBLENCGL

From mkenyon

$65 dollar Fractal R2

Same price on Amazon, too. Prime eligible.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352031&Tpk=PPSSDKBBLENCGL

 

[nbthedude]

So a buddy of mine just put together a build two days ago. And he went to run Farcry 3 and about 10 minute sin his BIOS popped up a CPU overheating message. Stock heatsink, stock speed. No overclocking.

So then I had him run OCCT and he got this:

CPU LINPACK TEST RESULTS

CPU:OCCT TEST RESULTS

Does he have a bad CPU? Does he need to try resetting the heatsink? Is it possibly the motherboard?

Here are his stats:

I7 4770K (at stock speed)
Asus Z87-A
Kingston Hyper Blue DDR3 1600MHZ RAM
Gigabit Radeon 7970 GHZ
Shinobi XL ATX Case
Corsair 600W Modular Power Supply

 

[gblues]

Have you tried it with 1 stick of memory in the manual specified 1st slot? What mobo / BSOD error code?

The motherboard is the BioStar Hi-Fi Z87W.

The BSOD is different every time, and completely random. At first I thought it was a bad driver because I had simply cloned my install on the other MB and figured maybe some driver was hanging around.

Some of the crashes were in filesystem-related drivers, so I thought it could be the SSD. I eliminated that by doing a clean install to a blank HDD.

So, now I've pulled one of the sticks out. If it becomes stable, I will have to RMA the RAM. I wonder if Crucial will replace just a single stick? I know NewEgg will want both sticks back.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

I've settled for this fan-profile for my 7950 now at 1ghz and after playing a hour of BF3 it never exceeded 69°C while staying really quiet, that's okay right?

 

[kharma45]

I've settled for this fan-profile for my 7950 now at 1ghz and after playing a hour of BF3 it never exceeded 69°C while staying really quiet, that's okay right?

Yep that temperature is fine.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

Yep that temperature is fine.

Alright thanks! Just out of curiosity, at what temperature I know it will be time to clean the fans in 2-3 months?

 

[t-ramp]

So a buddy of mine just put together a build two days ago. And he went to run Farcry 3 and about 10 minute sin his BIOS popped up a CPU overheating message. Stock heatsink, stock speed. No overclocking.

So then I had him run OCCT and he got this:

CPU LINPACK TEST RESULTS

CPU:OCCT TEST RESULTS

Does he have a bad CPU? Does he need to try resetting the heatsink? Is it possibly the motherboard?

Here are his stats:

I7 4770K (at stock speed)
Asus Z87-A
Kingston Hyper Blue DDR3 1600MHZ RAM
Gigabit Radeon 7970 GHZ
Shinobi XL ATX Case
Corsair 600W Modular Power Supply

Start by reseating the heatsink. Make sure the pins are holding it down properly and the fan is plugged in and running. I doubt the CPU or motherboard is bad. Is this his first build?

 

[kharma45]

Alright thanks! Just out of curiosity, at what temperature I know it will be time to clean the fans in 2-3 months?

Once you hit 85c.

 

[nbthedude]

Start by reseating the heatsink. Make sure the pins are holding it down properly and the fan is plugged in and running. I doubt the CPU or motherboard is bad. Is this his first build?

Yeah it's his first build. I wasn't there to help since I live a couple of states away but he just followed the TechReport guide I sent him.

Question, I assume if the pins are not holding it down properly, he is probably going to need to remove it, clean it and put more thermal paste on? Right now he just used the stock heatsink and the factory applied paste to keep it simple since he wasn't planning on overclocking anytime soon.