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[RSTEIN]

Okay as per some of the suggestions here I'm looking at:

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 770 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125462

I have the same card. Everything so far runs flawlessly at max settings.

2gb vs 4gb is a tough debate. Many people say that the 760/770 cards are bottle necked due to their 256 bit bus. Others say that it's OK. I went with 4gb because it was just another few bucks so I thought what the hell.

 

[Quake1028]

A comparison

Prime 95, 15 minutes, no overclock, no Hyper 212
http://i.imgur.com/4BQ6dYw.jpg

Prime 95, 15 minutes, no overclock, yes Hyper 212
http://i.imgur.com/ZkipLXi.jpg

4.2 was solid. 4.4 and 4.5 are BSOD me all over the place. What should I be looking to move the voltage up to?

 

[kbozz71]

This one? Sounds pretty good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130937

Yep.

 

[espher]

I'm looking into a new build, but I keep kind of balking at the price for what I'm trying to build and I'm looking to shave some off the top by waiting on a new video card purchase. How crippled am I going to be by trying to sit on my current card (a Radeon HD 6870) for another six to nine months? I would say the most GPU-intensive title I'm looking at playing in that window is probably PlanetSide 2, and I don't need it running with full bells and whistles. I'm targeting an i7-3770k for a chip (I do some video work on and off for friends).

 

[kbozz71]

I'm looking into a new build, but I keep kind of balking at the price for what I'm trying to build and I'm looking to shave some off the top by waiting on a new video card purchase. How crippled am I going to be by trying to sit on my current card (a Radeon HD 6870) for another six to nine months? I would say the most GPU-intensive title I'm looking at playing in that window is probably PlanetSide 2, and I don't need it running with full bells and whistles. I'm targeting an i7-3770k for a chip (I do some video work on and off for friends).

Been a while since I had a 6870, but it should still hold it's own for a while at 1920x1080 with medium to high settings as long as you don't go crazy with the AA and texture packs/mods.

 

[espher]

Been a while since I had a 6870, but it should still hold it's own for a while at 1920x1080 with medium to high settings as long as you don't go crazy with the AA and texture packs/mods.

Perfect, medium-to-high is really all I'm looking for at this point in time. I can always dial it up down the road. Thanks!

 

[NinjaCatfish]

Sorry guys I just want to throw in one more suggestion, the Razer deathadder. All three are the same price. I'm sorta leaning towards the Sensei.

I've played around with a Sensei RAW, and have owned a Deathadder for a long time. My vote goes to the Deathadder.

 

[miked808]

I need to pick up a motherboard in the next 24 hours for my mild overclock 8320 build. I need some suggestions.

ASRock 990 Extreme 4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266

ASUS M5A99FX Pro R2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851

Gigabyte GA-990FXAA-UD5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128509

I'm actually going to a local Microcenter but I'm using Newegg links.

 

[Roland1979]

Sorry guys I just want to throw in one more suggestion, the Razer deathadder. All three are the same price. I'm sorta leaning towards the Sensei.

Then choose the DeathAdder, one of the best mice.
But again, consider the Logitech G400, it's not a downgrade. One of the best gaming mice is the Logitech MX518 (mine lasted about 9 years!). The G400 is it's predecessor. It's discounted for about half price, meaning it was about $60 so if you shop around you should be able to find it for $30.
I hear very mixed things about Razer, but I do know the DeathAdder is loved by almost all, for it's lack of prediction and it's accurate sensor. Those 2 mice are often being used by Counter Strike pro's and competitive players.

 

[Quake1028]

A comparison

Prime 95, 15 minutes, no overclock, no Hyper 212
http://i.imgur.com/4BQ6dYw.jpg

Prime 95, 15 minutes, no overclock, yes Hyper 212
http://i.imgur.com/ZkipLXi.jpg

Prime 95, ~30 minutes, 4.2 overclock, yes Hyper 212
http://i.imgur.com/RC2O30d.jpg

Prime 95, ~30 minutes, 4.3 overclock, yes Hyper 212
http://i.imgur.com/FrmARx1.jpg

Temp here at work is around 71-73F. Thoughts, comments, concerns? 4.4 and 4.5 BSOD me, going to have to play around with the voltages.

 

[Pro]

Does anyone know what the best catalyst driver version for a 7970 is? I am having display crashes in-game in Guild Wars 2 that take about 5-10 seconds to recover. BF3 occasionally will have the display crash altogether. Seems to work fine when I have the card at default speeds, but if I OC it even just a little I experience these display crashes. The OC should be fine as well. I've only maxed out at 65 Degrees C so I'm leaning towards it being a driver issue. Currently on 13.2 Beta 7 but it wouldn't work on 13.4 or 13.6 Beta either. Or do I need to up the voltage when I OC?

 

[Blizzard]

I forgot to mention one of the dumbest problems I had with my new PC. After putting it all together and installing everything, I discovered I could not plug in an Ethernet cable and have the tab actually click out on the back jack. This APPEARS to be because a metal tab from the G77-Z55A (I think I'm missing a number going off the top of my head) motherboard port cover goes over the tab part of the Ethernet jack. And of course I don't know if there's any way I can fix this without completely disassembling everything so the motherboard could come out. I think I'm just going to let it go as long as the Ethernet plug stays tight enough to not fall out. =P

 

[Future PhaZe]

Simple question guys, I just bought a 680 last night and want to get another for SLI.

Thinking about buying one from a GAFFer but I need to know if they are compatible for SLI.

Both are 680's of a different brand, both are 2gb, but one is an EVGA Overlocked and the other is an Asus standard.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007KRX3GY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MB5A14/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Links to both.

Thanks for the help

 

[kennah]

Simple question guys, I just bought a 680 last night and want to get another for SLI.

Thinking about buying one from a GAFFer but I need to know if they are compatible for SLI.

Both are 680's of a different brand, both are 2gb, but one is an EVGA Overlocked and the other is an Asus standard.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007KRX3GY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MB5A14/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Links to both.

Thanks for the help

It'll work, the faster one will downclock to match the slower one.

 

[Future PhaZe]

It'll work, the faster one will downclock to match the slower one.

Thanks.

Can I overclock the slower one to match the faster?

 

[HammerOfThor]

So my 7950 is running at 1180 core and 1250 memory clock, plus I have the power option set to 20%. If I go over 1180 for the core clock I start to get artifacts with Unigine Haven. If I go over the stock 1250 memory I get a much lower score.

With that said, is it normal for my score to be around 650? I notice others on various messages boards getting in the 800's. My temp is always 65 or below.

I can't say I'm that happy with the performance of the card in general. Witcher 2 barely gets to 30 fps on medium settings, and thats if the drivers don't crash(this was happening before I OC'd anything).

I kinda wanna sell my 7950 and just get an 770 or 780.

Unless I'm doing something wrong?

Will the 770 or 780 last me a few years?

 

[Sober]

Will try to put this together today, but not really prepared as I need to backup all my stuff. Might just slave my current HDD and copy stuff over instead, now that I think about it.

Yes I totally paid a bit extra for black RAM to match the mobo (the red was much more expensive for some reason).

 

[Kydd BlaZe]

Back at it again GAF. I couldn't pull the trigger on the Titan build I posted a few weeks ago. Thought it may have been a bit overkill. What about this build?

i5 3570K Ivy Bridge
GTX 780
Corsair Vengance 8GB RAM (Thinking about going for 16GB)
Samsung 840 250GB SSD
WD WD10EZEX 1TB HDD
Seasonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W
MSI Z77 Mpower
LB Black 14X BDROM
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
Fractal Define R4

Would this build be future proof into the next few years at least?

All of this stuff is sitting in my Newegg cart. Just waiting for a blessing from GAF lol

 

[Addnan]

Back at it again GAF. I couldn't pull the trigger on the Titan build I posted a few weeks ago. Thought it may have been a bit overkill. What about this build?

i5 3570K Ivy Bridge
GTX 780
Corsair Vengance 8GB RAM (Thinking about going for 16GB)
Samsung 840 250GB SSD
WD WD10EZEX 1TB HDD
Seasonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W
MSI Z77 Mpower
LB Black 14X BDROM
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
Fractal Define R4

Would this build be future proof into the next few years at least?

All of this stuff is sitting in my Newegg cart. Just waiting for a blessing from GAF lol

Looks great.

 

[Kydd BlaZe]

Looks great.

Thanks.

Is there any advantage in going with 16GB of RAM at the moment? Or is that a bit overkill?

 

[Future PhaZe]

All of this stuff is sitting in my Newegg cart. Just waiting for a blessing from GAF lol

I still endorse looking into strugglers.

I bought a 680 last night for 280 and I'm about to get another for 320 lulz.

16 GB for multimedia and design, pure gaming no.

 

[Addnan]

Thanks.

Is there any advantage in going with 16GB of RAM at the moment? Or is that a bit overkill?

For gaming 8GB is more than enough.

 

[kennah]

Thanks.

Is there any advantage in going with 16GB of RAM at the moment? Or is that a bit overkill?

Just gaming? No advantage.

Hardcore multitasking, virtual boxing, media production work? Go for it.

 

[Kydd BlaZe]

ok thanks guys

EDIT: Just ordered the parts. Wish me luck in assembling it all once it all arrives, as this will be my first time building a PC...ever.

 

[kennah]

I still endorse looking into strugglers.

I bought a 680 last night for 280 and I'm about to get another for 320 lulz.

16 GB for multimedia and design, pure gaming no.

I know right? A used 680 is such an amazing deal right now for people that are trying to unload them. I wish I could afford to pick one up for my production machine.

 

[InternHertz]

What's the GAF take on anti-algae in a watercooling loop, especially if using 100% EKWB materials (Copper Plexi blocks)?
Distilled water and PT Nuke, Silver Kill Coils, their own EK-Ekoolant UV Blue provided with the kit, or anything else?

I've been reading that EKWB doesn't like any additive otherwise RMA is denied. But, it seems the EK-Ekoolant isn't really recommended too (stains...).

 

[turbosnail]

Anyone care to share their two cents on my build? I'm at work now so I don't know the exact brands and stuff for all the parts

P8z77-V MOBO
I5 2550k CPU
GTX 760 superclocked
8gb "Kingston's" RAM (prolly going to exchange for corsair at tiger direct)
Not sure of the brand, but got a 700w power supply in case I choose to dual card in the future
Samsung 180gb SSD

Will edit with more info later

 

[mkenyon]

Then choose the DeathAdder, one of the best mice.
But again, consider the Logitech G400, it's not a downgrade. One of the best gaming mice is the Logitech MX518 (mine lasted about 9 years!). The G400 is it's predecessor. It's discounted for about half price, meaning it was about $60 so if you shop around you should be able to find it for $30.
I hear very mixed things about Razer, but I do know the DeathAdder is loved by almost all, for it's lack of prediction and it's accurate sensor. Those 2 mice are often being used by Counter Strike pro's and competitive players.

I don't even. . . I've never met someone in the esports world who has said a single kind thing about the DeathAdder.

I will speak frankly. The DeathAdder is a piece of shit that falls apart constantly. It is in fact representative of the very thing most people give Razer crap about. It's used as a joke. The sensor is meh.

Sensei is king.

What's the GAF take on anti-algae in a watercooling loop, especially if using 100% EKWB materials (Copper Plexi blocks)?
Distilled water and PT Nuke, Silver Kill Coils, their own EK-Ekoolant UV Blue provided with the kit, or anything else?

I've been reading that EKWB doesn't like any additive otherwise RMA is denied. But, it seems the EK-Ekoolant isn't really recommended too (stains...).

Forget silver coils and PT Nuke. Mayhem's Biocide + Distilled. Just make sure you flush your components properly beforehand. Test the Ph levels every few months to make sure all is well.

 

[kennah]

Anyone care to share their two cents on my build? I'm at work now so I don't know the exact brands and stuff for all the parts

P8z77-V MOBO
I5 2550k CPU
GTX 760 superclocked
8gb "Kingston's" RAM (prolly going to exchange for corsair at tiger direct)
Not sure of the brand, but got a 700w power supply in case I choose to dual card in the future
Samsung 180gb SSD

Will edit with more info later

It's just fine, and your Kingston ram is fine too, don't change it for no reason. Kingston is a top brand for reliability.

EDIT: Other than PSU and my Samsung Ram vs your Kingston, we have basically the exact same build.

 

[Smokey]

Thanks.

Can I overclock the slower one to match the faster?

yes

 

[nictron]

Hello Gaf,

I'm a newbie to Gaf, so please forgive me if this is not the right way to go about asking questions. I have been out of the building game since the i5-750 from a few years back and would like some feedback on the proposed build. I have an old CM ii advanced that I will be stuffing it all into. I would like to overclock a bit, nothing crazy and will be most likely going SLI sometime next year. This will be paired with a 1080p Panasonic UT50 and I don't see resolutions increasing.

CPU Intel Core i5-3570K
CPU Cooler Corsair H50
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Video Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB
Power Supply Corsair 750W

Should I be looking at higher clocked memory, or is 1600 good?

Is anything here overkill/underkill? I chose the P8Z77-V because I have liked ASUS in the past and I have heard good things on the Intel Lan Controller.

I appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

[turbosnail]

It's just fine, and your Kingston ram is fine too, don't change it for no reason. Kingston is a top brand for reliability.

EDIT: Other than PSU and my Samsung Ram vs your Kingston, we have basically the exact same build.

Do you suggest that I OC my CPU? Mostly going to game hard on the rig if that matters

 

[Future PhaZe]

ok thanks guys

EDIT: Just ordered the parts. Wish me luck in assembling it all once it all arrives, as this will be my first time building a PC...ever.

my god

it begins

 

[kennah]

Do you suggest that I OC my CPU? Mostly going to game hard on the rig if that matters

Umm.. YES, your chip was designed for overclocking... I've gotten mine up to 5.0GHz unstable under air, 4.8 stable, and I"m hoping once I have it underwater it will be a 5ghz daily. You should be running at at least 4.4-4.5.

 

[mkenyon]

Hello Gaf,

I'm a newbie to Gaf, so please forgive me if this is not the right way to go about asking questions. I have been out of the building game since the i5-750 from a few years back and would like some feedback on the proposed build. I have an old CM ii advanced that I will be stuffing it all into. I would like to overclock a bit, nothing crazy and will be most likely going SLI sometime next year. This will be paired with a 1080p Panasonic UT50 and I don't see resolutions increasing.

CPU Intel Core i5-3570K
CPU Cooler Corsair H50
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Video Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB
Power Supply Corsair 750W

Should I be looking at higher clocked memory, or is 1600 good?

Is anything here overkill/underkill? I chose the P8Z77-V because I have liked ASUS in the past and I have heard good things on the Intel Lan Controller.

I appreciate any input. Thanks!

Looks good, though you could do with a 550w PSU to save some money.

 

[Seanspeed]

Are used video cards a bad idea?

Looks good, though you could do with a 550w PSU to save some money.

He's trying to go SLI next year, though.

 

[Sajjaja]

GTX 650 Ti vs the 7790?

 

[LiQuid!]

Anybody wanna answer a handful of dumb questions for me? Putting my new PC together at the moment and haven't done this since 2005 so I might as well be a noob at this.

1. I have 2 SATA HDD's from an old, dead PC that I'm pretty sure had a fried cpu and/or mobo. They were in a RAID 0 array. If I plug these things into my new machine will I be able to reassign them to a raid array and see if the old data is still on them? I imagine I'll just have to mess around in the bios when I can turn it on, but I was a noob to that stuff back when I first made it so I'm not sure how any of this stuff works on recent mobos. I needed to make a boot disc or some nonsense to get it configured back in the day. Even if these HDD's weren't the reason my CPU died half decade ago, what are the chances they even still work after sitting in a moldy, dank basement for years and could they potentially damage anything if I plug them in and they've gone bad? I don't need the measly 160GB of storage but I would love to be able to see if I can dig up any old relics off my old PC.

2. There's a small connector on the top of my video card capped with plastic. What is this? Just guessing that it is something to do with making an SLI connection but no actual clue. If something is supposed to plug onto it I haven't any idea what.

3. This PSU has a couple different cables that fit into the power slot of the vid card (6 pin) one is 6-pin + 2-pin that are detached but it's labelled PCI-E, so I assume this one will work even with the 2 dangly bits? The other cable is just the 6-pin part but it isn't labelled PCI-E. Still fits fine but I don't wanna hook up some power wrong and fry something.

I guess that's it. Waiting for one final USPS delivery with my ram and monitor and them I'm going to go ahead and give this thing a boot and hope I didn't destroy anything!

 

[SixStringPsycho]

All those CMOS errors stem from a battery failure. Basically, your BIOS is reporting "wrong" settings because your battery is failing to keep bios and date settings.

I had a mobo with a battery issue for years, all it meant was that I had to do the "restore bios from" option dealie in the bios menu. Kinda annoying, but not worth spending 100-200 bucks on a new mobo for.

Yeah but does it have to take long to turn on. I mean the fans run. But the time to boot is like 5 to 7 minutes. Sometimes the fans don't even turn on. Like there is no power. Like I told before, I have to swith the PSU Power off, then on for the PC to turn on. Kind of like giving an electric power jump to it.

Yep. Sounds like a bad MB. Most often, they are the problem.

Heres hoping I dont have to buy a new one dude.

Repost from last page, so if anyone can help me out here.

 

[mkenyon]

Are used video cards a bad idea?

Out of the ~20 videocards I've gone through in the last 3 years, I think only my 7970 reference and 690 were new. I'm a big fan of buying used cards.

He's trying to go SLI next year, though.

Oh.

Why SLI 760s? General rule of thumb: buy the best single card you can. If that single card is not enough performance, that is when you begin to consider SLI. Using two weaker cards to match performance of a more expensive card is a bad idea 95% of the time.

 

[Danj]

Is there any practical difference between the various models of Titan available? Or is it fine to just get the cheapest one?

 

[unknownhero]

so I'm in the process of looking for parts for my first gaming desktop. My current budget is $875 and I'm located in the U.S. for reference. my desktop is going to be used for gaming(with graphics between medium and high/ 60FPS) and designing games for the unity engine in the future. The games that i want to play would be games that come out later this year and earlier. So, here's what I have so far:

CPU:intel i7-3770k ivy bridge 3.5Ghz LGA 1155

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

GPU: EVGA 02G-P3-2639-KR GeForce GT 630 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

so, am I doing it right so far GAF? If so, what power supply and motherboard would you recommend for it?

 

[isual]

hello. i would like to make a desktop with the budget range of 800 USD enthusiast build .

Basic Desktop Questions:

I don't have a desktop and am only using an asus n52sv as my gaming laptop

Your Current Specs:
Budget: 800, USA
Main Use: 5 being Highest: , Gaming, General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback).
Monitor Resolution: I don't really mind. I have my own monitor, an asus 242h
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well:
I'd like to max out ff14 and starcraft 2, total war 2 and any future battlefield games
Looking to reuse any parts? I'd like to be able to upgrade my graphics card, cpu (is this possible) .
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? No feadline
Will you be overclocking?: No.

I have my own keyboard (from playing ff11 on 360, a mouse (steelseries)

 

[Addnan]

Is there any practical difference between the various models of Titan available? Or is it fine to just get the cheapest one?

Get the one with the best warranty. In the UK Gigabyte are pretty good.

 

[Quake1028]

so I'm in the process of looking for parts for my first gaming desktop. My current budget is $875 and I'm located in the U.S. for reference. my desktop is going to be used for gaming(with graphics between medium and high/ 60FPS) and designing games for the unity engine in the future. The games that i want to play would be games that come out later this year and earlier. So, here's what I have so far:

CPU:intel i7-4770k ivy bridge 3.5Ghz LGA 1155

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

GPU: EVGA 02G-P3-2639-KR GeForce GT 630 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

so, am I doing it right so far GAF? If so, what power supply and motherboard would you recommend for it?

GTX760 at least.

 

[nictron]

Why SLI 760s? General rule of thumb: buy the best single card you can. If that single card is not enough performance, that is when you begin to consider SLI. Using two weaker cards to match performance of a more expensive card is a bad idea 95% of the time.

I have always been against SLI as a practice because I think it is kinda impractical. I'm not sure when or where I got on this SLI kick.

760's because right now a single is $250+/- and it fits all of my current 1080p needs. I figure that next year add another and I will be covered for at least another year? Does that even make sense, it seems stupid when I type it out.

 

[Addnan]

so I'm in the process of looking for parts for my first gaming desktop. My current budget is $875 and I'm located in the U.S. for reference. my desktop is going to be used for gaming(with graphics between medium and high/ 60FPS) and designing games for the unity engine in the future. The games that i want to play would be games that come out later this year and earlier. So, here's what I have so far:

CPU:intel i7-4770k ivy bridge 3.5Ghz LGA 1155

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

GPU: EVGA 02G-P3-2639-KR GeForce GT 630 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

so, am I doing it right so far GAF? If so, what power supply and motherboard would you recommend for it?

Is that the 4770K or the 3770K because 4770K is haswell and socket 1150. Info doesn't match up./

 

[mkenyon]

I have always been against SLI as a practice because I think it is kinda impractical. I'm not sure when or where I got on this SLI kick.

760's because right now a single is $250+/- and it fits all of my current 1080p needs. I figure that next year add another and I will be covered for at least another year? Does that even make sense, it seems stupid when I type it out.

Not really.

Use it until it's time to buy another card. Then sell the 760, and buy a new card.

 

[kennah]

Is there any practical difference between the various models of Titan available? Or is it fine to just get the cheapest one?

Some come with a T-Shirt.

 

[Kydd BlaZe]

my god

it begins

This is going to be one hell of a transition as I have been a console gamer my entire life.