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

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kennah

Member
I was going to upgrade right before BF4 to a 4770k and a GTX780, two Samsung 840 Pros in RAID. Mobo and RAM will be needed, too.

Now I'm getting antsy and wondering if I should just do it now. With only a few months, how much cheaper is that hardware really going to get? I don't expect any official price cuts before then. Does anyone else?

Granted, my current setup is pretty good: 2600k, GTX 590, two Corsair Force GT SSDs in RAID, but I figure I can get a decent amount selling those and take a nice chunk out of the total price for the new equipment.

The 590 is starting to show its age a bit. I just got a 30" monitor and some of the newer games on 2560x1600 dip below 30fps on max settings. I figure I can resolve that and be ready for BF4, but I've normally been the kind of person who, whenever I decide to upgrade, force myself to wait a few more months after that.

Should I wait?

Your 2600k is about as fast as a 4770k anyway. If you want a big upgrade you would need to go socket 2011.

Upgrading your video card and getting a good overclock on uyour cpu would make a difference too.

Also pc hardware prices rarely get official price cuts. 4770k is going to be the same price in a few months so if you really want one now doesn't hurt unless you are waiting on a particular motherboard
 

Thorgal

Member
Powers supply might not be able to handle it. Also you sadly have a non-overclockable processor (unless you just didn't put the K). So the processor will hold you back a little bit.

Yeah its the non overklock one.

Since this was my first True gaming PC .At the time i ordered it i did not know the difference between K and non K .
(Won't make that mistake again .)

still it works for me .

What PSU would you recommend For a titan ?

And is it still a good Investment to get a titan despite the Processor ?

depending on what the future holds . if i want to upgrade to a new PC again i might go with 2 titans in SLI so it will be not a total loss .

Unless thats a bad idea.
 
Hi folks!

So I recently upgraded my PC and this week I ditched the old HDDs and upgraded to Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB and WD10EZEX.

I have two questions, I'd appreciate it if you take the time to read this and see what's up:


1) Regarding 840 Pro write performance

Setup:

C: 840 Pro : used for Windows, software and games

D: WD10EZEX : files, storage, photos, ...

When I first installed 840 Pro and after I installed Win 7 x64 Pro, performance was blazing fast. Hitting >500MB/s for read and write. Amazing. O_O

Note: I did everything as instructed in the OP (TRIM is on, superfetch/prefech off, write cache disabled, ...).

After finishing up my Windows install and getting everything in order, look at what happened to my write speeds:

Exibit 1: Benchmark under normal Windows conditions (Avast, Comodo, Logitech, DaemonTools running in the background normally)

iPG4W7oZiEl6x.jpg


Exibit 2: Benchmark under normal Windows conditions with all the aformentioned programs turned off

iIiWVnqydUIWb.jpg


basically no change...

Exibit 3: Samsung Magician Benchmark

ikluLWUr3IJHT.jpg


Exibit 4 & 5: HDD info

iHfQAkpGthf2P.jpg


ilbYG2shE7cUg.jpg


why do I have such a terrible drop off in write speed? (~530MB/s after fresh Windows install, ~170 after the software is installed) Is this normal behavior or should I be worried?
Is Avast doing this? I must have it install I'm afraid, no way I'm running a system without an A/V and Avast is doing a great job.

2) Strange reboot behavior

Sometimes when I reset the computer from Windows (Start -> Reset), it resets, but "hangs" on POST. No picture on the monitor, no lights on the keyboard but the computer is running, fans, LEDs on the case, everything.
ASUS Q-Code shows "A0" - IDE initialization started.
Then I hard reset it and it works.

WTF? o_O
 

rybrad

Member
Any suggestions for case fan setup? I have a Fractal Define XL R2 and enough fans to fill all the slots (2 front, 1 rear, 2 top, 1 bottom, 1 side) but am undecided on which way would be the most effective. I read up on positive and negative pressure setups but it seems like everyone has a different opinion so might as well get some GAF opinions.
 
What is the issue with your 7950?

I'm gonna quote a post I made earlier so some statements might seem out of context but same overall message:

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). The only other games I've been playing regularly is the FFXIV beta and that crashes often, and Sonic All-Star Racing, which would either crash every now-and-then, or completely freeze for a few seconds then catch up with itself.

Not to mention every once in a while when I try to watch Youtube or a video my entire screen goes nuts and I need to restart my computer.

All of this stuff will happen even if I undo my OC.

Unless I'm doing something wrong?
 

LAUGHTREY

Modesty becomes a woman
This video is somewhat confusing. He talks bout memory clocks and voltages at the beginning, and turning them down and he'll go over turning them back up later, but then he doesn't.


The video also makes it seem much less complicated than I thought. After the initial setup, all it is is just upping the clock speed, and then voltage, and go until it gets too hot or crashes right?

It can't be that simple. He said the words "Break a cpu in 30 seconds". I'm starting to rethinking overclocking my CPU.
 

Azzurri

Member
So when I put my PC in sleep it will not come out, unless I hold down the power and reset button to resume it when it power ups from the bios.

Also, wehn I do reset power it off or rest I get the updating please don't turn off your PC 5 of 16, but it never moves, just always "updating" and won't actually update.
 

Mad Max

Member
I'm gonna quote a post I made earlier so some statements might seem out of context but same overall message:

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). The only other games I've been playing regularly is the FFXIV beta and that crashes often, and Sonic All-Star Racing, which would either crash every now-and-then, or completely freeze for a few seconds then catch up with itself.

Not to mention every once in a while when I try to watch Youtube or a video my entire screen goes nuts and I need to restart my computer.

All of this stuff will happen even if I undo my OC.

Unless I'm doing something wrong?

The card is probably not working as it should. I had a similar problem with a 7950 and it turned out that the card was broken. But before you RMA anything you should probably check if the core is throttling under load with GPU-z.

Also what exact type of PSU do you have? Even if it's rated at 550W an older or low quality PSU may not be able to supply the required current over the 12V line.

LAUGHTREY said:
This video is somewhat confusing. He talks bout memory clocks and voltages at the beginning, and turning them down and he'll go over turning them back up later, but then he doesn't.


The video also makes it seem much less complicated than I thought. After the initial setup, all it is is just upping the clock speed, and then voltage, and go until it gets too hot or crashes right?

It can't be that simple. He said the words "Break a cpu in 30 seconds". I'm starting to rethinking overclocking my CPU.

The only way to kill a CPU like that that is by setting the vCore (way) too high. If you're on air try to stay below 1.2V and pay attention to the temps while running prime95, you want those to stay below 80°C ideally. But CPU overclocking doesn't have to be hard at all:
Just start by disabling all power saving settings in the bios (EIST,C1/speedstep,C3,C6/7), disable turboboost, manually set the vCore to it's stock setting, and increase the multiplier a bit (try something like x40 first). Then you go into windows and run prime95, small FFT and monitor the core temps with realtemp or with HWmonitor. If the temps are acceptable but you still get a BSOD, you can increase the vCore (try increasing it with a 0.02V step) a bit. If you can run prime95 for more than an hour start up a few games and see if you get a BSOD there. When everything seems stable you can more the multiplier up to a higher value and so forth. If you think you have found a stable multiplier with acceptable vCore/temps you can run prime for an hour or 6 to see if everything hold up.
 
The card is probably not working as it should. I had a similar probablem with a 7950 and it turned out that the card was broken. But before you RMA anything you should probably check if the core is throttling under load with GPU-z.

Also what exact type of PSU do you have? Even if it's rated at 550W an older or low quality PSU may not be able to supply the required current over the 12V line.

Thanks, I'll check the throttling tonight.

This is my PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

Also, I can't RMA back to NewEgg because its after 30 days :(

Is it hard to send it back to Sapphire?
 

Mad Max

Member
Thanks, I'll check the throttling tonight.

This is my PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

Also, I can't RMA back to NewEgg because its after 30 days :(

Is it hard to send it back to Sapphire?

That PSU should be sufficient to run a 7950, barring the relatively small chance that it's not working as it should.

And damn, I didn't think the RMA period was that short. But in that case you should send it to Sapphire I guess. I'm not in the US, but from what I've heard Sapphire's customer service is supposed to be pretty decent. Someone else here will probably know more about that though.
 

knitoe

Member
Hi folks!

So I recently upgraded my PC and this week I ditched the old HDDs and upgraded to Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB and WD10EZEX.

I have two questions, I'd appreciate it if you take the time to read this and see what's up:


1) Regarding 840 Pro write performance

Setup:

C: 840 Pro : used for Windows, software and games

D: WD10EZEX : files, storage, photos, ...

When I first installed 840 Pro and after I installed Win 7 x64 Pro, performance was blazing fast. Hitting >500MB/s for read and write. Amazing. O_O

Note: I did everything as instructed in the OP (TRIM is on, superfetch/prefech off, write cache disabled, ...).

After finishing up my Windows install and getting everything in order, look at what happened to my write speeds:

Exibit 1: Benchmark under normal Windows conditions (Avast, Comodo, Logitech, DaemonTools running in the background normally)

iPG4W7oZiEl6x.jpg


Exibit 2: Benchmark under normal Windows conditions with all the aformentioned programs turned off

iIiWVnqydUIWb.jpg


basically no change...

Exibit 3: Samsung Magician Benchmark

ikluLWUr3IJHT.jpg


Exibit 4 & 5: HDD info

iHfQAkpGthf2P.jpg


ilbYG2shE7cUg.jpg


why do I have such a terrible drop off in write speed? (~530MB/s after fresh Windows install, ~170 after the software is installed) Is this normal behavior or should I be worried?
Is Avast doing this? I must have it install I'm afraid, no way I'm running a system without an A/V and Avast is doing a great job.

2) Strange reboot behavior

Sometimes when I reset the computer from Windows (Start -> Reset), it resets, but "hangs" on POST. No picture on the monitor, no lights on the keyboard but the computer is running, fans, LEDs on the case, everything.
ASUS Q-Code shows "A0" - IDE initialization started.
Then I hard reset it and it works.

WTF? o_O
With SSDs, if you write or test too much within a short time period, they will severely drop performance to protect against damage. Run them normal for a few days and the performance should return.
 
That PSU should be sufficient to run a 7950, barring the relatively small chance that it's not working as it should.

And damn, I didn't think the RMA period was that short. But in that case you should send it to Sapphire I guess. I'm not in the US, but from what I've heard Sapphire's customer service is supposed to be pretty decent. Someone else here will probably know more about that though.

Wait so what happens if my clock is/isn't throttling? What do I do for each option?
 

Mad Max

Member
I've never seen an mATX board in an SM8 before:p. Still that is some fine work there, and the parts are nicely matched together.
 

Mad Max

Member
Wait so what happens if my clock is/isn't throttling? What do I do for each option?

If the temps are under control (below 90°C max) and the card is throttling then either it's not getting enough power or the card is broken. However I can't say which one for sure without testing both the PSU and the Card, but when I had the exact same problems you are having now it was definitely the card.

If the card isn't throttling then you should try to install it in another computer and see if it works as it should there.

@mkenyon

I was starting to wonder how a full size ATX mobo was going to fit on that tray, but it being the SM5 explains it:p.
 
If the temps are under control (below 90°C max) and the card is throttling then either it's not getting enough power or the card is broken. However I can't say which one for sure without testing both the PSU and the Card, but when I had the exact same problems you are having now it was definitely the card.

If the card isn't throttling then you should try to install it in another computer and see if it works as it should there.

Sweet thanks!
 
What are people using for low input lag monitors?

I'm using a vh236h 23 inch monitor right now that works well, but if you guys have any larger screened ones I'd be down for that.
 

coughlanio

Member
7NHGgGt.png


Thoughts? Was going to get a gaming laptop, but thought I'd build a SFF gaming rig for half the price with twice the performance. The reasoning for the 7850 is that it comes with the following free games:

- Farcry3
- Farcry3 Blood Dragon
- Dirt Showdown
- Tomb Raider
- Simcity
- Bioshock Infinite
- Crysis 3
- Sleeping Dogs

Which pretty much covers the cost of the card, considering I had planned on purchasing most of these games. I think the 300W should be enough for the 6800K and 7850, but it would be cutting it tight I presume? I'm on a super strict budget, so this seems like the best I can get. What do you guys think?
 

mkenyon

Banned
7NHGgGt.png


Thoughts? Was going to get a gaming laptop, but thought I'd build a SFF gaming rig for half the price with twice the performance. The reasoning for the 7850 is that it comes with the following free games:

- Farcry3
- Farcry3 Blood Dragon
- Dirt Showdown
- Tomb Raider
- Simcity
- Bioshock Infinite
- Crysis 3
- Sleeping Dogs

Which pretty much covers the cost of the card, considering I had planned on purchasing most of these games. I think the 300W should be enough for the 6800K and 7850, but it would be cutting it tight I presume? I'm on a super strict budget, so this seems like the best I can get. What do you guys think?
The point of the AMD APUs is that they have a GPU on die. Getting an additional GPU means that you are paying quite a bit for stuff that you won't use.

Get an i3 w/ H77 chipset, like the ASUS P8H77-I.
 

Diomedes

Member
In the process of upgrading; the first build I chose some parts I would like to replace/upgrade now that I know more. Changing the motherboard and SSD (OS drive), I presume this will make at least something, if not several things, difficult.

Thinking of doing both at once, then doing a clean install on the new drive.

Should I just clone the drive to the new one? Using what program? Clean install instead?

In what order should I proceed? Install new MB first, or SSD first, or both at same time? Steps to follow?

Using OEM Win, phone reactivation should still work? Should I format the drive I'm replacing at some point before I start, or just disconnect it and deal with it after?
 
7NHGgGt.png


Thoughts? Was going to get a gaming laptop, but thought I'd build a SFF gaming rig for half the price with twice the performance. The reasoning for the 7850 is that it comes with the following free games:

- Farcry3
- Farcry3 Blood Dragon
- Dirt Showdown
- Tomb Raider
- Simcity
- Bioshock Infinite
- Crysis 3
- Sleeping Dogs

Which pretty much covers the cost of the card, considering I had planned on purchasing most of these games. I think the 300W should be enough for the 6800K and 7850, but it would be cutting it tight I presume? I'm on a super strict budget, so this seems like the best I can get. What do you guys think?
think its only one free game of those. Not all of them. My local compusa had the same offer with those games and it was only one
 
Sorry for the double post but if I am building a pc, do I need a hard drive for the initial boot? Like can I load up the SSD with windows 7 and just use that?
 

Thorgal

Member
Yeah its the non overklock one.

Since this was my first True gaming PC .At the time i ordered it i did not know the difference between K and non K .
(Won't make that mistake again .)

still it works for me .

What PSU would you recommend For a titan ?

And is it still a good Investment to get a titan despite the Processor ?

depending on what the future holds . if i want to upgrade to a new PC again i might go with 2 titans in SLI so it will be not a total loss .

Unless thats a bad idea.


anyone ?
 
Yeah, you can just use an SSD. No old HDD needed.
Sweet! Because i haven't dished out cash for a new HDD yet, my old 2TB might work but I have a feeling it's a bad HDD, had a lot of issues with downloading files and them getting corrupted, any way of me finding out if the HDD is a-ok?
 

mkenyon

Banned
Specifically the copper and steel in the same stream. If it's all steel, then you're fine (or steel + alum I think). But, waterblocks are all copper.
 

tarheel91

Member
Specifically the copper and steel in the same stream. If it's all steel, then you're fine (or steel + alum I think). But, waterblocks are all copper.

Oh, I wasn't thinking about the waterblock. That wouldn't work, you're right.

Edit: All we need is a diamond waterblock!
 

kharma45

Member
I'm gonna quote a post I made earlier so some statements might seem out of context but same overall message:

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). The only other games I've been playing regularly is the FFXIV beta and that crashes often, and Sonic All-Star Racing, which would either crash every now-and-then, or completely freeze for a few seconds then catch up with itself.

Not to mention every once in a while when I try to watch Youtube or a video my entire screen goes nuts and I need to restart my computer.

All of this stuff will happen even if I undo my OC.

Unless I'm doing something wrong?

Have you tried doing a clean install of the drivers to see if that helps? It's either that or you've been unlucky and got a faulty card, and unless you've went for a reference model that isn't AMD's fault it's the OEMs.

7NHGgGt.png


Thoughts? Was going to get a gaming laptop, but thought I'd build a SFF gaming rig for half the price with twice the performance. The reasoning for the 7850 is that it comes with the following free games:

- Farcry3
- Farcry3 Blood Dragon
- Dirt Showdown
- Tomb Raider
- Simcity
- Bioshock Infinite
- Crysis 3
- Sleeping Dogs

Which pretty much covers the cost of the card, considering I had planned on purchasing most of these games. I think the 300W should be enough for the 6800K and 7850, but it would be cutting it tight I presume? I'm on a super strict budget, so this seems like the best I can get. What do you guys think?

Don't be getting an APU if you're going for a dedicated GPU. Go for either an i3 3220 or an FX 6300. I'd tend towards the 6300.
 
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