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"I Need a New PC!" 2014 Part 1. 1080p and 60FPS is so last-gen and your 2500K is fine

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B

Blades64

Banned
I just wanted to ask this question and I figured this is the best place to ask:

Why are GPU prices (especially AMD) so freaking expensive right now? Their prices are like $200 above what they should be, especially in the high-end GPUs.
 
S

stang6604

Member
i built a rig last year trying to get myself into pc gaming. i decided to keep it within the $1000 range (including monitor, mouse, keyboard, case) but i think im ready to upgrade the GFX card to i can start getting the full benefit. Or should i go with a new CPU first?

Specs:
Intel DZ77RE-75K
Kingston Hyper X Ram 16GB
I5-3570 CPU
GTX-650

I'm looking at the $300 dollar range for the card. Any suggestions. Please keep in mind i have a base knowledge of pc building.
 
S

snoopeasystreet

Member
I've had my work computer now for about 5 years so it's about time I got a new one for myself. Only problem is, that when I went to turn it on today, everything spun up and was working but it didn't boot or output to the monitor. I'm getting an FF error which probably means the motherboard is dead on me.

Does anyone know how to fix this problem or is it completely fucked?

I have a new computer on the way anyway but I'd rather fix what I have until the new one gets delivered.
 
R

rakkadakka

Member
Blades64 said:
I just wanted to ask this question and I figured this is the best place to ask:

Why are GPU prices (especially AMD) so freaking expensive right now? Their prices are like $200 above what they should be, especially in the high-end GPUs.
Click to expand...

Coin mining, of bit and lite varities. Couldn't tell you why AMD cards are preferred over NVIDIA.

I'm trying to figure out now if it's worth it for me to sell the 7950 I bought last Oct for $200 after rebate..
 
J

jonno394

Member
Damn, i've only just built my first PC and i'm already itching to build another one or tinker around with my current one and upgrade it!

How often do you guys upgrade? I think i'll do my first upgrade next year with new RAM and a new GPU, then maybe a new build in 2 years when the new CPU's are prevalent.
 
Z

Zaph

Member
Any word yet if the 790 rumour is actually a card that will exist any time soon?

Starting to feel like a mug for playing the waiting game instead of just jumping on the 780ti immediately. My 670 is really struggling with 1440p, but because I can't SLI the 780ti's (ITX), I've been waiting to maximise the single PCIe slot.
 
C

CitizenVectron

Member
I got my 780ti this weekend and I've been testing its OC capabilities.

It looks like I can get it stable at 180mhz OC on the main clock, and 150mhz on the ram. Anything above that and it crashes. Heat is not an issue though, it never gets above 70C. My first thought was to bump the voltage in Precision X, but that doesn't seem to help at all at low levels, and I don't want to hurt the card's lifespan, so I'm not going to play with that.

Are my results fairly average?
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Okay I have a dilemma. I currently have this Antex GX700 case, which has great performance in terms of airflow, but a really shoddy build and it's ugly (though I don't give a fuck about looks really).

174342.jpg
Click to expand...


But I just found this Corsair 200R and Zalman CPU cooler on sale. I hear the Corsair is built a bit better, but doesn't have as good of airflow and the core temperature would be a bit hotter, hence why I'd get the Zalman. However, I'm wondering if it's worth the effort of shipping the Antec back to Amazon, and having to wait on all the rebates for an improvement in build when I'm not going to be moving the PC around at all.
200r_hero_up.png
Click to expand...
 
K

KTT

Member
HiResDes said:
But I just found this cooler on sale. I hear the Corsair is built a bit better, but doesn't have as good of airflow and the core temperature would be a bit hotter, hence why I'd get the Zalman.
Click to expand...

Thinking about getting the exact same two items for my new build. Interested in hearing everyone's opinions. What's your build look like, Des? $30 looks like a great price for that case but I'm interested in hearing what people say regarding you core temp comment.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
KTT said:
Thinking about getting the exact same two items for my new build. Interested in hearing everyone's opinions. What's your build look like, Des? $30 looks like a great price for that case but I'm interested in hearing what people say regarding you core temp comment.
Click to expand...

MOBO:Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H Socket LGA 1150 ATX Intel
CPU: 4770K i7
Hard Drive: Toshiba 7200 2TB Enterprise
SSD: Crucial 240 GB M500
PSU: Corsair HX750 750W
Case: Antec GX700
Drive: ASUS BW BURNER
GPU: 2GB GTX 680
Ram: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Elite, CL9, 1833MHZ, 1.5v

When I need to upgrade I'll just buy another GTX 680 and SLI, those are my plans
 
K

KTT

Member
HiResDes said:
When I need to upgrade I'll just buy another GTX 680 and SLI, those are my plans
Click to expand...

Not sure if you're looking at the same deals I'm looking at, but I'm about to go ahead and order. Looks like an incredible deal, assuming all rebates comes through.

Bought the case, three fans (FAR), and the Zalman cpu cooler.

Paid with Bitpay that qualifies 20 off 100

Total AR will be 50(case)+30(cpu cooler)+30(fan) - 20 (case rebate) - 20(cooler rebate) - 30(fan rebate) -20 (bitpay discount) = $20.
Click to expand...
 
V

Varg

Banned
Looking to upgrade my gpu. Want to test out the nvidia side of things this time around. I have a 7970 at the moment. Would a 780 be a worthwhile upgrade? Most likely the 780ti? My cpu is an i7-3770k so there should be no bottleneck.
 
appaws

appaws

Banned
HiResDes said:
Okay I have a dilemma. I currently have this Antex GX700 case, which has great performance in terms of airflow, but a really shoddy build and it's ugly (though I don't give a fuck about looks really).
Click to expand...

They were supposed to be improving the build quality of their cases, but it seems to not be the case. If you want to see what I mean, go watch the video review of the Antec 1900 from OC3D:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGR1doubGqk

Really, really, laughably bad.
 
M

mkenyon

Banned
Varg said:
Looking to upgrade my gpu. Want to test out the nvidia side of things this time around. I have a 7970 at the moment. Would a 780 be a worthwhile upgrade? Most likely the 780ti? My cpu is an i7-3770k so there should be no bottleneck.
Click to expand...
If you can offload your 7970 for $350ish, then the 780 would be a decent enough upgrade for $150. But, it really depends on how your 7970 is clocked.

With my Matrix 7970, I'm able to get 3DMark scores of around 8k in Firestrike, which is spitting distance of a 780.

The 780Ti would be a much more appreciable difference, but it's damned expensive. Personally, I'm holding out for GTX 790 news.

*EDIT*

Just noticed your avatar. Disregard my advice and spend your money foolishly.
Hawks fan. And I'm still mad.
 
P

Phantron

Neo Member
I've finished my build!
Been with my trusty 17" MSI Gaming Laptop for years (Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2 GHz / 2GB RAM / NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT) but its time to move on

Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core
Noctua NH-U12S
Asus MAXIMUS VI IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1150
G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" SSD
Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB
Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower
SeaSonic 650W ATX12V / EPS12V

vojd.jpg

dgsz.jpg

vx8i.jpg

fnww.jpg
 
U

unknownhero

Member
I'm having a problem with my monitor. my screen keeps going on and off signal and the display is off center. any ideas on what might be causing it?
 
P

pilferk

Neo Member
Endeavoring to put together an I5 "super budget gaming" build. MMO focused. I have a beefier gamingcomputer in my LR, hooked to my TV...but my wife has gotten bit by the MMO bug again, and we have a nice home office set up, in another part of the house, where it's easy for us to play together.
Unfortunately, my "business" PC, which is in that room, is about 5 years old. Core2 Quad 9300, 6 gigs of Ram, and an aging Radeon 5870 in the PCIe slot. Probably would run ESO and Wildstar (and GW2, which is what we're playing now, again)...but I'd like to get a bit "beefier".

I'm covered for HDD (I've got a 1 TB drive with Win 7 in my "business" PC)...but probably everything else has to go (might be able to hang on to the BFG 550W power supply, depending on what I put together).

So...any suggestions. Remember...cost vs performance here. I'd like an i5 with a GTX 660 (or 650Ti) and 8 GB of Ram...but can compromise if necessary. Not planning to OC, either. Stock speeds for this machine.

Thanks for any feedback!
 
C

ComputerMKII

Banned
Would this be a good upgrade?

Materiel.net Viper [ Haswell - PC Gamer ]

246924.png


Specs:
  • CPU: Intel Core i5 4440 - 3.10 GHz
  • GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 660 Gaming OC - 2 GB
  • Motherboard: Asus B85M-G C2
  • RAM: Crucial 2 x 4GB - PC12800
  • Storage: Western Digital caviar Blue - 1000 Go (I also have a Samsung 840 Pro SSD with 256 GB of storage and two 1TB hard drives)
  • Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha
  • Optical drive: 22x DVD burner
  • PSU: Corsair CX Bronze 430 watts (80+ bronze)
  • I/O: 2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, 4 RAM slots, PCI-E, 4 x S-ATA 3, etc.

Price: €669,95
Click to expand...

My current rig:

  • CPU: AMD Phenom™ II X4 955 Black Edition
  • GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7850
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P
  • RAM: G.Skill Kit Extreme3 4 x 2 GB - PC12800 NQ
  • Storage: Samsung 256 GB SSD, 2 x 1TB hard drive
  • Case: Cooler Master Centurion 590
  • Optical drive: 22x DVD burner
  • PSU: Corsair HX - 620W (80+ Standard)
  • I/O: No USB 3.0 :(
 
B

Blak_Status

Member
Phantron said:
I've finished my build!
Been with my trusty 17" MSI Gaming Laptop for years (Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2 GHz / 2GB RAM / NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT) but its time to move on

Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core
Noctua NH-U12S
Asus MAXIMUS VI IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1150
G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" SSD
Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB
Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower
SeaSonic 650W ATX12V / EPS12V

vojd.jpg

dgsz.jpg

vx8i.jpg

fnww.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm working on a very similar build. Except going with a gtx 780.
 
S

Shawn6661

Member
ComputerMKII said:
Would this be a good upgrade?
Click to expand...

There is only 17% increase from a 7850 to a 660. Dunno the boost from a phenom x4 to an i5 but the question is, do you feel somehow limited when gaming ?
Have you try to overclock your x4 ? If not you could buy a 212 evo O/C the x4 and buy at least a 760 to see a reel boost.

If i were you, i would keep my PC until there is Intel 8 cores CPUs and nvidia 8xx GPUs.
 
C

ComputerMKII

Banned
Shawn6661 said:
There is only 17% increase from a 7850 to a 660. Dunno the boost from a phenom x4 to an i5 but the question is, do you feel somehow limited when gaming ?
Have you try to overclock your x4 ? If not you could buy a 212 evo O/C the x4 and buy at least a 760 to see a reel boost.

If i were you, i would keep my PC until there is Intel 8 cores CPUs and nvidia 8xx GPUs.
Click to expand...

All my games are playable and I haven't tried to overclock anything but I have to play some games on low settings if I want to keep 2xAA(e.g. the Titanfall beta) and even then I don't get 60 fps at 1920x1080 . Some CPU-limited games (e.g. Guild Wars 2) my framerate is horrible.

Also, it probably doesn't matter that much but I'd like to switch to Intel+Nvidia (I've heard it was perfect for Linux and I've only had bad experiences with AMD), get a more modern mobo (the old BIOS interface is ugly so I could do with UEFI) USB 3.0 and a slightly better-looking case.

Actually, I can wait some more so I'll follow your advice.
 
P

pilferk

Neo Member
Opinions?

From this:
Core 2 Quad 9300
6 GB Ram
Radeon 5870
Unknown MB (It's a Dell Studio)
BFG ATX 550W Power Supply
WD 1TB HDD

To this:
Intel i5 3470
8 GB ADATA 1600 DDR3 RAM
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2 GB
Gigabyte GA Z68AP-D3 Motherboard
Coolmax 600 Watt Modular Power Supply
Same HDD as above
NZXT Source220 ATX Mid Tower Case

Total price around $575-ish via new egg.

I also have a 24x DVD burner that will get transplanted to the new system.

Comments? Feedback? Any glaring ommissions?
 
W

Water

Member
ComputerMKII said:
Would this be a good upgrade?
Click to expand...
Not worth it. You'd get a better processor, but very little difference in GPU, many parts you don't need because you already have worthy ones, and the price total is really high relative to the tiny improvement you're getting.

The most effective thing you could do is to upgrade just the motherboard and CPU to your existing rig, and then substantially upgrade the GPU (can do in a separate step).

If you don't want to tinker yourself, wait until you can do a much more substantial upgrade than that. GPU should go up to 760/770 level at least. ... or buy a new machine without GPU, and initially slap in your existing 7850, which is a much easier thing to do than building an entire machine.

Is slowness actually bothering you with your current PC yet? What level of performance do you want to have?
 
C

ComputerMKII

Banned
Water said:
Is slowness actually bothering you with your current PC yet? What level of performance do you want to have?
Click to expand...

No, it's alright. Outside of video games, it only gets slow when I run a virtual machine, which doesn't happen very often.

I think I'd be able to assemble a new PC/install a new motherboard but I wouldn't bother. I'd rather let a professionnal do it, then only put my hands into the computer if it's only for installing a new GPU, a new hard drive or more RAM. Anything more than that is tedious.
 
appaws

appaws

Banned
HiResDes said:
The GX700 is great from a performance stance though.
Click to expand...

You said yourself that you were thinking of returning it because it is ugly and poorly built. There are so many great cases on the market these days at such good prices compared to what we had 10 years ago....there is no reason to keep a case you don't even really like. I am sure there are options in that price range that perform well, are solidly made, and that you enjoy looking at.

How about the Coolermaster, Bitfenix, Corsair and NZXT options in the OP at around that price range...?
 
P

prodystopian

Member
My friend is considering selling his GTX580, and I'm considering buying it, but I have a few questions.

If I bought it I would need a new PSU and case. It should fit in a Define R4 right? Also, what is the least expensive PSU I could go with for that (no plans to SLI in the future)? Finally, how held back would I be by my Q9550 CPU?

I am planning to do a new build later this year, but this might get me to put off a new GPU purchase for a while and just build the rest if he is willing to sell it cheap enough.
 
W

Water

Member
ComputerMKII said:
No, it's alright. Outside of video games, it only gets slow when I run a virtual machine, which doesn't happen very often.

I think I'd be able to assemble a new PC/install a new motherboard but I wouldn't bother. I'd rather let a professionnal do it, then only put my hands into the computer if it's only for installing a new GPU, a new hard drive or more RAM. Anything more than that is tedious.
Click to expand...
Then get a new box without a GPU, and swap in your old 7850. You'll get a nice speedup with virtual machines but also with games, since your current CPU has almost certainly been bottlenecking the 7850. Depending on your budget, you want either a basic i5 quadcore and basic motherboard, or spend some extra for a i5-4670K and a Z87 based mobo that are really fast to begin with and allow an easy 10-20% overclock. Either way, you'll be set to upgrade GPU later if you want games to go even faster.

Come to think of it, couldn't you just pay a shop to do a motherboard+CPU install in your current system? The parts for a minimal upgrade will be like 250e, parts for the great upgrade 400e, whereas a full new box with minimal parts is surely going to cost you 500e even without GPU. Replacing all those good parts you already have is a waste. (Well, depending on what you are planning for your old system if you buy a whole new one. The old system won't be functional anyway after you cannibalize the 7850 out of it.)
 
G

Granadier

Is currently on Stage 1: Denial regarding the service game future
prodystopian said:
My friend is considering selling his GTX580, and I'm considering buying it, but I have a few questions.

If I bought it I would need a new PSU and case. It should fit in a Define R4 right? Also, what is the least expensive PSU I could go with for that (no plans to SLI in the future)? Finally, how held back would I be by my Q9550 CPU?

I am planning to do a new build later this year, but this might get me to put off a new GPU purchase for a while and just build the rest if he is willing to sell it cheap enough.
Click to expand...

What PSU do you have currently?

You've got about 11.5 inches of clearance in that case for GPUs, so if it will fit depends on how long your friends 580 is. Stock design looks to be 10.5 inches, but a non-reference design may be longer.

I'm not sure about using that CPU with the 580, but I'm sure someone else here more knowledgeable will be able to answer that for you.
 
P

prodystopian

Member
Gattsby said:
What PSU do you have currently?

You've got about 11.5 inches of clearance in that case for GPUs, so if it will fit depends on how long your friends 580 is. Stock design looks to be 10.5 inches, but a non-reference design may be longer.
Click to expand...

Corsair 430W (I believe a VX430).
 
K

kharma45

Member
prodystopian said:
My friend is considering selling his GTX580, and I'm considering buying it, but I have a few questions.

If I bought it I would need a new PSU and case. It should fit in a Define R4 right? Also, what is the least expensive PSU I could go with for that (no plans to SLI in the future)? Finally, how held back would I be by my Q9550 CPU?

I am planning to do a new build later this year, but this might get me to put off a new GPU purchase for a while and just build the rest if he is willing to sell it cheap enough.
Click to expand...

It'll have no problems in an R4.

You'll bottleneck in some games, not in others.

PSU wise grab one of these. Both are great for the price, just depends whether you want to pay a bit more for the Gold rated one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...301&nm_mc=AFC-IR&cm_mmc=AFC-IR-_-na-_-na-_-na

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...301&nm_mc=AFC-IR&cm_mmc=AFC-IR-_-na-_-na-_-na

It is the better unit but you'll not go wrong with the Bronze one either. Both will be enough for a single 580.
 
prag16

prag16

Banned
Not sure where to ask, so tossing it in here. Kicking around the idea of a video card upgrade for my HTPC. It has a crappy GT 220 right now. The pinnacle of this machine's existence is playing Mass Effect 3 maxed out at 1360x768, 30-40 fps (with some dips below that now and then).

Obviously I'm gonna need more grunt than that if I expect it to be anything more than a media center moving forward. So question:

Anyone have a sense off hand if something like a 7750 (low profile) or even a 750ti (if/when somebody dumps out a low profile version) be horrendously bottlenecked by the CPU (AMD Athlon II X2 215)? I can provide further info about the system if needed, but figured the CPU model would be enough for a general idea. Thanks!
 
M

mkenyon

Banned
penis said:
SSD TIME -

which one is better for 80$ ?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ4F9ZA/?tag=neogaf0e-20 M500

or

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3W1726/?tag=neogaf0e-20 EVO


Just mostly Gaming and nothing else
will be the OS drive and will probably put DayZ on it

Thanks
Click to expand...
Coin flip.
pilferk said:
Opinions?

From this:
Core 2 Quad 9300
6 GB Ram
Radeon 5870
Unknown MB (It's a Dell Studio)
BFG ATX 550W Power Supply
WD 1TB HDD

To this:
Intel i5 3470
8 GB ADATA 1600 DDR3 RAM
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2 GB
Gigabyte GA Z68AP-D3 Motherboard
Coolmax 600 Watt Modular Power Supply
Same HDD as above
NZXT Source220 ATX Mid Tower Case

Total price around $575-ish via new egg.

I also have a 24x DVD burner that will get transplanted to the new system.

Comments? Feedback? Any glaring ommissions?
Click to expand...
Looks good, though the motherboard *might* need a BIOS flash in order to be compatible with the 3470.
prag16 said:
Not sure where to ask, so tossing it in here. Kicking around the idea of a video card upgrade for my HTPC. It has a crappy GT 220 right now. The pinnacle of this machine's existence is playing Mass Effect 3 maxed out at 1360x768, 30-40 fps (with some dips below that now and then).

Obviously I'm gonna need more grunt than that if I expect it to be anything more than a media center moving forward. So question:

Anyone have a sense off hand if something like a 7750 (low profile) or even a 750ti (if/when somebody dumps out a low profile version) be horrendously bottlenecked by the CPU (AMD Athlon II X2 215)? I can provide further info about the system if needed, but figured the CPU model would be enough for a general idea. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Bottlenecks aren't a hard and fast rule, and can exist on multiple parts at the same time. In games that are very CPU dependent, such as multiplayer stuff, UE3 stuff, Blizzard, Source, and some others, your CPU will definitely be lacking. In other stuff, even Crysis, it won't be a factor.
 
P

pilferk

Neo Member
mkenyon said:
Looks good, though the motherboard *might* need a BIOS flash in order to be compatible with the 3470.
Click to expand...

Any suggestions for a similar sized (full ATX), relatively inexpensive board that would NOT need a flash? Trying to flash the board during install can be a pain....I'd like to avoid if possible.
 
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