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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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kharma45

Member
So guys I'm building a second rig for my studio, I just want something mid range good enough for DayZ, Rust, Titanfall, Source / Valve games.

A local shop has a clearance on AMD stuff: AMD-8350 35% off with an HD 7870

Usually I don't like AMD stuff but seems like a really good deal, Any of you guys with a 8350 what do you think about it?

CPU matters a lot in those games so i cant recommend anything bar Intel.
 

KTT

Member
Okay. I was thinking about the new Geforce GTX 750 Ti or the Radeon R7 265. Bad or good idea?

I'm thinking about getting the 265 myself. Haven't decided yet. Also, it's unknown when exactly it will release or how much it will actually cost. It's $150 MSRP but it might be pretty tough to get your hands on one at that price anytime soon, seeing as how cryptocurrency mining is driving up most AMD video card prices (as well as helping to keep Nvidia card prices rather stagnant).
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
What's the difference between the Biostar Z87W and the Biostar Z87X anyway?

Whenever you have these questions, look at the manufacturer's site. They usually have nice tables explaining the differences. Helped me a ton when completing my build.
 
Whenever you have these questions, look at the manufacturer's site. They usually have nice tables explaining the differences. Helped me a ton when completing my build.

I seriously see no difference other than some virtual surround nonsense that I always hate.

So I'm confused as to why Haz would have the X in his "Excellent" build, and the W in his "Good" build.
 

KTT

Member
What's the difference between the Biostar Z87W and the Biostar Z87X anyway?


Whenever you have these questions, look at the manufacturer's site. They usually have nice tables explaining the differences. Helped me a ton when completing my build.

Same here. Also, I found it helpful to check out unboxing videos on YouTube (there shouldn't be any shortage of them, especially when searching for a fairly common mobo), because sometimes those tables will just say "SATA Cables included" or whatever. If you watch the unboxing, you'll be able to tell the exact number of cables included, whether they are normal or right-angle connecters, etc. I'd recommend narrowing down your choices to just two or three mobos and then checking out these kinds of videos only if you have some intent to actually purchase. Otherwise you'll be watching a 5-15 minute video for every single model you're thinking about.

EDIT:
I seriously see no difference other than some virtual surround nonsense that I always hate.

So I'm confused as to why Haz would have the X in his "Excellent" build, and the W in his "Good" build.
See above. I couldn't tell the difference between the ASUS Z87-a, ASUS Z87-Pro, etc until I watched a 15 minute video from Newegg where they had some ASUS rep on there pointing out specific differences. Sometimes they're really small and you just have to decide whether these minor, yet specific differences are important to you.
 

NoRéN

Member
Got my GTX680 today. Needed two 6 pin psu connectors. Rosewill PSU only had 6+2 connectors so i used those without plugging in the two. That's fine, right?

Will Radeon Pro still work?
 

LordAlu

Member
NoRéN;102123362 said:
Got my GTX680 today. Needed two 6 pin psu connectors. Rosewill PSU only had 6+2 connectors so i used those without plugging in the two. That's fine, right?
That's perfect.

NoRéN;102123362 said:
Will Radeon Pro still work?
No. You'll want to uninstall any AMD stuff like Radeon Pro and Catalyst. Install the latest Nvidia drivers and Nvidia Inspector for your card.
 

NoRéN

Member
That's perfect.


No. You'll want to uninstall any AMD stuff like Radeon Pro and Catalyst. Install the latest Nvidia drivers and Nvidia Inspector for your card.

Thanks for the info.

Uninstalled the amd drivers. Deleted folders. Installed the Nvidia drivers and that included Geforce Experience. Is that similar to radeon pro? I saw it mention things about optimizing games. What does Nvidia Inspector do?
 

LordAlu

Member
NoRéN;102125510 said:
Thanks for the info.

Uninstalled the amd drivers. Deleted folders. Installed the Nvidia drivers and that included Geforce Experience. Is that similar to radeon pro? I saw it mention things about optimizing games. What does Nvidia Inspector do?
GeForce Experience can tweak games automatically for the "best settings for your system", although to be honest it's not very good at that - it's usually better to tweak them yourself. Nvidia Inspector allows you to create profiles for your games where you can override or edit just about any graphical setting, including applying effects that you normally couldn't change. For example you can use it to force a game to use a particular anti-aliasing method that it normally wouldn't use.
 

NoRéN

Member
GeForce Experience can tweak games automatically for the "best settings for your system", although to be honest it's not very good at that - it's usually better to tweak them yourself. Nvidia Inspector allows you to create profiles for your games where you can override or edit just about any graphical setting, including applying effects that you normally couldn't change. For example you can use it to force a game to use a particular anti-aliasing method that it normally wouldn't use.

Any other reason to keep GeForce Experience then? Driver Updates?

Ahh, so Inspector serves the purpose Radeon Pro did? I used that to fix issues like stuttering in FIFA13. Nice! I'll go ahead and get that.
 

Kraut

Member
Sorry to treat the thread like a troubleshoot forum, but I figure I'd start here before venturing to other boards.

Has anyone ever had a DVI port seem to just die out of nowhere? I run two monitors and while watching a video one of the displays shut off as if it were unplugged and Windows played the disconnected sound, even though all connections where fine.

I've trouble shot and found that both monitors work with the other port, so it's not an issue with the cables or monitors. Also, nVidia control panel registers both monitors as being connected and still treats it as though the screen is extended, but the one monitor has no video. Oddly, it thinks its connected through VGA to the blank monitor, even though there's no VGA ports on the card and I'm using a DVI cable.

I haven't made any cable changes since setting up the two monitors, and already rebooted and updated drivers. Any other ideas, guys?
 

mkenyon

Banned
The best way I can describe it is a high pitched humming, sort of similar to an old tv.
That sounds like coil whine.
The OP makes no mention of it, but Anandtech really has a hard-on for 1866+ RAM.

http://anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell

Apparently anything under 1866 is crap, but anything over that hits a massive diminishing return wall. So it looks like 1866 is the sweet spot.
That's for iGPU. Look at the dedicated GPU benches and there's near zero difference, even at the super low res that should highlight any differences.
Sorry to treat the thread like a troubleshoot forum, but I figure I'd start here before venturing to other boards.

Has anyone ever had a DVI port seem to just die out of nowhere? I run two monitors and while watching a video one of the displays shut off as if it were unplugged and Windows played the disconnected sound, even though all connections where fine.

I've trouble shot and found that both monitors work with the other port, so it's not an issue with the cables or monitors. Also, nVidia control panel registers both monitors as being connected and still treats it as though the screen is extended, but the one monitor has no video. Oddly, it thinks its connected through VGA to the blank monitor, even though there's no VGA ports on the card and I'm using a DVI cable.

I haven't made any cable changes since setting up the two monitors, and already rebooted and updated drivers. Any other ideas, guys?
Have any extra cables to try out?
 

kennah

Member
The OP makes no mention of it, but Anandtech really has a hard-on for 1866+ RAM.

http://anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell

Apparently anything under 1866 is crap, but anything over that hits a massive diminishing return wall. So it looks like 1866 is the sweet spot.
It doesn't say that anything below is crap. It says that there is a traceable bump in performance when you go with the 1866 over 1333.

I don't think it changes what we recommend here at all. The long standing policy is to get the cheapest 1600 or up ram you can find.

Unless you're using an integrated gpu as your primary there isn't much difference.

Interesting article though.
 
Very nice all around.
Would love to see pics.


Here are a few pics of the building process with the final result at the end.

gFb0TTB.jpg

I will post more pics when I get this bad boy in my entertainment center.

For my first build in over a decade I hit very few snags getting this thing up and running. One of the biggest hurdles for me was wire management. The flat flex cables helped a lot though. One thing I worry about is my Seidon water block placement. As you can see in one of the pics it's sitting on top of some capacitors. Though I can't tell if they are touching the copper bottom of the water block. So far this hasn't given me any trouble as my system is running like a champ.

Another problem I ran into was breaking the clip that holds one of the side panels in place. I removed it without an issue by taking a flat head screw driver and popping the clip out. The problem I encountered was when I went to put it back on it wasn't aligned properly, so I yanked it out again thinking it wasn't in all the way. That's when the clip broke. :(

Thankfully the Silverstone rep gave me info for their parts department and I will be ordering a new side panel soon enough.


I want to personally thank Hazaro and mkenyon for maintaining their build guides and for having a thread like this on GAF. I used to come in here and dream about building a gaming PC, something I haven't done in about 14 years. This year, early on, I decided to jump back into PC building/gaming in a big way. Needless to say, I am very pleased with my build. As always it's a work in progress, as I am going to add a slimline blu ray and an ssd to my build at some point this year.


Edit-I am a newb with posting images thanks for the help guys.
 
Okay. I was thinking about the new Geforce GTX 750 Ti or the Radeon R7 265. Bad or good idea?

IMO the 750ti doesn't have the raw performance or bandwidth of the 265. I know it seems to do well in current benchmarks, but if given the choice I would take the 265. Just my opinion though, many others on here would know better than me though.
 

Granadier

Is currently on Stage 1: Denial regarding the service game future
Guys, am I losing something for using a Single link DVI cable between my GPU and 1080p monitor?

I don't think so. You should be able to get plenty of bandwidth for 1080p with a single link.
If I'm wrong though, please burn me at the stake.
 
Hi PC GAF,

My computer, frankly, is outdated as hell. Specs:

i5-650 3.20 ghz
8 GB Ram
1 GB GTX 560TI

It has dawned on me that it is probably time to upgrade once I tried to run Thief on low settings and achieved a nice average framerate of 20.

It's not necessary for me to run everything at Ultra settings, but I'd like to run them at a respectable 1080p/60fps for a large majority of what's out there at good settings. I also don't want to spend a billion dollars to get there. What can you guys recommend me?
 

thespot84

Member
The best way I can describe it is a high pitched humming, sort of similar to an old tv.

sounds like interference, is your power supply grounded? try turning up your speakers and see if the hum is always there, and just gets louder when the CPU is under load
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
The OP makes no mention of it, but Anandtech really has a hard-on for 1866+ RAM.

http://anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell

Apparently anything under 1866 is crap, but anything over that hits a massive diminishing return wall. So it looks like 1866 is the sweet spot.
For integrated graphics faster memory helps a lot.

For dedicated gaming graphics, not really.

7Ru43YV.png

Here are a few pics of the building process with the final result at the end.

I will post more pics when I get this bad boy in my entertainment center.

I want to personally thank Hazaro and mkenyon for maintaining their build guides and for having a thread like this on GAF. I used to come in here and dream about building a gaming PC, something I haven't done in about 14 years. This year, early on, I decided to jump back into PC building/gaming in a big way. Needless to say, I am very pleased with my build. As always it's a work in progress, as I am going to add a slimline blu ray and an ssd to my build at some point this year.
Glad to hear it, you really put together something that should last quite a long time.
 
Sold my HIS 7950 2gb for $300 to a litecoin miner..bought it in Oct for like 200 after rebate.

Gonna turn it into a 770 GTX for around $320.

Not too shabby.
 

KTT

Member
If I'm not going to be upgrading until the end of March, can I wait on this? Or is this that good of a deal?

It's not mind-blowing. No reason to rush out and get it if you were planning on waiting. 4670K is only $20 more at MicroCenter. It's doubtful those prices will drop before you build, though. So start thinking about what CPU/mobo you're gonna go with. I'm not 100% sure of the inventory history (as it differs with every location), but it's no guarantee that they'll always be there. And since they're already so heavily discounted, I'm almost certain that you won't be seeing better prices before you build in late March. Personally, I'm building in the middle of March and I just got my CPU/mobo combo from MicroCenter today because they've got the ASUS Z87-A motherboard on sale for $85 after the bundle discount.
 

appaws

Banned
Hi PC GAF,

My computer, frankly, is outdated as hell. Specs:

i5-650 3.20 ghz
8 GB Ram
1 GB GTX 560TI

It has dawned on me that it is probably time to upgrade once I tried to run Thief on low settings and achieved a nice average framerate of 20.

It's not necessary for me to run everything at Ultra settings, but I'd like to run them at a respectable 1080p/60fps for a large majority of what's out there at good settings. I also don't want to spend a billion dollars to get there. What can you guys recommend me?

I didn't think Thief was going to be all that taxing, I would have expected a little better than that at low settings...? Have you updated drivers, etc...?

The main question is how much you want to spend...? The i5 650 is getting a little old and I don't think you can do anything with that socket 1156. Someone else here might know about the OC potential of that part. I think its time to plan to upgrade there.

My gut reaction is to say go with the best GPU you can in your budget, and start planning on a new MOBO and CPU when you are able. Sorry if that is sort of "stock" advice at this point....but it seems that current games are just much more GPU-bound than anything else. A nice 760 will set you back like 250 bucks U.S.

If you got 5 hundy to spend then you could easily grab both a 760 and a pretty decent cpu and Mobo.
 
Hey quick question... I'm building my computer, and Corsair says to mount the H60 fan as an intake... So I'm taking in air from the back of my case.

So should I then switch the front fans to outs?
 
I didn't think Thief was going to be all that taxing, I would have expected a little better than that at low settings...? Have you updated drivers, etc...?

The main question is how much you want to spend...? The i5 650 is getting a little old and I don't think you can do anything with that socket 1156. Someone else here might know about the OC potential of that part. I think its time to plan to upgrade there.

My gut reaction is to say go with the best GPU you can in your budget, and start planning on a new MOBO and CPU when you are able. Sorry if that is sort of "stock" advice at this point....but it seems that current games are just much more GPU-bound than anything else. A nice 760 will set you back like 250 bucks U.S.

If you got 5 hundy to spend then you could easily grab both a 760 and a pretty decent cpu and Mobo.

Oh, wow, 500. Okay. I actually budgeted 600 thinking that would put me in the low tier. Nice. So you're saying get the GPU soon, and then get a new MOBO and CPU in like two or three months?
 

Hulud

Member
I've agreed to buy an EVGA GTX670 2GB FTW off of a friend for $175. Is that a good deal, and is this a good card in general?
 

Linkup

Member
Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core
ASRock Z87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333
Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" SSD
ASUS GeForce GTX 760 2GB
NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower
EVGA 650W ATX12V / EPS12V
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit)

Spent $684.
 

appaws

Banned
Oh, wow, 500. Okay. I actually budgeted 600 thinking that would put me in the low tier. Nice. So you're saying get the GPU soon, and then get a new MOBO and CPU in like two or three months?

If you really look around and do a microcenter deal or whatever you could hit 5 hundy I am pretty sure, maybe 550.

Figure 250 bucks for a 760
230 for a 4670k
130-150 for a Mobo

OK, OK....maybe 600 is more realistic if we are talking about an i5 4670k and a decent Z87 Mobo. Especially since you should grab a CPU cooler as well, like a CM 212. And that is a lot better than low tier, it's like mid-high tier. At 1080p is gonna be pretty kick ass. You could go lower with an i3 or a non-k i5 part....but if you can scrounge up 6 hundy then you should go for the 4670k.

Almost always the GPU is most important for gaming these days. So if you are really price constrained, for for the GPU first and start socking away for the CPU in a few months. I think for 99% of people looking to upgrade for gaming purposes this would be the case. Although that 560ti was a pretty good card if I remember. I had a 560ti 448 and it did me pretty well.

However, your CPU is dual-core and on the 1156, which is pretty much dead. It released Q1 of 2010, so you are pretty much ready to upgrade asap.
 
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