google sleeping dogs stuttering and see what fixes come up.
it wil probably involve radeonpro and forcing vsync and triple buffering through that.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
"I Need a New PC!" 2014 Part 1. 1080p and 60FPS is so last-gen and your 2500K is fine
- Thread starter Hazaro
- Start date
- Status
google sleeping dogs stuttering and see what fixes come up.
it wil probably involve radeonpro and forcing vsync and triple buffering through that.
Still looking for helpIs the Benq GL2450HM monitor good? Something else at the same price? (around 130€
bucknuticus
Member
I wish nvidia would bundle a new (read: good) game with their cards. literally the only thing thats holding me back from building my new rig is waiting for them to put bf4 or titanfall or some other big game with a card.
HarryDemeanor
Member
So about a month ago I was watching some YouTube videos when all of a sudden my display drivers crashed and blue screened my PC. I switch out the beta AMD drivers with a stable version and it ran fine until two days ago. I was playing World of Warcraft when the game crashed and I had icons from the game and artifact squares all over the screen. Weird thing is I could alt-tab and everything else looked fine except for the game. So I swapped those drivers out with the recent beta AMD drivers. Currently my 7850 is running fine but I noticed the tempertures took a drop compared to how it used to be before two days ago. Along with that I notice some artifacts while looking at the recent Firefox beta add-ons page. Yet aside from the add-ons page I don't notice those same artifacts in any other program.
Is this a sign that my 7850 is about to kick the bucket? I've heard how Sapphire RMA is such a painful process to go through.
Is this a sign that my 7850 is about to kick the bucket? I've heard how Sapphire RMA is such a painful process to go through.
EmptySpace
Banned
thanks for this. question, why does it have to have 2 hdds? i am actually okay with only one, and i often delete stuff anyways.
i don't want to overclock. doesn't that actually shorten the lifespan of the cpu? i would probably want to spend more on a gpu, but then again that's probably overkill given i don't plan to do multiple monitors or even 1440p gaming. not to bring up ps4, but that uses 5gb of gddr5 on games. it would be naive to think the standard of games/graphics won't go up because of that. right now, 4gb looks to be overkill given that there's still that 8gb of sysram. or should i just wait for the gtx 800 series? i hate how the best gpus practically cost the same as decent laptops. again, it's not like i have zero idea about building a pc. i take apart my older laptops to take out the hdd and the ram. it'll probably be easy.
Those interested in water-cool here is the second part of my algae cleaning adventure. Here is part 1 of tearing down my computer. Also sorry in advance of some of the blurry photos, after scrapping and scratching my hands struggling to get some of the fittings off my hands were't very stable.
Part 2 - Scrubbing =/
After looking at the damage down after teardown I decided that I have to scrub everything down and that means opening up the GPU blocks and removing the dinoc carbon wrap. Bye bye beautiful black
I like goooooold
Holy sh--! New (old) apartment doesn't seem to be treating my radiators well. Fortunately I'm moving in a couple months hopefully to a cleaner environment.
Everything laid out and ready for cleaning. Lots of alcohol, vinegar, q-tips and water was used.
You can see the slime built up in the blocks, kinda disgusting.
Opened up. Thanks EKWB for making the most complex routing for the o-rings so its near impossible to put the blocks back together without the ring popping out.
Yep good decision to open them up. Thats quite the blockage
Dat red, soon to be covered again by GPUs and RAM. Fast forward and everything is ready for reassembly.
Awfully tight with the new reservoir, but thankfully just enough room.
So how do you connect A to B?
Lots of adapters! Not ideal but I have to make do because it seems no one sells monsoon in Canada anymore and both retailers in the states are out of stock of what I need to make it look neater. Plus I don't want to wait for shipping. Two D5s will power through it though (I hope)
So this is what happens when you use Liquid Ultra. No solvent I tried could get it off. I had to relap the IHS and CPU block.
Unfortunately iPhone ran out of battery so there is a gap but BOOM leak testing! Nothing leaking! yay!!!!
Part 3 will be wiring everything back up and stress testing.
Part 2 - Scrubbing =/
After looking at the damage down after teardown I decided that I have to scrub everything down and that means opening up the GPU blocks and removing the dinoc carbon wrap. Bye bye beautiful black
I like goooooold
Holy sh--! New (old) apartment doesn't seem to be treating my radiators well. Fortunately I'm moving in a couple months hopefully to a cleaner environment.
Everything laid out and ready for cleaning. Lots of alcohol, vinegar, q-tips and water was used.
You can see the slime built up in the blocks, kinda disgusting.
Opened up. Thanks EKWB for making the most complex routing for the o-rings so its near impossible to put the blocks back together without the ring popping out.
Yep good decision to open them up. Thats quite the blockage
Dat red, soon to be covered again by GPUs and RAM. Fast forward and everything is ready for reassembly.
Awfully tight with the new reservoir, but thankfully just enough room.
So how do you connect A to B?
Lots of adapters! Not ideal but I have to make do because it seems no one sells monsoon in Canada anymore and both retailers in the states are out of stock of what I need to make it look neater. Plus I don't want to wait for shipping. Two D5s will power through it though (I hope)
So this is what happens when you use Liquid Ultra. No solvent I tried could get it off. I had to relap the IHS and CPU block.
Unfortunately iPhone ran out of battery so there is a gap but BOOM leak testing! Nothing leaking! yay!!!!
Part 3 will be wiring everything back up and stress testing.
mkenyon's Argument for Avoiding FX Series Processors (for gaming machines):
I might be editing this to include some more stuff, but I thought it'd be nice to have a post we could all link to and/or quote to save some time since this comes up every week.
Issue #1: High TDP and Power Consumption
The Bulldozer and Vishera processors are both extremely hot, and extremely power hungry when compared to Intel desktop processors. Part of this is that they've had to drastically increase the frequency to get their single-threaded performance up to par. Plus, they're just not very power efficient to begin with. This increased heat and power consumption brings added costs that may be otherwise unforseen at first.
First, the motherboard and the quality of its power delivery becomes very important. The MOSFETs need to be adequately cooled, and the motherboard needs to be able to handle the increased power consumption to the socket. This means forking out money for a decent motherboard, where even cheap Z-series chipset boards aren't very much and can easily overclock an Intel processor to 4.0-4.3 GHz.
In addition to the motherboard being able to handle increased power, a lot of the PSU choices in the OP become invalid. No longer can you run a 780 on a good 500W PSU. Even running a 760 or 770 would be questionable with the processor overclocked. A 280x, 290, or 290x is right out of the question.
Finally, to deal with this additional heat, the inexpensive heatsinks in the OP aren't really viable either. To dissipate 250-300W of heat, you have to spend $70+ on just the heatsink. Even the FX6300 ends up consuming 200W when overclocked.
Between the motherboard, higher power PSU, and better heatsink, you're looking at ~$60-120 increased price which doesn't seem obvious at first.
First, the motherboard and the quality of its power delivery becomes very important. The MOSFETs need to be adequately cooled, and the motherboard needs to be able to handle the increased power consumption to the socket. This means forking out money for a decent motherboard, where even cheap Z-series chipset boards aren't very much and can easily overclock an Intel processor to 4.0-4.3 GHz.
In addition to the motherboard being able to handle increased power, a lot of the PSU choices in the OP become invalid. No longer can you run a 780 on a good 500W PSU. Even running a 760 or 770 would be questionable with the processor overclocked. A 280x, 290, or 290x is right out of the question.
Finally, to deal with this additional heat, the inexpensive heatsinks in the OP aren't really viable either. To dissipate 250-300W of heat, you have to spend $70+ on just the heatsink. Even the FX6300 ends up consuming 200W when overclocked.
Between the motherboard, higher power PSU, and better heatsink, you're looking at ~$60-120 increased price which doesn't seem obvious at first.
Issue #2: Terrible Instructions Per Cycle, or Why 6/8 "Cores" Don't Matter
This is very important for gaming processors. In almost every single game where performance is affected by the CPU, what always gives better performance is high IPC with speedy cores. As you can see, the Vishera processors just can't compete here.
What does this mean though? Well, any time the game needs the processor to do something, whether it be translating game state (multiplayer), computing heavy AI, running physics, or just general game logic, the processor is going to be taxed pretty heavily. When a processor with low IPC and per-thread performance is taxed here, this is when players experience chug, or stuttery gameplay. We've all felt it, everyone knows it's annoying and it's why so many people genuinely enjoy that constant performance you get on a lot of console games.
To top it off, this sort of issue isn't captured very well at all in FPS benchmarks. If you don't understand why, go read this thread..
For quick reference, 8.3ms = 120 FPS, 16.6ms = 60 FPS, 33.3ms = 30 FPS, 66.6ms = 15 FPS. Here are some charts showing what is going on with every single frame during a benchmark to help visualize what I mean:
These are only single player games. Multiplayer is especially sensitive to per thread performance, as it needs the CPU to both gather data on your actions, as well as receive that data from all other players and then change the game state to represent those actions. That's some really intensive math that requires a speedy processor to figure it out quickly.
Look at the difference in performance by just increasing the clock speed on a 3570K in 200MHz increments in Dota 2:
There's simply no way to make up for this terrible performance. Sure, some games in the future might be n-threaded to better take advantage of the FX architecture, but there aren't many games right now that do. Not only that, but coding to take advantage of those extra cores is incredibly complex. From the mouth of Lord GabeN:
But even then, one of the few games that is n-threaded is Civilization V. You'd imagine that with those 8 cores at it's disposal, the 8350 would perform well, giving credence to the "well when multiplatform games are coded for 8 cores...." argument. Turns out, that's still not the case.
In case you are wondering, that 875K that is outperforming it was released in 2010. In the words of Scott Wasson:
What does this mean though? Well, any time the game needs the processor to do something, whether it be translating game state (multiplayer), computing heavy AI, running physics, or just general game logic, the processor is going to be taxed pretty heavily. When a processor with low IPC and per-thread performance is taxed here, this is when players experience chug, or stuttery gameplay. We've all felt it, everyone knows it's annoying and it's why so many people genuinely enjoy that constant performance you get on a lot of console games.
To top it off, this sort of issue isn't captured very well at all in FPS benchmarks. If you don't understand why, go read this thread..
For quick reference, 8.3ms = 120 FPS, 16.6ms = 60 FPS, 33.3ms = 30 FPS, 66.6ms = 15 FPS. Here are some charts showing what is going on with every single frame during a benchmark to help visualize what I mean:
These are only single player games. Multiplayer is especially sensitive to per thread performance, as it needs the CPU to both gather data on your actions, as well as receive that data from all other players and then change the game state to represent those actions. That's some really intensive math that requires a speedy processor to figure it out quickly.
Look at the difference in performance by just increasing the clock speed on a 3570K in 200MHz increments in Dota 2:
There's simply no way to make up for this terrible performance. Sure, some games in the future might be n-threaded to better take advantage of the FX architecture, but there aren't many games right now that do. Not only that, but coding to take advantage of those extra cores is incredibly complex. From the mouth of Lord GabeN:
But even then, one of the few games that is n-threaded is Civilization V. You'd imagine that with those 8 cores at it's disposal, the 8350 would perform well, giving credence to the "well when multiplatform games are coded for 8 cores...." argument. Turns out, that's still not the case.
In case you are wondering, that 875K that is outperforming it was released in 2010. In the words of Scott Wasson:
Issue #3: Aging Platform, No Certain Future
The other major issue is that the 990FX chipset is lacking a lot of features one might take for granted on an Z77 or newer Intel board. There's no PCI-E 3.0 support, most importantly. This might not be very important at all currently when talking about single GPUs, but PCI-E 2.0 could begin to be a bottleneck as soon as Maxwell later this year. That means when you upgrade to a new graphics card, you won't be getting the same kind of performance out of it that you would otherwise.
Though Intel chipsets and motherboards are basically end of line the moment they are released, the thing is, the processor you are buying with it is already amazing. You don't really need the opportunity to upgrade to a better processor down the line, unless you bought something like an i3. But even then, you can buy an i5 or i7 made for your socket in a year or two for super cheap.
With the FX line, the future is uncertain. There may not be any other processors released that will work with the 990FX chipset. That means you could be stuck with an 8350, which is something that gets outperformed by an i3 in a lot of CPU heavy games. Yikes.
Though Intel chipsets and motherboards are basically end of line the moment they are released, the thing is, the processor you are buying with it is already amazing. You don't really need the opportunity to upgrade to a better processor down the line, unless you bought something like an i3. But even then, you can buy an i5 or i7 made for your socket in a year or two for super cheap.
With the FX line, the future is uncertain. There may not be any other processors released that will work with the 990FX chipset. That means you could be stuck with an 8350, which is something that gets outperformed by an i3 in a lot of CPU heavy games. Yikes.
Issue #4: BUNCH OF INTEL FANBOYS ON GAF, YOU ALL POINT OUT TINY THINGS THAT DON'T REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE
I'm sorry you feel that way.
I might be editing this to include some more stuff, but I thought it'd be nice to have a post we could all link to and/or quote to save some time since this comes up every week.
Hmm, I'll reconsider the cooler, gonna see if I can find some youtube videos comparing noise levels and talk to the people at the shop.
Gonna look up how the overclocking process works nowadays with the i5-K. Cheers!
I would like to build a PC for the living room (so kind of steam box). Important: small and quiet, but as powerful as possible.
A few questions regarding the build below:
1. Is the "Cooler Master Seidon 120V" necessary and does it lead to a more silent system?
2. Do you know other cases with similar dimensions as the Silverstone RVZ01B? This case is not yet available (at least in Germany)
3. Instead of the Silverstone 450W Power Supply I only have a 400 W power supply available at my shop. Is 400W enough for that system?
3. Is anything important missing? Does that system fit in the case? Any other suggestions for changes / improvements?
Thanks!
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($107.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.81 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($69.36 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG BT30N Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($89.99 @ Mwave)
Total: $1181.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-23 18:15 EDT-0400)
A few questions regarding the build below:
1. Is the "Cooler Master Seidon 120V" necessary and does it lead to a more silent system?
2. Do you know other cases with similar dimensions as the Silverstone RVZ01B? This case is not yet available (at least in Germany)
3. Instead of the Silverstone 450W Power Supply I only have a 400 W power supply available at my shop. Is 400W enough for that system?
3. Is anything important missing? Does that system fit in the case? Any other suggestions for changes / improvements?
Thanks!
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($107.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.81 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($69.36 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG BT30N Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($89.99 @ Mwave)
Total: $1181.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-23 18:15 EDT-0400)
Power consumption should be at the bottom of the list and it's not nearly as bad as you make it out to be, especially since it is a gaming machine.
People's concerns for power draw should be dealt case by case.
Even if games use 6 cores well, 4 cores that are 25% faster should perform better in a vast majority of titles and the main thing is that the minimum performance level across games is higher. AKA no low FPS in some RTS or MMOs.
When you introduce 8 vs 4 you can get examples for video encoding, encryption, CM stuff that it is better, or things like DIRT3 will be 180FPS vs 160FPS where it doesn't matter.
The main thing is to see if the 400W model will fit that computer. (SFX not ATX). Any extra cables will also hurt much more in that case than others. I'd buy online if you must. 400W from a pure wattage standpoint is enough.
If you want power you do need the Z motherboard. For only $10 more you can get another 25% CPU performance and it should last you forever (like 5 years) since CPU speeds have stagnated. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128615
People's concerns for power draw should be dealt case by case.
Yeah, not going water. Not worth it at all.
For others:
Even if games use 6 cores well, 4 cores that are 25% faster should perform better in a vast majority of titles and the main thing is that the minimum performance level across games is higher. AKA no low FPS in some RTS or MMOs.
When you introduce 8 vs 4 you can get examples for video encoding, encryption, CM stuff that it is better, or things like DIRT3 will be 180FPS vs 160FPS where it doesn't matter.
I would purchase a low profile air cooler if you want silence. Pump noise and different brands are hit and miss on the pump speed control, so I can't tell give you a 100% recommendation. If you really want it to last getting an AIO water cooler would be good if you overclock, but it may be louder than air due to pump noise and fan on rad.
The main thing is to see if the 400W model will fit that computer. (SFX not ATX). Any extra cables will also hurt much more in that case than others. I'd buy online if you must. 400W from a pure wattage standpoint is enough.
If you want power you do need the Z motherboard. For only $10 more you can get another 25% CPU performance and it should last you forever (like 5 years) since CPU speeds have stagnated. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128615
Huh. That would be pretty simple I guess. No need to mess around with memory timings or voltages manually anymore, surely the system needs to be stress tested for stability? Guess I've got some research to do on these newfangled electronic abacuses.
Prophet Steve
Member
It would not be the most efficient overclock. It is very likely to handle a multiplier of 40 but if you more into it you can easily get more. You don't have to mess with memory timing though. Raise the multiplier, do a stress test and if it does not work up the voltage a tiny bit. And keep an eye on the temperature.
Overclocking has become a lot less dangerous and difficult.
Bookmarked for the inevitable posts asking for proof of why intel.
maneil99
Member
Without mods and average games? 2018. For games that push visuals like the ones you mentioned? 2015.
Overclocking could be a nice option later on, so I will get the Z board, thanks.
But for now, a silent system is more important. For that purpose, perhaps the included air cooler is already sufficient? Otherwise a recommendation would be great, because it´s my first PC I´ll build myself.
Out of curiosity what brand of HDD does everyone use for storage on their systems ? Looking to get an SSD drive but I'll probably also pick up a large HDD for storage purposes, can never have enough space
Also, what type of speakers do folks use for their sound ? Any good recommendations ? Not looking for anything fancy, just looking for a 2.0 replacement for what I'm using which is old and shitty but served me well enough over the years.
Also, what type of speakers do folks use for their sound ? Any good recommendations ? Not looking for anything fancy, just looking for a 2.0 replacement for what I'm using which is old and shitty but served me well enough over the years.
VRAM depends on a lot of factors and games today that CAN use +3Gb don't HAVE to use +3Gb. Resolution and AA are the two easiest factors for Vram, for example at 1080p Assetto Corsa uses about 1.3GB of VRAM for me. At three screens (and it has proper three in-game camera support for triple screens) it bumps up to a tad over 3GB. BF4 will also use over 3GB if you pump up the eye candy to 11 but if you don't have it it doesn't use it and automagically does some nifty game engine stuff with textures to not slow down performance (at least from a VRAM point of view).
Another factor is high res textures and as far as I know Skyrim high res textures modes are one of the few notable examples of high VRAM usage. If developers start releasing high res textures then more VRAM might be useful but that has yet to be seen.
So if you are three screen gaming, 4K gaming, 3D gaming, high res texture modes or want to crank the AA (real AA not post AA) to 32x then there is a case for 3GB. As for the future my personal opinion is we will see games bumping up against that 3GB limit but no more. The PS4 has 8GB, 2GB for system, probably 3+3 split for video usage and CPU usage so I don't suspect textures to balloon out of control.
Included cooler is okay for stock and a light overclock.
Here's some things for you to read over:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1466816/silverstone-raven-rvz01-ml07-owners-club/0_50
Out of curiosity what brand of HDD does everyone use for storage on their systems ? Looking to get an SSD drive but I'll probably also pick up a large HDD for storage purposes, can never have enough space
Also, what type of speakers do folks use for their sound ? Any good recommendations ? Not looking for anything fancy, just looking for a 2.0 replacement for what I'm using which is old and shitty but served me well enough over the years.
Samsung for SSD
Western Digital for HDD (Black and Green)
They have never failed me (yet *touch wood)
Ive got Seagate, WD, Hitachi, all run good for many years.
Crucial is another super reliable SSD brand.
Thx, much appreciated. I´ll report how it worked out, but it´ll take a while until I have all the parts.
Price point? If you can part with $150, I think you'd be happy with Behringer MS40. I owned a pair for a couple of years, then upgraded to a very good 2.1 system and DAC with about $1k total cost, and the Behringers honestly didn't sound all that bad in comparison as long as you are playing at normal desktop distance volumes. Obviously they can't go low.
They are convenient, too. You can have two different inputs connected and hear sound from both without having to even switch between inputs (I had both a PC and a console plugged in), each with their own volume control. And because the speakers can accept digital sound via optical or coaxial, they work well even with a PC/laptop that has terrible noise on its audio ports.
Well I'm in the UK but probably £100 - £150 max tbh (when I have the cash!). I use headphones a lot but these 2.0 speakers are getting old and should be replaced. Sounds like a good suggestion though, I'll take a nosey. Thanks
EDIT - This them ? They look pretty damn awesome tbh.
phazedplasma
Member
Looking to make some upgrades to my PC
Currently I have an:
i5 2500k (probably doesnt need an upgrade)
8GB of ram (probably doesnt need an upgrade)
nvidia 560ti (probably the bottleneck)
300 Gb raptor (would like to move to an ssd)
So Im thinking video card and SSD or 2...
Are AMD cards still all mining crazy? Does nVidia have good deals as a result?
What are the SSD brands to look at?
Thanks,
Currently I have an:
i5 2500k (probably doesnt need an upgrade)
8GB of ram (probably doesnt need an upgrade)
nvidia 560ti (probably the bottleneck)
300 Gb raptor (would like to move to an ssd)
So Im thinking video card and SSD or 2...
Are AMD cards still all mining crazy? Does nVidia have good deals as a result?
What are the SSD brands to look at?
Thanks,
What's your budget?
The Samsung 840 Evo and Crucial M500/M550 are excellent choices.
phazedplasma
Member
I'm thinking 500 for the video card. Maybe 200 for the SSD?
Cuban Legend
Member
so is an ASUS Direct CU2 2GB GTX 770 for $297 (including shipping) a good deal?
You can easily get a 780 and a good 250gig SSD for that money.
**edit** Issue has been resolved. Somehow all of the nVidia drivers had been erased and the graphics card wasn't recognized at all. Drivers installed, PC restarted, works fine now. What a relief***
Just ran into a weird ass PC problem, hoping that someone can help. Little back story first.
Just had my PC flown out to me from NY to WA(i5-2500k, MSI GTX560ti Twin Frozr II). When I got the PC, I opened it up to make sure everything was in good shape. Turns out my video card and capture card were jostled loose somehow. Scared me but I put them back in and my PC was running as expected for almost a week.
I turned on my PC today and everything on screen looked off. Almost as if the monitor was broken. The resolution was real low, causing the icons and images to be huge. The colors were way off and some things weren't displaying at all. I opened my PC again and moved the video card to another slot. Started it up, same thing.
Right clicking the desktop doesn't bring up the special nVidia graphics settings option. Windows recognizes my CPU to run at standard instead of the OC'd rate, as does the BIOS.
I really don't know what the hell happened. I'm always extremely careful to ground myself and keep myself grounded whenever messing with my PC. I have been switching off the power strip everything is connected to before I leave to work everyday but that's after I shut down my PC the right way.
Anyone have any familiarity with an issue like this? Any other troubleshooting steps I can do?
Thanks!
Just ran into a weird ass PC problem, hoping that someone can help. Little back story first.
Just had my PC flown out to me from NY to WA(i5-2500k, MSI GTX560ti Twin Frozr II). When I got the PC, I opened it up to make sure everything was in good shape. Turns out my video card and capture card were jostled loose somehow. Scared me but I put them back in and my PC was running as expected for almost a week.
I turned on my PC today and everything on screen looked off. Almost as if the monitor was broken. The resolution was real low, causing the icons and images to be huge. The colors were way off and some things weren't displaying at all. I opened my PC again and moved the video card to another slot. Started it up, same thing.
Right clicking the desktop doesn't bring up the special nVidia graphics settings option. Windows recognizes my CPU to run at standard instead of the OC'd rate, as does the BIOS.
I really don't know what the hell happened. I'm always extremely careful to ground myself and keep myself grounded whenever messing with my PC. I have been switching off the power strip everything is connected to before I leave to work everyday but that's after I shut down my PC the right way.
Anyone have any familiarity with an issue like this? Any other troubleshooting steps I can do?
Thanks!
Sorry it took such a while for me to respond mkenyon, I wasn't sure I would have the money I needed at the time, but now I certainly do and then some. I am definitely going Ivy Bridge and my budget has an upper limit of $1600 (but I need to buy everything except the case, a gunmetal phantom 410 I already ordered; older parts are either useless/worthless or donated to friends/family at this point), so the build's upper limit budget in total would have been ~$1700, give or take. I had a build planned out for a lower pricepoint, but I've got some extra headroom to play with now if I so choose (might not have to cheap out quite as much on the mouse/keyboard, might be able to squeeze a nicer monitor in too, better cooler, maybe a bigger SSD <shrug>). I'm generally pretty good at deciding what I want myself, but I'll post it anyway and get some opinions. However, before that, I was wondering if you might still be selling that motherboard? It is wickedly nice, just didn't think I could afford it before. I am interested, though I haven't decided yet (but not a big deal if you sold it off, I'm happy with the UD3H). Anyway, the build I was planning (for gaming, media, video editing, benchmarking, etc.) was:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($324.98 @ Best Buy)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($80.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.81 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Gunmetal/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (Already Purchased)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($90.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VX229H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($36.98 @ SuperBiiz) - Kinda crappy, I know, but care more about the PC's internals for now
Speakers: Cyber Acoustics CA-3602 30W 2.1ch Speakers ($41.97 @ Amazon)
Other: Logitech UE 6000 Headphones ($90.00) - These are not necessary, I have a decent, though not so great pair of old Sennheiser's which I'd prefer to replace, but don't need to.
Total: $1505.90
I haven't had much time to decide how to fine tune the build and adjust it based on my new upper limit (of about $100 more) and I do have one glaring issue I'm not happy with. I've been waiting to build for quite a while now and so I had my eye on the 290s and 280Xs back when they released. Of course, me being in the U.S., I'm facing a bit of an issue with 280X and 290 pricing (and I realize I'm only driving a single 1920x1080 monitor to begin with, so I was just entertaining the 290 at the brilliant price point it was supposed to sell at because why not). I have no issue with Nvidia cards, however I'm not comfortable with the 2 GB 770 and the 4 GB version is also quite expensive for the same performance that should have been available at ~$300 with the 280Xs. I'm not sure what to do, as I'm quite unhappy with the current GPU market, but at the same time I cannot afford waiting any longer (as I am without a desktop at the moment at all).
I was considering simply sticking with a cheaper mid-range card (like the R7 265 or GTX 660) until prices dropped back down to normal or, rather, Maxwell or Pirate Islands were around, but that defeats the whole exciting impact of a new high-end machine, in my opinion and costs more money as well. Does anyone have any advice on that front? I'd rather not wait more than two weeks to actually build this if it can be avoided, I'm not sure how likely it would be to come across a random hot deal on a Gigabyte or Asus (my preferred AIBs) 280X in the near future from somewhere, and I'm stuck in a bit of a tight situation then otherwise.
Maybe I should just swallow the losses (and get the 280X if it comes in stock on Newegg for $340 or on the deal NCIX are having for the next 3.5 hours at $350), maybe wait a bit on individual parts for sales, and simply upgrade the cooler and the mouse/keyboard? Thanks to anyone in advance for their input.
Well I'm in the UK but probably £100 - £150 max tbh (when I have the cash!). I use headphones a lot but these 2.0 speakers are getting old and should be replaced. Sounds like a good suggestion though, I'll take a nosey. Thanks
EDIT - This them ? They look pretty damn awesome tbh.
Yeah always go for a good quality 2.0 over a 2.1 setup. I ignored my friends advice and got the Creative Gigaworks T3 and while they look pretty sweet they actually sound terrible. Untameable booming base and shrill highs with a noticeable gap where mids are meant to be. Do Not Buy!
FrenchMovieTheme
Member
hey fellows, i'm in the market to build a new PC. i used this thread the last time (about 3 years ago?) and it has worked out fine for me. i'm looking to spend maybe around $1k. i am still going to keep my old PC and i'm just looking to upgrade on the gaming side. i might use it for SOME multimedia recording but only music related. what is a good current build? i see some stuff in the OP and that looks good but how up to date is it?
also, i see SSD prices have come down a bit and i'm contemplating going all SSD with the 960gb crucial M500. any issues with that?
also, i see SSD prices have come down a bit and i'm contemplating going all SSD with the 960gb crucial M500. any issues with that?
appaws
Banned
2 HDD's? No it does not. It has an SSD for the OS and most often used games/apps, and an HDD for storage. Go for an SSD, seriously. It is the best single thing you can do to improve your computing experience. It is a necessity.
Maybe. But let's just say it "shortens" the lifespan of a CPU from 10 years down to 8. Who cares? It will be long in CPU heaven by that time anyway. You seem to have outdated misconceptions about overclocking. These days it is super-easy to do, and gives you a nearly free performance boost up to 25%. There is no reason not to OC. A $35 dollar heatsink gets you a nice performance increase with just a few clicks of the mouse.
Spend as much as you can afford on a GPU. I don't believe you can "overkill" on that front. Even if you are at 1080p right now, maybe in a year you will get a killer deal on a 2560x1440 monitor and then you will be ready for it.
I don't believe in all this waiting for this or that part, unless it is a matter of a few weeks or something. You could wait for the 800 series...but think of all the great hours of gaming that you will miss out on during that time...? Build now, you can upgrade later. That is one of the great things about PC gaming.
Yep, those. I also liked the looks. I'm not going to say they are the most solid thing ever - "real" low end studio monitors start at about twice that price - but they don't look or feel like easily scratched, shiny plastic ordinary consumer stuff.
Cuban Legend
Member
Just bought an ASUS DCU2 770 from eBay (used for 3-4 months) for just under 300 #swag.
You should be able to snag more, the MSi's were going for 330+, i've heard they are the most silent and cooled 770 of the bunch.
neurosisxeno
Member
It most definitely is. I never recommend people go for SLi/Crossfire, it's almost always more trouble that its worth.
makeitawkward
Member
I was considering adding another 770. What's the issue that you're running into? How much are you selling them for?
date's posted on top of the build sheet. Fairly recent.
No issues with the crucial m500. Reliable and very affordable right now.
FrenchMovieTheme
Member
NoRéN;105537632 said:
bah how did i miss that!
regarding the m500, is there any issue with having ONLY an SSD?
not unless you hate fast boot times, programs launching faster than you can imagine, and the lack of noise from having a non-mechanical drive.
OldAsUrSock
Banned
Is there a technical reason to why we need GPUs with the same VRAM to be used in Crossfire or SLi and not just the same GPU?
RadarScope1
Member
Anybody ever have trouble with New Egg checkout? I've been caught in an endless loop there for like 20 minutes. I even tried paying with PayPal and it keeps taking right back to the CC info screen. I'm almost wondering if I've been hacked or something
Either that or New Egg is too good for my money.
- Status