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"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
Reddit key swap is amazing. $10 for Windows 8.
lostsupper
Banned
I still prefer 7.
RumblingRosco
Member
I know, I got my key there for $15 a few weeks back, but I'm still not sure I'd spend the extra money to upgrade personally. I would absolutely get W8 (as I did a few weeks ago) when my main drive died and I needed to replace my one-time use W7 key anyway.
Did you try the PID Checker i posted to verify the key?
There are also keys on mydigitallife forum that will let you install Windows 8 albeit be deactivated. Atleast you have some sort of usable PC in the meantime.
Check out the OP.
Crimsonsky
Member
Seconded. If you are comfortable with 7, stick with it. There is no reason to upgrade and no reason to jump through hoops and/or mess with settings when 7 is great right out of the box. Once you've disabled 8's defining feature, which everyone is going to recommend doing, you essentially have Windows 7 anyway. Just with more overhead. What's the point? 8 is worthless.
Wow 337.50 is terrible, I've never had this much issue installing a driver. I've tried upgrade install, clean install, uninstall everything then clean install, removing second GPU and repeat all the steps above. It just will not under any circumstances install correctly, it just hangs at a black screen until I force a restart. I am very disappointed NVIDIA
SilverBulletKY
Neo Member
How big of an increase would I be getting from moving to a GTX 750 from a Radeon HD 4850?
Prophet Steve
Member
Go with Windows 8(.1).
Windows 8.1 more overhead? It is faster than Windows 7. Has a few more features with the new task manager and file transfer. It will be updated for longer and you'll be able to get the latest DirectX when it comes out.
And the current DirectX 11 runs more efficiently in Windows 8
FlawlessCowboy
Member
Damn, sorry guys.
Current Specs:
CPU AMD|A64 X2 5000+ 2.6G
3GB Ram
250GB HD
MB - ASUS|M2A-VM HDMI AMD 690G
GPU - Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-Bit
500 Watt PSU
Budget: Price Range
$700 American
Main Use: Rate 1-5
4/5 - I'm mostly going to use this computer for gaming and some school related work including Microsoft Word and Excel and general web browsing.
Monitor Resolution:
1920-1080 is the maximum resolution for my monitor so probably that. I just bought the monitor probably about six months ago so I don't plan on buying another one for this. It's a Asus 24" 248H-P.
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well:
I already have a good M/KB, an OS, and a monitor, so I just need a strong tower. It must have the ability to play current games like BioShock: Infinite, Red Orchestra, and some new MMOs at 60FPS. I'd also love the ability to upgrade it at a later time so I can play games like the Witcher 3.
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline?
I'd like to order everything by next friday. I'm using XP so it's kind of important that I get this done soon.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes, No, Maybe (This means yes!)
No.
Other thoughts: I built my current computer on a budget back in 2008, what kind of performance gains can I expect with my current budget? Will it be pretty noticeable?
Thanks for the help, guys.
Current Specs:
CPU AMD|A64 X2 5000+ 2.6G
3GB Ram
250GB HD
MB - ASUS|M2A-VM HDMI AMD 690G
GPU - Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-Bit
500 Watt PSU
Budget: Price Range
$700 American
Main Use: Rate 1-5
4/5 - I'm mostly going to use this computer for gaming and some school related work including Microsoft Word and Excel and general web browsing.
Monitor Resolution:
1920-1080 is the maximum resolution for my monitor so probably that. I just bought the monitor probably about six months ago so I don't plan on buying another one for this. It's a Asus 24" 248H-P.
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well:
I already have a good M/KB, an OS, and a monitor, so I just need a strong tower. It must have the ability to play current games like BioShock: Infinite, Red Orchestra, and some new MMOs at 60FPS. I'd also love the ability to upgrade it at a later time so I can play games like the Witcher 3.
When will you build?: Do you have a deadline?
I'd like to order everything by next friday. I'm using XP so it's kind of important that I get this done soon.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes, No, Maybe (This means yes!)
No.
Other thoughts: I built my current computer on a budget back in 2008, what kind of performance gains can I expect with my current budget? Will it be pretty noticeable?
Thanks for the help, guys.
Spiritreaver
Member
.........Unless you actually, uh, want to try or even like Metro god forbid.
I'm gonna be pretty sad if W9 doesn't have Metro. Windows finally has a nice little ecosystem, and I enjoy running media apps in metro vs using a browser.
-COOLIO-
The Everyman
go for windows 8. install startisback if you want a classic start menu.
metro is great for streaming to tablets and for tvs.
win 8 also boots a lot faster and has a lot of other improvements.
You're at a weird place, because it's right between a standard i3 budget build, and a solid 4670K OC'd machine with a lot of room to grow. MMOs and Bioshock Infinite will very much appreciate an overclocked processor, as they're very much dependent upon per-thread performance.
That being said, you'll still have a very appreciable gain going with the "Good" build in the OP with an upgraded video card.
I'd really push towards saving up that extra little bit to go for the "Great" build, but if too painful on the budget, go for the "Good" build, upgrade the processor to an i5 4430, and then the best possible GPU you can with the rest (750 Ti or 760 would be great).
MMOs are CPU bound so you'll want to think about overclocking
This build goes just slightly over budget but it's worth it IMO, and I hope others here would agree. It's all good quality stuff. You could save $10 by getting a VP-450 for the PSU if you're really strict on the budget
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Biostar Hi-Fi Z87W ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($116.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $713.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-10 13:40 EDT-0400)
PS if you live near a Microcenter you can make good savings on the CPU and mobo
Zuhzuhzombie!!
Member
Recommend a gaming laptop? (Is this the right thread or is there a laptop thread?)
Budget is around 2k. I'm currently thinking about the new MSI Ghost or the "New" Razer Blade 14. I would prefer to stay around a 14 inch screen since that will help with battery life a bit. The New Razer Blade has the higher resolution screen compared to the regular iteration. Worried about heat, though.
Touch screen is a must since I'm sure Win 8 will be on whatever I get.
Basically I like the portability and power behind the MSI Ghost and the New Razer Blade 14 and both are also stylish looking devices.
I plan on playing games like EU4, Civ V, Stick of Truth, maybe Skyrim, etc. I don't need to or plan on playing Metro LL or Bioshock Infinite at 1080 maxed out or anything.
I'll have my work laptop with me as well, but it's an older Dell with a dedicated GPU. It's just big and bulky, heavy, etc, and is a hassle to use in cramped spaces like airplanes.
Considering the decent performance of the Intel Iris hardware if Apple gets off their butts and announces a new MacBook I'd even consider that if that's not too crazy an idea.
Thoughts?
Monitor Resolution:
1920-1080
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well:
Civ V, EU4, Stick of Truth, Skyrim but being able to play some 2014 games on low/med settings would also be nice.
Do you have a deadline?
Sept 2014
If the consensus is that I should wait a few months before making a decision, I'm fine with that.
Budget is around 2k. I'm currently thinking about the new MSI Ghost or the "New" Razer Blade 14. I would prefer to stay around a 14 inch screen since that will help with battery life a bit. The New Razer Blade has the higher resolution screen compared to the regular iteration. Worried about heat, though.
Touch screen is a must since I'm sure Win 8 will be on whatever I get.
Basically I like the portability and power behind the MSI Ghost and the New Razer Blade 14 and both are also stylish looking devices.
I plan on playing games like EU4, Civ V, Stick of Truth, maybe Skyrim, etc. I don't need to or plan on playing Metro LL or Bioshock Infinite at 1080 maxed out or anything.
I'll have my work laptop with me as well, but it's an older Dell with a dedicated GPU. It's just big and bulky, heavy, etc, and is a hassle to use in cramped spaces like airplanes.
Considering the decent performance of the Intel Iris hardware if Apple gets off their butts and announces a new MacBook I'd even consider that if that's not too crazy an idea.
Thoughts?
Monitor Resolution:
1920-1080
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well:
Civ V, EU4, Stick of Truth, Skyrim but being able to play some 2014 games on low/med settings would also be nice.
Do you have a deadline?
Sept 2014
If the consensus is that I should wait a few months before making a decision, I'm fine with that.
zeroeffect
Member
Is AMD going to release any CPUs this year? Intel really needs some competition. I'm kinda tired of seeing the prices of their CPUs. I guess AMD just decided to give up and focus on APUs.
zeroeffect
Member
Figures...
FlawlessCowboy
Member
Yeah, I'd love to get the "great" build but my budget is pretty tight, unfortunately. I might be able to bump it up to $750 by next friday. In that case, is the 760 worth the extra money? Do I need to upgrade the PSU to support it?
I know this is a dumb question, but is there a difference in the ram being one stick at 8gb vs the 2x4 that I see a lot of? Also, if I'm able to bring my budget up to $750, is there anything that I could marginally upgrade that would pay off?
Thanks for the help.
760 is around 20% quicker than what I've suggested. It's a great card, but the R9 270 I also like too. It's good bang for buck. PSU wise you can run any GPU on a 500w unit like the EVGA I've posted.
RAM wise you might lose a few percent in performance. It's pretty negligible in the real world.
If you brought your budget up to $750 I'd probably look at dual channel RAM and a 760. I'm on my phone now but they should be attainable for that.
Ram runs dual(most common) or triple channel. Thus, you want 2 or 3 sticks of ram otherwise you would be running at 1/2 or 1/3 of the possible memory bandwidth.
T
TrueMenace
Unconfirmed Member
Anyone know if my GTX 480 will be able to max out Dark Souls 2?
jeremy70583
Member
I placed an order for the gigabyte Z87N-WIFI mini itx. They said it was in stock, not it is out of stock...i need to find a replacement...what would be a good replacement for that mobo? is this decent? http://www.microcenter.com/product/414947/Z87E-ITX_Socket_LGA_1150_mini_ITX_Intel_Motherboard
All of the Z87 ITX boards are good, since all the 'budget' ones use the H87 chipset.
Objectively Bad Opinion
Member
Yes, if Mantle is working properly on the 270X (I'm not sure if it is), then it's potentially massive depending on what CPU you have.
For other games it'll be very slight, about 10% in general. Bigger in games that favor AMD and smaller or nonexistent in games that favor Nvidia. This is against the reference cards. It's not a real big upgrade overall imo.
To be clear, this isn't a 660Ti correct?
I'm really getting the itch to sell my 2012 Macbook Pro Retina (base model), I could probably get $1200 easily for it.
And use that to build a small form factor PC around the Silverstone Raven RVZ01B case. I used to build mid-full sized towers and all that jazz, but no more monster sized rigs for me. I appreciate small form factors, like Steam Machine (console-like) sized boxes.
I could probably build a nice mid-range system for around $1000, if I scale back on the GPU (thinking an Nvidia 660GTX would be enough for the games I plan on playing). I mainly just want to play Blizzard games at native 1080p (my monitor's res) with everything max'd out including AA, and not ever drop under 60fps. Diablo 3, Heroes of the Storm (whenever it comes out), Hearthstone (not a prob) and eventually WoW again when the new expansion hits.
The thing is I would use it for work as well, and I really loved using OSX so I'll miss that a bit. But more of a PITA, would be selling my MBPr. eBay out of the question cause of fees and the wait time for paypal funds to release, then transfer. I guess that would leave Craigslist but I feel uncomfortable selling something for so much through that lol.
Have any of you guys sold PC/Macs on CL before, thoughts?
And use that to build a small form factor PC around the Silverstone Raven RVZ01B case. I used to build mid-full sized towers and all that jazz, but no more monster sized rigs for me. I appreciate small form factors, like Steam Machine (console-like) sized boxes.
I could probably build a nice mid-range system for around $1000, if I scale back on the GPU (thinking an Nvidia 660GTX would be enough for the games I plan on playing). I mainly just want to play Blizzard games at native 1080p (my monitor's res) with everything max'd out including AA, and not ever drop under 60fps. Diablo 3, Heroes of the Storm (whenever it comes out), Hearthstone (not a prob) and eventually WoW again when the new expansion hits.
The thing is I would use it for work as well, and I really loved using OSX so I'll miss that a bit. But more of a PITA, would be selling my MBPr. eBay out of the question cause of fees and the wait time for paypal funds to release, then transfer. I guess that would leave Craigslist but I feel uncomfortable selling something for so much through that lol.
Have any of you guys sold PC/Macs on CL before, thoughts?
Zuhzuhzombie!!
Member
Be very upfront about any problems it may have, cash only, meet in a public place with a friend.
Correct, it's the eVGA 660 with reference cooler.
Objectively Bad Opinion
Member
I agree.
I see. Well, there's a couple of 270X Hawks for 200 dollars on Amazon right now; one refurbished and one new. It's the best 270X model imo. Should be noticeably faster than the 660 you have.
To be honest though I'd at least go for a 760 or 280 non-X which will be about 30% faster than the 660.
So I have been really wanting Fractal R4 in white w/ window and can't find it any cheaper than $130 after tax.
Found the silver for 75$ shipped. Open box but brand new.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/171294325245?nav=SEARCH
Somebody please talk me out of wasting money and getting the white
is the silver one pretty too?
Found the silver for 75$ shipped. Open box but brand new.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/171294325245?nav=SEARCH
Somebody please talk me out of wasting money and getting the white
is the silver one pretty too?justsomeguy
Member
If you want the white one, the extra isn't a waste. Provided you can afford it of course.So I have been really wanting Fractal R4 in white w/ window and can't find it any cheaper than $130 after tax.
Found the silver for 75$ shipped. Open box but brand new.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/171294325245?nav=SEARCH
Somebody please talk me out of wasting money and getting the white
Thanks for the advice!
TheAngryMonkey
Member
Oh boy, for those with a gigabyte board do not try to update the bios with the @BIOS utility. I think I managed to brick the new board I got from frys using it. Its also impossible to get it to invoke the dual bios to fresh it and even when I did that, board wouldnt come up.
Most people suggest not touching the @BIOS app or using QFLASH. I mean, I wasnt going to update the bios at all but their website claims the F2 revision of the board I had z87x-HD3 had an update so theres that.
I got stuck in a loop where it would flash a screen black, reboot, no signal to monitor, over an dover again. If i mashed the del key it would take me to the bios that showed F2 was loaded but nothing. I even managed to reload windows7 but once i restarted once everything went down the tubes again (and this was with the backup bios reloaded!). Before that, everything was working fine, etc. Im going to have Frys swap the board, or get a different brand, and see if all my stuff works fine. Oh boy. I know my other HW is fine, considering i threw my old mobo back in my case, with my power supply and video card, reloaded windows and its all good.
what a nightmare! sorry for the rambling post
I just used @BIOS to update my board this morning and it went fine. I guess YMMV? It rebooted a few times after the update was applied but after that it was fine.
When did NewEgg start shipping to the UK?
And how are they for deals? I watch their videos quite a bit (after learning how to build a PC from their big one), and they get mentioned a lot on here.
Edit: £40 delivery for a monitor? I thought they had a UK warehouse now. Never mind...
And how are they for deals? I watch their videos quite a bit (after learning how to build a PC from their big one), and they get mentioned a lot on here.
Edit: £40 delivery for a monitor? I thought they had a UK warehouse now. Never mind...
I mean, technically I can afford it, only because it's going on my credit card lol. It's 55$ more than the Titanium. Just not sure how much I like it. Life is hard
Objectively Bad Opinion
Member
Living with a case you don't like is harder.
This.
I paid retail price ($119.99+taxes) for my windowed white R4 even though I could have gotten a titanium windowed R4 for $20 less at the time of my purchase. I'm satisfied with mine and don't feel any regrets in getting what I wanted.
DrBaalzamon
Member
Yeah, i think my main mistake was using the 'online' download and not a source file from my saved desktop. Did you stream it down or did you download it?
FWIW, i just returned the board no questions asked and got an ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO
Infinity
Member
Love it. I have the black R4, and it's one of if not the best case I've ever had.
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