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[Angelus Errare]

It wasn't, but I just got done talking to them, they're hooking me up with the original promo (SC:BL and ACIV:BF). Just got the confirmation in my email.

 

[mrchampipi]

Parts for my new build should arrive in a couple of days. Pretty much Haz's "excellent" build.
I plan to keep my msi 7870 oc twin frozr: how long before my card starts to really feel outdated (I play in 1080p)? And what should I be looking forward to in the gpu area?

 

[RedSwirl]

Actually I don't even know if the GPU was idle or under load when this was happening. If it happens again I should check whether the GPU is actually doing anything. Even in a dusty system I can't imagine a GPU going over the 50's when idle.

 

[IonicSnake]

Just ordered a EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti SC going from a HD6950.

 

[Ultimatepancake]

You shouldn't need that CPU cooler with that i3. The stock cooler included should be enough since you can't overclock.

ah ok cool

 

[CreepingFear]

Just ordered a EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti SC going from a HD6950.

Congratulations. Welcome to the 780 Ti club

 

[IonicSnake]

Congratulations. Welcome to the 780 Ti club

Thank you!

 

[BoosterDuck]

copypasting from techsupportgaf for more exposure

Does anyone know how I can output audio from both my speakers and headphones while being able to control their individual audio through volume control panel?

 

[Hazaro]

copypasting from techsupportgaf for more exposure

Does anyone know how I can output audio from both my speakers and headphones while being able to control their individual audio through volume control panel?

Virtual Audio Cable I think can do this.
That's probably a very old recommendation and a paid option though.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

I'm trying to reinstall Windows 7 to an AMD PC (was running a RAID install, but not bothering with that now since problems) off DVD and then USB. But once it loads the files from DVD/USB, it freezes at the Starting Windows screen. I've set it to boot from CD-ROM/USB-HDD first in BIOS, and I only want AHCI/Native IDE.

I can't figure out why it keeps doing this. I've never had this problem before with the same images, even on the same computer.

Any help would be appreciated, because this shit is frustrating.

 

[Hazaro]

I'm trying to reinstall Windows 7 to an AMD PC (was running a RAID install, but not bothering with that now since problems) off DVD and then USB. But once it loads the files from DVD/USB, it freezes at the Starting Windows screen. I've set it to boot from CD-ROM/USB-HDD first in BIOS, and I only want AHCI/Native IDE.

I can't figure out why it keeps doing this. I've never had this problem before with the same images, even on the same computer.

Any help would be appreciated, because this shit is frustrating.

Have you undone the RAID in your controller and also re-written MBR/whatever the new thing is on the HDDs?

I'm guessing you changed the HDD detection already off of RAID to AHCI only. There might be 2 or 3 linked settings for it.

I feel like I had to deal with this before, but can't remember.

 

[Jibbed]

Could anyone quickly tell me if Zotac or Palit cards are any good?

Their cards nearly always come up as cheapest so I was just wondering if they're worth the £20-30 saved.

 

[foamdino]

I'm going to build a new pc in late March, and I've been swinging back and forth between amd/nvidia.

My current card is a ati 4670 and it's utter trash and the drivers are atrocious. For the last 12 months I've been convinced I'll be getting an nvidia card, but now the new R9 290 + mantle (and the low price) is very tempting.

So does anyone have any experience with an R9 280-290?

 

[Garou]

Could anyone quickly tell me if Zotac or Palit cards are any good?

Their cards nearly always come up as cheapest so I was just wondering if they're worth the £20-30 saved.

Their cards are as good performance-wise as the others, it's just the coolers that are maybe not as good and/or silent and the support in case you need to exchange under warranty.

 

[NandyRewman]

Could anyone quickly tell me if Zotac or Palit cards are any good?

Their cards nearly always come up as cheapest so I was just wondering if they're worth the £20-30 saved.

Had my Zotac 680 for about 18 months now, never had any problems with it and the performance is pretty good, so from that point of view I'd recommend one. It can be quite loud however, which doesn't bother me, but you might want to consider that. Personally, I'd say go for it.

 

[Ryne]

I'm still really sad about the F3/F4's being crap now.

I guess I have to go WD since I need another HD, running out of space quickly on my computer. Could also use a SSD for windows, my 60 GB Vertex3 was a poor decision.

 

[kharma45]

Could anyone quickly tell me if Zotac or Palit cards are any good?

Their cards nearly always come up as cheapest so I was just wondering if they're worth the £20-30 saved.

Zotac has a reasonable warranty on their stuff and a UK phone number for RMAs at least. With Palit you have to rely on your retailer to help you out and the Palit RMA base is Hong Kong.

For the sake of £20-30 I'd probably stick to one of the more popular Nvidia brands like Gigabyte (their RMA is UK based and has a 3 day turnaround) or EVGA who have the advanced RMA option.

KFA2 stuff is also very good.

My original build was more modest but after looking at some benchmarks figured the extra coin of the 780 was worth it. Sound logic in waiting for prices to come down of course, there always is...

Thanks for the suggestions. Ultimately passed on the latest range of AMD cards due to the noise, but the 280X was certainly one I looked at very closely. Didn’t know about the RMA of MSI, but as you guessed the noise was the clincher. That LG monitor doesn’t appear to rotate 90 degrees according to the user manual I downloaded. And you've added £5 to my SSD.

You’re probably right about the PSU, but I wanted one that would service a future upgrade and modular because I'm useless with cables! Thanks for the 8.1 key, that’s something I will look into.

MSIs RMA is... alright compared to some. I've been through it twice. Stuff has to go to the Netherlands and it's a 2-3 week turnaround time.

Sorry on the monitor, had forgotten you'd want the rotate function. PSU wise that one I've suggested is modular and will handle any future single GPU upgrade. Nice and quiet too as the name would suggest.

 

[Bboy AJ]

Regarding an SSD drive, I'm getting a Samsung Evo. But does it matter whether I get the drive only model or the kit model?

Drive only
Hardware included

It's going to be in a brand new Fractal Node 304.

 

[kharma45]

Regarding an SSD drive, I'm getting a Samsung Evo. But does it matter whether I get the drive only model or the kit model?

Drive only
Hardware included

It's going to be in a brand new Fractal Node 304.

Nope, get what is cheapest. Your motherboard will come with a SATA cable to connect it.

 

[yatesl]

Might have already been posted, but Kingston Technology 120GB V300 SSDs are only £54 on Amazon at the minute.

 

[rCIZZLE]

Hey everyone. Since my 3 year old laptop is both giving me problems and no longer essential for my current living arrangement, I'm deciding to build a PC for the first time. Anyways, here's the basic information:

[Basic Desktop Questions]
Your Current Specs: laptop with many problems lol

Budget: Looking to spend $700 at maximum. Obviously I'd like to go cheaper and would gladly take a small decrease in efficiency if it saved me $100-200. US.

Main Use: Rate 1-5. 5 being Highest: Light Gaming 3, Gaming 4, Emulation (PS2/Wii) 1, Video Editing 1, Streaming games in HD 2, 3D/Model work (and what program) 4, primarily CAD programs like Inventor and Solidworks, General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback) 4.

Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? 1366x768 initially Are you going to upgrade later? yes Are you buying a new monitor? when the right sale hits

List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well:
Solidworks
Inventor
CS:GO
Fallout New Vegas-type games for the next couple years
Is 30FPS acceptable? want to avoid even if lower settings required 60? yes 120? prefer for CS:GO and similar shooters How important is PhysX / SuperSampling / CUDA to you? n/a

Looking to reuse any parts? everything from my last desktop is ancient so no: List make and model (e.g. Corsair 520HX, 640GB SATA HDD, Antec 900)

When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? Looking to order within the next week and hopefully start by end of month

Will you be overclocking?: Yes, No, Maybe (This means yes!)

This is pretty much my rough starting place so I have ta least some idea what to expect:

CPU Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core $174.98
Motherboard Biostar Hi-Fi B85S3+ Ver. 6.x Micro ATX LGA1150 $59.99
Memory Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 $79.99
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM $54.96
Video Card Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB $160.00
Case Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower $49.99
Power Supply Antec 550W ATX12V $59.99
Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $16.98
Total: $656.88

Pulled from PCPartPicker which, not counting rebates, comes out at about exactly $700.

Also have one last question which is kind of unrelated: Can I reuse a copy of Windows 7 if my laptop will no longer be in use? Planning on pulling and wiping the HDD to be an external for the next desktop and trying to sell the parts for some change.

Anything that needs clarified just ask. Thanks.

 

[Jibbed]

Zotac has a reasonable warranty on their stuff and a UK phone number for RMAs at least. With Palit you have to rely on your retailer to help you out and the Palit RMA base is Hong Kong.

For the sake of £20-30 I'd probably stick to one of the more popular Nvidia brands like Gigabyte (their RMA is UK based and has a 3 day turnaround) or EVGA who have the advanced RMA option.

KFA2 stuff is also very good.



MSIs RMA is... alright compared to some. I've been through it twice. Stuff has to go to the Netherlands and it's a 2-3 week turnaround time.

Sorry on the monitor, had forgotten you'd want the rotate function. PSU wise that one I've suggested is modular and will handle any future single GPU upgrade. Nice and quiet too as the name would suggest.

Thanks, I'll likely go for a Gigabyte Windforce card then seeing as they're the next card up in terms of price.

 

[Copons]

So, getting near the much awaited moment of finally buying everything, I'm having a little doubt about Haswell compatibility of PSUs.

Basically, my choice is the Be Quiet Pure Power L8 500W 80+ Bronze (64&#8364 just because in that price range it's the best reviewed (AFAIK) one with Haswell support.

But then it seems that support isn't really such a big deal, and if my PSUs is not compatible I just need to deactivate C6/C7 states in the bios and I should be good to go.
This way I could pick a more reputed brand, sparing a couple of euros.
Like, there is the Seasonic S12II-520 80+ Bronze (62&#8364 that's cheaper, has more wattage and it's (isn't it?) a better brand.
EDIT: there is even a cheaper Cooler Master G500 80+ Bronze (58&#8364, but I don't know really.

Fact is: every motherboard allow to deactivate those states? If mine doesn't, what could happen?
In my case, I'm bound to an AsRock Z87 Pro 3 with an i5-4440 or 4430 (depending of which one is cheaper at the moment of the buy).

 

[Bboy AJ]

I'm spending more than I thought because I became enamored with a modular PSU and adding a shorter cable kit. I've never built a gaming PC before but I can guarantee having a tangled web of cables will grate on me. Proper cable management is something I've accepted as a part of me.

 

[Jibbed]

All right... after much deliberation, I've settled on the following parts for my upgrade:

GPU: ASUS GTX 770 DirectCU II OC 2GB
Monitor: ASUS VE247H
Case: Fractal Design Define R4

System configuration post-upgrade:
Case: Fractal Design Define R4
CPU: Intel i7 2600K @ 4.4GHz
Cooling: Corsair H50
GPU: ASUS GTX 770 2GB
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Gen3
RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4 SSD
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
PSU: 850W CoolerMaster Silent Pro
Monitor: ASUS VE247H

Outgoing parts:
GPU: ASUS GTX 560Ti 1GB
Monitor: Samsung 22" LED TV
Case: NZXT Tempest EVO II

Everything look ok guys?

 

[kharma45]

All right... after much deliberation, I've settled on the following parts for my upgrade:

GPU: ASUS GTX 770 DirectCU II OC 2GB
Monitor: ASUS VE247H
Case: Fractal Design Define R4

System configuration post-upgrade:

Case: Fractal Design Define R4
CPU: Intel i7 2600K @ 4.4GHz
Cooling: Corsair H50
GPU: ASUS GTX 770 2GB
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Gen3
RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4 SSD
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
PSU: 850W CoolerMaster Silent Pro
Monitor: ASUS VE247H

Outgoing parts:

GPU: ASUS GTX 560Ti 1GB
Monitor: Samsung 22" LED TV
Case: NZXT Tempest EVO II

Everything look ok guys?

Seeing as that monitor can't be used to G-Sync as far as I can tell I'd probably just swap it to a cheaper LG IPS monitor http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008F7GW2K/

What's wrong with the TV you're using as a monitor at present?

Case is a quality one, wish I'd spent a bit more to get it with my build. As for the GPU I'd probably avoid the older DCUII cooler, there are better ones around now. Gigabyte are cheaper for a 770 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...gddr5-gpu-1046mhz-boost-1085mhz-cores-1536-dp or for a fiver more than the ASUS you can get the top of the range MSI http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...1150mhz-boost-1202mhz-cores-1536-dport-dvi-hd

So, getting near the much awaited moment of finally buying everything, I'm having a little doubt about Haswell compatibility of PSUs.

Basically, my choice is the Be Quiet Pure Power L8 500W 80+ Bronze (64&#8364 just because in that price range it's the best reviewed (AFAIK) one with Haswell support.

But then it seems that support isn't really such a big deal, and if my PSUs is not compatible I just need to deactivate C6/C7 states in the bios and I should be good to go.
This way I could pick a more reputed brand, sparing a couple of euros.
Like, there is the Seasonic S12II-520 80+ Bronze (62&#8364 that's cheaper, has more wattage and it's (isn't it?) a better brand.
EDIT: there is even a cheaper Cooler Master G500 80+ Bronze (58&#8364, but I don't know really.

Fact is: every motherboard allow to deactivate those states? If mine doesn't, what could happen?
In my case, I'm bound to an AsRock Z87 Pro 3 with an i5-4440 or 4430 (depending of which one is cheaper at the moment of the buy).

The Seasonic is an old design now but still reliable. It'd be my choice.

 

[kharma45]

Hey everyone. Since my 3 year old laptop is both giving me problems and no longer essential for my current living arrangement, I'm deciding to build a PC for the first time. Anyways, here's the basic information:



This is pretty much my rough starting place so I have ta least some idea what to expect:



Pulled from PCPartPicker which, not counting rebates, comes out at about exactly $700.

Also have one last question which is kind of unrelated: Can I reuse a copy of Windows 7 if my laptop will no longer be in use? Planning on pulling and wiping the HDD to be an external for the next desktop and trying to sell the parts for some change.

Anything that needs clarified just ask. Thanks.

The things I'd change are the PSU, RAM and HDD to these to save money and still have excellent and better value parts

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f310666cl9d8gbrl
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-hive550

Other than that a nice solid build you've got going there.

I've also fiddled around a bit and went up to $700 after rebate. That would enable you to go for a 4670K and a Z87 motherboard is well worth it on the long run, as the ability to overclock (even if you don't want to right now) will help down the line. Plus overclocking is incredibly easy.

660 is a good value card at $160, I wouldn't change that. I've changed your RAM as that saves cash, and the PSU too as after rebate it's much better value. The case could be changed to a Source 210 and drop the DVD drive and install Windows through USB. Your copy won't transfer over from your laptop as it's an OEM edition, but you could chance it and see if MS will let you, otherwise W8.1 is $25 on r/softwareswap. You'll lose out on front USB 3.0 with the Source 210 but that wouldn't really matter to me, but it's your build so it'll be up to yourself.

If you want to have a look at what $700 or so gets you here's the link to it http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2A2D6

 

[Nick]

I'm fucking going nuts. So I'm building my first gaming rig (my first pc really) and I can't figure out what GPU to purchase. I want to keep it under $400 (if I can), so I think I'm stuck with the Geforce GTX 770... but there is like a million of them. Which one do you guys recommend? Here is the set up I have purchased already.


CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
GPU: ???
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer 16GB
SSD: Kingston V300 240GB SSD
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
PSU: GS Series™ GS800

Please help, I am so retarded at this stuff. (

 

[kharma45]

I'm fucking going nuts. So I'm building my first gaming rig (my first pc really) and I can't figure out what GPU to purchase. I want to keep it under $400 (if I can), so I think I'm stuck with the Geforce GTX 770... but there is like a million of them. Which one do you guys recommend? Here is the set up I have purchased already.


CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
GPU: ???
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer 16GB
SSD: Kingston V300 240GB SSD
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
PSU: GS Series™ GS800

Please help, I am so retarded at this stuff. (

Have you already purchased these parts? 770 wise the EVGA SC one is $330 after MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...301&nm_mc=AFC-IR&cm_mmc=AFC-IR-_-na-_-na-_-na

 

[Angelus Errare]

I'm fucking going nuts. So I'm building my first gaming rig (my first pc really) and I can't figure out what GPU to purchase. I want to keep it under $400 (if I can), so I think I'm stuck with the Geforce GTX 770... but there is like a million of them. Which one do you guys recommend? Here is the set up I have purchased already.


CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
GPU: ???
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer 16GB
SSD: Kingston V300 240GB SSD
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
PSU: GS Series™ GS800

Please help, I am so retarded at this stuff. (

eVGA Mang

 

[King Gilga]

There doesn't seem to be a mouse thread so I'll ask here.

How's a R.A.T. 5 mouse for 30 pounds? I have a 20 pound gift card for currys from ages ago, they don't have much else to spend it on.

My Naga from release is basically fubar as well so I need a new mouse, and since I don't play WoW anymore I don't need to replace it with another naga. And Currys doesn't sell much else, if the PC drivers were released I'd have picked up the xbox one controller.

 

[Jibbed]

What's wrong with the TV you're using as a monitor at present?

Case is a quality one, wish I'd spent a bit more to get it with my build. As for the GPU I'd probably avoid the older DCUII cooler, there are better ones around now. Gigabyte are cheaper for a 770 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...gddr5-gpu-1046mhz-boost-1085mhz-cores-1536-dp or for a fiver more than the ASUS you can get the top of the range MSI http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...1150mhz-boost-1202mhz-cores-1536-dport-dvi-hd

Thanks again for all the help Kharma. The TV I'm using isn't exactly bad, I'd just much prefer to have a dedicated monitor with low input lag. I've sold it for £100 anyway so it's largely covered the cost already! I'll have a quick look around now at G-Sync compatible monitors but tbh I'm not that fussed, just after 24" with 2ms response time.

Quick question; would you consider BenQ worth looking into instead of ASUS, LG etc? Their GL2460 (or the HM one) looks pretty good and it's a tad cheaper.

GPU-wise I'd only really chosen the ASUS card out of habit really. Not had a problem in the past but if the Windforce really is that good then sweet, it's cheaper anyway! I'll see if I can find a Lightning in stock because I was looking at them earlier.

 

[Bboy AJ]

I'm fucking going nuts. So I'm building my first gaming rig (my first pc really) and I can't figure out what GPU to purchase. I want to keep it under $400 (if I can), so I think I'm stuck with the Geforce GTX 770... but there is like a million of them. Which one do you guys recommend? Here is the set up I have purchased already.


CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
GPU: ???
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer 16GB
SSD: Kingston V300 240GB SSD
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
PSU: GS Series™ GS800

Please help, I am so retarded at this stuff. (

Was in the same boat. I think that question deserves being in the OP or something.

So there are main GPUs, like GTX 770 or 760. Other companies, like EVGA, take these GPUs and amp them up. They'll overclock them, add cooling options. It's a pretty good deal, especially since they're under warranty.

 

[Wallach]

I'm fucking going nuts. So I'm building my first gaming rig (my first pc really) and I can't figure out what GPU to purchase. I want to keep it under $400 (if I can), so I think I'm stuck with the Geforce GTX 770... but there is like a million of them. Which one do you guys recommend? Here is the set up I have purchased already.


CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
GPU: ???
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer 16GB
SSD: Kingston V300 240GB SSD
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
PSU: GS Series™ GS800

Please help, I am so retarded at this stuff. (

Personally, I'd go for a Direct CU II (ASUS) version if it's in your price range.

 

[kharma45]

Thanks again for all the help Kharma. The TV I'm using isn't exactly bad, I'd just much prefer to have a dedicated monitor with low input lag. I've sold it for £100 anyway so it's largely covered the cost already! I'll have a quick look around now at G-Sync compatible monitors but tbh I'm not that fussed, just after 24" with 2ms response time.

Quick question; would you consider BenQ worth looking into instead of ASUS, LG etc? Their GL2460 (or the HM one) looks pretty good and it's a tad cheaper.

GPU-wise I'd only really chosen the ASUS card out of habit really. Not had a problem in the past but if the Windforce really is that good then sweet, it's cheaper anyway! I'll see if I can find a Lightning in stock because I was looking at them earlier.

The ASUS is marginally faster (12MHz difference at stock, 15MHz at boost clocks) but that doesn't warrant the extra cash, plus the Gigabyte cooler is more modern plus they've the better RMA service. This isn't gospel but it's a reasonable guide

MSI offer the two quietest 760s on the market. The TwinFrozr Gaming one is the quietest, whilst the Lightning is 1db louder but it's clocked higher and would by my choice out of the two.

Monitor wise the TN ones are all much the same. The Asus is a good one. LGs eIPS one at £115 for a 23" would be my preference but it's up to yourself. Response time on an IPS isn't as quick but I've never noticed any blurring or ghosting from my Dell or LG ones.

Was in the same boat. I think that question deserves being in the OP or something.

So there are main GPUs, like GTX 770 or 760. Other companies, like EVGA, take these GPUs and amp them up. They'll overclock them, add cooling options. It's a pretty good deal, especially since they're under warranty.

So much depends on price though, you couldn't stick one brand in the OP as prices are so fluid on them for what is the best.

 

[kennah]

And at the end of the day the differences between the different models are so minor that it barely matters what you get. Yeah. I said it.

 

[kharma45]

What matters more is the RMA service you'll get.

 

[Jibbed]

The ASUS is marginally faster (12MHz difference at stock, 15MHz at boost clocks) but that doesn't warrant the extra cash, plus the Gigabyte cooler is more modern plus they've the better RMA service. This isn't gospel but it's a reasonable guide

MSI offer the two quietest 760s on the market. The TwinFrozr Gaming one is the quietest, whilst the Lightning is 1db louder but it's clocked higher and would by my choice out of the two.

Monitor wise the TN ones are all much the same. The Asus is a good one. LGs eIPS one at £115 for a 23" would be my preference but it's up to yourself. Response time on an IPS isn't as quick but I've never noticed any blurring or ghosting from my Dell or LG ones.

Can't thank you enough man, I'm sorted now then!

What matters more is the RMA service you'll get.

I'll admit I haven't even considered this up until now, but I'm set on going for the Gigabyte Windforce card. Reading up on some reviews, it's sounding pretty good anyway.

 

[SkyTurnsRed]

So, having played Rising on my PC and getting a little around 35 FPS on low settings, it's starting to become apparent that my computer needs to be upgraded soonish. The problem is, I don't know whether I should upgrade one component, a few, or just overhaul the entire thing.

I'm totally fine with playing games on a single monitor at 1080p, though I am interested in pushing mid range games to a higher resolution. I bought the computer three and a half years ago, not intending for it to become a gaming PC, and have since made little upgrades here and there. My specs:

Intel i5 650 @ 3.20 GHZ
1 GB GTX 560 Ti
8 GB RAM
Two hard drives, one 250 GB SSD that my OS and anything intensive runs off of, another 500 GB hard drive for storage/Steam games that I'm not currently playing.

If I'm going to do an overhaul, I'd like to not spend over $1000, and it'd probably be in about six months. If there are little things I can upgrade, that's a lot more manageable.

Opinions?

 

[Red Blaster]

the GIGABYTE GV-N780OC-3GD REV2.0 is 489 on newegg right now

should i jump on that shit

 

[kharma45]

So, having played Rising on my PC and getting a little around 35 FPS on low settings, it's starting to become apparent that my computer needs to be upgraded soonish. The problem is, I don't know whether I should upgrade one component, a few, or just overhaul the entire thing.

I'm totally fine with playing games on a single monitor at 1080p, though I am interested in pushing mid range games to a higher resolution. I bought the computer three and a half years ago, not intending for it to become a gaming PC, and have since made little upgrades here and there. My specs:

Intel i5 650 @ 3.20 GHZ
1 GB GTX 560 Ti
8 GB RAM
Two hard drives, one 250 GB SSD that my OS and anything intensive runs off of, another 500 GB hard drive for storage/Steam games that I'm not currently playing.

If I'm going to do an overhaul, I'd like to not spend over $1000, and it'd probably be in about six months. If there are little things I can upgrade, that's a lot more manageable.

Opinions?

I'd look to upgrade your CPU/motherboard to the i5 4670K, or if you want a real bargain keep an eye out in the classifieds etc. for old i7 920s. Get one of those for cheap and overclocking it would be a cheap solution.

GPU would be worth upgrading too. 760 would be a nice and affordable solution too. Providing your PSU isn't crap you could do this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $651.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-12 13:10 EST-0500)

 

[yatesl]

A long shot, but can anyone recommend a good router. It has to be ADSL (I think), with a WAN port (again, I think...).

I have BT Infinity 2, but the BT HomeHub3 is garbage. I can't, for the life of me, get my home network to function properly. They're all on the same network, same workgroup, but everything refuses to play nice. Sometimes my PC (wireless) can see my PC (wired), but not my laptop (wireless). The laptop (wireless) can see my PC (wired), but not my other PC (wireless). Sometimes both PCs can see each other, only after a couple of minutes, and sheer persistence (despite Windows' best efforts to diagnose the problem).

We also have a Bluray player that has DLNA, and trying to play stuff from XBMC is a right farce. It can't connect to PC (wireless), but can connect to PC (wired) - but ONLY if we restart the router.

It's baffling. At this point, after spending £60 on homeplugs (and scrapping them, as this house's wiring must be bad, and my (now-wireless) PC kept randomly disconnecting), and now just spending £25 on a wireless card that I hoped fix it, I'm ready to throw ~£80 at a new router.

 

[Hawk269]

Crystal Ball time...

So if one were to build something cutting edge in 4-6 months or so, what on the horizon is coming out that would allow a top of line, no money limitations look like?

 

[SkyTurnsRed]

I'd look to upgrade your CPU/motherboard to the i5 4670K, or if you want a real bargain keep an eye out in the classifieds etc. for old i7 920s. Get one of those for cheap and overclocking it would be a cheap solution.

GPU would be worth upgrading too. 760 would be a nice and affordable solution too. Providing your PSU isn't crap you could do this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $651.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-12 13:10 EST-0500)

Thanks, I appreciate it. How long do you think I can hold off to be able to play games at reasonable settings? I'm okay with medium to low if it means I can stretch it out to like, September or October.

 

[Bboy AJ]

So much depends on price though, you couldn't stick one brand in the OP as prices are so fluid on them for what is the best.

I meant more of an explanation than a recommendation. "There are GPU models and aftermarket builds of GPUs. blah blah"

Here's how my build is going:

 

[Red Blaster]

the GIGABYTE GV-N780OC-3GD REV2.0 is 489 on newegg right now

should i jump on that shit

welp i got impatient and grabbed it, wanted a 780 for sub 500

 

[Mozendo]

How's a R.A.T. 5 mouse for 30 pounds? I have a 20 pound gift card for currys from ages ago, they don't have much else to spend it on.

Every person who has a R.A.T. that I know of loves it at near the beginning, but after a while there tends to be problems. Most common one I hear/seen is that one button stops working (mostly the left click).

I remember my friend saying good things about Roccat, even recommended me a mouse not sure what exact model it was.


Also guys, how multi-monitor support for Nvidia? I'm thinking of SLI-ing two 760s, I know AMD is better when it comes to it, but I'm not sure if I want to go with AMD as of right now, that and the Nvidia Shield is really tempting. (Any news on a shield v2?)

 

[Bydobob]

PSU wise that one I've suggested is modular and will handle any future single GPU upgrade. Nice and quiet too as the name would suggest.

Well the PSU is already en route to my address so will stick with it. I did however change the motherboard to your suggestion (Gigabyte Z87X-D3H), picking it up for only £96 via Amazon.

As for the Windows 8.1 I decided against using a key but found a physical copy for only £55 here for anyone interested.

 

[Granadier]

Is the R9 270X worth the $30-$40 extra over the R9 270?

 

[yatesl]

Potentially dumb question here, but when looking at RealTemp, I've noticed on the graphics bit, it says:

GeForce GTX 770
Driver Version 332.21
Link Width x16
Memory 2047 MB.


... Have I installed it in to a PCI-e 16 slot, instead of 32? I put it in the highest one, closest to the CPU.