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[The Llama]

Would a 2 fan CM 212 EVO be alright for an i7 4790K or would it require something more since it already has a boost clock of 4.4GHz? Or should I just go for the i5 4690K instead (don't plan on doing any rendering or anything)?

If anyone here owns an Eizo Foris FG2421 120Hz monitor I'd appreciate some semi-detailed impressions if you have the time. I've got a day until this ebay auction on it ends and I'd like to get as much information as I can.

That's plenty for the 4790k.

I wish most people realized this. Also, how much VRAM is in something like the PS4?

The PS4 and XB1 each have 8GB of RAM, of which developers have access to ~5.5GB. That'll likely go up over time (I imagine they'll have ~6.5GB by the end of the gen, but that's just a guess). Since they use shared RAM, that is for both VRAM and "normal" RAM.

 

[Inferno313]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to overclock my EVGA 970 SC ACX 2.0 card and I'm not seeing good results right off the bat. This is my first time overclocking a card and I'm using this guide, just with 3Dmark instead of heaven for stress testing.

First time out of the gate, I increase my core clockspeed by 10mhz from 1165 to 1175. I start up 3D Mark. I get some artifacting during the demo. The guide says once you get artificating you can increase your voltage by 10mV at a time or so. I increase my 10mV and keep the 10mhz overclock and it still gets artificating. Am I just unable to overclock this card or am I doing something wrong?

Looking at Afterburner, do I have to increase power level percentage in addition to increasing core voltage for it to affect anything?

 

[zma1013]

If you can wait a few weeks then it's probably worth seeing what the GTX 960 has to offer.

I find it hard to recommend any GPU with 2GB of VRAM at this point though.

Can't wait really. Friend wants to order a computer tomorrow and I'm helping him build it. I still get confused about these graphics cards though as it's impossible to tell which ones are better just by name alone. I'm leaning towards the one with 3GB of vram though.

 

[xBladeM6x]

That's plenty for the 4790k.



The PS4 and XB1 each have 8GB of RAM, of which developers have access to ~5.5GB. That'll likely go up over time (I imagine they'll have ~6.5GB by the end of the gen, but that's just a guess). Since they use shared RAM, that is for both VRAM and "normal" RAM.

Whenever PC's get to using GDDR5 for standard RAM, think we could see RAM / GPU VRAM sharing?

 

[phxxBullet]

The whole point of Gsync is so that frame rates between ~35-120fps all feel smooth, in fact the biggest benefit of Gsync comes between 40-60fps. A Gsync monitor means that a lower end GPU is required for a smooth experience, not the other way around.

I have no clue about gsync (or monitors themselves except IPS vs TN), but this just sounds like you'd be golden if you crank up supersampling as high as possible to drop FPS to <60, to make use of gsync (i.e. showing 30-60fps smooth)

 

[ratcliffja]

So I want to upgrade my graphics card because of newer games coming out, but I'm not sure if this is the right card or if I should make another part of my computer a priority.

Here's my current setup:
Intel Core i7-950 Processor 3.06GHz 8 MB Cache Socket LGA1366

Corsair 6 GB PC3-12800 1600MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7 Triple Channel Memory Kit

EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Superclocked 1024 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/Mini-HDMI SLI Ready Graphics Card, 01G-P3-1463-KR

Antec BP550 Plus 550W ATX12V V2.2 Modular Power Supply

EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA1366/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CrossFireX & 2-Way/3-Way SLI/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

And the graphics card I want:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NI647NE/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Any thoughts?

 

[kharma45]

Whenever PC's get to using GDDR5 for standard RAM, think we could see RAM / GPU VRAM sharing?

PCs won't be doing that any time soon.

 

[The Wizard]

I'm interested in the 970 and am located in Ireland.(UK sites should be fine also!) Best place to order and any advice regarding brand would be appreciated. Cheapest is best but not at the expense of reliability/ quality. Thanks!

 

[Marc]

That 430W is a budget supply. Wattage is fine though. The 500W version usually is like $5 more in the US and has been in the sheets at least once.

VRAM usage only matters for games(?) and your build is budget and you arent dropping anywhere near the money on a 280/970.

He swapped in an SSD for you which is prettttttty nice. 2cents I would not buy Seagate personally, up to you.

You guys have convinced me on the SSD.

On the video card, the money is what I can drop down right now but can upgrade the card next year hopefully so something to tide me over more than anything. Might actually be worth ordering the card last and seeing if I can make do with onboard video for the time being.

It doesn't need that much power, but I chose it as it will allow a future upgrade of your video card and due to it being modular, making a tidier build and also potentially assisting airflow.

Having lots of VRAM is only useful if the video card you buy is actually good enough to use that VRAM. Unless you're buying an R9 280/X, R9 290/X or 970+ then 2GB is gonna be enough.

That's fine, there's still room in the budget! I would certainly keep the SSD though, it's 100% required

It's a shame your limit is 26cm, as the Aerocool DS Cube White would be perfect for you except it's 26.5cm

Cool, understood on the PSU and video card.

You swung me on the SSD although I'll go for a larger capacity as I tend to have large installations.

Yeah, I saw that and it is indeed perfect, exactly what I wanted but just too big. However I have been thinking on it and decided to measure my other 'bay' which is desk drawers and even though it looks symmetrical, the width is actually 31cm! So now I am definitely thinking I can empty those draws out and get some smaller boxes to stack in the PC bay instead.


So I have thrown this together with that case and some of the recommendations:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£154.39 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler (£17.64 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£68.36 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£126.00 @ Kustom PCs)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£71.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£119.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Aerocool DS Cube White Edition Silent Cube MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£60.72 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£48.54 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £742.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 19:47 BST+0100

I changed the memory from the kingston fury to the G.Skill as it was lower latency and not much more expensive. The videocard I wanted to stick with nvidia ideally just because I have been an AMD Radeon fan for a long time (budget) and had constant issues with the drivers and other odd problems. Plus it had two hdmi outputs which suits the monitors I am looking at (only have HDMI or VGA inputs for some reason). Although I may just hold off on the videocard decision until next year as game wise I can wait. Got the same model PSU but slightly less wattage. Stuck with the CPU model.

Thanks again for all the help so far!

 

[ekgrey]

Sure, it's this one https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/custom-computers-and-laptops/, thanks for the recommendation!

assuming the picture they're showing is what you'll be getting, the Crucial is LP. so good to go.

 

[LordAlu]

You guys have convinced me on the SSD.

On the video card, the money is what I can drop down right now but can upgrade the card next year hopefully so something to tide me over more than anything. Might actually be worth ordering the card last and seeing if I can make do with onboard video for the time being.



Cool, understood on the PSU and video card.

You swung me on the SSD although I'll go for a larger capacity as I tend to have large installations.

Yeah, I saw that and it is indeed perfect, exactly what I wanted but just too big. However I have been thinking on it and decided to measure my other 'bay' which is desk drawers and even though it looks symmetrical, the width is actually 31cm! So now I am definitely thinking I can empty those draws out and get some smaller boxes to stack in the PC bay instead.


So I have thrown this together with that case and some of the recommendations:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£154.39 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler (£17.64 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£68.36 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£126.00 @ Kustom PCs)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£71.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£119.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Aerocool DS Cube White Edition Silent Cube MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£60.72 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£48.54 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £742.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 19:47 BST+0100

I changed the memory from the kingston fury to the G.Skill as it was lower latency and not much more expensive. The videocard I wanted to stick with nvidia ideally just because I have been an AMD Radeon fan for a long time (budget) and had constant issues with the drivers and other odd problems. Plus it had two hdmi outputs which suits the monitors I am looking at (only have HDMI or VGA inputs for some reason). Although I may just hold off on the videocard decision until next year as game wise I can wait. Got the same model PSU but slightly less wattage. Stuck with the CPU model.

Thanks again for all the help so far!

I'd take that and make a few changes:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£171.54 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.19 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£68.36 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£119.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£74.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£149.71 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Aerocool DS Cube White Edition Silent Cube MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£60.72 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£35.38 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £779.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 20:34 BST+0100

• There's the K version of the 4690 for overclocking, along with a better cooler in the Hyper 212 EVO (now that it can fit!)
• I've changed the RAM slightly to save a bit of money - in terms of performance difference though it would be <1%
• Swapped the Seagate 3TB for a Western Digital - the Seagate drives have far too high a failure rate for my liking.
• Don't need a modular power supply with the Aerocool case so swapped that for something a bit cheaper that will still do just fine.
• Upgraded the video card to a 760 for better performance, although I'd still recommend AMD - in your budget you could fit a 3GB R9 280 in there.

 

[Prophet Steve]

I wish most people realized this. Also, how much VRAM is in something like the PS4?

Killzone: Shadow Fall used 3GB of VRAM. Shadow of Mordor recommends 3GB of VRAM for high textures and has high textures on the PS4. So I would assume that uses around 3GB of VRAM too. Since developers have to choose themselves how to split the 5.5GB between VRAM and normal RAM there can be a difference between games, but I think it probably stays around this level.

 

[ZombieFred]

Ok guys I need to make double check to see if this is OK to purchase and go ahead with as want to make a new PC (I will transfer my recent bought Hard Drives and GTX 970 X2 SLI onto the new one and will just buy a used gpu and 1 tb old disk drive so got that spare) and see if this is all compatible and glory high end proof for the next five years.


ASUS Z97-K Intel Z97 (socket 1150) Motherboard
G.Skill RipjawsX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit
Corsair Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 4790K 4.0GHz Socket LGA1150
EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G2 Power Supply
Coolermaster Enforcer Gaming Case - Black (No PSU)


Now one thing I haven't really done before is this Liquid CPU cooler. Is it cheap to maintain and all that jazz?

 

[Addnan]

Ok guys I need to make double check to see if this is OK to purchase and go ahead with as want to make a new PC (I will transfer my recent bought Hard Drives and GTX 970 X2 SLI onto the new one and will just buy a used gpu and 1 tb old disk drive so got that spare) and see if this is all compatible and glory high end proof for the next five years.


ASUS Z97-K Intel Z97 (socket 1150) Motherboard
G.Skill RipjawsX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit
Corsair Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 4790K 4.0GHz Socket LGA1150
EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G2 Power Supply
Coolermaster Enforcer Gaming Case - Black (No PSU)


Now one thing I haven't really done before is this Liquid CPU cooler. Is it cheap to maintain and all that jazz?

Looks fine, but H100 not needed. H60 is plenty for consumer sockets. 1000W is too much. 970 SLI will run easily on 750W, probably even 650. No one will promise you it will be high end in 5 years because it won't be. New hardware comes out every year. Chasing high end is a game that can not be won.

 

[ZombieFred]

Looks fine, but H100 not needed. H60 is plenty for consumer sockets. 1000W is too much. 970 SLI will run easily on 750W, probably even 650. No one will promise you it will be high end in 5 years because it won't be. New hardware comes out every year. Chasing high end is a game that can not be won.

Aye for sure but I'll be happy with a few years if so So if I was to replace the cooler with the 650 and go for the 750W PSU then that'll be fine for everything, even if I wish to overclock my CPU and have the two (or maybe a third one down the line) SLI setup?

 

[xBladeM6x]

PCs won't be doing that any time soon.

Of course, but I'm wondering if that's a possibility or if RAM will always stay separate.

 

[kennah]

Of course, but I'm wondering if that's a possibility or if RAM will always stay separate.

No one knows or could know.

 

[Windom Earle]

The whole point of Gsync is so that frame rates between ~35-120fps all feel smooth, in fact the biggest benefit of Gsync comes between 40-60fps. A Gsync monitor means that a lower end GPU is required for a smooth experience, not the other way around.

There's nothing stopping you from capping the frame rate in your games either and with Gsync it will feel smooth with any arbitrary cap above 30fps.

After spending a week with a G-Sync screen I can't really agree with this. There is still a clear and percievable difference between something like 60-70 fps and ranges around 50. It's better than V-Sync or tearing, but it's still no substitute for higher framerates. For me the biggest strength of G-Sync is the ability to use your GPU to the fullest without loss in image quality or input lag. It feels good around 60 and gets incredible from 80-140. This tech was made for SLI setups and high hz screens.

 

[UnObtainium17]

Darn now i feel bad for skimping on cpu g3258 whilr egtting a retty good gpu in 970. Ifeel like im getting the same perf as if im using a 280x. I guess im gonna upgrade to at least an i5k.

Edit: turned my 970 core clock back to 1300 mhz. Im scared to push the card right at its limit while playing for extended amount of time lol.

 

[Kamakazie!]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£249.95 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.19 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£107.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£114.78 @ More Computers)
Storage: Intel 320 Series 40GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£29.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£146.99 @ Aria PC)
Total: £673.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 22:47 BST+0100

Any thoughts people?

Is it worth saving money and getting a cheaper mobo like the D3H?
Will that ram interfere with the cooler?

The 40gb drive is purely to dump and edit photos on so needs to be reliable and handle a good amount of read/writes hence going for an older intel which I thought might be a good way to save some cash. I am not planning on having any mechanical drive in here.

Everything else is coming from my existing pc until a gpu upgrade next year.
Coming from an AMD 3800+ which had finally given up the ghost so expecting some serious speed gains in lightroom!

 

[Garruson]

So about to order this now: What can I expect from it? Full settings and recent games that perform better than the X1 and PS4? If so how much better as it its 5 times the cost of one!
Changed the RAM to crucial as suggested:

Case: InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE
CPU: Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard: Gigabyte X99 Gaming 5: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, XFIRE/SLI
RAM: 16GB CRUCIAL DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics card: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
Hard disc: 1TB 3.5" SEAGATE SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)
M.2 SSD Drive: Plextor PX-G128M6e 128GB M.2 SSD (upto 770MB/sR | 625MB/sW)
Blu Ray Drive: 8x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Power Supply: CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£69)
Processor Cooling: Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)
Sound Card: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless: DUAL-BAND WIRELESS 802.11N 450Mbps PCI-E CARD (£28)

For £1519

 

[ekgrey]

itll definitely be better than consoles and will have power to "grow into" as games become more demanding. if you want numbers, just look at some benchmarks. Shadow of Mordor and Evil Within are 30ish FPS on X1 and under 60 on PS4. your setup should be 100+ properly configured. no one can possibly know what the future looks like, but you should be happy for a good long while.

 

[Prez]

I'm not sure if a set-up with an Intel Bay Trail J1800 (2.41Ghz dual core) would be a good idea. Should run smooth for browsing and music, right? The other option would be AMD 5350 2.05Ghz quad core. What do I really gain from quad vs dual for simple home use?

 

[Kezen]

So about to order this now: What can I expect from it? Full settings and recent games that perform better than the X1 and PS4? If so how much better as it its 5 times the cost of one!
Changed the RAM to crucial as suggested:

Case: InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE
CPU: Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard: Gigabyte X99 Gaming 5: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, XFIRE/SLI
RAM: 16GB CRUCIAL DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics card: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
Hard disc: 1TB 3.5" SEAGATE SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)
M.2 SSD Drive: Plextor PX-G128M6e 128GB M.2 SSD (upto 770MB/sR | 625MB/sW)
Blu Ray Drive: 8x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Power Supply: CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£69)
Processor Cooling: Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)
Sound Card: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless: DUAL-BAND WIRELESS 802.11N 450Mbps PCI-E CARD (£28)

For £1519

That's a bit overkill CPU wise. A 4790K will serve you well for much cheaper.
I don't think DDR4 makes sense now.

 

[Superimposer]

I have a strange one that maybe GAF can help me solve.

About a week ago I posted about a problem I had but now that I've learned more about it my question has changed.

I was suddenly booting with a black screen and my monitor lost signal despite making no changes to my computer. I thought my GPU drivers were at fault. Safe mode would work fine and the onboard graphics would work fine. Later, it turned out that the GPU does work, but the screen stays blank for about a minute after the Windows logo and then the PC runs normally. It sounds like a driver issue but I tried every driver-related solution and none worked.

Worth noting that when I uninstalled the NVIDIA drivers, the PC would boot instantly through my GPU, no hanging for a minute.

It might still be the case that it's a driver issue but I have tried everything driver-related and still not solved it.

Today I noticed that if I unplug my wireless USB receiver for my mouse and keyboard, then the PC goes straight to the lock screen successfully! However, I can move my cursor but the screen itself does not respond for the same amount of time as before, about a minute.

Any ideas? I know there's stuff out there about USBs and BIOS boot settings but that doesn't explain why the lock screen still hangs?

 

[SugarDave]

This is my "no limits" build as it stands right now and is subject to change based on feedback, but it looks like this price is the ceiling of what I will likely be spending. The price is as high as it is because it includes all peripherals also, even down to the desk and chair I'll be adding to my setup. I've added it all in for convenience. I'm actually quite surprised at the cost not being higher.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.19 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£114.78 @ More Computers)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.39 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£71.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£297.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£84.98 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£84.90 @ Scan.co.uk)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.23 @ Aria PC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£26.90 @ Aria PC)
Case Fan: Cooler Master Blade Master 76.8 CFM 120mm Fan (£7.79 @ Ebuyer)
Case Fan: Fractal Design FD-FAN-SSR2-140 66.0 CFM 140mm Fan (£8.57 @ Scan.co.uk)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard (£72.89 @ Amazon UK)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival Wired Optical Mouse (£32.99 @ Ebuyer)
Headphones: Sennheiser HD 558 Headphones (£117.19 @ Scan.co.uk)
Other: Official Xbox 360 Common Controller for Windows - Black (PC) (£19.99)
Other: Eizo Foris FG2421 120Hz Monitor (£250.00)
Other: SanDisk 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive (£6.82)
Other: Creative A60 2.0 Desktop Speakers (£12.99)
Other: Malkolm Edsken Black Swivel Chair (£60.00)
Other: White Galant Desk (£59.00)
Other: Masterplug SRG62-MP 6 Gang Surge Protected Extension Lead 2m 13 Amp Fused (£10.03)
Other: SteelSeries Surface QcK Mass (PC) (£12.35)
Other: Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H-BK - Devil's Canyon Core i7 4790K CPU & Motherboard Bundle (£354.94)
Other: Speedlink SL-8702-SBK Pure Desktop Voice Microphone - Black (£5.89)
Total: £1880.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 23:02 BST+0100

What are your thoughts, guys? Technically, I can afford to splash out on a lot more than this, but that doesn't mean I want to be completely stupid with my money. If you have any recommendations for changes or anything I should add, please do. I would really appreciate the help.

 

[LilJoka]

So about to order this now: What can I expect from it? Full settings and recent games that perform better than the X1 and PS4? If so how much better as it its 5 times the cost of one!
Changed the RAM to crucial as suggested:

Case: InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE
CPU: Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard: Gigabyte X99 Gaming 5: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, XFIRE/SLI
RAM: 16GB CRUCIAL DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics card: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
Hard disc: 1TB 3.5" SEAGATE SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)
M.2 SSD Drive: Plextor PX-G128M6e 128GB M.2 SSD (upto 770MB/sR | 625MB/sW)
Blu Ray Drive: 8x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Power Supply: CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£69)
Processor Cooling: Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)
Sound Card: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless: DUAL-BAND WIRELESS 802.11N 450Mbps PCI-E CARD (£28)

For £1519

Seems like poor value to me.

 

[Hazaro]

@LilJoka Read his last few posts and decide. Right now there's two conflicting build options. If he wants it to last for 5 years I'd go with the X99 now and upgrade later imo (Probably my aversion to dual card though and only playing at 120/1080).

I don't recall him filling out an OP bullet list of what he actually needs it to do though, probably would be a good idea...

You guys have convinced me on the SSD.

On the video card, the money is what I can drop down right now but can upgrade the card next year hopefully so something to tide me over more than anything. Might actually be worth ordering the card last and seeing if I can make do with onboard video for the time being.



Cool, understood on the PSU and video card.

You swung me on the SSD although I'll go for a larger capacity as I tend to have large installations.

Yeah, I saw that and it is indeed perfect, exactly what I wanted but just too big. However I have been thinking on it and decided to measure my other 'bay' which is desk drawers and even though it looks symmetrical, the width is actually 31cm! So now I am definitely thinking I can empty those draws out and get some smaller boxes to stack in the PC bay instead.


So I have thrown this together with that case and some of the recommendations:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£154.39 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler (£17.64 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£68.36 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£126.00 @ Kustom PCs)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£71.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£119.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Aerocool DS Cube White Edition Silent Cube MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£60.72 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£48.54 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £742.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 19:47 BST+0100

I changed the memory from the kingston fury to the G.Skill as it was lower latency and not much more expensive. The videocard I wanted to stick with nvidia ideally just because I have been an AMD Radeon fan for a long time (budget) and had constant issues with the drivers and other odd problems. Plus it had two hdmi outputs which suits the monitors I am looking at (only have HDMI or VGA inputs for some reason). Although I may just hold off on the videocard decision until next year as game wise I can wait. Got the same model PSU but slightly less wattage. Stuck with the CPU model.

Thanks again for all the help so far!

This and ALUs builds are both fine.

Only 100% thing I would change is the CPU cooler to 212.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£249.95 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.19 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£107.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£114.78 @ More Computers)
Storage: Intel 320 Series 40GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£29.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£146.99 @ Aria PC)
Total: £673.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 22:47 BST+0100

Any thoughts people?

Is it worth saving money and getting a cheaper mobo like the D3H?
Will that ram interfere with the cooler?

The 40gb drive is purely to dump and edit photos on so needs to be reliable and handle a good amount of read/writes hence going for an older intel which I thought might be a good way to save some cash. I am not planning on having any mechanical drive in here.

Everything else is coming from my existing pc until a gpu upgrade next year.
Coming from an AMD 3800+ which had finally given up the ghost so expecting some serious speed gains in lightroom!

The GB SLI board seems to have everything someone is looking for in a ~$100 board (Intel NIC, M.2, 2x PCI-E, 8 pin power) if you want to save a tiny bit.
64GB SSD isn't much more, I'd get that.

So about to order this now: What can I expect from it? Full settings and recent games that perform better than the X1 and PS4? If so how much better as it its 5 times the cost of one!
Changed the RAM to crucial as suggested:

Case: InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE
CPU: Intel® Core&#8482;i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard: Gigabyte X99 Gaming 5: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, XFIRE/SLI
RAM: 16GB CRUCIAL DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics card: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
Hard disc: 1TB 3.5" SEAGATE SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)
M.2 SSD Drive: Plextor PX-G128M6e 128GB M.2 SSD (upto 770MB/sR | 625MB/sW)
Blu Ray Drive: 8x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Power Supply: CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES&#8482; MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£69)
Processor Cooling: Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)
Sound Card: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless: DUAL-BAND WIRELESS 802.11N 450Mbps PCI-E CARD (£28)

For £1519

A nice upgrade

That's a bit overkill CPU wise. A 4790K will serve you well for much cheaper.
I don't think DDR4 makes sense now.

He wants it to last like 5 years so it makes sense for the extra $200.

This is my "no limits" build as it stands right now and is subject to change based on feedback, but it looks like this price is the ceiling of what I will likely be spending. The price is as high as it is because it includes all peripherals also, even down to the desk and chair I'll be adding to my setup. I've added it all in for convenience. I'm actually quite surprised at the cost not being higher.

What are your thoughts, guys? Technically, I can afford to splash out on a lot more than this, but that doesn't mean I want to be completely stupid with my money. If you have any recommendations for changes or anything I should add, please do. I would really appreciate the help.

Only thing I see to swap are high RPM fans, I'd get some nicer ~50CFM ones, pretty good list.minor.

 

[RedSwirl]

So let me get this straight: I'm going to need a new heat sink if I want to overclock my i5 4670k right?

Currently I'm running it on a Z87 Plus motherboard with the heat sink that came with the CPU (it's the snap-on kind), and a 550w power supply (if that matters). I keep hearing about voltage when it comes to overclocking. What's that all about. Will I have to do anything else in regards to cooling. My case is a NZXT Phantom which has a bunch of fans, not all of which I actually use.

What's the price difference versus assembly difficulty of snap-on heat sinks versus the traditional kind you have to screw in?

Oh, and lastly, as of right now the only game I'm doing this for is ArmA.

 

[Hazaro]

So let me get this straight: I'm going to need a new heat sink if I want to overclock my i5 4670k right?

Currently I'm running it on a Z87 Plus motherboard with the heat sink that came with the CPU (it's the snap-on kind), and a 550w power supply (if that matters). I keep hearing about voltage when it comes to overclocking. What's that all about. Will I have to do anything else in regards to cooling. My case is a NZXT Phantom which has a bunch of fans, not all of which I actually use.

What's the price difference versus assembly difficulty of snap-on heat sinks versus the traditional kind you have to screw in?

Oh, and lastly, as of right now the only game I'm doing this for is ArmA.

It's a good idea if you want to go over 4.0Ghz to aim at 4.3 or 4.4
MORE VOLTS = MORE POWER
NO
THATS FINE
Just get a 212 + or EVO for $30/$35 not really any other option

 

[SugarDave]

Only thing I see to swap are high RPM fans, I'd get some nicer ~50CFM ones, pretty good list.minor.

Do you have any particular recommendations?

 

[Garruson]

Seems like poor value to me.

In which way, will this build not suffice to play games at great settings for the next decade or a half? If it's just minuscule as in I could eek a little better performance I don't mind, as long as what I'm spending will let me play the latest games at over 30FPS with highest graphics settings without over heating. This will mean I won't get a console for a while to be honest if I can use my xbox 360 control on my Sony Bravia 42 inch TV, it has 3D too.

 

[zma1013]

I know what the title says but is an i7 still overkill for gaming? Is it best to just stick with an i5?

 

[garath]

In general its pretty hopeful to expect a system to run games at "great" setting for 5-10 years. Thinking back about a top end system a decade ago would struggle to even run indie games at this point. In 2004 a high end system was an athalon 64, a gig of ram, a 6800 ultra. Not much to look at these days.

5 years is probably the end of life for a complete high end gaming system. And that would be following some sort of critical jump in technology.

Even then, we're talking medium to low setting without some sort of upgrade. Instead of spending an extra 200-300 on something that would provide a negligible improvement today, I'd save that money for the next upgrade. Personal opinion though.

 

[SmZA]

Hey, can I plug my thread here? It's an audit of PC games and how they respond to touch interfaces. I started it when I had an Asus Vivotab, now I have a multi-touch monitor for my desktop (Acer T232HL) so I'm reviving it.

I'd like to have more contributors/testers participating so if you have or are interested in getting a touch monitor / tablet check out the OP for details.

The Great NeoGAF Tablet PC gaming audit: games at your fingertips

 

[MoonGred]

After spending a week with a G-Sync screen I can't really agree with this. There is still a clear and percievable difference between something like 60-70 fps and ranges around 50. It's better than V-Sync or tearing, but it's still no substitute for higher framerates. For me the biggest strength of G-Sync is the ability to use your GPU to the fullest without loss in image quality or input lag. It feels good around 60 and gets incredible from 80-140. This tech was made for SLI setups and high hz screens.

Would you say it's "pointless" to get a gsync monitor when you aren't able to achieve 80+ fps. I'm close to getting a Asus ROG swift, the only thing holding me back is that I've got a single gtx970 and am concerned about performance at 1400p 80+fps

 

[xBladeM6x]

I really want G-Sync, but I keep reading that plenty of games have bugs with it. :l

 

[Wounded]

I'm interested in the 970 and am located in Ireland.(UK sites should be fine also!) Best place to order and any advice regarding brand would be appreciated. Cheapest is best but not at the expense of reliability/ quality. Thanks!

I would go for overclockers.co.uk. Good pricing, plus they're good with any issues you may have. They deliver to Ireland too.

 

[RedSwirl]

My HDD still buzzes/hums like a motherfucker. It's really loud. This has actually been going on for months but I didn't realize it was the HDD until I switched it to another system. The buzzing sounds similar to a fan, which is what I originally thought it was.

The thing is, the HDD itself is working perfectly fine. Sometimes if I don't access it for a while it seems to shut down completely, and takes a few seconds to rev back up whenever I access it again. That sometimes causes the humming. I've searched all over the place and haven't found any articles or posts similar to the problem I'm having.

It's a consistent humming that lasts for several minutes at a time, and doesn't seem to affect the actual performance of the HDD at all.

It's a good idea if you want to go over 4.0Ghz to aim at 4.3 or 4.4
MORE VOLTS = MORE POWER
NO
THATS FINE
Just get a 212 + or EVO for $30/$35 not really any other option

So I WON'T need a new power supply or anything? And I'm guessing the voltage is what determines the speed it reaches or what? I'm still not clear on the relationship here or what I need to do to manage that voltage. Do I need to watch what I have the computer plugged into or anything like that? To be clear, I'm aiming for something like 4.5 GHz, or whatever mots people OC to on 4th gen i5s.

 

[kennah]

In general its pretty hopeful to expect a system to run games at "great" setting for 5-10 years. Thinking back about a top end system a decade ago would struggle to even run indie games at this point. In 2004 a high end system was an athalon 64, a gig of ram, a 6800 ultra. Not much to look at these days.

5 years is probably the end of life for a complete high end gaming system. And that would be following some sort of critical jump in technology.

Even then, we're talking medium to low setting without some sort of upgrade. Instead of spending an extra 200-300 on something that would provide a negligible improvement today, I'd save that money for the next upgrade. Personal opinion though.

Yup. Better to spend half the money and upgrade in two years.

 

[mm04]

Need some advice. My PC is in need of a refresh. It's 4.5 years old. I typically replace my machine every 2 to 3 years, but lately I haven't been playing games at all. Basically just encoding video/audio, surfing the web, watching video etc. Nothing work related, as I have a company provided laptop for that. Just leisure activities. Now, I think my current machine is on its last legs (assorted errors and occasionally it takes a long time to post), so I figure it's time to start building a new machine.

I'm thinking of going with the usual suspects, i5 4690K/mobo, 8gb memory, MX100 256gb SSD, 1 TB WD HD etc. I am not planning on getting a new video card in the near future. I think I can just re-appropriate my current GTX 660Ti since I don't really see myself playing games for at least a bit and it really wouldn't make sense to buy a GTX 970 or something similar if I'm not going to put it through its paces very often.

So my question is, since I'm going to save $350+ in video card costs, should I bump up any other component to help future proof my new system for a little while longer? Or is the configuration I listed above just fine? Eventually I will get a nice video card when I really need it.

 

[Kevyt]

Need some advice. My PC is in need of a refresh. It's 4.5 years old. I typically replace my machine every 2 to 3 years, but lately I haven't been playing games at all. Basically just encoding video/audio, surfing the web, watching video etc. Nothing work related, as I have a company provided laptop for that. Just leisure activities. Now, I think my current machine is on its last legs (assorted errors and occasionally it takes a long time to post), so I figure it's time to start building a new machine.

I'm thinking of going with the usual suspects, i5 4690K/mobo, 8gb memory, MX100 256gb SSD, 1 TB WD HD etc. I am not planning on getting a new video card in the near future. I think I can just re-appropriate my current GTX 660Ti since I don't really see myself playing games for at least a bit and it really wouldn't make sense to buy a GTX 970 or something similar if I'm not going to put it through its paces very often.

So my question is, since I'm going to save $350+ in video card costs, should I bump up any other component to help future proof my new system for a little while longer? Or is the configuration I listed above just fine? Eventually I will get a nice video card when I really need it.

So you do video encoding right? I think the i7-4790k would be better for that. A much faster processor with Hyperthreading to help you with the encoding video/audio applications that you use. It's also a nice overclocker (though it's still pretty much a silicon lottery) that will give you enough performance for the next 2-3 years. Also, why not throw in more memory? 16 gigs would be great for your rig. Do you have a budget? Also what processor do you have now?

 

[DyslexicAlucard]

Sup, PCGAF? So I'm interested in upgrading my aging CPU, but I'd really rather not upgrade my MOBO too. If I do, I know I'll think, "Well, might as well do my RAM while I'm at it. Maybe get a new GPU..." then BAM, just spent $1000, lol.

My mobo is this:

"Gigabyte P55A-UD3 ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI RAID GBLAN CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard"

And my current CPU is an i5-750. So what are my best options here, in terms of price to upgraded performance? Where is the best place to find an upgrade for a good price? Ebay?

 

[mm04]

So you do video encoding right? I think the i7-4790k would be better for that. A much faster processor with Hyperthreading to help you with the encoding video/audio applications that you use. It's also a nice overclocker (though it's still pretty much a silicon lottery) that will give you enough performance for the next 2-3 years. Also, why not throw in more memory? 16 gigs would be great for your rig. Do you have a budget? Also what processor do you have now?

I have a self-imposed $1k budget. My current rig is an AMD X4 955 BE, 8gb memory, 660Ti, 1 TB WD HD. So just about anything would be a nice improvement.

 

[Iacobellis]

Sup, PCGAF? So I'm interested in upgrading my aging CPU, but I'd really rather not upgrade my MOBO too. If I do, I know I'll think, "Well, might as well do my RAM while I'm at it. Maybe get a new GPU..." then BAM, just spent $1000, lol.

My mobo is this:

"Gigabyte P55A-UD3 ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI RAID GBLAN CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard"

And my current CPU is an i5-750. So what are my best options here, in terms of price to upgraded performance? Where is the best place to find an upgrade for a good price? Ebay?

You're going to have to upgrade your motherboard if you want to make any significant gains in your CPU.

 

[Kevyt]

Sup, PCGAF? So I'm interested in upgrading my aging CPU, but I'd really rather not upgrade my MOBO too. If I do, I know I'll think, "Well, might as well do my RAM while I'm at it. Maybe get a new GPU..." then BAM, just spent $1000, lol.

My mobo is this:

"Gigabyte P55A-UD3 ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI RAID GBLAN CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard"

And my current CPU is an i5-750. So what are my best options here, in terms of price to upgraded performance? Where is the best place to find an upgrade for a good price? Ebay?

I would say you should find out the processors that are compatible with your motherboard. It says i5's and i7's are. I wonder if that includes the latest Haswell processors, including Devil's Canyon because an i5-4690k and a i7-4790k would be a nice upgrade. But I doubt it because of the socket. I don't recommend buying used CPU's... this is just from my experience...

I have a self-imposed $1k budget. My current rig is an AMD X4 955 BE, 8gb memory, 660Ti, 1 TB WD HD. So just about anything would be a nice improvement.

Well you said you don't do much gaming, but your budget is of 1k... so an i7-4790k with an extra 8 gig stick would be no more than $400 (US Dollars). So that leaves you with $600 which I would suggest you save for the next upgrade. What PSU do you have? And have you noticed any issues in regards to it?

 

[appaws]

I really want G-Sync, but I keep reading that plenty of games have bugs with it. :l

It's new technology. Early adopters always have to deal with the bugs. Give it time and it will be cheaper and better.

 

[mm04]

Well you said you don't do much gaming, but your budget is of 1k... so an i7-4790k with an extra 8 gig stick would be no more than $400 (US Dollars). So that leaves you with $600 which I would suggest you save for the next upgrade. What PSU do you have? And have you noticed any issues in regards to it?

I used to be a big gamer, but haven't really played anything in a year or so. I have a Corsair TX650M. Rock solid.

 

[DyslexicAlucard]

You're going to have to upgrade your motherboard if you want to make any significant gains in your CPU.

See, this always kind of confused me. When you're buying a new CPU, most people admit that you won't really see big differences between a lot of CPUs right now in terms of performance (past a certain threshold, obviously) as most will get you over 60FPS in a current game.

But when they're older, people say it's not worth just upgrading the CPU as it's better to buy a new MOBO and CPU instead. So is there just a sweetspot of a year or so when it's good to upgrade a CPU? Or when it pays off to have bought a better one?

I would say you should find out the processors that are compatible with your motherboard. It says i5's and i7's are. I wonder if that includes the latest Haswell processors, including Devil's Canyon because an i5-4690k and a i7-4790k would be a nice upgrade. But I doubt it because of the socket. I don't recommend buying used CPU's... this is just from my experience...

That's kind of what I'm looking for here -- among other things, like where to find one for a good price. Do all LGA1156 MOBOs work with all 1156 CPUs, or should I be looking for something else as well?

 

[nilbog21]

Hey guys random question: wondering if my PC can run the evil within well before I splurge 60$

CPU: 2500k and GPU: HD 6950

It runs shadow of morrow really well on very high (which surprised me, since I built this rig for like $700 it feels like 3+ yrs ago) but the game doesn't look that great tbh