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[Booshka]

I have a couple of questions. In the OP pretty much all the higher end systems have a K cpu. If I don't really overclock or have no plans to, should I get the 4690 instead of the 4690K?

Also, is there any point in getting 16gb Ram? Does any game even need that? Should I go cheaper and get 8gb?

I'd go for the K, seeing as how Overclocking helps future proof your machine a lot better, giving it more longevity.

8gb is plenty for gaming at this point, better off saving and getting more VRAM with a beefier card. Can always slap another RAM stick in there later if needed.

 

[TatteredHat]

Currently looking at this as the final setup for my new desktop, pretty happy with it so far.

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4690K, 3,5 GHz (3,9 GHz Turbo Boost) 1150
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard: EDIT: MSI Z97 Gaming 5
Memory: Corsair 8 GB DDR3-1600
GPU: ASUS STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5
PSU: Seasonic M12II-750 EVO, 750 Watt
Case: Corsair Carbide Air 540
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW, 250 GB SSD
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14, 2 TB

 

[kharma45]

I have a couple of questions. In the OP pretty much all the higher end systems have a K cpu. If I don't really overclock or have no plans to, should I get the 4690 instead of the 4690K?

I'd go for the K, seeing as how Overclocking helps future proof your machine a lot better, giving it more longevity.

Plus a K model has better resale as they're more desirable chips, and it's always nice to have the option to OC down the line.

 

[j0hnny_385]

Currently looking at this as the final setup for my new desktop, pretty happy with it so far.

Why are you on Z87 chipset instead of Z97?

 

[TatteredHat]

Why are you on Z87 chipset instead of Z97?

Hah! Good point, I'll pick out a Z97 chipset instead.

 

[xBladeM6x]

Is there a real world difference between the different motherboard chipsets? (Like, an actual performance difference. It's the one thing I've neglected to really "learn". Lol)

 

[phxxBullet]

Is there a real world difference between the different motherboard chipsets? (Like, an actual performance difference. It's the one thing I've neglected to really "learn". Lol)

Well, one thing would be support for the newest CPUs.
They might work on older z87 boards too, but some only do if you update the BIOS.

Also, newer features like M.2 for example.

 

[Soodanim]

Scan were due 150 G1 Gaming 970s last Friday and they still don't have stock (apparently the delivery didn't turn up), so I have a box of parts I got from Amazon just sitting here. Damn you, Gigabyte.

 

[xBladeM6x]

Well, one thing would be support for the newest CPUs.
They might work on older z87 boards too, but some only do if you update the BIOS.

Also, newer features like M.2 for example.

I'm wondering if having a Z68 board, with my 980 could be creating some issues? Ever since I swapped my 660 Ti for my 980, I've had at least one problem in every game. My latest being a weird grid pattern all over the screen when playing Kingdoms of Amalur. In other games I've gotten issues that should only arise when using SLI, so I'm pretty much at a loss as what to do aside from reinstalling my OS, as I've clean wiped and reinstalled my Nvidia driver like 10 times.

 

[Darklord]

Okay, so after a while of looking and picking. This is the PC I want to buy. Any tips or changes you think I should make? I was thinking of a 980 but it's a lot of money for not a huge boost. I was going to get 16gb ram but dropped it to 8gb.

Intel Core i5 4690K
MSI B85-G43 GAMING
MSI GeForce GTX970 Gaming 4G
Kingston 8GB (2x4GB) (1866MHz)
Crucial 512GB SSD, MX100,
Hitachi 3TB Deskstar
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl ATX Case
Antec 620W High Current Gamer Power Modular Supply
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

 

[kharma45]

Okay, so after a while of looking and picking. This is the PC I want to buy. Any tips or changes you think I should make? I was thinking of a 980 but it's a lot of money for not a huge boost. I was going to get 16gb ram but dropped it to 8gb.

Intel Core i5 4690K
MSI B85-G43 GAMING
MSI GeForce GTX970 Gaming 4G
Kingston 8GB (2x4GB) (1866MHz)
Crucial 512GB SSD, MX100,
Hitachi 3TB Deskstar
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl ATX Case
Antec 620W High Current Gamer Power Modular Supply
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Are you buying from the US?

 

[phxxBullet]

I'm wondering if having a Z68 board, with my 980 could be creating some issues? Ever since I swapped my 660 Ti for my 980, I've had at least one problem in every game. My latest being a weird grid pattern all over the screen when playing Kingdoms of Amalur. In other games I've gotten issues that should only arise when using SLI, so I'm pretty much at a loss as what to do aside from reinstalling my OS, as I've clean wiped and reinstalled my Nvidia driver like 10 times.

Well, z68 doesn't have PCI express 3.0, but 2.0 afaik. (at least some)
And it only supports slower RAM speeds, but I don't think the platform itself is causing you problems.

 

[Gintamen]

Can't choose between the Asus Strix 970 and MSI 970 4G... yeah both are pratically the same, but does anyone have experience with both?

 

[Kezen]

Can't choose between the Asus Strix 970 and MSI 970 4G... yeah both are pratically the same, but does anyone have experience with both?

http://techreport.com/review/27203/geforce-gtx-970-cards-from-msi-and-asus-reviewed

 

[xBladeM6x]

Well, z68 doesn't have PCI express 3.0, but 2.0 afaik. (at least some)
And it only supports slower RAM speeds, but I don't think the platform itself is causing you problems.

Well damn. Here's to hoping someone with a 970 / 980 can boot up KoA, and tell me if they get the same issue. (Max settings)

 

[opticalmace]

I'm wondering if having a Z68 board, with my 980 could be creating some issues? Ever since I swapped my 660 Ti for my 980, I've had at least one problem in every game. My latest being a weird grid pattern all over the screen when playing Kingdoms of Amalur. In other games I've gotten issues that should only arise when using SLI, so I'm pretty much at a loss as what to do aside from reinstalling my OS, as I've clean wiped and reinstalled my Nvidia driver like 10 times.

If you have a problem in every game the card is probably defective.

 

[jfoul]

GeForce GTX TITAN Z price drop to the low price of $1499.99!

EVGA 12G-P4-3990-KR

 

[ekgrey]

50% off! it's like buy one, get one free! you can't afford NOT to!

 

[Sanjay]

Intel delays Broadwell-E processor for high-end desktops to 2016

God damn you AMD.

 

[opticalmace]

Is it true that you should replace PSUs over time? I've had my current Corsair TX750 for about 5.5 years and haven't had any issues so far.

If so the EVGA Supernova G2 750W is on sale at a local shop this week... lots of good reviews about that model. But I don't want to replace my PSU unless it's a smart move.

 

[knitoe]

Is it true that you should replace PSUs over time? I've had my current Corsair TX750 for about 5.5 years and haven't had any issues so far.

Not unless you are experiencing power issues. A good PSU that is well maintain and not stress constantly can last you 10 or more years which then can be reuse for many PC builds. And, that's why I always recommend people spend more for a good PSU. Better than wasting money buying new PSUs later on. It's really the only PC part that can be "futureproof".

 

[Darklord]

Are you buying from the US?

Australia.

 

[j0hnny_385]

Is it true that you should replace PSUs over time? I've had my current Corsair TX750 for about 5.5 years and haven't had any issues so far.

If so the EVGA Supernova G2 750W is on sale at a local shop this week... lots of good reviews about that model. But I don't want to replace my PSU unless it's a smart move.

If it works fine (no crashes, weird sounds coming from within the PSU, etc.), you're fine.
Corsair is a good brand and you're set.

See my situation couple of posts above. My Corsair HX520W was working like a charm until I put a GTX 970 into my PC, then it started to buckle under heavy GPU load (in all GPU-intensive games and stress tests like Furmark) while producing a weird crackling sound.
Got a 850W PSU yesterday, everything works like a charm.
If Corsair could have handled the GPU, I would not have switched it yet.
Alas, the Corsair is going to another PC and I got a brand new, future-proof PSU.

 

[b0bbyJ03]

Can someone make a recommendation for a good inexpensive external sound card. I have a pair of Astro A40s that i would like to use with my PC and even tho my mobo (Asus P8z77-I delux) has a fiber optic out it doesn't seem to put out Dolby Digital, only DTS. Any suggestions? thanks

 

[ChackanKun]

CPU: AMD FX 6300 3.5Ghz BE SkAM3

Is this a good CPU? Been away from PC gaming for a few years so I just can't keep up with different models and stuff lol

 

[knitoe]

Is this a good CPU? Been away from PC gaming for a few years so I just can't keep up with different models and stuff lol

For gaming PC, it's all about Intel CPUs. Read the OP for guidelines.

 

[ChackanKun]

For gaming PC, it's all about Intel CPUs. Read the OP for guidelines.

Baaah, the price diference is huge :|

Well might as well:

Your Current Specs: Nada, Nothing, Nop, Nicles, Nilch!
Budget: Was hoping to stay between 400-500€ MAX! Portugal!
Main Use: Light Gaming.
Monitor Resolution: 1366x768 prolly
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Main objective is to play Guild Wars 2 - 60FPS (No need for ULTRA HD resolutions and stuff!). Anything else will be mostly older games!
When will you build?: Maybe December!
Will you be overclocking?: Nop

Looking forward for recommendations!

 

[Dave_6]

Nvm

 

[opticalmace]

Got the exotic bounty for the Bad Juju last night. I will be done with it before I ever get through the crucible part of the Thorn bounty :/

I have no idea what this means. Destiny? BL?

 

[Dave_6]

I have no idea what this means. Destiny? BL?

Haha, wrong thread! My bad.

 

[xBladeM6x]

If you have a problem in every game the card is probably defective.

My issues in games seem to center around shaders / shadows. Whether it be them popping in and out, flickering, juddering, (possible) artifacting, and things of that nature. The FPS I get in games seems to be around what benchmarks show it should be at, but the visual errors are what lead me to believe there's a deeper issue. I'll probably have to RMA to Newegg, or just call EVGA and see if I can work something out, since the card is like only a month old.

 

[knitoe]

My issues in games seem to center around shaders / shadows. Whether it be them popping in and out, flickering, juddering, (possible) artifacting, and things of that nature. The FPS I get in games seems to be around what benchmarks show it should be at, but the visual errors are what lead me to believe there's a deeper issue. I'll probably have to RMA to Newegg, or just call EVGA and see if I can work something out, since the card is like only a month old.

Yeah, it's probably a bad card. Is the card OC, factory or manually? If yes, try down clocking to default stock speed and see if the problem goes away.

 

[opticalmace]

My issues in games seem to center around shaders / shadows. Whether it be them popping in and out, flickering, juddering, (possible) artifacting, and things of that nature. The FPS I get in games seems to be around what benchmarks show it should be at, but the visual errors are what lead me to believe there's a deeper issue. I'll probably have to RMA to Newegg, or just call EVGA and see if I can work something out, since the card is like only a month old.

If your old card was fine then to me it's either drivers or the new card (unless you have a really crappy PSU maybe?). If you've ruled out drivers I would RMA the card personally.

 

[xBladeM6x]

Yeah, it's probably a bad card. Is the card OC, factory or manually? If yes, try down clocking to default stock speed and see if the problem goes away.

It's factory SC / OC. I have my own personal overclock, however It's been doing this sort of thing since before I further OC'd it beyond the factory SC.

If your old card was fine then to me it's either drivers or the new card (unless you have a really crappy PSU maybe?). If you've ruled out drivers I would RMA the card personally.

It couldn't possibly be the drivers (unless you mean that they're immature, and need updating on Nvidia's side), and my PSU is a Corsair HX750.

Thanks for the help, I'll be RMA'ing the card. I bought it from Newegg, so I'm wondering if it's going to be faster to do it through them, or EVGA?

 

[opticalmace]

It's factory SC / OC. I have my own personal overclock, however It's been doing this sort of thing since before I further OC'd it beyond the factory SC.


It couldn't possibly be the drivers (unless you mean that they're immature, and need updating on Nvidia's side), and my PSU is a Corsair HX750.

Thanks for the help, I'll be RMA'ing the card. I bought it from Newegg, so I'm wondering if it's going to be faster to do it through them, or EVGA?

I was thinking more in terms of some sort of old drivers still present on the system that are causing some type of conflict. Either way, I would try to exchange it at the retailer (Newegg) first, before going to the manufacturer. I haven't returned anything to Newegg but I imagine they'll be faster.

 

[knitoe]

It's factory SC / OC. I have my own personal overclock, however It's been doing this sort of thing since before I further OC'd it beyond the factory SC.

The factory OC may not be 100% stable. Down clock it to normal default stock speed and test.

 

[kvk1]

Tales from TigerDirect.

Roberto Legaspi 10:14:55 AM
Hello kvk1, my name is Roberto Legaspi, how may I help you?

kvk1 10:16:05 AM
I am looking for information on order XXXXXXX. It was placed over 12 days ago and it still hasn't shipped. I spoke with customer support last week and was told they would contact the vendor and provide me more information by today.

Roberto Legaspi 10:18:55 AM
I do apologize for the inconvenience,I know that you are waiting for this item for a long time, let me go ahead and check this for you.
And as per checking, we found out that we do not have enough stocks as of the moment, that is why we cannot provide at least an ETA as of now.

kvk1 10:22:16 AM
I don't understand. The item showed in stock when I placed the order. Furthermore it went in and out of stock several times over the past 12 days. Are there no priority in orders placed earlier? This seems a little ridiculous.

Roberto Legaspi 10:25:03 AM
I am sorry if we are a bit upset because of this matter. But we can do is to obtain more information from the vendor and we will be giving you an update as soon as possible, once we hear something from the vendor.

kvk1 10:26:02 AM
How will I receive this update?

Roberto Legaspi 10:28:07 AM
Once the information is already available, you will be notified through your email.

kvk1 10:30:02 AM
Okay, thank you. Just so we're on the same page, I was told by support last week that I would receive an update from the vendor by today. Do you think you guys can get an update by the end of this week?

Roberto Legaspi 10:34:23 AM
I totally understand, however we did not hear anything from the vendor from the last few days that is why we do not have any update. I cannot guarantee that we will be receiving any update from the vendor, but I can assure you that once we hear from them, we will update you as quick as possible.

 

[axb2013]

Tales from TigerDirect.

Luck of the draw, picked the wrong (or right) vendor at the right (wrong) time.

I remember ordering a GPU from ncix.us, MSI 7950 TF3 was a hot commodity since it had the 7970 PCB and a 8+6pin connector, clocked like crazy. Ordered the first time, paid with paypal, was told my address was uncorfirmed yet my paypal page checks out fine. Had to call paypal to make sure it wasn't a typo or some BS like that, after a record on hold time, everything fine. Order again, this time via phone to make sure the rep checks my info, everything was fine until half an hour later when i got the unverified address cancellation.
The card was flying in and out of stock everywhere, so I figured I'll try a CC. A forum buddy swore on his firstborn that there are no cancellation fees if an order falls through. Had to get the card on Amazon when I saw they restocked it. The ncix order of course fell through again after a few days:

Never got that firstborn. At least the Amazon GPU was a golden sample, 880MHz to 1250MHz with a minor voltage bump.

 

[kvk1]

Luck of the draw, picked the wrong (or right) vendor at the right (wrong) time.

I remember ordering a GPU from ncix.us, MSI 7950 TF3 was a hot commodity since it had the 7970 PCB and a 8+6pin connector, clocked like crazy. Ordered the first time, paid with paypal, was told my address was uncorfirmed yet my paypal page checks out fine. Had to call paypal to make sure it wasn't a typo or some BS like that, after a record on hold time, everything fine. Order again, this time via phone to make sure the rep checks my info, everything was fine until half an hour later when i got the unverified address cancellation.
The card was flying in and out of stock everywhere, so I figured I'll try a CC. A forum buddy swore on his firstborn that there are no cancellation fees if an order falls through. Had to get the card on Amazon when I saw they restocked it. The ncix order of course fell through again after a few days:

http://abload.de/img/ghjhfppp4m.jpg[IMG]

Never got that firstborn. At least the Amazon GPU was a golden sample, 880MHz to 1250MHz with a minor voltage bump.[/QUOTE]

Haha, that's rough stuff man.

I was super close to asking them to cancel the order so I can look elsewhere.

The problem is I feel like doing that at this juncture, when the stock is critical everywhere, is going to be the Office Space equivalent of changing lanes during rush hour only to find your previous lane opened up.

Patience, I guess.

Woosah.

 

[axb2013]

Totally agree, at best you will reenter queue in a worse position, at worst Samir is holding you back from beating up the fax machine or you end up threatening that Roberto guy on twitter.

 

[appaws]

Is this a good CPU? Been away from PC gaming for a few years so I just can't keep up with different models and stuff lol

For gaming PC, it's all about Intel CPUs. Read the OP for guidelines.

Baaah, the price diference is huge :|

Well might as well:



Looking forward for recommendations!

Actually no, there is no price difference....because Intel CPUs outperform AMDs easily at the same price range. In other words, take that 6300 you were looking at. The Intel chips that cost the same or less outperform it, especially for gaming. In fact, for gaming purposes, I would suggest that the Anniversary Pentium which costs $30 less would be a better choice.

I think you should look at the "Good" build in the OP and start from there.

 

[Moobabe]

A quick post (while my PC stays on...)

My graphics card is dead/dying. I need a new one. What's the best bang for buck? OR is it worth going ham on a crazy good card?

I'm trying to find out what motherboard I have BUT under system information it says:

"System Manufacturer - system manufacturer

System Model - System Product name

System Type - x64-based PC"

As far as I'm aware that should, instead of what it says, tell me what motherboard I have?

 

[opticalmace]

A quick post (while my PC stays on...)

My graphics card is dead/dying. I need a new one. What's the best bang for buck? OR is it worth going ham on a crazy good card?

I'm trying to find out what motherboard I have BUT under system information it says:

"System Manufacturer - system manufacturer

System Model - System Product name

System Type - x64-based PC"

As far as I'm aware that should, instead of what it says, tell me what motherboard I have?

Use Speccy to give you all your pc specs. Post them if you could.

And what's your budget?

 

[xBladeM6x]

A quick post (while my PC stays on...)

My graphics card is dead/dying. I need a new one. What's the best bang for buck? OR is it worth going ham on a crazy good card?

I'm trying to find out what motherboard I have BUT under system information it says:

"System Manufacturer - system manufacturer

System Model - System Product name

System Type - x64-based PC"

As far as I'm aware that should, instead of what it says, tell me what motherboard I have?

If you're not really sure what your parts are, you can always use Speccy. It's an easy tool for just about anyone.

Edit: Damn it. You beat me to it. Lol

 

[ChackanKun]

Actually no, there is no price difference....because Intel CPUs outperform AMDs easily at the same price range. In other words, take that 6300 you were looking at. The Intel chips that cost the same or less outperform it, especially for gaming. In fact, for gaming purposes, I would suggest that the Anniversary Pentium which costs $30 less would be a better choice.

I think you should look at the "Good" build in the OP and start from there.

Yeah that's what I'm doing!

This is what i've come up with so far:

• INTEL Core i5 4460 3.20GHz 6MB Socket 1150 BOX [177,50 €]
• GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H [66,00 €]
• 1LIFE Caixa ATX c:great 500W Preto [30,75 €]
• GIGABYTE GeForce GTX750 OC 2GB DDR5 PCI-E - GV-N750OC-2GI [119,90 €]
• KINGSTON HyperX Blu Red 4GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 PC12800 [41,00 €]
• TOSHIBA 500GB SATA III 32MB 7200 RPM - DT01ACA050 [48,90 €]

Total: 504,05 €

 

[Moobabe]

Use Speccy to give you all your pc specs. Post them if you could.

And what's your budget?

"Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1

CPU
AMD Phenom II X6 1050T 37 °C
Thuban 45nm Technology

RAM
6.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 668MHz (9-9-9-24)

Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M4A87TD EVO (AM3) 31 °C

Graphics
E2260 (1920x1080@60Hz)
1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 5800 Series (ASUStek Computer Inc) 47 °C

Storage
931GB SAMSUNG HD103SI ATA Device (SATA) 21 °C
465GB Western Digital WD My Passport 0740 USB Device (USB (SATA)) 26 °C

Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223C ATA Device
DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device

Audio
AMD High Definition Audio Device"

Do I need to update my motherboard drivers? Is that something that people do?

I'd say budget wise... I don't know. If there's one that's pretty damn good, fits in my case, compatible etc then I'm to work a few extra shifts and get it done.

 

[opticalmace]

"Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1

CPU
AMD Phenom II X6 1050T 37 °C
Thuban 45nm Technology

RAM
6.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 668MHz (9-9-9-24)

Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M4A87TD EVO (AM3) 31 °C

Graphics
E2260 (1920x1080@60Hz)
1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 5800 Series (ASUStek Computer Inc) 47 °C

Storage
931GB SAMSUNG HD103SI ATA Device (SATA) 21 °C
465GB Western Digital WD My Passport 0740 USB Device (USB (SATA)) 26 °C

Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223C ATA Device
DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device

Audio
AMD High Definition Audio Device"

Do I need to update my motherboard drivers? Is that something that people do?

I'd say budget wise... I don't know. If there's one that's pretty damn good, fits in my case, compatible etc then I'm to work a few extra shifts and get it done.

I'd suggest you check out this article for video card recommendations: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

I wouldn't go for anything too expensive as I think your CPU will bottleneck you there (though I'm not that familiar with AMD CPUs), but any decent midrange card will probably do you well.

 

[Moobabe]

I'd suggest you check out this article for video card recommendations: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

I wouldn't go for anything too expensive as I think your CPU will bottleneck you there (though I'm not that familiar with AMD CPUs), but any decent midrange card will probably do you well.

Can I use Nvidia or ATI no problems?

Should I go for enthusiast or mid range? (Where is my current card, roughly, in this scale?)

 

[opticalmace]

Can I use Nvidia or ATI no problems?

Should I go for enthusiast or mid range? (Where is my current card, roughly, in this scale?)

Yup either brand will work. Toms has a GPU hierarchy at the end of the article, it's really handy (if not super exact): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

Your card is either a 5850 or 5870, so tier 9 or 10 from the top. AMD's R9 270X is probably a good bet, or a clearance R9 280 if you can find one, but wait for some other people in this thread to respond with more input.

 

[Felix Lighter]

Can I use Nvidia or ATI no problems?

Should I go for enthusiast or mid range? (Where is my current card, roughly, in this scale?)

Either brand is fine.


Your card was on the enthusiast end of the spectrum in 2009-2010. It's a 5870, 5850 or 5830. This was when the 58__ was the top end single GPU cards and the 59 was the dual GPU card before AMD changed their naming convention. The CPU was pretty good at that time as well but it would be your bottleneck in a lot of games if you were to for say a GTX970 today.