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"I Need a New PC!" 2014 Part 2. Read OP, your 2500K will run Witcher 3. MX100s! 970!
- Thread starter Hazaro
- Start date
- Status
Bananajama
Banned
Figures.
Had some DDR3 in my part picker that's gone completely for £55 (not out of stock or anything just removed)
Next available cheapest I could see is £62
Had some DDR3 in my part picker that's gone completely for £55 (not out of stock or anything just removed)
Next available cheapest I could see is £62
lordfuzzybutt
Member
^ reminds me of a time long ago when I tried to upgrade my mate's machine with a 16MB sdram stick. ddr was just introduced then and production for sdram stopped, which pushed the price sky high. Funny stuff.
opticalmace
Member
I came across an invoice from a few years ago... 16GB DDR3, ~$80 CAD. I miss those days.
Upgrading my system so I'm selling:
CPU: Intel i5 3570K (£120)
GPU: HIS IceQ x2 7970 (£130)
The 3570K can be overclocked to at least 4.6GHz. However I've mostly ran it stock since testing the OC.
Haven't attempted to OC the 7970 but it's voltage unlocked. Won't ship the 7970 in its original box because it's a fucking huge box and the postage would be unnecessarily expensive.
I'll ship outside of the UK but extra postage will be needed. PM if interested.
CPU: Intel i5 3570K (£120)
GPU: HIS IceQ x2 7970 (£130)
The 3570K can be overclocked to at least 4.6GHz. However I've mostly ran it stock since testing the OC.
Haven't attempted to OC the 7970 but it's voltage unlocked. Won't ship the 7970 in its original box because it's a fucking huge box and the postage would be unnecessarily expensive.
I'll ship outside of the UK but extra postage will be needed. PM if interested.
Bright-Light
Member
Im really close to convincing myself to jump to pc gaming, just owned consoles my whole life. Can somebody do me a favour and click this link: http://www.ukgamingcomputers.co.uk/medusa-extreme-pc-p-170.html
And answer a few questions.
1) Is the price reasonable for the specs.
2) How future proof would this pc be
3) If im paying this much for a PC, should i get a moniter also, or just hook it up to my TV.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can take a minute to help me out.
And answer a few questions.
1) Is the price reasonable for the specs.
2) How future proof would this pc be
3) If im paying this much for a PC, should i get a moniter also, or just hook it up to my TV.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can take a minute to help me out.
lordfuzzybutt
Member
1. It is reasonable for a prebuilt machine. Though you can get it cheaper if you build it yourself but given the fact that you have been a console gamer your whole life you might not be comfortable with that.
2. I think it will last this entire gen.
3. It depends on your preference, a TV is fine if you prefer to lie on your couch. So anything really.
j0hnny_385
Member
Ehhh, I don't know really.
I don't know UK prices, but always consider that some form of price mark up is in place since it's a prebuilt machine.
You can check the price of individiual components on PCpartpicker (be sure to pick UK) to compare.
Be sure to check the OP, especially Haz's build sheet.
There's something for every budget.
Extremely future proof!
This whole gen for sure.
What is your preference? If you plan to play strategy games (Starcraft 2, etc.) you're better off with a desk , comfy chair and a monitor. Not saying that playing RTS is impossible on TV, but it ain't practical.
If you want a "console-like" experience, you're in for a treat because PC <-> TV compatibility has never been better (Steam Big Picture mode! Yay!).
The one that is in stock.
Looking at gigabyte 4GB OC version, but I am nervous about buying a card pre overclocked
j0hnny_385
Member
Why? Almost every high end card these days is factory OC'd.
It's tested by the manufacturer and it just works. Why the worry?
Why? Almost every high end card these days is factory OC'd.
It's tested by the manufacturer and it just works. Why the worry?
Oh I didn't realize that.
What are you nervous about? Factory overclocking is usually very stable and reliable.
Inferno313
Banned
Hey Gaf,
I've been playing around with my fully built gaming PC for a month now. I've got a 970 and a 4790k. I've been running both at stock settings but I think I'm ready to dive into overclocking.
What are the best guides to follow for both CPU and GPU overclocking? Is it better to do one before the other?
I've been playing around with my fully built gaming PC for a month now. I've got a 970 and a 4790k. I've been running both at stock settings but I think I'm ready to dive into overclocking.
What are the best guides to follow for both CPU and GPU overclocking? Is it better to do one before the other?
DeFiBkIlLeR
Banned
Need more info for CPU overclocking advice, i.e does your motherboard have an 'easy overclock' application in the BIOS?, my Asus Hero z97 will overclock my 4690K to 4.5Ghz with a single click in its BIOS, pretty much all modern motherboards do now have some sort of automated overclocking feature.
..but definately overclock your CPU before the GPU.
You might want to check out the Intel Xeon series. It pretty much offers the same performance as an i7 at a lower price because it isn't overclockable and doesn't have an integrated graphics unit. If you don't need those 2 things the Xeon E3-1231 v3 is the way to go.
I'm actually surprised I don't see it mentioned more often in american forums.
In Germany it's has basically become the go to CPU around that price range.
You want i7 performance at an i5 price? Take the Xeon E3-1231 v3
I haven't found any english reviews but you can check the benchmarks on this german website
http://www.computerbase.de/2014-05/intel-xeon-e3-1231-v3-nachfolger-1230-test/4/
Did you not read the thread title? If you haven't already, OC the 2500K to 4.4-4.6GHz and you will be fine for another few years.
Nope. I have a 2500k at 4.2Ghz and I'm running just fine with my 970. When I get around to it, I'll get it up to 4.4. After that the returns are diminishing pretty quickly.
Are you running 4.2 with just the stock heatsink and regular case fans? I never oc'd and have this irrational fear of my house burning down while I'm at work.
At this point with higher voltage or stock voltage my benchmark score seems stuck in the 1340s. Unigine shows my clock and mem speeds are as I set them but it's as if my OC settings aren't actually being applied. The temps reflect the cards being pushed harder but the scores don't reflect any additional power.
zero shift
Banned
LLC has the options if enabled, auto, and disabled. This are my only choices with it,
I also can't lower my offset core voltage as my computer will crash.
Should I turn of internal PLL overvoltage? And is 12V level bad? What does that mean?
Felix Lighter
Member
Honestly, the 100Mhz you would gain going to 4.6Ghz isn't going to be all that meaningful. Unless it requires a very insignificant bump in voltage, I would stick with 4.5, but once you start hitting the out limits of your CPU, the voltage requirements start jumping up rapidly.
Looks like the eVGA GTX 970s are starting to get restocked on NCIX which is awesome. Thought I'd be waiting until December but I decided to check the site a few minutes ago and saw that some were in stock and immediately picked one up. Looks like they come with a free copy of Assassin's Creed: Unity, Far Cry 4 or The Crew as well.
I see, then you will have to run LLC disabled. With it enabled what is happening is that the board is compensating for the voltage at load, so you run a lower offset. But this lower offset means when the CPU steps down the multiplier range due to the C6 state being enabled, the voltage will be the VID at each multiplier subtract the Offset and no compensation since its idle. That will cause problems at bootup and idle conditions.
Internal PLL voltage can be good when using 4.5Ghz or higher, its not a certain answer, you have to test if your chip likes it or not. If its useful itll either make an unstable overclock stable or require less vcore than with it disabled.
12v reading is normal. Look up PSU ATX voltage tolerances.
zero shift
Banned
I performed another test for 4.6GHZ and got these results:
4.6GHZ
.96 - 1.336V (1.344V Peak)
64C 70C 72C 66C
However, to get that I had to bump the offset voltage to plus 0.035. Is the offset voltage irrelevant as long as the core voltage is correct?
Inferno313
Banned
It's this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128714
I'm not sure if it does. I'm not home otherwise I'd check myself.
The 4790k runs at 4.4GHz at stock so you're not gonna see any huge gains from overclocking it, especially not in games. The 970 on the other hand has a ton of headroom for overclocking which will translate directly into better game performance. It's also super easy to do it using Afterburner and you don't need to worry about temps since the aftermarket coolers are way too big for this chip anyway.
I'd say start with the GPU and then maybe bump up the CPU a little if you want to.
DeFiBkIlLeR
Banned
Very good mobo, it will almost certainly have an auto overclock feature in the BIOS.
I've had an R3 for a few years now. Super quiet. Lovely case all round.
Bright-Light
Member
Thanks for the reply.
Yeah, im pretty daunted by the prospect of building my own. Im probably gonna go the prebuilt route.
And yes. Prefer the couch set up, so TV sounds like hte option for me.
Now just to covince my fiance that its a good idea to spend £1600 on a pc instead of redecorating the the bathroom.
Leave LLC disable.
Disable PLL too. Only need for OC 4.8 and above. With it enable, your computer will BSOD coming out of sleep.
12V is fine.
Increasing offset should increase core voltage and vice versa. So, it's relevant. As long as VCore within limit, it's fine.
I notice you have C1,C3 and C6 disable. They should be enable so your cpu speed downclocks while idling.
Bright-Light
Member
Thanks, will check out Haz's build sheet for sure. Glad its future prrof, would hate to have to upgrade something within a couple of years.
And yeah, i love the idea of Big picture mode. So TV it is.
Yes, its just an offset applied to the VID of the the Multiplier in question. All that matters is the final Vcore you see in CPUz.
SolidSnakeUS
Member
Just bought the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G since the game promo came out .
I'll get my other parts later or during Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
.I'll get my other parts later or during Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
Incorrect. At stock, the 4790K max boost to 4.4GHz only on 1 core. If you manually OC, you can get all 4 cores running 4.4GHz. For games that only use 1 core, yes, it won't matter, but games now use more than 1, so, it would be a huge difference.
That Dude John
Member
Assuming that I'd be able to take the time to build my own, under Haz's builds in the OP, is it under the "Excellent" build that the hypothethical machine that can "slay just about every game for a while" will run most games at 1080p60fps? How big is the dropoff in performance from that build to the "Great" build?
It's mainly due to the video card. The difference between 970 vs 760 big. If you can get the 970 + Great, you will not notice a difference for gaming.
zero shift
Banned
So I was playing The Evil Within and it BSOD me. I'm not sure if that was the game (it is well known for being poorly optimized) or the CPU but I went to the Bios and added 0.005 to my offset voltage. It now stands at plus 0.050.
Here are my results with ten minutes in Prime95:
4.6GHZ
.96 - 1.344V (1.352V Peak)
65C 72C 73C 68C
I think I will end it here. I don't believe that my CPU temperatures surpassing 80C is good. And a gain of 100 or 200MHZ will likely be trivial.
That said I am still surprised by the performance gains. Blade Symphony went from ~48fps to well surpassing 60fps. It is a buttery-smooth 60fps under vsync.
I had to keep these enabled as I was coming across serious stability issues when they were disabled.
I never put my computer to sleep anyway due to: #1 Having a SSD & #2 The OCZ tech support guy told me not to as it could shorten my SSD's life.
EDIT - You weren't kidding about it crashing when it goes into sleep mode. Actually what happens it that I hit a key to wake it up and the computer starts but the screen doesn't... I had unplug the power supply and wait a few minutes to try again and then finally the computer woke up properly with the screen in tact. But again, I NEVER use sleep mode.
Here are my results with ten minutes in Prime95:
4.6GHZ
.96 - 1.344V (1.352V Peak)
65C 72C 73C 68C
I think I will end it here. I don't believe that my CPU temperatures surpassing 80C is good. And a gain of 100 or 200MHZ will likely be trivial.
That said I am still surprised by the performance gains. Blade Symphony went from ~48fps to well surpassing 60fps. It is a buttery-smooth 60fps under vsync.
I had to keep these enabled as I was coming across serious stability issues when they were disabled.
I never put my computer to sleep anyway due to: #1 Having a SSD & #2 The OCZ tech support guy told me not to as it could shorten my SSD's life.
EDIT - You weren't kidding about it crashing when it goes into sleep mode. Actually what happens it that I hit a key to wake it up and the computer starts but the screen doesn't... I had unplug the power supply and wait a few minutes to try again and then finally the computer woke up properly with the screen in tact. But again, I NEVER use sleep mode.
Now, you need to run Prime95 for a few hours to test stability. Add more voltage if it continues to fail. 10mi was only for preliminary testing so you can quickly make adjustments.
You were having stablilty issue because it wasn't 100% stable. Once you get the correct voltage try disabling them again.
SSD last a very long time. You have to do tons of writes per day to shorten them. Sleep is fine, but you are right. SSD Windows startup is fast so sleep not needed as much these days.
If you are getting crashes going into sleep mode it could be C States, its always best to disable all C States when starting out overclocking, then re-enabling them later - C1E then C3 then C6. Usually C1E is enough and causes little issues, but C3 and C6 can cause issues with highly overclocked CPUs at idle conditions.
And as Knitoe mentioned, the PLL Overvoltage sometimes gave BSODs on wake up from sleep, so youll have to see if that affects you. But anyways, only enable it if it helps, it sometimes doesnt help at all.
Ive never had a game crash after an hour or 2 of this:
prime95
click blend, click custom, enter 5600MB RAM to test if I have 8GB ram. Click OK and run for 2hours.
Armoured Titan
Member
Need some opinions here.
I'm looking to get a HDD specifically for storage as I just recently got an SSD for the main OS.
I've been looking at both the WD Blue 1TB and WD Green 2TB but not sure which to get.
On the surface the 2TB drive seems really good value as it's double the storage and only abit more expensive but then I hear that the Green drives aren't very reliable.
What would be the best option here? Even if I go for the Blue and decide to get another down the line it's still going to be more expensive that way than one 2TB drive.
I'm looking to get a HDD specifically for storage as I just recently got an SSD for the main OS.
I've been looking at both the WD Blue 1TB and WD Green 2TB but not sure which to get.
On the surface the 2TB drive seems really good value as it's double the storage and only abit more expensive but then I hear that the Green drives aren't very reliable.
What would be the best option here? Even if I go for the Blue and decide to get another down the line it's still going to be more expensive that way than one 2TB drive.
Avoid the Green. If you want to save money, get one of those extension HDD (search for what brand is inside), crack them open and put them into your PC. Note, this could void the warranty if you can't put it back together nicely.
Jacksinthe
Banned
Grrrr... What to believe. Parts were showing on UPS tracking on schedule for delivery today. This morning i look and it has been moved to tomorrow. Which sucks since I have tomorrow off and wanted to spend the day installing all of my important stuff.
So I see the UPS location is literally a block away from work. Cool, if its there I'll just go and pick it up on the way home so I'm not losing time tomorrow. Gave UPS a ring and they said it was on the truck for delivery today according to their records. Their site still shows it at the current UPS facility with delivery for tomorrow. Dude says its a go for today.
What to believe. I just want to build this thing
So I see the UPS location is literally a block away from work. Cool, if its there I'll just go and pick it up on the way home so I'm not losing time tomorrow. Gave UPS a ring and they said it was on the truck for delivery today according to their records. Their site still shows it at the current UPS facility with delivery for tomorrow. Dude says its a go for today.
What to believe. I just want to build this thing
I could use some advice on a budget GPU. I'm helping a friend put together his build on a very tight budget. Recently, his GPU of choice was the R9 270, but he just threw me a curve ball with what appears to be a great find in a 3gb GTX 660 for about the same price. The clocks are lower (closer to a R7 265), but I'm wondering if the extra gig of RAM would make it the better choice.
I did notice that the memory is 192-bit rather than the standard 256. How much difference does this make?
Finally, the 660 is DX 12 ("Feature level 11.0" -- what does this mean?). The 270 is DX 11.2. With extreme performance gains expected of DX 12 in the near future, does this card with its feature level gain those benefits?
I'm normally good with spec details, but these are new to me. Thanks!
EDIT: And then there's this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202099 (Looks like the winner!)
I did notice that the memory is 192-bit rather than the standard 256. How much difference does this make?
Finally, the 660 is DX 12 ("Feature level 11.0" -- what does this mean?). The 270 is DX 11.2. With extreme performance gains expected of DX 12 in the near future, does this card with its feature level gain those benefits?
I'm normally good with spec details, but these are new to me. Thanks!
EDIT: And then there's this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202099 (Looks like the winner!)
The Dutch Slayer
Member
ow yeah lets do this
That Dude John
Member
So, I went back and forth between the great/excellent builds: http://i.imgur.com/MIz0ioO.png
Is that everything?
Didn't opt for the sound card or that other optional thing, but since I didn't know what they were for, I doubt that I wanted them lol
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