• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

"I Need a New PC!" 2014 Part 2. Read OP, your 2500K will run Witcher 3. MX100s! 970!

Status
Not open for further replies.

eek5

Member
How would you fix it? Get a new card?
IDK. Going to monitor it and then RMA if it starts happening more frequently I guess. I was just watching a youtube video when it happened so I doubt it was overheating. Crossing my fingers and hopnig it was just a slight glitch or something
 

NexusCell

Member
Hey PCgaf, I'm working on building my first PC this summer, and I wanted your input and advice on my choice in parts for my desktop. I'm trying to keep my budget at around 1000, though its alright if it goes a little bit over.

Right now my selection consists of the following:

On Amazon
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower Chassis with Window Cases PH-ES614P ($99.99)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003 ($49.99)
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2) ($30.99)

On NewEgg
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD3H LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($134.99)
Processor: Intel Core i5-4690K Haswell Quad-Core 3.5GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I54690K ($239.99)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B ($84.99)
SSD: Crucial MX100 CT128MX100SSD1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ($77.99)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready ($89.99)
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM ($19.99)
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-N770OC-2GD GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready WindForce 3X 450W Video Card ($339.99)

Right now my big question is regarding the graphics card, as I can't tell if I'm getting the best bang for my buck. I've mostly been using Logical Increments as a guide, and browsing through the list of possible video cards that are compatible, I'm not sure which one the choose. Any recommendations GAF?
 
Does NCIX Canada ship it's parts from the US? I'm trying to avoid duty fees :/
Also, is it safe?

I don't think so. The few times I've use them, I got my stuff a few days after ordering. Plus they usually have a pick up at the store option. Of course, this might vary from product to product like new egg.

I know tiger direct always does from my experience.
 
Quick question (I may have asked this already).

Whats the general consensus on Windows 8.1 and SSDs in regards to VM/Paging file? I disabled it (I have 8gigs) but my coworker was telling me he kept his on. Thoughts? I see online it swings anyway. Gaf Collective, what say you?
 
Question about sound cards. Can i use them to force certain things similar to how a video card can force things such as AA,v-sync,etc? For example if an older game is having some sound issues on modern pc's,can i use a sound card to address the issue? Some older games use direct3d so would a sound card that supports direct3d help?
 

Daeda

Member
Well, so far for a new PC:

On boot there's no screen, no BIOS beep, no power to USB. Tried to pinpoint the error by removing everything but the CPU and the PSU. Since the PSU works fine on my old PC and there doesnt seem to be any sound even with all RAM removed (which should give me an error message) it seems like the Motherboard is DOA.

Yet another week before I can enjoy those Steam Sale pickups :(
 

Rebel Leader

THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
Well, so far for a new PC:

On boot there's no screen, no BIOS beep, no power to USB. Tried to pinpoint the error by removing everything but the CPU and the PSU. Since the PSU works fine on my old PC and there doesnt seem to be any sound even with all RAM removed (which should give me an error message) it seems like the Motherboard is DOA.

Yet another week before I can enjoy those Steam Sale pickups :(

Your scarring me. Meanie.

Though It does seem like a DOA motherboard
---


I have a question, if I have an OC grpahics card can I have it not in OC? This is my first PC and I don't want OC yet.
 

appaws

Banned
Hey PCgaf, I'm working on building my first PC this summer, and I wanted your input and advice on my choice in parts for my desktop. I'm trying to keep my budget at around 1000, though its alright if it goes a little bit over.

Right now my selection consists of the following:

On Amazon
Case: Corsair Carbide Series Black 400R Mid Tower Computer Case ($94.99)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003 ($49.99)
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2) ($30.99)

On NewEgg
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD3H LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($134.99)
Processor: Intel Core i5-4690K Haswell Quad-Core 3.5GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I54690K ($239.99)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B ($84.99)
SSD: Crucial MX100 CT128MX100SSD1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ($77.99)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready ($89.99)
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM ($19.99)
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-N770OC-2GD GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready WindForce 3X 450W Video Card ($339.99)

Right now my big question is regarding the graphics card, as I can't tell if I'm getting the best bang for my buck. I've mostly been using Logical Increments as a guide, and browsing through the list of possible video cards that are compatible, I'm not sure which one the choose. Any recommendations GAF?

1. I am a former owner of the 400R. I hated it very much. YMMV of course, but I consider it outdated and really crappy. Not removable drive cages, not enough space for wire management, ugly, IMO. For that price, there is much better available, see the OP.

2. As far as the GPU....I would not spend that much on a 770. There are a lot of deals around these days for 290s and even 290x's....for less than $400.
 

The Llama

Member
So I have an Evo 212 coming tomorrow, but just realized I could take the HSF off my current PC (since I won't be using it anymore) and use it on my new build. The HSF I have in my current PC is a Noctua NH-U12P SE2. Should I bother taking the Noctua off and using it instead of the Evo? Is it worth just taking off the Noctua fans and using them with the Evo instead of the fan it comes with (I think they're supposed to be higher quality; maybe someone can confirm this)? My one concern with using the Noctua on my new build is its probably reaaaally dusty (I'm bad at taking care of my PC's haha) and I don't have any compressed air on me (guess I could run out tomorrow and buy some though).
 

Damian.

Banned
Quick question (I may have asked this already).

Whats the general consensus on Windows 8.1 and SSDs in regards to VM/Paging file? I disabled it (I have 8gigs) but my coworker was telling me he kept his on. Thoughts? I see online it swings anyway. Gaf Collective, what say you?

I have had my pagefile turned off for several years since upgrading to 16GB but had to turn it back on as Watch Dogs crashes with "out of memory errors" after 30 minutes of playing if its disabled. I don't really notice a difference one way or the other if its on or not for most games.
 

Renekton

Member
Performance gain from turning off pagefile atm doesn't seem worth the possibility of random out of memory CTDs.

Windows seems decently efficient at managing it on auto.
 

Rur0ni

Member
Quick question (I may have asked this already).

Whats the general consensus on Windows 8.1 and SSDs in regards to VM/Paging file? I disabled it (I have 8gigs) but my coworker was telling me he kept his on. Thoughts? I see online it swings anyway. Gaf Collective, what say you?
You can set it to a smaller fixed size, and probably not have any issues. Disabling the page file you might have weird application issues.
 

NexusCell

Member
Looking at the graphic cards, I'm wondering if anyone has any input on these R9 280x cards.

So far, I've been looking at:

Sapphire
Gigabyte
XFX

I'm sort of leaning toward Sapphire, but the reviews on fan problems kind of worries me.
 

appaws

Banned
Looking at the graphic cards, I'm wondering if anyone has any input on these R9 280x cards.

So far, I've been looking at:

Sapphire
Gigabyte
XFX

I'm sort of leaning toward Sapphire, but the reviews on fan problems kind of worries me.

I have always heard good things about Sapphire cards, never personally owned one though. Same for MSI. Good rep, never owned one personally. Gigabyte cards are top notch, the windforce cooler does a great job. Asus are also top of the line. I have used both of those brands for GPUs and had great results.

Can't comment on XFX, don't know much about them.

Of course negative internet reviews are a tricky thing. It seems that every person who has a problem posts everywhere....100 people who have no problem never seem to post anything.
 
I got a question. I have a Z97 extreme 6 mother board and 2 MSI GTX 760 GPU's that I plan to SLI... I want to put the first card in the first slot and the second card in the third slot using a longer SLI bridge so that cards will get better airflow. Any downside to this? will it work just as good as having them in order?
 

eek5

Member
I have always heard good things about Sapphire cards, never personally owned one though. Same for MSI. Good rep, never owned one personally. Gigabyte cards are top notch, the windforce cooler does a great job. Asus are also top of the line. I have used both of those brands for GPUs and had great results.

Can't comment on XFX, don't know much about them.

Of course negative internet reviews are a tricky thing. It seems that every person who has a problem posts everywhere....100 people who have no problem never seem to post anything.

Is the Windforce cooler supposed to be good? My 290X Windforce hits 94C on load :\
 

MikeDip

God bless all my old friends/And god bless me too, why pretend?
I have a 560ti and want a decent upgrade (At least a 600+ model so I can do that Nvidia streaming)

What's the best bang for my buck Nvidia card? 760?
 

eyeless

Member
looking to buy a new television (i like a 40" screen) and wondering about refresh rate. basically i'm satisfied with 60fps and wondering about what the potential downsides of 120hz are when you can't achieve 120fps (or maybe i'm wrong and there isn't any). i won't be getting 120fps in newer games so i was thinking i'm happy to just get a 60hz tv and throw on vsync/triple buffering. unless i can set it to 60hz on a 120hz and there is no downside. i also have a 500-600 CAD budget. but yeah basically just looking for someone who knows more to tell me what's what. thx.
 

mr2xxx

Banned
looking to buy a new television (i like a 40" screen) and wondering about refresh rate. basically i'm satisfied with 60fps and wondering about what the potential downsides of 120hz are when you can't achieve 120fps (or maybe i'm wrong and there isn't any). i won't be getting 120fps in newer games so i was thinking i'm happy to just get a 60hz tv and throw on vsync/triple buffering. unless i can set it to 60hz on a 120hz and there is no downside. i also have a 500-600 CAD budget. but yeah basically just looking for someone who knows more to tell me what's what. thx.

With that budget you'll be at 60 hz. Since you don't have and any problems with it you won't have any issues.
 

eyeless

Member
With that budget you'll be at 60 hz. Since you don't have and any problems with it you won't have any issues.
i mentioned it cause i know most of my options are 60hz, and i've seen a couple in the 6something range (600 is not a hard limit) but checking now i see it's much rarer than i thought. still, i'm interested in the answer to my query. something i've wondered for a bit.
 

kennah

Member
looking to buy a new television (i like a 40" screen) and wondering about refresh rate. basically i'm satisfied with 60fps and wondering about what the potential downsides of 120hz are when you can't achieve 120fps (or maybe i'm wrong and there isn't any). i won't be getting 120fps in newer games so i was thinking i'm happy to just get a 60hz tv and throw on vsync/triple buffering. unless i can set it to 60hz on a 120hz and there is no downside. i also have a 500-600 CAD budget. but yeah basically just looking for someone who knows more to tell me what's what. thx.
Tvs don't do proper 120hz yet. It's all interpolation so is not actual 120 fps.
 

riflen

Member
I need to get a windows OEM disc, correct?

If you don't have access to a computer at the moment, or you want a disc for some other reason. Otherwise you can buy a licence and download Windows in an ISO from Microsoft, then create a bootable USB installer. A disc is no longer needed. There's a guide in the 2nd post.
 

Rebel Leader

THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
If you don't have access to a computer at the moment, or you want a disc for some other reason. Otherwise you can buy a licence and download Windows in an ISO from Microsoft, then create a bootable USB installer. A disc is no longer needed. There's a guide in the 2nd post.

I'm gonna be using an optical drive for old games I have on disc anyways.
 

MysticX

Member
I am looking to make some upgrade to my pc, and according to anandtech, only upgrading my gc should be enough?

I have:
965BE
7770 1GB
16GB RAM 1333mhz
120GB SSD

according to anandtech specs, the 965BE holds really well, or maybe that´s just amd size of things?

I was looking into R9-270 I believe which is a best accoring to benchmarks between those 2, should I then be ready for the coming year of gaming???
 

mkenyon

Banned
looking to buy a new television (i like a 40" screen) and wondering about refresh rate. basically i'm satisfied with 60fps and wondering about what the potential downsides of 120hz are when you can't achieve 120fps (or maybe i'm wrong and there isn't any). i won't be getting 120fps in newer games so i was thinking i'm happy to just get a 60hz tv and throw on vsync/triple buffering. unless i can set it to 60hz on a 120hz and there is no downside. i also have a 500-600 CAD budget. but yeah basically just looking for someone who knows more to tell me what's what. thx.
There aren't any downsides. Honestly.

Right now the only TVs that can do 120Hz at 1080p are 4K TVs.
 

Nipo

Member
So, I'm buying a new monitor this weekend. The two finalists are the ASUS PB278Q and the Nixeus VUE27D. Both will cost $400. Any recommendations between the two?

I know the ASUS uses a Samsung panel and the Nixeus an LG. I know the Nixeus uses A/A+ and both have at least a two year warranty.

which would you buy if you had to pick?
 

Denton

Member
Are we at the point yet where we notice difference in 16GB of RAM over 8GB?

In games, no, and we probably won't for a while.

Looking at the graphic cards, I'm wondering if anyone has any input on these R9 280x cards.

So far, I've been looking at:

Sapphire
Gigabyte
XFX

I'm sort of leaning toward Sapphire, but the reviews on fan problems kind of worries me.

I own the Sapphire Dual-X 280X.
It is good. No issues with stability or heat or noise (at least to my ears). Works with my 5 years old 620W Coolermaster.
Runs Watch Dogs in 35-60fps on ultra/1080p. Not ideal to be honest, but I assume Ubi optimisation is to blame.
Real benchmark will be Witcher 3. For Witcher 2, it runs in ultra/1080p at 60+ (without ubersampling, obviously), which is great.
 

NexusCell

Member
Alright cool, going for the Sapphire 280X right now.

I think I've got everything sorted out. NOw I just need to get the keyboard/mouse and monitor. After looking through all the options, I think I'm going for the 23 in. ASUS VS238H-P for my monitor and CM Storm Devastator for my Keyboard/Mouse combo. Does anyone here have any experience with the Devastator?
 

Genio88

Member
Alright cool, going for the Sapphire 280X right now.

I think I've got everything sorted out. NOw I just need to get the keyboard/mouse and monitor. After looking through all the options, I think I'm going for the 23 in. ASUS VS238H-P for my monitor and CM Storm Devastator for my Keyboard/Mouse combo. Does anyone here have any experience with the Devastator?

Excellent choice, i've had a Sapphire HD6950, a 7970 dual-x and my actual r9 290 tri-x, never had a problem and always good overclock results
 

jfoul

Member
Looking at the graphic cards, I'm wondering if anyone has any input on these R9 280x cards.

So far, I've been looking at:

Sapphire
Gigabyte
XFX

I'm sort of leaning toward Sapphire, but the reviews on fan problems kind of worries me.

I built a pc for my brother with a Sapphire 7970, and my wife's pc is running a Sapphire 7950. Both of those cards have been running great. As for Gigabyte, the Windforce cooler was good on a 290X I had for a bit. Under full load it maxed out at 84c.
 
So I'm going to pay for my i7 4790k but before I do, is there a motherboard out of these deals I can bundle with and save? Total noob towards this stuff and I'm not planning to build yet maybe in 2 months tops.

k206Unth.jpg
 

NexusCell

Member
Alright, one final question, does the Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower Chassis support ATX motherboards? I'm worried about it being to small for all the components.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom