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

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After pulling my hair out dealing with performance issues running a 2x 7970 Ghz Crossfire in Skyrim, I decided to look at my motherboard manual on a whom and noticed my PCIe 3.0 slots are 16x or 8x/8x. As I did not initially intend to do a Crossfire setup (grabbed a second card on fire sale), I don't remember if I looked into this and checked if that could be a performance problem.

Any thoughts? Vanilla Skyrim has frame rate issues when I run the intro (using it as my unchanging benchmark of sorts), dropping to mid-40s approaching the city of Helgen. That seems completely crazy for two good cards combined with an overclocked i5 3570k @ 4.0Ghz.

Any other hardware or software issues to check? I'll be trying each card individually tonight.
 
I built the small build prodigy m specs. It had been working fine for a month now. I shut down the computer last night, went to turn it on tonight and it won't power on. No idea what has happened. This is the first time I have built a computer. Not sure where to start in terms of troubleshooting other than the basics. Checked the psu was turned on, the cord was plugged in. I can't see lights on the motherboard. Any help?
 
NEED HELP!

The clamp on my 212 Evo doesn't reach every single point on the bracket. Is it normal? Any solution?

If you pull the springs up you can move the screws away or closer to the centre, one configuration will fit. Theres 3 positions to move the springs.
 
After pulling my hair out dealing with performance issues running a 2x 7970 Ghz Crossfire in Skyrim, I decided to look at my motherboard manual on a whom and noticed my PCIe 3.0 slots are 16x or 8x/8x. As I did not initially intend to do a Crossfire setup (grabbed a second card on fire sale), I don't remember if I looked into this and checked if that could be a performance problem.

Any thoughts? Vanilla Skyrim has frame rate issues when I run the intro (using it as my unchanging benchmark of sorts), dropping to mid-40s approaching the city of Helgen. That seems completely crazy for two good cards combined with an overclocked i5 3570k @ 4.0Ghz.

Any other hardware or software issues to check? I'll be trying each card individually tonight.

8x PCI-E 3.0 should be perfectly fine with those GPUs. Are any other games affected? Does the frame rate in that area increase when you run the game at lower resolution?
Skyrim is known to frequently be CPU limited and 4.0Ghz is not much of an overclock when the CPU tops out at 3.8Ghz out of the box.
 
Doesn't skyrim have issues with crossfire/ sli or am I imagining things.

Have you tried other games?
It did for a while near launch, but as far as I know, most of those issues were resolved.

I don't think I did a lot of benchmarking before and after adding the second card, but I'll check. Either way, since I'll be taking one out tonight, I'll try and get some comparisons. Do I need to uninstall/reinstall drivers if removing a card, or take any other special steps besides taking it out?

8x PCI-E 3.0 should be perfectly fine with those GPUs. Are any other games affected? Does the frame rate in that area increase when you run the game at lower resolution?
Skyrim is known to frequently be CPU limited and 4.0Ghz is not much of an overclock when the CPU tops out at 3.8Ghz out of the box.
Haven't done much testing and benchmarking with other titles yet. I'll be doing that tonight.

Also, I thought it was 3.4 or 3.5 stock? I could go higher but I'm wary of messing with voltages as I haven't found a good beginner's guide for it and am not confident in my abilities to add enough voltage to get it stable at higher clocks.
 
Hey guys, I'm planning on buying a second-hand system (everything included) and I was wondering if it's worth 700 $? I already asked about its ability to play modern games in the thread of stupid questions (thanks by the way, ambientmystic!), but if there are others who can offer more information, I'd appreciate it. The things I want to do are listed below, I was wondering if I could play every game released before at least December 2013 (except the apparently very demanding ones like Crysis 3 etc.) with locked 30 FPS (the more the better of course, but it has to be locked) on 1080p.

The specs:

MOB: MSI P67A-GD53 (B3)
CPU: 2500K @ 3.30GHz
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H60
GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 580, 1536MB, DirectCU II
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD 2.5" SATA3
HDD: 2 x WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200rpm 64MB SATA3
RAM: 12 GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9
PSU: Seasonic X-560, 560Watt
CASE: Corsair Graphite 600T, noPSU
MON: LG IPS224V-PN 22", 1920x1080p resolution, 60 Hz

Main use:
Above average / heavy gaming, probably (though not definitely) Dolphin for the Wii emulation as well. 720p videos (or more) on YouTube, or films/series at 720p or 1080p. No video editing, streaming games in HD or 3D design work. A lot of Microsoft Word and Excel for school as well, but that doesn't worry me.

Monitor resolution:
I'll likely be using the LG IPS224V-PN 22", 1920x1080p resolution, 60 Hz.

List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well:
Locked 30 fps is acceptable for me and therefore mandatory, though the more is better of course. But I think I'd rather have 30 locked than being inconsistent in the 40-50 range. I have no idea what PhysX / SuperSampling / CUDA mean, so I'm afraid I can't answer that.

Will you be overclocking?:
Maybe (
so that apparently means yes :P
), but I'm not sure how much I can overclock on an H60 for the CPU, or even the GPU stock fan. Might not want to risk it, but if there's no harm, I'd do that.


So basically this isn't a system I'm building, but a second-hand one that I'm close to buying. I was just waiting on some more info here on GAF before I pull the trigger. I know it's not the most future proof system, but in a year or so I'm going to build a new and more adequate one myself when I graduate. So, my fellow enthusiasts, yay or nay?
 
my guess is the card would be a little slow for newer games at decent settings?

also, not one but TWO WD blacks is gonna be hella loud I think!

otherwise looks okay, but you could do better for less building yourself.
 
$700 is kinda bang on if a little high for the package. I've listed below what the parts go for. Remember that since most of this stuff is more than three years old it'll be out of warranty.

MOB: MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) - $50
CPU: 2500K @ 3.30GHz - $120
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H60 -$30
GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 580, 1536MB, DirectCU II $100
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD 2.5" SATA3 - $40
HDD: 2 x WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200rpm 64MB SATA3 $40 each
RAM: 12 GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 - $70-90 depending on the specific sticks and how they are configured.
PSU: Seasonic X-560, 560Watt - $50
CASE: Corsair Graphite 600T, noPSU - $60ish?
MON: LG IPS224V-PN 22", 1920x1080p resolution, 60 Hz - $50-100

But. You could go with the budget pc in the OP and have a comparable gaming machine with all new parts that would have a better gpu and warranty.

(And that SSD is a ticking time bomb)
 
Seems a little pricey for a used system with Sandy Bridge. Just a quick check, 4690K, z97 motherboard, 8gb ram, 750Ti (similar to 580). This is minus monitor, not sure how much that is worth comes to around $700
 
Problem description:
I have this odd problem, in which my FPS in games will drop/lag until AFTER I restart the computer. This only happens from a cold boot

Using Wildstar 64-bit. With no other programs open, I use alt+f1 to show fps, which shows anywhere from 10-50 fps, I immediately restart and repeat the process, which then shows fps at >110.


cold boot -> laggy fps -> restart -> good fps, every single time.

Also

Occasionally from a cold boot, after the BIOS splash screen, there won't be any display on my monitor and it will cycle through inputs "DVI -> HDMI -> VGA" then eventually to its idle setting, I have to push the soft reset button on my tower to restart and show a display

Could these two issues be related?

Attempted fixes: Reformatted SSD, new 8.1 install, everything up to date. Latest (non-beta) nvidia drivers

Recent changes: New mobo - asus z97, new proc - i5 4670k - All software/drivers up to date.

--

Operating system: win 8.1 64-bit.

System specs:
i5 4670k
asus z97
gtx 670 2gb (purchased may 2012)
8gb ram
750w psu
Nothing overclocked.

Location: USA

I have Googled and read the FAQ: Yes, my google-fu only suggests looking into cpu/gpu temps after the comp has been on for a period of time, but not after a cold boot
 
Have you tried updating the BIOS?
Sleep issues are usually due to software, but problems on wake up are usually hardware.

After a fresh install, what drivers and software did you install before testing sleep?

I had no idea you could update the BIOS.

When I installed 8.1, Windows automatically installed the Catalyst software for my video card. After that, I tested sleep mode and it didn't work like before. Do you think it's my video card's drivers?
 
I had no idea you could update the BIOS.

When I installed 8.1, Windows automatically installed the Catalyst software for my video card. After that, I tested sleep mode and it didn't work like before. Do you think it's my video card's drivers?

You must install the chipset, management engine, LAN, USB 3.0 and possibly a few more (3rd party SATA) drivers. Check the device manager for anything left after this. Then you should try sleep.
 
You must install the chipset, management engine, LAN, USB 3.0 and possibly a few more (3rd party SATA) drivers. Check the device manager for anything left after this. Then you should try sleep.

Yo, I'm kinda retarded about BIOS, so how can I install all that?
 
Yo, I'm kinda retarded about BIOS, so how can I install all that?

Those are just drivers you install in Windows. To update your BIOS, you normally download the files and put them on a USB drive and there'll be an update option somewhere in your BIOS. Its not hard.
 
Yo, I'm kinda retarded about BIOS, so how can I install all that?
Easy there, not sure this is okay on GAF.

To update BIOS, you need to format a USB stick with FAT32. Go to motherboard maker's support webpage, download the newest BIOS firmware and put it on your USB stick. Boot into BIOS and follow the prompts to update BIOS. Done deal.
Hey guys, I'm planning on buying a second-hand system (everything included) and I was wondering if it's worth 700 $? I already asked about its ability to play modern games in the thread of stupid questions (thanks by the way, ambientmystic!), but if there are others who can offer more information, I'd appreciate it. The things I want to do are listed below, I was wondering if I could play every game released before at least December 2013 (except the apparently very demanding ones like Crysis 3 etc.) with locked 30 FPS (the more the better of course, but it has to be locked) on 1080p.
$700 is a bit much, IMO. The 580 is the part that I have trouble accepting in that price. The rest of it is absolutely solid though. You will be stuck with PCI-E 2.0 which will be limiting in the upcoming GPU gen.
Problem description:
I have this odd problem, in which my FPS in games will drop/lag until AFTER I restart the computer. This only happens from a cold boot

Using Wildstar 64-bit. With no other programs open, I use alt+f1 to show fps, which shows anywhere from 10-50 fps, I immediately restart and repeat the process, which then shows fps at >110.


cold boot -> laggy fps -> restart -> good fps, every single time.

Also

Occasionally from a cold boot, after the BIOS splash screen, there won't be any display on my monitor and it will cycle through inputs "DVI -> HDMI -> VGA" then eventually to its idle setting, I have to push the soft reset button on my tower to restart and show a display

Could these two issues be related?

Attempted fixes: Reformatted SSD, new 8.1 install, everything up to date. Latest (non-beta) nvidia drivers

Recent changes: New mobo - asus z97, new proc - i5 4670k - All software/drivers up to date.

--

Operating system: win 8.1 64-bit.

System specs:
i5 4670k
asus z97
gtx 670 2gb (purchased may 2012)
8gb ram
750w psu
Nothing overclocked.

Location: USA

I have Googled and read the FAQ: Yes, my google-fu only suggests looking into cpu/gpu temps after the comp has been on for a period of time, but not after a cold boot
This is really strange. My only idea would be to update BIOS, possibly reformat. At least that's what I'd be doing.
 
If you pull the springs up you can move the screws away or closer to the centre, one configuration will fit. Theres 3 positions to move the springs.
Thank you. I saw it by myself, but either way, I appreciate it.

Already built my rig, later I'll post some pics. Also, any settings to change in Windows for the ssd?
 
Hey guys the only information I can find about my motherboard is that it's an Aspire X3400. I'm looking for a 400-450 watt power supply, but I'm not sure if it's compatible with the motherboard (not super smart here). It's a slim pc btw, but I'm getting a new case so no worries about the size.

This is what Cpuz says.

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I'm looking at this power supply http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Builder-Series-EPS-80-certified/dp/B0092ML1SC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406136820&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+430+watt
I'm not sure if it will work, though.(Again, not super smart but I haven't been able to find much information about my motherboard)
 
This is sort of an unconventional question compared to what is usually brought up in this thread, so I apologize if is too little off-topic; this seemed the most appropriate place to ask, short of being its own thread.

I recently bought a 5x1 HDMI hub, an audio splitter, and a 1x2 HDMI splitter so that I could connect all of my devices (PC + consoles) into one switchable hub, get video output on both my monitor and TV, while getting all sound through the PC speaker set-up.

One problem with this is that since all PC sound and video data is being sent through the HDMI out, I can't get PC audio unless I have the 5-way switch set for PC. To circumvent this, as well as allow myself to put PC on the monitor and whatever else on the TV simultaneously, I'm going to get a DisplayPort cable sending video directly to the monitor.

I haven't messed much with PC audio, so my question: can I send the audio of my consoles into the Line-In on my PC, and then have that go out with added PC audio via Line-Out?

I know it's really confusing; my set-up would be like this:

Code:
Consoles -> HDMI switch -> Audio Splitter -> Line-In PC -> Line-Out PC -> Speakers
                                          \-> HDMI Splitter -> TV+Monitor
Thanks
 
Any consensus on 'best bang for the buck' ~1TB SSDs these days? I noticed that the Samsung 850 Pro is coming out any day now, and it's tearing up the benchmarks, but I'm a little reluctant to jump in for a couple reasons:

- $699. Enough said.
- Sure, it's tearing up the benchmarks, but in this case 'tearing up' is making fairly modest gains on an interface (SATA III) that's pretty much at the theoretical limits.

I'm currently using a 250GB Samsung 830, but the space is getting very, very cramped - and the drive is old enough now that I suspect that even the middle of the road drives can beat it in specs. As a result, I figure I can probably get away with something less expensive for now, and wait to drop the big bucks until PCIe-based drives become widely available and standardized (probably about the time I'll do a full PC refresh, I'm guessing). So, should I hold out and get the 850, or will a 840 EVO or Crucial M500/M550 do the trick? Or should I be considering something else entirely?
 
Any consensus on 'best bang for the buck' ~1TB SSDs these days? I noticed that the Samsung 850 Pro is coming out any day now, and it's tearing up the benchmarks, but I'm a little reluctant to jump in for a couple reasons:

- $699. Enough said.
- Sure, it's tearing up the benchmarks, but in this case 'tearing up' is making fairly modest gains on an interface (SATA III) that's pretty much at the theoretical limits.

I'm currently using a 250GB Samsung 830, but the space is getting very, very cramped - and the drive is old enough now that I suspect that even the middle of the road drives can beat it in specs. As a result, I figure I can probably get away with something less expensive for now, and wait to drop the big bucks until PCIe-based drives become widely available and standardized (probably about the time I'll do a full PC refresh, I'm guessing). So, should I hold out and get the 850, or will a 840 EVO or Crucial M500/M550 do the trick? Or should I be considering something else entirely?

Newegg has the 1TB Samsung 840 EVO for $399 after coupon code right now. I doubt you'll see a real difference between 840's and 850's, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

I wanted one, but instead went with a MX100 512GB for $178 a few weeks ago.

Edit: No problem!
 
Newegg has the 1TB Samsung 840 EVO for $399 after coupon code right now. I doubt you'll see a real difference between 840's and 850's, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

I wanted one, but instead went with a MX100 512GB for $178 a few weeks ago.

Holy shit - thanks for the coupon code mention. I was literally ready to press 'buy' on it when I saw your post, and $70 off is no joke.

EDIT: The coupon code in question is EMCPCHH232. 1TB of space for $400 is an awesome deal.
 
Hi guys I just bought a a 4k monitor since it was on sale. I would like some advice on card to get a 780 gtx 6 gb or 780 TI with 3gb? money is not a problem aslong as it's not over 700 dollars.
 
Easy there, not sure this is okay on GAF.

To update BIOS, you need to format a USB stick with FAT32. Go to motherboard maker's support webpage, download the newest BIOS firmware and put it on your USB stick. Boot into BIOS and follow the prompts to update BIOS. Done deal.

I just searched for the BIOS version, american megatrends inc. 0507, and I can't find any WIndows 8/8.1 downloads.
 
Thanks for all your replies guys, very helpful!

$700 is kinda bang on if a little high for the package. I've listed below what the parts go for. Remember that since most of this stuff is more than three years old it'll be out of warranty.

MOB: MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) - $50
CPU: 2500K @ 3.30GHz - $120
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H60 -$30
GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 580, 1536MB, DirectCU II $100
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD 2.5" SATA3 - $40
HDD: 2 x WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200rpm 64MB SATA3 $40 each
RAM: 12 GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 - $70-90 depending on the specific sticks and how they are configured.
PSU: Seasonic X-560, 560Watt - $50
CASE: Corsair Graphite 600T, noPSU - $60ish?
MON: LG IPS224V-PN 22", 1920x1080p resolution, 60 Hz - $50-100

But. You could go with the budget pc in the OP and have a comparable gaming machine with all new parts that would have a better gpu and warranty.

(And that SSD is a ticking time bomb)

Are those prices current new prices or second-hand? If the latter, I think I might take my chances on them, because I really just want a decent system for the time being that can play all older games and some of the new ones on 30 fps locked on 1080p, be it maxed out or medium/high.

And is the SSD that bad? Because that would worry me, since I plan on having the bigger games and Windows 7 boot from there...


Edit: I suppose these prices are second-hand right? Because that LG monitor has a $ 243 tag on Newegg..

Seems a little pricey for a used system with Sandy Bridge. Just a quick check, 4690K, z97 motherboard, 8gb ram, 750Ti (similar to 580). This is minus monitor, not sure how much that is worth comes to around $700

my guess is the card would be a little slow for newer games at decent settings?

also, not one but TWO WD blacks is gonna be hella loud I think!

otherwise looks okay, but you could do better for less building yourself.
$700 is a bit much, IMO. The 580 is the part that I have trouble accepting in that price. The rest of it is absolutely solid though. You will be stuck with PCI-E 2.0 which will be limiting in the upcoming GPU gen.

Yeah I thought so, the GPU doesn't really stand out. I didn't expect it to give me 4K on Watch Dogs though, so I already expected that, haha. But is it absolute shit for today's standard or is it kind of solid? Not for killer graphics of course, but for just getting by with locked 30 fps on 1080p? I've read some of the predicted settings for The Witcher III (not sure if that's accurate) and it says the GTX 580 will play it with solid fps, but I'm not sure how reliable that information is..
 
So I found resolution settings for VESA reduced blanking in my TV's manual. I made a custom resolution with them and input lag is completely gone (via HDMI). I once hooked my pc up via VGA and it feels exactly like that. I obviously couldn't downsample via VGA, though, so I went back to HDMI. It makes a huge difference when I'm editing video, and now I'm excited to try some competitive MP. Why hadn't I heard of this before? It isn't new.
 
I just searched for the BIOS version, american megatrends inc. 0507, and I can't find any WIndows 8/8.1 downloads.
It has nothing to do with Windows.

What motherboard do you have?
Yeah I thought so, the GPU doesn't really stand out. I didn't expect it to give me 4K on Watch Dogs though, so I already expected that, haha. But is it absolute shit for today's standard or is it kind of solid? Not for killer graphics of course, but for just getting by with locked 30 fps on 1080p? I've read some of the predicted settings for The Witcher III (not sure if that's accurate) and it says the GTX 580 will play it with solid fps, but I'm not sure how reliable that information is..
It's about on par with a GTX 750 Ti, but consumes like 200W more power. Forunately, that PSU in the system is an excellent one.

Like I was saying though, the thing that I'm iffy about is the PCI-E 2.0 bottleneck. It's not a thing now, but it will be in the next 2-3 years. If you just went one newer generation (Ivybridge and Z77), you'd be set.

But, it's otherwise good.
 
Before I ask my question, here is my build:
i5 4670K (OC'd to 4.5, stress tested)
MSI R9 270 (OC'd via CCC)
8 GB RAM

If anyone can answer my question I'd appreciate it:

While playing Borderlands 2, enabling Physx on medium gives a huge performance drop. I understand that Physx is offloaded to the CPU on systems with AMD cards but shouldn't my i5 be able to handle it with ease or is it still a heavy operation?
 
No, just use the Win 7 stuff. It has nothing to do with Windows and does not affect your install in any way.
Before I ask my question, here is my build:
i5 4670K (OC'd to 4.5, stress tested)
MSI R9 270 (OC'd via CCC)
8 GB RAM

If anyone can answer my question I'd appreciate it:

While playing Borderlands 2, enabling Physx on medium gives a huge performance drop. I understand that Physx is offloaded to the CPU on systems with AMD cards but shouldn't my i5 be able to handle it with ease or is it still a heavy operation?
Nope. Borderlands 2 is on UE3, which is extremely dependent on per-thread performance. If the CPU is bogged down with additional complex physics stuff, then the performance goes to crap.
 
Before I ask my question, here is my build:
i5 4670K (OC'd to 4.5, stress tested)
MSI R9 270 (OC'd via CCC)
8 GB RAM

If anyone can answer my question I'd appreciate it:

While playing Borderlands 2, enabling Physx on medium gives a huge performance drop. I understand that Physx is offloaded to the CPU on systems with AMD cards but shouldn't my i5 be able to handle it with ease or is it still a heavy operation?

Still a heavy operation as it's non x86 code.
 
Download the bios file to a FAT32 USB stick. Reboot and boot into Asus EZ Flash 2 (one of the F keys or go into bios and check if you can launch EZ Flash from there).
Select Bios file and flash it.

See, I just don't know where to get the file from. Or even what I'm looking for.
 
See, I just don't know where to get the file from. Or even what I'm looking for.

Click Drivers and tools and Windows 7 x64. Expand Bios link and download the latest bios file.
OS is irrelevant for bios as it's motherboard firmware. You flash this before Windiws boots through a built in motherboard utility called EZ Flash 2.

The only file from the archive you need to put on the USB is P7P55-LX-ASUS-1202.ROM
Don't open any other files in Windows.
 
Click Drivers and tools and Windows 7 x64. Expand Bios link and download the latest bios file.
OS is irrelevant for bios as it's motherboard firmware. You flash this before Windiws boots through a built in motherboard utility called EZ Flash 2.

The only file from the archive you need to put on the USB is P7P55-LX-ASUS-1202.ROM
Don't open any other files in Windows.

Thank you for being so in depth. So, download this, FAT32 format a USB, drag the .ROM file to the USB, then reboot?
 
Yep, boot into BIOS. Update in BIOS with the aforementioned EZ Flash utility.

That was relatively painless. The updated BIOS gives me a fresh splash screen when my PC powers on. Thanks for all the help, guys. Hopefully this will resolve my freezing/sleep issues.
 
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