"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 1. Read the OP and RISE ABOVE FORGED PRECISION SCIENCE
- Thread starter Hazaro
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How is it worse?
For Sale
All prices include shipping!
PC Bundle Everything except the case $300
CX430 Power Supply
Intel Pentium G3258 (Overclockable)
MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate(Allows for overclocking)
8GB Kingston Beast 2400mhz ram
120GB Kingston SSD
EVGA GTX 750 Ti
Cross post.
Nice little batch of components for modest gaming pc.
Some things just perform worse.
ISee
Member
Now we know: some things perform worse. Like what?
And from what did you upgrade in the first place?
i5-750k to 4790k
Some games run worse. I just tried metro 2033. Fps tanks into the 30's in the intro part. Some games seem much better, but others not so much
lordfuzzybutt
Member
The ssd wont affect your fps after the level has been loaded. Stuttering maybe, but that points to a cpu or gpu related issue.
Did you reinstall Windows and the games? What are your system's specs?
Yes of course. Twice even. Even got off the latest buggy nvidia drivers. I have a gtx 670, asrock z97 extreme 6, and 8 gigs of ram. I ran firestrike on this setup and I get higher physics score but I'm pretty sure the framerate is lesser than my old build.
I dunno why, then.
ISee
Member
That is indeed extremly strange. Just out of curiousity did you also upgrade your ram (like going from 8gb to 16gb by buying a new 8 gb kit)?
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
I think I figured out my problem.
It seems that Kaspersky is causing my computer to stay on after shut down(as in the fans are still on) and was also causing windows to shut down incorrectly(only the action report notifies me of this) and also caused the weirded shut downs when I start the computer
It seems that Kaspersky is causing my computer to stay on after shut down(as in the fans are still on) and was also causing windows to shut down incorrectly(only the action report notifies me of this) and also caused the weirded shut downs when I start the computer
Naked Snake
Member
Looks like two of my SATA ports are dead (ports 2 and 3, the black ones). Nothing I plug in them is detected. While ports 0 and 1 are working fine (the blue ones). FML.
My motherboard was actually subject to the huge Sandy Bridge recall by Intel which cost them billions, caused precisely by two malfunctioning SATA ports. But since Intel warranty doesn't extend to my country, I was SOL. From what I gathered the ports were only supposed to start failing under extreme usage conditions, and the nature of the failure would be gradual (more transmission errors causing slowed transfer I think), so I thought it might never actually affect me. And I'm still not sure if my case is related to the Cougar Point chipset.
How about I post them here:
What are my options besides a new motherboard (and CPU to go with it. I'm sure I can't find a Sandy Bridge motherboard locally). My friend mentioned PCI-SATA... are there any drawbacks to that? For what it's worth there is also another eSATA port on the back outside.
My motherboard was actually subject to the huge Sandy Bridge recall by Intel which cost them billions, caused precisely by two malfunctioning SATA ports. But since Intel warranty doesn't extend to my country, I was SOL. From what I gathered the ports were only supposed to start failing under extreme usage conditions, and the nature of the failure would be gradual (more transmission errors causing slowed transfer I think), so I thought it might never actually affect me. And I'm still not sure if my case is related to the Cougar Point chipset.
How about I post them here:
What are my options besides a new motherboard (and CPU to go with it. I'm sure I can't find a Sandy Bridge motherboard locally). My friend mentioned PCI-SATA... are there any drawbacks to that? For what it's worth there is also another eSATA port on the back outside.
I need PC GAF's opinion on this build. Only thing missing is the case and wireless network adapter because I didn't see it on the pcpartpicker website. The case will be a Corsair Air 240. I'm trying to stay around $900 for the build and achieve 1080/60 with most games. Will the GTX 760 be sufficient?
Case: Corsair Air 240 - $79.99 via Newegg
Network Card: ASUS Wireless AC Network Card - $69.99 via Newegg
And yes, the wireless network card is pretty much mandatory.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rKbgpg
Case: Corsair Air 240 - $79.99 via Newegg
Network Card: ASUS Wireless AC Network Card - $69.99 via Newegg
And yes, the wireless network card is pretty much mandatory.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rKbgpg
zero shift
Banned
So what can be slowing down my boot speed? As I said Windows 8.1 boots a bit slower than 7. Is there some settings that can contribute to this or something I installed (Shell Startbar?) I'm also running Windows 8.1 on a SSD, but also have two HDDs on RAID0 on my PC. Maybe that has something to do with it?
No I didn't. I set it to run at the advertised speeds and that's it.
For a budget of $900 before taxes, I can recommend a couple of changes:
You should go for an H97 or Z97 motherboard, as older B85 motherboards may not be compatible with the i5 4690K out of the box. I chose an H97 model that is about the same price as the B85 model. You didn't list any memory - not sure if you already have RAM that you will reuse, or if you forgot. I added 8GB of RAM to the parts list.
The Corsair Air 240 and that GTX 760 won't fit together. That graphics card is 4mm too long for the case. For $200, the GTX 760 isn't a great choice - the R9 280X/285 is cheaper and will perform better. You could also change the case for a less expensive model, but I'll keep it on the list for now. Unless you absolutely need an SSD, I'd keep it off the list. The only thing you gain is faster loading. The money is better spent on something like a better graphics card, and you can always add in an SSD later. I picked the EVGA GTX 970. It's pretty much one of the best cards you can buy right now, and will fit in your case and budget, and blows away the GTX 760 in every way. The GTX 760 would have generally only gotten you around 30FPS at high settings, although that will depend on the games you play.
Assuming you will be gaming on 1080p, the GTX 970 will guarantee a framerate of 60 or higher on ultra settings in games like Metro Last Light, Battlefield 4, etc.
That Asus wifi card is a very expensive wireless AC adaptor. I replaced it with a Gigabyte model rated for the same speed (867Mbps) that is also dual antenna, which is less than half the price of that Asus model.
Will you be overclocking? If you will, I'd recommend going with a different case, a Z97 motherboard and buying a decent CPU cooler to use instead of the stock Intel cooler. It would be only $10-20 more expensive for all three options.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($334.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($32.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $909.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-08 12:35 EST-0500
As the parts list stands now, the only place I could cut down the cost in is going with a 1TB hard drive instead, or changing the case for a cheaper model.
Wow, thanks for all that info. I already have 8 gigs of RAM available to me which is why I didn't list it. And I only had the SSD there for the operating system. Not at all interested in putting any games on it. I'm wondering if I should opt for the Corsair 540 case instead of the 240.
The cheapest Air 540 is the white model for $107. Maybe go for a better CPU cooler? There are slightly better GTX 970 models for $20-30 more than the EVGA model I listed.
Well I finally got my SSD and Windows 8.1 installed. It is very impressive how quickly Windows loads - takes about 7 seconds. I don't even need to sleep the machine anymore. Just cold boot each time. Overall OS response is snappier too.
I moved the whole Steam and Origin directories onto the SSD too. I can't say I'm impressed with that though. Game load time is virtually unchanged for the few I've played so far. The only one with noticeable improvement is Dragon Age: Inquisition but it's not THAT much better.
The SSD is a nice quality of life improvement but frankly I would have been better off spending as little money as possible and get a 128gig drive for OS only. The 480gig is a bit wasted. This will probably be a fairly unpopular opinion but I would never prioritize an SSD over any other gaming component (CPU, GPU, even a good keyboard/mouse). A fast mechanical hard drive is more than sufficient for a gaming machine.
I probably should have saved the $160 and put it toward a 144hz monitor.
I moved the whole Steam and Origin directories onto the SSD too. I can't say I'm impressed with that though. Game load time is virtually unchanged for the few I've played so far. The only one with noticeable improvement is Dragon Age: Inquisition but it's not THAT much better.
The SSD is a nice quality of life improvement but frankly I would have been better off spending as little money as possible and get a 128gig drive for OS only. The 480gig is a bit wasted. This will probably be a fairly unpopular opinion but I would never prioritize an SSD over any other gaming component (CPU, GPU, even a good keyboard/mouse). A fast mechanical hard drive is more than sufficient for a gaming machine.
I probably should have saved the $160 and put it toward a 144hz monitor.
TonberrysKnife
Member
Ok GAF, you convinced me to go Intel lol.
Anyways, here's my build that I just finished yesterday. Had to make 2 Micro Center trips because they gave me the wrong Optical Drive.
Anyways, here's my build that I just finished yesterday. Had to make 2 Micro Center trips because they gave me the wrong Optical Drive.
- Corsair Vengeance Military Green C70 Case
- Intel i7-4790K Processor
- Asus Z97-AR Motherboard
- G.Skill ARES 32 GB Ram (1866 mHz)
- LG 12x Blu Ray Drive
- nVidia GeForce GTX 970 4G Golden Edition
- Samsung 840 EVO 1 TB SSD
- Toshiba 3TB 7200RPM HDD
- 4x 120mm Cougar Fans
- Sabrent Card Reader
- 2x 120mm Corsair Fans (Purple)
- EVGA SuperNOVA 750W PSU
That looks slick. Nice job! The green is kind of stylish
I'm a fan of the card reader like that too. Easy to pop in an SD card from the myriad of phones and stuff to get things off.You won't regret Intel. It's so far above AMD right now for gaming it's not even funny.
TonberrysKnife
Member
That looks slick. Nice job! The green is kind of stylish
You won't regret Intel. It's so far above AMD right now for gaming it's not even funny.
Thanks man! I should have realized earlier that the case did come with a USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 converter because I had a NZXT Aperture card reader with was 5.25" in size (that's what I needed since the case has no 3.5" slots) and I had to return it because at the time the motherboard only has one USB 3.0 header on it. I come back to finish the build and I found the converter. I thought, "Well...shit lol."
I haven't played with the new rig fully yet but everything powered on just fine. 3 of the 7 fans aren't moving but once I use the Asus FanXtreme program, should be good since the fans are 3 pins and the motherboard is 4 pins. Also, this machine is QUIET! HOT DAMN!
DirtyLarry
Member
Nice build. Very similar to what I am thinking of doing.
If you do not mind doing so, can you share how much it cost? If you feel more comfortable DMing me, that is cool (again if you do not mind).
So here is my dilemma.
It is time to refresh my gaming PC. In fact it is past due. My current one lasted me close to 5 years, but it is not really cutting it anymore.
However with that said, due to working in front of a computer all damn day for pretty much the past 20 years of my life (I will be 40 in a few weeks), my main way of gaming these days is my console. And FTR, my wife is just not into a massive Thermaltake PC gaming tower sitting in our living room next to our entertainment center. So getting my current PC hooked up to my TV Is not an option.
With all that said, one of the primary reasons I want to build a new Gaming PC is I am very, very much into the potential and promise of Oculus. Very much so.
Do we have any ETA at all on when Oculus is going to get in consumers hands without the consumer getting a developer kit?
If it is a long way out still, I am going to hold off on building my PC. If it is soonish, then I am going to build my PC now and ask for most of the components for Christmas.
So what does Gaf say? Is it just to early to start building a PC with Oculus in mind? Seriously, although I will of course do some gaming on whatever PC I build, my main inspiration for building a new Gaming PC is to experience Oculus, whenever it is released, as good as I possibly can.
So really just typing this all out, I think I know my answer. And that is to hold off until we know more and have a release date. But I am curious to hear what others may say.
PurolatorHelp
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Hello Stealth_Cobra,
I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any inconvenience stemming from this incident. Could you please email me your tracking number? I'll look into this for you.
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Social Media Coordinator / Customer Care Team
Purolator Inc.
E-mail: customer.care@purolator.com
www.Purolator.com
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TonberrysKnife
Member
I have no issues with sharing the cost lol.
- Corsair Vengeance Military Green C70 Case - $130
- Intel i7-4790K Processor - $250
- Asus Z97-AR Motherboard - $80
- G.Skill ARES 32 GB Ram (1866 mHz) - Already owned.
- LG 12x Blu Ray Drive - $40
- nVidia GeForce GTX 970 4G Golden Edition - $400
- Samsung 840 EVO 1 TB SSD - $360
- Toshiba 3TB 7200RPM HDD - $110
- 4x 120mm Cougar Fans - $25
- Sabrent Card Reader - $15
- 2x 120mm Corsair Fans (Purple) - $30
- EVGA SuperNOVA 750W PSU - $85
Everything came out to $1,525. I'm not including rebates or anything. I wasn't too concerned with the cost honestly. This will be a PC that's going to be around for a while lol.
opticalmace
Member
LQX
Member
I recently downgraded to a ATI R270 2GB from a 770 4GB GTX because I got it dirt cheap but also in anticipation it would hold me over until I found a good deal on a 970/980 but man it is great card and is running all my favorite games just as good as the 770. I'm pretty much able to max out the new COD and Borderlands. Yeah, not really system crushers but those are currently my most played games and will be for months. With Witcher III being delayed I think I'm going to probably sit on it until new cards come out. Great card, more than worth it especially if you can sell those free games.
CyberPunked
Member
Just tested the speed on my Samsung 840 evo 1TB. Something's either gone very wrong, or very right
I still can't get my PC to power up. I reinstall CPU/CPU Cooler, this time correctly. Also clean thermal paste and reapplied it. I probably have to bring it to the local shop now.
This is my second time building a PC. Last time I didn't have any problem at all.
Hi all,
I'm looking to order a new PC in anticipation of playing Elite Dangerous next week, before I go ahead and order could some more knowledgeable people on here give me the OK for the below build?
Should I go i7 instead as I'd be looking to play with Oculus (not all the time, just occasionally).
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS Z97-A
RAM : 8GB
GRAPHICS: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970
HARD DISK: 120GB SAMSUNG 840 EVO SSD
POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR 550W
COOLER: CORSAIR H55
Monitor: 27" Apple Cinema Display
I don't think Elite is that graphically demanding, do people think I will be ok with an i5? Only one hard drive because it's only for gaming and nothing else. Any suggestions for a basic, not too OTT case?
Thanks in advance
I'm looking to order a new PC in anticipation of playing Elite Dangerous next week, before I go ahead and order could some more knowledgeable people on here give me the OK for the below build?
Should I go i7 instead as I'd be looking to play with Oculus (not all the time, just occasionally).
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS Z97-A
RAM : 8GB
GRAPHICS: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970
HARD DISK: 120GB SAMSUNG 840 EVO SSD
POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR 550W
COOLER: CORSAIR H55
Monitor: 27" Apple Cinema Display
I don't think Elite is that graphically demanding, do people think I will be ok with an i5? Only one hard drive because it's only for gaming and nothing else. Any suggestions for a basic, not too OTT case?
Thanks in advance
appaws
Banned
Hi all,
I'm looking to order a new PC in anticipation of playing Elite Dangerous next week, before I go ahead and order could some more knowledgeable people on here give me the OK for the below build?
Should I go i7 instead as I'd be looking to play with Oculus (not all the time, just occasionally).
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS Z97-A
RAM : 8GB
GRAPHICS: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970
HARD DISK: 120GB SAMSUNG 840 EVO SSD
POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR 550W
COOLER: CORSAIR H55
Monitor: 27" Apple Cinema Display
I don't think Elite is that graphically demanding, do people think I will be ok with an i5? Only one hard drive because it's only for gaming and nothing else. Any suggestions for a basic, not too OTT case?
Thanks in advance
I would guess you would be fine with an i5...although I don't know anything about Elite Dangerous.
IMO, the best choice right now for a classy looking and well-priced case is the NZXT S340. If you want to spend a little more, the new Fractal R5 is particularly awesome.
Throw in a CM 212 Evo to cool the CPU.
Yeah, I sort of doubt it was overheating. You should see different symptoms with overheating. It may be a faulty power switch or the motherboard or power supply.
Have you tried the screwdriver trick mentioned earlier to make it turn on? That would eliminate the power switch as being faulty if it didn't work.
There's a similar test to see if the power supply turns on or not.
Hi all,
I'm looking to order a new PC in anticipation of playing Elite Dangerous next week, before I go ahead and order could some more knowledgeable people on here give me the OK for the below build?
Should I go i7 instead as I'd be looking to play with Oculus (not all the time, just occasionally).
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS Z97-A
RAM : 8GB
GRAPHICS: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970
HARD DISK: 120GB SAMSUNG 840 EVO SSD
POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR 550W
COOLER: CORSAIR H55
Monitor: 27" Apple Cinema Display
I don't think Elite is that graphically demanding, do people think I will be ok with an i5? Only one hard drive because it's only for gaming and nothing else. Any suggestions for a basic, not too OTT case?
Thanks in advance
As appaws said, I think the i5 will do fine for you. Very few games will actually take advantage of the i7 hyperthreading, like Arma 3. Unless you have a cramped case, the Corsair H55 won't be much better than a cheaper decent air cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo.
If we know what prices you're paying for the parts, we could suggest alternatives. I wonder if you can get 60fps at 1440p with the GTX 970.
I tried the screwdriver test...my pc didn't turn on. Going to test powersupply next...Hope I can get this over with soon before my warranty run out.
Those parts you bought have nothing to do with video game performance, specialy in linear games like Metro.
RadioactiveLobster
Member
Just tested the speed on my Samsung 840 evo 1TB. Something's either gone very wrong, or very right
Do you have RAPID turned on in Samsung Magician? If you do, it caches to RAM which gives you ludicrous speed.
SenshiManny
Banned
For those interested, the AMD Omega drivers are out. http://support.amd.com/en-us/download . Its a bit weird to get to them though. You have to go through Manually Select Your Driver instead of clicking the links under Latest AMD Catalyst Drivers and Software. At least, at the moment anyways. I'm about to install them now.
Advance_Alarm
Member
My setup built in MAY 2011 using this thread (this build was a budget option compared to the then recommended i5-2500k + GTX 560 combo just for perspective lol) and a free case from gaffer MisterNoisy:
Motherboard: M4A87TD EVO
CPU: AMD Phenonm IIx4 955 Black
GPU: AMD Radeon 6850 1GB
PSU: 520w Seasonic
RAM: 2x2GB DDR3 GSkill
HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
SSD: 120GB Samsung 840 EVO (added in May 2014)
Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P (Christmas gift December 2011)
My question: Would upgrading to a GTX 760 or GTX 970 be worthwhile considering how out of date my CPU is (also a RAM upgrade to 8GB)? The primary goal is to get better performance playing Total War games. I currently run ROME 2 in 1680x1050 and use a Medium(more)/High(less) mix and the graphics also automatically get downgraded when the battles reach a certain size. My rig is so old that I have trouble finding comparisons or other people asking about upgrades. Also, thanks to this thread because I used the Steam-mover and SSD installation guide when I got one this year.
Motherboard: M4A87TD EVO
CPU: AMD Phenonm IIx4 955 Black
GPU: AMD Radeon 6850 1GB
PSU: 520w Seasonic
RAM: 2x2GB DDR3 GSkill
HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
SSD: 120GB Samsung 840 EVO (added in May 2014)
Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P (Christmas gift December 2011)
My question: Would upgrading to a GTX 760 or GTX 970 be worthwhile considering how out of date my CPU is (also a RAM upgrade to 8GB)? The primary goal is to get better performance playing Total War games. I currently run ROME 2 in 1680x1050 and use a Medium(more)/High(less) mix and the graphics also automatically get downgraded when the battles reach a certain size. My rig is so old that I have trouble finding comparisons or other people asking about upgrades. Also, thanks to this thread because I used the Steam-mover and SSD installation guide when I got one this year.
Infinite Justice
Member
Wait there is an Define R5 now?
How are they since the R4 is still my top pick for my potential next PC build
How are they since the R4 is still my top pick for my potential next PC build
Is downsampling supposed to be in this release? Because I'm not seeing it anywhere. In fact, the control center looks exactly the same. Maybe I need to do a clean install?
Or did they really not add the other features for HD 7950s..
Looks like it's just the R9 290/X and the 285... No love for my 280X :/
And I also get screwed because they had to go and rebrand everything. Awesome.
Well, whatever then.
I think your CPU was already a bottleneck back when you bought it, compared to the i5 2500K. According to this benchmark, you could benefit from both a CPU and GPU upgrade. Your Phenom and 6850 are on the lower end of the performance scale.
There's no longer a need for Steammover. Steam has had support for installing games to different locations other than the Steam program files folder for a while now, although it's a bit clunky, I'd recommend using Steam's built in feature.
Anyway, upgrading to a GTX 760 will give you roughly twice the GPU power, although I think you'll still be held back by the CPU. Same goes for the GTX 970, even stronger GPU but held back by your CPU.
Anyway.. what's your budget for upgrades? Do you play any other games than the Total War series?
The R5 is absolutely great. The R4 is cheaper now that the R5 is out, but if you have the budget for it, the R5 is a definite winner. Lots was changed from the R4 to the R5, more than there was changed from the R3 to the R4. My current PC is in a Define R3.
Highly modular interior, lots of support for various radiator and fan configurations.
Well, that's good to hear, at least. But does that include any of the HD series?
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