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[RGM79]

I was looking at upgrading my video card as I'm using a GeForce GTX 560 and I've had that for a few years. I have a pre-built ASUS CG 5275 (here's one page showing specs: http://www.cnet.com/products/asus-essentio-cg5275-ar003/specs/) .

Am I getting to the point that other aspects of the PC will be bottlenecking performance or if I upgrade to a sub-$200 card will I still get a pretty drastic improvement considering the age of the graphics card I have in there? I upgraded to a 650 watt PSU back when I got the card so that shouldn't be an issue for upgrading to a new card.

If I'm not bottlenecked any suggestions for a decent enough card that runs under $200 that will give me good improvements? I don't need to run every game maxed but I do enjoy higher settings if the game can run okay but Guild Wars 2 was wobbling around 20 FPS with higher settings.

Assuming those specs are correct, your i5 processor is actually just a hyperthreaded dual core processor, which means it's roughly on par with a current i3 processor. Not that bad for gaming in general but for GW2, you want a stronger processor as I hear it's somewhat CPU-bound especially in busy moments (during large scale events with lots of players in the same instance, for example).

That said, your motherboard is quite outdated and will not accept any current generation processors. If you were to get a new processor, you would also need a new motherboard.

I'm upgrading my rig at the moment and received my 980 yesterday, i'm not sure if i should upgrade my i7- 2600k @4 ghz, am i going to be bottlenecked by my cpu when i want to play games at 4k or should i wait for a new generation of CPUs?

Nah, you'll be fine. If you like you could consider overclocking to 4.5GHz or so, but the 2600K is still a very good processor, within spitting range of the current i7 4790K.

 

[NotMyUsername]

I was looking at upgrading my video card as I'm using a GeForce GTX 560 and I've had that for a few years. I have a pre-built ASUS CG 5275 (here's one page showing specs: http://www.cnet.com/products/asus-essentio-cg5275-ar003/specs/) .

Am I getting to the point that other aspects of the PC will be bottlenecking performance or if I upgrade to a sub-$200 card will I still get a pretty drastic improvement considering the age of the graphics card I have in there? I upgraded to a 650 watt PSU back when I got the card so that shouldn't be an issue for upgrading to a new card.

If I'm not bottlenecked any suggestions for a decent enough card that runs under $200 that will give me good improvements? I don't need to run every game maxed but I do enjoy higher settings if the game can run okay but Guild Wars 2 was wobbling around 20 FPS with higher settings.

Just quoting myself to ask would the GeForce 750 Ti be a significant upgrade? I don't follow this stuff so I was trying to compare spec numbers and too many of them seemed nearly identical or very close so there's probably certain things that make it a good upgrade since it came out three years after the card I currently use.

And after researching a bit I found my motherboard's PCIe slot is a 2.0 while newer cards are all 3.0. Does that actually affect things much?

A couple other cards near the same price range on Newegg are the GeForce GTX 960 or Radeon R9 270X. Would either of them be considered better options? Ideally I'd like to keep it under $200 but I'm willing to consider suggestions. I don't do anything too taxing but with starting Guild Wars it'd be great to have it run closer to something like 60 FPS with most things set medium to high.

Edit:

Assuming those specs are correct, your i5 processor is actually just a hyperthreaded dual core processor, which means it's roughly on par with a current i3 processor. Not that bad for gaming in general but for GW2, you want a stronger processor as I hear it's somewhat CPU-bound especially in busy moments (during large scale events with lots of players in the same instance, for example).

That said, your motherboard is quite outdated and will not accept any current generation processors. If you were to get a new processor, you would also need a new motherboard.

Nice timing on your reply. Thanks! Maybe I'll start looking a little more into getting a new desktop. I don't have a lot of interest in building my own, though I've done it before, so I'll consider that as an option as well. I figured the motherboard and processor would start limiting me since I've had this PC for some years.

 

[RGM79]

Just quoting myself to ask would the GeForce 750 Ti be a significant upgrade? I don't follow this stuff so I was trying to compare spec numbers and too many of them seemed nearly identical or very close so there's probably certain things that make it a good upgrade since it came out three years after the card I currently use.

And after researching a bit I found my motherboard's PCIe slot is a 2.0 while newer cards are all 3.0. Does that actually affect things much?

A couple other cards near the same price range on Newegg are the GeForce GTX 960 or Radeon R9 270X. Would either of them be considered better options? Ideally I'd like to keep it under $200 but I'm willing to consider suggestions. I don't do anything too taxing but with starting Guild Wars it'd be great to have it run closer to something like 60 FPS with most things set medium to high.

Edit: Nice timing on your reply. Thanks! Maybe I'll start looking a little more into getting a new desktop. I don't have a lot of interest in building my own, though I've done it before, so I'll consider that as an option as well. I figured the motherboard and processor would start limiting me since I've had this PC for some years.

The GTX 750 Ti would be an OK upgrade but nothing earth-shattering, though. There are no direct comparisons that I can find due to the age of the GTX 560, but you can see the difference between the GTX 560 Ti (stronger than your non-Ti card) and the GTX 750 Ti here.

No, PCI-E 2.0 is not a real bottleneck in any way, not even for stronger graphics cards.

I'm assuming you're in the US. For price to performance, AMD is a better option than Nvidia at the $150~250 segment. For examples including rebates, the cheapest GTX 750 Ti is $125 while the R9 270X is $140. However, the R9 270X is by far much stronger, up to 50% in some games. The even stronger R9 280 and R9 280X may also be available in your $200 budget. A while back there was an Sapphire R9 280X on sale for $190 after rebate (price tracker), but unfortunately it's over and it only gets that cheap every couple of weeks or months.

Yes, I think your i5 650 will bottleneck graphics card and framerate performance somewhat. By how much I'm not sure, but the i5 in your current computer is an i5 in name only, it's not a real quad core processor like most i5 processors now. You would benefit from a new motherboard and processor, but I don't know how much you want to spend.

Also, I hope you won't be offended, but I am selling a Gigabyte R9 270X 2GB that I no longer need. Interested? It's still under warranty.

Any recommendations for USB3 cards? The dumb USB3 controller on my motherboard is basically done, getting frequent BSODs with it enabled. Reinstalled the driver, but nada. To hell with you, Etron.

Ideally, I'd like something with an internal connector for my front ports, and a couple external ports. Guessing one that is going to offer decent speeds with multiple ports in use is going to cost more than the $20-$30 I'm seeing on Newegg.

I've bought USB 3.0 controller cards from Chinese ebay sellers and haven't had a problem with Etron cards, except for the fact that drivers can be hard to find if you lose the tiny driver CD they come with. Nearly all USB 3.0 add-in cards are 4 ports or fewer though, either 2 on the bracket and a 19 pin header that supports 2 front ports, or 3 on the bracket and 1 internal port soldered directly onto the card.

If you want to spend a little more for quality, I guess that's fine. Newegg has some models that aren't using Etron controllers, I'll list off the relevant specs.

HooToo HT-PC002, VIA VL800 chipset, $17

Syba SD-PEX20139, Renesas D720201 chipset, $20

Silverstone SST-EC04-P, NEC uPD720201 chipset, $30

The official product pages for all three of these cards oddly state that they support Windows 8.0, but no specific mention of Windows 8.1 except for the HooToo model that says it doesn't work with 8.1. Windows 8.0 and 8.1 aren't very different so I am 90% certain that Windows 8.0 drivers will work with 8.1, though. Looking at the user reviews (including the HooToo model), some are saying they don't work under Windows 8.1, others say it worked out of the box with Windows 8.1, and others still say that the drivers that come included on the CD are flaky and better drivers exist.

 

[LilJoka]

I'm currently using 2 Samsung 850 pros in Raid 0. Do you think I would see any real world difference going to an Intel 750 pcie ssd?

Your unlikely to even see any real world difference in RAID, unless you are doing something that is very disk intensive. Look at the Random 4k R/W performance rather than sequentials. If you are dealing with video files then sequential can be more relevant, otherwise random 4k is the main factor.

 

[NotMyUsername]

The GTX 750 Ti would be an OK upgrade but nothing earth-shattering, though. There are no direct comparisons that I can find due to the age of the GTX 560, but you can see the difference between the GTX 560 Ti (stronger than your non-Ti card) and the GTX 750 Ti here.

No, PCI-E 2.0 is not a real bottleneck in any way, not even for stronger graphics cards.

I'm assuming you're in the US. For price to performance, AMD is a better option than Nvidia at the $150~250 segment. For examples including rebates, the cheapest GTX 750 Ti is $125 while the R9 270X is $140. However, the R9 270X is by far much stronger, up to 50% in some games. The even stronger R9 280 and R9 280X may also be available in your $200 budget. A while back there was an Sapphire R9 280X on sale for $190 after rebate (price tracker), but unfortunately it's over and it only gets that cheap every couple of weeks or months.

Yes, I think your i5 650 will bottleneck graphics card and framerate performance somewhat. By how much I'm not sure, but the i5 in your current computer is an i5 in name only, it's not a real quad core processor like most i5 processors now. You would benefit from a new motherboard and processor, but I don't know how much you want to spend.

Also, I hope you won't be offended, but I am selling a Gigabyte R9 270X 2GB that I no longer need. Interested? It's still under warranty.

I'm about to jet off to work for now but I started toying with the link in the first post for picking parts but the problem is it's mostly all just model numbers and it's tough for me to know what's decent. I threw a bunch of stuff together and it came out to around $880. I can afford that but I imagine I wasn't picking smartly and it was just a mishmash of things. I'll have to take more time with it later when I'm not rushed to just select things willy-nilly.

I'd be curious about the card you're selling. If you want to PM me what you're wanting for it I may consider it. I'll check the link you provided about performance when I get a chance so I have a proper comparison to the other cards I was already looking at a little.

 

[chaosblade]

I've bought USB 3.0 controller cards from Chinese ebay sellers and haven't had a problem with Etron cards, except for the fact that drivers can be hard to find if you lose the tiny driver CD they come with. Nearly all USB 3.0 add-in cards are 4 ports or fewer though, either 2 on the bracket and a 19 pin header that supports 2 front ports, or 3 on the bracket and 1 internal port soldered directly onto the card.

If you want to spend a little more for quality, I guess that's fine. Newegg has some models that aren't using Etron controllers, I'll list off the relevant specs.

HooToo HT-PC002, VIA VL800 chipset, $17

Syba SD-PEX20139, Renesas D720201 chipset, $20

Silverstone SST-EC04-P, NEC uPD720201 chipset, $30

The official product pages for all three of these cards oddly state that they support Windows 8.0, but no specific mention of Windows 8.1. Windows 8.0 and 8.1 aren't very different so I am 90% certain that Windows 8.0 drivers will work with 8.1, though. Looking at the user reviews, some are saying they don't work under Windows 8.1, others say it worked out of the box with Windows 8.1, and others still say that the drivers that come included on the CD are flaky and better drivers exist.

Thanks, I'll look into those. I'm on Windows 7 right now anyway, and plan to skip to 10 once that comes out. Hard to argue with free, after all. You would think these cards and their support would be better these days, but I guess not many people end up needing or wanting internal cards so it's not an area that has improved a lot over the years.

This may be a temporary fix anyway, throwing around the idea of upgrading my 2500k to Skylake. Don't really neeeed to though, especially with DX12 around the corner...

 

[RGM79]

I'm about to jet off to work for now but I started toying with the link in the first post for picking parts but the problem is it's mostly all just model numbers and it's tough for me to know what's decent. I threw a bunch of stuff together and it came out to around $880. I can afford that but I imagine I wasn't picking smartly and it was just a mishmash of things. I'll have to take more time with it later when I'm not rushed to just select things willy-nilly.

I'd be curious about the card you're selling. If you want to PM me what you're wanting for it I may consider it. I'll check the link you provided about performance when I get a chance so I have a proper comparison to the other cards I was already looking at a little.

No problem, I was asking $100 including shipping in the B/S/T thread, but take your time with the comparisons.

 

[EroticSushi]

Should I jump to SLI 980 or save $700+ dollar and just buy another 780ti for SLI?

I also want to jump on the Acer Predator XB270HU (1440p, G-SYNC) monitor when it gets in stock within the next 2-4 weeks so was thinking about just saving the money for that. Newegg also has the 780ti for $350 until 4/15.

Current:
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz
16GB RAM
GTX 780ti Superclocked
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W

 

[RGM79]

Should I jump to SLI 980 or save $700+ dollar and just buy another 780ti for SLI?

I also want to jump on the Acer Predator XB270HU (1440p, G-SYNC) monitor when it gets in stock within the next 2-4 weeks so was thinking about just saving the money for that. Newegg also has the 780ti for $350 until 4/15.

Current:
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz
16GB RAM
GTX 780ti Superclocked
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W

It's my understanding that twin GTX 780 Ti is more or less equal if not slightly lesser than twin GTX 980. Someone else can probably provide better insight, though.

I don't think 650 watts is good enough, though. Maybe for twin GTX 980, but you'd be playing it close to the limits of the power supply, and I wouldn't recommend any overclocking.

 

[EroticSushi]

It's my understanding that twin GTX 780 Ti is more or less equal if not slightly lesser than twin GTX 980. Someone else can probably provide better insight, though.

I don't think 650 watts is good enough, though. Maybe for twin GTX 980, but you'd be playing it close to the limits of the power supply, and I wouldn't recommend any overclocking.

650W won't be enough for SLI 780ti? Was hoping it would be. Might have to bump it up to 750 then since I don't plan on OCing.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask for help. I built my PC a couple months ago and I am having audio issues.

Sometimes after booting up/logging in the sound will kinda buzz for a second then a system sound will play. You know how when you adjust the volume in the tray? That sound. So its like "bzzzzSystemsound". I hope that makes sense.

And also after maybe 3-4 hours of being turned on then all sound will be distorted. First time it happened will playing a game then it happened last night while streaming spotify. It's not a constant sound. I can only hear it if there is audio playing. Also after maybe 5-10 minutes it will go away.

I tried updating software/drivers. Nothing is fixing it. I have my GPU connected via HDMI to my monitor so audio is playing through the GPU out the monitor speakers. I can't tell if my motherboard is causing this or my GPU. I'm gonna try running the PC without the GPU installed later.

Specs:

i5-4590
8GB
Gigabyte H97M-D3H
MSI R9 290 4GB
Evga supernova 750w g2.

Thanks

 

[RGM79]

650W won't be enough for SLI 780ti? Was hoping it would be. Might have to bump it up to 750 then since I don't plan on OCing.

Well, 650 watts is technically enough, but you'd be close to the limit and the power supply would be running at high load. You need to leave some headroom even if you're not overclocking. A power supply runs best when not near its limit, concerning heat, efficiency, and stability.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7492/the-geforce-gtx-780-ti-review/15
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gtx_780_ti_sli_geforce_review,4.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_980_sli_review,4.html
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/10/27/nvidia_geforce_gtx_980_sli_4k_video_card_review/10

Not sure if this is the right place to ask for help. I built my PC a couple months ago and I am having audio issues.

Sometimes after booting up/logging in the sound will kinda buzz for a second then a system sound will play. You know how when you adjust the volume in the tray? That sound. So its like "bzzzzSystemsound". I hope that makes sense.

And also after maybe 3-4 hours of being turned on then all sound will be distorted. First time it happened will playing a game then it happened last night while streaming spotify. It's not a constant sound. I can only hear it if there is audio playing. Also after maybe 5-10 minutes it will go away.

I tried updating software/drivers. Nothing is fixing it. I have my GPU connected via HDMI to my monitor so audio is playing through the GPU out the monitor speakers. I can't tell if my motherboard is causing this or my GPU. I'm gonna try running the PC without the GPU installed later.

Specs:

i5-4590
8GB
Gigabyte H97M-D3H
MSI R9 290 4GB
Evga supernova 750w g2.

Thanks

Any idea if the motherboard audio does this? Try a different cable?

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

Any idea if the motherboard audio does this? Try a different cable?

Not sure. I'm going to try test that later today. Really hope it's my GPU and not the motherboard.

 

[EroticSushi]

Well, 650 watts is technically enough, but you'd be close to the limit and the power supply would be running at high load. You need to leave some headroom even if you're not overclocking. A power supply runs best when not near its limit, concerning heat, efficiency, and stability.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7492/the-geforce-gtx-780-ti-review/15
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gtx_780_ti_sli_geforce_review,4.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_980_sli_review,4.html
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/10/27/nvidia_geforce_gtx_980_sli_4k_video_card_review/10

Any idea if the motherboard audio does this? Try a different cable?

Would OCing them be a pain in the ass? Have yet to OC anything but I might boost them up just a bit if I do get them.

Should I just go for 850w then to be safe? Looks to be the sweet spot if I plan on OCing them.

 

[RGM79]

Would OCing them be a pain in the ass? Have yet to OC anything but I might boost them up just a bit if I do get them.

Should I just go for 850w then to be safe? Looks to be the sweet spot if I plan on OCing them.

I'm not really familiar with overclocking the 780 Ti, there are guides out there for that kind of thing. It's fairly easy, though, you just adjust numbers from a program like EVGA Precision or MSI Afterburner.

Besides looking up guides, you should look for reviews of the specific 780 Ti model you have and see how far professional reviewers got when they overclocked their sample (Example: Bit-Tech and Guru3D). Of course, not all graphics cards overclock to the same degree or will be as stable, that's where the trial-and-error process begins. You need to find out how far you can overclock the card stably, to make it simpler you can check reviews and other users' experience for a general guideline.

Yeah, 850 watts should be plenty.

 

[Shadowhaxor]

Alright Fractal, you have won me over. After picking up a Nanoxia Deep Silence 3 case, I had to return it due to several build issues that included a broken power button assembly and it not fitting my 240mm radiator. So I drove down to Microcenter and picked upa Fractal R5.

This thing with 4 fans, an H100i and 2 GTX 970's is damned quiet.

Would even recommend replacing the R4 from the OP and swap it with the R5 or at least mention it as well.

 

[Hip Hop]

Hey guys, is it possible to move over to a new motherboard without deleting anything in the HDD?

I'm thinking of moving over from a ATX build to a Mini ITX. My brothers new build is kind of convincing me.

I just want to keep my old parts and just buy a new case and a mini itx motherboard.

 

[Shadowhaxor]

Hey guys, is it possible to move over to a new motherboard without deleting anything in the HDD?

I'm thinking of moving over from a ATX build to a Mini ITX. My brothers new build is kind of convincing me.

I just want to keep my old parts and just buy a new case and a mini itx motherboard.

Since you're likely changing chipsets, you're going to either have to do a sysprep or do a manual process of removing all system/chipset related devices and drivers. It's best to do a sysprep, which is basically setting the PC back to it's original default of no chipset specific configurations. It does not affect your programs.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/286053-system-preparation-tool-use-customize-windows.html

 

[Helmholtz]

I'm interested in upgrading my monitor, I currently have an old 24" 1080p TN one from Dell. I have a few questions I'm hoping someone here can answer.
I'm interested in IPS monitors because I've heard they have better picture. Are they still good for gaming? Is the input lag negligible?
Should I look into 1440p monitors? My specs are pretty up to date: r9 290, i7 4790k, 8gb ddr3. I'm worried that this resolution will be too taxing when it comes to games like Witcher 3.
Looking into either getting a nicer 24" or possibly going to something like 27".
Thanks

 

[LurkerPrime]

Alright NewPCGAF, I'm looking into upgrading my GPU (and power supply) in preparation for the Witcher 3. After some cursory investigation, the Radeon R9 290 is the card I'm leaning towards getting, and I'd like to get it from Newegg.ca.
As a result of all this, I have some questions I'm hoping y'all can help me with:

• Question #1: What is the power requirement for the R9 290? I tried looking it up, but there's conflicting information about the power requirements for the R9 290. The newegg pages all suggest a 750 watts for the card, whereas the tech site I checked is saying 400 watts for the card. I tried Newegg's power consumption estimator and the result was 1400 watts or so, which makes me think I did something wrong. (FYI, according to my research my current computer, a Dell XPS 8500, uses about ~250-300 watts without the graphics card. I'd link the specs but Dell doesn't list it on their website anymore.)
• Question #2: What sort of power clearance should my computer have? Someone earlier mentioning that you don't want to have it a max capacity all the time, but I'm not sure how much of a window there should be. With the confusion above, the answer is more than a little foggy to me.
• Bonus Question #1: Am I likely to have space problems in a standard PC case, adding a new power suply and going from a single- to double-slot graphics card? Like, should I be carefully measuring both new items and the inside of my case to see whether they'll fit?
• Bonus Qestion #2: Is there an easy way to tell whether a power supply has all the connectors I'll need? The only thing I fear might screw me up is that my computer has a regular HD and a mini SSD HD for cached loading; I dunno how standard that sort of thing is.
• Final Question: Is there a particular standout card in that newegg.ca lineup? Alternately, is there a brand or particular thing I should look out for when selecting a new graphics card?

Thanks for any and all help.

 

[Hazaro]

Alright Fractal, you have won me over. After picking up a Nanoxia Deep Silence 3 case, I had to return it due to several build issues that included a broken power button assembly and it not fitting my 240mm radiator. So I drove down to Microcenter and picked upa Fractal R5.

This thing with 4 fans, an H100i and 2 GTX 970's is damned quiet.

Would even recommend replacing the R4 from the OP and swap it with the R5 or at least mention it as well.

Cases are slow to update, I'll make a note for next round.

I'm interested in upgrading my monitor, I currently have an old 24" 1080p TN one from Dell. I have a few questions I'm hoping someone here can answer.
I'm interested in IPS monitors because I've heard they have better picture. Are they still good for gaming? Is the input lag negligible?
Should I look into 1440p monitors? My specs are pretty up to date: r9 290, i7 4790k, 8gb ddr3. I'm worried that this resolution will be too taxing when it comes to games like Witcher 3.
Looking into either getting a nicer 24" or possibly going to something like 27".
Thanks

A decent amount of modern IPS are fine
You can do 1440p if you want it, really up to how you use your computer
Can't help with specifics, I'm not a monitor guy

Alright NewPCGAF, I'm looking into upgrading my GPU (and power supply) in preparation for the Witcher 3. After some cursory investigation, the Radeon R9 290 is the card I'm leaning towards getting, and I'd like to get it from Newegg.ca.
As a result of all this, I have some questions I'm hoping y'all can help me with:

• Question #1: What is the power requirement for the R9 290? I tried looking it up, but there's conflicting information about the power requirements for the R9 290. The newegg pages all suggest a 750 watts for the card, whereas the tech site I checked is saying 400 watts for the card. I tried Newegg's power consumption estimator and the result was 1400 watts or so, which makes me think I did something wrong. (FYI, according to my research my current computer, a Dell XPS 8500, uses about ~250-300 watts without the graphics card. I'd link the specs but Dell doesn't list it on their website anymore.)
• Question #2: What sort of power clearance should my computer have? Someone earlier mentioning that you don't want to have it a max capacity all the time, but I'm not sure how much of a window there should be. With the confusion above, the answer is more than a little foggy to me.
• Bonus Question #1: Am I likely to have space problems in a standard PC case, adding a new power suply and going from a single- to double-slot graphics card? Like, should I be carefully measuring both new items and the inside of my case to see whether they'll fit?
• Bonus Qestion #2: Is there an easy way to tell whether a power supply has all the connectors I'll need? The only thing I fear might screw me up is that my computer has a regular HD and a mini SSD HD for cached loading; I dunno how standard that sort of thing is.
• Final Question: Is there a particular standout card in that newegg.ca lineup? Alternately, is there a brand or particular thing I should look out for when selecting a new graphics card?

Thanks for any and all help.

I'd say a 550W is fine for general use (Could be a bit close in extreme scenarios), but if you want to keep it a while the cost difference between 650 and 750W is usually $10-$15 so you might as well go with a 750W imo. FWIW I've pulled 510W with an OC'd CPU and 290 before in Valley which is pushing it.

You'll rarely have your GPU and CPU maxed out. Games vs benchmarks often can have a 50W load difference, not really a big concern. PSUs are more efficient around what half their power would be, but idle wattages are down so much it doesn't matter as much.
290s are huge as hell, measure out 10-11" depending on your 290 model to see if it fits
Any new 750W should have 6+2 (x4) PCI-E power connections so it will be fine.
Honestly would just buy used for half the price. Cards should still have at least a year warranty on them. Get a Gigabyte or ASUS so it transfers over. New 290s in the US can be had for $260 so...

 

[RGM79]

Alright NewPCGAF, I'm looking into upgrading my GPU (and power supply) in preparation for the Witcher 3. After some cursory investigation, the Radeon R9 290 is the card I'm leaning towards getting, and I'd like to get it from Newegg.ca.
As a result of all this, I have some questions I'm hoping y'all can help me with:

• Question #1: What is the power requirement for the R9 290? I tried looking it up, but there's conflicting information about the power requirements for the R9 290. The newegg pages all suggest a 750 watts for the card, whereas the tech site I checked is saying 400 watts for the card. I tried Newegg's power consumption estimator and the result was 1400 watts or so, which makes me think I did something wrong. (FYI, according to my research my current computer, a Dell XPS 8500, uses about ~250-300 watts without the graphics card. I'd link the specs but Dell doesn't list it on their website anymore.)
• Question #2: What sort of power clearance should my computer have? Someone earlier mentioning that you don't want to have it a max capacity all the time, but I'm not sure how much of a window there should be. With the confusion above, the answer is more than a little foggy to me.
• Bonus Question #1: Am I likely to have space problems in a standard PC case, adding a new power suply and going from a single- to double-slot graphics card? Like, should I be carefully measuring both new items and the inside of my case to see whether they'll fit?
• Bonus Qestion #2: Is there an easy way to tell whether a power supply has all the connectors I'll need? The only thing I fear might screw me up is that my computer has a regular HD and a mini SSD HD for cached loading; I dunno how standard that sort of thing is.
• Final Question: Is there a particular standout card in that newegg.ca lineup? Alternately, is there a brand or particular thing I should look out for when selecting a new graphics card?

Thanks for any and all help.

1. Wattage requirements are always overstated on retail and product webpages. Better to have more than enough than not enough, apparently. A 550 watt or stronger power supply is enough to power a normal PC with an R9 290 graphics card. Higher wattage wouldn't hurt if you were planning to overclock the processor or graphics card.

2. That depends on what you want to do with the computer and what you might want to add to it later in the future. It usually depends on your budget and other factors like overclocking or whether you'll be running multiple graphics cards. Since you seem to be looking at the R9 290, I'd consider 550~600 watts to be the minimum you should go for. If you want to overclock, look for 650 watts or higher. If you want to maybe get a second R9 290 in the future for crossfire, I'd recommend 800 watts or higher.

3. That depends on the size of the case you go with. If by "standard" you mean mid-tower, then you should have very little problem. The only measurements you need to worry about are the CPU cooler height (can't exceed the width of the case, of course) and the graphics card length (graphics card may interfere with hard drive bays in certain cases). Some but not all manufacturers will list those specs for their products on the official product webpage.

4. That's usually a non-issue nowadays. Everything is standardized down to a couple of different connectors. There's usually never any need to buy adaptors. Most power supplies come with more cables than you'll use, unless you're running some kind of monster PC with around a dozen hard drives and more than two graphics cards. In the specific case about hard drives and SSDs, all 2.5" and 3.5" drives use the same connectors for power and data. No worries about needing cable adaptors.

5. Are you limited to ordering from Newegg.ca only? Here's an up-to-date price list of R9 290 graphics cards from Canadian retailers, the cheapest one is the Asus DirectCU II for $320 after $30 rebate from NCIX. Where in Canada are you, if you don't mind me asking? If you're in or around the BC lower mainland, there are local deals from the NCIX clearance outlet.

The most important thing about getting a new graphics card would be to make sure it fits in your case and that your power supply can support it. Dell prebuilt PCs tend to go with the absolutely cheapest power supply that will power the PC as it comes from the shop, so it's likely that you'll need a new power supply if you're still using the one that came with the Dell.

 

[LurkerPrime]

All of this critical info should steer my purchase in a good direction. I'll definitely need to upgrade the PSU, and the R9 info should help steer my purchase in a good direction. The clearance outlet is a good idea, but unfortunately out of my travelling range. As to buying at places like Newegg, I honestly prefer decent warranties just 'cause the threat of dead hardware sends a chill down my spine. For the case, hrm... I think I have a midsize case - I'll just do a bit of measuring to double-check the room.

Again, thanks so much for the replies, Hazaro & RGM79! You've both been a tremendous help. I dub thee the heroes of the day.

 

[LostMyNarbles]

Can anybody recommend BenQ as a monitor brand? I'm thinking about moving up to a 27" panel and am currently eyeing up this one.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/BenQ-America-GW2760HS/36141316

One of the reasons I'm looking at it is the price is great and I also need to be buying it from Walmart since I have a large GC there.

 

[EatinOlives]

So, replaced my motherboard and CPU to a 4690k and everything seems great! Except for one thing...

The fan on my Hyper 212 Evo heatsink appears to be running at 100% speed at all times while on windows. When in Bios and just before booting to windows, it seems perfectly fine, but as soon as the Windows logon screen boots it's like a jet engine starts.

I couldn't find any fan speed control settings in my Bios and I have no clue how I can change fan speeds using SpeedFan. Any ideas?

 

[Snakepit]

Quick question: Anyone using a next gen controller on their PC? I was thinking of getting a PS4 controller but i'm not sure if it will work? I know i have to buy the Bluetooth adapter for it as well right?

Or should I just stick with the 360 controller?

 

[Kayant]

So, replaced my motherboard and CPU to a 4690k and everything seems great! Except for one thing...

The fan on my Hyper 212 Evo heatsink appears to be running at 100% speed at all times while on windows. When in Bios and just before booting to windows, it seems perfectly fine, but as soon as the Windows logon screen boots it's like a jet engine starts.

I couldn't find any fan speed control settings in my Bios and I have no clue how I can change fan speeds using SpeedFan. Any ideas?

Is it connected to the CPU fan header? What motherboard do u have?

 

[RGM79]

So, replaced my motherboard and CPU to a 4690k and everything seems great! Except for one thing...

The fan on my Hyper 212 Evo heatsink appears to be running at 100% speed at all times while on windows. When in Bios and just before booting to windows, it seems perfectly fine, but as soon as the Windows logon screen boots it's like a jet engine starts.

I couldn't find any fan speed control settings in my Bios and I have no clue how I can change fan speeds using SpeedFan. Any ideas?

What motherboard do you have?

Quick question: Anyone using a next gen controller on their PC? I was thinking of getting a PS4 controller but i'm not sure if it will work? I know i have to buy the Bluetooth adapter for it as well right?

Or should I just stick with the 360 controller?

It's possible to get the PS4 controller working wired and wireless, but it can be finicky as it involves the use of a separate program and driver to be loaded. Take a look at these links:

https://inputmapper.com/
http://ds4windows.com/#howto

The 360 controller is extremely easy, just plug and play and maybe install a small driver package if it's the first time you're using the 360 controller with Windows.

 

[EatinOlives]

Is it connected to the CPU fan header? What motherboard do u have?

What motherboard do you have?

NEVER MIND! It was actually my GPU fan. Two of the three fans were blocked by wires so the remaining fan was going 3x as fast.

Oh my god do I DESPISE mATX-sized cases. You have millimeters to work with, and shit like this always happens. I should've sprung for a new case and finally get a decent-sized tower, but I didn't for some reason...

Sorry about that guys!

 

[Mascot]

OK, I'm starting to send my spiders out in prep for my first-ever PC build. It's a daunting proposition, I don't mind admitting. It'll be 100% spec'd for gaming, with an overwhelming emphasis on 1080p/60 racing sim action (pCARS & Assetto Corsa) and FPSes at very high settings. Framerate must absolutely positively not dip below 60fps. Any higher is pointless, as my racing cockpit has a 32" Samsung 1080p TV rigged up to it.

I know this will require a lot of guesswork and conjecture, but I'd also like to get specs in place for running VR when it lands.

I'll be using the guide in the OP (is it up to date?) but can anyone offer any preliminary tips before I commence? If I can keep things below £1,000 sterling then that would be good Ii've no idea if this is possible), but I'm prepared to go higher if the rewards are worth it. I have a keyboard, mouse and display to recycle, but that's it. I can keep the PC in an adjacent room (my office) if that's relevant regarding noise and cooling, and run HDMI through a dividing wall.

I can also wait a while if new, better, more cost-effective components are about to land in the next few months.

Please assume I know nothing about PCs and components, because I do. Know nothing.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[RGM79]

OK, I'm starting to send my spiders out in prep for my first-ever PC build. It's a daunting proposition, I don't mind admitting. It'll be 100% spec'd for gaming, with an overwhelming emphasis on 1080p/60 racing sim action (pCARS & Assetto Corsa) and FPSes at very high settings. Framerate must absolutely positively not dip below 60fps. Any higher is pointless, as my racing cockpit has a 32" Samsung 1080p TV rigged up to it.

I know this will require a lot of guesswork and conjecture, but I'd also like to get specs in place for running VR when it lands.

I'll be using the guide in the OP (is it up to date?) but can anyone offer any preliminary tips before I commence? If I can keep things below £1,000 sterling then that would be good Ii've no idea if this is possible), but I'm prepared to go higher if the rewards are worth it. I have a keyboard, mouse and display to recycle, but that's it. I can keep the PC in an adjacent room (my office) if that's relevant regarding noise and cooling, and run HDMI through a dividing wall.

I can also wait a while if new, better, more cost-effective components are about to land in the next few months.

Please assume I know nothing about PCs and components, because I do. Know nothing.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Your budget should work for 1080p60. New graphics cards are due around June, can't say whether they'll be cost effective, though. As far as I know, VR doesn't require anything out of the ordinary other than just higher end specifications for smooth framerate display.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£185.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.31 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£79.20 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£51.54 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£71.94 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.99 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£419.99 @ Novatech)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case (£57.42 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£63.61 @ More Computers)
Total: £992.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-13 12:15 BST+0100

That should handily meet your 1080p60 requirements. The power supply is good enough to support a second GTX 980 if needed in the future. I was going to ask if you cared about the size of the case or operating noise, but given that you could keep it in another room, I guess it's not really a factor.

 

[LilJoka]

Hey guys, is it possible to move over to a new motherboard without deleting anything in the HDD?

I'm thinking of moving over from a ATX build to a Mini ITX. My brothers new build is kind of convincing me.

I just want to keep my old parts and just buy a new case and a mini itx motherboard.

mITX is great, what parts do you currently own?
What case did your brother use?

You could use:
Silverstone RVZ01/FTZ01
Fractal Design Node 304
Coolermaster Elite 130

 

[Deleted member 125677]

small question: how important is the clockspeed on RAM?

Considering upgrading right now, but the trouble is my current motherboard only supports up to 1333MHz clockspeed. Should I wait until I get a new MB/CPU instead?

 

[Acrylic7]

Newegg has LG 24x Super Multi SATA OEM DVD Burner for $12
http://slickdeals.net/f/7793245-lg-24x-super-multi-sata-oem-dvd-burner-gh24nsc0b-11-98

 

[Dandare4444]

I'm looking to buy a 970 and have a few questions i hope you can help me out with.

1. I'm unsure which make of card to buy, my key considerations are noise and out of the box performance. I have no interest in OC'ing.

2. Is coil whine still an issue with these cards?

3. How big of a deal is the lack of a backplate on one of these?

 

[Shadowhaxor]

small question: how important is the clockspeed on RAM?

Considering upgrading right now, but the trouble is my current motherboard only supports up to 1333MHz clockspeed. Should I wait until I get a new MB/CPU instead?

No, hang on it what you got. The speed difference between say DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 isn't worth the mobo/CPU upgrade. While the speed rating is important also keep in mind that the memory latency (timing) is equally important and I would be willing to state is the more important factor.

The speed rating (1333) basically means that your memory performs 1333 cycles per second and the timing would benefit or hurt your memory if it's lower. So for example a stick or DDR3-1333 @ a CAS rating of 7 would run faster than a DDR3-1600 @ a CAS rating of 9.

You can get DDR3-1333 memory kits with an 7-7-7-24 (CAS 7) or 8-8-8-21 (CAS 8) rating and have damned responsive memory. The Cruical Ballistix Tactical is CAS 7 or the G.Skill DDR3 1333 mem kits.

TLDR; keep your setup, your memory won't play a major part in your build unless you're running super memory intensive stuff. If you want a better responsive memory, look for DDR3-1333 CAS 7 or 8.

I'm looking to buy a 970 and have a few questions i hope you can help me out with.

1. I'm unsure which make of card to buy, my key considerations are noise and out of the box performance. I have no interest in OC'ing.

2. Is coil whine still an issue with these cards?

3. How big of a deal is the lack of a backplate on one of these?

The EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0 and SSC ACX 2.0 are the cheapest, but are also the noisiest due to the fans on the cards. However if you have a good airflow case you can under-volt the card and lower the temps, which leads to less noise. The MSI 970 GTX Gaming 4GB and the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4GB are two of best versions. Less noise out of the box and even though you have no desire to, they overclock great.

Yes coil whine is still a factor, you just live with it and it either gets better or you learn to block it out. I had a huge coil whine issue with my cards but I barely hear it unless I play specific games. But other components also play a factor in coil whine, so you can never tell what's what.I made a few changes to my setup recently so that could also be why I can't hear it anymore or less.

Backplates serve several functions; they made the card a tad cooler, they protect the card back of the card from anything touching it an accidentally shorting it out, you need them if you use a water cooler on your setup (3rd party backplates), helps support larger cards. But mainly it's just an aesthetics factor. You don't really need them, hence why many companies don't provide them on the cards and have to purchase them separately.

 

[Crisium]

Alright NewPCGAF, I'm looking into upgrading my GPU (and power supply) in preparation for the Witcher 3. After some cursory investigation, the Radeon R9 290 is the card I'm leaning towards getting, and I'd like to get it from Newegg.ca.

550W is a good baseline if you don't overclock your CPU. 650W to be safe if you OC your CPU (OC'd CPU + GPU adds more wattage than you think). But yeah, honestly PSU's are not nearly as expensive as they used to be, so might as well get a 750W just to have extra working room. There's really no need to skimp in the modern era.

 

[BenH]

Thanks to the guidance of this thread and the helpful people on it, I have successfully built my first PC.







Thanks again to all the board members for helping out.

Of course, a first-time build wouldn't be complete without one stupid/careless mistake, so somehow I ended up installing the 32-bit version of Windows instead of 64. What's the cleanest way to go about reinstalling that?

Will I have any issues setting a new boot USB since I've already used that Windows key on my computer?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Mascot]

Your budget should work for 1080p60. New graphics cards are due around June, can't say whether they'll be cost effective, though. As far as I know, VR doesn't require anything out of the ordinary other than just higher end specifications for smooth framerate display.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£185.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.31 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£79.20 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£51.54 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£71.94 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.99 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£419.99 @ Novatech)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case (£57.42 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£63.61 @ More Computers)
Total: £992.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-13 12:15 BST+0100

That should handily meet your 1080p60 requirements. The power supply is good enough to support a second GTX 980 if needed in the future. I was going to ask if you cared about the size of the case or operating noise, but given that you could keep it in another room, I guess it's not really a factor.

That's great - very much appreciated! Ideally I'd keep the PC in the gaming room but the option exists to have it next door. It was just an idea based on the number of complaints I hear about excessive noise, even from people with expensive cooling solutions. Don't know how true this is in the real world?

 

[Dandare4444]

The EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0 and SSC ACX 2.0 are the cheapest, but are also the noisiest due to the fans on the cards. However if you have a good airflow case you can under-volt the card and lower the temps, which leads to less noise. The MSI 970 GTX Gaming 4GB and the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4GB are two of best versions. Less noise out of the box and even though you have no desire to, they overclock great.

Yes coil whine is still a factor, you just live with it and it either gets better or you learn to block it out. I had a huge coil whine issue with my cards but I barely hear it unless I play specific games. But other components also play a factor in coil whine, so you can never tell what's what.I made a few changes to my setup recently so that could also be why I can't hear it anymore or less.

Backplates serve several functions; they made the card a tad cooler, they protect the card back of the card from anything touching it an accidentally shorting it out, you need them if you use a water cooler on your setup (3rd party backplates), helps support larger cards. But mainly it's just an aesthetics factor. You don't really need them, hence why many companies don't provide them on the cards and have to purchase them separately.

Thanks for the info. Are some brands more susceptible to coil whine than others?

 

[shacklesmcgee]

Hey everyone, I was looking to upgrade my PC over the summer, but I'm also very impatient. I currently have an i5 760 and a GTX 460, and I found a deal for an i5 4570t, an i5 4440s, or an i5 3470 for $140 (cad). Would any be OK paired with a GTX 970, or should I save for a 4690k? Thanks!

 

[Shadowhaxor]

Hey everyone, I was looking to upgrade my PC over the summer, but I'm also very impatient. I currently have an i5 760 and a GTX 460, and I found a deal for an i5 4570t or 4440s for $140 (cad). Would either be OK paired with a GTX 970, or should I save for a 4690k? Thanks!

Do you plan on overclocking? If so then go with the 4690K. The "k" means that it's unlocked and will yield greater performance / better overclocking. Also runs faster, is a true quad core and has more on-board cache. Think of the 4570T as an i3; Dual-core with hyperthreading.

Get the 4690K!

 

[Skyfireblaze]

Yes. 42 x 100 will get you to 4.2Ghz, without any extra voltage. Also check and see if your mobo has an overclocking tool, most do anymore. My 3570k has been sitting at 4.3GHz on air and I just got the H100i. As soon as my new case gets in I'm sure I'll be able to hit 4.4Ghz or higher.

Not right, the Vcore will increase automatically if you do this.
You should first use CPUz and Prime95 to find the current peak CPU Vcore.
Then use the offset Vcore in BIOS to match this Vcore at the desired overclock speed. Start at +0.00v on the CPU Vcore and tweak from there. This setting will be equivalent to Auto Vcore, so will likely need a negative offset to reach the stock vcore.

I have my i7 3770 at 102x42 for 4.21Ghz at 1.05v. As you have an unlocked K CPU you only need to adjust the CPU Multiplier to change the CPU speed.

Ah okay thanks for the explanation, I'll calculate the Vcore offset then later, a bit annoying that it needs to be done manually but better for a healthy CPU I suppose.

 

[WarpathDC]

OK GAF I'm getting some conflicting information about cpu coolers that will fit in my zalman z9 u3 case. My build is as follows:

Case: Zalman z9 u3
Mobo: ASROCK z77 xtreme 4
Cpu: i5 3570k (stock fan cooler)
Ram: corsair 8gb ddr3
Gpu: evga gtx 970 ssc ACX 2.0
700w psu

I want to overclock my i5 3570k and I'm a noob at this so I'm intimidated by the 212 Evo install. I am liking the reported ease of installation of the corsair h80i and according to parts picker it fits but a couple of user posts on Toms hardware says it doesn't. Does anyone know this first hand or could direct me to a cooling option for OC that would fit in my case and not extremely difficult? Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 125677]

No, hang on it what you got. The speed difference between say DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 isn't worth the mobo/CPU upgrade. While the speed rating is important also keep in mind that the memory latency (timing) is equally important and I would be willing to state is the more important factor.

The speed rating (1333) basically means that your memory performs 1333 cycles per second and the timing would benefit or hurt your memory if it's lower. So for example a stick or DDR3-1333 @ a CAS rating of 7 would run faster than a DDR3-1600 @ a CAS rating of 9.

You can get DDR3-1333 memory kits with an 7-7-7-24 (CAS 7) or 8-8-8-21 (CAS 8) rating and have damned responsive memory. The Cruical Ballistix Tactical is CAS 7 or the G.Skill DDR3 1333 mem kits.

TLDR; keep your setup, your memory won't play a major part in your build unless you're running super memory intensive stuff. If you want a better responsive memory, look for DDR3-1333 CAS 7 or 8.

Thanks a lot! I can only find CL9 16 GB kits at 1333MHz though, at least in the online retailers I've trawled so far.

 

[Mascot]

Thanks again, RGM79 - the build looks very solid. I've canvassed opinions from hands-on users in the pCARS thread as there might be some hardware quirks or performance requirements unique to that game.

 

[Shadowhaxor]

OK GAF I'm getting some conflicting information about cpu coolers that will fit in my zalman z9 u3 case. My build is as follows:

Case: Zalman z9 u3
Mobo: ASROCK z77 xtreme 4
Cpu: i5 3570k (stock fan cooler)
Ram: corsair 8gb ddr3
Gpu: evga gtx 970 ssc ACX 2.0
700w psu

I want to overclock my i5 3570k and I'm a noob at this so I'm intimidated by the 212 Evo install. I am liking the reported ease of installation of the corsair h80i and according to parts picker it fits but a couple of user posts on Toms hardware says it doesn't. Does anyone know this first hand or could direct me to a cooling option for OC that would fit in my case and not extremely difficult? Thanks!

The ZALMAN ZM-Z9 has the mounting for the H100i, which is basically two 120MM fans on mounted on the radiator, however it looks like the fit is going to be pretty tight and would push against the mobo.

As for the fan, I've seen pics that show that the evo will fit in the case. The fan will keep your processor cool, especially if you swap the fan ith something a little less louder but one that pushes more CFM. I use the Enermax T.B. Silence 120mm Ultra Quiet Twister on my kids PC with my old evo and you can barely hear it. When I did use that heatsink I was able to overclock my 3570k to 4.2GHz with no issues.

 

[WarpathDC]

The ZALMAN ZM-Z9 has the mounting for the H100i, which is basically two 120MM fans on mounted on the radiator, however it looks like the fix is going to be pretty tight and would push against the mobo.

As for the fan, I've seen pics that show that the evo will fit in the case. The fan will keep your processor cool, especially if you swap the fan ith something a little less louder but one that pushes more CFM. I use the Enermax T.B. Silence 120mm Ultra Quiet Twister on my kids PC with my old evo and you can barely hear it. When I did use that heatsink I was able to overclock my 3570k to 4.2GHz with no issues.

Thanks I appreciate it! Now I just need to get over the fear of working with the Evo 212

 

[Shadowhaxor]

Thanks a lot! I can only find CL9 16 GB kits at 1333MHz though, at least in the online retailers I've trawled so far.

Here you go!

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Thanks I appreciate it! Now I just need to get over the fear of working with the Evo 212

It is not that hard. Don't be too sweaty and you'll be ok