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[MisterNoisy]

Hi all. I purchased a brand new gaming PC approx 4 years ago and at the time it was pretty top of the range. I have not changed anything since purchasing and was now wondering if I could upgrade.

Ideally I'd like a 970 and new cpu but will they fit in with the spec I have or would this be a waste of time and money? What would you change to bring it up to date or would I need to start all over?

Spec is as follows: (PC Specialist build)

(snip)

That's pretty similar to my situation - I have a 3570K and a 7950HD (just sold off the 2500K/670-equipped machine). I just ordered a 970 and will run it like that until Skylake and Windows 10. At that point, I'll put the 7950 back in and sell it (already have a couple of interested potential buyers) and use the 970 in an otherwise new box. If something new comes out GFX-wise that makes me change my mind in the near future, I'm pretty sure I can recoup a large chunk of the money I dropped on the 970 anyway.

Anyway, my recommendation would be to stick with your 2500/Z68 setup for now and buy the new GPU, with an eye towards moving it into your next machine later. The 970/2500 combo should run well enough that you can kick the can down the road a bit. Maybe see if you can find a used Sandy Bridge i7 for sale cheap, but I wouldn't spend new-CPU cash.

 

[Easy_D]

Got a new motherboard and had to change thermal paste. Applied the new stuff and CPU was running hot with some wild fluctuations.

What's the general rule of thumb? Is a bit too little better than too much? Uncooked rise size or pea? I saw some do a cross too.

FWiw it's a FX6300 chip. I think you only need some in the middle right? I must've used too much, can't really fail with seating the heatsink, you have to fix it to the two tabs after all.

 

[NoMoreTrolls]

I'm trying to make a list of things I need to get my new PC up and running ASAP when it arrives next Monday. These are the things I've thought of so far:
Before first start-up:
USB stick with Windows 8 installer on it.
Latest BIOS update for my MOBO

After OS installation:
I'll use Ninite to get some of the programs I want, and I'll install the latest driver updates for all of the components in my PC. Is there something else I need to have?

 

[RGM79]

Got a new motherboard and had to change thermal paste. Applied the new stuff and CPU was running hot with some wild fluctuations.

What's the general rule of thumb? Is a bit too little better than too much? Uncooked rise size or pea? I saw some do a cross too.

FWiw it's a FX6300 chip. I think you only need some in the middle right? I must've used too much, can't really fail with seating the heatsink, you have to fix it to the two tabs after all.

What are idle and load temperatures like?

Ideally you want as little thermal paste as possible, too much can actually inhibit heat transfer. Thermal paste is meant to fill in the tiny microscopic gaps in the not-exactly flat surface on the cooler and CPU.

It's been years since I put together an AMD system, but I think it's no different with Intel. Apply a rice grain or two and equal pressure, that's all.

 

[RGM79]

I'm trying to make a list of things I need to get my new PC up and running ASAP when it arrives next Monday. These are the things I've thought of so far:
Before first start-up:
USB stick with Windows 8 installer on it.
Latest BIOS update for my MOBO

After OS installation:
I'll use Ninite to get some of the programs I want, and I'll install the latest driver updates for all of the components in my PC. Is there something else I need to have?

Latest drivers from the motherboard manufacturer's website? You can use the drivers on the disc instead, they probably come with an easy auto-installer but are slightly outdated.

 

[Dr_Boris_Goltz]

A 760 to 970 is a MASSIVE upgrade, yes?

 

[RGM79]

A 760 to 970 is a MASSIVE upgrade, yes?

Yep.

 

[tarheel91]

It does use all 4GB VRAM, it's just that 512MB of it is slower than the other 3.5GB.

And to be clear, that will never change. They can optimize around it, but that is how it will always work.

 

[Dr_Boris_Goltz]

Yep.

Wow!

I'm considering jumping at that Witcher 3/Batman deal Nvidia is running.

 

[JetForceGemini]

After gaming on 720p since I build my pc, it's time to finally ascend to 1080p

 

[NoMoreTrolls]

Latest drivers from the motherboard manufacturer's website? You can use the drivers on the disc instead, they probably come with an easy auto-installer but are slightly outdated.

I have no disc drive ;_;

Wow!

I'm considering jumping at that Witcher 3/Batman deal Nvidia is running.

Makes the card about $270 (if you want to justify it that way lol)

 

[Dr_Boris_Goltz]

I have no disc drive ;_;


Makes the card about $270 (if you want to justify it that way lol)

I'd be buying the games anyway so it works out.

 

[RGM79]

I have no disc drive ;_;

Not a big deal, most of the builds we recommend today leave out the DVD drive, for most people it's something they'll never use more than once or twice so it's like a $15 fee you can cut out by downloading the driver installers yourself. I'd download and copy them to a temp folder on the Windows 8.1 USB installer.

Here's the link to their download support page, you need to select the motherboard yourself as they don't have a separate driver download page for each model.

 

[mercenar1e]

quick question.. i have a Hyper 212 Plus so if i plan on getting an intel i7 1150 will i have compatibility issues? if its good im probably going to replace the fans with this

http://www.amazon.com/Focused-NF-F12-iPPC-3000-PWM/dp/B00KFCRATC/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1430980908&sr=8-6&keywords=Noctua+120mm

 

[RGM79]

quick question.. i have a Hyper 212 Plus so if i plan on getting an intel i7 1150 will i have compatibility issues? if its good im probably going to replace the fans with this

http://www.amazon.com/Focused-NF-F12-iPPC-3000-PWM/dp/B00KFCRATC/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1430980908&sr=8-6&keywords=Noctua+120mm

You said before that you currently had an i5 2500K system, right? Socket 1150 uses the same mounting holes and bracket, so just reuse what you have and it'll be fine.

 

[matrixman92]

Wow!

I'm considering jumping at that Witcher 3/Batman deal Nvidia is running.

I have a 760 as well and am jumping on that deal. Sealed the deal when I had to run wolfenstein the old blood on medium in order for it to be smooth

 

[Zakalwe]

I5 2500k
670 zotac amp ed
Gigabyte Z68x-ud5-b3
8 gigs ram

If I upgrade to the 970 for the deal is the rest of my gear going to get enough out of the card or am I going to have to upgrade other parts too to see a noticeable improvement?

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

I5 2500k
670 zotac amp ed
Gigabyte Z68x-ud5-b3
8 gigs ram

If I upgrade to the 970 for the deal is the rest of my gear going to get enough out of the card or am I going to have to upgrade other parts too to see a noticeable improvement?

Yes. Just overclock that CPU if you haven't already. Buy a cooler to go with it. An Evo 212 is fine. Should do 4.5 Ghz nicely.

 

[Sourtreats]

So after about 4 years of daily use my G500 mouse is finally packing in. For the past year it has been plagued by a double click on the left mouse click, it would happen for a few weeks and then stop, reappearing a month later. However recently it is now sometimes not recognising clicks at all. Combining the double click and unresponsive clicks I'm starting to go crazy.

I emailed Logitech and they told me to the only solution might be to blast the gap with compressed gas. I think I might just save myself the hassle and buy a new mouse, can any gaffers recommend a good replacement for the G500?

 

[Zakalwe]

Yes. Just overclock that CPU if you haven't already. Buy a cooler to go with it. An Evo 212 is fine. Should do 4.5 Ghz nicely.

I have a cooler, I don't remember which one but it reviewed well one buyer when I bought the i5.

I have it OC'd using the auto tool, it's at 4.3. Will setting it up properly via bios etc... To 4.5 (or closer) be a noticeable increase? I'm not too bothered about min/max, but if you guys think it's definitely worth it I'll do it properly.

Thanks.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

I have a cooler, I don't remember which one but it reviewed well one buyer when I bought the i5.

I have it OC'd using the auto tool, it's at 4.3. Will setting it up properly via bios etc... To 4.5 (or closer) be a noticeable increase? I'm not too bothered about min/max, but if you guys think it's definitely worth it I'll do it properly.

Thanks.

Well, for starters, using the auto tool is not that recommended around here. As it may give your CPU too much juice and generate excessive heat.

What is your temp when under load?

About worth it or not, 4.5 Ghz is like 4.5% increase over 4.3 ghz so it might not be that worth it.

If your temp under general load stays under 70 C then it would be fine just to let it as it. 4.3 is good enough.

 

[Fitts]

If I was to go with the Thermaltake Core V1 case and add the optional exhaust fans, would a tower style or low profile cooler have an inherent advantage or would either configuration be comparable?

 

[DSix]

What HDD should I buy for 3TB Raid1 data stock? I'll be using default the win7 raid1 setup, nothing proprietary.

I see WD Greens, Seagate Barracudas and some Toshiba disks. I'd like 7200RPM as I will have some programs running from it too. Which one should I grab?

Could/should I order 2 different disks for the Raid1 as to diminish the likeness of both dying at the same time?

 

[Bisnic]

Bought a SSD 256gb, i5 3.2ghz in the 4000k series, and an Asus motherboard for 500$ CAN total. This and my new GTX 970 will hopefully keep me good for gaming for another 5 years.

I used to have a 600gb HDD, but I heard the performance between HDD and SSD are night and day. Can't wait to see it.

Sucks that I couldn't get higher capacity, but a 500gb+ one if pretty expensive.
I know the SSD should be my main drive, but if i also plug my 600gb HDD, is it recommended to install games in there, or should it be kept for simple stuff like pictures and videos? With only 256gb, i fear i'll have to uninstall and reinstall games all the time if I have more than 5 games on my SSD.

 

[Leonsito]

I'm going to get an i5 4690k, but I'm still deciding the mobo, I see in the builds that the Z97X-SLI is a good choice, but this one has a pretty similar price and seems to have interesting features, like audio from Sound Blaster x-fi and the Atheros Killer LAN port:

http://www.pccomponentes.com/gigabyte_ga_z97x_gaming_5.html

What do you think guys?

 

[Easy_D]

What are idle and load temperatures like?

Ideally you want as little thermal paste as possible, too much can actually inhibit heat transfer. Thermal paste is meant to fill in the tiny microscopic gaps in the not-exactly flat surface on the cooler and CPU.

It's been years since I put together an AMD system, but I think it's no different with Intel. Apply a rice grain or two and equal pressure, that's all.

It peaked at 67°c at one point. It didn't go above 59 during heavy load before, and that was with the factory paste that was pretty applied on the heatsink. Now I was just updating steam and light browsing.

Made sure to clean the heatsink and the CPU properly so I must've used too much paste. I'll try one small blob and just attach the heatsink. There should be scale accurate pics on the packaging instead of measurements :lol

 

[JetForceGemini]

Anybody looking to buy a gtx 750ti?

 

[Dahaka]

Hey guys,

I've bought a i7-3770k very very cheap and I wanna know if my P8P67 Deluxe is still worth it (it's compatible) or if I need to look further and get a z77 motherboard. What do you guys think? Is it worth it?

 

[mkenyon]

Hey guys,

I've bought a i7-3770k very very cheap and I wanna know if my P8P67 Deluxe is still worth it (it's compatible) or if I need to look further and get a z77 motherboard. What do you guys think? Is it worth it?

Keep your board. The only things you would gain is some SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0 stuff.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

I've never OCed before, but I kind of want to OC my 970 before Witcher so I can get it as close to 60fps on Ultra as possible.

 

[mkenyon]

I've never OCed before, but I kind of want to OC my 970 before Witcher so I can get it as close to 60fps on Ultra as possible.

Raise core clock till it crashes. Scale back until it doesn't. Raise memory clock till it crashes. Scale back until it doesn't.

 

[ohyouagain]

Anybody looking to buy a gtx 750ti?

Well, if the heterogeneous multi-GPU build rumour is correct, then it might be handy in the future. I would say : keep it until we know more about this technology.

 

[Cheddahz]

I was thinking about doing the excellent build of the Fractal Design Node 304 and I was wondering if I decided to get a GTX 970 instead of a 760, would it still work out (I've had computers built for me before by family and friends, but I've never personally built my own computer before)

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Raise core clock till it crashes. Scale back until it doesn't. Raise memory clock till it crashes. Scale back until it doesn't.

Is all of that in the nvidia control panel? Or do you have to do it in BIOS? I guess I'll have to research this stuff.

Edit: Nice, Asus has a video guide on how to do it with the Strix.

 

[Dahaka]

Keep your board. The only things you would gain is some SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0 stuff.

Thanks mkenyon!

 

[kennah]

I was thinking about doing the excellent build of the Fractal Design Node 304 and I was wondering if I decided to get a GTX 970 instead of a 760, would it still work out (I've had computers built for me before by family and friends, but I've never personally built my own computer before)

Node can take pretty much any video card. Just make sure your PSU is short.

 

[harz-marz]

That's pretty similar to my situation - I have a 3570K and a 7950HD (just sold off the 2500K/670-equipped machine). I just ordered a 970 and will run it like that until Skylake and Windows 10. At that point, I'll put the 7950 back in and sell it (already have a couple of interested potential buyers) and use the 970 in an otherwise new box. If something new comes out GFX-wise that makes me change my mind in the near future, I'm pretty sure I can recoup a large chunk of the money I dropped on the 970 anyway.

Anyway, my recommendation would be to stick with your 2500/Z68 setup for now and buy the new GPU, with an eye towards moving it into your next machine later. The 970/2500 combo should run well enough that you can kick the can down the road a bit. Maybe see if you can find a used Sandy Bridge i7 for sale cheap, but I wouldn't spend new-CPU cash.

So I could get away with just a new gpu? My cpu is still ok? Would I need additional power supply etc?

 

[Cheddahz]

Node can take pretty much any video card. Just make sure your PSU is short.

Alright, sweet. Would all of the other parts already included in the build list work out with the 970? (Sorry that I really don't have any knowledge about this lol)

 

[JetForceGemini]

So my 970 is coming and I want to know is there any special directions I need to follow when I swap out video cards

 

[mkenyon]

Alright, sweet. Would all of the other parts already included in the build list work out with the 970? (Sorry that I really don't have any knowledge about this lol)

Yeah, you just want a PSU that is 140mm in length. The Cooler Master VSM series is what you want for that.

So my 970 is coming and I want to know is there any special directions I need to follow when I swap out video cards

What card do you currently have?

 

[TronLight]

So my 970 is coming and I want to know is there any special directions I need to follow when I swap out video cards

It's nothing special, download DDU, launch it in safe mode, remove your current drivers, shut down your PC, unplug it, remove your old GPU and put the new one back in, install new drivers.

 

[mkenyon]

It's nothing special, download DDU, launch it in safe mode, remove your current drivers, shut down your PC, unplug it, remove your old GPU and put the new one back in, install new drivers.

Unless they already have the latest NVIDIA drivers. In which case, there's no need.

 

[TronLight]

Unless they already have the latest NVIDIA drivers. In which case, there's no need.

Wouldn't it be better to use DDU anyway? Just to be really sure.

 

[mkenyon]

Wouldn't it be better to use DDU anyway? Just to be really sure.

Not if they're the same drivers. Zero reason.

 

[dragn]

does anyone have the acer xb270ha gsync monitor? just bought one from amazon warehousedeals ;3

 

[mkenyon]

Some good deals on the Egg today

All of these motherboards are 15% off: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...SSFYVZEBXQHA&bop=And&Order=PRICED&PageSize=90 w/ code EMCASAV38

All of these fans are 20% off: http://www.newegg.com/Top-Pick/Even...EFL050715-_-EMC-050715-Index-_-L0N-_-CASEFANS w/ code EMCASAV42

All of these Corsair PSUs are 10% off: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-IGNEFL050715-_-EMC-050715-Index-_-L0A-_-PSU w/ code EMCASAV22

The best deal in there is an excellent Gigabyte X99 board for $160

does anyone have the acer xb270ha gsync monitor? just bought one from amazon warehousedeals ;3

There's a GAF thread dedicated to it.

 

[dragn]

There's a GAF thread dedicated to it.

wasnt that the 1440p ips version?

 

[mkenyon]

Oh, right.

 

[Cheddahz]

Yeah, you just want a PSU that is 140mm in length. The Cooler Master VSM series is what you want for that.

Alright, thank you so much!

 

[Ragona]

Sorry, I've asked the question before, but it kind of got lost
So: is a 7 year old PSU (Corsair TX650W 650 W) still ok to power a new gpu? (970).
It doesnt have the 8pin adapters for the higher ones though.