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[Wastwood]

I would recommend against that.

Your ram is effectively 1333mhz, 1600mhz ram will not increase your performance in any way significant enough to warrant an upgrade. See this.

Specifically, why do you even want to upgrade? Your rig is actually quite well-rounded and will do most of today's games satisfactorily. Obviously not max settings 60fps though.

Any upgrade to actually make sense will require you to totally overhaul your rig, such as new board, overclockable CPU, better GPU.

So I would say, do over completely, or keep it as is.

Well as amazon prime day sucked, i went ahead and upgraded my rig.

i7 4970k
8GB Ripjaws 1600MHZ
Asrock H97pro4

 

[MiamiWesker]

Skylake:
Skylake is basically Intel's upcoming generation of CPUs. They have lower power consumption, slightly lower heat output (compared to previous CPUs at the same speed, Skylake should run a little cooler), and they have a much more powerful integrated graphics unit (still won't hold a candle to something like an NVIDIA GTX 970, but none the less respectable). It will also only work with new motherboards (that will also have some nice extra features). It will also support DDR4 ram. Since these are new chips (and motherboards) expect a price premium.

In terms of CPUs the already 1 generation old Z97 Intel quad core CPUs (i5 4690K and 4790K) will likely be more than enough for a the foreseeable future.

Advantages of building your own PC:
The biggest advantage of building your of PC is that you can get exactly the right parts for your needs and with proper research those parts will be high quality. For example, who makes the power supply or the motherboard for the PC you listed previously? IDK because they are not listed... to cut down on price they probably stuck a POS unit in there. When you build your own you can choose the best brands. In the end, you may not end up saving all that much money, but you have a vastly higher quality system. Nothing is worse than your PSU or motherboard dying on you. The OP has tons of info regarding which brands are best. Asus, EVGA, Corsair, Gigabyte and MSI are IMO the top brands you should look out for (there are more).

Requirements for VR
The requirements are all over the place because there are many different types of VR games that require varying levels of computer horsepower (Ex. Minecraft vs Crysis...). The first question you should ask yourself is what types of games do you play? Do want to play the latest AAA releases? When VR comes out would you want similar games in VR? Guess what, you need a "super computer". If you just want to play indie games and maybe the occasional big release with lower settings, then a mid-high end GPU should be fine for VR.

VR is still in its infancy. We really won't have an idea of what kind of GPU power is required until we get both games and GPUs that are specifically optimized for VR. Like launch games on console, expect launch games for VR to be unoptimized (as is the case right now with the DK2). In addition, both AMD and NVIDIA (GPU mfr) have a host of VR related optimization they will be rolling out to their newer GPUs. Expect this to take take time to be implemented.

Second, a "good VR experience" (high AND stable frame rates, in addition to higher resolutions such as 1440p) requires A LOT of power. Try pumping out a stable 100fps+ at ~1440p (high game settings on a detailed game) on anything other than a 980 ti or Titan X.... it is not going to happen. Even with those cards, you may not have an ideal experience. VR is demanding. If your frame rate is not stable, your experience will suffer greatly (more than on a monitor). Project CARS is a good example of a graphically intensive game that has VR support. Good luck running that in VR on anything less than a GTX 980 (and that will be at low to medium settings). Sure, you can run Team Fortress 2, but don't expect to max out high detail games on VR without a serious GPU. Again, ask yourself what type of games you want to play.

When you say "you just want to play VR", "plug and play"... I may be proven wrong, but I feel like that is a bit optimistic. Early days.

There is a reason I never got into PC gaming cause all this is just a mess to me. I just want to buy something, games work, enjoy. I want to play it all. The new insomniac oculus exclusive i assume will be a launch game. I want star citizen. And I will play a bunch of older games too.

Do you think oculus will partner with some pc maker and create an official launch bundle with a pc that they feel will give a great VR experience. I would do that if I were them, they have to create something that is easy to purchase for the general public.

It clearly seems like the best thing to do is wait. Also better chance of stuff going on sale during the holidays. Plus maybe give a chance for some hand los on impressions with the launch games to see how they run on what.

 

[knitoe]

Well as amazon prime day sucked, i went ahead and upgraded my rig.

i7 4970k
8GB Ripjaws 1600MHZ
Asrock H97pro4

You bought a overclockable CPU with a non overclockable MB. Can you still cancel and change the MB?

 

[Horsemama1956]

Thanks to the G3258 you can overclock on pretty much any 1150 board since everyone added support for in the bios. Won't be 4.8, but 4.4-4.5 should be easy with an upgraded cooler.

 

[LilJoka]

There is a reason I never got into PC gaming cause all this is just a mess to me. I just want to buy something, games work, enjoy. I want to play it all. The new insomniac oculus exclusive i assume will be a launch game. I want star citizen. And I will play a bunch of older games too.

Do you think oculus will partner with some pc maker and create an official launch bundle with a pc that they feel will give a great VR experience. I would do that if I were them, they have to create something that is easy to purchase for the general public.

It clearly seems like the best thing to do is wait. Also better chance of stuff going on sale during the holidays. Plus maybe give a chance for some hand los on impressions with the launch games to see how they run on what.

It seems to me you are thinking that this is a lot more complex than it really is.

On PC there is no right answer, nothing will run 100% amazing, get that first. There are compromises.

With VR itll mean that with todays average hardware you will have to run lower graphics settings than you would playing in 2D. Thats purely because VR demands higher frame rates and higher resolutions (than 1080p).

Waiting or waiting for a VR bundle (there is no such thing...) is not the solution.

Work out what kind of experience you are looking for, and buy the parts (we can help you). At the moment you seem not to know what to expect, hence require some sort of go-to solution.

Whatever you buy, it will work, some better than others. You will be able to play old/new games no matter what you buy.

 

[MiamiWesker]

It seems to me you are thinking that this is a lot more complex than it really is.

On PC there is no right answer, nothing will run 100% amazing, get that first. There are compromises.

With VR itll mean that with todays average hardware you will have to run lower graphics settings than you would playing in 2D. Thats purely because VR demands higher frame rates and higher resolutions (than 1080p).

Waiting or waiting for a VR bundle (there is no such thing...) is not the solution.

Work out what kind of experience you are looking for, and buy the parts (we can help you). At the moment you seem not to know what to expect, hence require some sort of go-to solution.

Whatever you buy, it will work, some better than others. You will be able to play old/new games no matter what you buy.

This eases my fears a bit, thanks. I am pretty sure I will hold off, it's always smarter to wait when I don't exactly need it now.

Another aspect of all this is price, I know nothing of the sales of the pc hardware market. I am an expert at saving money on console stuff. So my question is when this new wave of cards hit does that mean the last wave goes down in price. Are there big sales during the holidays on parts and cards. Part of me making this move isn't just getting a good rig but a well priced one and timing is a huge part of that.

 

[LilJoka]

This eases my fears a bit, thanks. I am pretty sure I will hold off, it's always smarter to wait when I don't exactly need it now.

Another aspect of all this is price, I know nothing of the sales of the pc hardware market. I am an expert at saving money on console stuff. So my question is when this new wave of cards hit does that mean the last wave goes down in price. Are there big sales during the holidays on parts and cards. Part of me making this move isn't just getting a good rig but a well priced one and timing is a huge part of that.

In terms of timings itll always be cheaper in the future, so not huge gains to be made. Theres never amazing sales, CPUs tend never to lose value since they are nearly the same these days. GPUs like the GTX 970 still sell 2nd hand for £240, retail £275, thats after the 3.5GB problem. Generally these 2 parts will be the biggest cost, but hardest to get any sort of deal except 2nd hand, which i highly recommend.

RAM is a good one right now with falling DDR3 prices due to DDR4 production starting to ramp up. If you wait for skylake, chances are DDR4 will be where DDR3 was a year ago, and DDR3 will actually go up in price as stocks fall.

HDDs and SSDs continue to drop price, again no outstanding deals overall happening. Maybe in USA black friday? is a good time.

Everything else is pretty much stable in price since there isnt much going on in terms of progression. Just slowly dropping in time.

Usually its not about sales, but picking the right parts vs cost.

 

[Wastwood]

You bought a overclockable CPU with a non overclockable MB. Can you still cancel and change the MB?

At the store right now, gonna change it for a ECS Z97-pk, for that and the SLI support.

 

[RGM79]

At the store right now, gonna change it for a ECS Z97-pk, for that and the SLI support.

The ECS Z97-PK is sort of a budget motherboard, it's intended for overclocking the G3258. You can use it with the 4790K, but the motherboard itself lacks mosfet heatsinks and is apparently rated for just 2~3 power phases, so it's not a great choice for overclocking as you'll need a good amount of airflow in your PC (passing over the motherboard) to ensure stability. To give you an idea, we usually recommend Z97 motherboards that are rated for 4-6 power phases. That said, it's still decent and will handle overclocking according to this PCPer review.

What store are you at? I'd think about getting a slightly better motherboard than the ECS Z97-PK.

 

[Smokey]

WTS - Geforce GTX Titan X

Price: $840 (shipping included)


-Nvidia brand -- but still under warranty for 3 years

-Was used in a SLI configuration

-Have the box and contents


US only please. Paypal. I have +9 seller feedback and have sold a bunch of GPUs in this thread.

Thnx

Cross post from B/S/T thread

 

[Error1355]

Budget: Around $1K. Willing to go around $1.5 max

Main Use: Rate 1-5. 5 being Highest:

Light Gaming 4
Gaming 5
Emulation (PS2/Wii) 3
Video Editing 1
Streaming games in HD 5
3D/Model work (and what program) 1
General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback) - 4


Monitor Resolution: Two 20 inch monitors running at 1440, and a third 1080 HDTV connected with an active displayport to HDMI converter. Will likely use all three frequently.

List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Is 30FPS acceptable? 60? 120? How important is PhysX / SuperSampling / CUDA to you?

I would like to be at a point where I can run pretty much any release this year at a constant framerate. I would like to hit 60fps on games up to like Witcher 3/MGS V/That New Dirt game. If that's not realistic with my budget, please let me know. >_>

Looking to reuse any parts?: List make and model (e.g. Corsair 520HX, 640GB SATA HDD, Antec 900)

I am not planning on reusing any parts I currently have. From my casual look around I was thinking of going with a i7-4790K and some sort of 970 graphics card.
I do already have a retail Windows 8 key that I am going to transfer to this new box. <_<

When will you build?: Do you have a deadline? Looking to have it purchased and built by the end of the month.

Will you be overclocking?: Yes, most likely.

Also I was looking for some sort of a case where it would have dust filters. I had dust filters on my last PC and don't think I can ever go back.

 

[cackhyena]

I plan on ordering a Gigabyte 980ti G1 next week. The dimensions are scary enough as when I measure, it literally looks like I'll have a centimeter or two of space with it being as long as it is. But the other thing is it requires two 8 pin connectors. Coming off of my power supply, I do have a couple connectors I never use, since my 670 doesn't need them.

They are six slotted, but then have two extra dangling off of them. Is that the same...or can that be used like a regular 8 pin connector? I can't imagine what else they would be used for. The numbers add up, but I'm dumb with this stuff, so...any help would be appreciated.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

Where are you getting your 980Ti G1, cackhyena? I'm planning on getting one myself, but everywhere seems to be price gouging at the moment.

 

[RGM79]

I plan on ordering a Gigabyte 980ti G1 next week. The dimensions are scary enough as when I measure, it literally looks like I'll have a centimeter or two of space with it being as long as it is. But the other thing is it requires two 8 pin connectors. Coming off of my power supply, I do have a couple connectors I never use, since my 670 doesn't need them.

They are six slotted, but then have two extra dangling off of them. Is that the same...or can that be used like a regular 8 pin connector? I can't imagine what else they would be used for. The numbers add up, but I'm dumb with this stuff, so...any help would be appreciated.

The connector will work. It's called a 6+2 connector, it will function as a 6 or 8 pin connector due to the 2 loose pins, and will fit in either plug.

What power supply do you have? Wattage?

 

[cackhyena]

The connector will work. It's called a 6+2 connector, it will function as a 6 or 8 pin connector due to the 2 loose pins, and will fit in either plug.

What power supply do you have? Wattage?

Ah, good, thanks. It's 750. I was worried if I'd have to replace it, but I looked it up and that'll do.

 

[Hazaro]

I got a gigabyte 670 for sale, good clocker.
120 shipped. Us

 

[eosos]

So I'm thinking of building a new pc in a month or so in preperation for VR gaming and all that. Is now a good time to do this? Or is a new generation of processors/gpus coming out soon? I've been kinda out of the loop lately so figured that I'd ask in this thread

 

[mkenyon]

Cross post from B/S/T thread

Whatchu sellin for?

 

[Smokey]

Whatchu sellin for?

My interest in gaming isnt all that high right now tbh.

Plus life.

 

[mkenyon]

My interest in gaming isnt all that high right now tbh.

Plus life.

I feel ya.

Having a LAN next weekend, maybe it'll rekindle some of my interest.

 

[LilJoka]

So I'm thinking of building a new pc in a month or so in preperation for VR gaming and all that. Is now a good time to do this? Or is a new generation of processors/gpus coming out soon? I've been kinda out of the loop lately so figured that I'd ask in this thread

VR gaming will demand higher specs than an average build today, so its best to build a VR PC as late as possible, imo after the next NVIDIA cards arrive. Unless you are happy with something like a 970 rig with toned down graphical settings for the heavy games. Or you have the money for a 980Ti or better rig.

Or if you want to play indies or less graphical intensive games, like a lot of racing sims, then something like 970 rig is perfect.

 

[Stolen Sheep]

What's the prevailing wisdom re cooling brackets on the upcoming 1151 socket? I've read that there's a good chance it will stick to the same design as the other 115x sockets.

Wondering because I'm waiting for Skylake and were a unique bracket needed how long would the cooling manufacturers take to bring it to market? I heard some are offering to send out the new bracket (if needed) to purchasers of the coolers?

 

[GRaider81]

Pretty excited most of my boxes came today for my 1st ever build. Just waiting for my case.

What apps/software are essential thesr days?

Things like anti virus, temperature gauges etc?

 

[Nachtmaer]

What's the prevailing wisdom re cooling brackets on the upcoming 1151 socket? I've read that there's a good chance it will stick to the same design as the other 115x sockets.

Wondering because I'm waiting for Skylake and were a unique bracket needed how long would the cooling manufacturers take to bring it to market? I heard some are offering to send out the new bracket (if needed) to purchasers of the coolers?

I'm not sure, but I assume Intel stuck with the same dimensions ever since LGA 1556. It would be silly if they messed with the holes unless they changed the actual socket size. It's probably best to wait until launch and have some confirmation.

I haven't been following coolers too much lately, but I think Noctua used to send brackets out for free and Thermalright sold them seperately.

 

[mkenyon]

What's the prevailing wisdom re cooling brackets on the upcoming 1151 socket? I've read that there's a good chance it will stick to the same design as the other 115x sockets.

Wondering because I'm waiting for Skylake and were a unique bracket needed how long would the cooling manufacturers take to bring it to market? I heard some are offering to send out the new bracket (if needed) to purchasers of the coolers?

I'd bet $500 it will be the same configuration.

1156, 1155, 1150, no reason to change that with a small arch change like Skylake.

 

[BeEatNU]

Cross post from B/S/T thread

smokey trying to steal my sales!

 

[LilJoka]

I'd bet $500 it will be the same configuration.

1156, 1155, 1150, no reason to change that with a small arch change like Skylake.

Agreed, its extremely likely itll be the same. It will cost Intel more since they have to make new coolers!

 

[eosos]

VR gaming will demand higher specs than an average build today, so its best to build a VR PC as late as possible, imo after the next NVIDIA cards arrive. Unless you are happy with something like a 970 rig with toned down graphical settings for the heavy games. Or you have the money for a 980Ti or better rig.

Or if you want to play indies or less graphical intensive games, like a lot of racing sims, then something like 970 rig is perfect.

Thanks for the answer man! Little followup question here...

What if I were to make the 970 rig and then once the next gen of cards drop just switch it out for one of the new ones? Do you think that the rest of the components be fine?

 

[Smokey]

smokey trying to steal my sales!

No wai

I want us all to eat breh!

 

[TronLight]

I have a modular PSU. Tomorrow my 970 should get here, and it uses two 6-pins PCI plugs.
I have two PCI cables I can connecet to the PSU. Each cable has 2 plugs (the second one starts from the first that's in the middle). Like this:

(But mine has a +2 on both the PCI plugs and has 8 pins on the one that goes in the PSU)

Should I plug just one cable in the PSU and then use both ends or should I plug in both and use one plug from each?

 

[Rizific]

I'm planning a pretty big jump this year to 120/144hz. To make sure I'm able to reach those fps, I'm also looking at a gpu upgrade from my 7950. Was thinking either a 980 or 980ti depending on how much the ti costs at the time I'm ready to purchase. Am I crazy for wanting to stick to 1080p to make sure I can hit that 144fps in upcoming games? Would a 980 be overkill? Also what are my options for 1080p gsync enabled monitors? I was considering the rog swift, but it's a higher resolution.

 

[baphomet]

I have a modular PSU. Tomorrow my 970 should get here, and it uses two 6-pins PCI plugs.
I have two PCI cables I can connecet to the PSU. Each cable has 2 plugs (the second one starts from the first that's in the middle). Like this:

(But mine has a +2 on both the PCI plugs and has 8 pins on the one that goes in the PSU)

Should I plug just one cable in the PSU and then use both ends or should I plug in both and use one plug from each?

You just use 1 cable.

 

[TronLight]

You just use 1 cable.

Ok, thanks. That'll save me some clutter ahah.

 

[RGM79]

I have a modular PSU. Tomorrow my 970 should get here, and it uses two 6-pins PCI plugs.
I have two PCI cables I can connecet to the PSU. Each cable has 2 plugs (the second one starts from the first that's in the middle). Like this:

(But mine has a +2 on both the PCI plugs and has 8 pins on the one that goes in the PSU)

Should I plug just one cable in the PSU and then use both ends or should I plug in both and use one plug from each?

You didn't say what power supply you have, but if the cable is designed like that then it's usually intended to be able to power a graphics card with a single cable instead of requiring two.

 

[TronLight]

You didn't say what power supply you have, but if the cable is designed like that then it's usually intended to be able to power a graphics card with a single cable instead of requiring two.

Oh sorry, it's a Corsair RM650.

 

[RGM79]

Oh sorry, it's a Corsair RM650.

Should be just fine.

 

[baphomet]

I'm planning a pretty big jump this year to 120/144hz. To make sure I'm able to reach those fps, I'm also looking at a gpu upgrade from my 7950. Was thinking either a 980 or 980ti depending on how much the ti costs at the time I'm ready to purchase. Am I crazy for wanting to stick to 1080p to make sure I can hit that 144fps in upcoming games? Would a 980 be overkill? Also what are my options for 1080p gsync enabled monitors? I was considering the rog swift, but it's a higher resolution.

I wouldn't expect a 980 ti to hold 144fps in all upcoming games.

 

[StarlordDial]

So im almost done buying my parts ! Any tips before i start building from the ground up ?

Clean my hands ? Open the PSU plug it in and nake sure it's off? Touch the Case' metallic parts when installing rams,gpu's and cpu's?

Is it smart to use "wet ones" towels and clean my hand dry before i start tampering with the parts from their boxes ?

 

[Hazaro]

There are build videos in the second post.
As far as advice goes, read the install manuals and if it doesn't make sense watch a video install of the part.

Hand on psu/case. Install cpu, heatsink, and ram before you put mobo in biggest.

 

[Sectorseven]

What's a good hard drive for streaming movies on a home network?

 

[Hazaro]

What's a good hard drive for streaming movies on a home network?

Any non 5400-5900rpm drive. Probably doesn't even matter though and they are fine too.

 

[SRG01]

What's a good hard drive for streaming movies on a home network?

Depends. Are you talking about a HDD on a NAS or just a HDD on a regular system?

 

[RGM79]

What's a good hard drive for streaming movies on a home network?

Just about any will do. I can't think of any hard drives that can't do that or are bad at it. Usually your network connection speed and stability matters more for streaming quality and reliability than the hard drive matters.

 

[Sectorseven]

Depends. Are you talking about a HDD on a NAS or just a HDD on a regular system?

I don't know. I figured something that I can plug into my router and connect to from any device.

 

[LilJoka]

Thanks for the answer man! Little followup question here...

What if I were to make the 970 rig and then once the next gen of cards drop just switch it out for one of the new ones? Do you think that the rest of the components be fine?

Yeh that will be perfectly fine, in fact that's what most will do since CPU and RAM progression is near non existent or non impacting.

 

[StarlordDial]

Seems the power outlet is a little too far from my room to where i wanted to build and place my pc.


Any great muti power outlets/ or probably better yet surge protectors for gaming you guys can suggest that i can buy from walmart, bestbuy or etc ?


Leaning on surge protectors but is surge protector good to plug in specifically if i start building a pc and plugging it on the psu at the start reduce static discharge ? And are surge protectors good for pc gaming in general ?

 

[LilJoka]

So im almost done buying my parts ! Any tips before i start building from the ground up ?

Clean my hands ? Open the PSU plug it in and nake sure it's off? Touch the Case' metallic parts when installing rams,gpu's and cpu's?

Is it smart to use "wet ones" towels and clean my hand dry before i start tampering with the parts from their boxes ?

Erm no just wash hands once with water and dry. As long as your hands look clean it's fine. That means as long as you don't have visible crap on your hands there's no need to worry.

 

[SRG01]

Just about any will do. I can't think of any hard drives that can't do that or are bad at it. Usually your network connection speed and stability matters more for streaming quality and reliability than the hard drive matters.

Yes, a good router does wonders in these scenarios.

I don't know. I figured something that I can plug into my router and connect to from any device.

Hmm. There are a couple of options: you can purchase a pre-made USB HDD and plug that into the USB port of the router, or you can find a NAS enclosure and put your own HDD into that. The latter option is much more expensive.

There are a lot of USB HDDs out there too, so you have a lot of selection in terms of what to choose. However, the thing you need to look at is whether or not your router's USB functionality is up to snuff, or whether it has streaming capabilities in the first place.

 

[spannicus]

My order just got delivered today! Got my:

2 SSD,MOBO,CPU,Ethernet cable (50ft), Siberia Headphones (it was free v2) and the big ass xtrac XXL mousepad

^_^ just need that gsync monitor now and a 980ti and i'm set to start building it up ^^

feels good dont it?

 

[StarlordDial]

Erm no just wash hands once with water and dry. As long as your hands look clean it's fine. That means as long as you don't have visible crap on your hands there's no need to worry.

Got it :3 ty

feels good dont it?

Yeah :3 $4000 down the drain

Spoiler

hype thrusters engaged once i start building it