"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 1. Read the OP and RISE ABOVE FORGED PRECISION SCIENCE

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The i5 is better for price-to performance. Generally speaking you won't really get that much higher game performance by going with i7 as the quad core i5 processors are good enough. There may be a few situations in which the i7's extra processing threads could help in some gaming scenarios, but the differences usually aren't great enough to warrant spending the extra money. See these articles from Techspot and Anandtech for an idea of how small the differences are.

If you wanted higher performance, I'd recommend overclocking the i5 as opposed to paying more for the i7 unless you were doing things that would take more advantage of the i7's extra processing threads, like video editing or heavy computational stuff for school/work. Even then the i5 doesn't lag that far behind in video editing/encoding, according to those articles. A good cooler that costs less than the extra cost of going with the i7 would help with keeping temperatures down and let you overclock (now or in the future) for added performance.

Sounds great! I'll check those two articles out. It's been a long time since I've kept up with this stuff and I feel I need to get back into it.

Unfortunately I just realized I have a microATX-sized case, so if I get that bundle from Microcenter I'll need to spring for another case :((( I'm seeing mid-sized cases from the Microcenter site that are in the $50-$100 range which is probably around the amount I'm saving with the bundle, so I don't know how smart it'd be to NOT go for the bundle + new case if going for the unbundled CPU and mobo would end up being just as expensive...
 
Sounds great! I'll check those two articles out. It's been a long time since I've kept up with this stuff and I feel I need to get back into it.

Unfortunately I just realized I have a microATX-sized case, so if I get that bundle from Microcenter I'll need to spring for another case :((( I'm seeing mid-sized cases from the Microcenter site that are in the $50-$100 range which is probably around the amount I'm saving with the bundle, so I don't know how smart it'd be to NOT go for the bundle + new case if going for the unbundled CPU and mobo would end up being just as expensive...
What case do you have? And microcenter bundles every motherboard and CPU, not just the ones they last. Basically any motherboard is 20$ off when. Purchased at the same time as a cpu
Edit. Where in Canada are you?
 
I'm already going to spend over 800$, so i'm not too worried "wasting" a couple extra buck for a better motherboard. But thanks for the suggestion.

Is getting another 8gb really worth it? I might wait a little before doing that anyway.
Not sure what model exactly I do have, but its 2x4gb DDR3-1600.

What about a quiet CPU fan, any suggestions to go with the i5 4690k?
Thanks for your help.
You can add more RAM whenever, it's just a suggestion. DDR3 is supposed to go up in price as production slows down and DDR4 becomes more available.

As for a CPU cooler, the usual go-to suggestion is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo which can be found for less than $40. Cheap but effective enough for moderate overclocking (4.5GHz). As far as quiet goes, there are better coolers or fans like those from Be Quiet! or Noctua, but they're quiet pricey.

Sounds great! I'll check those two articles out. It's been a long time since I've kept up with this stuff and I feel I need to get back into it.

Unfortunately I just realized I have a microATX-sized case, so if I get that bundle from Microcenter I'll need to spring for another case :((( I'm seeing mid-sized cases from the Microcenter site that are in the $50-$100 range which is probably around the amount I'm saving with the bundle, so I don't know how smart it'd be to NOT go for the bundle + new case if going for the unbundled CPU and mobo would end up being just as expensive...
Some people have mentioned that some motherboard and CPUs are eligible for bundle discounts even if not explicitly stated on the Microcenter webpage. You only get the discount for in-store purchase, so you may have to go there to check for yourself.
 
What case do you have? And microcenter bundles every motherboard and CPU, not just the ones they last. Basically any motherboard is 20$ off when. Purchased at the same time as a cpu
Edit. Where in Canada are you?

My case is an NZXT Vulcan. It's a good case (if a little snug), good design for my tastes, and still work just fine, so I'd rather keep it if I could. I haven't shopped at Microcenter other than for monitors (and that must've been way back in '06), so I didn't know that the bundling was universal, that's pretty good to know!

Edit. Where in Canada are you?

Is that directed at me or Bisnic? I'm in the US.

Some people have mentioned that some motherboard and CPUs are eligible for bundle discounts even if not explicitly stated on the Microcenter webpage. You only get the discount for in-store purchase, so you may have to go there to check for yourself.

Thanks! I was planning on going to the store either way so I'll definitely look into that.
 
You can add more RAM whenever, it's just a suggestion. DDR3 is supposed to go up in price as production slows down and DDR4 becomes more available.

As for a CPU cooler, the usual go-to suggestion is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo which can be found for less than $40. Cheap but effective enough for moderate overclocking (4.5GHz). As far as quiet goes, there are better coolers or fans like those from Be Quiet! or Noctua, but they're quiet pricey.


Some people have mentioned that some motherboard and CPUs are eligible for bundle discounts even if not explicitly stated on the Microcenter webpage. You only get the discount for in-store purchase, so you may have to go there to check for yourself.

That looks a lot like my current CPU fan, hell it's probably the same. Guess I can reuse it, since it seems compatible with both AMD and Intel CPUs and my current CPU is AMD.
 
Does anyone here know if when buying a B&H giftcard do they give you the card information right then AND ship it or do you have to wait until it comes in?
 
That looks a lot like my current CPU fan, hell it's probably the same. Guess I can reuse it, since it seems compatible with both AMD and Intel CPUs and my current CPU is AMD.

That's fine then, just make sure you still have the original mounting brackets that your heatsink came with, as AMD and Intel use different mounting holes.

Does anyone know if they still sell some type of cover for keyboards to prevent dust?

Universal ones exist, you just have to look around for one with the right key configuration. This one appears to be for those keyboards with large enter keys, for example.
 
Strange problem I have here. I built a new PC for this friend of mine last December. Someone in this thread suggested that I purchase a windows7 key from someone in /r/microsoftsoftwareswap/. I did just that. When I built the PC, I installed windows and it activated just fine.

Yesterday he e-mails me to tell me that Windows is giving him a message about how it's a pirated or illegitimate copy of Windows (I don't know the exact wording but it's something to that effect). Strange thing is that it was working fine for 3 and a half months before giving him this message.

So my question is, have any of you purchased product keys from microsoftsoftwareswap/ and are they still working correctly? Is this supposed to be a common problem?

Thanks.
 
Strange problem I have here. I built a new PC for this friend of mine last December. Someone in this thread suggested that I purchase a windows7 key from someone in /r/microsoftsoftwareswap/. I did just that. When I built the PC, I installed windows and it activated just fine.

Yesterday he e-mails me to tell me that Windows is giving him a message about how it's a pirated or illegitimate copy of Windows (I don't know the exact wording but it's something to that effect). Strange thing is that it was working fine for 3 and a half months before giving him this message.

So my question is, have any of you purchased product keys from microsoftsoftwareswap/ and are they still working correctly? Is this supposed to be a common problem?

Thanks.
Unfortunate, but it happens. Microsoft doesn't approve of keys being bought, sold, or traded. My guess is that the seller was caught by Microsoft and all the keys that were associated with him were deactivated.
 
That's fine then, just make sure you still have the original mounting brackets that your heatsink came with, as AMD and Intel use different mounting holes.

Crap, i dont think I have that anymore, it's been a few years... Guess I'll have to buy a whole new one. :(
 
DAMN! June? THAT SUCKS!

What happened to all that talk back in February that they were "less than a month away"?

Oh, those were very old rumors. The supposed reason for the release being delayed to June was because it was thought that AMD might be releasing an all-new line as opposed to just the new R9 390/390X and rebadged 200 series cards.
 
Just started PC gaming so I'm not sure if this is a problem or just normal. I was playing mortal kombat and the game looks really good compared to the cg. The cg looks like a highly compressed YouTube video. I'm having this problem in other games as well. In game it looks much better than pre rendered videos.
 
Just started PC gaming so I'm not sure if this is a problem or just normal. I was playing mortal kombat and the game looks really good compared to the cg. The cg looks like a highly compressed YouTube video. I'm having this problem in other games as well. In game it looks much better than pre rendered videos.
welcometopcgaming.gif
 
Getting pretty sick and tired of bullshit microstuttering and poor support for SLi on my 2x980s. Thinking about going TitanX, and SLi in the future with another TitanX. That way, even if I have to disable SLi and go down to just 1 card, it'll still be capable for 1440p60fps.

What do you guys think?
 
Posting this from the first PC I've ever built. :)

Took a while, but no real snags once I pushed the power button. Decided to go with the Acer monitor if it ever gets back in stock. The time spent on my old 22 inch monitor will only make it that much more impressive when it does come in.

Now to put all this new power to use on.... some infinity engine titles or an infinity engine spiritural successor haha. Guess I could give Elite Dangerous a whirl if I wanted to actually see what the upgrade looks like.

I just got my new parts in! Got a Gigabyte z97x, GTX 970, and i5 4690k.

This will be my first time building/modifying a PC. I've already disassembled the old components and taken the RAM and heatsink off the mobo. Bought to make a last minute trip to Fry's for thermal paste- any other supplies I might need while I'm at it?

Thinking of picking a monitor while I'm at it if their prices aren't too bad. What's the best buy currently- Acer XB270HU or the ROG Swift or ASUS PB287Q mentioned in the OP? Should I hold off on a monitor right now for something else on the horizon if I already have a serviceable monitor? I dunno if I really have the hardware for 4k, so 1440p may end up being the best shot.
 
I've just built an Infra Red controlled power on/off switch for my lounge PC using an Arduino and Logitech Harmony remote. Will have a schematic incoming soon :)
 
Just started PC gaming so I'm not sure if this is a problem or just normal. I was playing mortal kombat and the game looks really good compared to the cg. The cg looks like a highly compressed YouTube video. I'm having this problem in other games as well. In game it looks much better than pre rendered videos.

This is pretty normal. It's especially egregious in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.. eugh.
 
Is my graphics card broken?

Earlier, for the first time, I hooked my PC up to my TV (instead of my usual monitor) via HMDI and played for a while, all fine. I've just plugged it back in to my usual monitor and my card no longer works. I'm using on board graphics as I type this, and the fans on my card (GTX 780 Windforce) are going full on making a right racket. Is it game over?
 
so 390/390X is rumored for june now? i think i remember reading that they'd be out this month. so glad i decided not to bother waiting and just got a 290.

maybe nearer the end of the year i'll pick a 390/X up.
 
Are there any decent 2GB+ GPUs going for around £150 or lower? I figure thats a low price maybe but my current ol' HD6850 is sitting on it's deathbed. I've had to cook it in the oven twice to fix a display problem where the screen would cut in half and wrap around the edges before eventually displaying pink screen.

Doesn't have to be amazing, maybe good enough to run a game like AC: Unity at medium/high at 1920x1080 at 30+ FPS (A game my current card has terrible FPS with even on the lowest possible settings on lower resolution so it's a game i can see the most improvement with ATM) My CPU is a i5 4460 if it matters :D

I've heard good things about the R9 280 but i'd like a second opinion.
 
I've just built an Infra Red controlled power on/off switch for my lounge PC using an Arduino and Logitech Harmony remote. Will have a schematic incoming soon :)

Here we go:
2079E5B.jpg

My code uses the IRremote library. Literally turns the pin HIGH when it detects a particular IR signal from the remote, shorting out the power pins on the front panel for 1000ms.

Code:
#include <IRremote.h>

int RECV_PIN = 3;

IRrecv irrecv(RECV_PIN);

decode_results results;

void setup()
{
  pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
  irrecv.enableIRIn(); // Start the receiver
}

void loop() {
  if (irrecv.decode(&results)) {
    irrecv.resume(); // Receive the next value

    if (irrecv.decode(&results)) //this checks to see if a code has been received
    {
      if (results.value == 0x800F040A || results.value == 0x800F840A ) //if the button press equals the hex value 
      {
        digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
        delay(1000);
        digitalWrite(2, LOW);
      }
    }
    delay(500);
  }
}
 
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.
 
Guys, I recently bought an ssd. I dont plan on moving the os on it as I still have my raptors doing a pretty good job. I'm planning on installing games on the ssd. Will I see an improvement in game performance?

Thanks!
 
Guys, I recently bought an ssd. I dont plan on moving the os on it as I still have my raptors doing a pretty good job. I'm planning on installing games on the ssd. Will I see an improvement in game performance?

Thanks!

Faster loading, faster streaming, less pop-in in games but nothing regarding fps.
 
Are there any decent 2GB+ GPUs going for around £150 or lower? I figure thats a low price maybe but my current ol' HD6850 is sitting on it's deathbed. I've had to cook it in the oven twice to fix a display problem where the screen would cut in half and wrap around the edges before eventually displaying pink screen.

Doesn't have to be amazing, maybe good enough to run a game like AC: Unity at medium/high at 1920x1080 at 30+ FPS (A game my current card has terrible FPS with even on the lowest possible settings on lower resolution so it's a game i can see the most improvement with ATM) My CPU is a i5 4460 if it matters :D

I've heard good things about the R9 280 but i'd like a second opinion.

For £150 you can get a more than adequate GPU to run AC: Unity with good framerates at 1080p. The R9 280 will give you that and then some.

Ebuyer currently have an awesome price for the R9 280 at £139.98 including delivery.

I got that price using this search engine which is one of the best for UK prices. Also try this one to find the lowest prices.
 
So is DX12 basically going to be another version of Mantle (i.e. better multicore utilization)? If so that's great news for all multicore CPU's...
 
Thanks for the tips Coilumb, I was looking at one £20 more expensive on amazon :)

No prob. If you're a real cheap a*se like me, it pays to use the best price comparison sites as well as a search for voucher/coupon codes for the odd 5/10% off for whatever place you're buying from :)
 
Getting pretty sick and tired of bullshit microstuttering and poor support for SLi on my 2x980s. Thinking about going TitanX, and SLi in the future with another TitanX. That way, even if I have to disable SLi and go down to just 1 card, it'll still be capable for 1440p60fps.

What do you guys think?

What games are you having SLI issues with?
 
Hello, PCGAF! I've been thinking more about my next PC purchase after participating in a recent(ly closed) thread and have come to realize that I may be able to ditch laptops in favor of a desktop. This, of course, would afford me the opportunity to build and delve further into PC gaming.

I've been doing some reading and am very much in the early stages of learning. I wouldn't need help with building since I have friends who have assembled multiple rigs and, honestly, it seems fairly straightforward. What I am having difficulty with is choosing my desired components. I wouldn't need a monster PC as I don't do any professional design nor do I have any desire to run any "graphical showcase" type games at the highest resolution/settings. I have a 1080p Asus monitor that I would be sticking with and am more concerned with running games like, say, Dark Souls sans any framerate dips. Still, I would like something that would perform competently with any new releases and that would include a certain measure of future proofing. I don't want to have to purchase a new graphics card every year.

I'm definitely staying below $1000 all-in and would prefer something sub-$800. I may have some... accommodations available to me that would help bring pricing down but haven't been able to work my connections just yet.

My first question would be if this is even a good time to build a computer. Is there a certain "season" or time of year in which new components are released or when heavy discounts occur? If that's the case then I have no problems holding off until it's most advantageous.

I've come to understand that going with an i7 over an i5 processor just isn't worth it for gaming. Is that correct? Also, I've read some debate over whether the Xeon E3-1231 V3 or the i5 4690K is the better choice. (the former being closer to an i7 sans integrated graphics while the latter being capable of overclocking when married with the proper motherboard) Another processor question: is there anything worth considering from AMD or is Intel the safest bet all around?

Concerning a graphics card, I've read that the GTX 960 is somewhat of a "sweet spot" for gaming right now. However, will this be short lived and would I feel the desire to upgrade within a year if investing in this card? Should I bump up to a 970? These two seem to be ideal given my budget, but is there a different card I should be considering? Is there any real reason to go with one brand over another (EVGA, NVIDIA, Zotac, etc) or is it mostly a loyalty thing?

I apologize for my ignorance but truly appreciate any help that can be provided. :)
 
Hello, PCGAF! I've been thinking more about my next PC purchase after participating in a recent(ly closed) thread and have come to realize that I may be able to ditch laptops in favor of a desktop. This, of course, would afford me the opportunity to build and delve further into PC gaming.

I've been doing some reading and am very much in the early stages of learning. I wouldn't need help with building since I have friends who have assembled multiple rigs and, honestly, it seems fairly straightforward. What I am having difficulty with is choosing my desired components. I wouldn't need a monster PC as I don't do any professional design nor do I have any desire to run any "graphical showcase" type games at the highest resolution/settings. I have a 1080p Asus monitor that I would be sticking with and am more concerned with running games like, say, Dark Souls sans any framerate dips. Still, I would like something that would perform competently with any new releases and that would include a certain measure of future proofing. I don't want to have to purchase a new graphics card every year.

I'm definitely staying below $1000 all-in and would prefer something sub-$800. I may have some... accommodations available to me that would help bring pricing down but haven't been able to work my connections just yet.

My first question would be if this is even a good time to build a computer. Is there a certain "season" or time of year in which new components are released or when heavy discounts occur? If that's the case then I have no problems holding off until it's most advantageous.

I've come to understand that going with an i7 over an i5 processor just isn't worth it for gaming. Is that correct? Also, I've read some debate over whether the Xeon E3-1231 V3 or the i5 4690K is the better choice. (the former being closer to an i7 sans integrated graphics while the latter being capable of overclocking when married with the proper motherboard) Another processor question: is there anything worth considering from AMD or is Intel the safest bet all around?

Concerning a graphics card, I've read that the GTX 960 is somewhat of a "sweet spot" for gaming right now. However, will this be short lived and would I feel the desire to upgrade within a year if investing in this card? Should I bump up to a 970? These two seem to be ideal given my budget, but is there a different card I should be considering? Is there any real reason to go with one brand over another (EVGA, NVIDIA, Zotac, etc) or is it mostly a loyalty thing?

I apologize for my ignorance but truly appreciate any help that can be provided. :)



Future proofing is something this hard, if not impossible to to. There is always something new around the corner in the PC world. You just have to decide when the time is right for you to jump in.

With that said the next round of Intel processors, codenamed Skylake, are supposed to launch in the 2nd half of 2015. They are supposed to be a significant improvement on what is currently out now.

Your i5/i7 question...i5 does just fine for gaming. There are some titles that can make the i7 advantageous with its extra threads. IMO a i7 would give you that extra bit of life out of your chip in the future, but it's up to you. Both are fine. Stay away from the Xeon for gaming purposes. Those are workstation type CPUs.

Sweet spot on the Nvidia side is the 970. AMD is rumored to launch their 300 series cards in June. You may want to wait until then to see what they have to offer. Brand differential often comes down to warranty. EVGA is considered the best in the business. They have 24 hour tech support, and their RMA process is painless. Should you decide to sell your EVGA card in the future, the warranty transfers to the next owner. The warranty is tied to the serial number of the card and not to a person.

Take a look at the OP. There are different builds for different price ranges along with other information.
 
Future proofing is something this hard, if not impossible to to. There is always something new around the corner in the PC world. You just have to decide when the time is right for you to jump in.

With that said the next round of Intel processors, codenamed Skylake, are supposed to launch in the 2nd half of 2015. They are supposed to be a significant improvement on what is currently out now.

Your i5/i7 question...i5 does just fine for gaming. There are some titles that can make the i7 advantageous with its extra threads. IMO a i7 would give you that extra bit of life out of your chip in the future, but it's up to you. Both are fine. Stay away from the Xeon for gaming purposes. Those are workstation type CPUs.

Sweet spot on the Nvidia side is the 970. AMD is rumored to launch their 300 series cards in June. You may want to wait until then to see what they have to offer. Brand differential often comes down to warranty. EVGA is considered the best in the business. They have 24 hour tech support, and their RMA process is painless. Should you decide to sell your EVGA card in the future, the warranty transfers to the next owner. The warranty is tied to the serial number of the card and not to a person.

Take a look at the OP. There are different builds for different price ranges along with other information.

Thanks for your response! I read through the OP but didn't want to approach this as a "paint by numbers" build either if there's a better approach. I also wasn't sure how outdated that information was.

I also acknowledge that the market is ever changing and something better will always come along, As stated in my original post, however, I don't desire to stay on the bleeding edge, but would rather ensure that I would be able to run anything I desire competently for the next few years without feeling forced to upgrade. I realize one couldn't possibly predict what's on the horizon, so I guess there's a measure of assumption that must be involved.
 
Thanks for your response! I read through the OP but didn't want to approach this as a "paint by numbers" build either if there's a better approach. I also wasn't sure how outdated that information was.

I also acknowledge that the market is ever changing and something better will always come along, As stated in my original post, however, I don't desire to stay on the bleeding edge, but would rather ensure that I would be able to run anything I desire competently for the next few years without feeling forced to upgrade. I realize one couldn't possibly predict what's on the horizon, so I guess there's a measure of assumption that must be involved.
You can get the "Great" build with a 290 and the Xeon. Just make sure a motherboard you pair with it can OC fine (I haven't looked into it).

Info is few months old, but nothing has really changed enough to merit an update tmk. Builds are tailored for very good overall value, but not absolute best performance/$. I make some compromises on parts that stay at prices, don't include the $40/$50 AR deals that pop up, and parts I know are good or have lower DOA rates.
 
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?
 
Is it worth it though? I don't really do OC myself.

Not really.

You can tick the same 2 boxes and achieve the same result in less than a minute. Up until my current Titan X's, all of my previous EVGA cards have been Superclock versions. I did it because it helps with resale value in my experience and I flip my cards a lot.
 
Not really.

You can tick the same 2 boxes and achieve the same result in less than a minute. Up until my current Titan X's all of my EVGA cards have been Superclock versions. I did it because it helps with resale value in my experience and I flip my cards a lot.

Most of the 970s I found are around the same price of that "superclocked" video card, or even more expensive, unless there is some you can find under 400$ CAN... but i have yet to see that, and they're probably not worth the purchase I guess if almost all the 970s are over 400$.
 
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?
 
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.
 
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