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[Samaritan]

Need some advice/recommendations from you guys!

My desktop is really starting to show its age. I built it back in 2010, and later upgraded its RAM and video card. Specs are:

CPU: Intel i7-930 2.8GHz
Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws 12GB (3 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
Storage: Intel X25-M Mainstream 80GB SSD
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200rpm HDD
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX580 1536MB
Power Supply: Corsair 850-Watt HX Professional Series
Case: Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Mid

My question is would I be better off simply upgrading my video card to a GTX 980ti and doing a fresh Windows install, or is my CPU old enough that it's time to do a full upgrade?

I'm wanting to spend as little money as possible, but a whole new rig has been on my mind for some time.

Thoughts?

 

[Faiz]

It's hard to say. Processor prices can vary slightly over time. GPU prices usually stay at or around the same MSRP, but occasionally there will be a nice deal for a GTX 970 that will run just under $300 after rebates.

No one knows the trend, otherwise most of us would always be waiting for when prices would be cheaper before buying. In other words, it's a bit too early to see now. We'd recommend that you buy most if not all of your parts at the same time, though, so you should wait until you're almost ready to buy, to actually look at prices and buy.

Thanks. This mostly confirms my thought process (that it's too hard to say) except for waiting till you are ready to buy to look at prices, hahah. It's been about 7 years since I built my current PC and 4 since the graphics card was upgraded so this is an anticipated build for me. I'll probably be looking at components and prices pretty constantly for the next four months. My finger is well removed from the pulse of current specs and what-not though, so it will be time well spent refamiliarizing myself with the industry and what's changed.

 

[Woorloog]

I fucking hate computers...

Forgot to set boot priority on first start, so it went to a goddamn loop. Fortunately memory test button reset BIOS so i could set the correct boot order (for now, DVD first).

EDIT I mean, if the computer can't detect anything on the SSD, why does it even try again and again?

Installing Windows now...



EDIT Also, apparently the cheapest DVD drive is also the loudest. I mean... Everything else is pretty silent but the DVD drive makes up for it. Oh, well, i mostly need it for installing windows and some older games that i cannot get from elsewhere. Time to re-buy Morrowind from Steam...

 

[RGM79]

Need some advice/recommendations from you guys!

My desktop is really starting to show its age. I built it back in 2010, and later upgraded its RAM and video card. Specs are:

CPU: Intel i7-930 2.8GHz
Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws 12GB (3 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
Storage: Intel X25-M Mainstream 80GB SSD
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200rpm HDD
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX580 1536MB
Power Supply: Corsair 850-Watt HX Professional Series
Case: Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Mid

My question is would I be better off simply upgrading my video card to a GTX 980ti and doing a fresh Windows install, or is my CPU old enough that it's time to do a full upgrade?

I'm wanting to spend as little money as possible, but a whole new rig has been on my mind for some time.

Thoughts?

You want to spend as little as possible but have a GTX 980 Ti in your sights? If we knew what sort of budget you're working with and what sort of expectations you have for an upgrade like what level of performance you want, it'd be easier to recommend a solution for you.

So, what do you use your computer for and where do you feel that it's struggling? Have you overclocked your computer? Reinstalled Windows or cleaned out the interior of your PC lately? The i7 930 is quite dated now and you would stand to benefit from a new processor, but if you don't need the absolute best performance, having it overclocked will also still perform decently compared to the latest quad core processors today.

A cheap upgrade path would be to find a Xeon X5650 or X5670 processor, those will fit into your motherboard (this guy has the same motherboard as you and made that upgrade) and apparently performs just below that of a current generation i7 5820K processor. Or if your motherboard feels like it could fail sometime soon due to wear, then a new processor and motherboard might not be such a bad idea.

Thanks. This mostly confirms my thought process (that it's too hard to say) except for waiting till you are ready to buy to look at prices, hahah. It's been about 7 years since I built my current PC and 4 since the graphics card was upgraded so this is an anticipated build for me. I'll probably be looking at components and prices pretty constantly for the next four months. My finger is well removed from the pulse of current specs and what-not though, so it will be time well spent refamiliarizing myself with the industry and what's changed.

Sounds like you've got a plan then.

I fucking hate computers...

Forgot to set boot priority on first start, so it went to a goddamn loop. Fortunately memory test button reset BIOS so i could set the correct boot order (for now, DVD first).

EDIT I mean, if the computer can't detect anything on the SSD, why does it even try again and again?

Installing Windows now...

EDIT Also, apparently the cheapest DVD drive is also the loudest. I mean... Everything else is pretty silent but the DVD drive makes up for it. Oh, well, i mostly need it for installing windows and some older games that i cannot get from elsewhere. Time to re-buy Morrowind from Steam...

If a single failure to boot stopped the computer from booting at all, that would also be inconvenient. You should be able to interrupt the boot by pressing the correct function key on your keyboard to enter the BIOS menu instead though, so I'm not sure why it was stuck in a loop for you.

It's a shame about the DVD drive, I tend to leave it out of most builds because it's just not necessary anymore. If you have the storage space and a spare USB drive or two, you could use that to boot from for purposes like installing Windows, and image all of your existing discs to ISO files and never have to deal with a DVD drive again. It'd be faster to load, as well.

 

[Samaritan]

You want to spend as little as possible but have a GTX 980 Ti in your sights? If we knew what sort of budget you're working with and what sort of expectations you have for an upgrade like what level of performance you want, it'd be easier to recommend a solution for you.

So, what do you use your computer for and where do you feel that it's struggling? Have you overclocked your computer? Reinstalled Windows or cleaned out the interior of your PC lately? The i7 930 is quite dated now and you would stand to benefit from a new processor, but if you don't need the absolute best performance, having it overclocked will also still perform decently compared to the latest quad core processors today.

Probably should've expounded on what I'm looking for; writing a post like this at a sushi bar isn't exactly ideal, haha.

I'm basically looking to get my PC current again with games. I play on a 1080p/60Hz monitor, so I'm not pushing too many pixels, but I want to be able to play modern games at a good framerate without having to make sacrifices on visual quality.

With most games in the last couple of years, to maintain good framerates, I'm having to cut back on a lot of graphical settings, and I'm kind of just sick of that.

So basically I'm looking for the cheapest way to get the biggest performance gain for my system. If I can slot in a 980ti and run games like the Witcher 3 and Just Cause 3 at 60FPS without sacrificing image quality, then I don't want to also have to upgrade my entire system if it's not going to yield a huge performance gain.

But if my system is significantly bottlenecked by my out-of-date CPU, so much so that a shiny, powerful new GPU won't net me the performance gains I'm looking for, then I'll go that route instead.

 

[jarosh]

Anyone know what could be causing heavy interference with wireless mice? It's kind of odd because I assumed if anything it would be a Wifi signal. And I do have an ASUS wireless card installed in my new build, but even with the drivers removed and the device disabled the issue persists, so it's not that. Any Logitech mouse I connect (I tried 3 different ones with different USB receivers) stutters and jumps around intermittently, often when there's heavy load on the CPU, during a data transfer or just generally when the computer has to load lots of things. I had suspected a hardware issue with one of the components, but the problem COMPLETELY disappears as soon as I connect a wired mouse. Just gone.

Also, my old PC still sits right next to this one. The same exact mice show no interference at all on that system.

 

[RGM79]

Probably should've expounded on what I'm looking for; writing a post like this at a sushi bar isn't exactly ideal, haha.

I'm basically looking to get my PC current again with games. I play on a 1080p/60Hz monitor, so I'm not pushing too many pixels, but I want to be able to play modern games at a good framerate without having to make sacrifices on visual quality.

With most games in the last couple of years, to maintain good framerates, I'm having to cut back on a lot of graphical settings, and I'm kind of just sick of that.

So basically I'm looking for the cheapest way to get the biggest performance gain for my system. If I can slot in a 980ti and run games like the Witcher 3 and Just Cause 3 at 60FPS without sacrificing image quality, then I don't want to also have to upgrade my entire system if it's not going to yield a huge performance gain.

But if my system is significantly bottlenecked by my out-of-date CPU, so much so that a shiny, powerful new GPU won't net me the performance gains I'm looking for, then I'll go that route instead.

Now that might depend on what games you play. E.g, MGSV:TPP would have no trouble running on your PC, whereas GTAV would be more taxing. If you are worried about spending less, then the list of things to try according to cost would be:

• Try overclocking your i7 930. The only cost involved is buying a CPU cooler, if you're still using the basic CPU cooler that was bundled with the i7 930. Cost of a decent CPU cooler varies from $40~100, depending on cooling performance and whether you want it to be more quiet.
• Look for an Xeon X5650 processor to replace the i7 930 with. On Amazon they go for ~$100.
• New processor and motherboard. Current generation parts will cost $300 and up, depending on what level of performance you want.
• New graphics card. That GTX 980 Ti costs $600+, but another option would be a GTX 970 or R9 390 for around ~$300.
• And of course, a new PC. Costs as much as you're willing to spend.

It's worth noting that buying a new CPU cooler or processor and motherboard or graphics card can be carried over to a new PC, if you do decide to make some upgrades now but in the future you move on from your current PC, it won't necessarily be wasted money.

 

[Samaritan]

Now that might depend on what games you play. E.g, MGSV:TPP would have no trouble running on your PC, whereas GTAV would be more taxing. If you are worried about spending less, then the list of things to try according to cost would be:

• Try overclocking your i7 930. The only cost involved is buying a CPU cooler, if you're still using the basic CPU cooler that was bundled with the i7 930. Cost of a decent CPU cooler varies from $40~100, depending on cooling performance and whether you want it to be more quiet.
• Look for an Xeon X5650 processor to replace the i7 930 with. On Amazon they go for ~$100.
• New processor and motherboard. Current generation parts will cost $300 and up, depending on what level of performance you want.
• New graphics card. That GTX 980 Ti costs $600+, but another option would be a GTX 970 or R9 390 for around ~$300.
• And of course, a new PC. Costs as much as you're willing to spend.

It's worth noting that buying a new CPU cooler or processor and motherboard or graphics card can be carried over to a new PC, if you do decide to make some upgrades now but in the future you move on from your current PC, it won't necessarily be wasted money.

I installed an aftermarket cooler on my CPU sometime last year, but I've never actually OC'd it before. Any suggestions/guides for OCing a CPU for beginners? I might just go the route of new GPU + overclocking my CPU + fresh Windows install and see how that goes. If I'm not getting the performance increases I was expecting, I can then just plunk down the extra money for a new CPU/mobo.

 

[Arrrammis]

Hey everyone! I'm looking further into my first build, and I made up this part list (quite a bit from the OP, some personal choices). What do you think? I mainly plan to use this for some gaming (not AAA titles, more like World of Tanks and Final Fantasy 14, and not 4k, but 1080p would be nice), and some 3-d modeling (again, not maximum resolution, but enough to make some good looking stuff). I already have my peripherals and operating system, any feedback/ substitutions would be great!

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Arramos/saved/crbgXL

 

[JustinBB7]

Quick question, I got a new hard drive today for data, all my other data drives are Dynamic and Simple Volumes, my new one is a Basic - Primary Partition.

Should I change it to be a Dynamic Simple Volume as well? I have my Windows and stuff on an SSD drive, this is purely for data.

Also I had to reboot while partitioning because my computer froze, and had to download a fix from Microsoft because I got an error from Disk Management. Just mentioning it, it works fine now by the looks of it. But just in case.

 

[BossDarkseid]

I, too, have my eye on the 9Q


this is insane hahaha

Nice, man!

I'd be building the PC with it lasting for as long as possible in mind (obvs) and making the step up to a 1440p/gsync monitor from two 1080ps. Dual monitors have been a revelation for me. I'm doing some 3d modelling, Flash, Unity, Unreal stuff so the 5820k come sinto it but I've enjoyed seeing this thread a lot and learning about Overclocking etc so I'm kinda going whole hog. I would have got the PC a month or two ago but, as my mum said when I told her about it, if you're going to be spending X amount on a new PC and the next best thing (PG279Q vs the TN version) you might as well wait and not regret it etc.

Edit: As for Noctua, for case fans are the S12-As the ones people would reccomend? For the Fractal R5 I think I'd be getting three of them. It'd be about £45ish....which I'm guessing is in the $60-70 region?

 

[Woorloog]

If a single failure to boot stopped the computer from booting at all, that would also be inconvenient. You should be able to interrupt the boot by pressing the correct function key on your keyboard to enter the BIOS menu instead though, so I'm not sure why it was stuck in a loop for you.

It's a shame about the DVD drive, I tend to leave it out of most builds because it's just not necessary anymore. If you have the storage space and a spare USB drive or two, you could use that to boot from for purposes like installing Windows, and image all of your existing discs to ISO files and never have to deal with a DVD drive again. It'd be faster to load, as well.

It got stuck and i couldn't interrupt it in anyway. Nothing was shown on the display.
MemOK! button on the mobo reset the BIOS and i got everything working again.

The DVD drive is loud but i won't be using it often so it isn't a big deal.

Now i need to update all the drivers, Windows, and adjust settings. Unfortunately Windows Update is sooooooooo.... slooooooowww....

 

[The Lamonster]

Nice, man!

I'd be building the PC with it lasting for as long as possible in mind (obvs) and making the step up to a 1440p/gsync monitor from two 1080ps. Dual monitors have been a revelation for me. I'm doing some 3d modelling, Flash, Unity, Unreal stuff so the 5820k come sinto it but I've enjoyed seeing this thread a lot and learning about Overclocking etc so I'm kinda going whole hog. I would have got the PC a month or two ago but, as my mum said when I told her about it, if you're going to be spending X amount on a new PC and the next best thing (PG279Q vs the TN version) you might as well wait and not regret it etc.

Edit: As for Noctua, for case fans are the S12-As the ones people would reccomend? For the Fractal R5 I think I'd be getting three of them. It'd be about £45ish....which I'm guessing is in the $60-70 region?

Go for a 140mm fan like NF-A14. The larger size allows it to rotate slower and quieter.

I'm still trying to figure out if they should be PWM or FLX for case fans, though. Leaning toward FLX as PWM is more for a cooler fan.

 

[BossDarkseid]

Go for a 140mm fan like NF-A14. The larger size allows it to rotate slower and quieter.

I'm still trying to figure out if they should be PWM or FLX for case fans, though. Leaning toward FLX as PWM is more for a cooler fan.

Huh, ok. I'll check some things out between now and the ordering stage.

Also this may be a dumb question but if FLX stands for "Flex" (I'm guessing)....what does PWM stand for?

 

[Woorloog]

So, my display has Freesync but it has two settings for "on". Standard and Maximum... any idea what's the difference? Or do i have to read the manual...

 

[LilJoka]

Quick question, I got a new hard drive today for data, all my other data drives are Dynamic and Simple Volumes, my new one is a Basic - Primary Partition.

Should I change it to be a Dynamic Simple Volume as well? I have my Windows and stuff on an SSD drive, this is purely for data.



Also I had to reboot while partitioning because my computer froze, and had to download a fix from Microsoft because I got an error from Disk Management. Just mentioning it, it works fine now by the looks of it. But just in case.

There is no reason to make it a dynamic disk.

 

[JustinBB7]

There is no reason to make it a dynamic disk.

Alright thanks!

 

[RGM79]

I installed an aftermarket cooler on my CPU sometime last year, but I've never actually OC'd it before. Any suggestions/guides for OCing a CPU for beginners? I might just go the route of new GPU + overclocking my CPU + fresh Windows install and see how that goes. If I'm not getting the performance increases I was expecting, I can then just plunk down the extra money for a new CPU/mobo.

Take a look at this guide.

Hey everyone! I'm looking further into my first build, and I made up this part list (quite a bit from the OP, some personal choices). What do you think? I mainly plan to use this for some gaming (not AAA titles, more like World of Tanks and Final Fantasy 14, and not 4k, but 1080p would be nice), and some 3-d modeling (again, not maximum resolution, but enough to make some good looking stuff). I already have my peripherals and operating system, any feedback/ substitutions would be great!

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Arramos/saved/crbgXL

There's some trimming and optimizations that can be done to your list. Here's my version of your build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($72.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card ($314.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $942.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-29 17:13 EDT-0400

Compared to your build:

• Changed the Noctua 120mm cooler for the Phanteks PH-TC14PE 140mm cooler which costs about the same. The Phanteks cooler is larger and will be more effective, it's comparable to the flagship Noctua NH-D15 cooler.
• I found cheaper yet higher speed RAM from A-Data.
• The MX100 is very overpriced, it seems to be discontinued now so remaining stock is being sold at whatever price. The Crucial BX100 is a good choice for cost and performance.
• Nothing wrong with that MSI GTX 970, but the EVGA graphics card is clocked at a slightly faster speed and costs slightly less.
• $90 for the EVGA Supernova G2 750 watt model is an okay price, but if you don't need gold efficiency, the Supernova B2 750 watt model is also excellent quality but costs much less even after rebate.

One last thing to note, do you actually need a DVD drive? If not, then you can drop it from the list. Between USB drives and digital platforms like Steam, DVD drives have fallen by the wayside in terms of usefulness. Windows has supported installation by USB drive for a couple of years now. If you don't need a DVD drive, you could also switch the Fractal Define R4 for the Define S, which is newer, cheaper, and has better airflow at the cost of disc drive and hard drive space. If you want a case window, the Define S comes with a window panel version as well for a slightly higher price.

Edit: I just realized this from your parts selection, but were you aiming for a silent PC? You didn't say that so I didn't figure it out, but most of the parts in your original list are known for silence. My recommended parts list goes with some not-so-silent options that are better when it comes to cost and performance, but if you prefer silence then we could do a build based around that instead.

 

[Alexm92]

If you opt for that build with a GTX 980 Ti, then you will come extremely close. You might still have to turn a few settings a bit lower to ensure that the framerate won't dip under 60FPS. No, the GTX 980 and R9 390X cannot max out the Witcher 3 at 60FPS.

Shit I just remember Nvidia putting on their website that a 980 is needed for max settings.

 

[Arrrammis]

There's some trimming and optimizations that can be done to your list. Here's my version of your build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($72.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card ($314.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $942.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-29 17:13 EDT-0400

Compared to your build:

• Changed the Noctua 120mm cooler for the Phanteks PH-TC14PE 140mm cooler which costs about the same. The Phanteks cooler is larger and will be more effective, it's comparable to the flagship Noctua NH-D15 cooler.
• I found cheaper yet higher speed RAM from A-Data.
• The MX100 is very overpriced, it seems to be discontinued now so remaining stock is being sold at whatever price. The Crucial BX100 is a good choice for cost and performance.
• Nothing wrong with that MSI GTX 970, but the EVGA graphics card is clocked at a slightly faster speed and costs slightly less.
• $90 for the EVGA Supernova G2 750 watt model is an okay price, but if you don't need gold efficiency, the Supernova B2 750 watt model is also excellent quality but costs much less even after rebate.

One last thing to note, do you actually need a DVD drive? If not, then you can drop it from the list. Between USB drives and digital platforms like Steam, DVD drives have fallen by the wayside in terms of usefulness. Windows has supported installation by USB drive for a couple of years now. If you don't need a DVD drive, you could also switch the Fractal Define R4 for the Define S, which is newer, cheaper, and has better airflow at the cost of disc drive and hard drive space. If you want a case window, the Define S comes with a window panel version as well for a slightly higher price.

Edit: I just realized this from your parts selection, but were you aiming for a silent PC? You didn't say that so I didn't figure it out, but most of the parts in your original list are known for silence. My recommended parts list goes with some not-so-silent options that are better when it comes to cost and performance, but if you prefer silence then we could do a build based around that instead.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm not specifically looking for a silent PC build, but I also feel like I don't need extra noise, so I might as well go for a quieter option in parts if they are the same performance/price. Noise isn't really a problem though, so if switching out one of those parts would provide a significantly cheaper/more powerful option(as you mentioned), I'm definitely interested!

For DvD drive, I don't really think it's necessary, so thanks for the idea on the case! As far as the EVGA vs. the GTX 970, is there a significant difference in now much power they use or heat they generate?

One small problem that I noticed with one of your recommendations(the A-Data) is that the compatibility notes were giving this complaint:

The A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory operating voltage of 1.65V exceeds the Intel Haswell Refresh CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum.

This may not be a huge deal, but I'd like to avoid unnecessary problems. Is this something that I should try to work with?

 

[Skii]

I'll repost this just in case someone missed it:

Just a quick question and it's a long shot but has anyone here experienced and more importantly fixed DPC latency with Windows 10?

I've got it pretty bad on my PC which causes sound crackling when under heavy load (any game basically). I've had an "expert" try to solve the problem but they have no idea after numerous failed attempts at fixing it. They believe it's down to my storage.

If anyone is an expert at this type of stuff or would want a crack at helping me fix this, let me know. Will reward you as this has been driving me crazy.

It's so disheartening to have spent so much money and time building a PC only for your games to produce sound crackling which essentially makes them unplayable.

 

[RGM79]

Shit I just remember Nvidia putting on their website that a 980 is needed for max settings.

That was an early report. The original remark is from the German website gamestar.de, and although a bunch of websites repeated the line about the GTX 980 being able to deliver 60FPS on ultra settings with Hairworks, nearly everyone failed to mention that the article also says there was still stuttering drops in denser places like cities.

Independent testing results from places like Techspot have shown that on ultra settings at 1080p with Hairworks enabled, the GTX 980 gets 56FPS which is just a little bit shy of 60FPS, and dips as low as 28FPS at some points.

I guess I was nitpicky about d3vnull's question, though. If he doesn't mind occasional stuttering and framerate drops, then a GTX 980 will be just enough to run The Witcher 3 maxed out at 1080p, or he could turn down some settings and enjoy TW3 with a more consistent framerate. Otherwise, a GTX 980 Ti would be needed for both best possible quality and framerate. Didn't mean to correct you like you were out of line or anything.

 

[adamantypants]

has anyone moved back to 1080p from 1440p?


I've got a 980ti, I'm wanting to get a 27" GSYNC monitor and I'm curious if I should go back to 1080p and just enjoy being able to see the higher framerate for everything vs higher resolution.


I have a 23" 1080p as my 2nd monitor and everything is cramped compared to the current 27" 1440p, but it's lower res AND smaller so I dunno how big of a contrast it is.

is 1440p the light and you can never go back? Is it not a big deal?

It's largely personal preference. My main gaming monitor is a 27" 1440p display. But I also have no qualms using Steam streaming on my 50" TV at 1080p. But I'd say that if you're sticking with a 27" screen, you'd probably want at least 1440p. 1080p at that size and all you'll see are huge pixels.

Huh, ok. I'll check some things out between now and the ordering stage.

Also this may be a dumb question but if FLX stands for "Flex" (I'm guessing)....what does PWM stand for?

Pulse Width Modulation; basically your mobo or fan controller controls the speed/rpms. If your mobo supports 4-pin case fans, I'd totally go the PWM route. You'd be able to control fan speeds in your BIOS based on the case/CPU temperatures.

I'll repost this just in case someone missed it:

Just a quick question and it's a long shot but has anyone here experienced and more importantly fixed DPC latency with Windows 10?

I've got it pretty bad on my PC which causes sound crackling when under heavy load (any game basically). I've had an "expert" try to solve the problem but they have no idea after numerous failed attempts at fixing it. They believe it's down to my storage.

If anyone is an expert at this type of stuff or would want a crack at helping me fix this, let me know. Will reward you as this has been driving me crazy.

It's so disheartening to have spent so much money and time building a PC only for your games to produce sound crackling which essentially makes them unplayable.

Maybe it's just an issue with Win10? I declined the upgrade to W10 on my machines because it was breaking so many things it wasn't worth the effort. It could be anything from hardware malfunction to poor Windows 10 driver support.

 

[Alastor3]

So I told my friend my computer can't run Dark Souls 1 and he said, im gonna show you what you should buy, He made me a list but I don't know if this is any good, I know a bit about hardware but not about the new stuff out there, thoughts ?

Hardwares list in details

CPU : AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor = 88,20$
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler =25$
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard = 90$
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory = 45$
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive = 70 $
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive = 50$
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card = 268,99$
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply = 90$

Total : 775.91$ (without shipping)

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Pulse Width Modulation; basically your mobo or fan controller controls the speed/rpms. If your mobo supports 4-pin case fans, I'd totally go the PWM route. You'd be able to control fan speeds in your BIOS based on the case/CPU temperatures.

I've never understood this. The fans that came with my Fractal Design R5 are only 3-pins, but I can still adjust fan speeds in the BIOS.

 

[RGM79]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm not specifically looking for a silent PC build, but I also feel like I don't need extra noise, so I might as well go for a quieter option in parts if they are the same performance/price. Noise isn't really a problem though, so if switching out one of those parts would provide a significantly cheaper/more powerful option(as you mentioned), I'm definitely interested!

For DvD drive, I don't really think it's necessary, so thanks for the idea on the case! As far as the EVGA vs. the GTX 970, is there a significant difference in now much power they use or heat they generate?

One small problem that I noticed with one of your recommendations(the A-Data) is that the compatibility notes were giving this complaint:

This may not be a huge deal, but I'd like to avoid unnecessary problems. Is this something that I should try to work with?

Well, it's not exactly as though the build I recommended you could be unreasonably loud either. The case would make the biggest difference in terms of noise, so sticking with a Fractal soundproofed case should be just fine if you don't want extra noise but aren't totally concerned about building the most silent PC either.

Both the EVGA and MSI graphics cards are both GTX 970 graphics cards. The difference is in the design of their cooler and what clock speed they are set to when they come from the factory, the company it comes from puts their own customization on the basic GTX 970 design. It's just that the EVGA model is clocked at 1.22GHz while the MSI model is clocked at 1.14GHz. That 0.08GHz doesn't amount to a huge difference, but the EVGA model is slightly faster for a little less money. They'll generate a similar amount of heat and use a similar amount of power, but the EVGA model will be a tiny bit warmer by a few degrees and maybe use a tiny bit more power by a few watts since it is a tiny bit faster by a few MHz.

Don't worry about the RAM, it's a technical warning but there is no issue with Z97 motherboards running 2133MHz RAM at 1.65 volts. This guide should explain a bit more, but it is safe to run RAM at 1.65V, it just runs slightly warmer than RAM at the normal 1.5V. It's just that to reach 2133MHz, the RAM needs the extra voltage. Besides after you install the RAM in your PC, it will run at 1333/1600MHz by default - you have to set it to the higher speed and voltage (by enabling a single option). If you want, you can keep that A-Data RAM at 1600MHz instead and never set it to the higher speed.

So I told my friend my computer can't run Dark Souls 1 and he said, im gonna show you what you should buy, He made me a list but I don't know if this is any good, I know a bit about hardware but not about the new stuff out there, thoughts ?

Hardwares list in details

CPU : AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor = 88,20$
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler =25$
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard = 90$
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory = 45$
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive = 70 $
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive = 50$
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card = 268,99$
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply = 90$

Total : 775.91$ (without shipping)

While that PC can definitely run Dark Souls 1..

That's expensive and overpriced for such old parts. For example, the FX-6300 is a three year old processor that struggles in certain games. Paying $45 for 8GB of 1600MHz is not the best deal as higher speed RAM like the 2133MHz kit of RAM I posted earlier above can be had for $40. For two dollars more, the Crucial BX100 250GB SSD ($72) will beat the OCZ ARC 100 easily in most tests. The GTX 770 is discontinued and paying $270 is quite simply absurd. Nothing about the parts list requires 750 watts.

Here's what I'd recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($163.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: PNY Anarchy 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($72.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.66 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card ($314.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.70 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $734.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-29 18:48 EDT-0400

It offers higher performance in nearly all aspects for gaming, less heat and power consumption, and costs less than your friend's build both before and after rebates.

I've never understood this. The fans that came with my Fractal Design R5 are only 3-pins, but I can still adjust fan speeds in the BIOS.

Both 3 pin and 4 pin fans can have their speeds controlled. The difference is that 3 pin fans have their speed controlled by changing the voltage being supplied to the fan, while 4 pin fans have that extra pin/wire that sends a signal to the fan telling it how fast to spin.

 

[LilJoka]

I'll repost this just in case someone missed it:

Just a quick question and it's a long shot but has anyone here experienced and more importantly fixed DPC latency with Windows 10?

I've got it pretty bad on my PC which causes sound crackling when under heavy load (any game basically). I've had an "expert" try to solve the problem but they have no idea after numerous failed attempts at fixing it. They believe it's down to my storage.

If anyone is an expert at this type of stuff or would want a crack at helping me fix this, let me know. Will reward you as this has been driving me crazy.

It's so disheartening to have spent so much money and time building a PC only for your games to produce sound crackling which essentially makes them unplayable.

Post the results of LatencyMon

I've never understood this. The fans that came with my Fractal Design R5 are only 3-pins, but I can still adjust fan speeds in the BIOS.

PWM is required for lower speed running, voltage controlled fans will have spin up problems at low voltages required for low speed running. Most boards implement a minimum 40/60% to prevent spin up problems on voltage controlled headers.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Anyone looking for a solid, cheap CPU cooler may want to hit up the current Newegg ShellShocker - they've got the Cryorig H7 on sale for $30 now.

 

[Alastor3]

While that PC can definitely run Dark Souls 1..

That's expensive and overpriced for such old parts. For example, the FX-6300 is a three year old processor that struggles in certain games. Paying $45 for 8GB of 1600MHz is not the best deal as higher speed RAM like the 2133MHz kit of RAM I posted earlier above can be had for $40. For two dollars more, the Crucial BX100 250GB SSD ($72) will beat the OCZ ARC 100 easily in most tests. The GTX 770 is discontinued and paying $270 is quite simply absurd. Nothing about the parts list requires 750 watts.


It offers higher performance in nearly all aspects for gaming, less heat and power consumption, and costs less than your friend's build both before and after rebates.

Hi, thanks for the fast reply Actually I was just saying Dark Souls 1 but that's not really the kind of game I want to play, im way more into witcher 2 and witcher 3 and metal gear 5, what should I change from the build you suggested so I can play these ?

 

[RGM79]

Hi, thanks for the fast reply Actually I was just saying Dark Souls 1 but that's not really the kind of game I want to play, im way more into witcher 2 and witcher 3 and metal gear 5, what should I change from the build you suggested so I can play these ?

How much is your budget for a new PC? That build as linked above will already max out or come close to maxing out MGSV at 1080p and 60FPS, and TW3 will run at 50~55 FPS on high settings. With some tweaking and maybe lowering a few settings, both games will run at a solid 60FPS. The GTX 970 is a pretty capable graphics card, especially at 1080p.

Techspot MGSV benchmarks
Techspot TW3 benchmarks

What are your old PC's specs? Maybe you can even reuse some parts from it to lower the cost of the new PC.

 

[Alastor3]

How much is your budget for a new PC? That build as linked above will already max out or come close to maxing out MGSV at 1080p and 60FPS, and TW3 will run at 50~55 FPS on high settings. With some tweaking and maybe lowering a few settings, both games will run at a solid 60FPS. The GTX 970 is a pretty capable graphics card, especially at 1080p.

http://www.techspot.com/review/1060-metal-gear-solid-phantom-pain-benchmarks/page2.html
http://www.techspot.com/review/1006-the-witcher-3-benchmarks/page3.html

What are your old PC's specs? Maybe you can even reuse some parts from it to lower the cost of the new PC.

AHAH this is my current build, I don't think I can do anything with this.

I guess I can for maximum 1000$

But will that build you showed me will be still relevant in January? That's when I will get my money for my PC.

 

[Woorloog]

First post on the new computer.
Feels both good and odd...

 

[RGM79]

AHAH this is my current build, I don't think I can do anything with this.

I guess I can for maximum 1000$

But will that build you showed me will be still relevant in January? That's when I will get my money for my PC.

You can keep the hard drive I guess, heh.

In that case, you should come back here about a week or two before you plan to buy and build. We can give you an updated parts list for the best pricing for January. You can bookmark the parts list I just recommended and keep it on hand for reference if you want.

By then.. we can probably research a parts list using even newer stuff like Intel's Skylake processors.

 

[Belmire]

AHAH this is my current build, I don't think I can do anything with this.

I guess I can for maximum 1000$

But will that build you showed me will be still relevant in January? That's when I will get my money for my PC.

I'm bored. $1150~ system with a 980Ti. Change the case if it's too ugly. Hard to go below 1k with a 980Ti. Doooo Eeeet. Or wait for next gen GPUs.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($186.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($85.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($71.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Video Card ($629.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($66.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $1158.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-29 20:35 EDT-0400

 

[Woorloog]

I'll repost this just in case someone missed it:

Just a quick question and it's a long shot but has anyone here experienced and more importantly fixed DPC latency with Windows 10?

I've got it pretty bad on my PC which causes sound crackling when under heavy load (any game basically). I've had an "expert" try to solve the problem but they have no idea after numerous failed attempts at fixing it. They believe it's down to my storage.

If anyone is an expert at this type of stuff or would want a crack at helping me fix this, let me know. Will reward you as this has been driving me crazy.

It's so disheartening to have spent so much money and time building a PC only for your games to produce sound crackling which essentially makes them unplayable.

Why does this sound a bit like a problem i have.
Func HS260 headset, sound is crackling.
Right now i'm trying to listen music from youtube but the crackling is kind of annoying. Doesn't seem to be about the audio jacks.

Right now i'm installing MWO, and the installer is very resource-intensive....

EDIT Apparently Realtek Audio Driver issue.
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?74188-Z170-Pro-Gaming-audio-popping-(Realtek-issue)
(I have Asus Z170-A so i assume what applies to the ProGaming version applies to my mobo...)

EDIT I'm going to try reinstalling the latest driver for my mobo... if that doesn't work, i'll try Windows' driver.

Unless this is about the WLAN connection... it would be awkward. I cannot be without internet connection after all.

 

[Woorloog]

So... Removing the Realtek Audio driver removed crackling. The funny thing is, the computer installed it anew right away but there's no crackling still...
One reboot, one test, then i'll go to sleep no matter the result.
EDIT no wait, not sure if it was the Realtek driver that got reinstalled, looked like an USB driver that tries activating with every reboot?

EDIT yeah, looks like the Realtek driver is utter shit... That said, i still get very slight crackling, presumably for some other reason? LatencyMon does hint that HDAudBus.sys is responsible for ISRs, and iaStorA.sys for DPCs...

EDIT Hypothetical: Would a proper audio card solve this crackling issue?

 

[Wowfunhappy]

SSD's are the type of thing that's likely to be discounted come Black Friday/Cyber Monday, correct?

 

[Finaika]

So I'm trying to build Haz's enthusiast Skylake build with a GTX970, do I really need a CoolerMaster V750 PSU or is something smaller like a 650W or even a 500W PSU be enough?

I may get a Pascal equivalent of a 980/Ti class GPU in the future though...

 

[RGM79]

So I'm trying to build Haz's enthusiast Skylake build with a GTX970, do I really need a CoolerMaster V750 PSU or is something smaller like a 650W or even a 500W PSU be enough?

I may get a Pascal equivalent of a 980/Ti class GPU in the future though...

Depends on the rest of your PC and whether you'll be overclocking, but at minimum I'd recommend 500 watts. A GTX 970 by itself draws a bit less than 200 watts under load. The GTX 980 Ti draws around 250~280 watts, so at minimum a 600~650 watt PSU would be decent.

 

[Finaika]

Depends on the rest of your PC and whether you'll be overclocking, but at minimum I'd recommend 500 watts. A GTX 970 by itself draws a bit less than 200 watts under load. The GTX 980 Ti draws around 250~280 watts, so at minimum a 600~650 watt PSU would be decent.

So something like the CoolerMaster V650 would be enough then? Even with a possible 980Ti in the future + 6700K + overclocking?

Thanks for the help.

 

[RGM79]

So something like the CoolerMaster V650 would be enough then? Even with a possible 980Ti in the future + 6700K + overclocking?

Thanks for the help.

Yeah, I'd say so. What country are you in? Maybe we can find some other trustyworthy PSUs for you. You don't have to get a Cooler Master PSU, the build lists in the OP are more guidelines than a rigid recommendation of "only get this".

 

[Finaika]

Yeah, I'd say so. What country are you in? Maybe we can find some other trustyworthy PSUs for you. You don't have to get a Cooler Master PSU, the build lists in the OP are more guidelines than a rigid recommendation of "only get this".

Well I don't live in the US (I live in Malaysia), so finding quality parts is harder.

http://www.compu-zone.com/index.php...erything-windows/pc-hardware-downloads-in-pdf (its in PDF format)

Here's the build I'm thinking of, mostly for 1080p gaming and maybe some 3D modeling.

CPU: Intel Core i7 6700K
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VIII Ranger (couldn't find a Z170-A, and I need a motherboard with an optical out & DTS Connect for my speakers)
RAM: Kingston D4 Hyper Fury 2666 8GB X 2
Graphics: MSI GTX970 4G OC (Tiger)
SSD: Transcend 370 512GB (thinking of getting a Samsung 850 Pro 512GB but its very expensive, around 100USD more)
Storage: 1TB Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX
Power Supply: Cooler Master V750 (should I switch to V650?)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX
Optical Drive: Asus DVD RW
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212X (couldn't find a Hyper 212 EVO, and I think this is an updated version of EVO)

 

[Injee]

Hi,

Im thinking about buying a new computer now with skylake (I got 920 now and it's time to upgrade).

Is there some kind of prefered motherboard supplier? What is the difference?
Some of my friends says that MSI is at the lower scale but without any proof. Says they have larger change for failure and they dont use top grade components. I call BS...

Does it matter if you have the same supplier for the motherboard and GPU?

My budget is around 2000$ but why use more then needed.

 

[BossDarkseid]

Pulse Width Modulation; basically your mobo or fan controller controls the speed/rpms. If your mobo supports 4-pin case fans, I'd totally go the PWM route. You'd be able to control fan speeds in your BIOS based on the case/CPU temperatures.

Having looked it up, it seems the Asus X99-A (what I'd plan on getting) does support 4 pin, so I may go that way. Cheers

 

[JailDesigner]

Can we have the "Small Form Factor Build Guide" updated with Skylake? and maybe with gtx970, please.

My Alpha is struggling with PCars and I need something stronger but tiny. Thanks

 

[kennah]

Can we have the "Small Form Factor Build Guide" updated with Skylake? and maybe with gtx970, please.

My Alpha is struggling with PCars and I need something stronger but tiny. Thanks

There is currently a very limited selection of itx z170 boards. They usually take a few months to come out after the atx ones.

 

[JailDesigner]

There is currently a very limited selection of itx z170 boards. They usually take a few months to come out after the atx ones.

Oh! That makes sense. I will check the OP for the update when they hit the stores. Thanks.

 

[jarosh]

Anyone know what could be causing heavy interference with wireless mice? It's kind of odd because I assumed if anything it would be a Wifi signal. And I do have an ASUS wireless card installed in my new build, but even with the drivers removed and the device disabled the issue persists, so it's not that. Any Logitech mouse I connect (I tried 3 different ones with different USB receivers) stutters and jumps around intermittently, often when there's heavy load on the CPU, during a data transfer or just generally when the computer has to load lots of things. I had suspected a hardware issue with one of the components, but the problem COMPLETELY disappears as soon as I connect a wired mouse. Just gone.

Also, my old PC still sits right next to this one. The same exact mice show no interference at all on that system.

^ Anyone?

 

[kennah]

Oh! That makes sense. I will check the OP for the update when they hit the stores. Thanks.

You could just flip a coin all the rest of the selections would be the same as op. Did you have a particular case in mind?

 

[LilJoka]

^ Anyone?

Try a usb extension on the dongle