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[Joco]

Hey guys, I've had my PC for probably around two years now and I'm looking into upgrading the graphics card.

Currently my specs are,
- Intel Core i7-3770K: 3.50GHz
- 16GB Ram
- GeForce GTX 680

Can anyone recommend a good graphics card that is compatible with the above and will last me a year or so?

Nothing too expensive either, maybe $350-400 max?

I was looking at the GTX 960? Not sure if it's any good?

Could go with a 970.

 

[Jeff Stephen]

Pascal is going to be a quantum leap over Maxwell. nVidia has been stuck on 28nm for too long, and the combination of 16nm + HBM2 is going to make for insane performance gains.

A 980 Ti most certainly won't be future proof up against Pascal the way the 780 Ti was against the 980. Get a holdover card or wait to build your system until Pascal is out, if you're looking to get super high performance at resolutions > 1080p.

When you say it like that, now I'm not even sure about ordering the 970. I should pick up a 750ti for under $100 to hold me off till Q2 2016.

Spoiler

I'm still using an ATI HD 5870 with my 4670K CPU.

 

[komplanen]

When you say it like that, now I'm not even sure about ordering the 970. I should pick up a 750ti for under $100 to hold me off till Q2 2016.

Spoiler

I'm still using an ATI HD 5870 with my 4670K CPU.

How much under $100 can you get it for? I mean if you buy a used 970 right now, you can sell it forward before Pascal and lose less than $100 bucks doing it. Just try to time selling it forward before the market gets saturated by other people switching to Pascal.

 

[OraleeWey]

Take a look at the parental controls in Windows 10, there's a box you can check to only allow the child account to visit certain websites. I'm not sure if that option will block all websites if you don't list anything in the allowed websites section, but you could maybe just input one safe website you don't mind him going on. Otherwise, there are methods like a firewall or router settings to block all internet traffic to his PC except for steam.

Update: may not seem like it at first, but Windows 10 parental controls gives you TONS of control over a childs account! You can even block .exe files, websites, browsers, etc. Really good parental control.

If anyone was wondering.

 

[WarpathDC]

So oculus requires a GTX 970 or equivalent to get the "full experience". For those who have messed with vr, specifically dk2 is one 970 enough or should I go the sli route? I have been looking forward to vr for many yrs and want to make sure I have an immersive experience.

My rig:

i5 3750k @ 4.2 (liquid cooled)
EVGA GTX 970 SSC AC 2.0
8GB DDR3
650w PSU (yes I'll need to upgrade this if going sli I'd assume)

Many thanks for any feedback.

 

[manfestival]

How much under $100 can you get it for? I mean if you buy a used 970 right now, you can sell it forward before Pascal and lose less than $100 bucks doing it. Just try to time selling it forward before the market gets saturated by other people switching to Pascal.

pascal is the next video card coming up in the future?! Was thinking of buying a video card next month but I may as well just wait for the flood of used cards that will surely cause prices to drop hugely temporarily

 

[ISee]

So oculus requires a GTX 970 or equivalent to get the "full experience". For those who have messed with vr, specifically dk2 is one 970 enough or should I go the sli route? I have been looking forward to vr for many yrs and want to make sure I have an immersive experience.

My rig:

i5 3750k @ 4.2 (liquid cooled)
EVGA GTX 970 SSC AC 2.0
8GB DDR3
650w PSU (yes I'll need to upgrade this if going sli I'd assume)

Many thanks for any feedback.

I was able to test a dk2 this weekend. It's a very impressive piece of prototype tech, with enough flaws to make me not buy one and wait for the final product (no suprise here). When it comes to gpu recommendations for VR: Go as high as your wallet allows you to, you want stable and very high frame rates.

 

[Mad Season]

My GTX 980 runs at 73 celsius on highest settings with battlefield 4. that temp ok?

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

My GTX 980 runs at 73 celsius on highest settings with battlefield 4. that temp ok?

Yes.

 

[BIGWORM]

I think the TJMax for the Maxwell GPUs is 100c?

 

[RGM79]

Sounds good so get a 970. One more question, should I get a mechanical keyboard? I have had this desire to get one but I could never justify the cost. However, it seems like monoprice has a mechicnal blue for 50. That seems to be the best deal by far on one. What are your thoughts?

I like mechanical keyboards, never looked back after switching to one. Can you link to it? I'm not exactly sure which keyboard you're talking about.

Old roommate is commissioning me to fix a branded computer--a Gateway FX4710, to be exact. Intel Q9300 a "huge" 6GB of DDR2 (circa 2008 reviews). Upon opening up to see the physical condition of the inside, I found a free-floating hard drive at the base of the case. If someone knocked this computer in the past, this could be an open and shut case. I've already started looking at a budget Skylake build for him, fearing the worst. But first, I had to purchase a HDMI to DVI converter due to the 9800GT not having HDMI out. We'll see what happens as I attempt to boot this up tomorrow.

He's also wanting me to build him a higher-end computer for him for sound processing. He's a huge audiophile--like $60k worth of sound equipment in his garage--light stages, huge amps, multiple guitars, drum sets. I'm not sure where to base the build around outside of a good sound card and lots of hard drive space for RAW processing (was thinking 3TB+), and possibly 32GB DDR4. I'll be suggesting a Skylake build. Any suggestions on this build?

What software does he use for sound production and what are the requirements for that software? I kinda doubt he needs 32GB of RAM..

 

[Broadbandito]

My uncle want's to buy my aunt a new pc. She is a heavy stock user and wants to dual monitor. No gaming whatsoever.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 360 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case: HEC 6K28BB8F MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($42.87 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($20.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $570.75
Want to make sure she has a pretty nice pc for the years to come. Any recommendations on switching anything out or replacing anything?

 

[Broadbandito]

embarrassing double post, sorry.

 

[knitoe]

My uncle want's to buy my aunt a new pc. She is a heavy stock user and wants to dual monitor. No gaming whatsoever.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 360 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case: HEC 6K28BB8F MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($42.87 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($20.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $570.75
Want to make sure she has a pretty nice pc for the years to come. Any recommendations on switching anything out or replacing anything?

Since it won't require a gpu for gaming, I would go with a passive cooling video card. Just google for one with the inputs and resolution needed.

 

[Lemonte]

So do you lose your free W10 licence if you change your motherboard? I upgraded from retail W7 while being in the insider program.

 

[hiro4]

Are you planning on mainly playing Vita games or streaming PS4 games? The former will usually run at 540p, whereas the latter will run at 720p (IIRC—someone please correct me if I'm wrong!)

720p is EXACTLY HALF the resolution of 1440p, which means that 720p content will actually look better on a 1440p screen than it will on a 1080p screen, because the pixels can scale evenly.

By contrast, 540p will look better on a 1080p, because, again, it will scale perfectly.

So it all depends on what consoles and resolutions you'll actually be playing at!

Oh yeah. Good point!
I'll probably be doing both! But it will be used mainly for playing vita games and not streaming them.

Thanks for the help. I guess I just have to think about how I'm going to use it most and have to just live with a little blur in all the other situations.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

So do you lose your free W10 licence if you change your motherboard? I upgraded from retail W7 while being in the insider program.

The license is tied to your motherboard, I think. If you get a new one then you need a new license. At least that's how I understand it.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

4K is the best because it's exactly 2x scale of 1080p and 3x scale of 720p

Mhm, but it didn't sound like that was an option: He's choosing between a 1080p and a 1440p monitor.

 

[RGM79]

My uncle want's to buy my aunt a new pc. She is a heavy stock user and wants to dual monitor. No gaming whatsoever.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 360 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case: HEC 6K28BB8F MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($42.87 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($20.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $570.75
Want to make sure she has a pretty nice pc for the years to come. Any recommendations on switching anything out or replacing anything?

You can lower the costs significantly. A simple H81 or B85 motherboard will be adequate, and Intel integrated graphics is capable of dual and triple monitor display. Here's what I recommend.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H-A Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($35.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $434.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-21 03:06 EST-0500

The i5 4460 is only around 5~10% slower than the i5 4590, I believe. Here's comparisons by Intel and CPU World. It'll depend on what they do with the PC. The Gigabyte model is a cheaper but still adequate motherboard. I changed the SSD for a Sandisk model which I believe has better performance. I can't find a direct comparison for the 120GB models, but this comparison between the 240GB models shows the Sandisk to be slightly better. Given the same cost, I'd go for Sandisk. I swapped out the HEC case for a newer and better Cooler Master case that has USB 3.0 ports as the HEC case only had USB 2.0 ports. Lastly, the Seasonic PSU is more reliable than the EVGA model.

So do you lose your free W10 licence if you change your motherboard? I upgraded from retail W7 while being in the insider program.

Possibly. As far as I know, you aren't allowed to transfer your Windows license to a new PC, so it'd hinge on whether or not Windows 10 fails to activate after you change the motherboard. What are your existing parts and what new parts are you changing to?

 

[hiro4]

4K is the best because it's exactly 2x scale of 1080p and 3x scale of 720p

Mhm, but it didn't sound like that was an option: He's choosing between a 1080p and a 1440p monitor.

Yes 4K didn't even pop in to my mind as an option as it isn't really a option price wise.

 

[BIGWORM]

I like mechanical keyboards, never looked back after switching to one. Can you link to it? I'm not exactly sure which keyboard you're talking about.



What software does he use for sound production and what are the requirements for that software? I kinda doubt he needs 32GB of RAM..

I have no idea. I will ask my other old roommate, an audiophile himself, tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Lemonte]

Possibly. As far as I know, you aren't allowed to transfer your Windows license to a new PC, so it'd hinge on whether or not Windows 10 fails to activate after you change the motherboard. What are your existing parts and what new parts are you changing to?

Don't Windows insiders get free license? or is that tied to mobo as well?

anyway my current setup

Antec 300
730 Watt be quiet! Pure Power L8 CM Modular 80+ Bronze
8GB (2x 4096MB) G.Skill NT Series
ASRock Z87 Pro4
i5 4670K
MSI gaming 4g gtx 970
Corsair mx100 256gb
Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green, 3.5"

I'm planning to buy Bitfenix Phenom M case and matx motherboard, not sure what mobo yet but possibly Gigabyte Z97M-D3H or MSI Z97M-G43.

 

[bkw]

Can someone point me to a place where I can read up on the exclusive tech behind Nvidia versus AMD? I know Nvidia has Gsync, and AMD has Freesync. How are they different? Also, Nvidia has Physx right? I'm trying to decide between maybe the 960 and the 380, and I want to see if the exclusive tech stuff makes one more attractive than the other.

 

[RGM79]

Don't Windows insiders get free license? or is that tied to mobo as well?

anyway my current setup

Antec 300
730 Watt be quiet! Pure Power L8 CM Modular 80+ Bronze
8GB (2x 4096MB) G.Skill NT Series
ASRock Z87 Pro4
i5 4670K
MSI gaming 4g gtx 970
Corsair mx100 256gb
Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green, 3.5"

I'm planning to buy Bitfenix Phenom M case and matx motherboard, not sure what mobo yet but possibly Gigabyte Z97M-D3H or MSI Z97M-G43.

They get a free license? How?

Can someone point me to a place where I can read up on the exclusive tech behind Nvidia versus AMD? I know Nvidia has Gsync, and AMD has Freesync. How are they different? Also, Nvidia has Physx right? I'm trying to decide between maybe the 960 and the 380, and I want to see if the exclusive tech stuff makes one more attractive than the other.

Here's PCPer's article on gsync and freesync. Yes, Nvidia has physx. I'm not aware of any other places or articles that directly compare Nvidia and AMD's complete support behind their graphics cards, but you can probably find articles that test and talk about each technology on their own. Things you might want to look up are Shadowplay and AMD DVR, DSR and VSR, and possibly some other things I missed.

 

[ISee]

Can someone point me to a place where I can read up on the exclusive tech behind Nvidia versus AMD? I know Nvidia has Gsync, and AMD has Freesync. How are they different? Also, Nvidia has Physx right? I'm trying to decide between maybe the 960 and the 380, and I want to see if the exclusive tech stuff makes one more attractive than the other.

To be honest, the most important 'exclusive' tech (for me) between Nvidia and AMD is Nvidias HBAO+. The rest is nice but most often either too performance expansive or it also runs on AMD hardware.

When it comes to freesync vs gsync... I had no chance to try it and currently I am more interested in VR for 2016. So no opinion there.



(interactive sliders).

Assassins Creed Syndicate HBAO+ (not ultra) vs SSAO.
Witcher 3 HBAO+ vs SSAO.
Far Cry 4 HBAO+ vs SSAO.

 

[Lemonte]

They get a free license? How?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/free-windows-10-upgrade-for-insider-preview-users/

well used to get if you were in insider program and installed preview build of w10 before official release. That's how I understand it. I'm still in insider program but I guess that doesn't matter anymore since I registered my w7 for w10 upgrade. Confusing stuff but I assume I need to buy new license if I buy new mobo.

 

[Cpt.Underpants]

It's here :3

 

[Jeff Stephen]

How much under $100 can you get it for?

Around $86 for the evga 750ti SC.

 

[Moosichu]

With AMD's announcement of open source drivers, I'm pretty sure I want to build a PC with an AMD GPU. The only thing is, I have been researching Nvidia ones so far but not AMD. I probably want something equivalent to the 970. Are there any particularly recommended, and is it worth waiting for the next 'cycle' of CPUs/GPUs before I build my first PC?

 

[Barzul]

Can't wait to see what Pascal brings. Should shake up the landscape quite nicely.

 

[WarpathDC]

I was able to test a dk2 this weekend. It's a very impressive piece of prototype tech, with enough flaws to make me not buy one and wait for the final product (no suprise here). When it comes to gpu recommendations for VR: Go as high as your wallet allows you to, you want stable and very high frame rates.

Thanks! That is what I was thinking. I am definitely and impatiently awaiting the consumer kit but want to make sure I jump in 100% ready

 

[manfestival]

I like mechanical keyboards, never looked back after switching to one. Can you link to it? I'm not exactly sure which keyboard you're talking about.

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13785
I went with that one primarily because of the price point. I do recall seeing this keyboard before it was on sale and now that it was 50 I decided to take the leap. I have had a few products from this site and they have all been solid so my expectations are high.

 

[diamount]

With AMD's announcement of open source drivers, I'm pretty sure I want to build a PC with an AMD GPU. The only thing is, I have been researching Nvidia ones so far but not AMD. I probably want something equivalent to the 970. Are there any particularly recommended, and is it worth waiting for the next 'cycle' of CPUs/GPUs before I build my first PC?

Well, AMD released their 300 line quite recently so you might have to wait a bit longer than compared to Pascal releasing in Q2 of next year. But what you want to be looking at is the R9 390, it's been shown to match and beat it in some titles. The MSI Gaming line is quite well received. But as the old adage if you keep waiting for the next cycle, you will be waiting indefinitely, worst case scenario you lose a bit of money when reselling and upgrading but that can be said for everything.

 

[Shadowhaxor]

Thinking of doing a 5820k build. Now that I'm working full time in Premiere and doing lots of other video crunching tasks, I think the 3570k is falling behind. I've found the CPU for just $300 which seems like a great price. I know x99 is pricier in general, though.

Planning to pick up CPU and motherboard here in the US while visiting and then transporting them back home in my luggage. Hoping they survive the trip.

I recently upgraded from a i5-3570k to a i7-5820k build, as I do a lot of streaming and video encoding for my website. Let's just say that the $1300 I pumped into the build was worth it. 3440x1440 videos at 15k bitrates encode in under 10 minutes.

That's crazy fast and not including cuda encoding, since nvidia disabled that in their newer drivers.

 

[Xdrive05]

So I'm having to sell my 980 for the cash. At some point I will need another video card, especially a much cheaper one than the 980 was. Like $150 range.

When's the next Nvidia budget sweet spot 1080p card come out? Right now is the 750ti still their option at that price?

 

[RayStorm]

My uncle want's to buy my aunt a new pc. She is a heavy stock user and wants to dual monitor. No gaming whatsoever.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg)

You can lower the costs significantly. A simple H81 or B85 motherboard will be adequate, and Intel integrated graphics is capable of dual and triple monitor display. Here's what I recommend.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)

The i5 4460 is only around 5~10% slower than the i5 4590, I believe.

If performance and price difference match I would, if not under strict budgetary considerations, go for the fast one. Indeed I would consider a 240gb SSD and perhaps the ever popular Samsung 850 evo at that. But I second the suggestion of foregoing the external GPU in favor of using the Intel integrated graphics.

 

[j0hnny_385]

Don't know if posted already, but 361.43 WHQL GeForce Game Ready drivers are out.

RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS:

NVIDIA continues to work closely with VR headset and game developers to deliver amazing VR games and applications. This Game Ready driver includes the latest GameWorks VR tweaks, bug fixes, and optimizations to ensure you have the ultimate VR gaming experience.

Gaming Technology
Support added for GameWorks VR 1.1 including VR SLI support for OpenGL applications and support for the latest Oculus SDK

 

[e90Mark]

So I'm having to sell my 980 for the cash. At some point I will need another video card, especially a much cheaper one than the 980 was. Like $150 range.

When's the next Nvidia budget sweet spot 1080p card come out? Right now is the 750ti still their option at that price?

I grabbed an evga ssc 4gb 960 for $175 AR. I would said it's possible for $150 or less, especially for the 2gb version.

 

[RGM79]

With AMD's announcement of open source drivers, I'm pretty sure I want to build a PC with an AMD GPU. The only thing is, I have been researching Nvidia ones so far but not AMD. I probably want something equivalent to the 970. Are there any particularly recommended, and is it worth waiting for the next 'cycle' of CPUs/GPUs before I build my first PC?

Well, AMD's competitor to the GTX 970 is the R9 390. Do some research on that and see if it's something you want?

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13785
I went with that one primarily because of the price point. I do recall seeing this keyboard before it was on sale and now that it was 50 I decided to take the leap. I have had a few products from this site and they have all been solid so my expectations are high.

Just so you'll know, the older reviews for Monoprice mechanical keyboard probably won't apply to that model. After looking around, it appears that this keyboard along with some other models are new keyboards that Monoprice started selling just a few months ago. I can't find much in the way of reviews, so it's hard to say what to expect. They don't sell the older models they used to have anymore.

Well since you already bought us, tell us what it's like if you can.

So I'm having to sell my 980 for the cash. At some point I will need another video card, especially a much cheaper one than the 980 was. Like $150 range.

When's the next Nvidia budget sweet spot 1080p card come out? Right now is the 750ti still their option at that price?

I grabbed an evga ssc 4gb 960 for $175 AR. I would said it's possible for $150 or less, especially for the 2gb version.

Unfortunately it looks like the cheapest brand new GTX 960 is still $168 after rebate, and it's the loud Asus Turbo card. Sounds like Xdrive05 wants the GTX 950.

 

[Xdrive05]

The 960 seems alright.

Any reason to think Nvidia will have a new offering in that price point any time soon?

A 960ti or 950ti maybe?

 

[RGM79]

The 960 seems alright.

Any reason to think Nvidia will have a new offering in that price point any time soon?

A 960ti or 950ti maybe?

The GTX 950 is close enough to the GTX 960 that there's not much need for a "950 Ti" to bridge the gap. On the the other hand, there are rumors of a "GTX 960 Ti" but no indication that Nvidia is going to launch one soon.

 

[Shoyz]

Amidst speculation that the Vive's 'breakthrough' might be an HDR screen, as unlikely as it is, and apparently HDMI 2.0a is a requirement for HDR. I'll wait until after CES to buy up the rest of my parts to be safe.

Is there any easy way to search for Z170 motherboards which support HDMI 2.0a, if this turns out to be true? I had to do a lot of digging on my original choice (GA-Z170X-UD5, even the specifications don't list it) to find it supports HDMI 1.4.

 

[RGM79]

Amidst speculation that the Vive's 'breakthrough' might be an HDR screen, as unlikely as it is, and apparently HDMI 2.0a is a requirement for HDR. I'll wait until after CES to buy up the rest of my parts to be safe.

Is there any easy way to search for Z170 motherboards which support HDMI 2.0a, if this turns out to be true? I had to do a lot of digging on my original choice (GA-Z170X-UD5, even the specifications don't list it) to find it supports HDMI 1.4.

What HDMI revision the motherboard supports for Intel integrated graphics won't matter as you will be powering your VR headset with the graphics card, right? What graphics card do you have?

Anandtech says it might be possible that HDMI 2.0a support will be patched in for graphics cards that already support HDMI 2.0, which as I understand it is currently limited to the latest Nvidia graphics cards (GTX 950 and above). AMD won't support HDMI 2.0a until they release their next set of graphics cards sometime in 2016.

 

[catpurrcat]

Advice request:

Please be kind as I haven't built a PC in over 15 years.

Currently have a Dell Vostro 230 with a slim tower case. Specs are:
-Intel E6600 cpu (wolfdale)
-4GB DDR3 SDRAM
-Nvidia GeForce G310
-320GB 7200rpm hdd
-120GB SSD (boots from here)
-DVD writer
-USB network dongle
-Windows 10

Can any of this be salvaged toward a build of a new BASIC gaming PC? Something resembling an Alienware Alpha i3 entry level.

I already have a PS4 and X1 so this would just be for day-1 deals (fallout 4) or the occasional discounted back logged game (eg Arkham asylum, Mordor, etc).

 

[RGM79]

Advice request:

Please be kind as I haven't built a PC in over 15 years.

Currently have a Dell Vostro 230 with a slim tower case. Specs are:
-Intel E6600 cpu (wolfdale)
-4GB DDR3 SDRAM
-Nvidia GeForce G310
-320GB 7200rpm hdd
-120GB SSD (boots from here)
-DVD writer
-USB network dongle
-Windows 10

Can any of this be salvaged toward a build of a new BASIC gaming PC? Something resembling an Alienware Alpha i3 entry level.

I already have a PS4 and X1 so this would just be for day-1 deals (fallout 4) or the occasional discounted back logged game (eg Arkham asylum, Mordor, etc).

The hard drive, SSD, DVD drive, RAM, and USB wifi adaptor can be brought over to a new PC. So can the graphics card, but you probably want to get a newer and better one.

What country are you in and what's your budget for a new PC? You want something similarly compact to the Alienware Alpha?

 

[catpurrcat]

The hard drive, SSD, DVD drive, RAM, and USB wifi adaptor can be brought over to a new PC. So can the graphics card, but you probably want to get a newer and better one.

What country are you in and what's your budget for a new PC? You want something similarly compact to the Alienware Alpha?

Fantastic! I'm in Canada (Toronto) so getting parts is really easy.

Any recommendations on a decent mobo and cpu and case? I'm probably just going to copy the alpha lol. Would strongly prefer a small form factor. I guess I'd also have to get an oem windows 7 or 10 too, huh? Ugh.

Unfortunately the Alienware alpha is not sold in Canada (anymore) otherwise I would've bought one. Looks like they were as low as $400 CDN ($350 USD) back in May.

Now they only sell a pricey "steam machine" version starting at $649.

 

[RGM79]

Fantastic! I'm in Canada (Toronto) so getting parts is really easy.

Any recommendations on a decent mobo and cpu and case? I'm probably just going to copy the alpha lol. Would strongly prefer a small form factor. I guess I'd also have to get an oem windows 7 or 10 too, huh? Ugh.

Unfortunately the Alienware alpha is not sold in Canada (anymore) otherwise I would've bought one. Looks like they were as low as $400 CDN ($350 USD) back in May.

Now they only sell a pricey "steam machine" version starting at $649.

Is $400 the limit that you want to spend, and does it include tax? I won't lie, it'll be somewhat hard to do that on your budget, especially if you have to buy Windows. Did you upgrade a copy of Windows 7/8/8.1 to Windows 10? You won't be able to transfer that copy of Windows to a new computer.

Question: is your existing RAM in a set of 2x2GB or is it 1x4GB?

 

[Deleted member 98878]

Fantastic! I'm in Canada (Toronto) so getting parts is really easy.

Any recommendations on a decent mobo and cpu and case? I'm probably just going to copy the alpha lol. Would strongly prefer a small form factor. I guess I'd also have to get an oem windows 7 or 10 too, huh? Ugh.

Unfortunately the Alienware alpha is not sold in Canada (anymore) otherwise I would've bought one. Looks like they were as low as $400 CDN ($350 USD) back in May.

Now they only sell a pricey "steam machine" version starting at $649.

Here's an ITX build I think about getting for myself as a second PC. Just to give you some ideas.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone Sugo SG13B Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $671.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-21 17:53 EST-0500

You can save some money on the MB (get one with PCI-E 2.0 instead of 3.0) and/or if you use the stock cooler which comes with the i3 instead of the Cryorig C7 and/or keep your old HDD.
You can upgrade from Windows 8.1 to 10 for free.

 

[emptyroom]

Just built my first PC, after a few hours of prime95 small fft the temperature on my I5 6600K doesn't go past 53 degrees,is this good? Using the hyper 212 in a nzxt h440

 

[catpurrcat]

Is $400 the limit that you want to spend, and does it include tax? I won't lie, it'll be somewhat hard to do that on your budget, especially if you have to buy Windows. Did you upgrade a copy of Windows 7/8/8.1 to Windows 10? You won't be able to transfer that copy of Windows to a new computer.

Question: is your existing RAM in a set of 2x2GB or is it 1x4GB?

Ah good to know about Win 10. Sadly it was an upgrade. The ram is 2x2gb. I'm not really set on the $400 budget, can go higher if need be, no worries Just didn't want to go too deep cuz I do have a ps4.

Here's an ITX build I think about getting for myself as a second PC. Just to give you some ideas.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone Sugo SG13B Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $671.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-21 17:53 EST-0500

You can save some money on the MB (get one with PCI-E 2.0 instead of 3.0) and/or if you use the stock cooler which comes with the i3 instead of the Cryorig C7 and/or keep your old HDD.
You can upgrade from Windows 8.1 to 10 for free.

Wow thanks! Super helpful! Cool site too. I guess it would be cheaper to find a Windows 8.1 key and then get the free upgrade to 10 from that...good advice.