Support NeoGAF

[RGM79]

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

That's quite good. Nothing to worry about at all there.

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.

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.

If compact size means the most to you, then go with the Alienware Alpha, it's quite difficult to built a custom PC to match that size. If you don't mind going with a larger cases, then the cost can come down and be somewhat competitive as smaller parts such as cases and motherboards can get expensive.

I'd recommend a parts list similar to what Flips360 showed you, but the Canadian dollar and idiotic pricing means that a similar build in Canada will cost quite a lot more.

 

[LilJoka]

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

Almost too good, what version of prime95?
Ambient temperature?

 

[RedSwirl]

Anything in particular I need to know about external optical drives? Got a new laptop and I might get one just in case.

 

[fifasnipe2224]

I recently upgraded from 7 to 10. I was having a few BSOD issues in 7 and was hoping 10 would help. Sadly not.
I ran WhoCrashed and I keep having crashed in relation to 'ntkrnlmp.exe', 'ntdll.sys', and 'DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL'.

 

[RGM79]

I recently upgraded from 7 to 10. I was having a few BSOD issues in 7 and was hoping 10 would help. Sadly not.
I ran WhoCrashed and I keep having crashed in relation to 'ntkrnlmp.exe', 'ntdll.sys', and 'DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL'.

Sounds like hardware and/or driver issues. Does there seem to be any kind of pattern or any link to anything you might be doing on the PC?

 

[anthn]

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.

I don't think this is correct. Afaik, OEM is tied to so many part swaps and retail is whatever you please and is not tied to hardware.

Regardless, a major hardware change will probably make you have to call MS and go through the automated thing. A minor hassle.

 

[fifasnipe2224]

Sounds like hardware and/or driver issues. Does there seem to be any kind of pattern or any link to anything you might be doing on the PC?

Thats the thing. No pattern at all.
Even more frustrating since I changed RAM and upgraded my OS.

 

[manfestival]

I am currently running my new computer. Super stoked about everything. Having some funky issues with getting the driver for my AMD up and running (software just goes to downloaded and I get prompted with nothing) so I will be running full speed once that it resolved

 

[fifasnipe2224]

Sounds like hardware and/or driver issues. Does there seem to be any kind of pattern or any link to anything you might be doing on the PC?

Now that I think of it, it mostly happens when I play Star Wars Battlefront.
I can happen after 3 hours of play or even just after 5 minutes of play.

 

[knitoe]

Now that I think of it, it mostly happens when I play Star Wars Battlefront.
I can happen after 3 hours of play or even just after 5 minutes of play.

Can you post your hardware? Anything overclock, whether manually or factory?

 

[fifasnipe2224]

Can you post your hardware? Anything overclock, whether manually or factory?

The crashes mostly happen when I play Star Wars Battlefront. It can happen after 3 hours of play or even just after 5 minutes of play. No blue screens from games like CSGO, Gary's Mod, TF2, or Awesomenauts.
I ran WhoCrashed and I keep having Blue Screens in relation to 'ntkrnlmp.exe', 'ntdll.sys', and 'DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL'.
Specs:
CPU: i7-960 @ 3.20GHz
RAM: 8GB DDR3 @ 530MHz
MoBo: EVGA X58 131-GT-E767
Graphics: GeForce GTX 980
Storage: SSD as C drive with OS. HDD as D drive for games and docs.
No overclocking.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

I am currently running my new computer. Super stoked about everything. Having some funky issues with getting the driver for my AMD up and running (software just goes to downloaded and I get prompted with nothing) so I will be running full speed once that it resolved

can't you manually download it off amd's website?

 

[knitoe]

The crashes mostly happen when I play Star Wars Battlefront. It can happen after 3 hours of play or even just after 5 minutes of play. No blue screens from games like CSGO, Gary's Mod, TF2, or Awesomenauts.
I ran WhoCrashed and I keep having Blue Screens in relation to 'ntkrnlmp.exe', 'ntdll.sys', and 'DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL'.
Specs:
CPU: i7-960 @ 3.20GHz
RAM: 8GB DDR3 @ 530MHz
MoBo: EVGA X58 131-GT-E767
Graphics: GeForce GTX 980
Storage: SSD as C drive with OS. HDD as D drive for games and docs.
No overclocking.

What is the manufacturer ID and model of your GTX and SSD?

 

[Lourio]

Looking to upgrade my video card, currently running a 550 TI. What do you guys think would be the best video card I can get for my system? I would like to maximize my PCIe x16 Gen 2 slot.

 

[Pakkidis]

Need some help here.

Seems my win 8.1 is no longer reading my seagate HD. It use to detect it in the bios but not anymore. Is there any option to recover my files from the hd?

DO NOT BUY SEAGATE HARD DRIVES... they have the highest failure rate Lesson learned.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[luffeN]

Hi guys. I bought the Asus PB287Q and I think working with it with 4 windows will be fine, but I would like to play Rocket League on high at 60 FPS 4K. I have a GTX 970 and an i5-2500K. Would a CPU upgrade to an i5-6600K help much?

 

[fifasnipe2224]

What is the manufacturer ID and model of your GTX and SSD?

The 980 is by PNY. ID: 10DE-13C0
The SSD is by Crucial: CT512MX100SSD1

 

[batman2million]

So I'm going to start building my new rig. Gonna buy everything but the video card and use my 780 until the next gen nvidia cards come out.

Question is, will i7-920 to an i7 6700k make a difference in gaming? I've OC'd the 920 to 3.4 but can't seem to push more out of it.

 

[Kezen]

So I'm going to start building my new rig. Gonna buy everything but the video card and use my 780 until the next gen nvidia cards come out.

Question is, will i7-920 to an i7 6700k make a difference in gaming? I've OC'd the 920 to 3.4 but can't seem to push more out of it.

Yes, you can expect significant performance improvements in CPU bound games.

 

[MarineMountie]

Sorry if this isn't the right thread, but I have a question about monitors.

Mine has finally shit the bed. I have a EVGA 780ti and 4770k i7 with 16GB RAM. What monitor would you guys recommend for under $500? Thanks!

 

[LilJoka]

So I'm going to start building my new rig. Gonna buy everything but the video card and use my 780 until the next gen nvidia cards come out.

Question is, will i7-920 to an i7 6700k make a difference in gaming? I've OC'd the 920 to 3.4 but can't seem to push more out of it.

What stepping of i7 920? The C0 averages 3.6Ghz, the D0 averages 4Ghz. And what Vcore?

I think you will see a fair improvement on the minimum fps with the newer CPUs paired with mid range or higher GPUs.

Need some help here.

Seems my win 8.1 is no longer reading my seagate HD. It use to detect it in the bios but not anymore. Is there any option to recover my files from the hd?

DO NOT BUY SEAGATE HARD DRIVES... they have the highest failure rate Lesson learned.

Any help would be appreciated.

Normally its game over if the BIOS cant see it.

Hi guys. I bought the Asus PB287Q and I think working with it with 4 windows will be fine, but I would like to play Rocket League on high at 60 FPS 4K. I have a GTX 970 and an i5-2500K. Would a CPU upgrade to an i5-6600K help much?

Check the CPU usage whilst playing at 4K, if its not near 100%, its not going to help. You should overclock the 2500K though.

Looking to upgrade my video card, currently running a 550 TI. What do you guys think would be the best video card I can get for my system? I would like to maximize my PCIe x16 Gen 2 slot.

Exactly what is your system specs? Monitor res? What are you looking to play?

 

[Yoshichan]

Guys, I want to transfer over 5000 pictures from one laptop to a stationary computer.

What's the absolute best way of doing this? I started with USB but that shit would take me like 2 days just transferring back and forth :_:

 

[LilJoka]

Guys, I want to transfer over 5000 pictures from one laptop to a stationary computer.

What's the absolute best way of doing this? I started with USB but that shit would take me like 2 days just transferring back and forth :_:

Connect an Ethernet cable between the 2 machines. Then share the folder on the network, add Everyone as the user to share too. Disable password protected sharing on the PC with the Photos (its in advanced sharing options in Network ans Sharing center).
Then browse on the receiving computer to explorer->Network, you should see your other PC listed, click it and inside you shall see the shared folder. Copy the files over.

 

[Yoshichan]

Connect an Ethernet cable between the 2 machines. Then share the folder on the network, add Everyone as the user to share too. Disable password protected sharing on the PC with the Photos (its in advanced sharing options in Network ans Sharing center).
Then browse on the receiving computer to explorer->Network, you should see your other PC listed, click it and inside you shall see the shared folder. Copy the files over.

I love you, thank you!!!

 

[Neil_J_UK]

Soooo I'm looking to build a whole new PC in the next couple of weeks. I currently have it down to:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/JbfQmG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/JbfQmG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£197.92 @ More Computers)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£132.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£83.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£112.27 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive (£70.64 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX Video Card (£589.98 @ Aria PC)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case (£69.64 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1425.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-22 17:29 GMT+0000

That's pretty much maxing my budget out. Any recommended changes before I go ahead? I keep changing my mind on the mobo/980 ti (between asus or MSI)

 

[Lourio]

Exactly what is your system specs? Monitor res? What are you looking to play?

It's a Dell Precision T7500 Workstation
Intel Xeon E5520 @ 2.27GHz
10 GB DDR3 @ 1333 MHz
Intel 5520 chipset
Gigabyte GeForce 550 TI 1 GB

I was just given a 24' LG Flatron W2442PA screen that I'll be installing this week. In terms of games, It's mainly to have R6: Siege running at a smoother fps/higher graphics setup. I also play CS:GO, but I play with everything on low.

 

[RGM79]

Need some help here.

Seems my win 8.1 is no longer reading my seagate HD. It use to detect it in the bios but not anymore. Is there any option to recover my files from the hd?

DO NOT BUY SEAGATE HARD DRIVES... they have the highest failure rate Lesson learned.

Any help would be appreciated.

Is it still detected in the BIOS? Seagate has some diagnostic tools, but I'd imagine they only work if they can detect the hard drive.

Hi guys. I bought the Asus PB287Q and I think working with it with 4 windows will be fine, but I would like to play Rocket League on high at 60 FPS 4K. I have a GTX 970 and an i5-2500K. Would a CPU upgrade to an i5-6600K help much?

Rocket League has extremely light requirements. You may notice an improvement in framerate, but your existing processor is more than enough to handle it. Does it feel like the CPU is bottlenecking the game? If you think you really need higher performance, I'd suggest overclocking your i5 2500K rather than replacing it.

 

[FLAguy954]

Have any of you seen this yet?

It's a video from Digital Foundry about how a i3-6100 with a 4.4 GHz BCLK overclock fares against the Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, and Haswell K i5 processors (all at stock). The results are surprisingly nice.

 

[LilJoka]

It's a Dell Precision T7500 Workstation
Intel Xeon E5520 @ 2.27GHz
10 GB DDR3 @ 1333 MHz
Intel 5520 chipset
Gigabyte GeForce 550 TI 1 GB

I was just given a 24' LG Flatron W2442PA screen that I'll be installing this week. In terms of games, It's mainly to have R6: Siege running at a smoother fps/higher graphics setup. I also play CS:GO, but I play with everything on low.

Open the PC up and find out what Power Supply is installed, there should be a sticker on the side of it with all the specs, post a photo of it.

Depending on budget and power supply situation, something like a GTX 750Ti, or maybe in the GTX 960 range of GPU could work. GTX 970 otherwise.

Have any of you seen this yet?

It's a video from Digital Foundry about how a i3-6100 with a 4.4 GHz BCLK overclock fares against the Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, and Haswell K i5 processors (all at stock). The results are surprisingly nice.

Yes, this is the new G3258, we just need more boards to support it, only the SuperMicro Server board does so far afaik. But last i heard, both AsRock and Asus had it working.

 

[luffeN]

Rocket League has extremely light requirements. You may notice an improvement in framerate, but your existing processor is more than enough to handle it. Does it feel like the CPU is bottlenecking the game? If you think you really need higher performance, I'd suggest overclocking your i5 2500K rather than replacing it.

My i5 is overclocked to 4.2, but when I play with everything on and high quality / high, the PC definitely struggles to maintain 60 fps. I then tried with everything set to performance and no FXAA and some effects off and it works. The game looks "totally" different now, but it is smooth. Next time I will try to play 1080p borderless with everything on high again, but not sure if I want the extra bells and whistles anymore.

I generally struggle with if I should keep the monitor or not. I think that a 32 inch with 4K would be more ideal for working, but I can use my Benq monitor as a second monitor if I want to play with 120hz/fps (granted, Rocket League does not officially support 120). But then there is the problem with the setup and how to sit in front of it with keyboard and mouse in a comfortable position etc. The more I think and talk about it, the more I sound like a snob #firstworldproblems. Gonna try some setups tomorrow while working and will decide after Christmas if I want to send it back or not.

But thanks for the replies so far!

Edit: I read that DP 1.3 will solve all my needs, meaning 4K and 144Hz, but this would in turn require Pascal and a new monitor. I guess both things will be released by the end of next year, so there is another struggle with playing the 1080p 24 inch game one more year or not.

 

[Gav47]

My video card drivers have been crashing (nvlddmkm.sys has stopped responding) and bsoding my PC since I upgraded my motherboard and cpu on Friday. At first I thought it was Windows 8.1 but I just did a fresh install of 7 on a spare drive and its happening there as well. If you look at the furmark results in the image below you can see the card will preform fine for a few minutes before performance degrades and then returns to normal, this repeats until the system either hard locks or bsod. The memory controller load seems strange as well. It will also occasionally hard lock when opening videos with MPC.

I can't figure out what could have happen to the four hours it took to change the motherboard that would be causing this. Could it be a problem with the psi, gpu or motherboard?

 

[Lourio]

Open the PC up and find out what Power Supply is installed, there should be a sticker on the side of it with all the specs, post a photo of it.

Depending on budget and power supply situation, something like a GTX 750Ti, or maybe in the GTX 960 range of GPU could work. GTX 970 otherwise.
.

1100W PSU. Link to picture.

Budget is a definite issue. Looks like a 2GB 750 Ti would be 'affordable'.

 

[Kade]

I'm thinking about getting some new PC stuff on Boxing Day this Saturday and had a few inquiries.

One of the upgrades I've been eyeing for a while is a 144hz 2560x1440 monitor. With my current setup (i5 4690K @ 3.5Ghz, GTX 970 4GB, 8GB of RAM), I can run games fine at 1080p 60fps so I wanted to know if anyone with a similar setup or better knowledge than myself knows if it'll still run things at roughly the same performance or am I going to have to make significant compromises to maintain 60FPS or above.

Second inquiry is about PSUs. I've been using the same 500W PSU that came with my Antec Sonata 500 case for the past 7.5 years. I haven't really had any issues but it's obviously a very old PSU and I have noticed that my PC has started to run pretty loud with some games. I'm also not sure if this thing is going to survive any more upgrades. Would a 100W jump be sufficient or should I play it safe and get a higher watt PSU?

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

My video card drivers have been crashing (nvlddmkm.sys has stopped responding) and bsoding my PC since I upgraded my motherboard and cpu on Friday. At first I thought it was Windows 8.1 but I just did a fresh install of 7 on a spare drive and its happening there as well. If you look at the furmark results in the image below you can see the card will preform fine for a few minutes before performance degrades and then returns to normal, this repeats until the system either hard locks or bsod. The memory controller load seems strange as well. It will also occasionally hard lock when opening videos with MPC.



I can't figure out what could have happen to the four hours it took to change the motherboard that would be causing this. Could it be a problem with the psi, gpu or motherboard?

http://www.wintips.org/fix-display-driver-stopped-responding-and-has-recovered-bsod-0x00000116/#increase-gpu-processing

Though it does sound like a hardware issue. Did you update your motherboard bios?

 

[LilJoka]

1100W PSU. Link to picture.

Budget is a definite issue. Looks like a 2GB 750 Ti would be 'affordable'.

Ok well 1100W PSU would let you run any GPU, so depending on budget as you say, the 750Ti is nice. You may want to have a look at some benchmarks to see if it satisfies your graphics settings demands and fps performance.

 

[LilJoka]

I'm thinking about getting some new PC stuff on Boxing Day this Saturday and had a few inquiries.

One of the upgrades I've been eyeing for a while is a 144hz 2560x1440 monitor. With my current setup (i5 4690K @ 3.5Ghz, GTX 970 4GB, 8GB of RAM), I can run games fine at 1080p 60fps so I wanted to know if anyone with a similar setup or better knowledge than myself knows if it'll still run things at roughly the same performance or am I going to have to make significant compromises to maintain 60FPS or above. Pre-warning, yes you are going to have to make some sacrifices, game dependent.

Second inquiry is about PSUs. I've been using the same 500W PSU that came with my Antec Sonata 500 case for the past 7.5 years. I haven't really had any issues but it's obviously a very old PSU and I have noticed that my PC has started to run pretty loud with some games. I'm also not sure if this thing is going to survive any more upgrades. Would a 100W jump be sufficient or should I play it safe and get a higher watt PSU?

You have an nvidia card, enable Dynamic Super Resolution in the 3D Setting in the Nvidia control panel.
You should see the 1440p or close to that resolution in your games. Test it out, see how it performs yourself.

600W is enough, 500W quality PSU is also enough, need the model number of yours. You do get capacitor aging, wjhich reduces the peak output, but generally the stability of the 12v rail is still ok. So just having an old PSU isnt enough to buy a new one.

If something is loud, stick your ear in the PC and try to work out what it is, fee free to unplug fans while you are there to check if you found the cause. Nothing will overheat immediately.

 

[Lourio]

Thanks for your help Joka, greatly appreciated.

 

[manfestival]

Big thanks to rgm. Fired up my computer last night. It's a day and night difference in performance. The speed is unreal from the cpu and ssd. The performance in games has improved significantly too.

 

[Kade]

You have an nvidia card, enable Dynamic Super Resolution in the 3D Setting in the Nvidia control panel.
You should see the 1440p or close to that resolution in your games. Test it out, see how it performs yourself.

600W is enough, 500W quality PSU is also enough, need the model number of yours. You do get capacitor aging, wjhich reduces the peak output, but generally the stability of the 12v rail is still ok. So just having an old PSU isnt enough to buy a new one.

If something is loud, stick your ear in the PC and try to work out what it is, fee free to unplug fans while you are there to check if you found the cause. Nothing will overheat immediately.

Thanks for the quick response.

EDIT: The PSU is an Antec Earthwatts EA-500.

 

[Lakershead22]

Hello everyone,

I am in the market for a gaming PC and I was wondering what could be a machine that can play at high to max settings at a lower resolution such as 1400x900? Thanks for your help.

[Basic Desktop Questions]
Your Current Specs: Basic Windows 10 PC for Genral Usage only
Budget: $800-1000. USA

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

Monitor Resolution: I will be playing my games at a 1400x900 resolution. I am currently happy with my monitor so I don't see myself upgrading any time soon.

Games that I would like to run well are all the latest (like Witcher 3) and upcoming games and 30FPS is fine but would not be opposed to 60 FPS. I don't know anything about PhysX/SuperSampling/ CUDA so I don't know how important that is to me.

I want to get this for my birthday so anywhere around January or Februrary.

I don't know what overclocking means or the benefits so I am unsure about wether or not I would be.

 

[Gav47]

Though it does sound like a hardware issue. Did you update your motherboard bios?

Yeah I did, think I'll stick in the old MB in after Christmas and if none of the problems show up on it I'll RMA the new

 

[RGM79]

My i5 is overclocked to 4.2, but when I play with everything on and high quality / high, the PC definitely struggles to maintain 60 fps. I then tried with everything set to performance and no FXAA and some effects off and it works. The game looks "totally" different now, but it is smooth. Next time I will try to play 1080p borderless with everything on high again, but not sure if I want the extra bells and whistles anymore.

I generally struggle with if I should keep the monitor or not. I think that a 32 inch with 4K would be more ideal for working, but I can use my Benq monitor as a second monitor if I want to play with 120hz/fps (granted, Rocket League does not officially support 120). But then there is the problem with the setup and how to sit in front of it with keyboard and mouse in a comfortable position etc. The more I think and talk about it, the more I sound like a snob #firstworldproblems. Gonna try some setups tomorrow while working and will decide after Christmas if I want to send it back or not.

But thanks for the replies so far!

Edit: I read that DP 1.3 will solve all my needs, meaning 4K and 144Hz, but this would in turn require Pascal and a new monitor. I guess both things will be released by the end of next year, so there is another struggle with playing the 1080p 24 inch game one more year or not.

Well, it sounds like you'll need more research. That and it's the GTX 970 holding back things because it's not exactly ideal for 4K gaming.

I'm thinking about getting some new PC stuff on Boxing Day this Saturday and had a few inquiries.

One of the upgrades I've been eyeing for a while is a 144hz 2560x1440 monitor. With my current setup (i5 4690K @ 3.5Ghz, GTX 970 4GB, 8GB of RAM), I can run games fine at 1080p 60fps so I wanted to know if anyone with a similar setup or better knowledge than myself knows if it'll still run things at roughly the same performance or am I going to have to make significant compromises to maintain 60FPS or above.

Second inquiry is about PSUs. I've been using the same 500W PSU that came with my Antec Sonata 500 case for the past 7.5 years. I haven't really had any issues but it's obviously a very old PSU and I have noticed that my PC has started to run pretty loud with some games. I'm also not sure if this thing is going to survive any more upgrades. Would a 100W jump be sufficient or should I play it safe and get a higher watt PSU?

A new PSU is definitely recommended, especially if you want to overclock now or in the future. How much are you thinking of spending? For less than $100 it's easy to find a quality power supply with up to 850 watts and perhaps modular cables, but 600~650 watts will more than suffice for your needs.

Big thanks to rgm. Fired up my computer last night. It's a day and night difference in performance. The speed is unreal from the cpu and ssd. The performance in games has improved significantly too.

Enjoy your new PC! We were glad to help.

Hello everyone,

I am in the market for a gaming PC and I was wondering what could be a machine that can play at high to max settings at a lower resolution such as 1400x900? Thanks for your help.

[Basic Desktop Questions]
Your Current Specs: Basic Windows 10 PC for Genral Usage only
Budget: $800-1000. USA

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

Monitor Resolution: I will be playing my games at a 1400x900 resolution. I am currently happy with my monitor so I don't see myself upgrading any time soon.

Games that I would like to run well are all the latest (like Witcher 3) and upcoming games and 30FPS is fine but would not be opposed to 60 FPS. I don't know anything about PhysX/SuperSampling/ CUDA so I don't know how important that is to me.

I want to get this for my birthday so anywhere around January or Februrary.

I don't know what overclocking means or the benefits so I am unsure about wether or not I would be.

At just 1440x900, it should be very easy for an R9 390 or GTX 970 to give you relatively high if not maximum settings at 60FPS. It may even be possible for a R9 380 or GTX 960 to give you that performance, but I'm not sure seeing as 1440x900 is not a common resolution for review sites to test graphics cards at.

Edit: you say you already have a basic PC, will you be keeping that separate or are you going to bring over parts from it (hard drive, etc) to the new computer? Here's an example parts list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($124.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($303.06 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($56.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $931.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-22 19:07 EST-0500

 

[statham]

whatsa good update for a 7850 GPU, I rather not change my PSU and figure something around 150 watts would be perfect. recommendations? I don't need a powerhouse, just something more future proof then 7850(which can still play most of what I want)

 

[opticalmace]

whatsa good update for a 7850 GPU, I rather not change my PSU and figure something around 150 watts would be perfect. recommendations? I don't need a powerhouse, just something more future proof then 7850(which can still play most of what I want)

What's your budget and what are the specs of the rest of your system?

 

[statham]

What's your budget and what are the specs of the rest of your system?

200ish, AMD 8320 OC to 4.0 can push it to 4.5 if need too, have a good cooler, 8GB memory, 500 watt PSU

 

[Erebus]

My cousin asked me to look into some new PC parts to upgrade her aging (and dying) rig which is still an LGA775 Q6600 setup.

She uses her PC for gaming (mainly L4D2 and The Sims, nothing too cutting-edge here) and then some pretty basic stuff like Word, web surfing and occasionally Photoshop. Her budget is about 350-400€ for a new CPU, mobo and RAM.
She will keep and re-use the current PSU, HDDs and graphics card for now.

I looked into the OP lists and decided to go with the latest socket (1151) because the price difference between the 6600K and the 4690K is negligible where I live.

Thing is by following the OP, I'm well over the budget by more than €100.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (€275)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (€35)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€175)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€50)

Total: €535

Are there any cheaper alternatives for motherboards?

 

[knitoe]

The 980 is by PNY. ID: 10DE-13C0
The SSD is by Crucial: CT512MX100SSD1

Google the SSD and random BSOD shows some results. Check for a possible firmware update.

One result suggestion was:
Go to Device Manager. Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.
Right-click on the Intel Chipset SATA driver.
Click Update Driver Software.
Click 'Browse my Computer for Driver Software'.
Click 'Let me pick from a list of Device Drivers on my Computer'.
Choose the Standard AHCI Driver (provided from Microsoft). Reboot system.
Test Windows Update Functionality.

 

[RGM79]

My cousin asked me to look into some new PC parts to upgrade her aging (and dying) rig which is still an LGA775 Q6600 setup.

She uses her PC for gaming (mainly L4D2 and The Sims, nothing too cutting-edge here) and then some pretty basic stuff like Word, web surfing and occasionally Photoshop. Her budget is about 350-400€ for a new CPU, mobo and RAM.
She will keep and re-use the current PSU, HDDs and graphics card for now.

I looked into the OP lists and decided to go with the latest socket (1151) because the price difference between the 6600K and the 4690K is negligible where I live.

Thing is by following the OP, I'm well over the budget by more than €100.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (€275)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (€35)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€175)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€50)

Total: €535

Are there any cheaper alternatives for motherboards?

What country are you in? If she's not savvy enough to need the processor to be overclockable, look for a non-K model processor. Also while you say Skylake and Haswell cost the same, have you considered how much the motherboard and RAM cost? Also, what RAM does she have, and in what configuration? If it's DDR3, you could go with Haswell which will allow her to reuse the RAM and that will save some money as well.

 

[Freiya]

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.



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.

I used a student key for win 8 and upgraded it to 10. Some time after that my cpu blew out and I ended up replacing mobo and cpu. My copy of win 10 worked perfectly without even reinstalling. I did have to put my key in again though.

 

[CharpyImpact]

Hi All,

I am coming up on the three year anniversary of my computer build, and that means everything needs to come crashing down.

For the past 6 months, I have been sent my video card, the Gigabyte 7970, in for 2 RMAs, only to have them not work properly, or at least I perceive it to be the video cards problem. When booting windows I get the following screens. When booting, I get the one with the red vertical lines going down my screen and then it just goes to a black screen or variant of that and just dead ends there: Pictures here

When I try the integrated graphics card, it doesn't have this problem. I even tried to run my pc on my friend's GTX 460, and it runs. Is my diagnosis probably right that it is the video card? Could it be a power issue? I have a Seasonic 80Plus Power Supply M12II 620 BRONZE.

I am just about to reach the end of the my three year warranty (less than 30 days left) and I am a little reluctant to pay to send it in again if this just keeps happening since I have already spent about 60 to 70 dollars on shipping. Any suggestions here? Should I just throw in the towel and get a new card?

Any help would be appreciated.

Help needed again. Today, i got back the Gigabyte 280X as a refurbished replacement for my Gigabyte 7970. I am again running into issues, making this the potential 4th RMA experience. I was able to play dota 2 fine when I didn't stress the card at all, having everything on pretty low settings; however, once I put everything to highest quality, I get this happening: http://imgur.com/a/AjraQ

Is there something I am missing here? Could it be another component, like the Seasonic M12II 620W not providing enough power (despite the suggestion being 600 W), or is Gigabyte not handling the repair of their units correctly? Again, when I use my friend's older nvidia card (GTX 460), everything works fine.