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[CISphil]

Did you just use passmark as a stress test? As thats not really a stress test. Try X264 bench, realbench, or Aida64 stress tests.
The issue is just not enough Vcore, just bump up your offset value to give more vcore. Just keep an eye on temps. Telling us your actual load vcore in CPUZ would help.

Nice on on the 970, but offsets mean nothing when every card has different base clocks, tell us the clocks as seen in nvidia inspector or MSI AB when in game. Im guessing thats around 1400Mhz core, and 3900Mhz mem.

Little late replying to this, sorry. Yeah I only used passmark. It was what I was recommended but I'll go ahead and try out the ones you suggested instead and see what happens. I'm debating leaving it at 4.2Ghz but I do have the rest of the week off so maybe I'll go back and play around a little more.

And yeah, pretty much spot on with your guess. Here's an image of both my CPU and GPU under about 70% load from Rainbow Six.

 

[mkenyon]

I would call it at least debatable whether a i5 6600K is better than a i7 6700. Also changing it to a larger form factor seems... well a bit of an apples to oranges comparison. But just to get back to my initial point again, it does not seem that awful a value compared to other pre-built systems. I simply took a bit of an issue with calling it "awful" value as that seems a bit sensationalist language and wanted to point that out. But granted, if you were to take potential issues like a lack of cooling or operating noise into account this might still be an apt choice of word(s). But just by specs, which was what you initially pointed out, I feel you used way too harsh language.

Yeah, you're probably right. I should have said, "the $2200 ASUS bundle is not very good value, and the rest are awful".

But hyperthreading on a 4.0GHz processor is definitely not better than no hyperthreading at 4.5GHz.

The rest of the systems are 2.7GHz i5s.

 

[Hazaro]

Yeah, you're probably right. I should have said, "the $2200 ASUS bundle is not very good value, and the rest are awful".

But hyperthreading on a 4.0GHz processor is definitely not better than no hyperthreading at 4.5GHz.

The rest of the systems are 2.7GHz i5s.

6400 Turbo's to 3.3Ghz (Base 2.7) though vs 6600K 3.5 -> 3.9Ghz Turbo. It's still not what I'd like to put in, especially at that pricepoint.

Haven't read the rest of the chat but it's worth keeping in mind the 6700 has a 3.4 ghz base clock, vs. the 4 ghz on the 6700K model.

Yeah one of the nicer points about going for the i7 this time around... still so much more expensive.

 

[opticalmace]

Yeah, you're probably right. I should have said, "the $2200 ASUS bundle is not very good value, and the rest are awful".

But hyperthreading on a 4.0GHz processor is definitely not better than no hyperthreading at 4.5GHz.

The rest of the systems are 2.7GHz i5s.

Haven't read the rest of the chat but it's worth keeping in mind the 6700 has a 3.4 ghz base clock, vs. the 4 ghz on the 6700K model.

 

[Ezalc]

Oh, there's no point in translating the prices into their USD equivalent. You don't need to do that. If the retailer you're buying from has a website, just link that.

No, I don't understand what model of motherboard that is. Gigabyte makes five different 8 series motherboards (H81, B85, H87, Q87, and Z87 chipsets) and at least one mini ITX model for each chipset, and all of them use DDR3. A model number would be good, like "GA-Z97N-WIFI" or similar.

Oh, if the price makes sense for the RAM, then go for it. Make sure the motherboard supports 1866MHz though, otherwise it'll just run the RAM at 1333 or 1600MHz instead.

Decided to change a few things, check it out:

Motherboard
GPU
CPU
RAM
Case
Power supply
Hard drive

 

[QuantumSquid]

RGM helped me get a 4460/970 build for a great price a few weeks back, so I thought I would create a best-bang-for-your-buck build of my own. It's not the cheapest build possible with these specifications, but that's only because I wanted to choose reputable manufacturers for important components like the power supply, motherboard and GPU. So, without further ado...

Do YOU need a new PC? Do YOU only have a budget of $700-800 (not including the cost of an operating system, monitor, or keyboard/mouse)?

Then boy have I got the PCPartPicker list for you!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card ($303.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $735.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-16 19:36 EST-0500

That's right, a quad-core i5-4460 / Radeon R9 390 build for under $750, at least at the time of this posting!

Not only is this build affordable considering the power of the components inside it, but it will also be super easy to put together for a beginner thanks to the Corsair 100R case having thumbscrew slide-off side panels, toolless hard drive bays, and pre-installed motherboard standoffs! Give it a look if you're in the market, I can guarantee it will easily handle whatever games you want to play at 1080p, and even some at 1440p.

 

[Jakoavain]

I've looked into upgrading my rig a little bit. I'm running a 3550k with a GTX 670 OC at the moment, memory at 16 GB. Can I survive with just dropping in a GTX 970/whatever is the favored GPU?

 

[opticalmace]

I've looked into upgrading my rig a little bit. I'm running a 3550k with a GTX 670 OC at the moment, memory at 16 GB. Can I survive with just dropping in a GTX 970/whatever is the favored GPU?

Yup. And OC your CPU if you haven't already.

 

[Jakoavain]

Yup. And OC your CPU if you haven't already.

Thanks. OC'd my CPU a while back so that would last enough.

While we're on the topic, what's the situation with the next generation of NVIDIA's? It's been a while since 9XX series came out.

 

[DirtyLarry]

Absolutely awful value.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX200 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($117.99 @ Directron)
Total: $880.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-16 17:15 EST-0500

Thanks for taking the time to do this, but especially since you did, I wouldn't really call it an awful value.

Unless I am missing something, you left out a GPU, which the one it comes with I see going for $500 give or take.
So with that, it is $1380

Also it includes Oculus, which is $629 including shipping.
That is $2009

They also throw in an Asus keyboard and mouse, which lets say $25 rounding it all off to $2034

So yes, one does not know the motherboard that is included, but it looks like an Asus based on the heatsinks in the picture, but who knows for sure.
Also who knows the brand of Ram, so yeah, there is that.
But awful is a bit harsh no?
The Amazon deal is a $2199 so that is a $165 difference, and it does include Windows (granted 10 Home), a Warranty, and it is already built.
So a $165 difference, and we are not including Windows and time spent in the total price, is not what I would call awful myself.

With the above said, I do not like taking chances on stuff like what kind of motherboard and RAM is included, and since I can find no concrete information on either, I will just be building my own come May or June. I am guessing it is an Asus H170 Motherboard, or at least based on it, which is a slightly lower end motherboard.

Thanks again. We disagreed on the definition of awful, but you did convince me not knowing the exact components is something I am not a fan of at all.

 

[Hazaro]

RGM helped me get a 4460/970 build for a great price a few weeks back, so I thought I would create a best-bang-for-your-buck build of my own. It's not the cheapest build possible with these specifications, but that's only because I wanted to choose reputable manufacturers for important components like the power supply, motherboard and GPU. So, without further ado...

Do YOU need a new PC? Do YOU only have a budget of $700-800 (not including the cost of an operating system, monitor, or keyboard/mouse)?

Then boy have I got the PCPartPicker list for you!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card ($303.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $735.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-16 19:36 EST-0500

That's right, a quad-core i5-4460 / Radeon R9 390 build for under $750, at least at the time of this posting!

Not only is this build affordable considering the power of the components inside it, but it will also be super easy to put together for a beginner thanks to the Corsair 100R case having thumbscrew slide-off side panels, toolless hard drive bays, and pre-installed motherboard standoffs! Give it a look if you're in the market, I can guarantee it will easily handle whatever games you want to play at 1080p, and even some at 1440p.

such value

Thanks for taking the time to do this, but especially since you did, I wouldn't really call it an awful value.

Unless I am missing something, you left out a GPU, which the one it comes with I see going for $500 give or take.
So with that, it is $1380

Also it includes Oculus, which is $629 including shipping.
That is $2009

They also throw in an Asus keyboard and mouse, which lets say $25 rounding it all off to $2034

So yes, one does not know the motherboard that is included, but it looks like an Asus based on the heatsinks in the picture, but who knows for sure.
Also who knows the brand of Ram, so yeah, there is that.
But awful is a bit harsh no?
The Amazon deal is a $2199 so that is a $165 difference, and it does include Windows (granted 10 Home), a Warranty, and it is already built.
So a $165 difference, and we are not including Windows and time spent in the total price, is not what I would call awful myself.

With the above said, I do not like taking chances on stuff like what kind of motherboard and RAM is included, and since I can find no concrete information on either, I will just be building my own come May or June. I am guessing it is an Asus H170 Motherboard, or at least based on it, which is a slightly lower end motherboard.

Thanks again. We disagreed on the definition of awful, but you did convince me not knowing the exact components is something I am not a fan of at all.

tl;dr is that a 6600K or higher and a 980 or higher is pretty important for VR and the ASUS has lower than both. And I've tried Vive/Oculus and own a 970 and 120Hz monitor.

 

[sfried]

I'm thinking about putting my money down on the R9 Nano now...

The trouble is...how likely is it that another price drop will occur?

Also of note: I was originally going to get this DDR4 2400 RAM from G.Skill (Ripjaws) but is now out of stock. I saw a very similar DDR4 2800 RAM abeit with a slightly higher voltage. I'm not sure if the extra voltage is worth the boost in frequency or not, because for all that I know frequency doesn't seem to make much of a difference unless you're overclocking, and I ain't planning on overclocking.

 

[kennah]

Side bar - the oculus is entertainingly juddery on my 670 with 3770. Needs so much power.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

First, major shout out to RGM for lending a hand previously in this thread and in PM's. Huge help!

Now, I'm one step away from helping my friend finalize this order. 8GB DDR3 ADATA sticks were on the order before, but they've been discontinued so if anyone could pliss recommend a replacement, that'd be greatly appreciated!

Here's the build:

 

[RGM79]

Here is the motherboard I'm looking at buying.

It's also a general, amazon-like, site that I might buy some of the other parts from. I went to a few stores in my city and got them to make up a list with their prices, as well as from an acquaintance who has a computer hardware store himself. So depending on things I might just buy the parts piece by piece from various locations to get the best price.

Decided to change a few things, check it out:

Motherboard
GPU
CPU
RAM
Case
Power supply
Hard drive

I see, that motherboard seems to be okay, reviews are fine. Everything looks alright, I think.

I have Noctua NH D15 cooler. I putted the card in slot #3, and that did solve my problem.

Oh, okay. Good to hear you got that sorted out. I had to leave not long after I posted and I didn't realize I forgot to link the screenshot of your motherboard's manual showing PCI-E slot speed. Oh well.

Thanks for the response! Holy shit at the Kingston thing, that's pretty fucking ballsy.

Now, assuming I want to stay with my original case (I am going to be a bit stubborn on this because I really want that case), what would you recommend for an ATX board, or does it not matter if I put a MicroATX mobo in there? I know you can use MicroATX in a full case, but it is better to use an ATX board for any reason?

Also, even though liquid cooling isn't needed, I still want something beefier than a stock CPU cooler because my house gets very hot in the summer. What would you recommend?

Okay, I'll rework the build for that case, an ATX motherboard, and a decent but not overboard CPU cooler. You're right, no reason to stick with mATX if we're going with an ATX case. It'll look nicer and you'll get more open options and expandability in the future, even if you may not end up using it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $932.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-17 01:57 EST-0500

Hmm, it's still about $30 over budget due to some parts being more expensive and the additional cost of an aftermarket CPU cooler, but hopefully that's acceptable.

 

[RGM79]

Putting this in a separate post because it's getting too long.

Yeah, haven't bought the 980 ti yet.

Thanks for the opinions! Unfortunately I'm in Canada though, so those prices don't apply to me. You can use the .ca version of pcpartpicker if you want to see our prices, they run at about $900 CAD up here. The EVGA FTW edition would run about $30 less than the MSI gaming card here, would you recommend that over the MSI? The Windforce is slightly too big for my case though! Even if it wasn't too big, I value the semi-fanless mode on the MSI and EVGA quite a bit.

Oh, I didn't know you were in Canada. It's up to you if the $30 is worth saving. Both cards are about equal, most things considered.

RGM helped me get a 4460/970 build for a great price a few weeks back, so I thought I would create a best-bang-for-your-buck build of my own. It's not the cheapest build possible with these specifications, but that's only because I wanted to choose reputable manufacturers for important components like the power supply, motherboard and GPU. So, without further ado...

Do YOU need a new PC? Do YOU only have a budget of $700-800 (not including the cost of an operating system, monitor, or keyboard/mouse)?

Then boy have I got the PCPartPicker list for you!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card ($303.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $735.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-16 19:36 EST-0500

That's right, a quad-core i5-4460 / Radeon R9 390 build for under $750, at least at the time of this posting!

Not only is this build affordable considering the power of the components inside it, but it will also be super easy to put together for a beginner thanks to the Corsair 100R case having thumbscrew slide-off side panels, toolless hard drive bays, and pre-installed motherboard standoffs! Give it a look if you're in the market, I can guarantee it will easily handle whatever games you want to play at 1080p, and even some at 1440p.

Not bad, nice sales pitch, heh. I could recommend that MSI motherboard more often, but I usually end up skipping over it because it lacks frontal USB 3.0 support. The Seasonic power supply is good for quality, but the price is quite high. Just so you know, there are cheaper alternatives like XFX brand power supplies which are actually all manufactured by Seasonic and certain models of other brands like EVGA who also order their power supplies from Seasonic and Super Flower. This XFX 550 watt PSU (currently $56) has dropped to around ~$30 in the past and is a very, very good entry level PSU for the money. This EVGA GQ 650 watt power supply ($64) is also made by Seasonic and is semi-modular, so it's pretty much a match for that SSR-650RM model you picked but at a lower price after rebate. My usual go-to for recommendations is the EVGA B2 750 watt ($49 after $30 rebate) which is manufactured by Super Flower, a company considered to be one of the best alongside Seasonic. It's one of the best values for power supplies I can find.

First, major shout out to RGM for lending a hand previously in this thread and in PM's. Huge help!

Now, I'm one step away from helping my friend finalize this order. 8GB DDR3 ADATA sticks were on the order before, but they've been discontinued so if anyone could pliss recommend a replacement, that'd be greatly appreciated!

Here's the build:

Sorry for the late reply, I have a lot less free time now with new job and stuff. NCIX has this Kingston 1x8GB stick of RAM for $59, pricematch with Directcanada for $49.

 

[Aranath]

Just recently bought myself an Acer XB270HU monitor and I'm kind of wondering if I should upgrade my GPU to take full advantage of it.

I'm currently running a 780, which is mostly okay for 1440p, but even with G-Sync, some newer games are struggling a bit and I have to turn quite a few things down.

The Gigabyte G1 980ti just had a bit of a price drop here and my girlfriend is okay with the expenditure since we'll both be gaming on it, so I'm really considering the upgrade.

Any insight on whether it would be worth it? Or should I just deal with reduced settings for a few more months and wait for Pascal?

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

Sorry for the late reply, I have a lot less free time now with new job and stuff. NCIX has this Kingston 1x8GB stick of RAM for $59, pricematch with Directcanada for $49.

Ahh no problem, no apologies necessary :b

That RAM appears to be for the Canadian site and does not show up for the US site. Is this the equivalent?

 

[BorntoPlay]

Hey thanks I was actually considering that one but I think I found a better option that will allow room for my Ram without having to buy a new set of low profile ones.

what is the better option? Just curious...

 

[sfried]

I...I just bought the White R9 Nano. It was the same price as the regular R9 Nano ($499 - $20 rebate) from Newegg, and thought long and hard about whether or not I should have waited...

Suddenly all other (White) Nanos are $600 again.

 

[derFeef]

Guys I have a 27" monitor as my main monitor. I now want to have a second, smaller monitor - which I can place upright next to my main. What would be the best size for that?

 

[QuantumSquid]

Just recently bought myself an Acer XB270HU monitor and I'm kind of wondering if I should upgrade my GPU to take full advantage of it.

I'm currently running a 780, which is mostly okay for 1440p, but even with G-Sync, some newer games are struggling a bit and I have to turn quite a few things down.

The Gigabyte G1 980ti just had a bit of a price drop here and my girlfriend is okay with the expenditure since we'll both be gaming on it, so I'm really considering the upgrade.

Any insight on whether it would be worth it? Or should I just deal with reduced settings for a few more months and wait for Pascal?

It's not like Pascal will suddenly invalidate the power of a card like the 980Ti. If you can afford it, I would say go for it.

 

[Mikeside]

Guys I have a 27" monitor as my main monitor. I now want to have a second, smaller monitor - which I can place upright next to my main. What would be the best size for that?

http://www.htmart.com/16x9-screen-size-calculator.html


use 27" as your original diagonal size, this makes the monitor 13" tall
for a screen to match up on it's side, you want it 13" wide.
That means you want a 15" diagonal screen.

Sounds really small, so I might rethink it tbh.

 

[derFeef]

http://www.htmart.com/16x9-screen-size-calculator.html


use 27" as your original diagonal size, this makes the monitor 13" tall
for a screen to match up on it's side, you want it 13" wide.
That means you want a 15" diagonal screen.

Sounds really small, so I might rethink it tbh.

I guess that is true, thanks for that!

 

[RayStorm]

Guys I have a 27" monitor as my main monitor. I now want to have a second, smaller monitor - which I can place upright next to my main. What would be the best size for that?

Considering how Windows handles multi monitor environments the best would be to get a screen that has a similar ppi to your existing one. Due to Windows only taking into account the pixels and disregarding the size or he ppi otherwise moving your cursor between windows won't be that smooth of an experience sadly.

 

[derFeef]

Considering how Windows handles multi monitor environments the best would be to get a screen that has a similar ppi to your existing one. Due to Windows only taking into account the pixels and disregarding the size or he ppi otherwise moving your cursor between windows won't be that smooth of an experience sadly.

That's good to know, a fitting monitor will be hard to find now I guess. I should have bought a bigger desk

 

[RGM79]

Ahh no problem, no apologies necessary :b

That RAM appears to be for the Canadian site and does not show up for the US site. Is this the equivalent?

Bah, I'm getting mixed up a lot today. Here, try pricematching these two.

Crucial 1x8GB 1600MHz for $60 at NCIXUS, $31 elsewhere
Kingston HyperX Fury Red 1x8GB 1600MHz for $41 at NCIXUS, $37 elsewhere

 

[DirtyLarry]

tl;dr is that a 6600K or higher and a 980 or higher is pretty important for VR and the ASUS has lower than both. And I've tried Vive/Oculus and own a 970 and 120Hz monitor.

Perhaps people were confused as I also linked to the Asus general product page that lists all configurations, but the one I linked to on Amazon had a Intel core i7 6700 4.0 GHz (non-k) and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX980 graphics card. So it would appear the Asus bundle I linked to does meet both requirements.
It is the lack of not knowing what motherboard it comes with and what brand of RAM that bothers me the most, as honestly if it had them, I may have just called it a day, as overall $165 more is not really that much to me for a already built comes with warranty and includes Windows computer.
Also after looking at it some more, I do not like the constraints of the case and the limited upgrading options for the future. Especially not being able to SLi. My last build that is exactly what I did, went with one GPU initially, then about 18 months later got the same GPU and SLi'd it and had a nice enough performance bump for the next 18 months give or take.

So yep, the Asus does meet both of those specs. But as I said, I am going back to building my own.

Truth be told, it was listed on Kotaku from Kinja Deals, and I do like the idea of just buying a pre-built as this will personally be my 4th build (for myself, I have over 10 builds for friends and family) over the past 13 years and while I enjoy the process, I also find it to be a painful one. I have a bit of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder when I build computers, especially for myself. In particular I get overly obsessed with making sure the cords are all as hidden or as tidy as they can be. I will literally redo the same one cord or wire multiple times until I get it just right, so a build that may take someone 2 to 3 hours is guaranteed to take me at last double that amount because of this crazy obsession.

 

[bomblord1]

what is the better option? Just curious...

The GeminII
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103204

Has a cutout for the RAM slots (I have a MiniITX case so that is awesome) and it's lower form factor

I...I just bought the White R9 Nano. It was the same price as the regular R9 Nano ($499 - $20 rebate) from Newegg, and thought long and hard about whether or not I should have waited...

Suddenly all other (White) Nanos are $600 again.

Yea, I'm about to buy the r9 Nano so I've been watching the prices like a hawk and they've been fluctuating every few days from $600-$500 the only one that's really stayed constant is the black Sapphire model (Currently $479).

 

[Flaxh]

Hi guys! This is the PC I bought in June 2013 after getting your feedback:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($111.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($389.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus MX239H 23.0" Monitor ($182.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Microsoft ANB-00001 Wired Slim Keyboard ($10.99 @ Directron)
Mouse: SteelSeries Sensei Pro MLG Edition Wired Laser Mouse
Headphones: SteelSeries Siberia v2 Headset
Total: $1025.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-17 11:32 EST-0500

I'm still pretty happy with it but I'm considering some upgrades. A friend of mine wants to buy a new desktop and he's willing to buy some of my parts if I feel like upgrading. I'm not talking about a big overhaul but upgrades with decent value. What do you suggest?

For now Im thinking about selling my RAM for 35€ and buying this one "
KINGSTON PC3-14900 1866MHZ 16GB HYPERX SAVAGE RED CL9 (2X8GB) DDR3" for 95€ or the CL10 version that is 10€ cheaper. The only major upgrade is the GPU which I'll swap for the new xx70 Nvidia GPU so that I can keep up with the most demanding games and maybe try VR.

 

[RGM79]

Hi guys! This is the PC I bought in June 2013 after getting your feedback:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($111.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($389.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus MX239H 23.0" Monitor ($182.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Microsoft ANB-00001 Wired Slim Keyboard ($10.99 @ Directron)
Mouse: SteelSeries Sensei Pro MLG Edition Wired Laser Mouse
Headphones: SteelSeries Siberia v2 Headset
Total: $1025.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-17 11:32 EST-0500

I'm still pretty happy with it but I'm considering some upgrades. A friend of mine wants to buy a new desktop and he's willing to buy some of my parts if I feel like upgrading. I'm not talking about a big overhaul but upgrades with decent value. What do you suggest?

For now Im thinking about selling my RAM for 35€ and buying this one "
KINGSTON PC3-14900 1866MHZ 16GB HYPERX SAVAGE RED CL9 (2X8GB) DDR3" for 95€ or the CL10 version that is 10€ cheaper. The only major upgrade is the GPU which I'll swap for the new xx70 Nvidia GPU so that I can keep up with the most demanding games and maybe try VR.

What country are you in and where are you buying the RAM from?

 

[Flaxh]

What country are you in and where are you buying the RAM from?

Im from Portugal and this is the store: http://www.alientech.pt/product_info.php?products_id=26677&utm_source=kuantokusta&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=catalogo

 

[Thorgal]

somethings been on my mind today after my young nephew asked me the following question :

"So you can have 2 GPU's running together for increased performance , why can you not run 2 CPU's together for increased Processing power ?

i didn't know how to answer him .
It was something i never thought about actually .

now ive been wondering all day whether or not it is possible and if it is , why has no one tried it or capitalized on it ?

 

[bomblord1]

somethings been on my mind today after my young nephew asked me the following question :

"So you can have 2 GPU's running together for increased performance , why can you not run 2 CPU's together for increased Processing power ?

i didn't know how to answer him .
It was something i never thought about actually .

now ive been wondering all day whether or not it is possible and if it is , why has no one tried it or capitalized on it ?

Server Mobo's can have multiple CPU slots.

 

[Thorgal]

Server Mobo's can have multiple CPU slots.

ok , but why not in Mobo's in Home PCs ?

I mean like a branded CPU for gaming PC's .

 

[mkenyon]

somethings been on my mind today after my young nephew asked me the following question :

"So you can have 2 GPU's running together for increased performance , why can you not run 2 CPU's together for increased Processing power ?

i didn't know how to answer him .
It was something i never thought about actually .

now ive been wondering all day whether or not it is possible and if it is , why has no one tried it or capitalized on it ?

As noted above, there are a number of workstation and server boards that have multiple CPU sockets.

It's also worth noting, that there are 4 CPUs in a modern i5, and up to 8 in a modern i7. "Cores" are more or less a single CPU. So even in a basic i5 system, you have 4 CPUs working on separate workloads.

 

[Shadowhaxor]

somethings been on my mind today after my young nephew asked me the following question :

"So you can have 2 GPU's running together for increased performance , why can you not run 2 CPU's together for increased Processing power ?

i didn't know how to answer him .
It was something i never thought about actually .

now ive been wondering all day whether or not it is possible and if it is , why has no one tried it or capitalized on it ?

The issue is that server mobo's can use multiple CPU's at a time however if you're looking at this in a gaming perspective, they *not many* have multiple PCI-E slots. At the same time you can have as many cpu's as you want, however if said application or program will not utilize those extra cores, it's a moot point or experiment.

It's also hella expensive.

 

[npa189]

I've been looking into SLI lately and it doesn't seem as bad as you hear. 2 970s go toe to toe with a 980ti and I already own half the setup. Is a 600w PSW enough for two 970s? This seems to be the cheaper option than going for a 980ti or waiting for pascal. Is this a smart move in 2016?

 

[RGM79]

somethings been on my mind today after my young nephew asked me the following question :

"So you can have 2 GPU's running together for increased performance , why can you not run 2 CPU's together for increased Processing power ?

i didn't know how to answer him .
It was something i never thought about actually .

now ive been wondering all day whether or not it is possible and if it is , why has no one tried it or capitalized on it ?

Far too complicated and expensive for the majority of home users. Such things already exist like this Asus X99 based Z10PE-D8 WS which costs $600, but only for the workstation and server markets. The programs you're running also need to be written to take advantage of the extra CPU cores. For example, If the program only takes advantage of 2 CPU cores, then running two dual core CPUs means only two cores are taken advantage of, just like if you had a quad core processor and only 2 of the 4 cores were being useful.

Speaking from a real-world perspective, I can't think of any program a home user needs to run that would explicitly require two physical CPUs. Intel's flagship processor is the i7 5960X, an 8 core processor with hyperthreading for 16 threads. If a home user actually needs (not want) more than that, then I don't think whatever they're doing counts as "home use".

Im from Portugal and this is the store: http://www.alientech.pt/product_info.php?products_id=26677&utm_source=kuantokusta&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=catalogo

This set of 2x8GB G.Skill 2400MHz RAM is faster and cheaper at just under 90 Euros. If you can order from pcdiga.com, it's even cheaper at 84 Euros.

 

[mkenyon]

The issue is that server mobo's can use multiple CPU's at a time however if you're looking at this in a gaming perspective, they *not many* have multiple PCI-E slots. At the same time you can have as many cpu's as you want, however if said application or program will not utilize those extra cores, it's a moot point or experiment.

It's also hella expensive.

Well, it's really good for workstation boards and content creation. Shit for games though.

 

[RGM79]

I've been looking into SLI lately and it doesn't seem as bad as you hear. 2 970s go toe to toe with a 980ti and I already own half the setup. Is a 600w PSW enough for two 970s? This seems to be the cheaper option than going for a 980ti or waiting for pascal. Is this a smart move in 2016?

Depends on the rest of your PC's specs, but in any case I'd consider 600 watts to be a bit low, especially if you plan to do any overclocking. A normal GTX 970 will consume somewhere under 200 watts under load.

While SLI can offer better performance for the money than a single super high end graphics card, you have to consider not just wattage, but heat and driver support. If your case doesn't have adequate ventilation and both cards are right up against each other, that might be a problem. Also, game performance is dependent on drivers, driver profiles, and whether the game supports multiple graphics cards. The latest games don't always have proper SLI and crossfire support baked in on launch, such things are low on the list of priorities for developers to implement. Sometimes it takes a few weeks or even months for it to be properly patched in, and then the drivers need to be updated to have proper support as well. Bugs with multiple GPUs include flickering textures, microstutter, and sometimes the game just not working well (either bad performance or the game will ignore the second GPU and default to running on just the first one). Even then, how much higher performance you get depends on game and driver optimizations. It's never a +100% performance increase just because you have two cards, with good support it's like +75% performance with two cards compared to a single card, and it only goes down from there.

For ease of use and reliability, I'd almost always recommend going with a single strong graphics card over SLI or crossfire. The only time I'd recommend multiple graphics cards are if the user has money and doesn't mind the higher but non-guaranteed performance, and if they want to play games at something extremely demanding settings (e.g., latest games at 4K on higher settings) that no single graphics card can handle well.

 

[bomblord1]

Western Digital Black a good HDD series/brand? Reviews seem decent (but so do seagates)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236625

 

[Flaxh]

This set of 2x8GB G.Skill 2400MHz RAM is faster and cheaper at just under 90 Euros. If you can order from pcdiga.com, it's even cheaper at 84 Euros.

Thanks a lot! I'm just worried those will not fit under my cooler because I just googled it and found contradictory reports.

Would you say that my rig with this RAM upgrade plus a new pascal xx70 GPU will last me a few years and allow me to try VR? I get 7k on the test right now and the minimum is 9k.

 

[mkenyon]

I've been looking into SLI lately and it doesn't seem as bad as you hear. 2 970s go toe to toe with a 980ti and I already own half the setup. Is a 600w PSW enough for two 970s? This seems to be the cheaper option than going for a 980ti or waiting for pascal. Is this a smart move in 2016?

+1 to everything RGM said before.

If you want to upgrade, I'd suggest selling your 970 and buying a new card. I'd also say you're probably better off waiting for Pascal unless you absolutely need more performance right now.

 

[RGM79]

Western Digital Black a good HDD brand/company? Reviews seem decent (but so do seagates)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236625

Last time I looked, Western Digital is the world's largest hard drive manufacturer. There's not much to hate about their products. Seagates.. can be hit and miss, they suffered some bad publicity a while back due to reports of failing drives and issues with a certain product line. I want to believe that they've gotten over that, though.

Anyway, as for that specific model you linked, it's a good performer. It's just expensive, seeing as the mainstream WD Blue model goes for about $50.

Thanks a lot! I'm just worried those will not fit under my cooler because I just googled it and found contradictory reports.

Would you say that my rig with this RAM upgrade plus a new pascal xx70 GPU will last me a few years and allow me to try VR? I get 7k on the test right now and the minimum is 9k.

It'll fit. When people say it doesn't fit, they're just looking at the numbers.. and they're not exactly wrong. The Ripjaws RAM is 40mm tall and the 212 Evo normally allows for only 37mm of space underneath the CPU cooler fan. The nice thing about the 212 Evo cooler is that the fan can be clipped on a bit higher to accommodate taller RAM underneath the fan, just like what this person did with his 212 Evo and Ripjaws RAM.

Looking at your PC's specs, you should be fine. The processor is not really outdated or anything, if you need more performance out of it, you should overclock it if it isn't already overclocked. With a new graphics card, it should meet that minimum requirement for VR just fine. The 9000 score requirement is a combination of both the processor and graphics performance.

 

[bomblord1]

Last time I looked, Western Digital is the world's largest hard drive manufacturer. There's not much to hate about their products. Seagates.. can be hit and miss, they suffered some bad publicity a while back due to reports of failing drives and issues with a certain product line. I want to believe that they've gotten over that, though.

Anyway, as for that specific model you linked, it's a good performer. It's just expensive, seeing as the mainstream WD Blue model goes for about $50.



It'll fit. When people say it doesn't fit, they're just looking at the numbers.. and they're not exactly wrong. The nice thing about the 212 Evo cooler is that the fan can be clipped on a bit higher to accommodate taller RAM underneath the fan, just like what this person did with his 212 Evo and Ripjaws RAM.

Looking at your PC's specs, you should be fine. The processor is not really outdated or anything, if you need more performance out of it, you should overclock it if it isn't already overclocked. With a new graphics card, it should meet the minimum requirements for VR just fine.

Hey thanks for the link and info.

 

[Bloodember]

somethings been on my mind today after my young nephew asked me the following question :

"So you can have 2 GPU's running together for increased performance , why can you not run 2 CPU's together for increased Processing power ?

i didn't know how to answer him .
It was something i never thought about actually .

now ive been wondering all day whether or not it is possible and if it is , why has no one tried it or capitalized on it ?

The last time i checked, the home versions of Windows only allows for 1 CPU.

Edit: Looks like the Pro versions of 8 and 10 will support 2 CPUs.

 

[RGM79]

Hey thanks for the link and info.

Not sure how reliable this article is, but according to that link for the 1TB models, the WD Black's extra cost over the WD Blue doesn't mean it's faster, but that it's more reliable and sturdily built.

Most of the time around here we recommend the blue model anyway, I almost never recommend the black model as they just cost too much compared to other decent alternatives.

 

[mkenyon]

Not sure how reliable this article is, but according to that link for the 1TB models, the WD Black's extra cost over the WD Blue doesn't mean it's faster, but that it's more reliable and sturdily built.

Most of the time around here we recommend the blue model anyway, I almost never recommend the black model as they just cost too much compared to other decent alternatives.

Backblaze just posted their Q4 2015 Results

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-reliability-q4-2015/

 

[bomblord1]

Not sure how reliable this article is, but according to that link for the 1TB models, the WD Black's extra cost over the WD Blue doesn't mean it's faster, but that it's more reliable and sturdily built.

Most of the time around here we recommend the blue model anyway, I almost never recommend the black model as they just cost too much compared to other decent alternatives.

I'll save a few bucks and get a blue then it's only my secondary HDD anyway my OS will be on a SSD.