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[Weltall Zero]

Hey PCGAF,
the missus needs a new PC (her old one is well over a decade old and it wasn't exactly top of the line back then). We want nothing fancy as we're on a shoestring budget, just enough for her to play GW2 and little more. I was thinking of building one but I came across this one at a local (Spain) component store that seems pretty good for the price (I might even get it for myself and give her my old one). It's unfortunately a bit more expensive than we intended (yeah, low budget, I told you) but we might make the effort if it's worth it:
http://www.pccomponentes.com/pccom_gaming_nvidia_i3_4170_8gb_1tb_gtx950.html

How does it look? Keep in mind prices are more expensive over here than in the US, so consider the price in euros to be aproximately equal or even better than your price in dollars. In fact, assume that any individual component price in that page is as good as it gets here.

 

[LilJoka]

I built my son a PC a few years ago for low end gaming and school. Now that I've upgraded, I'm deciding whether to put my former upgrades into his PC or give him my 7 year old Dell XPS 435. The SSD (Crucial 120GB) and graphics card (MSI Radeon 7800) will be the same for either, so the decision really is the CPU, case and power supply (think the Dell has a stock 450, but it runs the 7800).

CPU wise, his PC has an AMD Phenom II X4 945. My old one has an i7 920 @ 2.67GHz. The Passmark score for the i7 (4990) is better than the AMD (3729), but the mobo, case and PC for the AMD system is newer and better.

So the question is whether the old dell intel PC is fast enough over the AMD to use instead of the newer AMD system.

i7 920 is a fair bit better than the AMD. If older is faster, you still want faster, not newer and slower.

 

[Abdozer]

Sorry if this is the wrong topic guys but I couldn't seem to find any other ones. I've been having an issue with my PC for a few days now, this is a doozy.

First my build, I have an ASUS ROG P278Q monitor(Got this very recently), with a 4770k 3.5ghz CPU and an ASUS Maximus VI GENE mobo. 16GB of RAM and my GPU is an MSI Twin Frozr 770 2GB (Planning to upgrade to a 980 very soon to accommodate the new monitor). I also have a Rosewill 530w PSU. (This PSU is pretty old, 3 years?)

Last night my PC/monitor was in sleep mode since I had been out, and I noticed my monitor had no signal. I tried turning the PC on to no avail and it just wouldn't come out of standy/no signal mode. I ended up rebooting and I would make it to the BIOS screen and then no signal on my monitor again. I opted to go into safe mode and try uninstalling my GPU drivers first with DDU. PC rebooted fine after that but whenever I'm in the process of installing new drivers, 355.82 or 353.62, my monitor just goes straight to no signal mode and I have to uninstall said drivers in safe mode again.

That being said, I'm using my PC fine without any drivers installed, so I'm thinking it could be the GPU.

Could my GPU be on it's last legs or something? This is getting irrirating, I could RMA my card since it's still under warranty but I'm unsure if it's the GPU or my PSU.

 

[LilJoka]

Sorry if this is the wrong topic guys but I couldn't seem to find any other ones. I've been having an issue with my PC for a few days now, this is a doozy.

First my build, I have an ASUS ROG P278Q monitor(Got this very recently), with a 4770k 3.5ghz CPU and an ASUS Maximus VI GENE mobo. 16GB of RAM and my GPU is an MSI Twin Frozr 770 2GB (Planning to upgrade to a 980 very soon to accommodate the new monitor). I also have a Rosewill 530w PSU. (This PSU is pretty old, 3 years?)

Last night my PC/monitor was in sleep mode since I had been out, and I noticed my monitor had no signal. I tried turning the PC on to no avail and it just wouldn't come out of standy/no signal mode. I ended up rebooting and I would make it to the BIOS screen and then no signal on my monitor again. I opted to go into safe mode and try uninstalling my GPU drivers first with DDU. PC rebooted fine after that but whenever I'm in the process of installing new drivers, 355.82 or 353.62, my monitor just goes straight to no signal mode and I have to uninstall said drivers in safe mode again.

That being said, I'm using my PC fine without any drivers installed, so I'm thinking it could be the GPU.

Could my GPU be on it's last legs or something? This is getting irrirating, I could RMA my card since it's still under warranty but I'm unsure if it's the GPU or my PSU.

More likely a GPU issue, when the drivers initialise it uses the card in a much different and thorough way that can cause failure in even idle situations like you are experiencing.

 

[Abdozer]

More likely a GPU issue, when the drivers initialise it uses the card in a much different and thorough way that can cause failure in even idle situations like you are experiencing.

Yeah I figured that, now I just need to find a cheap 980 to replace it lol. Thanks for the help!

 

[The Boat]

So, considering they cost about the same here in Portugal, shouId I get a R9 390 8GB over a 970?

 

[Woorloog]

So, considering they cost about the same here in Portugal, shouId I get a R9 390 8GB over a 970?

I'd recommend reading reviews and deciding which one is better in your mind.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-amd-radeon-r9-390-8gb-review
(Do check other reviews as well.)

Personally i'm inclined to get a 970, i see it as overall better even if R9 390 does have some interesting things (like higher VRAM).

 

[The Boat]

I'd recommend reading reviews and deciding which one is better in your mind.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-amd-radeon-r9-390-8gb-review
(Do check other reviews as well.)

Personally i'm inclined to get a 970, i see it as overall better even if R9 390 does have some interesting things (like higher VRAM).

It's... a tough choice.

 

[Woorloog]

It's... a tough choice.

No doubt.

I'm probably opting for 970 because i value lower temps and power consumption (and noise!), Nvidia has generally better driver support (plus i may try Linux gaming, where Nvidia has clear edge in driver support), and because i'm almost certainly sticking with 1080p displays with no downsampling or such, so large amounts of VRAM are not necessary for me. Probably.

EDIT R9 390 pros: 8GB VRAM, fully DX12 compatible (unlike GTX970), more powerful out of box... eh, i'm sure there was something else as well. TressFX support?

 

[KurtFehl]

Can you downsample with an R9 380?

 

[Vuze]

Can you downsample with an R9 380?

I think AMD has introduced driver-sided downsampling (iirc they call it VSR) in their last biggest update for more recent cards, yeah.

 

[AmyS]

I figured this thread was probably the best place to ask.

Found this Next Generation article on a 3DFX (Quantum3D) Obsidian XS-100.

Did this board (or boards) actually come out for the professional market, and in various configurations based on the info here?

 

[sssstententen]

Alright! Local Microcenter finally got 6700k's in (4 to be exact). Was freaking out too because they close early on Sunday, rushed over, and got it, and the guys there even gave me the Haswell deal of $20 off the MB with the purchase.

Got the z170 Pro Gaming and 6700k for $510 total. Not amazing, but no too shabby. Picked up a g1 980ti while I was there, now I just gotta wait on my Case, PSU, SSD, and pick out some RAM.

Also, whats the verdict on thermal paste? Is it just a placebo or should I shell the extra $10 out for a 3rd party. I'll be using a 212EVO.

 

[kennah]

I figured this thread was probably the best place to ask.

Found this Next Generation article on a 3DFX (Quantum3D) Obsidian XS-100.

Did this board (or boards) actually come out for the professional market, and in various configurations based on the info here?

Many of the contributors to this thread weren't even born when that article came out.

 

[CreepingFear]

Alright! Local Microcenter finally got 6700k's in (4 to be exact). Was freaking out too because they close early on Sunday, rushed over, and got it, and the guys there even gave me the Haswell deal of $20 off the MB with the purchase.

Got the z170 Pro Gaming and 6700k for $510 total. Not amazing, but no too shabby. Picked up a g1 980ti while I was there, now I just gotta wait on my Case, PSU, SSD, and pick out some RAM.

Also, whats the verdict on thermal paste? Is it just a placebo or should I shell the extra $10 out for a 3rd party. I'll be using a 212EVO.

Which Microcenter? Please tell me not the one in Tustin, CA?

 

[LilJoka]

Many of the contributors to this thread weren't even born when that article came out.

Lol!

 

[sssstententen]

Which Microcenter? Please tell me not the one in Tustin, CA?

Pennslyvania, Sorry =(.

Anyone have any opinions on this RAM? 2666hz DDR4 16GB with timing of 13. Or should I go with 3000 at 15?

 

[CreepingFear]

Pennslyvania, Sorry =(.

Don't be sorry. I'm glad it wasn't my Microcenter and I missed it. I've given up on the dream of nabbing one for a combo deal from Microcenter. I just want it to become available on Newegg or Amazon for the regular retail price. Yes, i'd be grateful to play full retail price. That's how much these re-sellers price gauging has had an effect on me.

 

[Woorloog]

Oh, man, picking monitor, keyboard, mouse and such is way more difficult than picking PC components...

I mean, it would be simple just to pick from the list in the OP but i figure it is better to look at options, see if i could get something better (or in-between), or... Well.
Not to mention, somethings kind of need testing first, i reckon.

*sigh* Back to searching for a monitor. Can't find ASUS VS239H-P from Finland at the moment, though it could be my google-fu failing.

(My budget for "extras" is preferably about 300€ but i reckon i'm unlikely to stay within it, since the monitor will eat around half of it at least, and fitting a headset, mouse and keyboard to the rest is going to be difficult. In the end, i expect i'll shell out closer to 400€ for these. And then i need a chair and desk.)

EDIT Uh, are there differences between display designations for EU and NA? I recall that some Samsung TVs do have different designation depending where they're sold.
Is Asus VS239HV any good? Or.... man, something. So many options.
EDIT Or Asus VE228TR?
EDIT VE247H?

EDIT Asus 23" VX239H looks pretty good. Perhaps a tad pricey at 179,90€ (the white version might be cheaper, but frankly, i detest the idea of a white display).

 

[The Boat]

No doubt.

I'm probably opting for 970 because i value lower temps and power consumption (and noise!), Nvidia has generally better driver support (plus i may try Linux gaming, where Nvidia has clear edge in driver support), and because i'm almost certainly sticking with 1080p displays with no downsampling or such, so large amounts of VRAM are not necessary for me. Probably.

EDIT R9 390 pros: 8GB VRAM, fully DX12 compatible (unlike GTX970), more powerful out of box... eh, i'm sure there was something else as well. TressFX support?

Thanks! I'll keep this in mind.

 

[Haloid1177]

Finished my Skylake build yesterday. Waiting for my ROG Swift to come Tuesday before trying out some games on it. Anyone have some recommendations for PC exclusive (none Valve or Witcher) games? Haven't had a capable PC in about four years so I know I missed some stuff.

 

[insane0hflex]

Alright! Local Microcenter finally got 6700k's in (4 to be exact). Was freaking out too because they close early on Sunday, rushed over, and got it, and the guys there even gave me the Haswell deal of $20 off the MB with the purchase.

Got the z170 Pro Gaming and 6700k for $510 total. Not amazing, but no too shabby. Picked up a g1 980ti while I was there, now I just gotta wait on my Case, PSU, SSD, and pick out some RAM.

Also, whats the verdict on thermal paste? Is it just a placebo or should I shell the extra $10 out for a 3rd party. I'll be using a 212EVO.

For thermal paste the stock ones are decent. The 212 EVO comes with its own btw, and its working great for my rg. Unless you are crazy OC'ing for like folding or something, what I've read over the years is that the 3rd party thermal pastes are really for those wanting to squeeze the last few Mhz that they can out of their CPU


Anyways, time for a dumb question:

My monitor has a DVI-D input, but my GPU I'm buying has a DVI-I output - does the DVI-I connect to the DVI-D seamlessly? Or do I need to buy some sort of adapter?

 

[The Boat]

Need help building a new PC
Your Current Specs: Irrelevant, old as fuck
Budget: ~€1300 in Portugal
Main Use: Gaming, emulators, programming
Monitor Resolution: 1080 for now
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Nothing specific, games at 1080p60fps would be sweet.
Looking to reuse any parts?: WD 1 TB HDD (don't remember the model)
When will you build?: In the next month or so.
Will you be overclocking?: I was going to consider overclocking, but maybe I'll skip it to save money

I'd like to go Skylake to have a more future proof PC. Prices in Portugal are a bit steep, but a general idea would be good. I'm wondering if it's better to go with i7 with cheaper card or i5 with 970/380.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[KurtFehl]

Finished my Skylake build yesterday. Waiting for my ROG Swift to come Tuesday before trying out some games on it. Anyone have some recommendations for PC exclusive (none Valve or Witcher) games? Haven't had a capable PC in about four years so I know I missed some stuff.

Try DayZ

I know it isn't exclusive but War Thunder is really nice.

Miasmata
The Forest
Heroes and Generals
ArmA 3

 

[low-G]

I figured this thread was probably the best place to ask.

Found this Next Generation article on a 3DFX (Quantum3D) Obsidian XS-100.

Did this board (or boards) actually come out for the professional market, and in various configurations based on the info here?

Obsidian did make high end 3dfx cards, and for a while I even fancied getting one, but then Canopus made the Pure3D (tiny positive improvement), and I got scared off my Obsidian's industrial requirements (different FCC specs even!)

 

[sssstententen]

For thermal paste the stock ones are decent. The 212 EVO comes with its own btw, and its working great for my rg. Unless you are crazy OC'ing for like folding or something, what I've read over the years is that the 3rd party thermal pastes are really for those wanting to squeeze the last few Mhz that they can out of their CPU

Thanks for the answer, gonna stick with the Evo's.

 

[Mystic654]

I have a Mercury S8S, I have more exhaust then in-take, Just wonder if airflow is going to be an issue down the road?

Top: Two 140mm (Exhaust) + Two 120mm Exhaust (AIO)

Rear: One 120mm (Exhaust) + One 120mm (Harddrive bay - Exhaust)

Bottom: One 140mm (Intake)

Front: One 120mm (Intake) + 140mm (Intake)

I can have 3 120mm fans in the front Instead or 120mm + 140mm. However I would lose my DVD drive which I don't really want to do.

Also for the top should I go all 120mm or 120mm + 140mm?

 

[Stumpokapow]

Hey folks. I recently discovered that I have $500 worth of office funds that I have to give back if I don't spend it. I have to spend it on something plausibly work related. I've decided that I'm not super happy with my current backup system, and I'd also like a server that I'm not paying for out of pocket month to month and that I have local, offline access to.

So, here's what I'm thinking
- The major use cases would be to backup photos and video (maximum 200GB--I'll probably set it up as a timed rsync job to connect to all of my various computers and servers and back stuff up); to do data processing (mostly Python, but also other languages especially R); and to do large-scale data acquisition. An example of the kind of task I mean by data acquisition is something like a multithreaded web scraper that scrapes 50,000+ pages a day from servers in Africa, Middle East, India, etc. I want it to be able to burst to fairly high processing power for highly parallelized stuff. I also want it to act as a sort of storage clearinghouse so that other people can store large datasets. For example, I just transcoded around 50GB of election ads for a colleague. So I definitely want decent storage and great processing power.
- Probably running *nix (Ubuntu, probably?) headless. It would be pretty unlikely there'd be any GUI stuff.
- My sense is that I'm not likely to be dealing with enough data to do any kind of GPU offloading for data processing, so I'm not worried about GPU acceleration.
- I would like to be able to move my server from home to work and back easily, so I would like to investigate SFF stuff only.

Target:
- Let's hypothetically target 16GB RAM, i5 4xxx series performance, and generally low noise/heat/power usage at idle and no bigger than 9 by 9 inches length by width? Aim for less than 5 pounds?

So, what's in the SFF space right now? I know Intel has their NUC form factor, and it looks like you can get some pretty beefy i7 options with NUC. Searching Amazon, I'm finding a variety of all-in-one boxes from various manufacturers. I'm also open to building, but I know absolutely nothing about SFF parts so I wouldn't even know where to begin. Looking at the Mac Mini, I think it's just a little too behind on the spec curve for price, which is a pity because the design is pretty close to what I'd like.

Aiming for <$700 USD shipped and assembled. Don't need monitor, peripherals, OS, etc but do need storage: thinking a 512 GB SSD, which is around $180-200. Only brand preference: avoid Samsung. Oh, edit: Also, open to waiting a few months so if the DDR3->DDR4 transition is still happening in this space or there's a new architecture that's, like, announced but not shipping or due to be announced in the next few weeks, I'd rather wait than buy.

Any thoughts?

 

[zebwinz]

Finally pulled the trigger on a Skylake build. Got the 6600k since it's the only one in readily available stock at MSRP but I'm still feeling nervous about that decision. I can upgrade to the 6700k in a couple years if the i5 seems underpowered (and hopefully newer CPUs will be 1151 chipsets) but I really hope it's enough to get me a good video encoding/decoding, 1080p gaming, stable system for the next 5 years or so.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Any thoughts?

If you don't find it in Amazon/newegg, you may want to check if Logisys offers anything around what you are looking for: http://logisysus.com/

edit: sorry, logisys actually seems overpriced

 

[kennah]

Had to do a similar usage scenario as yours stump at my old job.

After months of looking and specing, we eventually went with i7 Mac Minis. Try and find a 2013 model of possible, the new ones are garbage.

Edit. Also. Bit Torrent Sync is pretty rad. Check it out for your remote syncing needs.

 

[Haribi]

So, considering they cost about the same here in Portugal, shouId I get a R9 390 8GB over a 970?

Definitely 390. Preferably this one
http://geizhals.de/sapphire-radeon-r9-390-nitro-11244-00-20g-a1280763.html

It's slightly more powerful, has more VRAM and DX 12 support. It also has a considerably higher power consumption tho.

 

[Burgess_101]

So I sold my 780, a true servant but time to move on. I have £230 (£250 at a push) to spend on a new GPU. I was looking at just getting a 970 but are there any better alternatives at the price?

 

[Woorloog]

So I sold my 780, a true servant but time to move on. I have £230 (£250 at a push) to spend on a new GPU. I was looking at just getting a 970 but are there any better alternatives at the price?

As discussed on this page, it seems one has to look at GTX 970 and R9 390 and decide between them. The price points are similar. 970 has better driver support and lower power consumption and noise, while R9 390 offers slightly higher power out of box, full DX12 support and 8GB VRAM but is hotter and noisier and requires more power.

 

[Burgess_101]

As discussed on this page, it seems one has to look at GTX 970 and R9 390 and decide between them. The price points are similar. 970 has better driver support and lower power consumption and noise, while R9 390 offers slightly higher power out of box, full DX12 support and 8GB VRAM but is hotter and noisier and requires more power.

I just saw I am quite tempted by the 390, would a 650w PSU be enough? It's an Antec something its rather good though managed with crossfire 7870s. The Nvidia drivers have been giving me nothing but problems recently and I really am considering jumping ship. Heat isn't a problem really I've got a custom loop.

 

[Woorloog]

I just saw I am quite tempted by the 390, would a 650w PSU be enough? It's an Antec something its rather good though managed with crossfire 7870s. The Nvidia drivers have been giving me nothing but problems recently and I really am considering jumping ship. Heat isn't a problem really I've got a custom loop.

The OP says "Bump PSU to 750V if using R9 290". 750V seems to be a model, and R9 290 is older but presumably this still applies since 390 is apparently more or less boosted 290. So perhaps 750W PSU?

 

[Burgess_101]

The OP says "Bump PSU to 750V if using R9 290". 750V seems to be a model, and R9 290 is older but presumably this still applies since 390 is apparently more or less boosted 290. So perhaps 750W PSU?

I read 600w minimum, I'm not upgrading my PSU for the card though so I'll have to do some research.

 

[An1malhouse365]

Anybody with experience building htpc/media servers??

Cut the cable last year and been using an apple tv/netflix combo but find it still lacking.
Been reading up on it and want to jump in.

planning this build for Nov.
budget it around $400 for both
currently have a dell pc with I5-3470 @ 3.20 GHz and 4 gb of ram
Located in the midwest US

 

[RGM79]

I just saw I am quite tempted by the 390, would a 650w PSU be enough? It's an Antec something its rather good though managed with crossfire 7870s. The Nvidia drivers have been giving me nothing but problems recently and I really am considering jumping ship. Heat isn't a problem really I've got a custom loop.

The OP says "Bump PSU to 750V if using R9 290". 750V seems to be a model, and R9 290 is older but presumably this still applies since 390 is apparently more or less boosted 290. So perhaps 750W PSU?

I read 600w minimum, I'm not upgrading my PSU for the card though so I'll have to do some research.

If you already have a 650 watt model, no point in upgrading to 750 watts unless you don't mind spending and/or it's a particularly old (and worn out) 650 watt model. Normal power consumption for the R9 390 will be around ~250 watts while the absolute maximum when heavily overclocked would be around ~350 watts.

Its nice to have overhead and room to expand, but it's not required. The recommendation to go with 750 watts is more for new builds when the buyer doesn't already have a power supply, I'd say.

Anybody with experience building htpc/media servers??

Cut the cable last year and been using an apple tv/netflix combo but find it still lacking.
Been reading up on it and want to jump in.

planning this build for Nov.
budget it around $400 for both
currently have a dell pc with I5-3470 @ 3.20 GHz and 4 gb of ram
Located in the midwest US

Sounds like your current PC should already be more than powerful enough for HTPC and media server duties. Unless you were thinking of building a separate PC.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Here are the parts to the PC I built a few years ago:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=23734148

I want to extend the life out of this build in the most cost-effective and PS4/Xbox-competitive way possible. What would you guys suggest? I'd rather not get a new motherboard and all that shit. Is there a video card I should consider getting for $200 that can work with everything else? That'd be cool since it would quickly put me ahead of a PS4 in performance for multiplatform games, wouldn't it?

Don't need the biggest, baddest PC, just a very cheap way to make this one even better!

 

[Burgess_101]

If you already have a 650 watt model, no point in upgrading to 750 watts unless you don't mind spending and/or it's a particularly old (and worn out) 650 watt model. Normal power consumption for the R9 390 will be around ~250 watts while the absolute maximum when heavily overclocked would be around ~350 watts.

Its nice to have overhead and room to expand, but it's not required. The recommendation to go with 750 watts is more for new builds when the buyer doesn't already have a power supply, I'd say.

Thats good to hear, I am pretty sure its an Antec Truepower 650w.

 

[An1malhouse365]

Sounds like your current PC should already be more than powerful enough for HTPC and media server duties. Unless you were thinking of building a separate PC.

Yeah I was thinking of building a separate pc altogether for the HTPC and using my current for the media server. Figured I'd have to upgrade the hard drive for more space and probably add more ram.(If that make more sense, all new to me.)

Just to add I have no idea what mobo is in there as the PC was given to my wife years ago as a hand me down from her parents. Any way to find out w/o opening it up?

 

[sfried]

I recently just bought myself a 1TB Samsung EVO 850 SSD in order to ghost my harddrive into it, and I was thinking of upgrading my XFX 7870 2GB Core Edition (which I aquired from a GAFer for only $125!) with this particular XFX BLACK Edition Radeon R7 370 R7-370P-2285 2GB for that slight added boost in performance in The Phantom Pain (had to lower two settings to High @ 1366x768), but also to boost my multimedia multitasking usage (tabs and videos open, streaming via OBS, etc).

I'm not sure if I should aim for a 4GB instead or a better CPU. Due to my setup, I'm tied down to AMD CPUs or anything that can fit with this motherboard. I was also thinking about turning my power supply (500W EVGA) into a modular one, but I feel this might be a good time to bump it up to 650W.

Keep in mind I don't have alot of money at hand, and in fact slowly paying off that SSD as we speak.

Most of my games have also been reconfigured with particular AMD-centric workarounds (Catalyst Control Center). For this reason, would appreciate it if the card recommended to me is an AMD one.

My current specs as it stands:
AMD FX-4350 4.2 Ghz Quad-core
G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
XFX 7870 2GB Core Edition
1TB Toshiba HDD 7200 RPM
No overclocking done in any fasion in order to prevent reliability issues.

Price Target: $100-$200

 

[LQX]

Has Intel given a reason for why the I7-6700K is still so scarce or when they will ramp up production? I want to start my build but cant find the damn thing at a normal price.

 

[RGM79]

Here are the parts to the PC I built a few years ago:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=23734148

I want to extend the life out of this build in the most cost-effective and PS4/Xbox-competitive way possible. What would you guys suggest? I'd rather not get a new motherboard and all that shit. Is there a video card I should consider getting for $200 that can work with everything else? That'd be cool since it would quickly put me ahead of a PS4 in performance for multiplatform games, wouldn't it?

Don't need the biggest, baddest PC, just a very cheap way to make this one even better!

Looks like for $200 you could drop in a GTX 960 or R9 380 in there and it should be a decent upgrade. The existing power supply should handle it and it'll be compatible with everything. You should be able to equal a PS4 if nothing else. For specific part recommendations, this Sapphire R9 380 ($199 after $15 rebate) or Gigabyte GTX 960 ($203 after $20 rebate) should suit your purposes just fine.

Thats good to hear, I am pretty sure its an Antec Truepower 650w one

Looks like a good power supply to me. You should be just fine.

Yeah I was thinking of building a separate pc altogether for the HTPC and using my current for the media server. Figured I'd have to upgrade the hard drive for more space and probably add more ram.(If that make more sense, all new to me.)

Just to add I have no idea what mobo is in there as the PC was given to my wife years ago as a hand me down from her parents. Any way to find out w/o opening it up?

If you want to check your system specs, use a program like Speccy. Building an HTPC for $400 is definitely doable. Will you need any additional things like keyboard, mouse, or Windows?

Here's a starting build to consider:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba Product SeriesT01ACA 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $268.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-21 11:32 EDT-0400

I've personally built a very similar PC and it proved capable of playing just about any media I could throw at it. The processor is more than capable enough.

That should leave more than enough budget for you to upgrade your other PC with additional hard drive space and RAM.

 

[king grimlock]

So I have noticeable clicking sounds coming from my PC with a very faint vibration of my desk. I've grown up thinking the clicking sound was normal on desktops but not vibrations, but upon googling my issue it seems that neither mean good things for my PC, but no solution or details about why. So can anyone help?

Stuff that may be important:
- Air 540 case
- 5 140mm fans
- Stock Intel cpu cooler
- no OC on CPU or GPU - i5 4690k/EVGA 970 ftw
- fans are on auto and never have gone past whisper quiet
- 3tb WD HD

 

[Burgess_101]

So I have noticeable clicking sounds coming from my PC with a very faint vibration of my desk. I've grown up thinking the clicking sound was normal on desktops but not vibrations, but upon googling my issue it seems that neither mean good things for my PC, but no solution or details about why. So can anyone help?

Stuff that may be important:
- Air 540 case
- 5 140mm fans
- Stock Intel cpu cooler
- no OC on CPU or GPU - i5 4690k/EVGA 970 ftw
- fans are on auto and never have gone past whisper quiet
- 3tb WD HD

Clicking usually comes from a failing HDD, could be a fan that is nicking a cable or the housing of the fan itself as well.

 

[LQX]

So I have noticeable clicking sounds coming from my PC with a very faint vibration of my desk. I've grown up thinking the clicking sound was normal on desktops but not vibrations, but upon googling my issue it seems that neither mean good things for my PC, but no solution or details about why. So can anyone help?

Stuff that may be important:
- Air 540 case
- 5 140mm fans
- Stock Intel cpu cooler
- no OC on CPU or GPU - i5 4690k/EVGA 970 ftw
- fans are on auto and never have gone past whisper quiet
- 3tb WD HD

Most likely your hard-drives. Also maybe a fan hitching and causing vibrations? Check how they are rotating.

 

[BossDarkseid]

Next mont/uni/getting a new PC cannot come quickly enough.

Using the "peasant" PC today and while playing Medieval II the screens (dual screen) goes black then the NO INPUT on any of the monitor inputs, switch them, turn them off and on etc...nothing. PC is a tad louder than usual and I end up having to restart it. Happened again. Now I'm not playing anything almost out of fear

GPU drivers are up to date and no other problems with the PC really. Curious.

 

[RGM79]

I recently just bought myself a 1TB Samsung EVO 850 SSD in order to ghost my harddrive into it, and I was thinking of upgrading my XFX 7870 2GB Core Edition (which I aquired from a GAFer for only $125!) with this particular XFX BLACK Edition Radeon R7 370 R7-370P-2285 2GB for that slight added boost in performance in The Phantom Pain (had to lower two settings to High @ 1366x768), but also to boost my multimedia multitasking usage (tabs and videos open, streaming via OBS, etc).

I'm not sure if I should aim for a 4GB instead or a better CPU. Due to my setup, I'm tied down to AMD CPUs or anything that can fit with this motherboard. I was also thinking about turning my power supply (500W EVGA) into a modular one, but I feel this might be a good time to bump it up to 650W.

Keep in mind I don't have alot of money at hand, and in fact slowly paying off that SSD as we speak.

Most of my games have also been reconfigured with particular AMD-centric workarounds (Catalyst Control Center). For this reason, would appreciate it if the card recommended to me is an AMD one.

My current specs as it stands:
AMD FX-4350 4.2 Ghz Quad-core
G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
XFX 7870 2GB Core Edition
1TB Toshiba HDD 7200 RPM
No overclocking done in any fasion in order to prevent reliability issues.

Price Target: $100-$200

I wouldn't recommend the R7 370 as an upgrade to your 7870. It's quite literally almost the same graphics card, just rebadged and very slightly updated for maybe around a 5~10% performance difference at best. You can actually see that it has the nearly the exact same specs. In other words, you'd be paying money to get the same graphics card back. Like trading in a 2012 edition car for the 2015 edition of the same car with the same engine.

If you want to boost gaming performance, you should either aim for a stronger graphics card or a better processor. For multi-tasking, you want a better processor as a better graphics card won't really improve how easily you can run browser tabs and videos and streams in the background. If you're playing games at 1366x768 then you won't need a graphics card with 4GB of VRAM, but the extra VRAM wouldn't hurt for the sake of future use and longevity.

Because your current setup doesn't really need it , there's not much of a point in upgrading to a 650 watt power supply when your current 500 watt PSU already handles everything, unless you were planning to overclock (which you aren't) or was aiming for a stronger graphics card (out of your budget). Again, it's something that's nice to have, you could carry it over to a new PC build, but it's not needed.

In your situation and according to your recommendations.. either save up more money for a whole new PC or get a graphics card like this Sapphire R9 380 ($199 after $15 rebate).