Seems like a great rig to me. Should keep you running strong for at least another year. Interesting time to sit back and watch how the dust settles between Intel and AMD.
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"I Need a New PC!" 2016 Plus Ultra! HBM2, VR, 144Hz, and 4K for all!
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Seems like a great rig to me. Should keep you running strong for at least another year. Interesting time to sit back and watch how the dust settles between Intel and AMD.
masterkajo
Member
So I could use a little help. It is more of a moral dilemma. I just bought a RX480 as an upgrade from my old HD7850 and an 1440p 144Hz IPS freesync Display, XF270HU from Acer. I did this to be able to play Overwatch at 144Hz (boy does this feel good) and be able to play the new Mass Effect at more than minimum requirements.
My specs:
i5-2500k@4.4GHz
Asus P8P67 rev 3.1 motherboard
8GB Ram
Sapphire HD7850 2GB -> MSI Gaming X RX480
My thoughts and experiences:
- The new monitor does have slight backlight bleed (though it is rather minimal compared to pics I saw online) and also either 2-3 dead pixels or a dust particle stuck inside. This is located at the bottom right where the windows clock is. So only noticeable when you play games or watch movies and then really only if you look for it. But it is there and I know it...
- The RX480 manages to play Overwatch at low settings at 1440p@144Hz no problem. But after having experienced 144Hz I don't want to go back. Having tried the Witcher 3 at 1440p while looking gorgeous I only get frames between 40 and 60 fps, which has been fine for me until I experienced 144Hz. So it feels rather bad. I can scale down the resolution to 1080p which gives me 80 - 100 fps while looking ugley because of the scaling. Without scaling I get black borders all around the image.
My problem aka tl;dr:
- monitor has small issues -> return or keep?
- rx480 struggles at 1440p high refresh rates -> return or keep?
- maybe stay at 1080p and get the ViewSonic XG2401 (1080p 144Hz TN freesync) since I can't get back to only 60Hz, also keep the rx480 because it should do fine at 1080p
- wait for Vega?
wtl;drat:
1080p@144Hz with rx480 and new monitor or 1440p@144Hz, keep monitor with small issues and wait for vega?
My specs:
i5-2500k@4.4GHz
Asus P8P67 rev 3.1 motherboard
8GB Ram
Sapphire HD7850 2GB -> MSI Gaming X RX480
My thoughts and experiences:
- The new monitor does have slight backlight bleed (though it is rather minimal compared to pics I saw online) and also either 2-3 dead pixels or a dust particle stuck inside. This is located at the bottom right where the windows clock is. So only noticeable when you play games or watch movies and then really only if you look for it. But it is there and I know it...
- The RX480 manages to play Overwatch at low settings at 1440p@144Hz no problem. But after having experienced 144Hz I don't want to go back. Having tried the Witcher 3 at 1440p while looking gorgeous I only get frames between 40 and 60 fps, which has been fine for me until I experienced 144Hz. So it feels rather bad. I can scale down the resolution to 1080p which gives me 80 - 100 fps while looking ugley because of the scaling. Without scaling I get black borders all around the image.
My problem aka tl;dr:
- monitor has small issues -> return or keep?
- rx480 struggles at 1440p high refresh rates -> return or keep?
- maybe stay at 1080p and get the ViewSonic XG2401 (1080p 144Hz TN freesync) since I can't get back to only 60Hz, also keep the rx480 because it should do fine at 1080p
- wait for Vega?
wtl;drat:
1080p@144Hz with rx480 and new monitor or 1440p@144Hz, keep monitor with small issues and wait for vega?
Filth
Member
As of yesterday amazon had it as march 6th release date and you could preorder. As of right now the release date is gone and it is out of stock on amazon. I dont know if this is an error bit inalso read on another news site the release date was today but that might have been because of amazon.
Animation-Imp
Member
I'm still not sure about my mini-itx plans.
What especially goes over my head is the ideal case and cpu Cooler.
I'm looking at the bitfenix prodigy, the Corsair Carbide air 240, the fractal design node 304 and the thermaltake core v1.
I find it very difficult to choose, especially considering i'de like to use a 7700k and overclock it a little eventually.
I've read the 7700k runs quite hot, so cooling might be an issue?
Any suggestions are much appreciated.
What especially goes over my head is the ideal case and cpu Cooler.
I'm looking at the bitfenix prodigy, the Corsair Carbide air 240, the fractal design node 304 and the thermaltake core v1.
I find it very difficult to choose, especially considering i'de like to use a 7700k and overclock it a little eventually.
I've read the 7700k runs quite hot, so cooling might be an issue?
Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Nostremitus
Member
You already own the 8370?
Prodigy is very very huge and hard to work in. The Node is one of my favorite cases ever. Very slick and nice to work with. Haven't owned the other two but hear the air 240 is also great.
Look in to the Case Labs Bullet series. Bh2 or bh4. The bh4 is neat because it's an matx case that is only slightly bigger than a node.
Skyr
Member
If you like the monitor besides the quirks, exchange it until you get a decent one.
I had to go through two bad ones until the third one was fine with my ROG SWIFT PG278Q.
Light bleed and dead pixels are unacceptable for me in that price range and I think we need to demonstrate that to the manufacturers.
Stay with 1440p. It's a sweet spot between 1080p and 4k in terms of performance and you will enjoy it more long term.
In my opinion wait for vega. Then get a version that matches the performance between 1070/1080 which is great for 1440p gaming.
appaws
Banned
No, not at all. Those are great products and there is no reason for you not to invest in them if they have the features you want and you like the looks. Just understand that these days there is no magic bullet in the better boards that will give you like a 500mhz extra OC or something.
I have the 170A (prime, before that name was adopted.) and I like it a lot. Asus has good software, but I admit I mostly bought it because of the color scheme.
P.S. I think we throw around the term "overkill" too much. If you are on a limited budget, that is one thing, but if you can afford to, it's cool for an enthusiast to buy higher end stuff for whatever reason. In some sense, everything is overkill. I could game at 1080p on a 1060 with an i3 or i5. I could use a $35 tower cooler. It would still be lots of fun, so technically anything more than that is "overkill?" I don't buy it.
Animation-Imp
Member
I'm mainly concerned with being able to cool it properly. I'de prefer to stay away from watercooling.
Read some reviews for the prodigy and it does seem a bit of a hassle. It also looks like it's not optimized for good airflow.
With the node, do you feel you have enough room for cable management? Do you use the fan control switch on the back, or connect them to the mobo? It looks quite hard to fit everything in there.
The air 240 looks nice, but is quite big and I have watched builds where they have some trouble with casefans getting in the way.I also believe it's limited in which aircoolers you can mount in there.
I'm starting to like the looks and advantages of the core v1. Gets good grades on all reviews and costs a lot less than the other options.
Wondering if GAF can help me?
A friend of mine is wanting to build something entirely for emulation. Another of his friends has just bought an emulation Arcade cabinet, which has got him wanting to play retro emulated gaming. Knowing that I have built PC's in the past, he's asked me if I could do anything for him.
I've never built another thats as "race to the bottom" as this though so I think I've been overshooting things cost wise. Wanting the absolute cheapest system that can hit the following;
- Quick and smooth
- Small form factor. He's only used to consoles so another "set top box" size is ideal
- Retro gaming. Predominately SNES, Mega Drive and Arcade. Although if it wouldn't effect cost dramatically I think he'd appreciate through to PS1, N64 and Dreamcast too if possible.
Massively appreciate the assistance in advance.
A friend of mine is wanting to build something entirely for emulation. Another of his friends has just bought an emulation Arcade cabinet, which has got him wanting to play retro emulated gaming. Knowing that I have built PC's in the past, he's asked me if I could do anything for him.
I've never built another thats as "race to the bottom" as this though so I think I've been overshooting things cost wise. Wanting the absolute cheapest system that can hit the following;
- Quick and smooth
- Small form factor. He's only used to consoles so another "set top box" size is ideal
- Retro gaming. Predominately SNES, Mega Drive and Arcade. Although if it wouldn't effect cost dramatically I think he'd appreciate through to PS1, N64 and Dreamcast too if possible.
Massively appreciate the assistance in advance.
praise appaws
appaws
Banned
Maybe something like the Corsair Bulldog. Just slap a CPU, RAM, and a graphics card in there...
PCPerspective and OC3D had videos about it recently. Seems like it would fit the bill as a nice emulation machine and of course allow other gaming options as well.
How much does your friend want to spend?
lostsupper
Banned
Intel NUC.
killertofu
Member
Do they make USB sticks that have both a regular USB-A and also a USB-C connector?
No, I own the cooler. I could have been a bit more clear about that.
Noobish question:
If I build a PC geared at 1080/60 specs (60hz monitiors, maybe 75hz i guess), but has the headroom to run pretty much anything at 1080-Ultra at 90-100fps, is the thing basically future proof?
Seems resolution is the major thing we are chasing constantly, and that something like a RX 480 8GB coupled with a very solid CPU would hit those performance goals for a very long time? no? what am I missing here in this logic?
If I build a PC geared at 1080/60 specs (60hz monitiors, maybe 75hz i guess), but has the headroom to run pretty much anything at 1080-Ultra at 90-100fps, is the thing basically future proof?
Seems resolution is the major thing we are chasing constantly, and that something like a RX 480 8GB coupled with a very solid CPU would hit those performance goals for a very long time? no? what am I missing here in this logic?
opticalmace
Member
Go Intel for sure. Also, do you not have a system right now...? If you do, what are the specs?
JonnyDBrit
Member
Yeah, there's no real point going with AMD's old stuff if you're looking for longevity. Either hop on a cheaper kabylake CPU, or wait until we get more info on the lower end Ryzen products. That way at least you'll have the luxury of a socket type that can be upgraded further if need be, and DDR4 RAM.
Currently it's
RX 480 4 GB
i5 2500K @ 4.3 GHz
8 GB DDR3 1600
ASUS P8P67 Deluxe
CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-650TX 650W
Cooler Master HAF 912
HP 24o Black 24" 2ms (GTG) 60HZ 1920x1080
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Right now I'm only looking to upgrade the CPU, Mobo and RAM and I will probably spend around $450 combined on them.
Would waiting for something like R5 1400X (assuming $199) make more sense than going with Intel? I didn't think of this before because I was unaware Ryzen had lower end models coming out (nothing I read about Ryzen said anything about lower end models haha)
JonnyDBrit
Member
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.64 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z270 SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($112.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($109.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $461.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-06 19:54 EST-0500
You could go for a non overclockable motherboard if you wanna drop the price a bit, but otherwise, here's your upgrade package at around 450.
Node 304 7700k 4.8ghz GTX 970 is what I run. No issues with cooling. NH U14S CPU cooler. All fans running off the motherboard PWM headers. Replaced the case fans with Noctua PWM fans.
Noctua fans are great for heatsinks and radiators, but Fractal Venturi HF-12/14 are the best case fans.
opticalmace
Member
What motherboard/ram are you using?
Mineshaft_Gap
4077th
I bumped my VCORE up and tossed a 4.7Ghz OC on this pupper and these are my results after an hour in AIDA64, x264 stress test, and Realbench. I had to run the Realbench test twice since it bluescreened on me once. I bumped the VCORE up by a hair (.005V) and it passed. I ran Realbench w/ the GPU test because I wanted to see what would happen to the CPU temps with the GPU dumping heat into the case. As you can see, we still stayed in the mid 60s.
I cannot believe these results. Remember, I was getting 80°C @ 4.5Ghz and 1.335V almost immediately after starting AIDA64 which is not well known for being one of the harder stress tests to pass. After the delid and liquid metal application now we're sitting at a max of 66°C @ 4.7 and 1.415V. Also, before the delid my temps would vary as much as ~15°C across the cores.
So now my next question is... should I validate these settings overnight or should I push the OC a little further? 4.8Ghz wouldn't boot into windows at this voltage so I know I'd need to up the voltage by probably a not-insignificant amount. I have the headroom to do it but at 66°C I think that gives me enough headroom to use these settings year round.
Lowest temps are about 65°F/18°C which must be the ambient temps in the room. In the summer time I expect indoor temps in the 76°F/25°C range. I imagine that could add about about ~8°C to the core temps. I feel safe running in the mid 70°C range. If I push for a higher OC I think I'll need to scale it back during the summer months which seems like a pain in the ass. I dunno.
What do you guys think? Validate and keep these settings year round or push it harder and risk having to monkey around once it gets warmer?
I cannot believe these results. Remember, I was getting 80°C @ 4.5Ghz and 1.335V almost immediately after starting AIDA64 which is not well known for being one of the harder stress tests to pass. After the delid and liquid metal application now we're sitting at a max of 66°C @ 4.7 and 1.415V. Also, before the delid my temps would vary as much as ~15°C across the cores.
So now my next question is... should I validate these settings overnight or should I push the OC a little further? 4.8Ghz wouldn't boot into windows at this voltage so I know I'd need to up the voltage by probably a not-insignificant amount. I have the headroom to do it but at 66°C I think that gives me enough headroom to use these settings year round.
Lowest temps are about 65°F/18°C which must be the ambient temps in the room. In the summer time I expect indoor temps in the 76°F/25°C range. I imagine that could add about about ~8°C to the core temps. I feel safe running in the mid 70°C range. If I push for a higher OC I think I'll need to scale it back during the summer months which seems like a pain in the ass. I dunno.
What do you guys think? Validate and keep these settings year round or push it harder and risk having to monkey around once it gets warmer?
Animation-Imp
Member
Thanks, seems in line with what I have in mind.
One last question, do you use a blower style card?
I'm looking at the msi GTX 1070 AERO OC as it's a reference style card, but at the moment it's the cheapest at my local store as well.
The thermaltake core v1 still looks interesting as well especially at that pricepoint.
masterkajo
Member
Thanks for the feedback. I have one more possibility which just came to be. A friend of mine has bought a 1440p 144Hz g-sync monitor and his 980 of course can't play everything in max 144fps. so he will get a 1080ti. he offered me the 980 (he wants me to swap to nvidia for ever now) for 100. Performance wise the 980 is just a bit more powerful than the rx 480 I am having (about +10%) but for half the price.
Of course I would have to go g-sync then which makes up for the cheap card in costing more. When going with the XB271HUA (TN) it would cost me about 100 less than what I have paid now. When opting for the IPS version I would pay about 100 more than I currently have.
g-sync over freesync? TN over IPS?
All this CPU talk about muticore stuff has me hesitant to make any changes at all before making the big jump to 4K. So here's a question:
I'm on a 3570k right now, is there any CPU I could upgrade to with a noticeable performance gain as a stopgap solution that doesn't involve changing motherboards?
I'm on a 3570k right now, is there any CPU I could upgrade to with a noticeable performance gain as a stopgap solution that doesn't involve changing motherboards?
RamaTheVoice
Member
Personally I'd go with IPS (or VA) over TN for extra color fidelity. Right now G-sync seems to be the way to go if you want 144hz at resolutions higher than 1080p, given that most current AMD cards won't give you high fps att good settings at 1440p in demanding games, but Vega could be a game-changer, so maybe wait and see?
3770K for those extra threads maybe?
Seems to be the only option yeah. Doubt it's worth it though.
RamaTheVoice
Member
Depends on what you play. An increasing number of games are built to take advantage of more threads, so it might tide you over for a while.
Now that Ryzen is out and that Intel processors may get cheaper in response to that, I'm thinking of jumping from my 6600K to a 6700K. I've already got a GTX 1080 so may as well go whole hog.
Skyr
Member
Before I went for the ROG PG278Q (TN) I actually tested the ROG PG279Q (IPS) for about a week.
IPS gives you a more beautiful picture overall. Colors and contrast is better than on the TN Panel. And of course the viewing angles don't matter as the picture remains perfect no matter your viewing angel.
That was all great but I had 2 complaints about it.
The first one was a ghosting effect in fast paced action games which I perceived as a smearing of the picture. It was very noticeable in games like quake live and Unreal Tournament.
The second issue I had with it was the IPS glow (not light bleed). I couldn't stand it.
But that all depends on how sensitive you are to these issues. You might not care for these two points.
I for myself decided to stick with TN until OLED finds it's way into monitor tech.
As for g-sync or freesync. I don't really know if one of the two is superior over the other nowdays.
Maybe someone else can shed light on that. I think it's more a question of commitment to on of the brands. Personally I decided to stick with nvidia because I do prefer their driver support.
GinoFelino
Member
Noob question!
I got a code for Ghost Recon Wildlands/For Honor with my GTX card, but I'd like to sell it. Is there a marketplace (EU) where people commonly resell codes?
I got a code for Ghost Recon Wildlands/For Honor with my GTX card, but I'd like to sell it. Is there a marketplace (EU) where people commonly resell codes?
RamaTheVoice
Member
Check the B/S/T thread, there's US and Euro stuff in there. Keep in ming that these new codes can only be redeemed on the same type of card you bought.
Animation-Imp
Member
I'm almost there.
I want to pull the trigger for one of these configurations:
The cheapest option, the msi board is a little inferior to the asrock, but is cheaper and has a 25 dollar rebate + for honor for free. The case is nice, but I'm not 100% sure how the msi aero fits and it only allows smaller coolers.
Same setup with the ASrock
The node 304, bigger heatsink, more expensive, might be harde to build in, but the msi aero is a sure fit. MSI or ASrock
MSI:
ASrock:
How do you guys feel about the msi/asrock, considering the price difference?
msi gtx 1070 aero ok?
Should the thermaltake core v1 with the noctua nh-u9s be cool enough for slight overclocking?
Sigh... this is really getting more difficult every time I get deeper in it.
I want to pull the trigger for one of these configurations:
The cheapest option, the msi board is a little inferior to the asrock, but is cheaper and has a 25 dollar rebate + for honor for free. The case is nice, but I'm not 100% sure how the msi aero fits and it only allows smaller coolers.
Same setup with the ASrock
The node 304, bigger heatsink, more expensive, might be harde to build in, but the msi aero is a sure fit. MSI or ASrock
MSI:
ASrock:
How do you guys feel about the msi/asrock, considering the price difference?
msi gtx 1070 aero ok?
Should the thermaltake core v1 with the noctua nh-u9s be cool enough for slight overclocking?
Sigh... this is really getting more difficult every time I get deeper in it.
appaws
Banned
I thought I heard that they were dropping them to $349-399...?
GinoFelino
Member
Why not get a slightly cheaper motherboard? If you get eg. the MSI SLI Plus, you could almost get a GTX 1080 for the same money.
What does that mean?
lordfuzzybutt
Member
It means the person buying the code from you needs to have the same kind of GTX card in their system in order to activate it succesfully. This is because of the exploit last time with Gears of War from Amazon.
RamaTheVoice
Member
If you bought a 1080, the person you sell the code to needs to have a 1080 in order to redeem it. Same with a 1070.
GinoFelino
Member
Animation-Imp
Member
I'de prefer to get an easily overclockable 200 board over a 100 series board.
I'm also only looking at mini-itx boards.
I'm just in doubt about the msi vs the asrock because of the pricedifference and the features of the asrock.
With the cashback the msi comes around 170, only twenty more than the asrock z270m, with for honor as an added bonus.
On the downside the msi has less usb 3.0 ports (2 instead of 5) and 2 usb 2.0 and a 3.1 port.
The Asrock also has a thunderbolt port wich might be usefull in the future although I don't have a direct need for it now.
No I don't use a blower type card and I dont advice you to use it in an ITX build since TDP is only 150W.
There aren't many. One of these might be okay?
Animation-Imp
Member
Hmmm I just read and watched some articles that recommended blowerstyle cards for itx builds.
The idea is that instead of just whirring the hot air around, those cards expel the hot air from the back port.
I've seen a couple of tests were those cards lowered the CPU temp significantly.
Could you elaborate why you would advise against them? Also keeping in mind that those card is a lot cheaper than the other cards?
I appreciate all the info, this would be my first itx build and I built my last pc more than 10 years ago, so I have lots of catching up to do.
opticalmace
Member
Ryzen 1700
Asus B350
16GB Gskill 3000mhz CL15 (leftover from another build)
EVGA 650W G3
Father-in-law's old 760
Phanteks P400s TG
960 Evo 250GB
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (not for gaming)
Asus B350
16GB Gskill 3000mhz CL15 (leftover from another build)
EVGA 650W G3
Father-in-law's old 760
Phanteks P400s TG
960 Evo 250GB
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (not for gaming)
Don't mind the cables.
So the only old part in my new(ish) rig, the HDD, has experienced occational slowness and now it froze for the first time.
I think it is WD Black 1TB 7200rpm. I don't think I need more than the 1TB as I have 500GB SSD and are only using around 300GB of my HDD
Is the WD Blue mentioned in the OP still valid or are there other ones I should consider?
I think it is WD Black 1TB 7200rpm. I don't think I need more than the 1TB as I have 500GB SSD and are only using around 300GB of my HDD
Is the WD Blue mentioned in the OP still valid or are there other ones I should consider?
Is the Evga 3 GB GeForce GTX Gaming 1060 SC compatible with the Asus P8P67 rev B3 (PCI express 2.0 ) motherboard ?
Also, being factory overclocked does reduce the lifespan ? I currently have a gtx 560 and I plan to keep the card for the same amount of years (5~6), so components quality and lifespan are important to me. I'm only asking because the overclocked version actually costs less than the normal one...
Also, being factory overclocked does reduce the lifespan ? I currently have a gtx 560 and I plan to keep the card for the same amount of years (5~6), so components quality and lifespan are important to me. I'm only asking because the overclocked version actually costs less than the normal one...
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