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[Corsick]

I'm sitting with a 3570k/16gigs of ram/GTX 970. If I'm looking to run a 1440p ultrawide at some point, should I upgrade now with Coffeelake? I'd almost want to keep the GPU and wait until the 2080 series from Nvidia though. Thoughts on the performance delta between the 3570k and what an 8700k could offer?

 

[RumblingRosco]

I'm sitting with a 3570k/16gigs of ram/GTX 970. If I'm looking to run a 1440p ultrawide at some point, should I upgrade now with Coffeelake? I'd almost want to keep the GPU and wait until the 2080 series from Nvidia though. Thoughts on the performance delta between the 3570k and what an 8700k could offer?

Honestly, I'd guess that an overclocked 3570k is plenty for 1440p ultrawide. Your 970 is probably not, however.

Wait for 8700k benchmarks either way.

 

[Extollere]

I'd be hard-pressed to say no to that for $600, but also you should know that that mobo / processor combo cannot be overclocked.

But still, for $600 that seems like a pretty good deal. And the i5 will likely be fine for gaming for a while, and when it's time to upgrade you could easily take basically everything from that build and put it with a new mobo and CPU.

And maybe swap out the RAM for a dual-channel solution.

Just the PSU, Case, and GPU alone are a little over $600. If you decided to change the motherboard, ram, and CPU for something brand new you wouldn't be losing money.

Thanks for these replies. I'm probably going to pick up his build since it seems like a good deal. I built my PC a long time ago and this thing is rapidly becoming ancient. It has an old Core 2 quad CPU, and a GTX 460. I'm not really too concerned with overclocking or anything like that. Nor do I need to play all games on max settings. Couple more questions though. What's better about having two sticks of RAM instead of one? That's what you mean, right? Also, regarding solid state drives, are they more or less reliable than mechanical ones? I've got a couple of old hard drives that have served me well and I'm not sure if I should be transferring the data from them to solid state drives, or just installing them as is.

 

[thefil]

What are the good hard drive brands these days? I'm looking to get a 2TB (or maybe larger depending on the price). Not an SSD - I have a small one for my OS and I'm happy with my IO speeds right now.

 

[RumblingRosco]

What are the good hard drive brands these days? I'm looking to get a 2TB (or maybe larger depending on the price). Not an SSD - I have a small one for my OS and I'm happy with my IO speeds right now.

Western Digital is generally the "go-to", but most Seagate, HGST/Hitachi, or Toshiba drives are fine these days.

 

[Mozendo]

What are the good hard drive brands these days? I'm looking to get a 2TB (or maybe larger depending on the price). Not an SSD - I have a small one for my OS and I'm happy with my IO speeds right now.

Toshiba's P300 and X300 are great, they're Hitachi/HGST rebrands/based on Hitachi/HGST tech so they're amazing and great values.
I'd ignore Western Digital just because they're "mainstream" consumer line (Blue) only has 1 HDD that runs a 7,200 RPM and that's their 1TB model, all other models run at 5,400 RPM. It's just not worth it, and blacks are overpriced.

 

[kuYuri]

here we go

I got my stuff



in progress



and done



Luckily everything worked this time around. I got around my nervousness pretty quickly. It definitely wasn't the first time I had made a PC, but after last year where I got a CPU+Mobo that wouldn't work, I was weary of my skill. I also did proper cable managing this time around. No issues installing software or getting to bios. Twas fun~

Good job! All that freaking out for nothing.

Thanks for these replies. I'm probably going to pick up his build since it seems like a good deal. I built my PC a long time ago and this thing is rapidly becoming ancient. It has an old Core 2 quad CPU, and a GTX 460. I'm not really too concerned with overclocking or anything like that. Nor do I need to play all games on max settings. Couple more questions though. What's better about having two sticks of RAM instead of one? That's what you mean, right? Also, regarding solid state drives, are they more or less reliable than mechanical ones? I've got a couple of old hard drives that have served me well and I'm not sure if I should be transferring the data from them to solid state drives, or just installing them as is.

I think you would be fine with just the one stick of RAM. You can add another another 8 or 16GB stick in there, but I don't think it's necessary right now. I think for the price and general size, I think the build is totally fine as is.

 

[Noll]

I think I will wait then, since it's so close. It's not that urgent (I can still use my problematic laptop).

Hopefully I can bug you again once they release it to find a fitting MOBO for this setup

Thanks!!

AMD's Ryzen line is nothing like their older hotter/under-performing CPU line-ups. There have been no overheating reports, at all, that I've seen about the Ryzen line. In fact, the Ryzen CPUs that come with stock coolers (1200, 1300, 1500, 1600, and 1700) are honestly cool enough that you can overclock them even with the stock coolers. I really wouldn't worry about heat issues with any Ryzen CPU.

However, I totally understand if you have an Intel preference, and I can whip together a motherboard/CPU combo in that direction for you easily if you'd prefer. The only thing I'd really say in that regard is that, if you aren't in a hurry, wait 1-2 months. The newest line of Intel CPUs ("Coffee Lake" aka the 8700k/8600k/etc) will be out. They have 2 more cores and 4 more threads than their 7700k/6700k equivalents, so it's a really great long-term upgrade to wait for those if you can. That's actually why I recommended the Ryzen CPU; I can't in good-faith recommend anyone buy a 7600k or 7700k right now because the next generation is so close to coming out, so the only option right now in my eyes is the Ryzen line.

 

[AwakenedCloud]

Just got done building a PC for a friend, but the stupid thing won't boot. The case LEDs will turn on, but the rest of the system doesn't move an inch. I tightened up all the connections to make sure nothing was loose, but to no avail.

One thing that concerns me is the fact that one of the PSU cables isn't connected. The long strip that goes into the MB is there, but I have two of the 2x2 connectors side to side, but my motherboard only has a slot for one of them. pcpartpicker said everything was compatible, and the tutorial in the OP didn't really go over this scenario, so I assumed hooking up the one was the right thing to do.

 

[Mozendo]

Just got done building a PC for a friend, but the stupid thing won't boot. The case LEDs will turn on, but the rest of the system doesn't move an inch. I tightened up all the connections to make sure nothing was loose, but to no avail.

1. Make sure the RAM sticks are secured tightly, and them move them around the ram slots. Try 1 ram slot at a time.
2. Make sure the front cable connectors are in their proper order

 

[RedSwirl]

So for the second time now PC has completely dropped HDMI signal. The first time I tried plugging in a completely different HDMI cable into a different input in the TV, and still nothing, and I know the TV works because I've used other devices on it, so it's got to be the PC. The HDMI out is straight from my GPU (a 1070).

Both times this happened while playing Prey. The 2nd time, right when the signal went out I heard a fan in the computer go off like a jet engine. Didn't get the chance to monitor temps on either occasion. The latest Nvidia drivers released between the two times this happened.

Tomorrow I'll try blowing some compressed air into the PC and the GPU (it's been a while).

 

[LordAlu]

Just got done building a PC for a friend, but the stupid thing won't boot. The case LEDs will turn on, but the rest of the system doesn't move an inch. I tightened up all the connections to make sure nothing was loose, but to no avail.

One thing that concerns me is the fact that one of the PSU cables isn't connected. The long strip that goes into the MB is there, but I have two of the 2x2 connectors side to side, but my motherboard only has a slot for one of them. pcpartpicker said everything was compatible, and the tutorial in the OP didn't really go over this scenario, so I assumed hooking up the one was the right thing to do.

That cable you're holding does need to go in. Only one of the 4-pin parts will fit as they're both slightly different shapes.

Locate on the socket where the clip retainer is and line up your cable to match. If it doesn't go in, use the other side.

 

[AwakenedCloud]

1. Make sure the RAM sticks are secured tightly, and them move them around the ram slots. Try 1 ram slot at a time.
2. Make sure the front cable connectors are in their proper order

It was number 2. The tutorial said consult your manual, and lo-and-behold, manual didn't say a thing! In fact, it implied that the order didn't matter. Found a pdf of a similar model and figured it out from there.

The way that specific pin is set up would lead you to believe they were supposed to go in horizontally anyway lol.

 

[Bloodember]

So for the second time now PC has completely dropped HDMI signal. The first time I tried plugging in a completely different HDMI cable into a different input in the TV, and still nothing, and I know the TV works because I've used other devices on it, so it's got to be the PC. The HDMI out is straight from my GPU (a 1070).

Both times this happened while playing Prey. The 2nd time, right when the signal went out I heard a fan in the computer go off like a jet engine. Didn't get the chance to monitor temps on either occasion. The latest Nvidia drivers released between the two times this happened.

Tomorrow I'll try blowing some compressed air into the PC and the GPU (it's been a while).

Had this happen last week. It’s most likely your gpu is bad. Had to rma mine. It could also be psu related.

 

[hoserx]

Just an FYI, the i7 7700k is now 279.99 at microcenter instead of 299.99. Makes it a better deal vs newegg even w/ the tax.

Also there's a great 7740x bundle available on newegg, Gigabyte Aorus 3, 16gb of 3000mhz ddr4 and the cpu for ~$600. I struggle to find any reason to buy a 7740x , but the price makes it almost make sense.

Meanwhile, waiting for Oct 6th....

 

[Chinbo37]

I am thinking about upgrading my gtx 970.

Current CPU is a i7700k (currently not overclocked).

Monitor is a 27 inch 1080p Asus 144hz non sync. I love the monitor with no plans to upgrade anytime soon.


Should I bother to wait for the new NVIDIA cards or pull the trigger on a 1070/1080? Any suggestions?

 

[RumblingRosco]

I am thinking about upgrading my gtx 970.

Current CPU is a i7700k (currently not overclocked).

Monitor is a 27 inch 1080p Asus 144hz non sync. I love the monitor with no plans to upgrade anytime soon.


Should I bother to wait for the new NVIDIA cards or pull the trigger on a 1070/1080? Any suggestions?

The 1070 should be more than capable of 1080p/144Hz, but check benchmarks for your specific games. A 1080 would absolutely rock at 1080p/144Hz no questions, and it would probably give you enough oomph to last for years at that framerate/resolution. Personally, I'm not sure a 970--->1070 is a big enough upgrade to make; I wouldn't do it with my money, but since it's not my money, it's obviously up to you. And, 1070s are so close to 1080 prices these days, it's hard to not justify the extra $50-$100 to get the 1080.

So, basically, either GPU would probably handle 1080p/144Hz without issue, but a 1080 is a relatively small cost increase that it might be worth grabbing it for the longevity.

I see no reason to wait for the next Nvidia line. The 1070/1080 are already enough for your needs, so the only benefits you'd see waiting (which, we have no timeframe for... rumors are spring 2018) would be possibly better power efficiency, or maybe the 1160 being capable of handling 1080p/144Hz, and thus you'd save a bit of money buying that card for ~$250 in the spring of 2018 rather than dropping $400-$550 right now... realistically though, I'm guessing you'd need an 1170 anyway come the next line-up, meaning you'd be spending about the same amount regardless.

tl;dr: Check benchmarks, if the 1070 is good for the games you play, get that, but either way, strongly consider spending the extra $50-$100 to get a 1080 for the long-term benefits.

 

[vandalhearts]

Hi all, this is my build:

https://it.pcpartpicker.com/list/44dHCy

I built it in 2014 following these threads, i'm thinking now of upgrading, it is a good time or should i wait next year?

Money is not a big issue, i want to keep playing on 1080/144hz, not interested in something else.

thanks in advance

 

[Chinbo37]

The 1070 should be more than capable of 1080p/144Hz, but check benchmarks for your specific games. A 1080 would absolutely rock at 1080p/144Hz no questions, and it would probably give you enough oomph to last for years at that framerate/resolution. Personally, I'm not sure a 970--->1070 is a big enough upgrade to make; I wouldn't do it with my money, but since it's not my money, it's obviously up to you. And, 1070s are so close to 1080 prices these days, it's hard to not justify the extra $50-$100 to get the 1080.

So, basically, either GPU would probably handle 1080p/144Hz without issue, but a 1080 is a relatively small cost increase that it might be worth grabbing it for the longevity.

I see no reason to wait for the next Nvidia line. The 1070/1080 are already enough for your needs, so the only benefits you'd see waiting (which, we have no timeframe for... rumors are spring 2018) would be possibly better power efficiency, or maybe the 1160 being capable of handling 1080p/144Hz, and thus you'd save a bit of money buying that card for ~$250 in the spring of 2018 rather than dropping $400-$550 right now... realistically though, I'm guessing you'd need an 1170 anyway come the next line-up, meaning you'd be spending about the same amount regardless.

tl;dr: Check benchmarks, if the 1070 is good for the games you play, get that, but either way, strongly consider spending the extra $50-$100 to get a 1080 for the long-term benefits.

awesome reply thanks. No benchmarks for battlefront 2 yet tho

 

[RedSwirl]

I'm getting above-average GPU temperatures while idle too. The last time this happened in one of my PCs it was because the GPU fans were chocked up by dust, so again, I'll see what happens when I open this one up and get some compressed air in there. On the outside at least I have to admit it's the dustiest it's ever been.

Edit: I just dusted out the PC. The whole inside of the PC was quite dusty... except the GPU. The area with the GPU fans was pretty much squeaky clean, likely because when installed in this case the fans actually face down. With everything back on though I'm still getting above-normal idle temps. Later I guess I'll check the temps while playing a game.

If the GPU is indeed busted I don't even know if I'll be able to RMA. What's Gigabyte's policy? I got it last June and don't have the packaging anymore (but I do still have the installation manual and disc).

 

[kuYuri]

Hi all, this is my build:

https://it.pcpartpicker.com/list/44dHCy

I built it in 2014 following these threads, i'm thinking now of upgrading, it is a good time or should i wait next year?

Money is not a big issue, i want to keep playing on 1080/144hz, not interested in something else.

thanks in advance

I'd say wait. Maybe add another 8GB of RAM and a GPU upgrade wouldn't hurt now, but if you can wait, then wait. Depends on how you feel about how your games are running now.

 

[forrest]

Currently using an MSI GTX 970 and primarily game at 3440x1440

I've been looking at upgrading to an MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X and they are currently priced at $579.89 on Amazon.

Is it a good time to upgrade? Is this a good price for the card?

Also, saw I missed a Destiny 2 promo bundle. Any chance this comes back around before the Oct. launch?

Thanks for the help and insight!

Quoting for the new page. I've been doing a bit of research on my own and see there is a bit of a price increase on current cards due to the demand being up for gfx cards (mining).

Still curious if it's worth upgrading at this point. It looks like the current price for the MSI GTX 1080 is only $50 dollars more than it's cheapest ever price according to PCPartPicker.

Again I game at 3440x1440 and I'm just looking to target a stable 60fps. I play all types of games from more demanding games like Witcher 3 to stuff like Diablo 3. Currently waiting on Destiny 2 which ran pretty well on my GTX 970 during beta, but I did have to adjust the settings to get a mostly locked 60fps during the beta.

Thanks for taking the time to weigh in as I'm just looking for some thoughts and opinions on making the jump from the 970 to a 1080 right now. Also, a 1080 Ti isn't completely out of the running, but obviously the price point is a huge con compared to the regular 1080.

 

[snail_maze]

How bad is 1080p on something like a 32" monitor?
I would like something large-ish for movies but wondering how bad it looks for games. 1440p doesnt scale well if i only play games at 1080p right?

 

[nightmare-slain]

How bad is 1080p on something like a 32" monitor?
I would like something large-ish for movies but wondering how bad it looks for games. 1440p doesnt scale well if i only play games at 1080p right?

depends on how close you sit to the monitor i guess. 1080p looks just fine on my TV (42") when lying in my bed (about 15ft away) playing games but if it's sitting right infront of you then it won't look good. i have a 24" monitor and i'm happy with that. i would definitely not go any larger.

not sure what you mean about the 1440p part... i often downsample games from 1440p to 1080p and it looks fine.

 

[RandomExpletive]

If the GPU is indeed busted I don't even know if I'll be able to RMA. What's Gigabyte's policy? I got it last June and don't have the packaging anymore (but I do still have the installation manual and disc).

My gigabyte 1080 has its serial number on a sticker on the back plate, I believe that's all they ask for when you do an RMA, well that and what's wrong with it

 

[snail_maze]

depends on how close you sit to the monitor i guess. 1080p looks just fine on my TV (42") when lying in my bed (about 15ft away) playing games but if it's sitting right infront of you then it won't look good. i have a 24" monitor and i'm happy with that. i would definitely not go any larger.

not sure what you mean about the 1440p part... i often downsample games from 1440p to 1080p and it looks fine.

Thanks, I would like to avoid having a TV and instead use a monitor for gaming and movie streaming.
What I meant with the 1440p part was that what I heard was that a 4k screen has exactly 4 times the pxels of 1080p. So if you watch 1080p media on a 4k screen it just uses four of its pixels to display one pixel of the media,if that makes sense. In comparison the 1440p -> 1080p conversion is less straight forward since they arent just multiples of each other. I am not sure how true/relevant that is though

 

[Earendil]

I’m not sure if this is the right place for this question, so please forgive me if it’s not.

My department is getting canned today. The laptop that I have been using belongs to the company, but the windows 10 pro upgrade license is mine. Is there a way to remove it and put it on another computer?

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

I’m not sure if this is the right place for this question, so pleasue forgive me if it’s not.

My department is getting canned today. The laptop that I have been using belongs to the company, but the windows 10 pro upgrade license is mine. Is there a way to remove it and put it on another computer?

Access Microsoft account from your laptop and activate the windows to your account. You should be fine, but you will need to delete the one from your current laptop I believe. I don't think you can use 2 keys on 2 different machines at same time

 

[ISee]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question, so please forgive me if it's not.

My department is getting canned today. The laptop that I have been using belongs to the company, but the windows 10 pro upgrade license is mine. Is there a way to remove it and put it on another computer?

Most Windows 10 keys are bound to the corresponding Microsoft Account. So if the microsoft account that was used on the PC was yours or you have unlimited access to it you can deactivate the laptop windows 10 activation in the microsoft account settings and activate/install windows 10 on another device.

I don't think you can use 2 keys on 2 different machines at same time

You can have more then one windows 10 key and system linked to your Microsoft account.

 

[nightmare-slain]

Thanks, I would like to avoid having a TV and instead use a monitor.
What I meant with the 1440p part was that what I heard was that a 4k screen has exactly 4 times the pxels of 1080p. So if you watch 1080p media on a 4k screen it just uses four of its pixels to display one pixel of the media,if that makes sense. In comparison the 1440p -> 1080p conversion is less straight forward since they arent just multiples of each other. I am not sure how true/relevant that is though

i only had a 1440p monitor for a short time and never had any issues with 1080p content on it. games looked just fine at 1080p and so did movies. to be fair i was on a 25" monitor coming from a 24". not sure what it'd be like at 27/28".

if anything it'll look a little blurry but even if you were on a 4K screen it'd still look blurry in relation to the native resolution. not sure about movies but i think with games you can at least scale the resolution on your GPU instead of monitor which might help.

 

[Earendil]

I found it. Thanks guys, I appreciate the info.

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

Quoting for the new page. I've been doing a bit of research on my own and see there is a bit of a price increase on current cards due to the demand being up for gfx cards (mining).

Still curious if it's worth upgrading at this point. It looks like the current price for the MSI GTX 1080 is only $50 dollars more than it's cheapest ever price according to PCPartPicker.

Again I game at 3440x1440 and I'm just looking to target a stable 60fps. I play all types of games from more demanding games like Witcher 3 to stuff like Diablo 3. Currently waiting on Destiny 2 which ran pretty well on my GTX 970 during beta, but I did have to adjust the settings to get a mostly locked 60fps during the beta.

Thanks for taking the time to weigh in as I'm just looking for some thoughts and opinions on making the jump from the 970 to a 1080 right now. Also, a 1080 Ti isn't completely out of the running, but obviously the price point is a huge con compared to the regular 1080.

I mean it really depends how long you plan on keeping your next card. If you've stuck with a 970 until now, i assume a while. In that case, I would say do whatever you can to grab a 1080Ti. You pay a little more but you future-proof yourself a little more as well, especially given that you play at 3440x1440 - the extra VRAM will help as time goes on and games become more demanding.

However, be aware that prices will probably drop a bit when the Volta cards release (likely around March of next year).

 

[kuYuri]

Quoting for the new page. I've been doing a bit of research on my own and see there is a bit of a price increase on current cards due to the demand being up for gfx cards (mining).

Still curious if it's worth upgrading at this point. It looks like the current price for the MSI GTX 1080 is only $50 dollars more than it's cheapest ever price according to PCPartPicker.

Again I game at 3440x1440 and I'm just looking to target a stable 60fps. I play all types of games from more demanding games like Witcher 3 to stuff like Diablo 3. Currently waiting on Destiny 2 which ran pretty well on my GTX 970 during beta, but I did have to adjust the settings to get a mostly locked 60fps during the beta.

Thanks for taking the time to weigh in as I'm just looking for some thoughts and opinions on making the jump from the 970 to a 1080 right now. Also, a 1080 Ti isn't completely out of the running, but obviously the price point is a huge con compared to the regular 1080.

New GPU launch from Nvidia is expected around beginning of next year I believe, no exact date right now. Can you wait that long for new GPUs? That's up to you.

I think the 1080 is a great card, I had it myself for about a year. The $580 price is about the average price, not good or bad. Just the average price one would pay for the 1080 Gaming X. It's a great card for ultrawide, significantly better than the 970.

It's possible that the Destiny 2 promo could come back a third time, but extremely unlikely given how close we are to the launch of the game. I foresee another Nvidia promo happening this Fall, but who knows when or for what game.

 

[forrest]

I mean it really depends how long you plan on keeping your next card. If you've stuck with a 970 until now, i assume a while. In that case, I would say do whatever you can to grab a 1080Ti. You pay a little more but you future-proof yourself a little more as well, especially given that you play at 3440x1440 - the extra VRAM will help as time goes on and games become more demanding.

However, be aware that prices will probably drop a bit when the Volta cards release (likely around March of next year).

New GPU launch from Nvidia is expected around beginning of next year I believe, no exact date right now. Can you wait that long for new GPUs? That's up to you.

I think the 1080 is a great card, I had it myself for about a year. The $580 price is about the average price, not good or bad. Just the average price one would pay for the 1080 Gaming X. It's a great card for ultrawide, significantly better than the 970.

It's possible that the Destiny 2 promo could come back a third time, but extremely unlikely given how close we are to the launch of the game. I foresee another Nvidia promo happening this Fall, but who knows when or for what game.

Thanks for the input! I have been waiting to upgrade for sometime despite wanting to. It's just now that I'm really starting to get the itch. I could potentially wait until Volta to see how the new cards are priced/performing compared to the 1080's.

Hmm..to wait or not to wait. Typical hardware predicament!

 

[DiscoDave]

Just built my first PC...but no ram. Going to buy it this weekend. I did ask question about it early but no reply. Anyway do I need 16gb right away or is 1 stick of 8gb good enough for a bit. I know dual memory and all that but seems you only lose a tiny bit of performance and don't want to buy 2 sticks of 4 as I will have to get rid of em when I can get 16gb. Anyway so is 8 ok and also do I really need 3200 ddr4 for a 1600 ryzen or will it still OC ok with slower ram?. I'm only going to OC on the stock cooler. Sorry also is a 500 watt psu good enough for me to OC both a gtx 1060 6gb and a ryzen 1600.

 

[Mozendo]

It was number 2. The tutorial said consult your manual, and lo-and-behold, manual didn't say a thing! In fact, it implied that the order didn't matter. Found a pdf of a similar model and figured it out from there.

The way that specific pin is set up would lead you to believe they were supposed to go in horizontally anyway lol.

Yeah front panel connectors are really damn confusing and most PC building channels just brush it

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

Thanks for the input! I have been waiting to upgrade for sometime despite wanting to. It's just now that I'm really starting to get the itch. I could potentially wait until Volta to see how the new cards are priced/performing compared to the 1080's.

Hmm..to wait or not to wait. Typical hardware predicament!

Yeah I think Volta will end up being what 1080 Ti is now - $700-$800. Obviously it'll perform better - question is just how much better - but if you're willing to spend that much now, then you could wait 6 months and get an even better card. My rule is within 6 months I'll usually wait.

If you don't wait, I say still shoot for the Ti now.

Just built my first PC...but no ram. Going to buy it this weekend. I did ask question about it early but no reply. Anyway do I need 16gb right away or is 1 stick of 8gb good enough for a bit. I know dual memory and all that but seems you only lose a tiny bit of performance and don't want to buy 2 sticks of 4 as I will have to get rid of em when I can get 16gb. Anyway so is 8 ok and also do I really need 3200 ddr4 for a 1600 ryzen or will it still OC ok with slower ram?. I'm only going to OC on the stock cooler. Sorry also is a 500 watt psu good enough for me to OC both a gtx 1060 6gb and a ryzen 1600.

I think 16GB is sort of the standard these days. Depends on usage but if you're trying to minimize cost then start with 8 and see how it fares.

If this is for gaming not sure how much 3200Mhz memory will do given that your primary limitation will be the 1060. I'd just look up some benchmarks.

500w should be fine.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Just built my first PC...but no ram. Going to buy it this weekend. I did ask question about it early but no reply. Anyway do I need 16gb right away or is 1 stick of 8gb good enough for a bit. I know dual memory and all that but seems you only lose a tiny bit of performance and don't want to buy 2 sticks of 4 as I will have to get rid of em when I can get 16gb. Anyway so is 8 ok and also do I really need 3200 ddr4 for a 1600 ryzen or will it still OC ok with slower ram?. I'm only going to OC on the stock cooler. Sorry also is a 500 watt psu good enough for me to OC both a gtx 1060 6gb and a ryzen 1600.

8 is fine, but for gaming, we're starting to see some games that take advantage of more than 8 GB of RAM. It doesn't mean you can't play those games with 8, just that they'd benefit from having more than 8. Grab a 1x8 GB stick now and buy a matching stick when you have the money or see a need. No reason you have to get both now.

3200 MHz isn't necessary at all.

500w should be enough if it is a good PSU. If the quality is low or the efficiency is low, it might not be enough.

 

[Killer Queen]

Does anyone know what the hell I'm supposed to do when installing the LED phanteks 400 case? Because I have no god damn clue.
Everything else is pretty much installed, though I'm having trouble installing some stuff to the motherboard because I have no idea which cords go where or do what. Particularly for my HDD and SSD.

 

[Bloodember]

Does anyone know what the hell I'm supposed to do when installing the LED phanteks 400 case? Because I have no god damn clue.
Everything else is pretty much installed, though I'm having trouble installing some stuff to the motherboard because I have no idea which cords go where or do what. Particularly for my HDD and SSD.

Not sure what you mean by installing the case. It should have a manual, read it. Also everything only goes in what they are used for, you can't mess it up. Read the motherboard manual and watch some youtube videos. If you need more help ask away, try to be a little more descriptive.

 

[bucknuticus]

So heres my current setup im looking to run destiny 2 and new COD this fall, can i get away with just upgrading the GPU or would that be wasting my time? and if so, whats my best bang for my buck right now?

CPU: Intel i5-4670k 3.4GHZ
GPU: GTX 760 2GB
8GB Ram

 

[Bloodember]

So heres my current setup im looking to run destiny 2 and new COD this fall, can i get away with just upgrading the GPU or would that be wasting my time? and if so, whats my best bang for my buck right now?

CPU: Intel i5-4670k 3.4GHZ
GPU: GTX 760 2GB
8GB Ram

GPU should be fine. That CPU is still good. What resolution are you running in and how much do you want to spend?

 

[bucknuticus]

GPU should be fine. That CPU is still good. What resolution are you running in and how much do you want to spend?

1920x1080, im pretty flexible on price but dont want to drop a ton. Probably sub 300

 

[Killer Queen]

Not sure what you mean by installing the case. It should have a manual, read it. Also everything only goes in what they are used for, you can't mess it up. Read the motherboard manual and watch some youtube videos. If you need more help ask away, try to be a little more descriptive.

You see
You'd think
But unfortunately

 

[Bloodember]

1920x1080, im pretty flexible on price but dont want to drop a ton. Probably sub 300

A Geforce 1060 6gb should work for you.

 

[kuYuri]

You see
You'd think
But unfortunately

99% of the time, the manufacturer will have the manual downloadable on their website.

http://www.phanteks.com/assets/manuals/PH-EC416P_Western.pdf

 

[DiscoDave]

8 is fine, but for gaming, we're starting to see some games that take advantage of more than 8 GB of RAM. It doesn't mean you can't play those games with 8, just that they'd benefit from having more than 8. Grab a 1x8 GB stick now and buy a matching stick when you have the money or see a need. No reason you have to get both now.

3200 MHz isn't necessary at all.

500w should be enough if it is a good PSU. If the quality is low or the efficiency is low, it might not be enough.

Sorry for late reply was asleep. The PSU is corsair cx500, is this OK. Is the 3200mhz ram only really necessary for higher OC. As I said I'm only going to OC with the stock cooler so it won't be to big of an OC.

Yeah I think Volta will end up being what 1080 Ti is now - $700-$800. Obviously it'll perform better - question is just how much better - but if you're willing to spend that much now, then you could wait 6 months and get an even better card. My rule is within 6 months I'll usually wait.

If you don't wait, I say still shoot for the Ti now.



I think 16GB is sort of the standard these days. Depends on usage but if you're trying to minimize cost then start with 8 and see how it fares.

If this is for gaming not sure how much 3200Mhz memory will do given that your primary limitation will be the 1060. I'd just look up some benchmarks.

500w should be fine.

Yea I fully intend to get 16 just want to start with 8 due to needing to keep the initial costs down for now. The 1060 will be replaced by the end of the year or early next with whatever new XX70 or higher, same reason as its a bad time to spend to much just yet. Anyway thank you for the replys.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Sorry for late reply was asleep. The PSU is corsair cx500, is this OK. Is the 3200mhz ram only really necessary for higher OC. As I said I'm only going to OC with the stock cooler so it won't be to big of an OC and thanks for the reply.

I think 500w is enough, especially if you're only doing a modest overclock and not shooting for the moon. I would personally feel better with a 550-600w PSU, but I don't think you'll have any limitations with a 500w PSU.

So, for the RAM, it's honestly probably easier to get a high overclock on your Ryzen CPU if you have lower speed RAM. So if you have 2133, 2400, 2666, or 2933 (3000) MHz RAM you'll be totally fine. Any of those RAM speeds should not be a problem at all for overclocking your CPU. If you decide to buy 3200 MHz RAM, you might see a 1-2% FPS increase in games, but it's not that important.

Basically, if you don't have 3200 MHz RAM, you can still easily overclock. I have RAM at 2933 MHz and overclocked my Ryzen 1700 to 3.7 GHz easily. I also tested my RAM at 2133 MHz and the CPU overclocked to 3.7 GHz without a problem as well.

 

[DiscoDave]

I think 500w is enough, especially if you're only doing a modest overclock and not shooting for the moon. I would personally feel better with a 550-600w PSU, but I don't think you'll have any limitations with a 500w PSU.

So, for the RAM, it's honestly probably easier to get a high overclock on your Ryzen CPU if you have lower speed RAM. So if you have 2133, 2400, 2666, or 2933 (3000) MHz RAM you'll be totally fine. Any of those RAM speeds should not be a problem at all for overclocking your CPU. If you decide to buy 3200 MHz RAM, you might see a 1-2% FPS increase in games, but it's not that imoortant.

Basically, if you don't have 3200 MHz RAM, you can still easily overclock. I have RAM at 2933 MHz and overclocked my Ryzen 1700 to 3.7 GHz easily. I also tested my RAM at 2133 MHz and the CPU overclocked to 3.7 GHz without a problem as well.

Ah that's interesting. Will mean I can buy 16gb ram then if I can go for the lower speeds and still achieve a small OC. Thanks I have put of buying the ram till I knew what speeds I needed. Will order some later so I can finally use my PC . Thanks.

 

[ahoyle77]

Quick upgrade question for those smarter than me.

My son has a dual monitor setup- one is 1080p and one 720p. I thought about getting him a larger 2k monitor, and getting rid of the 720p one. However, from some quick reading, it sounds like his graphics card would struggle with it, its a r9 380 2gb. Sounds like I should upgrade his card first? If so is it easier to stick with AMD? I looked at the rx 580 8gb.

So would you upgrade card and then monitor? If so, recommendation and does it matter if I switch from AMD to Nvidia?