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[LilJoka]

I mean vcore in bios settings, not in cpuz, will check it today after work.
Left Vcore Loadline calibration on Auto. It is not Asus, I have Gigabyte mobo. Does this setting correlate with temp peaks?

And I used nice Gigabyte overclocking guide, which advised to use prime95 v.27.9 with custom test parameters, it is not the latest version afaik.

The problem is air is not warm and heatsink is cold too. I think I will reapply thermal paste anyway, just to be sure.

Use the latest version and turn off AVX in the local.txt - add CpuSupportsAVX=0
The new version has bug fixes.

If the air coming off the heatsink is cold then maybe it's not tightened fully (tighten till it stops) or too much/little paste. Just a small pea sized drop is enough.

Need the vcore reading in CPUz, not bios, bios is a target and altered with load line calibration. Hence don't use auto LLC, try a medium level first.

 

[StonedRider]

Thank you for help, LilJoka, will it try today or tomorrow

 

[NEO0MJ]

Man, all those threads about new CPUs and GPUs coming soon are really discouraging me from buying a PC soon ( ._.)

Is this a good deal ?

http://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/deskto...g3Nw2:t3Q0&PID=10451&acid=ww:affiliate:bv0as6
$839 , plus taxes

It's cheaper than building something equivalent but the ram and CPU seem kinda old. Plus I don't think you can upgrade this in the future? Maybe someone with more experience regarding pre-built PCs can chime in?

 

[ISee]

Man, all those threads about new CPUs and GPUs coming soon are really discouraging me from buying a PC soon ( ._.)



It's cheaper than building something equivalent but the ram and CPU seem kinda old. Plus I don't think you can upgrade this in the future? Maybe someone with more experience regarding pre-built PCs can chime in?

A strong GPU paired with rather low end hardware is the problem of many prebuilds, this one is sadly not an exception. The price of $923 is also not that fantastic (if you add ~10% sales tax on top of it).
Problems are:
-A PSU that is theoretically strong enough, but going for 500-550W would be better.
-The i5 is running at a low clock speed and will bottleneck the GPU in CPU heavy title like GTA V, Witcher 3, Watch_Dogs 2 etc.
-They probably only use one stick of ram here, which isn't good performance wise.
-no USB 3.1 support
A RX 470 or GTX 1060/3G would be a better fitting and much cheaper graphics card because this system will run into performance problems anyway because of the CPU. The GTX 1070 won't be able to reach its full potential here.
If you're willing to spend 930-950$ (after taxes) than something like this will give you much better performance.

CPU: Intel - Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($211.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - H170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($83.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($103.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston - SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card ($334.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake - Versa H21 ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.89 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA - 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte - GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $941.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pVFfgL

It has all the pros of the prebuild like 120GB SSD + 1TB HDD, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and a GTX 1070, while improving the negatives.
The CPU is much faster, the PSU won't let you down in a year or two, it has two times the ram in dual slot configuration and USB 3.1 support on the front and on the back. 1080p/60 at reasonable ultra settings would be possible on this machine.
Possible upgrade paths for this build are: Stronger GPU, more SSDs, more RAM and a better CPU up to the i7 7700 (the newest asrock 7.20 bios seems to support kabylake CPUs on h170 boards).

 

[snack]

Making a new build. Having a slightly tough time deciding between AMD vs. Intel builds. CPUs I've been thinking about for my build include the 7600k, and the R5 1600/1700. If I want to do some streaming, and gaming at 1440p max res, what is my best option?

 

[Bloodember]

Making a new build. Having a slightly tough time deciding between AMD vs. Intel builds. CPUs I've been thinking about for my build include the 7600k, and the R5 1600/1700. If I want to do some streaming, and gaming at 1440p max res, what is my best option?

If your going to do both at the same time the Ryzen would be the better bet.

 

[Neverforget]

Making a new build. Having a slightly tough time deciding between AMD vs. Intel builds. CPUs I've been thinking about for my build include the 7600k, and the R5 1600/1700. If I want to do some streaming, and gaming at 1440p max res, what is my best option?

R5 1600 is what you are looking for, it's the best multitasking CPU for a reasonable price. It has almost the same performance in gaming as the intel.

Usually it goes like this :

If you want to go pure gaming and suck every fps possible => go intel
If you want to be able to game (losing 2 or 5 fps) and multitasking (streaming, recording...etc) for a good price => R5 1600

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Making a new build. Having a slightly tough time deciding between AMD vs. Intel builds. CPUs I've been thinking about for my build include the 7600k, and the R5 1600/1700. If I want to do some streaming, and gaming at 1440p max res, what is my best option?

I would say Ryzen 1600, but I'll also wait to see if Ryzen prices react to intel upcoming chips releasing this summer (although chances are probably not for the r5 1600 bracket, since the new chips from intell are from the $300-as-the-cheapest-one line).

 

[Burt]

Just had my secondary monitor die on me - some old 1680x1050 Hanns G - so I'm on the hunt for a decent replacement.

My main screen is an ASUS VG248QE, so right now I'm looking at the VE248Q, which seems to be essentially the same thing except with a 60hz max, which is fine for a secondary monitor. Am I missing something, and/or are there any other monitors I should be looking at for that price or cheaper that'd be better options?

 

[Hopfrog]

Sounds conclusive.



It's never a good time to upgrade, because there is always something new on the horizon. This time it is AMDs new RX Vega that has the potential to finally offer high end performance for consumers, but we don't know much about it...
The 1070 is reasonable for 1080p if you want to play at 'reasonable' ultra setting and want some more headroom in the future. 1070s are also getting cheaper and becoming a more attractive product for 1080p.
You build looks fine to me, I just have some smaller additions to make.

Download windows 10 from Microsoft and get the key cheaper somewhere else. You can also upgrade your current windows 7 or 8 to windows 10. Once upgraded windows 10 is yours and isn't locked to your current build at all. Instead it is locked to your Microsoft account. This way you can install it as often as you want, even on new PCs. As long as you use your old windows 7/8 key and your Microsoft account to activate it.

DDR4 2133 will work fine, but as you are getting a z270 board anyway it wouldn't be unwise to invest some money into a bit faster ram. Faster RAM further boosts CPU performance for kabylake and ryzen.

At least consider getting a R5 1600. Performance wise both the i5 and r5 are similar today, but the r5 1600 has the core/thread advantage and could become the better CPU in the future. That said the i5 7600k is also a good pick and gives you the better per core performance.
Both CPUs willbe able to give you the 1080p/60 experience you're looking for.

Having looked into it a bot more I think I will hold off on upgrading my CPU. My i5 3570K is still solid for now, and though I want to do a new build soon it would seem to make sense to wait until Coffee Lake at this point since I am not under any sort of time crunch. I might go ahead and get a 1070 though to bump up my performance since the 770 seems to be holding me back at this point, then I can put the 1070 into my new overhauled build later in the fall.

 

[Carm]

So, I decided to buy a new psu for my rebuild, instead of using the refurb in my current system, but I don't know what to buy.

I was going off last years build lists which listed a EVGA Supernova G2, I see the new builds listing a G3. Should I just get a G3 and is 750 watts enough?

Also, I bought a CM Hyper 212 EVO HS/Fan, I see it comes with a small tube of paste, is that fine or should I buy some other kind instead?

Current Rebuild specs:
I7-6700
2x8 Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15
ASUS Z170-Pro
EVGA 970
PSU ?
Fractal Design Define XL R2
Samsung Evo 850 250gb sad
2x WD 1TB Black HD
ASUS DVD Writer

Will you be overclocking? In the future maybe, short/medium term just want a stable system and see what the temps will be, tends to be warm here.

 

[ISee]

Having looked into it a bot more I think I will hold off on upgrading my CPU. My i5 3570K is still solid for now, and though I want to do a new build soon it would seem to make sense to wait until Coffee Lake at this point since I am not under any sort of time crunch. I might go ahead and get a 1070 though to bump up my performance since the 770 seems to be holding me back at this point, then I can put the 1070 into my new overhauled build later in the fall.

Just a tiny warning: You will run into cpu bottlenecks in some games with a 3570k/1070 combo. Still going from a 770 to a 1070 is a huge jump in performance and you should be able to hold out till early 2018 when coffee lake (hopefully) arrives, without to much trouble. Have fun

So, I decided to buy a new psu for my rebuild, instead of using the refurb in my current system, but I don't know what to buy.

I was going off last years build lists which listed a EVGA Supernova G2, I see the new builds listing a G3. Should I just get a G3 and is 750 watts enough?

Also, I bought a CM Hyper 212 EVO HS/Fan, I see it comes with a small tube of paste, is that fine or should I buy some other kind instead?

Current Rebuild specs:
I7-6700
2x8 Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15
ASUS Z170-Pro
EVGA 970
PSU ?
Fractal Design Define XL R2
Samsung Evo 850 250gb sad
2x WD 1TB Black HD
ASUS DVD Writer

Will you be overclocking? In the future maybe, short/medium term just want a stable system and see what the temps will be, tends to be warm here.

The EVGA SuperNOVA 550 is already more than enough, 750W isn't necessary.

Is there a way to "inject" my preferred fan speeds i made in Afterburner into the default drivers?

I don't really want to have afterburner opened all the time because it causes microstuttering in some games. But i also don't like the default fan speeds in GTX 1060... the fans only start spinning if it reaches 60c ffs.

So i want the speeds i made in Afterburner without having it opened in the background. Is it possible?

There was for the 900 series. Sadly bios editing is not possible on pascal cards. Also Afterburner doesn't cause micro-stuttering in games, afaik.

 

[Kadey]

4.8ghz is my new home. I think I could get away with 5.0ghz every day usage but the former is more than enough for anything and is within reasonable temps.

 

[nkarafo]

Is there a way to "inject" my preferred fan speeds i made in Afterburner into the default drivers?

I don't really want to have afterburner opened all the time because it causes microstuttering in some games. But i also don't like the default fan speeds in GTX 1060... the fans only start spinning if it reaches 60c ffs.

So i want the speeds i made in Afterburner without having it opened in the background. Is it possible?

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

A strong GPU paired with rather low end hardware is the problem of many prebuilds, this one is sadly not an exception. The price of $923 is also not that fantastic (if you add ~10% sales tax on top of it).
Problems are:
-A PSU that is theoretically strong enough, but going for 500-550W would be better.
-The i5 is running at a low clock speed and will bottleneck the GPU in CPU heavy title like GTA V, Witcher 3, Watch_Dogs 2 etc.
-They probably only use one stick of ram here, which isn't good performance wise.
-no USB 3.1 support
A RX 470 or GTX 1060/3G would be a better fitting and much cheaper graphics card because this system will run into performance problems anyway because of the CPU. The GTX 1070 won't be able to reach its full potential here.
If you're willing to spend 930-950$ (after taxes) than something like this will give you much better performance.

CPU: Intel - Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($211.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - H170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($83.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($103.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston - SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card ($334.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake - Versa H21 ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.89 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA - 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte - GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $941.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pVFfgL

It has all the pros of the prebuild like 120GB SSD + 1TB HDD, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and a GTX 1070, while improving the negatives.
The CPU is much faster, the PSU won't let you down in a year or two, it has two times the ram in dual slot configuration and USB 3.1 support on the front and on the back. 1080p/60 at reasonable ultra settings would be possible on this machine.
Possible upgrade paths for this build are: Stronger GPU, more SSDs, more RAM and a better CPU up to the i7 7700 (the newest asrock 7.20 bios seems to support kabylake CPUs on h170 boards).

Awesome, thanks

 

[nkarafo]

There was for the 900 series. Sadly bios editing is not possible on pascal cards.

Well that's disappointing. Sure, although 60c isn't that hot, because the fans stop spinning the temperature stays at 60-59c after i finish a game and drop realy slooooooowly but now that is summer, it stays at high 50's while being idle. That's way too hot for me to be comfortable and it will ravage the life expectancy of the card.

Why did they do this? Are they purposely trying to make the cards live less? The 960 i had before had much better default fan speeds and the card was never above 39c while idle.

 

[The Red Wizard]

Model of PSU, and what exactly do you mean there are no more power cables for them? As in slots on the motherboard to support them, or direct from the PSU?

This is the PSU:

https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Com...s+Gold"+Power+Supply+-+White+?productId=64578

This is the motherboard:

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/gig...pcie-sata)-2-way-crossfire-intel-lan-usb-30-m

I meant slots for the fans that were on the motherboard itself. I couldn't see any free ones on the motherboard and there was only one free one that came from the fan controller at the back of the case. I used that for one new fan but I'd like to add another so I'm trying to work out how to power it.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I have a few questions about multi-monitor.

My current setup:

• Monitor 1 is my 165hz 2560x1440 GSync monitor
• Monitor 2 4K Television in another room

I'd like to have a second monitor that goes with the 1440p Gsync monitor. I want to be able to setup monitor groups. The television would be by itself and when I use that I wouldn't want the other 2 monitors on and when I'm on my monitor, I'd want both monitors on while the TV is off.

Questions, how do I setup such a grouping? Also, while extending the desktop, can I have the main monitor outputting at 144+hz 1440p GSync, if the second monitor is a 60hz fixed refresh? for the second monitor, I'd just want a browser window or discord, I don't need anything expensive.

 

[ISee]

Well that's disappointing. Sure, although 60c isn't that hot, because the fans stop spinning the temperature stays at 60-59c after i finish a game and drop realy slooooooowly but now that is summer, it stays at high 50's while being idle. That's way too hot for me to be comfortable and it will ravage the life expectancy of the card.

Why did they do this? Are they purposely trying to make the cards live less? The 960 i had before had much better default fan speeds and the card was never above 39c while idle.

50°C while idle sounds weird. What GPU are you using exactly?
Also please check your Nvidia power management. Is your GPU set to maximum performance? And while you're at it check if your windows power pofile is set to high. If that's the case lower both to optimal or balanced performance and recheck your idle temperatures.

 

[dcx4610]

So, I decided to buy a new psu for my rebuild, instead of using the refurb in my current system, but I don't know what to buy.

I was going off last years build lists which listed a EVGA Supernova G2, I see the new builds listing a G3. Should I just get a G3 and is 750 watts enough?

Also, I bought a CM Hyper 212 EVO HS/Fan, I see it comes with a small tube of paste, is that fine or should I buy some other kind instead?

Current Rebuild specs:
I7-6700
2x8 Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15
ASUS Z170-Pro
EVGA 970
PSU ?
Fractal Design Define XL R2
Samsung Evo 850 250gb sad
2x WD 1TB Black HD
ASUS DVD Writer

Will you be overclocking? In the future maybe, short/medium term just want a stable system and see what the temps will be, tends to be warm here.

The G3 is just the new version of the power supply. EVGA (Super Flower) makes very solid PSUs and you can't go wrong. The change for G3 is slightly smaller chassis and a smaller fan. G2 or G3 are perfectly fine. I'd just get whatever you can find at the best price. Based on your list, 750w should be more than enough.

As for the thermal paste, it's debatable. You can definitely get higher quality thermal paste but is it really going to make that much more of a difference? You're looking at 1-2c difference at the most. Nothing to lose sleep over.

 

[intheinbetween]

Guys, as I already stated in the GTX 1080Ti thread, I believe the root cause for high temps ln my GPU is the case (Fractal Design R3), so Iam looking for a cool 'n quiet case. I'm torn between the Corsair Carbide 600C and the Silverstone KL07B. Which one would be better to keep an Aorus 1080Ti under cool temps?

 

[dcx4610]

Guys, as I already stated in the GTX 1080Ti thread, I believe the root cause for high temps ln my GPU is the case (Fractal Design R3), so Iam looking for a cool 'n quiet case. I'm torn between the Corsair Carbide 600C and the Silverstone KL07B. Which one would be better to keep an Aorus 1080Ti under cool temps?

As cool as certain cases might look, I wouldn't buy one without an exposed front fan intake. Designers have tried to get creative with blank fronts and little vents on the side to pull in air but it's just not efficient.

Look at automobiles. You have a big fan at the front of the engine to keep it cool. You don't have the fan covered up.

I'd do a search on "high air flow" cases. Something with 1 or 2 front fans and a good top or side exhaust and you should be good to go.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Man. G.Skill Trident Z RGB are expensive. Damn. Remember when Ram was the cheapest thing in your system?

 

[NEO0MJ]

Man. G.Skill Trident Z RGB are expensive. Damn. Remember when Ram was the cheapest thing in your system?

To be fair, Corsair's RGB ram is also expensive. If you don't care about that you'll save at least $30 for equivalent ram.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Man. G.Skill Trident Z RGB are expensive. Damn. Remember when Ram was the cheapest thing in your system?

I got 2x4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 of that amazing low-temp, low-profile, highly overclockable Samsung RAM in 2012 (or was it 2013?) for about $35. That stuff was resellable used a year or two later for $80.

I miss the good old days of cheap RAM too.

 

[Jeffrey]

urgh. upgrading my cpu out of the 3570k requires new ram, new mobo and cpu.

Don't really have the time for this these days haha.


I hear most prebuilt pcs don't actually cost that much more than just buying the parts?

Any reputable prebuilt pc companies these days with good support?

And do any offer the option of no gpu in the config?

I want to still use my 980ti.

 

[snack]

R5 1600 is what you are looking for, it's the best multitasking CPU for a reasonable price. It has almost the same performance in gaming as the intel.

Usually it goes like this :

If you want to go pure gaming and suck every fps possible => go intel
If you want to be able to game (losing 2 or 5 fps) and multitasking (streaming, recording...etc) for a good price => R5 1600

I would say Ryzen 1600, but I'll also wait to see if Ryzen prices react to intel upcoming chips releasing this summer (although chances are probably not for the r5 1600 bracket, since the new chips from intell are from the $300-as-the-cheapest-one line).

Thanks guys!

For the motherboard, I am stuck between the two Gigabyte Gaming 3 mobos. I chose it because it has the best audio of all b350 mobos. But I am stuck between the GA-AB350 or the GA-AB350M. Any big differences between the two other than the RGB FUSION LED stuff?

 

[mullet2000]

Hey guys, I'm having an issue and I don't know where else to ask about it.

I'm having an issue where the options for Output Colour Depth, Output Colour Format, and Output Dynamic Range have suddenly disappeared in my Nvidia Control Panel.

It looks like this for me: http://i.imgur.com/4RNXG7K.png

It should look like this: http://i.imgur.com/0fIsfiF.png

Anyone know why this happened? It appear this way whether I try to change settings on my monitor or on my 4K TV. The settings previously were there, I don't know how long they've been gone but know they were there a few months ago.

On windows 10

 

[Bananajama]

Oh my - just tried Dirt Rally on ultra low settings with my 6970

17fps average...yep ...need my new gpu!

 

[nkarafo]

50°C while idle sounds weird. What GPU are you using exactly?
Also please check your Nvidia power management. Is your GPU set to maximum performance? And while you're at it check if your windows power pofile is set to high. If that's the case lower both to optimal or balanced performance and recheck your idle temperatures.

Yes, i know all about this. Everything is checked.

I have a Windforce GTX 1060. The problem is that the fans won't spin until the card reaches 60c. At 59c they are still inactive. Which also means that after a game is finished, once the card reaches 59c, the fans stop spinning so it doesn't cool down any further. It just stays at mid-high 50's unless i manual spin the fans myself.

With my Afterburner profile i keep my card at 39c idle during the hot days easily (even less if it's not summer obviously). But i have to have the program running in the background to achieve that. So i have to remember to open afterburner every time i finish a damn game because i don't want it open during gaming (it causes microstutters to some).

 

[Branson]

I know I was suggested a different CPU cooler, but is there anything wrong with a Hyper212 now or anything? Its still the top recommend on PC part picker.

Anyone? I haven't had any issue on the one I had in my old computer.

 

[CarbonatedFalcon]

Any good headset recommendations in here?

I've had a Steelseries Arctis 5 since Christmas, but the connection between the proprietary USB-esque cable and the headset has become loose, causing nearly any movement shift cause a disconnect. Going to see if I can warranty it back and get it replaced, but I might buy something new in the meantime, as my shitty old Corsair headset won't cut it for long.

Was looking at the Hyper X IIs, those have always seemed to have some positive buzz. Otherwise was thinking about getting an Arctis 7 (wireless version of what I had), on sale now at Amazon for $108.

Don't wanna spend more than $120. Otherwise I would go for something like a pair of Astro A40s, but that's close to double my budget at $200 (ON SALE!). Audiophile headphones + a mic solution tend to run at least $150+ too.

 

[jim2point0]

Hey all you case airflow experts.

Best 120mm intake fans?

Right now it's between the Nidec Servo GentleTyphoon and Noctua NF-F12.

Is there an option C that beats both?

 

[dcx4610]

Anyone? I haven't had any issue on the one I had in my old computer.

Nothing wrong with it. It's a reputable cooler but there are better options these days.

 

[catpurrcat]

Guys,
I've recently discovered Blizzard games. Yes, in 2017. Overwatch on PS4, WoW on my friends gaming PC....

Anyways, I would love to try Starcraft 2, including the new Legacy of the Void. Probably Diablo at some point, and Skyrim (yes I know its Bethesda)

But I'm new to PC gaming...I have Dell mini tower case (~280w?), vostro 230, with an SSD, Win 10 Pro, 4GB RAM, Intel E6600 Dual core 3.06 ghz

I'm fairly sure I can upgrade the CPU to the Yorkfield Q9650 per this message board: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19476163

But what should I do about the video card and PSU? Any suggestions?

Or should I take the potential $300-$400 upgrading this and put it into a new gaming PC (assuming I can strip the case, dvd drive, and SSD.)

Budget matters...especially since I only plan on playing Blizzard games and I have a PS4 Pro.

 

[Iorv3th]

Guys,
I've recently discovered Blizzard games. Yes, in 2017. Overwatch on PS4, WoW on my friends gaming PC....

Anyways, I would love to try Starcraft 2, including the new Legacy of the Void. Probably Diablo at some point, and Skyrim (yes I know its Bethesda)

But I'm new to PC gaming...I have Dell mini tower case (~280w?), vostro 230, with an SSD, Win 10 Pro, 4GB RAM, Intel E6600 Dual core 3.06 ghz

I'm fairly sure I can upgrade the CPU to the Yorkfield Q9650 per this message board: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19476163

But what should I do about the video card and PSU? Any suggestions?

Or should I take the potential $300-$400 upgrading this and put it into a new gaming PC (assuming I can strip the case, dvd drive, and SSD.)

Budget matters...especially since I only plan on playing Blizzard games and I have a PS4 Pro.

I wouldn't waste any money upgrading the CPU on that. Would be a real waste. Your upgrade options are very limited. That motherboard only supports 4GB of RAM so you are stuck at that.

For 400-500 you can probably get a decent new computer on sale with a video card and better processor.

 

[ColdDeckEd]

Anyone? I haven't had any issue on the one I had in my old computer.

No issues with it but there are coolers in the same price range that work better and are easier to install like the cryorig h7.

Guys,
I've recently discovered Blizzard games. Yes, in 2017. Overwatch on PS4, WoW on my friends gaming PC....

Anyways, I would love to try Starcraft 2, including the new Legacy of the Void. Probably Diablo at some point, and Skyrim (yes I know its Bethesda)

But I'm new to PC gaming...I have Dell mini tower case (~280w?), vostro 230, with an SSD, Win 10 Pro, 4GB RAM, Intel E6600 Dual core 3.06 ghz

I'm fairly sure I can upgrade the CPU to the Yorkfield Q9650 per this message board: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19476163

But what should I do about the video card and PSU? Any suggestions?

Or should I take the potential $300-$400 upgrading this and put it into a new gaming PC (assuming I can strip the case, dvd drive, and SSD.)

Budget matters...especially since I only plan on playing Blizzard games and I have a PS4 Pro.

You could put a decent PC together for around 500, maybe less since you have an SSD already.

Gamersnexus has a good build for 400ish, you will unfortunately need to rebuy windows I think but you can try to call MS to see if they'll activate it on your new PC.

 

[Smokey]

Hope we get some official Intel x299 news at computex. The new HEDT platform is enticing and I'm itching to build again!

 

[catpurrcat]

I wouldn't waste any money upgrading the CPU on that. Would be a real waste. Your upgrade options are very limited. That motherboard only supports 4GB of RAM so you are stuck at that.

For 400-500 you can probably get a decent new computer on sale with a video card and better processor.

No issues with it but there are coolers in the same price range that work better and are easier to install like the cryorig h7.



You could put a decent PC together for around 500, maybe less since you have an SSD already.

Gamersnexus has a good build for 400ish, you will unfortunately need to rebuy windows I think but you can try to call MS to see if they'll activate it on your new PC.

Thanks great suggestions!

 

[kmfdmpig]

Quick question for those of you who do a good job of tracking temps.

I'm getting parts for my build this week and hope to make it late this week.

I have a S340 Elite case. It will have a 240 radiator AIO on the front of the case (intake, which is the only way it fits. It then has a fan at the top and one on the back. The case comes with fairly good 120 mm fans, but it can fit 140 mm fans. Do you think it's a good use of money to get the larger fans and replace the ones that come with the case?

If so, it looks like the ML140 fans are the best out there, but they're very expensive. Are there any that look good (LED perhaps) that have a nice balance of noise/performance/price and looks? Or am I best to just stick with the fans that come with the case as it wouldn't make much difference?

 

[ISee]

Yes, i know all about this. Everything is checked.

I have a Windforce GTX 1060. The problem is that the fans won't spin until the card reaches 60c. At 59c they are still inactive. Which also means that after a game is finished, once the card reaches 59c, the fans stop spinning so it doesn't cool down any further. It just stays at mid-high 50's unless i manual spin the fans myself.

With my Afterburner profile i keep my card at 39c idle during the hot days easily (even less if it's not summer obviously). But i have to have the program running in the background to achieve that. So i have to remember to open afterburner every time i finish a damn game because i don't want it open during gaming (it causes microstutters to some).

Fans not working below 60°C is obviously normal for Gigabytes Windforce/G1 series. Still the massive heat sink paired with the airflow in your case should be enough to cool the card down even further, over time. I had a 1070 G1 for a couple of days and I can't remember the card staying that high after gaming. If you perceive micro stuttering with afterburner your only option is to try out other tools till you find something that works, but most oif the stuff is based on afterburner anyway. You could also try running afterburner without RTSS and play around with the compatibility settings.
Also 50°C isn't a problem, even if you account for slightly higher electron flow. You are over-cautious and you won't use the 1060 windforce in 7 years anyway.

Quick question for those of you who do a good job of tracking temps.

I'm getting parts for my build this week and hope to make it late this week.

I have a S340 Elite case. It will have a 240 radiator AIO on the front of the case (intake, which is the only way it fits. It then has a fan at the top and one on the back. The case comes with fairly good 120 mm fans, but it can fit 140 mm fans. Do you think it's a good use of money to get the larger fans and replace the ones that come with the case?

If so, it looks like the ML140 fans are the best out there, but they're very expensive. Are there any that look good (LED perhaps) that have a nice balance of noise/performance/price and looks? Or am I best to just stick with the fans that come with the case as it wouldn't make much difference?

Intake AIO on the front is actually good as you'll be using fresh, not preheated air to cool down your cpu. The downside is, you'll be pumping pre heated air into your case. That's why I personally prefer to also use an intake fan over the GPU in builds with an AIO, but that's not possible anymore in the age of the tempered glass case.
Anyway it's not a huge deal in the first place. A 120mm fan on top and on the back are enough to quickly move air out of your case, going for 2x140mm fans won't significantly improve your incase temperatures, but you could go for slightly slower fan speeds.

 

[kmfdmpig]

Fans not working below 60°C is obviously normal for Gigabytes Windforce/G1 series. Still the massive heat sink paired with the airflow in your case should be enough to cool the card down even further, over time. I had a 1070 G1 for a couple of days and I can't remember the card staying that high after gaming. If you perceive micro stuttering with afterburner your only option is to try out other tools till you find something that works, but most oif the stuff is based on afterburner anyway. You could also try running afterburner without RTSS and play around with the compatibility settings.
Also 50°C isn't a problem, even if you account for slightly higher electron flow. You are over-cautious. You won't use the 1060 windforce in 7 years anyway.



Intake AIO on the front is actually good as you'll be using fresh, not preheated air to cool down your cpu. The downside is, you'll be pumping pre heated air into your case. That's why I personally prefer to also use an intake fan over the GPU in builds with an AIO, but that's not possible anymore in the age of the tempered glass case.
Anyway it's not a huge deal in the first place. A 120mm fan on top and on the back are enough to quickly move air out of your case, going for 2x140mm fans won't significantly improve your incase temperatures, but you could go for slightly slower fan speeds.

Thanks! I appreciate your help. I jumped down the rabbit hole reading about fans, decibels and cubic feet of pressure today and spent quite some time learning more about fans than I ever thought I would. I appreciate the heads up that in my case it's likely insignificant as it's one less thing to worry about.

 

[ISee]

Thanks! I appreciate your help. I jumped down the rabbit hole reading about fans, decibels and cubic feet of pressure today and spent quite some time learning more about fans than I ever thought I would. I appreciate the heads up that in my case it's likely insignificant as it's one less thing to worry about.

Always glad to help.

We all jumped down the rabbit hole of min/maxing our stuff at one point, it can become an obsession (or something close to it). My advice here is always the same. If you enjoy perfecting every little thing in your build: do it, but don't expect significant improvements because of it. All the hard work to improve the case temperature by 1-2°C in (most likely) a room with a inconsistent/changing temperature is a tiny bit pointless.

 

[TatteredHat]

Since we seem to be on the topic of case fans, I might as well ask now.

I have the new Enthoo Evolve mATX TG case, it comes with 2 140mm fans (1 front, 1 back) and I am planning to buy a third one for a 2 front, 1 back setup along with having 2 fans on my CPU cooler.

Is that sufficient or should I consider adding another fan on the top exhaust, The top vent on this case is actually fairly limited in exhaust capacity since it only has small slits on each side as you can see below.

 

[LilJoka]

Thanks! I appreciate your help. I jumped down the rabbit hole reading about fans, decibels and cubic feet of pressure today and spent quite some time learning more about fans than I ever thought I would. I appreciate the heads up that in my case it's likely insignificant as it's one less thing to worry about.

Upgrading fans is almost always pointless.

 

[Rain City Gamer]

Can someone please recommend me a good wireless blue tooth keyboard / mouse?

I just bought a new gaming PC and Want to play from my couch.

Thanks!

 

[Radec]

My amd 270x is dying, and plan to switch to Nvidia now.

My choices at the moment are:

GTX1060
GTX1050Ti

I only play Diablo 3 and Dota 2 on pc atm.
Which one to get?

My old ass rig has:
3570k
8gb ddr3 ram
650w PSU
1080p monitor

Should I go for the 1060 or the 1050ti will be better on my current parts?

I plan to get a ryzen 5 cpu and compatible mobo in the future.

 

[JonnyDBrit]

My amd 270x is dying, and plan to switch to Nvidia now.

My choices at the moment are:

GTX1060
GTX1050Ti

I only play Diablo 3 and Dota 2 on pc atm.
Which one to get?

My old ass rig has:
3570k
8gb ddr3 ram
650w PSU
1080p monitor

Should I go for the 1060 or the 1050ti will be better on my current parts?

I plan to get a ryzen 5 cpu and compatible mobo in the future.

Either will work fine honestly, without too much constraint by the CPU (as GPU will remain the main limit). That said the games you're playing are not exactly massively demanding, so you can probably get by with the 1050 Ti - hell you'd get by with a regular 1050 if you wanna get the cost down. That said if you're wanting to pair with that R5 for good performance in much more hungry titles, the GTX 1060 would serve you better.

 

[Pooya]

get 1060. 1050ti is not even close. Considering that the price difference is not too steep, 1050ti is not a good buy. 1060 performs just fine in your setup.

 

[Khaz]

Guys,
I've recently discovered Blizzard games. Yes, in 2017. Overwatch on PS4, WoW on my friends gaming PC....

Anyways, I would love to try Starcraft 2, including the new Legacy of the Void. Probably Diablo at some point, and Skyrim (yes I know its Bethesda)

But I'm new to PC gaming...I have Dell mini tower case (~280w?), vostro 230, with an SSD, Win 10 Pro, 4GB RAM, Intel E6600 Dual core 3.06 ghz

I'm fairly sure I can upgrade the CPU to the Yorkfield Q9650 per this message board: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19476163

But what should I do about the video card and PSU? Any suggestions?

Or should I take the potential $300-$400 upgrading this and put it into a new gaming PC (assuming I can strip the case, dvd drive, and SSD.)

Budget matters...especially since I only plan on playing Blizzard games and I have a PS4 Pro.

On ebay, Q9650 are about $20 (make sure you get the model exactly right). Ask your friend for their old, battered graphics card. Simply doing that will have freshened up your computer for these older games. The main thing that drags you down is the lack of a dedicated GPU: Intel integrated are shit for gaming at reasonable resolutions.

It won't give you a modern gaming computer, but it's a cool project for peanuts. And at worst, it will give you the occasion to tinker with the insides of a computer.