Support NeoGAF

[Darklord]

Its showing the CPU threads. Each core can handle 2 threads.

I thought it was something like that.

 

[TheHeretic]

I'll be going single, not SLI. Probably a core 2 unless i7 dramatically reduces in price by then. Whatever the best nvidia card is for $150-250 range at that time, SATA hard drive, and optical drive...I'll shoot for 500W then.

What about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151040

Thanks for all the help.

That should be fine. That'll come with a 3 year warranty.

Heres mine, for references sake: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

 

[NinjaFridge]

For those in the UK, the 4770 is now available from dabs.co.uk

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

I was looking at the gtx 275 since they were advertising it in the newegg flyer and I was wondering if it's a good card. Right now I have two 8800GTs in SLI, would it be worth it to switch to a GTX 275? I'm assuming I could sell off the two 8800GTs pretty easily yet and make the upgrade cost very little... Hopefully someone can answer soon, all you people talking about the new i7 processors make me want to upgrade again.

 

[John_B]

If you were to build a new system in 2009 would there be any reason to wait other than for incremental price drops?

- X58 chipset is going to last through 2009.
- There won't by any 32nm 4/6 core i7's released in 2009.
- SSD will still be expensive in late 2009.

 

[Minsc]

If you were to build a new system in 2009 would there be any reason to wait other than for incremental price drops?

- X58 chipset is going to last through 2009.
- There won't by any 32nm 4/6 core i7's released in 2009.
- SSD will still be expensive in late 2009.

SSDs (for solely the OS + a few dozen apps or a game) are cheap right this very minute. Actually they've gone up in price since a week or two ago. $120 from $110. Hopefully by the end of the year it'll be closer to $60 or so for the 30 gig Vertex, and the X25 will be closer to $250 or under.

 

[Diablohead]

I was looking at the gtx 275 since they were advertising it in the newegg flyer and I was wondering if it's a good card. Right now I have two 8800GTs in SLI, would it be worth it to switch to a GTX 275? I'm assuming I could sell off the two 8800GTs pretty easily yet and make the upgrade cost very little... Hopefully someone can answer soon, all you people talking about the new i7 processors make me want to upgrade again.

This thread has taught me that a GTX 260 is much cheaper and you can overclock it to 275 standards rather easily, i'm sure someone can confirm that better but it may save you money.

You use two 8800GT's, does that mean you would upgrade to two GTX's or just one?

SSDs (for solely the OS + a few dozen apps or a game) are cheap right this very minute. Actually they've gone up in price since a week or two ago. $120 from $110. Hopefully by the end of the year it'll be closer to $60 or so for the 30 gig Vertex, and the X25 will be closer to $250 or under.

Since the UK prices are double the dollar for SSD's do you think it is worth importing a 32gig SSD? i'm guessing it's exactly the same thing power wise as a UK brought storage device. Even with a import tax i would save 30% or so. A UK vertex 32gigger is £155 as I found out a page or two back.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

This thread has taught me that a GTX 260 is much cheaper and you can overclock it to 275 standards rather easily, i'm sure someone can confirm that better but it may save you money.

You use two 9900GT's, does that mean you would upgrade to two GTX's or just one?


Since the UK prices are double the dollar for SSD's do you think it is worth importing a 32gig SSD? i'm guessing it's exactly the same thing power wise as a UK brought storage device. Even with a import tax i would save 30% or so. A UK vertex 32gigger is £155 as I found out a page or two back.

It's only like $10 cheaper if I get it now from EVGA... I use 8800GTs not 9900GT but I would probably only get one now and then when I get money get a second one. I'd like eventually to run it in SLI again.

Edit: Blargh, it seems it suffers from memory bottleneck in SLI as well as the other higher end cards... Maybe I should hold off for now if it can't even handle it.

 

[John_B]

SSDs (for solely the OS + a few dozen apps or a game) are cheap right this very minute. Actually they've gone up in price since a week or two ago. $120 from $110. Hopefully by the end of the year it'll be closer to $60 or so for the 30 gig Vertex, and the X25 will be closer to $250 or under.

I see your point, but in any case I don't think it would be a reason to not build a system now. You could always pick up a SSD later.

I could totally afford 2x30GB Vertex looking at those prices though.

 

[Diablohead]

It's only like $10 cheaper if I get it now from EVGA... I use 8800GTs not 9900GT but I would probably only get one now and then when I get money get a second one. I'd like eventually to run it in SLI again.

Yeah sorry a typo from me.

Would a single GTX equal the power of two 8800's? I would have thought twin cards would give quite a bit of performance.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Yeah sorry a typo from me.

Would a single GTX equal the power of two 8800's? I would have thought twin cards would give quite a bit of performance.

I'm not sure, I'm having trouble finding benchmarks for the GTX being as detailed as the did with the 8800GTs so that's why I was wondering if someone else has a better idea about where they stack up with one another.

Edit: Only game I can find where they both test teh same game is in World in Conflict and it's 42 to 72 fps boost if I'm reading it correctly.

 

[Diablohead]

I'm not sure, I'm having trouble finding benchmarks for the GTX being as detailed as the did with the 8800GTs so that's why I was wondering if someone else has a better idea about where they stack up with one another.

Edit: Only game I can find where they both test teh same game is in World in Conflict and it's 42 to 72 fps boost if I'm reading it correctly.

I tried a google search and found someone's post about the cards from 08, i'll quote it:

Am I the only one that thinks the GTX 260 is a great upgrade for 8800 users? I mean it runs rings around the 8800 and 9800 gtx cards and isn't too expensive especially after sell the 8800. Firingsquad sum it up nicely


Then there’s the GeForce GTX 260. Its closest equivalent is a pair of GeForce 8800 GTs running in SLI. Here it’s a neck-and-neck race, with the 8800 GT SLI combo winning some benchmarks, and the GTX 260 taking home the performance crown in others. Considering its slimmer $400 price tag, this card is the easier upgrade to stomach given its performance. In fact, it’s the board we’d buy if we were plunking down the cash for a graphics upgrade today. This board ran circles around the 9800 GTX in our testing, and only costs about $100 more. Look at it from another perspective, the GTX 260 gets you 80-85% of the performance of the flagship GTX 280 for $250 less. NVIDIA’s got to stick to that $400 MSRP though in order for this equation to work.

Also looking at firingsquads numbers, an overclocked GTX 260 is almost as fast as a stock GTX 280. For $250 less its a bargain.

 

[Minsc]

Since the UK prices are double the dollar for SSD's do you think it is worth importing a 32gig SSD? i'm guessing it's exactly the same thing power wise as a UK brought storage device. Even with a import tax i would save 30% or so. A UK vertex 32gigger is £155 as I found out a page or two back.

I don't know, the Vertex is very nice, much faster than a typical HDD (~50x faster when dealing with lots of small 4kb write/reads), but it has a few quirks. The X25 is better, and has basically no flaws. So anyone would probably be very happy with the Vertex, but possibly wish they waited (when it comes time to have to update the firmware, it's not so simple with the Vertex), unless it really suits your needs.

Here's a nice review of it (and they even used a 30G model). It will be nice when I order my machine and can comment first hand on the SSDs.

Edit: Here's the kind of damning evidence that let's you just know that this is the technology that will at some point completely obsolete HDDs as a main system drive (from the comments in the review linked above):

Oh, and also as a side note, after having used my drive for going on 3 weeks now, I think it's very relevant to quote Anandtech's review here:

It doesn’t matter how much background crunching the OS is doing, every application and game launches as if it were the only thing running on the machine. Everything launches quickly. Much faster than on a conventional hard drive. If you have the ability, try using your system with a SSD for a day then go back to your old hard drive; if that test doesn’t convince you, nothing will.

I had to go back to my (Very fast, for a 7200 RPM HDD) WD5000AAKS for about 30 minutes in order to flash the firmware on my Vertex. It killed me to use it after getting used to my Vertex. Even on a system with hardware specs as gaudy as what's in my signature, the mechanical hard drive made my system feel like an old Pentium 4 with 512MB RAM and a drive full of spyware. It was just that slow after the Vertex.

 

[Zombie James]

Ordered my 4770

 

[Darklord]

This might be a stupid question but...where do the games install on vista? I mean I installed Crysis and theres no icon on the desktop, quick launch or start menu. :|

 

[DeadTrees]

If you were to build a new system in 2009 would there be any reason to wait other than for incremental price drops?

- X58 chipset is going to last through 2009.
- There won't by any 32nm 4/6 core i7's released in 2009.
- SSD will still be expensive in late 2009.

The Core i5 (cheaper, dual channel, mainstream version of the Core i7) and LGA-1156-based motherboards are scheduled for release August-ish, which should trigger fire sales on socket 775 hardware by late 2009/early 2010.

 

[bigmit3737]

Seasonic makes a lot of Corsair PSU's : )

The HX *20 series is really, really good. Its got Corsair branding but is made by Seasonic. Very reliable and very quiet. As for the warranty I don't really know, I thought it was 3 years but longer the better.

Ahhh Thank you. =)

 

[element]

newegg has a bunch of different versions of the 4770 (powercolor, saffire, xfx, and such). All are $109 with a $10 MIR.

Pretty sweet deal.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

This might be a stupid question but...where do the games install on vista? I mean I installed Crysis and theres no icon on the desktop, quick launch or start menu. :|

Click the "pearl" or start button and then go to "games" on the right. You can make a shortcut to the desktop for it from there.

 

[Herpes Reasons]

help a noob out.
how does the 4770 compare to the 8800s or the gtx?

 

[element]

help a noob out.
how does the 4770 compare to the 8800s or the gtx?

I have an 8800 GT and in the same boat. It is hard to find reviews to compare the two. Looking at a couple games, you saw a 20% increase typically. Where the 4770 really outperforms the 8800 GT is at higher resolutions, so 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 you start to see double the performance over the 8800 GT.

 

[Herpes Reasons]

I have an 8800 GT and in the same boat. It is hard to find reviews to compare the two. Looking at a couple games, you saw a 20% increase typically. Where the 4770 really outperforms the 8800 GT is at higher resolutions, so 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 you start to see double the performance over the 8800 GT.

nice. i was looking to upgrade my 2 year old desktop.
i think im sold on this.
anybody know the power supply requirements for the 4770?
the one i have on the pc is 220W

 

[Darklord]

Click the "pearl" or start button and then go to "games" on the right. You can make a shortcut to the desktop for it from there.

I use the classic setting though so I can get My computer ect. Problem is there is no games folder there. I guess I can always type it in, seems weird its felt out though...

 

[element]

anybody know the power supply requirements for the 4770?

newegg is saying 430w to 450w.

 

[godhandiscen]

the pricing for the 260 and the 275 are so close, not sure what to get.

The 275 is as good as a 280 from experience. Just get the 275.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

I use the classic setting though so I can get My computer ect. Problem is there is no games folder there. I guess I can always type it in, seems weird its felt out though...

You can also navigate through your C:\ drive or whatever you installed it and throw a shortcut on the desktop for the .exe

 

[Zombie James]

newegg is saying 430w to 450w.

Most of these reviews are using high-end Core i7-based systems and they're getting less than 250w full system load. Here's the 4770 on a Core i7 965 w/6GB of RAM:

Only 216 watts at full load.

 

[Herpes Reasons]

Most of these reviews are using high-end Core i7-based systems and they're getting less than 250w full system load. Here's the 4770 on a Core i7 965 w/6GB of RAM:

Only 216 watts at full load.

i have a intel triple core. 4gigs of ram with a 220w power supply.
that means im good right? i don't have to buy a new one?

 

[madmook]

Power supplies don't run at their maximum rated wattages. I don't have a technical understanding of what goes on, but as far as I know, average is around 60-70% efficiency, with higher-quality ones capable of achieving 80%+.

 

[John_B]

I had put some money aside for a nice vacation, but unfortunately those plans got canceled. So why not build a new system instead?

I just ordered this:

CPU : Intel i7-920 (D0 stepping)
MB  : Intel DX58SO (X58 chipset)
RAM : Mushkin XP3-12800 (3x2GB @ 8-8-8-24 timings)
ODD : Optiarc AD-7240S (24x DVD-R writing speed)
HDD : OCZ Vertex 30GB (2x for raid 0)
PSU : Corsair HX620W
CAS : Lian Li PC-A05N

I'm just going to run it stock. I was into overclocking before, but I don't have the time or interest anymore. Still deciding on the graphics card, I have to see how much room that little case has.

 

[madmook]

OCZ Vertex, eh?

I have a 120gb Vertex in my gaming laptop with Vista Home Premium 64-bit, runs fuckin' awesome. No more low hum or vibration from a harddrive.

 

[Barso]

I am looking to buy a PC from a company in the UK called MESH.
The PC I am looking at is the XGS 920SLX.
Could you have a look at it and tell me if it's worth buying and if anyone could help with advising me if the company are decent enough to buy from
Thanks to all your help and replies.
It's much appreciated.

 

[Shinz Kicker]

have we seen any crossfire 4770s

Looks like 20% boost over 4890 and less max power consumption. So awesome, to bad my board only has one pci e 2.0 slot.

 

[Hazaro]

Are they better than Corsair PSUs? I was under the impression those are some of the best and I think they come with a 5 year warranty.

I was looking to purchase a Corsair PSU just because of this.

Seasonic makes the 520w and 620w at least. The 450,550,750 are made by Channel Well Technologies. I am not sure who makes the 400w or 1000w

Warranty is 5 years and it is rated at 50C instead of 25C like most others.

I can attest to it's silent-ness (The fan spins at like 300 RPM) and voltages.
I think it's survived like 5 power outages too. Mine is 2 years old now.

 

[Hazaro]

i have a intel triple core. 4gigs of ram with a 220w power supply.
that means im good right? i don't have to buy a new one?

I highly doubt that 220w has enough amps on the 12V rail. You are welcome to post the PSU model though.
Also PSU's are usually most efficient around their 50-60% mark of stated wattage.

 

[Burger]

I built my PC recently, using a C2D E8400, Galaxy GF GTX 260+, Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R & a Antec Sonata III 500 ATX Mini Tower Case.

Now I thought this PC was going to be quiet when I built it but it turns out it's too loud for my tastes. The Intel stock HSF is only 25dba apparently, the Antec case uses an Earthwatts PSU, which uses a 'low noise' cooling fan. There are no fans on the MB, but there is a case fan pushing air out the back, but this has a 3 speed setting and is set on low. There is also the Galaxy card, this has 3 large fans mounted on the side which I think is where most of my noise is coming from.

I've tried to lower the fan speed on the GPU, using Galaxy's 'Xtreme Tuner', I've tried RivaTuner, ATITool, but nothing works, or it does work and I cannot tell. I assume all this noise is cumulative as it doesn't sound like one component. I might rip out the GPU tonight and see how loud it is.

I just want a PC that I can go to sleep while it's on. I want Mac Pro levels of quiet. All these fans are going full bore while the PC is idle just seems like a gigantic waste of energy to me.

Anyone have any suggestions ?

 

[grkazan12]

So I've been thinking of getting this laptop and I was just wondering if I configured it with these specs, how well would it run a game like left 4 dead?

Specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 2.4 GHz
4 GB DDR2 Ram
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650
7,200 RPM Hard Drive

 

[BravoSuperStar]

i have a intel triple core. 4gigs of ram with a 220w power supply.
that means im good right? i don't have to buy a new one?

Triple core intel chip? How?

 

[Doytch]

I built my PC recently, using a C2D E8400, Galaxy GF GTX 260+, Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R & a Antec Sonata III 500 ATX Mini Tower Case.

Now I thought this PC was going to be quiet when I built it but it turns out it's too loud for my tastes. The Intel stock HSF is only 25dba apparently, the Antec case uses an Earthwatts PSU, which uses a 'low noise' cooling fan. There are no fans on the MB, but there is a case fan pushing air out the back, but this has a 3 speed setting and is set on low. There is also the Galaxy card, this has 3 large fans mounted on the side which I think is where most of my noise is coming from.

I've tried to lower the fan speed on the GPU, using Galaxy's 'Xtreme Tuner', I've tried RivaTuner, ATITool, but nothing works, or it does work and I cannot tell. I assume all this noise is cumulative as it doesn't sound like one component. I might rip out the GPU tonight and see how loud it is.

I just want a PC that I can go to sleep while it's on. I want Mac Pro levels of quiet. All these fans are going full bore while the PC is idle just seems like a gigantic waste of energy to me.

Anyone have any suggestions ?

I doubt the sound is from the Sonata stuff. I'm using the same psu/case, and mine's pretty damn quiet. I have an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 as my hsf, and an 8800 gts. It only gets loud under load, when the gfx card spins up. If you just stop the fan on intel hsf and it's still loud, then it's the gfx card.

 

[Hazaro]

I just want a PC that I can go to sleep while it's on. I want Mac Pro levels of quiet. All these fans are going full bore while the PC is idle just seems like a gigantic waste of energy to me.

Anyone have any suggestions?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

I'd stick something in the fans for a little bit to see if that reduces the noise considerably.
If so just take off the fan module and put a 80/92/120mm fan on it. Maybe a Low Speed Yate Loon?

Fans usually consume about 4W of power, an idling computer maybe 115W ish
Standby is much better for power saving.

 

[Burger]

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

I'd stick something in the fans for a little bit to see if that reduces the noise considerably.
If so just take off the fan module and put a 80/92/120mm fan on it. Maybe a Low Speed Yate Loon?

Fans usually consume about 4W of power, an idling computer maybe 115W ish
Standby is much better for power saving.

I'll try that out. I'm pretty sure it's the GFX card, but if I cannot control that with software... Shit.

I have media on my PC, and it's shared to other people in the house, which is why I want it silent so I can sleep if it's running. Would it wake up if I had it in standby and someone wanted to watch something on their 360 ?

 

[Hazaro]

I'll try that out. I'm pretty sure it's the GFX card, but if I cannot control that with software... Shit.

I have media on my PC, and it's shared to other people in the house, which is why I want it silent so I can sleep if it's running. Would it wake up if I had it in standby and someone wanted to watch something on their 360 ?

Unsure on standby.

Which type do you have?

http://www.tweaktown.com/popImg.php?img=gal285acex_05l.JPG
or
http://www.tcmagazine.com/images/news/Hardware/Galaxy/Galaxy_GeForce_GTX_260_1792MB_01.jpg

Either one looks like they should be pretty quiet, but you are one of those crazy quiet people.

You should find good help at SPCR.

 

[MWS Natural]

Ugh...I keep flip-flopping between the 4870 and the 4890! 4870 has amazing value but the 4890 is pretty great when overclocked. Oh well I guess I have about a month before I can afford either anyways.

 

[mastershake]

Everyone seems to be saying lately that games are GPU dependant as opposed to CPU. Should i just opt for a Phenom II and pend more on a GPU instead of going with an Inetl i7?

anyone? please

 

[godhandiscen]

I had put some money aside for a nice vacation, but unfortunately those plans got canceled. So why not build a new system instead?

I just ordered this:

CPU : Intel i7-920 (D0 stepping)
MB  : Intel DX58SO (X58 chipset)
RAM : Mushkin XP3-12800 (3x2GB @ 8-8-8-24 timings)
ODD : Optiarc AD-7240S (24x DVD-R writing speed)
HDD : OCZ Vertex 30GB (2x for raid 0)
PSU : Corsair HX620W
CAS : Lian Li PC-A05N

I'm just going to run it stock. I was into overclocking before, but I don't have the time or interest anymore. Still deciding on the graphics card, I have to see how much room that little case has.

Why are you choosing that motherboard? Price? It is definitely not the best bang for the buck if you factor quality.

anyone? please

Well, that is partly true. Right now GPUs are the bottleneck, however you could get around it running TriSli or Quad Sli and for that you would need a monster CPU, but it is safer to just wait for the the next generation of GPUs. If you go for a Phenom II choose the Phenom II X4 245 which runs at 3.2GHz along with an AM3 motherboard with the 790FX/SB750 combo. That will be about $80 cheaper than the introduction Corei7 system and will be still way ahead of the curve when it comes to CPU bottlenecks. Also, the only game that will represent a challenge wheter you go Corei7 or Phenom II will be Crysis at maximum settings. Just set Crysis at "High" and you will breeze through it at 60fps. Wait for the next generation of GPUs to breeze through it on Very High. For a GPU I would recommend the 4890 if that is in your budget.

 

[Burger]

Unsure on standby.

Which type do you have?

http://www.tweaktown.com/popImg.php?img=gal285acex_05l.JPG
or
http://www.tcmagazine.com/images/news/Hardware/Galaxy/Galaxy_GeForce_GTX_260_1792MB_01.jpg

Either one looks like they should be pretty quiet, but you are one of those crazy quiet people.

You should find good help at SPCR.

Second one. I'll keep playing around, else try there. Thanks.

 

[Haeleos]

Hey guys. Question. I got my parts in today... and it's my first time building my own computer from scratch. I have everything together fine now, except once I put down the heatsink/cooler on the CPU, I noticed the fan's cable didn't reach to the plug on the mobo, so I had to take it off, turn it 90 degrees and put it back down again so the cable could reach.

The thing I'm worried about: will there be an issue with the thermal paste now that I had to remove the heatsink and put it back on again quickly? I could see the paste was on the CPU and on the bottom of the heatsink, but is it ok to just readjust it like that. It was on there for about 20 minutes before I moved it.

Let me know, thanks.

 

[Labombadog]

Hey guys. Question. I got my parts in today... and it's my first time building my own computer from scratch. I have everything together fine now, except once I put down the heatsink/cooler on the CPU, I noticed the fan's cable didn't reach to the plug on the mobo, so I had to take it off, turn it 90 degrees and put it back down again so the cable could reach.

The thing I'm worried about: will there be an issue with the thermal paste now that I had to remove the heatsink and put it back on again quickly? I could see the paste was on the CPU and on the bottom of the heatsink, but is it ok to just readjust it like that. It was on there for about 20 minutes before I moved it.

Let me know, thanks.

It is always best to redo the thermal paste after you take out the heatsink, because it creates air bubbles that creates heat. Use rubbing alchohol 91% or higher to remove the thermal paste and then re-apply.

 

[A Twisty Fluken]

Building an new PC in the GT3 for gaming ONLY (I use macs for all productivity stuff) hooked up to my 1080p 40" LCD.

Looking to get the most CPU bang for the buck, I ended up picking up a $120 E8400 E0 from Microcenter. Is this the best option for a sole gaming CPU? GPU will likely be a 4870 or equivalent for now. I made the decision based on my usual philosophy of "pay as little as you can get away with now, because when it comes to PC tech, spending $100 now and $100 later usually gets you more than $200 now." The Q9400 was $180 when I looked. Should I go ahead and keep this E8400 to build the system around?

 

[Hazaro]

Building an new PC in the GT3 for gaming ONLY (I use macs for all productivity stuff) hooked up to my 1080p 40" LCD.

Looking to get the most CPU bang for the buck, I ended up picking up a $120 E8400 E0 from Microcenter. Is this the best option for a sole gaming CPU? GPU will likely be a 4870 or equivalent for now. I made the decision based on my usual philosophy of "pay as little as you can get away with now, because when it comes to PC tech, spending $100 now and $100 later usually gets you more than $200 now." The Q9400 was $180 when I looked. Should I go ahead and keep this E8400 to build the system around?

I would keep it. A 3Ghz (Or 4 OC'd) Core 2 should be pretty solid for a ways to come.

I'd shoot for a GTX 260 or 4870 on your preference. Then maybe grab a new card next year.
At 1920x1080 you might want a little more though.