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"I need a New PC!" 2012 Thread. 22nm+28nm, Tri-Gate, and reading the OP. [Part 1]

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I need to upgrade my computer. Obviously my graphics card is in the most dire need of an upgrade. I don't have any experience doing anything to my PC besides adding more RAM.

Someone suggested the MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg) for my system.

Do you guys agree that replacing the video card with this one is the best thing I could do for my gaming PC? Is this the most appropriate card for my system? I'd like to stick with an nVidia product.

yODUn.png



Also, is it a good idea to open the case up every once and a while and use canned air to blast away all the dust inside?
Anybody? I am completely in the dark on this stuff but I need to do something soon because my card sounds like a jet engine taking off these days and I'm afraid to play games until I replace it.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Word of warning, don't use Skyrim as somekind of barometer/gauge or aim for your pc build, your performance is going to be a dice roll.

People keep telling me that I'm cpubound, but when cramming your 2600k to 4.8 does nothing for the performance I'd rather give up on the game than buy a 3960X for 1500 usd.

Is that to say Skyrim drives higher temps than most games, or lower?
 

knitoe

Member
Anybody? I am completely in the dark on this stuff but I need to do something soon because my card sounds like a jet engine taking off these days and I'm afraid to play games until I replace it.

Yes, an upgraded video card would be best for gaming. Games are starting to use more than 1GB of vram so I would look at 2GB or more video cards.
 

Corky

Nine out of ten orphans can't tell the difference.
Is that to say Skyrim drives higher temps than most games, or lower?

I couldn't tell you, according to the task manager and nvidia inspector none of my components ( cpu/gpus ) were being stressed alot.
 

PGamer

fucking juniors
Anybody? I am completely in the dark on this stuff but I need to do something soon because my card sounds like a jet engine taking off these days and I'm afraid to play games until I replace it.
Both are good suggestions. The 560 Ti is a good card and a nice replacement for the 8800 (I made the exact same switch a few months ago myself). Also yeah you should be cleaning out your PC once and a while, especially if it's getting noticeably dusty.
 
Both are good suggestions. The 560 Ti is a good card and a nice replacement for the 8800 (I made the exact same switch a few months ago myself). Also yeah you should be cleaning out your PC once and a while, especially if it's getting noticeably dusty.

Okay, great. Also, there are a ton of different cards that come up when I search for "560 ti." How do I know which to get? And do they make a 2GB 560 Ti?

And is it easy to replace them? I've only opened up my case a couple times...
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
I couldn't tell you, according to the task manager and nvidia inspector none of my components ( cpu/gpus ) were being stressed alot.

According to Afterburner Skyrim seems to stress my CPU to 100% load, some of the time at least, but that's just me.
 

SoulClap

Member
Okay, great. Also, there are a ton of different cards that come up when I search for "560 ti." How do I know which to get? And do they make a 2GB 560 Ti?

And is it easy to replace them? I've only opened up my case a couple times...

They do make a 2GB 560ti.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130683

The MSI is 20 dollars cheaper so I'd look at that. The 1GB MSI model is on sale right now for $229 as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565

Video cards are very easy to replace. It's just a matter of plugging it into the PCI slot and connecting it to the power supply. You can look at how your current card is connected and go from there.
 
They do make a 2GB 560ti.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130683

The MSI is 20 dollars cheaper so I'd look at that. The 1GB MSI model is on sale right now for $229 as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565

Video cards are very easy to replace. It's just a matter of plugging it into the PCI slot and connecting it to the power supply. You can look at how your current card is connected and go from there.

I love you. Merry Christmas.
 

Corky

Nine out of ten orphans can't tell the difference.
You have vsync on? Can kill GPU load.

Isn't that besides the point? If you look at the screens you'll see that the game is only running at 40ish - indicating my pc not being able to even reach 60. But on the other hand the graphs show that there's much more to give. Anyways I'm more than sure that I tried with both off and on settings, and that post is a month old indicating that I since long stopped caring about the game since I couldn't get it to perform like a normal game.
 

mkenyon

Banned
Isn't that besides the point? If you look at the screens you'll see that the game is only running at 40ish - indicating my pc not being able to even reach 60. But on the other hand the graphs show that there's much more to give. Anyways I'm more than sure that I tried with both off and on settings, and that post is a month old indicating that I since long stopped caring about the game since I couldn't get it to perform like a normal game.
Craziness. We have almost identical setups, my system slaughters it.
 

Corky

Nine out of ten orphans can't tell the difference.
Craziness. We have almost identical setups, my system slaughters it.

Which drivers?

I tried

( the one before the one below )
285.79
290.36

Eh, speaks to the quality of the game. My system is as "fresh" as they come after a new format basically, used up a whopping 90 gb of a 1tb drive and other games work like they should *Shrug*
 
They do make a 2GB 560ti.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130683

The MSI is 20 dollars cheaper so I'd look at that. The 1GB MSI model is on sale right now for $229 as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565

Video cards are very easy to replace. It's just a matter of plugging it into the PCI slot and connecting it to the power supply. You can look at how your current card is connected and go from there.

Okay actually one more question. Will I need to upgrade my power supply to handle the new card? Not sure what I currently have but some dudes seem to have power supply issues when upgrading to a much newer graphics card.
 

SoulClap

Member
So it doesn't say in this Speccy report? Where can I find what it is?

Like mkenyon said check inside your case. It should print how many watts it is on the power supply. I'd also make sure the card will fit inside your case. The MSI is 9.37" (d) x 4.37" (w) x 1.46" (h).
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
SLI 560Tis. Twin Frozr II's, iirc.

Oh well there you go. I don't know how exactly a 560Ti compares to an HD6850, but I imagine SLI means means a much higher threshold. I've already had to turn some of Skyrim's settings to medium and the game still turns into a slideshow when I enter Whiterun (though that only happened after I updated to AMD's latest drives).
 

mkenyon

Banned
425W is cutting it pretty close, especially with a unit that probably isn't that great to begin with. You might want to consider one of the ~500W units listed in the OP.
 

Shambles

Member
The sticker says Input: 100-240V 50-60Hz DC Output: 425W

Is there a way to tell if that can handle the 2GB 560 Ti?

If you're not overclocking stuff you'll be fine. If you start getting system instability then you know for sure that it's worth spending the money to replace.
 
Old G5 Case. Our work just upgraded to i5 2011 imacs from g5 dual core 4gb towers, now i get to take it home for free.

Is it possible to mount an atx pc mobo in these things, i was checking here before i bring it home and frankenstine the shit out of it. They're are huge, nicely build cases.
 
If you're not overclocking stuff you'll be fine. If you start getting system instability then you know for sure that it's worth spending the money to replace.

So I pop in the new video card, and let's say the 425W isn't enough. What's the worst that can happen and how will I identify that the power supply is what is causing the problem and not something else?

I'm just afraid of a scenario where I swap out video cards and then my PC won't boot or is horribly broken and I'm a huge noob on this sort of thing and can't fix it.
 

Negaiido

Member
I was planning on customizing a new computer but I'm struggling while choosing the right GPU.

The GPU's that I'm struggling between are the 6970 and the 6950. I heard that you can unlock the 6950 and change it into the 6970. The 6950 can also be clocked better then the 6970. I don't really want to overclock but you can also buy pre-overclocked GPU's.

What should I do?
 
So I pop in the new video card, and let's say the 425W isn't enough. What's the worst that can happen and how will I identify that the power supply is what is causing the problem and not something else?

I'm just afraid of a scenario where I swap out video cards and then my PC won't boot or is horribly broken and I'm a huge noob on this sort of thing and can't fix it.

it might start, but the drain will be too much for your power supply, and could burn it out relatively fast. Or it could not start at all.
 

mkenyon

Banned
Old G5 Case. Our work just upgraded to i5 2011 imacs from g5 dual core 4gb towers, now i get to take it home for free.

Is it possible to mount an atx pc mobo in these things, i was checking here before i bring it home and frankenstine the shit out of it. There are huge, nicely build cases.
Why yes it is. PM sent.

Any chance you could get another one of those? Would certainly buy one off of you.
I was planning on customizing a new computer but I'm struggling while choosing the right GPU.

The GPU's that I'm struggling between are the 6970 and the 6950. I heard that you can unlock the 6950 and change it into the 6970. The 6950 can also be clocked better then the 6970. I don't really want to overclock but you can also buy pre-overclocked GPU's.

What should I do?
The unlocking bit can be a crapshoot at times. I'm not sure what 6950s out there right now can have the shaders unlocked. If you don't like overclocking, you most certainly would not like this. Overclocking is moving sliders, unlocking is actually flashing the BIOS.

Buy the best single GPU you can afford. If you can wait just a bit, the 7950s should be upon us soon.
 
I was planning on customizing a new computer but I'm struggling while choosing the right GPU.

The GPU's that I'm struggling between are the 6970 and the 6950. I heard that you can unlock the 6950 and change it into the 6970. The 6950 can also be clocked better then the 6970. I don't really want to overclock but you can also buy pre-overclocked GPU's.

What should I do?
wait for 7950 possible for you only a month or so.
 

Negaiido

Member
wait for 7950 possible for you only a month or so.

How much would it cost? Are the specs(including power usage) already known?

The unlocking bit can be a crapshoot at times. I'm not sure what 6950s out there right now can have the shaders unlocked. If you don't like overclocking, you most certainly would not like this. Overclocking is moving sliders, unlocking is actually flashing the BIOS.

Buy the best single GPU you can afford. If you can wait just a bit, the 7950s should be upon us soon.

It's not that I dislike overclocking, for overclocking you just need more expensive hardware. I would like to customize a cheaper system. I guess I will wait for the 7950s if it's releasing quite soon.
But then again, who says that the first released 7950 is the best one, don't you get better GPUs(of the same series) over time then the standard GPU?
 

partime

Member
I have a couple questions GAF,

1. Can I move my PCI-E graphics card to the inner slot? It takes up 2 slots and I would rather have it overlap into a PCI slot than an extra PCI-E slot. I need to free up a 1x slot. If yes, then will it sacrifice performance because I have other PCI-E cards before it (for audio and video capture).

2. My motherboard supports SATA 3Gb, can I add a 4x SATA 6GB Raid Controller Card (reason why I need to free up the slot) on the motherboard, or will it bottleneck my 6GB drives to 3Gb because the motherboard won't support it?

THANKS
 
it might start, but the drain will be too much for your power supply, and could burn it out relatively fast. Or it could not start at all.

Well shit, you guys are scaring me now. Maybe I should find some professional help in doing this, because it sounds like it could seriously screw things up. Is there a good place I can go for help that isn't Geek Squad?
 

lastendconductor

Put your snobby liquids into my mouth!
Hey guys, I remember a (recent) page where you could input your system specs and check if a certain game would run. I've been looking for it again for a while but I can't find anywhere. It is not "canyouRUNit" because the whole point was to check if certain upgrades would make certain games playable or not, I don't want to know what my current system can run or not, I already know that.
Does someone have a link, please?
 

mkenyon

Banned
I have a couple questions GAF,

1. Can I move my PCI-E graphics card to the inner slot? It takes up 2 slots and I would rather have it overlap into a PCI slot than an extra PCI-E slot. I need to free up a 1x slot. If yes, then will it sacrifice performance because I have other PCI-E cards before it (for audio and video capture).

2. My motherboard supports SATA 3Gb, can I add a 4x SATA 6GB Raid Controller Card (reason why I need to free up the slot) on the motherboard, or will it bottleneck my 6GB drives to 3Gb because the motherboard won't support it?

THANKS
1. Probably, check your motherboard manual to make sure.

2. Yes you can, no it won't. Different controllers, different lanes.

To clarify, it's not that your motherboard doesn't support it, it's that your motherboard doesn't have a controller that is SATA 6GB capable. Putting your own in adds that functionality.
Well shit, you guys are scaring me now. Maybe I should find some professional help in doing this, because it sounds like it could seriously screw things up. Is there a good place I can go for help that isn't Geek Squad?
Don't be scared, it's seriously easy. If my 15 year old self put together computers when they were way more complicated (and I'm not mechanically inclined) then you certainly can.
 

FoolsRun

Member
So I pop in the new video card, and let's say the 425W isn't enough. What's the worst that can happen and how will I identify that the power supply is what is causing the problem and not something else?

I'm just afraid of a scenario where I swap out video cards and then my PC won't boot or is horribly broken and I'm a huge noob on this sort of thing and can't fix it.

425W should be more than adequate during booting and even just putzing around on the internet or reading mail, since most of today's cards don't consume that much power when idle. The test will be when you apply load to them playing games. In theory, a good quality 425W would be okay, but I doubt the PSU's that ship with Dells are top of the line.

I have a 570, which consumes more than a 560, and when playing games I rarely exceed 275W total for my entire i2500K system with three hard drives and an SSD (I use a Kill-A-Watt meter to tell how much I'm pulling from the outlet). I played Dead Space 2 recently and I don't think I went above 140 watts, and when idle, I hover around 88 watts.

Now, if I run stress both the GPU and CPU simultaneously using a benchmarking program like OCCT I hit around 450W, but that's not the kind of thing you'd normally see in the real world.

Decent 550W PSUs can be had for around $60-70 after rebate. The question is whether it'll fit in your case. I'm not sure how upgradable Dell cases are.
 
Old G5 Case. Our work just upgraded to i5 2011 imacs from g5 dual core 4gb towers, now i get to take it home for free.

Is it possible to mount an atx pc mobo in these things, i was checking here before i bring it home and frankenstine the shit out of it. They're are huge, nicely build cases.
You'll have to modify it to put an ATX main board in there. I'm planing to do the same, so just ask if you have more specific questions.
 
425W should be more than adequate during booting and even just putzing around on the internet or reading mail, since most of today's cards don't consume that much power when idle. The test will be when you apply load to them playing games. In theory, a good quality 425W would be okay, but I doubt the PSU's that ship with Dells are top of the line.

I have a 570, which consumes more than a 560, and when playing games I rarely exceed 275W total for my entire i2500K system with three hard drives and an SSD (I use a Kill-A-Watt meter to tell how much I'm pulling from the outlet). I played Dead Space 2 recently and I don't think I went above 140 watts, and when idle, I hover around 88 watts.

Now, if I run stress both the GPU and CPU simultaneously using a benchmarking program like OCCT I hit around 450W, but that's not the kind of thing you'd normally see in the real world.

Decent 550W PSUs can be had for around $60-70 after rebate. The question is whether it'll fit in your case. I'm not sure how upgradable Dell cases are.

This makes me feel better, thanks. I'm just going to order the card, put it in and see what happens :)
 

Shambles

Member
This makes me feel better, thanks. I'm just going to order the card, put it in and see what happens :)

That's the best bet, upgrading out of fear is just throwing away money. The wattage should be more than enough but if the quality of the unit isn't great and if it doesn't happen to be strong enough all you'll see is that when the machine is under heavy load (gaming) you'll see instability like BSOD and power outages. I doubt you'll have any problems though, people heavily, heavily overestimate their power consumption needs. Your machine won't come anywhere close to 425W while gaming.
 

FoolsRun

Member
This makes me feel better, thanks. I'm just going to order the card, put it in and see what happens :)
One more thing: check how many PCI-E connectors you have on your current PSU. The 8800 GT cards only needed one 6-pin power connector, but the 560 ti cards need two.

Some cards come with molex->PCI power adapters if your PSU has extra molex plugs but only one PCI cable. I've never used them, though.
 
UPS just delivered what will hopefully be the last few components of my new PC, for a while anyway: a CM212+ cooler, and an SATA burner drive (because the brand new, still shrinkwrapped burner I picked up as a spare last year was E-IDE and I never bothered to check).

I also picked up an extra 120mm fan to throw into my case, and I was wondering about placement. This is the case I bought:

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=19&product_id=2970

BtItS.jpg


Positions 1, 2, and 3 already have fans in place; 6 only accepts an 80mm fan. I can mount anywhere else listed I think.
 
Okay, I'm getting Star Wars: The Old Republic for Christmas. Only problem is I have an ati 5450 stuck in my pc right now. I'm thinking about getting a 6670 to run the game. Will that run it at a stable framerate? I'm not looking at doing anything fancy. Just want to run the game at a decent resolution with a stable framerate. How about the GT440? They both are similarly priced so which would be the best card to get to run Star Wars for under 100 dollars?
 

partime

Member
Quick question, what is faster,

2x SATA 6gb drives connected through RAID 0, or 4x SATA 1.5gb drives through RAID 0?
 

mkenyon

Banned
Okay, I'm getting Star Wars: The Old Republic for Christmas. Only problem is I have an ati 5450 stuck in my pc right now. I'm thinking about getting a 6670 to run the game. Will that run it at a stable framerate? I'm not looking at doing anything fancy. Just want to run the game at a decent resolution with a stable framerate. How about the GT440? They both are similarly priced so which would be the best card to get to run Star Wars for under 100 dollars?
I'd ask in the TOR OT.
Quick question, what is faster,

2x SATA 6gb drives connected through RAID 0, or 4x SATA 1.5gb drives through RAID 0?
There's too many variables to answer this. All about the drives. The SATA type is a max bandwidth of the interface, not the capability of the drive in question.
Masking tape works for tying up cords right? Is it safe?
Yes.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Okay, I'm getting Star Wars: The Old Republic for Christmas. Only problem is I have an ati 5450 stuck in my pc right now. I'm thinking about getting a 6670 to run the game. Will that run it at a stable framerate? I'm not looking at doing anything fancy. Just want to run the game at a decent resolution with a stable framerate. How about the GT440? They both are similarly priced so which would be the best card to get to run Star Wars for under 100 dollars?

You can get a GTX 550 for $100. It would be significantly faster than a 6670:

perfrel_1680.gif


edit: though a 6670 $55 is a very cheap way to get a passable video card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131440

You could also look at a 6850 for $120, though I realize that's above the budget you specified:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161384

A 6850 should actually be able to run the game at nearly 60fps with anti-aliasing, just to give you an idea.
 
Thanks for the reply. The motherboard fried about 6 months ago and I had to replace it and that's why I put a 5450 in it. I'm just trying to keep it up and running and don't really feel like changing out my PSU right now either. Just want a modest system that I can play Star Wars on =). Is Powercolor a good choice? I'll probably order that card tonight.
 
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