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[finalflame]

It's not misinformation. I have a variety of TVs and a projection setup in my home which are also ISF and THX calibrated(as in I paid Lion AV to calibrate them). I'm very familiar with the downside of not inputting native res to a monitor.

I am saying this monitor does a fantastic job presenting the viewer with a 1080 image without introducing artifacts or softness that can occur in some 4K TV screens.

Games presented in 1080 and streaming video from Amazon in 1080. I will say that the black levels are not close to what I get on my Panasonic Plasma's but it's not possible to achieve that from this type of monitor.

I realize the ROG might do a good job of scaling images, but it still will be of lower quality than a 1080p image output on a native 1080p display due to scaling not being perfect. The image might look very good, but it's not as good as it would be without scaling.

Being an A/V enthusiast you must also understand that the ROG Swift uses a TN panel, which simply does not match the color reproduction of an IPS or PLS panel (much like it doesn't compare to the excellent black levels in your plasma display).

Either way, I realize the ROG Swift is a great panel. I was just trying to give the original poster some options or getting a 1080p G-Sync monitor now, and later upgrade to 1440p once IPS 144hz panels are more affordable and he gets a strong graphics card. A 980 translates to fantastic performance at 1080p, but lacking for 1440p. That's all.

A 980 is perfect for a g synch 1440p monitor.

Why, when it can't run most modern games at > 50fps at 1440p max settings? To what end is 144hz on a 1440p G-Sync monitor being used? People are free to buy whatever they want, but honestly, 144hz is lost on a single 980 at 1440p, unless you're looking to play older games. Which is fine.

 

[bro1]

As for 4k, when I was rocking dual gtx 780 ti I also had a 4k monitor (asus) and didn't like the stuttering. Having a just a single 980 and my AOC g synch monitor has been a better experience,even more so when I was using a 1440p quinix due to the backlight bleed.

 

[NoRéN]

I understand that. You are just the friend that got out of the small town. We're all happy for you, thrown in with some jealously involved. We live through you.

Holy shit, such an accurate description.

 

[SkyTurnsRed]

I realize the ROG might do a good job of scaling images, but it still will be of lower quality than a 1080p image output on a native 1080p display due to scaling not being perfect. The image might look very good, but it's not as good as it would be without scaling.

Being an A/V enthusiast you must also understand that the ROG Swift uses a TN panel, which simply does not match the color reproduction of an IPS or PLS panel (much like it doesn't compare to the excellent black levels in your plasma display).

Either way, I realize the ROG Swift is a great panel. I was just trying to give the original poster some options or getting a 1080p G-Sync monitor now, and later upgrade to 1440p once IPS 144hz panels are more affordable and he gets a strong graphics card. A 980 translates to fantastic performance at 1080p, but lacking for 1440p. That's all.



Why, when it can't run most modern games at > 50fps at 1440p max settings? To what end is 144hz on a 1440p G-Sync monitor being used? People are free to buy whatever they want, but honestly, 144hz is lost on a single 980 at 1440p, unless you're looking to play older games. Which is fine.

I'm kind of in a similar boat as the person you're posting about. Do you have any 1080p G-Sync monitor recommendations?

 

[Fatal Futanari]

Two questions:

1. Does EVGA charge tax to California?
2. Anyone know a good external bluray/DVD writer? I have an internal ASUS one at the moment and the laser sucks on it.

 

[finalflame]

I'm kind of in a similar boat as the person you're posting about. Do you have any 1080p G-Sync monitor recommendations?

Unfortunately, I don't think any IPS 1080p G-Sync monitors exist, or if they will ever be made, with the push towards 1440p.

The Acer XB270H uses an 8-bit TN panel, though, and is supposed to look pretty good:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NUCRBCU/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[MoonGred]

The interesting thing about these is you can overclock the refresh rate...YMMV with results.

I had a QNIX Pixel Perfect from Ebay that I thought was pretty fantastic. I clocked it up to 110 before I saw artifacting. It did have some backlight bleed which seems to be why these panels are rejected by Apple to begin with.

How do you even OC a monitor, I hear everyone talking about it but wouldn't even know where to begin. Up until recently I didn't even know this was a thing.
I'd be ok with the tiny bit of backlight bleed seeing as I'd be paying a fraction of what I was going to spend on a ROG.

 

[finalflame]

How do you even OC a monitor, I hear everyone talking about it but wouldn't even know where to begin. Up until recently I didn't even know this was a thing.
I'd be ok with the tiny bit of backlight bleed seeing as I'd be paying a fraction of what I was going to spend on a ROG.

Simple, you just use a piece of software and move a slider. It's trivial.

 

[HarryDemeanor]

Two questions:

1. Does EVGA charge tax to California?
2. Anyone know a good external bluray/DVD writer? I have an internal ASUS one at the moment and the laser sucks on it.

1. I believe so.
2. Nope.

 

[finalflame]

Two questions:

1. Does EVGA charge tax to California?
2. Anyone know a good external bluray/DVD writer? I have an internal ASUS one at the moment and the laser sucks on it.

1. Their HQ is in Brea, CA, so probably.

2. This one has solid reviews and is USB3.0: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051UY168/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[MoonGred]

What are the downsides of DVI for 1440? I was always under the impression that you'd display port.

 

[finalflame]

What are the downsides of DVI for 1440? I was always under the impression that you'd display port.

DisplayPort can carry audio. Otherwise, there is virtually no difference, and no drawbacks to DVI-D at 1440p.

 

[The Teachinator]

What are the downsides of DVI for 1440? I was always under the impression that you'd display port.

You're basically getting a rejected Apple Cinema Display in a qnix frame. The frame is cheaper in quality. DVI won't carry audio. I really disliked the base as it lacked any flexibility. I think you can mount it though. There are some hacks to fix the black light bleed. I know some people purchased there's on eBay with a seller named bigclothcraft. The seller had it to me in 3 days from South Korea.

I've read theyre really good at covering you if there are any problems too.

 

[The Bad Guy]

I built the following pc below. I am wondering if i will see any benefits of doubling my RAM from 8gb to 16gb. I use pc mostly for couch gaming, surfing the web, streaming content.

I only have a 1 x 8GB currently installed.


CPU - Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard - Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
SSD - Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Harddrive - Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card

 

[Enosh]

hmm I'm not 100% sure it's psu coil whining anymore

was playing DA:I, like usual noticed the noise again and went to remove the side panel to try and listen more closely, and then to my surprise it started getting quieter and quieter to the point where it got no louder than my old PC
could fans spinning really fast also produce a kinda high pitched noise like that?
it's possible it's just either the GPU or stock intel fan (think this one but can't be sure, it's annoying trying to find one sound among so many -.-) and I think my case isn't getting enough airflow, only a front mounted fan which is even kinda blocked by the hard drive

my case has some place on the side panel to mount a fan (my desk has a panel some 10 cm away from the back of the PC while a side one would have a wide open space), I guess I'll look into buying one, or would it be better to just replace the intel one? might have to do both...

or I'm just getting insane and there is some coil whining ^^

 

[VE3TRO]

Any value on selling two ASUS GTX 680 Directcu II Top 2GB? Barely used and have original boxes. Thinking of selling to buy a single card for some future games.

 

[cyen]

I built the following pc below. I am wondering if i will see any benefits of doubling my RAM from 8gb to 16gb. I use pc mostly for couch gaming, surfing the web, streaming content.

I only have a 1 x 8GB currently installed.


CPU - Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard - Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
SSD - Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Harddrive - Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card

You will lose dual channel, i personally would buy two sticks of 8.

 

[rtcn63]

Case vibration maybe? I have a Define R4 that after a year of ownership, started to make a loud (recurring) noise that I couldn't pinpoint it at first, until I realized it was the case door. If I opened and closed it, the noise would go away for awhile.

 

[SRG01]

Is anyone here a fan of cube cases? I was looking at the Thermaltake S1 yesterday, and stumbled onto the SD1 and V21 cube cases. The SD1 is a little out of my price range, but the V21 seems right in my alley considering it has lower USB/audio jacks and no optical bays. The V21 is only about $20 more than the N200 too.

Also, I may have a WiFi solution: I almost forgot that I had a Wireless N (or G?) dongle somewhere in my house. It may be still connected to my older system in the basement, but there's a chance I could shave off some more money.

To be fair though, it's just pinching pennies at that point so I'm not too worried whether I get a dongle or carded solution.

 

[LilJoka]

Case vibration maybe? I have a Define R4 that after a year of ownership, started to make a loud (recurring) noise that I couldn't pinpoint it at first, until I realized it was the case door. If I opened and closed it, the noise would go away for awhile.

Maybe HDD resonance, try adjusting the HDD mount trays.

 

[LilJoka]

Is anyone here a fan of cube cases? I was looking at the Thermaltake S1 yesterday, and stumbled onto the SD1 and V21 cube cases. The SD1 is a little out of my price range, but the V21 seems right in my alley considering it has lower USB/audio jacks and no optical bays. The V21 is only about $20 more than the N200 too.

Also, I may have a WiFi solution: I almost forgot that I had a Wireless N (or G?) dongle somewhere in my house. It may be still connected to my older system in the basement, but there's a chance I could shave off some more money.

To be fair though, it's just pinching pennies at that point so I'm not too worried whether I get a dongle or carded solution.

If you go mITX you have on board wifi. For a cube ITX case look at the Fractal Design Node 304.

 

[kiyomi]

I built the following pc below. I am wondering if i will see any benefits of doubling my RAM from 8gb to 16gb. I use pc mostly for couch gaming, surfing the web, streaming content.

I only have a 1 x 8GB currently installed.


CPU - Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard - Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
SSD - Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Harddrive - Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card

You won't really see any benefits in games right now by going 2x8GB.

Any value on selling two ASUS GTX 680 Directcu II Top 2GB? Barely used and have original boxes. Thinking of selling to buy a single card for some future games.

You can probably still get decent money for 680s. They're still good cards, after all.

 

[finalflame]

Is anyone here a fan of cube cases? I was looking at the Thermaltake S1 yesterday, and stumbled onto the SD1 and V21 cube cases. The SD1 is a little out of my price range, but the V21 seems right in my alley considering it has lower USB/audio jacks and no optical bays. The V21 is only about $20 more than the N200 too.

Also, I may have a WiFi solution: I almost forgot that I had a Wireless N (or G?) dongle somewhere in my house. It may be still connected to my older system in the basement, but there's a chance I could shave off some more money.

To be fair though, it's just pinching pennies at that point so I'm not too worried whether I get a dongle or carded solution.

Corsair 250D is by far the best mITX cube case, IMO. The amount of space and flexibility you get is unmatched, plus, it is extremely well built (like all of Corsair's Obsidian cases). If you don't believe me, check out this build:

http://imgur.com/a/YGrub

I don't use mine any more, but I also had a dual-radiator custom loop watercooling setup in mine. Case was heaven to build inside of, I loved it.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

It's not a Titan X, nor is it a new monitor... It's also not the Herman Miller Embody I've been lusting over for several years. But, hey, for $150, it ain't too bad...

NEW CHAIR!

 

[finalflame]

It's not a Titan X, nor is it a new monitor... It's also not the Herman Miller Embody I've been lusting over for several years. But, hey, for $150, it ain't too bad...

NEW CHAIR!

Congrats, it matches your colors scheme well. What do you have in the PC? I see some custom water cooling tubing.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Congrats, it matches your colors scheme well. What do you have in the PC? I see some custom water cooling tubing.

Thanks! I've gone through about five ~$200-$400 chairs in the last eight years or so. The END GAME is to splurge on a nice Herman Miller someday - sooner, hopefully, than later. But for right now, it's just not in the cards with other toys I'm wanting. This thing was at Microcenter for $150 right down the street, and the reviews are really good. It's a tad small for my frame, but I think I'll get used to it over time. It sure beats the hell out of the broken-ass-janky-piece-of-shit that finally cracked it half this weekend that I've been using.


Anyhoo, specs of the PC:

Little Devil PC-V7
RIVF IV
i7 3820 @ 4.6
EVGA GeForce Titan + 100Mhz
16GB Corsair Vengeance @ 2133
250GB 840 Pro
500GB OWC Mercury Elite
Blu-Ray
Full, custom-loop EK cooling

 

[KePoW]

It's not a Titan X, nor is it a new monitor... It's also not the Herman Miller Embody I've been lusting over for several years. But, hey, for $150, it ain't too bad...

NEW CHAIR!

hahaha is that one of those dxracer chairs that Twitch streamers are paid to sit in? you fell for that?

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

hahaha is that one of those dxracer chairs that Twitch streamers are paid to sit in? you fell for that?

No, not at all... I wouldn't buy a DX Racer, as they have the same BS construction as every single chair from Office Max for $200.

This is basically the exact same thing as a DX Racer - minus the warranty and brand - for $150. "Inland" was the brand.

 

[finalflame]

Thanks! I've gone through about five ~$200-$400 chairs in the last eight years or so. The END GAME is to splurge on a nice Herman Miller someday - sooner, hopefully, than later. But for right now, it's just not in the cards with other toys I'm wanting. This thing was at Microcenter for $150 right down the street, and the reviews are really good. It's a tad small for my frame, but I think I'll get used to it over time. It sure beats the hell out of the broken-ass-janky-piece-of-shit that finally cracked it half this weekend that I've been using.


Anyhoo, specs of the PC:

Little Devil PC-V7
RIVF IV
i7 3820 @ 4.6
EVGA GeForce Titan + 100Mhz
16GB Corsair Vengeance @ 2133
250GB 840 Pro
500GB OWC Mercury Elite
Blu-Ray
Full, custom-loop EK cooling

Nice! I use a SteelSeries Leap at work (http://store.steelcase.com/products/leap-chair-fabric/) and it's fantastic. I'm glad my employer spent as much as they did to give us these, but I sure as hell can't afford/justify one at home (yet).

Your rig seems awesome. Any chance you could link to pictures of the EK custom loop? I love EK parts. I have their Supremacy Clean CSQ Nickel+Acetal block for my CPU, and I love it. Plan on getting their 980 water blocks down the line, too.

 

[KePoW]

No, not at all... I wouldn't buy a DX Racer, as they have the same BS construction as every single chair from Office Max for $200.

This is basically the exact same thing as a DX Racer - minus the warranty and brand - for $150. "Inland" was the brand.

ok lol, from the picture angle it looked similar in shape

 

[Genio88]

It's not a Titan X, nor is it a new monitor... It's also not the Herman Miller Embody I've been lusting over for several years. But, hey, for $150, it ain't too bad...

NEW CHAIR!

Pretty good, but isn't that monitor a bit too smaller? With that rig of yours i'd use a 32 inch at least

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Nice! I use a SteelSeries Leap at work (http://store.steelcase.com/products/leap-chair-fabric/) and it's fantastic. I'm glad my employer spent as much as they did to give us these, but I sure as hell can't afford/justify one at home (yet).

Your rig seems awesome. Any chance you could link to pictures of the EK custom loop? I love EK parts. I have their Supremacy Clean CSQ Nickel+Acetal block for my CPU, and I love it. Plan on getting their 980 water blocks down the line, too.

Yeah, that's a great chair you've got there at work. My office provides some pretty decent chairs, too. Nothing that quality, but I can't complain. Someday I'll get something great for my personal rig.

Here's my entire build log with lots of pics. I did this in spring/summer of '13. I tried - oh boy did I try - to do an acrylic loop; but it was JUST taking off at the time, and the tools weren't readily available. Since it was my first water loop, there's a LOT that I'll improve on next time. Love EK's aesthetic - I'm right there with you.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1394229/...n-op-rivf-3820-titan-16gb-700gb-ssd-fully-wcd

ok lol, from the picture angle it looked similar in shape

Agreed. Honestly, it really wouldn't surprise me if this is the exact same chair, minus the logo.

Pretty good, but isn't that monitor a bit too smaller? With that rig of yours i'd use a 32 inch at least

It absolutely is. I just don't know which monitor I want to go with.

I like 4K
I like G-Sync
I like ultrawide
I like 144hz
I like IPS

So far, the 34" Ultrawide Acer Predator seems like my best bet, but it's AT LEAST another six months away, it sounds like. Since I feel like no matter what, I'll feel like I'm "settling" I've just kept using this 24" POS.

The Acer IPS 27" G-Sync 144Hz 1440p monitor is supposedly coming out next month with IPS. That might finally push me over the edge.

 

[Hazaro]

It absolutely is. I just don't know which monitor I want to go with.

I like 4K
I like G-Sync
I like ultrawide
I like 144hz
I like IPS

So far, the 34" Ultrawide Acer Predator seems like my best bet, but it's AT LEAST another six months away, it sounds like. Since I feel like no matter what, I'll feel like I'm "settling" I've just kept using this 24" POS.

The Acer IPS 27" G-Sync 144Hz 1440p monitor is supposedly coming out next month with IPS. That might finally push me over the edge.

The monitor struggle is real. I'm hanging in there with my 23" 1080p 120Hz

Also I picked up a Herman Miller Aeron a couple of months back for $300 and it's been pretty okay to me so far given I can resell it for what I bought it whenever.

 

[Prime crotch]

They're all great. All of the XFX power supply line are rebadged Seasonic designs, and all of them have highly rated reviews across the entire board.

Go 650 watts for more overclocking headroom and better support for future graphics cards that may need more wattage than Maxwell. Whether you go modular or not is your call, it's easier to keep wires tidy with a modular PSU. Why limit yourself to just XFX though? Other brands are also decent.

What's your budget and what country are you in?

Portugal. I went with a Corsair VS550 when i first built my rig, but it seems that model is kinda on the crummy side of things, so going through the recommended brands on various threads and what I could get on retailers here, like cooler master, xfx and what not. So I kinda I decided on XFX, for around 100 euros.

 

[Hazaro]

Portugal. I went with a Corsair VS550 when i first built my rig, but it seems that model is kinda on the crummy side of things, so going through the recommended brands on various threads and what I could get on retailers here, like cooler master, xfx and what not. So I kinda I decided on XFX, for around 100 euros.

XFX tends to have the most sane pricing for good PSUs outside the US in places like where you are or in AUS and even sometimes in UK/EU.

 

[Stilton Disco]

Ok PCGaf, I'm in the UK, looking to get back into PC gaming after a decade away.

What I'm primarily after though, is playing last gen games like Skyrim, Fallout, Saints Row etc, with Mods. For current Gen I'll stick with the lazy console route, so I'm not looking to get a future proof, top of the range build.

What I would like to do, is play most every game released before about 2013 with as high settings as I can, at 1080p/60fps without spending more than I have to.

Any suggestions?

 

[Hazaro]

Ok PCGaf, I'm in the UK, looking to get back into PC gaming after a decade away.

What I'm primarily after though, is playing last gen games like Skyrim, Fallout, Saints Row etc, with Mods. For current Gen I'll stick with the lazy console route, so I'm not looking to get a future proof, top of the range build.

What I would like to do, is play most every game released before about 2013 with as high settings as I can, at 1080p/60fps without spending more than I have to.

Any suggestions?

Read some of the OP
Fill out sheet in OP

 

[Reckoner]

Since you guys have been talking a lot about the monitors, is Nvidia able to make G-Sync work on Borderless or Windowed mode with a future update?

 

[xBladeM6x]

-snip-

I re-seated my GPU, and the problem appears to be fixed. Not going to say definitively yet, as it might pop up again, but so far so good. If that's what was causing it, then I know what unseated it. My fucking cat would come in my room in the morning and press her body weight against the cable management side of the case, and bat at it to wake me up with the noise it would make, which would very slightly bounce my computer. Needless to say, anytime she does it, I get pissed. Lol

Also, because my motherboard PCI-E slot is complete shit when it comes to holding a card as beastly / heavy as the Reference GTX 980, it probably didn't stand much of a chance from not becoming unseated. Lol

Edit: Still good 30 minute later. Usually it would have happened by now, at least a few times. Thanks for letting me know exactly what it was.

 

[Vow of Silence]

Hey all, I need a new PC that runs Witcher 3 at Ultra 60fps 1080p. I popped by this thread a while back asking advice on sensible-ising a build. Since then I've gone out, read more on what best choice components are and come back with an even less sensible build:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/QQCzRB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/QQCzRB/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£267.54 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 240M 76.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£78.29 @ Scan.co.uk)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste (£11.27 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII GENE Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£157.14 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory (£120.00 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£76.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive (£58.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card (£455.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£64.99 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£94.50 @ More Computers)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£9.79 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £1395.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-22 22:49 GMT+0000

For reference here's my previous sensible build, in which I'll be re-using an Antec EA-650 GB EarthWatts PSU (9 from Jonny Guru, bought in 2011) and my current Seagate Barracudas (500GB and 750GB, about 6 years old now). I'm keeping the 4790k over the suggested 4690k because of this news recently.

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/7rDqgs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/7rDqgs/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£267.54 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£109.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory (£50.90 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£76.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card (£455.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Aerocool DS-Cube MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£57.58 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £1043.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-22 23:24 GMT+0000

Essentially, I'm looking for everyone sensible to tell me to go with the sensible build and that the extra £350 will amount to no perceivable difference in performance. For some reason I can't bring myself to be sensible. Also tweaks/suggestions for both builds are welcome. I'm looking to begin ordering parts near the end of April so have a while yet to stew in the anticipatory juices of the PC building decision making process.

 

[Stilton Disco]

Read some of the OP
Fill out sheet in OP

And how exactly am I supposed to fill out a said sheet if I have no idea what I'm aiming for?

Just a simple 'this CPU/GPU would be overkill' kind of baseline is all I'm asking for here. I'm fully aware of what everything is, how it works, and how to assemble it, I just want someone to point me into the right direction, so I can make the first step. I've read the OP, and I'm simply overwhelmed by choice right now.

We can narrow it down to 'this CPU and GPU combination is the bare minimum that will run Skyrim at max settings at 1080/60' if that helps.

 

[kiyomi]

And how exactly am I supposed to fill out a said sheet if I have no idea what I'm aiming for?

Just a simple 'this CPU/GPU would be overkill' kind of baseline is all I'm asking for here. I'm fully aware of what everything is, how it works, and how to assemble it, I just want someone to point me into the right direction, so I can make the first step. I've read the OP, and I'm simply overwhelmed by choice right now.

We can narrow it down to 'this CPU and GPU combination is the bare minimum that will run Skyrim at max settings at 1080/60' if that helps.

An Intel i5, 8GB RAM and an R9 280/280X would do you great for pretty much every last gen game.

Budget would be useful though.

Essentially, I'm looking for everyone sensible to tell me to go with the sensible build and that the extra £350 will amount to no perceivable difference in performance. For some reason I can't bring myself to be sensible. Also tweaks/suggestions for both builds are welcome. I'm looking to begin ordering parts near the end of April so have a while yet to stew in the anticipatory juices of the PC building decision making process.

With that extra £350, you could:

- Buy a huge SSD for most of your games. Chicks will love you for it. Probably.
- Get a kick-ass 120/144Hz monitor. It'll guarantee you an extra 0.1 headshots per 10 rounds of CS:GO.
- Save the money to upgrade to a GTX 1080/whatever it'll be called.
- Become Batman.

The cheaper build is better value for money, plus think of all the games you could actually buy and play. But hey. It's your money!

 

[SRG01]

If you go mITX you have on board wifi. For a cube ITX case look at the Fractal Design Node 304.

mITX has exactly one PCI-E port, which cuts me off from USB-C in the near future. That, and I don't think there are any mITX boards with 4 RAM slots.

Corsair 250D is by far the best mITX cube case, IMO. The amount of space and flexibility you get is unmatched, plus, it is extremely well built (like all of Corsair's Obsidian cases). If you don't believe me, check out this build:

http://imgur.com/a/YGrub

I don't use mine any more, but I also had a dual-radiator custom loop watercooling setup in mine. Case was heaven to build inside of, I loved it.

But the jacks are on the top

 

[LilJoka]

Hey all, I need a new PC that runs Witcher 3 at Ultra 60fps 1080p. I popped by this thread a while back asking advice on sensible-ising a build. Since then I've gone out, read more on what best choice components are and come back with an even less sensible build:


For reference here's my previous sensible build, in which I'll be re-using an Antec EA-650 GB EarthWatts PSU (9 from Jonny Guru, bought in 2011) and my current Seagate Barracudas (500GB and 750GB, about 6 years old now). I'm keeping the 4790k over the suggested 4690k because of this news recently.



Essentially, I'm looking for everyone sensible to tell me to go with the sensible build and that the extra £350 will amount to no perceivable difference in performance. For some reason I can't bring myself to be sensible. Also tweaks/suggestions for both builds are welcome. I'm looking to begin ordering parts near the end of April so have a while yet to stew in the anticipatory juices of the PC building decision making process.

Yep that extra money spent is doing nothing for performance at least at stock clocks, some extra CPU OC headroom with that CPU cooler in the new build, but the post you refer to is using stock clocks for sure. And also just because they used more RAM isnt going to give more fps.

 

[Hazaro]

Hey all, I need a new PC that runs Witcher 3 at Ultra 60fps 1080p. I popped by this thread a while back asking advice on sensible-ising a build. Since then I've gone out, read more on what best choice components are and come back with an even less sensible build:


For reference here's my previous sensible build, in which I'll be re-using an Antec EA-650 GB EarthWatts PSU (9 from Jonny Guru, bought in 2011) and my current Seagate Barracudas (500GB and 750GB, about 6 years old now). I'm keeping the 4790k over the suggested 4690k because of this news recently.



Essentially, I'm looking for everyone sensible to tell me to go with the sensible build and that the extra £350 will amount to no perceivable difference in performance. For some reason I can't bring myself to be sensible. Also tweaks/suggestions for both builds are welcome. I'm looking to begin ordering parts near the end of April so have a while yet to stew in the anticipatory juices of the PC building decision making process.

Extra cash is doing nothing here. Also would ditch the Seagate hybrid drive.
Bump the case up on the 2nd build and add a regular HDD and you are golden.
GENE does look nice though

And how exactly am I supposed to fill out a said sheet if I have no idea what I'm aiming for?

Just a simple 'this CPU/GPU would be overkill' kind of baseline is all I'm asking for here. I'm fully aware of what everything is, how it works, and how to assemble it, I just want someone to point me into the right direction, so I can make the first step. I've read the OP, and I'm simply overwhelmed by choice right now.

We can narrow it down to 'this CPU and GPU combination is the bare minimum that will run Skyrim at max settings at 1080/60' if that helps.

Just want some extra info for clarity to help make the best choice for you.
People have large gaps in what they think they need or what they are looking to spend, etc.

If your question is what parts give you best value to run that stuff the answer is an i5 4670K and an R9 280/280X/290. R9 290 giving you the most headroom to go nuts with Skyrim mods + draw distance (4GB VRAM). But even listing your current computer helps give reference point and sometimes you can take some parts out like RAM / HDD / PSU / DVD and save $20-$200 if you are on tight budget (and how tight, so someone might suggest picking up a used part or two).

All the info you can help fill out helps, that's all!

 

[Stilton Disco]

An Intel i5, 8GB RAM and an R9 280/280X would do you great for pretty much every last gen game.

Budget would be useful though.

Thanks! Budget I'm not sure on yet. I'm happy to go to £700 at most, but the lower than that the better really. £500 or less would be ideal, but I'm not sure how realistic that would be. If I could one in that £500-£700 price range from a website that would build it for me, so I can get a warranty, even better.

Is there any particular model/year of i5 that would be better/cheaper to look out for in particular, and what would the Nvidia equivelant be of the 280?

Oh, and my current computer is a non gaming laptop, so not exactly upgradable. My last desktop died about 8 years ago, and was about 7 years old when it went. I've not bought a PC for gaming in 15 years basically.

 

[KePoW]

I re-seated my GPU, and the problem appears to be fixed. Not going to say definitively yet, as it might pop up again, but so far so good. If that's what was causing it, then I know what unseated it. My fucking cat would come in my room in the morning and press her body weight against the cable management side of the case, and bat at it to wake me up with the noise it would make, which would very slightly bounce my computer. Needless to say, anytime she does it, I get pissed. Lol

Also, because my motherboard PCI-E slot is complete shit when it comes to holding a card as beastly / heavy as the Reference GTX 980, it probably didn't stand much of a chance from not becoming unseated. Lol

Edit: Still good 30 minute later. Usually it would have happened by now, at least a few times. Thanks for letting me know exactly what it was.

LOL -- see how weird of a fix that is? You would never guess a loose video card would cause audio stuttering in Windows

My friend and I were totally like "WTF?!" when it fixed his issue haha

Can any of you technical folks even explain why this would be? Obviously there's some type of correlation because this has worked for two people now

 

[Mattakuevan]

Hey guys, wondering if I could get some advice on a new computer build:

Budget: <$2000
Main Use: Gaming and Emulation (Dolphin/PCSX2) mostly, doing some model work in Maya but nothing overly complicated.
Monitor Res: 1920x1080
Not reusing anything.
Probably won't be overclocking.

The main point is to get a comp that can max out Witcher 3 at 1080p/60fps and future proof games for a little while. I probably don't want to upgrade this thing for 3-4 years outside of a new GPU.

For games beyond Witcher 3 I am fine with 1080p/60FPS High-Ultra. Probably will only upgrade GPU again for Cyberpunk.

I have an idea of what to aim for based on general knowledge, but I don't know which brands are performing well other than what's written in the op (which seems a little outdated)


Current Build:
i7 4790K @4.0GHz
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H
(8x2) 16GB Memory (Brand?)
GTX 980 4GB (Brand?)
Crucial MX100 512GB
1TB WD Blue
CoolerMaster V750
Phanteks Enthoo Pro
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO

Thanks.

 

[xBladeM6x]

LOL -- see how weird of a fix that is? You would never guess a loose video card would cause audio stuttering in Windows

My friend and I were totally like "WTF?!" when it fixed his issue haha

Can any of you technical folks even explain why this would be? Obviously there's some type of correlation because this has worked for two people now

Definitely strange, but I did notice something that would correlate to it. Whenever it was happening, dragging windows around the desktop was super choppy, as if Windows was having difficulty even displaying what it was doing. I suppose if someone ever has both audio cracking, and choppy window dragging, it's likely the GPU. Still strange nonetheless. Lol

 

[Smokey]

Hey guys, wondering if I could get some advice on a new computer build:

Budget: <$2000
Main Use: Gaming and Emulation (Dolphin/PCSX2) mostly, doing some model work in Maya but nothing overly complicated.
Monitor Res: 1920x1080
Not reusing anything.
Probably won't be overclocking.

The main point is to get a comp that can max out Witcher 3 at 1080p/60fps and future proof games for a little while. I probably don't want to upgrade this thing for 3-4 years outside of a new GPU.

For games beyond Witcher 3 I am fine with 1080p/60FPS High-Ultra. Probably will only upgrade GPU again for Cyberpunk.

I have an idea of what to aim for based on general knowledge, but I don't know which brands are performing well other than what's written in the op (which seems a little outdated)


Current Build:
i7 4790K @4.0GHz
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H
(8x2) 16GB Memory (Brand?)
GTX 980 4GB (Brand?)
Crucial MX100 512GB
1TB WD Blue
CoolerMaster V750
Phanteks Enthoo Pro
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO

Thanks.

Does a monitor need to be included in that budget?