lordfuzzybutt
Member
OK so where is the fuel tank, and does it need diesel or petrol?!
It is hidden deep in the core vortex. Best not to meddle with it.
OK so where is the fuel tank, and does it need diesel or petrol?!
Hmm I just ordered a GTX 780TI (to replace my elderly 6670) mainly because the power seemed to rival the GTX 980 but around 3/4 of the price, £250 shipped. I hope i have made the right decision. Anyone care to comment?
I also have a 6670 I went for a 780TI
Is a 4GB version of the 960 really going to provide that significant of a performance boost? Watch Dogs is really that texture heavy?
how much of an upgrade would this be from my 6670?Cross posting from the BST. I'm looking to sell my old ASUS HD7970. PM if interested.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=158039281&postcount=3666
how much of an upgrade would this be from my 6670?
Hey guys, I want some feedback for a kinda weird build I'm making. So I know it's not really the best time to upgrade (with Skylake and new GPUs on the horizon) but here in Australia there's a 20% tech sale on Ebay for the next few days and I'm incredibly tempted to bite since my current PC is over 7 years old. So the idea is that I want to build a gaming PC which gives me leeway to upgrade the CPU, Mobo, RAM and GPU in a year or so's time if the new tech is worth it. Here's the build and hopefully you can answer some of the questions I have. Prices in AUD.
- I was originally looking at the i5 4690K but it turns out that isn't on sale. However the i7-4790S is (it's about the same price as the 4690K with the sale) . Is it worth it? I won't be overclocking since I might just upgrade straight the Skylake later on. Or should I go with a much cheaper CPU?
- So I'm going to do an mATX build. I've never done one before but it sounds quite interesting due to its portability. Is it viable for this build? Are there any issues or downsides I should know about? Would it still be viable if I, say, upgrade to a high end GPU when the new ones come out? If not, it doesn't matter since I would probably get a new mobo anyway and go with a full size one. How is the case? Are there any cheaper alternatives?
- I don't know much about the RAM I picked since they were the cheapest G.Skills on sale. Are these ok? I don't mind skimping on RAM too much since I can upgrade the DDR4 when the new mobos come out.
- Is the SSD good? Are the new models coming out that I should be aware of? Or would these be good for an investment?
- I picked the 970 as I heard it's the best bang for buck and I would like something fairly powerful right now before I consider upgrading.
- I know the PSU is overkill for this build but is it a good investment for when I want to upgrade to a higher end PC down the line? Same goes for the CPU Cooler.
- I'm also aware that I can't fit both the Wifi Card and the soundcard. Is there a mATX mobo which has two PCI-Express express slots? It's not too important though since I'm just going the buy the soundcard to save for later if I upgrade to a full sized tower. The soundcard is also an investment for when I better headphones.
- I think I'm going to hold off on buying a new monitor and wait for the IPS+Gsync monitors.
- I probably want to get peripherals like the mouse, keyboard and headphones but I haven't decided on those yet.
Sorry about all these questions if they sound pretty noobish. But all opinions are welcome and I would really appreciate the feedback!
im thinking about upgrading to something current from an Intel i5 2500K.. i don't think i have the patience to wait for Skylake K lol what is the top tier CPU and best CPU per dollar for gaming?
my PC just feels sluggish with programs and games and i think its time.. i need to look into the best performing CPUs for gaming that wont make me regret the purchase when skylake releases lol
what's the difference between the sapphire 290x and the xfx 290x? i really could use some help here because I don't know anything about this stuff...
edit/
guess I'll just wait for the upcoming 380.
So i'm looking around and it sounds like there is some worry that the 8120 processor which I have could bottleneck the HD 7970 which i just bought.
Could I get by with a 6300 or should I go for the 8350 which is nearly twice the price?
thank you thank you thank you. I'll see how it goes and opt for an i5 if I need to.I cannot recommend either purchase. In single core performance and game framerate, there is not much difference between the 8120, 6300, and 8350. You'd be spending money on what is essentially a 5~10% difference or less.
FX-8120 vs FX-8350
FX-8120 vs FX-6300
You would see a greater difference upgrading to an Intel i5 processor, but that would be $300 USD at the very least.
FX-8120 vs i5 4690K
Honestly, I'd say you should just hold on your your FX-8120 now and see how well it does, and then only upgrade if it still isn't enough or the results you're seeing are much slower than what others are getting with a 7970/R9 280X. It seems that your FX-8120 is on par with a current generation Intel i3 4360 in some games which isn't that bad at all.
Another option would be overclocking your FX-8120, but you'll need a decent motherboard and CPU cooler to do it. According to Bit-Tech and Anandtech, with the right hardware you could get up to 4.5GHz easily, so that will help remedy the 8120's anemic performance.
So my 570 died on me. What is recommended to play current gen games at 1080 on high? I have an i5 2500k from when I built it. Is that still OK these days?
Is there anything coming out in the next few weeks that I should wait for? Otherwise I was thinking of getting the 970GTX.
There are many issues with proper USB 3.0 driver support. I've heard of fixes involving unplugging and replacing the USB drive in another port after already reaching the Windows installer prompt in order to get Windows to recognize the USB drive again.I made a bootable Win8.1 USB drive using Microsoft's tool thing, and for some reason I can't boot and install Windows via USB 3.0. I'm sure there's some reason, but I can't be arsed to figure it out now. Just gonna use USB 2.0 to boot.
Welcome to the club.So my 570 died on me. What is recommended to play current gen games at 1080 on high? I have an i5 2500k from when I built it. Is that still OK these days?
Is there anything coming out in the next few weeks that I should wait for? Otherwise I was thinking of getting the 970GTX.
I made a bootable Win8.1 USB drive using Microsoft's tool thing, and for some reason I can't boot and install Windows via USB 3.0. I'm sure there's some reason, but I can't be arsed to figure it out now. Just gonna use USB 2.0 to boot.
*Using Windows 8.1 Pro for the very first time*
Holy fuck am I missing something, or is this UI a piece of hot shit? I googled for instructions on how to restore the classic start menu (since that was a feature of 8.1 right?) but I can't find the option in the control panel. Instead of "Taskbar and Start Menu", I see "Taskbar and Navigation".
I miss Windows 7.
No, all you get is a start button that opens the metro tile UI. I recommend Classic Shell if you want the old start menu back.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Deepcool Malstrom 120K All In One Watercooler, not yet listed on PC Partpicker, but was $59 at MSY
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Fury White Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Sandisk X110 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 2GB SuperClocked Video Card
Case: Thermaltake Chaser A31 Snow White ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B BRONZE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter
Case Fan: Thermaltake Luna 12 LED 50.4 CFM 120mm Fan
Monitor: Samsung S22D300HY 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($129.00 @ Centre Com)
Keyboard: SteelSeries APEX Wired Gaming Keyboard (PAX AUS Special)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival Wired Optical Mouse (PAX AUS special)
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-30 22:24 EST+1100
Note - The Majority of the parts were actually purchased at MSY, which isn't listed on PC Partpicker for some reason
probably a stupid question
with power supplies should I be concerned about too much wattage or is that just a ceiling, the higher the better always?
thanks, I'll hit the books.Maximum wattage is just one metric and not a very useful one when comparing PSUs. Taken on its own, it's a downright awful way to choose a unit. Maximum watts should be used only as a starting point. So, no, higher is not always better.
Efficiency and quality of power delivery are more important to my mind. Do yourself a favour and read some reviews on Hardware Secrets and jonnyguru. A lot of stuff will go over your head, but their recommendations are generally sound.
Would there be a noticeable difference if I put a gpu in a PCI Express x16 slot that is running at x8, compared to using a slot running at x16. I see it's fairly common on motherboards to have 2 x16 slots but with 1 running at x8 and the other at x16.
Aida64, occt are good.Wow to think I never overclocked my 4770k since the day I bought it (which was almost 2 years ago). That's going to change right now. However, I keep hearing that Prime95 + Haswell isn't a good combo. What are the ideal programs for stress testing that particular CPU?
thanks, I'll hit the books.
If you can tell us what your major components are and whether you're overclocking, we can probably give you a ballpark to help you search. Most single-GPU games PCs will manage with a good quality 550W unit. The OP builds have some explicit recommendations too.
This case looks really nice. Unfortunately, I just realised I want an optical drive. Do you guys have any suggestions similar to this?Case: BitFenix Phenom M Arctic White MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($109.00 @ CPL Online)
So the 750W Gold isn't on sale but the Bronze is. I'm not 100% if I'll go SLI later on but do you think the 650 would be suitable for a single next generation high end card when they come out?You could run this build on an EVGA 600B PSU to save yourself money, but it really depends on the sort of upgrade path you're looking at in the future. If you're going to get another board and go SLI for example it could be worth getting the 750W version of the EVGA.
I'll get a WD Red to store my games. I can use my old HDDs to store other media. How are the reds? Are they loud?The MX100 is definitely a solid choice for an SSD, consider where you're going to be storing different things because you may also want to add a convention HDD for storing your media files and lesser played games etc. OS and frequently used games should be on the SSD in my opinion.
Yep, that's kind of the plan. If the new tech is good, I don't mind spending 1k in a year or so's time to get a new Mobo, CPU, RAM and Graphics card. That means I don't mind skimping out on things like the Mobo, CPU and Ram now as I can upgrade later. That said, I'm quite happy with what I'm spending now. Alternative suggestions for the mobo would be great though as that particular model doesn't seem to be on sale at the moment.If you want Skylake however, that $450 of processor and motherboard that will be wasted. Skylake CPUs are incompatible with existing motherboards and will be launching on the new Z170 motherboard platform.
Okay, right thread this time:
As I'm likely to be moving soon, my current console/TV/PC combo will likely be broken up as I'll have a living room to myself again.
So, I need tips on a new cheap-ish monitor for the PC. I have a budget of around £100-£150 and I'm fine with a 1080 resolution instead of 1440 for the time being. Important thing for me is refresh rates, as I've had to put up with my TV's rather choppy handling when it came to areas such as scrolling the map in Pillars Of Eternity.
Ideally, about 24" would be nice for the size too. It has been a bit silly being sat up close to a 32" screen.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Thanks Idba, Stubo and RGM79 for your feedback! So this is what I have now:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($310.40)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($85.00 @ IJK)
Motherboard: MSI Z97M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($132.00 @ IJK)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($92)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.40)
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($152.00)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($447.20)
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($109.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($120.80)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($87.20)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($188.0)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($45.00 @ CPL Online)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival Wired Optical Mouse ($65.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $2002.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-31 01:03 EST+1100
So I have few more questions and comments.
This case looks really nice. Unfortunately, I just realised I want an optical drive. Do you guys have any suggestions similar to this?
So the 750W Gold isn't on sale but the Bronze is. I'm not 100% if I'll go SLI later on but do you think the 650 would be suitable for a single next generation high end card when they come out?
I'll get a WD Red to store my games. I can use my old HDDs to store other media. How are the reds? Are they loud?
Yep, that's kind of the plan. If the new tech is good, I don't mind spending 1k in a year or so's time to get a new Mobo, CPU, RAM and Graphics card. That means I don't mind skimping out on things like the Mobo, CPU and Ram now as I can upgrade later. That said, I'm quite happy with what I'm spending now. Alternative suggestions for the mobo would be great though as that particular model doesn't seem to be on sale at the moment.- The mobo, cooler, case and wifi card aren't on sale so I can take some time to think about those choices.
- I'll probably grab a sound card for now since it's cheapish and gives me a reason to finally get some decent headphones.
- I'll be getting a keyboard later on. I'm currently set on the Corsair K95 RGB Cherry Brown as it has all the features I want. I've never owned a mechanical keyboard but I think the Cherry Brown switches might be suited for me since it sounds like it is middle ground between Blues and Reds.
For what it's worth, the Asus VX238H (£145) has a good rating on the input lag database on displaylag.com, and is advertised as having a 1ms grey-to-grey response time.
If you want to save some money, the slightly larger Asus VE247H (£124) also has a good rating at that database and is advertised with a 2ms GTG response time.
The XFX XTR is their higher end gold rated fully modular model. If the price is right, go for it.The XFX PSUs look good but it doesn't look like there are many places you can get them in Australia. Does the 750W XTR sound good?
Not sure why I chose a red. The toshibas sound good.
Your X99 suggestion has thrown quite a spanner in the works. I'll have to do some research on them and might possibly revise my budget.
Some advice needed on 140mm front case fans for my NZXT S340:
I'm looking at Noctua NF-A14 PWM fans as they seem very well regarded for being quiet and effective. Only downside is the price.
Are there any cheaper but still good quality alternatives that you would recommend or are the Noctua fans worth the outlay?
Rosewill Hyperboreas and the Phanteks 140mm are both pretty great products.Some advice needed on 140mm front case fans for my NZXT S340:
I'm looking at Noctua NF-A14 PWM fans as they seem very well regarded for being quiet and effective. Only downside is the price.
Are there any cheaper but still good quality alternatives that you would recommend or are the Noctua fans worth the outlay?