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[Later Alligator]

i have a corsair h75 cooler on my 7700k, overclocked to 4.6 ghz. temps are a little warm but ive read this chip runs fairly hot to begin with

is there a better AIB cooler? ive been looking at the corsair h115i which has really good reviews. would i notice much of a difference from upgrading?

 

[arigato]

What motherboard and RAM is compatible with the pair of a RX 470 plus a G4560?

 

[sh4mike]

I have a pair of machines for 1080p gaming with the goal of overkilling requirements a bit. My new machine (1070 w/ i5-7600K) is similar to my old machine (980ti w/ i7-6700K).

I was told an i5-7600K is more than enough and that I didn't need an i7-7700K for it. But the Time Spy 3dMark CPU score has me a bit concerned. I don't overclock anything so these may look low.

1070 + i5-7600K = 5393, gpu=5779, cpu=3914
980ti + i7-6700K = 4966, gpu=4971, cpu=4935

Can anyone provide perspective on whether that lower CPU score will be problematic for higher settings @ 1080p? I still have an opportunity to upgrade to an i7-7700K for an extra $100, which isn't any concern for my financial situation. I chose the i5 simply because I was told it was already sufficiently overkill and that I would be GPU limited. Given that I don't OC anything, perhaps that statement doesn't hold(?).

 

[Renekton]

I have a pair of machines for 1080p gaming with the goal of overkilling requirements a bit. My new machine (1070 w/ i5-7600K) is similar to my old machine (980ti w/ i7-6700K).

I was told that i5-7600K is more than enough and that I didn't need an i7-7700K for it. But the Time Spy 3dMark CPU score has me a bit concerned. I don't overclock anything so these may look low.

1070 + i5-7600K = 5393, gpu=5779, cpu=3914
980ti + i7-6700K = 4966, gpu=4971, cpu=4935

Can anyone provide perspective on whether that lower CPU score will be problematic for higher settings @ 1080p? I still have an opportunity to upgrade to an i7-7700K for an extra $100.

At least for 1080p, i7 provides significant minimum framerate and stability jump over i5

 

[LilJoka]

i have a corsair h75 cooler on my 7700k, overclocked to 4.6 ghz. temps are a little warm but ive read this chip runs fairly hot to begin with

is there a better AIB cooler? ive been looking at the corsair h115i which has really good reviews. would i notice much of a difference from upgrading?

What is fairly warm? what temp?
You are just limited by the TIM under the IHS. Changing cooler will be somewhat marginal.

Have you considered air cooling? It would be better and quieter for less money. The H75 is less capable due to the rad size.

 

[sh4mike]

At least for 1080p, i7 provides significant minimum framerate and stability jump over i5

Bummer! Thank you.

 

[ColdDeckEd]

I have a pair of machines for 1080p gaming with the goal of overkilling requirements a bit. My new machine (1070 w/ i5-7600K) is similar to my old machine (980ti w/ i7-6700K).

I was told an i5-7600K is more than enough and that I didn't need an i7-7700K for it. But the Time Spy 3dMark CPU score has me a bit concerned. I don't overclock anything so these may look low.

1070 + i5-7600K = 5393, gpu=5779, cpu=3914
980ti + i7-6700K = 4966, gpu=4971, cpu=4935

Can anyone provide perspective on whether that lower CPU score will be problematic for higher settings @ 1080p? I still have an opportunity to upgrade to an i7-7700K for an extra $100, which isn't any concern for my financial situation. I chose the i5 simply because I was told it was already sufficiently overkill and that I would be GPU limited. Given that I don't OC anything, perhaps that statement doesn't hold(?).

If you still have the opportunity to swap to the 7700k for 100, go for it. Especially if you aren't going to overclock, the i7 has a higher turbo plus HT so it's faster and in the future if games start using more threads it has a higher ceiling.

 

[enewtabie]

So no AM4 itx boards so far?

 

[Later Alligator]

What is fairly warm? what temp?
You are just limited by the TIM under the IHS. Changing cooler will be somewhat marginal.

Have you considered air cooling? It would be better and quieter for less money. The H75 is less capable due to the rad size.

idle at ~30 C, after gaming for a few hours i will be in the 50 - 60 C range, depending on the game (give or take a few degrees). it drops steadily when i stop gaming. i have not done the de-lid

i have no problem switching to air, the h75 is completely silent in my case due to the noise dampening it has (fractal define r5)

 

[Later Alligator]

I have a pair of machines for 1080p gaming with the goal of overkilling requirements a bit. My new machine (1070 w/ i5-7600K) is similar to my old machine (980ti w/ i7-6700K).

I was told an i5-7600K is more than enough and that I didn't need an i7-7700K for it. But the Time Spy 3dMark CPU score has me a bit concerned. I don't overclock anything so these may look low.

1070 + i5-7600K = 5393, gpu=5779, cpu=3914
980ti + i7-6700K = 4966, gpu=4971, cpu=4935

Can anyone provide perspective on whether that lower CPU score will be problematic for higher settings @ 1080p? I still have an opportunity to upgrade to an i7-7700K for an extra $100, which isn't any concern for my financial situation. I chose the i5 simply because I was told it was already sufficiently overkill and that I would be GPU limited. Given that I don't OC anything, perhaps that statement doesn't hold(?).

i5 will give issues on some games. forza horizon 3, hitman, etc.. were all games that i had stuttering issues on using a 4690k overclocked to 4.5 Ghz. switching to an i7 fixed the issue

i'd expect this to get worse with time due to the CPUs being used in consoles having more cores/threads

 

[brawly]

What GPU would you guys recommend if all you want to play are either oldish games (last gen and earlier) or indies?

At 1080p.

 

[LilJoka]

idle at ~30 C, after gaming for a few hours i will be in the 50 - 60 C range, depending on the game (give or take a few degrees). it drops steadily when i stop gaming. i have not done the de-lid

i have no problem switching to air, the h75 is completely silent in my case due to the noise dampening it has (fractal define r5)

That's pretty much normal. Mine hits 75c peak gaming at 4.8ghz 1.3v after a delid with a NH U14S running around 700rpm.

50-60c is considered pretty cool. You should overclock more, run a 85c peak target while testing and a 75c target while gaming.

 

[Kadey]

Made a gif of my pc. Tried my best. Gifcam is garbage now so I have to find something on par. The program worked flawlessly on my old PC. I don't understand why it would just turn to crap on a new PC.

 

[ColdDeckEd]

What GPU would you guys recommend if all you want to play are either oldish games (last gen and earlier) or indies?

At 1080p.

How much are you willing to spend?

 

[Celcius]

What GPU would you guys recommend if all you want to play are either oldish games (last gen and earlier) or indies?

At 1080p.

By last gen you mean PS3 / X360 and older?
Honestly I'd consider buying a used GTX 780 Ti or GTX 970 for $150 or less.

 

[liezryou]

By last gen you mean PS3 / X360 and older?
Honestly I'd consider buying a used GTX 780 Ti or GTX 970 for $150 or less.

I wish people would stop giving these stupid suggestions just because nvidia. A new 480 4gb is 10x better value at that price range than a used gtx 970 or 780 ti. I got the msi armor oc rx 480 4gb back in january for 155$ so im sure you could find one now for 150$ or less. If you are even more of a tighter budget, the rx 470 can be had for 120$ in some places now, like micro center. You will be sacrificing about 10-15% performance but you will be saving 20% in cost.

 

[NOKYARD]

Appreciate the help.

Those clasps snap back into place if you can see where it came from. Mine falls off the GPU socket every time i remove it for cleaning.

 

[ColdDeckEd]

Made a gif of my pc. Tried my best. Gifcam is garbage now so I have to find something on par. The program worked flawlessly on my old PC. I don't understand why it would just turn to crap on a new PC.

Looks cool, but I take it there's no way to sync the ram+gpu with the motherboard? It'd look better if everything was in sync.

 

[Celcius]

I wish people would stop giving these stupid suggestions just because nvidia. A new 480 4gb is 10x better value at that price range than a used gtx 970 or 780 ti. I got the msi armor oc rx 480 4gb back in january for 155$ so im sure you could find one now for 150$ or less. If you are even more of a tighter budget, the rx 470 can be had for 120$ in some places now, like micro center. You will be sacrificing about 10-15% performance but you will be saving 20% in cost.

A bit harsh there to call my suggestion stupid.
The cheapest rx 480 I see in-stock on newegg or amazon is $200: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...norebbr=1&cm_re=rx_480-_-14-137-082-_-Product
The cheapest rx 470 I see in-stock on newegg or amazon is $175: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...norebbr=1&cm_re=rx_470-_-14-131-705-_-Product
(mail-in rebates are available, but you still have to pay the original cost upfront and it may take a while to get the prepaid card in the mail)

Your link has the rx 470 for $150, (or $120 after mail-in rebate), but I see it as out of stock at my location and it's also possible that brawly may not live near a MC. Also keep in mind that you'll be paying tax as well if you buy from MC, making it actually $162.35 out the door using Texas taxes for example. (note for brawly - if you can buy this then it is a good deal)

I don't believe the 480 4gb is "10x better value at that price range":
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/RX_470_STRIX_OC/16.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_radeon_rx_470_gaming_x_8gb_review,17.html

It's great to offer alternate suggestions to give brawly more choices, but I would hardly call my suggestion "stupid".

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

Made a gif of my pc. Tried my best. Gifcam is garbage now so I have to find something on par. The program worked flawlessly on my old PC. I don't understand why it would just turn to crap on a new PC.

Tight, bruh. Any pics of it with lights on?

I just de-lidded and re-lidded my 7700k using the Rockittool tool. Easy. Letting adhesive sit for another hour or so, then will run benchmarks again and check temps.

 

[liezryou]

A bit harsh there to call my suggestion stupid.
The cheapest rx 480 I see in-stock on newegg or amazon is $200: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...norebbr=1&cm_re=rx_480-_-14-137-082-_-Product
The cheapest rx 470 I see in-stock on newegg or amazon is $175: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...norebbr=1&cm_re=rx_470-_-14-131-705-_-Product
(mail-in rebates are available, but you still have to pay the original cost upfront and it may take a while to get the prepaid card in the mail)

Your link has the rx 470 for $150, (or $120 after mail-in rebate), but I see it as out of stock at my location and it's also possible that brawly may not live near a MC. Also keep in mind that you'll be paying tax as well if you buy from MC, making it actually $162.35 out the door using Texas taxes for example. (note for brawly - if you can buy this then it is a good deal)

I don't believe the 480 4gb is "10x better value at that price range":
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/RX_470_STRIX_OC/16.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_radeon_rx_470_gaming_x_8gb_review,17.html

It's great to offer alternate suggestions to give brawly more choices, but I would hardly call my suggestion "stupid".

Of course you count mail in rebates, for anyone on a budget thats a great way to save money (I mean if you count taxes as a cost then why don't you count rebates as a discount?). And that same card you linked at 180$ AR was 150$ AR 2 weeks ago and was the same price 2 weeks before that with a free DOOM code. And new vs used and old is a huge thing because well duh warranty and newer hardware. I'm not going to go into details but it's not that hard to google features that the rx 480 has over the gtx 970. Shit i'd even recommend the GTX 1060 3GB that was just on sale at Frys for 170$ AR over the GTX 970.

As far as benchmarks go, you linked something from august 2016. The driver level optimizations have been amazing (huzzah fine wine). They have made the rx 480 even faster then the gtx 1060 [on average] so you should probably go look at some newer benchmarks. And then on top of that you linked a benchmark to GTA V, a game that is a nvidia gameworks game and notoriously badly optimized for AMD cards.

This right here is the same kind of brainwashing nvidia bullshit that goes on in the market and why the gtx 1060 is outselling the rx 480 4:1. Worst case scenario the rx 480 competes toe to toe with the gtx 1060 at a 15-20$ lower price point. At best it beats it by ~2-5% on average.

 

[Celcius]

Of course you count mail in rebates, for anyone on a budget thats a great way to save money (I mean if you count taxes as a cost then why don't you count rebates as a discount?). And that same card you linked at 180$ AR was 150$ AR 2 weeks ago and was the same price 2 weeks before that with a free DOOM code. And new vs used and old is a huge thing because well duh warranty and newer hardware. I'm not going to go into details but it's not that hard to google features that the rx 480 has over the gtx 970. Shit i'd even recommend the GTX 1060 3GB that was just on sale at Frys for 170$ AR over the GTX 970.

As far as benchmarks go, you linked something from august 2016. The driver level optimizations have been amazing (huzzah fine wine). They have made the rx 480 even faster then the gtx 1060 [on average] so you should probably go look at some newer benchmarks. And then on top of that you linked a benchmark to GTA V, a game that is a nvidia gameworks game and notoriously badly optimized for AMD cards.

This right here is the same kind of brainwashing nvidia bullshit that goes on in the market and why the gtx 1060 is outselling the rx 480 4:1. Worst case scenario the rx 480 competes toe to toe with the gtx 1060 at a 15-20$ lower price point. At best it beats it by ~2-5% on average.

Not sure why you seem so angry, but I have no interest in debating it further. You and I have merely given brawly options to consider. At the end of the day he will make his own choice.

 

[liezryou]

I have no interest in debating it further. You and I have merely given brawly options to consider. At the end of the day he will make his own choice.

Yeah always the story with people who recommend nvidia blindly, can't deal with the facts.

Oh and i forgot to mention freesync over g-sync. You can easily get a sub 150-200$ monitor (I got a awesome 1080p 75hz IPS 27" for 120$ 2 months ago) with freesync for your AMD card but you literally won't find a g-sync monitor under 300$. With AMD doubling the amount of freesync compatible monitors this year, there's a very good chance the monitor you are buying will be freesync compatible.

Edit: Why am i angry? Lmao cause you just gave someone bad advice to buy a 2.5 or 3.5 year old used GPU without even mentioning there are much better alternatives on the red side. Nevermind even the current gen nvidia card which has similar performance.

 

[Elev8ion]

You've gotta give more details than that. Price range, what games you want to run and at what settings (1080p? 4K? 60 fps? Ultra or high or medium?), what country you live in... etc. Basically, the stuff that's asked in the OP. Also, why a pre-built rather than building your own or having someone else build it for you from parts you pick?

Price range is $800-1100. 1080p, no 4K, 60fps if capable. I would like high, but if the price is too much then medium is fine. I am in the US.

I just moved to a new state and don't know anyone and really don't have a lot of time to build one myself...I have four kids!

 

[liezryou]

Price range is $800-1100. 1080p, no 4K, 60fps if capable. I would like high, but if the price is too much then medium is fine. I am in the US.

I just moved to a new state and don't know anyone and really don't have a lot of time to build one myself...I have four kids!

You can easily get high/ultra 1080p at that price range. Do you have a microcenter near you? If so, http://www.microcenter.com/product/474127/G221_Desktop_Computer is a nice 1080p gaming machine for 800$. You can also order http://www.microcenter.com/product/475437/G314_Desktop_Computer online for 1000$ but this is really overkill for 1080p, that graphics card is more suited for 1440p. Also if you happen to live near one you can try to get an open box item for like 100$ off, comes with same 1 year warranty.

TBH i don't really trust many companies in prebuilts, powerspec is one of the few i would trust so that's why i recommend them.

 

[Kadey]

I can do whatever I want with the lights but I just leave it doing whatever it wants.

 

[Finaika]

i5 will give issues on some games. forza horizon 3, hitman, etc.. were all games that i had stuttering issues on using a 4690k overclocked to 4.5 Ghz. switching to an i7 fixed the issue

i'd expect this to get worse with time due to the CPUs being used in consoles having more cores/threads

But Jaguar tho...

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

De-lidded my 7700k with the Rockit delid and re-lid tools (https://rockitcool.myshopify.com/)

Used Collabotory Liquid Ultra (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039RY3MM/?tag=neogaf0e-20)

Easy as 1

2

3

Cleaned using ArctiClean (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007TOR08/?tag=neogaf0e-20)

Liquid Ultra on die

Re-lid with Rockitcool and gasket maker as adhesive (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UEN1U/?tag=neogaf0e-20)

More Liquid Ultra

CPU at 4.5Ghz in both scenarios; load temps dropped by 18 degrees (for just under $60-worth of parts).
"Great success!"

 

[Chezzymann]

building my first pc for some rendering with arnold and light gaming, is this okay? Any incompatibilities pcpartpicker might not detect? I dont want to put it together to find out the cooler doesnt fit in the case or something

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rvqdYr

 

[Ghazi]

Thoughts on the NZXT S340 Elite?

 

[DSN2K]

building my first pc for some rendering with arnold and light gaming, is this okay? Any incompatibilities pcpartpicker might not detect? I dont want to put it together to find out the cooler doesnt fit in the case or something

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rvqdYr

dont get the A320M board... its lacking overclocking features I believe.

get ASRock AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard

 

[lostsupper]

Thoughts on the NZXT S340 Elite?

It's a nice ATX case. There's nothing particularly wrong with it.

 

[LordAlu]

building my first pc for some rendering with arnold and light gaming, is this okay? Any incompatibilities pcpartpicker might not detect? I dont want to put it together to find out the cooler doesnt fit in the case or something

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rvqdYr

I'd probably make one or two changes:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($317.78 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B350M-A Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LED 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB SSC GAMING Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1500 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.90 @ Newegg)
Total: $787.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-23 02:38 EDT-0400

• Removed the cooler - the Wraith cooler that comes with the 1700 will be better than that.
• B350 motherboard with 4 memory slots and better clocking potential for both RAM and CPU
• Much faster memory, makes a good difference with Ryzen.
• It may only be SATA speeds, but the M.2 SSD is the same price and means no cabling needed for any drives.
• GTX 1050 is newer, slightly more powerful than a 750Ti.
• Slightly cheaper case (although you could stick with the N200).
• Great PSU for the AR cost.

 

[LilJoka]

De-lidded my 7700k with the Rockit delid and re-lid tools (https://rockitcool.myshopify.com/)

Used Collabotory Liquid Ultra (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039RY3MM/?tag=neogaf0e-20)

Easy as 1



2



3



Cleaned using ArctiClean (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007TOR08/?tag=neogaf0e-20)



Liquid Ultra on die


Re-lid with Rockitcool and gasket maker as adhesive (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UEN1U/?tag=neogaf0e-20)



More Liquid Ultra



CPU at 4.5Ghz in both scenarios; load temps dropped by 18 degrees (for just under $60-worth of parts).
"Great success!"

What CPU cooler? Some react with CLU.

 

[Mad Max]

...

get ASRock AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard

Asrock B350 boards have a bad VRM (see this video by buildzoid). I'd recommend the gigabyte gaming 3 instead.

 

[ColdDeckEd]

I can do whatever I want with the lights but I just leave it doing whatever it wants.

I think it looks better if it's in sync or just one color like that but that's just me. My gpu only does white and doesn't sync with my motherboard, my cooler also doesn't sync with anything so I just leave everything white with no animation as to not trigger my OCD.

 

[Deleted member 59090]

Trying to choose a motherboard, is there any discernable difference between Intel and Realtek NIC in typical daily use?

 

[MEATER]

Thoughts on the NZXT S340 Elite?

Also considering this case. My point against it is that the 3.5 hdd slots are not so easy to access. When you want to put in a new drive you basically have to remove the psu first. Also the drive cage is really cheap.

I'd also prefer a case that has side panels on hinges that swing open. But that's hard if you want tempered glass.

On the plus side the front hdmi is great for VR.

 

[LilJoka]

Trying to choose a motherboard, is there any discernable difference between Intel and Realtek NIC in typical daily use?

No, but some consider Intel NIC more reliable since it's the same stuff as Server boards.

 

[laxu]

From the OP, what build and what kind of monitor combo do you guys reckon would make The Witcher 3 playable at the highest settings? Budget around 2.5k total.

A 1440p G-Sync monitor and the fastest Nvidia GPU you can afford. 980 Ti or 1070 would give you a very good experience. I ran a 3570K @ 4.5 GHz rig with a 980 Ti and was happy with how the game ran throughout.

 

[laxu]

De-lidded my 7700k with the Rockit delid and re-lid tools (https://rockitcool.myshopify.com/)

CPU at 4.5Ghz in both scenarios; load temps dropped by 18 degrees (for just under -worth of parts).
"Great success!"

So what about real world benefits? You lost your warranty but did it translate to better overclocking or lower noise? I get that it is now really easy to do but I don't feel my 6600K @ 4.6 GHz runs that hot or noisy at stock and being able to tack on a few hundred MHz more won't do anything for gaming purposes.

 

[Javaman]

woot. Everything has been put together.



thanks again @Kadey for the spare Windows key.

In retrospect I wish I would have gone with the 1080ti.. but.. ah well. I should be set for a couple of years.

Damn! That looks sharp, like something from a showroom.

 

[Icebergslim]

My laptop is officially dead. I'm so torn. I need a pc but I only have about 300$. At the same time Phantom Dust will be dropping soon so I dont know If I should just buy an Xbox1S or try to build a Windows 10 system that can play it and kill 2 birds with one stone.

I've also never built a pc before.

 

[Mozendo]

Thoughts on the NZXT S340 Elite?

Personally I prefer both the Phanteks P400(s), and the Enthoo Pro M since there's space for 2 120 fans or a 240 rad at the top.

 

[Celcius]

De-lidded my 7700k with the Rockit delid and re-lid tools (https://rockitcool.myshopify.com/)

Used Collabotory Liquid Ultra (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039RY3MM/?tag=neogaf0e-20)

Easy as 1

2

3

Cleaned using ArctiClean (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007TOR08/?tag=neogaf0e-20)


Liquid Ultra on die

Re-lid with Rockitcool and gasket maker as adhesive (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UEN1U/?tag=neogaf0e-20)


More Liquid Ultra


CPU at 4.5Ghz in both scenarios; load temps dropped by 18 degrees (for just under $60-worth of parts).
"Great success!"

Nice results! Do you plan to push for higher clocks or leave it at 4.5ghz with the lower temps?

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Not sure why you seem so angry, but I have no interest in debating it further. You and I have merely given brawly options to consider. At the end of the day he will make his own choice.

He's right though, a used 8GB 470 or even a new one would be far more sensible than an old 970, which is hitting it's limit in a lot of demanding games depending on settings now let alone 1 years' time. Also, the Polaris cards like the 470 seem to slowly get better with each driver update and this will continue going forward I'd imagine as tge 500-series has just been released and is the same GPU.

 

[Kadey]

I think it looks better if it's in sync or just one color like that but that's just me. My gpu only does white and doesn't sync with my motherboard, my cooler also doesn't sync with anything so I just leave everything white with no animation as to not trigger my OCD.

I agree but people coming over seem to like it doing random stuff. I'm not completely done yet. Going to add more LEDs in there along with another hard drive. You learn something new every day. I'm still amazed at how cool the damn thing is despite a bunch of stuff in there and not having much room compared to a regular case. Also I'm going to change my tv above my monitors and it's going to have RGB underneath it. Complete room should be done during the summer when I plan on getting new said TV.

My replacement Blu Ray player came in. Going to sell it since I don't really need it. I don't even remember the last time I used physical media.

 

[Celcius]

He's right though, a used 8GB 470 or even a new one would be far more sensible than an old 970, which is hitting it's limit in a lot of demanding games depending on settings now let alone 1 years' time. Also, the Polaris cards like the 470 seem to slowly get better with each driver update and this will continue going forward I'd imagine as tge 500-series has just been released and is the same GPU.

In my original post I simply said "I'd consider it", not "this is the only option", as brawly mentioned that it was only for playing ps3-era games and older at 1080p. It sounded like he might even have a dedicated retro machine. When I said $150 "or less", ideally I was thinking possibly "less" than that, which was significantly lower than I was seeing for newer cards purchasable. I did not see the rx 470 for $150 (again, which shows as sold out for me). I merely meant to suggest that sometimes buying a powerful older card can be an option as well depending on the situation and price.

Yes, if he can get a newer card for a similar price then that would definitely be the better option, regardless of what types of games he plans to play.

I didn't mean to start an argument. This is the last I'll say about it guys, let's move on.

 

[shykyoichi]

I have these in my current set-up. What's the best bang per buck upgrade that I can do?
The max I do is play PC games like DOTA and Witcher 3.

CPU: i5 3570K
Motherboard: ASROCK Z77 Pro3
Video Card: GeForce GTX 650 Ti
Storage: WD 2TB

 

[LordAlu]

I have these in my current set-up. What's the best bang per buck upgrade that I can do?
The max I do is play PC games like DOTA and Witcher 3.

CPU: i5 3570K
Motherboard: ASROCK Z77 Pro3
Video Card: GeForce GTX 650 Ti
Storage: WD 2TB

Graphics Card. Something like a RX 480/580 or GTX 1060 would be a huge upgrade.

An SSD if you don't have one already will give you a massive boost to general system responsiveness and loading times.