Hey if anyone is in the market for older cards that still pack some punch, looks like newegg is clearancing out some gtx480s, 209 after rebate code.
They'll run hot and suck a fair bit of power but if your case can handle keepin 'em cool it's tough to get another card with that kind of performance for that price. Just, you know, remember that they run hot as fuck and use a lot of power.
Day of the Bear on
0
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Back to work, bear! We want to see your liquid cooled rig.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
I'm about to run to town to pick up some distilled water and as many zip ties as I can find, and then it's down to business.
0
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Distilled water is overrated. Just use Gatorade. You'll save money because it's already colored and it's good enough for Tiger Woods, so it's good enough for you.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
the salt in it would increase the thermal conductivity slightly. and think of all the fun you would get replacing tubing and the blocks every few months. it is clearly the best choice for coolant.
Sara LynnI can handle myself.Registered Userregular
Despite the fact I've always wanted to build my own desktop from scratch, I was in a bit of a bind 3 years ago and needed a new computer fairly quickly. My mother offered to buy me a dell, and now it's showing it's age and I'm looking to upgrade some parts.
Specifically, I want to upgrade the graphics card, and to do that I need a new power supply. I imagine that 500W is going to be sufficient for most mid-ranged cards (I'd like to play Diablo 3 at a reasonable pretty level, for reference) so I guess that's my starting point. I'd like to keep my power supply budget under 100. I'd also appreciate some recs on graphics cards, if possible. Somewhere under $175 would be ideal.
I'm also curious if I'd benefit from more RAM, that doesn't feel like a huge necessity right now. I appreciate anyone taking the time to look at these things for me.
Spoiler for my specs and doo dads. Let me know if you need any additional info!
Windows Vista 64-bit Home Premium
Dell Studio 540
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8300 @2.50GHz
RAM: 4GB
Power Supply: 350W
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series
0
proyebatGARY WAS HEREASH IS A LOSERRegistered Userregular
edited March 2012
@Sara_Lynn, power supplies are pretty cheap these days. A 400W Corsair PSU could handle your system and a 6770. You might be able to snake by without buying another PSU, what's already in your computer is border-lining the need for a new PSU. AMD 6770s are going to be phased out pretty soon, but it's a preforming GPU for ~$100.
@Sara_Lynn 4GB of RAM is plenty for the time being -- you'll get much more benefit out of a new graphics card.
For a $275 total budget, this Silverstone Strider Plus 500W is 80 Plus BRONZE vertified and modular for $80. The Corsair Builder Series 430W is non-modular and cheaper ($45, $25 after rebate) but obviously has its limitations.
On the graphics cards front, I'd recommend a Radeon HD 6850/6870 or a GTX 560 or 560Ti. Pick one within your budget -- the 6870 and 560 are roughly equivalent, and a 560Ti at stock clocks will perform just below a 6950 (which are pretty much un-findable at this point). Any of those cards will handle D3 at reasonable settings.
Unrelated, I'm considering upgrading my system from 4GB RAM to 16GB because it's so damn cheap. I don't really need it at this point -- I have yet to see physical memory usage pegged above 70% or so in Task Manager -- but I've been fighting my upgrade junkie urges for too long and need to add something to my (now almost two-year-old) system.
Is there any functional difference between 2x dual channel kits vs. a quad channel kit? I'm looking at G.SKILL Ares series RAM so that my Hyper 212+ won't have any clearance issues, and it's $89 for the quad channel kit versus $90 for two dual channel kits. Any reason to choose one over the other?
EDIT: This G.SKILL Ripjaws X 16GB DDR3-1866 kit is $104 for today only, though I have mild concerns about whether it will clear my Hyper 212+ and whether it's compatible with my AM3/955 BE setup.
Is there any functional difference between 2x dual channel kits vs. a quad channel kit? I'm looking at G.SKILL Ares series RAM so that my Hyper 212+ won't have any clearance issues, and it's $89 for the quad channel kit versus $90 for two dual channel kits. Any reason to choose one over the other?
Does your system support quad channel? If not, there is no benefit to getting the quad channel kit.
Kits just mean memory sticks are guaranteed to be of the same type(capacity, speed, number of chips, and size of rows and columns).
Fake edit: I just noticed that the quad channel is cheaper. If the size and speeds are same, get the quad. It's probably a bulk discount thing.
When people unite together, they become stronger than the sum of their parts.
Don't assume bad intentions over neglect and misunderstanding.
The last time I bought anything for my computer was in December of '08... so yeah, it's been awhile. Here's what I'm looking at purchasing and I would appreciate any tips for pro's and con's of upgrading or downgrading without sacrificing performance. Basically, I want to play Skyrim and similar modern games with full shadows, draw distance, and what not.
- edit - Currently I have the Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHZ processor on a Gigabyte P45 motherboard. How much would that bottleneck me if I just upgraded memory and graphics card?
SkyCaptain on
The RPG Bestiary - Dangerous foes and legendary monsters for D&D 4th Edition
That's a lot to spend on a graphics card that is about to be replaced. If you need to stick with NVidia, why not wait a bit? Or you might want to look at these soup-uped 560Ti w/448 cores.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
I'm putting together a computer for my wife -- she's not much of a gamer, but she likes the snappy response of my SSD. Here's a build I had in mind for her. Mostly it'll be used for data processing, plus all the regular stuff. My goal was to build something that'll have all the snappiness of my comparably beefier machine, without spending too much on features she'll never use. I think what I have linked below strikes the appropriate balance, but I'm not sure. Any feedback/suggestions?
so here's something pretty crazy that would never have happened if I hadn't spent the last few years of my life on the internet talking about video games and other PA interests.
Handgimp fixed my PC.
I made a thread in the tech forum asking for help and direction in diagnosing what had been wrong with my system (turns out some video component on my motherboard failed as far as I can tell) and a few people offered suggestions. Here was handgimp's helpful suggestion.
If you send me your address I can replace your CPU and motherboard. They're used and abused but it should boot.
well nothing else worked and ASUS is being pretty unhelpful about an RMA because part of my serial # sticker on the board was worn away. So handgimp came to the rescue. And holy crap. His "used and abused spares" where the same thing I was running previously. It makes me scared to think how strong his real computer is. But it was an amazingly classy thing for his to offer to me and I'm at a loss.
What are the cores good for? And would it work on my older motherboard?
More cores equals more computing power equals more fps or higher settings or whatever. And yeah, any new card should work with your old motherboard. Normally the only time there might be problems is if you want to go SLI/Crossfire.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Upgraded to the z68 motherboard so I can put in an ivy bridge chip later. Spent a little extra for the 1600 ram, saving some on the graphics card. I figure I can always pick up another 6870 later for crossfire and get a better deal now.
SkyCaptain on
The RPG Bestiary - Dangerous foes and legendary monsters for D&D 4th Edition
I am running two monitors. The second monitor isn't at 1080p however. Not yet. I use a 24" acer @ 1920x1080 for my gaming/graphics design monitor and a 21" acer @ 1600 x 900 for my browsing and such.
SkyCaptain on
The RPG Bestiary - Dangerous foes and legendary monsters for D&D 4th Edition
Even if you don't want to OC now, the 2500k is a better investment as you can easily tweak this from the BIOS. I think it runs like another $10-$20 but definitely worth it.
Or if you dont ever want to overclock ever ever ever, you could grab an i3 2120 (or one of the 21xx) and save some money that way. Almost near identical performance in gaming to the i5s and i7s.
I am running two monitors. The second monitor isn't at 1080p however. Not yet. I use a 24" acer @ 1920x1080 for my gaming/graphics design monitor and a 21" acer @ 1600 x 900 for my browsing and such.
So you're not gaming on both at the same time? If not, you're not likely to get much out of the 2 GB card, except perhaps in games with very large textures.
Hmm...spend $350 on a video card I dont really need, or spend $350 mailing in however many entries that would be...decisions decisions.
Remember to read and adhere to the fine print, 3x5 cards and everything handwritten. Hell, I'd include the extraneous quotation mark on the address just to be sure.
0
jaziekBad at everythingAnd mad about it.Registered Userregular
I ordered my raspberry pi a few days ago. Its not gonna come until the end of april though : (.
I am running two monitors. The second monitor isn't at 1080p however. Not yet. I use a 24" acer @ 1920x1080 for my gaming/graphics design monitor and a 21" acer @ 1600 x 900 for my browsing and such.
So you're not gaming on both at the same time? If not, you're not likely to get much out of the 2 GB card, except perhaps in games with very large textures.
Well, I do watch HD videos on my right monitor while dps button mashing my way through some dungeons or quests.
The RPG Bestiary - Dangerous foes and legendary monsters for D&D 4th Edition
0
KadokenGiving Ends to my Friends and it Feels StupendousRegistered Userregular
Hmm...spend $350 on a video card I dont really need, or spend $350 mailing in however many entries that would be...decisions decisions.
Remember to read and adhere to the fine print, 3x5 cards and everything handwritten. Hell, I'd include the extraneous quotation mark on the address just to be sure.
Speaking of fine print...
Special Provisions for Canadian Winners: If a resident of Canada is selected as a
potential winner, the potential winner will be required to correctly answer, without
assistance of any kind, whether mechanical or otherwise, a timed, mathematical
skill-testing question, to be administered by the Sweepstakes Administrator (see
Section 9 below) either by mail, telephone, e-mail, or fax (at its sole discretion)
before the awarding of the prize
Special Provisions for Canadian Winners: If a resident of Canada is selected as a
potential winner, the potential winner will be required to correctly answer, without
assistance of any kind, whether mechanical or otherwise, a timed, mathematical
skill-testing question, to be administered by the Sweepstakes Administrator (see
Section 9 below) either by mail, telephone, e-mail, or fax (at its sole discretion)
before the awarding of the prize
WTF?
Canada has stricter laws governing games of chance. Companies do it this way so that it's more like "you got picked to play on this game show where the whole prize is awarded after you answer one really easy question" so that they can call it a "game of skill" instead.
Posts
Final water build commencing probably tomorrow.
I'm too damn tired to tear things apart tonight, but boy oh boy am I excited.
They'll run hot and suck a fair bit of power but if your case can handle keepin 'em cool it's tough to get another card with that kind of performance for that price. Just, you know, remember that they run hot as fuck and use a lot of power.
I'm about to run to town to pick up some distilled water and as many zip ties as I can find, and then it's down to business.
Specifically, I want to upgrade the graphics card, and to do that I need a new power supply. I imagine that 500W is going to be sufficient for most mid-ranged cards (I'd like to play Diablo 3 at a reasonable pretty level, for reference) so I guess that's my starting point. I'd like to keep my power supply budget under 100. I'd also appreciate some recs on graphics cards, if possible. Somewhere under $175 would be ideal.
I'm also curious if I'd benefit from more RAM, that doesn't feel like a huge necessity right now. I appreciate anyone taking the time to look at these things for me.
Spoiler for my specs and doo dads. Let me know if you need any additional info!
Dell Studio 540
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8300 @2.50GHz
RAM: 4GB
Power Supply: 350W
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series
For a $275 total budget, this Silverstone Strider Plus 500W is 80 Plus BRONZE vertified and modular for $80. The Corsair Builder Series 430W is non-modular and cheaper ($45, $25 after rebate) but obviously has its limitations.
On the graphics cards front, I'd recommend a Radeon HD 6850/6870 or a GTX 560 or 560Ti. Pick one within your budget -- the 6870 and 560 are roughly equivalent, and a 560Ti at stock clocks will perform just below a 6950 (which are pretty much un-findable at this point). Any of those cards will handle D3 at reasonable settings.
Path of Exile: snowcrash7
MTG Arena: Snow_Crash#34179
Battle.net: Snowcrash#1873
Is there any functional difference between 2x dual channel kits vs. a quad channel kit? I'm looking at G.SKILL Ares series RAM so that my Hyper 212+ won't have any clearance issues, and it's $89 for the quad channel kit versus $90 for two dual channel kits. Any reason to choose one over the other?
EDIT: This G.SKILL Ripjaws X 16GB DDR3-1866 kit is $104 for today only, though I have mild concerns about whether it will clear my Hyper 212+ and whether it's compatible with my AM3/955 BE setup.
Path of Exile: snowcrash7
MTG Arena: Snow_Crash#34179
Battle.net: Snowcrash#1873
Kits just mean memory sticks are guaranteed to be of the same type(capacity, speed, number of chips, and size of rows and columns).
Fake edit: I just noticed that the quad channel is cheaper. If the size and speeds are same, get the quad. It's probably a bulk discount thing.
Don't assume bad intentions over neglect and misunderstanding.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE LGA 1155 Intel P67 ATX -- $120
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500 3.3GHz -- $210
GFX Card: GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 2GB -- $280
Memory: Kingston 4GB x2 -- $42
- edit - Currently I have the Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHZ processor on a Gigabyte P45 motherboard. How much would that bottleneck me if I just upgraded memory and graphics card?
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
I'm putting together a computer for my wife -- she's not much of a gamer, but she likes the snappy response of my SSD. Here's a build I had in mind for her. Mostly it'll be used for data processing, plus all the regular stuff. My goal was to build something that'll have all the snappiness of my comparably beefier machine, without spending too much on features she'll never use. I think what I have linked below strikes the appropriate balance, but I'm not sure. Any feedback/suggestions?
Processor: Intel Pentium G620 Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116399
Mobo: ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131711
HD: Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442
RAM: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544
PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033
Monitor: ASUS VH232H http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236079
so here's something pretty crazy that would never have happened if I hadn't spent the last few years of my life on the internet talking about video games and other PA interests.
Handgimp fixed my PC.
I made a thread in the tech forum asking for help and direction in diagnosing what had been wrong with my system (turns out some video component on my motherboard failed as far as I can tell) and a few people offered suggestions. Here was handgimp's helpful suggestion.
well nothing else worked and ASUS is being pretty unhelpful about an RMA because part of my serial # sticker on the board was worn away. So handgimp came to the rescue. And holy crap. His "used and abused spares" where the same thing I was running previously. It makes me scared to think how strong his real computer is. But it was an amazingly classy thing for his to offer to me and I'm at a loss.
More cores equals more computing power equals more fps or higher settings or whatever. And yeah, any new card should work with your old motherboard. Normally the only time there might be problems is if you want to go SLI/Crossfire.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Motherboard - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 $120
Processor - Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz $210
Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $50
Graphics Card - Radeon HD 6870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 $205
Upgraded to the z68 motherboard so I can put in an ivy bridge chip later. Spent a little extra for the 1600 ram, saving some on the graphics card. I figure I can always pick up another 6870 later for crossfire and get a better deal now.
So you're not gaming on both at the same time? If not, you're not likely to get much out of the 2 GB card, except perhaps in games with very large textures.
Hmm...spend $350 on a video card I dont really need, or spend $350 mailing in however many entries that would be...decisions decisions.
Remember to read and adhere to the fine print, 3x5 cards and everything handwritten. Hell, I'd include the extraneous quotation mark on the address just to be sure.
Well, I do watch HD videos on my right monitor while dps button mashing my way through some dungeons or quests.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-106-009
4.1 quad core?
Same price as this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-103-924
Speaking of fine print...
WTF?
Nintendo ID: Incindium
PSN: IncindiumX
Canada has stricter laws governing games of chance. Companies do it this way so that it's more like "you got picked to play on this game show where the whole prize is awarded after you answer one really easy question" so that they can call it a "game of skill" instead.