This is definitely really cool. I can't foresee myself ever using it, but hey who knows. Just having the ability, along with G-Sync, and the stuff they're doing with streaming to the Shield, might be enough for me to switch to Nvidia next time around.
I wish G-Sync didn't require a special monitor. I don't see myself using shadowplay either, but it's really nice to know that if I ever want to record anything it will be super easy and I won't have to go hunting for some free recording program that doesn't suck. It's pretty cool that it's pretty much a professional screen recording app with zero additional cost and nearly zero performance impact.
Who knows, maybe someone somewhere wants to watch me play video games.
i have samsung ultra low profile ram that doesn't actually go above the clips that hold the ram in. it's great, since i have a NH-D14 and still needed to use all 4 slots.
also overclocked to the moon and doesn't have any heat spreaders on it, but that's because ram heat spreaders are p dumb.
But then they won't match the rest of your system !
(My desktop actually has some unholy combination of light blue, blood red, and black. I do not like windowed cases just for this reason )
Steam - Synthetic Violence | XBOX Live - Cannonfuse | PSN - CastleBravo | Twitch - SoggybiscuitPA
So like an Idiot, I was cleaning out my Define R4 filters and decided to pop open my fan in the front and move it's position to see if the flow was better. It wasn't. So I moved it back and while it was running, I managed to stick a finger in there breaking a blade. Soooooo... Since I'm going to replace it, I might as well get two for the front. Was the best fan to get now a days?
edit: The controller on the R4 is 3 pin, so I can get a 4 pin and it will work fine? I was looking at the Noctua 140mm
Banzai5150 on
0
BrocksMulletInto the sunrise, on a jet-ski. Natch.Registered Userregular
Got a new hardrive, 1 TB WD Blue 3.5, but of course I seem to be missing two things. A blue cable, which I presume is Sata 3, and a wide, thin power cable that actually reachs. I presume these would help, yes?
Your motherboard didn't come with more sata cables? Newegg might have cheaper ones - you could get 2 or 3 for $5. Also that power cable doesn't look like it will provide much extension, it's short.
So like an Idiot, I was cleaning out my Define R4 filters and decided to pop open my fan in the front and move it's position to see if the flow was better. It wasn't. So I moved it back and while it was running, I managed to stick a finger in there breaking a blade. Soooooo... Since I'm going to replace it, I might as well get two for the front. Was the best fan to get now a days?
edit: The controller on the R4 is 3 pin, so I can get a 4 pin and it will work fine? I was looking at the Noctua 140mm
Careful with this, actually. Some fans come with a pin adapter, but the 3-pin and 4-pin interfaces aren't compatible with each other.
Your motherboard didn't come with more sata cables? Newegg might have cheaper ones - you could get 2 or 3 for $5. Also that power cable doesn't look like it will provide much extension, it's short.
The CPU fan header is usually a PWM fan header - unless your board is really old. If you get a PWM Fan Splitter though you can have your PWM case fans controlled off of your CPU fan header. This keeps your PC quieter when it isn't under a large load.
Soggybiscuit on
Steam - Synthetic Violence | XBOX Live - Cannonfuse | PSN - CastleBravo | Twitch - SoggybiscuitPA
Your motherboard didn't come with more sata cables? Newegg might have cheaper ones - you could get 2 or 3 for $5. Also that power cable doesn't look like it will provide much extension, it's short.
That link I posted is a sata cable. If you were only looking to use a molex power cable with a sata drive then what you picked is OK. But it is not very long if you were looking to reach a long distance.
i have samsung ultra low profile ram that doesn't actually go above the clips that hold the ram in. it's great, since i have a NH-D14 and still needed to use all 4 slots.
also overclocked to the moon and doesn't have any heat spreaders on it, but that's because ram heat spreaders are p dumb.
RAM heatspreaders are nothing more than adding extra cost to something to make it appeal to the X-TREEM GAMER crowd. If you have a lit up window case and want to color-coordinate than by all means, go for something that doesn't clash with your case decor, but from a technical standpoint heatsinks on RAM generally just take up space. You should have enough airflow within your case that you won't have to worry about RAM temps anyway.
0
BrocksMulletInto the sunrise, on a jet-ski. Natch.Registered Userregular
Your motherboard didn't come with more sata cables? Newegg might have cheaper ones - you could get 2 or 3 for $5. Also that power cable doesn't look like it will provide much extension, it's short.
That link I posted is a sata cable. If you were only looking to use a molex power cable with a sata drive then what you picked is OK. But it is not very long if you were looking to reach a long distance.
The end that would plug into the hard-drive if reached, can plug into both ends of the cable you posted?
A hard drive needs two connections, data and power. The link I posted is a data cable that goes from the hard drive to the motherboard. You indicated that your power cable from the PSU was not long enough so you will need something to extend that or an adapter like the one you posted earlier so you can use a molex connector that will reach.
I'm looking to build a gaming computer for my wife. Since her previous computer was a laptop, I don't really have much to reuse. (I have a monitor and optical drive lying around) I did some research today and came up with this build. I'm ok with around $800, but was hoping you guys could take a look to see if there's anything I should cut or change. I read that an AMD build might be cheaper, but I'm less familiar with the parts for that. I'm sure I could get a cheaper motherboard or case too, but I'm having a tough time deciding if I should trim down. She's not going to be doing hardcore gaming, but I'd like her to be able to jump in whatever I'm playing and not have terrible performance.
Don't get an i3 if she plans on playing anything other than candycrush. Go for a mid-range i5. Make sure it's a haswell chip.
Don't get a z-series motherboard. The z-series is exclusively for overclocking, and you can't even use the overclocking features unless you get a k-series processor (which you don't want to do if she's not playing tons of games).
You don't need a 600w power supply for a rig like that, you can save some money by dropping down to 400w (and you'll still have some room to grow.)
I'm not super familiar with amd's graphics card offerings, but I imagine you may want to spend another $75-$100 dollars there, just so you're not replacing it in a year (especially since the xbox and ps4 are likely going to give a boost to the graphics of pc games in the near future).
Don't get an i3 if she plans on playing anything other than candycrush. Go for a mid-range i5.
Please. An i3 is perfectly capable of playing many recent games on mid or high settings without bottlenecking. Games that can really take advantage of more than two cores are still not all that common. There's a reason Intel never made a K - series i3 that could be overclocked: they knew it would have sold so well it would have cannabilized sales of i5's and i7's.
That said, an i5 for longevity and headroom is still a wise choice, if the budget is there.
+9
mightyjongyoSour CrrmEast Bay, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
Yea, I have an i3 in my rig and can play skyrim on max settings with plenty of mods to boot. Not saying that the i5 isn't the better choice if you can swing it, but the i3 is no pushover either. Choosing a good graphics card will net you more gains.
Yea, I have an i3 in my rig and can play skyrim on max settings with plenty of mods to boot. Not saying that the i5 isn't the better choice if you can swing it, but the i3 is no pushover either. Choosing a good graphics card will net you more gains.
Yeah, before I upgraded to an i7 I was using a Ivy Bridge Pentium G2120 for about a year. Definitely was the most limiting part in my build. But getting that allowed me to beef up everything else till I had the money to get a better CPU. And my framrates weren't all that bad. For an "entry level" gaming PC like that I see no problem with an i3.
(I'm actually hoping to use my old G2120 to build a little gaming PC for my wife/htpc pretty soon)
I'm looking to build a gaming computer for my wife. Since her previous computer was a laptop, I don't really have much to reuse. (I have a monitor and optical drive lying around) I did some research today and came up with this build. I'm ok with around $800, but was hoping you guys could take a look to see if there's anything I should cut or change. I read that an AMD build might be cheaper, but I'm less familiar with the parts for that. I'm sure I could get a cheaper motherboard or case too, but I'm having a tough time deciding if I should trim down. She's not going to be doing hardcore gaming, but I'd like her to be able to jump in whatever I'm playing and not have terrible performance.
I'm biting the bullet on the GTX 770. I'm thinking I'm going with the 4GB edition... Is there a brand I should avoid or do you guys have any suggestions on which one I should get?
Yeah, but it's more powerful than a ps4. :P
It should be a little less than 3X the power of your old card.
I will warn you though, I've seen issues switching between amd and nvidia cards in the past. Make sure to remove all traces of your old graphics drivers before installing the new card. (You may even want to do a full fresh install of windows if that's not a major hassle.)
If you got an evga card, chances are pretty good it's already oc'd to some degree. If you have their nifty acx cooler, you can likely push it farther though. I have my non-ti 780 clocked at 1200mhz from the reference 863mhz. It's still only 60c under load.
I honestly don't think you'll need the water cooler. I hit the overclocking ceiling on my 780 because I can't push the voltage up any higher without modding the bios. The Nvidia specs for max temp on the 700 series cards is 95c, and I'm maxing out at 62c. I might want water cooling when I sli another 780, but even then I might not need it.
I'd overclock it and keep an eye on the temps before I invested in a water cooler. I'd water cool the cpu first too, since the lack of cpu fan exhaust will make the graphics card even cooler. In fact, if I were you I'd overclock it right now.
I bit the bullet and grabbed an i5-3350P, AsRock H77M, and 8GB of RAM for just over $280. Also got a USB sound card thing for $8 in an attempt at turning an old router into a WiFi radio. I'll try to post some pics as I set it up.
So, I’m in the process of sketching out a new PC build. My current system is about 5 ½ years old (Wolfdale 8400 CPU), the life of which I was able to extend decently by dropping in a new GPU a few years ago (5770) and upgrading to an SSD. However, I want to be able to play forthcoming titles like Star Citizen and Witcher 3 at full sexiness, so it’s time to upgrade.
Some note and objectives for the system:
- This will be my second PC build. I’m certainly not advanced, but I can follow internet advice well-enough.
- I’d like for the hardware build to provide some future-proofing. To that end, specifically I’m planning to get a top end GPU and then add a second in SLI 2-3 years down the road. Build will need to support that.
- I’d like to start experimenting with overclocking – is this advisable? I hear its not too difficult these days. Build will need to facilitate this as well.
- Price range is up to about $1500 or so.
Here’s my current plan with some component options and questions under each for the wise masters of Moe’s:
So, I’m assuming for overclocking the CPU I need an aftermarket cooler. Do I need something in the $70-$90 range or do the $30 options get the job done?
This is probably the biggest area I need help in. What is the difference between those two Gigabyte boards, for example? There seem to be a lot of solid gaming boards in the $175 - $200 range, but I swear on every review site, for each model, half of the reviews are 5 stars and half are just trashing the boards and company as shite. My current ASUS board has been rock solid, but it seems like their QC has lapsed a bit?
What key features amI looking for in a motherboard given my build goals?
I’m leaning more now towards the EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB at $500. Is GPU overclocking a worthwhile pursuit? Is it better to go with the 770 at 4 GB than the 780 at 3 GB (with an eye on SLI in the future)?
Also, there are, for example, multiple versions of EVGA cards with what look like different core and boost clocks in each line. Any guidance on which card within the "class" (770, 780 etc) to pick?
I installed it and it booted up and everything. I put Tomb Raider on Ultimate settings (and put Shadows on Ultra) and ran the benchmark: 52.6 average FPS. I think the lowest was like 45 or something.
Posts
This is definitely really cool. I can't foresee myself ever using it, but hey who knows. Just having the ability, along with G-Sync, and the stuff they're doing with streaming to the Shield, might be enough for me to switch to Nvidia next time around.
Who knows, maybe someone somewhere wants to watch me play video games.
I've got this in my HTPC. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148663. It can be useful if you have a tight fit, but most of the time it isn't necessary. I personally try to avoid the crazy stuff though (like ram with heatpipes).
But then they won't match the rest of your system !
edit: The controller on the R4 is 3 pin, so I can get a 4 pin and it will work fine? I was looking at the Noctua 140mm
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Molex-Power-Adapter-SATAPOWADAP/dp/B00009YFTI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388602710&sr=8-1&keywords=internal+computer+power+cable
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GUXU52/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=UH5FS4JX55F6&coliid=I2TGARWLDKFM0N
Steam: BrocksMullet http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972421669/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119378
Careful with this, actually. Some fans come with a pin adapter, but the 3-pin and 4-pin interfaces aren't compatible with each other.
But beyond that, there's no point in getting a pwm fan if you only have a 3 pin connector to put it on!
Corsair AF140 is a solid fan, and cheaper than the noctua.
That power cable will act as an extension?
Steam: BrocksMullet http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972421669/
That link I posted is a sata cable. If you were only looking to use a molex power cable with a sata drive then what you picked is OK. But it is not very long if you were looking to reach a long distance.
Thank you, I grabbed a pair of those.
RAM heatspreaders are nothing more than adding extra cost to something to make it appeal to the X-TREEM GAMER crowd. If you have a lit up window case and want to color-coordinate than by all means, go for something that doesn't clash with your case decor, but from a technical standpoint heatsinks on RAM generally just take up space. You should have enough airflow within your case that you won't have to worry about RAM temps anyway.
The end that would plug into the hard-drive if reached, can plug into both ends of the cable you posted?
Steam: BrocksMullet http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972421669/
CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($115.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Microsoft Keyboard 200 Wired Standard Keyboard ($16.98 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G400s Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $821.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-01 21:14 EST-0500)
Don't get a z-series motherboard. The z-series is exclusively for overclocking, and you can't even use the overclocking features unless you get a k-series processor (which you don't want to do if she's not playing tons of games).
You don't need a 600w power supply for a rig like that, you can save some money by dropping down to 400w (and you'll still have some room to grow.)
I'm not super familiar with amd's graphics card offerings, but I imagine you may want to spend another $75-$100 dollars there, just so you're not replacing it in a year (especially since the xbox and ps4 are likely going to give a boost to the graphics of pc games in the near future).
Please. An i3 is perfectly capable of playing many recent games on mid or high settings without bottlenecking. Games that can really take advantage of more than two cores are still not all that common. There's a reason Intel never made a K - series i3 that could be overclocked: they knew it would have sold so well it would have cannabilized sales of i5's and i7's.
That said, an i5 for longevity and headroom is still a wise choice, if the budget is there.
Yeah, before I upgraded to an i7 I was using a Ivy Bridge Pentium G2120 for about a year. Definitely was the most limiting part in my build. But getting that allowed me to beef up everything else till I had the money to get a better CPU. And my framrates weren't all that bad. For an "entry level" gaming PC like that I see no problem with an i3.
(I'm actually hoping to use my old G2120 to build a little gaming PC for my wife/htpc pretty soon)
This is what I would do; lower priced motherboard/psu/case and use that money for a better video card:
PCPartPicker part list
CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M-GL Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill AEGIS 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Microsoft Keyboard 200 Wired Standard Keyboard ($16.98 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G400s Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $795.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-02 08:53 EST-0500)
I'm biting the bullet on the GTX 770. I'm thinking I'm going with the 4GB edition... Is there a brand I should avoid or do you guys have any suggestions on which one I should get?
Happy Birthday to me!
(Though now that I think about it... that was the same cost as a PS4...)
It should be a little less than 3X the power of your old card.
I will warn you though, I've seen issues switching between amd and nvidia cards in the past. Make sure to remove all traces of your old graphics drivers before installing the new card. (You may even want to do a full fresh install of windows if that's not a major hassle.)
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
So, I’m in the process of sketching out a new PC build. My current system is about 5 ½ years old (Wolfdale 8400 CPU), the life of which I was able to extend decently by dropping in a new GPU a few years ago (5770) and upgrading to an SSD. However, I want to be able to play forthcoming titles like Star Citizen and Witcher 3 at full sexiness, so it’s time to upgrade.
Some note and objectives for the system:
- This will be my second PC build. I’m certainly not advanced, but I can follow internet advice well-enough.
- I’d like for the hardware build to provide some future-proofing. To that end, specifically I’m planning to get a top end GPU and then add a second in SLI 2-3 years down the road. Build will need to support that.
- I’d like to start experimenting with overclocking – is this advisable? I hear its not too difficult these days. Build will need to facilitate this as well.
- Price range is up to about $1500 or so.
Here’s my current plan with some component options and questions under each for the wise masters of Moe’s:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
BOUGHT – Found this for under $200, and it looks like a good match for my goals.
Cooler: [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2 [/url] ($29.98)
(B) [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhu12s [/url]
So, I’m assuming for overclocking the CPU I need an aftermarket cooler. Do I need something in the $70-$90 range or do the $30 options get the job done?
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($179.98 @ SuperBiiz)
(B) GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H
(C) GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD4H
(D) MSI Z87-GD65
This is probably the biggest area I need help in. What is the difference between those two Gigabyte boards, for example? There seem to be a lot of solid gaming boards in the $175 - $200 range, but I swear on every review site, for each model, half of the reviews are 5 stars and half are just trashing the boards and company as shite. My current ASUS board has been rock solid, but it seems like their QC has lapsed a bit?
What key features amI looking for in a motherboard given my build goals?
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Is overclocking RAM a thing? Is 1600 speed adequate? Does upgrading to 16GB futureproof at all or is it just a luxury currently?
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($147.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Amazon)
I’m leaning more now towards the EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB at $500. Is GPU overclocking a worthwhile pursuit? Is it better to go with the 770 at 4 GB than the 780 at 3 GB (with an eye on SLI in the future)?
Also, there are, for example, multiple versions of EVGA cards with what look like different core and boost clocks in each line. Any guidance on which card within the "class" (770, 780 etc) to pick?
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
BOUGHT
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Pleasefitinmycasepleasefitinmycase...
If you want to overclock I would get faster RAM; I would also do a 2x4GB package rather than getting two sticks separately.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f314900cl9d8gbxl
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f317000cl11d8gbsr
Are you running two monitors or high resolutions while gaming? If not you probably don't need the 4GB card.
I installed it and it booted up and everything. I put Tomb Raider on Ultimate settings (and put Shadows on Ultra) and ran the benchmark: 52.6 average FPS. I think the lowest was like 45 or something.
That right there made it all worth it.