I'm probably really really dumb about this, but I'll only get ASUS boards because of how familiar I am with the BIOS. Like I know it's all essentially the same, but it's the same reason I use an iPhone. I just know where all the settings are and how to do what I want with it.
I almost bought a new PSU today just to reduce wire clutter. I literally have this but not modular...
That's a really crazy proprietary modular connector setup.
Seems unnecessary/like it'll be a hassle should you ever need to buy/use more (or shorter) cables.
It's the brand I trust most, has great reviews, and had 2 previous power supplies from. Also dead silent.
It's Super Flower OEMed, which is fine, but it's hardly the best performing or best built supply using one of their platforms (especially given that it's a 2 year old design), and I admit to being surprised to hear someone describe a company formerly owned by OCZ as their most trusted brand. Not a bad supply by any means, though.
I thought it was PC Power & Cooling, didn't realize it was another brand below. I'm having a hard time picking a good, modular PSU. Almost all the good ones have reviews that scare the pants off me. My current one is 760w, which may be overkill for 3 SSD 2HDD and a 980ti.
I used to have two 970s probably won't double cards with a 980ti but you never know.
I don't know how personnel/procedures have shaken out over time but PC Power and Cooling was purchased by OCZ. When OCZ went bust the PSU division was spun off into Firepower. Super Flower is a great OEM, but the Silencer III is an older platform. The full modular EVGA G2 supplies (for example) are Gold rated, and well reviewed, supplies based on a newer platform.
I saw this one on sale for $89 the other day but the reviews of people blowing out their PC scared me away. I don't know if they had legitimate problems or these people building their machines are complete idiots.
Call me a brand whore if you will, but I am going to recommend everybody buy platinum-rated SeaSonic PSUs for what must be the eleventy kajillionth time by now.
Seasonic is a great brand. Maybe the most consistent brand across both retail and OEM spaces, and with potentially the most bulletproof build quality. In general, I'm not sure that the efficiency gains really justify the price premium for most Platinum supplies ($30-40 when looking at 750W units), it would likely take either exceptionally high power draw from high end hardware under near-constant use (bitcoin mining or the like) or multiple years of 24/7 idle uptime to make up the difference in initial cost.
All that said, Seasonic isn't the only OEM making a worthwhile Platinum supply, and they definitely aren't the only OEM or Retailer of high quality Gold supplies. Their reputation is well deserved, but their retail units are generally more expensive than identical units rebadged by other retailers. If money was no object and you didn't want to complicate things by considering OEMs and whatnot, Seasonic would probably be my recommendation, but there are often better values to be had.
Anyone actually get their Win10 download code yet?
I haven't bothered, honestly. I'll probably upgrade when DirectX 12 becomes a thing, or right before the free upgrade offer goes away, whichever comes first.
Amazon comping 15% of a purchase to ensure you keep buying from them is a customer retention thing. If you repeatedly ask their CSRs to give you free shit they'll eventually stop, but doing it occasionally to retain a customer is just good business. From their perspective, if you were legitimately mad about the lack of a Batman code and they did nothing, you'll probably take your business elsewhere the next time you make a big purchase.
Amazon comping 15% of a purchase to ensure you keep buying from them is a customer retention thing. If you repeatedly ask their CSRs to give you free shit they'll eventually stop, but doing it occasionally to retain a customer is just good business. From their perspective, if you were legitimately mad about the lack of a Batman code and they did nothing, you'll probably take your business elsewhere the next time you make a big purchase.
Oh yeah, I know it makes sense on their end. They're not stupid.
It's just funny that a shot-in-the-dark email to try and squeeze a Batman code out of them -- to which I was definitely entitled -- netted me enough to buy the game twice. ^_^
But they've also just been really lax for some months now. I've returned at least three different GTX 970's to them without issue -- once when I was a month past my 30-day return window. They also refunded me the 20% restocking fee that time -- a value of $68.
I like to think my "secret" is that I use lots of smiley-faces when I'm in the customer service 'chatroom' thing.
Anyone actually get their Win10 download code yet?
I haven't bothered, honestly. I'll probably upgrade when DirectX 12 becomes a thing, or right before the free upgrade offer goes away, whichever comes first.
By "becomes a thing" do you mean when devs start making actual use of it? That's probably a long ways away.
Unless there're performance improvements to be had from DX12 right from Day One ...?
Anyone actually get their Win10 download code yet?
I haven't bothered, honestly. I'll probably upgrade when DirectX 12 becomes a thing, or right before the free upgrade offer goes away, whichever comes first.
By "becomes a thing" do you mean when devs start making actual use of it? That's probably a long ways away.
Unless there're performance improvements to be had from DX12 right from Day One ...?
That's exactly what I mean. As far as I've heard, you get a year to take your free upgrade. I'm not gonna leave that offer on the table, but 7 Pro suits me just fine, and I'd rather wait to let bugs get squashed. If for some reason DirectX 12 is recommended (or required) for a game I'd like to play in the meantime (which seems unlikely) I'll pull the trigger then.
So what does that make your final cost for the card? ~$500?
Also, my PCP&C 750W is going on about 6 years old, now, and it's still chugging along with no problems.
I just got an Amazon store card, because they were offering a $40 gift card with new accounts, and the normal 5% cash back with their Prime store cards.
So $669.95 + S/H and tax (damn you MA) = $717 - $40 gift card - $33.50 (5% cash back) - $108 refund
So in the end I got a $680 card for $535.50. That also means I upgraded to a single card that equals or betters my 2x GTX 970 SLI setup for $165 less.
^____________________^
I kind of hate you a little, lol.
Amazon customer service has never been anything but outstanding, in my experience.
But now I'm thinking they're just such an absurd online shopping juggernaut that they can afford to just give me $108 for literally no reason -- probably so I'll tell other Internet Nerds about how great Amazon customer service is.
Yeah, I should just have gotten my cooler on Amazon.es instead of the shop I did. Because now they're being difficult about exchanging it - and tbh I'm not even really sure it's a legit problem or if the pump is just legitimately noisy. I might just ask for a refund and get something else on Amazon.
I think we'll start seeing games with DX12 support in about a year, mostly because the Xbox One will also be getting it this fall.
There's certainly no need to rush updating to Win10 unless you're an early adopter. Free upgrade offer lasts until July 29 2016.
My patience for new shiny things is much shorter than that, though.
Number One Tricky
+2
AlectharAlan ShoreWe're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered Userregular
Has anyone heard anything about Bitfenix having issues with their US distributor and/or NewEgg? Most of their cases seem to be unavailable directly from NewEgg, and at Amazon they seem priced higher than normal. Maybe I'm just crazy...
Also, I'm trying to put together some updated stuff for the blog, and I'm working on cases right now. If anyone would like to write up a short blurb (that they'd be willing to let me use, with credit to them) about their case and why they like it, that would be awesome. You can post it here in the thread, or PM me with it.
It has begun. I picked up a Corsair 780T case for $99. It doesn't fit under my dinky little desk though. I wasn't planning on getting a full tower but I couldn't say no to that price. It's a nice case. Seems like it anyways. Lots of room for fans and stuff, decent layout, sturdy, plenty of room for cables. List price is normally $180.
I was going to maybe wait for Skylake's release to see if prices on the LGA1150 stuff would drop but I may just pull the trigger and get the whole system today.
Edit: I couldn't wait.
Parts:
Corsair 780T full tower case
Intel i5 4690k
Asus Z97-A motherboard
8 gigs of Crucial Ballistix Sports Ram
Corsair RM 650watt PSU
I already have a monitor, mouse, keyboard. I'm going to salvage the nVidia GTX 750TI and the dvd drive from my old comp and put it in the new one.
Microcenter had some good deals so I still came in under budget even though I splurged and got a joystick and some speakers and I ended up with better parts than I planned for originally. I even got a new printer. It was some HP thing that's normally $100. Got it for $20 because I bought a cpu and motherboard. The system has plenty of room to grow if I want to upgrade the video card or overclock it later. Overall I'm pretty happy with what I got. Now I just need to put it together.
It's still totally beyond me how this thread was so in love with that huge plasticky, overwrought case.
Also: so as I recall, unless I'm having a specific problem with it, the general wisdom is not to bother with a BIOS update, right? I wish Gigabyte would publish a changelog.
EDIT: Hmm, I guess it just adds Broadwell support -- which doesn't matter to me since I'm still rockin' a 4670K.
It's still totally beyond me how this thread was so in love with that huge plasticky, overwrought case.
I've seen worse. It wasn't my first pick but the price was too good to pass up. I'm a lot less enthused now that I see it won't fit under my desk. This thing is ginormous and probably a lot more case than I need.
Back to looking at cases again. Bah. Still looking at Corsair cases mostly. Either a Corsair 450D or maybe the 400R or the C70 Vengeance. The Fractal R5 looks good too. I need to go back to the store tomorrow anyways. I forgot to get thermal paste.
The only reason I'd recommend a BIOS upgrade is if there was some hardware you're installing that you must patch it to support. Not worth the headache otherwise.
+1
AlectharAlan ShoreWe're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered Userregular
I've seen worse. It wasn't my first pick but the price was too good to pass up. I'm a lot less enthused now that I see it won't fit under my desk. This thing is ginormous and probably a lot more case than I need.
Back to looking at cases again. Bah. Still looking at Corsair cases mostly. Either a Corsair 450D or maybe the 400R or the C70 Vengeance. The Fractal R5 looks good too. I need to go back to the store tomorrow anyways. I forgot to get thermal paste.
I like the C70 okay for internal design. The whole "military" aesthetic is a little much for me, but YMMV. If they have a 500R around, I've always liked it.
If I was buying a mid-tower today, though, I'd probably buy a Fractal Design case, either the Arc Midi R2 (for moar airflow) or the Define R4/R5 (for moar silence).
It's still totally beyond me how this thread was so in love with that huge plasticky, overwrought case.
Also: so as I recall, unless I'm having a specific problem with it, the general wisdom is not to bother with a BIOS update, right? I wish Gigabyte would publish a changelog.
EDIT: Hmm, I guess it just adds Broadwell support -- which doesn't matter to me since I'm still rockin' a 4670K.
It's kinda like a giant, sexier 600T with better fan support and cool 2.5'' bays. I mean, yeah there's a lot of plastic, but at least in my 600T the fit and finish is quite good, as is the materials quality, so it doesn't feel like a cheap case (which is good given that it isn't). I've always liked the Graphite Series aesthetic.
I've seen worse. It wasn't my first pick but the price was too good to pass up. I'm a lot less enthused now that I see it won't fit under my desk. This thing is ginormous and probably a lot more case than I need.
Back to looking at cases again. Bah. Still looking at Corsair cases mostly. Either a Corsair 450D or maybe the 400R or the C70 Vengeance. The Fractal R5 looks good too. I need to go back to the store tomorrow anyways. I forgot to get thermal paste.
I like the C70 okay for internal design. The whole "military" aesthetic is a little much for me, but YMMV. If they have a 500R around, I've always liked it.
If I was buying a mid-tower today, though, I'd probably buy a Fractal Design case, either the Arc Midi R2 (for moar airflow) or the Define R4/R5 (for moar silence).
Thanks for the suggestions. I originally wanted to get a 500R but they didn't have it. Actually they don't have the Arc Midi R2 either. Either of those would do me just fine.
I thought the military aesthetic on the C70 was rather cool. It's part of what caught my attention in the first place.
I've seen worse. It wasn't my first pick but the price was too good to pass up. I'm a lot less enthused now that I see it won't fit under my desk. This thing is ginormous and probably a lot more case than I need.
Back to looking at cases again. Bah. Still looking at Corsair cases mostly. Either a Corsair 450D or maybe the 400R or the C70 Vengeance. The Fractal R5 looks good too. I need to go back to the store tomorrow anyways. I forgot to get thermal paste.
I like the C70 okay for internal design. The whole "military" aesthetic is a little much for me, but YMMV. If they have a 500R around, I've always liked it.
If I was buying a mid-tower today, though, I'd probably buy a Fractal Design case, either the Arc Midi R2 (for moar airflow) or the Define R4/R5 (for moar silence).
I have a 450D right meow.
In retrospect I should've gotten the R5 or Define S instead, mostly for the side-panel fan mount (a godsend for SLI setups); there's also the seemingly common (at least in the initial run) problem of one of the front fan filter door hinges being easily broken (mine broke when doing my first install, and HardwareCanucks' review model also had a broken hinge), but they've probably figured that out by now.
Still, I should've prolly done a little more research and gone with the R5 or waited for the Define S back in January when I was shopping for cases.
Hmm that sucks. We had a really bad storm last night, when the power started going off/on I unplugged my PC, and now this morning its only reading 16 of my 24 gigs of memory. That uh...man I hope I didn't fry one. Would a memory scan even be able to pick that out?
Hmm that sucks. We had a really bad storm last night, when the power started going off/on I unplugged my PC, and now this morning its only reading 16 of my 24 gigs of memory. That uh...man I hope I didn't fry one. Would a memory scan even be able to pick that out?
What version of windows are you running? Does the rest of the memory show up in memtest?
0
The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
Pretty poor right now, but come hell or high water I want to get a Rift/Vive. So I'm thinking of upgrading my graphics card at some point so that I can actually use those VR systems. Right now my desktop is rocking an aging GTX 580, that has served me quite well over the years, and my laptop is running a GTX 780m. I just happened to have just over a hundred bucks on a Walmart giftcard and know you can buy graphics cards through their website. Would it be wise to pick up a GTX 970 as a stopgap card for a couple of years, so that I'd be able to well continue to play modern games at high settings as well as VR it up, then pick up a second or third gen Pascal card down the road? Or should I just wait another 6 months or so and go whole hog on a GTX 980TI with my giftcard? With the giftcard I could get a 970 for around 200 bucks.
Also if I do pick something up through the Walmart site, how do I ensure I'm getting the copy of MGSV that is supposed to be packaged with new Nvidia graphics cards?
I never got a response here.
Still looking. The cheapest 970 I saw on the Walmart site was for 329, but no mentions of Phantom Pain with it. Though I did see this on NewEgg for an even 300 with Phantom Pain. Thoughts? If there was a way to know if third party sellers like TigerDirect on Walmart.com did provide Phantom Pain even though it was not listed in the Spartan description I might just go for the 329 minus the 100 bucks in giftcards instead.
I've also been taking a glance at some cards on eBay. I'm thinking that my max on a used/refurbished 970 on eBay would be 250, I also took a glance at some 980s, and I'm thinking my cap there would be 350. How's my thinking in that regard?
Personally I wouldn't buy used cards for more than $100 just on chance it's busted. Your max may be higher if you're willing to risk it, of course, just my thoughts on used.
I don't know what Rift etc is really going to need (vs what they say now) so don't want to chime in on that.
I wouldn't trust that anything comes with the card unless it says so. I'd say email then and ask, but good luck with that.
Xeddicus on
"For no one - no one in this world can you trust. Not men. Not women. Not beasts...this you can trust."
If your wondering what sort of gpu you need for VR then look for reviews that focus on 4K as the requirements are pretty much the same.
So in that case you'd be looking at around 30-40fps in VR with a pair of 970's.
I would just wait for the reference 980 Ti's (so $650 flat) to be back in stock at the big online retailers and do that if you're specifically looking to brace for 4K gaming.
Ouch, for 4k, really? I heard you have to have a real shitkicker to run 4k content.
Yeah, the consumer-model Oculus Rift has a 1080x1200 monitor running at 90hz in each eye. Total pixels being pushed are pretty similar to a 4k monitor.
Ok, so I was installing the stock cooler for my i5 and there wasn't enough slack in the fan's power cable so.....I had to pull the heatsink up and rotate it. Should I clean the thermal paste off and reapply it?
Edit: yeah I know it's a noob question but I've never done this before. plus if I have to reapply it I'm going to go get that fancy Coolermaster cpu cooler instead.
Personally I wouldn't buy used cards for more than $100 just on chance it's busted. Your max may be higher if you're willing to risk it, of course, just my thoughts on used.
I don't know what Rift etc is really going to need (vs what they say now) so don't want to chime in on that.
I wouldn't trust that anything comes with the card unless it says so. I'd say email then and ask, but good luck with that.
I don't know when the last time you used eBay was, but it's not the wild west that it used to be. A seller has to list the quality of the object they are selling, and if they list it as functional and it comes broken eBay is on my side for refunds.
If your wondering what sort of gpu you need for VR then look for reviews that focus on 4K as the requirements are pretty much the same.
So in that case you'd be looking at around 30-40fps in VR with a pair of 970's.
970 is the straight up recommended card directly from Oculus, do you mean to say that I require double what they recommend? Now I could imagine they are trying to undersell the requirements just a bit to not scare people off, but 970 seems like the kind of card that you'd need to play a game like Alien Isolation for example at high settings at 30FPS on the Rift. I max out AI on my 580 at 60FPS.
Ok, so I was installing the stock cooler for my i5 and there wasn't enough slack in the fan's power cable so.....I had to pull the heatsink up and rotate it. Should I clean the thermal paste off and reapply it?
Ouch, for 4k, really? I heard you have to have a real shitkicker to run 4k content.
Yeah, the consumer-model Oculus Rift has a 1080x1200 monitor running at 90hz in each eye. Total pixels being pushed are pretty similar to a 4k monitor.
I just did:
3820*2160*60 = 495,072,000 - 4K at 60fps
2*1080*1200*90 = 233,280,000 - 2 * 1080x1200 at 90fps
4K is more than double the Rift, if those numbers are right. Unless you're talking 4K at 30fps, in which case, yeah, they're basically the same.
Posts
You don't need it if you download manually.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10
I suggest creating a USB install drive.
Seasonic is a great brand. Maybe the most consistent brand across both retail and OEM spaces, and with potentially the most bulletproof build quality. In general, I'm not sure that the efficiency gains really justify the price premium for most Platinum supplies ($30-40 when looking at 750W units), it would likely take either exceptionally high power draw from high end hardware under near-constant use (bitcoin mining or the like) or multiple years of 24/7 idle uptime to make up the difference in initial cost.
All that said, Seasonic isn't the only OEM making a worthwhile Platinum supply, and they definitely aren't the only OEM or Retailer of high quality Gold supplies. Their reputation is well deserved, but their retail units are generally more expensive than identical units rebadged by other retailers. If money was no object and you didn't want to complicate things by considering OEMs and whatnot, Seasonic would probably be my recommendation, but there are often better values to be had.
I haven't bothered, honestly. I'll probably upgrade when DirectX 12 becomes a thing, or right before the free upgrade offer goes away, whichever comes first.
Battle.net
Should be pictures of my build in progress. Waiting on cpu and coolers.
E: yes, I fully seated that ram after reviewing the pictures
Oh yeah, I know it makes sense on their end. They're not stupid.
It's just funny that a shot-in-the-dark email to try and squeeze a Batman code out of them -- to which I was definitely entitled -- netted me enough to buy the game twice. ^_^
But they've also just been really lax for some months now. I've returned at least three different GTX 970's to them without issue -- once when I was a month past my 30-day return window. They also refunded me the 20% restocking fee that time -- a value of $68.
I like to think my "secret" is that I use lots of smiley-faces when I'm in the customer service 'chatroom' thing.
"Bitches love smiley-faces."
What case is that?
By "becomes a thing" do you mean when devs start making actual use of it? That's probably a long ways away.
Unless there're performance improvements to be had from DX12 right from Day One ...?
Cooler Master HAF XB Evo
That's exactly what I mean. As far as I've heard, you get a year to take your free upgrade. I'm not gonna leave that offer on the table, but 7 Pro suits me just fine, and I'd rather wait to let bugs get squashed. If for some reason DirectX 12 is recommended (or required) for a game I'd like to play in the meantime (which seems unlikely) I'll pull the trigger then.
Battle.net
Yeah, I should just have gotten my cooler on Amazon.es instead of the shop I did. Because now they're being difficult about exchanging it - and tbh I'm not even really sure it's a legit problem or if the pump is just legitimately noisy. I might just ask for a refund and get something else on Amazon.
There's certainly no need to rush updating to Win10 unless you're an early adopter. Free upgrade offer lasts until July 29 2016.
My patience for new shiny things is much shorter than that, though.
Also, I'm trying to put together some updated stuff for the blog, and I'm working on cases right now. If anyone would like to write up a short blurb (that they'd be willing to let me use, with credit to them) about their case and why they like it, that would be awesome. You can post it here in the thread, or PM me with it.
Battle.net
I was going to maybe wait for Skylake's release to see if prices on the LGA1150 stuff would drop but I may just pull the trigger and get the whole system today.
Edit: I couldn't wait.
Parts:
Corsair 780T full tower case
Intel i5 4690k
Asus Z97-A motherboard
8 gigs of Crucial Ballistix Sports Ram
Corsair RM 650watt PSU
I already have a monitor, mouse, keyboard. I'm going to salvage the nVidia GTX 750TI and the dvd drive from my old comp and put it in the new one.
Microcenter had some good deals so I still came in under budget even though I splurged and got a joystick and some speakers and I ended up with better parts than I planned for originally. I even got a new printer. It was some HP thing that's normally $100. Got it for $20 because I bought a cpu and motherboard. The system has plenty of room to grow if I want to upgrade the video card or overclock it later. Overall I'm pretty happy with what I got. Now I just need to put it together.
It's still totally beyond me how this thread was so in love with that huge plasticky, overwrought case.
Also: so as I recall, unless I'm having a specific problem with it, the general wisdom is not to bother with a BIOS update, right? I wish Gigabyte would publish a changelog.
EDIT: Hmm, I guess it just adds Broadwell support -- which doesn't matter to me since I'm still rockin' a 4670K.
I've seen worse. It wasn't my first pick but the price was too good to pass up. I'm a lot less enthused now that I see it won't fit under my desk. This thing is ginormous and probably a lot more case than I need.
Back to looking at cases again. Bah. Still looking at Corsair cases mostly. Either a Corsair 450D or maybe the 400R or the C70 Vengeance. The Fractal R5 looks good too. I need to go back to the store tomorrow anyways. I forgot to get thermal paste.
I like the C70 okay for internal design. The whole "military" aesthetic is a little much for me, but YMMV. If they have a 500R around, I've always liked it.
If I was buying a mid-tower today, though, I'd probably buy a Fractal Design case, either the Arc Midi R2 (for moar airflow) or the Define R4/R5 (for moar silence).
Battle.net
It's kinda like a giant, sexier 600T with better fan support and cool 2.5'' bays. I mean, yeah there's a lot of plastic, but at least in my 600T the fit and finish is quite good, as is the materials quality, so it doesn't feel like a cheap case (which is good given that it isn't). I've always liked the Graphite Series aesthetic.
Battle.net
Thanks for the suggestions. I originally wanted to get a 500R but they didn't have it. Actually they don't have the Arc Midi R2 either. Either of those would do me just fine.
I thought the military aesthetic on the C70 was rather cool. It's part of what caught my attention in the first place.
I have a 450D right meow.
In retrospect I should've gotten the R5 or Define S instead, mostly for the side-panel fan mount (a godsend for SLI setups); there's also the seemingly common (at least in the initial run) problem of one of the front fan filter door hinges being easily broken (mine broke when doing my first install, and HardwareCanucks' review model also had a broken hinge), but they've probably figured that out by now.
Still, I should've prolly done a little more research and gone with the R5 or waited for the Define S back in January when I was shopping for cases.
What version of windows are you running? Does the rest of the memory show up in memtest?
Still looking. The cheapest 970 I saw on the Walmart site was for 329, but no mentions of Phantom Pain with it. Though I did see this on NewEgg for an even 300 with Phantom Pain. Thoughts? If there was a way to know if third party sellers like TigerDirect on Walmart.com did provide Phantom Pain even though it was not listed in the Spartan description I might just go for the 329 minus the 100 bucks in giftcards instead.
I've also been taking a glance at some cards on eBay. I'm thinking that my max on a used/refurbished 970 on eBay would be 250, I also took a glance at some 980s, and I'm thinking my cap there would be 350. How's my thinking in that regard?
I don't know what Rift etc is really going to need (vs what they say now) so don't want to chime in on that.
I wouldn't trust that anything comes with the card unless it says so. I'd say email then and ask, but good luck with that.
So in that case you'd be looking at around 30-40fps in VR with a pair of 970's.
I would just wait for the reference 980 Ti's (so $650 flat) to be back in stock at the big online retailers and do that if you're specifically looking to brace for 4K gaming.
Your single 980 Ti should be sufficient for getting a sustained ~60fps -- though probably not with everything at Ultra.
Yeah, the consumer-model Oculus Rift has a 1080x1200 monitor running at 90hz in each eye. Total pixels being pushed are pretty similar to a 4k monitor.
Edit: yeah I know it's a noob question but I've never done this before. plus if I have to reapply it I'm going to go get that fancy Coolermaster cpu cooler instead.
I don't know when the last time you used eBay was, but it's not the wild west that it used to be. A seller has to list the quality of the object they are selling, and if they list it as functional and it comes broken eBay is on my side for refunds.
970 is the straight up recommended card directly from Oculus, do you mean to say that I require double what they recommend? Now I could imagine they are trying to undersell the requirements just a bit to not scare people off, but 970 seems like the kind of card that you'd need to play a game like Alien Isolation for example at high settings at 30FPS on the Rift. I max out AI on my 580 at 60FPS.
Yes.
I just did:
3820*2160*60 = 495,072,000 - 4K at 60fps
2*1080*1200*90 = 233,280,000 - 2 * 1080x1200 at 90fps
4K is more than double the Rift, if those numbers are right. Unless you're talking 4K at 30fps, in which case, yeah, they're basically the same.
Tube made this video about how to put thermal paste on your mobo: