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Slegg
Czech Republic75 Posts
Ive been running on AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition for about two years now and I just got my hands on some extra money so Ive been looking for a good upgrade. Is there any better quality for my buck then AMD Phenom II X4 970/75/80 Black Edition? I would switch to Intel but I cant afford getting a new motherboard along with it. My budget is around 180$ (but if its a huge improvement I could go up to about 220-ish) | ||
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Wabbit
United States1028 Posts
On November 01 2011 06:09 Slegg wrote: Hi guys, Ive been running on AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition for about two years now and I just got my hands on some extra money so Ive been looking for a good upgrade. Is there any better quality for my buck then AMD Phenom II X4 970/75/80 Black Edition? I would switch to Intel but I cant afford getting a new motherboard along with it. My budget is around 180$ (but if its a huge improvement I could go up to about 220-ish) For what, gaming? Mostly Starcraft 2? Or what? Also, what's your Graphics card & resolution? Upgrading to an x4 from an x2 isn't going to give you a noticeable performance boost in most games. It might be possible to get an i5 2300 and some budget LGA1155 mobo, but with how prices are in Europe I doubt you'll be able to do that on a ~$200 budget, and going with anything less than an i5 is, again, not much of an upgrade over your x2 560 (edit: or at least enough to justify the cost, in my opinion) Honestly I'd just get a CPU cooler and OC the 560 a bit if you haven't already. | ||
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Slegg
Czech Republic75 Posts
On November 01 2011 06:27 Wabbit wrote: For what, gaming? Mostly Starcraft 2? Or what? Also, what's your Graphics card & resolution? Upgrading to an x4 from an x2 isn't going to give you a noticeable performance boost in most games. It might be possible to get an i5 2300 and some budget LGA1155 mobo, but with how prices are in Europe I doubt you'll be able to do that on a ~$200 budget, and going with anything less than an i5 is, again, not much of an upgrade over your x2 560 (edit: or at least enough to justify the cost, in my opinion) Honestly I'd just get a CPU cooler and OC the 560 a bit if you haven't already. Radeon Sapphire 6850, 1680x1050 Yeah, I've overclocked it a bit and installed a new fan. Most games run well, I figured I would upgrade if it meant a big improvement but if it is as you say I'll probably stick with it for a year or two more. Thanks! | ||
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Wabbit
United States1028 Posts
On November 01 2011 06:33 Slegg wrote: Radeon Sapphire 6850, 1680x1050 Yeah, I've overclocked it a bit and installed a new fan. Most games run well, I figured I would upgrade if it meant a big improvement but if it is as you say I'll probably stick with it for a year or two more. Thanks! The question is - are you running into frame rate problems now? (whatever bothers you, such as less than 40, less than 30, etc.) If so, what games? (because it may still be a GPU bottleneck over CPU). Still, both your CPU & GPU should deliver very playable frame rates in most games at your resolution. Also, a lot of the performance gain might be beyond what is useful - that is, if your HD 6850 system with an x2 560 is delivering 70 FPS average in some game, and you have a 60Hz monitor - what does it matter if a CPU upgrade would give you 90FPS average as long as the minimum frame rates are both acceptable? | ||
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Slegg
Czech Republic75 Posts
On November 01 2011 06:47 Wabbit wrote: The question is - are you running into frame rate problems now? (whatever bothers you, such as less than 40, less than 30, etc.) If so, what games? (because it may still be a GPU bottleneck over CPU). Still, both your CPU & GPU should deliver very playable frame rates in most games at your resolution. Also, a lot of the performance gain might be beyond what is useful - that is, if your HD 6850 system with an x2 560 is delivering 70 FPS average in some game, and you have a 60Hz monitor - what does it matter if a CPU upgrade would give you 90FPS average as long as the minimum frame rates are both acceptable? Its mostly because of Battlefield 3, It runs very strange on my pc. On lowest settings i get the same performance as on ultra - that is about 30-40 fps with noticable "stuttering" (but its not so bad, it has improved from unplayable to pretty good with the new drivers) I figured i would do this as a long term upgrade but I got the feeling it wouldnt be that from what you wrote. edit: Ive just gone back to lowest settings again, it runs almost perfectly there, on ultra its a lot less smooth but not bad... sorry its pretty difficult for me to explain | ||
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Thorakh
Netherlands1788 Posts
 I do not have an earthed socket in my room, can I plug my PC in without problems? PSU is 500W, if it matters. I've connected my old PC (and this laptop is currently hooked into it) to this socket without any problems before, but I'm worried that I'm going to get shocked, or worse, fry my relatively expensive machine.Also, can I build my PC on a wooden table on a carpet (and making sure to discharge myself often) or should I move to the kitchen for a wooden floor? I have a three input power strip that is hooked into the main socket in my room (the extension has grounded inputs, but the main socket doesn't so I assume the grounded inputs of the extensions lead to nowhere). Even if the main socket was grounded, is it safe to put my PSU, my monitor and printer in the extension? I don't know how foreign sockets work, but here's a picture of how my socket looks: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Stopcontact.jpg And an earthed one with two little pins on the top and bottom: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Stopcontactgeaard.jpg And if a grounded socket is needed, my kitchen has grounded sockets, does that mean that the groundwire is likely to be in my socket, so I just have to replace my socket with a grounded one without having to rewire the whole house (or do surge protectors have relevance and would be a cheap solution)? I could buy a grounded extension cord to connect my power strip to a socket in the kitchen, but I'd have to run the cord through the hallway and multiple doors. | ||
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Gandalf
Pakistan1905 Posts
e8500 at stock speed 4gb RAM gtx 260 Monitor resolution: 9120 x 1200 He only plays 3 on 3 games and some UMS, and right now is forced to run SC2 on low because higher settings induce lag. He wants to upgrade his computer and feels simply replacing his GPU with a gtx 570 will let him run the game at ultra without issues. Is he correct in thinking his GPU is the bottlneck? True, with the new GPU the CPU might become the bottleneck instead, but his only goal is to be able to run 3vs3 games on Ultra. Has anyone here run SC2 with an E8500? Some confirmation it can run the game at ultra at 1920x1200 would be great. Thanks! | ||
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
For a lot of other games, the new GPU would probably be better, though. It's all priorities. | ||
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GloryOfAiur
United States127 Posts
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
On November 01 2011 13:00 GloryOfAiur wrote: What are your opinions on the new Intel Core i7 2700k? IMO it seems overpriced for the slight speed boost. It's not that different than the 2600k as far as value for consumers, really. It's just higher binned, mostly. If you want an i7 and plan for a moderate OC, no point in going above the 2600k. If you want to push to the limits, this is a stupid time to buy an i7, with LGA 2011 coming out soon. | ||
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xeo1
United States429 Posts
On November 01 2011 03:05 Ten Tron wrote: Hi, I'm looking to build a new PC and I need help. I've built a couple computers so I know how it works but I'm a noob when it comes buying parts. I don't know enough about the numbers and getting it compatible and optimized. Can you help? What is your budget? $700-800 What is your resolution? 1920x1200 What are you using it for? I will be using it for gaming and I'd like to play on high to max settings. I play SC2, HoN, DotA2, Diablo 3,and Battlefield 3. I would like to be able to stream. I really want to broadcast in 480p maybe 720p if it could handle it. What is your upgrade cycle? I upgrade about every two years. When do you plan on building it? I plan on building it soon. I have the cash now but I'm kinda waiting for the Thanksgiving black friday deals. I wanna be prepared. Do you plan on overclocking? I don't know enough about it to feel confident in doing it. So no, I won't be overclocking unless you can give me good reason to. Do you need an Operating System? I have a version of Vista 64bit. Do I need to upgrade to Win7? Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? No Where are you buying your parts from? Newegg Thanks for your help. This is an awesome thread. Intel Core i5-2400 - $150: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354590 AsRock H61M/U3S3 - $70 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236 Sapphire HD 6870 - $170 (promo ends 10/31), $150 AMIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948 G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) - $35 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422 Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 ASUS 24X DVD Burner - $20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 Corsair CX430 V2 - $45 ($35 after mail in rebate) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026 Antec Three Hundred Illusion 45$ with EMCKAHH22: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066 TOTAL $595 before MIR, 565 after MIR if there is no microcenter nearby, get the processor from newegg which is $40 more. | ||
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lyrlian
Netherlands257 Posts
The quality of my stream looks like this atm: http://nl.twitch.tv/playhemtv/b/298872874 I can stream in OK quality @ 1080p. But Graphics suffer quite badly ): What is your budget? $900-1000 What is your resolution? 1920x1080 What are you using it for? Streaming 1080p Ultra SC2 Settings. I will not be uploading VOD's as much or coding video's for youtube. I hear extra memory helps the time it takes to code a video and get it ready for uploading to youtube. Does it help streaming itself aswell? Is the i7 2700k worth it? Or totally overkill? 8GB mem worth it? Or even 12GB? Gaming. Secondary, I don't mind not being able to run Crysis 3 next year on UBERHIGHEST detail. Don't want to spend my money on 2x 6950. 1x 6970 should suffice? Or 2x 6870 might be more cost effective? What is your upgrade cycle? I upgrade about every two years. When do you plan on building it? I plan on building it soon(tm). But maybe it's worth it to wait for the next gen i5's or i7's. Or the Next gen graphic cards? Any ETA on those? (ivy-bridge or maybe the AMD's 7xxx series?) Do you plan on overclocking? I can overclock, but only a slight bit, don't want to take big risks. When streaming it's SUPERBBB important to have a stable PC, overclocking (in my experience) can sometimes make it unstable. Do you need an Operating System? No, got Windows 7 64bit. Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? Sure, if it's viable to do so. But If I go for a 6970, I won't be planning on adding another. Where are you buying your parts from? Dutch websites. If you want to be my personal hero, check http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/ for the cheapest avaiable products. Usually www.Azerty.nl has good prices and service. But I don't expect anyone to do this, I am looking for general advice on what parts to buy (: All advise is welcome, thanks in advance. EDIT: I use Xsplit for streaming. And I've got 15mbp/s upload. | ||
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Wabbit
United States1028 Posts
On November 01 2011 07:37 Slegg wrote: Its mostly because of Battlefield 3, It runs very strange on my pc. On lowest settings i get the same performance as on ultra - that is about 30-40 fps with noticable "stuttering" (but its not so bad, it has improved from unplayable to pretty good with the new drivers) I figured i would do this as a long term upgrade but I got the feeling it wouldnt be that from what you wrote. edit: Ive just gone back to lowest settings again, it runs almost perfectly there, on ultra its a lot less smooth but not bad... sorry its pretty difficult for me to explain So this definitely looks like it was a driver issue. Also, with a 6850 at 1680x1050, you should be able to play on High smoothly but not Ultra, as you can see in this review: http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page4.html (the prior page actually shows how a 6950 at 1680x1050 Ultra barely has 45 average FPS on a test system with a 2600K CPU - which is not bottlenecking the card, but I doubt yours is either; and that card is roughly 30-40% stronger than yours). EDIT: They even have a CPU comparison a few pages down: http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page7.html Still, it's not the same level of stress as a big 48-player multiplayer map would be but it should help. You are correct that a quad-core i5 would be an excellent long-term upgrade, but as I was saying, anything less would be far less noticeable and probably not worth the cost $ for the small improvements. And in Also, by the time you need to upgrade, you might even consider your GPU a bigger priority. | ||
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Puph
Canada635 Posts
EDIT: I don't know why I am saying this | ||
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Rannasha
Netherlands2398 Posts
On November 01 2011 06:09 Slegg wrote: Hi guys, Ive been running on AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition for about two years now and I just got my hands on some extra money so Ive been looking for a good upgrade. Is there any better quality for my buck then AMD Phenom II X4 970/75/80 Black Edition? I would switch to Intel but I cant afford getting a new motherboard along with it. My budget is around 180$ (but if its a huge improvement I could go up to about 220-ish) Most Phenom II X2 CPUs in that series are actually fully functional quad-cores with 2 cores disabled. Lots of motherboards have the option to unlock the other 2 cores and get a quad-core out of it. In your case, it would be identical to a Phenom II X4 960 Black Edition. So before you invest in new hardware, better check out this unlocking feature. Note that some X2 and X3 CPUs have one or two cores that are not fully up to spec and that's why they were downmarked to dual or triple core with the defunct cores disabled. Unlocking these cores will cause the computer to be unstable or crash. If this happens, just change the BIOS setting back to what you had before and all is back to how it was. No permanent damage. So it's always worth trying to see if you can get more out of the CPU if your motherboard supports it. For SC2, adding 2 more cores won't do that much (SC2 only uses 2 cores most of the time), but if you do other stuff in parallel (watch streams, stream yourself, etc...) or run games that do use more than 2 cores, then the unlock will improve your performance quite a bit. Good luck. | ||
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Dannnnn_The_Man
United States166 Posts
MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHz for 160$. That a good deal? Also one more thing, would a 8800 gt be able to do medium in sc2? | ||
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lyrlian
Netherlands257 Posts
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Rachnar
France1526 Posts
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Shikyo
Finland33997 Posts
On November 02 2011 07:49 Dannnnn_The_Man wrote: Ok so someone wants sell this to me. MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHz for 160$. That a good deal? Also one more thing, would a 8800 gt be able to do medium in sc2? Not a good deal not at all | ||
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