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On December 27 2011 05:41 Razith wrote:
I figured this question didn't warrant a new thread so I thought I'd ask here.
I'm looking to upgrade my video card. Currently I have a GTX 260.
I'm looking to get either a GTX 560 Ti or a 570. However, I really don't know much about video card specs beyond the X60+ is gaming, starting with 60's being budget and the 90's being top end.
Can anyone point me in a direction to learn how specs translate into performance so I sort of know what I'm paying for when I buy a card? or provide a brief explanation of the main points.
Thanks.
then switch to locked, and what do you need an i7 for? all those items total at about 50€ overpriced as well so hope you love the store. As for psu a 400w one is enough
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On December 27 2011 05:41 Razith wrote:+ Show Spoiler +I figured this question didn't warrant a new thread so I thought I'd ask here.
I'm looking to upgrade my video card. Currently I have a GTX 260.
I'm looking to get either a GTX 560 Ti or a 570. However, I really don't know much about video card specs beyond the X60+ is gaming, starting with 60's being budget and the 90's being top end.
Can anyone point me in a direction to learn how specs translate into performance so I sort of know what I'm paying for when I buy a card? or provide a brief explanation of the main points.
Thanks.
Just look at reviews from Anandtech, Hardwarecanucks, and Xbitlabs.
More cores (stream processors) = better.
Speed of core, memory, shaders is not important since this can be adjusted in software yourself and different architectures have their speed set differently.
Everything else is either hidden or doesn't matter. More memory = useful in high resolutions or with high texture games.
For Nvidia: 9 is flagship (dual GPU single card), 8 is single GPU flagship, 6 and 7 are premium, and 5 is mainstream. You want 6 or higher for gaming on high at 1080p.
Boxing Day is almost over so most (all) the hot deals for the GTX 560 Ti and GTX 570 will be sold out.
On December 27 2011 05:45 Dawski wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On December 27 2011 05:34 skyR wrote:Show nested quote +On December 27 2011 04:28 Dawski wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Hello there fellow TLers. After having my current PC for 8 years i think its time to upgrade to a better one but i have no idea what i'm doing when it comes to computers since back when i built mine i did it when i was like 15 with my older brothers help.
So my goal with this PC would be to run SC2 with reasonably high graphics and the ability to stream (doesn't have to be 1080p but at least 480 maybe 720)
My budget is around $1000-1300
First question of all, are there any reasonably priced laptops that would be able to meet my goal and budget?
alrighty on to what i have so far if i decide to go with a desktop
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500 quad core 1155 sandy bridge
Motherboard: Asus P8z68-M PRO
DDR3 Ram: 4GB G.Skill F3-10666CL7D 1333
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6870 900 MHZ 4.2 GHZ
Case: Antec Sonata Proto Black
Power Supply: Seasonic 520W 12V 20/24
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Internal Hard Drive
That leaves me at $1141 CAD including windows7. Would love some opinions on this build thanks in advance Are you going to be overclocking or not? The core i5 2500 has a limited multiplier so you can't really overclock which makes selecting the P8Z68M Pro a waste of money. If you aren't overclocking than change to a H61 or H67 motherboard. If you are overclocking than you need to select a K suffix processor (core i5 2500 K). The rest is fine but you are overpaying for certain components, I can't tell you which since you didn't list pricing. Those components should only add up to ~$900. Show nested quote +On December 27 2011 03:49 ChriseC wrote:+ Show Spoiler +http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/61905209.png/
can anyone say if its good? especially about the motherboard since i dont have a clue which one to use.
also how much power do i need to run this? and will i be able to overclock it in 1-2 years and if no what do i need for it? a new cooler and more power? C43 suck. The configuration only needs a quality ~500w unit. Thank you very much, i switched the motherboard to a H67 since i wont be overclocking or else id also need at least a low end heat sink. Also i got that price from NCIX if anyone knows of a better priced preferably canadian website
List pricing of components if you'd like pricing help. NCIX offers pricematching.
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On December 27 2011 05:41 Razith wrote:
I figured this question didn't warrant a new thread so I thought I'd ask here.
I'm looking to upgrade my video card. Currently I have a GTX 260.
I'm looking to get either a GTX 560 Ti or a 570. However, I really don't know much about video card specs beyond the X60+ is gaming, starting with 60's being budget and the 90's being top end.
Can anyone point me in a direction to learn how specs translate into performance so I sort of know what I'm paying for when I buy a card? or provide a brief explanation of the main points.
Thanks.
The organization (architecture) of all of the functional units and drivers are also going to influence performance, not just the specs. At least between different GPUs of the same family, the number one factor in general is the CUDA core count (number of shaders). That's the bulk of the processing hardware; more is better. Also look at the number of texture mapping units and ROPs, memory bus width and memory type, and clock speeds.
GPUs are set up to do a whole lot of very similar operations hugely in parallel. So having more functional units means being able to do even more stuff in parallel, which means more processing per second.
Most people just look at 3rd-party benchmarks though, as they're generally more indicative in general of real performance anyway. It's important to note their testing conditions and what that means for performance, so you interpret the results correctly, but it's a good general idea at least.
If you're lazy or just want a reasonable general idea of the difference, check somewhere like AnandTech:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/330?vs=318
Personally I'd consider waiting a couple of months or so for AMD Radeon HD 78xx series, but if you want the extra performance now, it's not a huge deal. HD 6xxx corresponds to GTX5xx. The world's been on 40nm GPUs for over two years, and the new ones will be 28nm--meaning better performance, better price/performance eventually, and certainly better performance/power.
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First off, I just wanted to say how thankful I am to everyone who has been contributing to this thread. I've had the same desktop for 7 years now, and I reallllyyyyy need to upgrade.. I don't know anything about computers really, and i'm absolutely terrified of potentially messing up. This thread has given me a lot of confidence, though, and I think i'm going to take the dive and try to build my own computer instead of ordering a pre-made
What is your budget?
1000$ USD
What is your resolution?
1280x1024
What are you using it for?
I want to be able to play sc2, diablo 3, any future MMOs on high/extreme graphics. Would also like to be able to stream
What is your upgrade cycle?
3+ years
When do you plan on building it?
As soon as possible
Do you plan on overclocking?
no
Do you need an Operating System?
yes
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
no (should I...?)
Where are you buying your parts from?
newegg or any other US based site
Edit: I also forgot to mention, a friend of mine gave me this video card for my birthday: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348
Would that be good enough for what I'm looking to do?
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On December 27 2011 05:33 Shikyo wrote:
@Arathore, for you and most others you wouldn't even notice a difference between i5 and i7. Also that PC you linked has a terrible graphics card so I'm not even sure why you were considering it. If you get a decent one it'll go over 1k.
I also would overclock if you want to do that all, not sure what you mean with the comment about overclocking?
Either way you'd want something like i5 2500, a h61, 8gb 1333 ram, some hdd, some dvdrw, gtx 560 ti, some case like bitfenix merc or bitfenix shinobi, and a decent 450w psu like xfx core.
Still imo you'd be better off with 2500k and a p67 mobo as with just the turbo core it might be difficult to run all those properly.
i7 2600 might be worth considering as well but I still am not sure if that'd be worth it
I was also crusin through the Fry's add this morning and found this:
http://www.frys.com/product/6776505?site=sa:adpages page:p1
thoughts anyone? (my preferences are on the page previous didn't want to quote a huge post)
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On December 27 2011 06:06 Arathore wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On December 27 2011 05:33 Shikyo wrote:
@Arathore, for you and most others you wouldn't even notice a difference between i5 and i7. Also that PC you linked has a terrible graphics card so I'm not even sure why you were considering it. If you get a decent one it'll go over 1k.
I also would overclock if you want to do that all, not sure what you mean with the comment about overclocking?
Either way you'd want something like i5 2500, a h61, 8gb 1333 ram, some hdd, some dvdrw, gtx 560 ti, some case like bitfenix merc or bitfenix shinobi, and a decent 450w psu like xfx core.
Still imo you'd be better off with 2500k and a p67 mobo as with just the turbo core it might be difficult to run all those properly.
i7 2600 might be worth considering as well but I still am not sure if that'd be worth it
I was also crusin through the Fry's add this morning and found this: http://www.frys.com/product/6776505?site=sa:adpages page:p1thoughts anyone? (my preferences are on the page previous didn't want to quote a huge post)
It's shit. You'll be able to play on low at best or maybe medium I guess if you play on some low resolution.
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I'm getting a new computer now after X-mas, but I don't remember all the specs, however here are those I remember:
P55 Extreme motherboard
8GB DDR3 RAM (Corsair Dominator if that makes a difference)
GT 220 1GB DDR3/128bit GPU
i5 2500K (I think)
Windows 7 64bit
I think it's compatible with SLI or Crossfire and overclocking, so if I would notice a big difference in performance for relatively low price/work, then I'm all for it.
Now my question is, would this play games like SC2, Skyrim, BF3, Diablo 3 etc on great graphic settings on a 23'' 1920x1080 monitor?
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On December 27 2011 06:25 Aocowns wrote:+ Show Spoiler +I'm getting a new computer now after X-mas, but I don't remember all the specs, however here are those I remember:
P55 Extreme motherboard
8GB DDR3 RAM (Corsair Dominator if that makes a difference)
GT 220 1GB DDR3/128bit GPU
i5 2500K (I think)
Windows 7 64bit
I think it's compatible with SLI or Crossfire and overclocking, so if I would notice a big difference in performance for relatively low price/work, then I'm all for it.
Now my question is, would this play games like SC2, Skyrim, BF3, Diablo 3 etc on great graphic settings on a 23'' 1920x1080 monitor?
I'm assuming you just forgot the exact specs of it since P55 is LGA1156, the core i5 2500k is LGA1155 aka the two won't work together.
The configuration will be capable of playing on low, maybe medium at 1080p. The GT220 just sucks. The rest of it is good though.
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On December 27 2011 06:05 Tx3Fate wrote:+ Show Spoiler +First off, I just wanted to say how thankful I am to everyone who has been contributing to this thread. I've had the same desktop for 7 years now, and I reallllyyyyy need to upgrade.. I don't know anything about computers really, and i'm absolutely terrified of potentially messing up. This thread has given me a lot of confidence, though, and I think i'm going to take the dive and try to build my own computer instead of ordering a pre-made What is your budget? 1000$ USD What is your resolution? 1280x1024 What are you using it for? I want to be able to play sc2, diablo 3, any future MMOs on high/extreme graphics. Would also like to be able to stream What is your upgrade cycle? 3+ years When do you plan on building it? As soon as possible Do you plan on overclocking? no Do you need an Operating System? yes Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? no (should I...?) Where are you buying your parts from? newegg or any other US based site Edit: I also forgot to mention, a friend of mine gave me this video card for my birthday: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348Would that be good enough for what I'm looking to do?
Yep, the Radeon HD6850 your friend gave you is perfect. It'll be able to play Starcraft II and Diablo III both on reasonably high settings at your resolution as well as at 1080p if you ever decide to get a new monitor. So without overclocking and without needing a GPU, you don't have much to spend your budget on. This comes to $594:
You can get a better power supply and case I guess if you really want to spend more of your budget. There's no HDD involved so if you don't have an external or want an internal HDD than just look for a Seagate Barracuda or Western Digital Caviar Blue, 1TB is around $130.
No you should not worry about CrossfireX / SLI.
Intel Core i5 2500 @ $189
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073
Team Elite 2x4GB 1333MHz @ $32
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313086
Crucial M4 128gb @ $192
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442
MSI H67MS-E23 @ $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130598
Corsair CX430 V2 @ $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
Bitfenix Merc Alpha @ $40
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=63256&promoid=1301
DVD Burner @ $16
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=45244&promoid=1301
Oh, plus Windows 7 for $95: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=45271&promoid=1301 so that would put you at a total of $689.
On December 27 2011 05:23 Arathore wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Hello, my PC is starting to get out of date and i've been looking around the web for a newer one. My PC knowledge is very minimal and I have heard that building my own is a cheaper way to go. I found this particular unit on Newegg that is in my price range and has some of the features that I would like in a PC of my own. Wanted to see what you guys thought. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883108569It has an i7 which I would like after seeing my buddy's new machine with one and I was very impressed. It has ample amounts of ram and hard drive space for my usage. The only downsides I can see to it is: The brandname: Lenovo ??? The GFX card: I know it's not all that great and I was wondering how much and how easily I could purchase and replace that card if need be. Some questions I have: How good is an i7 in comparison to an i5? From what i've seen there is a lot more PC's out there with i5's for better prices. Could a machine with an i5 match and i7 with better components if i decide to build one? What is your budget?Around 800 would be ideal. Around 900 wouldn't be the end of the world if it's worth it. What is your resolution?1280x720 What are you using it for?I want to be able to multi-task and run game's at their fullest capacity. I am planning on getting SWTOR/Dota2/Heart of the Swarm and I would like my computer to be able to run these fantastically in all situations, while being able to have other windows up in the background streaming music, videos, voice chat, or whatever. I would also like it to be able to stream. I'm not sure on what requirements are needed to stream nor would I be doing it a lot but I would like to have that option available. What is your upgrade cycle?I would very much like to have this unit the way it is for as long as possible. I would like it to last me about 5ish years. Even if it begins to get a little outdated towards the end, that would be just fine. When do you plan on building it?I would like to have this built perhaps in a few weeks from now (12/26). I understand prices may fluctuate in the coming months but I would rather not wait and find out. If a sale is approaching though, that's a different story. Do you plan on overclocking?No, I would rather have the parts I need working as intended. :D Do you need an Operating System?I do believe I would need an OS. I've used XP for years and years now and I would like an upgrade. Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?I would like to have a single card in my unit. Where are you buying your parts from?Fry's would be a great 1st choice. I would have to ship from Microcenter and Newegg is fine with me.
You would want a similar configuration to the one above. You can step down to a 64gb SSD if needed. Just add a Radeon HD6770 for around $110: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540
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On December 27 2011 06:28 skyR wrote:Show nested quote +On December 27 2011 06:25 Aocowns wrote:+ Show Spoiler +I'm getting a new computer now after X-mas, but I don't remember all the specs, however here are those I remember:
P55 Extreme motherboard
8GB DDR3 RAM (Corsair Dominator if that makes a difference)
GT 220 1GB DDR3/128bit GPU
i5 2500K (I think)
Windows 7 64bit
I think it's compatible with SLI or Crossfire and overclocking, so if I would notice a big difference in performance for relatively low price/work, then I'm all for it.
Now my question is, would this play games like SC2, Skyrim, BF3, Diablo 3 etc on great graphic settings on a 23'' 1920x1080 monitor? I'm assuming you just forgot the exact specs of it since P55 is LGA1156, the core i5 2500k is LGA1155 aka the two won't work together. The configuration will be capable of playing on low, maybe medium at 1080p. The GT220 just sucks. The rest of it is good though.
Yes, indeed it was wrong. So if I get something better than the GT220 it would significantly improve? In that case, what would you recommend I get instead? I have about 400$ I can add in, maybe a little bit more. and the Crossfire/Overclock thing; how big of a difference would it make?
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Yes, upgrading the GT220 would improve performance significantly. You can get a Radeon HD6950 or GTX 560 Ti - both these cards are similar so just get whatever is the least expensive or whatever brand you prefer. You'll be able to play on reasonably high settings both these cards. You didn't specify your power supply so you want to look into the specific model you have to see if its a shit power supply that needs upgrading or a decent model.
CrossfireX / SLI is often not worth the investment unless you play at a large resolution or get the second card for free / discounted price. Overclocking will improve performance but you'll need an aftermarket heatsink.
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Hey guys, quick query I've been wondering about for a while now.
I built my PC back in 2009 and it's been running fairly consistently ever since, still keeps doing well on all the new games being released, the specs as I can recall are:
-Intel Q9550 CPU (2.83ghz, standard factory settings + fan)
-GTX 275 XXX Edition (Factory OC'd)
-P5Q Turbo motherboard
-Corsair 2x2GB DDR2
-750W PSU
I'm noticing though that on BF3 for example, high/ultra is just too much for it to handle without dropping below 10 or so fps, would a GPU upgrade be an efficient way to improve this? e.g a GTX 560 Ti? or will the other components simply bottleneck it to some degree?
Much appreciated if anyone can shed some light on this for me  .
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Battlefield 3 is heavily GPU bottlenecked so yes upgrading your GPU will help a lot. A GTX 560 Ti is a good option (and yes your power supply can handle it, it can handle two of them in fact).
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On December 27 2011 07:00 skyR wrote:
Yes, upgrading the GT220 would improve performance significantly. You can get a Radeon HD6950 or GTX 560 Ti - both these cards are similar so just get whatever is the least expensive or whatever brand you prefer. You'll be able to play on reasonably high settings both these cards. You didn't specify your power supply so you want to look into the specific model you have to see if its a shit power supply that needs upgrading or a decent model.
CrossfireX / SLI is often not worth the investment unless you play at a large resolution or get the second card for free / discounted price. Overclocking will improve performance but you'll need an aftermarket heatsink.
My dad mumbled something about 800watt powersupply, and that cooling would not be a problem no matter how high you overclocked it.
Please pardon my newbieness, but ''MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti 1GB PhysX'' is what you mean, right? There is the same version with ''CUDA'' behind that costs a little more, and there are some with Gainward or Gigabyte instead of MSI, all with varying prices ranging from 260$ to 370$. What does all this mean??
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Thank you so much for the feedback skyR!
Quick question, since I will be going for the 1tb HDD, will I still need the SSD? Will I need them both? I don't exactly understand how that works
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On December 27 2011 07:27 Aocowns wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On December 27 2011 07:00 skyR wrote:
Yes, upgrading the GT220 would improve performance significantly. You can get a Radeon HD6950 or GTX 560 Ti - both these cards are similar so just get whatever is the least expensive or whatever brand you prefer. You'll be able to play on reasonably high settings both these cards. You didn't specify your power supply so you want to look into the specific model you have to see if its a shit power supply that needs upgrading or a decent model.
CrossfireX / SLI is often not worth the investment unless you play at a large resolution or get the second card for free / discounted price. Overclocking will improve performance but you'll need an aftermarket heatsink.
My dad mumbled something about 800watt powersupply, and that cooling would not be a problem no matter how high you overclocked it. Please pardon my newbieness, but ''MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti 1GB PhysX'' is what you mean, right? There is the same version with ''CUDA'' behind that costs a little more, and there are some with Gainward or Gigabyte instead of MSI, all with varying prices ranging from 260$ to 370$. What does all this mean??
800w is enough, even if its shit. It is recommended you get an aftermarket heatsink for cooling if you are overclocking. The provided Intel heatsink just sucks...
Nvidia manufactures the GPU, the GTX 560 Ti. The various manufacturers such as Gainward, Gigabyte, MSI, ASUS, EVGA, etc put the card itself together and provide post-sale support.
MSI and ASUS are well regarded for their heatsinks on the cards, the Twin Frozr II / III and DirectCu II solutions are often regarded as the best. EVGA is well regarded in providing amazing post-sale support. Everyone else, nothing special.
Basically all GTX 560 Ti will perform the exact same. The clock speed that the cards come at can be adjusted yourself in software without voiding warranty so you don't have to worry about the clock speed.
If you have no specific wants or needs than just get the least expensive GTX 560 Ti model.
There are three GTX 560 models - GTX 560, GTX 560 Ti, GTX 560 Ti 448 The GTX 560 is worse and the GTX 560 Ti 448 is better, you want the GTX 560 Ti. Do not mistake the three models.
Just look at the model number, everything else such as SLI, CUDA, PHYSX, HDCP that comes after is not important.
As I said, the game is heavily GPU bottlenecked so if you want to run smoothly on ultra settings. You are likely going to need a CrossfireX / SLI setup.
The GTX 480 and GTX 295 are both older flagship cards so they still cost a ton of money. The GTX 560 Ti would be your best bang for the buck. Generally, the more expensive the card is - the less bang for the buck there is.
On December 27 2011 07:34 Tx3Fate wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Thank you so much for the feedback skyR!
Quick question, since I will be going for the 1tb HDD, will I still need the SSD? Will I need them both? I don't exactly understand how that works
The SSD is just a very fast HDD. The purpose of the SSD is to have your operating system and most frequently used programs on it so that you get a more responsive operating system and faster load times (aka better overall experience working on the computer). HDDs are paired with SSDs because SSDs are small so you need the large capacity HDD for storing media, documents, and programs that are used less. You don't need an SSD if you were planning on using an older HDD.
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Looking for a decent power supply for a
i5 2500k, AsRock, Z68 Pro3-M Socket, evga 560 TI or normal 560 or HD Radeon 6870 (not sure yet), 2 tb hard drive, basic cd/dvd disk drive, 8 gb ram (2x4), coolermaster 212+
would like to know what would be recommended if i don't overclock, vs if overclock to 3.8-4 ghz or so (or if it doesnt matter)
also looking for a power supply for
i5 2400, ASUS P8H61-M LE, evga 560 TI or normal 560 or HD Radeon 6870 (not sure yet), 2 tb hard drive, basic cd/dvd disk drive, 8 gb ram (2x4), coolermaster 212+
case is a coolermaster 430+
im trying to decide between the 2 builds, cooler is already bought hence its in the latter one
would like a power supply recommendation (40-50 US dollars) for both for when i decide
Thank you very much
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EPT
