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Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread - Page 10

Forum Index > Tech Support
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When using this resource, please read the opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly.
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20318 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-30 00:04:45
August 30 2013 00:02 GMT
#181
On August 30 2013 01:51 Ropid wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 30 2013 00:09 iTzSnypah wrote:
Uh... You can easily get 4.4ghz with a 4670k is this 5% more performance is more like 35%...

285/220 = 1.295
4.4Ghz / 3.2Ghz = 1.375

Therefore it is 'worth it' to spend more to OC.

Just some nitpicking, but people are always forgetting the Turbo Boost multipliers. The correct calculation is with 3.6, 3.5 and 3.4 GHz, so it's 22% to 29% compared to 4.4 GHz and the price would turn out fair.

+ Show Spoiler +
The turbo multipliers are always used on a desktop PC as the CPU should never run into the power limit or temperature limit.

The i5-4570 runs like this:

1 active core: 3.6 GHz
2 active cores: 3.6 GHz
3 active cores: 3.5 GHz
4 active cores: 3.4 GHz

I have no idea why Intel sells it as a 3.2 GHz CPU, but it will always run at least at 3.4 GHz.

When comparing i5-4670k overclocked and not overclocked, that CPU is also never running at the 3.4 GHz it is sold as.

i5-4670 and i5-4670k default turbo speeds:

1 active core: 3.8 GHz
2 active cores: 3.8 GHz
3 active cores: 3.7 GHz
4 active cores: 3.6 GHz

This post has a table of all the multipliers: http://www.techpowerup.com/184844/intel-unleashes-4th-generation-core-processor-family.html


Indeed, if it costs quite a bit more maybe not worth it, but you can clock to like 4.0-4.3 on all cores 24/7 on volts cooler than stock depending on the chip (intel's voltages are extremely conservative) especially if you know how to play with the chip

Depends how much you want to spend, in many CPU bound cases like encoding it's pretty much linear gain, in some it's less, in some more

3300 MHz:
Avg: 41.925 - Min: 27 - Max: 58

3700 MHz:
Avg: 46.625 - Min: 32 - Max: 63

4400 MHz:
Avg: 56.025 - Min: 39 - Max: 77
- From R1CH blog oc'ing 2500k

In the end, there's probably no good option (unlike the days of i7 920 @2.66ghz, laugh to 4.0 and sandy bridge 3.2ghz+turbo, buy a 212+ for $20 and clock it to 4.6) so if you wanna spend more money for more performance, do it, if not, don't, can't really be more simple than that now
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20318 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-30 00:29:17
August 30 2013 00:22 GMT
#182
On August 30 2013 03:35 Tukmol1984 wrote:
Hi! Please criticize my build:

+ Show Spoiler +
CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Formula ATX LGA1150
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory
SSD: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB
GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 780 OC 3GB
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
PSU: Seasonic 750W 80 Plus Gold
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14


What is your budget?
- Around 1,500-2,000 USD.

What is your monitor's native resolution?
- 1920x1080

What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
- Starcraft 2, Battlefield 4, Crysis 3, Dead Island Riptide in High/Ultra settings.

What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
- Occasionally streaming, Gaming while on video skype (dual-monitor setup).

Do you intend to overclock?
- Yes.

Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
- No.

Do you need an operating system?
- No.

Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
- No.

If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
- None.

What country will you be buying your parts in?
- USA

If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
- None.

Is the memory a little bit of overkill or should i go with lower capacity and frequency?

With this kind of setup, specially that i will be doing some overclocking, is it better to go with liquid cooling or air cooling?

I read in some forums that some motherboards needs their BIOS updated in order for the gtx 780 to work. I'm wondering if that would be the case for the board i chose as i am not familiar with flashing the BIOS.

If you have suggestions, please do. Thank you very much.



Hey, you should list prices for everything (unless you want somebody else to give you a price list with some new parts?)

Off the top of my head, the motherboard is a big no because it costs more than twice as much as other boards that do everything you need (no reason to have it) and PSU seems a bit off, for single 780, gpu and cpu OC i'd take a good 500 or 600w, something around that area, and for two in a high budget build, 750w seems off. gk110 (titan, 780, same gpu) consumes a lot more power than anything else nvidia has current gen and the cards will pull like 250w each, so you'd be at like 85+% PSU load with full system load and two GPU's + oc'd CPU + all of the fans etc with a 750w psu, so either lower wattage for 1 gpu or higher for potential for two

There's also RAM, it's worth having but you can often get it cheap, and the particular model you chose won't fit under a big air cooler.

In terms of absolute performance: With decent airflow, high end air (nh-d14, silver arrow etc) rivals coolers like the h100i - typically being maybe a few degrees lower, but significantly quieter, with bad airflow they drop off harder than the closed loop liquid coolers that are always intaking air from outside of the case. If you don't mind noise and want the best temperatures short of custom water, you'd take a 240 or 280mm rad (like a h100i or h110) and put four fans on in push/pull and also have a decent case with a good fan setup for good airflow (but you should probably do that part anyway) but air is definately a strong competitor. Closed loops like the h100i/h110 are not custom water setups, they don't pull too far away from it and in some cases especially with like two stock fans, can only slightly beat something like an nh-d14 while making literally over 2x the noise (measured in dba)

Personally i'd get a bigger/better case (more airflow etc) but you have a pretty good idea what you're doing it seems

In terms of mobo, z87x-d3h is good, there's little reason to go further unless there's something specifically that you want from the board.
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Skirmjan
Profile Joined October 2012
Italy190 Posts
August 30 2013 00:23 GMT
#183
On August 30 2013 07:44 skyR wrote:[Spoiler]
Show nested quote +
On August 30 2013 07:14 Skirmjan wrote:+ Show Spoiler +
Hello, i'm building a computer for a friend, please criticize it:

+ Show Spoiler +


CPU Intel Core i5 4670K (already owned,exchanged between friends) 190€
MB LGA 1150 ASRock H87 Pro4 (ATX) 83€
RAM DDR3 1600Mhz 8GB CL11 Corsair XMS k 2x4Gb XMS (CMX8GX3M2A1600C11) 66€
HDD 1000GB WD WD1002FAEX 7200rpm 64MB Caviar Black SATA3 - 6 Gb/s (WD1002FAEX) 85€
GPU ATI Radeon Sapphire HD 7950 (11196-19-20G) 205€
PSU 500W LC-Power LC9550 V2.3 2x12V, 12cm,80+Gold, Haswellf. LC9550 V2.3 68€
CPU Cooler:Intel Stock.
CASE undecided as of yet, models considered:+ Show Spoiler +
Corsair Carbide200R,300R,Aeorocool Strike One Advance,Cooler Master Elite 370

Although if i was buying it for myself, i'd go for a Carbide and that's what's probably gonna happen anyway (unless you guys have particularly nice things to say about other ones)


Total: 697€+Case+cheap DVD reader


Disclaimer: I know that pairing a K unlocked CPU with an H87 motherboard is heresy, but given that there was already an unused 4670K in my friends group, and considered the unwillingness to overclock it, we decided to save the money necessary for a Z87 (at least €40+)

I'm especially interested to hear your opinion about the Radeon HD7950 which i found cheaper than i was expecting, did i miss something? it's only like 30€ more expensive than a 7870, at least here.

An XFX ProSeries 450W Core Edition PSU for ≈48€ was also considered, but there is concern that it might not handle the HD7950 as AMD recommends 500W+ in its product page, although tom's hardware benchmark places it's peak usage in the 160W range


What is your budget?

≈800, but quality/price is king here.

What is your monitor's native resolution?

- 1720x1080 (according to him)

What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?

- Total War:Rome 2, and a plethora of others, at highest settings possible

What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?

-Mostly just that.

Do you intend to overclock?

-Absolutely not.

Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?

- No.

Do you need an operating system?

- No.

Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?

- No.

If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.

- None.

What country will you be buying your parts in?

- Italy

If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.

- Amazon, although most of the prices listed are from a local retailer that is actually somewhat more competitive than Amazon.


Manufacturer recommendations are conservative to account for the wide range of configurations and quality of power supplies. A quality 450w like the XFX Core Edition 450 unit will have no issues with your configuration. Though keep in mind that the XFX Core Edition 450 also only has one PCIe connector and the Radeon HD7950 requires two so you will be required to use an adapter. This is also another reason why manufacturers suggest 500w power supplies.

PSU > HDD in terms of importance. The LC Power you have there isn't good. If you're spending money on a Black drive presumably for its warranty then it only makes sense to have a good power supply as well like a Seasonic G 450 or Superflower Golden Green 450 (yes these do have two PCIe connectors for the 7950 so you don't need an adapter).

Get 1600MHz cas9 (faster and the standard) rather than 1600MHz cas11.

AMD has dropped pricing on their Radeon HD7900 series recently so that pricing is quite normal.


Thanks for the help, and yes you're totally right, the unusual formatting in the retailer price list made me fail to notice that CL11 meant cas latency 11, and i didn't notice it in corsair's website >.>

Tbh i have no experience with LC-Power PSU, i wasn't able to find any decent reviews of them (searched both JonnyGuru and realhardtechx, guess that should've tipped me off) so i trusted another friend's advice,but i fear you know better I shall search for a replacement, although i must say that it's quite hard to do that recently, with the Haswell C7 compatibility problem most reviewers are lagging behind and the only way to check i found was on the companies websites ...

So the 7900 has "eaten" the mid-price market share previously occupied by the 7800 series,therefore rendering them almost useless, or the 7800 has been down-priced too and it's just that most retailers have yet to adjust? (i guess it's the second one, but you never know ^^)
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20318 Posts
August 30 2013 00:24 GMT
#184
msi 7850 OC is £119 here with two games, it's ridiculous even if you can only flip them for £15 each
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
August 30 2013 01:02 GMT
#185
Most (all the modern ones) good units should be or are Haswell compatible so this shouldn't be a concern.

The 7800 series has dropped in pricing but it's nothing compared to the drop in the 7900 series.
Leeoku
Profile Joined May 2010
1617 Posts
August 30 2013 04:21 GMT
#186
This post is exactly what I'm looking for. Planning to buy / build a desktop this holiday. I will post into the format later. 10/5 stars given.

Just a side question, I plan to buy stuff for deals on boxing day/black friday. Have you had experiences or suggestions for that (since the planning is kinda last minute)
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
August 30 2013 06:28 GMT
#187
On August 30 2013 13:21 Leeoku wrote:+ Show Spoiler +
This post is exactly what I'm looking for. Planning to buy / build a desktop this holiday. I will post into the format later. 10/5 stars given.

Just a side question, I plan to buy stuff for deals on boxing day/black friday. Have you had experiences or suggestions for that (since the planning is kinda last minute)


You have two entire months to plan your purchases for the months of November and December. Holiday shopping is only last minute planning if you let it be. You're probably thinking "how do I plan if I don't know what's going to go on sale". Well if you put in some effort, you can get a very good idea of what's going to be on sale. And you still have the budget to plan anyways, eg. what is the most I am willing to spend on each part? Leaving this until last minute is just stupid because you end up overspending or worse yet, not having enough money and ending up with a shitty configuration. I mentioned this in the OP.

HDDs and SSDs are going to go on sale, this is a given. Samsung 840 and Intel 330 are both almost guaranteed to go on sale because the Samsung 840 is approaching end of life (being replaced by the 840 EVO) and Intel 300 series has had mail in rebate sales for the last three years.

There are several other items that are guaranteed to go on sale as well such as the Seasonic X (or maybe it'll be Platinum this year), Ultrasharps, ~$100+ cases such as the Define R4, etc.

Many retailers have moved towards Black November and Boxing Month so you want to start start shopping early. Late October is a good idea. Check your retailers several times throughout the day and keep your eyes on Slick Deals (or Redflagdeals for Canadians) for deals. Many of the best deals don't happen on Black Friday or Boxing Day. Those two days typically just end up being a rehash of the previous deals with a few extra's thrown in.
smartieszsz
Profile Joined August 2013
Croatia2 Posts
August 30 2013 06:42 GMT
#188
Hi guys, thanks for the helpful guide.

I'm currently trying to get together a new rig from scratch.

That means I need everything except a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

What is your budget?

Roughly 1400 Euros.

What is your monitor's native resolution?

1920x1200.

What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?

Mostly next gen games on medium to high settings and for the rig to last at least 5 to 6 years.

(Watchdogs, Rome Total War, Titanfall, Elder Scrolls Online, GTA V and so on..)

What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?

Not much else besides some audio recording/editing.

Do you intend to overclock?

In the future, yes. Probably after the warranty expires. No water cooling though.

Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?

No.

Do you need an operating system?

No.

Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?

No, I intend to buy a 24'' LED DELL U2412MS but it is not part of the budget.

If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.

Processor:Intel
Graphics:Nvidia
SSD:Samsung or Intel

Also need a disk drive for storage, around 2 TB. Cooler for processor, Memory (RAM), a Motherboard,
ATX case, PowerSupply, DVD-RW (external or internal does not matter) and a additonal external HardDrive (1 TB).

Keep in mind that the quality of main components (Processor, Graphics Card, SSD, MotherBoard, Memory) take priority
over the others.

What country will you be buying your parts in?

The UK.

If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/

-----------------------------------------------------------

So for the main components i thought i'd go with these:

Processor: INTEL Core i5 4670K
MotherBoard: ASROCK Z87 Extreme3
Graphics: GAINWARD GeForce GTX 760
SSD: 250.0 GB SAMSUNG 840 Series Basic
Memory: PC-12800, 8 GB, G.SKILL Ripjaws, DDR3 1600MHz, kit 2x4GB

That's around a 1000 euros for these components, 400 euros left for
everything else.. so I'm kinda not sure if it could be pulled off.

If someone has a better idea on how to optimize the core build or
how to spend 400 euros on the storage, cooler, PowerSupply etc. I'd appreciate
the help very much.

Thanks !
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20318 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-30 07:06:28
August 30 2013 06:56 GMT
#189
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CO8TBOW/ - £184
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CUCRKO0/ - £117
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-108-TR&groupid=701&catid=2330 - £35
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Series-250GB-Solid-State/dp/B009LI7C9Y/ - £128
www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-HyperX-1600MHz-Memory-Module/dp/B0037TO5C0/ - £49 (or something like it)

That comes to £513 (~600 euro) not 1000 euro (edit: oops, forgot graphics card - but it doesn't cost 400 euro for a midrange card), and it's a solid OC setup. You should probably decide if you want to OC or not (none of the "maybe in 3 years" that nobody ever oc's with hinthint) and either get a decent setup for it, or cut money for running stock. You can probably make a decent OC setup and get a strong GPU too, if you want.

Personally with that £184+117+35+49 cpu+board+cooler+ram core build (£385) i'd probably increase it to 430 or so in order to take high end cooling and a nice RAM kit (like a decent 2400mhz one) if you're committing to OC anyway, cause the cpu and the board are really solid, but that's the "might as well go all the way" mindset. If not committing to OC, you can shave money going to h87/b81 (i think those names are correct) and by not paying for "k" CPU or aftermarket cooler (though unlocked cpu has higher resale value and i think all pc's should probably have decent airflow and at least low end aftermarket cpu cooling) and also by just getting a cheap RAM kit like the £49 one i linked instead of going for a better one

Why is it that you're buying from the UK? I see you use Euro's, are you in Croatia right now? (I have a friend who lives there and is thinking of buying a high end system, but never considered where he would buy from)
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Blaec
Profile Joined April 2010
Australia4289 Posts
August 30 2013 10:18 GMT
#190
On August 30 2013 15:56 Cyro wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CO8TBOW/ - £184
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CUCRKO0/ - £117
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-108-TR&groupid=701&catid=2330 - £35
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Series-250GB-Solid-State/dp/B009LI7C9Y/ - £128
www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-HyperX-1600MHz-Memory-Module/dp/B0037TO5C0/ - £49 (or something like it)

That comes to £513 (~600 euro) not 1000 euro (edit: oops, forgot graphics card - but it doesn't cost 400 euro for a midrange card), and it's a solid OC setup.
You should probably decide if you want to OC or not (none of the "maybe in 3 years" that nobody ever oc's with hinthint) + Show Spoiler +
and either get a decent setup for it, or cut money for running stock. You can probably make a decent OC setup and get a strong GPU too, if you want.

Personally with that £184+117+35+49 cpu+board+cooler+ram core build (£385) i'd probably increase it to 430 or so in order to take high end cooling and a nice RAM kit (like a decent 2400mhz one) if you're committing to OC anyway, cause the cpu and the board are really solid, but that's the "might as well go all the way" mindset. If not committing to OC, you can shave money going to h87/b81 (i think those names are correct) and by not paying for "k" CPU or aftermarket cooler (though unlocked cpu has higher resale value and i think all pc's should probably have decent airflow and at least low end aftermarket cpu cooling) and also by just getting a cheap RAM kit like the £49 one i linked instead of going for a better one

Why is it that you're buying from the UK? I see you use Euro's, are you in Croatia right now? (I have a friend who lives there and is thinking of buying a high end system, but never considered where he would buy from)


Hey, I oced just under 2 years after getting my system, when guildwars2 threw my cpu to the curb. So it does happen.
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20318 Posts
August 30 2013 11:16 GMT
#191
It seems weird to me to buy all the stuff to OC with though and not spend an hour setting up a quick profile. My stock voltage went to 1.15-1.2 under some stress on auto so i could easily lower it significantly and just set 4.2ghz 4 core 24/7 as long as the board supported it
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
distant_voice
Profile Blog Joined November 2002
Germany2521 Posts
August 30 2013 14:32 GMT
#192
First of all, thank you Skyr for making the thread. It must have been a lot of work and I appreciate that.

I have read it all and come up with this build for me (it's mostly what you suggested to merK):

Case: Fractal Define R4
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-D3H
PSU: Seasonic S12II-520
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB 1600Mhz (I know you recommend G.Skill 2133 RAM but I read negative customer feedback on Amazon which makes me unsure about them.)
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB
Heatsink: still on the fence whether to order the Noctua NH-U12S right away or try the boxed cooler first.

The rest:
SDD: I already have a Samsung 840 250 GB SDD sleeping in my current PC that doesn't even have SATA3.
GPU: I intend to reuse my 9800GT (which is far too slow for a build like this) until there's a game that really needs a good graphics card. I know that I'll be able to play stuff like Starcraft II and Diablo III with this and that's all I need for now. When Star Citizen will come out I will invest in a great graphics card so that I'll then be able to enjoy that at high settings.

What I want is:
I want to buy something that will last for along time. I'd rather invest 100$ more now and be able to upgrade in the future than save now and not be able to upgrade. That's why I'm thinking about overclocking and SLI.
A very quiet PC. It should be very hard to hear it running when I'm only browsing the web.
Something that's future-proof. I stuck with my old PC for about 8 years and only upgraded it with used parts after 6 years.
By future proof I mean that I will be able to run Star Citizen when it comes out at reasonably high settings. Other than that I don't want to swap things out, but would rather add to what I already have if that makes sense.

My concerns:
Overclocking: With the build above I could overclock my CPU. Should I completely avoid that since it won't be worth it? I'm not an enthusiast and don't want to overclock for the sake of overclocking.
SLI/Crossfire:
With the mobo above I can think about using two graphics cards should I ever get the money and need to to it. The reason why I'm even considering this is that in four years or so I might be able to just slam another graphics card in there (which will be a lot cheaper then) instead of buying a new one. Is that a valid thought? And will I need a new PSU then? Because if so I'd rather buy it right away. Would a Seasonic 700 be enough for let's say two GTX 770s?
Occulus Rift:
Does the Occulus Rift take advantage of multiple GPUs? Let's say I'll get one or something similar in the future. Is it a reason to think about going the SLI route or not?
This is my truth, tell me yours!
hacklebeast
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States5090 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-30 15:09:33
August 30 2013 15:02 GMT
#193
few quick questions.

I have 2 monitors set up right now, and everything works fine most of the time. But when I play dota (or other major games) the primary screen looks great, but the second monitor slows to 1 fps. Not sure what equipment is relevant to include here, but I have a 6850 card, i3-3225 processor, and 7 GB of low level ram.

What component of my comp would i need to upgrade to fix this? If it is the GPU (what I would guess is the problem), how high would I have to go to fix it (7850, 7950, 7970)? If I did get one of those cards, would I be able to crossfire it with the 6850 I have now? Would that let me get 3 monitors running?

Thanks

edit: i found a chart on amd's website that seems to say that i can only cross fire a 6850 with a 6850 or a 6870
Protoss: Best, Paralyze, Jangbi, Nal_Ra || Terran: Oov, Boxer, Fantasy, Hiya|| Zerg: Yellow, Zero
Ropid
Profile Joined March 2009
Germany3557 Posts
August 30 2013 15:20 GMT
#194
On August 30 2013 23:32 distant_voice wrote:+ Show Spoiler +

First of all, thank you Skyr for making the thread. It must have been a lot of work and I appreciate that.

I have read it all and come up with this build for me (it's mostly what you suggested to merK):

Case: Fractal Define R4
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-D3H
PSU: Seasonic S12II-520
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB 1600Mhz (I know you recommend G.Skill 2133 RAM but I read negative customer feedback on Amazon which makes me unsure about them.)
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB
Heatsink: still on the fence whether to order the Noctua NH-U12S right away or try the boxed cooler first.

The rest:
SDD: I already have a Samsung 840 250 GB SDD sleeping in my current PC that doesn't even have SATA3.
GPU: I intend to reuse my 9800GT (which is far too slow for a build like this) until there's a game that really needs a good graphics card. I know that I'll be able to play stuff like Starcraft II and Diablo III with this and that's all I need for now. When Star Citizen will come out I will invest in a great graphics card so that I'll then be able to enjoy that at high settings.

What I want is:
I want to buy something that will last for along time. I'd rather invest 100$ more now and be able to upgrade in the future than save now and not be able to upgrade. That's why I'm thinking about overclocking and SLI.
A very quiet PC. It should be very hard to hear it running when I'm only browsing the web.
Something that's future-proof. I stuck with my old PC for about 8 years and only upgraded it with used parts after 6 years.
By future proof I mean that I will be able to run Star Citizen when it comes out at reasonably high settings. Other than that I don't want to swap things out, but would rather add to what I already have if that makes sense.

My concerns:
Overclocking: With the build above I could overclock my CPU. Should I completely avoid that since it won't be worth it? I'm not an enthusiast and don't want to overclock for the sake of overclocking.
SLI/Crossfire:
With the mobo above I can think about using two graphics cards should I ever get the money and need to to it. The reason why I'm even considering this is that in four years or so I might be able to just slam another graphics card in there (which will be a lot cheaper then) instead of buying a new one. Is that a valid thought? And will I need a new PSU then? Because if so I'd rather buy it right away. Would a Seasonic 700 be enough for let's say two GTX 770s?
Occulus Rift:
Does the Occulus Rift take advantage of multiple GPUs? Let's say I'll get one or something similar in the future. Is it a reason to think about going the SLI route or not?


I feel SLI works like what you describe only if you buy a used graphics card. You won't get a second of your current card a lot cheaper if you want a new card.

Whenever a generation of GPUs gets released, the previous generation gets discontinued. Additionally, every business involved got very good in never producing and buying more products than what will get sold. A few years in the future, when you will search for a second card, the model you want will be so rare that the price will still be high.

As an experiment, look at the price for a new GTX 560 Ti on amazon.de. Even if you can still find one, you might as well buy a GTX 760. It will not double the GTX 560 Ti's performance, but it will get close and you won't have any headaches from using SLI. I think there's at least one frame delay it has, for example. You might be forced to reign in the GPU overclocking because things get seriously hot with two cards. You might have to use some additional case fans.

You can of course look at the price of a used GTX 560 Ti on ebay.de. But even going that route, you could sell your own GTX 560 Ti on ebay instead of buying a second one used. So even when working with ebay, buying a GTX 760 instead of going SLI competes well.

While I'm worried about problems with SLI, preparing for it might still be a good choice. In a few years 4K monitors might be cheap! Those surely won't run well with a single card if you want to use the full resolution.
"My goal is to replace my soul with coffee and become immortal."
mav451
Profile Joined May 2010
United States1596 Posts
August 30 2013 15:44 GMT
#195
On August 31 2013 00:02 hacklebeast wrote:
few quick questions.

I have 2 monitors set up right now, and everything works fine most of the time. But when I play dota (or other major games) the primary screen looks great, but the second monitor slows to 1 fps. Not sure what equipment is relevant to include here, but I have a 6850 card, i3-3225 processor, and 7 GB of low level ram.

What component of my comp would i need to upgrade to fix this? If it is the GPU (what I would guess is the problem), how high would I have to go to fix it (7850, 7950, 7970)? If I did get one of those cards, would I be able to crossfire it with the 6850 I have now? Would that let me get 3 monitors running?

Thanks

edit: i found a chart on amd's website that seems to say that i can only cross fire a 6850 with a 6850 or a 6870


I don't understand - are you running Eyefinity (gaming resolution spans across two monitors)?
With no power comes no responsibility?
hacklebeast
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States5090 Posts
August 30 2013 16:02 GMT
#196
On August 31 2013 00:44 mav451 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 31 2013 00:02 hacklebeast wrote:
few quick questions.

I have 2 monitors set up right now, and everything works fine most of the time. But when I play dota (or other major games) the primary screen looks great, but the second monitor slows to 1 fps. Not sure what equipment is relevant to include here, but I have a 6850 card, i3-3225 processor, and 7 GB of low level ram.

What component of my comp would i need to upgrade to fix this? If it is the GPU (what I would guess is the problem), how high would I have to go to fix it (7850, 7950, 7970)? If I did get one of those cards, would I be able to crossfire it with the 6850 I have now? Would that let me get 3 monitors running?

Thanks

edit: i found a chart on amd's website that seems to say that i can only cross fire a 6850 with a 6850 or a 6870


I don't understand - are you running Eyefinity (gaming resolution spans across two monitors)?


no. The functional screen is playing the game, the other screen has a twitch stream or something.
Protoss: Best, Paralyze, Jangbi, Nal_Ra || Terran: Oov, Boxer, Fantasy, Hiya|| Zerg: Yellow, Zero
Tukmol1984
Profile Joined August 2013
2 Posts
August 30 2013 16:38 GMT
#197
On August 30 2013 09:22 Cyro wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 30 2013 03:35 Tukmol1984 wrote:
Hi! Please criticize my build:

+ Show Spoiler +
CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Formula ATX LGA1150
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory
SSD: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB
GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 780 OC 3GB
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
PSU: Seasonic 750W 80 Plus Gold
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14


What is your budget?
- Around 1,500-2,000 USD.

What is your monitor's native resolution?
- 1920x1080

What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
- Starcraft 2, Battlefield 4, Crysis 3, Dead Island Riptide in High/Ultra settings.

What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
- Occasionally streaming, Gaming while on video skype (dual-monitor setup).

Do you intend to overclock?
- Yes.

Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
- No.

Do you need an operating system?
- No.

Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
- No.

If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
- None.

What country will you be buying your parts in?
- USA

If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
- None.

Is the memory a little bit of overkill or should i go with lower capacity and frequency?

With this kind of setup, specially that i will be doing some overclocking, is it better to go with liquid cooling or air cooling?

I read in some forums that some motherboards needs their BIOS updated in order for the gtx 780 to work. I'm wondering if that would be the case for the board i chose as i am not familiar with flashing the BIOS.

If you have suggestions, please do. Thank you very much.



Hey, you should list prices for everything (unless you want somebody else to give you a price list with some new parts?)

Off the top of my head, the motherboard is a big no because it costs more than twice as much as other boards that do everything you need (no reason to have it) and PSU seems a bit off, for single 780, gpu and cpu OC i'd take a good 500 or 600w, something around that area, and for two in a high budget build, 750w seems off. gk110 (titan, 780, same gpu) consumes a lot more power than anything else nvidia has current gen and the cards will pull like 250w each, so you'd be at like 85+% PSU load with full system load and two GPU's + oc'd CPU + all of the fans etc with a 750w psu, so either lower wattage for 1 gpu or higher for potential for two

There's also RAM, it's worth having but you can often get it cheap, and the particular model you chose won't fit under a big air cooler.

In terms of absolute performance: With decent airflow, high end air (nh-d14, silver arrow etc) rivals coolers like the h100i - typically being maybe a few degrees lower, but significantly quieter, with bad airflow they drop off harder than the closed loop liquid coolers that are always intaking air from outside of the case. If you don't mind noise and want the best temperatures short of custom water, you'd take a 240 or 280mm rad (like a h100i or h110) and put four fans on in push/pull and also have a decent case with a good fan setup for good airflow (but you should probably do that part anyway) but air is definately a strong competitor. Closed loops like the h100i/h110 are not custom water setups, they don't pull too far away from it and in some cases especially with like two stock fans, can only slightly beat something like an nh-d14 while making literally over 2x the noise (measured in dba)

Personally i'd get a bigger/better case (more airflow etc) but you have a pretty good idea what you're doing it seems

In terms of mobo, z87x-d3h is good, there's little reason to go further unless there's something specifically that you want from the board.





Thanks for your thoughts. At first i thought that the motherboard is a little bit pricey but then asus introduced a new audio chipset, ROG SupremeFX Formula, which i read in some forums that it'd give you "better" sound experience like having those "high-end" sound cards. And that would save me some few hundred bucks and a pci-e slot. But yeah, will have to review this one.

On the PSU, i definitely agree with all your points so i'd prolly go 600. Thanks for that.

For the RAM, would it be a big of a difference if go 1600 instead of 2400 performance wise? or the difference wouldn't be noticeable? And the top of that is removable btw =).

Liquid cooling vs air cooling, tbh at first i was inclined on going for liquid cooling (h100i) but then it came to my thought that chances that liquid cooling would fail is a bit higher than air cooling mainly because more components are possible to fail (fans and the pump) compared to fan. And fan is easier and cheapper to replace. Thats just my thought. I don't mind the noise, i'm more concerned on the longevity and performance.

Hmm i could probably get bigger/better case to have more air flow. Any decent suggestions?

Thank you very much. All your input helped me a lot.
Gihi
Profile Joined September 2011
384 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-30 21:29:37
August 30 2013 21:22 GMT
#198
First of all, I'd like to thank you guys for your work here, I'm just an amateur but I try to contribute from time to time.
I have, however, never ordered a whole computer. I've put together a couple with the parts provided but I figured some criticism can't hurt! ^^



What is your budget?
Say 1500 euros, trying to spend less though. I'm currently around 1200.

What is your monitor's native resolution?
I use one 1200p and one 144hz 1080p simultaneously.

What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Pretty much whatever I want, on the highest settings. I play Starcraft, WoW, LoL, the latest CoD. I plan to play ESO, probably some GTA V. I realise I will probably have to turn down some settings if I want to utilize 144hz ^^

What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Streaming, recording, editing. I don't edit on a day to day basis, but I like to do it as fast as possible when I do it.

Do you intend to overclock?
I have little experience overclocking, but I would like to overclock my CPU to at least 4.5 without liquid cooling, I don't know about the GPU, why not I guess.

Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No.

Do you need an operating system?
No.

Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
No.

If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
I prefer Nvidia and Intel, I don't really know why anymore, I guess most rumors/problems are from years ago, but still I tend to lean towards Nvidia and Intel.
I also prefer brands who actively sponsor e-sports, but I guess most do.

What country will you be buying your parts in?
I'll be buying tax free in Belgium.

If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
The site I will order most parts from is www.2by2.be
It's my dad's company their main supplier, and I'm ordering via the company, so it seems only right plus it looks better in the books.



What I've "put" together so far:
- PHANTEKS PH-TC14CS CPU-Cooler
- Counting on 50 euros for this one, I'll have to order it via another site than 2by2.

- INTEL HASWELL CORE i7 4770K 3.5G LGA1150 BOX
-263.22 Euro excluding VAT, I realise the 4670k is probably better price/performance for gaming, but don't wish to save on my CPU.

- G167 Gigabyte GTX 780 OC GPU WF3X 2 Slot 450W 3GB GDDR5 Dual
-482.37 Euro excluding VAT

- CASE GIGABYTE LUXO M 10 Black MIDI TOWER w/o PSU
-47.48 Euro excluding VAT, I just picked a semi random one, if u guys have other suggestions, suggest away! I would like a white pc with blue parts and LEDs, but that's by no means a priority.

- 2.5" SAMSUNG SSD 840 EVO 6Gb/sec Solid State 250Gb
-122.99 Euro excluding VAT, it was suggested in this thread, I just wanted a 200ish one that has decent write/read. I don't worry about any other storage yet, have an old 7200 RPM 320gb Seagate lying around and I store my media on a NAS.

- G.Skill RipjawsZ 4x4GB DDR3-2400 MHz
-??? Euro excluding VAT, I have to be honest I picked some random Kingston 1600MHz set here, thanks for the sample build thread! I'm willing to buy 2400 MHz if it's not too much of a price difference.
I haven't found a dealer for 4x4GB at 2400 in Europe that wasn't overpriced. The cheapest I have found are these for 175,6 including VAT. I don't know if this is a reasonable price, but I suspect so.

- G318 GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC ATX LGA 1150 DDR3 SATA3
-157.38 Euro excluding VAT. I am quite sure this is not the right motherboard for me, I kind of blindly picked one and I am hoping someone here can suggest the right one for me. +1 if your suggestion comes in blue! ^^

-I still have a 650W Adata modular PSU lying around.
- Figure I will be ok with 650W, if not, do tell! It has an 8 pin and 6 pin.


I came to a total of about 1142 euro with the above, which I find a good amount to spend on it.
If u have suggestions that are worth the price/performance, please enlighten me. I don't mind spending more if it's worth it.
Gihi
Profile Joined September 2011
384 Posts
August 30 2013 21:35 GMT
#199
On August 31 2013 01:02 hacklebeast wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 31 2013 00:44 mav451 wrote:
On August 31 2013 00:02 hacklebeast wrote:
few quick questions.

I have 2 monitors set up right now, and everything works fine most of the time. But when I play dota (or other major games) the primary screen looks great, but the second monitor slows to 1 fps. Not sure what equipment is relevant to include here, but I have a 6850 card, i3-3225 processor, and 7 GB of low level ram.

What component of my comp would i need to upgrade to fix this? If it is the GPU (what I would guess is the problem), how high would I have to go to fix it (7850, 7950, 7970)? If I did get one of those cards, would I be able to crossfire it with the 6850 I have now? Would that let me get 3 monitors running?

Thanks

edit: i found a chart on amd's website that seems to say that i can only cross fire a 6850 with a 6850 or a 6870


I don't understand - are you running Eyefinity (gaming resolution spans across two monitors)?


no. The functional screen is playing the game, the other screen has a twitch stream or something.

You could check the load on your CPU/GPU while the problem occurs. U can use GPU-Z and Coretemp for example.
Also if you're using Chrome to watch the stream, try another one. Chrome uses quite some processor power when watching streams afaik.
a176
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada6688 Posts
August 30 2013 21:39 GMT
#200
wtf happened to RAM prices
$60-80 for 8GB ?
smh
starleague forever
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