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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. |
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You mentioned you were a graphics whore so no, a computer won't last 4-5 years even if it were top of the line. Typically, you will have to upgrade every two or three generations to keep up with the latest games. It's expensive to be a graphics whore )=
You should just look at the sample builds and work your way from there. You mentioned you had a $1600 budget but US / Canada pricing doesn't translate well into Europe.
CX600 is not something you should look at. It is overkill for a single GPU configuration yet underpowered for good SLI / Crossfire configurations.
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United Kingdom3685 Posts
This is amazing, thanks so much!
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Hey, I just talked to Marc/Snowbird and he says you and Myrmidon know your stuff, so I trust you guys.
Marc is going to give me a build and I'll post it here sometime today (I think)
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What is your current build?
CPU:Intel Core i5 3570K, Ivy Bridge, 3.4GHz Quad Core, 6MB Cache (overclocked to 4.5GHz)
GPU: Nvidia GTX 260
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H, Intel Z77 Chipset
Power supply: Cooler Master, ATX 12V V2.3 / ESP12V V2.91
Memory: DDR3, 8GB Total (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance LP, 1600MHz
What is your resolution?
1920x1080
Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?
The GPU and power supply, hopefully have a fairly good increase in fps.
As you can see the GPU mainly is a big problem for my system, im fairly sure it's bottlenecking my CPU.
What is your budget?
$450
If you have any brand or retailer preferences, please specify.
Honestly, abit of a Nvidia fanboy, would like to stick with them.
Amazing thread, thanks so much for this!
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On August 23 2013 20:34 issh wrote:+ Show Spoiler +What is your current build?
CPU:Intel Core i5 3570K, Ivy Bridge, 3.4GHz Quad Core, 6MB Cache (overclocked to 4.5GHz)
GPU: Nvidia GTX 260
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H, Intel Z77 Chipset
Power supply: Cooler Master, ATX 12V V2.3 / ESP12V V2.91
Memory: DDR3, 8GB Total (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance LP, 1600MHz
What is your resolution?
1920x1080
Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?
The GPU and power supply, hopefully have a fairly good increase in fps.
As you can see the GPU mainly is a big problem for my system, im fairly sure it's bottlenecking my CPU.
What is your budget?
$450
If you have any brand or retailer preferences, please specify.
Honestly, abit of a Nvidia fanboy, would like to stick with them.
Amazing thread, thanks so much for this!
GTX 760 is ~$260 and a Rosewill Capstone 450 is $60, $320 total. You can go up to a GTX 770 for ~$400 as well but that will put you over budget by a little bit. If you're not in the US / Canada then you won't find a Rosewill Capstone so other options would be Superflower Golden Green 450, Seasonic G 450, and XFX Core Edition 550.
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United States7481 Posts
Shadowplay is still a ways away unfortunately (2 months after original promised date!), may want to note that in the OP
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Amazing work here.
I just worry that this thread will seem dead considering pretty much everything you could ever ask is in the OP :D
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OMG this is so much good info
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This almost makes me feel like putting a skyr quote in my sig again :D. Almost.
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Amazing OP, nice job and thanks! Built my first PC 5 years ago with the help of TL (o god... so old). Its lasted me 5 years of gaming and can still run new games decently enough (radeon 4870 w/ core 2 duo.)
Going to build a new rig sometime soon though, will definitely use this.
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Omg I have been waiting for this for so long! Thanks so much skyR!
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Haha I just built your exact "typical gamer" build for my brother last week using some better deals. This OP should help people focus their efforts a bit more and make it easier to help and refine builds. Great work!
Also curious at current RAM prices why you're not listing 4GB kits as an option at all. There are good 2x2 kits available at cas8, 1600mhz, 1.5v for $35 U.S.
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In the OP it suggests a gigabyte GTX 760 for the high-end gamer build. The 760 seems to be at the right price for me, but I've had bad experience with Gigabyte in the past, can anyone suggest an EVGA or MSI 760 or another card that would be on par with that for a similar price?
Looking at Newegg there seems to be 3 or 4 different versions of each card and I'm not sure what some of them even mean, such as double BIOS and super clocked vs overclocked (marketing buzzword?)
These 2 seem the most similar as far as I can tell:
MSI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745
EVGA: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130932
With the EVGA having a very slightly lower clock speed, and both of them having 2 fans instead of 3.
OP also mentions that the MSI twin frozr II and its fan failure, but I'm not sure that card uses it. Also mentions EVGA not being known for excellence in products, but I'm not sure what that actually translates to as to what kind of performances differences there would be if any.
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On August 24 2013 04:47 upperbound wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Haha I just built your exact "typical gamer" build for my brother last week using some better deals. This OP should help people focus their efforts a bit more and make it easier to help and refine builds. Great work!
Also curious at current RAM prices why you're not listing 4GB kits as an option at all. There are good 2x2 kits available at cas8, 1600mhz, 1.5v for $35 U.S.
Higher speed memory benefit APUs a lot and there are no 2x2gb high speed kits on sale while there are plenty for 2x4gb.
You can get a 2x2gb kit for the budget gamer build but I don't particularly believe that 2x2gb is enough and I rather spend $20 to have the extra headroom than to spend $60 later for 2x4gb to replace the $35 2x2gb.
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On August 24 2013 05:09 Sylvex wrote:+ Show Spoiler +In the OP it suggests a gigabyte GTX 760 for the high-end gamer build. The 760 seems to be at the right price for me, but I've had bad experience with Gigabyte in the past, can anyone suggest an EVGA or MSI 760 or another card that would be on par with that for a similar price? Looking at Newegg there seems to be 3 or 4 different versions of each card and I'm not sure what some of them even mean, such as double BIOS and super clocked vs overclocked (marketing buzzword?) These 2 seem the most similar as far as I can tell: MSI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745EVGA: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130932With the EVGA having a very slightly lower clock speed, and both of them having 2 fans instead of 3. OP also mentions that the MSI twin frozr II and its fan failure, but I'm not sure that card uses it. Also mentions EVGA not being known for excellence in products, but I'm not sure what that actually translates to as to what kind of performances differences there would be if any.
All of the newer MSI cards use Twin Frozr III and Twin Frozr IV. Whether the problem still persists, I do not know.
EVGA uses the the Nvidia reference PCB for most of their cards so they may not be able to overclock as high as some of the other cards using custom PCBs. Though this doesn't really matter since Nvidia has limited the voltage adjustments possible on their newer cards. EVGA's ACX heatsink is relatively new and doesn't have the same reputation as MSI's Twin Frozr or Gigabyte's Windforce. It might be better or it might be worse, no one knows. Nothing particularly drastic for the typical consumer.
OC and Superclocked just means that the card is pre-overclocked. Most cards with a dual-fan solution will be pre-overclocked.
Both of those cards are fine alternatives to the Gigabyte.
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Cool, thanks, one more question that I forgot to ask.
In the previous thread there was mention of this case, and that it was a very good case for essentially half off:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352023
I plan to pick one up, how significant is filling out the remaining fan slots and would this be a decent fan?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103078
On my old case, the stock fan on the back started making a grating noise to the point where I had to unplug it (temps are still fine in the case luckily). It probably just needs to be lubricated or something, but before I unplugged it it would drive me insane, especially when the grating was still not so bad and I couldn't tell where it was coming from.
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On August 24 2013 05:48 Sylvex wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Cool, thanks, one more question that I forgot to ask. In the previous thread there was mention of this case, and that it was a very good case for essentially half off: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352023I plan to pick one up, how significant is filling out the remaining fan slots and would this be a decent fan? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103078On my old case, the stock fan on the back started making a grating noise to the point where I had to unplug it (temps are still fine in the case luckily). It probably just needs to be lubricated or something, but before I unplugged it it would drive me insane, especially when the grating was still not so bad and I couldn't tell where it was coming from.
Yes, the Fractal Design Define R4 is an amazing case. It's not necessary to fill out the remaining case fans for most setups. You can just add a fan later with relative ease if you find it warranted.
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@Sylvex:
That particular case you linked, be aware that the same case is available in different colors and without window, so compare the prices of the different configurations when buying.
If you buy an additional fan, for the Fractal Design Define R4 case in particular, buy 140mm and maybe see if you can get the same fan as what's shipped with the case. Put the fan in the front or bottom, so you have 2x front + rear or 1x front + bottom + rear. Remove one of the drive cages. I'd use 2x front + rear just so it's on the same intake dust filter for cleaning.
If you put it in side panel or top, there's a good chance you will worsen the air flow situation inside the case. This could happen by sucking out fresh unused air at top or side, or by pushing against the air flow from front to back if using side as intake. You will also increase noise as you'll open up the dampening on side panel and top.
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