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On September 12 2013 21:04 Rollin wrote:Show nested quote +On September 12 2013 19:35 Ropid wrote:On September 12 2013 18:48 Incognoto wrote:
Anyway as for the cooler I think I won't be getting one. I mean, I don't think it's worth it on a system that won't be overclocked. What would you guys do? I wouldn't buy a cooler. If it's not looking good, you can always buy one later. Same with a case fan. You have to take out the motherboard, and by extension (especially being in a matx case) have to take out everything else to mount the cooler. So keep that in mind. Also, as some anecdotal evidence with a recent build being almost identical (760/4670/neo eco 450C + core 1000), the case seemed really hard to mount the hdds nicely, and cable routing was horrrendous :/. If I were to do it again, I'd get a better mATX case and probably a fully modular PSU just so that the inside wasn't completely full of cable spam blocking everything ^^. I didn't put an aftermarket cooler on either :D
I'm fine if it just comes down to cabling being a bit tough; I consider to be a neat person when the need arises. As long as everything works fine once it's finished, I don't mind working a bit harder to save some money. Thanks for the heads up, I'll be careful when I assemble everything. How do you like your build?
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I am currently using a 2 year old build that has served me really well so far (and actually continues to do so) Nowadays I am thinking to upgrade but I am not exactly sure an upgrade will make a big difference because I have been able to play pretty much every single AAA title on veey high/ultra graphic except monster titles like Crysis 3 etc. I bought that build with recommendations of people from this thread, so i will trust you guys' judgment again 
My current build is i3-2100k cpu, Radeon 6950 GPU, 4GB RAM, MSI H61M-P21 mobo and 1TB Samsung HDD. As I said I am still pretty happy with the build, but i was considering an upgrade since I feel my system might get old soon.
I was considering a 7850 as a GPU, a 4GB more RAM and possibly a new i3, the 3220 one since I dont believe a quad core will make a huge performance difference since I only play games and dont stream etc.
My budget is around 600-700 $.
I have three questions:
1) Will these upgrades make a noticable difference to justify their cost?
2) Can I keep my current mobo with theae upgrades?
3) I am using a Windows 7 Home Premium Retail as OS, can I still use my own copy with these changes, if so, what do I need to do to make this happen?
Much thanks for answers.
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I have a hunch you would not notice anything. It would be a complete waste of your money.
For the graphics card, there's this rough comparison (scroll down a little to the table): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
The text describing how the table works suggests to go up at least three rows for a change that feels like it's worth it. Your 6950 seem pretty similar in performance to the 7850 you are looking at.
The same is with the CPU. You would probably not feel any change.
You could look into buying a 128 GB SSD for Windows and your programs and your most played game. That would make using the PC feel great.
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On September 12 2013 21:48 Incognoto wrote:Show nested quote +On September 12 2013 21:04 Rollin wrote:On September 12 2013 19:35 Ropid wrote:On September 12 2013 18:48 Incognoto wrote:
Anyway as for the cooler I think I won't be getting one. I mean, I don't think it's worth it on a system that won't be overclocked. What would you guys do? I wouldn't buy a cooler. If it's not looking good, you can always buy one later. Same with a case fan. You have to take out the motherboard, and by extension (especially being in a matx case) have to take out everything else to mount the cooler. So keep that in mind. Also, as some anecdotal evidence with a recent build being almost identical (760/4670/neo eco 450C + core 1000), the case seemed really hard to mount the hdds nicely, and cable routing was horrrendous :/. If I were to do it again, I'd get a better mATX case and probably a fully modular PSU just so that the inside wasn't completely full of cable spam blocking everything ^^. I didn't put an aftermarket cooler on either :D I'm fine if it just comes down to cabling being a bit tough; I consider to be a neat person when the need arises. As long as everything works fine once it's finished, I don't mind working a bit harder to save some money. Thanks for the heads up, I'll be careful when I assemble everything. How do you like your build?
I made it for a friend  , so you'd have to ask him. It was a massive hassle for many reasons (mostly to do with the motherboard being quirky and me not being able to find any actual problems) over my mid tower build a couple of years ago, but having an matx case is really really good. Like I say, were I to do it again, case and psu would be the only things I'd change, and I doubt I'd go back to a midtower again ever.
@Bleak
Pretty much what ropid said. 6950 is about at 7850 level, and i3-3220 is completely marginal over an i3-2100. For crysis 3 (or for example GW2, BF3), upgrading to a quad core would probably help framerates for lower graphics settings, as that is quite cpu heavy and uses lots of threads.
An ssd is the best choice imo, or wait a couple more years to do an upgrade that you'll notice .
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What is your current build?
Amd athlon 7750 dual core
Asrock N68-S
Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti
4gb ram noname
Case, power supply and hard-drive is new so no problem with this.
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?
I want to be able to do a livestream in 1080p and to play the upcomming games.
What is your budget?
530$
What country will you be buying your parts in?
Germany
If you have any brand or retailer preferences, please specify.
mindfactory.de (most likely cause of free shipping) or alternate.de
Thank you in advance!
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an upgrade where you change the motherboard? that's like changing everything except the graphic card and case heh
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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1CXM0
I made adjustments to my build due to suggestions on here. I did notice though that it's saying the memory I picked runs higher than 1.5V and that it isn't compatible with the Intel chip. Should I downgrade to 2133MHz RAM to get the best efficiency out of it?
Also based on the other comments I may want to wait for new AMD cards to come out before deciding on my build. I'm not in a super rush so if those new cards are coming out sometime end of this month or beginning of next I can wait. Thanks again for all the help.
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Whoever said that memory above 1.5v is not compatible with Intel is wrong. That person is probably referring to Intel memory recommendations which are based on JEDEC specifications for DDR3 which is 1.5v +- 5%. There is nothing wrong with using memory at 1.65v.
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United Kingdom20275 Posts
On September 12 2013 22:20 Bleak wrote:I am currently using a 2 year old build that has served me really well so far (and actually continues to do so) Nowadays I am thinking to upgrade but I am not exactly sure an upgrade will make a big difference because I have been able to play pretty much every single AAA title on veey high/ultra graphic except monster titles like Crysis 3 etc. I bought that build with recommendations of people from this thread, so i will trust you guys' judgment again My current build is i3-2100k cpu, Radeon 6950 GPU, 4GB RAM, MSI H61M-P21 mobo and 1TB Samsung HDD. As I said I am still pretty happy with the build, but i was considering an upgrade since I feel my system might get old soon. I was considering a 7850 as a GPU, a 4GB more RAM and possibly a new i3, the 3220 one since I dont believe a quad core will make a huge performance difference since I only play games and dont stream etc. My budget is around 600-700 $. I have three questions: 1) Will these upgrades make a noticable difference to justify their cost? 2) Can I keep my current mobo with theae upgrades? 3) I am using a Windows 7 Home Premium Retail as OS, can I still use my own copy with these changes, if so, what do I need to do to make this happen? Much thanks for answers.
Quad core is soooo important especially when you got a good GPU man, Crysis 3 is an example of a game that'll run 4 cores of ivy bridge/haswell to 80-100% load. I've seen videos after tweaks with it running just flat near 100% load across 8 threads.
And about RAM, overclockers run like 1.8v on RAM for 24/7 clocks it seems (on haswell, but still before). 1.65v is completely everyday, especially on Haswell
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Ok thanks for the replies. I saw the note on my build profile that said the comment about memory. That's why I was asking. I'm a pretty big computer build noobie when it comes to these things.
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United Kingdom20275 Posts
Stock heatsink is fine if you're getting a cheap case and not overclocking.
As for this, i agree as long as you are fine with the CPU being in the 80-90c range (depending on airflow, ambients and what voltage your particular CPU asks for for stock frequencies) for something like encoding a video, which seems barbaric to me now
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On September 10 2013 05:24 Haine wrote:What is your budget?Upto about 1k, but not that important What is your monitor's native resolution?1920x1280, still have to find a second monitor which will probably run 1640x1028 What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?Pretty much all sorts of (indie) games on steam. High settings would be nice. It has to be able to run games smoothly in a few years. What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?Bit of video watching, browsing, etc. Do you intend to overclock?If I can figure out a fool-proof method. Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?From what I heard this isn't that good nowadays? Do you need an operating system?Nope Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?Perhaps would need another monitor. This is on a separate budget. If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.What country will you be buying your parts in?Netherlands If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.http://www.alternate.nl/html/index.htmlMight try to find the parts cheaper somewhere else. I put together a build already, but I'm not too sure about this. Might be nice to lower the price a bit: 3D Gigabyte GV-R797OC-3GD 329,- + FC3 Intel i5 4670K boxed: 219,90 + Grid2 (game) Crucial 2.5" M500 240GB 139,90 Mobo Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3: 107,90 Kast Corsair Carbide 300R 74,90 Voeding Seasonic M12II 520W 72,90 DDR Crucial Ballistix Tactical 51,90 Main concerns: Is this PSU/SSD any good? Possibly can lower the graphics card a bit, but not sure how much performance I'd lose. As for the monitor, I really don't know and usually am not very nitpicky about it. Was looking at this: LG IPS237L black 179,90 Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!
I'll just throw this in again in the hopes someone will have some comments!
I'm not too sure about overclocking, but the k version is only like 8 euros more expensive, so I might get that and keep the overclocking as an option for later.
I'm also thinking of a cheaper GPU:
MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC @ 259,90
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On September 13 2013 05:31 Haine wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On September 10 2013 05:24 Haine wrote:What is your budget?Upto about 1k, but not that important What is your monitor's native resolution?1920x1280, still have to find a second monitor which will probably run 1640x1028 What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?Pretty much all sorts of (indie) games on steam. High settings would be nice. It has to be able to run games smoothly in a few years. What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?Bit of video watching, browsing, etc. Do you intend to overclock?If I can figure out a fool-proof method. Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?From what I heard this isn't that good nowadays? Do you need an operating system?Nope Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?Perhaps would need another monitor. This is on a separate budget. If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.What country will you be buying your parts in?Netherlands If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.http://www.alternate.nl/html/index.htmlMight try to find the parts cheaper somewhere else. I put together a build already, but I'm not too sure about this. Might be nice to lower the price a bit: 3D Gigabyte GV-R797OC-3GD 329,- + FC3 Intel i5 4670K boxed: 219,90 + Grid2 (game) Crucial 2.5" M500 240GB 139,90 Mobo Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3: 107,90 Kast Corsair Carbide 300R 74,90 Voeding Seasonic M12II 520W 72,90 DDR Crucial Ballistix Tactical 51,90 Main concerns: Is this PSU/SSD any good? Possibly can lower the graphics card a bit, but not sure how much performance I'd lose. As for the monitor, I really don't know and usually am not very nitpicky about it. Was looking at this: LG IPS237L black 179,90 Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! I'll just throw this in again in the hopes someone will have some comments! I'm not too sure about overclocking, but the k version is only like 8 euros more expensive, so I might get that and keep the overclocking as an option for later. I'm also thinking of a cheaper GPU: MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC @ 259,90
Yes the power supply is good. Overall, the build is good.
If you are looking to reduce the price than get a Samsung 840 instead of the Crucial M500, get a S12II 520 instead of the M12II, and maybe a less expensive case.
Most indie games don't have high demands, something like a GTX 650 Ti or Radeon HD7790 would be able to max them out at 1080p.
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What is your budget?
1000
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Borderlands 2, Diablo 3, some recent MMO's, SC2 etc etc, on hopefully the highest settings I can get.
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Streaming games
Do you intend to overclock?
Scared to  but maybe down the road to extend the computer life span
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
Yes
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 am pretty commited to buying a pre-made. So i've been looking at ibuypower.
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
No
This is the build I have in mind @ibuypower
4670k or 8350
8 GB DDR3-1600
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 2GB
Gigabyte GA-P85-D3 -- 4x SATA 6GB/s, 4x USB 3.0
500 Watt - Corsair CX500 V2 PSU
2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s.
Cant decide between the processors, as I have heard about the i5 being better, but the 8350 is apparently better for streaming and more "futureproof" for gaming. Just looking to make sure there are no glaring bottlenecks or mistakes on my part, thanks!
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United Kingdom20275 Posts
but the 8350 is apparently better for streaming and more "futureproof" for gaming
That's not really true and if you plan to play sc2, borderlands 2 and some MMO's then you should stay away from FX.
Anybody making those comments is quoting 5-15% leads in multithreaded performance for FX 8-core depending on the application which can lead to slight benchmark leads, while ignoring the i5's ~50-60% lead in singlethreaded performance that often cripples FX in benchmarks, especially some games.
FX is good, but here fx-6300 costs £82. fx-8320 costs ~£110. The first unlocked intel quad costs ~£185, and the motherboards are more expensive, you're paying for quality and performance.
AMD's flagship CPU chip literally costs £110. The fx8350, 9470 and 9590 are the same chip with factory overclocks and better binning on average (better clockspeed at the same volts) though it wouldn't surprise me if 8320/8350 were exactly the same but just sold at different clockspeeds, or 8350's were marked down to 8320's while passing their binning to satisfy market demand (because a lot of people get better oc's on 8320's than many 8350's)
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Thanks Cyro for clarifying some of that, i'm computer illiterate . Do you think the build I have listed is fine then? (With the 4670k of course)
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United Kingdom20275 Posts
You wouldn't be able to OC with the motherboard and it's a cheap PSU, but should function ok, i don't think there's any really amazing prebuilt sites aside from maybe some options that assemble a parts list for you, what would they charge you for that?
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Here is a list of the available motherboards
ASRock B85 Pro4 -- 2x PCIe x16, 4x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s, 2x USB 3.0
ASRock Z87 Pro3 -- 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 4x SATA 6Gb/s, 4x USB 3.0
ASUS B85-PLUS -- 2x PCIe x16, 4x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s, 2x USB 3.0
Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 -- 2x PCIe x16, 4x SATA 6Gb/s, 2x USB 3.0
Gigabyte GA-P85-D3 -- 4x SATA 6GB/s, 4x USB 3.0 [+$14]
MSI B85 G41 -- 2x PCIe 3.0 x16, 2x USB 3.0, HDMI
What would you suggest for overclocking from that list (if any)
And also what wattage of PSU am I looking for so I would be okay possibly OC'ing?
And to answer your question I dont even know of a site that offers that service I wish I did though!
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United Kingdom20275 Posts
You'd want something like the z87x-d3h for OC*, and you'd have to take everything out of case to apply backplate to the motherboard so that you could put an aftermarket cooler on, if you're reluctant to build then that's probably not too fun for you, it's kinda awkward to do a "possibly-oc" build with modern intel parts
500w is plenty, but the corsair cx430/500 are go-to cheap build psu's, not high quality units like people often get
*There are cheaper z87's, but they're usually not much cheaper and the d3h stands out from the crowd of mid tier z87's a bit
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EPT
