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I think upgrading that PC, you have to be very careful to not waste money. You should wait until a game comes around that won't run like you want it to. Then, while you have that game already bought and installed, research what's happening on the machine. Check CPU load % and GPU load % and decide what to replace, CPU+board vs. GPU.
Be careful with the CPU load readings. If the game just uses one and a half threads like SC2, you'll see 35% CPU load overall. You'll think the CPU is bored and no problem regarding getting 60 fps. Meanwhile, there's actually one CPU core running at 100% and holding everything back. A faster CPU would help in that case and a new GPU would be wasted money.
That said, I have a hunch your CPU is still very close to the current top i5 CPU for most programs and games. You'll probably just have to look into a new graphics card if something doesn't run well.
Your graphics card is also still pretty powerful, perhaps very similar to current cards if you turn off some of the graphics options in games that don't really do much to make the game look better but pull performance down on your card. Be careful to not buy something shitty that won't be much better than your current GTX 570. There's this list about graphics card performance: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
That list gets updated every month or so. The article suggests to try to jump up three rows in the table to feel like you're getting an upgrade. The best choice with that rule would be HD 7970 at the moment, I think.
As there's new cards coming out soon, I think it would be a bad choice to upgrade before there's a real need. You should wait instead.
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On October 07 2013 03:53 Cyro wrote:I'm not sure what you can do with multipliers on the 2500 (couple other people know this!) but there's not that much headroom on base clock. Are you able to control voltages and realistically hit like 4.2ghz+? if so then maybe not worth changing stuff. There's gains to be made on CPU front, but pretty small for the cost. Edit: 3.8 is not anything. 4ghz with 105 baseclock if doable is ok, but it's not quite 4.3 - 4.8, and being back a couple gens hurts you a bit. It's hard to replace, though On GPU front, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-273-AS <this is the hot stuff, but amd's releasing new lineup within a few days to a few weeks (staggered a bit iirc) which is mostly refreshed cards, and nvidia is dropping their prices across either the entire lineup or close to it and maybe releasing some new cards soon too that could be of a lot of interest. It's going to be a pretty busy month
I have gotten the i5-2500 to 3.7GHz from the standard 3.3 GHz and I believe people have managed to get it upto 4.1 GHz before
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United Kingdom20342 Posts
OC standards for the 2500k though, 4.3ghz would be considered low with 4.7 not too out of the ordinary on air, so it's a step under
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Found this about the i5-2500 default speeds:
1 core - 3.7 ghz
2 cores - 3.6 ghz
3 cores - 3.5 ghz
All cores - 3.4 ghz
Those different numbers get activated depending on how many cores are put to sleep by Windows because they are idle. What you can do is raise all four numbers by four steps if your board allows this. If you want all those four numbers to be the same value, this would be 3.8 GHz (it feels a bit stupid to set numbers for only one or two active cores as the CPU rarely runs like that)
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Right, that's why people reach 4.1 GHz. It's four bins more than stock 3.7 GHz (one core active only). You need to raise BCLK (which may not go well) or get the i5-2500k for more.
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I am beginning to piece together a build for the upcoming holiday sale season, and I am certainly in no rush, but I am kind of curious if current prices on a few parts are close to their potential floor.
It appears incomplete, but I have pieces I am recycling from my prior PC.
+ Show Spoiler +
Parts I am planning to recycle are:
Corsair HX750
Intel 520 Series 240gb SSD
600gb HDD
-------------------------------------------------
It's for professional (architecture) use, as well as gaming (varies) at 1920x1080(1200) to 2560x1440(1600). I guess the main question is what parts are probably good to purchase now, potential substitutes that are better purchases, and what I should wait on (if any). Just gauging on what I selected there, I would like maximize my purchasing power between 1,000 and 1,100 dollars. Lower is always welcome.
Another question would revolve around extra case / heatsink fans and recommendations.
There is no real rush in my purchases, though it will ideally be built by mid-december. I am aware of the new AMD GPUs & price drops that come with it, but their new naming scheme confuses the hell out of me, so I'm not exactly sure what I should look for. The nice thing is that it could technically be functional (sans heavy gaming) without the GPU and purchase that later.
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Good price on the UD3H but the rest you can wait on. I guess CPU pricing doesn't change much either.
The Define R4 has been down to $70 before and was $80 for a long time during the Summer so expect it to drop to $70 to $90 again during the holidays. The Arc Midi R2 is $65 right now at Newegg, which is a good purchase. I doubt it's going to drop to $50 during the holidays, it'll probably drop to $60 maybe but your call if you want to take that chance or not.
AMD is releasing three new GPUs but I guess only the R9 290 will be relevant to you since that's the card that will be in the $400 to $500 price bracket. The HD7970 GHz is being rebranded to the R9 280X and will be sold at $300.
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For $100 I would much rather have a 350D/330R.
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I am planning to buy a new PC this month:
Here is the filled-out form from the opening post:
+ Show Spoiler +
What is your budget?
700 USD (500 euro)
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Mostly Starcraft 2 but sometimes some other games which I find interesting.
I will run SC2 on low but would like to run every new game smoothly on medium settings
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
A little 3D modelling, small simulations and office work if I have to take work home.
Streaming SC2 would be good but not necessary.
Do you intend to overclock?
No
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?
A new headphone would be good addition but I can buy it later so this is not part of the budget.
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
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What country will you be buying your parts in?
Hungary
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
---
Thx for your help!
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Hey there,
I am planning to upgrade my CPU and motherboard either tomorrow or wednesday. Parts are bought and in the mail, so it's all dependant on when they get delivered to me.
I am upgrading from a core i3-2120 + MSI B75-P45 to a Core i5-4670K + MSI Z87-G45.
I know most of the hardware how to install things and goodies, but I have absolutely no clue how I should transition my software. Currently I use one SSD, 128GB, for pretty much everything. I would have no problem with installing everything I own again, but I'd rather not have to do that ofcourse.
My main question though is about windows 7. I bought a OEM version, so it's my understanding that this won't work with my new CPU + motherboard. Am I correct here or not? If not, please explain how I can use my current copy of W7 in my new pc. If I am, is it possible to use a key from the United States on this version of Windows bought in the Netherlands. Aka, I insert my copy, then use the US key when asked for a key. Will this work or are windows keys region-locked.
I think I'll backup the data on my SSD onto a external harddrive and then clean the SSD and install either my current or a new copy of W7 onto the SSD and thus my new rig. Do I make this backup with the W7 tool or do I need to use another program/copy files manually? I honestly don't know what is my best option.
As an extra question, I plan on building another PC with the parts I'll be upgrading from. PC will be a standard mATX case, optical drive, 640GB WD Blue HDD, the aforementioned i3-2120 + MSI B75-P45 combo, a GTX520 and 4 GB of 2x2 DDR3-1333 MHz RAM, all powered by a CX430-v2. I intend to sell the machine. I figured it would be worth rougly 200 dollars, but I'm interested in other opinions on the worth of it all.
I hope I have provided enough information and thanks in advance;)
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You can also try to use your current Windows installation. I think Windows 7 and Windows 8 will themselves repeat the end of the normal installation if they see drastic changes to the hardware at boot.
There's just one type of product key for Windows 7 as far as I know. The difference between OEM and full version are just legal talk.
If you replace your motherboard, you will probably get Windows complaining it doesn't want to activate. If you open the System properties window, look at the activation status. It will be a link opening a window that will help you to proceed. If you click around in there, it will show you a free phone number you can call to activate Windows. You will talk to a machine, not a human, will have to type in numbers shown on screen on the phone's number pad, and type in numbers on the PC that the machine dictates you.
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On October 07 2013 17:47 Lipko wrote:I am planning to buy a new PC this month: Here is the filled-out form from the opening post: + Show Spoiler +
What is your budget?
700 USD (500 euro)
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Mostly Starcraft 2 but sometimes some other games which I find interesting.
I will run SC2 on low but would like to run every new game smoothly on medium settings
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
A little 3D modelling, small simulations and office work if I have to take work home.
Streaming SC2 would be good but not necessary.
Do you intend to overclock?
No
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?
A new headphone would be good addition but I can buy it later so this is not part of the budget.
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
---
What country will you be buying your parts in?
Hungary
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
---
Thx for your help!
Where do you buy computer parts in Hungary? Could you buy from Germany and then have it shipped or something? Either way, I took German retailers as a reference.
500€ doesn't go very far though I guess you could still get something decent enough for that amount of money.
http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/1LZI2
Processor (124€): i3-4130. It's haswell and the ivy-bridge version is barely any cheaper. The LGA1150 socket means that if somewhere down the line you have the funds, you can upgrade to an i5-4670k, which is a great processor generally speaking. SC2 doesn't take advantage of multiple cores in a CPU so I think that with this i3, you should be all right. I did a bit of research just to be sure and I found on some French site that apparently this processor doesn't lag too far behind the i5-4670K.
Motherboard (60€): ASRock B85M-HDS. LGA1150 socket for potential upgrade. You won't be overclocking with this motherboard, it's just here to do its job of holding everything together.
RAM 8 Gb(69€): Holy shit expensive. To be honest, try to find something less expensive and more adapted to your needs. For all I know, you might be able to get away with 4 Gb of RAM.
Hard Drive 1TB (55€): Seagate Barracuda 1 TB. Support TL by getting this, if you want.
Graphics Card (118€): Gigabyte GTX 650 Ti This is overkill for SC2 (you can almost max SC2 1v1 with this card), though it should run most games quite nicely on medium-high settings. Only 1 Gb of VRAM though. If you're willing to go up to 134€, you can get this card with 2 Gb of VRAM. Do you need 2 Gb of VRAM? Up to you. Do the research.Fit You can upgrade down the line if really needed. We took advantage of Nvidia slashing its prices due to new AMD cards coming out. Sweet stuff.
Case (37€): This is the Fractal Design Core 1000. This is the budget case which is really damn good for a budget case. So it's a great case. No really, seriously, this will fit everything you need. Cable management is a tad messy but it's nothing impossible to work with. This is a great case by the way.
It's 30€ in France so really, just goes to show all the prices here are rough estimates. Depends on Hungarian prices.
PSU (45€): Universally recommended XFX Pro Series 450W. Great for budget builds.
All in all, you've got a 508€* system that should do everything you need and perhaps a bit more in terms of gaming performance. Not sure about streaming though. Motherboard is from this generation so if you have the funds to upgrade, you can do so.
* Again, I don't have any clue about retailers in Hungary nor how their prices compare to Germany's. You'll have to be careful about this.
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On October 08 2013 05:04 Incognoto wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On October 07 2013 17:47 Lipko wrote:I am planning to buy a new PC this month: Here is the filled-out form from the opening post: + Show Spoiler +
What is your budget?
700 USD (500 euro)
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Mostly Starcraft 2 but sometimes some other games which I find interesting.
I will run SC2 on low but would like to run every new game smoothly on medium settings
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
A little 3D modelling, small simulations and office work if I have to take work home.
Streaming SC2 would be good but not necessary.
Do you intend to overclock?
No
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?
A new headphone would be good addition but I can buy it later so this is not part of the budget.
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
---
What country will you be buying your parts in?
Hungary
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
---
Thx for your help! Where do you buy computer parts in Hungary? Could you buy from Germany and then have it shipped or something? Either way, I took German retailers as a reference. 500€ doesn't go very far though I guess you could still get something decent enough for that amount of money. http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/1LZI2Processor (124€): i3-4130. It's haswell and the ivy-bridge version is barely any cheaper. The LGA1150 socket means that if somewhere down the line you have the funds, you can upgrade to an i5-4670k, which is a great processor generally speaking. SC2 doesn't take advantage of multiple cores in a CPU so I think that with this i3, you should be all right. I did a bit of research just to be sure and I found on some French site that apparently this processor doesn't lag too far behind the i5-4670K. Motherboard (60€): ASRock B85M-HDS. LGA1150 socket for potential upgrade. You won't be overclocking with this motherboard, it's just here to do its job of holding everything together. RAM 8 Gb(69€): Holy shit expensive. To be honest, try to find something less expensive and more adapted to your needs. For all I know, you might be able to get away with 4 Gb of RAM. Hard Drive 1TB (55€): Seagate Barracuda 1 TB. Support TL by getting this, if you want. Graphics Card (118€): Gigabyte GTX 650 Ti This is overkill for SC2 (you can almost max SC2 1v1 with this card), though it should run most games quite nicely on medium-high settings. Only 1 Gb of VRAM though. If you're willing to go up to 134€, you can get this card with 2 Gb of VRAM. Do you need 2 Gb of VRAM? Up to you. Do the research.Fit You can upgrade down the line if really needed. We took advantage of Nvidia slashing its prices due to new AMD cards coming out. Sweet stuff. Case (37€): This is the Fractal Design Core 1000. This is the budget case which is really damn good for a budget case. So it's a great case. No really, seriously, this will fit everything you need. Cable management is a tad messy but it's nothing impossible to work with. This is a great case by the way. It's 30€ in France so really, just goes to show all the prices here are rough estimates. Depends on Hungarian prices. PSU (45€): Universally recommended XFX Pro Series 450W. Great for budget builds. All in all, you've got a 508€* system that should do everything you need and perhaps a bit more in terms of gaming performance. Not sure about streaming though. Motherboard is from this generation so if you have the funds to upgrade, you can do so. * Again, I don't have any clue about retailers in Hungary nor how their prices compare to Germany's. You'll have to be careful about this.
Thx a lot for this build.
Hungarian prices are around the german prices(some of these components are even cheaper) as I checked now.
I will take a look at the RAMs since these are quite expensive. I think I can find a cheaper solution and put that money into the 2GB VGA.
I had a Seagate harddrive like 10 years ago, still working well so I will get that.
I like the possibility to upgrade the processor, maybe later if I get some money I buy a better one.
That case is so good looking, awesome yet simple, definitely going to get that.
I like this build so far. I will do some research on these components, modify if needed and look for some sales to save some money.
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United Kingdom20342 Posts
RAM 8 Gb(69€): Holy shit expensive.
Wha that's pretty normal prices
Sammy kits went from £65 to £120 in a few months, and were £35 like a year ago, 1600 kits etc have hovered those kinds of prices for a while no?
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Hi just need some upgrade advice.
Currectly I have a mildly overclocked 3570K, and a 5770 GPU, was wanting to upgrade the GPU to a 7870 or 7950, however only have a 430W PSU, (Corsair Builder Series).
Do I have the appropiate connectors and the power to run it off this PSU.
Thanks in advance!
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On October 07 2013 13:36 skyR wrote:
Good price on the UD3H but the rest you can wait on. I guess CPU pricing doesn't change much either.
The Define R4 has been down to $70 before and was $80 for a long time during the Summer so expect it to drop to $70 to $90 again during the holidays. The Arc Midi R2 is $65 right now at Newegg, which is a good purchase. I doubt it's going to drop to $50 during the holidays, it'll probably drop to $60 maybe but your call if you want to take that chance or not.
AMD is releasing three new GPUs but I guess only the R9 290 will be relevant to you since that's the card that will be in the $400 to $500 price bracket. The HD7970 GHz is being rebranded to the R9 280X and will be sold at $300.
Thanks for the case suggestions and AMD info. I went ahead with the Midi R2. It was 70 on NCIX (Newegg ended promo at midnight I guess), but the 10 dollar new customer discount basically meant it cost me 60. Went ahead and got mobo.
I don't know how long combo deals last & processor / ram price variances, but it's currently at a -$30 combo deal, making ram effectively $124.99 + $339.99 i7.
I will likely wait on GPU release, just to see what happens & if I decide it's worth stretching a 290 over a 280x / 7970.
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R9 280X, R9 270X, and R7 260X will be out in two hours so keep your eyes out for reviews on your favourite tech sites.
4770k will probably be somewhere between $300 and $320 during the holidays but I'm not sure about 2x8GB kits. I guess it wouldn't be crazy to expect to see those kits at $125 since similar 2x4GB kits go on sale for ~$65.
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What is your current build?
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad CPU 2.4GHZ (OC at 2.7 right now)
Motherboard Nvidia nForce 680i SLI SPP
Memory Corsair 4GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 449MHz
Video Card NVidia GeForce 8800GTS 640MB
Primary Storage 238GB Western Digital SCSI
What is your monitor's native resolution?
Primary: 1920x1080 Secondary: 1440x900
Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade
My computer is currently below average for a gaming PC if that, since I have a pretty limited budget I was wondering if it would be possible to just upgrade it in steps starting with the motherboard/CPU along with the necessary heatsink/power supply to support it and then using the other "stuff' I have right now on my computer and then build from there as I get more money later down the line. I feel like my processor is the most limiting thing I have right now, although my whole build is pretty weak anyways. I'm assuming that I'll need a new motherboard because an good CPU upgrades probably aren't compatible with my current one.
What is your budget
$200~300 currently is my budget.
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
Brand preferences
I'd like an i5 since from what I understand it's a pretty solid processor and will last me awhile, just like how mine
managed to last me the last 5 years.
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On October 08 2013 08:20 gazhen wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Hi just need some upgrade advice.
Currectly I have a mildly overclocked 3570K, and a 5770 GPU, was wanting to upgrade the GPU to a 7870 or 7950, however only have a 430W PSU, (Corsair Builder Series).
Do I have the appropiate connectors and the power to run it off this PSU.
Thanks in advance!
Yes but you'll need a molex to PCIe adapter for the new card.
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On October 08 2013 12:16 Monokeros wrote:+ Show Spoiler +What is your current build?
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad CPU 2.4GHZ (OC at 2.7 right now)
Motherboard Nvidia nForce 680i SLI SPP
Memory Corsair 4GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 449MHz
Video Card NVidia GeForce 8800GTS 640MB
Primary Storage 238GB Western Digital SCSI
What is your monitor's native resolution?
Primary: 1920x1080 Secondary: 1440x900
Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade
My computer is currently below average for a gaming PC if that, since I have a pretty limited budget I was wondering if it would be possible to just upgrade it in steps starting with the motherboard/CPU along with the necessary heatsink/power supply to support it and then using the other "stuff' I have right now on my computer and then build from there as I get more money later down the line. I feel like my processor is the most limiting thing I have right now, although my whole build is pretty weak anyways. I'm assuming that I'll need a new motherboard because an good CPU upgrades probably aren't compatible with my current one.
What is your budget
$200~300 currently is my budget.
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
Brand preferences
I'd like an i5 since from what I understand it's a pretty solid processor and will last me awhile, just like how mine
managed to last me the last 5 years.
You'll need a new motherboard and new memory as well for a core i5. If you want an overclockable setup than that would be out of your budget but $300 would barely be enough for a non-overclockable setup (i5 ~$190, H81 ~$60, 4GB RAM ~$40). It'd be better just to save up a bit more money.
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EPT
