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[bomblord1]

I have a younger brother looking to get into PC gaming (He's played tons of games on my PC so he's not unfamiliar with it). He has about $400 to spend and I was thinking of suggesting the Alienware Alpha to him (I've seen them go on sale for that much before wouldn't be surprised to see it happen again) as a good personal starting point. It comes with a 360 controller and a controller optimized layout so it would be easy to hook up to and small enough shove under the TV with the other consoles so he wouldn't have to buy a monitor.

My question is do you think this is a good or bad idea for the budget?

 

[Green Card]

It's hard to say because of the lack of reviews available. MSI also doesn't even have a product page available for their Krait model. I mean there's a link but it's dead, and has been dead for about two days.

Anyway, from what I can gather (mostly from this Anandtech article), the Krait is MSI's cheaper model that supports SLI, M.2, and has an Intel ethernet controller and ALC1150 audio, which is a pretty good feature set. However, it does lack USB 3.1 and USB type C. Better audio and ethernet systems, but no new USB tech.

According to the official specifications, the Z170-K appears to be the cheaper competing model that Asus offers. Compared to the Krait, the Z170-K does have USB 3.1 and USB type C but features cheaper and lower end subsystems like ALC887 audio and Realtek ethernet. Yes for the latest USB tech, but has cheaper audio and ethernet. Also doesn't support SLI, but it still has M.2 support.

I guess it'll come down to looks and whether you want the newer USB tech. The audio and ethernet subsystems being cheaper on the Asus motherboard honestly aren't that big a deal, but if you value more reliable systems, Intel is the better choice for ethernet, preferable over Realtek or Killer ethernet chipsets.

Thanks man. This gave me a lot of info and I did some google searches myself. It looks like the MSI Z170 Krait Gaming does lack USB 3.1 but the MSI Z170A Krait Gaming has it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/msi-dozen-z170-motherboards,29754.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9&cm_re=MSI_Z170_krait-_-13-130-879-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130868

So the Z170A has 2x USB 3.1 Type-A but not Type-C. What exactly is Type-C? Is this just a different connector? Are there any speed differences? I'm not familiar with it at all. I'd imagine since the board can do 3.1 and has the superior audio/ethernet I should go with that board.

Edit: It looks like this board http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5496#ov has type-C and Intel but inferior audio. How is gigabyte? This ASRock board has Realtek ALC1150 and an Intel LAN Chipeset http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170 Extreme4// I've never bought anything from this brand though. They are all around the same price with the ASRock being slightly more expensive.

 

[mrklaw]

are there any sites that can visualise the historic performance of intel CPUs over the years? Specifically laptop ones.

I'm trying to figure out how slow my i5-2410M/4GB laptop is realistically compared to current laptops, and whether to sell it. I did put an SSD in it which helps with responsiveness too.

I'd either keep it, and my youngest child would get it as a schoolwork machine, or I'd sell it and put the money towards a fairly bog-standard off the shelf laptop which would most likely be running a modern i3-U series CPU to keep the price down.

 

[RGM79]

So my friend and I are trying to play GTA V together but every 30 minutes my friend gets a black screen crash. Is this a known problem with the 390x?

His specs

i5 4690k
ASUS Z97-E
MSI 390x
8GB Corsair Vengeance
EVGA SuperNOVA 650w

He's on Windows 10, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Black screen? Could be graphics drivers, have they been updated? I've also heard that people with 8GB of RAM and who have turned off page files or set them to a very tiny size will crash after playing GTAV for a while.

Can I ask a related question? Why is my system reserve partition on my D: drive? My Windows is on my C: drive, a 120GB SSD. My D is a 1TB HDD just for steam games and general storage. Does it matter? I'm especially thinking for backup/restore purposes as I'm only backing up the C: drive at the moment.

It might have been accidentally put there if you had both drives connected during Windows installation. Sometimes it happens. This is why we usually recommend only having the OS drive hooked up when one is going to install Windows.

Now if you ever have to disconnect your D drive for any reason, your computer will be unable to boot to Windows even if it's located on the C drive and still connected, because the bootloader will be missing.

I am getting a new cpu, mobo, ram and cooler. Is it easy to replace my existing set up? I am assuming I just carefully dismantle it all piece by piece and rebuild it into my case?

That's pretty much it. Yes to all.

Well, certainly not hundreds of tabs. Basically i want enough ram to not have to think about closing programs during games unless it's a CPU intensive app of some kind.

Just save yourself some money and get 2x8GB for 16GB at first. What country are you in that you can't find 2x8GB DDR4?

Thanks man. This gave me a lot of info and I did some google searches myself. It looks like the MSI Z170 Krait Gaming does lack USB 3.1 but the MSI Z170A Krait Gaming has it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/msi-dozen-z170-motherboards,29754.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9&cm_re=MSI_Z170_krait-_-13-130-879-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130868

So the Z170A has 2x USB 3.1 Type-A but not Type-C. What exactly is Type-C? Is this just a different connector? Are there any speed differences? I'm not familiar with it at all. I'd imagine since the board can do 3.1 and has the superior audio/ethernet I should go with that board.

Edit: It looks like this board http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5496#ov has type-C and Intel but inferior audio. How is gigabyte? This ASRock board has Realtek ALC1150 and an Intel LAN Chipeset http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170 Extreme4// I've never bought anything from this brand though. They are all around the same price with the ASRock being slightly more expensive.

Ah, you have an even sharper eye than I do. At first I didn't notice why there was a Z170 Krait and a Z170A Krait. Type C is a new type of USB connector that is reversible (no more up-side-down or having to turn around the connector) and is generally meant to become a new general purpose connector for things like phones and other peripherials. The speed differences come from USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 more than anything else. Sometimes the terminology is a bit confusing and can also be called "USB 3.1 gen 2", but basically USB 3.1 doubles the speed of the old USB 3.0/3.1 from 5Gbps to 10Gbps. In other words, it has the potential to be really fast. Here's a primer on USB type C and USB 3.1. So far there's not a lot of devices with type C plugs available so not having them isn't that big a deal. You can always get a USB type C front panel connector later in the future (beats having to reach to the back of the computer to plug in type C devices) or a USB A to USB C cable.

The Z170XP-SLI looks like a decent motherboard and the successor to the Z97X-SLI that we used to recommend very often in these threads. I'm still wary about Z170 recommendations until we can get some more reviews to look at though. In general Gigabyte isn't bad at all, I feel that they're quite good. ASRock has a reputation for being "cheaper" in both price and quality and it's somewhat negative, but to be honest they're not always that bad.

For a bit more money, there's the Asus Z170-A ($155). So far there's a couple of reviews out for that motherboard and they're all very positive (Techreport|Vortez|HardwareHeaven).

are there any sites that can visualise the historic performance of intel CPUs over the years? Specifically laptop ones.

I'm trying to figure out how slow my i5-2410M/4GB laptop is realistically compared to current laptops, and whether to sell it. I did put an SSD in it which helps with responsiveness too.

I'd either keep it, and my youngest child would get it as a schoolwork machine, or I'd sell it and put the money towards a fairly bog-standard off the shelf laptop which would most likely be running a modern i3-U series CPU to keep the price down.

Laptops? Unfortunately no. Techspot did do an article for benchmarking ten years of Intel desktop processors, but benchmarking laptops is a whole different and more difficult thing to do.

 

[CreepingFear]

This is gonna be top tier machine. Outside of the processor you have a faster machine than I. I'm still on X79. Congrats! Enjoy while i am on my little break

Thank you for the Smokey seal of approval. Is there a sticker to put on my case for that? J/k, only people who buy OEM machines have stickers on their cases. Now, to wait for the processor to be available. I'd like to save money and buy from Microcenter, but I'll probably be impatient and just buy it from Newegg or Amazon if it's available first.

 

[paskowitz]

Okay, Okay. I was kinding of joking about the Smokey thing. I can't go higher than $300 for memory.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($93.04 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-DELUXE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($201.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($122.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic Platinum 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Directron)
Total: $1611.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-07 00:33 EDT-0400

While the Seasonic is a great PSU, I don't really think it is a worthy expenditure. 860W is not quite enough for SLI if you are overclocking (especially with the Classy). 1000-1200W gold is a better place to be (again, if you intend to do SLI and overclocking in the future). If not I would still recommend saving a little bit of money and going for a gold rated PSU around the same wattage. With a single card you won't come close to needing that Platinum rating

 

[CreepingFear]

While the Seasonic is a great PSU, I don't really think it is a worthy expenditure. 860W is not quite enough for SLI if you are overclocking (especially with the Classy). 1000-1200W gold is a better place to be (again, if you intend to do SLI and overclocking in the future). If not I would still recommend saving a little bit of money and going for a gold rated PSU around the same wattage. With a single card you won't come close to needing that Platinum rating

Thanks for the advice. I don't go SLI though. I'm not willing to put up with the SLI driver issues or the micro stuttering or frame pacing issues of SLI. Single GPU for life. I know I could probably get by with a 650 watt gold rated PSU. I just don't like to have to think about it. Same reason I go ATX over mATX when I could probably get by with mATX. I like to have extra ports and slots just "in case".

 

[paskowitz]

Thanks for the advice. I don't go SLI though. I'm not willing to put up with the SLI driver issues or the micro stuttering or frame pacing issues of SLI. Single GPU for life. I know I could probably get by with a 650 watt gold rated PSU. I just don't like to have to think about it. Same reason I go ATX over mATX when I could probably get by with mATX. I like to have extra ports and slots just "in case".

Fair enough. You also save a little on your utility bill by going Platinum. So there is that. That system should be pretty awesome once it is done.

 

[CreepingFear]

Fair enough. You also save a little on your utility bill by going Platinum. So there is that. That system should be pretty awesome once it is done.

I'm hoping it will be better for streaming OBS. It would be nice to see some reviewers review and compare how well processors run games while streaming with OBS at the same time, you know, real world use cases instead of synthetic benchmarks. That is a very common thing gamers do these days.

 

[paskowitz]

I'm hoping it will be better for streaming OBS. It would be nice to see some reviewers review and compare how well processors run games while streaming with OBS at the same time, you know, real world use cases instead of synthetic benchmarks. That is a very common thing gamers do these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GgDZKGA89I

This isn't exactly what you are looking for but it is close.

 

[mrklaw]

It might have been accidentally put there if you had both drives connected during Windows installation. Sometimes it happens. This is why we usually recommend only having the OS drive hooked up when one is going to install Windows.

Now if you ever have to disconnect your D drive for any reason, your computer will be unable to boot to Windows even if it's located on the C drive and still connected, because the bootloader will be missing.

Thanks. Thats a bit of a bummer. Does it also mean that if my D drive dies, I can't boot up? in which case I should back up that system partition somewhere, so I can recover it in the event of a failure?

Is there any way to move it back onto the C drive?

 

[harz-marz]

Going for the i5 6600K... is this mobo good enough or should I spend a bit more?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...-pcie-30-sli-crossfire-vga-dp-dvi-hdmi-atx-mo

Plan on getting 8GB of DDR4 RAM @ 3000

Thanks

 

[MedIC86]

I hope someone can help me with this:

I've always used a HTPC in combination with my NAS to watch movies on my tv. Recently i bought a new table under the tv were my HTPC wont fit anymore. So i decided to get rid of it. What ways are there to watch content via a NAS on a tv? the device doesnt need its own storage just network acces to my NAS and it would prefrable if it could read subtitle files and stream like 40mb/s HD movies.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Aren't we supposed to move to a new thread when we hit around 20k posts?

 

[CreepingFear]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GgDZKGA89I

This isn't exactly what you are looking for but it is close.

That video just makes me want an eight core cpu lol.

 

[lorclonil]

Hi!

I've recently started the planning/acquiring of my first PC build. I received the SSD from my wife as a birthday present and picked up the case on sale from Microcenter. I can get a copy of Windows Pro from the university I work for for $40. The $99.99 motherboard is marked at $99.99 for the Microcenter processor/MB bundle deal.

The parts list of what I plan on buying/building is:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vyWXQ7

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($313.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO ATX Desktop Case (Purchased For $79.99)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro OEM (64-bit) ($39.99)
Total: $1009.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-07 11:49 EDT-0400

I plan on using this to:
1) Play games
2) Potentially stream
3) Use for 3D modelling (mostly Autodesk Inventor) for 3D printing in my workshop

The reason I picked that case was it can house a full ATX motherboard and is under 16" tall (the shelf on my work bench it'll be going only has 16" of clearance; once it's inside there is more room above it but the opening in to it is only 16".)

The big caveat for this whole thing is that since this is a "fun" purchase I need to try and limit it to ~$300 per month of spending. This isn't an incredibly firm # but it does limit what I can do right at the start.

My questions are:
1) What would be the best order of purchases to be up and running ASAP?
2) Are there any things on this list you'd change to save money or to improve the quality of the build?

Thanks so much! This is a fantastic thread to read.

Edit: I should add that I currently only have a 1080P monitor but will most likely buy a 1440p one in the future.

 

[Crisium]

Bought my Sapphire Tri-X Fury.

Still need CPU, Mobo, RAM, maybe CPU cooling.

I'm not OCing, so do I really need a CPU cooling solution? If so, which would be good?

Good choice. I literally cannot even hear my Sapphire Fury Tri-X in my Fractal Design R4 under any circumstances (I refuse to test with Furmark though) Don't expect it to OC much, but it is utterly silent in a good case. I was also able to partially unlock it from 56 CUs (3584 shaders and 224 TMUs) to 60 CUs (3840 / 240) so it narrows the gap much closer to the Fury X.

 

[malingenie]

Hi gaf, I am thinking of going back to pc gaming. I will mostly use this machine for video games and eventually streaming to my tv via steam link.

Is this overkill for someone looking to play some new games but mostly old games (haven't had a pc in 10 years, so i have some digging to do!)

I am looking to cut costs any way I can, and also I don't know if the cooler will fit in the case :/


http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gfhqnQ

Thanks to feedback from you guys, this is the build i'm stewing on.... future proofing a bit with the chip, to allow for a graphic card upgrade in the future. New case, too.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

What do you guys think about the Logitech G910 Orion Spark?
And do you use two different keyboards for gaming and writing, or just the same for both things?

I watched a video on a similar logitech keyboard when they introduced their patented key switches. I think it was linus tech tips.

He said they surface of the keys feel absolutely terrible because of this weird bevelling they do and it hinders typing a lot. The switches themselves are very quiet but feels nice.

 

[Pachimari]

I watched a video on a similar logitech keyboard when they introduced their patented key switches. I think it was linus tech tips.

He said they surface of the keys feel absolutely terrible because of this weird bevelling they do and it hinders typing a lot. The switches themselves are very quiet but feels nice.

Yeah, I decided to watch a video review earlier today, and we have probably seen the same, as the guy really were not fond of the surface. Though everything else about it seems super.

[edit]
Actually, the Corsair K70 (black edition) have caught my attention now.

 

[Green Card]

Thanks a lot RGM I'll probably end up with either the Asus Z170A (leaning towards this) or MSI Krait Gaming Z170A. I didn't want to pay more than $140 but I also don't want a barebones board.

 

[ricki42]

Hi!

I've recently started the planning/acquiring of my first PC build. I received the SSD from my wife as a birthday present and picked up the case on sale from Microcenter. I can get a copy of Windows Pro from the university I work for for $40. The $99.99 motherboard is marked at $99.99 for the Microcenter processor/MB bundle deal.

The parts list of what I plan on buying/building is:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vyWXQ7

I plan on using this to:
1) Play games
2) Potentially stream
3) Use for 3D modelling (mostly Autodesk Inventor) for 3D printing in my workshop

The reason I picked that case was it can house a full ATX motherboard and is under 16" tall (the shelf on my work bench it'll be going only has 16" of clearance; once it's inside there is more room above it but the opening in to it is only 16".)

The big caveat for this whole thing is that since this is a "fun" purchase I need to try and limit it to ~$300 per month of spending. This isn't an incredibly firm # but it does limit what I can do right at the start.

My questions are:
1) What would be the best order of purchases to be up and running ASAP?
2) Are there any things on this list you'd change to save money or to improve the quality of the build?

Thanks so much! This is a fantastic thread to read.

Edit: I should add that I currently only have a 1080P monitor but will most likely buy a 1440p one in the future.

Go with low-profile RAM (without the large heat spreaders on top) to ensure that it'll fit with the cooler.
If you don't have the money yet, I'd suggest saving the $300 each month and buying when you have saved enough. If something doesn't work, it's easier to return if it's newer. There may also be sales or price drops that you'd miss. Only thing is you could get the 970 last and use integrated graphics in the meantime. That would give you a month head start, and a GPU is easy to add.

 

[Rootbeer]

*edit* nevermind it sold out in about 25 mins... sheesh

ASUS GeForce GTX 980 Ti STRIX-GTX980TI-DC3OC-6GD5-GAMING 6GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Anyone wanting the STRIX? It just came in stock

 

[RGM79]

Thanks. Thats a bit of a bummer. Does it also mean that if my D drive dies, I can't boot up? in which case I should back up that system partition somewhere, so I can recover it in the event of a failure? Is there any way to move it back onto the C drive?

What version of Windows do you have? If you're savvy enough, you can make some room on your OS drive by resizing the partitions, clone the bootloader over to the OS drive, and then mark it as active if it isn't already.

Otherwise it might just be simpler to reinstall Windows and only leave your OS drive connected so the bootloader will only be put on the OS drive. Be sure to delete the bootloader partition from your D: drive first so you won't have two bootloaders interfering with each other.

Going for the i5 6600K... is this mobo good enough or should I spend a bit more?
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...-pcie-30-sli-crossfire-vga-dp-dvi-hdmi-atx-mo
Plan on getting 8GB of DDR4 RAM @ 3000. Thanks

Looks fine to me. I linked to a couple of Asus Z170-A motherboard reviews above, and they were all quite positive.

Aren't we supposed to move to a new thread when we hit around 20k posts?

Yep. Hazaro's busy and away, and I think Mkenyon is working on an updated first post.

Hi! I've recently started the planning/acquiring of my first PC build. I received the SSD from my wife as a birthday present and picked up the case on sale from Microcenter. I can get a copy of Windows Pro from the university I work for for $40. The $99.99 motherboard is marked at $99.99 for the Microcenter processor/MB bundle deal. The parts list of what I plan on buying/building is:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($313.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO ATX Desktop Case (Purchased For $79.99)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro OEM (64-bit) ($39.99)
Total: $1009.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-07 11:49 EDT-0400

I plan on using this to:
1) Play games
2) Potentially stream
3) Use for 3D modelling (mostly Autodesk Inventor) for 3D printing in my workshop

The reason I picked that case was it can house a full ATX motherboard and is under 16" tall (the shelf on my work bench it'll be going only has 16" of clearance; once it's inside there is more room above it but the opening in to it is only 16".) The big caveat for this whole thing is that since this is a "fun" purchase I need to try and limit it to ~$300 per month of spending. This isn't an incredibly firm # but it does limit what I can do right at the start.

My questions are:
1) What would be the best order of purchases to be up and running ASAP?
2) Are there any things on this list you'd change to save money or to improve the quality of the build?

Thanks so much! This is a fantastic thread to read.

Edit: I should add that I currently only have a 1080P monitor but will most likely buy a 1440p one in the future.

If you need to limit purchases to $300 a month, I'll agree with ricki42 and tell you to save up the money so you can buy your parts at the same time. There's not much point in buying parts over the course of 3+ months, as all you're doing is letting warranty coverage run out and it's definitely easier to return something the closer you are to the date of purchase. I suppose there are some things that are more or less safe to buy early if you want, like the copy of Windows. Still, since it's gonna take three months and prices can and probably will change, there's not a lot that I could recommend buying now.

Also.. three months from now there will be the usual holiday sales like Black Friday and whatever else they're trying to promote. I'm not guaranteeing that you'll save money, but if you have that long a timeframe to save money, you might as well wait. And who knows, you might decide that you want different parts or that you want to build a Skylake PC instead of Haswell, if costs come down or there are decent sales.

 

[mrklaw]

What version of Windows do you have? If you're savvy enough, you can make some room on your OS drive by resizing the partitions, clone the bootloader over to the OS drive, and then mark it as active if it isn't already.

Otherwise it might just be simpler to reinstall Windows and only leave your OS drive connected so the bootloader will only be put on the OS drive. Be sure to delete the bootloader partition from your D: drive first so you won't have two bootloaders interfering with each other.

Windows 10 now. Originally 8. Have a recent clone of the main C drive and disk backups, and my files are backed up multiple times. So I would be willing to have a go

 

[byropoint]

GAF, I need help making a decision, getting a new GPU and I managed to narrow it down to a Gigabyte 970 vs Gigabyte 390 (both G1 Gaming edition), really tough decision, I can't find reliable reviews/test of that specific 390 model, but it looks like it has a new x2 Windforce cooler and locked voltage but generally a bit better performance and 8GB VRAM, no info on temps and noise though. I'm gonna build a mITX pc later this year so noise/temps/power draw are a concern, that's what's making me consider a 970, looking for thoughts/suggestions.

 

[LilJoka]

GAF, I need help making a decision, getting a new GPU and I managed to narrow it down to a Gigabyte 970 vs Gigabyte 390 (both G1 Gaming edition), really tough decision, I can't find reliable reviews/test of that specific 390 model, but it looks like it has a new x2 Windforce cooler and locked voltage but generally a bit better performance and 8GB VRAM, no info on temps and noise though. I'm gonna build a mITX pc later this year so noise/temps/power draw are a concern, that's what's making me consider a 970, looking for thoughts/suggestions.

At 1080p i recommend GTX 970 in ITX for lower TDP and at 1080p the 970 is generally faster, but at 1440p the AMD cards can be better.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

So I found some cheap Windows keys for sale from legit seller.

Does anyone know why Windows 8.1 is slightly more expensive than Windows 8?

Isn't Win 8.1 just Win 8 with the update so getting Win 8.1 is just a convenience so you don't have to download any updates?

 

[byropoint]

At 1080p i recommend GTX 970 in ITX for lower TDP and at 1080p the 970 is generally faster, but at 1440p the AMD cards can be better.

I'm currently leaning towards the 970, but man that 8GB VRAM sounds nice, I'm at 1080p and not planning to upgrade anytime soon so 4GB (3.5?) is probably going to be fine for the next 2-3 years, can't be sure though.

 

[Dave_6]

I had an issue pop up the other day and I'm trying to determine whether it's the hardware or a software issue. I use a Schiit stack with my PC (Magni 2 amp and Modi 2 DAC) for my headphones. The DAC hooks up via USB 2.0 and I've had it for nearly 8 months now, issue free. I usually leave my PC on for two to three weeks at a time and shut it off one day before work just to give it a rest. I get home Wednesday from work, boot the PC up and now Windows won't recognize the Modi. I try restarting the PC a couple times, switching USB ports, trying two other cables, all to no avail. Schiit tech support seems to think it's a port issue (some kind of possible stealth Windows update) that messed with the port power management. I think it's the Modi itself but it's weird that it was working fine that morning before I turned the PC off. I get the 'Code 43' error as well with it, which I'm going to investigate tonight. FWIW I also bought a powered USB hub the other day to try and that didn't fix it either.

I'm still using Windows 7 BTW.

 

[RGM79]

So I found some cheap Windows keys for sale from legit seller.

Does anyone know why Windows 8.1 is slightly more expensive than Windows 8?

Isn't Win 8.1 just Win 8 with the update so getting Win 8.1 is just a convenience so you don't have to download any updates?

Yep. If you wanted to, you can even install Windows 8.1 and activate it with a Windows 8 key, although you'll have to jump through a hoop or two to make it work.

 

[Atlas157]

Black screen? Could be graphics drivers, have they been updated? I've also heard that people with 8GB of RAM and who have turned off page files or set them to a very tiny size will crash after playing GTAV for a while.

Yeah it would just go black and crash randomly, It's most likely graphics drivers, he's on the latest AMD drivers for Windows 10.

 

[Shadowhaxor]

So I found some cheap Windows keys for sale from legit seller.

Does anyone know why Windows 8.1 is slightly more expensive than Windows 8?

Isn't Win 8.1 just Win 8 with the update so getting Win 8.1 is just a convenience so you don't have to download any updates?

Convenience. All Windows 8.1 is a free update for 8. However you have to install Windows 8 first and then the Windows 8.1 upgrade. That's double the work vs getting a full install of Windows 8.1 from the start.

I'm currently leaning towards the 970, but man that 8GB VRAM sounds nice, I'm at 1080p and not planning to upgrade anytime soon so 4GB (3.5?) is probably going to be fine for the next 2-3 years, can't be sure though.

You have to look at what you're going to be using for a monitor. If you don't see 1440p in your future, then say with the GTX 970. I will say that the GTX 970 isn't bad with 1440p either, it's jsut that 3.5 + .5 Vram deal sucks. All in all, there's a 1-2% difference between the two, so your deciding factor should be price and who does better drivers (support).

 

[Dusk Soldier]

So I'm in the planning stages of building a PC. I mainly want to use it for consuming couch media (i.e. movies, streaming, and videogames).

I currently only own a wiiU, and I've noticed more and more that a lot of 3rd party games are being released on steam over wiiU, so I want a computer powerful enough to play the latest games now, and hopefully for the next 5 -10 years. (Although I suppose there are always upgrades)

The build I'm thinking of doing:

CPU: Intel i7-4770
MoBa: ASUS Z87-plus
RAM: Kingston HyperFuryX(2x4GB)
HDD: Seagate Desktop 1TB HDD
Blu: ASUS 12x Blu-Ray Drive
Case: Cooler Master TC-101

I'll eventually upgrade to a discrete graphics card, but I'm going to wait until I can get this system comfortably running first. For the OS I want to use Linux, but since I haven't used that much in the past, I'm think I should split the HDD into a windows partition and a Linux partition. At least until I'm comfortable using a Linux Machine. The only thing I'm concerned about there is that I'll have to buy a new windows licence instead of reusing one of the ones on my old laptops.

For price it comes up to roughly $700CDN and I'm planning to buy it all locally from a computer store. I got the pricing info from perusing the company's website.

My plan is to save up funds over the next 2 months and then go purchase everything. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Yep. If you wanted to, you can even install Windows 8.1 and activate it with a Windows 8 key, although you'll have to jump through a hoop or two to make it work.

Hmmmm, nice. This reddit seller on softwareswap sells them $3 cheaper than the 8.1, so it's not a big deal, but I'll still take it.

I think I'm going for the Windows 8 Standard N since I don't think I need any of the Pro stuff, and I definitely don't want Windows Media Player as I'm going for the N.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

I still need to get a cpu and mobo by the time the Vive comes out.

I'm hoping the i5-4690k goes on sale with the new Skylake processors going on sale. I don't really care to get the latest and greatest. But right now the price difference is negligible.

What websites do you use to monitor sales? So far I just use PC Part Picker.

 

[RGM79]

So I'm in the planning stages of building a PC. I mainly want to use it for consuming couch media (i.e. movies, streaming, and videogames).

I currently only own a wiiU, and I've noticed more and more that a lot of 3rd party games are being released on steam over wiiU, so I want a computer powerful enough to play the latest games now, and hopefully for the next 5 -10 years. (Although I suppose there are always upgrades)

The build I'm thinking of doing:

CPU: Intel i7-4770
MoBa: ASUS Z87-plus
RAM: Kingston HyperFuryX(2x4GB)
HDD: Seagate Desktop 1TB HDD
Blu: ASUS 12x Blu-Ray Drive
Case: Cooler Master TC-101

I'll eventually upgrade to a discrete graphics card, but I'm going to wait until I can get this system comfortably running first. For the OS I want to use Linux, but since I haven't used that much in the past, I'm think I should split the HDD into a windows partition and a Linux partition. At least until I'm comfortable using a Linux Machine. The only thing I'm concerned about there is that I'll have to buy a new windows licence instead of reusing one of the ones on my old laptops.

For price it comes up to roughly $700CDN and I'm planning to buy it all locally from a computer store. I got the pricing info from perusing the company's website.

My plan is to save up funds over the next 2 months and then go purchase everything. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Your build is somewhat dated, the i7 4770 is already discontinued and Z87 is similarly older (but meant to be paired with the same generation of processor as the i7 4770). Are these older parts that the local computer store is selling to you? Are they used?

You will not be able to transfer Windows from an old laptop to a new desktop and have it activate with no problems. If you want to save money, you can still avoid paying full price for a retail copy of Windows. Here's my usual disclaimer for that:

Windows 7/8.1 licenses can be bought from reddit's microsoftsoftwareswap for $20 USD or less. These are most likely legitimate keys that are resold from educational programs like Technet or MSDNAA/Dreamspark. However, you are dealing with a person instead of a retailer, and informal Windows keys sales are not approved by Microsoft and probably breaking some licensing agreement, but it's not illegal. The risks involved are that the person could be selling you a fake or used key, or that Microsoft may refuse to give you support and/or deactivate your license and refuse to reactivate it. That's not very likely, usually it only happens if the seller and their list of sold keys was caught. We've had people here using those keys without issues for a long time and others who say Microsoft deactivated their key after several months. These keys should be upgradeable to Windows 10, but confirm with the seller to be sure, of course.

 

[LilJoka]

I'm currently leaning towards the 970, but man that 8GB VRAM sounds nice, I'm at 1080p and not planning to upgrade anytime soon so 4GB (3.5?) is probably going to be fine for the next 2-3 years, can't be sure though.

GTX 970 won't do 60fps at any setting that demands 4GB VRAM, nor will the 390. So if you are looking for 60fps priority the 970 is fine. If you want to do higher res lower fps (30) gaming then 390.
390 will be more capable of holding 30fps 4k than a 970, due to VRAM and core architecture.

Closest I've got with 970 is 60fps in GTA V using 3.7GB VRAM.
Witcher 3 on the other hand uses around 2200MB.

 

[RGM79]

Hmmmm, nice. This reddit seller on softwareswap sells them $3 cheaper than the 8.1, so it's not a big deal, but I'll still take it.

I think I'm going for the Windows 8 Standard N since I don't think I need any of the Pro stuff, and I definitely don't want Windows Media Player as I'm going for the N.

Alright, it sounds like you know exactly what you want to do, then.

I still need to get a cpu and mobo by the time the Vive comes out.

I'm hoping the i5-4690k goes on sale with the new Skylake processors going on sale. I don't really care to get the latest and greatest. But right now the price difference is negligible.

What websites do you use to monitor sales? So far I just use PC Part Picker.

I don't know of any other sites that track prices of processors besides PCHound, and they basically do the same thing as PCPartPicker except they are tracking fewer stores. Those 4th generation processors aren't expected to drop in price though, just so you know.

 

[LilJoka]

Yeah not even ivy bridge has dropped price on the second hand market. Haswell price won't budge.

 

[Confrontation]

So I've been trying to pick my components for my PC, despite being a total noob and having very, very little knowledge. With a little bit of research, I've come up with the following parts:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 (€233 @ amazon.de)
Graphics Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 GAMING 4G (€270 @ amazon.de)

Storage: Samsung MZ-7TE250BW (€120 @ amazon.de)
Storage: Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB (€59 @ amazon.de)

Memomy: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 (€56 @ bol.com)
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4 (€40 @ paradigit.be)

I have no idea which Motherboard and Power Supply to choose, though. I don't want to overclock, but I would like to have a motherboard that would be able to handle future upgrades to my other parts, if I would go down that path (but still not too expensive, probably asking too much?). Any recommendations would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

 

[Shining Sunshine]

So I've been trying to pick my components for my PC, despite being a total noob and having very, very little knowledge. With a little bit of research, I've come up with the following parts:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 (€233 @ amazon.de)
Graphics Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 GAMING 4G (€270 @ amazon.de)

Storage: Samsung MZ-7TE250BW (€120 @ amazon.de)
Storage: Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB (€59 @ amazon.de)

Memomy: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 (€56 @ bol.com)
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4 (€40 @ paradigit.be)

I have no idea which Motherboard and Power Supply to choose, though. I don't want to overclock, but I would like to have a motherboard that would be able to handle future upgrades to my other parts, if I would go down that path (but still not too expensive, probably asking too much?). Any recommendations would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

I use this to pick out a good quality PSU

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

You definitely want a solid PSU if you want your PC to last.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Alright, it sounds like you know exactly what you want to do, then.



I don't know of any other sites that track prices of processors besides PCHound, and they basically do the same thing as PCPartPicker except they are tracking fewer stores. Those 4th generation processors aren't expected to drop in price though, just so you know.

Thanks. I will probably just get the Skylake processor then. As long as the mobo supports my current ram, I'll be happy. Even if it doesn't, I guess I'll just give the sticks to my wife and get new ones.

 

[Skii]

I was told to come back when the skylake CPUs were announced so here are my requirements again:

I'm looking to get into PC gaming because I'm not really satisfied with the lack of optimisation certain games are getting on my PS4 + I have a little extra money lying around.

The main problem for me is that I want to build something that will significantly more powerful than my PS4 as there's no point in me spending £500 only to just slightly outperform it. However, I've heard that PC parts in the UK are quite expensive and generally end up with a £1=$1 conversion making a £1000 PC the same specs as a $1000 PC when it should be closer to $1500 PC. Maybe someone who's from the UK can give me some better insight?

So yeah, here's my requirements:


Budget: £1000-£1200 (including monitor)

Main Use: Gaming

Monitor Resolution: 1440p?

List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Playing the Witcher 3 at 1440p/60fps is the dream at ultra settings but I don't know if what I'm looking to spend is even remotely close to what the specs of a machine that could handle that would cost.

When will you build?: No real time limit at all. Could happily wait 6 months+ to be happy with a build.

Will you be overclocking?: Are there negatives to overclocking if you have a good cooling system?

So yeah... I know there aren't many UK Gaffers so I don't mind anyone else just suggesting me what I should ideally be looking to get for a price range of $1200 and if it can do what I want.

I may have missed vital information that you might need but I'm a PC novice, so bear with me

Hope one of you lovely UK gaffers can spec me a build

 

[byropoint]

You have to look at what you're going to be using for a monitor. If you don't see 1440p in your future, then say with the GTX 970. I will say that the GTX 970 isn't bad with 1440p either, it's jsut that 3.5 + .5 Vram deal sucks. All in all, there's a 1-2% difference between the two, so your deciding factor should be price and who does better drivers (support).

GTX 970 won't do 60fps at any setting that demands 4GB VRAM, nor will the 390. So if you are looking for 60fps priority the 970 is fine. If you want to do higher res lower fps (30) gaming then 390.
390 will be more capable of holding 30fps 4k than a 970, due to VRAM and core architecture.

Closest I've got with 970 is 60fps in GTA V using 3.7GB VRAM.
Witcher 3 on the other hand uses around 2200MB.

I'm not interested in 1440p monitors but I'll probably want to upgrade to 4k when it becomes 'mainstream', maybe in like 4-5 years? In that time I'll need a new gpu either way, so I guess 970 it is.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[malingenie]

This is it. My last version of my new computer:

CPU :

Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler

Motherboard:

ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Memory:

G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory

Storage:

Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card:

EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card

Case:

Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case


Power Supply:

EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

It's more expensive than I thought, and I don't know if I need all this, but it's hard to settle. I will use this mostly for video games, from the last 10 years and hopefully some new ones. Are there any incoming news that will render my stuff obsolete or will drive prices down that I should be aware of? Thanks gaf for taking me this far.


http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tPQZyc

 

[harz-marz]

Is a 650W psu enough for a 980 ti and i7 4790K?

 

[low-G]

Oh hey I have a question. I'm well on my way to deciding on a Skylake build to put into action in the next 1-2 months.

It's about memory bandwidth. I was reading HardOCP, and it seems that memory bandwidth is actually very important for upping performance when CPU limited on Skylake.

Now, if I go out & buy 3000MHz DDR4 (which actually only costs a little more), will I be able to simply set my RAM to 3Ghz in my BIOS without over clocking my CPU or really changing anything else? (Provided my BIOS supports that speed)

I never messed with memory speeds in the past (never bought higher speed RAM), just timings.

 

[CreepingFear]

Oh hey I have a question. I'm well on my way to deciding on a Skylake build to put into action in the next 1-2 months.

It's about memory bandwidth. I was reading HardOCP, and it seems that memory bandwidth is actually very important for upping performance when CPU limited on Skylake.

Now, if I go out & buy 3000MHz DDR4 (which actually only costs a little more), will I be able to simply set my RAM to 3Ghz in my BIOS without over clocking my CPU or really changing anything else? (Provided my BIOS supports that speed)

I never messed with memory speeds in the past (never bought higher speed RAM), just timings.

You should be able to just select the xmp profile. No need to mess with anything else unless you want to overclock your ram.

 

[CreepingFear]

Is a 650W psu enough for a 980 ti and i7 4790K?

Yes, if you don't have a lot of other things in your system like a ton of hard drives, sound cards, etc.