Sapphire and Gigabyte with the twin fan coolers on top will run really quiet.If there's no real way for me to tell if my recent crashes during WoW sessions have been due to my 8800GT video card crashing from overheating, I guess buying a new card is the only real thing to try.
I'm going to go ahead and order a 7850 - it's pricey but if you guys think my PSU can handle it, I will give it a shot, except now I'm nervous because of all the debate on whether or not I can handle it. (my PSU specs in post #527)
There are several brand choices when I search for the 7850 on Amazon though - MSI, VisionTek, XFX, ASUS, Gigabyte, PowerColor, Sapphire...totally lost here. Any recommendations?
Its good for a workstation, multimedia, and virtual machines. I dont like the PSU and the SSD isnt bad, but could be better.Total overkill for a gaming machine. You clearly are okay with spending a lot of money on a computer. You should match up something with the enthusiast build in the OP. Rather than a $300 motherboard and a $600 process, you would be better off saving that money or using it on a second video card.I think it's finally time for me to get my first gaming pc, a place nearby puts some packages together and I have been eyeing this one. I'd be grateful if anyone could take a quick look and let me now if I should change something in their build, weak spots that I could maybe invest a little more but get worthwhile results from.
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
OCZ 750W ZS series Power Supply
Intel® Core i7-3930K 3.20GHz 12MB, socket 2011
Intel® BXRTS2011AC Heat Sink socket 2011/1366/1155/1156
Corsair Vengeance 16GB, 1600MHz, 2x8GB Low Profile
Asus P9X79 PRO S-2011 X79 ATX 4xPCI-E 3-WaySLI+CrossfireX
MSI GeForce GTX 680 OC 2GB GDDR5 (1058Mhz), 2 x DVI, HDMI
Intel® SSD 330 120GB 2,5# 9,5mm Reseller
I just copied almost everything from their site so I'm sorry if it looks messy, I'm in europe btw if that makes any difference.
Shit. Aquaero XT might have to wait for this guy.
Yeah. I got it to fit now. It has to be in the bottom the two slots for some (probably good and simple) reason
I get that, but either way I should be able to get both with like a month apart from each other, im not talking longer than that, so it's more about the fact that I wanna play games this month and im worried about being screwed with the new releases @ 1080p on my 560ti after being used to maxing out games at 720p and such. Buying the card first assures me that I can sit back and max everything without a worry
Looking ahead...how do you guys handle comfy couch gaming for games like Diablo or RTS titles (hell, even FPS)? I have a friend who uses a program called xpadder and never uses a mouse/keyboard. Are there better solutions? One of the reasons I moved away from PC over the past several years is because I didn't want to be stuck at a desk for longer than necessary. Looking for some good solutions.
The other day I upgraded from my old 8800 GT to a 550 Ti (and slightly considering returning it and going for something a bit higher). The main reason I went with the 550 though was low price and reviews online showed that it worked with a 400W PSU. I have a pre-built Asus that has a 400W power supply. The last couple days I've noticed the PSU fan can be super loud at times. Strangely it seems to be loudest when idling and then can quiet down when I play games. I had it idle for an hour and it didn't quiet down until I played about five minutes of World of Warcraft and then seemed to get quieter.
So, what gives? I'm rather prepared to go out tomorrow to grab something a bit meatier for the PSU (and possibly upgrade the card again in the process). But is that even a needed solution? Is there maybe something else going on?
I'm pretty hardware dumb. I'm confident I can change parts inside but I don't get all the tech details so Googling can get rough and too tech-heavy. I did use canned air to blow out all the dust and I also put my old video card back in and it was just as loud. I swapped back to the new card and currently it's fairly quiet again but I'm not sure what's going to set it off. I could get a list of specs if needed but this is more of a general troubleshooting type of question. Based on the replies to the poster above I believe it could be a PSU issue tied to the new card.
Also, probably normal but I looked through the back of the PSU grill and there's a good bit of white gunky looking stuff. Looks sort of like marshmallow cream but probably in a more solid state, heh. If that's not normal than perhaps that's the root of the problem?
Oh, and last thing and likely more of interest to people here. If I want to go a step higher than the 550 Ti that I paid around $120 what would be a step up from there without getting too expensive. Let's say I'd be willing to step closer to $200.
Sapphire and Gigabyte with the twin fan coolers on top will run really quiet.
dude what, the 560ti is more than capable of maxing or almost maxing games at 1080p...
Ok, thanks for the advice, I guess I could go with a slightly lesser build. I just want something that's gonna last and can run most of the stuff that's out today in high settings.Its good for a workstation, multimedia, and virtual machines. I dont like the PSU and the SSD isnt bad, but could be better.Total overkill for a gaming machine. You clearly are okay with spending a lot of money on a computer. You should match up something with the enthusiast build in the OP. Rather than a $300 motherboard and a $600 process, you would be better off saving that money or using it on a second video card.
Any chance you are PAC NW local?
I don't know what "PAC NW" stands for, I'm in Sweden.
not at 120Hz
7950 or 670?
$300 vs $400
Is the price gap worth the performance difference?
I'm kind of on a budget, I'll go 670 if it's clearly better and driver performance is a homerun. I'd prefer the cheaper card if it's not a big gap.
I see a XFX 7950 for like $270 at Newegg with Sleeping Dogs free which seems like a great bargain. Is it quiet?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150616
I can't comment between getting a 7950 or 670. Though I think most will say if you can swing it then get the 670.
Regarding XFX, I've heard their 7950s are noisey and aren't very cool. Go with Sapphire or the Gigabyte Windforce models with the twin or triple fans. Both should OC well on stock voltage, up to 1ghz easily, probably a little higher even.
No, but you can still play @60 on a 120Hz display.
Can anyone else chime in? (not that I don't believe you, but majority sway is nice
Also, how big is that gap? It'd be SOOOOO nice to pay around $300 and get something relatively quiet (if possible).
I would spend $400 but I'd really rather not if the performance is pretty close in most cases.
Through a small OC the 7950 can close the clock speed gap I believe.
I don't know what pushes the 670 over the edge but it is highly recommended.
I myself just decided to save the $100 and went with the 7950.
EDIT: Check out Anandtech.com's benches. You can compare both cards head to head.
Thanks dude. So do you now agree with Hazaro that my PSU can handle a 7850?
Sorry about all the questions, just gotta be absolutely sure when spending $200+ on a card that may or may not even solve my issue haha
edit: these are the cards I'm looking at...not sure what the difference is...? Would any of them work in my machine?
$249.99 Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 OC 2GB DDR5 HDMI/DVI-I/DVI-D/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card (11200-14-20G)
$232.19 Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB DDR5 HDMI/DVI-I/DVI-D/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card (11200-07-20G)
$235.99 Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7850 2 GB GDDR5 DVI-I/HDMI/2x mini-Displayport PCI-Express 3.0 Graphic Card GV-R785OC-2GD
The difference seems to be that the more expensive Sapphire one is overclocked already.
As for which brand to go with, you can't really go wrong with either. Consider the warranty of each and the clockspeed (though the difference is negligible).
Which 7950 did you go with? Are you happy with the performance you're getting? What games do you play and at what resolution?
My 42" HDTV is 720p lol. It's still a beautiful screen and serves me well so I expect to go with a high AA of some sort. Should keep me 60fps in most games right?
dude what, the 560ti is more than capable of maxing or almost maxing games at 1080p...
This is going to be exciting. Never in my life have I witnessed a PC game full max anything.I bought the Sapphire 7950 950mhz OC edition. I like it a lot.
I play at 1900x1080, lately I've been playing Borderlands 2, Guild Wars 2, Sleeping Dogs (came free), Battlefield 3, all maxed out (Sleeping Dogs on extreme).
Only catch is Borderlands 2 I keep Physx off since that is an nVidia feature.
Most games stay at 60 fps with occassional dips to low 50s. Sleeping Dogs can hit the 40s. I'm not the best judge on FPS though, anything above 40 fps keeps me happy since my PCs (until this one) have been bottom-low/mid tier in performance.
EDIT: I meant Battlefield 3 ...
This is going to be exciting. Never in my life have I witnessed a PC game full max anything.
What's the next big graphical showcase coming to PC?
what kennah and scogoth said
if I get a 120hz I wanna play above 90fps
also worth noting: one of my 560ti Twin Frozr fans is broken, this is also a factor on upgrading earlier
7950 is about 10-15% slower on average. The 670 can pull ahead in some titles with AA on to 20-45% (Like Battlefield and Batman).7950 or 670?
$300 vs $400
Is the price gap worth the performance difference?
I'm kind of on a budget, I'll go 670 if it's clearly better and driver performance is a homerun. I'd prefer the cheaper card if it's not a big gap.
I see a XFX 7950 for like $270 at Newegg with Sleeping Dogs free which seems like a great bargain. Is it quiet?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150616
Uninstall drivers. Shutdown. Remove video card. Install new card. Install new drivers.I went ahead and purchased this one:
$232.19 Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB DDR5 HDMI/DVI-I/DVI-D/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card (11200-07-20G)
Hope 1) the install process goes smoothly (never done anything like this to my PC before) and 2) the original 8800GT video card was what was causing my computer to crash in the first place!
Thanks all for the help! Any advice to beginners on replacing your video card?
This is going to be exciting. Never in my life have I witnessed a PC game full max anything.
What's the next big graphical showcase coming to PC?
Uninstall drivers. Shutdown. Remove video card. Install new card. Install new drivers.
Your PSU should be ok as an average CPU+GPU system load should only be around 220W, peaking around 250W. If you think of it as adding 2 HDD's and a fan, that's the extra power draw vs the 8800GT.
When possible I'd still swap in a VP 450 though.
Two 680s and I still dont get 120fps in BF3 even at 1080p
I have no idea. Maybe Metro Last Light or the upcoming Aliens game... Crysis 3 and FarCry 3 too.
Currently Crysis 2, The Witcher 2, Sleeping Dogs (with the free Extreme DLC), and Battlefield 3 push graphics cards quite hard.
I should reinstall The Witcher 2 and test it out. Haven't done that yet with my new card, though my GTX 460 ran it fairly well at higher settings.
Ok cool. That's perfect becasue I'm playing Crysis 2 on 360 right now and I'm floored by the visuals in that game.Crysis 3?
what kennah and scogoth said
if I get a 120hz I wanna play above 90fps
also worth noting: one of my 560ti Twin Frozr fans is broken, this is also a factor on upgrading earlier
Well you yourself said that you'll be getting your new GPU very soon after the screen, surely you can play @ 60 fps until then? Anyway, seems you've already decided to go with the GPU first so do that.
what if I cant max out Dishonored @ 1080p on my 560ti
WHAT THEN
;_;
I also gotta say that im reading stuff about the S23A700D having issues with gamma shift and blueish/purple tint. ugh fuck the availability around here
Just wait until you can buy both at the same time. You'll save yourself some stress and sleepless nights.![]()
Two 680s and I still dont get 120fps in BF3 even at 1080p
Huh? I get a steady 60 pretty much all the time on max settings with a 670, I imagine 680s in SLI (with the kind of scaling you get with Kepler) to maintain 120fps constantly. That's odd.
I can finally join the 16gb club:
![]()
and the new ram actually matches my mobo color
G.Skill Ripjaws X ftw
OP, read the Tech report link about CPU performance. I think its a worthwhile upgrade if it won't totally screw up your budget. Best bang for the buck would be just a GPU upgrade.Couple questions:
Looking to get a new keyboard, under $100, possibly mechanical/silent. Any suggestions?
Also I'm packing a 5770 from two years ago. Is it time to upgrade or will I still be good for a while longer? Other specs: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2ghz, 12 GB ram, Crucial m4 SSD
1.65V=not optimal. Send it back.I'm going for the excellent build in the OP and ordered all my parts using the links from pcpartpicker. Anyways I must have become temporarily blind or something because what I thought was suppose to be the PSU is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-
And all the correspondence they have sent me clearly says that it is in fact 8GB of RAM. So my question is is that reputable company or will those sticks of RAM explode once I attach it to my motherboard?
1.65V=not optimal. Send it back.
Couple questions:
Looking to get a new keyboard, under $100, possibly mechanical/silent. Any suggestions?
Also I'm packing a 5770 from two years ago. Is it time to upgrade or will I still be good for a while longer? Other specs: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2ghz, 12 GB ram, Crucial m4 SSD
If the sticks say 1.5V on them run em at 1.5VNewegg says its 1.65V but the package it came in says 1.5V. So I don't really know what to do.
Possible, but hard to believe.Hi guys,
I was wondering if it were better for me to wait until Black Friday to jump on getting a decent deal on SSDs. I've been looking at prices on Slickdeals and its usually around 160 for 256GB. Am I gonna find a better deal in a month or so?
What cases are you guys using? I want to replace my 550D but I can't make up my mind lol.
I think I've got an idea of your tastes between the FT02 and 550D. Give me a budget and I'll give you your best options.What cases are you guys using? I want to replace my 550D but I can't make up my mind lol.
I don't like aggressive cases at all. But this is the one in that category that I love. Got to handle it quite a bit at PAX, and I'm really impressed.This is the next one i'll be getting. Unless i find a better one by the time i have money.