Dell 1440p 144hz with gsync. Didn't realize that Z170 supports Kaby Lake. I'm mostly looking to "future proof" my system as much as I can, but will hold off if it isn't a big upgrade.
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The PC Builders Thread (aka I need a new PC)
- Thread starter Celcius
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Dell 1440p 144hz with gsync. Didn't realize that Z170 supports Kaby Lake. I'm mostly looking to "future proof" my system as much as I can, but will hold off if it isn't a big upgrade.
Do you have a Z170 board (so you can overclock it)? Sounds like the 7700k would be a good option for you, it would definitely extend the life of the system as long as possible. I would expect another 3 years out of that CPU before you'll be wanting to replace it (just guessing).
(this is all just IMHO:) I don't think you'll notice much improvement generally, coming from a 4.5ghz 6600k. The real future proofing today is all about cores. In that case, I would be thinking about either the 8700k or possibly whatever 8-core (cannon lake? 9700k?) intel is rumoured to bring out in 2018. That said, you would need a new mobo so it would end up being more expensive.
Unless you can flip those 2 game keys for decent money (I have no idea how the promotion works).... if you can get like $70 out of that then heck yeah. :p
yes, i have a gigabyte z170xp-sli motherboard so only need to update the bios... i was overclocking my i5 with the Non-K OC bios but is not very stable...
This is what I was leaning towards, but wanted some other opinions before making an impulse purchase. Thanks for being a voice of reason, opticalmace! I really appreciate it.
For sure, no problem. Just my opinion and others might feel differently, but glad to chat about it.
Hi guys,
So I imagine a GTX 1060 6GB is a noticable upgrade from a GTX 680 2GB, right?
What I am rather considering is how my CPU fairs with a 1060. I have an i5 2400 which isn't anything special but so far it always seems to be my GPU holding me back.
Is it still a solid upgrade?
So I imagine a GTX 1060 6GB is a noticable upgrade from a GTX 680 2GB, right?
What I am rather considering is how my CPU fairs with a 1060. I have an i5 2400 which isn't anything special but so far it always seems to be my GPU holding me back.
Is it still a solid upgrade?
Good for 1440p. They don't have anything in the 1080ti performance bracket, but they are competitive in the mid and high end, just not the enthusiast performance level.
Sweet, then I might pick up the Samsung CHG70 that's on sale. My sweet spot for graphics cards is usually in the $300-$400 range so doesn't look like that will affect me at all. Thanks!
Just make sure the card you want isn't being gobbled up by miners.
I have a really old setup I would use for the time being (still runs well but old in gaming time) so I'd like to update it in the next six months but not rush since I have a Nvidia GPU for now but it looks like a nice monitor so if AMD is competitive I don't mind switching when I upgrade eventually. I was looking at Ryzen chips and might just get one of those with an AMD GPU then at some point.
I can't for the life of me figure out if this Noctua Chromax heatsink cap offering comes with 2 of these caps or only 1?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07655XXGJ/?tag=era0f0-20
Do any of you know?
Edit: It seems to me it just comes with 1...that's so insane that it's $20 per cap.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07655XXGJ/?tag=era0f0-20
Do any of you know?
Edit: It seems to me it just comes with 1...that's so insane that it's $20 per cap.
You get one with 6 different color inlays and a 6 year warranty.
You're not wrong, I'm just salty that I'm spending enough money to buy 2 Noctua NH-D15 coolers by replacing the poop colored fans and adding the caps (to be fair, the caps are my own fault because I think they look awesome)
Oh shit. Thanks, just cancelled my order. So the D15 version is $30 for 1 as well or that one comes with 2?
Edit: It comes with 2. Okay awesome. Yeah you're right it's not much better but it's better for sure. Also I didn't order the wrong thing. xD
Just finished my Ryzen 5 1600 1070 ti build.
Coming from a fx6300 and GTX 660.
It's like I was blind but now I see. No clue how I lived this long without an OS on a SSD. Seriously insane.
Lost 6 hours of time troubleshooting because I had my case fans plugged into my molex connection and the motherboard which I didn't know was a thing. Was losing my mind. Thought it was the PSU so I threw it in my old rig saw it was good. Thought it was the mobo so I connected just the CPU and RAM and it booted then eventually found that I am an idiot.
It's over now and this is a solid ass computer.
Coming from a fx6300 and GTX 660.
It's like I was blind but now I see. No clue how I lived this long without an OS on a SSD. Seriously insane.
Lost 6 hours of time troubleshooting because I had my case fans plugged into my molex connection and the motherboard which I didn't know was a thing. Was losing my mind. Thought it was the PSU so I threw it in my old rig saw it was good. Thought it was the mobo so I connected just the CPU and RAM and it booted then eventually found that I am an idiot.
It's over now and this is a solid ass computer.
This is exactly where I'm coming from. Turns out my budget is way bigger than I thought it was (potentially enough for a 1080). I'm ready to get rid of my old-ass i3 and my 660.
Yeah I could have done a 1080 but it seemed like a bottle neck for the CPU. I was going to do just a straight up 1070 but then the ti was only another 30 bucks so I just threw it in there.
Building has come a long way or maybe I just bought better parts. My case (a NZXT S340 Elite) already had posts installed for the mobo and even a centering post and the wire management was so low effort it was scary. But boy has the phone market made RAM expensive. I remember being top of the line back then for 80 bucks now I spent 200.
Here's my build if you're interested https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DDcKYr
Building has come a long way or maybe I just bought better parts. My case (a NZXT S340 Elite) already had posts installed for the mobo and even a centering post and the wire management was so low effort it was scary. But boy has the phone market made RAM expensive. I remember being top of the line back then for 80 bucks now I spent 200.
Here's my build if you're interested https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DDcKYr
The S340 Elite seems like a great case, I'm still considering it but am thinking I might go for the Corsair 460x for looks.
It really was fantastic to build in. Only complaint is that once the PSU is in its IN save for a half hour of moving cables around because of the cover they have over it to make it look slicker for the glass.
The corsair looks fantastic but I like the minimal design of the s340. The magnetic dust filter is great. My case has it as well as that corsair. Seems super convenient.
Don't know if this is the right thread to ask this but is there a way to make Windows Store games respect your nvidia scaling settings? I currently use GPU scaling with mode set to Aspect Ratio as this seems to give me the appropriate black bars needed depending on resolution selected (eg. running 3440x1440 on my TV gives me top and bottom black bars). Seems to work well with steam games but the few Windows Store games I have like Rise of the Tomb Raider and Halo Wars 1 just stretch a 21:9 resolution to fullscreen.
I'm running:
AMD FX-6300 (Will probably upgrade this in january)
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
8GB DDR3 RAM
Corsair CX600
Looking to upgrade my AMD RADEON R9 290. Was thinking about THIS or THIS. Would these be compatible?
I believe they're both on sale on newegg this weekend - was also wondering if maybe I should wait for black friday? Or any other advice / recommendations?
Thanks in advance!
Edit: None of these are on sale anymore! lol
AMD FX-6300 (Will probably upgrade this in january)
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
8GB DDR3 RAM
Corsair CX600
Looking to upgrade my AMD RADEON R9 290. Was thinking about THIS or THIS. Would these be compatible?
I believe they're both on sale on newegg this weekend - was also wondering if maybe I should wait for black friday? Or any other advice / recommendations?
Thanks in advance!
Edit: None of these are on sale anymore! lol
tbh you're better off with the cpu upgrade right now imo. and I would go higher than a 580, I don't think you'll see a big enough jump from your 290...
Hey guys, I was thinking of doing a small upgrade (or side-upgrade I guess). I'm currently running: i5-4690k, GTX970, 8GB RAM, CMV650 PSU, Obsidian 350D Case. (Here's a quick pic to give an idea of the size/space available. Yep, it's a bit dusty, I'll have to fix that)
First of all, I recently decided to give OCing the GPU another try. I have it +35mV, +125MHz for Core, +450Mhz for memory. There shouldn't be any issue running it, right? Are the values too high? It seems to be stable, I tried some benchmarks, played some Rocket League, Borderlands and The Witcher 3 (which I recall crashing at the slightest OC the last time I tried), and I have been running BOINC (which is a shared-computing software). I didn't get any issues doing any of these things; however I had a driver restart happen twice when turning on my monitor. What could be the cause of that? Should I change something?
I'd also like to (finally) OC the CPU. I'm currently using the stock cooler, which isn't particularly good afaik for OCing, so I need to get a better cooler. Do you guys have any suggestions? I'm not sure if I should go for an air cooler (like an Hyper212Evo) or a liquid cooler (like the HydroH105). The price difference is pretty huge, but I'd imagine the latter would be quieter and make the CPU run cooler. Also, would these coolers be "reusable" on a future build, when eventually I'll have to change mobo (since I believe I'd need a new socket for a future CPU)?
Also, I'm not sure if I should add or change the position of the fans. I currently have a couple 120mm, one on the front for intake and one on the back for outtake. Should I bother adding any more of them or changing their position/role (since I think the cooler would end up changing the air flow)?
I don't believe I need more RAM atm (especially seeing the high prices), but if you guys have any input on the matter I'd appreciate it.
One last thing, I need to add a new HDD. Would I run into any issue with my PSU, between these new drive, the HDD and SSD I currently have, and the CPU OC?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me some advice :D
First of all, I recently decided to give OCing the GPU another try. I have it +35mV, +125MHz for Core, +450Mhz for memory. There shouldn't be any issue running it, right? Are the values too high? It seems to be stable, I tried some benchmarks, played some Rocket League, Borderlands and The Witcher 3 (which I recall crashing at the slightest OC the last time I tried), and I have been running BOINC (which is a shared-computing software). I didn't get any issues doing any of these things; however I had a driver restart happen twice when turning on my monitor. What could be the cause of that? Should I change something?
I'd also like to (finally) OC the CPU. I'm currently using the stock cooler, which isn't particularly good afaik for OCing, so I need to get a better cooler. Do you guys have any suggestions? I'm not sure if I should go for an air cooler (like an Hyper212Evo) or a liquid cooler (like the HydroH105). The price difference is pretty huge, but I'd imagine the latter would be quieter and make the CPU run cooler. Also, would these coolers be "reusable" on a future build, when eventually I'll have to change mobo (since I believe I'd need a new socket for a future CPU)?
Also, I'm not sure if I should add or change the position of the fans. I currently have a couple 120mm, one on the front for intake and one on the back for outtake. Should I bother adding any more of them or changing their position/role (since I think the cooler would end up changing the air flow)?
I don't believe I need more RAM atm (especially seeing the high prices), but if you guys have any input on the matter I'd appreciate it.
One last thing, I need to add a new HDD. Would I run into any issue with my PSU, between these new drive, the HDD and SSD I currently have, and the CPU OC?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me some advice :D
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To my knowledge, no.
1) Yeah, clean that PC!
2) I'm not super knowledgeable in GPU overclocking, but driver restarts might be a sign that the overclock isn't totally stable. You could try turning down the core or memory oveclock a bit just as a test to see if those cages stop. Otherwise, I doubt it's going to harm your GPU as long as the temperature is also under control.
I wouldn't mess with a liquid cooler. I have two in my system and love them but I don't think they're necessarily that much better if at all than a good air cooler. Look into the Noctua NH-D15, NH-D15S, be quiet! Dark Rock 3, or Dark Rock 3 Pro. As long as they can fit, they'll easily handle any overclock from your CPU. The Pro and D15 would be better, but sometimes it's hard to fit them, so the D15S and non-Pro are good alternatives. Also, the coolers will work on the current modern motherboards from both AMD and Intel, and will likely be useable on the next generation as well via a free or very cheap upgrade kit from the manufacturers of those coolers whenever the next gen of motherboards launch.
If you add one more intake fan, I suspect you'll have a lot less dust build-up. Right now you have roughly neutral air pressure, meaning dust can get in fairly easily. If you have two intake and one exhaust, you'll have positive air pressure which will more or less keep dust out of any cracks or openings in the case, assuming there are dust filters wherever the intake fans are.
Your power supply is 650w. It should be plenty for your system even with an extra HDD.
The max temperature was about 70°C I believe, which should be good. I agree that the driver restarts are related to an unstable OC, but it seems pretty weird to me how it has only happened while turning my monitor on, and never while actually using it. I guess I'll give it a few more days and see what happens.
If they're aren't better than I might as well get an air cooler. Is there a "safer" way to check if they would fit? I took some measurements with a ruler comparing it to the specs, but I'm not sure how precise it is. It seems like the Dark Rock 3 Pro would be the best one (as it looks like it fits, unlike the D15). I guess I could always return it and get the other one on Amazon if it ends up not fitting. The cooler would have to exhaust towards the rear, where I have the other outtake fan (the one you see in the pic), right?
Well, "a lot less dust" was all you had to say to convince me :D I'll be getting another 140mm to put on the front (which should fit according to the specs), where there's a dust filter.
That's good to hear, now I only have to find where I put the extra cables.
Thanks a lot for helping!
So I think I'm looking at the upper-mid AMD computer that's linked in the OP:
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/SoupaSoka/saved/wbmPsY
Is there anything people recommend switching out/saving money on? I need CPU, Mobo, Ram, GPU, Power Supply, and OS. I would also prefer an AMD GPU over Nvidia to take advantage of freesync if possible.
Also, are there any websites that are aggregating any black friday sales on parts?
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/SoupaSoka/saved/wbmPsY
Is there anything people recommend switching out/saving money on? I need CPU, Mobo, Ram, GPU, Power Supply, and OS. I would also prefer an AMD GPU over Nvidia to take advantage of freesync if possible.
Also, are there any websites that are aggregating any black friday sales on parts?
Also, what's the difference in Ram and does it matter? Like looking at Gskill DDR4-3200 it ranges from $100 for 16gb to like $200 for 16gb. Is there any reason to not get say this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231900 over their suggestion of this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232181
Total missed the components section on the site somehow. Thanks!
Total missed the components section on the site somehow. Thanks!
Weird, seems the sort didn't filter correctly. Can't believe ram is like $175 :(
Edit: Ok, CPU and mobo down. Got the Ryzen 5 1600 and the ASrock mobo that list in the OP liked. Just gotta look for a deal for Ram and GPU...
Also, is 500W really a big enough power supply for all this stuff? It probably is, just surprising it hasn't really changed over the years.
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70C is totally fine, yeah.
Go to PCPartPicker.com and put your entire build into it, then add the cooler you're wanting to use. It is pretty accurate in telling you if the size is too large. If that checks out and your own measurements check out, you should be good. Ideally you'd have the CPU cooler exhaust towards the back where you already have an exhaust fan, but if it exhausts out the top, that should be fine too.
If you put all your parts into PCPartPicker.com, you'll see a wattage recommendation in the top right. 500w should be plenty, but it won't hurt anything if you get a 600-650w PSU if that gives you more peace of mind. As time goes on, PC parts have generally gotten more efficient I believe, so even though they're more powerful, they're smaller and give off less wasted energy in the form of heat. Think back to the 1960s where entire rooms were dedicated to storing a computer - those used huge amounts if energy, yet had less computing power than your average digital calculator does in 2017.
For good AMD GPUs, look for a 580 8GB, Vega 56, or Vega 64. Which you pick would depend on your budget and needs, of course.
Alright, I'm thinking of ditching Noctua D15 and going with Dark Rock Pro 3. Right now it's on sale so I'm tempted to pick it up now, do you think there's a chance it might be even cheaper around Black Friday?
I'd prefer to get the D15 but I know for a fact that I'll end up spending $80 more on the new Chromax heatsink caps ($30) and replacement fans ($26.90 x 2) since I hate how it looks out of the box, which will end up costing me $160+ for an air cooler. $69.99 for Dark Rock Pro 3 sounds like a more than fair trade-off for a negligable performance hit, considering how much cheaper that would be.
Also, I believe with either of these coolers I would have to get Corsair LPX Vengeance RAM since that's low profile, right? The G.Skill ram all appears to be too tall to fit with these coolers' fans.
I'd prefer to get the D15 but I know for a fact that I'll end up spending $80 more on the new Chromax heatsink caps ($30) and replacement fans ($26.90 x 2) since I hate how it looks out of the box, which will end up costing me $160+ for an air cooler. $69.99 for Dark Rock Pro 3 sounds like a more than fair trade-off for a negligable performance hit, considering how much cheaper that would be.
Also, I believe with either of these coolers I would have to get Corsair LPX Vengeance RAM since that's low profile, right? The G.Skill ram all appears to be too tall to fit with these coolers' fans.
I may end up with a 4K TV after Black Friday but I really don't think my current system is up for it. Upgrade suggestions would be appreciated.
Current rig:
1080p TV
i5-4670k CPU
Z87-Plus Motherboard
8GB GDDR3 RAM
1070 Windforce 8GB GPU
550w PSU
OS installed on an SSD
None of that is overclocked yet. I initially built the system in 2013.
Right now I'm happy with my 1070 blasting everything at 1080p/60 with everything cranked up, but I guess it's the natural PC gaming way to be messing around with settings all the time. I see myself making choices on a game-to-game basis to play in full 4K, play in a 1080p window, play in a 1440p window, or play ultra-wide. I know it's different for each TV, but generally speaking, how bad does upscaled 1080p or 1440p look on 4K TVs? The most intensive games I'm talking about here are:
DOOM 2016
Witcher 3
Wolfenstein II
Forza Horizon 3
Gears 4
Dishonored 2
Infinite Warfare
Dragon Age Inquisition
Mass Effect Andromeda
Assassin's Creed Unity
MGSV
In these games, how much do you have to sacrifice to get 4k60 on a 1070? How much extra breathing room would a 1080Ti give me if I could get my hands on one? My motherboard isn't compatible with DDR4 RAM, but would another 8GB of DDR3 make any difference? And how much would finally overclocking the GPU and CPU do for me? Would I need a new PSU for that? Should I just give up and go back down to 30 for a lot of these games?
The two games I'm really worried about are Arma 3 and Space Engine. They're the two things I always go back to but even now they run like total dogshit due to a combination of incomplete optimization and just being really CPU or RAM intensive. Each game is already at like 25fps most of the time so I shudder to think what 4K would do to them.
Current rig:
1080p TV
i5-4670k CPU
Z87-Plus Motherboard
8GB GDDR3 RAM
1070 Windforce 8GB GPU
550w PSU
OS installed on an SSD
None of that is overclocked yet. I initially built the system in 2013.
Right now I'm happy with my 1070 blasting everything at 1080p/60 with everything cranked up, but I guess it's the natural PC gaming way to be messing around with settings all the time. I see myself making choices on a game-to-game basis to play in full 4K, play in a 1080p window, play in a 1440p window, or play ultra-wide. I know it's different for each TV, but generally speaking, how bad does upscaled 1080p or 1440p look on 4K TVs? The most intensive games I'm talking about here are:
DOOM 2016
Witcher 3
Wolfenstein II
Forza Horizon 3
Gears 4
Dishonored 2
Infinite Warfare
Dragon Age Inquisition
Mass Effect Andromeda
Assassin's Creed Unity
MGSV
In these games, how much do you have to sacrifice to get 4k60 on a 1070? How much extra breathing room would a 1080Ti give me if I could get my hands on one? My motherboard isn't compatible with DDR4 RAM, but would another 8GB of DDR3 make any difference? And how much would finally overclocking the GPU and CPU do for me? Would I need a new PSU for that? Should I just give up and go back down to 30 for a lot of these games?
The two games I'm really worried about are Arma 3 and Space Engine. They're the two things I always go back to but even now they run like total dogshit due to a combination of incomplete optimization and just being really CPU or RAM intensive. Each game is already at like 25fps most of the time so I shudder to think what 4K would do to them.
From what I've researched, you'd probably want a 1080Ti at minimum for 4k to run well, with next year's GPU's being the ideal situation for 4k gaming. 30 FPS would probably easily be doable, though, I personally don't think it's a worthy trade off. I would think you'd also ideally want a 650 PSU to keep things running efficiently if you were going with a 1080Ti, but 550 would still work. From the sounds of it, since even current gen games running 4k with a 1080Ti barely makes the 60 fps cut, it's hard to say how much breathing room it'd leave you. But again, I might be wrong in what I've researched and hopefully someone will correct me if I'm misinforming you.
Yeah, I was aiming for Vega 56 but nothing is in stock or very expensive :(. Hopefully something turns up for Black Friday. Pretty excited after not upgrading in years to a new build. Decided to hold off on the monitor in favor of this, hopefully the HDR stuff becomes better in the mean time.
I think I have a 600w now so might just get that since it's only $10 more. Mine just doesn't have the new connectors and possibly voltage on the right rails but it's been really good to me.
Don't know if it's the right thread but since the majority here are pc experts, i figured to ask you guys.
I'm thinking about getting this deal for BF:
7th gen intel core i5 processor, windows 10 and 8gb of memory and 1tb hard drive for 380.00. Is it a good deal? I haven't upgraded my pc in years, I think it's a good starting point for further upgrades since my budget a bit tight at the moment.
What you guys think?
I'm thinking about getting this deal for BF:
7th gen intel core i5 processor, windows 10 and 8gb of memory and 1tb hard drive for 380.00. Is it a good deal? I haven't upgraded my pc in years, I think it's a good starting point for further upgrades since my budget a bit tight at the moment.
What you guys think?
Hey all, the 27" Dell S2726DG 1440p/144Hz/GSync monitor is on sale for $350 at Best Buy. I know some people were looking for it lately.
Can you link the exact specs/components? It seems reasonable but without knowing the specific components it's hard to answer firmly.
Can you link the exact specs/components? It seems reasonable but without knowing the specific components it's hard to answer firmly.
https://bestblackfriday.com/ads/dell-black-friday/page-2#ad_view
It's bit vague at the moment the actual description but I'm thinking it's similar to this pc
http://deals.dell.com/productdetail/owo
No, I would pick it up now. Going by PCPartPicker, ~$70 is the lowest it's ever gone over its year long lifespan to date.
This power supply seems good for $30 but I think aIm too spoiled by modular.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/evga-80-plus-600w-atx-12v-eps-12v-power-supply-black/8511029.p?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/evga-80-plus-600w-atx-12v-eps-12v-power-supply-black/8511029.p?
You're not spoiled by modular, modular is just way better than the old style PSUs with all the cords hanging out.
That said, modular has a price premium, so this is good for a budget build, assuming you absolutely had to build a PC in late 2017.
Thanks. Hard to say for sure, but if you wanted to use that PC for gaming, you'd need to invest some additional money for a 1050 Ti (or, preferably, a 1060 6 GB), which would run upwards of $300 for the 1060. That's assuming the power supply in that system is able to support a graphics card, and assuming the system itself can physically fit a graphics card. With all that said, $400 isn't awful for that, but honestly, by the time you spend $200 more on a GPU, you're already into the territory of the first build in the OP... which has the added benefit of longer warranties on all the parts rather than the likely 1-year warranty on that pre-built.
It looks like the 350D can fit up to 160mm, while the Pro is 163mm. I found a build on PcPartPicker where someone used the two together and they do fit.
That being said, I was looking at a review: the temps are pretty much the same, sometimes the Pro gets 1°C cooler, but the non-Pro is a bit quieter and the fans run less. Seeing those specs they seem pretty much equivalent, so I might as well get the smaller one. Unless there's something I'm overlooking.
Oh shit that is a really good deal...I had convinced myself of trying to pick up this IPS Acer 27" 165Hz monitor over the TN Dell and Acer variation. It's much more expensive though...but it's also on sale. Given the amount I'm splurging on my PC I was hoping for the best IQ possible. Is IPS over TN worth it?
Edit: While it's $650 for the Acer vs $350 for the Dell, according to partpicker, the Acer is also the cheapest it's ever been. Ugh, I don't know. Maybe I should go for the cheaper Dell model and plan to upgrade to a serious 4k monitor sometime next year/whenever they start becoming more mainstream and viable. But I kept reading about how great IPS monitors are so it'd be nice to see what that's about.
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I think you'll be fine with the non-Pro.
I've never had an IPS display for my PC, so I can't comment on that. The response time on that Acer is 4 ms though versus 1 ms on the Dell, but I think that's pretty standard for IPS to have 2-10 ms; I don't know if there are any IPS with 1 ms?
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