PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Halion]

That wouldn't be possible, they are over 5 year old and barely keeping up lol. When you say computers are often more gpu bound these days what do you mean? Maybe I am just remembering wrong but I feel having read that a lot of MMO type games are very cpu dependent. Also that AMD cards severely under perform in games like FF14 due to poor efficiency and poor drivers. Would there be a noticeable difference in loading screen times between your link and mine?

[Kalmado]

That wouldn't be possible, they are over 5 year old and barely keeping up lol. When you say computers are often more gpu bound these days what do you mean? Maybe I am just remembering wrong but I feel having read that a lot of MMO type games are very cpu dependent. Also that AMD cards severely under perform in games like FF14 due to poor efficiency and poor drivers. Would there be a noticeable difference in loading screen times between your link and mine?

Are you referring to the Pentium G3258?

Amd cards not being able to play mmos because of poor efficiency? What? The drivers issue again...maybe I'm lucky? I've yet to see this first hand. I've also never read anything showing facts that 'mmos' are more cpu dependent.

Regarding the parts you already have, if you own that Raidmax psu and want to keep using it, that's your call. My personal opinion is that brand of psu is a ticking time bomb and I would put that as a priority to replace. Per Newegg's PSU chart, "Tier 5 - Other than the units listed above for any of these brands, NOT RECOMMENDED. Replace ASAP if you have one. (Raidmax falls under tier 5) https://community.newegg.com/eggxper...1/t/45344.aspx

If I had to choose between your build and Pharaun's, I'm choosing the latter as well. I've worked with numerous Pentium G3258's and they are extremely powerful when overclocked. I have paired that cpu with a GTX 760 and it's performance was awesome. I'm currently working on another G3258 build that will be using a Radeon 7950. I have also worked with numerous FX-6300 builds. While they are great too, I personally wouldn't spend the amount you are looking at. I am fortunate to live somewhat close to a Microcenter so I can always snag it with a budget Gigabyte or Asus board for around $95 after rebate. The G3258 is a top tier budget cpu for those that do not absolutely need multithreading. I would also place the gpu as the highest priority. A R9 270 can usually be found on sale for $100-$120 depending on the retailer's current promotions. Right this minute, Tigerdirect as a XFX R9 280 for $150 after rebate and promo. In my opinion that is a great deal and I'm a huge fan of XFX products. Register the product within 30 days and you have a lifetime warranty.

[Pharaun]

That wouldn't be possible, they are over 5 year old and barely keeping up lol. When you say computers are often more gpu bound these days what do you mean? Maybe I am just remembering wrong but I feel having read that a lot of MMO type games are very cpu dependent. Also that AMD cards severely under perform in games like FF14 due to poor efficiency and poor drivers. Would there be a noticeable difference in loading screen times between your link and mine?

What I mean by GPU bound is that your GPU will be the bottleneck in computer much more often than not. People are still using builds with 5 year old CPUs (depending on the CPU of course) and being fine as long as they have a decent GPU. So without knowing what CPU you have it's hard to know if it really needs to be replaced or if you can keep it for a little bit longer before upgrading.

As for MMO's being CPU intensive, I know that was certainly the case for FFXI, but for more modern ones I'd be very surprised if that was still the case.

As for the loading times it's hard to say. You build might be slightly faster since the FX-6300 is better at stock speeds, but if you OC that Pentium G3258 it probably wouldn't be that much different. Overall my build would give you better all around performance in games since you are also getting an upgraded GPU with double the VRAM and if you're willing to watch for sales you might be able to get an even better card.

You could be right that you really need to upgrade your CPU, but we also want to make sure that you can get the best bang for your upgrade dollar so knowing what parts you currently have makes that much easier to figure out.

[Senji]

i7 920 came out in 2008. With a solid overclock and usb3.0 mb would I say that someone must upgrade? No, I would not. Cpus are nowhere near as powerful now at this point as I would have expected 6 years ago. We've got less watts, integrated gpus, stock levels of previously basic overclocks, and no hoverbikes. Kinda feel shafted.

[Boyiee]

I think people refer to mmos as being more cpu intensive because they are generally older games or older technology without many or any graphic updates. So upgrading to a gtx 980 or a SLI setup for games like ff14, wow, ff11 etc at 1080p would be stupid and you would be better off with an ssd or cpu upgrade.

[Halion]

Thanks for the feedback I'm going to go for intel and look out for those sales. ^^

[Kalmado]

I'm working on a new build and have a concern about the psu being capable. I've checked some psu calculator sites and it states a 475w psu would do, but I'm still hesitant. Pcpartpicker states it's 425w. Below is the build using a XFX TS 550w 80+ Bronze. Think it's enough?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor ($141.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: PNY XLR8 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.43 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 600 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($289.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Zalman Z9 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $713.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-26 21:40 EST-0500

[RKenshin]

550W should definitely be fine, perfect even for that build.

[Kalmado]

550W should definitely be fine, perfect even for that build.

Thank you for the reply. The psu thing I always try to make it the #1 priority and overall best choice. I should probably start learning more about the capabilities and what's real with them. Any opinion if I switched out the GTX 770 and threw in say a Radeon 7950 or a R9 280? This will be a build to sell so I doubt whoever buys will overclock either the cpu or gpu themselves. However, if I decided to go with a bigger psu I could be a little selfish and install my EVGA SuperNova 750w and get myself something nicer.

[Melena]

Thank you for the reply. The psu thing I always try to make it the #1 priority and overall best choice. I should probably start learning more about the capabilities and what's real with them. Any opinion if I switched out the GTX 770 and threw in say a Radeon 7950 or a R9 280? This will be a build to sell so I doubt whoever buys will overclock either the cpu or gpu themselves. However, if I decided to go with a bigger psu I could be a little selfish and install my EVGA SuperNova 750w and get myself something nicer.

I have a 600w Bronze with my R9 280, I think that one just needs a 450-500w

[Kalmado]

Welp, I just snagged a Corsair HX850 for $55 semi used. Seemed like a pretty good deal seeing as they are $150 brand new. I'll be using that in my main and putting my current EVGA 750w in the one I'll be selling because, people like big numbers.

Spoiler: show

side rant. I've built a number of Intel G3258 and FX-6300 rigs and I honestly see zero difference in performance for day to day stuff and gaming benchmarks. The G3258 builds always come with a much much better motherboard. I've had a hell of a time selling the G3258's. I get a lot of "eww duo core." The FX-6300's "6 core!!!! How much?!?!" I'd rather push the G3258 as I personally think it's better, but money talks so if people want that precious 6 core then whatever. Hence why I bought the FX-8320e (the cpu + that asrock was also only $118.38 including tax after rebate). I may have to buy another.

[Pharaun]

side rant. I've built a number of Intel G3258 and FX-6300 rigs and I honestly see zero difference in performance for day to day stuff and gaming benchmarks. The G3258 builds always come with a much much better motherboard. I've had a hell of a time selling the G3258's. I get a lot of "eww duo core." The FX-6300's "6 core!!!! How much?!?!" I'd rather push the G3258 as I personally think it's better, but money talks so if people want that precious 6 core then whatever. Hence why I bought the FX-8320e (the cpu + that asrock was also only $118.38 including tax after rebate). I may have to buy another.

I think that Big Number Syndrome is part of it where people automatically assume more is better, but I also think a lot of people don't realize just how far ahead Intel is right now on CPUs. Aside from a very few specific situations you are almost always better off shelling out for Intel chips. As far as I can tell AMD strategy on CPUs is "Eh, fuck it. We'll focus on decent low end stuff and our APU market."

[Kalmado]

So I'm having second thoughts about the 7990. It has played anything I throw at it at 1440p maxed out without issue. But man is it LOUD! It's hot too, but that's expected. As of right this minute the only replacement for the card would be either a Gtx 970 or a R9 290(x). The former pisses me off because of the vram issue and what not. The latter is much cheaper and I think it would be able to handle 1440p maxed without issue? But I've read and watched some videos that the 290 is loud as well and it does run hot. I've read a great cooling solution is to install the Gelid Icy Vision onto the R9 290, but that's an added cost. I know the 3xx series is around the corner, but I'm not a fan of buying brand new tech when it first hits the shelves. However, this is when used gpus may get sold for cheap by those that do buy the new cards and are looking to recoup some of the cost.

I'd love to hear thoughts on what I should do.

[Krandor]

290x is only loud with the reference cooler. The Asus DirectCU II one I owned was quiet, though it still runs quite hot since that's just the nature of the card.

[Kalmado]

On another tech site there was a Gigabyte 290 reference the guy was asking for $180 shipped. If I could get it for $160 that doesn't seem like a bad deal. Add another $35-$40 for Gelid Icy and we're around $200. The lowest I've seen a brand new 290 was for $200 but it was Asus (which I'll never buy from again barring a stupid crazy deal). I could go with an EVGA or Gigabyte 970 for about $305 new or the Gigabyte 970 for $280 "like new" from Amazon. But again, the 3.5gb vram really irks me. Some people have reported serious issues with it while gaming at 1440p. I'd be super pissed having to go through a return or rma because of it. On the other hand the 970 will more than likely be quieter. I do not want to have buyer's remorse.

[Boyiee]

I don't know why the vram irks you. You won't use it, will never notice it, and it handles games at higher resolutions than 1440p just fine. 970's are super quiet as well, simple decision.

[Kalmado]

I don't know why the vram irks you. You won't use it, will never notice it, and it handles games at higher resolutions than 1440p just fine. 970's are super quiet as well, simple decision.

The primary thing that irks me is from a business standpoint what they did isn't acceptable. Also, there are claims (see link below) that worries me. Thing is, who knows truly who is telling the truth on the internet. Is it someone with a legit concern? Or someone just trying to pile onto the situation?

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=...postcount=1493

Someone is trying to offload a brand new sealed MSI 970 for $290. If they accepted $265-$280 that would be hard to turn down. Not sure if MSI's warranties are transferable. When I had to rma a card I never provided proof of where I purchased it from. Same with a MSI motherboard.

[Krandor]

I know BF4 legitimately has an issue with hitting that 3.5 limit (which likely means Hardline will as well), as would modded Skyrim. Otherwise I'm not really aware of any other games where that half a GB would matter when your monitor isn't at 4k

[Kalmado]

I know BF4 legitimately has an issue with hitting that 3.5 limit (which likely means Hardline will as well), as would modded Skyrim. Otherwise I'm not really aware of any other games where that half a GB would matter when your monitor isn't at 4k

I think I heard Mordor? I do have a heavily modded Skyrim I mess around on so that is a concern for me. Possibly a maxed out Far Cry 4?

[Tisi]

Alright, so over the past few years I've been slowly upgrading my PC, and I think it may be time to get a new CPU/Motherboard.

My Speccy report
http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...tten/specs.jpg

This is my current power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182199
My Current RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220570

My Graphics card I just picked up: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125684

Now, my issue is, I now have this BEAST of a graphics card, but I'm still only getting 30 FPS in WoD in FFXIV, highest I've gotten thus far is 50 FPS in turn 9. Now with this new graphics card, with the money I spent on it, I'm assuming I shouldn't be turtling back at those shitty FPS, it should be blowing it out of the water. Now I believe it's probably my CPU from 2010 that's bottlenecking it. I just dropped like $600 upgrading to this new GFX card and a new SSD for uber gamings, and I can hardly tell a difference in performance in FFXIV (my previous graphics card was a GTX 550ti). Any advice would be great.