PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Don Katsu]

Z77 MBs typically have two PCI-E 3.0 slots, so x8/x8 for CF/SLI rather than rather weak 3.0 x16 / 2.0 x4 you get on cheaper Z77 and other budget chipsets. Z77 can also increase multiplier even on non-k i5/i7 (not sure about i3) giving them 400MHz OC and you can OC memory as well (if you brought RAM that is faster than 1600MHz, not that there is much point). Z77 boards are typically better quality and have more features, although budget end is still budget. Can see some of the other differences here.

However if you are getting a non-k i5 to save money then you can just get a cheap H77, Z77 for the +400MHz if you wanted it, or B75 if you really want to save money.

Wow, thanks for the explanation. Also I never picked up that 7850, I might go with a 7870 I plan to play FFXIV but I'm waiting for prices to look better. Right now the best bang for the buck IMO is the 7870 LE at $240 but it's out of stock :\

[Jojimbo]

Yeah, both the sapphire ($235 and much better cooler) and powercolour ($240 ref cooler) are out of stock =/ Only other options are these MSI TF HD 7850 or HD 7870, If you are willing to OC then you might be able to push a 7850 pretty close to an OC'ed 7870 though.

[Asai]

You might wanna drop that SSD entirely, for now, and put that 100 towards upping the graphics card. The reason I say this is because; The power supply is great, you'll only upgrade that at this point when you decide to get ANOTHER of w/e graphics card you get down the line to SLI/Crossfire them (maybe, that one might still be enough who knows). The CPU is great, it is literally the best gaming CPU out there right now since no one utilizes hyperthreading yet. The mobo is great, Z77 gold caps all that jazz and multiple pci-e 3.0 and sata 6g/s ports with UEFI bios that will make tuning a breeze later on. The RAM is great, 1600hz clock rate and 9-9-9-24 timings on CAS, really past 1600 right now is diminishing returns so that's as good as you need.

But yea, stepping up your game this much and then deciding on the faster load on certain things with an SSD vs. all the benefits in FPS/temperatures/capability from a 100 dollar more GPU, I'd go with the graphics honestly. How about a 670ti/superclocked? They're actually a little faster than a stock 680 and a little cheaper too and you'll still pretty much be on par with your budget. As for the nvidia issues, really it bounces back and forth, which one is better all-around. Right now it's nvidia, and has been since about the 560ti honestly. Radeon jumps ahead every now and then but they've been kinda slacking since AMD bought out ATI. I'm sure they'll have some line of cards that are better than nvidia and amd processors might pull ahead of intel again too, who knows.... But right now it's Intel/Nvidia.

[Kyten]

I don't know if this is the right place to put this but, I am looking to buy a new laptop for some gaming/school and other things. I came across this on sale http://www.amazon.com/N56VJ-WH71-i7-...rds=n56vj-wh71. I'm not sure if it's a good deal because I can't find much out there about this laptop. If the video card is DDR5 I would asssume it is a good deal, if it is DDR3 I am not so sure. The only games I will be really playing would me starcraft 2, ffxiv, maybe some skyrim. Thanks in advance.

[izembo]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

good enough to cool an i7 and not touch my ram slots?

[Krandor]

Could depend abit depending on the size of your mobo and how tall your RAM is, but on my computer (w/ an Asus Sabertooth Z77), I can't use the RAM slot closest to the mobo unless I went and got some low profile ram or something without a heatsink attached.

[izembo]

corsair vengeance ram, so it has fins. mobo is a gigabyte z77

[Krandor]

Going off a picture of it, probably just need to end up using the 2nd and 4th RAM slots (in relation to the CPU), which if your board is anything like mine, you're suggested to use those ones anyways assuming you're just running 2 sticks.

[Jojimbo]

It is possible to mount the fan on either side on a 212 EVO, might have to unscrew it and turn it around on the mounts though

[Zhane]

I'm looking to upgrade my PC now that XIV beta is starting up but I want to keep the budget under $500 for now. I have an i7 2600 and a subpar GFX card. I had my eyes on either a GTX 560 Ti or GTX 660 Ti and a Samsung 250GB SSD. The 660 would put me over the budget. My questions are: Is the 660 enough of a boost over the 560 to warrant crossing my budget and is the GFX card/SSD combo the best boost for my buck?

[Jojimbo]

660Ti is reasonably faster however a HD 7870 is another cheaper option that is still newer/faster than a 560Ti. That or get a 128GB SSD instead of 250GB; you can still put OS + Programs + FFXIV on a 128GB just not as many games (99% of games on get load times decreased by SSDs, gameplay will be the same)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/H1e2 would work. Hell you can get a HD 7950 in there and still be under $500 http://pcpartpicker.com/p/H1f4

EDIT:: Actually 840 Pro is pretty cheap, http://pcpartpicker.com/p/H1gM would be your best $500 option imo, or http://pcpartpicker.com/p/H1io if you really want a 660Ti and are willing to spend $510

[Eddard]

Hey all, I'm looking to upgrade my graphics cards to something newer and am stuck choosing. I am looking at either an GTX680 FTW or Sapphire Radeon HD 7970. I've read a few reviews and benchmarks showing that they are pretty close overall. I noticed the Nvidia seems to idle cooler and at lower power consumption than the 7970. However the 7970 has a little more room for OC'ing.

Anyone have any input on these cards? I have read about some of these gtx 680s running a bit warm while underload (70c+), but seem to run pretty quiet. And have read some stuff with the 7970s having some issues with coil whine underload, but stay fairly cool. Any additional information would be great. Thanks in advance.

[Siya]

I had a 7950 (I know you're looking at the 7970) and it turned out to be a defective card so I sent it back and picked up this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130794 for roughly the same price. OC'ed to around 1280 it blows away the 7950 (obviously). Under load it will hit around 64c with a fan % of around 66% which is still quiet and keeps it cool enough. I've been maxing out Farcry 3, GW2 (with ubersampling) and TERA. Overall I love the card, just wish my old i7 didn't hold me back. Also got a 8099 score on the ARR benchmark, could have gotten higher with a better cpu.

[Jojimbo]

7970 is cheaper and just as fast if both are OC'ed (7970 needs to be OC'ed slightly or has to be GHz edition for vs stock 680 at 1080p though). Temp is up to the cooler design, I find that the cheap AMD cards are mostly non-ref coolers while nVidia seems to have all the ref blower styles for cheapest although you are right nVidia cards tend to use a bit less power.

Given the $100+ difference between a FTW 680 (assuming it's 2GB and not 4GB) and a HD 7970 with a good non-reference cooler I would go with a 7970 and OC it as far as you can.

EDIT:: How did you get a $570 4GB 680 for close to same amount as a $270 7950? Even if you brought the 7950 near release I wouldn't have thought it was anywhere near that much.

[Siya]

GFs dad lol

[Eddard]

I'm pretty much going all in on this card. So best to compare the GTX680 FTW 4Gb to the Ghz edition of the 7970 (Looking at the Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 Vapor-X 6Gb). I know its more power than I need. But I am upgrading from Crossfired Sapphire Radeon HD 6950s (which I hope I can sell for a decent price) to make my money back. Well a portion of it

Edit: Does your gf's dad have another one? haha

[Siya]

Haha if he did I'd be SLI'ing

[Jojimbo]

4GB 680s are mostly wasted because 3GB GHz 7970s are typically faster at 1440p or 5760x1080 and 6GB 7970s cards are useless unless you have 3 of them for 7680x1440 or 1920x5400 or similar setup (and Titan has 6GB vRAM as is faster single GPU)

3GB 7970 GHz are $200 cheaper and will be just as fast as the 6GB cards outside of ultra high res with max AA (where you need 3 of them + X79 system for those settings to be playable). Just get one or two of these and be done with it, extra vRAM doesn't make it any faster/powerful unless you are using that vRAM and 6GB vRAM is very hard to use up

[Don Katsu]

nVidia needs to drop their prices by $20 either them or AMD. I have this dilemma. Much like everyone else I want to maximize how much I'm spending

The 670 would be the most I would spend but if I spend $20 more I could get a 7970
The 660ti looks tempting but it's priced way to close to the 7950
The 650ti is a more affordable option but then there is the 7850

The 660 and 7870 are competitively priced around $200-$230 but then there is the 7870 LE for $240 which is faster than a 660ti and costs $40 less but it's unavailable

As soon as the 7870LE comes back around (if it does) I'm picking one up. If it doesn't it's either a 660 or 7870

/firstworldproblems

[ejact]

Actually the 7870 XT/LE is in stock at tigerdirect for 225 after a 15 dollar rebate card.