Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, JustAnEngineer
flip-mode wrote:If you're going to purchase in November then you don't need to pick components until October.
Haswell will launch before November.
flip-mode wrote:QFT!If you're going to purchase in November then you don't need to pick components until October.
flip-mode wrote:I'm a big believer in the "trickle-down" theory of computer upgrades. However, my upgrade cycle tends to be much shorter than four years.Really, what I think happens is that after 4 years, a computer is ready for it's "second career". It's not powerful enough for bleeding edge performance, but it'll do easier tasks with aplomb. So you put it in some other role such as "kids computer" or "secondary computer" or whatever, and possibly get a new computer to use as your primary machine.
southrncomfortjm wrote:No. You'll probably want the 64-bit version of Windows 8 Pro.4) Is Windows XP still a viable gaming OS?
JustAnEngineer wrote:Your Antec EarthWatts EA-380D power supply should be adequate as long as you don't go too crazy. The power draw of your TV tuner is not worth worrying about. Just let it keep doing its thing in the background.
A Radeon HD7770 is acceptable for most games at 1080p. I suggest the Sapphire 100358OCL for the 10% speed bump from the factory.
You could get very good gaming performance with a mid-range GPU like a Radeon HD7850 1GB or 2GB, GeForce GTX660 or Radeon HD7870.
JustAnEngineer wrote:Your Core i3-3225 processor will run most games very well. A few titles would run even better on a Core i5 (Dragon Age: Origins, Battlefield 3, Civilization V, etc.), but you'll be fine with what you have.
southrncomfortjm wrote:I can just get a GTX 660 the next time they are on sale and use it in my HTPC. Then, if I feel like it, I can build a gaming rig later and use the 660 in that.
southrncomfortjm wrote:Can I disable the 660 in device manager when I know I won't be using it for a while to save on power?
TR's System Guide wrote:Nvidia still doesn't have a very compelling alternative to the Radeon HD 7770. The GeForce GTX 650 is slower overall than its AMD rival. The GTX 650 Ti is slightly quicker, but it's also priced within spitting distance of the Radeon HD 7850 1GB, an even faster solution—and one that we've included in the alternatives section on the next page. We think AMD cards offer better value for the money in this price range.
TR's System Guide wrote:Nvidia's sub-$200 graphics offerings aren't quite up to par with the AMD solutions, so the best alternative to the Radeon HD 7770 is another AMD card: the Radeon HD 7850 1GB.
The 7850 1GB is noticeably faster than the 7770. In fact, it's quick enough to handle almost all games at 1080p with the detail settings cranked up. You'll only start to see performance suffer in titles like Skyrim, whose ultra-high-resolution textures can butt up against the 1GB memory limit—especially if you turn up the antialiasing, too. The 7850 1GB is a fairly inexpensive upgrade. PowerColor's version is available for around $170. As a bonus, it comes with free copies of BioShock Infinite and Tomb Raider.
Nvidia regains the upper hand above the $200 mark.
southrncomfortjm wrote:still leaning towards a 660, but also considering a 660 Ti and will definitely consider a Radeon if they address those frame latency issues with a driver fix.
steel-the-deal wrote:southrncomfortjm wrote:still leaning towards a 660, but also considering a 660 Ti and will definitely consider a Radeon if they address those frame latency issues with a driver fix.
AMD recently launched the Catalyst 13.2 Beta drivers, they seem to have fixed issues in the games that you mentioned you liked (Borderlands 2 and Skyrim). I have both games, and I have not tried the new drivers but I know what they are talking about. I was able to play the games fine with my 5850...the frame skipping was a bit annoying in some areas but it didn't really distract me at all from playing the games. Go with the best bang for your buck.
southrncomfortjm wrote:I'm not fond of the 660Ti's 192-bit memory bus. (ఠ_ఠ;) Sure, it performs okay in games, but you start cranking up the MSAA or (especially) the SSAA, and the performance just tanks compared to the equivalent Radeons. Even the 7870 can match a 660Ti with high levels of AA, or Crossfired 7770s (although I don't envy the subjective experience on 7770 Crossfire...)EDIT: Looks like TR already did do a look at the new drivers. I guess I missed that before. Looks like the issues have been addressed in a significant way with the 660 Ti still having a small edge over the 7950. Would be great to see a 660 to 7850/7870 comparison of the same drivers though.
auxy wrote:(considering the Titan as an over-the-top nonsense part.)
JohnC wrote:Eheh, well ... (;゙°´ω°´)auxy wrote:(considering the Titan as an over-the-top nonsense part.)
"Nonsense", eh? :wink:
southrncomfortjm wrote:How about one of these?RAM - Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1660 CAS 9, 2x4gb - $56 at Newegg
JustAnEngineer wrote:southrncomfortjm wrote:How about one of these?RAM - Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1660 CAS 9, 2x4gb - $56 at Newegg
$52 2x4 GiB PC3-12800 Crucial BLT2K4G3D1608ET3LX0 (DDR3-1600, CAS 8, 1.35 V)
$55 2x4 GiB PC3-14900 G.Skill F3-1866C9D-8GAB (DDR3-1866, CAS 9, 1.5 V)
$60 2x4 GiB PC3-14900 Crucial BLT2KIT4G3D1869DT1TX0 (DDR3-1866, CAS 9, 1.5 V)
DPete27 wrote:Do you know any college students that could get you a Windows license from school. Many colleges (state colleges in particular from my experience) offer Windows licenses for ~$30 to students. That would open up about $100 toward an SSD which can get you into the 120GB range.
southrncomfortjm wrote:Good idea. I teach part time at a local university. Going to see if that qualifies me for a discount, but it seems like it would only drop it to $70 for me. I'd obviously um, do some school work on this computer too.
DPete27 wrote:southrncomfortjm wrote:Good idea. I teach part time at a local university. Going to see if that qualifies me for a discount, but it seems like it would only drop it to $70 for me. I'd obviously um, do some school work on this computer too.
Professors at my University could get Windows for $20 while I was in school there. I would definetly check into it.
Oh, and don't worry if it's just an "Upgrade" license. There's a simple workaround.
southrncomfortjm wrote:RAM - Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 CAS 9, 2x4gb - $56 at Newegg
Went with low profile ram to avoid issues with the 212. Decided against 16gb since it was $30-$40 more. At the end of the day, I may just go for it since I’ve heard that games will use extra RAM as a cache when using a mechanical drive. RAM should overclock a bit.
JustAnEngineer wrote:
southrncomfortjm wrote:Trying to squeeze me out a bit more performance huh? I guess the question comes down to latency v. speed. Either the CAS 8 Crucial or the 1866 Ares look good. Will have to ponder that since either one should give just a bit more performance for even less money. I know there is a formula out there to determine response time, anyone have that handy? I'd go with whichever set of ram offers the fastest response time.