Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, JustAnEngineer

 
NJP
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:30 am
Location: Minnesota

New Computer/Upgrade

Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:51 am

Hi all, I'm starting to think about upgrading my old computer with mostly new parts. Only things I'll be keeping from my old build is the optical drive, old hard drives, case, PSU, and cooling stuff (case fans, CPU cooler, etc..). I've kind of started with the TR system guide Sweeter spot section and gone from there.

I'm planning on bundling my CPU and Motherboard at Microcenter.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/393422/P8Z77-V_LK_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Intel_Motherboard
&
http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor

Going with this for memory RAM.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/382101/Ballistix_Sport_8GB_DDR3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Kit_(Two_4GB_Memory_Modules)

A SSD drive.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/402607/840_Pro_Series_MZ-7PD128BW_128GB_SATA_60Gb-s__25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD)

And then there is the graphics card. The TR system guide has this one in the one from newegg in the sweeterspot section and I'm wondering what the differences would be compared to the one from Microcenter? I tried finding this card at microcenter but I could only find one that had 256-bit memory, otherwise these two cards specs look the same to me unless I'm missing something?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127697

http://www.microcenter.com/product/403002/N660_TF_2GD5-OC_NVIDIA_GeForce_GTX_660_Twin_Frozr_III_Overclocked_2048MB_GDDR5_PCIe_30_x16_Video_Card

So just looking for some feedback mainly on the two video cards, but also open to suggestions on the entire build. Let me now if I've over-looked anything or if any thing I've listed here will be incompatible. Thanks!
 
southrncomfortjm
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 574
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:57 pm

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:05 am

SSD is a great choice. There's a deal going on right now to get that the 840 Pro for $100. See http://www.dealzon.com/deals/cheap-samsung-ssd?ref=deal_newsletter#samsung-840-pro-series-ssd-128gb-mz-7pd128bw.

The Newegg card is the better card (660 Ti v. vanila 660). They both have the same 192-bit memory bandwith.

What resolution are you going to play at? What kinds of games do you play?

The 660 and 660 Ti are great cards, but more expensive than somewhat comparable Radeon cards like the 7850. The nice thing about the Radeon cards is that they come with 2 top-notch games (Bioshock Infinite and Crysis 3/Tomb Raider). This Asus 7850 or this Sapphire 7850 will probably give you everything, or almost everything, you want at a lower price with way better extras. The 7850 also overclocks very well, so you can boost its performance pretty easily with a few clicks. If you are going for 1080p or higher resolution on ultra or ultimate settings on the newest games, then the 7850 may not be for you, the 660 Ti would probably work better. If you don't mind turning some settings down, then the 7850 should work just fine.
Gaming: i5-3570k/Z77/212 Evo/Corsair 500R/16GB 1600 CL8/RX 480 8GB/840 250gb, EVO 500gb, SG 3tb/Tachyon 650w/Win10
 
NJP
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:30 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:24 am

Thanks for the reply.

So AMD Radeon cards won't have any compatibility issues with an Intel board and CPU? I have never really been clear on that.
 
DPete27
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3776
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:50 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:30 am

NJP wrote:
So AMD Radeon cards won't have any compatibility issues with an Intel board and CPU? I have never really been clear on that.

No problems. If you are interested in Bioshock Infinite or Tomb Raider (both look like great games) the 7850 would be a good buy if your monitor is 1920x1080. Make sure you get a 2GB card though.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
southrncomfortjm
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 574
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:57 pm

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Thu Apr 04, 2013 1:17 pm

NJP wrote:
Thanks for the reply.

So AMD Radeon cards won't have any compatibility issues with an Intel board and CPU? I have never really been clear on that.


None. I have a 3570k and Radeon 7850 in my gaming rig and it all runs flawlessly.
Gaming: i5-3570k/Z77/212 Evo/Corsair 500R/16GB 1600 CL8/RX 480 8GB/840 250gb, EVO 500gb, SG 3tb/Tachyon 650w/Win10
 
Chrispy_
Maximum Gerbil
Posts: 4670
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: Europe, most frequently London.

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:08 pm

NJP wrote:

So AMD Radeon cards won't have any compatibility issues with an Intel board and CPU? I have never really been clear on that.


Probably got over 100 Xeon or i7 machines with AMD GPU's in them. They haven't exploded or killed anyone yet....
Congratulations, you've noticed that this year's signature is based on outdated internet memes; CLICK HERE NOW to experience this unforgettable phenomenon. This sentence is just filler and as irrelevant as my signature.
 
southrncomfortjm
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 574
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:57 pm

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Thu Apr 04, 2013 6:57 pm

Chrispy_ wrote:
NJP wrote:

So AMD Radeon cards won't have any compatibility issues with an Intel board and CPU? I have never really been clear on that.


Probably got over 100 Xeon or i7 machines with AMD GPU's in them. They haven't exploded or killed anyone yet....


*Yet*....
Gaming: i5-3570k/Z77/212 Evo/Corsair 500R/16GB 1600 CL8/RX 480 8GB/840 250gb, EVO 500gb, SG 3tb/Tachyon 650w/Win10
 
JustAnEngineer
Gerbil God
Posts: 19673
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: The Heart of Dixie

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Thu Apr 04, 2013 8:54 pm

· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
NJP
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:30 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:35 am

Thanks for all the feedback/suggestions. I ended up going with a 7850 from Microcenter for the video card plus the other parts I listed in my original post. Got the new parts in the case last night after work and everything is running great.
 
DPete27
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3776
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:50 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA

Re: New Computer/Upgrade

Fri Apr 05, 2013 8:37 am

Did Microcenter give you the 2 free games? If not I'd order one on newegg and return your current one. You'll end up paying the same (or maybe even slightly less on newegg) while getting ~$120 worth of free games.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 1 guest
GZIP: On