Building a PC

[Iv121]

As the title says Im assembling a new rig as my rig is already 6 (!) years old (Quite a respectable age for a computer survived quite well over the years). So far I've met no serious problems until I realised the price tag is growing bigger and bigger so Im now trying to cut it.

So far its mostly gonna be:


- My GTX 560 TI 1GB card which is still operational: $0 ($260 save, standard price Im willing to pay for a new graphics card)

- Intel i5-4460 3.2 GHz 6MB L3 cache: $190 ($0 save, so far considering it my best option because it seems to give me the biggest bang for my $ in my price category)

- Motherboard MSI H97M-G43: $90 ($15 loss compared to a similar Gigabyte model HOWEVER that model deson't seem to include ethernet and sound cards.)
[LGA 1550, Intel H97 chipset, 1000 Mb ethernet and 8 channel sound cards]

- RAM Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GBx2, DDR3 1600: $115 ($22 loss compared to a 12GB solution (8+4GB), Im at a dilemma over whether or not Im going to use the whole 16 GB, most ppl recommend no more than 12 GB however the trends i indie titles show BIIIG and stupid demands for CPU, especially Voxel based titles but even then 16 GB seems like a lot. In the same time with the above prices 16 GB seems like the most bang for your buck over 12 GB)

- HDD Seagate 1TB, 6GB/s: $51 ($25 save compared to a 2TB model of the same company. While the extra 1TB comes only at $25 price tag Im not sure I will find a use for that space. With that being said the size of vid games grow like crazy with the next BF Hardline (which Im NOT going to buy, blaming EA >.>) being 60 GB (!). Lets assume the avg future vid game will be 2/3 of that (40 GB) and that my modding collecting/fattish will remain the same (games becoming 10 times their original size) we are ending up at whopping 400GB per modded title ! What do you say, better buy a 2TB one ?)

-Power supply: Current one as vid card remains the same: $0 ($90 save compared to my best pick for 500W power supply (with 90% efficiency, well worth the extra money in the long run))

-Computer case: Cooler Master N400 mid-tower: $60 ($0 save, same price as many other mid-ATX towers however unlike em it has 4 forward USB ports (2 USB 3.0), pre-built fans and front air access which helps with cooling in our warm environment, seems like a winner for me but if you know anything better /cheaper let me know)

- Optical drive, whatever’s cheaper: Samsung SH-224DB for $15 ($15 loss, while being cheapest solution possible (as today I discovered my current optical drive is all a giant mess of dust and is kill) it might be possible to run a comp nowadays without it. Although I can buy programs online nowadays, some things and especially drivers for various stuff come on discs so Im not entirely convinced that running a comp without an optical drive is possible)


OVERALL: $521 ($27 actual loss compared to an alternative solution considering only upgraded items)




So ppl any opinion about my quistions ? Anything else you've noted that I didn't ask about ? I'll be happy if you let me know.

[Error]

Very nice. Case is a tad pricey, but, eh... if it works for you.

My machine is in mild need/want of a RAM upgrade (8GB current), and in notable need of a graphics card update (GTX 460 currently). Ideas for the g-card?

[Iv121]

Well I was finding some cases for $50 but thats as low as it gets basically (they have fans included BTW keep in mind).

If we remain within the NVidia family then the natural choice right now would be GTX 960. Right now I could find some 2GB variants for $200 or 4GB ones for $250, usually Id go for the 4GB but with a $50 difference ? No thanks. I tried looking for some GTX 760 cards however I was amazed to discover they were priced almost like their GTX 960 counterparts or higher, often being out of stock (Which might be the reason for that). Considering all those factors and that $200 is a good price for a medium range card Id go for a GTX 960 2GB.


Choosing your own card:

Spoiler:

In general when you choose an Nvidia card you can ease up your research by understanding their naming scheme. First of all a bigger number does NOT equal higher performance. Each GPU in the GTX series is followed by a 3 digit number: YXX. The Y represents the generation of the card (yours is 4, mine is 5 and the latest gen currently is 9) while the XX its type. GTX 660 is better than 560 however GTX 660 is worse than 570 and possibly even 470. As for what types there are:

20-40 symbolises the lowest-end cards, those have a poor performance level and are generally not found on gaming PCs. GTX Y40 is usually launched at around $80 price
50-60 symbolises mid-end cards, those are usually for gamers with tight budgets like most of our folk here. I found the 60s to be perfectly capable to run all games on good to medium graphics for about 3.5 years, that is my natural choice when buying a new graphics card. GTX Y60 is usually launched at $250.
70-80, thats where the prices start to raise, exponentially. Those are high performance cards for hardcore gamers. the Y70 entries are usually launched at $400 with the Y80 reaching $700.
90/Titan, well thats not really a number, anyway in case you have a daddy with a 6 digit paycheck (Or more) NVidia is making cards that cost $1000. They also release a double titan GPU package called titan Z which instead of costing less is actually adding $1000 more for the extra service of defining em as SLI for you ($3000 overall).

Some cards in the mid to high category have a TI version of them with slightly improved performance (and slightly bigger price). In general I think most of us can afford that little final stretch for better performance.

Speaking of SLI you actually have the option of installing two IDENTICAL (its important) cards to boost performance. Note that two cards will not grant you double performance, on avg it will give you 25% better performance on games that support two cards (not all do, most AAA titles do but dont expect it from an indie). You will need to configure those cards yourself and sometimes disable one of them as running on two graphics cards in games that do not support em might cause flickering and other artefacts. All those things considered it might help you prolong the life of your current video card by about a year if you ask me (with the benefit of better performance if you install it early enough) for a relatively low price but I find that overall that investment is not that good.

Also as for the series there are a few specifics (well A LOT, although they establish a pattern they break it far too often for my liking) so a good idea is to actually google GeForce Y00 series to see what cards actually exist in it.

[Error]

Cool, thanks. I shall begin doing some research into Nvidia; the AMD lack of drivers is

[Iv121]

Another prob I have is the actual retailer choice: In general Israeli prices are 50% bigger than what you can find in the US. That means that buying the same (or similar) computer in here would cost around $780. On the upside buying a computer here will give me two distinct advantages: In case of a breakdown I have support and warranty access (usually if you buy something in the US in order to apply its warranty you need to send it ALL THE WAY BACK to the store you bought it from IN THE US as warranty is country-specific) and I would also have free assembly service (which is also an important factor considering I have no assembly experience).

So price VS service, which is better ?

[cannonfodder]

[Moderated]

[Prototype]

[Moderated]

If wire a was a cactus and slot b was your butt lel.

[Iv121]

Let me guess a comment about shoving the entire system up my butt ? Well not like it matters anymore. You already know my opinion about this though , if Errors not going to lift a finger ofc everything will remain the same. You should be systematic or nobody will take you seriously: He made an offense ? 1 day ban, and 1 more and 1 more , next time 3 together, 3 more, 7 , 7 ,30,30, 60,60 etc. Its either gonna end up with Tiel re-educated or banned out, the first is welcome while the second ... Well not like it matters because if we got there Tiel clearly didn't want to be a productive member anyway.

[Vinyl]

[LJS]Hah. Hahahha. You're funny.[/LJS]

[Saravanth]

But hey, what if, you know, at some point, which may or may not come, you might actually need the extra VRAM, Iv-kun? D:

[Iv121]

Well that’s the question ! Either way its possible to install additional RAM later on but I prefer to do it all at once.

[Saravanth]

I'm talking about the graphics card, that one can't really be upgraded. Personally I think fiddy bucks are worth saving you frustration later on when you happen to get one or two additional screens.

[ACH0225]

Well, if Iv gets a new GPU, there's nothing stopping your from using the 560 and the new one, assuming you have the slots for it and power supply.

[Iv121]

There is, SLI requires identical GPUs (as I said I don't really think its worth it to buy an identical old GPU just to prolong the other's life for a year or so). As for the graphics card itself Im merely upgrading it later, for now I believe my 560 will suffice. OFC I might switch to AMD then I have a little more choice with the GPUs I link with crossfire, however those cards must also remain fairly similar for it to work so you are not gaining too much here either.

[Saravanth]

That AMD means no NVidia PhysX D: