Oh, ****, didn't realize it was NOT a Bitfenix Prodigy case and an ITX motherboard. Disregard the 500W suggestion then. Get a 600W 80+ PSU instead. I actually had Windows 8 installed on my desktop that I upgraded from Windows 7. Installed the Start8 from Stardock and everything was good. Then I was having problems with some games loading or crashing to desktop. I downgraded to Windows 7 and never had those problems since. I have nothing to knock off Windows 8, just something I experience personally that made me downgrade again. I don't regret the downgrade because I see no obvious advantage for me using Windows 8 anyways.
Also, was having Crossfire driver issues with Windows 8. I think that was the main reason for me downgrading (can't remember, was a couple months ago).
By Quality over quantity do you mean getting a memory stick better then DDR3 1600 mhz? like something above 1600 mhz?
Anything above 1600MHz does not give noticeable real-world speed improvements vs 1333MHz unless you're benchmarking. We know those guys want to squeeze every little bit of performance out of it. Not to mention higher speed RAM gives you high CAS latency. The only major scenario where you'll need faster ram is using an AMD APU because it uses system RAM for the GPU. Just get a good brand-name RAM set. I've always trusted G.Skill RAM. Have some "Sniper" 1600MHz RAM running in my system for a couple of years now.
I agree...a 1000 PSU is WAY overkill. 650 to 750 watt PSU is plenty sufficient. Corsair is a good brand. OP, it is critical that you buy a quality brand of power supply...because if that thing fails, it might damage other important parts of your PC such as the motherboard. Agree that the OP is better off with Windows 7. May as well skip 8 entirely. 8 GB of RAM is probably enough, yes...but with RAM as cheap as it is, I don't see the harm in the OP being extra safe and going with 16 gigs. With the PS4 and Xbox One around the corner, I'd expect the recommended PC system requirements for high-end PC games in 2014 or 2015 to spike up noticeably. The OP shouldn't bother with a Bluray drive unless he intends to watch BR movies on his computer or rip blurays. Stick with a cheap DVD-RW drive. Hell, optical disc media in general is gradually dying out on PCs as more and more software is download only. Windows 7/8 install can be put on a large enough USB flash drive. If the OP intends to install a lot of games on his computer, then the SSD/HDD combo in his post is fine. Put the OS and most programs on the SSD for quick booting, etc...and put the games on the Seagate HDD. If he only intends to have a few games installed then a 120 GB SSD by itself may be enough (I'd go for 256 GB though.) Note that the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and 8 take up about 20 GB of space once installed. Solid state drives larger than 256 GB are still pretty expensive these days.
The price of RAM has pretty much doubled in the last couple months, with the dwindling desktop market, manufacturers have been switching to RAM for tablets and smartphones. I would rather have that extra 80 bucks to put into the video card.
These Never Settle bundles are going for way cheap on ebay. While they're usually also included with good deals off newegg and amazon, if he really wants those games and really wants to go with an nvidia gpu, he can get the 3 game pack for like 20$ ish. Probably right on the 7950, as recently I think it's gone for under 300$ after rebate, but the 760 has an msrp of 250$.
Sorry for the bump. Couldn't find another appropriate thread without creating a new one. I still have an intel i5 2500 3.30Ghz I'm pretty sure my GTX970 is still fine, but i don't know anything about updating ram, motherboard, or whatever. My friend always built my gaming pc's for me with whatever budget i gave him. This computer is pretty old now except the GPU and new bigger PSU i bought and installed myself. Everything is running fine still, but i feel like the i5 starting to just meet the bare minimum on a lot of games and even though i mostly watch movies and listen to music and browse, i still want the ability to play whatever game i'm in the mood for. Is it worth it to upgrade right now and which upgrade is recommended? Are they simple pop old one out and put new one in(ie one size fits all?)
The 970 is probably fine, especially with the current crazy GPU prices. If you want to change out the processor it will probably be a little more than pop in and pop out. Depending on the age of your main board, you probably will have to upgrade that, as the new CPU socket will most likely not be supported by your MB. If that is the case MB and CPU prices aren't outrageous but I'd make sure it is more than a minor upgrade. If you are changing those out it is just a matter of deciding what else you are willing to spend money on to upgrade. Memory would be the main thing besides maybe SSD or PSU. I just pretty much built a new system a couple of months ago. I got new everything except for an SSD because that was fairly new. Was about $1000 with about half of that being the GPU.
From the situation you describe, I assume you'd have to change out the processor, and the mobo, then you probably want to add RAM and you always should use the same type, plus the psu is 5 years old so may as well change that too. In other words there are more things you want to upgrade than you want to keep. I don't know what your personal financial situation is like, but in your place I would probably just salvage the graphics card, optical drive(s), and sound card (if applicable) and then build from scratch. But then, I don't mind spending a bit more on such things, so take that with a grain of salt. Either way IMO you definitely want an SSD if you don't have one already. Biggest difference-making upgrade there is.
There are pretty good suggestions at various price points here. Keep in mind that if you do decide to upgrade the video card, Nvidia is expected to reveal their new line of cards sometime in July.
Not an expert but I can offer some tips. As mentioned that PC is not going to be very upgradeable. Your options for upgrading the CPU are very limited and not worth it at all. If you want a newer CPU you would then have to replace the motherboard and ram. If you have a few hundred to spare on that type of rebuild then you should go that route. If you don't then there is not much you can do with your current system outside of possibly overclocking the CPU. You can get decent performance increases with overclocking. Grab some thermal paste from Fry's/Microcenter, look up some youtube videos and give it a shot. Just remember to go with small incremental increases and to stress test to make sure temps do not go beyond the limits of the cpu during use. FYI: I assume no responsibility should you kill your PC by doing the above, which is very possible if you don't research how to do it safely.
Wrong he should get a flat screen CT monitor. Then lastly a awesome new sound card. If Warcraft 3 has those your visuals and sounds will be awesome.
I just ordered an Asus 28inch 4k monitor thru Amazon. I need that 1 ms speed advantage when I'm on fortnite. My tv's are all samsung and lag at console gaming bad.
gonna attempt to build a new gaming rig here soon. can i build a decent rig (meaning high settings) for around 1,500? how do i know whats decent and not in terms of parts?
Don't limit yourself to just INTEL. AMD RYZEN has really done a nice job closing the gap with the i7. Do some comparison research to determine which is best for you and if you see a good deal on AMD or INTEL, go with it.
I agree with you ... But I got an 8700k NIB from Intel for $180.... Hahaha not to high jack thread , finally putting together new system
Not enough info. Does 1500 include the Monitor/Keyboard/Mice as well? High Settings at what resolution? For $1500 I can link you to quality parts that will run most games on high at 4K resolution but that will come without a monitor/mouse/keyboard. If you are not looking to overclock, might even be able to do $1350.
this is precisely the issue. i know what parts i need to build...i know pcpartpicker can tell me if its all compatible...prob is knowing what parts are decent. i think intel wise what CPU- i7/i5 is whats good these days....but what about a mobo...graphics card...ram... have no idea what to look for when it comes to that. any useful sites for that, maybe one that makes it easy to know whats top tier/mid range/budget in terms of all these parts?
