PALGN Master Race Builders Thread (Build your PC + advice!)

Pagan's Mind · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:41 pm�� Post subject:

Any dual or quad core in the past 2-3 years won't have a problem playing 1080p video.

Video encoding on the other hand is where an overclocked processor would really shine. It also benefits quite a bit in gaming too.

Frozencry · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 3:08 pm�� Post subject:

For those interested, it looks like AMD's new 7 series of cards may launch December 22nd with the first of the cards, the HD7970.

From leaks it seems to have some impressive specs for a single GPU.

Quin · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 3:31 pm�� Post subject:

I'm also interested in that card, but if I replace the HD 5850 I already have, I'd probably do so at the same time as replacing the CPU and the Mobo (And probably the power supply and the case too).
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G3ck0 · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:08 pm�� Post subject:

Supposedly the 7870 will be around the same as a 6970. I really hope that's true, as I'd definitely pick one up then. Though I've also read they might not be out until February sometime, which is a bit of a wait.

G3ck0 · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:54 am�� Post subject:

Looking at wireless network cards, are they really that important? I was looking at the Asus ones, and there is a $15, $39 and $45 one. Seeing as my internet speed is around 7 mb/s, is it really that important which one I get? Looking at pccasegear.

thebigm · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:50 am�� Post subject:

It would matter more if you're doing transfers over wireless between computers. Transferring at 1MBs over wireless to another machine is painful (heck, even at 10MBs on a 100mbit connection is painful... wish we had gigabit installed throughout the house).

Frozencry · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:00 pm�� Post subject:

G3cko I take it you mean 7Mbps, aka approx 700kb/s?

Your speed will be dependent on how far away your computer is from your router. Otherwise a wireless adapter makes very little difference apart from what bigm mentioned.
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G3ck0 · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:35 pm�� Post subject:

Yeah, sync at 7 mb/s, download at 700-800 kb/s. So I can just grab any $20 network adapter from MSY then? I won't be doing wireless transfers between computers.

Oh, and one more question. I am getting an Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 motherboard, and a 620w (maybe 650w) PSU. Will this be okay for crossfire? I'm not sure if I'll go a 7950/70, 7870 or crossfire two 7850's. But I'd like for that option to be open to me.

Frozencry · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:34 pm�� Post subject:

We don't know wattage on idle and load for the new GPU line up, so can't give you a straight answer. With that said, usually a good quality 650w PSU can handle crossfire fine. I personally go higher though as it future proofing for upgrades in the future and such.
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Pagan's Mind · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:46 pm�� Post subject:

G3ck0 · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:49 pm�� Post subject:

According to some AMD press release, the 7970 uses 190w? And I'd be getting a NeoEco, they seem to be used in a lot of builds.

Pagan's Mind · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:51 pm�� Post subject:

G3ck0 · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:59 pm�� Post subject:

Looking at the performance of the 7970, I think I'll go with that. It'll run pretty much everything, and I won't have to bother with running two cards. So then will the 650w be enough for that, assuming the 190w power draw is accurate? From what I've been researching, a 550w is enough for most of then 6000 cards, bar the 6990?

Pagan's Mind · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:01 pm�� Post subject:

Yep, 500W is fine for any single video card except the 580. A 650W is more than adequate for a single card set up and will give you lots of overclocking room.

G3ck0 · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:14 pm�� Post subject:

So sorry for all the questions, but 2500 or 2500k? I don't really think I'd ever overclock, unless it'd actually benefit me in-game. This computer is pretty much going to be purely for gaming (there'll be an iMac right next to it for everything else), so all I care about is game performance.

Frozencry · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:39 pm�� Post subject:

2500k. While you may not overclock now, the price difference is negligible and it's certainly nice to be able to have the option to overclock. That and generally with the SB chips they are pathetically easy to overclock.
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G3ck0 · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:10 pm�� Post subject:

But would it help game performance at all? Now i just need to decide whether I want to crossfire two 7850's, or buy one 7950/70. If I want to crossfire, I'll need to spend another $50 on the motherboard, not to mention a better PSU. I guess it all depends how well the 7970 can max games at 1080P.

Frozencry · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:13 pm�� Post subject:

Extra CPU horsepower can help with some games, yes. More and more games utilise multi threading and with DX11 also pushing this forward, for the extra amount of dosh you get a lot more power with a basic overclock.

And I'm fairly confident a 7970 will run almost every game at 1080p fine. 1080p is literally a push over for almost every mid-range to high end card right now let alone with the 7xxx series.

If you're going Crossfire you're wasting your money if the maximum resolution you're going for is 1080p, as you won't even have to use that amount of power. Extremely high resolution stuff, definitely viable, but otherwise it's a waste of money.
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G3ck0 · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:18 pm�� Post subject:

Yeah true, I'm just thinking about games like Battlefield 3 on ultra, Crysis 2 with DX11 and high res textures etc. Though I'm sure Battlefield 3 will get at least 40 FPS constantly, which is definitely enough, and the other games that really push the system I probably won't play that much. I guess I'm too obsessed with getting 60 FPS in every game maxed out, which isn't needed as I'm used to 30 FPS on consoles. I'll go the 7950/70 then, hopefully they don't cost too much more than the US prices.

Pagan's Mind · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:20 pm�� Post subject:

Frozencry · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:24 pm�� Post subject:

BF3 is easy to hit 60fps on with a card like that at 1080p, while Crysis 2 DX11 is also nothing too strenuous either. 60fps is pretty much a guarantee with 95% of games out there, the only exceptions being things like Metro 2033 which even on my setup is difficult to break 60 on due to it being massively shader based and uses some extremely intensive post process effects.

Don't worry about it too much. Most games nowadays are basically catered to a console standard and don't really push GPU's to their limits, so consumers are essentially obscenely overpowered for the things they run. An i5 2500k and a HD7970 is pretty much guaranteed to blow anything out of the water at 1080p.
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G3ck0 · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:42 am�� Post subject:

Okay, thanks for your help! Every part of it is now worked out. I'm going to spend an extra $50 on the motherboard for CFX support, and one internal USB 3 port (it'll have three USB 2 and one USB 3, the same as the front of my case). I'll hopefully get a 7970, and if I ever need more power, I'll crossfire it and upgrade the PSU sometime. If I'm lucky, it'll be completely done in February, can't wait! I've never been a PC gamer before so this is exciting.

G3ck0 · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:41 pm�� Post subject:

Look at that performance! Comes close (and even beats) the 6990 in certain games. This is definitely the card for me. Though in some games it pretty much has the same performance as the 6970. Could it be driver issues?

http://nl.hardware.info/reviews/2472/amd-radeon-hd-7970-review

Frozencry · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:55 pm�� Post subject:

Early drivers, yes. Those two games aren't a very good indicator of performance either as Skyrim is very dependent on CPU with performance, and WTF at the BF3 stats. 6990 at 35 fps? Something is really wrong with their testing there

I never go below 60 at eyefinity resolutions!

Would recommend looking at Toms Hardware and Guru3D for some solid examples. It seems to outperform all current single GPU's out so it seems to be a really strong card which is great.

One thing I'm really liking with this card is the introduction to Eyefinity 2.0, which allows for fully customisable resolutions and task bar placement too. DO FUCKING WANT.

If the cards are justifiably amazing, then I may sell the 6990 or place it in my old setup and pick two of these up. Likely not though.
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G3ck0 · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:57 pm�� Post subject:

Okay, I'll check that out too! Is there any negative effects to overclocking the GPU? It seems to have pretty big effects.

EDIT: From the Guru 3D review, there's not many games it can't run at 60 FPS at 1080P. Metro, Battlefield 3 Ultra and Lost Planet 2, for some reason. I'm definitely okay with this! Now, $550 US, how much will it cost us here? :\

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