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Country: USA Use: Games I can get for <10$ @ 1080p My three year old, ultrabudget A6-based system is really starting to show its age. Unfortunately, a complete rebuild isn't really in the cards until after Christmas at the earliest, but if I can get a good deal on components I'm not averse to upgrading piecemeal what I can. That said, is there any merit to getting a $60 Firepro V4900, $75 R7 360, $90 R7 370 or $105 GTX 950, or should I just wait and see what prices / availability is like when I do a full rebuild? I'll need a new PSU for anything but the 950, but I need a new PSU anyway, and I'll be running Ubuntu, if that makes a difference. Edit: Taking another look at benchmarks, it's probably better just to wait. Fantastic Foreskin fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Aug 24, 2016 |
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Aug 24, 2016 15:29
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VelociBacon posted:Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Video Card ($999.99 @ SuperBiiz) Note that that's the old Titan X behind that link, you'll have to go through Nvidia to get the new one. Also, it looks like it's out of stock right now.
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Oct 20, 2016 14:30
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My PSU and hard drive are now out of warranty so I guess it's time to do a new system build. What country are you in? USA What are you using the system for? Web browsing, light gaming What's your budget? ≈500 w/graphics card If you're gaming, what is your monitor resolution? 1080p, I'm okay with turning down/off the shinys for a playable fps PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99) Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($39.99) Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($46.99) Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.00) Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($29.99) Power Supply: Corsair RMx 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99) Other: Tax ($33.75) Total: $449.70 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-08 09:25 EST-0500 Prices are all microcenter, if possible I'd like to source all my parts there. I'm planning on throwing in a 1050/ti or 1060 when I can find a good deal on one. Likewise I can add a storage drive if I need one later. My Thoughts: PSU is more than a bit overkill, even with if a go for a higher-end graphics card. The 10 year warranty still makes it a value proposition but I'm worried it will draw too little power to be at all efficient. Should I try to find a smaller one? Is 16gb ram worth the extra ~$30? It's a rare day I use all of my 8gb now. I'm also going to need a new monitor or dvi-d to VGA adapter. I see that as more of a sunk cost for buying a cheap monitor but it's still an extra expense. Any other suggestions / criticism?
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Nov 8, 2016 16:21
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Between Microcenter's CPU deals and Newegg ram discounts this seems to be the week for buying a new computer. How's this look for a general web browsing computer / platform for later i5 / 1060 upgrades? PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($99.99) Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($39.99) Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($64.99) Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg) Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: FSP Group 400W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($61.30 @ Newegg) Total: $391.25 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-16 13:28 EST-0500 Ram is a placeholder for a same brand 2400 kit on Newegg that PCPP doesn't have listed.
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Nov 16, 2016 19:36
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Grundulum posted:(1) If you're planning to get overclocked RAM, might as well go to DDR4-3000 or higher. The cost jump from 2133 to 3000 isn't that much, so I can't imagine the cost jump from 2400 to 3000 is extreme. It looks like $15-20 jump to DDR4-3000. The only set of numbers I've seen on ram speed says DDR4-3000 gets 6-10 fps over 2133, which is probably worth it in the long run. Does anyone have experience with GeIL ram? It's a good  cheaper than the corsair and the reviews of the Team 3000 kits suggest they has trouble hitting that speed.Grundulum posted:(2) I'm not familiar with the manufacturer of your PSU. That makes me a bit nervous, but perhaps someone else can jump in and say that this is a brand with a good reputation for reliability. I'd never heard of it either, but it's in the OP for low wattage systems. PCPP is showing a max TDP of 132W as configured so I was worried a 500w or 550w PSU would be inefficient.
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Nov 17, 2016 15:07
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Alright, last question before I pull the trigger. Newegg has the Corsair RM550 (non-x) for $40 with shell-shocker + rebate. Will this be too much PSU for my ~135w system, assuming it won't spend most of its time at full load? List for reference
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Nov 17, 2016 20:07
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Got my Newegg order in and processor + Mobo reserved at Microcenter, but I'm thinking of optioning over to an i5-6600k when I go pick them up, except a 212 Evo won't fit in the case I ordered (Fractal Design Core 1100) and I'm afraid an h7 might not arrive in time to test everything, what with the holiday and all. So, either: What's the next most popular cooler that'll fit in an mATX case? Or What's a cheap, small, good looking case that fits the 212?
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Nov 18, 2016 20:50
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22 Eargesplitten posted:I'm going to doublecheck this stuff on Cyber Monday, but how's this look? I need a case, but I'm not sure what to get. I figure the stock cooler will be okay since the 6100 doesn't overclock. The end budget is $750, I'll need to check whether that's before or after rebates. The main thing I see is if the prices drop lower, maybe upgrading either to an i5 6500 or GTX 1060, but I'm not sure which would make more of a difference. Or maybe the monitor is no good, I'm not sure. Since you have a Z170 Motherboard you can pick up DDR4-3000 ram for $7 more, which has been shown to have a not-insignificant performance increase. Some argument could be made for going to 16 gigs as well. Also, I don't know about the goodness of Rosewill PSUs, but thread favorites EVGA SuperNOVA and RM550x offer a better warranty/price ratio for only $15/25 more. I'm waiting to see if there aren't better deals on the 1050ti in a few months, so I can't really speak to the (in)sufficiency of the CPU or GPU, though I'd go with a 6600k if you do decide to upgrade the CPU.
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Nov 26, 2016 06:10
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22 Eargesplitten posted:I'll probably go with the higher speed RAM, then. I was under the impression 16GB still doesn't matter for gaming or general use. Is that changing? Re: ram, not really, the arguments I've heard are more that ram prices are only going to go up, and that , if you're planning on holding onto this computer for ~5 years, it may be needed/useful in the future. I think it was addressed earlier, but you should be good to hang onto the power supply for the life of its warranty. No recommendations on a case, just get whatever's cheap/fits your build/styled in way you can live with. I got the Fractal Design Core 1100 on sale and I have to say, get something slightly larger. Its a nice looking case but getting the motherboard in there was painful.
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Nov 27, 2016 17:11
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On that note, is the $145 RX 470 w/ free hitman code the best rate we're going to see on a GPU for the foreseeable future? I have some major purchases coming up, but if I could flip the code for ~$25-30 it just seems like too good a deal to pass up.
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Nov 28, 2016 16:57
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Any compelling reason not to go with this graphics card for a budget build? https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16814126124 List for reference
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Nov 29, 2016 19:45
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betamax hipster posted:I'm working on a build for my brother, targeting <900 USD (hitting 800 would be the dream, but I don't think that's realistic), including monitor. I put together a quick "no serious compromises" build last night that came to a grand (not including sales tax--thanks Newegg), and now I'm trying to figure out the best way to pare it down. Stated goal is to play "current and future games". mITX mobos usually have a hefty (~$30) mark-up over mATX, though you do lose out on the cool mini-PCness. IIRC the rx470 4gb performs within 10% of the 480 and can usually be had much cheaper. Right now Newegg has a 470 for $150 after rebate and 480s (4gb) for $180 after rebate, which I think is the lowest I've seen them. The i5-6400 is clocked much lower than any of the other skylakes. If you're trying to save money you could probably drop to an i3 without too much loss of performance, otherwise I'd get a 6500 at least. Dropping the ram to 8gb is an easy way to shave a good bit of money, but I'll let someone else opine on how limiting that would be to performance.
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Dec 11, 2016 18:17
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Newegg is doing a 6600k and an 8gb 480 for $400 today, which is a pretty good deal as-is, with DOOM and Civ VI free from AMD on top of that. If anyone is interested in a 480 build I'd give this some serious consideration, especially if you want either/both of those games.
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Dec 16, 2016 15:07
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Whitest Russian posted:So my little brother wants a gaming computer for himself and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for improvement on here. I took a crack at it. Price overrides are Newegg rebates that aren't showing properly. I also don't know where your getting a $40 copy of Windows but I left it in. FWIW, somebody's selling Windows 7 pro codes in SA mart for $30 that can be used for Windows 10. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($191.91 @ Jet) Motherboard: Asus H110M-A/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($49.00) Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($45.98 @ Newegg) Storage: SK hynix SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99) Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 470 4GB Triple X Video Card ($159.99) Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($26.99 @ NCIX US) Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($40.00) Total: $621.85 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-20 11:30 EST-0500 Went up to a 6500, it's .5 GHz faster for ~$20. Cheaper ram/case/psu. Went down to an RX470, but you could go back to the 480 for $20. The thread is very down on non-EVO or x400 SSDs, but the Hynix has the same performance as the 850, just two years less warranty. If you have the cash the evo will give you a better price/warranty ratio. Far warning the spec'd case is kinda uncomfortable to build in, but it's a nice piece of kit when it's done.
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Dec 20, 2016 17:48
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You can probably get away with buying a similarly spec'd pre-built and either transfering over your video card if it's sufficient/works or putting a 1050/ti in it. Make sure it's not one of the variants that needs more that 75w.
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Dec 28, 2016 04:31
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I've been using Team RAM for years and I haven't had any problems with it. That said, I have no idea what their support is like, what with the aforementioned lack of problems. If you get some bad sticks you can always just send them back to Newegg.
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Dec 29, 2016 16:03
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Windows 7 doesn't have native USB 3 support, so if you want to install from a USB stick or use a USB keyboard and mouse during installation you'll have to patch the ISO first. There are a number of tools and tutorials online for doing this. Alternatively, getting a motherboard with USB 2 ports should work, though the USB port on my case did not, so.. Edit: Intel and Microsoft have also said Kabby Lake will only run Windows 10, and I believe AMD had said the same about Zen, so if you're looking to wait for the new hotness you may be out of luck Fantastic Foreskin fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Dec 31, 2016 |
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Dec 31, 2016 21:56
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Just curious, considering RX 480s can consistently be found below MSRP in either 4 or 8 GB, and performs within spitting distance of the 6gb 1060, what's driving the thread consensus on 1060 or bust? You can get a 4gb 480 for $80 less than the cheapest 1060 6gb on Newegg, and a 8gb for $40 less; it just doesn't seem like the 1060 is the better value.
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Jan 3, 2017 06:19
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The question was more "Why are we recommending everyone buy a 1060 when the 480 is comparably good and cheaper?" Than about the frame buffers, I just included the 4gb as it's literally 2/3rds the price of the 1060 6gb right now. I've seen the 8gb go below $200 as well, though we'll see if those were all Black Friday / Christmas deals or if it's an achievable price point going forward. I've followed the rollout of these cards pretty closely (yaay slow jobs) and the 1060 handily wins in power consumption and has a slight edge in dx11, and the 480 had a rocky launch and was way overpriced for the longest time. Anymore though, and it just doesn't seem as cut-and-dry as the thread makes it out to be.
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Jan 3, 2017 15:49
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Yeah, may as well go for the 6600k, it's faster and leaves overclocking on the table down the road. Otherwise the 6500 comes with a (louder, less effective) cooler. Shorter RAM is probably a good idea as well. Newegg still has a 480 8gb for 210 after rebate, though I can't speak to the performance difference between the models. You can save some money on Windows if you're willing to buy from a third party. Windows 7 and 8 keys can be used to register Windows 10, and there's a goon in SA Mart selling Windows 7 pro keys for $30. Kaby Lake isn't looking super promising and will probably cost more, but if you're not in a hurry there's no harm in waiting.
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Jan 3, 2017 19:31
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The 470 (generally) offers good value per dollar, but may/will require a few compromises now and definitely will sooner than the 480. No one has really re-reviewed the 470 to see if it's seen the same kind of improvements as the 480, so it's hard to actually say just how well it performs, but I wouldn't expect it to be any better than ~88% of a 480, as that's essentially what it is. If you're looking to save a few bucks though, Newegg has 4 and 8 GB models cheaper than the one you have there, PC Part Picker doesn't seem to be picking up the rebates. Also, if you can wait at all, it's not the worst time in the world to do so, in case Zen is any good. Though if/when a 6500 competitor will be released and almost literally everything else is still anybody's guess.
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Jan 6, 2017 22:22
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Devo posted:kid[s] ... are expensive. You can pick up a RX 480 much cheaper than a 1060, though honestly, below 1080p a 470 should do the job just as well.
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Jan 10, 2017 21:09
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For reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rEMEJE3x0Y Also, you can pick up cheaper Windows keys in SA Mart. Windows 7 & 8 keys can still be used to register Windows 10, though apparently Microsoft is going to be cracking down on the assistive technology upgrades, so it's not a given that this will remain true.
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Jan 10, 2017 21:38
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Don't buy a 750ti, the RX460 and GTX1050 both outperform it at the same price point while still running off of board power (though check this, as some models do take a 6-pin). The CPU will come with a stock cooler, so you don't need to buy one separately. Also, there are a couple goons selling Windows 7 keys cheaply in SA Mart that can be used to register Windows 10, saving 50+ bucks.
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Jan 20, 2017 07:11
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Honestly, if you're okay with 1080p/30fps/medium you're probably better off just getting a console right now. Component prices other than cpus are hosed right now and value/$ isn't really a thing to be had. Otherwise I'd lurk around for a deal on a prebuilt with a 580/1060, coffee lake (8xxx) / ryen, and lots of ram.
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Mar 28, 2018 14:26
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NikkolasKing posted:Well I mean, that was what I was thinking, too. But my buddy was telling me that I should get something that will last. Even if I got a serviceable desktop for right now, what about in a year? I might not have much money to spare then or something. This would normally be the case, but graphics cards are nearly twice as expensive as they were a year ago and ram is more than double the price. If prices return to sanity in a year or two you'll be able to get a monstrously more powerful machine for the price. Prebuilts have been less effected by the price increases and are currently possible to be relatively good value, but they also love to cut corners, so I'd get a goonpinion on any given model before you buy. Also, not to pontificate on fiscal responsibility, but you can get an Xbox for like $200 and they're getting cheaper. If you're that hard up for the difference a year from now you probably shouldn't have spent it to begin with. (Unless you're like a student or something.) Fantastic Foreskin fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Mar 28, 2018 |
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Mar 28, 2018 16:08
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I'm phone posting from work, but I'd be happy to take a look at those machines when I get home, if someone else hasn't already.
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Mar 28, 2018 17:29
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Still phoneposting but no, the 550/60 are much worse than the 570. I don't think anyone in this thread would recommend less than a 1050ti, and even that's just because prices are so ridiculous.
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Mar 29, 2018 00:30
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NikkolasKing posted:Fair enough. I've found some comps with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Ti 3GB in the low $800 range. That is pretty comfortable for me and seems like it would be a good option for the foreseeable future. There are lots of decent priced comps for that price on Newegg. Looks like my home internet is jacked right now, but in more general computer buying advice: Always plug the components of a prebuilt into pcpartpicker.com. Computers are really easy to build so there's no reason to pay a premium to have someone build it, and the warranty on individual parts is generally better. Computers / parts are always on sale, even if a given SKU isn't. You should avoid paying retail as much as possible. If you can wait, lurk around deal sites / store ads / SA Mart until you find a good deal. If you live near a microcenter they have (had?) their own brand of prebuilts that were genuinely a good deal even before the spike. They also have CPU+Mobos cheaper than anyone else. Also, there's a good bit of wisdom to buying as much computer as you can afford. At $800 its a bit of a crapshoot, and for your needs much less relevant, but higher end items stay useful longer and hold value unreasonably well.
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Mar 29, 2018 03:05
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Kaby Lake (i-7xxx) and the 1xx/2xx chipsets are a dead platform. An i3-8100 and Z370 board costs about the same, is a (slightly) better processor, and has the potential to have a much better processor dropped in in the future. You don't need a cooler (for either), but the one it comes with isn't exactly quiet. If you do get one be sure it fits in your case. PCPartpicker does a compatibility check for components fitting, but its not a bad idea to check the max size of components your case allows for against the listed size of your choices. You should really also be buying dual-channel ram. I'll vouch for Brownthunder's codes as well. From personal experience, 256gb SSDs fill up really fast, if you're looking to game you'll either want a bigger SSD or a TB or two HDD.
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Mar 30, 2018 03:28
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Triebeard posted:I'm thinking of getting a i7-8700k build. I'll stick with my GTX970 for now but this is what I'm thinking so far. Other people have stronger opinions on motherboards than I, so I cant speak to that. Beyond that it's generally better to buy all your ram as one kit, and holy poo poo that's a lot of very expensive ram. My questions for you are, in order: Do you really need 32gb of ram? Do you need ram that fast? And do you need it now? (Not that I have any idea if/when ram prices will return to sanity, but I would still be you can get it much cheaper some point in the indeterminate future). Edit: you can also get by with a lower wattage psu, even with the GPU PCPP is only saying 360w. Fantastic Foreskin fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Apr 1, 2018 |
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Apr 1, 2018 22:33
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Also remember, reliability is only synonymous with redundancy, and even then only with caveats. Nothing that you can't afford to lose should ever go on one drive, no matter the model. Other than that yeah, WD blues for storage/$.
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Apr 2, 2018 22:45
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Lackmaster posted:Looking for a sanity check on this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rGmhyX Nothing looks out if place. You could try 8gb of ram, but no one here is going to recommend it. That said if your usage isn't pushing >=8gb now it's possible that by the time you need 16gb ram prices will have fallen, up to you if you want to make that bet. The graphics card is definitely the weakest part of the build but prices with those are also out of whack right now, though they're starting to show signs of falling.
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Apr 3, 2018 18:22
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Fireside Nut posted:Well, my ~8 year old PC finally bit it after many great years. If you can spare the $15 bucks for faster ram its probably worth it. Nothing stopping you from re-using your case if you like it, and you could always change cases later if you want. The big deal with Windows 7 is that it doesn't have driver support for USB, so you either need to patch your ISO, or just download Windows 10 from Microsoft here and active with your Windows 7 key. Lackmaster, if you have the cash to spring for a 1060 it would be a big improvement to the 1050ti.
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Apr 3, 2018 23:24
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No idea on that one, but if not you can always grab a discount key from Brownthunder in SA-Mart.
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Apr 4, 2018 00:40
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Fireside Nut posted:Right on - thanks! Actually, thinking about it, it should be tied to your windows account.
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Apr 4, 2018 02:36
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numerrik posted:US Do you have a capture card / preferences with regards to them? That's the one part I'm not familiar with so if we're building to a budget we should start there. An R5 1600 based system is probably your best bet if you can get video out cheap enough. Fantastic Foreskin fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Apr 4, 2018 |
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Apr 4, 2018 02:48
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Buy one that looks good and fits your motherboard/gpu. Smaller cases are a bitch to build in, but you only have to do it once and you get a nice small computer in the end. You can get all sorts of features, but none of the fundamentally change how your computer runs. If you needed lots of ports on the front, or accommodations for water cooling that might make a difference, but you would know if that was the case.
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Apr 4, 2018 04:53
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numerrik posted:I’m still debating internal vs external capture card. I’m doing research too. Is that <500 inclusive of the capture card? What is your main rig & what resources does a broadcasting comp need in the way of ram & storage? Light googling has been inconclusive.
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Apr 4, 2018 14:20
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numerrik posted:My main rigs are consoles, switch/ps4/wii u. From what I have been seeing it seems to be that a tower with built in motherboard and 300w power supply with an i7, capture card and 8gb ram is a pretty standard venture. Most people splurge on a 120gb ssd but storage requirements are basically just enough for the os and broadcast software https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VfHMZR Building a PC for $500 isn't easy to begin with, if you have to fit a $150-200 capture card info that budget you're not going to be able to get the CPU power you need. I'd start in the direction of the linked list. The CPU doesn't have any onboard graphics so you need a card for video out. I'd see if you can grab an ancient card off a goon for $10. You can probably find a cheaper psu, but it's the last item you want to cheap out on so make sure whatever you buy has a decent warranty. The case is a case, buy what looks good to you. If your capture software / hardware work with Linux then you can get your OS for free, otherwise SA-mart is the place to go for windows keys.
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Apr 4, 2018 16:57
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