Desktop Computers

I just updated my personal computer not to long ago. But I have long periods of dead time at work so Im playing Wildstar there as well, and the computer hitches quite a bit. I dont want to spend a lot of my own personal money on this computer, but Ill drop about 350 or so for a descent video card for it if thats the problem.

What is my biggest bottleneck in the following work computer setup:

Processor : AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Hard Drive : 500 GB 10,000 RPM Seagate
Video Card : Nvidia Geforce Asus GTX 465 3 gig
Motherboard :MSI MS-7578
Memory : 2x2gig Dual Channel DDR3 (4 gigs) 1600mhz
OS : Windows 8.1

The video card followed maybe by the ram amount. Get a new video card and a SSD for a big quality of life improvement.

Get yourself a Radeon R9 270 for $150 if you don't mind team red. Comes with two free games. Anything much more powerful will just be bottlenecked severely by that CPU (which, btw, is overclockable to 4.2ghz. If you do that, you could probably go with something like a GTX 770 without real issues)... And there's nothing you can do about that because that's the 2nd best CPU on that socket. Spend $50 on 4 more gigs of ram too. Grab a 128gig SSD if you feel like spoiling yourself, but it won't help game performance.

Is it worth upgrading monitors? I have had my Dell flatscreen since about 2006, maybe even earlier when flatscreen monitors were first coming out and it has served me well.

Depends if you want a larger viewing area or not. You can pick up a 27" 1440p IPS display for $300-$400. Picture quality is very nice.

Disp_sl said:

Depends if you want a larger viewing area or not. You can pick up a 27" 1440p IPS display for $300-$400. Picture quality is very nice.

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Don't even think about 1440p unless you have a very high end PC. It's just not pleasant on anything under an r9 280x/gtx 770

Also looking to upgrade my monitor. I have had a LG Flatron 22' for a long time. Ideally i would like a some what larger monitor for medium quality gaming and movie watching for less than $250.

I am not in a rush to upgrade, and have been trying to wait for a great deal. I check slickdeals every so often...

any shopping advice or recommendations?

What types of games do you play? Any specific examples you play a majority of the time? What are your basic system specs? Do you do any photo editing or graphic design?

recently been playing League of Legengs, WoW(rebirth), some other old games. nothing new with crazy reqs.

SAPPHIRE 100355OCL Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX

Intel i7-2600k 3.40ghz

windows 8

I don't do any video editing or other graphics stuff.

Don't own a TV and I watch all my movies/tv on my pc. no dvds or bluray, just downloaded/streaming.

Thanks!

Your GPU can't handle 1440p resolutions, so you are gonna have to rock a 1080p monitor. I'd also recommend a 24' monitor, because at 27' 1080p images start to look a little rough. Given that situation, you basically have 2 ways forward, and will depend on your personal preference.

1.Dell P2414H- This is an IPS panel that will provide sharp contrasts and rich, accurate colours. This image quality comes at a price, though. IPS panels process images much more slowly than TN panels. Fortunately, you don't play any games that require a fast monitor (twitchy FPS games, space combat simulators etc) so you could easily egg away with an IPS monitor. There really is no other choice for a gamer in your price bracket as far as IPS panels go. This monitor is awesome, and is one of the fastest IPS panels out there at any price range. (Btw, this monitor is overclockable if you are into that stuff)

2.ASUS VG248QE- This is the fastest monitor in your price bracket. TN panel means super fast refresh rates and butter smooth gaming with a powerful enough video card. This also comes at a price, and image/colour quality is not as good as it is on IPS panels. If you play twitch shooters like Quake, Titanfall, Doom etc. then this monitor is your only real choice at that price.

Since you play low demand games and watch a lot of movies on your PC, I'd definitely go with the Dell 2414h. Your GPU is nowhere near powerful enough to take full advantage of the Asus vg248qe anyway.

Ps. There may be people trying to convince you to go with a Korean 'overclockable' 1440p panel. I wouldn't do it. Recent analyses have shown they have a tendency to drop frames, effectively negating any advantage overclocking them gave in the first place. Their gaming performance is questionable at best. Very much a 'you get what you pay for' situation.

For anyone else who uses those QNIX monitors from Korea: Are you able to see your POST at all? The monitor doesn't kick in until the Windows screen so if there are absolutely any errors during POST, I am unable to see it.

Ofcourse, I see everything on the one at home, the one at work (that's been connected to dozens of computers / laptops) and I have 5+ friends with one and none of them have this problem.

Intel Core i7-4790, Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti, NZXT Phantom 630 Windowed Edition (Black) - System Build - PCPartPicker

any recommendations?? before I pull the trigger on monday or tuesday.

Do not have this issue with mine either. Crazy.

Harfle_sl said:

Intel Core i7-4790, Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti, NZXT Phantom 630 Windowed Edition (Black) - System Build - PCPartPicker

any recommendations?? before I pull the trigger on monday or tuesday.

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Get the K (o/c) version of the cpu if you're going with a Z chipset motherboard and replace that watercooling thingie with a decent aircooler (Noctua, Thermalright, Prolimatech, Scythe). Dunno what you're gonna do with this computer, but if it's for gaming the i7/32gb/1tb ssd are all overkill.

edit : the board has an M.2 slot so you should really grab an m.2 ssd.

Harfle_sl said:

Intel Core i7-4790, Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti, NZXT Phantom 630 Windowed Edition (Black) - System Build - PCPartPicker

any recommendations?? before I pull the trigger on monday or tuesday.

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Is this a gaming rig? If so, why so much RAM? Why such a massive PSU? It's too big for what you have built here, and I think it's too small to SLI 780ti down the road. That case is pricey and I can't figure out why, do you just really like the looks of it? Coolermaster HAF 922/932 or Storm Enforcer are all vastly superior options.

If it's just for gaming you should drop down to an i5 and spend the extra $20 to get the K (overclockable) version. If you aren't gonna overclock there is no need for that fancy cooling solution. Get yourself a cooler master hyper 212 EVO fan and you'll be just fine.

Also, this is a waaaaaay better 780ti that comes with a 3 year warranty:Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Superclocked w/ACX Cooler 3GB GDDR5 384bit Dual-Link DVI-I DVI-D HDMI DP SLI Graphics Cards 03G-P4-2884-KR: Computers Accessories

I honestly like the reference blower coolers on the 780s. They might run slightly warmer in single configs but your case temp will be lower and they are better if you are thinking SLi down the road (blowers are quieter too). That 860 should be enough power for dual 780ti if that's why he has it on there. I run SLi 780s and my 850w has headroom.

Seananigans_sl said:

I've got a graduation present coming my way and I think I'm going to build a computer with it. I haven't built one in 5 years, so 1) I'm out of practice and 2) I have no fucking clue where to even begin with parts.

Someone want to throw a suggestion up for a complete rig, including case/power supply? My budget is probably 1200-1500 tops, but I'm not even sure that much is necessary. Don't need monitors, but would probably like to have SLI, and whatever the new-fangled tech is for hard drives (SSD?). I'll provide tuconets, if you want. Or just short-lived gratitude, if that's sufficient.

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If I were to build a rig today:Intel Core i5-4670K, Asus Radeon R9 290, Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) - System Build - PCPartPicker

This rig will be a monster for 1080p gaming for the next 2 years until 4k resolutions start to penetrate. At the end of the Radeon R9 290's product lifecycle, make sure you buy a second and drop it in (under 1.5 years) before they get discontinued. It has 4gb VRAM so it'll be suitable for 4k gaming. I built it with a large enough PSU to accomodate 2 of them in crossfire. Grab another 8gb of ram in a couple years when you start to need it.

There's no reason for this rig to last you any less than 4 years (playing high+ settings the whole time) if you play your cards right. You're probably looking at 5-6 years with crossfire r9 290s if you are willing to drop down to medium (or lower) settings and don't play graphically intensive games.

^

Side note on the build Quaid just linked. The Samsung EVO 120GB SSD is on sale right now for $70 w/free shipping. This is one of the best (Crucial M500 being another) budget SSD's out there.

Here's the SlickDeals link, it may be even cheaper ($54?) through Google Wallet or something. I'm going to try buying one and update the post in a minute.

120GB Samsung 840 EVO 2.5" TLC Solid State Drive SSD $70 or less + Free Shipping

Edit: Ok from what I am reading if you have an iPhone and order/pay through the NewEgg app using Google Wallet you only pay $54.
Edit 2: Here's the deal for $15 off. It isn't strictly for the SSD, can be used for anything -Newegg.com - Use Google Wallet on your iPhone to Get $15 Off Your Purchase at Checkout