Posts by Robert Taylor

David Sanders4 said:If we're talking value, the Nvidia GTX 970 is the smart pick since it isn't much slower than the 980. Honestly, both struggle at 4K. Nvidia holds the edge because of their proprietary features that AMD just doesn't have, but speaking from experience in heavy titles, using DSR looks significantly better than any standard fHD x4 Supersampling AA or even 8x MSAA—which absolutely kills your performance. Personally, I tend to run almost everything at 1440p without any AA enabled...
Now that we've stripped away those minor advantages held by Nvidia, the R9 290 stands out as the best budget option.
P.

What kind of rig are you running? What's your monitor setup like, and what kind of FPS are you seeing at 1440p or 4K when you toggle the settings between high and low?

I’ve been reading through the thread and realized you’re looking to buy using a credit card. My suggestions, along with the advice from Timothy60, were based on cash prices. If you're planning to put this on a card, we’ll need to adjust things since cash deals are significantly cheaper here in the States.

If you decide to go the credit route, the build should look something like this:

1 x Gigabyte AMD Radeon R9 280 WF3 OC, 3GB GDDR5, HDMI, DVI
1 x AMD CPU Desktop FX-Series X8 8300 (3.3GHz,16MB,95W,AM3+) box
1 x Asus M5A97 R2
1 x Coolink Corator DS cooler 115x/2011/AMD
2 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x Fortron Raider S PSU 650W, 80+ SILVER
1 x HDD SEAGATE Barracuda (3.5",1TB,64MB,SATA III)
1 x Zalman Z3, USB3.0 black, 3x120mm

Total: $2158 via credit, at Futur, includes free assembly!
By the way, I could have included a 120GB SSD, but since you mentioned you weren't interested, I reallocated those funds into a better motherboard, cooler, and power supply.
You might also consider picking out a nicer case with a transparent side panel so you can actually see the components

Honestly, that card isn't worth it $1533 since it's barely more powerful than the R9 290 we keep suggesting, yet somehow it carries a higher price tag. $667 Just take a look at this comparison to see the gap for yourself; the blue lines represent the Nvidia GTX 980, while the orange shows the Sapphire R9 290 we've been recommending all along. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1351?vs=1068

Christian Miller48 said:Regarding the GPU, I was thinking about this http://zotacusa.com/media/catalog/pr...10p-image2.jpg

In my experience, an aftermarket cooler like this beats the stock one that comes with the case. I haven't handled a massive amount of cards, but still...
A power supply with a 5-year warranty? That sounds reasonable enough.

Cards built like that were common five or more years ago—they still exist, but usually on those budget models. A cooler like that wouldn't satisfy the cooling needs of any serious modern GPU. Besides, doesn't this Sapphire R9 290 with its triple fans and beefy design look much better to you?
As for Zotac, their cards aren't even really available in our local stores, except for one Nvidia GTX 980 that costs over $1533 and even that is currently sold out.

It would be wise to overclock both processors since they are designed for it—except for that standard i5 4460; you can't overclock that one because it lacks the "K" designation. Regardless, The Witcher 3 is a demanding title, and performance will depend heavily on optimization, but generally speaking, either of these CPUs should be sufficient for a smooth experience.

The AMD build features an eight-core processor paired with a high-speed SSHD—essentially finding that middle ground between a standard hard drive and an SSD.

1 x Sapphire R9 290, TRI-X, 4GB, GDDR5
1 x AMD CPU Desktop FX-Series X8 8300 (3.3GHz,16MB,95W,AM3+) box
1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x LC POWER LC-CC-95, socket 775/1155/1156/AMD
2 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x Fortron Hyper 700W, 80+
1 x SEAGATE HDD DESKTOP SSHD 3.5" / 1TB / 64m/ SATA/ 7200rpm
1 x Zalman Z3, USB3.0 black, 3x120mm

Total: $2185 Futur includes free assembly and shipping!
If you aren't interested in the SSHD, you can opt for a standard hard drive instead You could also upgrade to a better cooler and overclock the processor to somewhere around 4.5GHz
. Alternatively, you could go with the Nvidia GTX 970 In that scenario, you'd likely want to choose a lower-wattage power supply
.
The Intel option, designed for overclocking.

1 x XFX R9-280A-TDFD, Double Dissipation Edition AMD Radeon R9 280 933M
1 x Intel Core i5-4690K Processor (3.50GHz,1MB,6MB,88 W,1150) Box
1 x ASRock Z97-PRO3, s1150, Intel Z97
1 x Zalman CNPS10X OPTIMA, CPU cooler. FAN: 120mm, fan speed:1000rpm
2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingmax, 1600MHz, FLGF
1 x Fortron 600W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA6003302, 12cm ventilator
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Zalman Z3 mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. MB standard

Total: $2186 ADM.com, free assembly and shipping included!

Look, I already said I’m done with that behavior. I've said my piece, apologized for everything, and committed to changing how I carry myself. I'm hoping we can just move past this and get back to business as usual.

Actually, running this with 16GB of RAM works just fine too.

Monitor:
1 x Dell UltraSharp Monitor, 23", IPS panel, 1920x1080 resolution

PC Build:
1 x Sapphire TRI-X R9 290 4GB GDDR5 512bit, 28nm, 2xDVI + HDMI + DP
1 x Intel Core i7-4790 (3.60GHz,1MB,8MB,84W,1150) Box
1 x Asrock H81M-HDS, s1150, Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2xDDR3
2 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingmax, 1600MHz, non-ECC, CL9.0, FLGG
1 x Fortron 700W Hyper Power Supply, PPA7002702, 12cm fan
1 x SanDisk 250 GB SSD, 250 GB Capacity, 2.5"
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Zalman Z3 PLUS mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. Motherboard standard

Total: $3.25 Micro Center, includes free assembly and shipping!
I didn't include the optical drive. In my opinion, it’s a relic of the past that nobody really uses anymore; you can install everything you need via a USB drive anyway.

Larry Ortiz5 said:Jesus Christ, I’m reading this and I honestly can’t believe my eyes. This is unbelievable. 🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦 🤦🤦🤦🤦

Mods, please. Just deal with this once and for all.

What happened now?

One AMD Radeon R9 290, TRI-X edition, equipped with 4GB of GDDR5.
One single AMD FX-Series X8 8300 desktop processor. It's got that 3.3GHz clock speed, 16MB of cache, and a 95W TDP, all sitting on the AM3+ socket. Just the box.
One GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+.
One unit of the LC POWER LC-CC-95, compatible with sockets 775/1155/1156 and AMD.
Two sticks of 4GB 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 Kingston HyperX Fury DDR3.
One Fortron Hyper 700W, 80+.
Just one Samsung 120GB SSD. Simple enough.
One Seagate hard drive, 1TB capacity, spinning at 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64MB cache. Simple enough.
One Zalman Z3, USB 3.0, finished in black, featuring three 120mm fans.

Total:$2366 Futura it—free assembly and delivery included!

Just toss in another 4GB of RAM later on and you're golden.

1 x Sapphire R9 290, TRI-X, 4GB, GDDR5
1 x AMD CPU Desktop FX-Series X8 8300 (3.3GHz,16MB,95W,AM3+) box
1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x LC POWER LC-CC-95, socket 775/1155/1156/AMD
1 x 4GB 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM Corsair Vengeance LPX
1 x Fortron Hyper 700W, 80+
1 x Seagate HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M
1 x Zalman Z3, USB3.0 black, 3x120mm

Total:$2033 Best Buy, free assembly and shipping included!
Once you have some extra cash, grab another 4GB stick of this RAM and you'll have a top-tier machine on your hands.

Nothing too crazy here, but this would actually be a solid choice for $1333:

XFX AMD Radeon R9 270A 2GB DDR5, XFX-R9-270A-CDFC

AMD X6 FX-6100

Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P,AM3,A970,D3,S3,U3,A

Thermaltake Contac 16 patriot sig

Patriot Sig. DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB PSD34G160081

Silverstone Strider ST50F-230 AC 180-264V, 50/60Hz, DC 3.3/5/±12V, 500W, Retail, Active

WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3 WD10EZEX

LG GH24NSC0 sat Bulk Black 24 x MS PHOENIX

MS PHOENIX case without PSU

Total:$1362 Best Buy, free assembly included!
Down the road, you could just pop in another 4GB stick to hit 8GB total. They cost about $87 You literally just click them into the slot and you're done.

briskorca11 said:Are you suggesting it might be cheaper if I wait those three weeks? Fine. Can I at least count on you guys actually putting this together for me when the time comes? 🙂

Nobody can give you a guarantee on whether the price will drop. You were told to reach out once you actually have the cash because there’s no point in locking anything in now if you aren't buying until three weeks from today. When you have the money in hand, come back and we'll get it built.

Hah, oh man, give me a break 😂

If you ask me, these AIO liquid coolers are fine if you just care about the aesthetics, but when you look at everything else, they’re a massive waste of money. If I were going to drop that kind of cash, I’d just go all out on a proper custom loop with all the fancy bells and whistles.

Nathan Foster23 said:You guys are just shouting into the void. Only people who feel a desperate need to justify their own mess spend this much energy defending these decisions. It’s pretty obvious you know you screwed up with this move; otherwise, you wouldn't be working this hard to make excuses. Sure, enjoy the perks while they last, but how long can you actually sustain this? Eventually, reality is going to hit you hard. What happens to you then?

Honestly, once he’s gone, most fans will probably have checked out of the games anyway.🤷

Kimberly Gomez34 said:Here is the build configuration:

1 x Sapphire TRI-X R9 290 4GB GDDR5 512bit, 28nm, 2xDVI + HDMI + DP
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4
1 x Asrock Z87 Extreme3, s1150, Intel Z87, 4 x DDR3 DIMM, 3yr warranty
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, 2011, 1366/1156/775/AM3/ 626g, 13-32dB
1 x DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, HyperX Genesis, KHX1600
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 1
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD disk, 120 GB capacity, 2.5"
1 x Zalman Z5 plus mid tower case (USB 3.0)
1 x Seasonic S12G-550 Gold, 550 W, active PFC
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA

$3020 Admin, assembly and shipping are included for free

Pick out your own peripherals; you'll have plenty of budget left over for your desk setup.

I'm not really feeling this case. I want something with a larger window, maybe something similar to the swiftpilot EternalKnight tta31 model.

It’s looking a little steep for me. Both builds are over $150 above my budget, and honestly, I think I'll just hang tight and wait to see if someone else puts something together. By the way, thanks for all the effort—you guys did a great job on these, but money is the main issue here.

Personally, I find this case (EternalKnight tta31) quite visually appealing, and it features the side window I was looking for—that's really my main priority. To be honest, I’d probably be even happier with a Cooler Master Storm Trooper, but the price tag is significantly higher, and I have no intention of sacrificing performance just to force weaker components into the build to make the budget work!

So, here’s the situation. I have $5000 to work with, but honestly, I need everything from scratch. My goal is to build a gaming rig that will absolutely crush every single title released over the next five years without breaking a sweat. I also need a solid Full HD LED TV—at least 32 inches—to hook this PC up to. Beyond that, I’m looking for a desk that can handle the PC, mouse, speakers, keyboard, and headset, plus all the necessary cables and a high-quality surge protector. Throw in two Xbox controllers, and I want the whole setup to look sleek, featuring a chassis with a large, clean window and some nice lighting. Since I don't live in the metro area, I'll need doorstep delivery for the entire haul. I'll be paying in cash!