It depends on what you’re after. If you skip the SSD and HDD, you've got a much bigger budget for everything else. Basically, you could stick with that same i5 but grab a GTX 1070 for a massive jump in graphics performance. Or, keep the same GPU but swap the i5 for an i7, which gives you a way better platform for future upgrades. So, it's really up to you... do you want a better foundation for later, or better frame rates right now? An i5 + RX480 is a balanced setup on its own, but those two alternatives are also solid combos depending on what I just said. Personally, I'd go with the i7 + RX480 if you plan on sticking to 1080p for a while. But if you're planning on getting a higher resolution monitor before you ever touch the GPU again, then the i5 + GTX 1070 is the smarter move.
Sure... if you're looking for some kind of middle ground between swapping out your PSU and just forcing an Radeon RX 480 into the mix, maybe a 1060 3GB makes sense... depends on how you look at it.
BTW, how can you tell which PCI Express rail is sharing a load with the motherboard or CPU connector?
Robert Rodriguez2 said:I wouldn't go that route on Hex... 😁
It’s already on Hex, and there's already a 7850 OC pulling about 120W, so the difference isn't massive.
Honestly, grabbing something like a Radeon RX 470 is a solid alternative. It's more than enough for 1080p gaming and saves you some cash. You could also look at the 1060 3GB, which is definitely better on power consumption, but I think the Radeon RX 470 is the better deal. Just watch those rails with any of them. Make sure the motherboard and the PCI Express aren't sharing the same rail; some power supplies split the PCIe load across different rails instead of keeping them together.
The GTX 1060 is about 10% slower in older DX11 titles, but with newer games, it'll likely just be right in the mix—performing slightly better in some and trailing in others.
ruggedpanther2, honestly, for that GPU and whatever i3 you're running, a 200-250W unit would probably handle the load just fine. It’s all about quality. Those cheap 500-700W units you see everywhere? Total junk. Listen to the consensus—if you're buying a new PSU, get something reliable, not some bottom-tier scrap that delivers garbage voltage. You're better off just sticking with that Microsoft unit until you actually have the cash for an upgrade. It won't be breaking a sweat with the new card anyway.
Either of those two options analogtiger19 linked are solid. They're miles ahead of anything from Akira or similar brands.
Honestly, just grab an NVIDIA GTX 1650 instead. It’s right there in the same ballpark, slightly better performance, and it won't suck up all your power.
You wouldn't even need a new PSU since the current one might hold up, though you'd want to swap it out eventually regardless of the GPU—that thing is total junk.
What kind of PSU are you running? If it handled the i7 920 @3.4 GHz, it should handle an overclocked 5820K just fine, but strictly speaking...
P.S.
You should probably dig into which X99 board to grab. From what I've seen on Newegg and similar sites, people complain about reliability issues on quite a few models, even some of the pricier ones.
Look, the i7 6700 actually holds its own with decent single-core and multi-threaded performance, so you shouldn't run into any major issues.
And don't bother with extra cooling; nothing is going to overheat here. The only reason to grab a better CPU cooler would be to quiet down the fan whine under load, but honestly, that’ll rarely happen anyway.
Kimberly Gomez34 said:Hey Dederti, tell me, would you actually overclock it? Arma 3 is such a single-core whore that overclocking might not even be worth the hassle compared to most other games.
True, but wouldn't the Intel Core i7 6700 at least hold a steady 60FPS? An i7 is a better long-term bet than an i5, so for these types of games, it should be more than enough.
crimsonstag84 said:@Robert Rodriguez2
B85 motherboard (LGA 1150) and an i5 6500 (LGA 1151) 😬
Is that the new Blast? By the way, Blast... Spark... all names that sound like they belong in Kobra 11.
crimsonstag84 said:I I honestly doubt we’ll even hit half capacity once everything starts screaming at once. 😛
It’s actually a step up from the Hyper, Raider, or Integre m models—it's modular too, and comes with a 5-year warranty.
Fair point, the power is decent. Why do you think it's better than the others? Voltage stability and stuff? BTW, who’s actually manufacturing the newer CX430 units and such?
amberhawk5 said:In my case, I wasn't even looking at anything besides Nvidia because of specific software requirements. Choosing a card isn't really a debate for me—it's just about finding the right price point. Besides, you get a warranty; it’s not some shady operation. I'm with you on the SSD, but if we're talking about a workstation for modeling, RAM and the GPU are way more critical. And regarding HD storage... has anyone here actually modeled anything? Do you have any idea how massive those files get?
Who actually handles the warranty? Where do you even take the hardware if it dies? As for the price, it's basically the same as it is here. Maybe it's $5 cheaper like I mentioned, but I'm guessing shipping from St. Louis to Washington, D.C. won't be free either.
It all depends on what you're modeling. For certain tasks, you don't even need a powerhouse GPU.
Am I really the only one here who doesn't expect hardware costing $167 to last longer than two years? Back in the day, printers were actual beasts. I had a Xerox back in the late 90s that probably printed enough paper to fuel several presidential elections, and I once had a Lexmark C510 that I refilled using toner straight from a bottle. But nowadays? That’s a rarity. When you're looking at a budget under $100, you can't expect much—not that you ever could.
For a casual user, it makes sense to grab a printer in the $500-$200 range that has the cheapest ink possible and just run it into the ground for 24 months. That works out to about $8.25/month. If you aren't printing at least 100 pages a month, there's no point in buying a printer anyway; if you do buy one, you just use it until it dies. These things aren't old-school VW Golfs built to last generations.
amberhawk5 said:If you're in Washington, D.C. or somewhere near St. Louis, there's this online shop with new parts that's about 30% cheaper than physical stores. For example, an EVGA Nvidia GTX 960 is $200, 16GB HyperX DDR3 RAM (2*8) is $75, etc. I don't know how it is for you guys in America, but local retail prices here are way higher. DM me if you need details. (Not an ad, just genuinely happy with them and wanted to share the love 😁)
A GTX 960 for $200 isn't exactly a steal. You're better off shelling out another $30 for an RX 470 4GB. (Around here, the GTX 960 goes for $200-$220) R9 380s are in that same ballpark. Now tell me, is it worth ordering something with sketchy warranty coverage just to save $5, even if shipping is free?
P.S. An SSD makes a massive difference in performance; spending 20% of your budget on one is smart. The real question is whether someone actually needs an HDD or not—if they do need 1TB, then grab an HDD.