feralangler3 said:That might be true, but honestly, just running what I have open on my laptop right now is already eating up 5GB. It makes me feel like 8GB might actually fall short right out of the gate, and $100 it doesn't seem like such a huge investment to upgrade.
There’s a massive difference between 5GB and 8GB... I suspect your laptop is bogged down with junk (useless background processes, spyware, etc.).
darkskipper5 said:Thanks a ton! You've cleared everything up for me, so I'm heading out tomorrow to pick up the GPU.
One last question: is a 400W power supply enough for my setup? (Intel i5 CPU, 2 x 7200 rpm HDDs, 1 DVD-ROM, this new GPU, plus maybe two extra case fans). I checked some online PSU calculators and they said 354W is fine, but recommended 405W. If it's not enough, I'd rather just go with a weaker card.
Thanks everyone! You really need to add a "Donate" button for tech support so we can send you guys some cash for a beer or something. 🙂
It'll hold up. That's made by the highest quality manufacturer (an OEM Seasonic unit), which means you're getting actual, honest-to-god 400W. Whoever built this rig for you definitely knew what they were doing. Basically, those online calculators aren't perfectly accurate—they tend to overestimate. Your configuration will likely pull under 300W even at full load.
Also, you could overclock that CPU for a little extra juice if you have an aftermarket cooler; those processors can easily push past 3 or 4GHz. Bottom line: that graphics card is a massive upgrade over what you have now. It’s going to feel like a whole new machine.
Look, Windows XP is a completely different beast altogether. It’s ancient, and there’s absolutely no way you'd be installing that on a modern PC. If you want reliability, Windows 7 SP1 is definitely your most stable bet. Sure, Windows 8 boots up faster, but plenty of people run into all sorts of glitches and annoying bugs with it.
1 x ASUS Motherboard, AM3+, AMD 990 x SB950, 4x DDR3 1 x desktop FX-Series X8 8320 3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W, AM3+, FD8320FRHK 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 Zalman CNPS10X Optima HDD desktop Toshiba DT01ACA050 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB 1 x XFX Core edition 80 550W PSU - EasyRail technology 1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA 1 x Zalman Z3 PLUS mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. MB standa 1 x MSI GTX 760 Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N760 TF 2GD5/OC, Dual-link DVI
$2029 admin.us
You've got a solid foundation here—it's overclockable and everything else is perfectly balanced. My advice? Grab an SSD down the road so you can shift some budget toward other components right now. If you want to push your total to $6,500, I'd suggest upgrading the GPU to a Toxic 280 x Toxic 280 x without any extra games included.
Grab the Zalman Z3 along with a case (or maybe the Z5+)—it’s an absolute steal for the price, even cheaper than that junk you were looking at. Those options weren't even on the radar back when we were first putting these builds together; they just hit the market recently. It's similar to how the 280X wasn't exactly a "toxic" outlier either. To put your mind at ease: it isn't significantly quieter than the 290. You're only looking at a 2 dB difference under full load—just a single click—so you aren't actually "sacrificing silence" if you decide to go with the R9 290.
If anyone happens to snag a decent AMD FX 8320—(judging by what I’ve read in the comments here)—it’s actually possible to hit 4.2 GHz if you undervolt it down to a flat 1.3V 😵. If you get a slightly weaker chip, you might push it to 4.4 GHz at 1.4V, though it sounds like most people just haven't dialed in their BIOS settings quite right yet. Most users seem to be running either Gigabyte UD3 boards or those standard Asus models
If you aren't setting this PC up for a business environment, there's really no point in wasting your cash on an original copy of Windows. Just find someone to set up a cracked version for your home use instead.
The folks over at IBM recommended the MSI R9 270 Twin Frozr to me. It’s a bit above my initial budget (they mentioned a price of $480, but I still need to verify that), but based on the reviews, it seems like an excellent solution, even if it isn't passively cooled. What are your thoughts on this card in terms of the price-to-performance ratio?
Is it actually worth paying $42 for installation if you're a complete novice (like me), or is it simple enough that I shouldn't worry about it?
Thanks again for all the help.
Have a good night...
The Twin Frozr coolers are high quality; you really can't go wrong with them, and the value for the performance is solid.
Whatever you do, don't pay $42 for it if you have even a tiny bit of technical skill (just unscrewing a few screws and plugging in a cable)—it is definitely a DIY job. You'll get instructions in the box, or you can just search YouTube for "how to install/remove a GPU," like this one—your card is similar to this more powerful model where you have to plug the power supply cable directly into the card.
That AMD setup is actually great for video editing too—it fits your budget better, which lets you squeeze in a much stronger graphics card.
But if you’re dead set on going with an i7, here’s how that would look:
1 x Intel Core i7-4770 3.40GHz, Haswell 1 x Asrock B85 Pro4, s1150, Haswell 2 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, CL10 1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mj 1 x XFX Core Edition 80 450W PSU - EasyRail technology 1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA 1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. MB standard 1 x MSI GTX650 1024 GDDR5 128 bit, N650-1GD5/OCV1, Core Clock 1071 M
$1995If you pay cash, assembly and shipping are free through the shop. Also, for your first order, definitely pick up an SSD and install your OS and main programs directly onto it.
Since you mentioned video editing is the priority, this works. It's fine for gaming, but if you were focusing primarily on gaming, I'd ditch the i7 and put that money toward a more powerful GPU instead.
Honestly, just shoot some emails directly to the shops and ask. You'll actually be better off paying in cash; you'll snag a better deal and open up way more options. Check out places like Best Buy, Micro Center, or even Newegg once the holiday rush dies down—maybe hit up B&H Photo or even Walmart if you're lucky.
swiftscout21 said:I used to run an ATI HD3870—it’s been a total workhorse for five solid years, but obviously, it couldn't handle DX11. Man, what a massive leap forward this new card is!
This much. Even though there aren't many games included in this test, it serves as a solid baseline. To me, that gap looks a bit excessive, but hey, you're still making progress regardless.
You’d be better off grabbing that from Amazon; if you check HGSpot, they just list the retail price at the bottom anyway.$266) I certainly hope you’re running at least a decent dual-core processor paired with 4GB of RAM.
If it handled a higher power draw before, it’ll handle a lower one just fine. Those official specs on the graphics card pages are always way too vague; they can't possibly know what the rest of your build pulls, so they just slap a "500W" number on there as a safety net.
You didn't mention which PSU you're running (Dell uses FSP for their OEM units, so it probably isn't complete garbage), but I'm guessing you've got an older, low-tier model. It might be worth swapping it out just to be safe for future upgrades.
Anthony Kim54 said:Which would be the better pick, an R9 290 or an R9 280x?
And could I overclock the R9 280x to match the performance of an R9 290 since it's technically the weaker card?
I’d grab the R9 290 in a heartbeat if it didn't have such a massive cooler attached to it. 😁
If you're running a standard monitor (anything up to 1920x1200 resolution), just go with the 280x. At that resolution, you won't notice much of a difference compared to the 290 (click), so you might as well keep the extra cash in your pocket. The only problem is that they seem to be out of stock at all our local retailers right now.
maybe this one http://www.newegg.com/p/details/7591D8D3F It feels like they bumped up the prices recently. I remember seeing Sapphire Dual-X models for around $220, but now everything is sitting at $260-$275. In my opinion, that’s way too steep for a 270x—it's basically just a slightly overclocked HD7870 that you can pick up for about $210.
If I had to stretch my budget for those overpriced Toxic cards or whatever else, I’d honestly rather just go with the NVIDIA GTX 760
Look, I'm fully aware it’s standard practice for them to set the voltage slightly higher than necessary. What really blows my mind, though, is how they actually bumped it up significantly compared to stock settings—even alongside the undervolting (they'll likely push it past 4.0 GHz during testing)...