Posts by Keith Wright2

Since you need serious muscle for your workload, I’ve put together a build featuring a much faster and more powerful processor. I decided to go with the LGA 2011 socket because that’s where you'll truly see the performance benefits across all your professional applications. I also included an NVIDIA GTX 760 right away, since this specific CPU doesn't have integrated graphics. Everything else follows your exact specifications. Consider this a blueprint; if you have the budget, grab it, but don't feel pressured if you don't!

1xIntel Core i7-4930K Extreme Edition (3.4GHz, 12MB,LGA 2011) box
1xMSI X79-GD65-8D, LGA 2011, D3, S3, USB 3.0, FW, SLI, Dr
1xMSI MSI Video Card NVIDIA GTX 760 GAMING GDDR5 2GB/256bit, 1006MHz/6008MHz, PCI-E 3.0 x16, DP, HDMI, 2xDVI, VGA Cooler (Double Slot), Retail
1xEnermax ETS-T40-Black Twister CPU cooler
1xFortron Aurum S PSU 600W, 80+ GOLD
2xKingston DDR3 1600MHz, C11, 8GB
3xADATA SSD disk ADATA 128GB, XPG SP900, 2.5" SATA 3, ASP900S3-128GM-C SSD 128BG XPG SP900, Capacity 128 GB
1xToshiba DT01ACA300, HDD 3TB Capacity, 7200rpm, 6 Gb s SATA Interface, Buffer Size 64MB
1xASUS DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B/AS, 90DD0190-B10000
1xZalman Z3 Plus mid tower case
1xMicrosoft Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit

Total:$4480 Discount 24

ruggedeagle40 said:I need to sit down and tally up every single expense from these past few days. Only then will I truly see if this actually fits within my budget. 🙂 I can't help but let my imagination run wild wondering what gaming would actually look like with a setup like that. Honestly, if I had that kind of power, I’d probably be a much more peaceful person for a lot longer. 😁

Thank you so much for taking the time to help out. You all are truly wonderful to have in this subforum! 🙂

Honestly, with an R9 270 x, I’d feel pretty secure for the long haul. I mean, the graphics card is actually quite powerful, and when you pair that with a solid processor, isn't that exactly what you need? It really is. $667 With a new power supply that comes with a five-year warranty, I truly believe it’s a worthwhile investment once you sit down and run the numbers. That GTX 750 is decent enough for now, but let's face it—next-gen titles are hitting the market at an alarming rate with absolutely massive hardware requirements. How much longer can you actually expect to stay comfortable with that card? I'm not sure if you're working right now, but if you are, wouldn't it be smarter to just hold off for a month and save up those extra funds? $667 Just buy what’s appropriate for your needs and play on Ultra settings without a second thought. Why bother settling for a budget card only to find yourself hunting for a new GPU in six months? It's just common sense! As for installing the graphics card and the power supply, there are countless videos on YouTube covering exactly that—just search for it and watch. There isn't really much complicated tinkering involved, but you can always come back here if you need some advice.

ruggedeagle40 said:Oh, I see... thanks so much to everyone for the quick replies! 🙏

What should I actually look out for when picking a power supply? Do they all just work? Is the brand really a big deal, or should I just grab the cheapest 500+W unit I can find? Basically, how many watts am I actually looking at needing?

Is this GTX 750 going to be a massive upgrade, or should I hold off a bit so I can buy both a new PSU and a potentially better GPU for roughly the same amount of cash? And what kind of realistic wattage consumption could I expect if I go with that second option?

I noticed there's a dedicated thread for power supplies, but since I'm mixing things up here, I wasn't sure if this question was too far off-topic. 🤔

If you're looking to really push things to the limit and run everything on Ultra settings, this would be an awesome setup:
1 x Gigabyte R9 270X OC, 2GB GDDR5, HDMI, DVI
1 x Fortron Raider S 550W, 80+ SILVER

Total: $667 Free shipping via Future IT

driftingdrifter88 said:The processor is an Intel Core i3-2100
on an ASRock 970 Extreme3 motherboard
Graphics card is an AMD HD6780
with 4 gigs of RAM
Power supply is a Corsair 500W, I think

It's about a year old

Should I upgrade this... or just sell it all and buy a new Intel build?
It's used for 3ds Max, Photoshop, Unreal Engine, UDK, high poly modeling, and ZBrush

I’d only upgrade enough to allow me to run a 64-bit OS, which means grabbing an Intel Core i5-3570 processor and more RAM, since it seems like 32-bit systems aren't really supported anymore

If you want to go for a completely new Intel-based setup, you could try something like this:

1x Intel Core i5-4440 Processor
1x Gigabyte B85M-D3H Motherboard
1x MSI GeForce GTX 750 Titanium Video Card GDDR5 2GB/128bit, 1085MHz(OC mode)/5400MHz, PCI-E 3.0 x16, H
2x Patriot Signature DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB PSD34G160081
1x XFX Pro Series CoreEdition 80 450W PSU, XFX-P1-450S-X2B9
1x SanDisk 120 GB 840 SSD Basic MZ-7TE120BW
1x WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3 Hard Drive WD10EZEX
1x Generic Black DVD±RW 24x drive
1x Zalman micro tower case black, Cooler Master Hyper 212

Total cost:$1692 cnn.com
I put together a list for you with entirely new components, though you could potentially reuse your old power supply, case, and optical drive. You could also just add another 4GB of RAM, or use your existing hard drive if it has a SATA connection, or even swap the GPU. Alternatively, you could just sell the whole rig and buy what I've suggested here—let's see how that works out for you...

Ryan Wilson7 said:But his motherboard doesn't even support 8-core processors... 😕

Look, I actually installed a damn board for him that supports 8-core CPUs and can handle serious overclocking, so maybe read the post more carefully.

driftingdrifter88 said:2,250 to 3,000

Or I could just sell my current rig, toss in another 3k, and buy something entirely new.

If you’re looking to upgrade what you already have, here is how I would play it:

Intel Core i7-4770K Processor (3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W) box
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P Motherboard
Raijintek EreBoss CPU Cooler (P/N: CPRT-004)
Patriot Signature Series DDR3 1600MHz, 4GB PSD34G160081 (get the same RAM sticks you currently have; I just listed this 4GB one as an example)

Total cost: $2,446.75 at Best Buy if you have $1000 available for an upgrade. You should also throw in this SSD http://www.bestbuy.com/details/ssd-120gb

crimsonstag84 said:@Keith Wright2

I'm thinking about picking up this case:

Also, I probably need a better cooler for that Intel Core i3-4130; the stock one seems pretty underwhelming.

The only issue is it might be slightly over budget...

Honestly, the cooler isn't a big deal. I have that AMD Athlon x4 760 at my place, and it runs perfectly fine on the stock cooler. Sure, it gets a little loud sometimes, but it doesn't bother me, so he can save his money there without any worries.$33If he wants to upgrade it later, he can—no harm done. As for the case, he should just grab whichever one looks better to him; there aren't any massive differences when you're looking at this low-end segment.

Look, just take this deal. There is honestly no point in looking at anything weaker than this. Grab the 1TB hard drive because the price gap between that and the 500GB version is only about $17, which means for just $17 extra, you’re essentially getting a second 500GB drive for free. You will be so glad you did that later on, especially since the price difference is practically nothing—just like the jump between an Athlon x4 740-750 and a 760!

ASUS Prime A88X Motherboard (SFM2+, DDR3, SATA III, RAID, GLAN, USB2.0, USB3.0, VGA, HDMI, DVI) mATX Box
Intel Core i3-4130 Processor
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 Graphics Card, 1GB GDGD5 11215-00-20G
Memory Device KINGSTON ValueRAM DDR3 SDRAM Non-ECC (4GB, 1600MHz(PC3-12800), Single Rank, Unbuffered) C
Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 3.5''
Chicony Active 350W ATX PSU, CHI-HPA-350W
PC Case without power supply, SiriusXM total

Total: $2,441.55
Best Buy