Looking to build a new PC - suggestions welcome

[natty]

I guess no current video games are CPU capped so if you're only looking at gaming an i5 makes sense.  I just figured if you're going SLI and 2 SSDs that you're going all out.  2 x GTX 760s is quite beefy.  

[cptx]

Thanks to this thread I picked up one of the Cyberpower PC's from Newegg for my GF's son. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. It actually made me jealous enough to go and get some more RAM and another gfx card for mine.

 

Good advice.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

keep an eye on that PSU and if it starts freezing or acting funny i'd be willing to bet that's the culprit

[cptx]

yeah, it seems to be a common issue from what I read on here and also their online reviews. the listing said 350 watt and it came with a 450 so maybe they have tried to address it. I'm still going to watch it. I think I have an extra one somewhere.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

mine came with a 650w i think and i still had issues with it.   they're just lightweights.

[cptx]

I have a question for you PSC, if you don't mind.

 

I have an older MB and processor (MSI 7380 with a Q6600) and I am not impressed all all with this graphics card and RAM that I picked up the other night. I had a geforce 9600 GT 512mb and 4GB winX PC2-6400 in it so I figured that going with 8GB of memory and this GT 630 2GB card would knock the dust off of it and at least make it somewhat better. If anything, it is worse than it was before. I'm about to yank this Best Buy crap out and get my money back.

 

I don't need this thing to run an 8 second quarter mile or anything, All I play is War Thunder and couple other F2P games, and Minecraft with the kids. It was running those fairly decent, I was getting around 40-50 fps in War Thunder, now it's down in the 20s. It's irritating me to say the least.

 

Is there any other card that you think would at least work a little better than what I had?

[Porn Shop Clerk]

the thing to remember about video cards is the 2nd number is the most important (usually). i'll see if i can find a better breakdown.   been awhile since i researched video cards.

 

it looks to me like the 9600 has better memory bandwidth than the 630.  an important thing to remember.  the 9600 is old tech, but it was a really impressive video card when it released.  i could see it handling games better than the 630.

 

 

NVIDIA currently uses a three number model structure, but used to use a simliar structure to the ATI / AMD cards. Like the ATI / AMD cards the first number is the series. The next number ranges from 1 being the lowest performance in that series to 9 being the highest performance in that series. The next number is usually a 0 or a 5. The 5 usually means that they have added something to the card to make it perform better. The NVIDA GeForce GT 510 is the lowest performing video card in that series. The GT 540 is the mid range card and anything above the 550 is considered to be a high performance card. You can find a list of NVIDIA graphics cards on their website.

Example: The NVIDIA 240, 440 and 540 will perform pretty much the same. The newer model will usually have the ability to accomodate newer techology that was not available in the older version. 

Performance Examples:

Low Performance : GeForce GT 510, 610

Mid Performance : GeForce GT 540, 640

High Performance : GeForce GTX 550, 560, 650, 660, 750, 760

Ultra Performance : GeForce GTX 580, 680, 780

 

there are probably other people here that can contribute more than i can.   i just know a 5850 is better than a 7550 and a 280gt is better than a 550 ti...in theory

 

i would definitely go with a 550 over a 630, but if you can, pony on up for a 670 or something.   i have a 550.  its ok.  

 

this site is great for sizing up potential gpu:

 

http://www.hwcompare.com/

 

 

so basically, in a 630, used in automobile terms, the 6 = model, IE camry, corolla, toyota, whatever.  the 3 = what's under the hood, 4 cyl, 6 cyl or v8.

 

it works the same for radeon too, but the last two numbers could be considered the liter.   the 2nd number is most important though, a 7850 is better than a 7770, etc.

 

also, update your drivers!

[Porn Shop Clerk]

heh my standby is usually the x77x series for gaming.  its pretty good bang for the buck:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121642

 

the crazy thing is if you had a 9800 instead there would probably be no reason to swap it out unless as long as its dx111 compatible

 

also i'm kind of surprised you found pc2 ram

 

[cptx]

I really have had no complaints with the 9600, it's been a nice card. I just got that itch when I was setting up her kids shiny new PC, headed to Best Buy to get a new monitor and ended up spending $500 for no real reason apparently. Generally I would have researched the piss out of a purchase like this for this very reason.

 

I wouldn't mind a little more out of this old setup, but the way it's looking I'm probably just going to put the old stuff back in until after this summer,  then just buy a built one along the lines of the one we got her kid and give this one to my son.  That, or keep my case and peripherals and build me something better.

 

Thanks for the response and info, I never knew that about the numbering. I just saw that card with 2GB of memory and got my wallet out like a dumbass. Oh well, it happens I guess. They have a 15 day return policy, fug em.

[cptx]

 

also i'm kind of surprised you found pc2 ram

 

It's PNY brand, and at almost $40 a 2 GB stick I dont think the boost was worth the $160 I payed.

[cptx]

To add insult to injury, during all of this I decided to "upgrade" from Vista to 8.1.

 

It has been a long weekend.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

ewwwwwwww

[SOJA]

Just curious- how much would a decent (not great, not complete poo) gaming CPU cost? because if it's anywhere around 700 dollars I probably will just say fug PS4 or Xbone and save all my moneys for that 

 

 

judging by this thread, my knowledge of computers is negative 22. I think I need a good place to start by just learning the necessary components and go from there

[Porn Shop Clerk]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227507R

 

this plus a new power supply is all you really need.   you could spend less or more depending on what you really want