CorgiShinobi Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Truth be told I can't really blow it all at once, but as far as the setup goes, it does look good. How would "dual" graphics cards work? I imagine the motherboard has to be formatted to utilize two. Speaking of... Intel or AMD motherboard? I feel like in the past I've always had trouble with AMD, but wouldn't an AMD graphics card (if I got one) be more "at home" with an AMD motherboard? Everything else I can handle, like the HDDs/SSDs, PSU, and etc. It's the motherboard and graphics card that stump me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 You slap on the GPUs as normal and then add (Usually) a connector (Crossfire for AMD. SLI for Nividia). I believe the same principle applies with a quad setup. As far as I know, it doesn't matter if you have a AMD card with a Intel board since I'm running on such a setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Dual cards are rarely a solution for folks who don't want to have mutliple and/or huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge monitors. It may have changed in the last year or so, but multiple GPUs have historically had weird issues running certain games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Yeah, I would actually of those two setups recommend the single-GPU one. I just picked those two because they were the only two combos I saw within your price range that wouldn't require immediately (as in, right now) upgrading the graphics card to something better. Both Intel and AMD make mobos that support SLI (Nvidia's dual-card solution) and both make mobos that support Crossfire (AMD's dual-card solution). If you're planning to do dual cards at any time then you need to look to make sure the board supports it. But it's perfectly fine to mix and match mobo and graphics card brands. In my experience I've had a lot fewer issues with Nvidia cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 How often do you buy new graphics cards to even make that statement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 An optional thing to consider if PhysX is something you want. Chances are you'll just use it for games (that supports it). It'll make the game seem much more prettier... If you do then jump for a Nvidia card. I'm quite sure there is an AMD equivalent as well, I just can't pin down the name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 (edited) How often do you buy new graphics cards to even make that statement? Since I've started building my own PCs I've had IIRC 3 Nvidia cards and 2 ATI cards. *Edit* - TressFX runs like shit on Nvidia cards, it only really runs right on ATI cards. Edited May 26, 2013 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 My suggestion is to go with an nVidia card. You'll occasionally have issues with games developed closely with AMD (Tomb Raider comes to mind), but overall, I've had better experiences with nVidia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 (edited) Yo, I think I found my graphics card. EDIT #2: [Got rid of the old graphics cards because...] I took it upon myself to do more research, and thus I think I should (unless otherwise) go with the... Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 I went through Newegg's lists at least three times, and this one will run a little better and cooler than the MSI equivalent. As for any Ti version, I probably will forgo it. I honest don't think I would need it, though the MSI Twin Frozr IV has a neat feature of running the fans in reverse for 30 seconds to clear dust off. But that's not worth an extra $100! Edited May 28, 2013 by Atomsk88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 You'll change your mind when your card fries itself. j/k j/k In honesty I've never heard of that feature before. Sounds nifty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 Well, sure, if you wanna see... Right at the 3:26 mark it's mentioned. Again, this Ti version runs a bit better than the two cards I've been looking at, but I'm not sure if I can really afford an extra $100. Speaking of... I've been thinking of going with an Intel processor, but I'm noticing AMD processors seem to run a bit cheaper. If I was to go with Intel, how much is enough for a gaming PC? How many Ghz, and should it be i3, i5, or i7? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 GHz isn't really a good measure anymore. I'd try and see if you can find benchmarks comparing the performance. And you're right, generally AMD chips run cheaper for the processing power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 (edited) I dug around and I believe this would be a good processor. Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 69W Considering I'm getting a graphics card, I don't need integrated graphics and so that cuts down on the cost. I'll search around for a motherboard, but another question: If the motherboard says "77W," does that mean my processor has to be 77W, or that it can handle up to 77W? Edited May 28, 2013 by Atomsk88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 (edited) Up to. As long as the socket's right you should be fine. Edited May 28, 2013 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 Should I bother with an Intel motherboard with "UEFI BIOS?" I'm trying to stay away from "gaming" centric components, but some of those motherboards look more appealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 That one I don't know the answer to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Question! I'm getting close to choosing all my components, but I've come across some reviews/comments about how a motherboard for gaming purposes shouldn't have HDMI, DVI, or VGA ports. I understand that my video connection will come from the graphics card, but it doesn't seem like there are that many great boards to choose from if they don't video output onboard. So I take it that it's a bunch of butthurt rather than a valid complaint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 The extra ports are surplus, sure. But as long as the board doesn't have any real problems, who cares? If anything, they'd allow you to use your computer if your video card ever dies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Yeah, they don't hurt anything by being there, AFAIK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted June 2, 2013 Report Share Posted June 2, 2013 I thought the folks had a copy of Windows 7 laying around, but when I found it, I saw (and remembered) it's the upgrade pack. So it seems I'll be spending $100 to get Windows 7. Unless anyone has a compelling argument for Windows 8, but it seems like I should be just fine with good ol' #7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted June 2, 2013 Report Share Posted June 2, 2013 I assume you're getting 7 due to a price difference? 8.1 would add the start menu back and booting straight to desktop, so It would be pretty much going to be like 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffles Posted June 2, 2013 Report Share Posted June 2, 2013 If you're paying full retail price anyway, there isn't much reason to get 7 nowadays IMO. 8 may have its quirks, but at its core it's just a mostly improved 7, nothing on the level of the Vista/XP shenanigans. Just go with 8 if you're going to pay 100 bucks for it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted June 2, 2013 Report Share Posted June 2, 2013 Assuming it's $100 for Windows 8 as well (I think the early bird program ended a while ago now), might as well go with Windows 7 which is exactly like Windows 7 over Windows 8 which is "pretty much going to be like 7". Then you know all your programs, and drivers, and games all work fine too. And also not hedging your bets on if Windows 8.1 will improve the situation or not (since it's still early days on details/news on it, and no preview yet so far). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted June 2, 2013 Report Share Posted June 2, 2013 Why would you go for the outdated OS that runs worse if you have the choice? That logic makes no sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted June 2, 2013 Report Share Posted June 2, 2013 Most people seem to not like Windows 8 as much as Windows 7. Who cares if it's more "up to date" if people don't like the interface? Must you really be so intentionally obtuse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.