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PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:07 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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Looks like holding out was a good move, nvidia gtx 780 just dropped significantly so looks like a solid purchase. ATI has a bit more welly with its new card, but bad build quality + bad drivers puts me right off and I want to go intel too.

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 2:06 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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The Ancient One
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If I were in the market 'd probably get a 290x with a decent waterblock but the nvidia is definitely a good buy at the new price.

Have you decided on the CPU?


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:17 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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I bought a new PC a couple of months ago (if I were doing it now the GPU would change):

2x Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL8 @1.5V Ballistix Tactical UDIMM 240pin
MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING Socket 1150 HDMI D-Sub DVI 8-Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i7 4770K 3.50GHz Socket 1150 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl Case
Gigabyte GTX 760 OC Windforce 2GB GDDR5 Dual-DVI HDMI Displayport PCI-E Graphics Card
Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator and Fan Socket LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA775, AM3, AM2+, AM2 CPU Cooler
2x Seagate 4TB 3.5" SATA-III Barracuda Internal Hard Drive

Already had an SSD, monitor, keyboard and mouse etc.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 1:27 am  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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^Rogue^ wrote:
Have you decided on the CPU?


Intel Core i7 4770K most likely, waiting for the price cut to the nvidia's to come into affect across europe.

My rig can still play batman arkham origins, and rome 2 total war. Not super smooth but does the job.

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 9:09 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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PC_Arcade wrote:
Gigabyte GTX 760 OC Windforce 2GB GDDR5 Dual-DVI HDMI Displayport PCI-E Graphics Card

I want to upgrade on my memory, but I'm not sure what's a good idea. Atm I have an Asus P5Q Pro Mainboard, with DDR2 slots. I have 4 GB of memory.

1) Am I correct that I can only use DDR2 memory in my mainboard or is it possible to use other types too?
2) When I buy DDR5 for example, is it possible to use it anyway in this mainboard and transfer it later when I upgrade my entire PC?
3) Does more than 2GB on a stick of DDR2 even exist?
4) What's a good buy for memory atm?

Mainboard layout:
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:11 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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You can't use anything other than DDR2 on a DDR2 MB (big surprise here...). I believe the biggest DDR2 sticks are 4 GB.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 12:22 am  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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The Ancient One
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Thx, then I can buy two more sticks of 2 GB and double my memory before I upgrade my entire PC.

Mmm, looks like I can buy 2x4 GB: http://www.enter247.nl/shop/index.php?d ... uct_id=188

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 2:33 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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The Ancient One
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You should check your manufacturer's mainpage for a memory support list before you buy to make sure 4GB sticks are supported. Also, updating to the latest stable BIOS might be a good idea.

Have you got an SSD? In everyday situations you'll notice the better I/O times of an SSD way more than a memory upgrade. So if you haven't got one, go for an SSD for windows.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 4:08 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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Mmm, I opened Pandora's Box on this one it seems. I have Win8 and support for that on my mainboard is non-existent.

BIOS is already up to date to latest version (which is from 2010, says enough imo ;)). I don't think I have SSD, as I'm not even sure what that is, my nerdness ends here :mrgreen: (edit: I just searched a little and saw that an SSD is some type of harddrive, am I right? I don't really feel like swapping disks right now, but if it is necessary I can always do it anyway)

To clarify: what I want, is play games smoothly and keep Firefox open while playing. Atm I feel a difference in gaming experience whether FF is open or not. My game of choice is an old one: I play a mod for BF2, so my specs are way beyond minimum.

FF uses around 900 MB of my memory while I'm writing this. For some reason Task Manager says it uses up ~70% while I have 4 GB (that doesn't calculate for me, but I'm bad at math so maybe I'm wrong about this). The game also uses around 1-1.5 GB, and I want to do both at the same time like described above.

I thought I could tackle this by doubling my memory and I really hope there is a simple solution like that for my problem.

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 11:31 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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Slayer, you need a new pc buddy :lol:
I usually use browser, email purchases, etc on my laptop and the game on the gaming pc. You thought about using another machine for browsing? Tools like x2vnc or synergy will let you share keyboard/mouse between a laptop and pc.

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 9:54 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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spudthedestroyer wrote:
Slayer, you need a new pc buddy :lol:

Hehe, well, I need a new house first and that tends to cost more money than any PC :)

After I have moved (have to sell first, so might take a while) I'll upgrade my PC. But I want a solution for the meantime.

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 4:01 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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spudthedestroyer wrote:
Slayer, you need a new pc buddy :lol:
Maybe you're right after all, spud.

Today I wanted to boot my PC (I shut it down once a week), and it was choking on the graphic card. It simply couldn't get past the check for the graphic card to get into the boot process: all fans were working (mainboard fans, graphic card fan and powersupply fans), and I heard the sound which sounded like an engine wanting to start up.

I tried a few times to boot, in the meantime I vacuumcleaned my case, and on the 3rd or 4th try it eventually got past the graphics card and booted completely. Now it works like nothing happened. Any ideas what could cause this?

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 5:21 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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The Ancient One
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OK, I started looking around too, and I found these builds:

Code:
CPU                Intel Core i5 4670K Boxed    € 194,89    € 194,89
CPU Cooler         Scythe Mugen 4 PCGH Edition    € 37,30    € 37,-
Mainboard          MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate    € 81,60    € 84,20
Memory             Crucial Ballistix BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU    € 68,60    € 63,50
GPU                Sapphire R9 280X 3GB GDDR5 OC DUAL-X    € 254,50    € 255,50
SSD                Samsung 840 EVO 250GB    € 144,99    € 144,98
Internal HDD       Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST2000DM001, 2TB    € 73,87    € 73,50
Case               Corsair Carbide 300R    € 60,-    € 66,31
PSU                Seasonic M12II 520W    € 55,-    € 55,-


Code:
CPU                Intel Core i5 4440 Boxed    € 158,99    € 157,90
Mainboard          Asus B85M-E    € 59,99    € 66,95
Memory             Crucial Ballistix BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU    € 64,20    € 63,50
GPU                Sapphire R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 OC DUAL-X Boost    € 169,-    € 174,95
Internal HDD       Seagate ST1000DX001, 1TB    € 74,25    € 71,90
Case               Corsair Carbide 200R Closed    € 50,-    € 52,40
PSU                Seasonic S12II-Bronze 520W    € 49,-    € 50,60


Thoughts? I'm not the overclocking type of guy, so do I really need CPU Cooling?

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 10:54 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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I would go for nvidia graphics card. I'm looking for a GTX 780 TI atm.

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 3:10 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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The Ancient One
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Mmm, I like ATI better.

Few questions:
1) I'm not the overclocking type of guy, so do I really need CPU Cooling?

2) When I go for the SSD build, what should I install on the SSD?
a) Just the OS
b) The OS and the Program Files
c) The OS and the most used stuff (program files, games maybe)
d) Something else than the above, namely:...

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 4:15 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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Slayer wrote:
Mmm, I like ATI better.

Few questions:
1) I'm not the overclocking type of guy, so do I really need CPU Cooling?
2) When I go for the SSD build, what should I install on the SSD?
a) Just the OS
b) The OS and the Program Files
c) The OS and the most used stuff (program files, games maybe)
d) Something else than the above, namely:...


1. yes
2. os, some games can benefit if they read from disk a lot, things like saved games can load quicker. Write heavy should go to normal hdd, ie video.

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 5:31 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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The Ancient One
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OK, I built the first build in my previous post, but I have a very annoying problem now.

Build
Code:
CPU                Intel Core i5 4670K Boxed    
CPU Cooler         Scythe Mugen 4 PCGH Edition    
Mainboard          MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate    
Memory             Crucial Ballistix BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU    
GPU                Sapphire R9 280X 3GB GDDR5 OC DUAL-X    
SSD                Samsung 840 EVO 250GB    
Internal HDD       Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST2000DM001, 2TB    
Case               Corsair Carbide 300R    
PSU                Seasonic M12II 520W    


What I did
While installing Windows 8, I got Video TDR failure messages a few times, and I noticed it was done way faster than I expected (but that can also have something to do with the fact that I have better hardware now, like the SSD and a faster CPU). After the install was finished, I updated my drivers, first with the CD that came with the card, but after that I went online to update even further, because my problem persisted. I haven't installed anything besides Windows 8 and a few drivers.

The problem
From time to time (it is totally random), my screen goes black, like it is in sleepmode, and I can't wake it up anymore. The fanbs in the tower keep running, however, so the PC isn't shut off entirely. The only way I can make it work again with my screen active is by doing a restart. I'm not stressing my GPU in any way when this happens, the "going black" occurs while browsing the internet or while simply being in Windows (on desktop, or in a folder). Like I mentioned above, I haven't any games or programs installed yet, so the GPU doesn't really get challenged.

Also, after doing those restarts, I get regular messages that Windows hasn't been loaded properly and it gives me the option to repair.

When everything works as intended and I get into Windows, I get warnings about my drivers, saying "Your driver wasn't responding but it has been fixed".


My guess now, is that Windows 8 didn't get installed correctly because my GPU being corrupted somehow. This could also cause the error messages about the drivers. But I want to be sure about this, how can I test if my GPU is broken or not?

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 10:22 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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The Ancient One
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Nevermind, did RMA.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:23 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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1. Windows 8 is shit, stick with 7 imo.
2. ATI == shit hardware, its cheap because its cheap ;)

Sounds like a busted GPU or badly seated ram, I'm on an ATI atm, its worked well but its pretty lousy on the drivers front and had glitches in some games requiring updates. On my nvidia on my water cooled rig that predates it by 2 years its had far less problems.

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:17 pm  Post subject: Re: PC Gaming - Hardware recommendations?
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1. I don't have Win 7, I only have 8. It wokred without any trouble on my old PC (which has died now, btw)
2. I have used both cards in the past, and both had their pros and cons. I guess it's a bit like Windows vs Mac, you like the one and therefore dislike the other. Personal tastes, you know ;)

The shop is taking it's time to give me any info on what's wrong with the card, I guess I have to phone them again.

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