Yes I'm a nerd but I don't care - finally finished tidying the PC

[papaspur]

Yeah post some pics, would be nice to see your setup. I love pretty much everything I have from from Corsair tho I am not interested personally in a self enclosed water cooler - they are very effective from what I have read.

Fully modular PSU, that is all.





What part is obscene? The RAM is way OTT for standard usage but there is a reason I have it.

The CPU is mid range and I bought a top graphics card because my screen is a very high resolution (1600p or very close to)

It is not for playing FM, tho it is for playing battlefield 3 and occasional video editing.

Just the box was probably over a grand but I didn't buy all in one go, I tend to upgrade rather than throw away and start again. I resell a lot or hand down to my family.

I don't mean to sound old before my time but meh I'm 28, I cba to go out on the lash every weekend anymore. I rather spend my money on a hobby like football, computers, golf etc

Sometimes I feel the same way, and I'm 26. Plus, my screen is huge. Do you know how many naked tatas I can fit on there? I don't either, it's in a shared space and I can't use it for THAT...

 

[edgey-the-yid]

Yeah my PSU is the Corsair 750W modular. Was told if your gonna save money on the build never go cheap on the PSU! Good advice

I instead went cheap on the Case, RAM and motherboard then spent big on Processor and GFX card. Which is why I'm looking to upgrade my case and RAM... Also tempted to go for a new Mobo as my one doesn't have onboard sound (doesn't work) and my soundcard doesn't have a working mic port. So i can't use the mic on my headset. Seen a decent Mobo called Guerilla or something (gaming one, has heatsinks shaped like parts of a gun) and it's got built in HD sound and network card which will free up sone PCI slots to give me better airflow.

May upgrade my GFX next year to the GTX600 series or just get another 570 and SLi them... Any advice on whether doubling up on cards is as effective as simply getting a more powerful card? Also would 750W cope with 2 GTX570's?? Don't wanna overload it

What part is obscene? The RAM is way OTT for standard usage but there is a reason I have it.

The CPU is mid range and I bought a top graphics card because my screen is a very high resolution (1600p or very close to)

It is not for playing FM, tho it is for playing battlefield 3 and occasional video editing.

Just the box was probably over a grand but I didn't buy all in one go, I tend to upgrade rather than throw away and start again. I resell a lot or hand down to my family.

I don't mean to sound old before my time but meh I'm 28, I cba to go out on the lash every weekend anymore. I rather spend my money on a hobby like football, computers, golf etc

I'm same mate, 28 with a social life. Play footy at the weekends and go for a few beers after, play golf on occasion. Go to Spurs when i can get tickets/time off work. So this perception that anyone who has any interest in PC's lacks social life is ridiculous... Of course there are your stereotypes but i don't fall into that catagory.

I moved to PC gaming over a year ago having sold my PS3 to me old man. Never looked back. Console gaming is good for no hassle pick up and play. But playing them on PC almost feels like your playing next gen due to the 1080p HD... Makes so much difference as no console game runs over 720p. And from the rumours even the next gen console (well Xbox 720) won't be achieving 1080p either!

For what u pay to build a PC it seems expensive, but i never pay ove 20 for a game... So in the long run, against the 40+ you shell out for console games it probably evens itself out. Plus these days you can build a PC for 300 that'll run almost all games out today (i know coz i built a PC for my sis that cost 350 and she can play Crysis on it... Albeit on mid settings but still looks stunning compared to console)

 

[papaspur]

Yeah my PSU is the Corsair 750W modular. Was told if your gonna save money on the build never go cheap on the PSU! Good advice

I instead went cheap on the Case, RAM and motherboard then spent big on Processor and GFX card. Which is why I'm looking to upgrade my case and RAM... Also tempted to go for a new Mobo as my one doesn't have onboard sound (doesn't work) and my soundcard doesn't have a working mic port. So i can't use the mic on my headset. Seen a decent Mobo called Guerilla or something (gaming one, has heatsinks shaped like parts of a gun) and it's got built in HD sound and network card which will free up sone PCI slots to give me better airflow.

May upgrade my GFX next year to the GTX600 series or just get another 570 and SLi them... Any advice on whether doubling up on cards is as effective as simply getting a more powerful card? Also would 750W cope with 2 GTX570's?? Don't wanna overload it

For the graphics card question, tomshardware does a lot of comparisons of single-card beasts versus SLI setups. I'm assuming that by the time the GTX600 comes out, 570s will be much cheaper, so even if two 570s in SLI isn't as powerful as a single 600, they'll probably have costed a lot less with only a marginal difference in how many FPS you can pump out. I generally tend to upgrade graphics cards when new technologies like DX11 come out. Personally, I think I'm going to go with another 570 (I think we both have the same PSU which can handle the load, except mine isn't modular ). Great advice about PSUs though: never ever skimp because it could cost you more in the long run. There's so many specs to be aware of, besides the obvious wattage. There are a few good sites/forum threads out there that list all the good and bad PSU brands for anyone that's interested in buying a new PSU.

 

[scaramanga]

Been building rigs for 10 years, single best upgrade I have ever seen in that time. I cannot live without one now.

The one you see in the photo is going in my laptop and I am treating myself to a Corsair pro model which has incredible write speeds, perfect for a windows boot drive.

Write speeds? I thought the whole point of Win7 compatability with SSDs was that it didn't write unless absolutely required. Due to the lifespan issues I though SSDs were meant to be almost read-only.

 

[papaspur]

Write speeds? I thought the whole point of Win7 compatability with SSDs was that it didn't write unless absolutely required. Due to the lifespan issues I though SSDs were meant to be almost read-only.

I don't know if this answers the question, but I know you're not supposed to defrag SSDs, since I don't think accessing any particular data takes longer than any other. This matters with the limitations of a physical platter drive, of course.

This is an article I found on the topic from anandtech.

 

[Ralphy Coates]

Yeah my PSU is the Corsair 750W modular. Was told if your gonna save money on the build never go cheap on the PSU! Good advice

I instead went cheap on the Case, RAM and motherboard then spent big on Processor and GFX card. Which is why I'm looking to upgrade my case and RAM... Also tempted to go for a new Mobo as my one doesn't have onboard sound (doesn't work) and my soundcard doesn't have a working mic port. So i can't use the mic on my headset. Seen a decent Mobo called Guerilla or something (gaming one, has heatsinks shaped like parts of a gun) and it's got built in HD sound and network card which will free up sone PCI slots to give me better airflow.

May upgrade my GFX next year to the GTX600 series or just get another 570 and SLi them... Any advice on whether doubling up on cards is as effective as simply getting a more powerful card? Also would 750W cope with 2 GTX570's??

750w is on the border for 2 570s but doable. Video memory is becoming an issue tho, especially at high resolutions. SLi does not double your VRAM, it sucks but that is how it works so I would say go for the 6xx series for your next upgrade and a higher RAM version (2GB or more) depending what res you game. Then you can always SLi that card.

My example is a bit extreme but you're right, you can buy a gaming PC for 4 or 500 and make games look way better than a PS3.

Write speeds? I thought the whole point of Win7 compatability with SSDs was that it didn't write unless absolutely required. Due to the lifespan issues I though SSDs were meant to be almost read-only.

An SSD does have a finite amount of writes and its good to limit writing data to have decent longevity (5 years plus, not that I keep hardware that long personally but many do) but for a perfect windows environment, fast writes 'feels' good so to speak. Installing programs, updates, games, pagefile etc.

A small SSD (like my current one) I would limit writing and filling it up as much as poss to keep it fresh (trim) and stop it running out of writes but there are drives out there now with top quality nand that you can write to as you would a HDD with windows installed, within reason.

Noise is another factor for me, I like my computer to be a silent button. My HDD spoils that as I still have to keep most games/large programs on there currently so my next purchase is a larger SSD with quality nand that I keep all programs on and relegate my HDD to media plug and play.

 

[edgey-the-yid]

Yeah i read that about the V-RAM not increasing when you double up... Which when you look at it like that it seems pointless to SLi unless you SLi two 3GB cards. Gainward tend to do the 3Gig models. But will probably wait till next year and go for the 600 series at 2GB or more. For now my 570 does a sterling job and there's no real need to upgrade just yet

 

[papaspur]

Yeah i read that about the V-RAM not increasing when you double up... Which when you look at it like that it seems pointless to SLi unless you SLi two 3GB cards. Gainward tend to do the 3Gig models. But will probably wait till next year and go for the 600 series at 2GB or more. For now my 570 does a sterling job and there's no real need to upgrade just yet

BF3 simply looks stunning on this setup, but I have a 120hz monitor, therefore I need double the FPS... and when I turn 3D on, I really start to notice things chug just a little.

 

[Bullet]

2500k@4.5ghzgtx580p8z68mobo16GBramm4ssd1tbu2711

2444k2gh3opp343225mobo322B4qmmssd3lpnnm53htzlolwt?

 

[edgey-the-yid]

BF3 simply looks stunning on this setup, but I have a 120hz monitor, therefore I need double the FPS... and when I turn 3D on, I really start to notice things chug just a little.

Yeah was gonna get a 120hz monitor and some 3D glasses... Maybe at a later date? How does it run on most games? Are there many compatible with a stereoscopic 3D setup and how much does it effect FPS?

2444k2gh3opp343225mobo322B4qmmssd3lpnnm53htzlolwt?

How you powering that BEAST!? Lol

 

[papaspur]

Yeah was gonna get a 120hz monitor and some 3D glasses... Maybe at a later date? How does it run on most games? Are there many compatible with a stereoscopic 3D setup and how much does it effect FPS?

I'm still not 100% sure how it works, but I'll give it a shot.
A standard monitor is 60hz, which means the screen is refreshed 60 times a second. That is why the highest FPS you can get is 60 (that at least syncs to your refresh rate). Because a 120hz monitor refreshes 120 times a second, you can now push your FPS to a max of 120. However, because it refreshes at twice the rate, the image appears smoother with less tearing (even if only running at 60 FPS).

The 3D aspect is kind of confusing, but it's divided by ATI/AMD and nVidia. I'm going to skip ATI/AMD because we all have geforce cards.
Many newer games are compatible with 3D, and nVidia has a list of games on their site, each with a rating. So far, it seems like there are a lot of games on that list, and most of the big games like Batman and Battlefield tend to be rated higher. I don't know what the scale is, but it's like 'poor, good, excellent, 3D vision ready'. If a game is 3D vision ready, that means nVidia and/or the game devs tuned their game to work with nvidia's 3D Vision technology. BF3 is one of those games and it looks awesome. Whenever I'm flying in a jet, I cream my pants a little. Skyrim, on the other hand, is either good or excellent. There's some manual tweaking that needs to be done to get it to look right, like setting up the 3D cursor, but overall it looks pretty good. It makes my game run a bit more sluggishly though, but I haven't tried it recently with all the new patches.
Of course, it works for movies and the like, but I haven't tried it yet.

The glasses are pretty comfortable and charge via USB, which I thought was great. They're not heavy, but they are inherently nerdy (but that's why we're in this thread ).

Overall, I'd still say it's sort of gimmicky. I mainly wanted 120hz, and if you game a lot, you cannot go wrong. It's difficult to describe how much smoother dragging windows around on your screen look. None of that ghosting nonsense.

Hope that helps.

 

[edgey-the-yid]

Yeah thats a great help actually, clears alot up thanx. I think 3D in general is a bit gimmicky really, don't get me wrong, some movies (especially those that are CGI heavy or the animated ones) look awesome! But some look guff, like SAW 6! Was gimmivky 3D. Whereas Ice Age 3 really leaped out of the screen.
Think this has been why I've held back from it for a while as it's an expensive gimmick to say the least. Although noticed that 3D LED TV's are finally dropping in price. Will certainly look into 3D gaming, although will need to see a first hand demonstration before I'm convinced to part with my cash.

Also hear alot that the human eye can only register something like 30fps and therefore you wouldn't notice the difference between 60 and 120. Although that to me sounds ridiculous? Any truth in that?

 

[papaspur]

I used to study visual perception and still had to look that up.

The short answer is this: if you use a 120hz display, you will notice a difference.
Your eyes don't have a set frame rate that they capture an image. It's continuous information, but there is a point where if two images are flickered too quickly, they will start to blur together. On top of that, our eyes aren't synced up with our displays so that the 'frame rates' both coincide.

 

[Ralphy Coates]

I used to study visual perception and still had to look that up.

The short answer is this: if you use a 120hz display, you will notice a difference.
Your eyes don't have a set frame rate that they capture an image. It's continuous information, but there is a point where if two images are flickered too quickly, they will start to blur together. On top of that, our eyes aren't synced up with our displays so that the 'frame rates' both coincide.

I have never used a 120mhz panel. Is it TN?

My last few have all been ips, 60hz but good viewing angles

 

[papaspur]

It is TN, but it looks fantastic.

 

[Ralphy Coates]

It is TN, but it looks fantastic.

Looks nice, would like to try 3d
[video=youtube;XwS0oE2xQ20]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwS0oE2xQ20[/video]

 

[edgey-the-yid]

Ok here's my rig... Got a few of my specs wrong (well the PSU) as my PC is at my old mans house till I find room for it at mine.
So it's a 700W Coolermaster SIlent GOLD modular.

But here it is in all it's dusty glory:

and my full set up

So yeah could do with a clean out really but this is the Motherboard I'll be getting and the case to go with it:

I like the green and black and may go for that colour code throughout the case? Not sure yet

 

[Ralphy Coates]

Ok here's my rig... Got a few of my specs wrong (well the PSU) as my PC is at my old mans house till I find room for it at mine.
So it's a 700W Coolermaster SIlent GOLD modular.

But here it is in all it's dusty glory:

and my full set up

So yeah could do with a clean out really but this is the Motherboard I'll be getting and the case to go with it:

I like the green and black and may go for that colour code throughout the case? Not sure yet

Very nice, I find a soft bristle brush and a vacuum does the job with case dusting! Some say compressed air but it's messy as if you do it indoors. Twin frozr cooler is supposed to be better than reference.


Never had a case with a window, tho I see the appeal if you have a motherboard that looks like a gun! I wonder if you can buy one that looks like scarlett johansson...

Looks like a good enough place to play some games, we have identical mousemats

 

[edgey-the-yid]

Yeah i like the windowed cases and some subtle lighting inside to show off all your gear and handywork.

That was the reason i went for the MSi card for it's cooling. Supposed to be one of the best aftermarket coolers.

And the mousemat was a great buy... Cost me just under a 10er but very smooth to use especially with my R.A.T 3 mouse, glides off it nicely! I also like the fact that my mouse has adjustanle sensitivty button on the side... Handy when I'm not playing an FPS and it's a little over sensitive i can adjust it on the fly

 

[papaspur]

This thing's a beast. I use it at work since I sit at a computer most of the day. Everything is adjustable and it comes with different grip pieces and weights.

I'm going to have to look into that mousemat. Is it a razr?