new build game pc

pcRat

New Member
Power User
Messages
724
Location
Bay City Michigan USA
Intel Core i7-3770K Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.50GHz (3.90GHz Max Turbo), Socket H2 (LGA1155), 77W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail (BX80667i73770K)

So far that is the only decision made for custom built computer with limited funds from long term savings.

Grandson will be using for gaming so here are a few questions.

1- Which is better SLI or Crossfire video cards?

2- Yes or no on EUFI?

Probably getting Asus mobo.

Recommendation for Quality but lower cost video card to be used on monitor or tv
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" 24"
    Hard Drives
    1 TB WD
    PSU
    550w
Well, it depends on the graphics cards being used. Two GTX Titans in SLI are going to be bomb, two AMD 7990s in Dual Radeon mode will be bomb. Honestly, you could just go either way I find, but if it sways you any, the AMD cards have been for the past year and half been the cards used by Tom's Hardware for benchmarking on their systems. I think they also declared the 7970? as the best card to use.

UEFI, I say yes. It's more of nicety, especially with a SSD being used. You get a slightly faster boot time from POST to Windows, the OEM logo (not actually sure on custom OEM boards) and I think some other goodies. But pretty much all new mobos these days have EUFI BIOS available to use. You can do MBR BIOS or the GPT UEFI setups.

I'd recommend ASUS for sure, as I've used ASUS boards myself and for other's PCs, they are pretty great! A gamer friend of mine had me basically build his system, it was an AMD APU with an ASUS board (UEFI firmware options are enormous!) and a dual Radeon graphics card. It was a budget build for about 500 or so dollars and runs Metro 2033 at about 25 FPS with the system overclocked.

But for a gamer ASUS board, the RoG boards is the recommendation here. They're obviously a little more pricier, but they're built very well, and you get access to the RoG services and such. From what I know, you basically can have an ASUS engineer available for RoG users for system tweaking and such.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Thanks for response Coke. ASUS RoG is definitely out of this build.:roflmao:
It's sort of a test and character building experience for him. He wants me to help him build an i7 machine. Mostly my $ which I really don't have but you know kids.
Anyway I told him if he saved enough for the processor, I would help him with rest of parts and he could make the payments on loan I take from credit union. He saved $350 in 6 months doing odd jobs and now I have to quit dragging my donkey.

I'm partial to ASUS mobo so it looks like ASUS P8Z77-V Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA 1155), Intel Z77 Chipset, DDR3 2600 MHz (O.C.), SATA 6.0 Gbs/, RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, CrossfireX Ready with Thunderbolt didn't see anything about EUFI in description but ...

It took awhile to find the right information but think I finally understand that SLI & Crossfire are a combination of 2 or more video cards. With the little bit of information I found, I would go with SLI. One good video card would probably be better than 2 not so good cards in SLI, right or wrong ?
I'm leaning towards lower priced cards with SLI instead of the 2 GTX Titans.:what: I was expecting $100-$300 pricetag :roflmao:

I'm thinking about $100 neighborhood for video card. 16 GB RAM.

What is display port for on mobo ? eSATA maybe?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" 24"
    Hard Drives
    1 TB WD
    PSU
    550w
SLI is never cost effective because you never get good efficiency. 2 cards in SLI does not have the same performance as 1 card with the same theoretical performance numbers (e.g., 2 500 GLOP cards will not match 1 1000 GFLOP card). not only that, with cards in SLI, you have to worry about driver problems and game profiles which are often out of your hands and the responsibility for AMD/Nvidia. SLI is more for the users that have money to burn and want the best systems out there.

If you get a lower priced card and intend to SLI/Crossfire it in the future, well, by the time that card drops to be worth it, a new generation of cards are already out. have 2 cards with different performance profiles also hurts the net performance.

a $100 video card is considered low-end. mid-range is around $180-250.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
Thanks for rapid response dirtyvu.

That's the reason I was thinking out loud One good video card would probably be better than 2 not so good cards in SLI, right or wrong ? Pretty sure someone would sway me away from multi-card graphics.

So that's narrowed it down to a search for 1 mid-range card w Nvidia drivers (hopefully on sale).

So far it's

ASUS P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 Motherboard - ATX, 4x DIMM, DDR3, Socket 1155, PCIe 3.0, Intel Z77 Chipset, SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, HDMI, LAN, DVI, DisplayPort


Intel Core i7-3770K Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.50GHz (3.90GHz Max Turbo), Socket H2 (LGA1155), 77W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail (BX80667i73770K)

On the mobo there is the normal Ram DDR3 1600/1333MHz
then there are 6 OC speeds DDR3 1800MHz(O.C.) Thru DDR3 2400MHz(O.C.)
what would be a safe OC speed for him to World of Warcraft and another game similiar to it but I don't recall name of ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" 24"
    Hard Drives
    1 TB WD
    PSU
    550w
if you're not going to overclock the whole thing, you don't need to overclock the RAM.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
since there isn't difference in RAM price to speak of and it shouldn't be hard to adjust OC in BIOS may as well give a little gusto

what's the max RAM can be used with games like World of Warcraft anyway. Will it handle 32GB. Or PSP10?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" 24"
    Hard Drives
    1 TB WD
    PSU
    550w
Thanks for rapid response dirtyvu.

That's the reason I was thinking out loud One good video card would probably be better than 2 not so good cards in SLI, right or wrong ? Pretty sure someone would sway me away from multi-card graphics.

So that's narrowed it down to a search for 1 mid-range card w Nvidia drivers (hopefully on sale).

So far it's

ASUS P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 Motherboard - ATX, 4x DIMM, DDR3, Socket 1155, PCIe 3.0, Intel Z77 Chipset, SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, HDMI, LAN, DVI, DisplayPort


Intel Core i7-3770K Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.50GHz (3.90GHz Max Turbo), Socket H2 (LGA1155), 77W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail (BX80667i73770K)

On the mobo there is the normal Ram DDR3 1600/1333MHz
then there are 6 OC speeds DDR3 1800MHz(O.C.) Thru DDR3 2400MHz(O.C.)
what would be a safe OC speed for him to World of Warcraft and another game similiar to it but I don't recall name of ?
You're pretty much correct in one real good video card being better than two mid range cards in a dual graphics setup.

I'll only really sway you to AMD Radeon cards. :geek:

You probably won't really even need to overclock I'd imagine to run WoW. If I'm correct, WoW is more graphics card intensive than CPU intensive. But if you did need to overclock, that is a whole different story on a whole different thread. You need proper cooling (water cooling would be best) and loads of patience and tweaking ability plus some know how on what you're doing. On the last ASUS mobo I worked on, it had a TON, I mean TON of overclock and tweaking options. I was even overwhelmed versus my simple 2010 era setup. If running World of Warcraft doesn't render real well on acceptable settings, that's where I'd consider overclocking. But RAM overclocking, that's even more trickier as you need to have the Northbridge and CPU speeds balanced out with the RAM overclock. Meaning, you can't run your RAM at 2400 MHz and your CPU at stock speeds or barely adjusted speeds. Won't work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
since there isn't difference in RAM price to speak of and it shouldn't be hard to adjust OC in BIOS may as well give a little gusto

what's the max RAM can be used with games like World of Warcraft anyway. Will it handle 32GB. Or PSP10?

There isn't so much a maximum limit of RAM with games. RAM usage in games is actively adjusted, so WoW or similar games aren't going to use the whole allotted 32 gigs, maybe a few gigs I'd say. That much RAM, I wouldn't really recommend for a gaming rig, not that it's a bad thing, to me it's just overkill. Sixteen gigs is more a proper "overkill." That will last for years to come. If the rig will be used for virtual machines for say, running elder games that won't run on Windows x64 bit or won't run or install properly on Window 8 (I'm assuming 8 of course :cool: but 7 either way in this scenario), then I'd say go for the 32 gigs. But honestly, you can do it either way, that's just my two pennies worth.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
if this is a gaming system, I'd rather plow that extra money into a better graphics card or CPU than RAM or a higher capacity SSD. 32GB is overkill for gaming. gaming is intensive but not that intensive. the most I'd get for a gaming system is 16 GB.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
ok. I get the part about 16GB would be enough RAM for games.

How about for graphics like PSP 10? Or making & editing videos. He likes making videos but hasn't started editing yet. Maybe he never will but I've heard it takes a lot of RAM and good graphics for rendering. Would 32 GB be used then?

I've read the i5 is actually sufficient for gaming but the i7 is better rendering etc..


I've always been told to get graphics card with Nvidia drivers with Intel CPU and Radeon drivers for AMD CPU. Now you're trying to sway me for Radeon drivers on an Intel. Why do you favor the Radeon?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" 24"
    Hard Drives
    1 TB WD
    PSU
    550w
ok. I get the part about 16GB would be enough RAM for games.

How about for graphics like PSP 10? Or making & editing videos. He likes making videos but hasn't started editing yet. Maybe he never will but I've heard it takes a lot of RAM and good graphics for rendering. Would 32 GB be used then?

I've read the i5 is actually sufficient for gaming but the i7 is better rendering etc..


I've always been told to get graphics card with Nvidia drivers with Intel CPU and Radeon drivers for AMD CPU. Now you're trying to sway me for Radeon drivers on an Intel. Why do you favor the Radeon?

Unless if your son is playing games while also editing video at the same time, then 16 gigs might not be enough. Even for video editing, that's more than plenty.

I can't say what is better Intel wise specifically, as I'm not an Intel person.

See, that's not always the general guideline of NVIDIA and Intel and Radeon with AMD. It's just what is best. Currently though, the AMD cards are considered better than NVIDIA or at least less expensive. For example, a Radeon 7850 costs about the same as an NVIDIA GTX 650, even though the Radeon has more stream processors than the NVIDIA card, which in turn means it's a card with more processing oomph. (By the way, price wise it's about 180 for either or)

So if you had an Intel setup, you'd need a graphics card to balance out the CPU power to prevent any bottlenecking. The AMD would work better for that situation, let alone the face you can go on Newegg.com and find 18 AMD cards around 1-200 dollars and only 8 for NVIDIA cards in that same price range. Also, I believe this site called Tom's Hardware, where they do a bunch of software and hardware benchmarking, they always seem to use an AMD card as they've declared the latest generation of AMD cards better than NVIDIA. Usually less expensive, a smudge or two faster, and I think certain cards will allow an amount of overclocking if you do that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
I'm in agreement to skip SLI/Crossfire.

As far as video cards go, I stick with Nvidia, had fewer problems with them versus the ATI's I've owned over the years. And support in Linux has always been better with Nvidia for me.

I somehow manage to do video editing on a box with 8GB of RAM.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
if you're into high-level video editing, then the more RAM the better.

but in gaming and video editing, the best CPU you can afford and the best GPU you can afford are far more important. heck, you can do great things in 8 GB of RAM.

as for CPU, no, an i7 will not be wasted in gaming at all. you'll be able to ratchet up the level of detail and get amazing fluid gameplay. 32 GB would be wasted for the vast majority of games.

that advice about Nvidia graphics with Intel and AMD graphics with AMD... yeah, let's leave that in the past among the amusing anecdotes. I'm pretty agnostic when it comes to hardware like graphics. Go with bang for the buck. Read some reviews and just buy it whether it's AMD or Nvidia.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
I'm in agreement to skip SLI/Crossfire.

As far as video cards go, I stick with Nvidia, had fewer problems with them versus the ATI's I've owned over the years. And support in Linux has always been better with Nvidia for me.

I somehow manage to do video editing on a box with 8GB of RAM.

AMD's. ATI got bought out years ago by AMD.

I've never really had issues with AMD Radeons though in the past. It sometimes comes down to individual OEMs, sometimes not. Personally though, I go with ASUS for well built video card using an AMD chip. :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Also, I will say that it seems AMD is more oriented for PC gaming as of recent years. They have their own branded RAM they claim is best suited for gaming, they have APUs that are better right off the bat for gaming than an Intel counterpart, they have graphics cards which I believe are better bang for buck, let alone the fact they will be in the next Xbox and Playstation.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
AMD's. ATI got bought out years ago by AMD.
But in my case, the cards were ATI radeons as I haven't bought one in years. Last 5 video cards have all been Nvidia. Some guys at work have tried the AMD Radeons and they have all come back to Nvidia. I live vicariously through them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Suggestions:

You've picked a 4 channel RAM kit, for a Socket 2011 system. It'll probably work on a dual channel system like a Z77 board, but it's absurd if the primary goal is gaming. You could get 16GB (2X8) of DDR3-1600 for around $100. (Savings: maybe $150.)

I'm not sure how much better an I7-3770k would be for gaming than an I5-3570k. You could save around $100 there.

If you put those funds into a GTX 670 or a Radeon HD 7970, the net result would be a superior gaming system.

What are you going with for a power supply?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    I7-3930k
    Motherboard
    Asus P9X79 Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Gskill DDR3-2133
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GTX 680
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster Zx
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus PA246Q
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Force GT 120GB
    WD Cavair Black 1.5TB
    PSU
    PC Power & cooling Silencer 750
    Case
    Silverstone FT02B-W
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14 w/ PWM fans
    Keyboard
    cheap Logitech USB wired
    Mouse
    old 5 button Microsoft USB optical
    Internet Speed
    6Mb cable
Suggestions:

You've picked a 4 channel RAM kit, for a Socket 2011 system. It'll probably work on a dual channel system like a Z77 board, but it's absurd if the primary goal is gaming. You could get 16GB (2X8) of DDR3-1600 for around $100. (Savings: maybe $150.)

I'm not sure how much better an I7-3770k would be for gaming than an I5-3570k. You could save around $100 there.

If you put those funds into a GTX 670 or a Radeon HD 7970, the net result would be a superior gaming system.

What are you going with for a power supply?

You've lost me because I thought the ASUS P8Z77-V LK is a LGA1155 mobo.
In picking timing I chose some that matched 9•9•9•24 and 1.5v like Crucial Memory picker.

Will CL9 or C10 RAM both work on this mobo ?

Guess I'll go with this card and reduce RAM to 16GB
ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5 GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Newegg.com

Using a 750w PS
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" 24"
    Hard Drives
    1 TB WD
    PSU
    550w
Back
Top