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Reaper978

New computer: suggestions?

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All right so here's what I've been looking at:

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
Memory: Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600MHz 32GB Kit w/4x8GB XMS3 DHX, CL10-10-10-27
Graphics cards: 2x EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB PhysX CUDA PCI-Express 3.0
Processor: Intel® Core i7-3770K Processor Socket-LGA1155
Case: NZXT Phantom Special Edition
Main SSD: Samsung SSD 840 PROSeries 512GB 2.5" OEM Basic Kit
Powersupply: XFX ProSeries Core Edition 750W PSU

Did I make any mistakes?
Is the case reasonable? Is a 750W PSU enough?

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I have to say it's rather perplexing reading reviews on components. On many items there seem to be as many negative reviews as positive ones, and in that case, what conclusion can really be drawn? I could simply look at more reviews but the negative and positive opinions leave me somewhat vexed. Not to mention there's bazillions of items to choose from.

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Reaper978 said:

I have to say it's rather perplexing reading reviews on components. On many items there seem to be as many negative reviews as positive ones, and in that case, what conclusion can really be drawn? I could simply look at more reviews but the negative and positive opinions leave me somewhat vexed.

In that case it always helps reading what is being said. If the positive comments are about component performance while negative comments are about price point or dead on arrival items or something that simply isn't relevant to you, you can kind of shrug those comments off. Similarly if the positive comments are irrelevant to you while negatives are about things you really care about, then...

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Reaper978 said:

I have to say it's rather perplexing reading reviews on components. On many items there seem to be as many negative reviews as positive ones, and in that case, what conclusion can really be drawn? I could simply look at more reviews but the negative and positive opinions leave me somewhat vexed. Not to mention there's bazillions of items to choose from.


What I do when shopping for components, on newegg, is sort it by most-reviewed. Normally whatever is the most reviewed in your price range is the most purchased, and often one of the best valued. Individual people on newegg may be dumbasses but as an aggregate people generally either know what they're talking about or are taking directions from someone who does.

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Shaviro said:

All right so here's what I've been looking at:

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
Memory: Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600MHz 32GB Kit w/4x8GB XMS3 DHX, CL10-10-10-27
Graphics cards: 2x EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB PhysX CUDA PCI-Express 3.0
Processor: Intel® Core i7-3770K Processor Socket-LGA1155
Case: NZXT Phantom Special Edition
Main SSD: Samsung SSD 840 PROSeries 512GB 2.5" OEM Basic Kit
Powersupply: XFX ProSeries Core Edition 750W PSU

Did I make any mistakes?
Is the case reasonable? Is a 750W PSU enough?

I see two!

1. Given that future consoles will have 8GB of unified RAM, future ports will breach the 2GB VRAM limit more often. Hitman Absolution is already doing this. I have 2x GTX 680 4GB precisely for this upcoming issue... that and Skyrim with all the mods, will easily breach 3GB of VRAM. Personal evidence:

I. Indoor Area
II. Outdoor Area
III. Winterhold. Notice the GPU usage.
IV. Over 3100 MB VRAM in use

2. Buying OCZ is a mistake. See the discussion above. Seasonic, Corsair, or Antec is what I personally recommend. 750 Watts is adequate, but I recommend at least 800 for SLI, due to PSU efficiency decreasing over time, and headroom for future expansions.

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1. I already had a bad feeling about that ;)
Do you have any experience with ZOTAC's line of GPUs?
Looking at a ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 4GB PhysX CUDA

2. OCZ? Are you referring to the power supply? I though XFX *WAS* a Seasonic!? Oh well you learn something new every day :)

Anyway, I guess a Corsair TX 850W PSU would do the trick.

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Shaviro said:

1. I already had a bad feeling about that ;)
Do you have any experience with ZOTAC's line of GPUs?
Looking at a ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 4GB PhysX CUDA

2. OCZ? Are you referring to the power supply? I though XFX *WAS* a Seasonic!? Oh well you learn something new every day :)

Anyway, I guess a Corsair TX 850W PSU would do the trick.

I actually have a pair of Zotac GeForce 680 4GB in SLI. It works perfectly so far.

My mistake, your choice was XFX, not OCZ. I must be drunk when reading it. Still, XFX is one of the companies that's known amongst the PC builder community, to use cheaper parts in their hardware.

Corsair doesn't cut corners, and cater to enthusiasts who checks every screw and capacitors.

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Sure. Your advice was solid anyway, thanks :)
All right, so the "final" specs are:

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
Memory: Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600MHz 32GB Kit w/4x8GB XMS3 DHX, CL10-10-10-27
Graphics cards: 2x ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 4GB PhysX CUDA
Processor: Intel® Core i7-3770K Processor Socket-LGA1155
Case: NZXT Phantom Special Edition
Main SSD: Samsung SSD 840 PROSeries 512GB 2.5" OEM Basic Kit
Powersupply: Corsair TX 850W PSU

All I have to do now is decide on the color of the case and screw up my courage to actually order the damn thing ;)

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Hehe I did check that out a couple of days ago, but I'm surprised I ended up with something that similar :D
I should try out some 3x monitor action.

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Shaviro said:

Thanks for all the help!
Got the parts yesterday, assembled it. Runs like a dream :)


Sweet, alot of games dont look that graphically great now a days due to low res textures and basic low poly meshes due to console limitations.....you know the drill etc

To really enjoy your computer to its full potential install and play Crysis and tweak it with a few mods and INI tweaks etc such as increasing tree and bush distance, it can look pretty nice.

However, recently I got my self Skyrim and also the HD texture pack. It looked nice, but not amazing, also the hud and UI interface reaks of console port, which really let it down. The game it self seemed pretty damn good, and only played a few hours of it. Anyway, I went to Skyrim Nexus and researched into some compatible mods which fixes UI issues to be much better on PC and increase the graphics quality as well as some super cool mods. Now Skyrim looks amazing!! By FAR the best looking game I have ever played, some of the effects and scenery is just jaw dropping!

Just as a little example,

Using a Flora mod my tress and graphics look way better then anything Crysis offers

New water effects that also effects water falls.....best water I have seen, looks almost real!

In snowy weather snow lands on me (but not my skin as it melts too quickly) and on dead bodies and well anything else. I also leave footprints behind in the snow as well as other NPC and animals. I can actually track animals and horses etc......amazing!!

Much better weather effects with darker night times. Really details sky and moons etc, there are so many I have only seen a few and it really makes you stop and look at the scenery in the distance.

Much better detailed meshes and textures for objects such as candles, lanterns etc, the cabbages in my game now look more detailed then a whole xbox game together!

I have also added much better female bodies and added more hair styles, some of the new styles are so detailed, makes the original ones looks like silly mop heads lol

Last of all, blood and gore! It so much better now, its not over the top, but fights do get messy, but they would after you attack somebody with a massive sword! Blood splats are fun and pools of blood get thicker as the body lies their leaking outs its wounds!

Sorry for long post, but im just excited with this game right now as its so detailed and enjoyable. Its nice to actually enjoy my computer to its full potential, and im sure you will like it too......unless its totally not your sort of game ?

I can really recommend this!

My PC is over two years old, so your new one should perform even better!!!

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So I'm considering blowing my tax return on a new base for my system. My GPU, HDDs, and PSU are all up to snuff, but I want an i5 3570k, 16gb of ram, a new mobo (moving from AMD,) and a very quiet case.

Problem is, I have a triple monitor setup and I'm not sure if I can run a second graphics card non-crossfired and not degrade performance, but still get a third monitor up. Current card is an AMD 6970 2GB, old card is a 4850 512mb. I don't think ATI will play ball with intel onboard. If anyone has experience with this kind of janky setup just for the sake of IRC side monitors, let me know. I'll probably eventually upgrade to crossfired 6970s, but that's a ways down the line.

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Just to clarify, if I'm just using the cooling unit provided with the cpu, you're just supposed to snap the cooling unit onto the cpu without putting thermal paste on it?

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Reaper978 said:

Just to clarify, if I'm just using the cooling unit provided with the cpu, you're just supposed to snap the cooling unit onto the cpu without putting thermal paste on it?

Yes, because the thermal solution is already on the cooling unit.

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With a Galaxy GTX 670 everything seems to run smooth as silk in Crysis Warhead - at first. I'm getting some slowdowns. At first I thought it was only because I had everything maxed out, but with everything set on "gamer" the same thing happens. If the scene gets especially busy it will start to slow down. The plasma weapon effects from the flying alien enemies are apparently the bane of computer hardware because the framerate goes down into the teens everytime one of them fires their beam. I don't know, it's kind of a let down considering how high-end a card the 670 is. The computer is the one suggested by Doom Marine earlier in the thread - i5 3470, 16 gigs of ram, Windows 7 Home. This game is from 2008, I just thought it would be smooth the whole way through.

I am running the game at 1920x1080, but the same thing happens on 1600x900, and on a 24" widescreen monitor it will start to look rubbish on lower resolutions. Am I missing something? The game runs silky smooth when I'm not fighting the aliens. It's kinda retarded actually, heh.

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