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Building Computer - Suggestions!


Rathlord

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Probably be building a custom rig very soon here assuming my life doesn't explode unexpectedly. I know what I want for processor and motherboard, but I'm stumped on what to go with for a GPU. I'll definitely be sticking with Nvidia, so bear in mind I'm not interested in any AMD stuff.

 

Top end of my budget is probably about $ 300, and I'm wondering what the best bang for my buck will be. I'll be doing comparisons of GPU performance/cost, but I'm also interested in what you guys have to say. Thanks!


Edit: I should mention, the main contenders right now are the GTX 770 and 760.

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I recently ordered the GTX770, seems like a fairly good upgrade over my current GTX560ti. I paid a good $450 for it, though, maybe it's just because I'm in Australia. Not sure if you could get one for less than $300. Still, it seems worth it for the extra power compared to the 760.

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Have you considered a radeon 7850 if only because I always feel Nvidia are pricey? I know you said no AMD but blocking yourself from half the GFX market is a bit silly unless you have serious reasons for it (and the whole AMD-Nvidia cold war thang is no reason at all). I feel that its got the best balance of bang for buck at the moment. I have a 3 year old rig using a dual 6950 and its still running the latest games just fine. So a step up from there makes financial sense to me. Cheap and very cheerful and should last you long enough for your next next upgrade.

 

Also in the interest of building a balanced rig what specs is the rest of the machine going to be? I only ask since theres no point in getting a gfx card without the rest of the rig being semi- decent.

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Have you considered a radeon 7850 if only because I always feel Nvidia are pricey? I know you said no AMD but blocking yourself from half the GFX market is a bit silly unless you have serious reasons for it (and the whole AMD-Nvidia cold war thang is no reason at all). I feel that its got the best balance of bang for buck at the moment. I have a 3 year old rig using a dual 6950 and its still running the latest games just fine. So a step up from there makes financial sense to me. Cheap and very cheerful and should last you long enough for your next next upgrade.

 

Also in the interest of building a balanced rig what specs is the rest of the machine going to be? I only ask since theres no point in getting a gfx card without the rest of the rig being semi- decent.

With the R9 series out why in the world would you recommend the outdated 7xxx series? Plus the GTX 760/770 would shit all over that card and any equivalent, also Nvidia has PhysX exclusively optimized for Nvidia cards plus actual driver support.

 

This image describes it well:

ZNYkEXc.gif

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I bought a new gaming rig a few weeks ago and turned the sides after years of true "Nvidia only".

I'm not saying you should listen but maybe at least reconsider:

AMD made their homework and my MSI R9 280 twin frozr is running like a charm (i never thought I would recommend someone a AMD but maybe I mark this day in my calendar)

Physx is btw something I honestly don't miss, the plus on performance without it is arguably better (imho) than the plus on physical correctness...

But I really miss my good old bfg 8800gtx oc2 <3 if you read this - I still love you and sorry that I oc'd you to hell

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if you can hold off til around October you will find the current selection of cards (especially NVidia) getting cheaper. The Nvidia 880 and 870 are due to hit early October with the 860 due a month later, the 860 should be bang on your $300 mark, the 870 will be about $400.

Obviously this means that you could probably pick up a 770 and 780 for a lot cheaper then too.

But, fighting for the AMD/ATI corner, the R9 and R8's do a much better job for the $ compared to the 770's and 760's imho, only current NVidia card I would choose over these would be a 780 or 780ti (titan's are just overkill).

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With the R9 series out why in the world would you recommend the outdated 7xxx series?

Rebranded 7xxx cards?

 

 

Because having a cheap but good card allows you to spend more on the other components unless you are purchasing with money no object. Just remember that when building a rig its better to have lots of decent components that do their job and work well together than buy one super gfx card but not have the processor, ram or monitor to utilize it effectively. 

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RAM is cheap as hell, I can upgrade from 8 to 16 or 32 any time. I'd rather get both a CPU and a GPU that I know are strong; the investment in them is higher than any other component and this they are the least efficient to replace later. I want quality off the bat. Money's definitely important, but spending another $500 in a year because I skimped would be even worse.

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RAM is cheap as hell, I can upgrade from 8 to 16 or 32 any time. I'd rather get both a CPU and a GPU that I know are strong; the investment in them is higher than any other component and this they are the least efficient to replace later. I want quality off the bat. Money's definitely important, but spending another $500 in a year because I skimped would be even worse.

http://www.logicalincrements.com/ focuses on preventing even the slightest bottleneck and giving you the best bang for your budget, usually ranging from 300 bucks up to about 4k.

It's a good guidance. Obviously, it's still recommending to research the individual parts but generally, it is spot on.

I sound like a marketer, don't I. Fuck it. :P

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Thanks, I had another source recommend that as well- I'll give it a look when I get home. I'm roughly familiar with all of the components, but this'll be the first time I've actually gone and done it from scratch. It's an exciting but complicated experience.

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It's an exciting but complicated experience.

Not so much complicated. In today's world building a computer is as easy as putting together a big Lego set.

 

 

I don't mean physically complicated- that stuff is all quite simple and I've swapped parts and the likes since the 90's. Moreso that the amount of selection you have for which potential parts to get.

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Now that I'm home, here's the stuff I've tentatively got, coming out to a slightly over budget $ 837.

 

Cooler Master Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227

1 TB Seagate HD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

TP-Link Wifi Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704129

Asus GTX 770 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121770

Corsair 500W Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

G.Skill 8 GB Ram (dual channel) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

MSI z87 Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130695

Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2 GHz Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117302

 

 

Welcoming suggestions on all fronts.

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