The thread that is now the unofficial PC builds thread :P

[Arvenski]

Okay. One (maybe :lol) last question before I replace the 770 in the pcpartpicker build with the R9-290: will the additional power that the R9-290 requires over the 770 be overly noticeable on the electric bill? Or more specifically, if I go with the R9-290, will my mom start *****ing about energy costs in a couple months, if she wouldn't with the 770?

 

[Kevlar]

http://www.techspot.com/review/736-amd-radeon-r9-290/page8.html

It appears to run about 100 watts higher than the 770 when gaming

http://www.citytrf.net/costs_calculator.htm

Using this, it seems if you run your rig (while gaming the whole time) you would be paying about 20 cents more per day, at a fairly high rate of 8.7 cents per KwH (where I live it is cheaper during the night to like 5 cents).

 

[Arvenski]

Well, doesn't sound overly bad. Updated build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZNFWBm

 

[Kevlar]

Looks good. If you don't plan on doing any heavy overclocks the h100 is probably overkill but it is pretty much the best you can get besides a custom loop (which costs a whole lot more).

I usually get my OS's from a certain bay I know of though 

The only thing I don't really like is the monitor which you could probably get something bigger for around the same cost if you look for it. I have seen 27" monitors go for around $200, at near $400 I saw a 27" that did 4k that I nearly bought but have no need to.

 

[Arvenski]

Well, that's just it: I don't really want a bigger monitor. The 21.5" will be big enough for me.

Self notes: here's what's needed:
Latest build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZNFWBm
HDMI cable
Mouse & Keyboard

 

[Splintert]

I'm not sure what you could possibly need a mouse and keyboard for, based entirely on the fact that you're posting here.

 

[Arvenski]

Because I'm using a laptop. Hence the need to upgrade to a desktop, hence the reason I'm putting all this together.

 

[Splintert]

Makes sense. Either way it looks good, almost the same as my setup in terms of processing power. Slightly better processor but not a big difference.

 

[FaustoGomez]

Can someone comment on my budget/poor box? 

隐藏

CPU:Core 2 Duo [email protected] using mobo o.c. Utility(im a light o.c.er)

CPU Cooler:Stock.

Motherboard: Asus P5G41C-M LX (old ddr2,ddr3 combo)

GPU: GTX 650 Ti 1GB (could not pay 15$more to 2GB)[upgraded 3 months ago)[Used a GT240 2009-2014]

RAM: Kinston 1x2GB DDR2 800Mhz (main bottleneck atm)

HDD: 2TB WD Blue 7200RPM SATA3 64MB Cache (upgraded 1 year ago)[Used my old 120gb IDE 2004-2013]

PSU: CRAPPY 450 Watt which has 288watt on 12v (at least 5 years old, maybe 10)

Case: Case that came with my first computer, 10 YEARS OLD,has FLOPPY DRIVE

Optical Drive: LG DVD/CD Combo Writer

OS:32bit XP, 32bit Vista(using right now), Ubuntu

Monitor: 1080p Acer with crappy angles, colors change

Keyboard: A standart usb keyboard. W is BROKEN

Mouse: Wireless Logitech non-gaming

Audio:10 year old speakers came with original pc

And this is the upgrade I want;

隐藏

CPU:i3 4130, thought about FX 6300/6350 but my psu probably cant handle it

MoBo: Asus Z81 board

RAM: Will use my not compatible 1333mhz 4gb corsair( later getting anohter 4gb)

So thats it. I use a case thats 10 YEARS OLD. WOW!

 

[Arvenski]

You might try creating your own thread and copy/pasting that into it, Fausto. Better to have different peoples' stuff in different threads, ya know?

 

[Arvenski]

http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/09/19/nvidia-announces-gtx-980-and-gtx-970-maxwell-graphics-cards-for-550-and-329-here-are-their-new-features/

So, I still haven't gotten around to guying the build that I'd been looking at, and I was wondering if I should hold off on getting an R9 290 and instead try to go for a GTX 970. I haven't managed to compare the specs yet, but do you guys have any thoughts on that?

 

[In Vain]

should hold off on getting an R9 290 and instead try to go for a GTX 970.

Yes. check some benchmarks: In quite a lot of games, the GTX 970 seems to be the equal of or even better than the R9 290, for a (especially considering it's nvidia we're talking about) very good price.
If you're not in a hurry, you might still want to wait some weeks, though. The price of the 970 might still go down and availability of custom designs might become better. Also, the price of the 290 will certainly go down as well. It's still a very good card (from what I heard and if you choose a good custom design), if you're not overly concerned with power consumption.

 

[Arvenski]

(especially considering it's nvidia we're talking about) very good price.

This is one of the reasons why I'm very interested in the 970. It's a new, powerful Nvidia card that's available on PCPartPicker for even less money than the Gigabyte Windforce R9 290 that I was looking at. Plus, I'm hoping it'll live up to the reputation of Nvidia cards as being superior in regards to cooling, noise, power consumption, driver support, etc. 

 

[Úlfheðinn]

It's definitely an interesting option.

I chose to stick with the R9 290 though and I'll see how things look after a bit of time.

 

[Splintert]

In the short term the 970 will likely go up in price if it compares so closely to the 290. At launch the 290 was $400 but a month later it sat around $550. With the added pressure AMD will likely reduce the price of the 290 to around $330 since they are so close in performance.

I'd say the safe bet is a 290 and the risky move is a 970.

 

[Úlfheðinn]

Yeah, still the extra performance is tempting.

Almost thinking of sending my r9 290 back when it arrives lol.

 

[Arvenski]

In the short term the 970 will likely go up in price

Well, that's just great.

 

[Úlfheðinn]

So I should hopefully have a GTX 970 here in a couple of days.

It just seemed like a better deal since it ends up somewhere in between the R9 290 and the R90 290X in performance while also being cheaper than both (at the moment at least).

If g-sync ends up being the next big thing it might be nice to have a card that can utilize it as well. Long term, I'm thinking if the card is nice I might buy another one in a bit for a potent SLi setup (and a bigger monitor).

 

[Splintert]

Hell, send me one while you're at it 

 

[Arvenski]

Posting this partly so I can remember it and partly for everyone who's interested in the GTX 970:

http://www.pcgamer.com/review/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-970-g1-gaming-review/

I'm not too sure if I'll go for it myself (the Gigabyte R9 290 or the stock Nvidia GTX 970 might be fine for me), but I thought some of you might be interested to see this.