Building a Gaming PC

[TyGuy]

You're running a GTX 970 right now?

I was, but the card died and I rmad it. I've been using a spare 660 for about a month. They sent me s brand new 970 and I sold it on eBay for 280 dollars plus 20 dollars for shipping.

So now I'm going to buy either a 1060 or 1070, but I'm leaning towards 1070 with that rebate and free game.

 

[gourimoko]

I was, but the card died and I rmad it. I've been using a spare 660 for about a month. They sent me s brand new 970 and I sold it on eBay for 280 dollars plus 20 dollars for shipping.

So now I'm going to buy either a 1060 or 1070, but I'm leaning towards 1070 with that rebate and free game.

Definitely get the 1070 over the 1060...

You might be able to get an i7-6600K with a z170 MSI board for around ~$300 total ($220+$80)..

You'd be set..

 

[TyGuy]

Definitely get the 1070 over the 1060...

You might be able to get an i7-6600K with a z170 MSI board for around ~$300 total ($220+$80)..

You'd be set.

I need to get ram too(ddr 4), and probably a different tower, or I can keep this old school large tower with the psu bay the top of the tower instead of the bottom.

 

[gourimoko]

I need to get ram too(ddr 4), and probably a different tower, or I can keep this old school large tower with the psu bay the top of the tower instead of the bottom.

You can get 8GB of DDR4-2133 RAM for $36.

You could always upgrade your case later.. I ran a PC out of a milk crate for over a year just for yucks.

 

[TyGuy]

You can get 8GB of DDR4-2133 RAM for $36.

You could always upgrade your case later.. I ran a PC out of a milk crate for over a year just for yucks.

Where can i get the 6700 k for that cheap? The cheapest I see is here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Boxed...id=100623&rk=2&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=301881159030

 

[gourimoko]

Where can i get the 6700 k for that cheap? The cheapest I see is here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Boxed-Core-I7-6700K-4-00-GHz-8M-Processor-Cache-4-LGA-1151-BX80662I76700K/172243340739?_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=39007&meid=aaaeeb97f4534566826172d5ed68a41e&pid=100623&rk=2&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=301881159030

You're looking at the i7-6700k... That'll be $340. I'm talking about getting an i5-6600k, which is fairly equivalent for gaming purposes..

Brand new at NewEgg is $240:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...d94PY4vUh4_8Vqa7FZU6nhoCUmfw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Sure you could find a rebate somewhere, or even buy it used (I wouldn't).

 

[TyGuy]

You're looking at the i7-6700k... That'll be $340. I'm talking about getting an i5-6600k, which is fairly equivalent for gaming purposes..

Oh yeah, although it is 500 MHz slower and not hyperthreaded. I figured with dx 12 and vulkan it would be a better idea to stick with the i7 for hyperthreading.

 

[gourimoko]

Oh yeah, although it is 500 MHz slower and not hyperthreaded. I figured with dx 12 and vulkan it would be a better idea to stick with the i7 for hyperthreading.

An i5-6600k, on average, at modest voltages, should be able to get to 4.4 Ghz and 4.6 Ghz+ with more aggressive voltage settings and load line calibration enabled.

The architecture is 1:1 with Skylake i7, so thread performance without hyper-threading will be very close. The i7-6700k can generally get to 4.7 Ghz without a problem, and 4.8 Ghz+ with aggressive overclock. So the difference is more like ~250 Mhz per core, rather than 500 Mhz, after overclocking.

With hyperthreading, your theoretical maximum performance gain will average out around ~30%, which is significant; but only applicable for 5-8 thread operations that are CPU-bound.

So.. while the i7 is more performant, the i5-6600k is a great budget option. Personally, I'd spring for the i7; but if I was on a budget, I would get the i5 without thinking twice about it.

 

[TyGuy]

@gourimoko

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D-QD_HIfjA


I should have posted this video earlier about my overclock. I still can't believe my 2 year old card sold for 280. It released at 330 and there is a 250 dollar 1060 that beats the 970 across the board.

 

[TyGuy]

@gourimoko

Here is a very cool video pitting 3 cpus against each other. One is the i7 879 @3.7 ghz which is virtually identical to my 860 @ 3.5. The card used was a 980 ti which is very similar in performance to the 1070.

o this gives me a good idea of what kind of performance I can expect with my current rig plus 1070.

The old girl holds up rather well. There are a few scenarios where the processor is holding back the gpu, but it isn't as often as one would think.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX0aeQSQkGM

 

[RuanuLaw]

So I've heard that the way to go is with a high refresh rate monitor. Is this that true? And how does it really work in the grand scheme of things?

 

[MRMsix6]

So I've heard that the way to go is with a high refresh rate monitor. Is this that true? And how does it really work in the grand scheme of things?

Absolutely.

The difference in smoothness of motion on a 60hz monitor vs a 100hz+ monitor is staggering. If you play PC games at all I would definitely spring for a 100+hz monitor, especially if you play FPS. Personally, I will never go back to a 60hz monitor for gaming.

A pretty simple way to visualize the difference is by dragging your cursor across the screen. If you look at the trail of the cursor movement you will be able to see individual frames being displayed. If the refresh rate is doubled there are twice as many frames, or snapshots, being displayed over that same time period, providing much smoother looking motion.

You do need to be sure that your GPU can produce more than 60 fps in a given game to realize the benefit of the higher refresh rate.

 

[gourimoko]

So I've heard that the way to go is with a high refresh rate monitor. Is this that true? And how does it really work in the grand scheme of things?

@TyGuy knows this better than anyone I've talked to.. He really convinced me to hold off and spend the money on a high refresh rate monitor.

I ended up with the ASUS ROG PG348Q. The refresh maxes out at 100hz, but MY GOD, it is noticeable.

I used a few 144hz monitors as well before purchasing just to be sure.. I can definitely tell the difference between 144hz and 100hz.. It's undeniable. But the separation isn't as great as it is between 100hz and 60hz.

The reason I went with the 100hz monitor is because it's an IPS screen that's around 99% sRGB.

 

[Ren]

Just to further @TyGuy point, 144hz monitor is incredibly important for an FPS gamer. I've been using 100+ now for 10 years and I can't imagine going back. I watch my friend play on his normal 60hz and I don't understand how he can play it. I get sick watching his game.

IPS monitors have great color and depth of black but they're new and a 100hz+ monitor is not cheap. If you're an avid FPS player, hz > picture quality. If you don't play many FPS titles then a 4k IPS monitor might be the right choice for you.

Also, Tyguy, I just built two PC's with 1070's and they're incredible. Nvidia did a great job with this series of cards and AMD can't even sniff their technology atm. I know AMD is getting ready to drop their new line of cards but i'd be shocked if they could perform like the GTX 10xx series of cards. Even the 1060 6gb for $250 is a great card.

I'm thinking about selling my 980 on ebay and getting a 1080... it looks incredible.

 

[gourimoko]

Just to further @TyGuy point, 144hz monitor is incredibly important for an FPS gamer. I've been using 100+ now for 10 years and I can't imagine going back. I watch my friend play on his normal 60hz and I don't understand how he can play it. I get sick watching his game.

IPS monitors have great color and depth of black but they're new and a 100hz+ monitor is not cheap. If you're an avid FPS player, hz > picture quality. If you don't play many FPS titles then a 4k IPS monitor might be the right choice for you.

Also, Tyguy, I just built two PC's with 1070's and they're incredible. Nvidia did a great job with this series of cards and AMD can't even sniff their technology atm. I know AMD is getting ready to drop their new line of cards but i'd be shocked if they could perform like the GTX 10xx series of cards. Even the 1060 6gb for $250 is a great card.

I'm thinking about selling my 980 on ebay and getting a 1080... it looks incredible.

Agree 100%.. If you don't need the IPS, don't pay for it. You'll get a much better deal with greater fluidity (refresh) by getting a TN or VA panel.