6. Weird setup: it came with 4 in one slot and two in the other.
Build your own computer guide
- Thread starter Bonhomme Richard
- Start date
I would love to post pictures of some of the computers I service, but because I can't share pictures of the service area itself due to legal confidentiality stuff, you will just have to use your imagination. I will say that many computers come in looking no different than your average dryer lint screen.
--Patrick
Tue is Computex, and then we should start to hear what everyone will be coming out with (whether they're at the show or not).
New processors (Broadwell/Skylake), new sockets (LGA1151), new motherboards (1xx series), new interfaces (TBolt 3), new PSUs, new GPUs, all kinds of stuff.
--Patrick
We're updating/replacing two rigs in our household. It's going to be just over $2500 for the both of them. I'll post the specs and rationale in this thread once it's all together (waiting on the CPUs to actually hit the market so we can buy them).
The rigs being replaced were originally built in 2005 and 2007. It's going to be quite a leap.
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
Intel's integrated graphics processors are getting to the point where a gamer doesn't necessarily have to get a discrete GPU if they're not concerned about 1080p/60fps or 4k or such. Intel has now set up a gaming portal to recommend games that work well on their IGPs, and what settings to use for the best experience.
http://techreport.com/news/28436/intel-gets-gamers-up-to-speed-with-optimal-igp-settings
For example, the optimal 1366x768 settings for borderlands 2 on an i5 running an HD 4600 IGP are:
I mean, sure it's not blowing the doors off anything, but a laptop running medium settings at full native resolution is a pretty good deal.
http://techreport.com/news/28436/intel-gets-gamers-up-to-speed-with-optimal-igp-settings
For example, the optimal 1366x768 settings for borderlands 2 on an i5 running an HD 4600 IGP are:
I mean, sure it's not blowing the doors off anything, but a laptop running medium settings at full native resolution is a pretty good deal.
I am currently playing HotS and D3 on "medium" on an Intel HD 4000 (Ivy Bridge IGP). I get solid 30fps in D3 (so long as some Barb isn't spamming whirlwind) and a flat 30fps in HotS and that's plenty good enough for portable gaming, even though it's an integrated graphics processor that was released in Q2 2012.
News flash, though...the new "interim" Broadwell chips that were released? The new i7-5775C and i5-5675C? They have an updated graphics engine (HD 6xxx) that is about 40% faster than the 4xxx series and they come with bonus on-chip VRAM that will boost that lead even more.
And all of this is ahead of Intel's Skylake release slated for H2 2015/H1 2016, which will boost that performance even more. This means the market for low-end graphics cards (such as the revered Radeon HD 5670 or GeForce GT 430/530) is vanishing, since these "free" graphics obviate the need for a discreet GPU if your needs are low.
--Patrick
News flash, though...the new "interim" Broadwell chips that were released? The new i7-5775C and i5-5675C? They have an updated graphics engine (HD 6xxx) that is about 40% faster than the 4xxx series and they come with bonus on-chip VRAM that will boost that lead even more.
And all of this is ahead of Intel's Skylake release slated for H2 2015/H1 2016, which will boost that performance even more. This means the market for low-end graphics cards (such as the revered Radeon HD 5670 or GeForce GT 430/530) is vanishing, since these "free" graphics obviate the need for a discreet GPU if your needs are low.
--Patrick
Welp.
As of Wednesday, my HD 6800 video cards have passed into "legacy" territory. As in the last Catalyst drivers are really the last, and there will be no Crimson drivers other than the beta. I'm still running the AsRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard with the i5 2500K and 8GB RAM. Everything is ticking along nicely, except I keep getting out of memory errors when trying to run WoW with Ultra graphics. I've got the swap file on the HDD I use for personal files. The system files are on the 128GB SSD.
So what to do? This is a circa 2011 system. Go for a new set of video cards? Start over with a whole new build with the latest and greatest? Is Crossfire still a thing?
As of Wednesday, my HD 6800 video cards have passed into "legacy" territory. As in the last Catalyst drivers are really the last, and there will be no Crimson drivers other than the beta. I'm still running the AsRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard with the i5 2500K and 8GB RAM. Everything is ticking along nicely, except I keep getting out of memory errors when trying to run WoW with Ultra graphics. I've got the swap file on the HDD I use for personal files. The system files are on the 128GB SSD.
So what to do? This is a circa 2011 system. Go for a new set of video cards? Start over with a whole new build with the latest and greatest? Is Crossfire still a thing?
No need to start over. Crossfire is still a thing.
What matters most is which OS you're going to be using.
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
Your best bet is probably one of the flavors of linux. Probably Ubuntu, though Slackware has a reputation for making older machines run well.
More info: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/so...oose-the-best-linux-distro-for-laptops-915579
A very quick Googling suggests Ubuntu MATE might be a good contender.
Your computer is not 64-bit capable, so most of the fresh, new OSes probably aren't going to devote as much attention to your x86 computer as they do to newer x86-64 ones.
--Patrick
Your computer is not 64-bit capable, so most of the fresh, new OSes probably aren't going to devote as much attention to your x86 computer as they do to newer x86-64 ones.
--Patrick
Just gonna drop this here for y'all to peruse (I know I still owe everyone a deep specs dump, that's still gonna wait).
Kaby Lake processors have finally been released! Yay!
Well, turns out there's no real reason to buy one over the current 6xxx Skylake CPUs UNLESS you fall into one or more of the following categories:
-You want to overclock an extra 2%-ish above Skylake
-You plan to stream 4k video specifically from Netflix
-You have a use for the extra 4 PCIe lanes the 270 chipset will give you (and if you don't know what that means, then you don't)
-You intend to get in on the ground floor of Intel's Optane technology ... whenever it finally goes official
...otherwise Skylake will give you virtually the exact same performance as Kaby Lake in every way not explicitly mentioned above.
--Patrick
Kaby Lake processors have finally been released! Yay!
Well, turns out there's no real reason to buy one over the current 6xxx Skylake CPUs UNLESS you fall into one or more of the following categories:
-You want to overclock an extra 2%-ish above Skylake
-You plan to stream 4k video specifically from Netflix
-You have a use for the extra 4 PCIe lanes the 270 chipset will give you (and if you don't know what that means, then you don't)
-You intend to get in on the ground floor of Intel's Optane technology ... whenever it finally goes official
...otherwise Skylake will give you virtually the exact same performance as Kaby Lake in every way not explicitly mentioned above.
--Patrick
I am planning on switching to Intel since i think my old AMD Phenom II 955 BE is bottlenecking my 970. I dont want to spend more then 250€ for a MOBO and processor at the moment. Should I go for a 1150 Mobo and CPU or 1151?
I'm still rockin' a 1090T, though that's 6-cores to your 4. I would check to see if it's really bottlenecking your 970, though, especially since even the cheapest currently-available quad-core LGA1150 (the i5-4590) is currently selling for about $200* all by itself (i.e., not counting the motherboard).
--Patrick
*at Newegg, didn't check elsewhere.
Should I maybe wait for Ryzen and see how it shakes up the market?
Yes.
At best, it'll be better than Intel's increasingly stagnant offerings.
At worst, it'll drive Intel's prices down.
--Patrick
From all that I heard in recent news, I will probably stay Team Red.
The top Ryzen chips were opened for preorder today, and AMD is claiming that the 1700X (their #2 offering) gives performance equivalent to an Intel Core i7-6900k, but for 60% less money. The official launch date isn't until next week, at which point the review embargo will end and we will find out the validity of that claim.
--Patrick
--Patrick
Dave
Staff member
It might be a race to the bottom! (Price-wise, that is!)
Main Ryzen models to watch:
1200X (4 core, 4 thread, $149)
1400X (4 core, 8 thread, $199)
1600X (6 core, 12 thread, $259)
1700X (8 core, 16 thread, $399)
("X" models will auto-turbo if able)
I suppose the $499 1800X is positioned as the real "enthusiast" model, but I suspect it's really just a higher-qualified 1700X, so I don't know if it's really worth the 20% price premium (just like the difference between Phenom II 1090t and 1100t)
--Patrick
1200X (4 core, 4 thread, $149)
1400X (4 core, 8 thread, $199)
1600X (6 core, 12 thread, $259)
1700X (8 core, 16 thread, $399)
("X" models will auto-turbo if able)
I suppose the $499 1800X is positioned as the real "enthusiast" model, but I suspect it's really just a higher-qualified 1700X, so I don't know if it's really worth the 20% price premium (just like the difference between Phenom II 1090t and 1100t)
--Patrick