Need to upgrade my potato computer!

[Husker]

Too much beer posted in wrong place lets try this again!


I'm looking to cobble together a new computer system. I am currently rocking a potato I need to upgrade before it turns to vodka. Once that happens ill either drink it or use it to vodka cool my new rig. To answer the questions. I'm leaning towards an AMD build it seems to be a bit cheaper as I am on a bit of a budget. I'd like to stick around 700-800$ (got to buy them Internet ships!) but could go as high as 1k.

Primarily this system will be for SC although I may be doing video editing and some graphics work also.

At this moment I'm only really looking to build the tower. To start with I can use my tv as a monitor and I can find mouse/ keyboards anyware. I'd eventually be in the market for a mid range HOTAS system.

I have a decent idea for what I'm looking to build. I've been out of the market for so long I have no idea what graphics card I should be going for. I'd like to stay under 250-300$ for the GPU. I'm thinking an AMD 8 core processor. Benchmarks look to be about the same as an I7 but for half the cost. Once I get home ill link some of the parts I'm looking at.

I figured I'd keep an eye on memory and hard drives for Black Friday/ cyber Monday. I'm looking at 16 GB of ram and a SSD for OS and SC.

I've mostly been looking at New Egg and Amazon. I live in Springfield Mo so not sure if that would help or not.

TL;DR
$700-$800
Southwest Missouri
8 core AMD processor
16 GB Ram
Graphics card: ?
Video editing and Star Citizen
....
Step 3: profit?

 

[Husker]

My current setup.

 

[Huegpaynis]

But can it run far cry?

 

[Husker]

Not yet, hopefully after a bit of an update. :) when I say update I mean new computer.

 

[CrashMan054]

For 700$, it probably won't run finished SC. My PC has cost me about 1000$ and it still won't run the finished game.

 

[ghost53574]

For about $1,100 (without tax) you get a rig that can definitely play star citizen.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286
Mainboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128565
* (x2) Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231402
Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127773
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139055
(x4) Fans: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553001
Heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
Boot Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820228115
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

* The 1333 Mhz memory will more than enough allow you to play Star Citizen, plus it's CL7 (that's 10.5 nanosecond response time).

 

[Husker]

After reading some reviews of the R9 290X series of chip sets it sounds like there is some problems with it. What are your thoughts on the failure rate of this card?

 

[Annitias]

Let me play with this...

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113376&cm_re=8320-_-19-113-376-_-Product
Reason: 8 core (About as fast as a decent i5, E variant OCs better and cooler.)
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130677
990FX for $60/AR. Has Sata 3 unlike the 760.
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231609
Only 2 sticks helps system stability on some rigs. Known to push to 1866 at same clocks. $122
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202080&cm_re=290-_-14-202-080-_-Product
290 is pretty close to 290x in performance, $50 less with good cooler. $250/AR
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182263&ignorebbr=1
High end PSU. Solid OEM, Will handle rig with no problem. $80
Fans: Would say run stock on the case, should be enough without additions, if not add a single 120mm.
Heatsink: Use included. Will work for what you need.
Boot/SC drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820228116
$100, faster than the 120gb. decent drive.
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139018
Awesome deal, good airflow and space for GPU. $40/AR

Total of $772

As for the 290X, there are no real issues with them. I run 4 in my rig highly overclocked for ages. No issues and I am a VERY rough user.

 

[rogesh]

then i need waaaay more money :O

 

[CrashMan054]

This should play SC pretty well:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qm9hGX

Costs 929$.
No SSD, but you get way more storage for your money.

 

[Husker]

With this would I be able to add a second graphics card down the road?

 

[ghost53574]

With more wattage sure. Generally it's 150 watts minimum per card but the question is would you really want another card. Are you BitCoin mining or something?

 

[Husker]

I've just seen so many builds with more than one card I wasn't sure if it was something I should plan for in the future.

 

[ghost53574]

You could, it's not mandatory at all. If you want like six monitors then you need more video cards, if you're going to use an application that could benefit from having multiple cards (i.e. using all of the different cores on every graphics card) then sure.

 

[Annitias]

I've just seen so many builds with more than one card I wasn't sure if it was something I should plan for in the future.

Honestly, even with the 650 I listed, unless you are benching or mining, it would even run a 290 crossfire if needed and still keep near the budget. Some of the other builds have been good here but I still stand by what I have listed as the best Price/Performance.

 

[Shar Treuse]

I wouldn't spend extra $ on CPU cores, MHz still rules for gaming. The only reason I went 6-core instead of 4 was for 3D projects that actually use the extra cores to the fullest. All games now and for the foreseeable future require a main thread for the game engine which has to run on a single core, and it's the bottleneck that prevents real optimization for multi core CPUs. You can put everything else on a second core and it still won't use more than half as much CPU power as the main thread.

Go for fast memory over large memory, 8-16GB is enough for the next quite a few years of gaming, and as RussianJ said, keep it down to 2 sticks for system stability. Though mine is stable with 4 sticks, even overclocked, I can't go up to 1866MHz despite the fact that my RAM is supposed to be able to handle it so I am stuck at 1600MHz.

I recommend nVidia but that's 100% a personal preference, their control panel works better for me and I've had a much lower RMA rate on them.

Do not cheap out on a power supply, there are a lot of crappy ones (I'd say at least 85% of the PC PSU industry). Cooler Master, Corsair, Thermaltake and a few others are good. Gvie yourself breathing room with a minimum of 850W, especially if you intend to go dual GPU eventually, though these days you don't really need more than one video card unless you're going to run multiple monitors or one really high res one like the Eizo FDH3601. I have 2 GPUs, several hard drives and lots of fans on an 850W. Also note that a power supply should not be run at any higher than 85% of its maximum rating, even if it's the best in its class.

Other stuff, just make sure you go for quality brands like Gigabyte/Asus for mobo, G.Skill/Kingston for RAM, and so on. Case isn't very important unless you plan to muck around inside the thing a lot, just make sure it's big enough for your anticipated needs for the next several years and isn't flimsy.

 

[CrashMan054]

Oh, let me elaborate on the importance of getting a good PSU.

I got a crappy corsair one the first time I built my PC. It worked, so I though nothing of it, but when I tried to upgrade my system, I found out it didn't have enough juice for anything at all. Now I have to spend an extra hundred on a new PSU. Trust me, buy one with way more voltage than you need, that way you can upgrade later.

 

[Markarthian]

Though mine is stable with 4 sticks, even overclocked, I can't go up to 1866MHz despite the fact that my RAM is supposed to be able to handle it so I am stuck at 1600MHz.

The problem probably lies with your motherboard. I recently build quite a monster (i5-4440, 2 GTX 980, 16 GB RAM) looked into 1866MHz sticks and sadly noticed that almost no motherboard can actually handle 1866MHz yet. My ASUS Maximus Hero VII can go up to 1600MHz, no more.

 

[ghost53574]

Oh, let me elaborate on the importance of getting a good PSU.

I got a crappy corsair one the first time I built my PC. It worked, so I though nothing of it, but when I tried to upgrade my system, I found out it didn't have enough juice for anything at all. Now I have to spend an extra hundred on a new PSU. Trust me, buy one with way more voltage than you need, that way you can upgrade later.

I always go by a +200 watt padding rule. I have a HX 850 and a TX 750 both work great for my setup.

 

[CrashMan054]

I always go by a +200 watt padding rule. I have a HX 850 and a TX 750 both work great for my setup.

Yep, 200 watts leaves enough room to upgrade.

417 posts? When did that happen?