Videocard & SDD upgrade

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zakter2003

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 14, 2004
Messages
159
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? Working from home etc

PC gaming machine( Path of Exile, BF4,Unreleased Thief game, Xcom Enemy Unkown, Saints Row 4) , Internet surfing, watching tv shows,

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$600

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Raleigh, NC

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Video Card and SSD possibly.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Gaming Rig - i7 860 @ stock || MSI P55-GD65 || CORSAIR XMS3 16GB DDR3 || 2 Western Digital 640GB HDD || HIS 6950 2GB ||ASUS VW266H 26" & 2 ASUS MK241H 24" ||Auzentech X-FI Forte 7.1 || Corsair TX750W || Cooler Master 690 || Win 7 64 Pro

6) Will you be overclocking?

No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920 x 1080

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Now
 
I agree with g1. Killer except that you may want a bigger SSD. I hated my 60gb SSD but absolutely love having a larger one. Maybe go gtx 770 and an SSD. I can definitely recommend a Samsung or Intel as they have both been wonderful!

Unfortunately with the GTX 780 recommendation will eat up almost 85% of that budget. While I think the gtx 780 is amazing, it might be stretching his budget fairly thin especially if he would prefer a larger SSD.

TL;dr
Large SSD + GTX 770
Small SSD + GTX 780
 
Krazy925 said:
I agree with g1. Killer except that you may want a bigger SSD. I hated my 60gb SSD but absolutely love having a larger one. Maybe go gtx 770 and an SSD. I can definitely recommend a Samsung or Intel as they have both been wonderful!

Unfortunately with the GTX 780 recommendation will eat up almost 85% of that budget. While I think the gtx 780 is amazing, it might be stretching his budget fairly thin especially if he would prefer a larger SSD.

TL;dr
Large SSD + GTX 770
Small SSD + GTX 780
Click to expand...

Yes this is true! What do you put on your SSD? To be honest I have not noticed a difference in Game load times between my 7200RPM HDD and Crucial M4 SSD. I think most games now rely on internet speed to load maps if I'm not mistaken. I am currently running a 770 and it's fine although I would have rather had a 780. You can get other brand SSDs now with 120GB plus for cheap now...
 
G1. Killer said:
Yes this is true! What do you put on your SSD? To be honest I have not noticed a difference in Game load times between my 7200RPM HDD and Crucial M4 SSD. I think most games now rely on internet speed to load maps if I'm not mistaken. I am currently running a 770 and it's fine although I would have rather had a 780. You can get other brand SSDs now with 120GB plus for cheap now...
Click to expand...

Yea I have an old OCZ SSD that I used in my old AMD box that I was referring to in my last post. Never had a single mechanical issue with it (other than the small storage size). TBH though although I have aspirations to game I only play DOTA 2, so I load first into the maps regardless (it's easy to beat old celerons lololol). I store very little actual data on my SSD though you are right. I just bought a big one because I plan on RAID 0 and didn't want size to be an issue. Also I do enjoy how fast they boot up. I remember how spoiled we are everyday when I log into my bosses computer at the office. GAH!

I think that with the entry of Seagate onto the SSD scene, as well as strong offerings from Corsair, as well as Samsung, Intel, and Crucial we have more options than ever before. Thanks for reminding me of Crucial! They make a lovely SSD!

OP do you have any preference on brand for the Graphics Card (AMD or Nvidia?). AMD prices are still inflated which is why I am only recommending a Nvidia card, I'm not biased or anything. I'm sure we can make it work! Also they have a great FS/T section on this board where you can purchase a used GTX 770 for ~$300, which would give you plenty of room for a SSD!
 
Here are my recommendations:

$340 - Asus GTX 770
$170 - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD

With the price inflation on AMD cards, the GTX 770 is one of the better options around. I believe that a GTX 780 is a bit overkill if you're not ultra-serious about gaming (e.g., max settings including *AA on everything, multi-monitor gaming).

The Samsung 840 EVO is one of the best values in SSDs, especially when you consider the robust software package that each Samsung SSD comes with. If you have some more money to spare, however, consider going with the 500GB model.
 
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tiraides said:
Here are my recommendations:

$340 - Asus GTX 770
$170 - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD

With the price inflation on AMD cards, the GTX 770 is one of the better options around. I believe that a GTX 780 is a bit overkill if you're not ultra-serious about gaming (e.g., max settings including *AA on everything, multi-monitor gaming).

The Samsung 840 EVO is one of the best values in SSDs, especially when you consider the robust software package that each Samsung SSD comes with. If you have some more money to spare, however, consider going with the 500GB model.
Click to expand...

Found a pretty good deal on a 480gb Crucial m4 for you if this is the route you want to go (with a bigger SSD).

Storage: Crucial M500 480GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($279.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $629.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-21 19:20 EST-0500)
 
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I understand going with the M500 480GB over the 840 EVO 500GB, but what makes the EVGA GTX 770 better than the Asus GTX 770?

The Asus card is $10 cheaper (sales tax notwithstanding).
 
tiraides said:
I understand going with the M500 480GB over the 840 EVO 500GB, but what makes the EVGA GTX 770 better than the Asus GTX 770?

The Asus card is $10 cheaper (sales tax notwithstanding).
Click to expand...

None, I have no loyalty to either brand. They all make good products. I just happened to find the EVGA first and I was in the office, they both make a great video cards. I say go for the Crucial SSD and the Asus GTX 770 :D
I might have had prime checked when I was looking at video cards. I must have now looking at it.
 
If you get the ASUS card, just pray that you never ever have to send it in for RMA.
 
Not really.

Then again, all of the major manufacturers' customer service teams have been hit-or-miss to varying degrees over the past few years.
 
tiraides said:
Here are my recommendations:

$340 - Asus GTX 770
$170 - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD

With the price inflation on AMD cards, the GTX 770 is one of the better options around. I believe that a GTX 780 is a bit overkill if you're not ultra-serious about gaming (e.g., max settings including *AA on everything, multi-monitor gaming).

The Samsung 840 EVO is one of the best values in SSDs, especially when you consider the robust software package that each Samsung SSD comes with. If you have some more money to spare, however, consider going with the 500GB model.
Click to expand...

Thank you all for the suggestions. I have a bit of an update on my progress here. Last night I had hard drive fail on me so I will be needing one if not 2 new drives now. ATM I have 2 WB blacks and not sure which is the dud. I am also considering waiting on buying video card till after Thief hits steam on February 25th. I am also considering upgrading to Windows 8.1 and will need a copy of that.

Question, The Samsung drive mentioned seems be a great drive, would it be best to pick that one up or go for one of the more recent deals?

TL:DR

Waiting on videocard and buying Windows 8.1, 1 SSD, 1 or 2 normal hard drives.
 
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zakter2003 said:
Question, The Samsung drive mentioned seems be a great drive, would it be best to pick that one up or go for one of the more recent deals?
Click to expand...

The Crucial M500 is actually a good alternative to the Samsung 840 EVO. Lately, it has been a much cheaper buy as well.

I still recommend that you get more than 120GB of space. SSDs slow down performance-wise the closer they get to full capacity. Go ahead and grab the 240GB M500.
 
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