Gaming Rig

[greginhali]

Anyone unloading a gaming rig? I have been using ps3 /4 for a while now but Skyrim has taken over my attentions and would like to get into the mods that the PC version has to offer.

 

[greginhali]

I know I need to do my homework when it comes to computer specs. Lots of reading. I have seen some of you tech heads know your stuff. Can you take a look at this one?

Desktop PC 2.40 GHz Quad Processor

 

[Lojack]

What do you want to spend? Lots of options once the budget is known.

 

[greginhali]

Well, I dont mind going the kijji / craigslist route.

I just want to play skyrim with mods. I realize it is an old game, even with lots of mods, I believe I dont need some beast of a machine to run the game. I read somewhere 60 fps is the max the game can handle.

Lets say if I could get the rig for 500 bucks that would be great.

 

[Lojack]

If you are willing to piece it together with mostly used parts, you'll likely have a better system than just getting a used one. Kijji & Craigslist are one way, another is to check out r/CanadianHardwareSwap on reddit. There is a new generational of Nvidia cards, and people are dumping their old ones to get the funds for the latest. Good time to be a buyer.

 

[praktik]

I know I need to do my homework when it comes to computer specs. Lots of reading. I have seen some of you tech heads know your stuff. Can you take a look at this one?

Desktop PC 2.40 GHz Quad Processor

Dude I think I'd stay away. IF Q6600 that mobo is getting long in the tooth. Unanticipated failure points await.

If wanting to save I think you can not spend a lot of money and still get newer components, like these:

ASUS Announces Z97 Pro Gamer: Semi-ROG for Pentium-AE Gaming

These pentium chips are CHEAP: Overclockable Pentium Anniversary Edition Review: The Intel Pentium G3258


Id add 1-200$ to your budget if you can

If getting used get the most "recent" used you can.

I5s are fine what you are looking for is as close to 3ghz as you can get, minimum dual core, over 3ghz if you can

8gb ram, speed is unimportant here cheaping out is fine

If you want a cheap case i can get you one thats gathering dust, very cool mATX case, the Vulcan. Its kinda cool actually:

NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Micro-ATX Case Review - Legit ReviewsNZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Micro-ATX Case

I can let this go DIRT CHEAP, interesting trades considered

 

[praktik]

for cards see if you can't grab a sweet 970 off some nvidia guy selling to go to the newer cards!

 

[greginhali]

I see the GTX970 Nvidia here:

GTX970 Nvidia | system components | Mississauga / Peel Region | Kijiji


I love reading the above posts but Im out of my league. Im not sure if I can build it myself. Ill keep reading up on how to get it running. I dont think ill get into hardcore gaming on my PC, but I would like to check out the skyrim mod scene.

Ill keep posting question, thanks for answering and pointing me in the right direction.

 

[praktik]

ok you can always take my recos and walk down a notch.

I have trouble recommending for budgets. Still - a 970 will be great combo of price/performance at less than 375 if you can find it for sub 300 this will be great for older titles and give you pretty decent performance @ 1080p for any modern title you may find yourself interested in.

I know you state the preference for older titles right now, but with just a bit more investment you can be looking at GREAT performance for older titles @ 1080p and GOOD performance for 1080p in modern titles

A 970 gets you that - as you go lower down the chain a 960 would be decent but I would have trouble recommending any lower than that if you're buying now. The great thing about the 900 series cards is they are all SUPER quiet and low power compared to previous generations. Would be a shame to get an earlier gen card that will be loud and inefficient!

 

[greginhali]

Question: How do I know if the 970 will fit inside my current motherboard / Case? Look at the measurements and check the case? Ill buy it if it works.

I have a win 7 Pentium Dual Core E5400 @ 2.70 GHz
4GB RAM

So one weak spot is the GHz. Any others?

 

[praktik]

4GB will be tight - but dual-core @ 2.7ghz is fine for the generation of games you are most interested in playing.

If you can send me your mobo brand/model # - can tell you what RAM could work for it.

Its dirt cheap.

Also the mobo brand/model will tell me if you can take a GPU but you know, we've been on PCI-E for so long now the only question is if you have 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0

Judging by age of your CPU Im guessing its 2.0. Which is FINE

But it should "fit" the slot if that's your concern!

 

[praktik]

Actually I would TOTALLY reco *JUST* getting an additional 4-12GB of RAM and a GPU

It might seem silly to get a modern GPU for an older machine but I find this is how I often follow my own "tick-tock" upgrade path:

Buy Mobo/CPU/RAM - tick
(+2 years later)
Buy awesome GPU - tock
(+2 years later)
Buy Mobo/CPU/RAM - tick

And then I just carry over the GPU! GPU is probably the most important piece of equipment for games. Getting a really good one now is fine. And if you realize you need to get a new comp two years from now?

Port it over, GPU is one less thing you'll need to buy then!

Anyway - you can spend <$500 now (likely <400) to get your machine a bit better for gaming. With a GPU out of the picture (cause a 970 will still be decent 2 years from now @ 1080p) you will only need 500 or so to get a new mobo/cpu/ram combo thats pretty good (maybe a bit over if your case or pSU is old - i always reco getting a great case that can last 10 years so you can just keep putting your parts in it over that period)

 

[glych t.anomaly]

Probably not something that you will be able to buy, but its run everything i have thrown at it REALLY nicely.

Processor Model: Intel Core i7-4790K
Processor Speed: 4.0Ghz
Processor Cooling : Liquid
Number of Cores: 4
Chipset Intel Z97 Express
Graphics Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 4GB
Memory 16 GB
Memory Type DDR3 1666mhz
SSD Capacity 240GB

The case is great as it has magentic dust covers so it keeps A LOT of airborne debris out of the interior. 2 fans in the top, 2 fans up front, not to loud, and every game i have played on it so far has run sooo smoothly.

A huge step up from my old

AMD 1090T Xenon 6 Core 3.2 GHZ CPU
10 GB of DDR3 1333mhz
Fan Cooling
Nvidia GTX 550Ti 1.5 GB
90 GB SSD
Decent case and fan cooling

Now im currently playing

Overwatch
Dishonoured
Witcher 3
Star Citizen Alpha

Was playing

Wildstar
Black Desert Online


Might play

DOOOOOOOM
Rocket League
Anything else that looks super sick on my new RIG.

ALSO

I sit in front of a 32 inch Vizio that was one of their recommended for high refresh rate settings.

this is my sound http://www.logitech.com/en-ca/product/speaker-system-z906?crid=1588

when im not using my logitech G35's

 

[glych t.anomaly]

Hrrrrmmm, Wait, i put a Nvidia 960 in my old rig, i might still have the Nivida 550 TI !

need to look through my things.

 

[StarvinMarvin]

glad this is in here I eventually want to get a gaming laptop so I can geek out to Street Fighter V on the fly one day

 

[praktik]

My rig is almost same as yours Glytch except with two titans in SLI

Have a 980 in my HTPC and LOVE IT

 

[glych t.anomaly]

My rig is almost same as yours Glytch except with two titans in SLI

Have a 980 in my HTPC and LOVE IT

hehehe awesome.

Question.... if you game with the Titans in SLI, do you game on your HTPC?

Im curious to know because if you arent gaming in it, what requires a 980 ?

Movies and TV?

im assuming it has to do with rendering 3d movies or some shit, because the old gaming rig that was in my old place's living room doesnt seem to have any better image than the Intel Compute Stick im currently using.( wont be for long , better options out there for cheaper ! ill sell it to some chump online hahahahaha )

Went from my old RIG and a 46inch Dynex to the Compute stick and a new 48inch Sony Bravia.

Now the Dynex had a great screen for a 6-7 year old LCD, and the new Sony i have , also great for what we need and do, but def doesnt seem to require a proper video card.

 

[praktik]

I game on both, so pimp setups are required in both.

I play FPS and epic strategy on the main rig, the HTPC I play fifa and controller based games.

980 has been enough to run almost everything maxed out @ 1080p but every now and then I am dialing back AA or some features on some of the more recent titles.

I like having two gaming machines because for titles I truly care about, like FIFA, I can use the plasma TV when the wife ain't watching or move to the other room when she is!

 

[praktik]

And as for HTPC shit - having a potent GPU *DOES* help, with MADVR specifically.

I had a 580 in there and it was more than enough for most settings (I could still choke it on some crazy upconverting settings if I wanted to) but it was noisy as hell!

980 never breaks out a sweat doing the task my 580 was hitting 90 degrees on regularly...

THis is MPC-HC/MadVR and some GPU assisted settings

 

[greginhali]

4GB will be tight - but dual-core @ 2.7ghz is fine for the generation of games you are most interested in playing.

If you can send me your mobo brand/model # - can tell you what RAM could work for it.

Its dirt cheap.

Also the mobo brand/model will tell me if you can take a GPU but you know, we've been on PCI-E for so long now the only question is if you have 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0

Judging by age of your CPU Im guessing its 2.0. Which is FINE

But it should "fit" the slot if that's your concern!

Good news! I like it that i can work in stages. Easier on the budget and still gets me up and running

Here is what I found for motherboard info:
System Manufacturer MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD
System Model MS-7529
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5400 @ 2.70GHz, 2700 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB


Thanks for helping. Im willing to pull the trigger on a couple of parts to make this happen.

 

[praktik]

Ok so I have good news and bad news:

Bad news - you are already maxed on RAM so cannot exceed 4gb

Good news - you can fit any modern GPU!

However we need to check one more thing. Do you know how many watts your power supply is??

(also looking at your mobo specs, bad idea to jump on that used computer with the q6600, you'd be dropping money and ending up in almost the same place!)

 

[praktik]

Also have you had a close look at your existing graphics card?

See if it's removable just want to ensure its not fixed in place and not replaceable.

 

[greginhali]

I believe my power supply is 500 watts.

The current graphical card is removable.

Bummer about the Mobo. Cant expand the RAM past 4gb.

Whats the next step?

 

[praktik]

You should be fine - only thing to worry about now is auxiliary power

If your power supply has these

You're golden, if not you'll need to use adaptors:

Or

 

[greginhali]

believe it or not i dont have any of those. let me try and find a picture of what i have...........