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Looking for new MBO + CPU
I'm looking for a new motherboard, CPU and possibly new memory. I will use the same HDD, SSD plus GPU etc. from my old system as I feel they are good enough for now. But I've been out of the loop for a bit and was wondering what people would recommend for a mid range gaming PC.
Comments
Got a budget?
Just to throw some data out there, I would say you want at least $200-$500 (depending on if/how much RAM, motherboard features, AMD/Intel, etc)
I'm looking at a maximum of £450. But I'm thinking:
Intel Core i5 i5-4690K CPU (Quad Core 3.5GHz Processor, 6MB Cache, Intel HD 4600 Graphics, Socket H3 LGA-1150)
Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 Intel LGA1150 Z97 ATX Motherboard (4x DDR3, 6x USB3.0, 8x USB2.0, HDMI, DVI-I, DSUB)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (120mm)
If those are within your budget then that hardware will do nicely. And depending on what GPU you are throwing in can be a high end gaming PC.
That paired with a high end GPU would be nice indeed.
I currently use a radeon 7950. I was going to get a nvdia 950 but the bad press put me off. So I'm waiting to see if either it drops in price or something shinier comes along with the same price tag.
A 950 would be a downgrade. You are going to need something like a GTX 970 to really get your moneys worth over a 7950.
the 7950 is pretty much on par with a GTX 960. You should be fine on GPU for awhile. Do not get a 950 no matter what tho lol
Ah well I think I meant a 970. you know... the mid - range card that came out recently alongside the 980 and got a bit of bad press. Something to do with the memory I think. Ah well they should give them proper names.
If you are looking at the GTX 970 then dont let the "bad press" influence you. That card is very very nice. And I am going to be buying one in a few weeks myself.
If I remember right it was something about using 3.5g of its 4g memory. Unless you are using tons of mods in a game then that shouldnt matter anyways.
You are. It has 3.5GB of fast memory and 0.5GB of slow memory meaning that once you use more than 3.5GB performance plummets. For the majority of games it's a great card 1080p but for 1440p and up you are better off with an AMD equivilent or a 980 instead.
Here is the statement by Nvidia regarding the memory issue. It doesnt seem like much of an issue to me.
Nvidia Responds to GTX 970 Memory Allocation Issue
“The GeForce GTX 970 is equipped with 4GB of dedicated graphics memory. However the 970 has a different configuration of SMs than the 980, and fewer crossbar resources to the memory system. To optimally manage memory traffic in this configuration, we segment graphics memory into a 3.5GB section and a 0.5GB section. The GPU has higher priority access to the 3.5GB section. When a game needs less than 3.5GB of video memory per draw command then it will only access the first partition, and 3rd party applications that measure memory usage will report 3.5GB of memory in use on GTX 970, but may report more for GTX 980 if there is more memory used by other commands. When a game requires more than 3.5GB of memory then we use both segments.
We understand there have been some questions about how the GTX 970 will perform when it accesses the 0.5GB memory segment. The best way to test that is to look at game performance. Compare a GTX 980 to a 970 on a game that uses less than 3.5GB. Then turn up the settings so the game needs more than 3.5GB and compare 980 and 970 performance again.
Here’s an example of some performance data:
On GTX 980, Shadows of Mordor drops about 24% on GTX 980 and 25% on GTX 970, a 1% difference. On Battlefield 4, the drop is 47% on GTX 980 and 50% on GTX 970, a 3% difference. On CoD: AW, the drop is 41% on GTX 980 and 44% on GTX 970, a 3% difference. As you can see, there is very little change in the performance of the GTX 970 relative to GTX 980 on these games when it is using the 0.5GB segment.”
Read more: http://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-memory-issue-fully-explained/#ixzz3ZyI0yuXf
I'm currently using an i5-3570. I'd say the computer is 3 - 4 years old now and although runs ok, I'm having some problems with the sound which I'm fairly sure is the motherboard as I've ruled out speakers and drivers etc. If not for that I would probably wait another year or so to upgrade.
I would just get a new sound card or motherboard in that case
Agreed
Buy a soundcard, or a new motherboard. Either will solve the problem you are having.
You wont really be "upgrading" very much on the cpu side if thats what you have now. Personally I would get a soundcard and see if that works. If so then take the money your looking to spend and buy a GTX 980. Nothing wrong with the cpu you have.