Summer Upgrade

[phil bottle 9,761]

So, in August it will be two years since I last updated my pc (other than adding an new Ethernet adapter).

 

I think it's time to have a look at any tweaks I can make and get myself 4K ready.

 

I'm okay with my CPU for the time being still I think, it's as follows:

 

Intel i7 - 4770k Haswell at 3.5Ghz and I've not felt any need to overclock.

 

I have 16GB of RAM and there's no need to add any more.

 

The GPU is another matter. I currently have a pretty decent one:

 

MSI Twin FrozR GTX 770 OC 2GB

 

Dave has been suggesting (pretty much since I got it) that I add a second 770 and go SLI. Now, the only thing with that this is that it doesn't increase the GPU memory to 4GB and ideally I want 4GB. So I'm thinking one of the latest Nvidia cards. I need to wade through the various versions of the 980 but if anyone has any experience of them let me know!

 

I have two hard drives, the primary drive being a Samsung 250GB SSD. I recently installed GTA V which has taken up 60GB all by itself and I think I need another SSD for my online games. My PSU is 750W so I think I'm ok power-wise, I just need to see if it's worth going for one of those 1TB SSDs.

 

It could be an expensive summer so I suppose I better start putting some money aside.

 

 

[Diddums 4,346]

4k is still an enthusiast party, and a silly expensive one at that. 4gb in VRAM won't do, you're looking at 8gb+.

This gives you a few options. A single 290x 8gb and crank loads of settings down for a smooth ride, two 290x 8gb for higher settings but you're looking at another £600 for entry level water cooling to tame them. For a silent setup, you're looking at a grand on cooling alone. 2 290x chips will be loud and stupidly hot if not cooled properly.

Another option is a Titan X which start at £900 each. One will perform roughly slap bang in the middle of a single 290x and Crossfire. It won't need luxury cooling either, although you'd want to consider it if going SLI later on down the line. Titan X are also 12gb cards and are the first cards designed to take 4k by the horns. The 290x 8gb won't have enough grunt to stuff an 8gb RAM buffer full of pixels, hence why you'd need two.

To add more confusion to the mix, AMD are rumoured to be releasing their 3xx series cards soon. They've been expecting for months however and no official wprd has come out yet, which means they've either developed a lemon which will burn your house down with heat, it's too expensive to market for the price they'll have to charge compared with Nvidia's offerings, is suffering technical difficulties or worst yet, the hundreds of leaks we've all seen were hocum and the 3xx series is just a myth.

Then there's 4k itself. Loads of games have tons of issues with it. The monitors are massive, hot, overpriced, and the whole market is filled with snake oil.

If I were in your shoes, I'd be looking at 1440p. It's mich better than 1080p, is well catered for, doesn't cost the earth and has a shitload of options in terms of monitors and cards which will sing its tune all day long.

4k is lovely and all, but to be honest at this point it's nothing more than a party trick, one whuch suppliers are more than happy to charge you a shitload for.

You should come visit, have a few games of BF4 on my 1440p 32" monitor and see what you think. And a beer

http://www.tweaktown.com/tweakipedia/79/amd-radeon-r9-290x-8gb-cf-vs-titan-sli-gtx-980-4k/index.html

[deterioration 443]

Personally going SLI and hanging in there until everything catches up to 4K, AKA: is more affordable, is the only option I can consider. Good luck.

[phil bottle 9,761]

Ha, thanks Dave, well that makes sense, I think I meant 1440p but got confused by the number 4.

 

I can afford (.ie. justify to the missus) around £400-500 which is why I'm looking at the gtx980 but I'll keep my eyes on AMD over the next few months.

[Diddums 4,346]

Well, a 295x2 can be had for about £500 but suffers from driver issues as it's still a Crossfire setup, despite the fact that it's technically one card. When it works well, it spanks anything currently on the market. When it works well.

I'd be waiting a bit if I were you. The 980s are still feeling the new-card-overpricedness and AMD has the potential to give them a thorough kicking.

Have you got a 1440p monitor? A decent one will cost you £300+.

[phil bottle 9,761]

QNIX seem to do cheaper 1440p monitors but I do like my BenQ and I may have a look at some of their recent ones. Yours is Samsung Dave, am  I right?

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

I'm toying whether to upgrade too. My rig is pretty beasty anyway but I need to maintain my prowess in the master race.

 

Here's my super specs to make you peasants jealous:-

 

Intel Pentium III 75mhz

16mb RAM

500mb HD

Amstrad Soundcard

Windows 95

Hewlett Packard black and white printer (once featured on the Antiques Roadshow)

Minesweeper

 

I can even run Actua Soccer on medium settings. Beat that bitches

 

I'm desperate to move into 4K this year but I may have to sacrifice my summer to do so I'm keeping my eyes fixed firmly on the market regarding the prices to see when the best time is to pounce. Cannot wait for 4K to become mainstream but I still think it's about 2 years off. 

[Diddums 4,346]

Yessir. Mine is a 32D850D.

 

This one: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-205-SA

 

It's amazing. You really need to see a monitor this size to appreciate it. 

[deterioration 443]

Beat that bitches

 

Ha ha ha! My '95 Compaq Presario 9546 with a 3DFX card will give it a run

 

 

Just read this Phil: GTA 5 PC in 4K is an "Eye-Opener," Rockstar Says

 

"To run the game on a 4K display at 30fps, you'll need at minimum an AMD HD 7870 or NVidia GTX 760 with 2GB of VRAM," the studio explained. "To be able to run the game at 4K resolution at 60fps you'll need a high-end SLI or Crossfire setup."

[Chookes 965]

What?

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

What?

[phil bottle 9,761]

Ha ha ha! My '95 Compaq Presario 9546 with a 3DFX card will give it a run

 

 

Just read this Phil: GTA 5 PC in 4K is an "Eye-Opener," Rockstar Says

 

"To run the game on a 4K display at 30fps, you'll need at minimum an AMD HD 7870 or NVidia GTX 760 with 2GB of VRAM," the studio explained. "To be able to run the game at 4K resolution at 60fps you'll need a high-end SLI or Crossfire setup."

 

I'm going switch on ndvidia shadowplay and see how I go, really looking forward to it!

[phil bottle 9,761]

Yessir. Mine is a 32D850D.

 

This one: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-205-SA

 

It's amazing. You really need to see a monitor this size to appreciate it. 

 

Marina goes to Barcelona for 10 days from Thursday and I'm planning to try quit smoking while she's away. Then I'm getting one of these^

[phil bottle 9,761]

 

Minesweeper

 

 

That cracked me up