Need help with gaming computer
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This discussion is absurd.
You came in and asked the equivalent of "My friend's 2.5RS is slow. How do I make it fast?"
And everyone is giving advice... "go turbo", "coilovers brah", "dont forget bushings", "XYZ makes the best flux capacitor"
You need to find out what is causing the "slowness" or whatever the issue with the gaming experience is before you can cure it. It does seem like the graphics card is a likely culprit, but there is probably no need to go out and buy the equivalent of a 1000hp ball bearing turbo kit with NOS when all you need is a VF48. Just throwing parts at it is a waste of money.
AMD video card prices spiked hard last year when people caught the bitcoin mining bug, and they are just now getting back to normal prices. Nvidia stuff is generally more fairly priced. The GTX780 is basically one of the best cards on the market. That's a guaranteed waste of money.
Unless you're gaming on a big screen/multiple screens, 4K resolutions, or doing 3D stuff you probably don't need anything more than a $150-$250 retail price card. Those eBay deals on the R9 radeon series look pretty sweet, I would probably get one of those (or a slightly cheaper R9 270X which should be powerful enough for ~$180 MSRP) for your system and spend the rest of the money on a power supply (something around 450W should be plenty).
I like to buy from reputable stores so I can take advantage of warranty/returns options...
Newegg power search for appropriate cards:
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Video Cards & Video Devices, Desktop Graphics Cards, PNY Technologies, Inc., GIGABYTE, ASUS, MSI, EVGA, Radeon R9 se...
Newegg result for R9 270X:
Newegg.com - MSI R9 270X GAMING 2G Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Tom's Hardware reviews cost/performance comparison of graphics cards for May 2014:
May 2014: Graphics Card Performance Per Dollar
You came in and asked the equivalent of "My friend's 2.5RS is slow. How do I make it fast?"
And everyone is giving advice... "go turbo", "coilovers brah", "dont forget bushings", "XYZ makes the best flux capacitor"
You need to find out what is causing the "slowness" or whatever the issue with the gaming experience is before you can cure it. It does seem like the graphics card is a likely culprit, but there is probably no need to go out and buy the equivalent of a 1000hp ball bearing turbo kit with NOS when all you need is a VF48. Just throwing parts at it is a waste of money.
AMD video card prices spiked hard last year when people caught the bitcoin mining bug, and they are just now getting back to normal prices. Nvidia stuff is generally more fairly priced. The GTX780 is basically one of the best cards on the market. That's a guaranteed waste of money.
Unless you're gaming on a big screen/multiple screens, 4K resolutions, or doing 3D stuff you probably don't need anything more than a $150-$250 retail price card. Those eBay deals on the R9 radeon series look pretty sweet, I would probably get one of those (or a slightly cheaper R9 270X which should be powerful enough for ~$180 MSRP) for your system and spend the rest of the money on a power supply (something around 450W should be plenty).
I like to buy from reputable stores so I can take advantage of warranty/returns options...
Newegg power search for appropriate cards:
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Video Cards & Video Devices, Desktop Graphics Cards, PNY Technologies, Inc., GIGABYTE, ASUS, MSI, EVGA, Radeon R9 se...
Newegg result for R9 270X:
Newegg.com - MSI R9 270X GAMING 2G Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Tom's Hardware reviews cost/performance comparison of graphics cards for May 2014:
May 2014: Graphics Card Performance Per Dollar
Those eBay deals on the R9 radeon series look pretty sweet, I would probably get one of those (or a slightly cheaper R9 270X which should be powerful enough for ~$180 MSRP) for your system and spend the rest of the money on a power supply (something around 450W should be plenty).
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so how is what we are saying absurd?
He's playing games that just won't run on his video card. His CPU is perfectly fine, so the gaming card should be the reason. and a newer PSU would be advised.
Just don't see why you feel the discussion is absurd.
Don't forget that with computers the more powerful the setup, the longer it tends to last before needing to be replaced or upgraded again. So there are advantages to spending more for higher quality parts now (whether they are needed or not, which typically they are not for what most people tend to actually need to run their games and programs sufficiently).
This discussion is absurd.
You came in and asked the equivalent of "My friend's 2.5RS is slow. How do I make it fast?"
And everyone is giving advice... "go turbo", "coilovers brah", "dont forget bushings", "XYZ makes the best flux capacitor"
You need to find out what is causing the "slowness" or whatever the issue with the gaming experience is before you can cure it. It does seem like the graphics card is a likely culprit, but there is probably no need to go out and buy the equivalent of a 1000hp ball bearing turbo kit with NOS when all you need is a VF48. Just throwing parts at it is a waste of money.
AMD video card prices spiked hard last year when people caught the bitcoin mining bug, and they are just now getting back to normal prices. Nvidia stuff is generally more fairly priced. The GTX780 is basically one of the best cards on the market. That's a guaranteed waste of money.
Unless you're gaming on a big screen/multiple screens, 4K resolutions, or doing 3D stuff you probably don't need anything more than a $150-$250 retail price card. Those eBay deals on the R9 radeon series look pretty sweet, I would probably get one of those (or a slightly cheaper R9 270X which should be powerful enough for ~$180 MSRP) for your system and spend the rest of the money on a power supply (something around 450W should be plenty).
I like to buy from reputable stores so I can take advantage of warranty/returns options...
Newegg power search for appropriate cards:
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Video Cards & Video Devices, Desktop Graphics Cards, PNY Technologies, Inc., GIGABYTE, ASUS, MSI, EVGA, Radeon R9 se...
Newegg result for R9 270X:
Newegg.com - MSI R9 270X GAMING 2G Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Tom's Hardware reviews cost/performance comparison of graphics cards for May 2014:
May 2014: Graphics Card Performance Per Dollar
You came in and asked the equivalent of "My friend's 2.5RS is slow. How do I make it fast?"
And everyone is giving advice... "go turbo", "coilovers brah", "dont forget bushings", "XYZ makes the best flux capacitor"
You need to find out what is causing the "slowness" or whatever the issue with the gaming experience is before you can cure it. It does seem like the graphics card is a likely culprit, but there is probably no need to go out and buy the equivalent of a 1000hp ball bearing turbo kit with NOS when all you need is a VF48. Just throwing parts at it is a waste of money.
AMD video card prices spiked hard last year when people caught the bitcoin mining bug, and they are just now getting back to normal prices. Nvidia stuff is generally more fairly priced. The GTX780 is basically one of the best cards on the market. That's a guaranteed waste of money.
Unless you're gaming on a big screen/multiple screens, 4K resolutions, or doing 3D stuff you probably don't need anything more than a $150-$250 retail price card. Those eBay deals on the R9 radeon series look pretty sweet, I would probably get one of those (or a slightly cheaper R9 270X which should be powerful enough for ~$180 MSRP) for your system and spend the rest of the money on a power supply (something around 450W should be plenty).
I like to buy from reputable stores so I can take advantage of warranty/returns options...
Newegg power search for appropriate cards:
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Video Cards & Video Devices, Desktop Graphics Cards, PNY Technologies, Inc., GIGABYTE, ASUS, MSI, EVGA, Radeon R9 se...
Newegg result for R9 270X:
Newegg.com - MSI R9 270X GAMING 2G Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Tom's Hardware reviews cost/performance comparison of graphics cards for May 2014:
May 2014: Graphics Card Performance Per Dollar
I agree.
Grab a good power supply like this one and you're set
CORSAIR CX series CX500 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com
Killer price right now with the rebate.
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,035
From: Sunnyvale, CA
Car Info: 02 WRX Wagon
What you just said right there is like what almost every single person said before you...
so how is what we are saying absurd?
He's playing games that just won't run on his video card. His CPU is perfectly fine, so the gaming card should be the reason. and a newer PSU would be advised.
Just don't see why you feel the discussion is absurd.
so how is what we are saying absurd?
He's playing games that just won't run on his video card. His CPU is perfectly fine, so the gaming card should be the reason. and a newer PSU would be advised.
Just don't see why you feel the discussion is absurd.
The absurdity stems from the fact that he did not describe the issues he was having with the game. We are all assuming that it was due to a weak graphics card when in fact it could be anything from a misconfiguration of BIOS settings, components that don't play nice together for whatever reason, or even manufacturing defects in one or more of his components. There are a dozen metrics to consider in order to find the most cost-effective solution to the problem.
A newer PSU would probably be mandatory.
His original PSU is only 300 Watts (not to mention it almost definitely does not have a 6-pin PCIe expansion power cable which most graphics cards require). I figure ~15W for each memory stick(4), ~20W hard drive(1), 50-100W motherboard(1), 125W for the CPU, and 180W for the R9 270X GPU. At peak load you're looking at ~450 Watts. Personally, I like to over-spec by 20% to be safe and allow for future improvements so I would buy a 500-600W unit although in reality it will probably never reach that peak number.
That $30 after rebate deal that reign_ posted is quite good. Combine with one of them r9 270X cards and you'll have a solid gaming rig for 3-6 years for under $250.
Not a bad deal. Could be better if you built it instead of buying the tower but to each his own.
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 966
From: Subabrew Crew
Car Info: 2011 WRX Hatchie
Have a bunch of Asus R9 270 for sale, good card, plays most games on high settings. Pretty big step up from he has now. Most definitely need to upgrade the PSU the something at least 500w.
$125 for the card picked up.
$125 for the card picked up.
Thread Starter
Registered User
iTrader: (10)
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,758
From: San Jose, CA
Car Info: Galaxy Blue 2015 WRX
You're right, that one sentence is almost exactly like the other suggestions in this thread. The difference is that I qualified my statements with some relevant information and provided sources for more thorough information.
The absurdity stems from the fact that he did not describe the issues he was having with the game. We are all assuming that it was due to a weak graphics card when in fact it could be anything from a misconfiguration of BIOS settings, components that don't play nice together for whatever reason, or even manufacturing defects in one or more of his components. There are a dozen metrics to consider in order to find the most cost-effective solution to the problem.
A newer PSU would probably be mandatory.
His original PSU is only 300 Watts (not to mention it almost definitely does not have a 6-pin PCIe expansion power cable which most graphics cards require). I figure ~15W for each memory stick(4), ~20W hard drive(1), 50-100W motherboard(1), 125W for the CPU, and 180W for the R9 270X GPU. At peak load you're looking at ~450 Watts. Personally, I like to over-spec by 20% to be safe and allow for future improvements so I would buy a 500-600W unit although in reality it will probably never reach that peak number.
That $30 after rebate deal that reign_ posted is quite good. Combine with one of them r9 270X cards and you'll have a solid gaming rig for 3-6 years for under $250.
Not a bad deal. Could be better if you built it instead of buying the tower but to each his own.
And yes, I also agree that he should,have built the computer. If I knew he wanted a gaming computer I wouldve helped him do some more research before diving head first into a prebuilt one. But Im trying to help him solve his problem of not being able to play games on high res, single monitor.
bing bang boom, power supply of 600w and graphics card. Thanks guys! questions answered! Glad you guys can lend a hand in helping me pick out a graphics card for my brother. Much appreciated.
I love this community, everytime I need help, you guys come through and provide!
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