Thanks for the suggestions! I changed my build to have a Core i5 Intel processor 3.1Gz, a Nvidia GTX 650 Ti video card, switched from 4 sticks of 4gigs of Ram to 2 sticks of 8 gigs of ram and I also found some way cheaper cables. I'm also going to change my monitor to the Dell Ultrasharp U2410, because it actually has Premier Color and HDMI connectivity, and I'm going to purchase it through Dell instead of NewEgg because it's cheaper.
On Newegg it looks like 660 are $230, 670 are $400 and 680 are $470. Why not just go all out with the 680? I have one, it kicks ass. It might hurt the wallet, but once you get it you will not regret it. You probably won't have to upgrade it until 2000 forever.
I'd rather have a $230 card every 2 years than a $470 card every 4 years. In my view, the sweet spot is a 2 or 3 year upgrade cycle, and a price range of $200-$300.
I don't think the GTX 650 Ti is a good choice, though; It's a lot weaker than a GTX 660. See here for example - the 660s are getting ~52 FPS, while the 650 Tis are only getting ~30 FPS.
Although the 660 might be 1.5x as expensive, it's also more than 1.5x faster.
While I'm here, if anyone has any spare USB motherboard header cables or the header cables for HDAudio output to the front of the case and wouldn't mind mailing it to me in CA, I should be able to find something you might want.
I'd rather have a $230 card every 2 years than a $470 card every 4 years. In my view, the sweet spot is a 2 or 3 year upgrade cycle, and a price range of $200-$300.
It's probably better to put this in terms of generations, though - upgrade every second or third generation.
Yes, the high-end cards from the previous generation are still going pretty strong, but not so much the ones from two generations ago, and the ones from three generations ago are basically worthless.
In other words, it mostly comes down to how much you're willing to spend every 3 years or so - wanting it to last long is a bad reason to get a high-end card, because no card can last very long against Moore's law.
While I'm here, if anyone has any spare USB motherboard header cables or the header cables for HDAudio output to the front of the case and wouldn't mind mailing it to me in CA, I should be able to find something you might want.
Didn't I give you some?
Not sure what those were headers for, the it was 5x2 but at both ends there were pins on both rows and one in the middle missing.
While I'm here, if anyone has any spare USB motherboard header cables or the header cables for HDAudio output to the front of the case and wouldn't mind mailing it to me in CA, I should be able to find something you might want.
Didn't I give you some?
Not sure what those were headers for, the it was 5x2 but at both ends there were pins on both rows and one in the middle missing.
AC'97 have slightly different plugs than HD audio.
So I've been wanting to build a computer for a few months now, and now that I've finally gotten the funds together I wanted to run what I have past some folks.
This is not my strong suit, so I chose these parts based on what my friends had suggested months prior, and also from looking at other forum posts. This computer would primarily be used for art and animation. It's most important that it's able to handle Adobe After Effects' nasty little butt.
From a quick glance at benchmarks, the GTX 660 is probably a little better than the GTX 570 while the price is basically the same.
Everything else looks great.
I'd recommend getting the cheaper 660 and then SLI'ing it in a few years when you can afford to. That's what I did with my 570 Ti's, and they still kick all of the ass.
Okay, fuck this noise. I just had my motherboard's sound on me break for the second time.
So, I'm using a cheapo MSI motherboard (this one), and about a week after I got my first one, the sound ports suddenly stopped working. The integrated sound card still worked - it could detect plugged-in devices and thought it was working, but no sound was going in or out of the ports.
So, I RMA'd the board and got a new one of the same build. Aaaaaand I just had the same problem happen. What I did (both times) was I turned off the power supply to work on the computer while leaving it plugged into some independently powered speakers. Which, admittedly, was pretty dumb, but which shouldn't have been dumb enough to break my computer.
So, do I: A) RMA it to Newegg and get a more expensive motherboard Complain to MSI C) Buy and install a cheap sound card,
What are the logistics dealing with adding an SSD drive to a computer to get better game performance? Does just my steam folder need to been the SSD drive or the OS too or what?
Is it possible to use an extrenal hard drive to hold all my games so I could use it on different PCs? For example I put Rome total war on the external use it and uni then go home and plug it into my home PC would that still work?
Is it possible to use an extrenal hard drive to hold all my games so I could use it on different PCs? For example I put Rome total war on the external use it and uni then go home and plug it into my home PC would that still work?
Depends. I'd say probably not as, if they are like a lot of other Windows apps, they probably squirrel away all sorts of crap in the Registry, the Windows system directories, your User directory, and whatnot, that basically ties the individual installation to a single PC.
I would write a bad review on Newegg. Complain to MSI. Then I would get one of those fancy USB headsets that has its own external sound card thingy.
Fair warning about complaining to MSI, their RMA support is abysmal. They recently spent 5 weeks "processing" a motherboard for me - I finally get the product back, only to find they had done literally no work on it. All it needed was a flashed BIOS, I just didn't have the materials to do it myself.
Comments
Never get the X90 series. That is the win the lottery waste all the money crazy category along with the i7 Extreme Edition.
I don't think the GTX 650 Ti is a good choice, though; It's a lot weaker than a GTX 660. See here for example - the 660s are getting ~52 FPS, while the 650 Tis are only getting ~30 FPS.
Although the 660 might be 1.5x as expensive, it's also more than 1.5x faster.
Yes, the high-end cards from the previous generation are still going pretty strong, but not so much the ones from two generations ago, and the ones from three generations ago are basically worthless.
In other words, it mostly comes down to how much you're willing to spend every 3 years or so - wanting it to last long is a bad reason to get a high-end card, because no card can last very long against Moore's law.
This is not my strong suit, so I chose these parts based on what my friends had suggested months prior, and also from looking at other forum posts. This computer would primarily be used for art and animation. It's most important that it's able to handle Adobe After Effects' nasty little butt.
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127682
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044
Already have a case, so no worries there.
Everything else looks great.
Also, Lian Li is sexy.
EDIT: Oh, and fans. Make sure it has them, and the larger the better (for noise and airflow stuff).
So, I'm using a cheapo MSI motherboard (this one), and about a week after I got my first one, the sound ports suddenly stopped working. The integrated sound card still worked - it could detect plugged-in devices and thought it was working, but no sound was going in or out of the ports.
So, I RMA'd the board and got a new one of the same build. Aaaaaand I just had the same problem happen. What I did (both times) was I turned off the power supply to work on the computer while leaving it plugged into some independently powered speakers. Which, admittedly, was pretty dumb, but which shouldn't have been dumb enough to break my computer.
So, do I:
A) RMA it to Newegg and get a more expensive motherboard
C) Buy and install a cheap sound card,
and if multiple choices in what order?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
and this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-113-284
Don't wanna go over 250-300