re: PC Discussion - Gaming, Performance and Enthusiasts

When this crew gets done don't be surprised if the build you end up with is cheaper than what you have now (not guaranteed.)

If you get a 120hz 1080p monitor (and you definitely should, if not 1440p, if spending that kind of money on the tower), you'll want 90+fps (ideally 120fps). Won't be a problem, just letting you know the goal with high-refresh rate monitors.

When you play at true 120fps and 1080p+, you may not want to console ever again

So anyways, some stuff I'm going to rejigger when I get home from the office:

RAM: Can probably reduce to 8GB, unless you are getting it for heavy multi-tasking in other uses. 16GB won't do you any good in gaming. BUt if going 16GB, don't get bargain bin RAM when it's not really that much cheaper.

PSU: That's a great unit, but expensive and not totally necessary. We can get more power out of a just as capable 80+ Bronze unit for less money.

10/100/1000 Network Adapter: toss

WiFi: if you insist, but hardwire if possible

GPU: Unless you're convinced NVIDIA is the best, there is better bang for buck available. AMD cards are going to get you higher memory bandwidth. The 760 is not that great of a card for 1440p if you decide to go that route in the future. I think this build can fit an R9-290.

I'll look at it more at home.

PCPartPicker part list: LINK
Price breakdown by merchant: LINK

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($112.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($250.00)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($250.00)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1248.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-20 17:42 EDT-0400

Find some used 290s for $250ea. Now you have $200+ to spend on nice peripherals

I am looking forward to the November time frame. I am going to build a new rig spending up to 2k, I have the PS and SSD. Moving to 1440 so I will have to buy a monitor.

Game time isn't dead much longer. We are about to be hit with a lot of releases.

Anyone ever have any trouble playing Steam games? I have games installed on my computer that aren't through steam that run fine with no issues but whenever I play a game through Steam the game always runs great then without warning crashes 20-30 minutes in and it says my display driver stopped responding but recovered. Checked for driver updates and they are up to date. Thought about either uninstalling and re-installing Steam or my drivers.

It's all of my steam games. Skyrim, Star Wars: KOTOR, Civ V. I could play Civ V and Star Wars on my 4 year old macbook pro and never had any issues. On the desktop though it plays for a bit then randomly crashes like I said. The other games i have installed on my computer don't have that issue. They run great and never crash.

I don't believe so. I checked to see if my drivers had any updates and it said they didn't. I may run catalyst when I get home but I'm trying to avoid uninstalling my drivers because I'm worried I'll compound the issue.