PC Gaming

[Solidus]

If you want to make sure you have enough to SLi... can always use a calculator.

https://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html

Nice. But, you'll also have to consider the amperage on the 12 volt rail of the PSU. Regardless of how powerful your PSU is, if it doesn't meet the amperage requirements of a graphics card, it may prevent your desktop from powering on. I learned that the hard way last week when testing out an old, SLI/Crossfire ready Ultra 500 W PSU on my newly built desktop. My GTX 650 - which is a fairly low-end graphics card, required 20 A on the 12 V rail. But, because my Ultra PSU was only capable of delivering 16A, I couldn't run it, and was forced to buy an entirely new PSU.

I'm very happy with the circumstance though, because I was able to pick up a much better OCZ ModX Steam Pro 700 W modular PSU. It met the amperage requirement at 25 A on both 12 V rails, and came 80 plus certified (while my old Ultra PSU didn't have any certification).

 

[Solidus]

PC's don't use that much electricity

Yes not really. Often the newer cards, use less power, give off less heat, as they continue to shrink down the chips etc.

Like my GTX590 (dual gpu card) is a fricken power hog, compared to the GTX 680, and maybe even the new TITAN.
And runs hot as hell too lol

That makes me happy. I'm definitely going to try SLI/Crossfire with some new cards, but would hate to run a PC that guzzles as much power as an air conditioner.

 

[Kibagami]

Yes not really. Often the newer cards, use less power, give off less heat, as they continue to shrink down the chips etc.

Like my GTX590 (dual gpu card) is a fricken power hog, compared to the GTX 680, and maybe even the new TITAN.
And runs hot as hell too lol

Yeah, why not? The new generation will be improved, faster and efficient.

Currently, I'm hunting for another GTX 580! When I get it, I'm just going to pop it in, bridge it and hope for the best on my 750W PSU.

 

[FQRizzo]

Yeah, why not? The new generation will be improved, faster and efficient.

Currently, I'm hunting for another GTX 580! When I get it, I'm just going to pop it in, bridge it and hope for the best on my 750W PSU.

Or you could try this:

Power Consumption Calculator

 

[Kibagami]

Yes not really. Often the newer cards, use less power, give off less heat, as they continue to shrink down the chips etc.

Like my GTX590 (dual gpu card) is a fricken power hog, compared to the GTX 680, and maybe even the new TITAN.
And runs hot as hell too lol

Or you could try this:

Power Consumption Calculator

Yeah, eventually, I know, I know. A new PSU. I'll probably go 1000W.

 

[Natrix]

I just got a second GTX 560ti OC to run in SLI for now. Got a pretty good deal on a used one. My single 560 ti still runs games pretty damn good at 1080P so a little extra scaling should help crank a few settings up, increase my framerates and for when I feel like playing games in 3d. I didn't feel like dropping around $400 for a GTX 670 right now.

 

[Vader AL]

I just got a second GTX 560ti OC to run in SLI for now. Got a pretty good deal on a used one. My single 560 ti still runs games pretty damn good at 1080P so a little extra scaling should help crank a few settings up, increase my framerates and for when I feel like playing games in 3d. I didn't feel like dropping around $400 for a GTX 670 right now.

so do you like the results? any issues?

 

[Natrix]

Just got the other 560 yesterday and just put it in this morning. My 3dMark11 extreme benchmark nearly doubled. Gonna try some games next but I also bought a new mother board and CPU yesterday to put in as well this week.

Then I also found a really good deal on Craigslist for a GTX 680 card right after I bought the second GTX 560. Guy had two of them really cheap and two years left on warranty. He was selling them because he bought two Titans to run in SLI to replace them! System set up was CRAZY!

He was the on the worst end of a stereo type of a gamer though. Older guy living in a smaller two bedroom apartment with his mother. Nice enough guy though but kinda felt bad for him. He had three computer builds in his tiny room, don't know how much he had invested in all of them but that one system was impressive looking.

Anyway, my current set up was a Phenom II x4 965 overclocked to 3.8 GHZ, 8GB memory and the GTX560 ti OC with a GTX275 for Physx. Everything was easily playable with one 560 with settings nearly maxed out so I will be interested to see how the SLI works out.

My upgrade will end up being a FX8350 processor with either the 560's SLI'ed or the 680 + one 560 dedicated to Physx. I know an Intel set up would be better for just gaming but I have always had AMD processors and for mulltitasking and even gaming it will still be plenty powerful. Microcenter had a good combo deal that ended up being nearly $80 cheaper than Newegg so I couldn't pass it up.

After I get everything upgraded and set up, I will sell my upgraded parts and use that to help pay for the upgrades.

 

[Vader AL]

Just got the other 560 yesterday and just put it in this morning. My 3dMark11 extreme benchmark nearly doubled. Gonna try some games next but I also bought a new mother board and CPU yesterday to put in as well this week.

Then I also found a really good deal on Craigslist for a GTX 680 card right after I bought the second GTX 560. Guy had two of them really cheap and two years left on warranty. He was selling them because he bought two Titans to run in SLI to replace them! System set up was CRAZY!

He was the on the worst end of a stereo type of a gamer though. Older guy living in a smaller two bedroom apartment with his mother. Nice enough guy though but kinda felt bad for him. He had three computer builds in his tiny room, don't know how much he had invested in all of them but that one system was impressive looking.

Anyway, my current set up is a Phenom II x4 965 overclocked to 3.8 GHZ, 8GB memory and the GTX560 ti OC. Everything was easily playable with one 560 with settings nearly maxed out so I will be interested to see how the SLI works out.

My upgrade will end up being a FX8350 processor with either the 560's SLI'ed or the 680 + one 560 dedicated to Physx. I know an Intel set up would be better for just gaming but I have always had AMD processors and for mulltitasking and even gaming it will still be plenty powerful. Microcenter had a good combo deal that ended up being nearly $80 cheaper than Newegg so I couldn't pass it up.

After I get everything upgraded and set up, I will sell my upgraded parts and use that to help pay for the upgrades.

dang....he sounds a little sad.

sounds like a sweet set up you have. congrats!

 

[Solidus]

Mentioning graphics cards, I've been surprisingly impressed with my GTX 650. I've been been able to run all of the Half-Life 2 games at around 250 FPS on average, and it maxes out the settings on Skyrim, and Crysis 1 and 2 easily.

Granted, I haven't tried it on any modern games like Crysis 3 or Tomb Raider (and I expect for those games to take a massive performance hit with the 650). But, it's a fairly cheap card that's just perfect for older games.

 

[FQRizzo]

I'm still rocking out with my single 560 ti. I can't find a good reason to fork out money for a better card yet. Once prices go down, maybe

 

[Drakul]

I'm assuming all of you are Pc gamers and mourning LucasArts. you need to watch these videos, so many memories!

https://www.gamespot.com/search/?qs=remembering+lucasarts

 

[FQRizzo]

So with the next Xbox rumored to have an AMD GPU (like the PS4), does anyone else feel like they should switch to AMD when they get their next graphics card?

 

[Something Sexy]

So with the next Xbox rumored to have an AMD GPU (like the PS4), does anyone else feel like they should switch to AMD when they get their next graphics card?

No.....

I am an in Intel fanboy.

 

[darthviper107]

Graphics card, not CPU


No reason to get an AMD CPU over Intel, but this generation unless you're getting the TITAN then the AMD graphics cards are actually pretty good and half the time the 7970 performs better than the GTX 680. BUT---I still wouldn't recommend AMD graphics cards due to some compatibility issues, many games use Nvidia exclusive features.

Plus, AMD might be in bankruptcy this year.

BTW--both the Xbox 360 and Wii used AMD graphics processors, so the new consoles using them is nothing new.

 

[Vader AL]

Graphics card, not CPU


No reason to get an AMD CPU over Intel, but this generation unless you're getting the TITAN then the AMD graphics cards are actually pretty good and half the time the 7970 performs better than the GTX 680. BUT---I still wouldn't recommend AMD graphics cards due to some compatibility issues, many games use Nvidia exclusive features.

Plus, AMD might be in bankruptcy this year.

BTW--both the Xbox 360 and Wii used AMD graphics processors, so the new consoles using them is nothing new.

I had read something about their losses over the last few years....thought about selling the 7970 and going with an Nvidia.

 

[Something Sexy]

Graphics card, not CPU


No reason to get an AMD CPU over Intel, but this generation unless you're getting the TITAN then the AMD graphics cards are actually pretty good and half the time the 7970 performs better than the GTX 680. BUT---I still wouldn't recommend AMD graphics cards due to some compatibility issues, many games use Nvidia exclusive features.

Plus, AMD might be in bankruptcy this year.

BTW--both the Xbox 360 and Wii used AMD graphics processors, so the new consoles using them is nothing new.

Ya you people say AMD but I never think of them as a GPU maker cause I just think ATI still.

In which case, Nvidia fanboy, I won't own an ATI/AMD again.

 

[darthviper107]

They're in a market that isn't really growing and they're losing in both graphics cards and CPU's. They have nothing else that they make. Both Intel and Nvidia have dominated their areas and expanded into new stuff.

 

[Vader AL]

I just fear the slow down of driver updates or them going away all together. I love the 7970 though but want to buy a second card and don't want to be stuck with cards that aren't getting driver updates.

That being said they have a lot of cash on hand and they may file bankruptcy but I would think it would be a restructuring and not liquidation of the company.

 

[darthviper107]

Their drivers suck anyways so it might not make much difference lol