Build a PC for Rome 2 / Hardware Recommendations and Advice Thread

[Epic28]

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BL 68.5 CFM
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" SSD
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card: WHAT TO BUY HMM?
Case: Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W ATX12V
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0"


This is my rig so far, any recommendations for a graphics card? I was thinking about a Radeon HD 7970 Ghz Edition 3GB bundled with 4 games for $450, but I've heard of over-heating and burn outs associated with the card.

[Baldos]

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BL 68.5 CFM
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" SSD
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card: WHAT TO BUY HMM?
Case: Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W ATX12V
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0"


This is my rig so far, any recommendations for a graphics card? I was thinking about a Radeon HD 7970 Ghz Edition 3GB bundled with 4 games for $450, but I've heard of over-heating and burn outs associated with the card.

Several people on this blog like the GTX 770. I was originally getting a GTX 670 but on their suggestion I did more research and returned the 670 and got a 770. I was convinced by the numerous comments on other sites and reviews on Amazon, New Egg, Tech Report and Tom’s Hardware. Take a look you may be sold on the GTX 770 also.

[Biggus Splenus]

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BL 68.5 CFM
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" SSD
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card: WHAT TO BUY HMM?
Case: Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W ATX12V
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0"


This is my rig so far, any recommendations for a graphics card? I was thinking about a Radeon HD 7970 Ghz Edition 3GB bundled with 4 games for $450, but I've heard of over-heating and burn outs associated with the card.

Good choices. If it were me, i would get an ASUS board though, that's just me though, think they have amazing features compared to competitors.

For the graphics card, if you are going to play the bundled games that come with a 7970, then it's an unbeatable deal. If not, then consider a 770 for about the same price. Don't worry about what you have heard about over-heating and burn outs, that can happen to any card, and the people that it does happen to make a big noise about it.

That case is nice, it's the first one I ever owned. It's fully metal (except for some cable hold downs, 3.5" drive sleds, and the buttons), has great cable management, but it doesn't have very good cooling (too much ventilation I think), and it isn't particularly quiet. You could do better for the price, but you could also do much, much worse. The build quality is great though, like all Corsair cases.

For the cooler, I'd recommend a Noctua NH-U12S or U14S. The fans aren't as sexy, but they perform just as well as the best fans on the market at much lower speeds, which makes them really quiet.

SSD is good, but if you don't need to copy thing to it at extreme speeds (like video recording, or rendering), then you could save some money and get the regular 840 120GB.

Lastly, get Windows 8. I know the UI is totally retarded, but it can ramp up performance in some games by over 30% (Shogun 2 and Farcry 3 are some examples). DirectX 11.1 is also exclusive to the OS, so if you get Windows 7 then you are limiting performance in some games, and limiting graphical features that DirectX 11.1 brings.

[Epic28]

Good choices. If it were me, i would get an ASUS board though, that's just me though, think they have amazing features compared to competitors.

For the graphics card, if you are going to play the bundled games that come with a 7970, then it's an unbeatable deal. If not, then consider a 770 for about the same price. Don't worry about what you have heard about over-heating and burn outs, that can happen to any card, and the people that it does happen to make a big noise about it.

That case is nice, it's the first one I ever owned. It's fully metal (except for some cable hold downs, 3.5" drive sleds, and the buttons), has great cable management, but it doesn't have very good cooling (too much ventilation I think), and it isn't particularly quiet. You could do better for the price, but you could also do much, much worse. The build quality is great though, like all Corsair cases.

For the cooler, I'd recommend a Noctua NH-U12S or U14S. The fans aren't as sexy, but they perform just as well as the best fans on the market at much lower speeds, which makes them really quiet.

SSD is good, but if you don't need to copy thing to it at extreme speeds (like video recording, or rendering), then you could save some money and get the regular 840 120GB.

Lastly, get Windows 8. I know the UI is totally retarded, but it can ramp up performance in some games by over 30% (Shogun 2 and Farcry 3 are some examples). DirectX 11.1 is also exclusive to the OS, so if you get Windows 7 then you are limiting performance in some games, and limiting graphical features that DirectX 11.1 brings.

Mobo and CPU came in a bundle together at a discounted price so I am going with that. Now that you mention it, I doubt I ever play any of those games the bundle with the GPU includes, I'll look at purchasing a 770 instead. Any limitations if I get the 2GB versus the 4GB card??

I went for the case because one its a Corsair, and two I like the design, going for a white/black color scheme on the rig (PSU is also white). But I am glad to hear its a solid purchase, as this is my first time.

I will switch to an 840 120GB versus the Pro seeing as rendering and recording will never be something I do.

I am still on the fence about Windows 8. Currently my dinosaur now uses XP so I am not familiar with either OS UI. Should I get Professional or Premium??

[Baldos]

Lastly, get Windows 8. I know the UI is totally retarded, but it can ramp up performance in some games by over 30% (Shogun 2 and Farcry 3 are some examples). DirectX 11.1 is also exclusive to the OS, so if you get Windows 7 then you are limiting performance in some games, and limiting graphical features that DirectX 11.1 brings.

All I have heard is negative about Win 8. On a fast PC like my future i5-3570K, and GTX 770 will I really see improvement worth the horrible Win 8 UI? Is DirectX 11.1 really that good in Shogun 2 ( maybe Rome 2)? Should I just wait for the Win 8.1 upgrade and hope MS restores the old Win XP Win 7 UI ?

[Kinjo]

If you guys haven't seen this already here are some bench marks with a 780 GTX on Shogun 2.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6973/n...x-780-review/8

[TEUTknight]

I don't know much about building custom computers so I bought a new pc late last year..

HP Pavilion (p7-1414)

Processor: AMD A8-5500 APU with Radeon HD Graphics 3.2 GHz (quad core)
installed RAM: 6 GB
Graphics card: AMD Radeon HD 7560D graphics

Because I am not that skilled in computers I do not know how to determine the other properties of my pc but this computer works well on high settings for Shogun 2 so I think it should be fine to handle Rome 2

[Kinjo]

My computer needs more penis, I bought a couple 480's when shogun 2 came out. I might break down and get a couple 780's, but to be honest I'm getting sick of sli so might just go with 1 780 this time around.

[MonTeZuma]

What's better a nividia 680 2gb version or the Gtx 770 2gb version or are they about the same.

[Totalheadache]

What's better a nividia 680 2gb version or the Gtx 770 2gb version or are they about the same.

770.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages..._review,1.html

p.s that's one of the better 770's. basically a 770 is like a 680 on steroids

[Totalheadache]

30% for having windows 8 Splenyi.......? that I am pretty sure cant be true.....no OS has ever effected games that drastically. (well i'd bet a testicle on it...)

p.s rest of what you have been saying recently has been pretty much spot on. so good stuff.

[Biggus Splenus]

30% for having windows 8 Splenyi.......? that I am pretty sure cant be true.....no OS has ever effected games that drastically. (well i'd bet a testicle on it...)

I thought the exact same, but I have seen some very reliable benchmarks on it. It's the strangest thing, and might only occur on certain hardware, but apparently it does exist.

EDIT: Lovely Linus has a couple of benchmarks showing Farcry 3 performing better on Win8, but that seems to be the only game. It's not 30% (about 10%), but it is a noticeable difference. I can't remember where I saw the 30% difference, so maybe forget I said it, because it could have been an unreliable source.

[Totalheadache]

@the norseman just looking at the highest rated and buying it without looking at specs is a sure way to waste money/get ripped off.

[Biggus Splenus]

Any limitations if I get the 2GB versus the 4GB card??

No limitations at all in 99% of occasions if you use a single 1080p monitor.

. Should I get Professional or Premium??

To me, they are both a waste of money, I always get home/standard. If you use your PC for professional work, then you should consider it. On a gaming machine, there isn't a point, unless you needed the advanced networking options.

@ Norseman
Ill help you out once I get the time, I just spent the day building a pc and now its bed time -_- zzzzz

[uzo70]

I am going to buy a GTX 780 and I have heard you can get them for around 650$, but here in Denmark they cost around 850$ so If anybody knows where I can buy a GTX 780 cheaper than that, and it doesn't have to be near me as long a they can ship it here, if you could help me I will greatly appreciate it

P.S it would be a big plus for me if it is the MSI version, since I have me rolling with them a long time

[♠ Thomas Cochrane ♠]

I am going to buy a GTX 780 and I have heard you can get them for around 650$, but here in Denmark they cost around 850$ so If anybody knows where I can buy a GTX 780 cheaper than that, and it doesn't have to be near me as long a they can ship it here, if you could help me I will greatly appreciate it

P.S it would be a big plus for me if it is the MSI version, since I have me rolling with them a long time

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...%2Ck%3Agtx+780

du velkommen min ven

[la haie sainte]

I also read that improved performances on shogun 2 of quite a bit. But I a, also heard that slow down games because of the excessive ram usage?

I also have another question.
I need to get a new monitor and I was interest in your opinion. I was thinking to get a 1600x1200 as resolution not too big not too tiny...I am not looking for anything fancy and I don't want to spend too much as well maybe 200 or 300 $?

[Biggus Splenus]

Now that you mention it, I doubt I ever play any of those games the bundle with the GPU includes,

FYI, I have been playing Farcry3 lately, and it is honestly the best game I have played for years.

I am going to buy a GTX 780 and I have heard you can get them for around 650$, but here in Denmark they cost around 850$

Australia has prices a little cheaper than the EU (between $750 and $850 for a 780), so I guess we are lucky. USA gets everything cheaper, I have no idea why, the manufacturers (Intel in Malaysia, heaps in Taiwan and Korea) are closer to Australia than USA and EU > Unfortunately, I think international shipping on graphics cards (as well as CPUs and mobos) isn't allowed.

P.S it would be a big plus for me if it is the MSI version, since I have me rolling with them a long time

My 7970 was MSI too, I got it because they don't lock their voltages (I know ASUS does), so I love MSI graphics cards, but I never fancied their motherboards.

All I have heard is negative about Win 8. On a fast PC like my future i5-3570K, and GTX 770 will I really see improvement worth the horrible Win 8 UI? Is DirectX 11.1 really that good in Shogun 2 ( maybe Rome 2)? Should I just wait for the Win 8.1 upgrade and hope MS restores the old Win XP Win 7 UI ?

Your choice. The performance difference isn't huge, if it is there at all, but if it were me, I wouldn't want to restrict myself to DirectX11, and miss out on whatever 11.1 offers. It's a gaming machine right, so build it for just that.

I also read that improved performances on shogun 2 of quite a bit. But I a, also heard that slow down games because of the excessive ram usage?

It does use a fair bit on idle. At the moment I'm downloading 2 games in the background, and it's using 2.2GB, but just remember games can only use 4GB (because they are all still 32bit), so there is still no worries.

More about 3D Vram usage; I was doing a little bit of testing with it on Mincecraft and I couldn't notice a very large difference at all, especially not 100% more demand like someone else experienced on here. Maybe MC just doesn't require that much for 3D, I'm not sure, but from what I've heard from others, it's always mixed results.

I also have another question.
I need to get a new monitor and I was interest in your opinion. I was thinking to get a 1600x1200 as resolution not too big not too tiny...I am not looking for anything fancy and I don't want to spend too much as well maybe 200 or 300 $?

I recently bought a monitor for a friend that works amazingly. It's an LG 22inch LED IPS for $160 (24inch can be had for $200), it's also 1920x1080. You won't want 1600x1200, that's a terrible resolution I think, plus you can get so much better for the price you're aiming for. What country do you live in?

[♠ Thomas Cochrane ♠]

Australia has prices a little cheaper than the EU (between $750 and $850 for a 780), so I guess we are lucky. USA gets everything cheaper, I have no idea why, the manufacturers (Intel in Malaysia, heaps in Taiwan and Korea) are closer to Australia than USA and EU > Unfortunately, I think international shipping on graphics cards (as well as CPUs and mobos) isn't allowed.

Shipping on Graphics Cards IS allowed, but there is some absurd arbitrary restrictions on them. As in the ASUS 670 can be shipped, but not the ASUS 670 OC. Just have to shop around. I've tried asking amazon why, but they just say "there are restrictions", because they're fools and aren't about to go out of their way to help. There are package forwarders from US addresses to anywhere in the world, so if you buy ALL your parts together, then it would be worthwhile to use this method. For me, I bought the parts that were cheaper (than USA) from Aus, and the rest I bought from Amazon. My GF is over there atm, so she's bringing back my ASUS 770 and some corsair fans and 3D Vision 2 Glasses and some fan resistor cables

[AngryTitusPullo]

Australia has prices a little cheaper than the EU (between $750 and $850 for a 780), so I guess we are lucky. USA gets everything cheaper, I have no idea why, the manufacturers (Intel in Malaysia, heaps in Taiwan and Korea) are closer to Australia than USA and EU > Unfortunately, I think international shipping on graphics cards (as well as CPUs and mobos) isn't allowed.

That's because stuff just manufactured here.... and later probably got shipped back to US and then shipped back to be sold here. The WD factory is just a few kilos from where I live but I can't just go there and buy some hard disk from the factory itself.