10 replies to this topic

[Elric]

Hey,

 

I am gonna be going to college in August and plan to upgrade my computer for a couple of reasons:

 

A- Because I can

B- To get better performance

C- To have a computer be compatible with the latest gen games and programs.

 

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My current build/set up: http://pcpartpicker....e5/saved/snnypg

 

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I was looking at upgrading the graphics card to a 980ti and then perhaps water cooling the entire system, obviously this can take a lot of time and knowledge to do but I think it would be fun, that said I have no idea where to start with pricing it out to look good in my case etc.

 

The second thing I was looking at was getting another hard drive just so i won't run out of space anytime soon because my current HDD are starting to fill up. 

 

The last thing I was looking into upgrading is the RAM to max it out at 32GB just to have, I notice my current build uses almost all 16gb of ram i currently have installed when under load running the Adobe Suite and games as well as multiple tabs and videos etc.

 

Is there anything anyone could recommend in terms of cost and what could be improved? My budget for this is going to be around $1000.00 bucks.

 

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That said overall goals are:

 

• Nvidia GTX 980 Ti
• Water Cooling loop (if someone could help me price this out I might adjust my budget)
• Fan upgrades to be colder if water cooling fails
• HDD addition
• RAM upgrade

EDIT:

 

My current build might need a PSU upgrade if adding the 980 Ti but I am not sure, insight on that would be great. Another thing I might be doing is getting a custom glass window or plexi panel made to replace the side one on my case currently because the one i currently have is VERY VERY scratched up.

Edited by Elric, 21 July 2015 - 05:35 AM.

[Kwen]

I can tell you right now that with what you have in mind, you will overshoot your budget a good bit. The 980 ti and the watercooling alone would probably budget you out.

 

980 ti - $650 (brand doesn't matter in this case because it's a reference model so it's exactly as released from Nvidia, only resold by ZOTAC. Just the cheapest one I found.

EK starter kit - $250 (does not include the 980 ti, that will be added next)

980 ti water block - $115 (even though it's a Titan X block, it fits a REFERENCE 980 ti also)

 

And now because of the addition of the 980 ti to the loop, you would need a few extra fittings than the kit gives you, and possibly more tubing in case what they provide isn't enough.

 

Also, the reason I linked you to a started kit with a 360mm radiator is because the general rule of thumb is 120mm per each component being cooled. So CPU + GPU is 240mm, but it's wise to give yourself extra anyway because that will get you cooler temps and room for upgrading in the future. My build I use a 360mm + 240mm for CPU + 2 GPUs.

 

This is just some food for thought, you really don't need the water cooling because that will slay your budget. But, it IS a lot of fun, and gives you much higher potential from your system. The 980 ti screams when on water cooling. Easily 1500-1600 MHz clock speeds which beat the shit out of the Titan X right out of the box.

[Elric]

Awesome reply! Thanks Kwen for your insight. I might see about expanding my budget. I have been looking at some benchmarks and was wondering what your look would be on this:

 

980 Ti vs sli 980s vs sli 970s.

 

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obviously the 980s are gonna be better then the 970s but the 970s vs a single ti?

[Kwen]

The 980 ti will get you the most longevity. SLI 970s are the best performance/dollar right now, but the 4GB (3.5 + .5 because of the way it's designed the extra.5 is weaker) will not withstand the newer titles. SLI 980s would be awesome but you'd be paying more than a 980 ti. And again 4GB will quickly become obsolete.

As of right now the 980 ti is your best bet if you want raw performance, great Vram, and you don't have to deal with issues relating to SLI.

Also a 980 ti has three display ports native on the card so you can run all three of your screens without needing any kind of adapters. 970s you can't do that unless you're okay with using different input options.

Edited by Kwen, 23 July 2015 - 01:29 PM.

[Elric]

Alright, I shall see what happens. Thanks for the input mate Now i have to buy a bunch of display port cords, knew I would have to eventually.

[Elric]

Alright, after some talks with my friends who I might be rooming with next year, they want an xbox one in the dorm for some reason so I might be buying that and just upgrading to the MSI 970 which I have heard can overclock like a boss to catch up with the 980.

[Kwen]

It sure can. But what resolution will you be gaming at? 970 struggles with anything more than 1080.

[Elric]

1080p so I should be okay right? but then again I have 3 screens?

[Kwen]

A 970 will not be able to run all three at once in games. Desktop purposes yes, but also you have to think about the display outputs. To run three screens you would need to use two dvi + hdmi or display port. Or hdmi + display port + dvi. No matter what you do, you have to use different outputs which causes variations between displays. Also one of the dvi ports (can't remember which) only supports 60hz, same with hdmi. So if you are using monitors with more than 60hz (and you really really should) you will be forced to have one or more of your screens limited to 60hz.

980 and higher tier cards have native three display ports, which supports three screens at once up to 144hz each. Which is glorious.

Edit: I guess I should say, a 970 CAN game 5760x1080 but your performance will be really bad because the card just doesn't have the clock speeds and Vram to handle it. Think about it, triple 1080 is 3/4 of 4k. So it's more than 1440p and less than 4k. But still it's far more than a 970 is designed to handle. You'll be fine gaming on a single 1080 screen, but any more than that and the card will bog down and struggle.

Edited by Kwen, 01 August 2015 - 08:39 PM.

[Elric]

Thats interesting, I was able to play League of Legends, BF4 and TES:O on all 3 screens on my 770 without lag completely maxed out. I thought the same would be possible with the 970 but I would still see a performance increase.

[Kwen]

LoL doesn't require gpu horsepower, as for BF4 and ESO, I guess it depends on your standard. For me, "no lag" is maintaining 60fps. And I assure you, a 970 will not game on three screens and keep 60fps unless you go to say medium settings. You are probably just used to 30-50fps on average. If you're fine with that, then go for it. My point is even though a 970 is a great card, it's not going to hold up for future titles if you want to push higher than 1080 (in your case three screens at 1080).

I use three Asus VG248QE 24 inch 144hz 1080p monitors so I know what it is like to run three screens. It's just preference, and I'm putting my two cents. I'd save pennies and push for more than a 970.