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Building a Gaming PC

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Just remembered this thread.. right now I have a GTX 970 and was thinking about upgrading. Would you guys recommend getting the 1070, 1080, or the newer 2000 series?
 
Just remembered this thread.. right now I have a GTX 970 and was thinking about upgrading. Would you guys recommend getting the 1070, 1080, or the newer 2000 series?

The answer here depends on 3 key factors:

-What is your budget?
-What games do you play?
-What resolution do you play at and what do you want to play at in the next 2-3 years?

Gouri and myself can sing the praises of the base 1080 longer than a church choir can sing a chorus just because it was a huge step up for the price it costs. It'll be the sweet spot of what you mentioned here.

If you're willing to spend more, a 1080ti is an incredible card that is on par with the new stuff.

If you're playing games that aren't too demanding and don't play on ever moving higher than 1080p resolution, a 1070 will be more than good enough.
 
Just remembered this thread.. right now I have a GTX 970 and was thinking about upgrading. Would you guys recommend getting the 1070, 1080, or the newer 2000 series?

I also highly suggest using pcpartpicker.com to build rigs or get ideas from there. When I built mine that's where I listed everything. Checks for compatibility issues too and compares prices live on several sites.
 
I also highly suggest using pcpartpicker.com to build rigs or get ideas from there. When I built mine that's where I listed everything. Checks for compatibility issues too and compares prices live on several sites.

I second pcpartpicker.

You won't really run into any incompatibilities with a GPU, however.
 
The answer here depends on 3 key factors:

-What is your budget?
-What games do you play?
-What resolution do you play at and what do you want to play at in the next 2-3 years?

Gouri and myself can sing the praises of the base 1080 longer than a church choir can sing a chorus just because it was a huge step up for the price it costs. It'll be the sweet spot of what you mentioned here.

If you're willing to spend more, a 1080ti is an incredible card that is on par with the new stuff.

If you're playing games that aren't too demanding and don't play on ever moving higher than 1080p resolution, a 1070 will be more than good enough.


-up to 800 bucks
-overwatch, destiny 2, pubg, gta v, any bethesda game, just got the witcher wild hunt, i want to get anthem when it comes out
-1920x1080, i would like to try 4k in the future, also i got the htc vive and play vr

here is what i bought in college and have just been upgrading it as time has gone on:

tower : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NMUR6X4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
monitor : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005BZNDOO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
gpu : gtx 970 fallout 4 edition (nothing special just looks cool)
added a 1b ssd drive which runs windows
added a 8 gig stick of ram (total 16 now)
replace my power supply with a 520w

the tower has been great so far and has helped me afford to slowly upgrade since i graduated 2 year ago. i figured if i upgraded the card i would also need to get a new power supply. i feel like if i spend a lot of money on this graphics card that maybe i should consider just building a pc from scratch (im a little scared to build my own)?
 
-up to 800 bucks
-overwatch, destiny 2, pubg, gta v, any bethesda game, just got the witcher wild hunt, i want to get anthem when it comes out
-1920x1080, i would like to try 4k in the future, also i got the htc vive and play vr

here is what i bought in college and have just been upgrading it as time has gone on:

tower : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NMUR6X4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
monitor : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005BZNDOO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
gpu : gtx 970 fallout 4 edition (nothing special just looks cool)
added a 1b ssd drive which runs windows
added a 8 gig stick of ram (total 16 now)
replace my power supply with a 520w

the tower has been great so far and has helped me afford to slowly upgrade since i graduated 2 year ago. i figured if i upgraded the card i would also need to get a new power supply. i feel like if i spend a lot of money on this graphics card that maybe i should consider just building a pc from scratch (im a little scared to build my own)?

If you're willing to spend up to 800 bucks on a gpu, I think a 1080ti is a pretty easy decision to make.

Regarding the rest of your post, building a new pc from scratch is incredible. I was in your shoes 5 years ago (when I started this thread), and now I can talk about PC stuff all damn day. It's like putting together legos for adults.

However, if you don't want to put the parts together by yourself, you can also go to shops like Fry's or Microcenter and pay them to do it for you. It's like 100 bucks maximum (I did it with my last build for 70 bucks), and as long as you have your receipts, you don't have to have even bought the parts through them.

What you get when you put together your own build is something that you know will last a long time, and you won't cheap out on certain components like pre-built companies do.

Given your setup, I would definitely recommend a re-build. You're still rocking ddr3 ram (everything now is DDR4) and you don't have an SSD which I think is the single best upgrade a person can make.

Your CPU is fine, but if you want to make use of the newest ram, you'll need to upgrade to a newer motherboard, and it won't be compatible with that CPU.

The quick and dirty is that a 1080ti would be ideal for your needs now and going forward within your budget, but taking the time to price out a new build entirely would be worth it (and is a TON of fun).
 
If you're willing to spend up to 800 bucks on a gpu, I think a 1080ti is a pretty easy decision to make.

Regarding the rest of your post, building a new pc from scratch is incredible. I was in your shoes 5 years ago (when I started this thread), and now I can talk about PC stuff all damn day. It's like putting together legos for adults.

However, if you don't want to put the parts together by yourself, you can also go to shops like Fry's or Microcenter and pay them to do it for you. It's like 100 bucks maximum (I did it with my last build for 70 bucks), and as long as you have your receipts, you don't have to have even bought the parts through them.

What you get when you put together your own build is something that you know will last a long time, and you won't cheap out on certain components like pre-built companies do.

Given your setup, I would definitely recommend a re-build. You're still rocking ddr3 ram (everything now is DDR4) and you don't have an SSD which I think is the single best upgrade a person can make.

Your CPU is fine, but if you want to make use of the newest ram, you'll need to upgrade to a newer motherboard, and it won't be compatible with that CPU.

The quick and dirty is that a 1080ti would be ideal for your needs now and going forward within your budget, but taking the time to price out a new build entirely would be worth it (and is a TON of fun).

Yeah, I think I might just start using that pc part tracker website and start saving up to build a pc. Do you think it would be best just to hold off on buying a new graphics card and power supply until I build the final pc? I also installed an ssd drive and it has been amazing.

Thanks for the help
 
1070ti Up and running. Played a couple rounds of Battlefront and the FPS never dropped below 140. ;)
 
Yeah, I think I might just start using that pc part tracker website and start saving up to build a pc. Do you think it would be best just to hold off on buying a new graphics card and power supply until I build the final pc? I also installed an ssd drive and it has been amazing.

Thanks for the help
If your current rig plays decent, hold off as long as you can. Look for Black Friday sales. I would get a 850 watt power supply, never hurts to have a little overkill with the PSU.
 
If your current rig plays decent, hold off as long as you can. Look for Black Friday sales. I would get a 850 watt power supply, never hurts to have a little overkill with the PSU.

Yeah, I think I'll be monitoring deals this week and next. I don't really see any 1080 ti graphics cards for sale though. Seems like I'll have to go 1080 or try out one of those 2070/80 ones.
 
The 1070ti specs are just slightly below the 1080 gtx. And the price is about $100+ difference. IMO the best bang for the buck right now is the EVGA 1070ti. This card will run whatever I need for the next 3-4 years. By then the 2070-2080 series will have been upgraded and worth investing in.
Again, just my opinion. I tend to not go for the biggest/baddest video card when they first come out. I let the manufacturers burn them in a couple years. Make sure the new tech works, then buy one.
 
Decided to upgrade the video card this weekend, as prices have finally gotten reasonable again and there were a lot of good sales. Since I still game in 1080p, I decided to go with a 6GB GTX 1060. Got it for $240 along with a free copy of Monster Hunter: World. Not bad. Should keep my PC relevant for another year at least until I finally decide to do an entire new build. Even then I guess it'll still be relevant until I get a better monitor.
 
Decided to upgrade the video card this weekend, as prices have finally gotten reasonable again and there were a lot of good sales. Since I still game in 1080p, I decided to go with a 6GB GTX 1060. Got it for $240 along with a free copy of Monster Hunter: World. Not bad. Should keep my PC relevant for another year at least until I finally decide to do an entire new build. Even then I guess it'll still be relevant until I get a better monitor.

Single fan or dual? I just bought my nephew the SC single fan 1060 to upgrade his gaming pc from a 750 ti.

Wondering if it will be enough for Forza Horizon 4 and whatever he plays.
 

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