Hey guys, thanks in advance for any/all advice you can give. Right now I'm trying to do some research for a few computer i'm planning to build in a few week to replace my 4 year old PC. The area of knowledge that I'm weakest on at the moment is video cards, and I am hoping that you guys will be able to help give me a recommendation, or point me in the direction of what will be right for me.
System Specifications:
I. Processor/CPU:
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
II. Current Graphics Card:
EVGA nVidia GeForce 9600 GT
III. Display Resolution:
Right now I'm running two monitors. My main monitor is at 1920x1080, and my secondary is at 1680x1050.
My immediate goal would be to maintain the monitors that I have, and hopefully next summer upgrade the second monitor to a 1920x1080 or a 1920x1200 (wooo 16:10)
IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:
I have not chosen a power supply at this point, I am planning on selecting a video card first, and then choosing a power supply to match the needs of my system (CPU/Mobo/vidcard)
V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):
Right now, this is the case that I am looking at.
Purchase Details:
I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.
Right now i'm looking for something around the $200-300 range, but would be willing to go a bit higher if I can justify it. THe plan is to use this computer for another 3-4 years at least, so i'd like to buy a good one now that'll last me a ways into the future.
II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
I'm open to suggestion on manufacturer and brand. I've generally always been a nVidia guy but don't care. I've also been very happy with my EVGA, and feel more comfortable with brands I know of (EVGA, Gigabyte, Asus), but willing to check out any brand you recommend
I'd prefer to get a PCI 3.0 Card to make the most out of the Ivy Bridge CPU and the mother board i bought.
III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?
I'd personally prefer to keep it to a single video card. I'm building the PC to play games, but i'm not that hard core of a gamer. I'd imagine that I could get better performance on a single good card then 2 cheaper cards. But i'm not sure on this, and is why i'm asking you guys here.
IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?
I've looked at many, but have nothing that has stood out so far.
V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
The computer will be mostly used for gaming. The main games I have played is the Dragon Age Games, Mass Effect Games, Left 4 Dead 1/2, Star Craft 2, Portal 2, FFXI, SWtoR. After i get my new computer built i'm planing to get Skyrim and Diablo 3.
VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
No, but it would be nice to have the option. I've selected my CPU/MoBo with the idea of playing around with over clocking it a bit. Wouldn't mind being able to do it on the video card, but not that terribly concerned about it.
Additional Notes
Feel free to add any details that you feel were not covered within this template!
My monitors that I'm using now are both DVI, so a card that I could plug them both into would be nice ;-)
I'm really open to suggestions. I'd like to keep it on as much of a budget as possible, but i'm willing to spend a bit more on the card to get a decent one that will give me good FPS in some of these newer games.
I'm a little concerned about heat, so a GPU with a decent cooling aperatise would be nice. I've debating about doing water cooling for the CPU/GPU, but think i'd perfer to keep it air cooled. if there is a quality water cooling option available i'd be interested in hearing about it though.
Thanks again in advance for your help.
System Specifications:
I. Processor/CPU:
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
II. Current Graphics Card:
EVGA nVidia GeForce 9600 GT
III. Display Resolution:
Right now I'm running two monitors. My main monitor is at 1920x1080, and my secondary is at 1680x1050.
My immediate goal would be to maintain the monitors that I have, and hopefully next summer upgrade the second monitor to a 1920x1080 or a 1920x1200 (wooo 16:10)
IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:
I have not chosen a power supply at this point, I am planning on selecting a video card first, and then choosing a power supply to match the needs of my system (CPU/Mobo/vidcard)
V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):
Right now, this is the case that I am looking at.
Purchase Details:
I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.
Right now i'm looking for something around the $200-300 range, but would be willing to go a bit higher if I can justify it. THe plan is to use this computer for another 3-4 years at least, so i'd like to buy a good one now that'll last me a ways into the future.
II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
I'm open to suggestion on manufacturer and brand. I've generally always been a nVidia guy but don't care. I've also been very happy with my EVGA, and feel more comfortable with brands I know of (EVGA, Gigabyte, Asus), but willing to check out any brand you recommend
I'd prefer to get a PCI 3.0 Card to make the most out of the Ivy Bridge CPU and the mother board i bought.
III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?
I'd personally prefer to keep it to a single video card. I'm building the PC to play games, but i'm not that hard core of a gamer. I'd imagine that I could get better performance on a single good card then 2 cheaper cards. But i'm not sure on this, and is why i'm asking you guys here.
IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?
I've looked at many, but have nothing that has stood out so far.
V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
The computer will be mostly used for gaming. The main games I have played is the Dragon Age Games, Mass Effect Games, Left 4 Dead 1/2, Star Craft 2, Portal 2, FFXI, SWtoR. After i get my new computer built i'm planing to get Skyrim and Diablo 3.
VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
No, but it would be nice to have the option. I've selected my CPU/MoBo with the idea of playing around with over clocking it a bit. Wouldn't mind being able to do it on the video card, but not that terribly concerned about it.
Additional Notes
Feel free to add any details that you feel were not covered within this template!
My monitors that I'm using now are both DVI, so a card that I could plug them both into would be nice ;-)
I'm really open to suggestions. I'd like to keep it on as much of a budget as possible, but i'm willing to spend a bit more on the card to get a decent one that will give me good FPS in some of these newer games.
I'm a little concerned about heat, so a GPU with a decent cooling aperatise would be nice. I've debating about doing water cooling for the CPU/GPU, but think i'd perfer to keep it air cooled. if there is a quality water cooling option available i'd be interested in hearing about it though.
Thanks again in advance for your help.
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