Building a new rig.

[Arclight]

Imho the graphics card story is a bit tricky at the moment. AMD came up with their Mantle thingy, which could make AMD the preferred camp for any game that supports Mantle. Questions at this point are "is Mantle really that great?" and whether or not developers will support it in future games.

AMD is claiming a 45% improvement in Battlefield 4. Hard to really verify anything at this point, but promising enough to not dismiss hastily.


Apart from that, have a look at the 200,- to 250,- segment. Think you'd be pretty happy with a card like that.

Originally Posted by Arclight

Imho the graphics card story is a bit tricky at the moment. AMD came up with their Mantle thingy, which could make AMD the preferred camp for any game that supports Mantle. Questions at this point are "is Mantle really that great?" and whether or not developers will support it in future games.

AMD is claiming a 45% improvement in Battlefield 4. Hard to really verify anything at this point, but promising enough to not dismiss hastily.


Apart from that, have a look at the 200,- to 250,- segment. Think you'd be pretty happy with a card like that.

Are you talking nVidias??

[Skybird]

2000 dollars? I spend 800 Euros three years ago, and the system still can handle all and everything I throw at it.

Just do not buy the latest, the newest, the most recent. That stuff, especially CPUs and graphics boards, is hopelessly overpriced.

Look out for for example a GPU card generation that is one generation behind the current market top leaders. You get maybe 5% more performance with that best of the best. And pay twice as much money. Never forget to consider the bang-for-the-buck ratio. Else you get eaten alive by those shops.

I would check a solid i5 or i7 (try to find an i5 that almost reaches the performance of the more expensive i7, at least three years ago some i5's where not inferior to i7's in gaming purposes, it depends, of course), a solid mainboard of good reputation, a good nVidia GTX 660. Windows 7 x64, 8 GB RAM or more.

And get a good PSU, quality here pays off. Many people underestimate the importance of good PSUs.

You will cry less when buying not the most expensive, because PC tech incredibly fast looses its monetarian value.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Originally Posted by Skybird

2000 dollars? I spend 800 Euros three years ago, and the system still can handle all and everything I throw at it.

Just do not buy the latest, the newest, the most recent. That stuff, especially CPUs and graphics boards, is hopelessly overpriced.

Look out for for example a GPU card generation that is one generation behind the current market top leaders. You get maybe 5% more performance with that best of the best. And pay twice as much money. Never forget to consider the bang-for-the-buck ratio. Else you get eaten alive by those shops.

I would check a solid i5 or i7 (try to find an i5 that almost reaches the performance of the more expensive i7, at least three years ago some i5's where not inferior to i7's in gaming purposes, it depends, of course), a solid mainboard of good reputation, a good nVidia GTX 660. Windows 7 x64, 8 GB RAM or more.

And get a good PSU, quality here pays off. Many people underestimate the importance of good PSUs.

You will cry less when buying not the most expensive, because PC tech incredibly fast looses its monetarian value.

[Jimbuna]

Me too but if I'm to be honest I go to a friends computer shop and have them build one to roughly the specs I ask for without being overly detailed.

Originally Posted by Skybird

2000 dollars? I spend 800 Euros three years ago, and the system still can handle all and everything I throw at it.

Just do not buy the latest, the newest, the most recent. That stuff, especially CPUs and graphics boards, is hopelessly overpriced.

Look out for for example a GPU card generation that is one generation behind the current market top leaders. You get maybe 5% more performance with that best of the best. And pay twice as much money. Never forget to consider the bang-for-the-buck ratio. Else you get eaten alive by those shops.

I would check a solid i5 or i7 (try to find an i5 that almost reaches the performance of the more expensive i7, at least three years ago some i5's where not inferior to i7's in gaming purposes, it depends, of course), a solid mainboard of good reputation, a good nVidia GTX 660. Windows 7 x64, 8 GB RAM or more.

And get a good PSU, quality here pays off. Many people underestimate the importance of good PSUs.

You will cry less when buying not the most expensive, because PC tech incredibly fast looses its monetarian value.

Meh, I mean 2000 was a a rough number I threw out there.


I could go for 1200-1500 if I could get something real quality built.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by USNSRCaseySmith

I could go for 1200-1500 if I could get something real quality built.

That sounds realistic to me. Currently, 1000 Euros are 1350 Dollar. You probably can safely aim for the lower mark in your price span.

Also note that gfx cards tend to have a limited lifespan, no device in my PCs have technically failed me more often, and broke down after 2-3 years. Another argument why one must not want too too high with the price mark there. They simply wore out.

If its in the budget, consider a second drive: a SSD either for Windows and system alone, or FSX alone. 64 GB for FSX, 128 for Windows would be sufficient.

[Red Devil]

I always used to build my own from late 90s, to 2 years ago. Then bought one off shelf and will never build my own again. Support is there if needed, which, of course, is not available if self built.

[Skybird]

It pays off to have a local shop of trust where you go and tell them about your idea for components and if they have any technical recommendation or objections, then ask them to put the stuff you have chosen together for you. That's how I do it. In case of problems, I can ask them and always go back there. That they also have fair, even cheap prices, I do not complain about. But d09jn g some internet research on choosen items and what customers say about these, is a must, I would say. Never blindly trust any salesman - NEVER.

[Arclight]

Originally Posted by USNSRCaseySmith

Are you talking nVidias??

Er, where?

Originally Posted by Arclight

Imho the graphics card story is a bit tricky at the moment. AMD came up with their Mantle thingy, which could make AMD the preferred camp for any game that supports Mantle. Questions at this point are "is Mantle really that great?" and whether or not developers will support it in future games.

AMD is claiming a 45% improvement in Battlefield 4. Hard to really verify anything at this point, but promising enough to not dismiss hastily.


Apart from that, have a look at the 200,- to 250,- segment. Think you'd be pretty happy with a card like that.

I just saw the 3 digits and always think of nVidias. Lol