Hardware Discussion Thread

marco_polo

The always interesting Techspot CPU/GPU review is in for Crysis 3, most surprising result is the performance of the i3-3220 relative to even the older quad cores like the 980BE and the i7-920. Comparing the numbers in the CPU and GPU sections it would even slightly bottleneck a HD7850 at the same settings (@1200 and medium settings: 36fps vs 40fps). I suppose it had to be expected at some point in time, given it happened to the much slower Core 2 and Phenom dual cores a few years ago.

http://www.techspot.com/review/642-crysis-3-performance/page4.html

tuxy

It looks like a budget build for crysis 3 should probably have the AMD FX-6200 for the CPU right?

Gbear

marco_polo wrote: »

The always interesting Techspot CPU/GPU review is in for Crysis 3, most surprising result is the performance of the i3-3220 relative to even the older quad cores like the 980BE and the i7-920. Comparing the numbers in the CPU and GPU sections it would even slightly bottleneck a HD7850 at the same settings (@1200 and medium settings: 36fps vs 40fps). I suppose it had to be expected at some point in time, given it happened to the much slower Core 2 and Phenom dual cores a few years ago.

http://www.techspot.com/review/642-crysis-3-performance/page4.html

I'm somewhat skeptical of those.

I have C3 running smooth as silk on my machine.
I don't know what fps I'm getting but I'm not noticing any problems with it, particularly since I disabled AA and VSync.
I've a mildly OC'd 7950 and the game's running at 1440p.

Monotype

tuxy wrote: »

It looks like a budget build for crysis 3 should probably have the AMD FX-6200 for the CPU right?

FX-6200 is last generation; you'd want the 6300.

I have to say that I still like the 8320 for its value best. It's a good competitor against the 3570K (in the right scenarios), being €50 cheaper and with AMD making its way into consoles + Crysis 3 results + having a better upgrade path with AM3+ than 1155. Looks like the 8 cores could actually come to use.

tuxy

Gbear wrote: »

I'm somewhat skeptical of those.

I have C3 running smooth as silk on my machine.
I don't know what fps I'm getting but I'm not noticing any problems with it, particularly since I disabled AA and VSync.
I've a mildly OC'd 7950 and the game's running at 1440p.

It is strange to see a gtx 580 ahead of a 7950 but it is the second benchmark I have seen that puts nvidia way ahead in this game.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/crysis_3_graphics_performance_review_benchmark,6.html

60 fps is pretty much the standard for a game running really smooth. I know it's still perfectly playable at lower fps but you definitely notice when it dips below 60.
Could you run fraps to see what fps you get, would be interesting to see how an overclocked 7950 does that that res.

Gbear

tuxy wrote: »

It is strange to see a gtx 580 ahead of a 7950 but it is the second benchmark I have seen that puts nvidia way ahead in this game.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/crysis_3_graphics_performance_review_benchmark,6.html

60 fps is pretty much the standard for a game running really smooth. I know it's still perfectly playable at lower fps but you definitely notice when it dips below 60.
Could you run fraps to see what fps you get, would be interesting to see how an overclocked 7950 does that that res.

This it?
http://www.fraps.com/download.php

tuxy

Gbear wrote: »

This it?
http://www.fraps.com/download.php

Yes just run that before starting the game and you will get an fps counter on the corner of your screen.

BloodBath

It is strange to see a gtx 580 ahead of a 7950 but it is the second benchmark I have seen that puts nvidia way ahead in this game.

The 580 isn't ahead at any resolution :S

tuxy

BloodBath wrote: »

The 580 isn't ahead at any resolution :S

http://www.techspot.com/review/642-crysis-3-performance/page4.html

ahead at 1680x1050 equal at 1920x1200 :S

The link I posted was the other bench where I saw Nvidia ahead but the 580 does not do as good.

BloodBath

Ah ok. That's at the high preset though. At very high the 7950 is ahead in all with just about playable frame rates. Need to be overclocking for this. Still going to be getting 40 fps tops it seems. Time to go crossfire soon maybe :S

tuxy

Yeah but it's just weird to see last gen nvidia card up there with current gen amd. You never know how accurate these benchmarks are though.

Also the gtx 660(non ti) a card which many considered weak is way ahead of the 7870 and just beats the 7950 non boost at 1920x1200 high settings. Memory bandwidth does bottleneck it at high res though so no surprise there.

BloodBath

Meh I wouldn't pay much attention to stock clocked 7950's anyway. You can get the clocks 30-40% higher. The game still favors Nvidia though. Drivers might change that story.

Amd are being pretty damn slow with this 13.2 final release.

Gbear

I was getting about 27-30 frames consistently. Not much fluctuation.

That's only with 950 clock 1350 memory. Might see if I can squeeze a bit more out of it.

Edit: Incidentally, if anyone wants to help with OCing my PC nip on into my thread in the OC forum.:)

marco_polo

I'm now officially a Sapphire Trixx convert, out of all of them (GPU Tweak/afterburner/iTurbo) the only piece of software that lets me near the core voltage of my HD 7850 for some reason .

Bump up to 1.225v (which seems to be the max allowable) of gets me to a stable 1200 core/1350 memory

marco_polo

Could well be an interesting product for low powered, budget gaming HTPC or laptop, as I doubt we will see AMD able to squeeze that powerful a GPU mixed with more powerful desktop grade CPU cores onto the same die until well into 2014 or even 2015.

http://www.techspot.com/news/51791-amd-will-sell-a-stripped-down-version-of-sonys-playstation-4-apu.html

AMD's accelerated processing unit (APU) strategy got a major boost last week when Sony announced that it will be using an AMD Jaguar based APU in its upcoming Playstation 4 games console. Now AMD has said that a cut down version of the same APU will be available to consumers, albeit without Sony's technology.

While Sony revealed some information about the AMD APU that will power the Playstation 4, the details that were made public were all about AMD's technologies rather than Sony's. AMD told The INQUIRER that the APU used is a custom A-series part that has a mix of AMD and Sony technology.

However John Taylor, head of marketing for AMD's Global Business Units, said that a version of the same chip without Sony's technology will be available for consumers later this year.

Serephucus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVNuN0UcYUQ

H220 review. It's a lot more telling than TTL's.

Eboggles

Serephucus wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVNuN0UcYUQ

H220 review. It's a lot more telling than TTL's.

After watching TTL's review, I decided against ordering the H220. €150 is a tonne of money to pay for that kit, especially when you can get a fully (I don't count the H220 as custom) custom watercooling setup for not much more.

As a result, I'm thinking of migrating to a white (read: not grey ) 600t and watercooling the sh!te out of it.

Would anyone be interested in a 2500k/Asrock P67 Pro3?

Serephucus

Eboggles wrote: »

After watching TTL's review, I decided against ordering the H220. €150 is a tonne of money to pay for that kit, especially when you can get a fully (I don't count the H220 as custom) custom watercooling setup for not much more.

As a result, I'm thinking of migrating to a white (read: not grey ) 600t and watercooling the sh!te out of it.

Damn it... :P

It's actually not bad value at all. It's £107 for the H220 on Specialtech. The next non-AIO solution up is an RS240 kit for £143. It would most-likely perform the same. Both have 30mm copper rads, both have decent tubing, and good CPU blocks. The deciding factor is going to be the pump. I can't find comparable specs, so I'll leave that one alone.

If you're looking then at a fully custom loop, with parts that would actually be worth buying over an AIO solution, you're look at an EX240 or NexXxoS 240 rad, Rasa/Raystorm block, and D5 pump. Throw in fittings and tubing, and you're looking at the guts of £200 easily.

This is all assuming the same fans of course. TTL makes the massive mistake of using the stock fans at 12V for these kits. Sure, it's fairer in a sense, but it doesn't really give you an idea of how well a given kit will perform all things being equal.

NTMK

Eboggles wrote: »

As a result, I'm thinking of migrating to a white (read: not grey ) 600t and watercooling the sh!te out of it.

want a dark grey one :P

the white one is probably the nicest white case ive seen esp with blue lighting

marko93

Quick question, what would be a good USB WiFi dongle? Sadly, ethernet cable is less than ideal

Sarz91

marko93 wrote: »

Quick question, what would be a good USB WiFi dongle? Sadly, ethernet cable is less than ideal

Maybe you've thought of it already but could you not use a powerline? Something like this.

marko93

Thanks Sarz, never even knew of this. Looks excellent, think it'll be a good choice. Is it as simple as plug the ethernet cable in and have one beside the router then have one upstairs?

Sarz91

marko93 wrote: »

Thanks Sarz, never even knew of this. Looks excellent, think it'll be a good choice. Is it as simple as plug the ethernet cable in and have one beside the router then have one upstairs?

Oh you've your modem downstairs? I've heard people say that to use a powerline effectively they've to be on the same circuit or ring. Then again I've heard people say the exact opposite. To answer your question you plug one into a socket near your modem/router. Use an ethernet cable from one of the modem/router ethernet ports and plug it into the bottom of the powerline. You then plug the other powerline in beside the object you want to connect to the internet and just join them using an ethernet cable.

I'm getting 6.19Mbps and 90ms of ping connected directly to my modem/router and using the powerlines I'm getting 6.10Mbps and 91ms of ping in a room that's about 20 feet away.

marko93

Sarz91 wrote: »

Oh you've your modem downstairs? I've heard people say that to use a powerline effectively they've to be on the same circuit or ring. Then again I've heard people say the exact opposite. To answer your question you plug one into a socket near your modem/router. Use an ethernet cable from one of the modem/router ethernet ports and plug it into the bottom of the powerline. You then plug the other powerline in beside the object you want to connect to the internet and just join them using an ethernet cable.

I'm getting 6.19Mbps and 90ms of ping connected directly to my modem/router and using the powerlines I'm getting 6.10Mbps and 91ms of ping in a room that's about 20 feet away.

Hmmmm, wonder will the results be the same or similar if I've to use it upstairs!

Sarz91

marko93 wrote: »

Hmmmm, wonder will the results be the same or similar if I've to use it upstairs!

Give us two minutes and I'll bring the laptop downstairs with one of the powerlines.

marko93

Sarz91 wrote: »

Give us two minutes and I'll bring the laptop downstairs with one of the powerlines.

That'd be much appreciated! Cheers!

Sarz91

marko93 wrote: »

That'd be much appreciated! Cheers!

Ok I ran four speed test and got an average of about 6.05 Mbps and 99ms of ping. Which is just slightly slower than what I get on the same level as the modem/router. Don't assume it'll work 100% the same in your house though but it seems to be decent enough. My modem is upstairs. I used the laptop with the powerline in the garage downstairs. The garage has only reccently gotten sockets put in so it'd be safe to assume they aren't on the same ring as the one that the modem is plugged into.

marko93

Well I appreciate the help!


Might just give it a punt and hope it works out! Cheers

Sarz91

marko93 wrote: »

Well I appreciate the help!


Might just give it a punt and hope it works out! Cheers

No problem. Let us know if it works either way.

Rebel Rebel

I was thinking about getting those, but would have to use them with a socket adapter, is there much of a drop off in performance if not plugged directly into the wall?

Sarz91

Rebel Rebel wrote: »

I was thinking about getting those, but would have to use them with a socket adapter, is there much of a drop off in performance if not plugged directly into the wall?

Now again this is my own experience but I've found little to no difference in using an extension lead. However, it may be worth noting that the powerline at my modem is using an extension lead and not the one hooked up to my pc. I don't know if that makes a difference.

marco_polo

Rebel Rebel wrote: »

I was thinking about getting those, but would have to use them with a socket adapter, is there much of a drop off in performance if not plugged directly into the wall?

Should be ok, they can't work on surge protected extension leads, but depending on what else is plugged into the adapter excessive electrial noise could possibly degrade performance.

You can also get models with ac passthrough as well if you can't afford to lose a socket, alhough i'm not actually sure if it they would perform better than a regular homeplug connected to an adapter.

Rebel Rebel

Thanks for the reply lads

farna_boy

If you are thinking of getting one of the Powerline ethernet adapters, you could buy one in Argos first to see if it works. They have (as far as I know) a 30 day money back guarantee, no questions asked, so if it works you can take it back and get it cheaper elsewhere. If it doesn't work, you have lost nothing.

N64

Amazon also have a fantastic, no questions asked returns policy.

I have the same set exactly and they work fine. As marco_polo pointed out, other electrical devices can degrade performance (in my case it was a cheapo laptop charger off ebay with no shielding - it was probably against FCC regs ) but funnily enough, I have had nothing else cause interference with it.

They actually have a very decent range. I was getting full speeds from the other side of my house downstairs (which has terrible old wiring, I might add!)

Different powerstrips have different internal designs, different levels of shielding inside (some of them have long unshielded copper strips instead of shielded cabling), filters, surge protection etc.

In the worst case scenario they will basically prevent any signal at all; in other cases they make no difference.

Homeplugs always have utilities that show signal strength so the easiest way to find out is just to try it with/without the powerstrip.

There are models with AC passthrough and these always have a mains filter to reduce interference from connected devices. So if you're short on sockets one of these may be a better option.

NTMK

Tom has finally done a titan review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8PM4gsMD9A

its only an hour and a 20 mins :pac:

Squeaky the Squirrel

Triple monitor madness: GTX Titan, GTX 680, and Radeon 7970 go head-to-head at 5760×1080

Sarz91

Just got this card. I've heard they're massive. Will I need to get some sort of support bracket with it?

Eboggles

Sarz91 wrote: »

Just got this card. I've heard they're massive. Will I need to get some sort of support bracket with it?

It's got a strong backplate, and the card itself is very rigid so it should support itself as opposed to sagging.

By the way, the version you're going to receive isn't the one in the photo, it's this one:


As you can see, it's a good bit shorter so hopefully it won't sag. Also, this cooler makes much better contact with the GPU than the last one so temps are better.

Sarz91

Eboggles wrote: »

It's got a strong backplate, and the card itself is very rigid so it should support itself as opposed to sagging.

As you can see, it's a good bit shorter so hopefully it won't sag. Also, this cooler makes much better contact with the GPU than the last one so temps are better.

Ah ok cool. I'll send you that Crysis 3 key when it comes in. (If I get it.) Should be here Wednesday.

marco_polo

Sarz91 wrote: »

Just got this card. I've heard they're massive. Will I need to get some sort of support bracket with it?

Don't think so, I read before there were some problem in initial versions with the heatsink slightly loosing contact with the GPU, but AFAIK ASUS have completely sorted all that out now.

Eboggles

Sarz91 wrote: »

Ah ok cool. I'll send you that Crysis 3 key when it comes in. (If I get it.) Should be here Wednesday.

Cool, thanks!

marco_polo

AMD launching a HD 7790 next month. There probably is enough room between the HD7770 and Hd7850 to justify it in fairness.

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/29014/leaked-details-on-amd-s-upcoming-radeon-hd-7790-bonaire-gpu-appear/index.html

Unregistered.

Lads, I'm out of the loop with hard disks. I need a new one for storage, the last time I bought one was in 2009 - a Samsung Spinpoint F3. One of the best at the time. I know since then that hard disk prices went through the roof and have appeared to come back down now.

Any recommendations on what drive to get? Either 1TB or 2TB.

Fluffy88

If it's just for storage a WD Caviar Green would be perfect.

Item|Price
WD Caviar Green 1TB, SATA 6Gb/s (WD10EZRX)|€58.47
WD Caviar Green 2TB, SATA 6Gb/s|€82.71
WD Caviar Green 3TB, SATA 6Gb/s|€117.59
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€277.76

Make sure it's a EZRX model not EARX, they are basically the same price but the EZRX is a slightly better model. It's slightly quieter and draws less power.

If you would rather a faster drive the WD Red drives are good and have longer warranties.

M00lers

Similar request to above. Building a PC for a friend and I want to keep HDDs to a minimum. I was thinking a of getting a 1TB for gaming and another for storage but I'm now think of running with just 1 x 2TB.

Are there any 2TB HDDs suitable for gaming that are also quiet-ish?

Serephucus

Go with an SSD and a 1TB HDD, or something similar. You want an SSD in there. A whatever-capacity 840 Pro (or Crucial M4 if you want to cut costs a bit) and a 1/2TB WD Green would do nicely.

M00lers

Serephucus wrote: »

Go with an SSD and a 1TB HDD, or something similar. You want an SSD in there. A whatever-capacity 840 Pro (or Crucial M4 if you want to cut costs a bit) and a 1/2TB WD Green would do nicely.

Yeah, I'm sticking a 120GB in there for the OS and select games, the 2TB will be for other games and media.

Any suggestions for a 2TB thats good for gaming but not too noisy?

Eboggles

Has anyone seen this?

Sapphire HD7790 Dual-X OC pictured and tested.