First Build

[ninjacore]

Great deal getting Watch Dogs with a card. If I could get it with a 750 ti I would pick one up as an extra miner in a heartbeat.

Looks like it's 660, 760 and higher

And now the wait begins for people to flood ebay with watch dogs codes so I can pick it up for cheap

 

[Chuck38]

I've changed things a little more. I replaced the i3 with an i5, I also changed the memory, monitor, and I think I changed the video card. Anyway, here ya go, tell me what you think. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3BxcZ

 

[Daleon]

I think your loosing value getting the 750Ti vs the 660 GTX for $10 especially with free Watch Dogs. Even if you don't want it you can always sell the code. The 660 is still noticeably faster.

I would really look at what shipping and tax will cost you trying to order from lots of different places. That site doesn't really calculate it correctly since you have to put in your address when ordering to get totals. It may come out cheaper getting something better all at Egg or Amazon for combined shipping.

Check this combo deal, will save you about $43.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1623172

This cpu\mb combo would also save you about $15 and gets you a better mb.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1624050

 

[Chuck38]

I don't think I ever told anyone this, so please forgive me. I won't be buying/ building the computer 'till August and by then the Watch Dogs deal will be over. At the moment I don't have the sufficient funds. So that's why I'm going for the 750ti, since it seems a little better than the 660. I did look into the combos, I couldn't find all the parts (on pcpartpicker) in the first combo, but I was able to use the other one.

 

[ninjacore]

I don't think I ever told anyone this, so please forgive me. I won't be buying/ building the computer 'till August and by then the Watch Dogs deal will be over. At the moment I don't have the sufficient funds. So that's why I'm going for the 750ti, since it seems a little better than the 660. I did look into the combos, I couldn't find all the parts (on pcpartpicker) in the first combo, but I was able to use the other one.

You know that prices will be significantly different in August, right?

 

[Chuck38]

Better or worse?

 

[ninjacore]

Better, I would assume. The CPUs you're looking at will probably drop ~$10 between now and then. Motherboards, probably the same.

More significantly, GPU prices will probably be 10-20% lower (maybe more so, if you're looking used).

Bottom line, I don't think it's in your best interest to plan (in stone) this (or any) build 3 months in advance. PC hardware changes too quickly. I do understand excitement, however

 

[Chuck38]

I had no idea! Thank-you for telling me and yes I have been very excited about this! So, when would be a good time to plan, maybe a couple weeks before I plan on buying?

 

[Daleon]

Ok, all these prices will really be out the door by then. One good thing about building down the road is prices should come down some. Also if you can buy a piece here or there it typically makes it easier than shelling out the money all at once.

Keep an eye out on deals on parts like the case, psu, memory, etc. Most of those things won't really go down. Check slickdeals.net,, cyber deals forum here, fatwallet, etc.

The 660 gtx is still a good bit faster than the 750 ti for gaming.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

The 660 is 10% at best faster than the 750Ti for gaming, but it also costs a decent amount more and uses quite a bit more power.

 

[Chuck38]

I was wondering why the 750ti was cheaper. I'll look into the 660 some more.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I was wondering why the 750ti was cheaper. I'll look into the 660 some more.

Don't forget how much further you can OC the 750Ti than the 660.
It'll close that 10% really really quickly.

 

[Chuck38]

I don't really plan on overclocking though, I'm assuming that's what you meant by 'OC'. How's this video card, it was one of the cheaper ones on newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

 

[ATMINSIDE]

EVGA is great, but reference coolers are loud.

 

[Chuck38]

How loud? Is there any way to quiet them down? If not, which video card would you suggest, keep in mind that I would like to keep it under $200.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

How loud? Is there any way to quiet them down? If not, which video card would you suggest, keep in mind that I would like to keep it under $200.

The thing that causes fan noise is power draw.
Power being used creates heat, that heat has to be removed, and that has to be done with a heatsink.
The reference is loud because of the small heatsink area, causing higher fan speeds.

Two ways to get rid of this:
- Buy a GPU with a lower power draw.
- Buy a GPU with a non-reference heatsink.

Best option is both, as it becomes near silent instead of just becoming quieter.

I, personally, like EVGA's ACX cooler.
Also, by the time you're buying, the GTX 760 might be in your price range
(it would stomp both the 660 and 750Ti for gaming, and with the ACX cooler will be darn quiet)

As was pointed out earlier, its almost a waste to plan a PC build 3 months ahead of time.
The market simply changes too quickly.

 

[Chuck38]

Yeah, I had no idea the market changed that fast! I'll lay off on planing the build 'till I can buy it. Anyway, the 760 looks really nice, and if I got one with those two big fans, that would be quieter, right?

 

[ninjacore]

EDIT: You guys beat me

Typically, single fan coolers (usually found on reference PCBs) are 5-10dB (way more in some cases...R9 290 series) louder than their dual-fan equivalents. If it's a big enough savings (>20%), I will sometimes consider a reference card, but the vast majority of the time, I usually go for the 2 or 3 fan option.

If you were buying now...

And if you were willing to overclock (which you stated you were not), then ATM's advice is solid as 750Ti have been seen to OC as much as 30% or more!

You also would save ~$30-50 (depending on whether you count rebates) going that route as opposed to the 660.

750Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121855

660
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127756
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130967

The 660s do comes with Watch Dogs, if that's something that interests you (and, again, if you were buying before that offer expired...).

EDIT:

I, personally, like EVGA's ACX cooler.
Also, by the time you're buying, the GTX 760 might be in your price range
(it would stomp both the 660 and 750Ti for gaming, and with the ACX cooler will be darn quiet)

+1

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Yeah, I had no idea the market changed that fast! I'll lay off on planing the build 'till I can buy it. Anyway, the 760 looks really nice, and if I got one with those two big fans, that would be quieter, right?

Yes, the ACX cooler on the 760, 770s, and 780 that I've used were all but silent until ~70% fan.
I think the 760 normally ran around 60% in games for a case with decent airflow and an ambient of 72°F.

 

[ninjacore]

EDIT: You guys beat me

Typically, single fan coolers (usually found on reference PCBs) are 5-10dB (way more in some cases...R9 290 series) louder than their dual-fan equivalents. If it's a big enough savings (>20%), I will sometimes consider a reference card, but the vast majority of the time, I usually go for the 2 or 3 fan option.

If you were buying now...

And if you were willing to overclock (which you stated you were not), then ATM's advice is solid as 750Ti have been seen to OC as much as 30% or more!

You also would save ~$30-50 (depending on whether you count rebates) going that route as opposed to the 660.

750Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121855

660
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127756
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130967

The 660s do comes with Watch Dogs, if that's something that interests you (and, again, if you were buying before that offer expired...).

Ok, I'm done double-posting. You guys got this