PC Upgrade Assistance (UK) - Page 3

Kipper · 2012-08-26, 07:24 PM

Without spending too much (I don't care for aesthetics - I look at the screen!) - so I think up to £50 is probably reasonable, looking for myself I was kind of expecting to have to go to around £90, so your recommendations are pleasing

Assuming all those you listed are going to be fine for the primary purpose of not overheating, which is likely to run the quietest? I might as well take that opportunity, all other things being equal.

Vancha · 2012-08-26, 07:52 PM

I'd guess the Core 3000 and Antec One. The Core 3000, Z9 and T9 all have 3 fans each, but the Fractal should be the highest quality (and thus have the best airflow/noise ratio). The Antec One only has two fans, but I'm not sure what their quality's like.

Alternatively, you could look into buying a cheaper case (like the Core 1000) and buying some quiet fans separately.

Kipper · 2012-08-27, 04:53 AM

I googled them all and they look pretty similar - it looked to me like the fractal one would be of more use over a longer time since it had a loads of fan slots and a filter, so I'll probably go with that.

I'll let you know when its all built, thanks for all the help

Vancha · 2012-08-27, 04:48 PM

the X6 would be worse than the X4 for games that don't utilize it. PS2 should utilize it, from what I've heard.

Other than gaming, I think only video/3D modelling and animation work would use the extra cores.

I'd guess you'll get more "time" out of the X6, but it's only a guess. It really depends on the future of game development, which is incredibly unpredictable.

Kipper · 2012-08-28, 06:46 AM

Hmm, decisions decisions eh?

What is the logic behind it being worse, I'm sure you know what you're on about but I'm curious.

I would have thought that if a game was only optimised for 4 cores, the processor would just use those.

Is it because the clock speed on each core is slower than on the X4?

Vancha · 2012-08-28, 07:29 AM

Precisely.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/147?vs=102

That's the 1055T against the 965 and even that loses out to the 965 in everything but video/media conversion.

Rbstr · 2012-08-28, 09:58 AM

I wouldn't bet on 6 slower cores being better in the long run than 4 faster cores.

This is a diminishing returns scenario. Performance does not typically increase linearly with more cores, but it's close with more clock speed (between cores of the same type).

(We saw the same things with the first dual cores. The single cores were faster, not simply because dual-core-optimized software hadn't been released but also because the chips were simply slower do to thermal constraints.)

Kipper · 2012-08-28, 04:25 PM

So really, if I can't buy a 6X that runs at the same clock speed as the 4X (which I can, but it requires an AM3+ board and a whole stack more money) then its just better to save the £20 and stick with the 4X is the general consensus.

And I suppose the PS2 specs right now are for the unoptimised version, and we can expect them to be revised down..... and if worst comes to the worst, given that I'm aiming to put it with a 660ti GPU - both of these can be overclocked a little bit if nescessary (I've never OC'd anything before but I'm assuming its all in the BIOS settings and available power/cooling).

Vancha · 2012-08-28, 05:41 PM

Ah, that's something else. Apparently the 965 is a much more capable overclocker, so you should be able to push it a fair way should you need to juice some extra performance out of it.

Kipper · 2012-08-30, 03:46 PM

I'll go with the X4 then. I'm not going to be upgrading the board just yet and if I was, I'd go Intel.

Kipper · 2012-09-01, 11:19 AM

It is done, and that sets a new personal record for the amount spent on one graphics card with the ASUS GTX 660 Ti 2gb.

Vancha · 2012-09-01, 01:14 PM

Congratulations. Here's to hoping it doesn't turn up DOA.

MasterCalaelen · 2012-09-01, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by Vancha

Congratulations. Here's to hoping it doesn't turn up DOA.

Aren't you Mr. Optimistic!

Kipper · 2012-09-08, 11:53 AM

RAM and GPU haven't shipped yet, but I've got the case and the CPU, and transferred over.

Amazing difference just having a faster quad core (although I'm aware theres been a patch too). 15-30 FPS now, mostly on the low side - but even at 15, feels less 'choppy' and now actually playable - despite still being in a low res and on low settings (the 660 should sort that out).

I can fly mosquito's smoothly and run around, even see and join battles. I still die instantly to everything, but at least I can start to be a participant and not a tourist.

Incidentally, I ran windows experience index. Obviously the CPU score went up (from 6.2 to 7.4) but another score changed as well. Memory went from 7.1 to 7.4. I assume this is down to better BIOS ROM (I had to flash the BIOS to get it to recognise the CPU)....? If this is the case, then there's a cheap way of getting some more out of your memory

Also, I predict another Fractal Core 3000 in my future. Its super quiet compared to previously & my other machine, those big fans really doing the trick even with them all running at maximum RPM on the fan controller.

Goku · 2012-09-08, 12:18 PM

Glad to see you are noticing a boost. I even noticed a boost with the recent patch. The devs are coming quite a way from when the tech test originally started. That was brutal.