[Chugster]

ok, so im looking at buying a new PC, along with a new motorbike , so im looking around and have a few queries:

Firstly, is there a lot of difference between a high end I5 CPU and a low end I7?

Secondly, same kinda question on GPUs, is there much difference between and high end Nvidia 650 or 660 and a low end 760/770

We are talking a difference of a few hundred quid on a PC here so i want to know if I can scrimp a bit or should i shell out to future proof it more?

[Cehus]

I don't really know computer specs, I leave that all to Raylan, but he philosophy I always use when buying tech is, the better you buy now, the longer you have to go before you upgrade again.

[Silynn]

In regards to i5 vs. i7, go with i7 if you want your system to last longer and run better. Think of it as eating spaghetti. You can just have the plain pasta and sauce (aka the i5) or you can have the meatballs, cheese, and whatever other spices/additions you like with it (aka the i7). Both will sustain you, but your experience would be more enjoyable with the i7.

Here's a PC Magazine article that explains the difference well.

As for GPUs, there are big differences. Typically, for gaming... if speed and seamless output is important, go with the best card that you can get. For the comparison, the 770 trumps the 660 by a good margin in benchmarks. Though... the 770 eats-up more power watt usage. But that is because it is a beast.

Additionally, the better the card you get now, as Cehus states above, the less likely you will have to upgrade it in the future to continue to play future games.

[Gillion]

I havnt checked recently so Im probably wrong but when I bought my PC i5s were faster, but i7s ran better and had some better options.

As for the Graphics cards I have 2x 560ti and so far they have been able to handle anything I throw at them. However Cehus is right, if you spend more now you wont have to upgrade for a good long while. So a 660 would be good for now, but a 770 will last you much longer.

[Kedar Tyrone]

This is my current setup --> http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Zon5

It runs anything that I have thrown at it and asked for more. I wanted something that should be able to run Next Gen (no pun intended) games seeing as the Xbox one and PS4 are right around the bend so spec wise it should be able to out perform those systems.

[Wolffe]

I've always build my PCs on a budget and thus have stuck to AMD, but I pestered the missus and she suggests going with the i7 they are apparently superior even if they are the same speed.

As for video cards, it seems the 770 is best, but not by enough over the 760 for the price. Both of course are better than the 660. If you're on a budget you can't go wrong with the 660, but as it was mentioned before, if you want to go a bit without having to upgrade go with the 760.

This makes me want to build new PC.

[Clulyan]

Forget computer advice...lets decide which bike you should get.

[Chugster]

Forget computer advice...lets decide which bike you should get.

bike is all decided, should be getting a 2013 CBR500R, getting an ex-demo version with 600 on the clock and a saving of over a £1000 (taking into account the expensive 1st service)

here is a pic:


need to have the suspension lowered a little due to my short legs but i enjoyed the test-drive today

[Chugster]

ok, back to the techie stuff, should i go for Win 8 or stick with Win 7 for gaming?

oh and is 8gig ram enough or should i go 16?

[Ryker]

Really that is up to you, I just got a new computer and it came with Windows 8 on it, my old pc had 7. At first there is a learning curve but when your pc boots up in seconds vs almost a minute, I'm loving Win 8.

My new vs. old PC specs:

New

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2320 CPU @ 3.00GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
8 GB RAM
1 TB SATA HD

Old

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
AMD Athlon II
6 GB Ram
500 MB SATA HD

[Chugster]

ok, another question...1x 2gb GTX770 or 2x 1gb/2gb GTX660s? oh and do the 2 cards need to be the same?

[Kedar Tyrone]

When it comes to memory it depends on what games and programs you are wanting to run on this rig. 8 GB should be okay for most of today's games but if you want to be somewhat future proof then I would suggest going for the 16 GB of RAM. For example Ubisoft's new game "Watchdogs" has a minimum requirement of 6 GB and a recommended amount of 8 GB and Battlefield 4 recommends 8 GB for 64 Bit Operating Systems.

As for Windows 7 or 8 it depends on the user. I am a die-hard Win7 fan and I just don't see myself using Win8. Sure it boots faster (from what I hear) but I have also heard that Win7 booting from a SSD boots better than a regular HDD.

Win8 also works great and thrives on a touchscreen but how many home users have a touchscreen these days? I do not (but wish I did) have one in fact the only person that I know that has one just got a new laptop and didn't know until he got home.

As for the video card(s) I am running 1x 4 GB GTX 770 in my rig. The following is a clip from the G Force Website explaining SLI Technology.

There are also very few restrictions regarding what GPUs can be grouped together in SLI: only the model and memory amounts have to match. For example, a GTX 580 with 1.5GB of memory could only be paired with another GTX 580 that has 1.5GB of memory, and a GTX 690 only with another GTX 690.

[CobraGuru]

comparisons & infos on GC : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-5.html
http://graphics-cards-review.toptenreviews.com/

[Moose]

GTX 770 4GB, it leaves the option of adding another card in SLI later on and SLI scaling is very good nowadays. 4GB should make it a little bit more future proof. I have this card and it handles STO with all graphic settings set to maximum with ease.

As it comes with 3 free games, you could potentially sell these on eBay for about £20 each, knocking another £60 off the price.

From experience, I would recommend a high end i5 over an i7 if cost is the factor. I recently upgraded from an i5 2500k to an i7 4930K and there were no obvious performance improvements in current games.

[Chugster]

so are two 2gb cards as good as one 4gb card?

only for my budget I can either get a 2g GTX760 or i can get two 2gb GTX650's...im assuming the 2 cards would be better?b