PC build thread

[Anapan]

I'm running a 960 and i'm very happy with it. Mortal Kombat X is maxed out (well framerate dropped when I tried running it @ 4k downscaled to 1080p so I'm running it at native...) and plays excellent. I only had to turn a couple of AA options down in GTA V to get everything running nice and smooth. The few games I play that can't be maxed look almost exactly the same when I turn the settings down a notch to get 60FPS @1080P. It would be nice to have more vram but it's not a big issue. The deal I got on it compared to the price of the next step up was what made me choose it.

[SpaceBooger]

I'm running a 960 and i'm very happy with it. Mortal Kombat X is maxed out (well framerate dropped when I tried running it @ 4k downscaled to 1080p so I'm running it at native...) and plays excellent. I only had to turn a couple of AA options down in GTA V to get everything running nice and smooth. The few games I play that can't be maxed look almost exactly the same when I turn the settings down a notch to get 60FPS @1080P. It would be nice to have more vram but it's not a big issue. The deal I got on it compared to the price of the next step up was what made me choose it.

960 2GB or 4GB?

Also, I noticed an error in my original post - I accidentally said I had a 1GB GTX 560, but it's really a 2GB GTX 560.

[Anapan]

EVGA 2GB. I will probably get another 2GB and SLI them. I should've gotten a 4GB but I wasn't paying attention to anything but the Newegg deal of the day.

[emwearz]

EVGA 2GB. I will probably get another 2GB and SLI them. I should've gotten a 4GB but I wasn't paying attention to anything but the Newegg deal of the day.

You do not increase useable VRAM by SLI'ing, just a heads up.

[Cronozilla]

They're working on making it a RAM pool across multiple cards. As well as allowing individual cards to work on individual tasks in the pipeline. It'll be good stuff.

[emwearz]

They're working on making it a RAM pool across multiple cards. As well as allowing individual cards to work on individual tasks in the pipeline. It'll be good stuff.

All future stuff, they reported it last year. (Dx12 following Mantles lead), interested to see how it in implemented. Also unless I am mistaken, I recall games had to be programmed with it in mind and integrate the API features to take advantage.

I would not buy a secondary card for additional VRAM as right now, you won't get it and there is not solid details about how it will be implemented in the future. (Windows 10 / DX12 retail release will hopefully bring new information on the topic).

You have any recent articles on it Cronozilla, I read about it at the start of the year but it seems all quite since then.

EDIT: I just don't get how this is going to work properly. SLI works by each card rendering a frame each and alternating which is displayed, there will be bottlenecks all over the place with VRAM stacking. I really want to read a technical document on how they are doing it, because they will have to change the entire method of delivery for SLI with its alternating frame rendering.

[Cronozilla]

It'd probably just be a feature in the APIs in the way the scene render pipeline is handled. Maybe a custom chip somewhere?

I would imagine their goal is to go to a much more sensible cluster type solution, so the CPU might make a list of tasks (or maybe there'll be some special motherboard chipset to allow this) to dole out the tasks in the most efficient way possible.

I think the cards themselves will be ignorant of what's going on.

You should want it to be explicitly taken advantage of, I think the era of the API just doing stuff whatever way should die. It causes a lot of overhead. A lot of what's in Direct3D shouldn't be in Direct3D it should be much closer to the data modeling, not in the graphics API. And to make it all work you have to jump through a bunch of hoops that makes a lot of convoluted code. Suddenly you have four versions of something because nothing is cohesive and it's all in different places that don't talk to one another. It's a mess.

If they want to expand the functionality they should create separate APIs, instead of trying to convince people of some robust magical package that will solve all their problems, make them breakfast, and pick up the kids. Graphics code needs to be as lean as possible.

I haven't read anything recently, I've just heard it mentioned a few times this year. I know its slated, but how it'll roll out or when, I don't know.

Counting on it is not a good idea, I wasn't trying to say that it's right around the corner or something.

[Anapan]

Damn - I remember reading that before too! I guess I'll have a slightly-used 2GB 960 in the marketplace forum soon.

I'm still happy with my card, but having a 60" plasma, I'm really interested in what my GTAV Cat flamethrower mod would look like cranked a little higher. That is actually the only reason I got the game, and the 2GB card does not allow the high-res textures while using all the other enhancements.

[MrPopo]

2TB SSDs are here in the sub $0.50/GB range.

My Newegg order should be arriving early next week.

[jay_red]

I came into an HP elite 8300 small form factor PC recently that has some decent specs minus the GPU. It has an i5-3470, 8gb of ram, 128gb ssd. After researching possible graphics card replacements for this case, I ended up with an Nvidia 750ti 2gb low profile from MSI ($120 from newegg). Dropped right in and had made this a formidable secondary PC to supplement my actual gaming rig. The HP is now what is hooked up to my TV for streaming/surfing and occasional gaming and my primary rig is now hooked up to my Xtension Sit Down arcade cab that is doubling as a computer desk/arcade cab.