Diablo III / 3

[nerdykarim]

Whoa...I've never seen a passively cooled 6850 before. Keep in mind that it's a triple slot, so you'll need a pretty big case. Looks like it runs at 38 degrees idle and 92 degrees under load. Keep tabs on your temps when you play games--especially BF3. Make sure you route your cables behind your motherboard so you get good airflow in your case. Use a sprayduster to clean it out every few months. Could be feasible, but I'd probably just pick an actively cooled card. GPU fans aren't terribly loud; you run into problems when you have 2-3 low quality case fans in there.

Might be worth looking at the MSI Twinfrozr card or one of the Nvidia cards.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[GreenFrog]



Whoa...I've never seen a passively cooled 6850 before. Keep in mind that it's a triple slot, so you'll need a pretty big case. Looks like it runs at 38 degrees idle and 92 degrees under load. Keep tabs on your temps when you play games--especially BF3. Make sure you route your cables behind your motherboard so you get good airflow in your case. Use a sprayduster to clean it out every few months. Could be feasible, but I'd probably just pick an actively cooled card. GPU fans aren't terribly loud; you run into problems when you have 2-3 low quality case fans in there.
Might be worth looking at the MSI Twinfrozr card or one of the Nvidia cards.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I'm debating between the antec p280 and the Fractal r3 case; currently leaning towards the fractal case, so I think this behemoth of a card should fit.

Edit: just got back from Micro Center. I was going to only get a CPU but I ended up getting a motherboard too.

Got the core i5 2500K and the asus p8z68-vlx motherboard. i just bought that one on a whim and haven't done any prior research on it so i hope it's decent.

This is it: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-P8Z68-V-LX-Intel-Motherboard/dp/B005EV1R34

With the CPU, I got $50 off the motherboard, so my total was $284 (also bought a toolkit for when I build my desktop).

Good deal? Did I do well or should I return this mono?

In terms of GPU, I'm looking at this one now: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-N560GTX-Frozr-II-OC/dp/B0050I1P38/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

[whiteslashasian]



I'm debating between the antec p280 and the Fractal r3 case; currently leaning towards the fractal case, so I think this behemoth of a card should fit.
Edit: just got back from Micro Center. I was going to only get a CPU but I ended up getting a motherboard too.
Got the core i5 2500K and the asus p8z68-vlx motherboard. i just bought that one on a whim and haven't done any prior research on it so i hope it's decent.
This is it: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-P8Z68-V-LX-Intel-Motherboard/dp/B005EV1R34
With the CPU, I got $50 off the motherboard, so my total was $284 (also bought a toolkit for when I build my desktop).
Good deal? Did I do well or should I return this mono?
In terms of GPU, I'm looking at this one now: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-N560GTX-Frozr-II-OC/dp/B0050I1P38/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

That 560 GTX (non-Ti) is a decent performer. However on Ultra settings, 4x FSAA, and 1920x1080 it falls behind beefier cards.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/03/05/amd-radeon-hd-7850-2gb/4

The GTX 560 Ti 448 looks to be your best bet based on the large spectrum of cards tested above and really isn't a whole lot more than the non Ti GTX (or even the regular GTX Ti non 448 cards).

Check out the acoustic tests here: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...-560-ti-448-roundup-evga-gigabyte-msi-15.html

This Gigabyte 560 Ti 448 Core includes BF3 for free (same card in the roundup on the acoustic test link above): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125406

 

[GreenFrog]



That 560 GTX (non-Ti) is a decent performer. However on Ultra settings, 4x FSAA, and 1920x1080 it falls behind beefier cards.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/03/05/amd-radeon-hd-7850-2gb/4
The GTX 560 Ti 448 looks to be your best bet based on the large spectrum of cards tested above.
Check out the acoustic tests here: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...-560-ti-448-roundup-evga-gigabyte-msi-15.html
This Gigabyte 560 Ti 448 Core includes BF3 for free (same card in the roundup on the acoustic test link above): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125406

Thanks. Is the ti considered to be a quieter card?

 

[whiteslashasian]



Thanks. Is the ti considered to be a quieter card?

That's a tough question to answer. Each manufacturer has their own unique fan/heatsink setup (unless they use the reference design, which few seem to do these days). There are very few tests between the acoustics of a GTX 560 and the 560 Ti 448. They seem to be roughly the same, assuming you leave the fan speed to Auto (tends to top out at 60%) which isn't really that loud at all. At idle I doubt you could hear these guys over a CPU, PSU, or case fan.

For the performance/$ consideration, the 448 seems to be tops. This is coming from a HD 6950 2gb owner (I know, my card gets spanked by the 448 in BF3, the GTX 560 gets CRUSHED).

The Hardware Canucks review calls the gigabyte 560 Ti 448 quiet and the numbers seem to support it. Also it's one of the coolest ones too (longer lasting hardware ftw).

 

[GreenFrog]

Thanks w/a, much appreciated. I'm gonna go with the ti. I'm getting close to picking out all my hardware..!!

 

[driveslowk]

hey everyone!

Excited to play D3 although I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to put into it. Haven't played any games for 5-6 years!

Here's the old rig that I built:

Intel q6600 (2.4ghz quad core)
6gb of ram (ddr2)
videocard is geforce 7600 gt
two 24" monitors

Will I be okay running D3 at max settings with just a video card upgrade or will I need to re-do the whole gig?

Looking at two cards...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

 

[whiteslashasian]



Thanks w/a, much appreciated. I'm gonna go with the ti. I'm getting close to picking out all my hardware..!!

Make sure it's the 448 Core version with the 1280mb of ram. Not the normal Ti with only 1gb. BIG difference.

hey everyone!
Excited to play D3 although I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to put into it. Haven't played any games for 5-6 years!
Here's the old rig that I built:
Intel q6600 (2.4ghz quad core)
6gb of ram (ddr2)
videocard is geforce 7600 gt
two 24" monitors
Will I be okay running D3 at max settings with just a video card upgrade or will I need to re-do the whole gig?
Looking at two cards...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

I'd get the HD 6850. It's more powerful and really not much more money. The Q6600 and a HD6850 should be fine to run D3. If you want to play more demanding games (Skyrim, BF3, etc) then you'd need a new CPU and all that comes with it; mobo, ram, etc.

*edit* Just saw a reddit post where a guy has a Q6600 and an HD6870 (not much faster than the 6850) and it runs D3 beta on max settings at a 1680x1050 res just fine.

 

[GreenFrog]

Here's my build:

I have the Core i5 2500K CPU and the Asus P8z68-VLX motherboard.

This should work, right?

 

[whiteslashasian]



Here's my build:
I have the Core i5 2500K CPU and the Asus P8z68-VLX motherboard.

This should work, right?

That all looks good. Shouldn't have much trouble. Make sure you set the BIOS to AHCI rather than IDE (most seem to default to IDE) in order for your SSD to work properly.

You may want to get some more case fans, a few Noctua 120mm fans should do the trick.

*edit* just noticed you don't have an aftermarket cooler. The stock intel one BLOWS. Loud as hell and ineffective.

 

[GreenFrog]

Awesome. Order placed!

 

[driveslowk]



I'd get the HD 6850. It's more powerful and really not much more money. The Q6600 and a HD6850 should be fine to run D3. If you want to play more demanding games (Skyrim, BF3, etc) then you'd need a new CPU and all that comes with it; mobo, ram, etc.

*edit* Just saw a reddit post where a guy has a Q6600 and an HD6870 (not much faster than the 6850) and it runs D3 beta on max settings at a 1680x1050 res just fine.

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it! I'm probably not going to play other games.

edit: nvm

Excited to play this! What class is everyone starting wtih?

 

[Imhoff]

I'm thinking of starting with a demon hunter or wizard.

 

[GreenFrog]

I'm gonna go for the barbarian

 

[GreenFrog]

Oh man... building a new gaming rig costs so much money

And I just moved so I had to buy furniture, register my car and other ****.

My credit card bill this month is going to be absolutely butt-fuckingly terrible.

I guess on the flip side, this computer setup will last me for years.