[dhitchner]

So I'm having a PC built for my fiancè and have everything picked out for it. Getting a pretty good deal on the rig as a whole, but the graphics card is worrying me. I can't find any solid reviews on it; in fact I'm getting alot of mixed reviews. Some say it's a great card and others are saying it's not as good as the previous generation cards. This rig will be used for playing MMO's mainly (like Star Wars: The Old Republic and World of Warcraft) along with another game/program called Second Life.

The graphics card in concern is the "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 - 2GB - EVGA Superclocked". All of the websites I've looked at that rank GPU's seem to skip right over this card. They go from the GTX 670 to the GTX 580.

The complete setup for this rig is as follows (buying from iBuyPower.com

1 x Case (AZZA Armour Gaming Case - Blue))
1 x Processor (Intel® Core™ i5-3570K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i5-3570K))
1 x Motherboard (ASUS P8Z77-V LK -- 2x PCI-E 3.0 x16, 4x USB 3.0))
1 x Memory (8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - G.Skill Ripjaws X))
1 x Video Card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 - 2GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 1202MHz))
1 x Case Lighting (None))
1 x Power Supply (650 Watt -- NZXT HALE82N-SI / 80+ Bronze))
1 x Processor Cooling (Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1155] - Standard 120mm Fan))
1 x Video Card Brand (Major Brand Powered by AMD or NVIDIA))
1 x Primary Hard Drive (60 GB Corsair Force Series GT SSD - Single Card))
1 x Data Hard Drive (1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive))
1 x 2nd Optical Drive (None))
1 x Optical Drive (24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black))
1 x Sound Card (3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard))
1 x Speaker System (None))
1 x Network Card (Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)))
1 x Monitor (24" LED 1920x1080 -- Sceptre E246W-1080P (23.6 viewable) - Save $60! FREE Upgrade from 22" Sceptre X220T-Naga))
1 x Keyboard (iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard))
1 x Mouse (iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse - Blood Red))
1 x Operating System (Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit))
1 x Warranty (3 Year Standard Warranty Service))
1 x Rush Service (Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - Deferred Delivery (Ship Out in 15 ~ 20 Business Days) - 5% OFF on systems over $999 (Coupon Code: defer)))
1 x Video Camera (None))
1 x Power Protection (Mighty Voltage Regulator - Opti-UPS SS1200-AVR))
1 x Meter Display (None))
1 x Flash Media Reader / Writer (None))
1 x 2nd Monitor (None))
1 x Free Stuff ([FREE] - Gigabyte GC-WB300D Bluetooth 4.0 / Dual Band WiFi Expansion Card - Free with purchase of Intel i5 / i7 Desktop))
1 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction (None))
1 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion (None))
1 x iBUYPOWER PowerDrive (None))
1 x Intel Smart Response Technology (None))
1 x Case Engraving Service (None))

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Hello dhitchner

The card is not the best and it is ranked at #74 in the benchmarks table http://www.videocard...GTX 650&id=2155

What lets the card down is the fact that it is only 128-bit, if it was at least 192-bit the video quality in game playing would be so much better.

If your budget will allow it consider adding a GTX 660Ti instead http://us.ncix.com/p...te&promoid=1033

If you only want advice on the video card that's fine but looking at the other parts on the list you could make some improvements and hopefully save some cash, I see the name iBUYPOWER is this a build put together by them by request or one that they are retailing.

[phillpower2]

Hello dhitchner

The card is not the best and it is ranked at #74 in the benchmarks table http://www.videocard...GTX 650&id=2155

What lets the card down is the fact that it is only 128-bit, if it was at least 192-bit the video quality in game playing would be so much better.

If your budget will allow it consider adding a GTX 660Ti instead http://us.ncix.com/p...te&promoid=1033

If you only want advice on the video card that's fine but looking at the other parts on the list you could make some improvements and hopefully save some cash, I see the name iBUYPOWER is this a build put together by them by request or one that they are retailing.

[dhitchner]

Yes this is a build put together by them per our request. We took one of their cheaper builds and souped it up quite a bit. I see that the GTX 660ti is $116 more which is a bit over our budget. What recommendations could you make to save money/enhance performance? Thank you.

[phillpower2]

Hi there,

To help us out a bit could you tell us what particular parts it is that you have added and lei us know what the total cost comes to with a GTX 650 included, we can then put you an alternative list of parts together which will hopefully meet your requirements and allow for a better video card.

The alternative that I suggest would mean purchasing all of your own parts and then having a local tech store put them together. this will not only save you money you will also have local tech support + you will be able to arrange any extended warranty you might want person to person.

[dhitchner]

The Holiday Palidin E is the system that we modified to make it playable at Ultimate settings for Star Wars: The Old Republic. My fiancè is also a neuroscientist and will probably be doing neural network modeling on this rig.


The basic Palidin E costs $1,013.00 with shipping (This includes shipping, a Monitor, and a UPS)
Holiday Paladin E
1 x Case ( NZXT Source 210 Gaming Case - Blue )
0 x Case Lighting ( None )
0 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction ( None )
0 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion ( None )
1 x Processor ( Intel® Core™ i5-3570K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i5-3570K )
0 x iBUYPOWER PowerDrive ( None )
1 x Processor Cooling ( Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1155] - Standard 120mm Fan )
1 x Memory ( 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand - FREE Upgrade to G.Skill Ripjaws )
1 x Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GT 610 - 1GB )
1 x Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by AMD or NVIDIA )
1 x Motherboard ( ASUS P8Z77-V LX )
0 x Intel Smart Response Technology ( None )
1 x Power Supply ( 300 Watt - Standard )
1 x Primary Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
0 x Data Hard Drive ( None )
1 x Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
0 x 2nd Optical Drive ( None )
0 x Flash Media Reader / Writer ( None )
0 x Meter Display ( None )
1 x Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
1 x Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
1 x Operating System ( Windows 8 + Office 2010 Trial [Free 60-Day !!!] - 64-bit )
1 x Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard )
1 x Mouse ( iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse - Blood Red )
1 x Monitor ( 24" LED 1920x1080 -- Sceptre E246W-1080P (23.6 viewable) - Save $60! FREE Upgrade from 22" Sceptre X220T-Naga )
0 x 2nd Monitor ( None )
0 x Speaker System ( None )
1 x Power Protection ( Mighty Voltage Regulator - Opti-UPS SS1200-AVR )
0 x Video Camera ( None )
0 x Case Engraving Service ( None )
1 x Warranty ( 3 Year Standard Warranty Service )
1 x Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - Deferred Delivery (Ship Out in 15 ~ 20 Business Days) - 5% OFF on systems over $999 (Coupon Code: defer)


The one we ordered costs $1,229.85 which also includes the monitor, UPS, and shipping. The components of that order are as follows:
Holiday Paladin E

1 x Case (AZZA Armour Gaming Case - Blue))
1 x Processor (Intel® Core™ i5-3570K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i5-3570K))
1 x *** Motherboard (ASUS P8Z77-V LK -- 2x PCI-E 3.0 x16, 4x USB 3.0))
1 x *** Memory (8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - G.Skill Ripjaws X))
1 x *** Video Card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 - 2GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 1202MHz))
1 x Case Lighting (None))
1 x *** Power Supply (650 Watt -- NZXT HALE82N-SI / 80+ Bronze))
1 x Processor Cooling (Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1155] - Standard 120mm Fan))
1 x Video Card Brand (Major Brand Powered by AMD or NVIDIA))
1 x *** Primary Hard Drive (60 GB Corsair Force Series GT SSD - Single Card))
1 x *** Data Hard Drive (1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive))
1 x 2nd Optical Drive (None))
1 x Optical Drive (24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black))
1 x Sound Card (3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard))
1 x Speaker System (None))
1 x Network Card (Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)))
1 x Monitor (24" LED 1920x1080 -- Sceptre E246W-1080P (23.6 viewable) - Save $60! FREE Upgrade from 22" Sceptre X220T-Naga))
1 x Keyboard (iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard))
1 x Mouse (iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse - Blood Red))
1 x *** Operating System (Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit))
1 x Warranty (3 Year Standard Warranty Service))
1 x Rush Service (Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - Deferred Delivery (Ship Out in 15 ~ 20 Business Days) - 5% OFF on systems over $999 (Coupon Code: defer)))
1 x Video Camera (None))
1 x Power Protection (Mighty Voltage Regulator - Opti-UPS SS1200-AVR))
1 x Meter Display (None))
1 x Flash Media Reader / Writer (None))
1 x 2nd Monitor (None))
1 x *** Free Stuff ([FREE] - Gigabyte GC-WB300D Bluetooth 4.0 / Dual Band WiFi Expansion Card - Free with purchase of Intel i5 / i7 Desktop))
1 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction (None))
1 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion (None))
1 x iBUYPOWER PowerDrive (None))
1 x Intel Smart Response Technology (None))
1 x Case Engraving Service (None))

The parts with the *** are the upgrades we chose. The parts that added to the price were the the Mobo, GPU, Power Supply, and Hard Drives.

Thank you for all your help.

Edited by dhitchner, 30 December 2012 - 05:49 PM.

[phillpower2]

Thanks for all the additional information

To be fair the cost is reasonable for the build, it is only lacking a better video card which I`m afraid would put the cost up.

I have put a list of parts together for you, take a look and see if you think it is worth you considering either building your own or having a local tech put them together for you.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/v8lO

Note: While the list of parts comes out less expensive than the IBuypower PC if you do not do the build yourself please obtain an estimate from a local tech, it may cost between $50 - $100 but look at the superior quality and performance you will get for your cash.

[dhitchner]

Hello,

First off, I'd like to start with how much I appreciate your time helping me with this. I am truly considering building this pc myself. Looking at this rig with my fiancè, we just have a couple of questions/concerns, if you don't mind helping me out just a bit more.

First, the mobo supports CrossFire, but not SLI. Since we are getting an Nvidia GPU would it be better to go with an mobo that supports SLI in case we decide to upgrade in the future? Or do you not think that we would ever need a second GPU along with this 660 Ti?

Second, cooling... it looks like the mobo comes with a CPU fan, but is that enough (if it even does come with a fan, I am a little unclear on that)? The other rig had liquid cooling and it will be kept in an un-air-conditioned house.

Lastly, she will need the computer to connect to the LAN wirelessly. Does this mobo have wireless technology built into it?


Thank you again so much for you help.

[phillpower2]

Hello dhitchner

You are most welcome and I would be happy to help you in any way that I can.

I am pleased to hear that you are considering building the computer yourself as this will allow you to get a better balanced machine, pick only the parts that you decide upon, get more for your money + the self satisfaction of knowing that the computer is all your own work.

Before I address your questions I would first like to offer you a couple of pointers to help with building your own computer;

1: Refer to the build tutorial provided courtesy of Troy and Artellos respectively http://www.geekstogo...r-own-computer/

2: Once you have decided on and ordered the parts while you are waiting for them to arrive download and familiarize yourself with the installation manuals for items such as the MB, Ram, SSD, HDD and video card and such.

3: Decide if you need an anti static wrist strap or are happy to ground yourself on the computer case before handling components (I do the latter).

Now to your questions, the build that I put together was based around the CPU and a similar ASUS P8Z77 MB to the one that was on your original list, now that I am aware that you are happy to swap MBs + your fiancé would like wifi available I will do some further research and provide a new list for you.

A single GTX 660Ti is more than what you are likely to need but I agree having the Sli option available would make sense when it comes to future proofing your build.

The liquid cooling, this is something that overclockers use, I do no recommend either due to the problems that can occur such as a bad setting ruining the MB and liquid cooling requires extra maintenance and can leak which could blow the whole computer and not just the MB.

The IBuypoeer build most likely used an OEM CPU which are not provided with a heatsink and fan and so you can use an aftermarket cooler without voiding the CPU warranty, the big difference is that Intel do not provide the warranty, IBuypower do and OEM warranties can last for as little 90 days but are normally 1 year as opposed to the 3 year warranty that you get from Intel when you purchase a PIB (processor in a box) that is bundled with a HS and fan supplied by them.

The wireless question I will address with an alternative MB in the new list.

Wireless capable MBs are either more expensive or micro atx or itx I`m afraid so the more expensive MB puts you around $5 over the IBuypower price, swapping to a less expensive mouse or keyboard is a way around this without compromising the build http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vip5

Any further questions please ask.

NB: We will also be on hand when you do the build to offer any support you may need.

[dhitchner]

I've always used an anti-static wrist strap; I'm curious, how do you safely ground yourself to the case before handling components? Is it just simply touching the case before touching a component? I'm going to look over these components with my fiancè and make the final decision. Thank you again!!!

Edited by dhitchner, 01 January 2013 - 10:42 AM.

[phillpower2]

Yes you simply touch a bare metal part of the chassis every now and then while you are working and before picking up a new component for the first time.

You are welcome and let us know both of your thoughts on the components, whether you would like something changing or if you have a question as to why a particular part was suggested.

NB: The first time the wife saw me repairing a computer she was a bit concerned by the fact that I kept touching the copper pipe on a nearby radiator

[Wolfeymole]

I'm glad you mentioned the copper pipe Phil as it could well be that some people may have good rubber soled shoes that do not allow proper earthing by simply touching the metal chassis.

[dhitchner]

I ordered the parts and they have started coming in... very excited. Thank you!!!

[phillpower2]

Thanks for the update and remember that we are here to advise with the build process if you need us

[dhitchner]

Thank you all again for your help. The PC has been up and running for over 24 hours now. All of the parts are running well and Star Wars: The Old Republic looks great on it. My fiancè will be extremely pleased. The only problems I've had with it are: during the Windows Update, the update froze; the CPU fan stopped running and I got a CPU over-temperature error. I was able to get the Widows Update to work by downloading a Windows Update repair program from Microsoft's website, and for the fan I just unplugged the CPU fan power cable and plugged it back in... hasn't stopped working since (hopefully there wasn't any damage to the CPU).

Next, I'm going to upgrade my personal gaming rig. I have some questions, but I'd like to know first if I should start a new forum post or should I just add my questions about my rig into this post?

Edited by dhitchner, 16 January 2013 - 06:38 PM.

[phillpower2]

Thanks for the update dhitchner and well done for resolving the update/fan problem yourself

Please start a new topic regarding your intended upgrade and we will be happy to assist you there, this will avoid any possible confusion + it will help others who are considering an upgrade themselves having a recent topic that they can look over for ideas.