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Another note about GPUs, while 256-bit is of course preferred, most current games can only take advantage of 1GB of dedicated RAM. So 2GB cards are a little future proof, but anything more than that is just for bragging rights at this stage.

Benchmarks are designed to stress every last little spec, but in reality games are nowhere near those benchmarks in quality.

 djones520 wrote:
So my current PC has this.

Pentium(r) Dual-Core CPU E5700 3.00GHz.
ATI Radeon HD4600 1gb

If you're looking at the 770GTX, you better check your power supply first. It will require a 600 watt minimum PSU and with the age of those components you may have a PSU that won't supply enough voltage on the 12V rail.

I think it's a great card and if I were buying a card right now, it's what I would buy ( the 4gb models only). However the next lineup should be released imminently and I intend to wait for that, and as long as it looks like you've waited, you might want to consider it as well.

 Aerethan wrote:
Another note about GPUs, while 256-bit is of course preferred, most current games can only take advantage of 1GB of dedicated RAM. So 2GB cards are a little future proof.

I know you said "most" and I'm not trying to be TFG but it seems worth pointing out due to it's popularity - that Battlefield 4 will use 3gb right now, today, if it's available. So if that specific title is one of the reasons you are upgrading...

Yeah, ahead of you on that Ouze. I just cracked the case open, and I just need to throw this dinosaur away. 250w power supply.

I'm going to run out to Bestbuy tomorrow just to look at stuffs. Maybe I'll pick up a new power supply.

Ok, so how vital is 8gb of ram? I've got 4 currently, do I really need 8?

I would aim for 8 but that's going to vary a lot depending on what you are playing. I'm using 2.5gb on my x86 work laptop right now with just Windows, Chrome, and my work related stuff open (outlook, spreadsheets, some proprietary stuff), so gaming would be a tough proposition.

Ok, so just pick up 2 chips then. That's hardly going to be the most expensive part of this. The processor and GPU are going to be the PITA's of the whole affair....

I always struggle with spending $400 for a pretty solid card that will last me 4 or so years, or $250 for a card that will be good for a year and adequate for another. I tend to go for the former but there is a fair argument to be had for the latter as well - rotating out less expensive cards more frequently will get you a better, more even overall performance average I bet, rather than going from Great to Good to fair to subpar.

Although if it wasn't for BF4, I bet I could make my card last one more year or until Everquest Next launches, whatever comes first.

 Ouze wrote:
I would aim for 8 but that's going to vary a lot depending on what you are playing. I'm using 2.5gb on my x86 work laptop right now with just Windows, Chrome, and my work related stuff open (outlook, spreadsheets, some proprietary stuff), so gaming would be a tough proposition.

Please note, x86(32-bit Windows) will only recognize 3.5GB of RAM. If you want to use more than that, you MUST have x64 installed.

You will notice a major difference in online games with 8GB vs. 4GB.

I'm well aware of PAE limitations. My home board has had 8gb since 2007.

My work laptop is restricted to a 32 bit build because that's all they had free licenses for. Lame beyond words. The motherboard supports 8gb.

I was aiming that more at Djones, as it's not a commonly known issue with new builders.

I have a ASUS Maximus Mother board, a intel i7-3770K Processor, a Radeon 7950 Video card, a cooler master 850 power supply and 16gb ram. 64 bit windows. I built it about a year ago and still runs many new games flawlessly. Great Fps and stays cool even when running 24-7 for months.

I really like Quad core and at the current moment nothing needs 6 and 8 cores to run it smoothly. Same with ram, 16 is all you really need, 32 is over kill as of now, and even 16 is a bit much.

Most computer build come from personal experience as to what you put in them. I have had bad luck with Intel Video cards and my friend who has been building computers for decades now says not to get them. Their quality has dropped a lot over the past few years and I have personally had them blow up after not much time. The Radeon is now my number 1 choice. As for Processors, I really like the Intels... Completely backwards here, my other friend loves the AMDs but I have never had a problem with the Intels so I countinue with them.

 Ouze wrote:
I always struggle with spending $400 for a pretty solid card that will last me 4 or so years, or $250 for a card that will be good for a year and adequate for another.

With my last PC I had the choice of getting a 256mb graphics card or for half the price a 128mb graphics card. I went with the 128mb, and regretted it within a couple of years. This is why I went double Titans this time. No half measures.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Ouze wrote:
I always struggle with spending $400 for a pretty solid card that will last me 4 or so years, or $250 for a card that will be good for a year and adequate for another.

With my last PC I had the choice of getting a 256mb graphics card or for half the price a 128mb graphics card. I went with the 128mb, and regretted it within a couple of years. This is why I went double Titans this time. No half measures.

Well that escalated quickly.

Your last PC had a 128MB card and you went to 2x Titan cards. Love it.