POST YOUR SPECS

[barakav]

If you calculate the amount of power that the next  generation of graphic chips are supposed to have you will get to X15 the amount of calculations of the current one ,and some of it is mostly because of the new 3d memory .And I heard rumors that this indeed will be the case.

 

So it all depends on Nvidia and AMD on how strong they will make the next gen graphic cards. They will probably double the strength of the current ones ,and that means that the second strongest graphic card will probably be enough to play in a 4k monitor (obviously with DX 12).

 

I just hope that they'll make it as cheap as the 970...

[Keyrock]

If you calculate the amount of power that the next  generation of graphic chips are supposed to have you will get to X15 the amount of calculations of the current one ,and some of it is mostly because of the new 3d memory .And I heard rumors that this indeed will be the case.

 

So it all depends on Nvidia and AMD on how strong they will make the next gen graphic cards. They will probably double the strength of the current ones ,and that means that the second strongest graphic card will probably be enough to play in a 4k monitor (obviously with DX 12).

 

I just hope that they'll make it as cheap as the 970...

I think your prediction of the next gen of GPUs being 2X as powerful is HIGHLY optimistic.  As far as 3D memory goes, that will help out in the compute department a lot more than gaming.  The move to 16nm will help, but a die shrink does not guarantee increased performance.  I'm fully expecting the typical 20-30% gain per core over the previous generation.  I'll be happy to be wrong (in the positive direction).

 

As far as DX12 (and Vulkan) goes, I think a lot of people are setting themselves up for disappointment.  Not necessarily people here, but a lot of folks in the comments section of articles on DX12 and Vulkan on various sites seem to think that the new APIs are a magic switch and when they arrive later this year that just flips a switch and *snaps fingers* suddenly games just run with much higher framerate.  The tech demos that get put out for new APIs like this are generally the absolute best case scenarios and very rarely are indicative of real world results.  The amount the new APIs will increase performance will almost certainly vary wildly as ultimately it comes down to how much effort and time  developers are willing to put in to implement optimizations.  I'm expecting relatively meager gains on average, that way I'm unlikely to be disappointed and there's a chance I could be pleasantly surprised.

[barakav]

Lets wait and see OK?

[samm]

I think your prediction of the next gen of GPUs being 2X as powerful is HIGHLY optimistic.  As far as 3D memory goes, that will help out in the compute department a lot more than gaming.  The move to 16nm will help, but a die shrink does not guarantee increased performance.  I'm fully expecting the typical 20-30% gain per core over the previous generation.  I'll be happy to be wrong (in the positive direction).

Agreed here.

 

As far as DX12 (and Vulkan) goes, I think a lot of people are setting themselves up for disappointment.  Not necessarily people here, but a lot of folks in the comments section of articles on DX12 and Vulkan on various sites seem to think that the new APIs are a magic switch and when they arrive later this year that just flips a switch and *snaps fingers* suddenly games just run with much higher framerate.

I haven't seen Mantle/Vulkan and DX12 represented as a simple switch that will allow for higher framerate, but rather as a paradigm shift in game engine programming. It will be hard for some developers in that it requires a lot of consideration about how to really *do* things with the hardware, but a lot less testing on how things are magically done by some driver. If that does not result in better performance and/or more stable and predictable behaviour of code, it will not be worth the effort to switch to the new APIs. Edited April 29, 2015 by samm

[Bartimaeus]

I bought a Samsung 850 EVO 250GB for $85. My previous PNY drive died recently, and it was a good enough deal, so why not?

 

On the other hand, PNY just shipped me a 240GB drive in replacement of my 120GB for no apparent reason, and now I'm unsure what to do with this one...It's also apparently not SandForce based, unlike the previous two, and is...Silicon Motion-based? Don't know if that's better or worse.

 

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/5720/silicon-motion-sm2246en-ssd-controller-preview/index5.html

 

The controller in question. Better, I think?

 

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1243?vs=1396

 

Comparison of the two drives (the ADATA drive uses the same controller). Not very different in most regards - besides sequential write, where the PNY falls behind a bit. But that hardly matters.

Edited April 30, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[samm]

Couldn't you use both of them? If either fails, you'd still have the other one. None of them seems significantly better than the other, just judging by those benchmark numbers. Except if you're talking about a laptop, where the lower power dissipation of the Samsung matters.

 

Up until the Samsung 840 (non-EVO), I'd have recommended to just keep the Samsung, but ever since then, Samsung really lost any reasonable basis for their reputation of building really solid solid state drives...

[Bartimaeus]

Uhh, why's that? The only problem I've heard about Samsung drives was the time-based issue with the 840 Evo?

 

I COULD use both of them...but I have no need. 250GB was serious overkill for my needs already - double that is ridiculous.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[Humanoid]

You say that now, but.... I probably have somewhere between 80-90% of my 1TB used.

[Bartimaeus]

I say that now...having already used a 120GB SSD for two years or so. My 1TB HDD has stuck around 50% full for the last 5 years or so, and my 120GB SSD has stuck around 60% full the entire time I've had it. I regretted purchasing the Samsung drive about 5 minutes after I got it, because I knew I wouldn't use it...and now I really know I won't use it, haha. I also have another 3TB HDD that I have no use for at all besides making backups of my 1TB occasionally, and then letting it sit in storage.

 

So yeah, I don't think I'll be using 500GB of SSDs for the foreseeable future. I don't use all that much storage outside of my FLAC music collection - which would be a giant waste to put on an SSD...and so far, I have not had great luck with SSD reliability, so I wouldn't be willing to trust one for important file storage, anyways - which is also why I externalize my personal user folder (My Documents, AppData, etc.) outside of my C:\ drive and onto my D:\ storage drive. I don't trust any kind of drive in general, though, which is why I have the 3TB for backups. Losing my music collection that I've manually collected (some of which I've ripped myself) and organized to my own standards would probably make me want to kill myself. This 1TB Seagate that I've had for about 5 or 6 years now (that has a little over 4 years of up-time in straight hours according to its SMART data) has got to go sometime or another, and I'll be ready for it.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[Humanoid]

You could just cut out the 1TB HDD out altogether by the sounds of it, though it'd be a tight fit, and just back up the lot onto the 3TB. Aside from the speed benefit, you'd cut down on noise a bit.

[Bartimaeus]

"Speed benefit"? What speed benefit? There's virtually no (appreciable) speed benefit in switching over to an SSD for music file playing (e: or really even most games - the only games I've tried so far that have had significant loading times improvement over an HDD is EU4 - where the difference is admittedly huge, for some reason, even though it's a fairly small game - and Stalker...but Stalker hasn't worked well in other ways on SSDs I've tried, for some reason, so meh). That's just taking up quality SSD space that could be utilized more effectively other ways...uh...if I had other things I could utilize the space for, that is. Plus, noise is not a factor - case muffles most any noise, and the box fans I run 24/7 for white noise (I have permanent and multiple forms of tinnitus so it's necessary) cover up the rest.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[Humanoid]

Well, aside from the FLACs (though technically you save a tiny bit of spin-up time of course), yeah. I guess I'm a little decadent in my ways, in that I no longer consider using SSDs for plain storage as a 'waste', given that it's my primary, and only, internal storage on my PC. But if you feel you're better off selling the drive, then actually considering the use cases makes sense.

[Bartimaeus]

The cost per gigabyte is still too high for me to just let copious amounts of space go to virtually no use. Although...that'll be what happens anyways if I don't use it at all...

 

Dangit, why did I have to impulse buy that dumb Samsung?

[Bartimaeus]

Ha ha ha...my previous post is rather ironic, given what this post will be about:

 

Restarted my computer this morning for some reason or another...it boots up, stuff is missing and not working - can't even boot into my normal user account...oh no...my storage HDD is not being recognized as being plugged in. Crap: I have a lot of stuff backed up, but I also have a lot of stuff not backed up...and that if it's gone, a month or two's worth of stuff like music and pictures I will have lost...and all of my game saves and mods as well as the vast majority of my documents and some other stuff are all gone. Power down the PC, plug it into a different computer, go to the BIOS to see if the MB can even recognize something's there...nothing. Unplug it and replug it in a few times, trying to boot it in between each one...still nothing. Resign myself to the fact that it appears to be completely dead (even though there were no warning signs at all), and lament that I couldn't boot it up one last time to save some things...even just a few things. Looked like that I would need to reformat my system drive because I store my personal user folder on my storage HDD for easy reformatting, and I can't even boot into my normal user account without having my storage drive working.

 

So I spend the day reformatting and installing stuff...and as one final hurrah, I plugged in my broken HDD again just a little ago and turn my computer on...and I think I hear the hard drive clicking and whirling: it was completely dead before. Stick my head and ear right up to the hard drive bay...and never before have I felt so happy to hear my HDD making funky noises in my entire life. I boot into Windows without even checking if it had been recognized by my MB in the BIOS...open My Computer, and it's sitting right there. Without restarting the computer (for fear of it not booting up again), I've started copying over unbackupped stuff to my SSD and have set up a network location for more things. Now, I'm not exactly the most religious of people....but I shouted "thank you jesus" at about 12 in the morning in an apartment after seeing that it was there.

 

I learned the valuable lesson of backing up MORE THINGS than I already do today.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[s13ep]

------------------

System Information

------------------

Time of this report: 6/15/2015, 11:03:42

       Machine name: TANYA

   Operating System: Windows 8.1 64-bit (6.3, Build 9600) (9600.winblue_r9.150322-1500)

           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: ASUS

       System Model: All Series

               BIOS: 1102

          Processor: Intel® Core i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.5GHz

             Memory: 16384MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 16322MB RAM

          Page File: 9092MB used, 9661MB available

        Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS

    DirectX Version: DirectX 11

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

   User DPI Setting: Using System DPI

 System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)

    DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled

     DxDiag Version: 6.03.9600.17415 64bit Unicode

 

---------------

Display Devices

---------------

          Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770

[Pidesco]

ASUS P8H77-V LE
INTEL Core i5 3450 3.10GHz
GEIL 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
ASUS Geforce GTX 980 Ti
ASUS Xonar D2X
Canton Movie 60CX Speakers
Crucial MX100 512GB
Seagate 1Tb 7200 RPM S-ATA2 32Mb
Dell U3415W
Gamepad XFX XGear Dual Reflex
Cyborg V.5 Rumble Pad

 

I managed to trade in the GTX 970 for a 980 Ti, which allows for competent performance (40/50 FPS)  in Witcher 3 at 3440x1440 with all bells and whistles turned on. It is glorious.

[samm]

That's one hell of a trade upwards, congratulations! Who offered that?

[Pidesco]

A local PC hardware store.

[Keyrock]

Congrats on the upgrade, Pidesco.  That's a fairly hefty jump up to what is more or less the top of the line GPU out right now.

 

As for Fury X, I think this is actually a loss for AMD.  Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good card, however, it's at best equal to a GTX 980 Ti at the same price and Nvidia got its card out several weeks earlier, so it had that amount of time out on the marketplace without competition.  Moreover, word 'round the campfire is that the Fury X is in very short supply right now, so good luck getting one if you want one.  It's understandable for a new technology (HBM) but it doesn't change the fact that people shopping at that price point may turn to Nvidia simply on availability.  It's too bad because we need AMD to keep Nvidia honest and their prices down, but, as it stands, there is zero reason for Nvidia to lower its prices.  Hopefully AMD can improve the Fury X's performance with driver updates to push it past the 980 Ti and force prices down,

Edited June 28, 2015 by Keyrock

[CoM_Solaufein]

I see the ATI R9 300 series is out. Hopefully the prices for the 390x will go down before Fallout 4 is released. Plan on replacing my 270Xs.

[samm]

So I decided to not longer wait for OLED, and move down from a VA to a TN display and bought a BenQ XL2730Z. I'm actually positively surprised how easily the impact of 144 vs. 60 Hz and the performance of that gaming panel compared to the previous office monitor offset the impression of the only okay-ish black levels, even after years and years of VA panels at home and IPS at work.

 

And until my graphics card arrives that allows for the use of Freesync, I enjoy the effect of the motion blur reduction in games. Unexpectedly very effective.

[Humanoid]

Revised:

 

CPU: Intel i7-6700K

CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4 / Glide Stream 120 fan (1400rpm PWM)
M/B: Asus Z170-AR
RAM: 2x8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3000
HDD: None
SSD1: 500GB Samsung 850 EVO m.2
SSD2: 256GB Crucial m4
SSD3: 250GB Samsung 840 EVO

SSD4: 256GB Sandisk Ultra Plus
Video: Gigabyte R9 290X Windforce 3X OC
Sound: Topping VX1 DAC + Stereo amplifier
ODD: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-ray combo
Case: Fractal Design Define R5
PSU: EVGA Supernova G2 850W
O/S: Windows 10 Home
Mouse: Logitech M705 Marathon Mouse
Keyboard: Das Keyboard Professional Silent (Cherry Brown)
Display: 2x Dell U2711 27" IPS
Speakers: Monitor Audio Bronze BR2
Headphones: Alessandro MS-1i
Gaming Peripherals:
- CH Products F-16 Fighterstick USB
- Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar
- XBox360 Wireless controller for PC

Backup: 2TB External WD My Passport

Router: TP-Link Archer D7

[samm]

Went TN and replaced my *VA with a BenQ XL2730Z

 

Also, replaced the HD 7970 with a Sapphire Fury

[CoM_Solaufein]

Got my upgrades yesterday for Fallout 4. XFX Black Edition ATI R9 390 video card and 16Gigs of RAM

[Humanoid]

I replaced my Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 speakers with the newer model, the Bronze 2, which is simply the 2015 revision of the same speaker. The BR2 was originally released in 2006. To be perfectly honest, there's no way I'd be able to tell the difference, but the new set is much prettier, and that counts for a lot.

 

(Yes, the naming convention is stupid: the original Bronze B2 was replaced by the BR2, then the BX2, and then the 2)

 

Side-by-side comparison: