Upgrading PC

[Asimov]

Hi guys, not sure if you remember me. I disappeared due to work and real life, but here I am again and I have a question for you. 

 

I had been running STEP on my computer with these current parts:

[CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W Power Supply]

[GIGABYTE Super Overclock Series GeForce GTX 470 1280MB x 2 in SLI]

[intel Core i7-930 2.8GHz]

[Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0]

[Western Digital WD Black 1TB 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive]

[G.SKILL 6GB 3 x 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 PC3 12800]

[ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard]

[ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2, CPU Cooler 92mm PWM Fan]

120G Intel SSD Hard Drive

 

And I wanted to upgrade a bit to try to run extreme STEP. My question is this, can I just buy the new GTX 770 or do I need to replace the processor, board, and ram. My budget isn't unlimited so I'd rather just spend it all on the graphics card, but I was hoping for some input. I have built my pc before, but I am not great at figuring out what I really should go with. Any help is appreciated. 

 

PS. Looks like you guys have put together a terrific set up here!

[WilliamImm]

Well, I'm more looking to trying it out and seeing how it goes for me (on the desktop). I will install a start menu replacer (first thing that I'll do).

[DoYouEvenModBro]

DoYouEvenModBro Wrote'DoYouEvenModBro''41110''1371830737'

 

Windows 8 is really not as bad as people make it out to be especially if your hardware supports it. I have yet to try it on my Desktop (Windows 8 Ready Motherboard) but even with fast boot disabled on the 5400 RPM HDD of my laptop (I use my SSD now) it only took maybe 30 seconds to boot. Which for those that don't know is comparable to the slowest Linux. Plus once you have a start menu replacer life's smooth. I do need to install the SSD in my Desktop though I just keep going back and forth on buying the Student Edition of Windows 8 Pro ($59.99) since I do still need to replace my GFX card since my desktop's GFX card is puny.

Is there any reason to upgrade from windows 7 to windows 8? I mean I don't really want to do it if there's no point. I was also under the impression that windows 8 was more geared towards tablet pcs and touch screens. 

Well if you have Windows 7 licenses then not really but eventually you will need to switch. I'm mainly switching because I'm running out of Windows 7 licenses with all the computers around here, that and my laptop has it so I'd rather just use one Windows OS and be done with it. It just helps if there are any problems. Windows 8 is more geared towards tablets (start screen interface at least) but once you get a start menu replacer it's a normal pc again and by it being made mainly for tablets it's much faster and lighter on resources.

 

Sorry for the off topic I was replying to WilliamImm

Do you have any specific information on its resource use compared to windows 7? I'm guessing it uses less system RAM to idle windows?

[Aiyen]

I am more worried about weird driver issues. My friend has had a couple of those after he upgraded. Which causes a few issues in some games. However they get fixed rather quick from what I gather. Also a few other issues relating to the new interface, which causes certain games to freak out when alt-tabing.

 

I personally see no need to upgrade yet... properly going to stick with win 7 until my next format in many many years time if I follow the current track record.

Also I am not rich, so I have better stuff to spend my money on!

[Solist]

I'm using Windows 8 on my desktops and 7 on my laptops. Honestly Win8 is really nice and super fast. I've yet to have a single driver issue on five machines.

 

Also Windows 8.1 releases in a month and with it brings back the start button and boot to desktop option.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WilliamImm]

Then again, there are start menu replaces for Windows that do the same thing as 8.1 does, so I'll be getting one of those.

[Besidilo]

The Start Button in Windows 8.1 is just that, a button that takes you to the Start Screen (Modern UI, or Metro for those that tested the beta).

 

AFAIK, you'll be able to boot straight into desktop, which is what a lot of people are after. I do find myself going back to using start menu replacers since I often multitask and having my entire desktop in the background when I'm using the start menu is essential.

 

The only driver issues I had was with my soundcard, months before the official Windows 8 release. It was all mostly sorted on the launch date.

 

Windows 8 will never fully replace Windows 7 and there's no compelling reason to upgrade, unless you want faster boot times or will use the touchscreen interface. I suspect the next viable upgrade will come with DirectX 12, which could very well be in the distant future.

 

As a side note, Windows 8 is a lot smoother than Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and above on my netbook (Acer Ferrari One). I prefer Debian Sid anyway.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

I know Windows 8 allows Directx 11.1, which windows 7 does not? What does this actually bring to the table? Are games even dx11.1 right now?

[Aiyen]

Extremely few, since the last console generation was purely dx9, and most high budget games are made for those.

 

Also as far as I know win 7 allows all versions of DX, it is only a matter of which card you have, and if it supports a given DX version. But considering that dx11.1 was just a minor update then you properly will not miss out on much. At least it should never be the reason why you get a card.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Extremely few, since the last console generation was purely dx9, and most high budget games are made for those.

 

Also as far as I know win 7 allows all versions of DX, it is only a matter of which card you have, and if it supports a given DX version. But considering that dx11.1 was just a minor update then you properly will not miss out on much. At least it should never be the reason why you get a card.

Dx 11.1 isn't ONLY for 8? They made it work for 7 too? That's good news. I have a 7970 so it should be able to run dx 11.1. 

[Aiyen]

I might be wrong! At least in my control panel I only have 11.0 and my card should support it if I recall. Will have to check this out in detail when it becomes relevant down the line!

 

But like I said, you should not get all excited about v.11.0 vs 11.1. I forgot the details about what was added, but it was a very minor thing as I recall.

I am sure someone with more knowhow about this will put in their five cents soon enough! :)

[FCqt]

Once you get used to Windows 8 you don't need the start menu button.

At first it might be confusing but once you are used to using the Windows 8 search feature you no longer need a start menu.

 

When you want to open a program just press the Windows key and then start typing the program you want to open.

I.E: You press Windows key then type "Moz" and Mozilla Firefox should show up and then you just press enter to launch it.

 

It's much faster then navigating through the start menu.

 

If your program doesn't show up in the search function you can add a shortcut for it in:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

 

I.E.:

You press Windows key and then type "Skyrim" and let say it doesn't show up.

You just add a shortcut to Skyrim inside the directory C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ and afterward it will show up when you type "Skyrim".

 

With this you can launch anything by just typing the name of the program you want to load.

I.E: I personally added shortcut to all the Control Panel tools so I can quickly open them.

 

Of course it require some memorizing but once you are used to it, you can open anything in a split second.

[Aiyen]

And some people with a really high DPI mouse can also open anything in a split second if they have setup their start menu accordingly! ;)

 

The whole start menu debate is pointless as it comes down to personal preference. Just like how many people use Stardocks products to alter how you start programs etc.

 

As I see it there was no point in upgrading to win8 since it is at best just a minor update over win7. The boot times is not that vital to me. I mean I do not care if my computer can start in 30 seconds, or 20 seconds etc. Mainly because my monitor has a malfunction so it takes about 20 mins to warm up before it can show a picture! ;)