General computer talk/advice

It's ok, @MaxMrMiller, I'm a shortcut hoarder too.

 

Depends.
The 390 has more VRAM (8GB) and has more powerful hardware if I'm right ( I'm not sure about that ), but it also overclocks less than a 970 and it uses way more power.
The 970 on the other hand has way less VRAM (3.5GB+ a slower 0.5GB), but it uses less power and overclocks way better.
Honestly thats probably the best way I can sum it up, if you wanna know more just watch a couple vids on it

 

For 1080p, I'd say 970. The 390 has very similar performance, but it requires more power, generates more heat and some AAA titles that use GameWorks might not run very well.
1440p, you'll want a 390 for the extra VRAM. But if you're gaming in 1440p you should get a 390X.

 

According to the last video, the R390x seems to be quickest. The GTX970 seems to only be about 2 fps behind however.

I think I'd be running mainly 1080p. I only have room for like an 18 inch screen and my 32" tv is only 720p anyways so that would work. Seems Nvidia has more stable drivers and stronger support in most games.

 

Is the Intel Core i5-4460 3.2 GHz Quad-Core a good CPU for BeamNG? The experts over at pcpartpicker.com recommended it but I figured I'd ask since BeamNG is more CPU-intensive than most games.

 

Yes.

 

Yeah, thats totally fine, but make sure you get a GPU to go with it since the integrated GPU will not be able to handle BeamNG

 

I'm sorely aware of how much of a N00b I'm being right now, but I'm only vaguely aware of what a GPU does. Do you think you guys could take a quick look at the parts list I was recommended? I'm also planning on getting a better motherboard than what's listed there. I was told Asrock PRO and up are good, but I don't know what's up lol. I thought I was pretty good at computers until I started getting into hardware a couple months ago. Trying to upgrade has been a total mind-screw ever since

 

Might wanna look into a used laptop. My Latitude E4310 was ~$100 with a $20 replacement battery and a ~$20 SSD. I love it.

 

A GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit, is a co-processor (so like another CPU) designed specifically for hardware acceleration of graphics calculations. It's different from a CPU since it has a lot of less powerful cores - modern high-end GPUs have as much as 4,000 cores while the top end consumer CPU's have 8. Because of this difference in design they are much better than CPU's at running a lot of very similar small tasks in parallel - which is exactly what graphics processing is, a lot of small calculations that are extremely similar to each other. The hardware is also specifically designed for the calculations used in graphics, so it does these things much faster than a CPU with specialised software would - thus the concept of 'hardware acceleration'.
So yeah, that's what a GPU does.

What you actually buy is a Graphics or Video Card, which contains the GPU, memory, and a few more things on a circuit board, with an interface that connects to the motherboard. Graphics cards are often called GPUs though, most of the time someone says GPU they actually mean the whole card.

Anyway, on your budget, the R9 380 is a very good option, you might want to look at a different brand though, haven't heard much about Club3D but I'd rather spend an extra $20 on a Gigabyte card.

 

Okay thanks. I more or less knew what they did but I had no idea they were part of the video card, which is why I was confused. Would you recommend a Gigabyte motherboard as well?

 

GTX 650 vs HD 7750?

 

I think a non-ti 650 and a HD 7750 are really close in terms of performance. I could be wrong though.

 

Today was a glorious day. I finally ditched my 32GB SSD for a 240GB SSD.

There's so much room for activities.

 

Pretty similar cards, the 650 eats a bit more power but its also a little faster on paper, benchmarks are pretty much identical. So which ever is cheaper.

 

Sorry I keep coming back, but I'm finding I'm still lost after spending all day trying to figure this out. I think this motherboard looks like the one I should get but they're all still blurring together

 

Just get a motherboard that meets your requirements. e.g: Number of USB ports, number of SATA ports, etc...

 

K thanks lol. That one's in my budget and leaves me room to grow so I'll get it.

 

Thanks, just wondering. I'm upgrading to the 7750, I was just wondering which was best.

 

Been toying with the idea of getting a systemboard with the nvidia chipset for my ThinkPad so I can play BeamNG and a few other games on the go, any idea how this would work out? I understand that the NVS 4200M isn't really made for gaming but surely it's going to be better than the Intel graphics I'm currently stuck with.