First time Intel and Nvidia

[Lighthammer]

So due to my problems with my last rig, thread on it is here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/465723-annoying-stuttering-in-games/

I decided to try out Intel and Nvidia instead of AMD/ATI that I've been using for 12 or so years. I'm now wondering what I should know about Intel and Nvidia. Things like what drivers and software are good to have. Is SLI worth it? BIOS options for the Intel CPU, I know absolutely nothing about that.

 

My rig that I bought is:

Asus Z97-a/USB3.1

4790K Devil's Canyon

Asus GTX 970 Strix

2x8GB Kingston HyperX Beast 2400MHz

Corsair RM550x Gold 550W

Windows 10 Pro

[Stardar1]

XFire > SLI, but neither are very good with efficiency

 

Intel CPUs will run hotter, dont worry if you are at 70c on air. 

[Samppa221]

Sli is worth at high resolutions and refresh rates and the spot where sli makes real sense is gtx 970 and higer.

[squirtle4287]

I'd get a R9 390 instead of a 970. 

[Cwis3man]

<3 Intel & Nvidia

[Stardar1]

also, dont be afriad to OC that thing, you got a Devil's canyon, and they live up to the name.

 

that CPU has been known to break 5GHz on water.

[Stardar1]

also, i upgraded to my current 4690k GTX 970 combo from my 8320/R9 270x 4GB, and man the performance increase is real

[don_svetlio]

SLI 970 is not worth it - VRAM will bottleneck the living crap out of you.

[PlayStation 2]

While AMD + AMD isn't the best idea (which might be the reason why your rig didn't do so hot), Intel + AMD is normally the best route to go.

[Bananasplit_00]

if this is a list of things your gona buy id say get either a G1 GTX970 or a 390 not sure how much the 390 is right now but the G1 isnt bad and overclocks like a beast because of the rediculesly big heatsink and tripple fans also if its a buy list go for 4690k its really nice and overclocks good too, but if thats a list of parts you have thats a solid build, just install latest drivers and youll be good to go

[Nena Trinity]

Why not Intel+AMD?

[SeanAngelo]

So due to my problems with my last rig, thread on it is here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/465723-annoying-stuttering-in-games/

I decided to try out Intel and Nvidia instead of AMD/ATI that I've been using for 12 or so years. I'm now wondering what I should know about Intel and Nvidia. Things like what drivers and software are good to have. Is SLI worth it? BIOS options for the Intel CPU, I know absolutely nothing about that.

 

My rig is

Asus Z97-a/USB3.1

4790K Devi'd Canyon

Asus GTX 970 Strix

2x8GB Kingston HyperX Beast 2400MHz

Corsair RM550x Gold 550W

Windows 10 Pro

get an r9 390 instead of gtx 970 and you're good to go.

 

why a high speed ram kit? an 1866mhz kit is enough...

[CommandMan7]

Nvidia has a lot of consumer-friendly features, most of which can be accessed from Nvidia Geforce Experience, like Gamestream and Shadowplay. This completely depends upon your personal preference however.

 

also,

SLI 970 is not worth it - VRAM will bottleneck the living crap out of you.

 

I don't know what you mean, SLI 970's beat the Titan X handily, and even comes out in front of the R9 295X2 in most cases, even at 4k resolutions.

 

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/82060-evga-gtx-970-ssc-sli-vs-titan-x-r9-295x2/?page=4

Although the minimum framerate is a little less, the average framerate matches or beats all other single cards, even dual GPU ones.

[don_svetlio]

Nvidia has a lot of consumer-friendly features, most of which can be accessed from Nvidia Geforce Experience, like Gamestream and Shadowplay. This completely depends upon your personal preference however.

 

also,

 

I don't know what you mean, SLI 970's beat the Titan X handily, and even comes out in front of the R9 295X2 in most cases, even at 4k resolutions.

 

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/82060-evga-gtx-970-ssc-sli-vs-titan-x-r9-295x2/?page=4

Although the minimum framerate is a little less, the average framerate matches or beats all other single cards, even dual GPU ones.

Minimum frames represent stutters when the cards run out of VRAM - hence why the 295X2, even thought it's 2 lower clocked 290Xs, evens it out at 4K

[CommandMan7]

Minimum frames represent stutters when the cards run out of VRAM - hence why the 295X2, even thought it's 2 lower clocked 290Xs, evens it out at 4K

I guess you're right, but I wouldn't exactly call a 7 FPS difference "bottlenecking the living crap". Also frame times are equal to the Titan X, a card with 12GB of Vram, leading me to believe it might not be Vram related.

[don_svetlio]

I guess you're right, but I wouldn't exactly call a 7 FPS difference "bottlenecking the living crap". Also frame times are equal to the Titan X, a card with 12GB of Vram, leading me to believe it might not be Vram related.

Minimums will go down even more tho - as you get to VRAM-demanding games.

[CommandMan7]

Minimums will go down even more tho - as you get to VRAM-demanding games.

Shadow of Mordor clearly uses over 3.5 Gb, and actually the 970 SLI has the highest minimum framerates.

http://www.tweaktown.com/tweakipedia/89/much-vram-need-1080p-1440p-4k/index.html

Although these are different sources, the test systems are not a bottleneck and the settings are the same.

 

Actually, the bottom benchmark is running very high, as opposed to ultra on the Vram usage. It still should exceed 3.5 Gb usage, though.

[Nena Trinity]

get an r9 390 instead of gtx 970 and you're good to go.

 

why a high speed ram kit? an 1866mhz kit is enough...

RAM:

http://www.prisjakt.no/product.php?p=1598724

or

http://www.prisjakt.no/product.php?p=2596994

CL7 = best gaming RAM! :3