2560x1080 GPU Help

[Mgibbs829]

Hello LT Forum,

 

I am building my fiance a PC to work on from home, as well as starting into gaming. She doesn't play anything intense yet, so I don't need an overkill system. Medium settings are fine.

 

She has an LG 2560x1080 monitor.

 

The build I am currently thinking is

i5-6400/6500

Hyper 212 CPU cooler

8gb Kingston Hyper x ddr4 ram 2133

MSI h170 Mini itx mobo

Fractal Define s Nano

Corsair CX 450m PSU

Nvidia gtx 960

 

My questions are these:

 

1. Do I really need to pay extra for a 6500? I have been researching and can't find any tangible benefits of the premium in real world application, not synthetic benchmarks.

2. For the gtx 960, do I need to get a 4gb card? I am only looking for medium setting, nothing close to ultra.

 

Thanks

[desertcomputer]

Go get 380 instead of 960 or wait for pascel/Polaris 

[Mgibbs829]

@MrUnknownEMC Staying away from 380 for power consumption. That's all

[desertcomputer]

Just now, Mgibbs829 said:

@MrUnknownEMC Staying away from 380 for power consumption. That's all

What?? the power consumption increase will cost you only a few dollars or cup of coffee per year.... both card at idle has same power consumption. 380 is overall a better card for your money. 

[HKZeroFive]

13 minutes ago, Mgibbs829 said:

@MrUnknownEMC Staying away from 380 for power consumption. That's all

People overplay the power consumption of AMD cards. The difference between the GTX 960 and the R9 380 is insignificant at best but the R9 380 performs considerably better.

[PlayStation 2]

12 minutes ago, Mgibbs829 said:

@MrUnknownEMC Staying away from 380 for power consumption. That's all

Where do you live?

Usually, the power consumption difference between a 960 and 380 is literally negligable at best.

 

If all you're really aiming for is medium, you could get away with an R7 360 or 750 Ti even at 2560x1080.

[i_build_nanosuits]

12 minutes ago, MrUnknownEMC said:

What?? the power consumption increase will cost you only a few dollars or cup of coffee per year.... both card at idle has same power consumption. 380 is overall a better card for your money. 

 

2 minutes ago, HKZeroFive said:

People overplay the power consumption of AMD cards. The difference between the GTX 960 and the R9 380 is insignificant at best but the R9 380 perform considerably better.

 

Just now, Dan Castellaneta said:

Where do you live?

Usually, the power consumption difference between a 960 and 380 is literally negligable at best.

 

If all you're really aiming for is medium, you could get away with an R7 360 or 750 Ti even at 2560x1080.

he said she will work on it...maybe she need CUDA?

[PlayStation 2]

Just now, i_build_nanosuits said:

 

 

he said she will work on it...maybe she need CUDA?

I wasn't just jumping the gun on 380, hell I mentioned the 750 Ti.

[Energycore]

15 minutes ago, Mgibbs829 said:

@MrUnknownEMC Staying away from 380 for power consumption. That's all

You'll benefit more from having a higher quality power supply.

 

I'll throwa build together that's best balanced and has maximum performance for your budget.

 

 

[Mgibbs829]

@Energycore I already have a power supply.

 

I do have a friend who will sell me his MSI Gaming GTX 950 for 120. Is that a solid compromise?

[Energycore]

Just now, Mgibbs829 said:

@Energycore I already have a power supply.

 

I do have a friend who will sell me his MSI Gaming GTX 950 for 120. Is that a solid compromise?

Yeah that's a good price for the 950. It won't drive the most performance hungry games like Witcher 3 or The Division. But for light stuff like Hearthstone it's perfectly fine.

 

As for the power supply, the CX430M is a bit unreliable but it'll do for light usage. I'd change it for something better if she expresses desire to do intense gaming.

 

You didn't mention storage. One of the biggest upgrades for office tasks is the smoothness provided by the speed of an SSD.

 

Look for something like A-Data's SP550 which sells 480GB for $100.

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013J7P7SK/?tag=pcpapi-20

[Mgibbs829]

@Energycore It is the 450m

 

I actually have a spare 512 950 pro I am throwing in her PC because I have an extra

[Energycore]

31 minutes ago, Mgibbs829 said:

@Energycore It is the 450m

 

I actually have a spare 512 950 pro I am throwing in her PC because I have an extra

That'll work wonders.

 

And oh, the 450M is much better quality than the 430 from what I hear.

[Mgibbs829]

Her final build is 

 

i5-6500

Hyper 212 CPU cooler

8gb Kingston Hyper x ddr4 ram 2133

MSI h170 Mini itx mobo

Fractal Define s Nano

Corsair CX 450m PSU

Nvidia gtx 950