PC Advice

[Keade]

Games that offer supersampling options are rare, and compatibility rate for driver-enforced SSAA is rather low from my experience, at least on AMD side. That leaves VSR but it seems mostly limited to 60Hz modes => useless for 120/144Hz monitors (my case ).
But yeah, when it does work it is gorgeous, even 2xSSAA is incredibly nice

[tacoguy64]

If you live nearby a Fry's you could pick all the parts you want and they can assemble the pc for you, I think that route would be cheaper than going with alienware. If there is no Fry's you could look around for any PC shop since they would probably offer the same service. As for video cards I always like to go with the best and that's the 1080 ti. CPU I have a bias towards intel but AMD has made some great strides recently. And yes for the love of god get an SSD drive! At the very least get a smaller one for your OS and few programs you want loaded on it and get a larger mechanical drive for everything else.

[Guspaz]

Games that offer supersampling options are rare, and compatibility rate for driver-enforced SSAA is rather low from my experience, at least on AMD side. That leaves VSR but it seems mostly limited to 60Hz modes => useless for 120/144Hz monitors (my case ).
But yeah, when it does work it is gorgeous, even 2xSSAA is incredibly nice

On the nVidia side, DSR has no refresh rate or resolution limitations (and works with all games providing they would normally support resolutions above 1080p), unlike AMD's VSR, and since we're talking about a 1080 Ti versus a 1070, the VSR limitations aren't really an issue. The only limitation seems to be performance limits, as in, if you still want to be rendering at or above your monitor's refresh rate, you need the GPU power to render at those higher resolutions. The typical use case is to render games at 4K at supersample down to 1080p, but it supports fractional resolutions in between, and doesn't seem to have any limitations in terms of the display's resolution or refresh rate... just that it'd kind of be useless on a very high resolution monitor, because the 1080 Ti doesn't have the oomph to render games at 8K and downscale to a 4K monitor at good framerates.

[ZellSF]

Twice as fast is very good indeed but is likely the best case (rare), one of the video you linked shows around 15-20% improvement on average, which I do consider disappointing considering how much faster (and expensive) SSDs are overall.
Besides, unless you are playing something like 5 pretty big AAA titles simultaneously, even a 256GB SSD should provide enough space. Whatever.

If you're only keeping a game or two you're actively playing at your SSD and move them on demand sure you can manage with 256GB.

But if you just want to keep your library installed and choose what to play depending on what you want to at that moment and don't want to use time and effort to move it between storage medium first then a 256GB will be inadequate.

Also which of the videos I linked showed only a 15-20% improvement?

Even at 1080p, a 1080 ti will get you a better quality image (still not fast enough for 4x supersampling at 1080p60 on highest game settings in some modern games), a better guarantee of never dropping below 60 FPS (assuming a 60Hz display), and is going to last longer in the future as game requirements continue to rise.

Obviously you'll get slightly better image quality from supersampling, but the price/benefit ratio really drops off.

Dropping below from 60 FPS for a bit really is a non-issue if you have a FreeSync/G-Sync monitor, though if you only have a 1080p monitor chances are you don't have FreeSync/G-Sync either. In which case I would recommend investing in a FreeSync/G-Sync monitor over spending the extra money for a 1080 ti.

Games that offer supersampling options are rare, and compatibility rate for driver-enforced SSAA is rather low from my experience, at least on AMD side. That leaves VSR but it seems mostly limited to 60Hz modes => useless for 120/144Hz monitors (my case ).
But yeah, when it does work it is gorgeous, even 2xSSAA is incredibly nice

Sure? A cursory search seems to indicate VSR allows 100hz at some resolutions.

I would say I'm happy to have a Nvidia card and not deal with arbitrary limitations like that, but Nvidia's DSR implementation is very annoying too: it disables custom resolutions.

Uh the SSD decreases loading speeds.

???

I have no idea what you're confused about here. So I can't elaborate.

[BuckoA51]

I think you mean it INCREASES loading speeds and DECREASES loading times

[ZellSF]

Oh I see it now. Yes of course I meant that.

[Wolf_]

The point is by using a medium ssd and huge hdd you can have the benefits of both by putting your os and active games on the ssd AND afford a better gpu. It is common sense. An 8tb hdd costs the same as a 1tb ssd.

[Keade]

since we're talking about a 1080 Ti versus a 1070, the VSR limitations aren't really an issue. The only limitation seems to be performance limits, as in, if you still want to be rendering at or above your monitor's refresh rate

I do think there are some limits, this page says
3200x1800@60/100/120hz, 3840x2160@60/100hz, 5120x2880@60hz. Of course, reaching 60fps at 5120x2880 requires a LOT of GPU time, but I would take 3840x2160@120Hz over 5120x2880@60hz anytime.
3200x1800@120Hz should be pretty nice though' (I didn't notice that mode before). Let's hope VSR eventually catches up with DSR

edit : then yes, I have definitely misunderstood your post, no worries

[Guspaz]

Even at 1080p, a 1080 ti will get you a better quality image (still not fast enough for 4x supersampling at 1080p60 on highest game settings in some modern games), a better guarantee of never dropping below 60 FPS (assuming a 60Hz display), and is going to last longer in the future as game requirements continue to rise.

Obviously you'll get slightly better image quality from supersampling, but the price/benefit ratio really drops off.

It depends on the game, really. Some games have very poor or no compatibility with traditional AA (something about deferred rendering, IIRC?), some games use temporal AA that can introduce annoying side effects (motion artifacting), some games make very heavy use of alias-heavy transparencies (like fences in Half-Life 2). In those games, I'd say the improvement is larger. But in games that already have good AA support, yes, the difference is much smaller. My point is more to say that, there are advantages to a powerful card, even at 1080p.

Dropping below from 60 FPS for a bit really is a non-issue if you have a FreeSync/G-Sync monitor, though if you only have a 1080p monitor chances are you don't have FreeSync/G-Sync either. In which case I would recommend investing in a FreeSync/G-Sync monitor over spending the extra money for a 1080 ti.

I wouldn't say it's a non-issue: a perfectly solid 60Hz non-gsync is still better than 45Hz gsync. Where g-sync really shines is when you're unable to maintain 60Hz, or when you've got a high refresh rate monitor (because even a 1080ti can't maintain 144Hz all the time, and those of us with slower cards certainly can't).

I do think there are some limits, this page says
3200x1800@60/100/120hz, 3840x2160@60/100hz, 5120x2880@60hz. Of course, reaching 60fps at 5120x2880 requires a LOT of GPU time, but I would take 3840x2160@120Hz over 5120x2880@60hz anytime.
3200x1800@120Hz should be pretty nice though' (I didn't notice that mode before). Let's hope VSR eventually catches up with DSR

I think you're mixing up which I'm referring to. I'm saying that the limitations of AMD VSR don't matter if you're comparing two nVidia cards, because then the (lack of) limitations of nVidia DSR apply.

[ZellSF]

The point is by using a medium ssd and huge hdd you can have the benefits of both by putting your os and active games on the ssd AND afford a better gpu. It is common sense. An 8tb hdd costs the same as a 1tb ssd.

No, common sense is buying what appeals to your priorities. For some it's convenience and short loading times over performance.

It depends on the game, really. Some games have very poor or no compatibility with traditional AA (something about deferred rendering, IIRC?), some games use temporal AA that can introduce annoying side effects (motion artifacting), some games make very heavy use of alias-heavy transparencies (like fences in Half-Life 2). In those games, I'd say the improvement is larger. But in games that already have good AA support, yes, the difference is much smaller. My point is more to say that, there are advantages to a powerful card, even at 1080p.

Obviously, I'm just saying I don't feel there are that many. Not enough to justify not buying a cheaper card and being able to upgrade again much sooner.

I wouldn't say it's a non-issue: a perfectly solid 60Hz non-gsync is still better than 45Hz gsync.

I meant it was a non-issue for small drops. You don't want to be running 45FPS consistently, but with FreeSync/G-Sync if you drop to 45FPS for a second or two you don't really care. With V-Sync it's terrible.

[evil_ash_xero]

I didn't know this thread was still going. I've been a bit busy lately.

I have an Alienware Aurora R6.
Specs:
Intel Core i7 3.60 Ghz
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
16GB Memory
I have 2 solid state drives in it. One is 1 (I think...maybe 2...I've been fried lately) TB, one is 256 GB (the one it came with).

Alright, so...I know very little about PCs. Where does this put me on the PC spectrum? Like, how good is this?
I know that the GTX 1080 is the latest version of the NVIDIA card...and that's about it.

Also, things are running well. However, there are a few things I was not expecting. For one, I can't run Evil Within at 60fps without pretty decent frame dips, and choppiness. I've seen some other people complain about this, but I just sort of thought my PC would power through it. I'm stuck with a very stable 30fps, which is good enough, considering the forms I have played it in.
Dragon's Dogma won't run at a consistent 60fps either. Kind of in between 50 and 60 most of the time. I've fiddled with some of the settings, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

Other games like Vanquish, Bayonetta, Dark Souls III...run pretty much at a steady 60fps. Well, I had to put Bayonetta in "borderless window" mode, since at Fullscreen, it did have a lot of weird drops. Don't know what the deal was there.

Any of this sound odd...bad...normal... Just weird ports, maybe? I just thought I could power thru these things. Do I have enough power?

Let me know.

[Lawfer]

OK, I'm finally going to get a gaming PC now.
And unfortunately...I'm going Alienware.

Stopped reading.

[evil_ash_xero]

OK, I'm finally going to get a gaming PC now.
And unfortunately...I'm going Alienware.

Stopped reading.

Oh come on. I was talking to a friend about the "PC Master Race", and it wasn't good enough that you were a PC gamer...you had to build your own PC as well. Give me a break, guys.
From what I can tell, it the same guts as something I would put together. Yeah, I know it costs more.

[Lawfer]

OK, I'm finally going to get a gaming PC now.
And unfortunately...I'm going Alienware.

Stopped reading.

Oh come on. I was talking to a friend about the "PC Master Race", and it wasn't good enough that you were a PC gamer...you had to build your own PC as well. Give me a break, guys.
From what I can tell, it the same guts as something I would put together. Yeah, I know it costs more.

It costs way more and their configs are all over the place, basically it isn't very good. You could buy all the pieces you need at a much lower price from amazon.com. Get an i7-8700K + GTX 1080 Ti for starters.

[bobrocks95]

I didn't know this thread was still going. I've been a bit busy lately.

I have an Alienware Aurora R6.
Specs:
Intel Core i7 3.60 Ghz
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
16GB Memory
I have 2 solid state drives in it. One is 1 (I think...maybe 2...I've been fried lately) TB, one is 256 GB (the one it came with).

Alright, so...I know very little about PCs. Where does this put me on the PC spectrum? Like, how good is this?
I know that the GTX 1080 is the latest version of the NVIDIA card...and that's about it.

Also, things are running well. However, there are a few things I was not expecting. For one, I can't run Evil Within at 60fps without pretty decent frame dips, and choppiness. I've seen some other people complain about this, but I just sort of thought my PC would power through it. I'm stuck with a very stable 30fps, which is good enough, considering the forms I have played it in.
Dragon's Dogma won't run at a consistent 60fps either. Kind of in between 50 and 60 most of the time. I've fiddled with some of the settings, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

Other games like Vanquish, Bayonetta, Dark Souls III...run pretty much at a steady 60fps. Well, I had to put Bayonetta in "borderless window" mode, since at Fullscreen, it did have a lot of weird drops. Don't know what the deal was there.

Any of this sound odd...bad...normal... Just weird ports, maybe? I just thought I could power thru these things. Do I have enough power?

Let me know.

Ah, PC gaming. What's your CPU and are your graphics drivers up to date?

[orange808]

Many people earn enough to pay a few more notes to skip the hassle. Dell and Cyber ship it assembled, with a geniune license OS, and back it up with a warranty.

So, there's nothing wrong with buying a setup and skipping the struggle.

From experience, I know that building a rig takes time (to shop around, plan, and assemble) and there are occasional defective components. Some vendors make returns painless, some don't. All of it takes takes time I don't have anymore.

So, ignore the flat broke kids that are telling you how to do things. If you can afford service, consider buying it. Then, you can spend your time playing games.

[BuckoA51]

Alright, so...I know very little about PCs. Where does this put me on the PC spectrum? Like, how good is this?

Very good, your card should be managing Evil Within and Bayonetta at 60fps without any issues, that is kinda weird. Evil Within wasn't a great port but Bayonetta should run perfectly with no need to drop to borderless window.

[evil_ash_xero]

I didn't know this thread was still going. I've been a bit busy lately.

I have an Alienware Aurora R6.
Specs:
Intel Core i7 3.60 Ghz
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
16GB Memory
I have 2 solid state drives in it. One is 1 (I think...maybe 2...I've been fried lately) TB, one is 256 GB (the one it came with).

Alright, so...I know very little about PCs. Where does this put me on the PC spectrum? Like, how good is this?
I know that the GTX 1080 is the latest version of the NVIDIA card...and that's about it.

Also, things are running well. However, there are a few things I was not expecting. For one, I can't run Evil Within at 60fps without pretty decent frame dips, and choppiness. I've seen some other people complain about this, but I just sort of thought my PC would power through it. I'm stuck with a very stable 30fps, which is good enough, considering the forms I have played it in.
Dragon's Dogma won't run at a consistent 60fps either. Kind of in between 50 and 60 most of the time. I've fiddled with some of the settings, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

Other games like Vanquish, Bayonetta, Dark Souls III...run pretty much at a steady 60fps. Well, I had to put Bayonetta in "borderless window" mode, since at Fullscreen, it did have a lot of weird drops. Don't know what the deal was there.

Any of this sound odd...bad...normal... Just weird ports, maybe? I just thought I could power thru these things. Do I have enough power?

Let me know.

Ah, PC gaming. What's your CPU and are your graphics drivers up to date?

Did I not post my CPU?

[evil_ash_xero]

Alright, so...I know very little about PCs. Where does this put me on the PC spectrum? Like, how good is this?

Very good, your card should be managing Evil Within and Bayonetta at 60fps without any issues, that is kinda weird. Evil Within wasn't a great port but Bayonetta should run perfectly with no need to drop to borderless window.

Yeah, I don't know what the deal is. That's why I was asking. I thought I wouldn't have any issues with those older games.

[evil_ash_xero]

Many people earn enough to pay a few more notes to skip the hassle. Dell and Cyber ship it assembled, with a geniune license OS, and back it up with a warranty.

So, there's nothing wrong with buying a setup and skipping the struggle.

From experience, I know that building a rig takes time (to shop around, plan, and assemble) and there are occasional defective components. Some vendors make returns painless, some don't. All of it takes takes time I don't have anymore.

So, ignore the flat broke kids that are telling you how to do things. If you can afford service, consider buying it. Then, you can spend your time playing games.

Thanks.

[bobrocks95]

Did I not post my CPU?

There are a lot of Core i7's, the exact model number could be helpful.

Yeah, I don't know what the deal is. That's why I was asking. I thought I wouldn't have any issues with those older games.

I saw a person with worse hardware than you saying they were running Dragon's Dogma at a near-locked 144 fps. As I argued with ZellSF, such is PC gaming.

I'd look up some tweak guides and see if there's anything that can help. For example, with Skyrim I had to do several .ini file edits to stop micro-stuttering at 60fps, which made it feel like the game was dipping to ~50 fps periodically.

[nissling]

Did I not post my CPU?

No. The easy way to find what your specs are simply open run and type "Dxdiag". There are software to get more specs but Dxdiag is very useful in all its simplicity.

[Guspaz]

That'd be considered a high-end setup. There are two graphics cards faster than the 1080: the 1080 Ti and the Titan XP.

[evil_ash_xero]

Did I not post my CPU?

No. The easy way to find what your specs are simply open run and type "Dxdiag". There are software to get more specs but Dxdiag is very useful in all its simplicity.

I have an Intel Core i7-7700 (8 CPUs)

[nissling]

Nice! Too bad it's not the K model but if you're new to PC gaming you'll probably not overclock it right away.

Really good setup overall. I'm still running an i7-4770K in combination with a rather fresh a GTX-1070 which I'm extremely happy with. You'll probably have some good years of PC gaming ahead of you. Hope you'll enjoy it!

[evil_ash_xero]

Nice! Too bad it's not the K model but if you're new to PC gaming you'll probably not overclock it right away.

Really good setup overall. I'm still running an i7-4770K in combination with a rather fresh a GTX-1070 which I'm extremely happy with. You'll probably have some good years of PC gaming ahead of you. Hope you'll enjoy it!

It seems pretty good, other than some odd issues with certain games. I should be able to run Dragon's Dogma at a more high framerate.

I added a texture mod to Automata. That's a real improvement. I like the ability to change things in games like this.
And I got "limitless sprinting" going on in DD. That was what turned me off from the game, when I first owned it. Drove me insane, having to jog all over the place with that stupid stamina.

[BuckoA51]

Are you using the Geforce experience thingy that Nvidia do? Try the recommended settings for Bayonetta see what it does.

[Lord of Pirates]

Did I not post my CPU?

No. The easy way to find what your specs are simply open run and type "Dxdiag". There are software to get more specs but Dxdiag is very useful in all its simplicity.

I have an Intel Core i7-7700 (8 CPUs)

It's 4 physical cores and 8 threads (4C/8T for short).

Many people earn enough to pay a few more notes to skip the hassle. Dell and Cyber ship it assembled, with a geniune license OS, and back it up with a warranty.

So, there's nothing wrong with buying a setup and skipping the struggle.

From experience, I know that building a rig takes time (to shop around, plan, and assemble) and there are occasional defective components. Some vendors make returns painless, some don't. All of it takes takes time I don't have anymore.

So, ignore the flat broke kids that are telling you how to do things. If you can afford service, consider buying it. Then, you can spend your time playing games.

The master artisans at Dell will finely craft each and every component with loving care for your service bucks. At Dell we apply our expertise in penny pinching to give you the cheapest of power supplies, the loosest of memory timings, the most generic of motherboards! Lord over the fools and broke children that used a local building service or built it themselves.

Because... Dude, you're getting a Dell.

[BuckoA51]

I always build myself but it can be hell if something goes wrong... say your PC randomly freezes, how do you know which component to return, RAM, GPU, CPU, Motherboard? Send the wrong bit back and they charge you for testing it and returning it again. I've been in that situation a couple times and it's not fun.

[Lord of Pirates]

I always build myself but it can be hell if something goes wrong... say your PC randomly freezes, how do you know which component to return, RAM, GPU, CPU, Motherboard? Send the wrong bit back and they charge you for testing it and returning it again. I've been in that situation a couple times and it's not fun.

Having it built or getting a prebuilt has its appeal. It's even possible to save money over doing it yourself when they get big discounts. I just couldn't resist poking fun with the way Orange presented it.