Upgrading my Computer

[Chips]

I'm really into modding my copy of Skyrim, so much so that even my system finds it hard going!

i7 3820 Sandy Bridge (unclocked)
16Gb Ram
GeForce GTX 580

I get stuttering and even CTDs if too much happenes on screen at once. So I was thinking of both overclocking the i7, upgrading to a GTX 680 and installing a liquid cooler. Anyone got advice here?

How much can you overclock the i7 3820 safely?

Is it possible to link the GTX 580 and the 680 together to boost performance?

What's the best liquid cooler to go for?

I'm also going to be buying a much larger HD because I'm running out of room for my mods and games on my tiny 120Gb SSD. The SSDs are too small and too expensive for my needs, but I've noticed something called a "Hybrid". Are they any good and are they relatively fast? I've heard that some are almost as fast as SSDs! What's the best 1Tb Hybrid?

Is it possible to link my old SSD and a Hybrid so I don't have to mess around with transferring the system to the new drive?

 

[paulpicks21]

Hello Chips, could it be that the 580 is running out of Vram? What does it have 1.5gb?

Have you been able to monitor the CPU and GPU to see how much of what it's using? That should track down what you need to improve.

If it is running out of Vram then I would recommend a 4GB 670 or 680 depending on how much you want to spend.

Paul.

 

[Dude]

I agree with Paul.

Is it possible to link the GTX 580 and the 680 together to boost performance?

No that would be SLI and require two of the same GPU's.

 

[Chips]

Hello Chips, could it be that the 580 is running out of Vram? What does it have 1.5gb?

Have you been able to monitor the CPU and GPU to see how much of what it's using? That should track down what you need to improve.

If it is running out of Vram then I would recommend a 4GB 670 or 680 depending on how much you want to spend.

Paul.

The card's name is a GF110. I looked it up and it say's it's got 1.5Gb. I always thought it had 2Gb! Hmm, seeing that Skyrim's limited to 4Gb RAM I do have a feeling that it's the card at fault, what with UFO and all the graphics mods I've got. A good pointer to that is when I first played Skyrim on my PC I was using a mod called "Warzones", and every time I came across a battle I had a CTD. I've read since that if the game runs out of memory it can CTD, in this case when I was getting too many NPCs on screen at the same time. Along with the graphics mods I think it simply ran out of memory.

I like the looks of the 4Gb GTX 680 (YUM!) I've seen. But I notice there's different makes! What's the difference between the makes?

How do you monitor the CPU and GPU? I've noticed some gamers can even monitor frame rates whilst playing, and I say to myself, "How the **** do they do that?!"

No that would be SLI and require two of the same GPU's.

You mean two of the same graphics cards?

 

[paulpicks21]

What brand is your current GPU? Most brands have their own software which can be used whilst gaming to monitor temps, usage and fps, there is one from MSI called "Afterburner" which can do this, also EVGA have one called "Precision X".

And if you just want to view framerates during gaming, most people use a program called "FRAPS".

The EVGA 680 4GB is a good card to go for, but the EVGA 670 4GB is almost as good and is cheaper too.


Paul.

 

[Dude]

Hello Chips, could it be that the 580 is running out of Vram? What does it have 1.5gb?

Have you been able to monitor the CPU and GPU to see how much of what it's using? That should track down what you need to improve.

If it is running out of Vram then I would recommend a 4GB 670 or 680 depending on how much you want to spend.

Paul.

The card's name is a GF110. I looked it up and it say's it's got 1.5Gb. I always thought it had 2Gb! Hmm, seeing that Skyrim's limited to 4Gb RAM I do have a feeling that it's the card at fault, what with UFO and all the graphics mods I've got. A good pointer to that is when I first played Skyrim on my PC I was using a mod called "Warzones", and every time I came across a battle I had a CTD. I've read since that if the game runs out of memory it can CTD, in this case when I was getting too many NPCs on screen at the same time. Along with the graphics mods I think it simply ran out of memory.

I like the looks of the 4Gb GTX 680 (YUM!) I've seen. But I notice there's different makes! What's the difference between the makes?

How do you monitor the CPU and GPU? I've noticed some gamers can even monitor frame rates whilst playing, and I say to myself, "How the **** do they do that?!"

No that would be SLI and require two of the same GPU's.

You mean two of the same graphics cards?

Yes either two 580's or two 680's for example, two of the same graphic cards.

 

[paulpicks21]

Hello Chips, could it be that the 580 is running out of Vram? What does it have 1.5gb?

Have you been able to monitor the CPU and GPU to see how much of what it's using? That should track down what you need to improve.

If it is running out of Vram then I would recommend a 4GB 670 or 680 depending on how much you want to spend.

Paul.

The card's name is a GF110. I looked it up and it say's it's got 1.5Gb. I always thought it had 2Gb! Hmm, seeing that Skyrim's limited to 4Gb RAM I do have a feeling that it's the card at fault, what with UFO and all the graphics mods I've got. A good pointer to that is when I first played Skyrim on my PC I was using a mod called "Warzones", and every time I came across a battle I had a CTD. I've read since that if the game runs out of memory it can CTD, in this case when I was getting too many NPCs on screen at the same time. Along with the graphics mods I think it simply ran out of memory.

I like the looks of the 4Gb GTX 680 (YUM!) I've seen. But I notice there's different makes! What's the difference between the makes?

How do you monitor the CPU and GPU? I've noticed some gamers can even monitor frame rates whilst playing, and I say to myself, "How the **** do they do that?!"

No that would be SLI and require two of the same GPU's.

You mean two of the same graphics cards?

Yes either two 580's or two 680's for example, two of the same graphic cards.

And one more thing to bear in mind, the PC will only use the Vram from 1 Graphics card, so for example if you added a 2nd 580 don't expect there to be 3GB of Vram available to use as there won't.

Paul.

 

[Chips]

What brand is your current GPU?

Nvidia.

The EVGA 680 4GB is a good card to go for, but the EVGA 670 4GB is almost as good and is cheaper too.

Yeah, I've been looking on Amazon and it's at least £100 cheaper in some cases! B***** hell, there's so many types of the same model of graphics card! Has my head spinning! One I've noticed has a "backplate". What's that? Is it good, is it bad, what? And how much difference is there between the 670 4Gb and the 680 4Gb?

And one more thing to bear in mind, the PC will only use the Vram from 1 Graphics card, so for example if you added a 2nd 580 don't expect there to be 3GB of Vram available to use as there won't.

But it would still be faster than with one card? I'm not planning on getting another 580, 'causethe card is way too slow (1.5Gb!) for what I need. The info would be for future reference.

 

[paulpicks21]

The 670 is not far behind the 680 at all and is the wise choice if you ask me.
Do a search for comparisons between the 2 cards.

And the backplate is there to make it look nicer and make the card more rigid. Just a little extra that evga often put on.


Paul.

 

[Chips]

What's the best liquid cooler to go for?

And are the Hybrid HDs any good? If so what's the best make of large capacity to go for? I'm thinking about the 1Tb here.