Quick questions before I upgrade my PC

[drbretto]

I thought there might be a PC parts megathread or something in here, but I don't see one, so, new threads!

I was planning to upgrade my PC with my tax returns, and I'm thinking that the processor is fine (4.2 ghz i7), the storage is fine (Could use a bigger SSD, but not that big of a deal), the RAM is fine (16 gb should still be fine, right?), so all I really need to do is turn my r9 390 into a 1080 ti and I'll be happy for another couple of years, I think?

A) Does my motherboard or power supply or cooling need to be upgraded for that jump at all or should I be able to just swap those out, uninstall the AMD software and install the Nvidia software and I'm good to go?

B) Will that be good enough for real, solid 4k gaming?

C) What's the difference between the different 1080 Ti options? Different manufacturers and different prices, I don't know what I'm missing out on by buying an EVGA version for ~$800 vs, say and MSI for $1200. Is that a real world difference or is it just a product of availability or something?

Thanks in advance!

 

[charlieoscar]

A while back I upgraded the video card on my Windows computer and had to add a more robust power supply to handle it.

 

[LogansDad]

I'm a bit out of the loop on PC parts right now, as other life things have come up and I can't even think about building a new computer, buuuuuut take this for what it's worth: I don't think now is a great time to be buying video cards because of this weird Bitcoin thing that is going on. I really don't know a lot about it, so hopefully someone will be able to fill you in with better details, but something fishy is going on that is seriously affecting the price of video cards.

 

[drbretto]

I did notice something weird with that, too. Because a bunch of the sites I went to to compare the video cards were listing this one in the $789 range, but everywhere I look they're either unavailable or $1200+.

I actually would love to know those other details, too, because coincidentally, a friend of mine is trying to get me to try trading bitcoin (he's been very successful) and I've been watching it for the last few days. Apparently I came in right after it dropped by about half?

Edit: Either way, maybe it'd be best if I upgraded the TV first and come back around to this one later... That's disappointing, though.

 

[kelpapa]

I actually would love to know those other details, too, because coincidentally, a friend of mine is trying to get me to try trading bitcoin (he's been very successful) and I've been watching it for the last few days. Apparently I came in right after it dropped by about half?

There is a thread about bitcoin in the Root of All Evil you should read. I would be very leery about putting money into that right now. I would also recommend learning about the technology behind it, which I know nothing about, before investing.

 

[drbretto]

http://www.pcgamer.com/how-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrencies-are-hurting-gamers/

I googled and ran into this. This was totally not what I expected and I definitely learned that I know jack about bitcoin or how it actually works.

There is a thread about bitcoin in the Root of All Evil you should read. I would be very leery about putting money into that right now. I would also recommend learning about the technology behind it, which I know nothing about, before investing.

Thanks, I'll check it out!

Being that I already know nothing about this, all I had any intention of doing is watching it for now anyway. I'm not putting any money into anything until I know what I'm doing, if that ever happens.

 

[Catcher Block]

As I understand it, Bitcoin isn't being mined with GPUs anymore because of a different or more efficient mining method, but alternative cryptocurrency (altcoin) is still able to be mined with GPUs.

The sudden December spike in bitcoin also drove altcoin prices, making GPU mining historically profitable and driving the GPU price spike and supply shortage.

I'm on the verge of buying a decent pre-built PC for gaming and upgrading things later as prices come back to earth. Building from scratch or upgrading GPU or RAM isn't worth the cost now.

 

[drbretto]

Any recommendations for pre-built PCs? Namely what's a good company to trust. People in my family keep buying CyberPower and they keep breaking down.

Edit: Wow, first thing that popped up when I googled was an alienware PC for less than the 1080 Ti, WITH a 1080 Ti in it. This might be the way to go, then I can convert the old hardware into a server.

 

[Comfortably Lomb]

R9 390 isn't exactly a bad GPU. Given the way crypto-mining driven the GPU price spike it seems like holding off might be a better idea. Unless you don't care about a few hundred bucks and need to max graphics at some crazy resolution, then by all means spend away!

IIRC the difference between EVGA vs. MSI 10XX doesn't really matter.

My 1070 costs 50% more new than it did a year ago when I purchased. Stupid.

 

[MikeM]

Any recommendations for pre-built PCs? Namely what's a good company to trust. People in my family keep buying CyberPower and they keep breaking down.

Edit: Wow, first thing that popped up when I googled was an alienware PC for less than the 1080 Ti, WITH a 1080 Ti in it. This might be the way to go, then I can convert the old hardware into a server.

I used to buy mine from AVADirect before making the full on dive into building my own.

Been a couple years since I used them, but from an overall pricing/parts/warranty standpoint they always stood out above the rest every time I did the heavy comparative research. None of that "includes unspecified brand parts" stuff, and honored the warranty without a hassle the one time I had to use it a year or so in (which happened after I moved cross country with the PC packed up and bumping around in the car).

 

[edoug]

If you're on Facebook.
http://bit.ly/chfp-partslist
https://pcpartpicker.com/
https://www.facebook.com/careyholzmanfanpage/

 

[jayhoz]

Put your setup into https://pcpartpicker.com/ and that will tell you if things won't play nice with each other.

 

[Scott Cooper's Grand Slam]

I bought a PC from Digital Storm when MGSV came out. I’m very happy with it. It boots instantly and they did a clean install of Windows. Check them out.

 

[drbretto]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

I've decided since the prices are so out of whack that it's best to wait on this. The plan was to pick up a new 4K TV and upgrade the PC by the end of the year, but I'll just get the TV first (until someone comes in here and crushes that dream, too )

It wasn't just about "upgrading" the R9 so much as I have some specific use for my GPU that has some compatibility issues with AMD cards and it seemed like a good time to switch it up. Not good enough to waste an extra $400 on top of what's already crack prices.