End of Year PC Build

Can't say that I have. Is it the HAF700?

Some games utilize it but it can be turned off and with it off you definitely can see a performance bump. bmwcrazy loves the RT and can attest to the FPS being lower with it on than off. I think 60+FPS with it on and over 150+ FPS with it off.

VR would be a good use though I think they may seriously be lacking in realism if used for such. Ray Tracing is something that graphics cards have been struggling with for decades.

It has been so time consuming and arduous for GPU's to achieve before turing. The Rasterization method is what all cards up to the 2000 series used to basically give the same effect but was a lot easier. Rasterization is done via SHADERS <--- Sound familar? Since it didn't require the GPU to do nearly as much complex math as the Ray Tracing method does.

Yep 2000 series and up basically have been given mini super calculators to do the RT math. If that just confused you more -watch Linus explain it:


What makes it so over the top is these graphics cards are now able to do the required math ALOT easier and faster. A Nvida MX4000 would probably go nuclear if you tried with it and that is a 19 year old card come this December.

Still I don't care one way or the other for Ray Tracing its just gimmicky to me. For me its all about the CUDA and no not:

Yes.  After double-checking the model...it was the HAF 700 I was referring to.   It's nearly a full 2x bigger all around than my 2019-20 H500M which is also quite large.  I mean, up to a potential for 2x 360mm Coolers on Top or Bottom....that's 720mm of cooling awesomeness.  The case has got to be HUGE to make that accommodation

So... it beats the R9 7900X but is close to the FX 9590 in inefficiency? 
Yep it figures when like its counterpart it pushes the wattage through the roof.
So begins the one-ups-manship awards have.
Call me when they get back to actually innovating...

It's funny that you mentioned the RTX 20-series because they were actually considered bad value for most GTX 10-series owners. The performance increase and the new ray-tracing features weren't enough to justify the high prices, and that's why so many people just stuck with their GTX 10-series GPUs instead of upgrading.

In hindsight, they probably wished they had bought the 20-series instead. When the RTX 30-series GPUs were announced, there was an unprecedented demand for them because of crypto mining. Plus the global semiconductor shortage due to a combination of supply shortage and the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, we faced the worst GPU drought that lasted for more than a year.

Anyway, you probably don't need a 4090 or even a 3080 for most games. It all depends on your screen's resolution, refresh rate, graphics settings, and what kind of games. If you want to use a 4K display for a game like Elden Ring, you probably need a GPU like the RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT to reach that 60 FPS performance target constantly without much framerate drop. A mid-range GPU like the GTX 1660 Ti would struggle to get 25-30 FPS at 4K. If you play at 1080p, the 1660 Ti is more than enough to drive the game to 60 FPS.

There are also games that not even an RTX 3080 or 3090 could run properly.
For VR games though, you actually want to use a powerful GPU because you want to push the framerate as high as you can. Low framerate can cause nausea and you don't want that.

Having played Half-Life Alyx and Honey Select on a Valve Index and an RTX 3090, I can tell you that the 3090 is a great GPU for VR.

I don't know much about VR -not my forte but would this also ring true for someone doing VR at 4K or higher? Personally I have played games that can be chugged at 8 or 9 FPS and it doesn't bother me. Never got nausea. Then again I rode the roller coaster: "The Hulk" at Universal Studios and fell asleep from boredom so maybe I just have an iron stomach?

VR gaming is completely different. The higher the framerate is, the less chance of you getting motion sickness.

For Half-Life Alyx, the game uses a dynamic resolution that constantly adjusts your game's resolution in order to keep the framerate up. If you want your game to look nice and sharp, you NEED a powerful GPU. Otherwise, the game will turn down the resolution automatically and you end up looking at a blurry mess.

The default refresh rate of the Valve Index is 120hz, but there is also an 80hz and 90hz mode. I use 120hz for my games.

I will accept that is the standard they will push...Till it blows up in their faces -which it will.
NOT in the next year or so I may grant you but in a decade this will be remembered as a faux pas. 

We all know heat kills electronics no matter how durable it claims to be. 
I don't care if its the best silicon in the world not even electronic circuitry can beat degradation and thermodynamics. 
Till a 7950X or a 13900K survives a 24/7/365 system for 7-10 years under moderate load -pegged at 95-100*C
I will stay very skeptical about longevity.
Its almost as bad as Jensen's statement that the cheap GPU's are dead...

That or a swimming pool sized cooler.

Ahh, the future!

If you have a Micro Center near you, you can now grab a 13900K for only $545. This is brick-and-mortar only deal and it's not available online.

slickdeals.net/f/16117225-intel-core-i9-13900k-raptor-lake-3-0ghz-24-core-lga-1700-processor-545-in-store-only?src=recombee_interspersed&prop=rcmid-7b6295454903c0d47bdca0eff1d144de