New Rig - Games/Tools/Utilities

[wulvfen]

AAAaarroooOO!!!

 

Hope this post is in an appropriate forum concerning new hardware and the software requirements for different games.

If not, be kind and redirect me please. I'll happily move my queries.

 

Got my new rig up and running, here's my beasty [i call it "Warg"]

 

Asus Z87-WS Motherboard [LGA 1150] Quad Core, SATA 6GB, w/ Gen3 4-Way (SLI/Crossfire)
Intel i7 4770k CPU @ 3.5 Ghz
Kingston RAM - 32 GB DDR3 Dual Channel @ 1600

MSI Lightning nVidia GTX 770 GPU w/ 2 GB
WD Cavier Black 2TB HDD
Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD
SoundBlaster X-FixTreme 5:1 Audio card
SoundBlaster Tactics-3D Sigma Headphones

LG BlueRay/HD DVDRW

LG Dual Layer HD DVDRW
Corsair Gold ATX 950W Power Supply
Coolermaster 690 II Full ATX case

OS - Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit [OEM]- Running as Admin.

 

[Hit my budget cap of $3000 CDN. Have to save for decent 5.1 speakers now]

 

-Already owned-

Philips 46" HDTV as Monitor
SteelSeries Merc Stealth Keyboard
SteelSeries Diablo III Mouse

 

It's NOT Overclocked [as yet, will learn that] and I consider it to be [currently] Overkill for my immediate needs, but not so much so in the near future.

 

I've got fresh installs of several moddable games, and my questions concern what tools/utilities are suggested/required for them. I've been trying my hand at mod using for about 2 years, mostly FO3 & FNV, a little Oblivion on occassion, so I've got the basics figured out for installing script extenders, mods, load orders, utilities, tools, patches and such.

[still suck using editors though, like FNVEdit {Yes, I have the manual, just have to "practice, practice, practice". It's all about how much time I get to myself to "play"} ].

 

My old rig could not play any newer games, my new rig can, WOOHOO!!! I've got a crapload installed, more coming and I desire info on what's what as pertains to modding them.

My OS, drivers, and various firmware/software/applications are installed on my SSD. At first, my games were installed on the SSD as well, but I had to move them to my HDD when they hit 110 GB because I need the space for other programs and I'm installing more games at a later date.

Right now all my games are installed outside of my Program files [to my HDD- (F)/Games2/etc. I created], especially my online and Steam games, as I am trying to avoid that UAC issue thing. I verified all my games/caches after the move.

 

Right now, the games I'm specifically curious about are;

 

Fallout3 GOTY, Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition, and Tale of Two Wastelands

 

I use BOSS, FOMM, and FNVEdit to mod my Fallouts. [Had problems with Wrye Bash, probably me]

 

Both Fallouts are installed and I intend to install TTW asap. I love the idea of "crossing the Wastelands" between the two, and i hear good things about improved game stability. During my modding attempts, I've had plenty of freezes, CTDs, locked load screens, stutter and so on, some of which could be directly blamed on my old rigs incapabilities.

I want to mod both Fallouts. I know if I install TTW, I need TTW/compatible/no conflict mods. I know to READ the Readme's & follow the instructions.....BUT

 

-Do I need the 4GB enablers for either/both Fallout games?

 

I'm curious as to whether they're used because it's a OS or games engine.....um.....uh....."limit"? "thing"? "modifier"? "issue"?.....or is it a "fix" to allow old systems to run the games better [which is what I think it is, because I used them and they helped a lot, but I didn't have TTW installed at any point] CORRECT me if I'm wrong!

 

PLEASE, I vant to gnaw.....AkkkK! Still got Halloween brain, sorry.

 

-What about patches/bug fixes? [Yeah, yeah, I know, read all readme's]

 

-Do I install TTW, then mod the games, or mod the games, then install TTW? Does it matter [much]?

 

 

 

SKYRIM-Legendary Edition!

 

I can FINALLY play Skyrim!!! I SOOOO couldn't before. I see high recommendations for various mods. I have no Skyrim tools/utilities experience other than some minor research and reading so far. SO;

 

-What is the best Mod Manager for Skyrim?

 

I only really see NMM for the game, unlike the Fallouts which has NMM, FOMM, and others to choose from.

Would you give me your opinions on NMM? As I mostly modded Fallouts and Oblivion, I've never used it at all. Is there an alternative? I'm NOT opposed to using it at all, I just have not done so.

 

-TES5 Edit? Please confirm this is the FNVEdit equivalent for Skyrim, Yes?

 

-Merge/Bash patch tools? Or other desirable utilities?

 

I just re-read my post, geez I get "long-winded" for simple questions. That'll do for now.

 

Any and all input gratefully accepted.

 

 

 

[ermacos]

I have an open topic bellow urs about gpu, why you didnt pick a 4gb version of 770? Other than that, I hope you enjoy your new rig!!

 

As for your speakers, I would recommend these... http://www.edifier-international.com/products/edifier-multimedia/s550

 

or a cheaper sollution these http://www.edifier-international.com/products/edifier-multimedia/da5000-pro

 

the s550 about 350-400 and the da5000 about 180-200

Edited November 3, 2013 by ermacos

[wulvfen]

ermacos, thx for the speaker links. Filed for future use, need to put together some more monies.

 

As for the video card, I didn't build my rig myself but had it built by Wytek.com.

Local to me, additional warranty/service/parts benefits because it's local, but in order to stay within my budget, I chose the in-store's available 2GB version. It's quite sufficient for now, I can SLI at some point, I expect to have to upgrade in the not so far future. The 4 GB version was earmarked by me, so I didn't overlook it.

[Werne]

...to stay within my budget...

Then you really should've done some research before building that thing. 32GB RAM is overkill, 8GB is perfectly fine (1/4 the memory, 1/4 the price) unless you do some memory-heavy stuff like software compiling, since more-or-less all games are 32-bit, they can't use over 3.2GB anyway. Could've gone with a smaller PSU too, 950W is too much even for Titan dual-SLI, 450W PSU can run GTX Titan with a 4770K. WD Black is a bit more faster than Blue while being a lot more expensive, also could've went with a Samsung, I've heard those are good and they seem pretty cheap.

 

When spending lots of money on something, do your research first. You may have been able to cram a GTX 780 in there if you weren't spending money on components that don't matter as much.

 

By the way, I've seen you mentioning overclocking but I didn't see you mentioning an aftermarket cooler. For CPUs like the Intel i7 4770K, 3770K and i5 3570K, 4670K (and Intel's Extreme series) or AMD's FX-series, you need a good aftermarket cooler in order to cool the chip down (Ivy Bridge and Haswell have crappy TIM while FX are power-hungry monsters) and good thermal compound like Arctic Cooling MX-4, Arctic Silver 5, Antec Formula 7, etc. You'll likely hit a thermal wall before you hit the chip's maximum, which is why good cooling is a must-have.

[kalikka]

 

Asus Z87-WS Motherboard [LGA 1150] Quad Core, SATA 6GB, w/ Gen3 4-Way (SLI/Crossfire) | Overpriced mobo meant for 4-way GPU setups.

Intel i7 4770k CPU @ 3.5 Ghz | Ok if you are overclocking

Kingston RAM - 32 GB DDR3 Dual Channel @ 1600 | So much overkill if you don't do any memory-heavy tasks. Skyrim crashes at 3gb RAM usage.

MSI Lightning nVidia GTX 770 GPU w/ 2 GB | Ok

WD Cavier Black 2TB HDD | Blue would have been cheaper and less noisy.

Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD | Good

 

 

SoundBlaster X-FixTreme 5:1 Audio card

Dafuq is this? X-Fi Xtreme Audio, the infamous rebrand card from '06, that isn't even actually x-fi card? More or less completely useless part as your onboard ALC1150 should be as good as the rebrand garbage.

 

 

SoundBlaster Tactics-3D Sigma Headphones | Plastic junk imho. I use Superlux HD681Evo and Beyerdynamic DT770. All the "gamer" headsets are pretty much junk compared to them.

LG BlueRay/HD DVDRW | Personally I see no use for this stuff in the modern age.

LG Dual Layer HD DVDRW | Same, the only disc that has entered my DVD-drive is the windows installation disc. And even that I could have done via USB-stick.

Corsair Gold ATX 950W Power Supply | AFAIK, there is no gold certified Corsair PSU that is 950W. The only one I could find was discontinued TX950W which is bronze certified. 1/2 priced 550W would have done the job.

Coolermaster 690 II Full ATX case | Ok if you like the looks.

 

AND WHERE THE HELL IS THE COOLER!

My realistic opinion. My rig is basically as powerful and paid 1/2 of what you paid, 1,5 years ago.

Edited November 4, 2013 by kalikka

[ermacos]

16gigs is the ideal today, not 8.... 8 was 2-3years ago.

 

Its good to use 2 memory slots, instead of 4 (they say, that performs better).

32 gigs is for 3d modeling and photography, so its not an overkill, depends what he wants to do with it. Its ideal to use it for 3ds max and create mods :smile:

 

As for the PSU, I would choose AX850i golden edition instead (fully modable - its without cables and you attach the ones you need) I have it also. And it comes with 7 years warranty, AX is the professional series.

Edited November 5, 2013 by ermacos

[Werne]

16gigs is the ideal today, not 8.... 8 was 2-3years ago.

 

Its good to use 2 memory slots, instead of 4 (they say, that performs better).

32 gigs is for 3d modeling and photography, so its not an overkill, depends what he wants to do with it. Its ideal to use it for 3ds max and create mods :smile:

 

As for the PSU, I would choose AX850i golden edition instead (fully modable - its without cables and you attach the ones you need) I have it also. And it comes with 7 years warranty, AX is the professional series.

8GB actually, until they start making 64-bit games that can use more than 3.2GB RAM, 16GB is kinda useless when all you get used is 3.2GB.

 

Using 2 memory slots instead of 4 only strains the memory controller less meaning that if you overclock RAM, you'll have to raise the memory controller voltage sooner. 32GB for 3D modeling is unnecessary, 8GB is enough for sculpting and rendering a 2.1m tris mesh, doesn't even hit 30% RAM usage. Photography, what size 10,000MPX? An 8MPX photo uses around 4.5MB, Photoshop uses 200MB in RAM, 204MB with that photo. CPU and RAM speed (MHz and CAS Latency) is important for 3D modeling and photography editing, amount not so much unless it's for professional work.

 

PSU, even 850W is useless if your machine doesn't even come close, it gives more "noise" in the power output and a useless power consumption increase from the PSU itself.

[ermacos]

when you take hundreds of photographs, you may load up to 20-40-100-300 photos at the same time... Especially when you use "actions" in photoshop, to create a conduct, to make a massive resize in your photos (without having to load 1 by 1 photo), or editing / manipulation / b/w/vanilla, you need allot of ram.

 

Also manipulation of a photograph sucks enormous ram and it freaks out, even with 8 gigs.

 

I could post you a photo I created for a friend, that freaked out my 8 gigs of ram... Original TIFF was about 800mb with all these stuff I did with layers, etc... And I could hardly work with it....

Edited November 6, 2013 by ermacos

[wulvfen]

Ah Well, I live and learn.

 

I am [now] more aware as to what a better build I could have put together. Heavy Sigh! Next build.

I do know that it is serious overkill in many aspects but I have my reasons.

 

I have become extremely interested in not only using mods created by others, but in mod creation myself. I've SLOWLY been learning how to use various tools and programs to do so on my own [i read/view tutorials, don't worry].

I'd love to learn the whole gamut eventually [areas, buildings, items, flora, fauna, characters, animations, navmesh, scripting, yada-yada], and create mods like some of the beauties out there for people to enjoy, so serious modding is in my future. Right now, I barely can use FNVEdit.

Also, a friend of my with his own small media company is going to teach me graphics/audio/design programs, so I expect to be putting my build to actual working situations.

We're long time gaming buds [more than 2 decades] and both creative, he's a musician/media artist, and I guess I'm more conceptualization/plan drafts and drawing/sketching. [He's offering me some part-time at-home work if I can learn how]. I'm actually considering going to school/classes for some.

I've even have people saying I should, and get into games design/work.

 

Thank you for all the info, me likee much. Made mistakes, that's how you learn sometimes. Best thing tho', I learn.