What should I do with my new gaming rig?

amcochran · Sep 1, 2013

Hello all!

I recently bought a new gaming computer. Here are my specs...

CAS: Azza Fusion 3000 Full-Tower Gaming Case w/ 1x 140mm & 2x 120mm fans, front USB 3.0, HDD Easy Swap, & 360MM liquid cooling ready
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
COOLANT: Standard Coolant
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4670K 3.40 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150 (All Venom OC Certified)
CS_FAN: Default case fans
FAN: Corsair Hydro Series H110 High Performance Liquid Cooling System 280MM Radiator & Fan
FREEBIE_MB: 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo w/ Dual Antenna PCI-E Adapter
HDD: 250 GB SAMSUNG 840 Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 540MB/s Read & 250MB/s Write
IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
MOTHERBOARD: * [CrossFireX/SLI] GIGABYTE Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ Ultra Durable 5 Plus, On/Off Charge 2, 7.1 HD Audio, Intel GbLAN, 3x PCIe x16 (2 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 3 PCIe x1 & 1 PCI (Extreme OC Certified)
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 8 (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: Extreme OC (Extreme Overclock 20% or more)
POWERSUPPLY: * 750 Watts - Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 850W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
VIDEO: AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card

Yes I bought from cyberpowerpc. My friends have had good experiences from them so I decided to give them a try. Please, I repeat, please don't comment on here saying I shouldn't have bought from cyberpowerpc. I will find out on tuesday for myself if I will buy from them again.( If you have input on what I should possibly upgrade please feel free to voice your opinion) (thanks).

Also this computer is going to be only for gaming. I've got a laptop for my school work and normal everyday use such as internet, etc.

But anyways, I want to know the best way to test the computer. I've read the best way to test it is to just hook it up and play a game and see what it does. I've also read that stress testing it is best. My friend which is a IT at a transportation company, likes to play games, told me to look up benchmarks on google and test it through some of the programs that comes up (such as Unigine Heaven, Prime95, and OCCT).

I won't be playing any FPS games on there. I play those on my Playstation 3. I will be playing RTS games. Such as Total War: Rome 2. ( I will be playing this the most)

So to repeat my question..What is the best way to test my gaming rig? Through playing a game on it? ( and if so will Total War: Rome 2 be intensive enough to use this to test it?) Stress testing? Or looking up benchmarks as my friend told me to do?

I am new to this stuff. Normally I just play games on my laptop but wanted my own gaming rig. So any help will be appreciated greatly!

Sernafied · Sep 1, 2013

What is it that you want to test?

Performance? Do you want to benchmark and compare to others with identical builds? Similar builds? Stability of your overclock?
Are you looking to validate your purchase? Are you a hardcore gamer? Overclocker? Closet coder?

Break out your old computer and get out your stopwatch. Use it to record the load time of windows, then use it to record the load time of your favorite game. Now do the same thing with your new computer. You've built a medium/high performance gaming rig, if it will play the games you want on max settings at a sustained 60 fps(assuming you've got a 60 Hz monitor) with faster load times, you've passed "the test". If your monitor will refresh faster, obviously higher fps aren't wasted. I use fraps (www.fraps.com) to monitor my frames. If it was worth it to you, then you win.

Before embarking on "testing", first you need to know why the results are important to you. If it's bragging rights, then you need to break the bank and blow a bit more cash on your build, overclock that bad boy yourself, and stress test it. Maybe you've won the chip lottery and be able to brag about the voltage necessary for your particular overclock or temps.

amcochran · Sep 1, 2013

Sernafied :

I just want to test the stability of the computer basically. I don't want to be in the middle of a game and it lock up or shut down on me. I guess you could say mainly performance? I'm not to sure. I just want to be able to play my games without any hiccups in the middle of playing them. I wouldn't classify myself as a hardcore gamer but I do game a lot in my spare time.

My old computer can't do anything I'm wanting it to do. Its so old. It more of a family computer. The games I want to play won't play on that computer, its so slow. If it does load its mediocre and it lags the whole time. But I do play games on my mac book pro. Such as empire total war, starcraft 2, and rome total war. These run fine without a problem but the fps are low, especially on starcraft 2, they never stay constant. Always jumping around from 7-35 fps.

But to answer your question about my monitor. I just received my Benq LED 24" 1MS RL2455HM. I'll have to check out fraps.com, i've been wondering how i could do that. From what people are saying I should be able to play Total War: Rome 2 on all high settings. ( i plan on upgrading the video card when the AMD HD 8000 series comes out)

The results would be important to me to know if my rig will be stable if i game for about 4-5 hours without a problem. (If I have that spare time) Bragging rights is not my goal. That is the least of my worries.

Sernafied · Sep 1, 2013

That's a 60Hz monitor, but it's really nice nonetheless. I'm using a BenQ XL2720T which is a 27" 120 Hz refresh rate monitor. I really like BenQ

Anyhow, your computer is coming factory overclocked right? So they should run a stress test before they ship it. But if you're not satisfied that they have, there are a number of programs you can use to test the stability of the overclock. I have used OCCT to stress my overclocks. It's not as intensive as the intel burn test, but nothing I do requires a 24 hour super major hardcore stage 4 F* yea motherF*er stress to my system. I game for a few hours at a time, a couple times a day.

Bro, your build is pretty nice, you should have absolutely no problems running any game out right now.

I've heard really good things about aida64, prime95, and intel burn test for stress testing. Overclockers like to run an overnight or even a full 24 hour stress test. If your overclock isn't even close to stable you'll bluescreen, if it's really close you may just get an "error on core 'X'" error while still maintaining functionality. You can use RealTemp to monitor core temps while stressing.

Keep in mind though, that these stress tests apply a constant 100% load to your system which games won't do. In all honesty a marathon of your favorite game with no crashes ought to be suitable enough if you're not trying to push the limits of your overclock.

I hope this helps, bubba.

realchaos · Sep 1, 2013

As stated, the best way to test for stability is by stress testing your processor and graphics card. I use Prime95 to stress test my processor. To monitor temperatures, HWMonitor and CoreTemp are good programs for that.
Although games will never put your cpu under full load like Prime95 does, it's always a good idea to make sure your computer is completely stable under any situation.
For the graphics card, you can use 3dmark. Although it is a a program that benchmarks your computer, it stresses out your processor and graphics card. It also gives you a score at the end based on your computer's performance, and you can compare it to others that use the same graphics card and processor.

amcochran · Sep 1, 2013

Sernafied :

Ya I'm looking forward to using the monitor. It looks really nice, along with the RTS mode.

Ya it's coming factory overclocked. They supposively do stress tests on their computers before they ship them out, but they don't give you any imformation on showing that they did. They simple state that they tested the computer. Thats it.
But I may give OCCT a try since it tests does both CPU and GPU. And since Total War: Rome 2 is both CPU and GPU intensive I believe this will be a good test. You would't happen to have the link to the OCCT would you? Or is this it? http://www.ocbase.com

Thanks, I picked out the parts and had them build it for me. I think next time I will probably build my own computer next time. (just so I know how to do it).

I will also run prime95 to test the RAM and RealTemp to monitor the temps during tests. I don't plan on running the tests over night. I plan on running them for a max of 4-8 hours. Do you think that would be enough?

You are being very helpful!

Sernafied · Sep 1, 2013

The length of time you run your tests depends on who you ask. Some advocate 12 hours, some 24. I'm running an offset overclock of 4.4. I did my stressing for 15 minute preliminary testing while it runs it's computations checking for crazy returns like 1+1 = 3 lol with OCCT and an additional 4 or so hours of gaming, streaming podcasts and radio stations on itunes, and google chrome in the background while alt tabbing and surfing between matches. I know it sounds like heresy to an overclocker, but I prefer real world stressing over synthetic testing that keeps my system at 100% for hours and hours. 24 hour stress testing sounds something akin to buying a new pickup and putting a brick on the accelerator while in neutral to see if it can handle it or not.

Yes, sir that's the link. http://www.ocbase.com

Another thing to keep in mind: What are you going to do if it won't pass your designated stress test? Most pre built companies won't return or exchange anything because their system didn't pass your stress test. My best advice is to get your system and read read read about it. Undo their overclock, learn how to do it yourself, and then do it! That's when stress testing becomes very rewarding

amcochran · Sep 1, 2013

Sernafied :

I like your way on real testing, by playing a game for hours with stuff going on in the back ground. So I'm more than likely going to do that (along with occt for 15 min)because I don't like the fact at keeping my system running 100% the whole time for hours and hours. Just seems a little much in my opinion.

When I have some extra time I'll learn how to undo and redo the overclock. I would like to learn how.

amcochran · Sep 2, 2013

Out of curiosity, the only thing overclocked is the cpu while everything else is stock. In a sense, since the only thing overclocked is the cpu, is that the only thing I need to test to make sure its stable? I've read some things, from what people are saying that you only need to test the part(s) that are overclocked rather than stock. (If I'm wrong please correct me) I really don't want to do any unnecessary synthetic testing if it's really not needed. (Preferably real-world testing)
I will be doing the real-world testing as Sernafied has stated. I believe that will give me a better idea whether or not my computer will be able to handle the things I will be doing. (Which is primarily gaming only, I have a laptop for other daily tasks).

Also, what way did you test your RAM in the real-world testing. Or did OCCT and an additional 4 or so hours of gaming, streaming podcasts and radio stations on itunes, and google chrome in the background while alt tabbing and surfing between matches help test the RAM?

As stated before I don't really want to do any unnecessary testing if not needed.

Sernafied · Sep 2, 2013

This is speculation, but it's in line with most of my experiences: Your motherboard will most likely default your ram to 1333 @ 1.5v, but if they're overclocking your processor for you, they're probably going to run your ram on it's xmp profile. You'll probably end up with 1600 @ 1.65v which is essentially an overclock even though it's a factory included profile. While the voltage is probably a bit higher than necessary, I wouldn't bother changing it. It's not the most efficient, but it's effective.

OCCT will run your RAM, but as far as practical applications, I just load a bunch of stuff at once and use all of it for a few hours at a time. My system is pretty nice, but to try and put a bigger load on it, I've played games with other games in the background (D3, LoL, BF3, Crysis 3) in addition to all my other normals like itunes, chrome. With your specs it's going to be pretty hard to bog down your system, so there are 3 possible outcomes from stressing your rig:

1) It will handle what you throw at it and not bat an eye
2) It will bog down noticeably
3) It will stop responding, restart, shut down, or bluescreen

Option 1 is great, option 2 is ok as long as you measure your systems limitations and remember what it can handle, and if you land in option 3, that's where I'd run a multiple hour synthetic stress test to pinpoint your problem(temps, math errors, voltage, etc...)

amcochran · Sep 2, 2013

Sernafied :

I thought OCCT only tests the CPU and GPU ( along with PSU)? At least thats what I've read. Well it would be nice to have option 1 the whole time. But who knows until i get it tomorrow. As of right now I don't have that many games to test all at once since the games i play are only optimized for mac. (besides starcraft2)
So let me ask you this question, (hypothetically) if you had my rig what would you do to test it? and Why?
Thanks again!

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