In my recent blog I talked about finally putting together my dream PC. Well now it's time to actually put the thing to use and play some shit on it. Before I continue I'll go ahead and copy/paste my PC specs

• Phantom 410 case
• i7 4770k (Haswell)
• Asus Z87-A
• XIGMATEK 92mm HYPRO Bearing CPU Cooler
• Seagate 2 TB 7200 RPM HDD
• 128 gig SanDisk SSD
• 2x4 gig 1866 G.Skill RAM
• GTX 660ti
• Seasonic modular 750w PSU

As one can see, I'm rolling with a 660ti mainly because I'm planning on holding onto it till Black Friday when I can get a 770....but my friend just happened to have upgraded his card to a...770. I wanted to have a taste of the full potential I'll eventually have soon but why wait when I can try out his card now in my PC?

The following games have all been played on a 770 all maxed out except for specific AA tweaks to help accommodate the 60 fps.

Bioshock Infinite

I didn't spend that much time in this game because it isn't exactly all that demanding. The difference between this on my last machine (i5/660ti) and on the new one is that the new one never drops versus the random stutter on the old one. Everything is all maxed out, it's a pretty game.

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Tomb Raider

This one I had to play between 2x to 4x SSAA (crazy version of anti-aliasing) and this game is a looker, right down to the crazy hair that no longer eats all of my frames. on 2x SSAA I can get a steady 60 frames with very few drops, the framerate drops to 40 or so when I bump it up to 4x SSAA.

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Crysis 3

Ridiculous is a nice way to sum up the visuals in this game. Crytek outdid themselves here; their engine is streamlined to the point that I can just about max it out on a 660ti but then I can add all of the bells and whistles plus keep the framerate with the 770. Everything maxed out including AA gives me about 30 frames in open areas but that opening with the heavy rain was at 20 or so but you can see just how nice it looks in that shot above. I scaled the SMAA down to low and was able to get closer to 60 but the game just won't lock to it at that, it's still demanding. Either way though, the amount of eye candy on display is just stupid.

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Farcry 3

I already finished this on my old machine but now that I'm able to play the game with every single thing maxed, AA and all, and never experience a drop in framerate is making me want to play it over again. My jaw was on the floor from being able to soar through the sky, use the glide suit, and hit the ground running without seeing a single hitch in performance. It's moments like that where I'm able to forget that I'm playing a game and can then allow myself to get lost in the game's universe.

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Metro Last Light

Fuck dude, this game means business. This and Crysis 3 are the perfect benchmarks to get a sense of where your rig will stand for the beginning of the next gen. Completely maxed out with SSAA and all I can get 40 fps with slowdowns to 30 or even lower in action heavy sequences, but if I drop the SSAA to .5 I can keep everything going at a silky 60. It's not as easy to move around the game's locations as it is with the other games so I'm lacking a variety of screenshots.

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Emulation

This was my main reason for wanting an i7 over an i5, I simply wanted to play around more in the Dolphin emulator and my choice in CPU has paid off. I'm able to run quite a few Wii games all at 1080p without nasty hitches and the Gamecube games are doing just as well. My biggest surprise is how well Nintendo's art holds up at the higher resolution. All I'm missing is a wireless Wii motion sensor so I can use my controllers to play Skyward Sword properly...maybe I'll actually finish that game now instead of letting it collect dust with the forsaken Wii in the closet and why waste my time with a Wind Waker HD remake when I can do it myself and keep the artstyle exactly the way I want it?

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Closing Thoughts

In the end, I am very satisfied with what I have (which I should be considering the parts) and after using my friend's 770 in my own rig, I simply can't wait to get my own so that I'll be ready for Watchdogs. Looking at my monitors for the CPU and video card, I can see that I'm doing just fine. The CPU idles at 30 C and stays around 50-55 C when being pushed in open world games or through the Dolphin emulator. The video card is cruising along just as well and caps out at 75 C when being pushed by heavy hitters like Metro or Crysis 3.

Thanks for reading or skimming down the page really fast.

What was the cost breakdown for the components on your rig?

All of these games would look better on the Wii U. FACT.

None of them are anything next to the majesty of New Super Luigi U.

Crysis 3 really looks amazing, the action moments when there are explosions and bullets hitting water etc are unlike anything i've seen. It's a pity it's wasted on such a middling game. It's also definitely the most demanding, I drop below 60 fps down to 45 occasionally with everything maxed on the 690.

I'm yet to try out last light, I'm waiting for it on the next steam sale, looking forward to it though. I've said before around here, my biggest suprise is how good the witcher 2 looks. Also, i'm not sure how demanding Devil May Cry is or how much can be attributed to great art style, but that game also looks great turned up.

Farcry looks alright i guess, there is something really annoying and cartoony about it i find, i think its the exaggerated SSAO effects. Actually combined with the story and characters, if i could use one word to sum up the game it would be "annoying".

My i5/7870 rig just went limp. Consider me a bit jealous. I'm definitely going to have to build a new rig when I get out of college and get a real job.

No you're just showing off you attention whore.

Also some of those Wii games look better then some of the PC games.

It's primarily the SSDO and Global Reflection shaders along with the 16 Global Illumination sources introduced with the Ultra quality shaders option that does it in that game, everything else can be handled reasonably well. I can just cling to 60fps at 1920x1200 with everything on ultra with SMAA 2TX MGPU.

That version 3 engine really is a fine piece of work, especially when stacked up against the competition.

Mandatory New Screen Saver

(For when it happens)

@bigjeffrey: I think I'm going to save that picture for when I get the 1440p monitor.

@korwin:Huh, that explains the huge gains I can get on the 660ti by dropping the shaders, good to know.

@mariachimacabre: No.

@oginor: I need to get the list compiled again but everything except for the video card came out to around $1000. I'm reusing the card from my last PC and will sell that and have that go towards the 770 that I plan on getting on sale later.

Farcy 3's look comes down to preference. There are some spots where the exaggerated SSAO looks nuts like with some shadows but I like the overall aesthetic. The vegetation looks great.

:)

Nintendo has some good art but it's mostly because of the extra graphical bells and whistles I can add through the emulator. Some of those games are never supposed to look that good. And what the fuck else is there to do with a shiny new PC and access to a video game website?

Definitely the most solid build in my history of building rigs. I've tangled in all ranges of CPUs/MOBOs/GPUs, and I have to say that Intel's new Haswell architecture is definitely amazing. Seeing my 770 perform so well with the Haswell really goes to show how much both nVidia and Intel have nearly perfected their products. I'm looking forward to Watchdogs, no doubt.

Those Wii games look just as great on the Wii U as they do on your PC. You should have just bought a Wii U.

@bigjeffrey said:

Mandatory New Screen Saver

(For when it happens)

lol

Metros engine looks better to me than CryEngine3

Are you getting a 2GB or 4GB 770 btw?

I think the best part of getting a new rig is turning everything up to 11.

@colourful_hippie: nice , your reports are inspiring.. might have to try some metro last light or check out crysis3 again since i just got a gtx770 (even tho i still have a sandybridge-e i5) but havent really played anything that pushes it much .. im just having fun with triple monitors and the quiet fans.

highly reccomend the card when you can afford it ..ofc thats the point of thsi whole post :P but yeah .. i love it

@envane: That i5 is fine.

@claude: It's the best.

@darthorange said:

Those Wii games look just as great on the Wii U as they do on your PC. You should have just bought a Wii U.

@bigjeffrey said:

Mandatory New Screen Saver

(For when it happens)

lol

No they don't and they never will no matter how hard you want them to be and stop showing people pictures of you in your underwear.

2. I'm planning on getting an 880 next year so I don't see the need to go beyond a 2.

Looks like poop.

YOU LOOK LIKE POOP!

Nvidia/Intel is my go-to combo.

This case looks like it is straight out of a 80ies action movie.... good choice.

Nice post. I have the same case and love it. Also a 660, but not a Ti.

@intro: Yup I couldn't be more happy with the case and I actually went ahead and picked up a 770 which I'm loving but if I were you I would hold onto that 660 until the 800 series come out next year and then you'll get a serious boost once you upgrade.

Yeah I'll be getting a new motherboard and CPU by the end of this year and then late next year I'll probably get a new GPU.