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ephori posted:Where's the cheapest place to buy a legit Windows 10 pro key these days? I replaced my mobo, activation failed, and Microsoft told me my upgrade limit is exceeded and I need to buy a new license. This thread right here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3768345 $25 and you'll get your key in hours.
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Apr 15, 2018 21:45
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Am I crazy wanting to upgrade my i7 4790k to a ryzen 2700x? I game and do programming stuff. Visual studio can be a chore on big projects.
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Apr 15, 2018 22:26
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Ghetto SuperCzar posted:Am I crazy wanting to upgrade my i7 4790k to a ryzen 2700x? No. It's not a notable improvement for gaming which is what a lot of people in here build for, but if you're programming it makes sense that it would be a worthwhile upgrade to you.
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Apr 15, 2018 22:32
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LRADIKAL posted:I understand people are seeing the 2200G as a better buy, but the multi-threading can be a real big deal, especially with 4 cores. Maybe I'm wrong. The rule of thumb that I usually go by is that SMT/HT is 10-30% of an additional core per core, if your process has enough busy threads to actually load additional cores. There are additional considerations like the diversity of work being done by the threads and how much they have to wait on memory accesses, but those are a lot less general in nature. I wouldn't say the 2400G is a bad buy but I feel like it shines most in situations where there's something other than just budget motivating you to go with integrated graphics. Otherwise, for $100 more you can get two more cores and ~2x the graphics performance by combining an R5 2600 with a GT 1050. For a gaming machine I'd say even if you can't afford to spend more it might make more sense to get a 2200G with a discrete GPU instead of paying more for CPU performance when that's not going to be your bottleneck.
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Apr 15, 2018 22:44
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artoke posted:It has been like 10 years since I built my computer and it's about time to build a new one. Just want to make sure I am not making any stupid mistakes with ordering the parts. Here is what I am thinking: What do you use your desktop for besides gaming? Newegg has an i5-8400/ ASRock mobo combo for $95, which is only ~$12 more than the 2400G/mobo you're looking at. You'd have better performance on productivity-type computing, but you'd need to pick up a discrete gpu. Nvidia 1060 3GBs going for about $150-200 used on ebay right now, which would put you a bit over budget but might be worth considering if you serious productivity/scientific computing and/or want better gaming performance. MSI, EVGA, and Gigabyte 1060s have transferable warranties based on manufacture date and should still have 1.5-3 years of warranty left. E: If anyone is looking for 1080 ti, I came across this while trolling for deals: Pixel Trading through storenvy.com - MSI 1080 ti AERO for $637 + free shipping Not so sure about the veracity of the seller, but they look like a legitimate business and they accept paypal so you should be covered if it turns out to be a scam. Stickman fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Apr 24, 2018 |
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Apr 15, 2018 23:20
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LRADIKAL posted:My thought is that those systems are simple upgrades. Add in a dgpu and you have a beast. Not an extreme fps rig, but that is the major weakness with a Ryzen, imo. Of course one could also argue that is even better reason to go with 2200G as you can upgrade to a way better Ryzen as easily. I think it's unfair to call it a major weakness, Coffee Lake gives more fps in an absolute sense, but most of the benchmarks that get cited are 1080p with a 1080ti and both processors pushing 100+ fps. They game comparably well to the Intel 2XXX-and-later processors that nobody has bothered to upgrade from. That said, while you could pair a dGPU with the 2400g, the $70 you saved gets you halfway to a 1600, and I'd rather go 6 cores than 4 on a forward looking system. It's not like anybody is recommended a coffee lake i3, when 4c/4t i5s were the standard recommendation before Ryzen / Coffee Lake came out. No idea about power / thermals.
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Apr 15, 2018 23:25
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BIG HEADLINE posted:With regards to editing video, you'll probably see a really big jump in performance. With regards to gaming, probably not as significant. There's only been about a 15-25% jump in IPC gains in CPUs since Sandy Bridge, and that's just taking into account *stock* speeds. When you overclock a 2500K to ~4.4-4.5Ghz and put it up against a 5Ghz 8700K in gaming, the 8700K is going to be about 25% faster, but you'll be hard-pressed to notice. Things will be smoother, sure, but that's it. Are we still looking at the i5-8400 maybe being the better choice over the 2600? I'm not completely sure why, but I've never had it that easy getting stable, safe temps overclocking my 2500K, I've got an aftermarket cooler, a cheap but well reviewed one (CM Hyper T2), I'm on 4.3 GHz right now, it gets up to 80C under stress test. Looking to get better airflow going in my case, since aiming a desk fan at the CPU helps, but I don't think I won the silicon lottery on this thing. The crazy 5GHz stuff people can do seems totally impossible. I also want more RAM, on 8 GB right now. I feel like getting more DDR3 is a bit dumb considering.
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Apr 16, 2018 00:24
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Any one have thoughts on x99 vs z370? I bought a an evga x99 board with a i7 6700k, ddr4 3200mhz ram, gtx 1070 etc about a year or more ago....but the bios on the main board has been making GBS threads itself and fully resetting if i overclock past 3.8ghz. If OC to 4.0ghz, the machine will crash and all my bios settings are lost and return to default... so i'm considering a new board... Slayerjerman fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Apr 16, 2018 |
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Apr 16, 2018 03:04
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Slayerjerman posted:Any one have thoughts on x99 vs z370? X99 + 6700K doesn't compute. Did you mean an i7 6800K? And as I recall, X99s are very finicky about RAM speeds. That might be what's tripping you up.
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Apr 16, 2018 03:49
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SalTheBard posted:This thread right here: Whoa, that's perfect! Thanks for the heads up.
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Apr 16, 2018 03:57
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BIG HEADLINE posted:X99 + 6700K doesn't compute. Did you mean an i7 6800K? Yes its a 6800k, had a typo. RAM is this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232091 (heh, its $140 more than what i paid for it in Feb 2017): BOARD is this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188184 I have the XMP set to 3200mhz and its all fine up to 3.8ghz, but why would it be fully resetting the bios when it barfs @4.0ghz?
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Apr 16, 2018 08:11
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If I didn't want to rely on the integrated graphics of Intel, what is a good, ultra-cheap placeholder card? I really wanna play Fallout 3 and New Vegas with mods. Somebody recommended me a 560ti and they go for $20 or so used on ebay. A few new ones for $60.
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Apr 16, 2018 14:23
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The 560 is a bit old, but then again you are also trying to play rather old games so why not. If you ever want to play newer stuff like Doom or Farcry 5 you probably want to go for something newer like a GTX 960 or 780.
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Apr 16, 2018 14:31
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peak debt posted:The 560 is a bit old, but then again you are also trying to play rather old games so why not. My goal is to get a Vega 56 but that won't be happening any time soon, especially if prices stay this way. I just figured I'd get something in the meantime. A lot of the games I want to play are about 7-10 years old so it would buy me a couple months to save up for the Vega. Plus..it's $20, who cares. NikkolasKing fucked around with this message at 14:35 on Apr 16, 2018 |
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Apr 16, 2018 14:33
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NikkolasKing posted:My goal is to get a Vega 56 but that won't be happening any time soon, especially if prices stay this way. Since the GPU only has 1 GB of VRAM, don't overdo it with graphical mods. It's going to be faster than a regular Intel iGPU though and for 20 bucks it should serve your "old gaming" needs for a bit. For a while I was playing less demanding games released before 2012 on a GTS450 (albeit on a lower resolution monitor) and it was fine.
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Apr 16, 2018 15:13
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The recommended GPU for New Vegas is a GT140, it should run fine on integrated graphics, though the $20 card would probably make it prettier.
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Apr 16, 2018 15:23
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ItBreathes posted:The recommended GPU for New Vegas is a GT140, it should run fine on integrated graphics, though the $20 card would probably make it prettier. I've already seen it run with UHD 530. (8th gen has 630) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g48LoEEiLuw I dunno how much better the 630 is but the 530 had to go down to 720p to get 30fps. I dunno, I'll mull it over.
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Apr 16, 2018 15:32
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NikkolasKing posted:I've already seen it run with UHD 530. (8th gen has 630) You'd definitely have to turn off AA and turn off / down other settings, just saying you should be able to get it playable. The card is probably a better choice.
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Apr 16, 2018 15:43
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Okay so my good friends who were supposed to help me out now tell me "uh...we might not actually be able to build your PC for you." And the first Google result I got for "help build computers in Fort Worth" got me a lady who wanted to charge $500 for assembling it. So...I'm outta ideas. I thought it was supposed to be cheap and easy.
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Apr 16, 2018 18:18
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NikkolasKing posted:Okay so my good friends who were supposed to help me out now tell me "uh...we might not actually be able to build your PC for you." Have you... considered building it yourself? Here's a video I found, on the internet, by using Google: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhX0fOUYd8Q
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Apr 16, 2018 18:20
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VulgarandStupid posted:Have you... considered building it yourself? I'm legally blind and don't have the tiniest bit of knowledge on this subject.
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Apr 16, 2018 18:21
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Yeah, building a computer is basically Legos for adults. Buy the parts, read the manuals and if you get confused  .E: whoops, poorly timed post. Effective blindness would definitely complicate things, my apologies.
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Apr 16, 2018 18:24
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The video linked in the OP was super good, it had everything you need to know. Vision impairment will definitely make it more difficult, though.
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Apr 16, 2018 18:26
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I mean, if it's really that simple, I'm sure my friend can do it. She was talking about not having her soldering kit or whatever and relearning something. I dunno. But if it's just Legos and reading and watching a video, I have faith in her and my other friend.
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Apr 16, 2018 18:30
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NikkolasKing posted:I mean, if it's really that simple, I'm sure my friend can do it. She was talking about not having her soldering kit or whatever and relearning something. I dunno. I would be a bit skeptical on putting your faith into someone who thought they needed to solder your computer parts together. It really is very simple to build a computer and all parts/cables effectively just click into very specific places
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Apr 16, 2018 18:33
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Thom P. Tiers posted:I would be a bit skeptical on putting your faith into someone who thought they needed to solder your computer parts together. See that's what I thought. Didn't think you needed very specific tools or whatever. I got another friend I can ask if need be.
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Apr 16, 2018 18:35
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I have done a decent job of resisting the urge to get a new computer, but I think I'm finally cracking. I was expecting new nvidia cards and a new intel line at around this time (I've been holding off since last september or so) but it doesn't look like they're anywhere in sight so I feel like I just should make do with what's out there right now. My current computer was built in like 2010/2011 and has been going strong the whole time minus my video card exploding, which I replaced with a 1050ti. I want to achieve the same thing, if possible. What can I slap together that will last me another 6-7 years? Right now I'm trying to decide between the Alienware 34" 1440p or the Acer Predator 1440p/144hz, and then whatever hardware it will take to push frames to that setup. Should I just be patient still and wait for new stuff or splurge now. If now, what CPU/RAM/Mobo should I be eyeballing. I know the Z3xx something line is what's available for the high end intel cpus but I've heard it's poo poo. Anyway I know the above isn't terribly helpful. My budget is decent but I don't want to go insane getting like a TITAN card or weird stuff, but you guys have been really good about 'sweet spot' items so I trust you won't recommend that. EDIT: Apparently new AMD CPU just came out too? Should I consider this over Intel? Kaedric fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Apr 16, 2018 |
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Apr 16, 2018 18:55
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NikkolasKing posted:See that's what I thought. Didn't think you needed very specific tools or whatever. Building a computer usually needs a small screwdriver. Occasionally it needs an allen key. (which is always supplied with whatever part needed it) The right combo of case and CPU cooler, you might not need tools at all.
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Apr 16, 2018 20:02
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NikkolasKing posted:See that's what I thought. Didn't think you needed very specific tools or whatever. Offer said friend a written personally-binding document saying that should something go wrong after the first week or two, it's not their responsibility to be your tech support. I know that's what keeps *me* from being the "guy who what knows computers n' stuff" to my pool of acquaintances and friends. "I'll order pizza" is never adequate compensation for what almost always turns into (at least) an entire night's worth of troubleshooting.
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Apr 16, 2018 22:33
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I'm selling a prebuilt Powerspec G460 and an Acer Predator 27" in SAMart. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3854506 I bought this a couple months ago off some recommendations from this thread, it's been an amazing PC and hasn't had a hiccup doing anything I've thrown at it. But I've got an unexpected move coming up and gotta get rid of it.
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Apr 16, 2018 22:33
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I'm looking to buy a couple of 2 TB or better hard disks since the one I have is approaching seven-years-old. Which manufacturers should I absolutely avoid? Is Seagate still the worst or has whatever problems people were having with them blown over?
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Apr 16, 2018 23:23
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Star Man posted:I'm looking to buy a couple of 2 TB or better hard disks since the one I have is approaching seven-years-old. Which manufacturers should I absolutely avoid? Is Seagate still the worst or has whatever problems people were having with them blown over? Every manufacturer seems to have a model here or there that's especially bad but I've been burned by Seagate more often than anyone else. There's three companies making hard disks right now, WD, Toshiba, and Seagate. Hitachi's HD division is owned by WD and produces disks as "HGST" which all seem to be very good but cost a little bit more. If you just need bulk storage the WD Reds are pretty good. I've had good luck with Toshiba and WD Black drives lasting over 5 years but that's anecdotal. Seagate's higher end disks like the SSHDs (hard disks with big caches) are supposed to be pretty good but you pay a price premium for that extra flash memory and nobody knows how well it will hold up over a long time period. Since there's a lot of anecdotal information out there, I'd purchase a disk that has a low failure rate on Blackblaze's HD failure report: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-for-2017/
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Apr 17, 2018 00:04
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BIG HEADLINE posted:Offer said friend a written personally-binding document saying that should something go wrong after the first week or two, it's not their responsibility to be your tech support. I know that's what keeps *me* from being the "guy who what knows computers n' stuff" to my pool of acquaintances and friends. Huh? Resents helping pool of friends and advises people to write binding documents for support. Replies to almost every post for complete strangers on the internet.
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Apr 17, 2018 02:33
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TimeWaster posted:Huh? You've obviously never been several people's 'go-to' guy whenever something goes wrong with their computer. There's a significant difference between giving people ten minutes' worth of tech support suggestions and/or buying advice here and there in a thread on a dead gay internet comedy forum, and someone expecting you to give up an evening or several doing something others get paid to do because it's time-consuming to troubleshoot and then - if possible - 'fix' their computer.
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Apr 17, 2018 03:13
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TimeWaster posted:Huh? It's almost like they're two different things. I totally get where Big Headline's coming from - it's to keep from being taken advantage of. Friends and family who don't know anything about computers or the cost / time involved in solving issues with them have no conception of what they're asking for. A friend used to ask me to help him with stuff often with his prebuilt system (that I'd advised he didn't get). I mean, it was ever other week / couple of weeks. It wasn't until he took his system to a shop due to me being out of town that he got an idea of how much I had been saving him all along. He's been a much more careful and appreciative since. And that's not mentioning the family friend who called me at 6 on a Sunday morning because she was freaked out by the pop-up for her antivirus. Twice. Stuff like that goes with anything though, hence the adage: "if you're good at something - don't do it for free." Ghostpilot fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Apr 17, 2018 |
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Apr 17, 2018 03:17
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Yeah, and then you get people who have *every* idea how much paid tech support costs and wager the friendship over "pizza and some beer." When you help someone build their first system, the first week or two, if something goes wrong, it *might* have been something you forgot to do or didn't do correctly. Past that narrow window, if everything's working perfectly and then fucks up (and said theoretical friend didn't try to 'fix' something that wasn't broken to begin with), it's very likely a fluke hardware/software failure and completely out of your realm of responsibility. In the *very* rare cases I help someone build a PC, and I know what's going into it beforehand, I always get the RMA information for all of the hardware ready on printouts, and make it very clear to them that if something goes wrong with the hardware that I will not be able to fix that, and that they need to know this information and keep it in a file/drawer somewhere. I also make sure to give them a bootable backup disk/drive with a zero-day boot state and say that "if all else fails, just use this." BIG HEADLINE fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Apr 17, 2018 |
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Apr 17, 2018 03:29
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Any recommendations on a USB wifi adapter that supports 802.11 N/AC and has solid Linux support on a modern kernel? I've been looking around and keep finding "recommendations" for adapters using lovely Mediatek chipsets that won't run on anything after kernel version 3.19.3. If AC support is a step too far I'd settle for solid 5GHz N support alone.
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Apr 17, 2018 04:43
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As somebody with 16 years of experience in this PC building thing: I at most offer a buying list to others looking to build one, but I will never help them build one since tech support drama is loving stupid.
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Apr 17, 2018 05:16
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Nvm, sorry for the unnecessary derail.
TimeWaster fucked around with this message at 09:46 on Apr 17, 2018 |
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Apr 17, 2018 08:40
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I'm looking at budget Intel motherboards and I found this review of the 8400 and RAM: https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3086-intel-i5-8400-cpu-review-2666mhz-vs-3200mhz-gaming The non-Z motherboards only go up to 2666MHz or whatever. However, 2400MHz RAM is (generally) much cheaper. Does RAM speed matter all that much for gaming? I was initially told to grab 3200MHz elsewhere by somebody and I've been sticking with that in my planned build. But if it's not that important, and if the difference between 2400 and 2666 is insignificant for gaming, I could save a few dollars by finding 16GB of this 2400MHz memory.
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Apr 17, 2018 11:32
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