PC Building, Upgrading, and Parts Picking: Everything is pretty fast now (except AMD)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > PC Building, Upgrading, and Parts Picking: Everything is pretty fast now (except AMD)

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

The Fractal Design R4 is on sale for $80 w/free shipping at Newegg right now. I want to get it so bad.

But then I remember the only practical improvement over my Antec Three Hundred Two are 2 additional front panel USB ports. :negative:

# ¿ May 14, 2014 16:52

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# ¿ May 18, 2024 04:08

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Ignoarints posted:

whoa get ready

I will get something to replace my three hundred two eventually, but only when that $80 or $100 isn't better spent on something else for it. Which will be a while. That said, I like how that case looks.

But when I see the inside it's like, oh it's like mine but black. (and can support 2x wide radiators)

I'm about to go pretty ghetto and cut a wider hole in the top of my antec and put a metal grate in it so I too can have a big radiator

Is this a stream of consciousness post? Haha.

The R4 came out over a year after the Three Hundred Two, so you'd expect it to be more refined. Rumor is that an R5 is coming out soon, maybe with a slightly longer case since the R4 can't really accommodate R9 video cards unless you remove the upper drive cage.

Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 17:11 on May 14, 2014

# ¿ May 14, 2014 17:08

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Squirrel007 posted:

Honestly it was the newegg reviews scaring me off. I dont want to drop 80 dollars on a piece of hardware that can potentially fail in a few months.

So you're saying that even companies like Google and Microsoft and Apple, providing their coders with computers that use SSDs, they do so believing the computers will fail in a few months?

# ¿ May 21, 2014 01:04

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

njaa posted:

I chose GTX 760 over Radeon R9 270x due to multi-screen power consumption. Now the stupid question - although i chose a "non-oveclocking" motherboard, everything will still work with my factory overclocked graphics card, right?

An "overlocking" motherboard has to do with changing the bus speed for your CPU, and if your CPU is unlocked, you can also change the multiplier. Your video card is completely unrelated.

# ¿ May 21, 2014 20:44

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

If anyone's interested, I'm selling my GeForce 760 for $199 shipped: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3636407

# ¿ May 22, 2014 02:20

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Sojourn posted:

Just an amusing anecdote. I bought my monitor ~10 years ago so I thought I'd peruse some on amazon just to see how far out of date I am now. My monitor has a contrast ratio of 2500:1, I was still laboring under the assumption that that was decent. Monitors currently have contrast ratios of 10,000,000:1 or more now.

I knew there was going to be a difference, but holy poo poo.

The 10m:1 ratio is a lie.

Really.

# ¿ May 26, 2014 00:41

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

coolskillrex remix posted:

The XFX cards are cheapish on ebay and look like they have a nice cooler, but if someone buys one in sealed box then the warranty is linked to the sellers invoice still?

If a manufacturer requires the invoice to verify the warranty hasn't expired, it doesn't matter if the box is opened or not.

# ¿ May 27, 2014 06:09

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

PaganGoatPants posted:

I'm confused. So the R9 270x is the same as a 7870 GHz?

When AMD and Nvidia release a new line of graphics cards, only the top end is new. Everything else get's bumped down one slot, so the GeForce 680 became the 770 and the 7970 GHz Edition became the 280X.

# ¿ May 28, 2014 00:11

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Bobulus posted:

Tempted to grab this for a graphics card upgrade that will speed up my current PC and still be useful in a total system rebuild, say, six months from now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130953&cm_re=gtx_760-_-14-130-953-_-Product

The 4gb model is only $30 more dollars than the 2gb model, seems like a decent deal.

You should buy my Radeon R9 290 for the same price :ssh:

. And beejay is right about the price not being great.

# ¿ May 28, 2014 01:02

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Bobulus posted:

Okay, so 4gb version seems a waste, you're right. But the 2gb version ($260 with $10 rebate and free game) seems pretty reasonable. Same price on NewEgg and Amazon. The OP says EVGAs have good support, too.

edit: and considering I'm using a five-year-old graphics card right now and only in the last six months have I started not using Ultra settings, I'm not too worried about this going out of date anytime soon.

I don't think that's the right way to think about it. The 760 is fine for high 1080p gaming, but it's almost certain that you'll have a higher resolution monitor in the next couple years, and it already struggles with some games on ultra settings. 1440p is quite popular these days, and you're handcuffing yourself by not spending a little more to get a card that will actually last. For literally the same price, you can get an R9 280X that can do 1440p on medium settings: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150678. Hell, I'm offering to sell you my R9 290 for the same price. The only reason you've even been able to stick it out with your current video card for 5 years is because your Radeon 4870 was 1 notch below the top end card when you got it, but the 760 is most definitely NOT that.

The game is a worthless addition because it's an Nvidia promotion - literally any current model Nvidia or AMD card will come with free games. If you're dead set on getting a 760, that's fine. It's a good mainstream card, but that assumes you're paying $230, not $260.

Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 03:02 on May 28, 2014

# ¿ May 28, 2014 02:55

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Bobulus posted:

Crap, had too many links open. I meant the tier below that, 760/270x. Corrected my post.

$250 is the MSRP for a 760. $230 is the street price.

# ¿ May 28, 2014 03:25

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Bobulus posted:

Alright. Going to bite the bullet and go with that one. Thanks for talking me down from buying the first card.

I actually prefer Newegg these days since I get free 2 day shipping with ShopRunner, though I recall their shipping being really fast even without. Bonus is that they aren't collecting sales tax in my state while Amazon is. I think you'll be happy with the decision.

_{Even if you didn't buy my 290 :p}

Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 03:54 on May 28, 2014

# ¿ May 28, 2014 03:50

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

If anyone is interested in a video card, I'm selling a Radeon R9 290 for the price of a super cheap R9 280X or expensive GeForce 760: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3638357

Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 22:03 on May 28, 2014

# ¿ May 28, 2014 22:00

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

fletcher posted:

What in the hell??

I really like my lian-li but from what I've heard they are no longer the go-to for high quality aluminium cases. What other companies should I be looking at instead?

It seems that aluminum cases are no longer a thing. Fractal Design has replaced Lian Li as the the case maker with the best designs.

# ¿ May 30, 2014 01:15

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

MondayHotDog posted:

I'm thinking of console ports that are so shittily coded that they won't run smoothly no matter how much machine you throw at it. Watch_Dogs being the newest one. I was playing KOTOR a few weeks ago and getting frame rate dips into the teens, and that game is 11 years old.

I think occasional, short-lived frame drops are fine. Frame drops below 30fps for sustained periods (think 5 seconds) because of too much poo poo on the screen, that's an actual complaint.

# ¿ May 30, 2014 19:20

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

marjorie posted:

What headphones are you stepping up from? I swear by my Sony MDR-7506s, which are well known in the professional audio world for being solid studio monitors by having accurate sound reproduction (and not to mention ridiculously cheap for the level of quality). I've used them with my computer setups for about 10 years exclusively (i.e., I never hook up speakers), so I've worn them for long hours and listened to voice, sound effects, and music through them. The sound quality will only be limited by the sound source. Of course, if you have a preference for a particular audio profile (say, you dig richer and smoother sounds, at the expense of accurate reproduction), then you'll probably prefer the HD-650s. Beyerdynamic DT880s are solid choice for something in between. If possible, you definitely want to listen to any prospective pair of headphones before dropping a couple hundred down on them (or make sure that there is an easy return policy in place). Just note that sometimes it takes a bit to wear in new headphones, and different headphones will be suited for different types of audio.

The Sony 7506 is a great pair of monitors and closed headphones, but there's really no comparing to Sennheiser 650s.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2014 10:18

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

DirtyTalk posted:

Yeah I've been seeing that R9 suggestion quite a bit. I guess it's just a certain amount of brand loyalty. I've gone Intel/nVidia for years, and all my nVidia cards were EVGA. I had one Radeon card and I felt like it just wasn't as compatible with other games and I had more driver issues. $100 bucks is $100 bucks though.

Game compatibility isn't a thing. Brand loyalty is silly because they all run the same code. Performance and value are what matter, and the 290 is the undisputed king.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2014 16:46

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

deimos posted:

Coincidentally, this was directly related to the OpenGL vendor rant posted a few pages back, AMD's OGL Extensions are hacks upon hacks upon hacks.

Does anyone use OpenGL anymore though?

# ¿ Jun 6, 2014 18:11

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

El Kabong posted:

If you live anywhere near a MicroCenter they are having a ridiculous sale on Intel CPUs: http://www.microcenter.com/product/...l%2fAMD+-+Top+2

They had the same deal on the 3570K when I last upgraded my CPU in May 2012. They also had an additional $100 off the motherboard if you bought both at the same time.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2014 23:24

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

I have a Seagate 3TB GoFlex external hard drive that I use for data storage, and it's powering off randomly. I think this is because the enclosure uses a swappable adapter for USB 3.0/Firewire/eSATA, and the swapping attachment is getting loose.

The drive was purchased during holiday 2011 when I had been workstation laptop only for 7 years. Six months later, I transitioned to desktop + ultrabook and I can't imagine changing for many years. My thinking is to remove the 3TB HDD from the enclosure, use it in my desktop as an internal HDD, then buy a 2TB USB-powered portable HDD as a replacement. It would have the advantage of (obviously) being portable and not needing power, something I can stash away and just bring out once a month to update my backups, and while I'll be losing space vs >3TB external, it should be more than enough for my important personal data; HD videos and FLAC music can always be replaced.

Does this make sense, or is there some other setup I should be considering? This basic Seagate 2TB is $90: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178474

Alternatively, Seagate's higher end Backup Plus Slim 2TB, which gets great reviews, is $110 from them directly: http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/standard/backup-plus/

Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 09:31 on Jul 17, 2014

# ¿ Jul 17, 2014 07:50

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

neurotech posted:

Just got word that the PC I ordered for my wife has arrived at home, so I guess I'll be building it tonight.

With than in mind, what is the general opinion on thermal paste application? Should I use the blob method or spread it out with paper?

Don't prespread. Just line/blob it.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2014 06:02

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Sneaky Kettle posted:

Dismantling an old non-functional PC for recycling, built ca. 2009, I discovered a unicorn; one of the last good AMD CPUs, a Phenom II 940 x4, and its colossal 125w TDP stock heatsink.

I miss AMD CPUs being good. I'll probably be back around christmas to pick your collective brains. My current rig is getting old, and it's high time to look into a new one.

That was a stock HSF? :stare:

# ¿ Sep 5, 2014 13:57

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Once you've built a PC, is there any reason to upgrade the case? Because although there's nothing wrong with my Antec Three Hundred Two, the Fractal Design R4 is now $70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352038

# ¿ Oct 9, 2014 00:12

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# ¿ May 18, 2024 04:08

Josh Lyman: May 24, 2009

Factory Factory posted:

That's fine, but you should have front intake rather than top intake.

Yeah, top back should be an exhaust since hot air rises. You want your intakes as forward and low as possible.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2014 03:31

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > PC Building, Upgrading, and Parts Picking: Everything is pretty fast now (except AMD)