PC Hardware Talk Megathread

[btimbit]

I'd be surprised if any 8th gen CPU's go on sale so soon, but the 8600k seems like a great cpu for the price

[RW99]

I am looking for a keyboard/mouse switch and there is a lot of products out there. I dont need audio or video switching. My issue is that I need the switching to be fast, preferably with a remote switch and no lag for gaming. Does anyone have any experience that can point me in the right direction?

I see Startech has DDM Fast Switching technology like this one: Startech switch but it is a bit overkill for what I need. Are there any good alternatives out there?

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by btimbit

When did you buy it? When I bought my monitor yesterday at MemEx the guy that helped me said if the one I bought goes on sale if I come in during that sale I can get refunded the difference

Beginning of summer I believe it was.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Stealth22

Hey guys,

I'm helping someone out with a new desktop build, but I've been out of the loop.

What's the best choice for a CPU these days? Looking to buy pretty soon, potentially taking advantage of BF/CM sales.

He's going to be playing games like Assassin's Creed, the new Far Cry, etc. Most likely not going to be overclocking, he's not an IT guy.

Thinking about the i5-8600K

If he's not going to overclock, save some cash and buy a non-K CPU. An i5-8400 would be sufficient and save over 100 bucks. Would be a waste since the 8400->8600 stocks are similar (though admittedly there is a stock 700mhz difference), but they both use Intel Turbo (which would definitely kick in during a gaming sesh) and the 8400 caps at 4 Ghz and is very good, while the 8600k (not OCd) caps at 4.3 Ghz.

If you're not going to OC (and spend 50$+ on an aftermarket cooler), the 8600k is a waste of money. For a budget build that wants to squeeze every dollar, I'd do the 8400 9 times out of 10.

If it's not a budget build, he should be overclocking.

[wireframe]

I'm looking to buy a GPU to play some light multiplayer games. I haven't kept up with hardware for the past decade so I have no idea what's out there and what I need.

I am trying to set up an old computer in my basement with some controllers to play multiplayer steam and emulator games. I'm trying to do it all on the cheap; aiming for a used GPU or cheaper new model. The most graphics intensive game I want to play right now is overcooked. But I can see it getting as heavy as Rocket League.

I don't know anything about hardware. What specs should I look for?

[FlameOn]

Heads up guys, giant security flaw found in all recent Intel processors. Basically every Intel processor in the last four generations is affected. Ironically the 11 vulnerabilities, possibly backdoors, are in the Intel's "Trusted Execution Engine" that runs on a separate processor outside of the CPU/OS. Thankfully no one has yet found a way to hack you remotely, but given the ME manages a lot of features such as Wake on Lan and others, it's only a matter of time. Maybe time to consider an AMD Ryzen processor.

Thanks to an investigation by third-party researchers into Intel's hidden firmware in certain chips, Intel decided to audit its firmware and on Monday confirmed it had found 11 severe bugs that affect millions of computers and servers.

The flaws affect Management Engine (ME), Trusted Execution Engine (TXE), and Server Platform Services (SPS).

Intel discovered the bugs after Maxim Goryachy and Mark Ermolov from security firm Positive Technologies found a critical vulnerability in the ME firmware that Intel now says would allow an attacker with local access to execute arbitrary code.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-w...ting-millions/

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

If it's not a budget build, he should be overclocking.

Have you got a good webpage on overclocking your'd recommend reading? I've never bothered myself. Mostly because I don't understand the process though. My last MOBO had an overclocking utility that would do it for you. Tried it out and it started blue screening almost immediately so went back to default settings and haven't tried since.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Have you got a good webpage on overclocking your'd recommend reading? I've never bothered myself. Mostly because I don't understand the process though. My last MOBO had an overclocking utility that would do it for you. Tried it out and it started blue screening almost immediately so went back to default settings and haven't tried since.

Most often you can find an OC guide specific to the CPU purchased just from a quick Google. Lots of good websites like Anandtech, HardOCP, Tom's or Guru3D will put out OC guides shortly after a CPU launches. Conversely, you can take the sweet spot setting from those guides and translate them through an OC Guide for the specific motherboard you purchase, as most big brands will have specific guides written as well (or youtube videos). Most 150$+ MBs should have the same/similar options mind you.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Heads up guys, giant security flaw found in all recent Intel processors. Basically every Intel processor in the last four generations is affected. Ironically the 11 vulnerabilities, possibly backdoors, are in the Intel's "Trusted Execution Engine" that runs on a separate processor outside of the CPU/OS. Thankfully no one has yet found a way to hack you remotely, but given the ME manages a lot of features such as Wake on Lan and others, it's only a matter of time. Maybe time to consider an AMD Ryzen processor.



http://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-w...ting-millions/

Historically, if Intel is publicly fessing up to the flaw, they likely have a firmware update available within a week.

EDIT:

So after further reading it seems the flaw needs to be addressed by the Motherboard manufacturer, which is a bit of a pickle for form-built PCs (tablets, laptops, closed-system mITX etc.) which tend to not have continuous support.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us.../software.html

Intel has a tool that tells you if you are vulnerable, but like FlameOn posted, it appears this basically just identifies your chipset so you should already know if you're within the 5xxx-8xxx generations.

Kind of miffed that Acer, Dell, Lenovo and Panasonic are already on top of this, but nothing from MSI, ASUS or Gigabyte has made it's way out yet.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by wireframe

I'm looking to buy a GPU to play some light multiplayer games. I haven't kept up with hardware for the past decade so I have no idea what's out there and what I need.

I am trying to set up an old computer in my basement with some controllers to play multiplayer steam and emulator games. I'm trying to do it all on the cheap; aiming for a used GPU or cheaper new model. The most graphics intensive game I want to play right now is overcooked. But I can see it getting as heavy as Rocket League.

I don't know anything about hardware. What specs should I look for?

If you're only going up to rocket league at 1080p, a 1060 would be solid and a 1050Ti would hit the price/performance sweetspot.

If you can find a used 970 for 200 bucks or less, that would also be good but dont pay more than that.

[cam_wmh]

Anyone ever stacked a 27" ASUS VE278Q on top of an UltraWide? (VESA 100x100)
Only ever had multiple monitors, in a side-by-side setup.

[PsYcNeT]

I had a setup like that at work for a period. Obviously, using some sort of swing-arm with full tilt and rotation is best, but the larger the VESA bracket the costlier they get. Modern videocards fully support these kind of arrays without issue though, super simple setup.

[cDnStealth]

Well, I pulled the trigger on my new build on Friday. Waiting on some parts from newegg before I can actually start building but I am excited. Decided to go with the gtx 1080 and I figure I'll look at picking up a 27" gsync monitor next month. I was messing around with the Predator on display at Memex and it certainly is a nice looking panel.

[cam_wmh]

Yeah spoiled myself with a gtx1080 & an x34, and would like to stack my old asus 27”

A single gas shock arm with a mounting plate I could just drill & bolt to my desk.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Mice/Keyboards. Been meaning bring this up for a while. What are you guys rockin for mice & keyboards these days? For years now I've been a devoted fan of logitech products, especially their speakers. When at ME yesterday, I was floored to see how many companies seem to be getting into the game. You have the usual contenders like logitech (whom appears to not have as much as they have in the past) and Razer but now I see a lot of interesting things from Corsair and even Cooler Master? Corsair has an almost overwhelming number of options. The K70 looked intriguing.

So? What you using?

[Burninator]

I have the Corsair K70 and the Logitech G502. I am happy with both.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I have the Corsair K70 and the Logitech G502. I am happy with both.

Same here. Great combo.

[PsYcNeT]

I use a Razer Deathadder for FPS gaming, and a Razer Naga Hex V2 for WoW.

Keyboard is a Logitech Orion Spark RGB. I love all my peripherals.

[Flash Walken]

Is there such a thing as a horizontal or ergonomic gaming mouse?

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Is there such a thing as a horizontal or ergonomic gaming mouse?

Maybe a Logitech M570?