PC Hardware Talk Megathread

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

Cost isn't a huge issue for me, but what would a reasonable cost be to get something decent that would have the ability to be upgraded down the line? $2000? $3000?

much less than that potentially. The biggest costs will be your video card and cpu/motherboard. So that really sets the tone for what the overall cost will be.

If you choose the right motherboard you have a lot more flexibility down the road for upgrading as well.

[MegaErtz]

Thanks for your response. I watched the video that the other guy posted this morning and it certainly seemed like the motherboard was the key element of the whole deal. I'd love to be able to hook up multiple screens from the one tower - is that something I'd need a specific video card for or would it just come down to the outputs on the shell I buy?

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

Thanks for your response. I watched the video that the other guy posted this morning and it certainly seemed like the motherboard was the key element of the whole deal. I'd love to be able to hook up multiple screens from the one tower - is that something I'd need a specific video card for or would it just come down to the outputs on the shell I buy?

All the outputs are handled by either the graphics card or the motherboard (if you dont have a graphics card). The case will have no effect on it. Pretty much any card or (most) motherboards can do multiple monitors.

[shogged]

Originally Posted by CASe333

This is the slippery slope I found with laptops. Why not spend a tiny bit more and get this with a 3080 for only 2.5k:

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00115375

i was ready to talk #### about aorus and their awful thermals but I found a few articles that suggest it was a big focus for them this generation.



https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/gig...ool-10-degrees


Asus used to suffer from the same issues but they've come a long way over the last few generations. would love to see a third player on the gaming laptop scene to compete with Asus and MSI both in quality and performance.



I think this laptop is definitely a legitimate option this year but I do wonder what sacrifices were made to come in at a whopping 1k less than comparable models.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

Cost isn't a huge issue for me, but what would a reasonable cost be to get something decent that would have the ability to be upgraded down the line? $2000? $3000?

Depends what you are doing with it.

You can spend up to $4000 easily if you get a lot of fancy stuff, like Platinum/Titanium grade PSUs, 4000+MHz RAM (and lots of it), 3080/6800XT videcard, fancy $300 case, big honkin 360mm AIO cooler, multiple m.2 storage drives, lots of fans that light up (surprisingly pricey for ARGB), a motherboard with all the bells and whistles, etc. Tack on another 500-1000 for a really nice monitor if you are gaming/doing photo work.

Are you just browsing? Just get a laptop or refurb prebuilt. Are doing spreadsheets? Same.

Are you playing games? An i5-10500/5600x equivalent is fine, spend the most money on a GPU. $1500-$2000 should be doable unless you want a super kickass videocard.

Are you using it as a workstation (video/audio/photo etc.)? Get an i9-10900k or 5900x equivalent, spend more money on RAM, and less on a GPU (unless it's 3D work, which is v costly).

There are part levels/prices for every interest point, but they all serve different purposes. It's all dependent on what you want to do.

In any case, *always* buy an m.2 drive as your primary disk in 2021. And not a cheap WD Blue or some slow garbage, at least a WD Black SD750, or EVO 970.


Tips to keep things scalable:

Buy a higher wattage PSU (750+), modular is ideal; a smaller PSU can limit the CPU/GPU options at the high end. Buy larger RAM sets (eg 2x16GB) because unless you spend BIG MONEY on a motherboard, you only have 4 slots. Buy a big enough case that you don't have to worry about cramming stuff in it.

Keep in mind if you want to upgrade your Motherboard/CPU at a later date, there's a chance you will have to re-buy both as the chipset is usually only good for a generation or two (unless you upgrade the CPU within a generation, eg. an i5 to an i9 in the same series). DDR4 RAM is looking to EOL as well, so who knows how long it will remain the standard.

[MegaErtz]

Thanks, I'm trying to digest all of that information so that I can make a good choice when I start building my own PC or purchasing a new one. I'll be honest, I might just buy a packaged one and pay the extra money because I'm worried that I'll make a mistake and be scratching my hair out.

I pulled up the specs on my father's laptop, which he uses daily to surf the internet and watch youtube videos. I'd like to upgrade him to something new, preferably a desktop instead of a laptop, and I'd love some suggestions. I swapped out his hard drive for and SSD and upgraded the RAM to the max allowed about two years ago.

Processor: Intel (R) Core (TM) i3-2330M CPU @ 2.20GHz, 2.20GHz
Installed Ram: 8 GB

I think I bought him this laptop in late 2011 or 2012, so definitely time for an upgrade. Very open to suggestions about what to buy to replace it. Located in California if that makes a difference, thanks.

[Old Yeller]

Use https://pcpartpicker.com/ and look at some of the completed builds. They list all the components used and after you get a general idea, you can start using their system builder to build/price out your own.

[MegaErtz]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Use https://pcpartpicker.com/ and look at some of the completed builds. They list all the components used and after you get a general idea, you can start using their system builder to build/price out your own.

Man, you guys are so so helpful. Thank you so much.

[TorqueDog]

My cousin's 3TB hard drive is on the outs and he's currently running dual GTX 570s and a Core i5 2500. Dinosaur stylez. So he asked me to help him find something for around $1,500. Here's the mid-level build I just put together for him:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Tor...d/#view=tTFZJx

Case is optional, video card is a soft recommendation as he can find that card for cheaper locally. Non-X 3600 is wicked value for money, and the B550 allows him some room for growth in the future.

[PsYcNeT]

Yeah unless you plan to fully utilize the PCIE lanes @ 4.0 on multiple drives, the x570 is overkill for most users.

Why 32GB of ram though?

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Yeah unless you plan to fully utilize the PCIE lanes @ 4.0 on multiple drives, the x570 is overkill for most users.

Why 32GB of ram though?

Futureproofing... and Flight Simulator 2020. When I play it, I end up with about 24 - 26 of my 32 GB used. Plus it's cheap.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Futureproofing... and Flight Simulator 2020. When I play it, I end up with about 24 - 26 of my 32 GB used. Plus it's cheap.

Might literally be the only game that leans that heavily into system RAM, but it makes sense that it would.

Idk about future proofing (since literally no other game uses that much RAM), but RAM is definitely cheap(er) right now.

[photon]

The Lian Li PC-O11D Mini case I want finally showed up somewhere reasonable to order, not at MemEx yet but was at B&H and they ship to Canada, I've used them before and they're good.

Though by the time I got my order in it said "more on the way" for stock, so I guess we'll see how long it takes.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by photon

The Lian Li PC-O11D Mini case I want finally showed up somewhere reasonable to order, not at MemEx yet but was at B&H and they ship to Canada, I've used them before and they're good.

Though by the time I got my order in it said "more on the way" for stock, so I guess we'll see how long it takes.

That thing looks nice, when I was looking there were too many cases out of stock and I ended up going with https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog...an-box/haf-xb/

Worked out nicely except that my AIO stopped my 3080 from fitting so I had to rig it up a bit. Those new cards are long.

[Top Shelf]

Anyone have a video card they are wanting to sell? Trying to avoid Kijiji.

Following the twitch stream posted earlier, hoping to snag a 3070 but my hopes are low haha

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Top Shelf

Anyone have a video card they are wanting to sell? Trying to avoid Kijiji.

Following the twitch stream posted earlier, hoping to snag a 3070 but my hopes are low haha

I *was* selling my old 1080, but I got stiffed by 2 people on eBay for payment, and with the price of Ethereum right now, I just turned it into a 3rd miner.

I think the secondary market for cards is ruthless right now unfortunately, lots of bots driving up prices.

[ComixZone]

Well, the luckiest damn thing just happened to me.

I went in to spec a new mega build at Memory Express expecting it be an ETA of "who !@#$ing knows, 2 months?", and via cancellations I got everything I wanted (except in black, rather than white).

ASUS ROG Strix 3090
Ryzen 9 5950X
Crosshair VIII Hero
64GB of 3600mhz Vengeance
2TB Evo Plus NVMe

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Hot damn. What'd all that run you?

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Hot damn. What'd all that run you?

...six...

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Well, the luckiest damn thing just happened to me.

I went in to spec a new mega build at Memory Express expecting it be an ETA of "who !@#$ing knows, 2 months?", and via cancellations I got everything I wanted (except in black, rather than white).

ASUS ROG Strix 3090
Ryzen 9 5950X
Crosshair VIII Hero
64GB of 3600mhz Vengeance
2TB Evo Plus NVMe

Which location? I've been wanting to swap my 5900x for a 5950x anyway and buying one locally is preferable.

(Also, rad! Gratz)

Hope you have a beefy cooler, these 59xx chips run hot as hell, even when idle.

On a similar note, the NE location called me last week to let me know my 5900x was in (I bought one from CC back in early Jan), so I grabbed it for a friend (sold at cost). Stock is definitely trickling in.