PC Hardware Talk Megathread

[calgarywinning]

I've been watching this space for a while; hopefully a larger scaler monitor for working will emerge. Right now I don't think it's there.

My old iMac 2015 is bemoaning it's life.

[showtime]

I'm considering getting a new gaming laptop around the 2000-2500 range. Does anyone have any suggestions? Looking at one with a 6850m xt, or is it worth it to grab something with a 4070?

[indes]

I just discovered steamlink! I had never even considered using my laptop for 'console' gaming for whatever reason and what a gamechanger.

I really only ever play Dota 2 but got Spiderman for free with my laptop. Hooked up my switch controller and thought to see if there was a way to stream to the Tv and low and behold, I'm about 5 years behind the times lol.

I don't game enough to justify a new console but this should bridge the gap nicely!

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by Cain

Has anyone here used an OLED tv as a monitor? Was thinking about getting one for double duty as a monitor + TV usage in the evening the odd night, but a bit worried about burn in.


Have read lots of people swear that they haven't had any issue but worry that I'm a bit of an extreme user for the amount of time I use my monitor.

Yes, I picked up a 42" Sony A90k on a sale and It's awesome.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by Meelapo

I would NOT recommend going with an OLED for day-to-day work. While my 48” is great for gaming I wouldn’t want to code or read text on it for a long amount of time. Perhaps its the text sharpness (or my eyes) or my higher PPI but text is not great looking compared to an LED.

I would counter with if you get a Alienware oled 34 it has a 3 year warranty for burn in. Alot of companies are offering similar.

If you have pixel shift on and animated screen savers then It really is not of worry.

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

It's no OLED, but I still love my Dell S3220DGF. It's by no means perfect, but whether it's work or gaming, it handles whatever I throw at it with ease.

Such a good monitor, I'm glad I listened to you.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Yep, the S3220DGF is the middle monitor in my 3 monitor setup and the only one that is operating regardless of whether I'm working or using my gaming / personal machine - it's hooked into both inputs. If I'm working I have the S3220DGF and the main monitor is my LG 38WP85C-W, both running from my work laptop for a 3-screen setup; if I'm using my personal rig my main monitor is the LG C2 42" and the S3220DGF is either my second monitor, or it converts my main screen for games where I want to do 1440p at 165hz instead of 4k.

Great workhorse of a display.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Such a good monitor, I'm glad I listened to you.

I can't take all the credit, IIRC it was Photon who linked it in the first place when it showed up on RFD.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Cain

Has anyone here used an OLED tv as a monitor? Was thinking about getting one for double duty as a monitor + TV usage in the evening the odd night, but a bit worried about burn in.


Have read lots of people swear that they haven't had any issue but worry that I'm a bit of an extreme user for the amount of time I use my monitor.

To an extent I do use an OLED with my PC in my bedroom setup, but I don't use it much for static images. 55" is way too big for a monitor anyways. And quite honestly I am not a fan of 4K for monitors, but I'll get back to that later.

So basically from my PC I have a 20 foot HDMI 2.1 cable looping around the room to the Bravia A80J for gaming and watching thing - this cable specifically:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B09Q24...b_b_asin_title

is able to deliver the bandwidth to do 120hz @ 4K without any drops in colour space. I was skeptical that I might have artifacting, and my ARC 770 has also been criticized for issues with HDMI over long runs, but I had wanted to avoid a fibre optic cable as those are not very compatible with VRR due to the added processing. As it turns out, both the graphics card and the cable worked well with the TV, woth the only issue being the occasional HDMI handshake issue (I wish TVs allowed displayport - another issue with TVs). Maybe if I had a more conventional nvidia card it would also avoid the handshake problem, but I like what the intel represents.

The way I have it setup in this bedroom is the OLED TV is on one wall:




and then my monitor / PC / desk are in the corner to the side:




Since the corner dictates a single, smaller 16:9 monitor, this isn't really a primary office space. I would want two side-by-side 27" monitors at minimum for that or the equivalent 49" ultrawide. I just think horizontal real estate is the way to go for productivity tasks. And no OLED TV really comes in that form factor. The closest option is the 34" Alienware with a 3440 x 1440 resolution, which is probably ideal for a PC monitor rather than 4K. The only issue is that I am not sure I can physically fit that monitor into this corner. But the OLED part of it doesn't scare me. It's more a matter of cost... do I really want to spend $1500 on a corner desk setup that is more of a secondary workspace?

P.S. - ignore the fact that the top of my desk is not stained. I built it myself a few years ago for a different corner in a different place of residence, and when I retrofitted it into this corner to allow for this setup, I had to flip the top upside down to orient it for this corner. It'll be a summer project I guess.

[calumniate]

ouch, haha. your keyboard is like 2cm way from your monitor!

[TorqueDog]

Pro-tip: If you put a lowercase S, M, L, or H before the .jpg for direct Imgur links, you can use a smaller version of the image.

Example: https://i.imgur.com/McfMyve.jpg becomes https://i.imgur.com/McfMyveh.jpg

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Pro-tip: If you put a lowercase S, M, L, or H before the .jpg for direct Imgur links, you can use a smaller version of the image.

Example: https://i.imgur.com/McfMyve.jpg becomes https://i.imgur.com/McfMyveh.jpg

Cool!

[LockedOut]

Consider setting a custom resolution on your TV if your that close and using it as an ultrawide for gaming.

[Sluggo]

I used to sit nearly as close to a 32" monitor and that was mentally exhausting. switched to a single 27 and its just fine now... That setup looks like you enjoy sitting at the front rows at a movie theatre, every time.

[PsYcNeT]

Might be fun to have a Battlestations thread where we can all crap on each others' setups tbh

[flamingreen]

I am mulling an upgrade and looking for some opinions.

I have a 9900k and a 3080 12GB and I was thinking of upgrading my CPU. I game at 4k and was wondering if I moved to a 13900k or 7900x3D if I would see any discernible difference when gaming or if I would just be spending a bunch of money needlessly (as I would have to get new ram, motherboard, etc.)?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

My sense is you would be spending a bunch of money needlessly. I am pretty skeptical that you would be CPU bound with that setup even at 1080p. At 4K? Not a chance, IMO.

[TorqueDog]

I second Corsi's statement, a processor upgrade is a waste of money for you.

What's your goals for the upgrade, frame rate increase? What improvements are you looking to see? What games are you playing and at what detail levels?

[flamingreen]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I second Corsi's statement, a processor upgrade is a waste of money for you.

What's your goals for the upgrade, frame rate increase? What improvements are you looking to see? What games are you playing and at what detail levels?

Honestly was getting the itch to upgrade since I've had the 9900k for several years now. I would be chasing frame rates as I like to hit the Ultra settings button and forget about it but with DLSS that really isn't an issue, even at 4k.

[CroFlames]

Guys if I want a high end gaming rig, what should my budget be? When I say high end, I want to be able to play today's new games on max settings. I don't need/want some $10k machine with every component being the very best. No interest in VR either.

I know future proofing is folly.

I think I want to build around the 3080Ti maybe, but I am not a hardware nerd. Just like to game.

I basically use the PC for gaming, personal home budgeting and photo/video storage. I hardly even browse on it.