The PC Builders Thread ("I Need a New PC") v2

ABeezy1388 · Mar 1, 2020

Zafir said:
This might not be that useful to you since you've a different CPU and a custom cooler to go a long with it, but mine looks like this.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't have anywhere near such a "hot" curve but I had to set it really loose just because of how aggressive the boosting was for me when idling/browsing.

I often just turn on the "Power Saver" power plan (well, slightly customised as I've edited a few of the settings so certain devices don't switch off/doesn't sleep) if I know I'm not going to be gaming for a while and/or don't need the CPU power though which as mentioned before, stops the spiking entirely.

I'll probably get a new GPU later in the year, and when I do that I'll upgrade the CPU cooler at the same time just because it's a pretty annoying situation.

Awesome thanks man! Just surfing the net now and playing some old emulation games and its MUCH, MUCH quieter. I will also look into the power saver if need be. Appreciate your support!!

asmith906 · Mar 1, 2020

I want to upgrade my gpu. I feel like the smart thing is to wait for big navi or the new nvidia chips but I feel like with the Corona virus disrupting supply chains the cards will be super limited and the prices will be insane.

maped · Mar 1, 2020

Zafir said:
This might not be that useful to you since you've a different CPU and a custom cooler to go a long with it, but mine looks like this.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't have anywhere near such a "hot" curve but I had to set it really loose just because of how aggressive the boosting was for me when idling/browsing.

Hmm, I didn't realise the max Δ Temperature Interval value is only 5 degrees, that's definately not enough even for 3600 and the boxed cooler, from my limited experience with it it'd take at least 10 degrees to smooth out the swings. I feel the Asus solution of adjusting the time it takes the fan to react works much better. It also doesn't help that at least my 3600 has a very uneven heatspreader judging from the pattern it leaves on different coolers, and the biggest dip seems to be right where the cores are located.

Crazymoogle · Mar 1, 2020

Has anyone here really gone through the DRAM Calculator rigamarole? I'm looking for a solid/obvious way to test that is a bit more...stable...than the two pieces of advice I've read (the gamut of "try a few games" to "3+ hours on memtest per change"). Maybe that's in an AMD thread?

asmith906 said:
I want to upgrade my gpu. I feel like the smart thing is to wait for big navi or the new nvidia chips but I feel like with the Corona virus disrupting supply chains the cards will be super limited and the prices will be insane.

Although shipments are down for vendors, so are orders. So while I'd be surprised if you can easily buy a launch card, that could as easily be due to a paper launch as anything else. No question that COVID-19 is affecting manufacturing, but the heart of the graphics card industry right now is Taiwan and specifically TSMC. Launch GPUs are always stock-constrained, although one would hope they do a bit better this time for everyone buying less than a Reviewer-unit Titan/Ti.

maped · Mar 1, 2020

Crazymoogle said:
Has anyone here really gone through the DRAM Calculator rigamarole? I'm looking for a solid/obvious way to test that is a bit more...stable...than the two pieces of advice I've read (the gamut of "try a few games" to "3+ hours on memtest per change"). Maybe that's in an AMD thread?

It's just pretty much just memtest overnight, one instance for every core splitting the memory amongst them, some are satisfied with 100% pass, others go for 400%. I didn't have any problems with the recommended values the calculator gave to my 3600mhz b-die with either 1600x or 3600. I have yet to do my 32GB 3200MHz bargain-bin Crucial kit, that might take some doing since it would have to be actually overclocked.

Crazymoogle · Mar 1, 2020

maped said:
It's just pretty much just memtest overnight, one instance for every core splitting the memory amongst them, some are satisfied with 100% pass, others go for 400%.

So you run (presumably?) run Pro and set the threads to the CPU core count? ie: 3600 having 6 threads and 1/6th of 16GB each. I notice the calculator has membench?

maped said:
I didn't have any problems with the recommended values the calculator gave to my 3600mhz b-die with either 1600x or 3600. I have yet to do my 32GB 3200MHz bargain-bin Crucial kit, that might take some doing since it would have to be actually overclocked.

Yeah I have 3200 b-die Trident Z, once I updated the X570 BIOS it does XMP just fine, which has me strangely optimistic that it can handle at least safe timings from the calculator. Does DRAM Calculator ever suggest speeding up infinity fabric? (fclk?) I'm assuming 1800 is just as valuable as dropping timings.

shancake · Mar 1, 2020

Just completed my first PC build (after being a Mac user for 15 years). So happy.

Only a few little issues:

Not super happy with the PCI-e cord hanging over the GPU logo.
G.Skill ram stays lit when PC is sleeping

Zafir · Mar 1, 2020

maped said:
Hmm, I didn't realise the max Δ Temperature Interval value is only 5 degrees, that's definately not enough even for 3600 and the boxed cooler, from my limited experience with it it'd take at least 10 degrees to smooth out the swings. I feel the Asus solution of adjusting the time it takes the fan to react works much better. It also doesn't help that at least my 3600 has a very uneven heatspreader judging from the pattern it leaves on different coolers, and the biggest dip seems to be right where the cores are located.

Yeah, I have a 3700X and it's not enough for that either. The most annoying thing is it's not really effective that the fan ramps up all the time either. It usually spikes because one core is being boosted, so that heat is all going to be condensed in that one area and the fan ramping up isn't really going to do much to cool it down anyway...

Really in hindsight I should have got a custom cooler when I first got this 3700x last summer, but didn't really know this was such an issue until I'd already set it all up and experienced it. Everyone said the stock wraith prism cools it fine(and well it technically does...) just that it can be loud when on higher RPMs, which I didn't think much of since my GPU already sounds like a jet under load too, so what was more noise... Didn't really expect annoying idle fan noise. xD

I did hope Gigabyte and/or AMD would do something about it, and well they did make it slightly better in BIOS updates but it's still far from solved.

catpurrcat · Mar 1, 2020

shancake said:
Just completed my first PC build (after being a Mac user for 15 years). So happy.

Only a few little issues:

Not super happy with the PCI-e cord hanging over the GPU logo.

G.Skill ram stays lit when PC is sleeping

My goodness, that is a beautiful build. Very tasteful and well done.

maped · Mar 1, 2020

Crazymoogle said:
So you run (presumably?) run Pro and set the threads to the CPU core count? ie: 3600 having 6 threads and 1/6th of 16GB each. I notice the calculator has membench?

Yeah I have 3200 b-die Trident Z, once I updated the X570 BIOS it does XMP just fine, which has me strangely optimistic that it can handle at least safe timings from the calculator. Does DRAM Calculator ever suggest speeding up infinity fabric? (fclk?) I'm assuming 1800 is just as valuable as dropping timings.

Doesn`t have to be the Pro version, it just seems to automate the process, but yeah, otherwise as you said.

It`s been a while since I last did it, but I think for the 3600MHz sticks it gave pretty much the stock timings and I didnt feel the need to go further. From what I understand increasing the fclk is only worth it if you can match it with memory frequency, and in general its just best to get to 3600MHz on ram and tighten the timings. If you have a specific memory intensive workload it might be worth running some tests to see which is better, frequency or timings; if not, it probably doesn't make any discernible difference.

m_shortpants · Mar 1, 2020

shancake said:
Just completed my first PC build (after being a Mac user for 15 years). So happy.

Only a few little issues:

Not super happy with the PCI-e cord hanging over the GPU logo.

G.Skill ram stays lit when PC is sleeping

Super clean - love it!

dallow_bg · Mar 1, 2020

shancake said:
Just completed my first PC build (after being a Mac user for 15 years). So happy.

Only a few little issues:

Not super happy with the PCI-e cord hanging over the GPU logo.

G.Skill ram stays lit when PC is sleeping

I'm not one for RGB but that is very nicely done.

FHIZ · Mar 1, 2020

shancake said:
G.Skill ram stays lit when PC is sleeping

I'm not one for suggesting RGB controlling software, which I've found to be mostly junk outside of Corsair's ecosystem, but whatever software that controlls the Gskill modules (most MB partner's software do if I remember correctly, if not Gskill's own) should have a setting for sleep RGB settings. Looking at your MB I think Gigabyte might have a disable RGB setting in the bios, but I'm not sure if that's for sleep or at all times.

shancake · Mar 1, 2020

dallow_bg said:
I'm not one for RGB but that is very nicely done.

Normally I'm not either. Our house is super minimalist, so I was going to go with the newly announced NZXT H1, but I felt like if I was going to build a PC I wanted to go all out.

shancake · Mar 1, 2020

FHIZ said:
I'm not one for suggesting RGB controlling software, which I've found to be mostly junk outside of Corsair's ecosystem, but whatever software that controlls the Gskill modules (most MB partner's software do if I remember correctly, if not Gskill's own) should have a setting for sleep RGB settings. Looking at your MB I think Gigabyte might have a disable RGB setting in the bios, but I'm not sure if that's for sleep or at all times.

Thanks! Let me look into this. It's weird because everything else sleeps instantly.

catpurrcat · Mar 1, 2020

asmith906 said:
I want to upgrade my gpu. I feel like the smart thing is to wait for big navi or the new nvidia chips but I feel like with the Corona virus disrupting supply chains the cards will be super limited and the prices will be insane.

Crazymoogle said:
Has anyone here really gone through the DRAM Calculator rigamarole? I'm looking for a solid/obvious way to test that is a bit more...stable...than the two pieces of advice I've read (the gamut of "try a few games" to "3+ hours on memtest per change"). Maybe that's in an AMD thread?

Although shipments are down for vendors, so are orders. So while I'd be surprised if you can easily buy a launch card, that could as easily be due to a paper launch as anything else. No question that COVID-19 is affecting manufacturing, but the heart of the graphics card industry right now is Taiwan and specifically TSMC. Launch GPUs are always stock-constrained, although one would hope they do a bit better this time for everyone buying less than a Reviewer-unit Titan/Ti.

As crazymoogle said, orders are down. My first thought was that yes while supply will be constrained the economic hit many people have taken and market downturn (look at the stock market last week) will keep prices in line with expectations. Interestingly if a recession does come I wonder if used GPU's will be way more in demand.

catpurrcat · Mar 1, 2020

jamsy said:
Is there a free application I can use to clone a drive? Just trying to clone existing 240GB SSD to a larger 2TB one.

Macrium Reflect

m_shortpants · Mar 1, 2020

How much do you all think a 2080 Super will sell for, used, by the end of the year?

I'm about to make a bad decision.

Mullet2000 · Mar 1, 2020

m_shortpants said:
How much do you all think a 2080 Super will sell for, used, by the end of the year?

I'm about to make a bad decision.

Hard to say. Assuming a 3070 comes out and is slightly better than a 2080ti...$300-350 USDish?

Spends on stock for the new cards though, too. If there are big stock issues that'll work in your favor.

ABeezy1388 · Mar 1, 2020

m_shortpants said:
How much do you all think a 2080 Super will sell for, used, by the end of the year?

I'm about to make a bad decision.

Just built my first pc (not upgraded, all Ned parts) I went with a 2080 Super also; and was wondering this. I bought a EVGA RTX 2080 Black. Hoping to make a little off it come end of the year if I upgrade to a new card. I couldn't wait/hold off anymore to build my pc :P

m_shortpants · Mar 1, 2020

ABeezy1388 said:
Just built my first pc (not upgraded, all Ned parts) I went with a 2080 Super also; and was wondering this. I bought a EVGA RTX 2080 Black. Hoping to make a little off it come end of the year if I upgrade to a new card. I couldn't wait/hold off anymore to build my pc :P

I'm still on a 970 which served me well for 5 years but it's hitting it's limit these days. I was on the wall but with all this uncertainty around the broader global supply chain and Coronavirus I ended up getting the same card as you. I'm looking forward to being able to just max settings and forget about it tweaking everything in the most optimal fashion. Hoping I can get a couple hundred at the end of year, provided that stock is available for the 3000 series.

RandomError · Mar 2, 2020

I've been planning a new build for Cyberpunk 2077 since mid-year last year. When the release date was delayed until September, I figured I'd wait until closer to launch and to see what might fall out of Nvidia's 3000 series GPUs and AMD's 4000 series CPUs.

But given the current supply uncertainty with everything I'm thinking it might just be more prudent to buy now after all.

I use my PC as a combination workstation/gaming machine - graphic design, web development and gaming.

Current machine:

CPU: Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0GHz 8MB LGA1150 Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 X CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H Intel Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP (2x8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage (Boot): Intel 520 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA3 6GB/s 25nm SSD Solid State Drive
Storage (Data): Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 64MB Cache SATA3 Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: ASUS STRIX GTX 980 4GB Video Card
Case: Corsair Obsidian 650D ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM650x 650W Modular ATX Power Supply

Most of the parts are between five and eight years old at this point. It's served me well, but I'm feeling it's time for an upgrade. The I/O on the 650D is a couple generations out of date, the boot SSD is beginning to feel cramped and the i7 4790K / GTX 980 combo doesn't quite cut it with the latest AAA games any more.

I'd like to do a full refresh so that I can sell or gift the old system as-is. I've ended up sticking fairly closely to Logical Increments' Outstanding build, with a few improvements to storage and cooling. I haven't decided on a monitor yet, but will most likely be aiming for either 1080p 144Hz or 1440p 60Hz.

New machine:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 CHROMAX.BLACK 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Storage (Boot): Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage (Speed/Games): Samsung 860 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage (Data): Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

I'm not US-based, so I guess I'm mostly looking for feedback on system balance, whether there are cheaper and just as effective alternatives to what I've picked, and whether this would put me in a similar performance tier to my current machine circa 2015.

big_z · Mar 2, 2020

Is it worth the extra $25 to get a Western digital Red (WD20EFAX) over the Blue (WD20EZAZ) drive if im using it as standalone storage? Would there be any downsides? WD's lineup has changed a bit since i last bought drives, was hoping to go full ssd but larger drivers are still too costly.

Storage drive in my pc might have just fucked itself. It's a wd red from 7ish years ago. It doesnt show storage size on the drive icon, gives an io error if you try to access it and task manager shows 100% active use. I can access files on the drive using testdisk but not through windows. If anyone has encountered this issue and knows how to fix it please chime in. I have a feeling it needs replacing though.

laxu · Mar 2, 2020

RandomError said:
I've been planning a new build for Cyberpunk 2077 since mid-year last year. When the release date was delayed until September, I figured I'd wait until closer to launch and to see what might fall out of Nvidia's 3000 series GPUs and AMD's 4000 series CPUs.

But given the current supply uncertainty with everything I'm thinking it might just be more prudent to buy now after all.

I use my PC as a combination workstation/gaming machine - graphic design, web development and gaming.

Current machine:

CPU: Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0GHz 8MB LGA1150 Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 X CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H Intel Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP (2x8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage (Boot): Intel 520 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA3 6GB/s 25nm SSD Solid State Drive
Storage (Data): Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 64MB Cache SATA3 Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: ASUS STRIX GTX 980 4GB Video Card
Case: Corsair Obsidian 650D ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM650x 650W Modular ATX Power Supply

Most of the parts are between five and eight years old at this point. It's served me well, but I'm feeling it's time for an upgrade. The I/O on the 650D is a couple generations out of date, the boot SSD is beginning to feel cramped and the i7 4790K / GTX 980 combo doesn't quite cut it with the latest AAA games any more.

I'd like to do a full refresh so that I can sell or gift the old system as-is. I've ended up sticking fairly closely to Logical Increments' Outstanding build, with a few improvements to storage and cooling. I haven't decided on a monitor yet, but will most likely be aiming for either 1080p 144Hz or 1440p 60Hz.

New machine:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 CHROMAX.BLACK 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Storage (Boot): Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage (Speed/Games): Samsung 860 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage (Data): Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

I'm not US-based, so I guess I'm mostly looking for feedback on system balance, whether there are cheaper and just as effective alternatives to what I've picked, and whether this would put me in a similar performance tier to my current machine circa 2015.

As someone who deeply hates mechanical hard drive noise, I would just go full SSD at this point just to get rid of that. You can use cheaper SSD models just fine for storage. 1 TB fills up pretty quickly with the size of modern games. Unless you work with very large photos and a massive pile of layers, 32 GB RAM is not going to give you much benefit so I would put that money elsewhere like say a 2080 Super, used 2080 Ti or something.

Crazymoogle · Mar 2, 2020

RandomError said:
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Storage (Boot): Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage (Speed/Games): Samsung 860 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage (Data): Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case
I'm not US-based, so I guess I'm mostly looking for feedback on system balance, whether there are cheaper and just as effective alternatives to what I've picked, and whether this would put me in a similar performance tier to my current machine circa 2015.

Overall the system is balanced - I too would have picked the 3700X and RTX 2070S, the only call to be made is if you wanted to hold out for the 3000 series GPUs. I concur that 32GB of RAM is something you should prove you need - it's better put towards a 2080S - but if your usage pattern requires it, then sure.

Storage:
Honestly, there is not enough of a difference between the 970 EVO PLUS and the other PCIe 3x4 drives out there. I'd much rather get an ADATA SX8200 Pro, addlink S70, or possibly a WD if the right deal was there, simply because - depending on your market of course, though my exp is Singapore - you can either save money or get a single 2TB NVME for the price of those two drives. And in general I'm in favor of any way where I'm using less cabling in the system.

Motherboard:
Honestly there are so many factors in a board that this is mostly taste, but generally speaking the ASUS TUF X570 WIFI is considered the best deal out there for having good components and still all of the specs. I used one in my build this weekend because I couldn't find the Asrock Steel Legend, and honestly, the board has been great. YMMV on price!

big_z said:
Is it worth the extra $25 to get a Western digital Red (WD20EFAX) over the Blue (WD20EZAZ) drive if im using it as standalone storage? Would there be any downsides? WD's lineup has changed a bit since i last bought drives, was hoping to go full ssd but larger drivers are still too costly.

RED = Nas, BLUE = Desktop. Not much reason to get red for your desktop unless you absolutely require the longer service warranty and lifetime.

macindc · Mar 2, 2020

RandomError said:
I've been planning a new build for Cyberpunk 2077 since mid-year last year. When the release date was delayed until September, I figured I'd wait until closer to launch and to see what might fall out of Nvidia's 3000 series GPUs and AMD's 4000 series CPUs.

But given the current supply uncertainty with everything I'm thinking it might just be more prudent to buy now after all.

I use my PC as a combination workstation/gaming machine - graphic design, web development and gaming.

Current machine:

I agree with what others have said re: balance. The only tweak I would make is to see if you can pick up some memory at DDR4-3600 rather than 3200 (with latency no more than 16) just to max out what your board is capable of, provided the cost difference isn't too much.

EDIT: Here's a good example that (in the US at least) is only $10 more. If you can get a similar price locally I'd recommend it.
G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB DDR4-3600

Infinite Justice · Mar 2, 2020

shancake said:
Just completed my first PC build (after being a Mac user for 15 years). So happy.

Only a few little issues:

Not super happy with the PCI-e cord hanging over the GPU logo.

G.Skill ram stays lit when PC is sleeping

Not really an RGB person but this build and other recent builds in here are working hard on trying to change my mind tbh

Excellent work 👍

NattyBo · Mar 2, 2020

Can anyone point me in the directions of a barebones system for me to plop my 1660TI? The card is still damn decent but my AMD8320 FX just isn't cutting it. I'd like to squeeze another year/2 out of the card before building a mid gen monster. Ideally around $300 but willing to do $399 or a little more, depending.
I'm not very comfortable building myself - extent of what I can do is put the card in.

ABeezy1388 · Mar 2, 2020

If I sold this pc to a good friend what would be a fair price? We agreed to a Price and I just wanted to make sure I'm not making a mistake. Never sold a computer before. It was built by a friend for me in 2016, and I've recently built my first PC/upgraded. I told him $400, and he agreed. To much, to little, just right? Specs:

STORAGE: SEAGATE 3TB 3.5 7200RPM INT SAT
STORAGE: SAMSUNG E 500GB 850 EVO SSD
MEMORY: CRUCIAL 16GB 2X8 D4 2666 ELITE CL
PSU: EVGA SUPRNOVA 850G2 80G FM PSU
MOTHERBOARD: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 1151 ATX
CPU: INTEL BOX INTEL CORE I5-6600K
GPU MSI Radeon R9 390
COOLING: CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H100I V2
CASE: CORSAIR GRAPHITE760T FT WN BK ATX

gdt · Mar 2, 2020

Need some help with a probable CPU upgrade.

Currently have a 4690k but it seems like it won't cut it for Half Life Alyx, nor next gen.

I see if on NewEgg for $310 ish, and that's fine. I see a combo with 32gb of ram which is cool (have to get DDR4 ram as well). Obviously I'll have to get a new MoBo, but I'm not sure what. Can you guys recommend one? Seems like the budget is now $650 or so for this upgrade....

And will the rest of my components work ok with this new MoBo ?

Wraith · Mar 2, 2020

gdt said:
Need some help with a probable CPU upgrade.

Currently have a 4690k but it seems like it won't cut it for Half Life Alyx, nor next gen.

I see if on NewEgg for $310 ish, and that's fine. I see a combo with 32gb of ram which is cool (have to get DDR4 ram as well). Obviously I'll have to get a new MoBo, but I'm not sure what. Can you guys recommend one? Seems like the budget is now $650 or so for this upgrade....

And will the rest of my components work ok with this new MoBo ?

What cpu/board are you looking at?

Do you plan on re-using an SSD for your OS drive (at least)?

Yogi · Mar 2, 2020

big_z said:
Is it worth the extra $25 to get a Western digital Red (WD20EFAX) over the Blue (WD20EZAZ) drive if im using it as standalone storage? Would there be any downsides? WD's lineup has changed a bit since i last bought drives, was hoping to go full ssd but larger drivers are still too costly.

Storage drive in my pc might have just fucked itself. It's a wd red from 7ish years ago. It doesnt show storage size on the drive icon, gives an io error if you try to access it and task manager shows 100% active use. I can access files on the drive using testdisk but not through windows. If anyone has encountered this issue and knows how to fix it please chime in. I have a feeling it needs replacing though.

As another poster said, Red is for always on NAS drives. I was considering getting one for increased reliability in a desktop but I did read there were downsides to that and it's not appropriate...I just forgot what they were. Might be something to do with file-writing and "SMR", iirc.

gdt · Mar 2, 2020

Wraith said:
What cpu/board are you looking at?

Do you plan on re-using an SSD for your OS drive (at least)?

Yes I am. I'm reusing most stuff really. My SSD and HDD are good, power supply, etc.

Of course I forgot about a CPU cooler, gotta add that to the list...

Looking at the ASUS TUF X570 WIFI ? Is that solid?

If I replace the SSD, and this other stuff I guess, do I need a new Windows key too? I still have one of course...

TerremotoDePorta · Mar 2, 2020

gdt said:
If I replace the SSD, and this other stuff I guess, do I need a new Windows key too? I still have one of course...

I would suggest tying the license to a Microsoft account, that way you just login after install and it should activate.

OR

You can clone your old drive into the new one so that you keep your Windows install intact.

Mullet2000 · Mar 2, 2020

gdt said:
Yes I am. I'm reusing most stuff really. My SSD and HDD are good, power supply, etc.

Of course I forgot about a CPU cooler, gotta add that to the list...

Looking at the ASUS TUF X570 WIFI ? Is that solid?

If I replace the SSD, and this other stuff I guess, do I need a new Windows key too? I still have one of course...

TUF is the go-to x570 recommendation. I have it and it's great.

CPU-wise, Ryzen 3600 and 3700x are the best values to prep for next gen depending on how much you want to spend. 3600 is 6 core, 3700x is 8 core. 3600 is still a fantastic CPU, but next gen consoles will have 8 core CPUs so you may consider futureproofing with the 3700x. You would be fine for a while with the 3600 but it's hard to say if that'll hold true 3-4 years from now. Don't bother with the 3800x unless it's within like $10-15 of the 3700x, it's very similar to the 3700x, just slightly better. 3900x is overkill for games and expensive so don't bother with that either.

CPU cooler wise I have a Mugen Scythe Rev.B and I highly recommend it. Keeps my 3800x cool (highest temp I get to is mid 60s under load) and is dead silent doing it.

opticalmace · Mar 2, 2020

gdt said:
Need some help with a probable CPU upgrade.

Currently have a 4690k but it seems like it won't cut it for Half Life Alyx, nor next gen.

I see if on NewEgg for $310 ish, and that's fine. I see a combo with 32gb of ram which is cool (have to get DDR4 ram as well). Obviously I'll have to get a new MoBo, but I'm not sure what. Can you guys recommend one? Seems like the budget is now $650 or so for this upgrade....

And will the rest of my components work ok with this new MoBo ?

What cpu?

gdt · Mar 2, 2020

opticalmace said:
What cpu?

Sorry it got deleted or something. The Ryzen 3700x.

ploonkey · Mar 2, 2020

I have a Kraken x61 that's gonna be 4 years old in 2 months. What concerns me is hearing that when AIOs go bad it can potentially be a disaster.

Should I proactively upgrade the cooler at the 4/5 year mark or disregard what I heard and only upgrade once it's dead?

shancake · Mar 2, 2020

shancake said:
Just completed my first PC build (after being a Mac user for 15 years). So happy.

Only a few little issues:

Not super happy with the PCI-e cord hanging over the GPU logo.

G.Skill ram stays lit when PC is sleeping

Another pic that i took last night of my beauty. I'm obsessed.

Vulcano's Assistant · Mar 2, 2020

ABeezy1388 said:
If I sold this pc to a good friend what would be a fair price? We agreed to a Price and I just wanted to make sure I'm not making a mistake. Never sold a computer before. It was built by a friend for me in 2016, and I've recently built my first PC/upgraded. I told him $400, and he agreed. To much, to little, just right? Specs:

STORAGE: SEAGATE 3TB 3.5 7200RPM INT SAT
STORAGE: SAMSUNG E 500GB 850 EVO SSD
MEMORY: CRUCIAL 16GB 2X8 D4 2666 ELITE CL
PSU: EVGA SUPRNOVA 850G2 80G FM PSU
MOTHERBOARD: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 1151 ATX
CPU: INTEL BOX INTEL CORE I5-6600K
GPU MSI Radeon R9 390
COOLING: CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H100I V2
CASE: CORSAIR GRAPHITE760T FT WN BK ATX

Seems like a fair price for a friend, certainly not too much. For a stranger you could easily double the price of some components, since even if they are not the current models, some of those parts like the PSU or RAM could go into a brand new systems.

Heysoos · Mar 2, 2020

The NZXT H1 looks so fucking sexy, I'm just afraid my 2080Ti would cook in there.

Polyh3dron · Mar 2, 2020

Wowfunhappy said:
So I got a motherboard I'd ordered off eBay today. I was looking at the CPU socket and noticed what look like bent pins?

Those _are_ bent pins right? Not some aberration that's actually totally normal?

There's actually other bent pins all around the motherboard, but the CPU is what I'm really pissed off about.

return that shit asap.

Rizific · Mar 2, 2020

ploonkey said:
I have a Kraken x61 that's gonna be 4 years old in 2 months. What concerns me is hearing that when AIOs go bad it can potentially be a disaster.

Should I proactively upgrade the cooler at the 4/5 year mark or disregard what I heard and only upgrade once it's dead?

In my experience, I've had the pump go out on two of my corsair AIOs. If you're monitoring your temps (and you should), it'll be obvious if the pump goes out. Was able to get both of them RMAd. I now have a cheapy back up aircooler just in case.

RandomError · Mar 2, 2020

laxu said:
As someone who deeply hates mechanical hard drive noise, I would just go full SSD at this point just to get rid of that. You can use cheaper SSD models just fine for storage. 1 TB fills up pretty quickly with the size of modern games. Unless you work with very large photos and a massive pile of layers, 32 GB RAM is not going to give you much benefit so I would put that money elsewhere like say a 2080 Super, used 2080 Ti or something.

Crazymoogle said:
Overall the system is balanced - I too would have picked the 3700X and RTX 2070S, the only call to be made is if you wanted to hold out for the 3000 series GPUs. I concur that 32GB of RAM is something you should prove you need - it's better put towards a 2080S - but if your usage pattern requires it, then sure.

Storage:
Honestly, there is not enough of a difference between the 970 EVO PLUS and the other PCIe 3x4 drives out there. I'd much rather get an ADATA SX8200 Pro, addlink S70, or possibly a WD if the right deal was there, simply because - depending on your market of course, though my exp is Singapore - you can either save money or get a single 2TB NVME for the price of those two drives. And in general I'm in favor of any way where I'm using less cabling in the system.

Motherboard:
Honestly there are so many factors in a board that this is mostly taste, but generally speaking the ASUS TUF X570 WIFI is considered the best deal out there for having good components and still all of the specs. I used one in my build this weekend because I couldn't find the Asrock Steel Legend, and honestly, the board has been great. YMMV on price!

macindc said:
I agree with what others have said re: balance. The only tweak I would make is to see if you can pick up some memory at DDR4-3600 rather than 3200 (with latency no more than 16) just to max out what your board is capable of, provided the cost difference isn't too much.

EDIT: Here's a good example that (in the US at least) is only $10 more. If you can get a similar price locally I'd recommend it.
G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB DDR4-3600

Thanks everyone, you've given me a lot to think about.

Storage:
I love the idea of ditching spinning rust. It would probably end up a bit more expensive for less overall storage, but it's definitely something to consider, especially with the next generation of consoles moving to solid state drives. I'm a bit limited when it comes to choice with local suppliers -- what's the consensus on Seagate 2.5" or Intel 660p NVMe drives?

RAM:
I'm a bit more conflicted when it comes to RAM. When I bought my current PC, 8GB was considered the happy medium, and I haven't regretted going the extra mile. It can get a little tight (~80 - 90% usage) once you have a a couple graphics applications, an IDE, some local servers and a half dozen browser windows open - though nothing some workflow tweaks couldn't manage. You can always buy more I suppose, but the likelihood of price increases and a new console generation right around the corner has me spooked.

GPU:
Locally the 2080 Super is a solid ~30 - 50% increase in price over the 2070 Super, for a ~10 - 20% gain in performance from what I've read (depending on the application). It's really tempting, but I'm not sure I can justify the price/performance.

Motherboard:
The TUF seems an excellent and slightly cheaper alternative. I'll give it some additional research.

catpurrcat · Mar 2, 2020

RandomError said:
Thanks everyone, you've given me a lot to think about.

Storage:
I love the idea of ditching spinning rust. It would probably end up a bit more expensive for less overall storage, but it's definitely something to consider, especially with the next generation of consoles moving to solid state drives. I'm a bit limited when it comes to choice with local suppliers -- what's the consensus on Seagate 2.5" or Intel 660p NVMe drives?

RAM:
I'm a bit more conflicted when it comes to RAM. When I bought my current PC, 8GB was considered the happy medium, and I haven't regretted going the extra mile. It can get a little tight (~80 - 90% usage) once you have a a couple graphics applications, an IDE, some local servers and a half dozen browser windows open - though nothing some workflow tweaks couldn't manage. You can always buy more I suppose, but the likelihood of price increases and a new console generation right around the corner has me spooked.

GPU:
Locally the 2080 Super is a solid ~30 - 50% increase in price over the 2070 Super, for a ~10 - 20% gain in performance from what I've read (depending on the application). It's really tempting, but I'm not sure I can justify the price/performance.

Motherboard:
The TUF seems an excellent and slightly cheaper alternative. I'll give it some additional research.

i'll just comment on the storage. For 2 1/2 inch SSD drives, you can pick up western digital, or crucial mx. For NVME M2, the xpg gammix, adata su800, sabrent rocket, silicon power, are all excellent value.

Crazymoogle · Mar 2, 2020

RandomError said:
Storage: I'm a bit limited when it comes to choice with local suppliers -- what's the consensus on Seagate 2.5" or Intel 660p NVMe drives?

RAM: I'm a bit more conflicted when it comes to RAM.

GPU: Locally the 2080 Super is a solid ~30 - 50% increase in price over the 2070 Super, for a ~10 - 20% gain in performance from what I've read (depending on the application).

Nothing particularly wrong with Seagate NVME, I believe they are reusing the Firecuda brand name all over the place, but as long as you're buying an SSD and not a hybrid its probably fine. The only thing you want to look out for with NVME is that the market is starting to see some "DRAM Less" models that are cheaper but of course have terrible latency issues.

Intel's 660p is sort of notorious as the slowest QLC drive out there, but as long as you give it some capacity to work with (read: empty space to use) it's not abysmal. I feel like the 660p is where I would consider a SATA SSD instead, but read some reviews to decide yourself.

Go with your gut on the RAM and GPU. Nothing wrong with your choices.

ABeezy1388 · Mar 2, 2020

Vulcano's Assistant said:
Seems like a fair price for a friend, certainly not too much. For a stranger you could easily double the price of some components, since even if they are not the current models, some of those parts like the PSU or RAM could go into a brand new systems.

Hmm, I'm for making the most money possible. Not sure if it would be worth my time and energy to post? I'd prefer to sell the whole pc and not part it out; but if I could do so easily and make money I'm not against it.

where are people listing their PCs and parts there's days? Or maybe i should ask where do they sell the fastest?

ploonkey · Mar 2, 2020

Rizific said:
In my experience, I've had the pump go out on two of my corsair AIOs. If you're monitoring your temps (and you should), it'll be obvious if the pump goes out. Was able to get both of them RMAd. I now have a cheapy back up aircooler just in case.

What happens exactly? Chip gets hot and triggers a shutdown? What if you leave the PC on and you're not around?

Vulcano's Assistant · Mar 2, 2020

ABeezy1388 said:
Hmm, I'm for making the most money possible. Not sure if it would be worth my time and energy to post? I'd prefer to sell the whole pc and not part it out; but if I could do so easily and make money I'm not against it.

where are people listing their PCs and parts there's days? Or maybe i should ask where do they sell the fastest?

I've never used it (always preferred craigslist and meeting in person), but /hardwareswap is still the most popular place I know.

That said, I am really not a fan of shipping things to strangers, so I think getting a friend to buy the whole system from you at once is worth it more than an extra couple hundred bucks.

JurassicUtility · Mar 2, 2020

Crazymoogle said:
Has anyone here really gone through the DRAM Calculator rigamarole? I'm looking for a solid/obvious way to test that is a bit more...stable...than the two pieces of advice I've read (the gamut of "try a few games" to "3+ hours on memtest per change"). Maybe that's in an AMD thread?

If you want to go down the rabbit hole of fine tuning your timings, I found this to be a pretty useful resource:

MemTestHelper/DDR4 OC Guide.md at master · integralfx/MemTestHelper

C# WPF to automate HCI MemTest. Contribute to integralfx/MemTestHelper development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Regarding testing, I found their suggested settings of 800-800k fft in prime95 were a pretty reliable way to quickly reveal instability (~10-15 min usually). After you find settings that don't immediately fail, then you can test long term stability with memtest, or just more prime95 if you like.

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