PC Sherdog PC Build/Buy Thread, v6: My Power Supply Burned Down My House

[Crono139]

At 24", I think you'd be much better off with a higher framerate and much lower response time Freesync TN panel like the:

• Viewsonic XG2401 (144Hz)
  
• AOC G2460PF (144Hz)
• Asus VG245H (75Hz)

...but maybe that doesn't provide the level of color accuracy you want for photo editing work or something.

At 27", alternatively, if it must be IPS, then I don't see why you don't opt for the 27" offerings where IPS is much more robust. It's not like the 23"-24" IPS panels are 144Hz, and their rarity means you see less competitive niche pricing.

I capped the monitor size to 24" because I feel like anything larger won't look right at only 1080p. It's a 280X so no FreeSync either.

No photo editing going on here. I just figured that IPS panels are the way to go if I can't put a higher end TN panel to good use. I still have a backlog of games to play through so I don't see myself needing to upgrade the GPU anytime soon.

 

[Madmick]

I capped the monitor size to 24" because I feel like anything larger won't look right at only 1080p. It's a 280X so no FreeSync either.

No photo editing going on here. I just figured that IPS panels are the way to go if I can't put a higher end TN panel to good use. I still have a backlog of games to play through so I don't see myself needing to upgrade the GPU anytime soon.

Whoops! Misread that! I thought you said RX 480.

 

[Madmick]

Also, damn, Monoprice is selling i7-7700K's for $310 on eBay, and that isn't even the lowest price, although I'm a bit skeptical that the 147 units listed for "New" for $300 might be true to their name considering the store retailer is named "Refurbs4less". The Ryzen 1700 itself can be had for $280 (not from high volume retailers, but from highly reputable low-volume sellers, brand new, in box).

No matter whether their offerings interested you the Ryzen 7 1700 has been tremendous for processor pricing, here. These 7700k's were bouncing between $350-$380 a mere few months ago.

 

[jefferz]

Also, damn, Monoprice is selling i7-7700K's for $310 on eBay, and that isn't even the lowest price, although I'm a bit skeptical that the 147 units listed for "New" for $300 might be true to their name considering the store retailer is named "Refurbs4less". The Ryzen 1700 itself can be had for $280 (not from high volume retailers, but from highly reputable low-volume sellers, brand new, in box).

No matter whether their offerings interested you the Ryzen 7 1700 has been tremendous for processor pricing, here. These 7700k's were bouncing between $350-$380 a mere few months ago.

I paid $285 or $290, I can't remember which, for my 7700k from monoprice on ebay a couple months ago.
Jet drops the price and gets them into the sub $300 range with their 15% off coupon every once in awhile.

 

[Madmick]

I paid $285 or $290, I can't remember which, for my 7700k from monoprice on ebay a couple months ago.
Jet drops the price and gets them into the sub $300 range with their 15% off coupon every once in awhile.

You scored a fantastic deal, then. Since Black Friday last year it seems like the $330-$340 lows had been the "good" days.

 

[jefferz]

You scored a fantastic deal, then. Since Black Friday last year it seems like the $330-$340 lows had been the "good" days.

Oddly, monoprice has ran the most sales on intel processors lately.
Since tiger direct went belly up, newegg has been slacking on the deals. I haven't seen any awesome must buy deals on high end hardware in awhile. Even the Black Friday and cyber Monday sales have sucked.
Amazon is such a pain to browse for deals I don't even bother anymore.

edit: monoprice just had it on sale for $295
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsa...lake_quadcore_42_ghz/?st=j2714k34&sh=7ab3c9e3


I found a kick ass site for SSD's. It a chart that lists the controller, memory manufacturer, warranty, and endurance of a bunch of ssd's. It even has links to reviews. I've checked a handful so far and it's accurate.
http://johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.html

They do power supplies also
http://johnnylucky.org/power-supplies/psu-recommendations.html

 

[Madmick]

Microsoft's Windows 10 Game Mode

So, does it work? No. Long story short for average FPS it does nothing. Looking at the 1% low FPS, so testing consistency, it does not do much or makes things worse.

Yeah, I didn't understand why people got excited about that. "Game Mode" = Task killer app.

DX12 itself doesn't amount to much for GPUs improvement right now, but I guess the main purpose of DX12 was to improve CPU scaling to prevent CPU bottlenecks. Seems like GPU-side there's a whole lot more promise with Vulkan. Apart from APIs and Drivers there's never been much anything of significance, has there? I'd say as far as gimmicky proprietary software that NVIDIA's PhysX engine has had the biggest impact for the games that adopted it. Remember when AMD was working so hard to pimp out their "TressX" competitor to that for hair rendering? That wasn't too long ago: 2012 or 2013, IIRC.

HardOCP did a work-up in March that among the most recent comparing the latest updates for DX12 vs. DX11 in games:
DX12 versus DX11 Gaming Performance Video Card Review (NVIDiA & AMD tested)
DX11 is still ahead in framerate in just about everything, but these are GPU-bound tests.

 

[m52nickerson]

Yeah, I didn't understand why people got excited about that. "Game Mode" = Task killer app.

DX12 itself doesn't amount to much for GPUs improvement right now, but I guess the main purpose of DX12 was to improve CPU scaling to prevent CPU bottlenecks. Seems like GPU-side there's a whole lot more promise with Vulkan. Apart from APIs and Drivers there's never been much anything of significance, has there? I'd say as far as gimmicky proprietary software that NVIDIA's PhysX engine has had the biggest impact for the games that adopted it. Remember when AMD was working so hard to pimp out their "TressX" competitor to that for hair rendering? That wasn't too long ago: 2012 or 2013, IIRC.

HardOCP did a work-up in March that among the most recent comparing the latest updates for DX12 vs. DX11 in games:
DX12 versus DX11 Gaming Performance Video Card Review (NVIDiA & AMD tested)
DX11 is still ahead in framerate in just about everything, but these are GPU-bound tests.

When you bring up being GPU bound that is the key here. Game Mode for the most part is just a silly idea. 99% of the time games performance is going to be bound by the GPU. There is simply not enough load being put on the CPU that it needs to be lessened. In some regards it looks as if the Game Mode itself is putting more of a load on the CPU trying to decide which tasks to restrict then the tasks themselves.

 

[dAfTiE]

How much did you fork out for it? AS of right now, I can't see a 1080ti (a good one) for less than $1k (£779) over here. I could buy one, but because of lack of stock, it's about 2-4 weeks delivery time, and in that time I forsee a price drop because the cheapest founders are now only about $800 (£629)

I hope AMD/Nvidia don't fast track their next lineup because I intend to stick with a 1080ti for atleast 2 years..

Mine was like 8800nok, so ~£792 or ~$1023. Had a preorder on a FE direct from nvidia, but it didn't ship with the first round so I cancelled and went with the asus instead.

 

[MusterX]

Can we talk about Headphones? I wouldn't mind getting you guys opinions on headphones. For me, sound is very important to your gaming experience. My son doesn't give a shit, he will play a game with no sound, makes no difference to him but if I even sense weakness in the sound of a gun for example then it can really ruin my experience. This requires a dedication on the part of the game maker to actually use good sounds but also for me to be using the proper headphones (or speakers) and sound card.

Usually I go wireless with all peripherals with the exception of keyboard. Keyboard is always wired. This is important if you plan on playing VR games with excellent sound. I am currently using the wireless G933 Artemis Spectrum by Logitech.

Some of the features include customizable lighting.

2.4GHz wireless
Game Wirelessly or Wired
G933 Artemis Spectrum Wireless Gaming Headset gives you the best of both worlds, with the option to play wirelessly or wired. Play lag-free on 2.4GHz wireless for up to 12 hours per charge, without lighting, or 8 hours, with default lighting.* Alternatively, the 3.5mm analog input on the headset gives you the freedom to play wired without using battery power.

Programmable G Keys

7.1 sound with customizable sound profiles.

Fold away noise cancelling mic.

Generally speaking I've been happy with this set of phones but there have been some cons. There was an issue with the sound cutting off if not in use every 5 minutes so you had to turn the volume control on the headset and then wait 3-5 seconds for the headphones to wake up. Enough people bitched about it so now there has been an update that allows you to set the amount of time out of use before the headphones go to sleep mode.

The range on the headphones is very good, at least 50 feet, I haven't measured it but I can walk anywhere in my house without losing a signal. They are a little bit heavy on the head but I got used to the weight and it hasn't been an issue for me. I generally get around 7 hours of continual use per charge with the lighting on. Logitech claims they can last up to 12 hours with lighting off but I haven't tested that. The sound is good but the volume is a bit limited for the pricetag ranging from $139.00-$199.00 depending on when and where you buy them.

I would be interested to know what you guys think about wired or wireless headphones and if money was no object what would you purchase as your next set?

 

[m52nickerson]

I would be interested to know what you guys think about wired or wireless headphones and if money was no object what would you purchase as your next set?

I'm not the right person to ask about audio. I have a mess of hearing loss and to me $20 head phones sound the same as $200 headphones. I just need them to be loud.

 

[jefferz]

I would be interested to know what you guys think about wired or wireless headphones and if money was no object what would you purchase as your next set?

For wired I'd go with Senheiser 598's with a Mod Mic.
For wireless, I'd just stick withe the G930's I have now.

 

[GhostZ06]

Can we talk about Headphones? I wouldn't mind getting you guys opinions on headphones. For me, sound is very important to your gaming experience. My son doesn't give a shit, he will play a game with no sound, makes no difference to him but if I even sense weakness in the sound of a gun for example then it can really ruin my experience. This requires a dedication on the part of the game maker to actually use good sounds but also for me to be using the proper headphones (or speakers) and sound card.

Usually I go wireless with all peripherals with the exception of keyboard. Keyboard is always wired. This is important if you plan on playing VR games with excellent sound. I am currently using the wireless G933 Artemis Spectrum by Logitech.

Some of the features include customizable lighting.

2.4GHz wireless
Game Wirelessly or Wired
G933 Artemis Spectrum Wireless Gaming Headset gives you the best of both worlds, with the option to play wirelessly or wired. Play lag-free on 2.4GHz wireless for up to 12 hours per charge, without lighting, or 8 hours, with default lighting.* Alternatively, the 3.5mm analog input on the headset gives you the freedom to play wired without using battery power.

Programmable G Keys

7.1 sound with customizable sound profiles.

Fold away noise cancelling mic.

Generally speaking I've been happy with this set of phones but there have been some cons. There was an issue with the sound cutting off if not in use every 5 minutes so you had to turn the volume control on the headset and then wait 3-5 seconds for the headphones to wake up. Enough people bitched about it so now there has been an update that allows you to set the amount of time out of use before the headphones go to sleep mode.

The range on the headphones is very good, at least 50 feet, I haven't measured it but I can walk anywhere in my house without losing a signal. They are a little bit heavy on the head but I got used to the weight and it hasn't been an issue for me. I generally get around 7 hours of continual use per charge with the lighting on. Logitech claims they can last up to 12 hours with lighting off but I haven't tested that. The sound is good but the volume is a bit limited for the pricetag ranging from $139.00-$199.00 depending on when and where you buy them.

I would be interested to know what you guys think about wired or wireless headphones and if money was no object what would you purchase as your next set?

do you have it in a 3.0 port?


i wanted to grab one of these headsets but i got the steelseries h

 

[MusterX]

do you have it in a 3.0 port?


i wanted to grab one of these headsets but i got the steelseries h

Over the last 10 years technology has moved in so many directions with its platforms, and port types, and operating systems, and wifi, and now VR, etc. that somrimes things don't work out just right and you can run into this problem.

When using a USB 2.0 2.4GHz wireless peripheral device (such as a mouse, keyboard, or headphones) with a PC that also has a USB 3.0 peripheral device plugged in, you may experience erratic operation caused by interference. This is especially likely to happen when using USB 3.0 remote hard drives or flash drives.


This interference may result in:

• Delayed response to mouse or keyboard inputs
• Missing keyboard characters or mouse commands
• Decreased operating distance between the USB 2.0 wireless device and its receiver

There are some techniques that can help early adopters of USB 3.0 to mitigate potential problems with their existing 2.4GHz wireless devices:

• If your PC has multiple USB 2.0 connectors available, separate your USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 receivers by as much distance as possible. For example, if your PC has a choice of USB 2.0 connectors, use the one on the opposite side of the PC from the USB 3.0 connector.

So basically my VR headset is using some 3.0 ports and I have had to separate my 2 devices, VR plugged in back, headset in front of computer and I haven't had any problems using the 3.0 port but some people claim they do.

 

[MusterX]

For wired I'd go with Senheiser 598's with a Mod Mic.
For wireless, I'd just stick withe the G930's I have now.

Wow, those are pretty slick jefferz

They seem like they would be great for music but they aren't specifically a gaming headphone right? I'll have to study up on those.

 

[jefferz]

Wow, those are pretty slick jefferz

They seem like they would be great for music but they aren't specifically a gaming headphone right? I'll have to study up on those.

Gaming headsets are overpriced for the quality you get. A studio headset and mic combo will sound insanely better than any "gamer" headset. They'll work just fine as computer headphones.
It's the same with high end computer speakers.

 

[dAfTiE]

Wow, those are pretty slick jefferz

They seem like they would be great for music but they aren't specifically a gaming headphone right? I'll have to study up on those.

AFAIK the HD598s use the same 50mm drivers as the Sennheiser Game Ones.

 

[Madmick]

Damn, a brand new Intel i5-3570K just went up on eBay brand new for $126 from a top seller a few minutes ago.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/232321450104?vectorid=229466&lgeo=1&item=232321450104&rmvSB=true

If anyone out there is still on a LGA 1155 motherboard, then that's actually still a great gaming CPU and deal, and it's still compatible with all the CPU coolers on the market including the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and Cryorig H7. If you're hung up on an old Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge Pentium or i3 (or possibly even an i5), then this could un-bottle you.

An EVO-overclocked 3570K for ~$150 is an insane game-specific processing value.

 

[Slobodan]

Is a 120mm AiO worth it?

 

[Madmick]

Is a 120mm AiO worth it?

Not from cooling benchmarks I've reviewed over the years. The heavy duty Noctua coolers like the C14, D14, D15, and D15S all routinely stomp the bestselling 120mm AIO coolers: Corsair H55, H60, H75, H80i v2, H80i GT; NZXT Kraken X31; Cooler Master Seidon 120V.

Lower temps and lower noise levels (at least at idle which is your lowest absolute noise levels) with similar pricing. It's only with 240mm, 280mm, and 360mm AIO coolers that offer substantially better delta temperatures under load than the best air coolers that liquid coolers' market appeal really comes through. I think the 120mm liquid coolers tend to also win sales due to the ability to get really high-end cooling performance into much more compact spaces than these bulky air coolers. If your case has 120mm fan mounting, then radiator thickness is usually much less of a concern. This, their lower price, and the superiority of 240mm+ for outright cooling explains, in my assessment, why the single-wide radiator 120mm Corsair coolers-- the H50, H55, and H60-- all outsell their strongest performers in the class: the H80i v2 and H80i GT. The latter are too expensive and don't compete with the top AIO solutions.

Now that the H75 is only $75, I suspect it will become their bestseller. It has the double-wide dual fan rad design, but it's actually slimmer than the H60. None of the single-wide coolers is less than $60 now, so at $75, the H75 is Corsair's new 120mm winner for those who want high-end cooling in smaller cases like Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX cases. These buyers will probably still consider less powerful compact air coolers like the Noctua L9i as an alternative.