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

Do you guys think $450 is a fair price for this setup?

CPU: Intel - Core i5-7400
CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 EVO
Motherboard: H110M-A/M.2 Micro ATX
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133
Storage: SanDisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5"
Video Card: Sapphire RX 460 4GB NITRO
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply: Corsair CXM450W Bronze Semi-Modular


Seems like its in the same price/performance ballpark as budget builds with newer parts. Cheaper, even.
 
If you were selling it, what price would you ask for it?
Pretty close to the price you stated. Around $400-500 depending on who I'm selling to, and whether I'm trying to make money or unload older parts. I've only ever "sold" to friends and that involved them paying the costs for parts and then paying for a fancy meal or two.

But $450 strikes me as a decent price for a computer that is comparable to a $500 newer computer. Walmart has occasionally sold a similar refurbished computer with a better GPU for even less though. I think it's been mentioned here. So that might make for a lower price point. (Edit: Amazon has a similarish refurbed HP tower at $550. But it has a gtx 1060 3gb and a 1tb hd instead of what your GPU and ssd. It probably has a worse cooler and psu. I think that makes yours pretty reasonable.).
 
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Pretty close to the price you stated. Around $400-500 depending on who I'm selling to, and whether I'm trying to make money or unload older parts. I've only ever "sold" to friends (twice) and that involved them paying the costs for parts and then paying for a fancy meal or two.

But $450 strikes me as a decent price for a computer that is comparable to a $500 newer computer. Walmart has occasionally sold a similar refurbished computer with a better GPU for even less though. I think it's been mentioned here. So that might make for a lower price point. (Edit: Amazon has a similarish refurbed HP tower at $550. But it has a gtx 1060 3gb and a 1tb hd instead of what yours has. It probably has a worse cooler and psu).

I'm just trying to offload hardware I don't use. I've always just sold pieces on ebay, forums, etc. I've never tried to sell a complete system before. I'm thinking facebook marketplace or a local craigslist type of website.
There isn't really a market for this stuff around me, I usually see dell/hp machines for sale but never anything custom.
I don't like selling to friends because when something breaks they usually bitch the most.
 
@jefferz @Madmick
I've got a 7700k, Asus 1070 dual fan and 32gb of ram. Occasionally when I start a game my AOC monitor will either go super blurry or will simply "no connection" black screen and continually cycle through on and off like there is nothing connected to the display. I've tried two different Displayport cables and still the same. Would it be an issue with my GPU?
 
@jefferz @Madmick
I've got a 7700k, Asus 1070 dual fan and 32gb of ram. Occasionally when I start a game my AOC monitor will either go super blurry or will simply "no connection" black screen and continually cycle through on and off like there is nothing connected to the display. I've tried two different Displayport cables and still the same. Would it be an issue with my GPU?
Have you tried it with the HDMI port?
 
No I haven.t At least not yet. Is there much difference between the quality of HDMI and DP?
No. It's just a question of whether or not HDMI can meet the demand. DP has a higher bandwidth, so it can support 8K or multiple monitors where HDMI cannot unless you have multiple ports, but for video quality where both can meet the demand, there's no difference.
 
It only ever happens when I open the game also. I'm not sure why or how, I'd assume it's a graphics card issue, but I have all the latest driver updates and it still happens say once or twice a week. I've been gaming on PC for 20 years and I don't know what the hell is going on.
 
Graphics Card Prices Set to Fall After Demand for Shipments Drops 40% in a Single Month
Game Debate said:
Graphics card prices could be set to take another tumble after DigiTimes revealed that demand from retailers has plummeted 40% in the last month alone. Graphics card AIB partners such as MSI, ASUS, and Gigabyte, are seeing demand fall as the cryptocurrency market reaches saturation point.

DigiTimes notes that demand from mining farm operators has, in some cases, stopped completely. They’ve either purchased all of the graphics cards they need to are they’re waiting on the new ASIC Ethereum mining machines which are set to launch later in 2018.

It means graphics card manufacturers are going to find themselves in a tight spot for the next few months, and will potentially find themselves with surplus supplies of GPUs. Keep your eyes peeled because this could be a fantastic time to pick up a new graphics card, provided you aren’t waiting for the imminent arrival of Nvidia’s next-gen graphics processors at least.

Profit margins for AIB partners are expected to fall from 50% down to around 20-25%, with the potential to drop even lower should second-hand GPUs begin to flood the market. This could lead to promising sales and slashed promotional offers from official retailers.

It’s worth bearing in mind if you’re shopping on reseller sites such as eBay that graphics cards used for mining will have been running at full capacity for months on end and won’t be in the greatest condition. It’s going to be worth ensuring with the seller if you can that these graphics cards haven’t been used to cryptocurrency mining before you buy.

Despite these worries, AMD CEO Lisa Su has said she doesn’t expect second-hand graphics cards to begin diluting the market anytime soon. “I do think the blockchain infrastructure is here to stay,” said Su. “I think there are numerous currencies, there are numerous applications that are using the blockchain technology. We don't see a significant risk of secondhand GPUs coming into the market.” AMD, obviously, is hoping for demand from miners to stay at a high and has a vested interest in doing so.

We do see a bit of volatility,” Su says in regards to blockchain, “and that's why we are putting into our forecast for the second quarter, and the second half, a little bit lower blockchain demand.” It’s interesting to watch both AMD and Nvidia cater to crypto miners on one hand while trying to pander to gamers with the other.

Anyway, the good news is that there’s a nice, cheap light at the end of what’s been a long, dark tunnel for the GPU market. Excess stock means prices should be set to drop all around, so if you’ve had your eye on a purchase, now may be the time.
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Good news is I can finally upgrade my graphic cards at a relatively cheap price.

Bad news is all the money I invested into semiconductor stock is about to take a further beating.
 
I have connected windows 10 PC's to quite a few different tv's and screens recently.
It's cool how it sets on the highest possible native resolution. Even 4:3 screens.
 
I was thinking how a PC videocard matches up to PS4 videocard.
Can you comare it to a GTX 1060 or like a 1080 ?
I heard somewhere most consoles use AMD cards.
I mean can my GPU match up to a PS4 Pro ?
 
I was thinking how a PC videocard matches up to PS4 videocard.
Can you comare it to a GTX 1060 or like a 1080 ?
I heard somewhere most consoles use AMD cards.
I mean can my GPU match up to a PS4 Pro ?
A PS4 has an AMD 7870. The Pro is a little slower than an AMD RX470.
The cpu is old garbage and you have to go back 5+ years to find equal performance.
 
Intel Calls End of Life on Core i5 and Core i7 Kaby Lake-X CPUs Just 11 Months After Launch
Well, it was a stupid idea, so good for you. Glad you listened to the vacuum of money.
The cpu is old garbage and you have to go back 5+ years to find equal performance.
True, but this isn't really fair, though, because their CPUs aren't being used in the same way. For example, when Sony unlocked the 7th core on the PS4 in the summer of 2015 (probably out of necessity) it demonstrated that for the first year and a half of the console's lifespan that it was reserving those last two cores just for the OS and non-gaming tasks/processes. That makes for a much more efficient usage of those final cores so that such a large portion of their processing power doesn't sit, idle, and waste as it does in many PC rigs. For example, Battlefield 1 runs on the original PS4 hardware, when Game Debate reports an FX-6350 requirement for "Minimum" settings, but this is already far more powerful than the "Liverpool" CPU should be on paper:

PS4 "Liverpool" CPU vs. FX-6350
  • 7(+1) Cores vs. 6 Cores
  • 1.6 GHz (2.7 GHz Turbo) vs. 3.9 GHz (4.2 GHz Turbo)
  • 4MB L2 Cache vs. 6MB L2 Cache
  • N/A L3 Cache vs. 8MB L3 Cache
Optimization of better "static scheduling" enables these CPUs to keep up with more demanding graphics.


Techpowerup Relative GPU Performance Benchmarks

Rough equivalents in terms of raw FLOP power:
  1. Xbox One = Radeon HD 7770
  2. Xbox One S = Radeon HD 7790
  3. PS4 = Radeon HD 7850
  4. PS4 Pro = RX 470
  5. Xbox One X = RX 580 8GB / GTX 1060 6GB
 
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Intel Calls End of Life on Core i5 and Core i7 Kaby Lake-X CPUs Just 11 Months After Launch
Well, it was a stupid idea, so good for you. Glad you listened to the vacuum of money.

True, but this isn't really fair, though, because their CPUs aren't being used in the same way. For example, when Sony unlocked the 7th core on the PS4 in the summer of 2015 (probably out of necessity) it demonstrated that for the first year and a half of the console's lifespan that it was reserving those last two cores just for the OS and non-gaming tasks/processes. That makes for a much more efficient usage of those final cores so that such a large portion of their processing power doesn't sit, idle, and waste as it does in many PC rigs. For example, Battlefield 1 runs on the original PS4 hardware, when Game Debate reports an FX-6350 requirement for "Minimum" settings, but this is already far more powerful than the "Liverpool" CPU should be on paper:

PS4 "Liverpool" CPU vs. FX-6350
  • 7(+1) Cores vs. 6 Cores
  • 1.6 GHz (2.7 GHz Turbo) vs. 3.9 GHz (4.2 GHz Turbo)
  • 4MB L2 Cache vs. 6MB L2 Cache
  • N/A L3 Cache vs. 8MB L3 Cache
Optimization of better "static scheduling" enables these CPUs to keep up with more demanding graphics.


Techpowerup Relative GPU Performance Benchmarks

Rough equivalents in terms of raw FLOP power:
  1. Xbox One = Radeon HD 7770
  2. Xbox One S = Radeon HD 7790
  3. PS4 = Radeon HD 7850
  4. PS4 Pro = RX 470
  5. Xbox One X = RX 580 8GB / GTX 1060 6GB

It’s still horribly outdated.
 
It’s still horribly outdated.
True. After all, the FX-6300 is itself horribly outdated, but if we adopt such a strict perspective, we would argue that it was outdated the day it launched. I'm just pointing out the drastic apples-to-oranges landscape of CPUs in consoles versus PCs, and how because of that perhaps the most practical approach is to judge them according to the ruler used for the lifespan of PC CPUs.

The "Liverpool" will be a viable AAA gaming CPU until the PS4 is retired; old garbage CPUs from 5+ years ago most certainly will not.
 
So a while ago I installed linux mint on a Samsung EVO several months back. So tonight I was thinking of cloning primary windows hard drive (older SSD) and using EVO as primary. What do I do next start clearing off EVO and copying files I want to keep. Deleting everything else. I delete the partition with linux and go to clone using Samsung software. It produces error. At some point I restart and Windows wont boot. I grabbed a Windows disc and tried the tricks to repair the MBR. Nothing is working.

Fuck I just took a trip to noob town.
Next step is to create a bootable Linux usb and reinstall to Samsung SSD to hopefully
create a PC that will boot normally.

Any help would be appreciated.

+Edit finally got it working the next morning.
Used windows disc and did command prompt
bootrec /fixmbr the same way I did last night but for some reason it works
first try today. Lesson learned.
 
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I need help improving my $850 gaming desktop with the following criteria:
  • CPU
    • minimum: R5-1200 or i5-7400 level of performance (note: i3-8100 > i5-7400)
    • If Intel CPU w/Turbo Boost of 4.0+ GHz, then a CPU cooler equivalent of the Cooler Master Hyper T2 (or better) to replace stock should be included
    • Both OC and Non-OC builds are valid; whatever extracts more performance within budget (ex. this is where the R5-1600 on cheap motherboards with the stock Wraith Spire shines)
  • Motherboard
  • GPU
    • minimum: RX 480 4GB or GTX 1060 3GB level of performance
    • I respect the special value added by 8-pin power connector variants of the GTX 1060 cards if within budget, especially if the premium is low enough that a guaranteed overclock would enhance actual value
    • AMD cards are strongly preferred for Freesync capability
  • RAM
    • minimum: 16GB DDR4
    • optimal: 4 slots; DDR4-3200 CAS16 or DDR4-3000 CAS15 level of performance (or better)
  • Drives
    • minimum: 240GB SSD for OS
    • minimum: 1TB 7200RPM+ HDD (3TB tends to win on value right now)
  • PSU
    • minimum: 550W, 80+ Bronze (or better), Semi-Modular (or better)
  • Case
    • Let's set the Cooler Master N200 as a spiritual minimum to avoid the shitboxes (i.e. no pre-installed fans, crap front port panel, zero airflow or noise dampening, cramped and incapable of housing any CPU cooling, or barely any drives, etc.)
  • Misc
    • Sacramento, CA is destination if you want to set a zip code for automatic shipping/tax considerations
    • No OS, WiFi, optical drive, or KB+M is required.
    • Rebate value is recognized, but not as much as up-front savings

The reason this is so challenging is because I really want to put together a Freesync build, obviously, but the AMD RX 580 4GB cards are starkly overpriced compared to the GTX 1060 3GB cards right now, and the 8GB entry is running ~$330 which effectively breaks this budget unless I: (a) go with an R3-1200 or i3-8100, (b) sacrifice/nerf drives, or (c) troll myself with cute PSU/Case substitutes. I don't really want to do any of those things, but I've peeled through /buildapcsales, Slickdeals, Jet, Techbargains, eBay, and a few others because I was really hoping to see some better prices on an RX 480 8GB or RX 580 8GB below $330, but I didn't see anything.

The need for Displayport connectivity in addition to HDMI also wipes the entire economy class of AMD motherboards off the table, too, with the sole exception of the ASRock A320M, requiring another ~$40 invested there with R5-1600 builds. I think this is where I might be overlooking some of the best values though because a lot of the best deals I've seen have been CPU + Motherboard and Motherboard + RAM sale combos.

GTX 1060 3GB Build
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($175.69 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: Hitachi - Ultrastar 7K3000 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.51 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master - N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($46.21 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.48 @ Newegg)
Other: Team Group L5 LITE 2.5" 240GB SATA III 2D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) T2535T240G0C101 ($49.99)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING 1.51GHz, 03G-P4-5160-RX, 3GB GDDR5 ($199.99)
Other: Patriot Viper Elite 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Desktop Memory Model (Coupon Code: APPSPECIAL) ($124.99)
Total: $783.85*
*$768.85 when rebates applied
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-20 05:36 EDT-0400


There is considerable headroom there, but not much to be done with it in that budget.
-- the most pressing upgrade is to reject the Fry sale on the RAM and get the G. Skill DDR4-3200MHz CAS16 sticks for $165 (+$40); more critical for Ryzen CPU builds than Intel builds.
-- otherwise, the most serious upgrade option would be conversion to an i5-8600K (+$62), without ambitions of overclocking, since that would incur an additional ~$50 Z370 motherboard premium, but it would still be worth it for the Turbo alone; there happens to be a $16 sale on the Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED running, so this just about works.
-- alternatively, it's $100 more for the EVGA GTX 1060 6GB, also slightly exceeding budget, but for the most significant upgrade to raw gaming power.
-- I'm not too hung up on the overages since I have $15 in the rebate tank, and because I could knock $15 off the PSU, $10 off the motherboard, and $15 off the case within criteria if necessary, but I like these choices because the market clearly regards this $40 as unworthy & unvaluable savings.


I'm really depressed that this is likely my best option. I want that Freesync like Rick wants his Szechuan Sauce. What's the best anyone can do on an R5-1600 Freesync build with an RX 480 8GB or RX 580 8GB that meets my criteria?
 
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