|OT| The PC Hardware Thread -- Buy/Upgrade/Ask/Answer
- Thread starter Durante
- Start date
Hi all,
For the past little while playing on PC I've been buying gaming laptops, but at this point I'm looking to put together a PC on my own. Seeing as how my last PC build was so long ago I was looking to start over from scratch. I'm planning on getting the upcoming zen/gtx models (like everyone else I imagine) and so I put this preliminary list together:
Could I get some input as to what's good or should be changed? If there's any red flags on anything I chose there? Or just any recommendations in general. I'm already up to $1100cdn on that list somehow.
For the past little while playing on PC I've been buying gaming laptops, but at this point I'm looking to put together a PC on my own. Seeing as how my last PC build was so long ago I was looking to start over from scratch. I'm planning on getting the upcoming zen/gtx models (like everyone else I imagine) and so I put this preliminary list together:
Could I get some input as to what's good or should be changed? If there's any red flags on anything I chose there? Or just any recommendations in general. I'm already up to $1100cdn on that list somehow.
Involution No comments at the moment but some things for you to keep in mind/check out. These are all things that have bitten me in the past so i'm trying to spare the pain 
What size GFX card does that case support? Have a look at other builds and see what cards they use, have a look at the manufacturers site as they will have max dimensions for components the case will support. I had to buy "smaller" GTX/RTX cards due to my old Fractal Design case which limited what cards i could look at.
What dimension CPU cooler does the case support? My current case didn't support my Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler ( The cooler is 8mm too tall) so i had to use the Stock Wraith RGB until i could get an AIO water cooler setup and even then i had to double check the dimensions to make sure they fit.
Will that cooler support the upcoming/newer CPUs? Another thing with CPU coolers is to try to find builds with your motherboard as some coolers will not fit due to components being in the way of the heat-pipes etc.
I'd also look at getting another fan for the back of the case too because why not?
I'm not trying to be doom and gloom as building your own machine is awesome. Just double check stuff will probably fit before you get it
Another thing, an OEM Windows 10 key shouldn't cost you $110+. You can get them cheaper. I'm in the UK so i've no idea where would be good for you but i get my W10 Pro 64bit OEM keys for around £20. If you go changing too many components you'll have to phone Microsoft but tbh, it's never happened to me.
What size GFX card does that case support? Have a look at other builds and see what cards they use, have a look at the manufacturers site as they will have max dimensions for components the case will support. I had to buy "smaller" GTX/RTX cards due to my old Fractal Design case which limited what cards i could look at.
What dimension CPU cooler does the case support? My current case didn't support my Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler ( The cooler is 8mm too tall) so i had to use the Stock Wraith RGB until i could get an AIO water cooler setup and even then i had to double check the dimensions to make sure they fit.
Will that cooler support the upcoming/newer CPUs? Another thing with CPU coolers is to try to find builds with your motherboard as some coolers will not fit due to components being in the way of the heat-pipes etc.
I'd also look at getting another fan for the back of the case too because why not?
I'm not trying to be doom and gloom as building your own machine is awesome. Just double check stuff will probably fit before you get it
Another thing, an OEM Windows 10 key shouldn't cost you $110+. You can get them cheaper. I'm in the UK so i've no idea where would be good for you but i get my W10 Pro 64bit OEM keys for around £20. If you go changing too many components you'll have to phone Microsoft but tbh, it's never happened to me.
I doubt that cpu cooler is better than the stock cooler you get from Ryzen, so I would suggest either upgrading that or remove it from your list.
I would also change your PSU maybe to this? https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/jWFXsY/seasonic-focus-plus-gold-850w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-850fx
More reputable, slightly cheaper, 10 years warranty, hybrid mode fan (Fan don't start spinning until the psu is on load) and judging from the leaks, maybe you'll need that 850W if you bought a 3090, maybe.
Case is pretty decent if you really need that blu-ray. CPU cooler is up to 165mm so most cpu cooler will fit. and no problem for gpu length as well.
If you don't mind buying windows 10 via cd key sellers, you can save a ton of money that way as well.
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When do we think 3000 series will be up for pre-order? Day of announcement? Never done this with a GPU before.
No idea. I'll probably wait for the 3rd party boards and prices before deciding. I reckon my 2070 will last me a good while yet so aside from "Shiny new things" i'm not really in any rush. I do have money saved for some new kit tho...
Okay, one of my WD Passport drives is totally on it's way out and i want to reformat it but i want to copy what data i can from it before i do. Windows just gets hung up reporting bad blocks when i try to copy some files. Is there a decent, preferably free, data copying tool i can use to copy "Good" files onto another disk that won't get all upset and spend 45 minutes cancelling a file copy?
edit:
Thanks, it's a 4tb WD Passport drive i was using for Steam Backups and general files. Now it's got creeping death and if i try to copy too much windows gives up and i get a BSOD which always helps. I've remembered i have Unstoppable Copier/TeraCopy and a couple of other utils due to work so i'll give them a whirl. It's nothing too important but it is a couple hundred gigs of data i'd rather not have to redo.
Wow, windows is REALLY unhappy about me wanting to restart because it can't cancel a file copy operation.
edit: and now it knows i have tools to try to copy the data it's totally died and explorer won't recognise it at all. sigh
edit:
Thanks, it's a 4tb WD Passport drive i was using for Steam Backups and general files. Now it's got creeping death and if i try to copy too much windows gives up and i get a BSOD which always helps. I've remembered i have Unstoppable Copier/TeraCopy and a couple of other utils due to work so i'll give them a whirl. It's nothing too important but it is a couple hundred gigs of data i'd rather not have to redo.
Wow, windows is REALLY unhappy about me wanting to restart because it can't cancel a file copy operation.
edit: and now it knows i have tools to try to copy the data it's totally died and explorer won't recognise it at all. sigh
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Pictures (renders) of the Zotac 30xx cards leaked:
videocardz.com
ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity Pictured - VideoCardz.com
It appears that the first custom RTX 30 graphics card to leak comes from ZOTAC. ZOTAC GeForce RTX 30 Series ZOTAC will launch at least eight cards: GeForce RTX 3090 AMP Extreme GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity HoLo GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Extreme GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity HoLo...
videocardz.com
I want to see prices and benchmarks, hurryup hurryup hurryup hurryup hurryup!
The continuing Saga of the Deed Drive: TestDisk 7.2 is currently scanning for partition data... slowly, but it's scanning.
It's payday, i'm moody, i remembered i need a new V2 Hue Hub for my lights because V1 is being retired soon and ended up getting a V2 Hue Hub and the Corsair LS100 Starter Kit so i can get my funky monitor lighting back again too.
The continuing Saga of the Deed Drive: TestDisk 7.2 is currently scanning for partition data... slowly, but it's scanning.
It's payday, i'm moody, i remembered i need a new V2 Hue Hub for my lights because V1 is being retired soon and ended up getting a V2 Hue Hub and the Corsair LS100 Starter Kit so i can get my funky monitor lighting back again too.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #1,215
I wrote a silly long somewhat rambly message on r/hardware that might interest the nerdiest amongst you:
(it's 4 am here so I might be full of shit)
Edit: the bullet point formatting of the orignal post is broken in the embed here, at least for me, so it's better to click the link to read it.
(it's 4 am here so I might be full of shit
)Edit: the bullet point formatting of the orignal post is broken in the embed here, at least for me, so it's better to click the link to read it.
This is like when Superman was on a cereal box and the toy inside was completely unrelated. The thing is, I get the utility of putting superheroes on cereal boxes - it lures the kids in and gets them to pester their parents to buy that brand of cereal. I don't think we'll be seeing many people buying an Intel CPU because Iron Man is printed on the box.
Game not included. GG, Intel.
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:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4042642/er_photo_178456.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4039088/verto.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4042624/frogmech2.0.jpg)
OP
- Thread Starter
- #1,220
Ok, that makes Intel seem a tad desperate.
Game not included. GG, Intel.
Yup this is exactly the type of nerd I am, but I prefer enthusiastI wrote a silly long somewhat rambly message on r/hardware that might interest the nerdiest amongst you:
(it's 4 am here so I might be full of shit
Edit: the bullet point formatting of the orignal post is broken in the embed here, at least for me, so it's better to click the link to read it.
Also, 3090 has 82.5% more transistors than a 2080 Ti. Where did they all go? I really think we are getting something special here. NVIDIA didn't just get Micron to come up with custom super fast memory for no reason.
I cannot wait to read the white paper!
| 1080Ti | 2080Ti | |
| Cores | 3584 | 4352 (+17%) |
| Effective Clock Speed | ~1900MHz | ~1900MHz |
| Memory | 11 GB GDDR5x | 11GB GDDR6 |
| Bandwidth | 484.4 GB/s | 616 GB/s (+27%) |
| Death Stranding 4k [FPS] | 52.5 | 70.3 (+34%) |
| HZD 4k [FPS] | 29.8 | 40.1 (+35%) |
| The Division 2 4k [FPS] | 45.2 | 68.4 (+51%) |
| Doom Eternal 4k (FPS] | 70 | 104.8 (+50%) |
| Jedi Fallen Order 4k [FPS] | 51.8 | 68.5 (+32%) |
| Gears 5 4k [FPS] | 57.7 | 74.3 (+29%) |
| Anthem 4k [FPS] | 36.7 | 54.3 (+48%) |
| Sekiro 4k [FPS] | 69 | 82.6 (+20%) |
| Borderlands 3 4k [FPS] | 33.4 | 43.7 (+31%) |
| CoD 4k 2019 | 47.6 | 71.9 (+51%) |
| Rage 2 4k [FPS] | 37.5 | 52.8 (+37%) |
| Resident Evil 3 4k [FPS] | 58.8 | 79.2 (+35%) |
| AC:Odyssey 4k [FPS] | 35.5 | 45.8 (+29%) |
A 2080Ti is on average 37% faster than a 1080Ti, running at a similar clock, with just 27% more memory bandwidth and 17% more cores.
A 2080 has about 20% less cores than a 1080Ti, but is about as fast. Estimating a 20% IPC improvement from Pascal to Turing is reasonable enough.
Another 20% IPC increase from Turing to Ampere with a 3090 having 20% more cores: That's interesting, even with similar clock speeds.
Durante Noob question: Is total memory size also a factor in estimating memory bandwidth needs? 2080 has less cores, less memory and less bandwidth than a 1080Ti but is about as fast.
The game is not even included? Just additional skins?
LOL
OP
- Thread Starter
- #1,223
The 2080ti also significantly changed the SMs by including a separate INT path that can run at the same time FP32.
That's (a big part of) how they got the IPC improvement.
So the question is, how do they get a big IPC improvement in Ampere? And that makes the 2xFP32 rumour which I initially dismissed slightly more plausible (IMHO -- note that I'm still not at all sold on it).
That's (a big part of) how they got the IPC improvement.
So the question is, how do they get a big IPC improvement in Ampere? And that makes the 2xFP32 rumour which I initially dismissed slightly more plausible (IMHO -- note that I'm still not at all sold on it).
NVIDIA straight up claims 50% IPC improvement from Pascal to Turing SM in the Turing white paper. Maybe they manage it a large IPC increase again, but if I knew how, I guess they would be paying me, hah
I could really really use an upgrade over my 1070, but it's going to cost me an arm and a leg.
Maybe two legs.
Maybe two legs.
Aim for the 3060 and hope for the best like I doI could really really use an upgrade over my 1070, but it's going to cost me an arm and a leg.
Maybe two legs.
What I find interesting about the rumored cards from NVIDIA is the amount of RAM.
I have the suspicion that that NVIDIA is keeping a card with ~16GB RAM in their back pocket.
Nvidia could release it as a counter-program to the big card from AMD (which may also be a 16GB card).
I have the suspicion that that NVIDIA is keeping a card with ~16GB RAM in their back pocket.
Nvidia could release it as a counter-program to the big card from AMD (which may also be a 16GB card).
OP
- Thread Starter
- #1,228
16 is hard to do with their current chips (they could do it on the 3070, but there it seems like overkill). I think a 20 GB 3080 version might be more likely in case they need it.
(People ask why they went all the way to 24 GB on the 3090, which is most certainly overkill -- the simple answer is that it's either that, or 12 GB. Anything in between would require a somewhat awkward 970-like setup)
Is there a good bits + bandwidth math reason they couldn’t do 12 on the 3080?
I haven’t looked into any of the RAM specs on 3080 vs 3090...
Thanks for your feedback! The case is a placeholder for now, at least till dimensions are ready. I'm not messing around with small form factors so I think I put in a semi decent full size tower. I'll keep your other points in mind while shopping around, especially the win10 keys.Involution No comments at the moment but some things for you to keep in mind/check out. These are all things that have bitten me in the past so i'm trying to spare the pain
What size GFX card does that case support? Have a look at other builds and see what cards they use, have a look at the manufacturers site as they will have max dimensions for components the case will support. I had to buy "smaller" GTX/RTX cards due to my old Fractal Design case which limited what cards i could look at.
What dimension CPU cooler does the case support? My current case didn't support my Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler ( The cooler is 8mm too tall) so i had to use the Stock Wraith RGB until i could get an AIO water cooler setup and even then i had to double check the dimensions to make sure they fit.
Will that cooler support the upcoming/newer CPUs? Another thing with CPU coolers is to try to find builds with your motherboard as some coolers will not fit due to components being in the way of the heat-pipes etc.
I'd also look at getting another fan for the back of the case too because why not?
I'm not trying to be doom and gloom as building your own machine is awesome. Just double check stuff will probably fit before you get it
Another thing, an OEM Windows 10 key shouldn't cost you $110+. You can get them cheaper. I'm in the UK so i've no idea where would be good for you but i get my W10 Pro 64bit OEM keys for around £20. If you go changing too many components you'll have to phone Microsoft but tbh, it's never happened to me.
Are there any cooler recommendations you could make? I'll admit I never really looked closely at that before.
I think my ambitions would only take me to a 3080 at most lol. Is an 850w still what you'd recommend? I based my power supply pick based off the 2080 I think, but I'm not sure. That PSU does look good though.
Regarding the cd keys, I keep reading that the keys will eventually expire cause they're illegal? At least that's what keeps going around about the eBay keys. If nobody else here has any problems with them then maybe I'll just grab one off an online store instead of buying from a retailer like a chump.
Is there a better x570 board I should be looking out for as well? I'm not sure if the one I picked is a good one or not.
I appreciate the feedback from both of you, it's been helpful.
For air coolers if you're looking for the high end ones, noctua nhd15 or bequiet dark rock pro 4 is pretty much the best ones. For mid range I've heard and read good things about scythe fuma 2. make sure to check the height compatiblity of your case before buying one of the tower coolers though. should be listed in every case site.
Since the 3080 hasn't come out yet I can't say for certain but I'm willing to bet that a 850w PSU can handle it just fine.
From my experience the win 10 cd keys is usually an oem key, that means it'll be tied to your motherboard. As long as you don't change your mb it'll never expired. even then i've heard if you tied the key to your ms account, you can still recover the licence. CMIIW though.
For X570 recommendation:
Hardware Unboxed is a good source on youtube to poke around if you're looking to build a new system. As well as gamers nexus. (if you have the time to watch them)
I'm still on my win 7 key from Uni. Been working great so far, even with windows 10 and I exchanged hardware several times now.Where do y'all find win10 keys that cheap?
But whenever I need one I visit this site:
Buy Microsoft Windows 10 Professional OEM - MMOGA
Buy Microsoft Windows 10 Professional OEM - It's the Windows you know, only better: Microsoft Windows 10 combines the strengths of Windows 8.1 and Windows 7
www.mmoga.com
eBayWhere do y'all find win10 keys that cheap?
I read somewhere that these keys are e.g. Chinese keys or keys from a "mass license" (don't know the right word).
A colleague of mine had one of his keys revoked. He asked the seller about it and got a replacement key as an answer.
I have never heard of Microsoft going after someone who uses these keys privately.
Microsoft does not really seem interested in stamping down on these key sellers. It is probably a good way to keep up the market share of Windows.
Microsoft doesn't care where you got a key for personal use, in fact you can keep using a windows without license the only thing you lose is the ability to customize the start menu and stuff like that (+ a Watermark) to which I say ¯\(ツ)/¯.
Now if you're a business is another world. I know of a few mid and big sized business where I live that had a bunch of unlicensed PCs and Servers and got visited by Microsoft, they agreed to buy more keys than they needed and everyone was happy.
Now if you're a business is another world. I know of a few mid and big sized business where I live that had a bunch of unlicensed PCs and Servers and got visited by Microsoft, they agreed to buy more keys than they needed and everyone was happy.
Hide yo watermark.
How to Remove Activate Windows Watermark Permanently [Full Guide]
Are you looking to remove the Activate Windows 10 Watermark that is showing on your desktop Like in the picture below? Below I have 7 different ways that you can ... Read MoreHow to Remove Activate Windows Watermark
computergarage.org
Change yo background
How to Change the Wallpaper on Unactivated Windows 10
Unactivated copies of Windows 10 have a limitation that disallows you from changing the wallpaper... except there's a workaround you can use!
www.makeuseof.com
Probably is some kind of mass license. Got mine for $2 on a local site.
Where do y'all find win10 keys that cheap?
Reddit - Dive into anything
www.reddit.com
other than my current pc, been using keys from here for a while. also send all my friends here and none have had an issue yet, plus you can pay with alternate methods (venmo, bitcoin, etc) if you are into that sort of thing.
I'm still using a key (well i got one for W7 one for W8 and one for W10, but they're all W10 keys now
) that i got when i was at uni.Still good to know.
This one looks pretty good. Thanks for everyone's info. I think in the end, saving 200 Canadian dollars would be much better than the risk of having maybe 1 or 2 bad discount codes.I'm still on my win 7 key from Uni. Been working great so far, even with windows 10 and I exchanged hardware several times now.
But whenever I need one I visit this site:
Buy Microsoft Windows 10 Professional OEM - MMOGA
Buy Microsoft Windows 10 Professional OEM - It's the Windows you know, only better: Microsoft Windows 10 combines the strengths of Windows 8.1 and Windows 7
So the Gainward 3080 requires 750W PSU minimum, which means I'm out of luck by 100W.
Hopefully the 3070 will be less power hungry, and hopefully be an upgrade over the 2080S.
I'm really not keen to already replace my new PSU.
As long as you get the keys from reputable sites it's worth it. Even if i ended up having to buy a couple of keys over the years it would still work out way cheaper than a retail copy of Windows 10 Pro x64 and much cheaper than buying an OEM key from a hardware site.
Let's wait for the tests. Perhaps a good quality 650W power supply is enough?
So the Gainward 3080 requires 750W PSU minimum, which means I'm out of luck by 100W.
Hopefully the 3070 will be less power hungry, and hopefully be an upgrade over the 2080S.
I'm really not keen to already replace my new PSU.
I refuse to be a sensible person and wait for the official announcement and some reviews, when I just can fall pray to the hype train and complain in advance!
Twice the RTX performance sounds to good indeed.
That would basically mean that enabling Ray Tracing would be performance free (in current games).
Personally I just hope DLSS 3.0 (if there is a DLSS 3.0) isn't Ampere exclusive. Fracturing the DLSS base into 2.0 and 3.0 users instead of taking the chance to multiply the user foundation by keeping things together would be wrong imo. More users = more incentive to implement the tech, which is good for everybody (but AMD).
I also hope Tensor Cores make an addition to "GTX" 3000 series cards. Or even better: Make every tier RTX now.
That would basically mean that enabling Ray Tracing would be performance free (in current games).
Personally I just hope DLSS 3.0 (if there is a DLSS 3.0) isn't Ampere exclusive. Fracturing the DLSS base into 2.0 and 3.0 users instead of taking the chance to multiply the user foundation by keeping things together would be wrong imo. More users = more incentive to implement the tech, which is good for everybody (but AMD).
I also hope Tensor Cores make an addition to "GTX" 3000 series cards. Or even better: Make every tier RTX now.