|OT| The PC Hardware Thread -- Buy/Upgrade/Ask/Answer

fantomena

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fantomena If you mean just unplug the SSD from the current machine and put it into a new machine then I'd say sure, in my experience if it boots then windows will just use default drivers for the new hardware it finds. It might moan about the Serial Key but it should work. I wouldn't go swapping it back and forth between two PCs all the time but it should be fine to just swap over to a new build.
Thanks. It's just about if I need to buy a new SSD with 120gb or something which is just for the OS or if I can use my current one (which already has the OS installed).

I simply plan to have one small SSD for OS, 2 1tb m.2 nvme SSDs for games and another regular external 2 TB HDD (in use now) for mostly games not really needing an SSD.
 

NarohDethan

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I’ve been swapping the same Windows SSD since 2015 across 4 different machines and I’ve never had any problem. They all have been Intel cpus though.
 
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ISee

Oh_no!
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Why do you think they will be hard to find?
Because 2080Ti's were hard to find too. The top models like Trio X, Strix etc. were selling for exorbitant price for a couple months after release and were still constantly unavailable.
I know somebody who paid 1600€ for hist Zotac 2080Ti gaming close after release, just because everything else was unavailable.
I expect the same to happen with RTX 3090. People who paid 1300-1400€ for a 2080Ti will pay 1500-1700€ for a 3090. Demand will be there.
 

Phoenix RISING

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Because 2080Ti's were hard to find too. The top models like Trio X, Strix etc. were selling for exorbitant price for a couple months after release and were still constantly unavailable.
I know somebody who paid 1600€ for hist Zotac 2080Ti gaming close after release, just because everything else was unavailable.
I expect the same to happen with RTX 3090. People who paid 1300-1400€ for a 2080Ti will pay 1500-1700€ for a 3090. Demand will be there.
We will see. I'm counting on a poor COVID economy.
 

low-G

old school cool
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We will see. I'm counting on a poor COVID economy.
I wonder what portion of PC gamers are negatively affected by Covid in the first place.

Second, you must consider those willing to put themselves in financial peril because of the dire doomsday that hangs over our collective heads compels them to delve deeper into escapism.
 
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Phoenix RISING

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I wonder what portion of PC gamers are negatively affected by Covid in the first place.

Second, you must consider those willing to put themselves in financial peril because of the dire doomsday that hangs over our collective heads compels them to delve deeper into escapism.
Well if people want to be stupid, I guess we lose the moral high ground when it comes to judging our leaders.
 

Joe Spangle

Playing....
Apr 17, 2019
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I have a question....
My current gpu has a water block on it. When i take it out to replace with a new card i think i want to put the fan back on it for ease of use if i need to use it again (im not going to water cool the new card). I think i still have all the bits from the cooler but there were about a million screws and bits and so im not sure if ill be able to reconstruct the original cooler. Can you buy aftermarket coolers for gpus that are easy to fit? I cant seem to find any.

EDIT - never mind, i found a video....


Never heard of this guy but he is putting the stock cooler back onto the gpu so i might try and dig out all the bits (i hope i still have all the screws!) and have a go at reattaching the cooler.
 
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Parsnip

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In other hardware talk, just saw that Fractal has a relatively new case called Era ITX.

Some day I'll go full ITX and maybe get this case, it looks very nice.
 
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didamangi

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In other hardware talk, just saw that Fractal has a relatively new case called Era ITX.

Some day I'll go full ITX and maybe get this case, it looks very nice.
 
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EdwardTivrusky

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Dec 8, 2018
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low-G The Silver/White version has some "Oak" on the top. One step closer to a Wood Panelled PC :)

 
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low-G

old school cool
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low-G The Silver/White version has some "Oak" on the top. One step closer to a Wood Panelled PC :)

I literally said “oh shit”, I really like the look of that. I don’t want to go ITX, but my last 4 cases were all Fractal Design.
 
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ISee

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WHere did you see it?
Reddit link

What kind of advancements can we expect from DLSS? Most people were expecting a DLSS 3.0, or, at the very least, something like DLSS 2.1. Are you going to keep improving DLSS and offer support for more games while maintaining the same version?
DLSS SDK 2.1 is out and it includes three updates:
  • New ultra performance mode for 8K gaming. Delivers 8K gaming on GeForce RTX 3090 with a new 9x scaling option.
  • VR support. DLSS is now supported for VR titles.
    [*]Dynamic resolution support. The input buffer can change dimensions from frame to frame while the output size remains fixed. If the rendering engine supports dynamic resolution, DLSS can be used to perform the required upscale to the display resolution.
Remember the impressive Marbles at Night demo from the presentation?

I just re-watched it and according to the YT description the demo is running at 1440p 30fps with DLSS on a RTX 3090. 🤯
We still have a long, long way to go it seems.
 
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low-G

old school cool
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Reddit link


Remember the impressive Marbles at Night demo from the presentation?

I just re-watched it and according to the YT description the demo is running at 1440p 30fps with DLSS on a RTX 3090. 🤯
We still have a long, long way to go it seems.
Indeed!

Although this is fairly close to endgame level of fidelity. Would a human really notice if it looked just a bit better?

Makes me concerned that they won’t ever release the demo in the chance they’re maxing out the asset size (which seems quite possible). 24GB is a long way from 10GB...
 
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EdwardTivrusky

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I literally said “oh shit”, I really like the look of that. I don’t want to go ITX, but my last 4 cases were all Fractal Design.
I like the look of it, it kinda reminds me of a chubby xbox 360 but according to that video the thermals are terrible.
 

Parsnip

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But it looks so good! :notlikethisblob:

I wouldn't even mind removing the top panel, but reading that there's just no air for gpu in the design makes me sad.
 

MonthOLDpickle

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Oct 31, 2018
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But it looks so good! :notlikethisblob:

I wouldn't even mind removing the top panel, but reading that there's just no air for gpu in the design makes me sad.
Aren't most GPU mostly enclosed where they suck from inside the case and blow out through the back of the case where you plug stuff in nowadays?
 

ISee

Oh_no!
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Looks like GeForce Experience is getting Overclocking functionality with RTX 3000 series (maybe also with other cards, who knows).

 
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Durante

Durante

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Yeah, IIRC they presented this in the Reflex presentation (since that overlay also shows "Render Present Latency").

Reflex apparently works all the way back to the 9-series cards, but I don't know about the overclocking feature.
 

Joe Spangle

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I think im now leaning towards a 3080 rather than a 3090. Its a massive jump in price and i still only really game in 1080/1440 at 60fps. Im feeling like a 3090 will be overkill and i could always upgrade in a couple of years.
Ive had my current card for 4+ years and so really looking forward to the upgrade.
 

Pommes

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If they could port GeForce Experience to Linux that would help a lot with the lack of good OC/Monitoring software.
Well for monitoring there is at least MangoHud:



Concerning overclocking: Perhaps CoreCtrl will get support for Geforce cards in the future?
Warning: The following video has music that may be annoying to some :face-with-stuck-out-tongue-and-winking-eye:
 
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Durante

Durante

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I think im now leaning towards a 3080 rather than a 3090. Its a massive jump in price and i still only really game in 1080/1440 at 60fps. Im feeling like a 3090 will be overkill and i could always upgrade in a couple of years.
Ive had my current card for 4+ years and so really looking forward to the upgrade.
The 3090 is more than twice as expensive for ~20% better performance. It's really not a good choice unless you have specialized requirements.
 

Joe Spangle

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Just checked if i have any extra 8 pin power cables to plug in this beast. I have one that splits into two 8 pins which says 'SLI Ready'. I wonder if that'll work for the new card. It says it need two dedicated leads so im not sure.
 
OP
Durante

Durante

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If it splits natively into 2 8-pin from the PSU then the PSU manufacturer is basically saying "this cable and the rail it's connected to can deliver 300W", so it should be perfectly fine.
 
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My PSU (HX750) came with 2 PCI-E cables that split into 2 8pin connectors.


I made some research at the time and in theory the cable would work without problem.
Some people claimed that it was better to use 2 separate cables but in the end it would be the same.
 
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Stevey

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I currently use a single cable that splits into 2 8 pin connectors on my GTX1080, never had a problem with it.
 
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Parsnip

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Looks like first local retailer is listing the 3080 and 3090 now.



Grim. Though they do specifically call out that the pricing is preliminary and no pre-orders are allowed but I'm not terribly optimistic.
 
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ISee

Oh_no!
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So much for that? 3070 Ti with 16GB vram, nothing about clock or core count though.


Given that this is an accidental leak by Lenovo, I think a 3080 Ti is coming as well: maybe 20GB?
Wouldn't be surprised if core counts will stay the same on both Ti models. But maybe they will be made with TSMC in 7nm? Which could lead to slightly higher clock counts? But I'm full in wishful thinking territory here.

More reason to wait and see how things turn out to be, unless you are desperate for something new or you want the 3090.


edit: paging xinek
 
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Durante

Durante

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Looks like first local retailer is listing the 3080 and 3090 now.



Grim. Though they do specifically call out that the pricing is preliminary and no pre-orders are allowed but I'm not terribly optimistic.
How does Asus expect to sell those given the FE pricing? Or are FEs not available for you locally?
And the Strix cards just make absolutely zero sense compared to the TUF ones. You get maybe a few percent of perf/db and some leds for €250. What?

(Or maybe they and/or the retailer are banking on shortages, which could sadly work out for them)
 

fantomena

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Wow. The price gap between the Zotac 3080 Trinity (cheapest) and Asus Rog Strix is 220 usd here,

I have no idea whats the difference between them, only know that my current 1080 is a Asus Rog Strix.
 

Li Kao

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Jan 28, 2019
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Uh, great, I may need a new mobile phone sooner than later. As I said before my dumb one doesn't take the date anymore, big deal, but started being extremely finicky to charge the battery. I would guess the cable is near death or maybe the connector inside the phone.
But every fucking phone I look at is deliriously priced or has a giant issue on one of the core use case.

So, knowing that I won't be able to shell out 1000 euros on this thing (500 would be too much but let's not be too restrictive).
I need a phone to...
  • have an excellent browsing experience
  • have an excellent screen, I want to try this xcloud thing

  • have a respectable photo mode
  • have a respectable sound

  • have a respectable or tolerable gaming performance (like I said I'm more interested in streaming)
Notice the priorities.



A big French tech site is nearly fellating the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro (~250 euros), but it's IPS and on the lower end of the market in photo. And I regularly see shit user reviews.
Then I saw that the Google Pixel 4a is not bad, but lack microSD and is a little small maybe.
Here is the extant of what I could find in 'affordable' phones that don't have a giant 'but that other aspect is shit tiers' disclaimer in the reviews.
 
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Mivey

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I have no idea whats the difference between them, only know that my current 1080 is a Asus Rog Strix.
Asus has a really nice cooling system, which manages to run temps fairly low and isn't super loud, giving you ample room to OC as well.
The "ROG Strix" is also a "known" brand at this point, so Asus is raising the prices accordingly. Honestly, I feel it's dubious that it's worth hundreds of dollars more for it. It's nice, but it's not an entirely different GPU.
 

fearthedawn

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Apr 19, 2019
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Uh, great, I may need a new mobile phone sooner than later. As I said before my dumb one doesn't take the date anymore, big deal, but started being extremely finicky to charge the battery. I would guess the cable is near death or maybe the connector inside the phone.
But every fucking phone I look at is deliriously priced or has a giant issue on one of the core use case.

So, knowing that I won't be able to shell out 1000 euros on this thing (500 would be too much but let's not be too restrictive).
I need a phone to...
  • have an excellent browsing experience
  • have an excellent screen, I want to try this xcloud thing

  • have a respectable photo mode
  • have a respectable sound

  • have a respectable or tolerable gaming performance (like I said I'm more interested in streaming)
Notice the priorities.



A big French tech site is nearly fellating the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro (~250 euros), but it's IPS and on the lower end of the market in photo. And I regularly see shit user reviews.
Then I saw that the Google Pixel 4a is not bad, but lack microSD and is a little small maybe.
Here is the extant of what I could find in 'affordable' phones that don't have a giant 'but that other aspect is shit tiers' disclaimer in the reviews.
photo quality, gaming performance, nice big oled screen and to some extent manufactoring quality are the points flagships use to justify their price and existence and you want all of those, not news to you i'm sure, but you're looking for something expensive or some sort of compromise

the only "shortcuts" i know that can make a big difference for price are:
  • sideloaded gcam on android devices, camera hardware on googles phone isn't good but the software is great, for photos some cheaper phones turn into almost flagships with googles software
  • buying a popular older flagship that can be rooted easily and then switching to custom roms when it gets abandoned years before the hardware shows its age

i'm not big into smartphones though, hopefully somebody better versed in the topic can chime in, just 2 things that have come in handy for extending the life cycle of my own phones.
 
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ScreamingTrees

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I noticed that the gigabyte and the Asus tuf have 2 HDMI ports on them. They're currently listed as same price as the FE here. I would like the extra port (one hdmi for TV, one for vr headset and display port for monitor) or does a display port to hdmi work well enough for the vr headset to not even worry about it?
 

Parsnip

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How does Asus expect to sell those given the FE pricing? Or are FEs not available for you locally?
And the Strix cards just make absolutely zero sense compared to the TUF ones. You get maybe a few percent of perf/db and some leds for €250. What?

(Or maybe they and/or the retailer are banking on shortages, which could sadly work out for them)
Well they are supposed to be preliminary pricing so we'll see if they stick. I saw on a local price comparison site that another store had added couple Asus 3090s with an even higher price tag.
I don't know about FE cards in general. Nvidia does list FE cards in their Finnish site with pricing, but I don't actually know if they sell them. I can add older cards to cart but I can't actually get further than that so hard to say.
 

dummmyy

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Having some trouble finding a monitor. want 32" 144Hz and low ms response. preferably 1ms.
CHOICE 1

CHOICE 2

If there are any other options anybody could suggest that'd help a ton, and wouldn't really want a curved monitor...Planning on upgrading to a 3080 from an rx580 once they drop, would like to have a good monitor once I do. Preemptive thanks for the help.
 

Darktalon

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I'm not sure if linking to my thread on ResetEra is considered poor taste and I should copy and paste this into a new thread here, but I spent a really long time on a writeup analyzing why I believe 10GB of VRAM on the 3080 is more than sufficient to last the next 1-2 GPU generations.