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

[MegaApple]

Anyone recommend which mouse brands are generally better? (Gaming or non-gaming)

I really don't want to get misclicks/double-clicks, so I'm avoiding Logitech. My current very cheap HP mouse lasted throughout the pandemic very well, but I really need some side button (not just gaming but work too).

 

[Knurek]

Anyone recommend which mouse brands are generally better? (Gaming or non-gaming)

I really don't want to get misclicks/double-clicks, so I'm avoiding Logitech. My current very cheap HP mouse lasted throughout the pandemic very well, but I really need some side button (not just gaming but work too).

Never had any issues with any of my Logitechs, currently using G305

 

[gabbo]

Been using the Logitech G502 for 7 months now, and it's been great. Huge upgrade over the G700s i had before

 

[Stevey]

I am also using a G502, great mouse.

 

[ISee]

+1 for the G502.
Never had problems with logitech mice btw.

 

[Durante]

I've been using my 2nd generation Logitech G5 for over a decade now. I don't know if the newer ones are still that resilient, but I can certainly vouch for ca. 2018 Logitech mice!

Speaking of SSD's, is there a good/really good program that can automatically estimate the life that the drive has left in it?

The question was answered already, but I'd like to post a friendly reminder that any SSD can die from one day to the next without any previous indication (I've had it happen). Don't slack on your backups everyone.

 

[Pommes]

I am using a Logitech G303. No problems to report (using it since the end of 2015).

 

[ScreamingTrees]

Used a Logitech g900 for last few years, found it very good. Still works fine now. Bit expensive, I wanted a good ambidextrous mouse.

Someone got me a razer viper ultimate for Christmas so giving that a go at the moment, I like it so far.

 

[MonthOLDpickle]

My wife's cousin just handed me a GTX 1070 8GB MINI

I currently have a GTX 1060 6GB, would this be a slight upgrade?

 

[didamangi]

My wife's cousin just handed me a GTX 1070 8GB MINI

I currently have a GTX 1060 6GB, would this be a slight upgrade?

Around 30% uplift in performance based on reviews. More than a slight upgrade I think.

Like this:

 

[Phoenix RISING]

Finished my build.

 

[MonthOLDpickle]

performance

After the mess of fresh driver install, yep. 60 FPS in CP2077 via family share with settings mostly all but a couple at high. Pretty happy.

RDR2 I can finally play on Directv haha.

But the driver issue was even after fresh install with the 460.82 (or wherever is current and of now) my system speed 432 lol.

Pulling the ethernet cord somehow fixed this after a third attempt O.O

 

[Firewithin]

so i got my build up and running today but when i went in and changed the memory to DOCP to run at the correct 3600 and it restarted to a dram led and wouldnt post. i flashed the bios and it was able to post but im not sure if i change that setting again if it will give me the same led indicator.

 

[Dandy]

This new PC is going to be the death of me...

So I decided to replace the stock cooler that came with my 3800. It's that wraith prism thing, and I just found it very loud, and my computer got quite hot when I was playing games. So the replacement arrives, I start to remove the old one... and it's a pain to take out. It "hooks" onto those brackets, which means I can't just lift it straight up, and I can't wiggle it -- I have to unlatch one side, and then angle it to unhook it. The videocard made this difficult, so after unlatching it and unhooking the one side, I remove the videocard and successfully remove the cooler!

Except, my CPU is no longer in my motherboard. That dinky little CPU latch did nothing and it's attached to the heatsink with the preapplied thermal paste the stock cooler came with. I manage to remove it easily enough, but about 10 of the pins are bent during this whole process. I freak out. I start manually bending the pins with super fine tweezers, a magnifying glass, and a ton of light. I have trouble seeing things close up, so this is all very stressful and awful. I keep adjusting pins, trying to seat the CPU, and one side wont slip in.

I'm getting ready to give up, and decide to contact Amazon support. They call me 2 minutes later, and the very nice girl has no idea what I'm talking about. She keeps putting me on hold, trying to contact the manufacturer, but has no luck(cause it's New Year's day maybe?). Anyway, after 15 minutes she gives up and says they will make an exception and replace it free of charge just this once! Yay! New CPU will be here... Wednesday. Which means my long weekend is going to consist of me reading a lot, and watching youtube on my phone. Not what I had in mind, but at least I don't have to spend $500+ on a new CPU.

By fluke, my younger brother pops in for a minute, I tell him what happened, and he plays around with the pins. It doesn't fall into the slot, but with a bit of light fiddling he gets it in! We hook up the cooler, put the videocard back in, and everything works great!

So now I have to decide what to do with the replacement that is coming. Do I go through the hassle of taking the old one out, and installing the new one? Or just send the replacement back. My brother thinks I should keep the new one, in case there are issues down the road because of the bent pins.

Anyway... Building this PC has been a journey, for sure.

 

[didamangi]

so i got my build up and running today but when i went in and changed the memory to DOCP to run at the correct 3600 and it restarted to a dram led and wouldnt post. i flashed the bios and it was able to post but im not sure if i change that setting again if it will give me the same led indicator.

See if there's a bios update for your motherboard, it can improve memory compatibility.

So now I have to decide what to do with the replacement that is coming. Do I go through the hassle of taking the old one out, and installing the new one? Or just send the replacement back. My brother thinks I should keep the new one, in case there are issues down the road because of the bent pins.

Anyway... Building this PC has been a journey, for sure.

Listen to your brother.

Just a little advice for next time you want to do this (especially with amd socket. Warm your cpu and cooler first before shutting it down, 7zip benchmark is an easy way to do this. it will warm up the thermal paste and make it easier to remove the cooler without taking the cpu with it.

After shutting it down, wiggle/ twist the cooler and you'll get it off pretty easily.

 

[FunnyJay]

Quoting myself in the correct thread instead!

Is it recommended to stay updated with your Bios for Ryzen CPUs?

I can see that ASUS have released a few BIOS updates regarding system stability for my MB.

I haven't had any real problems, except once or twice when the computer has been left idle for quite awhile with the monitor turned off, and I get back to it, it is still running but the monitor refuses to find a signal and the mouse/keyboard cannot wake the computer. The only way out of that situation is a hard reset, and then everything works as intended again.

 

[ISee]

Quoting myself in the correct thread instead!

Asus added and improved their BIOS constantly, memory support got better, PBO results got better, stability improved, OC features were added (like per CCX on X470 boards, FMAX on x570).
If you are on a Ryzen 3000 and on a BIOS that's 6 months old I'd say you don't need to update, unless you like to tinker with your cpu and memory a lot.
And even than it is probably not that much of a big deal, as said: Ryzen 3000 is in a good place now.

If you are on Ryzen 5000, constantly updating seems to be the way to go. Just as with Ryzen 3000 when it released. Unfortunately this seems to be how the AMD platform is now: Constant patching needed because nothing is really ready at launch.

 

[Firewithin]

holy shit replacing case fans with some silent wings 3 and setting some fan curves and its night and day difference in sound coming form new build to my old pc.

even with fan curve on my 3080 its barely audible if at all

 

[FunnyJay]

If you are on a Ryzen 3000 and on a BIOS that's 6 months old I'd say you don't need to update, unless you like to tinker with your cpu and memory a lot.

I'm on a Ryzen 5 3600 and the system was built December 2019. I need to check the BIOS version, but it is definitely not updated since then.

No overclocking or playing with memory here.

Should I update?

 

[ISee]

I'm on a Ryzen 5 3600 and the system was built December 2019. I need to check the BIOS version, but it is definitely not updated since then.

No overclocking or playing with memory here.

Should I update?

Sorry, I do not remember the state of the BIOS iterations from dec 2019.
As said, especially single boost behavior changed a lot since dec 2019, but I'm not even sure that is relevant for a 3600 CPU. Especially if you are not even using PBO. It's up to you.

 

[FunnyJay]

Interesting.
I downloaded ASUS EZUpdate to check for a BIOS update. According to EZUpdate I don't need to update the environment, even though there are later BIOS versions available on the ASUS website.

I wonder if it checks the combination of CPU and such when determining if an update is needed or not.

 

[ISee]

Interesting.
I downloaded ASUS EZUpdate to check for a BIOS update. According to EZUpdate I don't need to update the environment, even though there are later BIOS versions available on the ASUS website.

I wonder if it checks the combination of CPU and such when determining if an update is needed or not.

Nah, it's just barely working maleware

 

[FunnyJay]

Is that a joke or condemnation of the quality of the ASUS software?

 

[Parsnip]

Is that a joke or condemnation of the quality of the ASUS software?

Why not both.

 

[FunnyJay]

Yes, after a quick Google search, I see that EZ Update generally has problems finding updates... Interesting. I know I used it with my last computer and I can't remember encountering any problems then.

Maybe I'll just leave the BIOS be for now. It's not that I have any major stability problems.

 

[Parsnip]

It sucks that the changelogs for most of the bios updates I've seen of late are just "updated agesa to version this and that".

 

[madjoki]

I think problem is AMD doesn't give changelogs (or allow release of) for Agesa, so even manufacturers might not know details.

I'm still running very old delisted bios without problems (that I know of)

Looks like next version will allow turning off chipset fan, so maybe I'll update

"2. Optimize X570 chipset fan curve and also support zero RPM in silent mode. "

 

[Parsnip]

I think problem is AMD doesn't give changelogs (or allow release of) for Agesa, so even manufacturers might not know details.

Yup.

 

[Swenhir]

Quick question - what kind of cost am I looking at for a brand new PC, from keyboard to screen, middle of the road performance with perhaps a 3080 splurge? 24" thereabouts for the monitor. I'm guesstimating 1500€, but I'm not quite sure.

 

[Knurek]

At current prices? 3000€

 

[ISee]

Quick question - what kind of cost am I looking at for a brand new PC, from keyboard to screen, middle of the road performance with perhaps a 3080 splurge? 24" thereabouts for the monitor. I'm guesstimating 1500€, but I'm not quite sure.

RTX 3080 alone is now at ~1100€, new.
R7 5800X is 500€.

At least over here.

 

[gabbo]

Quick question - what kind of cost am I looking at for a brand new PC, from keyboard to screen, middle of the road performance with perhaps a 3080 splurge? 24" thereabouts for the monitor. I'm guesstimating 1500€, but I'm not quite sure.

Knurek is right, you're probably looking to double that. Here the 5800X CPU is $700 CAD, and a 3080 is - depending on the brand/model: $2000 and up. The 6800/3070 is about half that price

 

[Swenhir]

You have got to be kidding me, wasn't the MSRP 700$? Yeowch.

I'm guessing a 3070 is perfectly satisfactory, if I even go that high. More than 700$ for a graphics card is a hard no.

 

[ISee]

You have got to be kidding me, wasn't the MSRP 700$? Yeowch.

I know. Even used RTX 2080Ti go for 700€+ on ebay over here again.
It's a bit crazy.

 

[Knurek]

You have got to be kidding me, wasn't the MSRP 700$? Yeowch.

I'm guessing a 3070 is perfectly satisfactory, if I even go that high. More than 700$ for a graphics card is a hard no.

Good luck finding 3070 for just $700.
On that note, good luck finding 3070.
And 3060 TI
And 2070
And 2080

 

[Swenhir]

Well, guess I'm waiting it out this time. Hang in there, tiny.

 

[gabbo]

Well, guess I'm waiting it out this time. Hang in there, tiny.

I mean, my goal is to get the CPU first, then wait and see how the GPUs play out this year, so I feel a wait and see approach is best.
I'll bottleneck a cpu with my gtx970 for a while if it means I don't pay more for my GPU than I do a months rent. Probably won't try to build this high end (...for me anyway) next time around

 

[Joe Spangle]

Anyone using a Dualsense comment on the battery life of it?

Mine seems to run out after about 1/2 an hour on Bluetooth. I dont even bother using it un-wired now.

 

[ISee]

Swenhir
You are using Shadow, or am I mixing something up here?

I was checking the service out for a friend and all they got are GTX1080 rigs. Their 2080/Titan RTX are not available here in Germany.

What are you using?

edit:
Three months wait period for activation and than get a chance to upgrade to a better system.


That's unfortunately not an option than.

 

[Swenhir]

Swenhir
You are using Shadow, or am I mixing something up here?

I was checking the service out for a friend and all they got are GTX1080 rigs. Their 2080/Titan RTX are not available here in Germany.

What are you using?

edit:
Three months wait period for activation and than get a chance to upgrade to a better system.


That's unfortunately not an option than.

I do today but I am likely to move to a new place that will have horrible internet speeds, hence the wonder about building a rig

 

[Mivey]

Anyone using a Dualsense comment on the battery life of it?

Mine seems to run out after about 1/2 an hour on Bluetooth. I dont even bother using it un-wired now.

I feel it runs longer than my DS4 used to, but then I also don't use it super regularly.
One think I do is I turn off the LED lights. That feels like a pointless drain on the battery to me. You can do that in the settings in Big Picture.

 

[didamangi]

Well this is a good start to 2021 for PC gamers /s

ASUS Officially Increases Prices of Graphics Cards and Motherboards

ASUS has today prepared a gift for everyone involved in the PC community. The company announced that starting from today, prices of PC components like graphics cards and motherboards will get increased. Apparently, ASUS has decided to adjust the prices due to the increased cost of components...

www.techpowerup.com

Don't think it'll only affect the US , I'm sure they won't miss a chance to hike up the price for any reason.

 

[MonthOLDpickle]

Logitech

Out of all of them my logitech is lasting years. I didn't go cheap or expensive, middle of road. 7 buttons.

 

[Swenhir]

The US-centric way of pricing things and gouging everyone else at the first opportunity is really getting tiresome :/.

 

[knch]

You have got to be kidding me, wasn't the MSRP 700$? Yeowch.

I'm guessing a 3070 is perfectly satisfactory, if I even go that high. More than 700$ for a graphics card is a hard no.

You're going to have to wait quite a while then I'm afraid...

RTX 3080 alone is now at ~1100€, new.
R7 5800X is 500€.

At least over here.

So glad I said fuck it and ordered mine when it was 409EUR.
(It's in the closet while I wait for my GPU to arrive... any day now... <skeleton.jpg>)

 

[Swenhir]

You're going to have to wait quite a while then I'm afraid...


So glad I said fuck it and ordered mine when it was 409EUR.
(It's in the closet while I wait for my GPU to arrive... any day now... <skeleton.jpg>)

I'd rather wait than be fleeced at this point, this is absurd. Nvidia has been raising the midrange into high-range, even titan territory price-wise and this is making things even worse. No way this is sustainable for the market. Hell, they may be making AMD competitive.

 

[C-Dub]

The US-centric way of pricing things and gouging everyone else at the first opportunity is really getting tiresome :/.

Yup. We shouldn't be price-gouged because the current resident in the White House had a racist tantrum about China.

 

[Involution]

Thanks to everyone's advice here, I've built this computer after a long wait for parts and changed some parts around. Final parts list is here.

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/6W7xW3

And a pic of my amateur build. Everything works so hopefully no mistakes were made lol.

 

[didamangi]

Thanks to everyone's advice here, I've built this computer after a long wait for parts and changed some parts around. Final parts list is here.

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/6W7xW3

And a pic of my amateur build. Everything works so hopefully no mistakes were made lol.

Just a suggestion, but it's better to route that 8 pin cpu power and 24 pin power cable through the back, and out the rubber grommet on your case for a cleaner look.

See: https://www.gamersnexus.net/images/media/2020/coolermaster-td500/cooler-master-td500-mesh-review_3.jpg for example.

Won't change anything performance/temp wise, so no biggie if you don't want to take the time to do it.

Edit: Oh, just noticed you install your gpu on the 2nd 16x slot. That card is probably running at x4 mode. That can definitely lower your gpu performance. You should install it on the top 16x slot.

 

[Involution]

Just a suggestion, but it's better to route that 8 pin cpu power and 24 pin power cable through the back, and out the rubber grommet on your case for a cleaner look.

See: https://www.gamersnexus.net/images/media/2020/coolermaster-td500/cooler-master-td500-mesh-review_3.jpg for example.

Won't change anything performance/temp wise, so no biggie if you don't want to take the time to do it.

Edit: Oh, just noticed you install your gpu on the 2nd 16x slot. That card is probably running at x4 mode. That can definitely lower your gpu performance. You should install it on the top 16x slot.

Damn, thanks for catching all that. I intend to keep it for a while so I may as well go in and fix it. I don't even know how I missed the rubber grommets on the case honestly.

Here's the fixed one, looks quite a bit better. I actually ran the cpu cables through the hole at the top left, as that was better considering the length of the included cable and it barely shows now at all. Appreciate the feedback!