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

Copons

Copons

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MegaApple said:
Thinking of getting USB keyboards like this, for work :

Logitech K120
HP 100 Wired Keyboard

I was wondering how good are they for playing. I've been playing on my gaming laptop keyboard for a VERY long time, that I don't know how how actual gaming keyboards are like.

Should I go for these, or is there some better option?
Click to expand...
The Logitech K120 is like the standardest keyboard of all keyboards.
It gets the job done, and it's definitely better than any laptop keyboard.
It's also bland and lacks any notable features.

I've used it for a billion years before replacing it with a mechanical.
I'd say: if you're strapped for cash, go with the K120.
Otherwise start studying mechanicals to figure out what's the right one for you.
 
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Dandy

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So it's been 4 years since I built my last PC, and it's about time to upgrade it I think. The last time I did it, I used a guide on techbuyersguru.com which worked out pretty well for me. I don't have a set budget, but I'd like to keep it under $2-2.5kCAD(so $1.5-1.8kUSD). I'd appreciate any and all recommendations and insight on what I can keep and what I need to replace. If needed, I'll replace it all.

I was planning on going with one of the new Nvidia cards, though I'm not sure which one... I don't consider myself the type of gamer who must have the best, as my taste in games is often on the more indie side of things. Most of the games I play are not AAA marvels of graphic fidelity, but I do play a few AAA games a year(looking forward to Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Cyberpunk, the next Dragon Age, Starfield, etc...).

Anyway, here is my current PC:

CPU:
Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz

Motherboard:
MSI Z170-A PRO LGA 1151 Intel Z170 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX

Video card:
MSI GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G 6GB

Hard drives:
2x Crucial MX300 750GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT750MX300SSD1

Memory:
Patriot Viper Elite PVE48G266C5KBL Extreme Performance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4 Kit PC4-21300 (2666MHZ) Blue

Patriot Viper Elite Series DDR4 8GB (2x4GB) 2666MHz PC4-21300 Dual Channel Kit (Black/Grey)

Case:
Phanteks Eclipse Series P400S Silent Edition, Steel ATX Mid Tower Case Satin Black PH-EC416PSC_BK

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 550 GS

CPU Fan: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer i32

Monitor:
ASUS ROG Swift PG278QR Black 27"
 
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Durante

Durante

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Regarding ARM/Nvidia, I think that's interesting since I can see Nvidia pushing high-end ARM chips aggressively.
 
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ISee

ISee

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Dandy said:
$1.8kUSD
Click to expand...
AMD will release new CPUs soon and while I think Ryzen 3000 will hold up in the future, either Ryzen 3000 prices will drop or Ryzen 4000 will offer you even more performance for a similar abmount of money. So please keep that in mind before buying right now.

I think you are in CPU, main board and GPU upgrade territory, but $1.8k would allow you to buy a new, high-end PC. If you so wish.
One without many compromises imo:


8c/16T 3700x, 32GB DDR4 3600, B550 board, 1TB NVMe, RTX 3080, 750W PSU, very good 240mm AIO CPU cooler, airflow focused case.



Things you can easily reuse though:

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 550 GS
It's 650W, if I'm not mistaken. Should be fine for a 3080 and 3700x. Especially if you don't plan to do crazy overclock.

2x Crucial MX300 750GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT750MX300SSD1
Even if you buy new drive. There is no reason why you shouldn't reuse those two.

Memory:
Patriot Viper Elite PVE48G266C5KBL Extreme Performance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4 Kit PC4-21300 (2666MHZ) Blue
Patriot Viper Elite Series DDR4 8GB (2x4GB) 2666MHz PC4-21300 Dual Channel Kit (Black/Grey)

Running even faster memory on Ryzen and Intel systems will boost CPU performance in CPU "critical" situations. It's not necessary though

CPU Fan: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer i32
If you have a mounting kit for AM4, sure reuse it if you want.

Case:
Phanteks Eclipse Series P400S Silent Edition, Steel ATX Mid Tower Case Satin Black PH-EC416PSC_BK
I'm not a big fan of that particular case, because it is rather bad in the temperatures and airflow department. But it is modern and if you like it for other reasons, nothing "wrong" with it.


Things you want to upgrade:
CPU:
Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz

Motherboard:
MSI Z170-A PRO LGA 1151 Intel Z170 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX

Video card:
MSI GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G 6GB
 
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Dandy

Dandy

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Thanks for taking the time to post that ISee - this is great info! I'll definitely hold off until the next AMD processors are out.
 
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EdwardTivrusky

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One thing, isn't the B550 chipset limited in it's PCI-e 4.0 support to what the CPU offers where the X570 chipset has PCI-e 4.0 lanes on the chipset and CPU?
So fewer PCI-e 4.0 lanes on B550 vs X570? Probably not really a problem for most people tbh. Quite a few places are saying to get a B550 over more expensive X570 boards if you're just a regular joe like most of us.
 
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ISee

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EdwardTivrusky said:
One thing, isn't the B550 chipset limited in it's PCI-e 4.0 support to what the CPU offers where the X570 chipset has PCI-e 4.0 lanes on the chipset and CPU?
So fewer PCI-e 4.0 lanes on B550 vs X570? Probably not really a problem for most people tbh. Quite a few places are saying to get a B550 over more expensive X570 boards if you're just a regular joe like most of us.
Click to expand...
That's all correct.
Only the lanes coming from the CPU are classified as 4.0 on b550. Everything connected to the chipset is 3.0.
On x570 the chipset also supports 4.0. That's the difference between b550 and x570.

On AM4, especially b550 you have to be a bit more thoughtful when matching a gen 4.0 GPU with a gen 3.0 NVMe (or vice versa).
If you have a gen 4.0 GPU you have to run the 3.0 NVMe through the chipset. Vice versa a gen 4.0 NVMe will only work on the slot connected to the CPU, which will be tuned down to 3.0 if you run a gen 3,0 GPU.

On x570 you can run a gen 4.0 NVMe with a gen 3.0 GPU though, because the NVMe can go into the slot connected to the chipset.
X570 also allows for multiple 4.0 drives, while there is only one b550 board that can have more than one 4.0 NVMes. But it cuts down CPU lanes to the GPU to achieve that functionality and considering the cost of 250€... Not sure why anybody should get that instead of a x570 board.
 
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Durante

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Interesting that AMD has USB type C on the GPU. It's too bad that NV dropped it with AMD. Not a big deal obviously, but it was useful to me.
 
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MegaApple

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Got MH630 CoolerMaster Headphones. Any games and/or music to test them on?

Also from what I've heard, they... don't sound too different from the Bluetooth in-earphones that my mate is using. Should I buy a USB DAC Amplifier?
 
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MonthOLDpickle

MonthOLDpickle

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DAC / AMP isn't for powering....but if the headphones are like 100 or less you really don't need a DAC & AMP (or the combo) as that prob cost you more then the set in the end.

Reminds me I need at least an amp for my cans. =(
 
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ISee

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gabbo said:
what would that even really be for ?
Click to expand...
The NVIDIA iteration can provide ~27W of power, so it was perfect for quick charging smartphones.
It was also usable as a display output and also works as a normal usb c port.
Nvidia talked a lot about it being designed for future VR headsets, if I remember correctly.
 
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Durante

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Yeah, it was originally designed to be a VirtualLink port. But even with that not taking off, it's very useful to have another fully-featured USB C port, since you normally get 2 of those at most (one on the case and one on the mainboard) -- and these might not actually supply much power.
 
xinek

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I use some janky software that lets me use an android tablet as a 2nd display over wifi -- would a USB-C output let me plug it directly in as a display? Maybe a dumb question, but I know next to nothing about how display hardware works. :confused-face:
 
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Durante

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Only if your android tablet supports that use case, which is not too likely.

(There are a number of secondary displays for e.g. laptop use which connect via USB-C only, for both power and display signal, but those are generally massively overpriced)
 
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Trisolarian

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Frustrated at the rise in prices for laptops.

If I have to move and put my computer into storage for a bit, I'd like a laptop with a Nvidia MX250 for some bare bottom low impact PC gaming. Yup. Prices are all in the fucking sky now. Same for anything resembling a decent used car.

Man, fuck other people, I need shit too!!!
 
Rogue Agent

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I have a very old router, hence it's still on Wi-Fi 4. Can anyone recommend a powerful reliable router that supports ADSL connections and is on Wi-Fi 6 or at least on Wi-Fi 5? Price isn't an issue. Any manufacturer that I should be wary of?
 
Copons

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Durante said:
(There are a number of secondary displays for e.g. laptop use which connect via USB-C only, for both power and display signal, but those are generally massively overpriced)
Click to expand...
I've got my MacBook Pro connected to an LG monitor via USB-C for both power and display (and the PC is connected via DisplayPort).
It's actually pretty cool to have 1 less cable to deal with, but "unfortunately" this monitor outputs less power than my laptop needs (I've purchased it right before Apple announced the 16'' MBP which are slightly more power hungry) and then I got the work laptop upgraded to the 16'' one.
The display power is enough for random use, but it's enough for me to spin up 1 development environment to see the battery draining, so basically I need to plug the laptop to the power adapter anyway. :LOL:

Either way, the USB-C version of this monitor was slightly more expensive than the one without, which wasn't a dealbreaker for me considering my job lets me buy up to the LG UltraFine 5K sold by the Apple Store for a whopping 1200£, but that only has the USB-C port, so fuck that really.
 
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warp_

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if its ends up being comparable to the line for ryzen 3000 series then 2+ hours is probably right
 
ISee

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Rogue Agent said:
I have a very old router, hence it's still on Wi-Fi 4. Can anyone recommend a powerful reliable router that supports ADSL connections and is on Wi-Fi 6 or at least on Wi-Fi 5? Price isn't an issue. Any manufacturer that I should be wary of?
Click to expand...
Well I'm using AVM products since forever and can recommend them. they have fantastic DLS and cable modems.
Problem is: they are rather unknown outside of a couple EU countries.

They are offering a complete, package of good modem tech, great router tech and even include a full telephone system. Their hardware gets supported with reliable and fast updates and the only reason you won't get a new feature is if your "old" router is incompatible or starts running out of CPU performance. For example their old flagship from 2013 is getting WPA3 support soon and was long ago updated with more modern features like mesh networking. My cable avm modem just received an update that allows me to in home stream cable TV over my network, even to mobile devices on the go through a VPN tunnel.
Is it needed? No, but it's there because it's possible. And that describes their mantra pretty well.

FRITZ!Box 7590

Maybe risk taking a look and if they are compatible in your region: they are good.
 
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Durante

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3080 reviews are out.

From a quick look: the rasterization results are pretty boring, in the GPU limit it's exactly what was to be expected after what we already knew (50 to 85% faster than the 2080).
These are really great results of course, especially compared to pre-reveal speculation, but at this point they are unsurprising.

Computerbase has some path tracing benchmarks (Minecraft and Quake II RTX), in those the 3080 is at > 200% of the 2080, so that's neat.
 
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BlueOdin

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Treated myself to the Durgod Taurus K320 with Cherry MX Silent Red switches because I got a bonus for working through the Corona times at the German postal service:



Not that many options for a TKL mechanical one with an ISO-DE layout. Basically this brand and Ducky I found. And I didn't find the colour schemes of Ducky as appealing as this. Had a Roccat Vulcan Aimo 120 before and this is such an upgrade in terms of how it feels to type. Constantly in Discord, looking if someone is writing something just so I can find an excuse to type on it.

The German specific keycaps are good. Maybe not the same font but if you are just glancing at it you don't notice. Was afraid they might get stuck but has not happened so far.

First time with a TKL and I like it. Still try to hit some keys from the numblock and have to adjust to the placement of the arrowkeys but the deskspace gain is great. And it looks a lot nice. Already looking at the full keyboard version of this for when I get a job lol

Also paging EdwardTivrusky
 
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EdwardTivrusky

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BlueOdin Look at that gorgeous ISO Enter key, Gorgeous! :blobeyes:

After a while you don't notice the missing Numblock and the improvement in your shoulder and arm posture is more than worth it anyway.
 
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Copons

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I'd really buy some custom, good quality, keycaps, as my keyboard is SO BORING (black with red backlight).
Amazon UK doesn't seem to have a wide variety, especially for an ISO UK keyboard... :thinking-blob:

Are there any good brands I should check?

---

Also damn those 3080 reviews are really triggering my poor 650W PSU :crying-face:
 
ISee

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From various sites, 3840x2160, all cards = Founder Editions, not overclocked.

RTX 3080RTX 2080 TiRTX 2080 Super3080 vs 2080Ti3080 vs 2080S
Borderlands 3 [FPS]6041.232.4+46%+85%
Death Stranding [FPS]916756.1+19%+62%
Detroit BH [FPS]76.657.547.6+33%+61%
Doom Eternal [FPS]15310589.3+46%+71%
Forza Horizon 4 [FPS]8564.255.2+32%+54%
Ghost Recon:BR343222+06%+53%
Red Dead Red. 2 [FPS]644638+40%+68%
Resident Evil 3 [FPS]543826+43%+107%
Jedi Fallen Order [FPS]795747+39%+68%
Witcher 3 [FPS]61.446.540+32%+54%
Horizon Zero D. [FPS]62.64741+33%+59%
Division 2 [FPS]674941+36%+64%
Gears Tactics [FPS]534234.3+26%+62%
Trackmania [FPS]84.36854.6+32%+54%

3080 vs 2080 Ti = +33%
3080 vs 2080 Super = +66%



2160p, Ray Tracing, NO DLSS!

RTX 3080RTX 2080 TiRTX 2080 Super3080 vs 2080Ti3080 vs 2080S
Control, no DLSS292011+44%+157%
Metro Exodus, no DLSS322419+35%+72%
Shadow of the TR, no DLSS45.23427.6+33%+64%
Deliver us the moon, no DLSS41.629.223.4+42%+75%
Quake 2, no DLSS312016+55%+94%
Minecraft, no DLSS31.62116.2+50%+95%

3080 vs 2080 Ti = +43%
3080 vs 2080 Super = +93%

 
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BlueOdin

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Copons said:
I'd really buy some custom, good quality, keycaps, as my keyboard is SO BORING (black with red backlight).
Amazon UK doesn't seem to have a wide variety, especially for an ISO UK keyboard... :thinking-blob:

Are there any good brands I should check?
Click to expand...
I found that the best way for keycaps was to look outside of Amazon. At least in Germany. Since you are UK based you might look at the Keyboard Company which sells mechanical keyboards. Probably also keycaps. Think they are UK based.
 
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EdwardTivrusky

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Copons said:
I'd really buy some custom, good quality, keycaps, as my keyboard is SO BORING (black with red backlight).
Amazon UK doesn't seem to have a wide variety, especially for an ISO UK keyboard... :thinking-blob:
Are there any good brands I should check?
Click to expand...
Have a look at hell GeekHack they have tons of ideas/reviews and store/brand names even if they did use MassDrop more than i liked - GeekHack - Mechanical Keyboard Heaven, Wallet Hell

I'll have a look at my emails and saved links but i think i got mine from Scan, Overclockers, The Keyboard Company (Thanks BlueOdin) and Kustom PCs, I know there's somewhere else that i've forgotten though.
 
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Pogi

Pogi

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Can't wait for the 3070, the benchmarks look good. On the other hand, the prices of the 2000 series dropped like a rock in my country, if it goes further that way, I might snag a 2070 Super instead of a 3070 come December.
 
Mivey

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I think I'll sit this generation out with my RTX 2080TI, and go for a big upgrade once Nvidias 2nd Ampere generation rolls out, which I guess will be in around two years. By then there are hopefully some 4K miniLED displays out, and 4K becomes generally better supported at above 60 FPS.
 
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Rogue Agent

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ISee said:
Well I'm using AVM products since forever and can recommend them. they have fantastic DLS and cable modems.
Problem is: they are rather unknown outside of a couple EU countries.

They are offering a complete, package of good modem tech, great router tech and even include a full telephone system. Their hardware gets supported with reliable and fast updates and the only reason you won't get a new feature is if your "old" router is incompatible or starts running out of CPU performance. For example their old flagship from 2013 is getting WPA3 support soon and was long ago updated with more modern features like mesh networking. My cable avm modem just received an update that allows me to in home stream cable TV over my network, even to mobile devices on the go through a VPN tunnel.
Is it needed? No, but it's there because it's possible. And that describes their mantra pretty well.

FRITZ!Box 7590

Maybe risk taking a look and if they are compatible in your region: they are good.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I just checked the link you provided and this seems to be exactly what I'm looking for and it's using Wi-Fi 5. And Amazon UK is selling it so that's perfect. The router I have right now is Linksys WAG520N and that's really old so this seems like a great upgrade and AVM looks to be very reliable. So, thank you!
 
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Phoenix RISING

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ISee said:
From various sites, 3840x2160, all cards = Founder Editions, not overclocked.

RTX 3080RTX 2080 TiRTX 2080 Super3080 vs 2080Ti3080 vs 2080S
Borderlands 3 [FPS]6041.232.4+46%+85%
Death Stranding [FPS]916756.1+19%+62%
Detroit BH [FPS]76.657.547.6+33%+61%
Doom Eternal [FPS]15310589.3+46%+71%
Forza Horizon 4 [FPS]8564.255.2+32%+54%
Ghost Recon:BR343222+06%+53%
Red Dead Red. 2 [FPS]644638+40%+68%
Resident Evil 3 [FPS]543826+43%+107%
Jedi Fallen Order [FPS]795747+39%+68%
Witcher 3 [FPS]61.446.540+32%+54%
Horizon Zero D. [FPS]62.64741+33%+59%
Division 2 [FPS]674941+36%+64%
Gears Tactics [FPS]534234.3+26%+62%
Trackmania [FPS]84.36854.6+32%+54%

3080 vs 2080 Ti = +33%
3080 vs 2080 Super = +66%



2160p, Ray Tracing, NO DLSS!

RTX 3080RTX 2080 TiRTX 2080 Super3080 vs 2080Ti3080 vs 2080S
Control, no DLSS292011+44%+157%
Metro Exodus, no DLSS322419+35%+72%
Shadow of the TR, no DLSS45.23427.6+33%+64%
Deliver us the moon, no DLSS41.629.223.4+42%+75%
Quake 2, no DLSS312016+55%+94%
Minecraft, no DLSS31.62116.2+50%+95%

3080 vs 2080 Ti = +43%
3080 vs 2080 Super = +93%

Click to expand...
Is nobody benching the 3090?
 
gabbo

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ISee said:
I think that's coming later this month.
But I'll go all out here and claim that taking 3080 numbers and adding +20-25% should give us an idea where 3090 is going to land
Click to expand...
Is the 3090 going to take the market place of what the Titan used to be?
 
Joe Spangle

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gabbo said:
Is the 3090 going to take the market place of what the Titan used to be?
Click to expand...
I think thats the idea. I dont think there will be a card named Titan for this gen. There will probably be a 3080TI coming out in the future but the 3090 is the top end (priced that way too).

Only a couple of hours until the 3080 goes on sale. Im hoping to get an FE (if Nvidias site can hold up and let me in).
 
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