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

[fearthedawn]

...
Also I should be getting a delivery tomorrow.
I guess I bought a rtx 3070 despite being sure I would wait for the next round of cards.
I can always sell this one if I really feel the need to upgrade again, but 3070 is literally over double the performance on average vs the 1070, so I think I'll be happy with it for a while.
Only thing I'm sad about it is that it's still the same VRAM amount as the 1070. Not that it necessarily needs more, but it just feels weird to not have that move up a tier as well.

I made the jump from 1070 to 3070 (got really lucky at launch) and the performance upgrade didn't disappoint. The concern about 8gb vram is justified though...

- if you prefer high fps high settings over max graphics with worse performance anyway and don't play in 4k i don't expect it to be a problem at all, there are so many 8gb cards out there, not offering a good 1440p/8gb vram experience is going to be very stupid for years to come.

- however 4k and/or max settings (especially with raytracing) are already pushing past 8gb on a number of titles, i thought a 3070 would feel a little overkill for my "low res" 2560x1080 panel but they turned out to be a good match

 

[C-Dub]

3070 can do 4K reasonably well with most games. You’re not going to get framerates better than 60, but it works. DLSS will also get you some extra mileage out of it.

But it really shines as a 1440p card. At 1080p, it’s probably overkill (unless you also play VR games).

 

[Parsnip]

Yeah, I looked at a bunch of benches and I'll probably generally keep aiming at 60fps, and try to get 4K where possible. Like in one bench Jedi Fallen Order looks to be just shy of 60 at 4K, but they don't list settings at all so maybe I can sacrifice something to get it locked. Or maybe I don't have to given that VRR is a thing. As an example.

We'll see.

 

[C-Dub]

When I had a 3070 I just put the settings at something which looked nice at 4K and let VRR handle the rest. It worked well for me and I rarely noticed terrible framerates.

Ultimately I decided to get a 3080 to try and push beyond 60fps and that’s been nice.

 

[Knurek]

But it really shines as a 1440p card. At 1080p, it’s probably overkill (unless you also play VR games).

People always seem to forget there are monitors with refresh rates above 60.
3070 is a great 1080p144 card.

 

[NarohDethan]

Anyone here has a full tower case?

 

[gabbo]

Anyone here has a full tower case?

Yep, what do you want to know?

 

[NarohDethan]

Yep, what do you want to know?

Is it worth the price for the room? I'm eyeing a Corsair 7000d

But that price, haha

 

[Mivey]

Anyone here has a full tower case?

I have a Define R6 (Define R6 USB-C) and it's nice how quiet and also really cool it runs (though that's certainly due to the noctua fans and CPU cooler I use too).

 

[gabbo]

Is it worth the price for the room? I'm eyeing a Corsair 7000d

But that price, haha

I paid a little less than that (factoring in CAD exchange two years ago) for the Define 7 XL, and for me, it was worth every penny. The 7000D probably has better airflow than the Define 7, but I don't struggle with temps or space at all (temps in part, like Mivey said, due to the fans I've added in besides the ones that came with the case).

What case are you using currently?

 

[NarohDethan]

I have a Define R6 (Define R6 USB-C) and it's nice how quiet and also really cool it runs (though that's certainly due to the noctua fans and CPU cooler I use too).

Not available in my country and importing one would be very expensive, but thanks for the suggestion

I paid a little less than that (factoring in CAD exchange two years ago) for the Define 7 XL, and for me, it was worth every penny. The 7000D probably has better airflow than the Define 7, but I don't struggle with temps or space at all (temps in part, like Mivey said, due to the fans I've added in besides the ones that came with the case).

What case are you using currently?

I have a NZXT H510 i

 

[gabbo]

Is it a space issue, a temps issue or both with the H510i that has you looking for full tower?

 

[NarohDethan]

Is it a space issue, a temps issue or both with the H510i that has you looking for full tower?

I want to switch to an AIO and I've never had a full tower before so it's more of a curiosity thing

 

[gabbo]

I want to switch to an AIO and I've never had a full tower before so it's more of a curiosity thing

A full tower will definitely make AIO a lot easier to install and fit just about any AIO you have

 

[NarohDethan]

A full tower will definitely make AIO a lot easier to install and fit just about any AIO you have

Thanks. Right now I'm considering a 4000D Airflow which is pretty much the same as the picture above but in Mid tower.

 

[Satori]

What have i done.. bought a 60% keyboard cause i wanted something smaller.

 

[Mivey]

What have i done.. bought a 60% keyboard cause i wanted something smaller.

Maybe you want to look into small ortho keyboards?

https://drop.com/buy/planck-mechanical-keyboard

EDIT: Just noticed that Drop is out of stock for the Planck. It seems the original seller still has them, though: ZSA Planck EZ: A Powerful, Backlit, Open-Source, 40% Mechanical Keyboard | Planck EZ

Drop + OLKB Preonic Keyboard MX Kit V3 | Ortholinear Mechanical Keyboards

The original Preonic keyboard was praised for its build quality, compact form factor, and intuitive layout—and the new version is no different.

drop.com

 

[Satori]

Maybe you want to look into small ortho keyboards?

The size is good its just going to take a while to get used to not having a numpad.

 

[Mivey]

The size is good its just going to take a while to get used to not having a numpad.

Oh sorry, I misread. I read for a moment you wanted something even smaller.

 

[Stevey]

Anyone here has a full tower case?

I have a Corsair Obsidian 750D and the space made installation so easy, even my 3080ti looks small in there.
Loads of room for stuff (took this picture to show where my SSDs go on Discord)

 

[derFeef]

Im looking at Ultrawide monitors right now and it's rough. IPS or VA, both with their positives and negatives. That OLED one is never coming out here this year anyway so. .. Ugh

The models I have narrowed down to as my potential future monitors, doing gaming and work:

LG 34GP950G-B
Dell S3422DWG
BenQ Mobiuz EX3410R

Any input, recommendations or hand-ons would be appreciated.

Would be using the monitor in a medium to dark lit room.

 

[d00d3n]

In the last year I have phased out displays and speakers/headphones connected to multiple devices.

I previously had my gaming PC connected to an ultrawide display and my main tv, but I ended up replacing the ultrawide with an LG 48" oled and disconnecting the PC from my main tv. The only connected audio device is a pair of low latency headphones. (I have a Valve Index connected as well, but it has never contributed to multiple display or multiple audio device issues) With such a big display, there are no real benefits to playing games on may main TV anymore.

My home office/work/browsing/youtube computer is connected to the mentioned ultrawide display and a pair of headphones

My mister FPGA is connected to a large VA display and uses its internal speakers.

My bedroom tv is only connected to a nvidia shield pro and uses its internal speakers.

My main TV is the only exception to the one display - one device rule, by being connected to a hdfury vrroom in turn connected to a PS5, a nintendo switch and a nvidia shield pro, while the audio comes from a connected soundbar. All devices can wake up the tv, so there is no need for switching input sources on the tv remote.

Mobile phone, tablet and laptop are connected to separate pairs of headphones.

I am really happy with my decision to implement these simplifications of my setup. Switching input sources on displays and dealing with audio device issues may be needed if you are trying to fit a lot of devices into a small living space or due to economic constraints, but it did not make sense to deal with those issues for me, so I chose not to.

 

[Durante]

Im looking at Ultrawide monitors right now and it's rough. IPS or VA, both with their positives and negatives. That OLED one is never coming out here this year anyway so. .. Ugh

Where is "here"? I thought you were pretty close, and while they are backlogged Dell currently claims it's coming on September 1st if you order now.

 

[derFeef]

Where is "here"? I thought you were pretty close, and while they are backlogged Dell currently claims it's coming on September 1st if you order now.

Austria, yes.
September isn't too bad but who knows when it will really be. And as always I would rather want to get the things sooner than later.

 

[didamangi]

Im looking at Ultrawide monitors right now and it's rough. IPS or VA, both with their positives and negatives. That OLED one is never coming out here this year anyway so. .. Ugh

The models I have narrowed down to as my potential future monitors, doing gaming and work:

LG 34GP950G-B
Dell S3422DWG
BenQ Mobiuz EX3410R

Any input, recommendations or hand-ons would be appreciated.

Would be using the monitor in a medium to dark lit room.

No experience in ultrawide but I used to have a high refresh rate va panel and It's pretty bad for gaming. black smearing is really distracting and a huge dealbreaker for me.

If you find this unacceptable:

Then avoid high refresh rate va panel monitors. Some of the better ones might not be that worse but it'll still be there, just less of it.

Rtings has a list of best ultrawide gaming if you haven't check them out: The 5 Best Ultrawide Gaming Monitors - Spring 2022: Reviews

 

[derFeef]

Thanks. Yes I checked that list out, I guess smearing is unavoidable with this panels.
I might just order the OLED, I will have it for many years for sure and it seems the IPS glow and low contrast bother me too much.

 

[Durante]

Not that the recent Samsung high-end gaming VAs don't really suffer from significant black smearing.

... but they have a plethora of other issues.

 

[Knurek]

No experience in ultrawide but I used to have a high refresh rate va panel and It's pretty bad for gaming. black smearing is really distracting and a huge dealbreaker for me.

If you find this unacceptable:

Then avoid high refresh rate va panel monitors. Some of the better ones might not be that worse but it'll still be there, just less of it.

Luckily my VA panel (Acer Z271) is (from what I could gather) the best when it comes to response times, so I don't get smears like these.
Still, response time at 144 Hz is comparable with IPS at 60 Hz.
But black levels more than make up for it.

 

[knch]

Thanks. Right now I'm considering a 4000D Airflow which is pretty much the same as the picture above but in Mid tower.

If it's just an AIO, a mid should be fine. I fit a custom loop with two 240 radiators in a mid once... (and never again!)

 

[C-Dub]

Been having a lot of fun with storage lately.

To make a long story short, one of the drives in my Unraid server has failed a S.M.A.R.T test, so I suspect it's going to die any moment now, bringing the whole array with it. In my infinite wisdom, I didn't bother setting up parity because it was just for my movies and TV shows (i.e. not mission critical data).

Also the Unraid setup is a little broken, as it was my first time doing it and I've done a lot of experiments, and I'm ready to just start afresh.

So I decided to buy a whole bunch of storage. Got 2x16tb hard drives for the Unraid server. One is going to be for data (to replace a broken 4tb drive) and that will work with my relatively new and still functioning 8tb drive already in the server. The other 16tb drive will be for parity so I never have to do this bullshit again.

Said bullshit is moving files from the server, over to my gaming PC to back them up, then moving them back to my server.

The only problem is I didn't have enough storage on my PC... only about 6tb. So while doing the Unraid storage upgrade I decided to do a storage upgrade on my gaming PC too, as for a while I've been planning to build an "all-in-one" system for PC gaming and emulation, and that requires a fair bit of storage space.

The plan was, buy a 4tb SATA SSD to add to the 6tb of storage already there, and also add a 4tb mechanical drive to the system for smaller games like VNs and such, and also my ROMs which won't require fast storage.

I ordered the mechanical drive first as I was planning to backup the rest of my Unraid server to it, but it came DOA. The first warning sign is that when I put it in my PC, Windows 11 immediately shit its pants. As in, I couldn't even recover it.

So I reinstall Windows 11, chalking it up to Windows being shit. Then I begin copying files over and the drive makes the most horrible clicking and scratching noise, and my entire system seizes up. I can't even run ChkDsk it's that bad.

So back to Amazon the drive goes, and thus further delaying my server upgrade.

Amazon decide to refund my card, and I think instead of running the mechanical drive lottery I will backup to my new SSD, so as I'm about to order a new 4tb SSD I spot that the 8tb version is slightly reduced. And adding the money for the 4tb SSD to the refund I was due to receive from Amazon, it started to make more sense to just have 8tb of SSD storage. So I go and order a goddamn 8tb SSD.

Am I insane? Yes. But I digress.

It arrives from Amazon and I put it in my PC and it's already preformatted... for a SATA SSD that gets my suspicion up. So I begin writing files to it and... instant failure. After reformatting the drive it turns out that it only has 512gb on it, and someone had found a way to sell a fake SSD. Could be a fraudulent return or something, I dunno. Anyway, I return this drive to Amazon and they profusely apologise and send me a brand new drive, this time from their stock rather than a third party.

The replacement arrived yesterday and, thankfully, this one is working 100%. I now have 14tb SSD storage on my PC:

1x 2tb Gen 3 NVMe
1x 2tb Gen 4 NVMe
2x 1tb SATA SSDs
1x 8tb SATA SSD

5 days later and I am finally backing shit up. I wanted to start this on Monday, and booked time off work just for this task.

I have yet to install the 16tb drives yet. I am praying those aren't fucked. But knowing all the trouble I've had with this upgrade, I am starting to wonder if I'm cursed.

At the very least, this is the last time I buy storage from Amazon. I've already sworn off buying SD cards, but I always thought HDDs and SSDs were safe. But it's nothing but a fuckin' wild west.

But if all goes to plan and my backups return to the Unraid drives without issue, I'll have a sweet 14tb of gaming storage on my gaming PC. The plan is to have a Playnite UI setup with a whole bunch of ROMs and emulators (so far got about 1tb worth), plus the vast majority of my non-hidden PC games (Steam, EGS, GOG, Amazon, Origin, Itch) library installed (I have about 6tb of games that I will keep) and plenty of breathing space as far as storage goes for further purchases.

Then I will have a really excellent "Streaming" PC that I can stream games to my phone, office laptop, iPad and even Steam Deck. Will be useful if I'm low on Steam Deck storage, the game is not compatible, or I want to start playing while my Steam Deck downloads (I have excellent WiFi, so no bandwidth issues there).

 

[Parsnip]

Wild Wild West


I thought about putting a bunch of sata ssd's in my pc as well not too long ago, basically replace all mechanical drives in the pc with a ssd and put the mass storage where it belongs, in a NAS or something.

But I don't have the money.




Though large part of those thoughts came from having really annoying vibration issues with the mechanical drives, but I actually managed to solve that. I had two large drives in there and through some testing I determined which was the louder one and probably the one that was more responsible for the vibrations and moved that to an external storage box. And few weeks ago when I installed the new gpu I actually had to move the remaining drives up a little since the card was long enough to make that necessary. And either the removal of that one drive or moving the other drives fixed the issue.

 

[Li Kao]

Eh, I have a funny anecdote. My only experience with raid is buying two big hdd to store my movies, with the other for cloning.
All went well until I had to use the windows disk management thing. Shit is not that clear and I can be super dumb.

Guess who formated his movie drive instead of one of the new ones ?

 

[C-Dub]

I've pretty much moved away from mechanical drives. I'm not opposed to using them, but I'd prefer to run games where possible from the SSD. Since I now have 14tb of SSD storage with a further NVMe slot spare should I need it, I think I'm going to be 100% SSD going forward.

But I will continue to use mechanical drives for Unraid because SSDs are too expensive. I'm pairing my 8tb+16tb data and 16tb parity with an old 512gb Gen 3 NVMe I have knocking about which will be my server's cache drive, so at least writing to the drive won't be slow, assuming I write less than 512gb per day, which is likely.

I've heard once you put a parity drive in an Unraid server it grinds to a crawl to write to, since it needs to do the parity too, so the SSD cache will be useful. I also have a 128gb SATA SSD going spare that I may also use as cache if I have enough cables to install it.

 

[derFeef]

Since I will move to Ultrawide soonish, and GPU prices are becoming "ok".
A 3070 TI will be enough for 21:9 1440p Ultrawide right? A 3080 is still a bad deal it seems and everything above seems even more a waste of money. I would be upgrading from a 1080TI wich is still a great card, but I guess Ultrawide and without DLSS it will become harder and harder for some games to run smooth.

 

[Parsnip]

I'd say 3070 Ti is also a bad deal even at msrp. The price hike vs regular 3070 is ridiculous and it's just poor value.

At msrp I'd say that only the 3070 and 3080 are "good" deals, everything else in that range was released after and were overpriced at the source probably because the scalper prices were out of control anyway. So at msrp they are terrible value.

That said, I haven't looked in a few weeks and this probably varies by region, but the 3060 Ti seems to be the best bang for your buck at the moment with a reasonable performance, from there the higher you go the worse the deal gets and less you get for your money as you also noted. So it's just a question of how much are you willing to pay.

 

[derFeef]

I guess a 3060 Ti would be more of a side grade to get the tensor features. Interesting, it makes sense to wait a bit more then. I think.

 

[Parsnip]

I guess a 3060 Ti would be more of a side grade to get the tensor features. Interesting, it makes sense to wait a bit more then. I think.

From 1080Ti to 3060Ti wouldn't be a massive upgrade, but might be worth considering if you want the tensor stuff and hdmi 2.1 features and can get one for cheap.
Like going from 87fps to 115fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1440p (ultra wide though) is nothing to sneeze at for example. Quickly glancing at some benches and it seems like it would be about 20% perf uptick in pure rasterization on average. So not a meaningful enough upgrade for the current inflated price of the card and probably not enough for your future UW use case at least if you want to drive at higher refresh rate than 60.

I would probably wait too if I were you since the new stuff should be just around the corner too.
Though who knows how much the new cards will cost. All the rumors about the wattage of the super high end are pretty nuts too, will be very interesting to see how the midrange cards are.

 

[Durante]

The tradeoff and arguments for waiting/not waiting are almost always the same, however there are pretty significant indicators that the next generation will be a big step. However, it might also be a big step up in pricing, at which point the waiting doesn't make much sense again.

 

[derFeef]

Yeah all true. I always use my GPUs for a long time that's why I mostly never go with the lower tier options. DLSS and FSR certainly are an argument against that I guess.

 

[Knurek]

I don't think I'll switch my 3070 for a while.
Performance is a second class concern for me nowadays, but as I grow older I have lower tolerance for fan noise, and my current GPU is literally inaudible on full load.

 

[Stevey]

I'll probably keep my 3080ti til the 5000 series unless the next offering is a big upgrade and they're actually in stock :V

 

[C-Dub]

I think my 3080 will keep me going for years. No rush to upgrade here.

 

[gabbo]

The tradeoff and arguments for waiting/not waiting are almost always the same, however there are pretty significant indicators that the next generation will be a big step. However, it might also be a big step up in pricing, at which point the waiting doesn't make much sense again.

I'm looking as much at power efficiency as a big factor for my eventual 970 replacement. If the 7000 line improves on/keeps the same level as the rx6000 line, it'l be pretty obvious a choice for me, as ray tracing isn't a huge factor for me. Now if the rtx4000 line can improve in this area, i may consider them.

 

[NarohDethan]

I decided to stop my planned upgrades altogether. I really don't need more tbh.

 

[Parsnip]

I went from 1070 to a 3070, it was quite the jump and I'm going to be satisfied with it for quite a while I think.

 

[derFeef]

Since I ordered the Alienware OLED (September shipping) I have enough time to decide for a GPU.
But I already decided to switch my case since I will need a smaller one - I will get the LianLi O11 Air Mini (It's not that mini)
And will also switch to a AIO cooler. It's kinda nuts that you have to go look for stuff without RGB nonsense nowadays, haha.

 

[Durante]

Yeah, the RGB situation with some components is pretty dire.

But at least for AiOs, it's nice that the non-RGB models of the Arctic Liquid Freezer II series are both easily among the best in their respective size classes in performance, and also among the cheapest you can get.

 

[Knurek]

Since I ordered the Alienware OLED (September shipping) I have enough time to decide for a GPU.

Enjoy, I guess...

(yes, that's pure black on both)

 

[DrShrapnel]

At this stage of the game would upgrading from a Ryzen 3600 to a 5800X or 5800X3D make sense?

On one hand it looks like a great option for one last hurrah with the AM4 socket. I'm using an AsRock B450 Pro Motherboard if that makes a difference. On the flipside I'm thinking of holding off for AM5, and seeing what that brings. The 5800X3D does seem awfully nice compared to the new Intel CPUs.. I'd probably then hold off upgrading until the second generation of Am5 CPUs.

 

[derFeef]

Enjoy, I guess...

(yes, that's pure black on both)

Yeah, I have seen all the videos about the coating and the fringing. Glow, low contrast or smearing probably bother me way more.