PC Building Guide and Discussion #11 (everything is expensive...)

[SniperHF]

Thanks for the response, it’s a regular 660, with a mild factory overclock.

I think you hit the one thing I’m worried about—VRAM. I suspect I’m more performance bound by vram then clockspeeds in the particular game I’m trying to boost. Would love to get a new card with 6GB+. If I’m shopping for a holdover replacement should probably target a 4GB single card, but those seem to still be mostly inflated due to the miners, even the old models.

What game?

 

[mouser]

What game?

Fallout 4, but I’m running the Sim Settlement/Rise of the Commonwealth mods that dramatically increase the # of objects in some areas.

Very beautiful and cool mods, but demanding on the gpu.

 

[Kestrel]

Well... I'm slightly aggravated - that there are no Seasonic reps around for me to murder hideously in my rage that my Seasonic Focus has TWO EPS connectors, but ships with ONE EPS cable. I knew I had plugged in all the modular cables, but couldn't figure out why I was getting a C0 code on my motherboard until I did a little looking. The X399 Taichi (and apparently other Threadripper boards) require one 4+4/8 pin EPS cable, and one 4 pin EPS cable. I even cut open the sleeving to split my singular 4+4 cable on the off chance that giving power to the 4 pin connector and half of the 8 pin connector would allow my computer to boot - no luck.

I am NOT paying $100+ for one of the cabling mod kits out there, and I am NOT waiting a week or two to get cables from elsewhere. I am probably going to be spending money to buy another power supply to get this thing up and running.

 

[SniperHF]

The X399 Taichi (and apparently other Threadripper boards) require one 4+4/8 pin EPS cable, and one 4 pin EPS cable. I even cut open the sleeving to split my singular 4+4 cable on the off chance that giving power to the 4 pin connector and half of the 8 pin connector would allow my computer to boot - no luck.

If you just wanna get it working, find a random PSU laying around, jump the ATX connector pins which force it on, and use it for the extra 4 pin connector.

 

[Kestrel]

If you just wanna get it working, find a random PSU laying around, jump the ATX connector pins which force it on, and use it for the extra 4 pin connector.

That's a good thought. I just ordered a Seasonic Focus 850w PSU... but I might end up doing that just to get the thing working. Thanks!

 

[SniperHF]

That's a good thought. I just ordered a Seasonic Focus 850w PSU... but I might end up doing that just to get the thing working. Thanks!

Don't break anything....
I would do it in this order: Plug in the 4 pin, jump the ATX, connect the power cable to the wall/strip, flip the PSU switch to turn it on.

When shutting down, don't flip the switch till after main power supply is shut off.

Also use something better than a paper clip to jump the ATX connector, I'd use a small wire and tape it down. People use paper clips for that for testing but I wouldn't do that for actual operation.

 

[Kestrel]

Don't break anything....
I would do it in this order: Plug in the 4 pin, jump the ATX, connect the power cable to the wall/strip, flip the PSU switch to turn it on.

When shutting down, don't flip the switch till after main power supply is shut off.

Also use something better than a paper clip to jump the ATX connector, I'd use a small wire and tape it down. People use paper clips for that for testing but I wouldn't do that for actual operation.

I've got a jumper connector that came with an EVGA PSU I have... unfortunately, I still get the C0 code - I don't know if it's related to the secondary PSU being a heap of trash, or if I have a secondary problem.

 

[Kestrel]

Well, it got interesting... after playing around and pulling some RAM, and reseating it - I've got 2 sticks in, and it is cycling through motherboard codes, but it isn't power looping like it did the the C0 code - it stays on, and keeps cycling through the same codes - no display on the monitor.

 

[Kestrel]

I'm spamming, I know - but I THINK I have it figured out - I'll check tomorrow. It seems that the board, on certain versions of the BIOS, have compatibility issues with SATA m.2 drives - I suspect mine is one of those - if it's not nvme, it probably is? Anyhow, I'll play with it more tomorrow, and Hope I've got it figured out.

 

[SniperHF]

Does it work with just 4 pins in the 8 pin or are you still using the ghetto 2 PSU setup?

 

[Kestrel]

Does it work with just 4 pins in the 8 pin or are you still using the ghetto 2 PSU setup?

Ghetto 2 PSU setup. I've already ordered another PSU, same line, but the 850. I'll probably sell the 650 to my cousin at a discount, so it's not a complete loss.

 

[Kestrel]

Today will be fun... I went to bed late last night due to the computer issue - and woke up more than 2 hours early - so I'm going on roughly 4 hours of broken sleep. BUT - I'm still in a better mood than last night. I pulled my M.2 drive, which let me post into the BIOS - from there, I updated the BIOS, shut down, and reinstalled the M.2. NOW - I just need to pull my fan off the heat sink, install the rest of my RAM, put the fan back on, and install Windows. I'm still on the ghetto PSU setup, so I'm not inclined to let the computer run unattended, but at least I can do a little with it until my new PSU arrives.

On that note - @SniperHF - I would assume that going from a Seasonic Focus Platinum 650 to the same model in 850, all the cables should be entirely compatible? It would be nice to just unplug and replug them in at the PSU, and not have to reroute them all again!

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

Hello all!! I need some help as I am completely ignorant to computer part knowledge. GTA 5 roleplay servers have blown up and I used to play RP servers on Garrys Mod ten years ago and have the absolute need to buy a desktop (yes just for a single game for the time being, I know Im crazy).

Can anyone help me out with buying one? Building a PC is probably more expensive today with the miners buying up all the GPU and proccessing power (so I read). Any reccomendations for a desktop to target? Intel or AMD? Dell, Alienware, etc etc..?

I have a laptop for school/work purposes so no need to worry about space (500gb, 1Tb, etc..).

Here are the reccomended specs for GTA 5 -

• OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1
• Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs)
• Memory: 8GB
• Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB
• Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
• HDD Space: 65GB

Note: RP servers use deeper coding so it takes 10-15 FPS away. Also Id like a desktop that can be edited later on to upgrade parts if need be (graphics cards are the obvious one)

Thanks in advance folks!

 

[Kestrel]

Hello all!! I need some help as I am completely ignorant to computer part knowledge. GTA 5 roleplay servers have blown up and I used to play RP servers on Garrys Mod ten years ago and have the absolute need to buy a desktop (yes just for a single game for the time being, I know Im crazy).

Can anyone help me out with buying one? Building a PC is probably more expensive today with the miners buying up all the GPU and proccessing power (so I read). Any reccomendations for a desktop to target? Intel or AMD? Dell, Alienware, etc etc..?

I have a laptop for school/work purposes so no need to worry about space (500gb, 1Tb, etc..).

Here are the reccomended specs for GTA 5 -

• OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1
• Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs)
• Memory: 8GB
• Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB
• Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
• HDD Space: 65GB

Note: RP servers use deeper coding so it takes 10-15 FPS away. Also Id like a desktop that can be edited later on to upgrade parts if need be (graphics cards are the obvious one)

Thanks in advance folks!

US or Canada? Budget?

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

US or Canada? Budget?

US - Budget is within reason. Not looking to go more than 750 but I understand there is some complexity with price and pre-builts.

Once I get some recommendations ill do my best to research deals and such.

 

[Kestrel]

US - Budget is within reason. Not looking to go more than 750 but I understand there is some complexity with price and pre-builts.

Once I get some recommendations ill do my best to research deals and such.

Here's one from NewEgg that looks like a reasonable place to start. There were others that looked like they might be okay, but I have more confidence in this one being a standard case that you can do your own upgrades on.

ABS Prime-1200 Gaming Desktop Ryzen 3 1200 (3.10 GHz) 8 GB DDR4 1 TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Windows 10 Home 64-Bit ALA067 - Newegg.com

It's not the most powerful processor, but it should be adequate, and can always be swapped out for a more powerful one. Adding an SSD drive would definitely make it snappier. That is a reasonable moderate gaming card as well.

Edit: More powerful computer - although you might want to verify that it is a standard case, although I would assume it is - on sale at the moment:

DELL Desktop Computer Inspiron 5675 i5675-A933BLU-PUS Ryzen 5 1400 (3.20 GHz) 8 GB DDR4 1 TB HDD AMD Radeon RX 570 Windows 10 Home 64-Bit - Newegg.com

 

[SniperHF]

^That Dell seems like good value. RX 570 is $380-400+ depending on the day by itself.

R5 1400 is $159
8GB DDR 4 is $75

Just those three parts get you to the cost of that desktop.

 

[Individual 1]

It's no longer on sale but it is $700

Lots of prebuilts are being posted to Build a PC Sales • r/buildapcsales

 

[Kestrel]

@SniperHF - for interest's sake - running Passmark software, my CPU Mark is 23916, with a single threaded score of 2020. I expected lower, because of my RAM speed, but maybe that doesn't have much influence? Either way, I'm quite pleased. I should try and play with overclocking - at least with the RAM, but I'll save that for another day.

 

[SniperHF]

@SniperHF - for interest's sake - running Passmark software, my CPU Mark is 23916, with a single threaded score of 2020. I expected lower, because of my RAM speed, but maybe that doesn't have much influence? Either way, I'm quite pleased. I should try and play with overclocking - at least with the RAM, but I'll save that for another day.

RAM doesn't affect CPU mark much AFAIK. A lot of times if your score is above the average and you aren't OCed it's due to the motherboard.

Also a 4GHZ 2500k has a better single thread score which makes me sad 7684/2125

 

[Kestrel]

RAM doesn't affect CPU mark much AFAIK. A lot of times if your score is above the average and you aren't OCed it's due to the motherboard.

Also a 4GHZ 2500k has a better single thread score which makes me sad 7684/2125

Damn, time to throw out the Threadripper and see if I can source a 2500k Kinda sad how little single threaded performance has progressed, no?

 

[Kestrel]

Got my RAM from 2133 to 2666 without loosening the timings - however I haven't stress tested it yet. Assuming it is stable during testing, I'll probably leave it there as I don't see a real need to push it further. I did bump up the clock to 3.9 GHz without increasing voltage, and it was stable enough for mining and general use, bug locked up during a Passmark test. I might play more with overclocking later, but I'm not in a hurry to do so. Temps haven't gone past 60 with the Noctua hsf, and generally stay closer to 40, even under load. I'm pretty happy with the system so far, I just need my new PSU to arrive, so I can get rid of the ghetto setup, and feel like I can leave my computer unattended.

 

[mouser]

Damn, time to throw out the Threadripper and see if I can source a 2500k Kinda sad how little single threaded performance has progressed, no?

It's not unique to desktops, I've seen the same pattern in big server chips. I deal primarily with multi-million dollar servers and they've also gone the route of prioritizing more cores and power/heat efficiency over single thread performance.

It's mostly for the good overall, though it can be frustrating at times because there are so many computing needs that are still dominated by single thread performance.

 

[Kestrel]

It's not unique to desktops, I've seen the same pattern in big server chips. I deal primarily with multi-million dollar servers and they've also gone the route of prioritizing more cores and power/heat efficiency over single thread performance.

It's mostly for the good overall, though it can be frustrating at times because there are so many computing needs that are still dominated by single thread performance.

I finally tried Handbrake for the first time on my Threadripper - and I'm wanting to know how AMD and others got such high speeds in their testing. YES, my Threadripper definitely converts faster than my 6700k, even when in "slow" mode vs the i7's "medium" mode - but I can pin all the cores on the i7 to 100 percent usage - Threadripper seems to have so much untapped potential for a lot MORE speed as CPU usage sits at roughly 25% on Handbrake - not a handful of cores goign 100%, but all the cores fluctuating at low to moderate loads for an overall 25% usage. On the other hand, it still leaves oodles of power for other tasks. Or perhaps for running more than one Handbrake window at a time?

 

[Knave]

So over the next month or two I'm thinking of purchasing parts to build my own.

I don't need mouse/monitor/keyboard. I would like it to be capable of running VR stuff if I decide to get a Vive or Occulus Rift.

My budget would be around $2500 up to a max of $3000.

I don't mind something prebuilt if you guys think its really good value.

I'm going to start looking this weekend at stuff online.