PC Building Guide and Discussion #12

mouser

Business of Hockey
Jul 13, 2006
29,284
12,583
South Mountain
Maybe you can trick the monitor by getting a DVI to HDMI cable and putting the DVI end on the monitor. Amazon basics sells one for like $6. Very handy cables in general even if it doesn't work for you.

You could also try creating a custom resolution in the driver settings. Not sure what Nvidia calls it but that's what it's labeled in AMD.

Yeah, gonna work on it later tonight. I would expect the monitor is HDMI 1.2, which is old but should still do 1200p fine. PnP even correctly identifies the monitor model—BenQ FP241WZ I’ve read there are some custom NVidia override options.

I might take the lazy approach and just do the HDMI to DVI cable simply so I don’t have to reprogram the monitor—have them both color configured the same on DVI but HDMI has its own display setting memory.
 

CutOnDime97

Too Showman
Mar 29, 2008
15,589
9,785
Are there any monitor arms that would support a 25 inch Ultrawide and a 27 Inch monitor? Or will I have to go with 2 separate arms?
 

mouser

Business of Hockey
Jul 13, 2006
29,284
12,583
South Mountain
Maybe you can trick the monitor by getting a DVI to HDMI cable and putting the DVI end on the monitor. Amazon basics sells one for like $6. Very handy cables in general even if it doesn't work for you.

You could also try creating a custom resolution in the driver settings. Not sure what Nvidia calls it but that's what it's labeled in AMD.

HDMI to DVI cable did clear up the issue, resolutions working fine now. Also happier running DVI on the monitor as using the HDMI input was causing different behavior on the monitor sleep modes.

As I said, massive card. New EVGA GTX 1070Ti FTW2 on the left, my old EVGA GTX 660 SC SIG2 on the right:

OipWm2ll.jpg
 

SniperHF

Rejecting Reports
Mar 9, 2007
42,631
21,042
Phoenix
As I said, massive card. New EVGA GTX 1070Ti FTW2 on the left, my old EVGA GTX 660 SC SIG2 on the right:

My card isn't quite that long, RX 480's are pretty short. But I put on this after market cooler:
https://www.arctic.ac/worldwide_en/accelero-mono-plus.html

Even though it's more compact in some ways it sticks out a bit both above the card and into the next slots. Works much better than my junky original cooler though.
 

Knave

Registered User
Mar 6, 2007
21,625
2,226
Ottawa
Anyone else ever had an issue with what I think is the graphics card having a fan kind of spin up rather loudly. I don't want to say "rev up" but I can't think of a better way to describe it. Within a second or two of this revving I hear a clicking sound that lasts about a second and what I assume is the fan stopping? This doesn't impact performance. It doesn't raise or lower the temperature or anything major as far as I can tell beyond being extremely annoying.

My fix right now is to force the fans to always be on. If I set the fans manually I get a typical computer humming sound, really minor and very quiet and less annoying but IDK if this will have any long term consequence.

Regardless it's got me thinking of a GPU upgrade less than a year in. Thankfully prices have come down considerably.
 

SniperHF

Rejecting Reports
Mar 9, 2007
42,631
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Anyone else ever had an issue with what I think is the graphics card having a fan kind of spin up rather loudly. I don't want to say "rev up" but I can't think of a better way to describe it. Within a second or two of this revving I hear a clicking sound that lasts about a second and what I assume is the fan stopping? This doesn't impact performance. It doesn't raise or lower the temperature or anything major as far as I can tell beyond being extremely annoying.

My fix right now is to force the fans to always be on. If I set the fans manually I get a typical computer humming sound, really minor and very quiet and less annoying but IDK if this will have any long term consequence.

Regardless it's got me thinking of a GPU upgrade less than a year in. Thankfully prices have come down considerably.

So you have one of the fans that goes completely to 0%?

Leaving the fan always on will not hurt anything, you can leave it a pretty low percentage (20-30% probably, lower and they tend not to actually spin) if it's a fan off on idle model. Just make sure the curve is set so it increases as temps go up.

I force mine to stay on because it runs cooler at idle, which admittedly is probably not a problem in Ottawa :laugh:
 

Knave

Registered User
Mar 6, 2007
21,625
2,226
Ottawa
So you have one of the fans that goes completely to 0%?

Leaving the fan always on will not hurt anything, you can leave it a pretty low percentage (20-30% probably, lower and they tend not to actually spin) if it's a fan off on idle model. Just make sure the curve is set so it increases as temps go up.

I force mine to stay on because it runs cooler at idle, which admittedly is probably not a problem in Ottawa :laugh:

I'm not sure if it's 0% or not. I usually run default because the GPU has software that takes care of stuff for me.

Basically when not doing much besides browsing, I hear what sounds like a rattling/revving sound and as I hear that a distinctive click happens and then it goes quiet.

I put my fans on at fixed and manual at 40% and then down to 20% when I left for work this morning and I haven't heard the fans besides a faint humming since then.

It's weird. I'll have to play around with fan settings but I can live with a humming sound. And I'll upgrade at some point in 2019 to a card that won't do this.

The computer itself is near a wall to the exterior so heat isn't really a problem now. You can feel the temperature difference from the middle of the room to the few feet between the wall and computer tower.
 

SniperHF

Rejecting Reports
Mar 9, 2007
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I put my fans on at fixed and manual at 40% and then down to 20% when I left for work this morning and I haven't heard the fans besides a faint humming since then.

Whatever software you are using can probably set up a fan curve.
Something like idle temp = 25%
50C = 50%
65C = 70%
And then a 100% for high temps like 80C +

Though this works for my card, other cards would be better served with a different curve. But it's in the ballpark.



If the fan is clicking that could be the bearings wearing out. Could also be some sort of rattle of the plastic. Fans usually spin up faster than the speed they are going to settle at.
 

SeidoN

#OGOC #2018 HFW Predictions Champ
Aug 8, 2012
30,796
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AEF
my default is the fans dont kick in till 50 degrees and the temp target is 70 lol

I remember the Asus GTX680 I had used to have hella loud fans if they went over 30%. I used to have to set them to 25% and just let the card run a little warm lol
 

flyingkiwi

Registered User
Oct 28, 2014
4,315
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France
It's that time on year again (third year running?) where I start thinking about my mini PC in a PS2 case project again. What I really need to do is pull the trigger on a motherboard and get a system running with the ram, drive, and memory I've had sitting around for ages. Then I can worry about the case mod.

ASRock J3455-ITX Intel Quad-Core Processor J3455 (up to 2.3GHz) Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo - Newegg.com
Ya reckon this'll do for playing/streaming HD content and emulating older games? I'd say PS1/N64 is the latest I'd go.

I know they've got ITX boards with newer CPUs now but I need one compatible with ddr3 laptop memory.
 

SniperHF

Rejecting Reports
Mar 9, 2007
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Ya reckon this'll do for playing/streaming HD content and emulating older games? I'd say PS1/N64 is the latest I'd go.

That's a SoC type thing and not a socketed board right?

I'd probably want a little more beef in the CPU but it woulld probably do that. If that's the best that can work with your RAM then okay. Seems like the price of actual proper socketed motherboards are way high since it's old tech now.

I used to emulate N64 on a an AMD 3000+ single core laptop back in the mid 2000's and it handled it fine. I dunno about PS1. Usually you need single threaded power for emulation


Does this one fit the bill specs wise on the RAM?
ASRock J4205-ITX Intel Quad-Core Pentium Processor J4205 (up to 2.6GHz) Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo - Newegg.com

Seems like it has basically the same stuff but a slightly faster CPU.
 

Osprey

Registered User
Feb 18, 2005
27,090
9,352
Anyone else ever had an issue with what I think is the graphics card having a fan kind of spin up rather loudly. I don't want to say "rev up" but I can't think of a better way to describe it. Within a second or two of this revving I hear a clicking sound that lasts about a second and what I assume is the fan stopping? This doesn't impact performance. It doesn't raise or lower the temperature or anything major as far as I can tell beyond being extremely annoying.

I had an issue somewhat like that for months recently. About once out of every 10 times that I turned the computer on, I'd be greeted with an alarmingly loud sound of a fan running at full speed. Whenever it happened, I immediately shut the system down and powered it back up, and it'd be normal again. I'm not 100% sure where the sound was coming from, since it was so distressing that I didn't want to leave it running like that long enough to open the case and look, but I suspected that it was the GPU's fans. The motherboard was becoming flaky, though, so I reasoned that that was the real culprit. I replaced that motherboard a few months ago (and CPU, CPU fan and memory, but kept the GPU and power supply) and I haven't had the problem occur again, supporting my theory that it was a problem with the motherboard, not the GPU. That doesn't mean that your motherboard is the problem--it may well be the GPU in your case--but I'm throwing it out there as something to keep in mind.
 

Kestrel

Registered User
Jan 30, 2005
5,814
129
It's that time on year again (third year running?) where I start thinking about my mini PC in a PS2 case project again. What I really need to do is pull the trigger on a motherboard and get a system running with the ram, drive, and memory I've had sitting around for ages. Then I can worry about the case mod.

ASRock J3455-ITX Intel Quad-Core Processor J3455 (up to 2.3GHz) Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo - Newegg.com
Ya reckon this'll do for playing/streaming HD content and emulating older games? I'd say PS1/N64 is the latest I'd go.

I know they've got ITX boards with newer CPUs now but I need one compatible with ddr3 laptop memory.
These may not be up your alley - they have more grunt, but they also already have on-board RAM

https://www.dfrobot.com/category-175.html
 

Knave

Registered User
Mar 6, 2007
21,625
2,226
Ottawa
I had an issue somewhat like that for months recently. About once out of every 10 times that I turned the computer on, I'd be greeted with an alarmingly loud sound of a fan running at full speed. Whenever it happened, I immediately shut the system down and powered it back up, and it'd be normal again. I'm not 100% sure where the sound was coming from, since it was so distressing that I didn't want to leave it running like that long enough to open the case and look, but I suspected that it was the GPU's fans. The motherboard was becoming flaky, though, so I reasoned that that was the real culprit. I replaced that motherboard a few months ago (and CPU, CPU fan and memory, but kept the GPU and power supply) and I haven't had the problem occur again, supporting my theory that it was a problem with the motherboard, not the GPU. That doesn't mean that your motherboard is the problem--it may well be the GPU in your case--but I'm throwing it out there as something to keep in mind.

Yeah I was a bit rough handling my motherboard. Maybe it's worth grabbing a replacement since they're relatively cheap.

I can also upgrade the cheap RAM and maybe the CPU as well. It was my first time building a computer so this time around I'll be more cautious, gentle and planned.
 

flyingkiwi

Registered User
Oct 28, 2014
4,315
3,452
France
That's a SoC type thing and not a socketed board right?

I'd probably want a little more beef in the CPU but it woulld probably do that. If that's the best that can work with your RAM then okay. Seems like the price of actual proper socketed motherboards are way high since it's old tech now.

I used to emulate N64 on a an AMD 3000+ single core laptop back in the mid 2000's and it handled it fine. I dunno about PS1. Usually you need single threaded power for emulation


Does this one fit the bill specs wise on the RAM?
ASRock J4205-ITX Intel Quad-Core Pentium Processor J4205 (up to 2.6GHz) Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo - Newegg.com

Seems like it has basically the same stuff but a slightly faster CPU.

Yeah that works with the RAM too, thanks Sniper.

These may not be up your alley - they have more grunt, but they also already have on-board RAM

https://www.dfrobot.com/category-175.html

Yeah they do look cool! I think last time I was talking about this stuff you guys mentioned tiny solutions like these. They’d be better inside the case for sure, but I’m on the fence. I must take a closer look, really. But at first glance the prices are a bit high; I’ve only got another hundred bucks I can justifiably spend on the PC parts of this build and that’s about the price range of those motherboards above, and it’s the last part I need.

The job for today is to tear down the old family HTPC I replaced with a chromecast and external drive for my sisters laptop, which they are getting SO much more use out of. I want to salvage the drives so I get a free 2tb upgrade for my pc. It’s a green drive so it’ll make a good media dump, leaving my black for games and programs. The old ssd will get used with the PS2 pc, whatever form that takes on. Everything else I’ll try to sell for a couple hundred at best.
 
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SolidSnakeUS

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Aug 13, 2009
48,835
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Found out that the Acer XB271HU monitor that I ordered from B&H won't be in stock until January 31st... are you f***ing kidding me? I ordered something over a week ago and they are now telling me it won't be in until the end of next month? f*** YOU...
 

David Dennison

I'm a tariff, man.
Jul 5, 2007
5,940
1,444
Grenyarnia
Holy f***, Powerline, where have you been all my life? It isnt for all living spaces, but I have a long, skinny, two story apartment and it is making all of the difference.
 
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flyingkiwi

Registered User
Oct 28, 2014
4,315
3,452
France
Figured out a bit more of my PS2 build. Gonna go all in this summer cause it’s my last chance before I move to Europe for a year.

The motherboard will have to be mounted “upside down”, that is, to the logo side of the console. Won’t be a problem if the whole thing is standing up. There’s plenty of room for the SSD to be mounted to the same side too, and I’ll put in a single case fan on the back to keep everything cool.

The next step is to source a sata to Usb cable so I can reinstall windows on my ssd and get the motherboard, then test everything. I pray the picoPSU I’ve been holding onto for a couple years now still works and everything is golden.

If it all works I’m gonna call on my electrician cousin to help me rewire the original power/eject switches to work as front panel switches and indicators.

Once all the electronics are working then I’ll finish the case mod. I need to cut a bit more of the plastic off the back, figure out what I’ll do for standoffs and then get a custom plastic backplate made.

It doesn’t have to be the most powerful thing in the world, but if I can get it to work and look a little cleaner than some of the other attempts online, I’ll be pretty happy.
 
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God King Fudge

Championship Swag
Oct 13, 2017
6,308
6,793
Holy ****, Powerline, where have you been all my life? It isnt for all living spaces, but I have a long, skinny, two story apartment and it is making all of the difference.
I used a Powerline adapter for awhile and it worked well at the start, but I had issues with it constantly dropping connection after a few months. Would drop several times a night. It was a bummer cause I loved it.
 

flyingkiwi

Registered User
Oct 28, 2014
4,315
3,452
France
The next step is to source a sata to Usb cable so I can reinstall windows on my ssd and get the motherboard, then test everything. I pray the picoPSU I’ve been holding onto for a couple years now still works and everything is golden.

If it all works I’m gonna call on my electrician cousin to help me rewire the original power/eject switches to work as front panel switches and indicators.

Some good progress re the above today!

I decided I couldn't wait for shipping so I went to my local computer shop for the adapter and ended up getting served by one of my old EB buddies who gave me staff discount. We got talking about my project and the front panel switch problem. I asked him if he knew where I could buy some front panel cables and he just pulled out one of their 'broken' PCs earmarked for disposal. Turns out some guy just didn't want it anymore so he left it with them to get rid of. We cracked it open and not only did I get the cables for free, but also 8GB of gskill ram and an i5 4570 cpu. I'm gonna pop em in my rig tonight to test em, but that ram especially is just free money. One good thing about NZ is that resale value can last a little longer in our tiny market. :D

I also put the 2tb drive from my parents' old replaced-by-chromecast PC into mine so now I'm rocking 4tb. :naughty:

Edit: unfortunately that free i5 was indeed dead.
 
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Dick Sledge

The Tactleneck
Feb 11, 2009
9,647
1,694
Decided to finally overclock my 2600. Got it to 4.0ghz at 1.3 volts. Seems stable so far. Did this through Ryzen Master and not the bios.
 

Osprey

Registered User
Feb 18, 2005
27,090
9,352
Some good progress re the above today!

I decided I couldn't wait for shipping so I went to my local computer shop for the adapter and ended up getting served by one of my old EB buddies who gave me staff discount. We got talking about my project and the front panel switch problem. I asked him if he knew where I could buy some front panel cables and he just pulled out one of their 'broken' PCs earmarked for disposal. Turns out some guy just didn't want it anymore so he left it with them to get rid of. We cracked it open and not only did I get the cables for free, but also 8GB of gskill ram and an i5 4570 cpu. I'm gonna pop em in my rig tonight to test em, but that ram especially is just free money. One good thing about NZ is that resale value can last a little longer in our tiny market. :D

I also put the 2tb drive from my parents' old replaced-by-chromecast PC into mine so now I'm rocking 4tb. :naughty:

Edit: unfortunately that free i5 was indeed dead.

It's too bad about the CPU, but that was a score getting 8GB of RAM for free. It seems funny to us computer nerds that people will throw out a whole computer that stops working when it's likely just one component (in this case, the CPU) that failed. The previous owner here no doubt bought a whole new computer when he could've replaced just the CPU for 1/5th to 1/10th the cost. Oh well. His loss was your gain.
 
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Knave

Registered User
Mar 6, 2007
21,625
2,226
Ottawa
I took apart my computer and found out it was the middle fan rubbing against the fan power/control wiring (that was obviously protected by something and still is). So I grabbed a swiss army knife with a flat edge tool (suppose to be a cheap screwdriver type of tool I guess?) and pushed down on the power/control cables. We'll see if I get any more beeps on startups. It's been a pretty rare occurrence but it does occur. I guess the only question is if it was alerting me to a faulty fan or some other issue. While I was in there taking out the graphics card and looking around I also decided to unplug and replug all the connections to see if that would help.
 

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