PC Building Guide and Discussion #13

[Ryuji Yamazaki]

Anyone have this router? Any good, thoughts, etc.? Netgear Nighthawk AX4

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgea...-wi-fi-6-router-black/6332189.p?skuId=6332189

I recently upgraded to gigabit internet with Comcast, wired i get like 980mbps down, but wifi in a room 30 feet away gets speeds of like 40-70mbps. Also playing something like Call of Duty on Xbone has some slight lag, a little rigid/choppy when you're moving around. Not terrible, but annoying.

Wondering if this router is crap. Thanks.

 

[SniperHF]

I recently upgraded to gigabit internet with Comcast, wired i get like 980mbps down, but wifi in a room 30 feet away gets speeds of like 40-70mbps. Also playing something like Call of Duty on Xbone has some slight lag, a little rigid/choppy when you're moving around. Not terrible, but annoying.

The original Xbox One (according to my googling) only supports 802.11n standard, which is substantially inferior to the 802.11ac standard your router supports. 40-70 is pretty normal for many 802.11n connections in my experience. Though you might check to make sure you are using your routers 5ghz ssid and not the 2.4ghz one.


Also more latency in general on wireless is common regardless of throughput in mbps. Though 802.11ac in my experience is really good. I think you need an XBOX one X for that.

 

[Ryuji Yamazaki]

The original Xbox One (according to my googling) only supports 802.11n standard, which is substantially inferior to the 802.11ac standard your router supports. 40-70 is pretty normal for many 802.11n connections in my experience. Though you might check to make sure you are using your routers 5ghz ssid and not the 2.4ghz one.


Also more latency in general on wireless is common regardless of throughput in mbps. Though 802.11ac in my experience is really good. I think you need an XBOX one X for that.

Thanks my friend. My Xbox is the old one that came out at launch, so that could be it.

 

[SniperHF]

Brother's Budget Build:
Phanteks P300 Eclipse
R5 2600
Asus ROG STRIX B450
2x8GB Mushkin Redline
Asus pcie Wifi card
Geforce 9800 GTX (not really, I just threw it in there to test it because the video card isn't bought yet)
SSD TBD later.

The P300 is....interesting. I think I'm keeping my love for simple metal box cases. It lends itself well to cable management, even I made it look reasonable!
But I hate the power header, it has some chip in the case that plugs in via a 12v SATA plug and that controls everything except the reset SW.
The case is also VERY much oriented toward a modular PSU and this being a budget build does not have a modular PSU. There's basically no where to stash the cables except inside the HDD bays. Which is fine except I wanted to use one of them.......
The only 2.5 Bay is behind the motherboard tray, also not a fan of this location. At least I wasn't planning on using it but if I was....it sucks.
Also I don't like the side panel which looks good because it has no border but I'm terrified of dropping it because it has no border....And there's really nowhere to grab it.

If you need a reasonably compact mid tower and only are using an m.2 sata drive it's a pretty reasonable case. Otherwise I'd avoid it.

Edit: figured it out, it was a rive tuner setting of all things.

Riva Tuner is pretty old, any reason you are still using it? Or do you mean the Riva Tuner Stats Server thing?

 

[guinness]

It's so red, and to see all that space in an ATX case, sans disc drive too.

I do love my modular PSU though, makes things cleaner.

TBF, I've only recently used disc drives to rip discs for FLAC or BR rips, otherwise, I couldn't even bothered to save an old BR drive when I recycled my previous desktop last weekend (and an old laptop). I just don't know what else to do with old computers anymore...I still kept my Power Mac G5, but it just looks so neat.

 

[SniperHF]

sans disc drive too.

I won't buy a case without 5.25 bays but my brother won't need one.
It would look a lot less empty if I mounted 2x120mm fans up front but I'm gonna see how it runs first as is.

I still kept my Power Mac G5, but it just looks so neat.

That's the only Mac I ever liked, we used to have one in the computer lab right when they came out, I'd have kept it too

 

[aleshemsky83]

Samsung had a "power outage" at one of their factories. Get ready for ram prices to go back up.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Samsung had a "power outage" at one of their factories. Get ready for ram prices to go back up.

Seems like something like this happens every time RAM and/or SSDs get cheap.

And this from the industry accused of price fixing.....coincidence?

 

[Dick Sledge]

Riva Tuner is pretty old, any reason you are still using it? Or do you mean the Riva Tuner Stats Server thing?

I have because I use MSI afterburner. Is there a way to use afterburner for monitoring without Riva tuner?

Off topic. I upgraded the ram in my laptop to 16gb last night. When I went to use it the Wi-Fi wasn't there. Obviously the card disconnected. Unscrew it again and it is disconnected, the reason it is is because it's not screwed down.

For shame MSI, for shame. That's Mickey mouse.

 

[SniperHF]

I have because I use MSI afterburner. Is there a way to use afterburner for monitoring without Riva tuner?

Afterburner is the successor to Riva Tuner, it just uses the still updated "riva tuner statistics server" in the background. So that's fine.

I thought you meant you were using Riva Tuner proper, which is like 9 years out of date or whatever it is

Unscrew it again and it is disconnected, the reason it is is because it's not screwed down.

is it possible one of the bottom cover screws threads all the way through into the wifi card? that's pretty common.

 

[Dick Sledge]

is it possible one of the bottom cover screws threads all the way through into the wifi card? that's pretty common.

The wifi card screws down exactly like an m.2 in this laptop.

So when it was initially connected and not screwed down it was held in place by the back cover. Otherwise it would have been at 20 to 30 degree angle propped up unscrewed.

 

[SniperHF]

I'm increasingly finding that the super easy awesome XMP RAM overclocks the interwebs PC community touts is way more hit and miss than is commonly said.
Something to keep in mind if you have stability issues on a new system.

 

[guinness]

I'm increasingly finding that the super easy awesome XMP RAM overclocks the interwebs PC community touts is way more hit and miss than is commonly said.
Something to keep in mind if you have stability issues on a new system.

My experience as well, but I have junky RAM too.

I honestly up in the air about getting a gaming laptop when I finally to ready to upgrade or spending a bit more money on components in a desktop build, and not using cheapish parts. Is DDR5 around the corner?

 

[SniperHF]

DDR5 around the corner?

AMD is keeping AM4 socket for Ryzen 4000. I'd say most likely no DDR5 on that platform.

Intel's 10xxx/Z490 chipset or whatever the hell they are calling it is confirmed DDR4.

I think most likely one generation away.

 

[WickedWrister]

What's a normal idle CPI/GPU temperature range for my PC (Spec posted above)?

 

[Commander Clueless]

Pro tip: the Arctic Alpine AM4 low profile coolers are cheap....in every sense of the word.

As an experiment with my new HTPC build (still in progress, despite my best efforts to find time), I decided to try out the $10 cooler. As far as I can tell, the fan and heat fins are well made.

The cheap plastic mounting system, however....not so much.


I was as gentle as I could be trying to get it to fit and it still snapped. My best guess is equal pressure on both sides when attaching the clips might help, but that's hard to do with only two hands....

...back to the Wraith Stealth for the time being.

 

[SniperHF]

What's a normal idle CPI/GPU temperature range for my PC (Spec posted above)?

My Brother's 2600 Idles at 29-32C but that has the slightly worse Wraith Prism cooler, you should have the Spire (or aftermarket) with your 3600x. 3600x is a higher TDP chip, might run a little hotter than a 2600.

GPUs are trickier because of cooler differences. A reference 5700XT idles at 48C per Techpowerup. You do not have a reference card. It could run hotter or cooler than that depending on if it has idle fan 0%.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Well, the HTPC build is complete. Overall, I like the part choices for the most part. Might need to get myself a little nicer CPU cooler.

PCPartPicker Link:

Yata-Garasu

(Forgive the terrible photography on my part)

It's already starting to usurp the older but more powerful gaming PC just for convenience.


The enthusiast in me is a little ashamed, but the budget-conscious person in me is really happy with the 1660 Super. To be fair, I think the budget-conscious part of me murdered the enthusiast part of me with the pricing of the latest generation of NVIDIA GPUs.

 

[Beau Knows]

Well, the HTPC build is complete. Overall, I like the part choices for the most part. Might need to get myself a little nicer CPU cooler.

That's a cool case. I wanted to use my PC as a HTPC, but didn't want to buy new parts for it (although I ended up needing a new CPU cooler). So I had to find a case that would look ok in the living room and fit a standard ATX mobo - there's not a lot of choices there. Ended up with this one: SilverStone INTRODUCTION：GD09 . Luckily I could fit it in my cabinet, but it's not exactly slim.

How do you plan on using your HTPC?

I have mine set up to boot into Kodi instead of windows explorer with a plugin for Launchbox Big Box for games.

I hate having to use a keyboard and mouse from my couch, so I use this remote which has a mini keyboard on the back and an air mouse for the rare times I need to use more than just the direction buttons, volume control, etc: Pepper Jobs W10 GYRO The world's 1st remote designed for Windows 10

 

[Commander Clueless]

That's a cool case. I wanted to use my PC as a HTPC, but didn't want to buy new parts for it (although I ended up needing a new CPU cooler). So I had to find a case that would look ok in the living room and fit a standard ATX mobo - there's not a lot of choices there. Ended up with this one: SilverStone INTRODUCTION：GD09 . Luckily I could fit it in my cabinet, but it's not exactly slim.

Yeah I really like the look and design of the RVZ02. With the dust filters on, it does get a little toasty though. I might have to adjust some of the cooling solutions or just live with the fact that I'm going to need to clean it more often.

My buddy also used the GD09. It's a really cool design. SilverStone comes out with some whacky but useful stuff.

How do you plan on using your HTPC?

I have mine set up to boot into Kodi instead of windows explorer with a plugin for Launchbox Big Box for games.

I hate having to use a keyboard and mouse from my couch, so I use this remote which has a mini keyboard on the back and an air mouse for the rare times I need to use more than just the direction buttons, volume control, etc: Pepper Jobs W10 GYRO The world's 1st remote designed for Windows 10

I have mine hooked up with a small cheapo wireless keyboard/touchpad to launch media, and play primarily with my wireless Xbox controller.

I got the wireless keyboard off of Amazon. Some random brand that I don't even see listed anymore, but it gets the job done.

However, the HTPC has already taken over for my older gaming PC for the most part and, as you can probably see in the pictures, is now residing on my desk. I've gone back to the janky solution of a long HDMI cable coiled behind my TV, which is about 5 feet to the right of the desk. I don't think you can see it in the pictures, but there is an HDMI extender coming out from behind the PC and resting behind the right edge of my desk for easy hookup.

I normally launch games from the desk and saunter on over to my couch with the Xbox controller.


For media, I don't currently have a server or anything set up. I just use streaming services, but my old TV is limited to Netflix and a terrible YouTube app, so anything else is streamed from the PC.

I will probably remove the old PC and make this my primary machine. Does it still count as an HTPC at that point?

 

[Beau Knows]

I have mine hooked up with a small cheapo wireless keyboard/touchpad to launch media, and play primarily with my wireless Xbox controller.

I got the wireless keyboard off of Amazon. Some random brand that I don't even see listed anymore, but it gets the job done.

However, the HTPC has already taken over for my older gaming PC for the most part and, as you can probably see in the pictures, is now residing on my desk. I've gone back to the janky solution of a long HDMI cable coiled behind my TV, which is about 5 feet to the right of the desk. I don't think you can see it in the pictures, but there is an HDMI extender coming out from behind the PC and resting behind the right edge of my desk for easy hookup.

I normally launch games from the desk and saunter on over to my couch with the Xbox controller.


For media, I don't currently have a server or anything set up. I just use streaming services, but my old TV is limited to Netflix and a terrible YouTube app, so anything else is streamed from the PC.

I will probably remove the old PC and go back down to a single machine. Does it still count as an HTPC at that point?

That's funny, I have the opposite setup. My HTPC has and HDMI and a USB cable going to my desk in case I want to play games with m+kb where my work PC is.
I use these switches to alternate HDMI and USB sources on my work PC to change which computer the monitor is displaying and which PC the keyboard and mouse are controlling.


Big Picture Mode is pretty nice. I used that until I started playing a lot of old games on emulators, it's great for PC games but not for those. I've heard Playnite is really good, it can combine games from pretty much every PC games launcher.

 

[Commander Clueless]

That's funny, I have the opposite setup. My HTPC has and HDMI and a USB cable going to my desk in case I want to play games with m+kb where my work PC is.
I use these switches to alternate HDMI and USB sources on my work PC to change which computer the monitor is displaying and which PC the keyboard and mouse are controlling.

I would consider reversing the position in my case, but my monitor runs off of DisplayPort (G-Sync) and I don't have a DP cable long enough.

I also tend to use it more at the desk than the couch, but if I setup the PC near the TV I would have the added advantage of less (further away) noise.

 

[JetsFan815]

Anyone have this router? Any good, thoughts, etc.? Netgear Nighthawk AX4

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgea...-wi-fi-6-router-black/6332189.p?skuId=6332189

I recently upgraded to gigabit internet with Comcast, wired i get like 980mbps down, but wifi in a room 30 feet away gets speeds of like 40-70mbps. Also playing something like Call of Duty on Xbone has some slight lag, a little rigid/choppy when you're moving around. Not terrible, but annoying.

Wondering if this router is crap. Thanks.

I had one of the Nighthawks... I don't think it was this particular model as the one I bought was much cheaper but also promised Gigbit speeds on wifi. Great and works as advertised.

But before you spend the money on it, make sure that your wifi card actually supports Gigbit speeds. Many older ones do not.

 

[sigma six]

BTW @Osprey I did take your advise about activating Win10 from a couple of months ago and it worked like a charm. Thanks bud.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Computer related question...

So I have an old Asus ROG G750jw laptop, the hinges broke and the screen just snapped off and I never bothered to get it fixed as the parts are hard to find and the housing is cracked and an epic pain to fix. So I found an older Lenovo Thinkpad that I had that had a corrupt hard drive that I haven't replaced. I was curious, if I swapped my hard drive into that laptop (the Lenovo from the Asus) is there a way to keep the OS the same and just add the drivers that the new laptop has?

Hardware stuff I am iffy on and I wish I knew more about this than I do.

Any help would be appreciated.