PC Building Guide and Discussion #13

[Osprey]

The 6800 is a little oddly positioned, but according to AMD's chart (grain of salt of course) it seems to beat the 2080 Ti while having 16GB of VRAM (double the 8GB of the 3070)....so there is that.

That's true, but the 6800 XT is $50 less than the 3080 that it's supposedly comparable to, in spite of having double the VRAM, so AMD doesn't appear to be marking up because of VRAM quantity. 16GB seems to be a freebie for the purpose of value. AMD's pricing seems centered around how the cards perform relative to Nvidia's, and having more than 8GB doesn't provide much of any performance benefit right now.

Likely not ideal, but probably the result of binning chips that couldn't quite hit 6900XT/6800XT levels. Wouldn't be surprised to see a price drop on 6800 non-XTs fairly shortly though.

That's a good point. I believe that all three models are still Navi 21. I think that it's supposed to be Navi 22 that is the mid-range chip (and, eventually, Navi 23 as the budget chip). I suppose that it makes sense to wait until they're ready to unveil all of the card flavors with Navi 22 rather than just one.

 

[Commander Clueless]

That's true, but the 6800 XT is $50 less than the 3080 that it's supposedly comparable to, in spite of having double the VRAM, so AMD doesn't appear to be marking up because of VRAM quantity. 16GB seems to be a freebie for the purpose of value. AMD's pricing seems centered around how the cards perform relative to Nvidia's, and having more than 8GB doesn't provide much of any performance benefit right now.

True, although it does seem to dunk on the 2080 Ti more than the 3070 does, so in theory...it's a performance bracket up, albeit a small one.

We'll see, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it end up around the price of a 3070 at some point.

 

[aleshemsky83]

The problem that AMD cards have with being compelling is two things. 1) MSRP usually doesn't matter. While the listed price for AMD is often cheaper, in practice for the last couple years the prices are near identical. 2) Nvidia's software features (and hardware features too) is just so much better. AMD can have their flashy smooth looking control panel all they want, it's just a million times worse in terms of what it can do and ease of use than Nvidia's old looking 2007 control panel


Speaking of software features, the absolute most annoying thing about AMD is the fake software features they add in. Rage mode, precision boost overdrive, AMD chill. Just completely useless placebo software "features" that shouldnt even be features that you have to turn (even if they did anything, which they don't)

 

[Osprey]

Speaking of software features, the absolute most annoying thing about AMD is the fake software features they add in. Rage mode, precision boost overdrive, AMD chill. Just completely useless placebo software "features" that shouldnt even be features that you have to turn (even if they did anything, which they don't)

It doesn't sound like Rage Mode will be useless. It sounds like it's just one-click overclocking, and overclocking makes a difference. AMD's slide shows about a 6% increase with Rage Mode on, which is a very believable overclocking gain.

 

[aleshemsky83]

It doesn't sound like Rage Mode will be useless. It sounds like it's just one-click overclocking, and overclocking makes a difference. AMD's slide shows about a 6% increase with Rage Mode on, which is a very believable overclocking gain.

Linus says they told him its a 1-2% gain, so I'm skeptical. They've done similar stuff with their zen 2 cpus putting "Precision boost overdrive" and "auto-overlocking" settings in ryzen master that literally do nothing. Also, why would these even be settings that are turned off by default if they're just turnkey solutions that dont affect the system at all? Maybe im cynical.

 

[Osprey]

Linus says they told him its a 1-2% gain, so I'm skeptical. They've done similar stuff with their zen 2 cpus putting "Precision boost overdrive" and "auto-overlocking" settings in ryzen master that literally do nothing. Also, why would these even be settings that are turned off by default if they're just turnkey solutions that dont affect the system at all? Maybe im cynical.

In that case, maybe the majority of the 6% improvement is actually due to AMD's Smart Access Memory (the ability for the Ryzen 5000 series to directly access the Radeon's VRAM), since I believe that AMD simply showed the total performance gain with both Rage Mode and Smart Access enabled. If so and Rage Mode's contribution is negligible and more for marketing, like you suspect, maybe that's a good thing because it suggests that more of the extra performance that AMD claims is due to architecture than software tricks. We'll have to wait and see. I'm sure that the reviewers will put everything and AMD's marketing to the test.

Oh, look what I found. AMD's web page for Smart Access Memory shows 5-6% gains with it enabled, so you could be right that Rage Mode doesn't add more than a percent or two:

https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/smart-access-memory

 

[aleshemsky83]

Anybody know a good ebay seller for Windows oem keys?

 

[Osprey]

Anybody know a good ebay seller for Windows oem keys?

I don't know about eBay, but I can give you two non-eBay links:

Buy Windows 10 Pro Professional CD-KEY | G2deal.com
^ I have no experience with them, but I've read that they're legit

Marketplace for Microsoft Software
^More expensive, but more payment options and I've bought from s5ean before and can personally vouch

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I really like the Software Swap subreddit. Bought from them multiple times.

 

[Dick Sledge]

I’ll have a 3700x on an x470 with a 3080. I hope I won’t have to upgrade anything in like 3 or 4 years.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Well I guess we chalk that one up as another disastrous launch from Team Green.....

Not that I expect Team Red to have much more luck

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I still expect AMD to have overall better stock than Nvidia.

 

[Osprey]

A big part of Nvidia's problems is that they went with Samsung's 8nm process, which is still new and can't produce enough chips to satisfy demands. AMD, instead, went with TSMC's 7nm, which is much more mature (having been the basis of Zen 2 for the last year and a half) and TSMC is better used to high volume production. That's why AMD should have better stock than Nvidia and why there are rumors that Nvidia will be ditching Samsung and switching to TSMC next year for the 3000 series refresh cards (i.e. the "Super" variants).

 

[Phion Keneuf]

I’m building my first PC ever, moving away from console after 2 decades of console gaming. I have all the parts and I’m building on Saturday.

This is my build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nm6Nqp

I eventually will swap out the EVGA 2070S for the EVGA 3070 FTW3 whenever I get the confirmation email, as I am waiting in the EVGA Step Up program queue.

 

[aleshemsky83]

I’m building my first PC ever, moving away from console after 2 decades of console gaming. I have all the parts and I’m building on Saturday.

This is my build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nm6Nqp

I eventually will swap out the EVGA 2070S for the EVGA 3070 FTW3 whenever I get the confirmation email, as I am waiting in the EVGA Step Up program queue.

This is the US site isn't it? Currency isn't converted on there.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

This is the US site isn't it? Currency isn't converted on there.

Yeah, I didn’t pay that much for it.
I got everything for $2200 CDN taxes included. Just wanted to show the parts in my build.

HST is killer lol

 

[SPV]

Want to get my son a PC for Christmas, he's 12 and doesn't need top of the line stuff by any means; just a starter system that could be easily upgraded, because I don't have the tech knowledge to try to build one anymore. Was looking on Amazon at some Skytech computers (Chronos & Blaze) for around 600ish, anyone know if that would be a good computer to start with and try to add/upgrade parts as we go?? Or can you maybe point me to a good starting point for around 600-700ish.

TIA

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

While not hardware/PC stuff exactly and I'm not sure where to talk about this, I've currently had my Secret Lab Omega 2018 chair for about 2.5 years. I've replaced at least half of this chair already (replaced the back of the seat, replaced the arm rest pads, replaced the recliner mechanism on the side, replaced the piston and replaced the base of the chair) and while it seems to function as I need it to be right now, I also have the side wings kind of pushed out and around the steel frame (so basically the chair is kind of flat for the seat). Would it be worth even getting a new chair after all this time or would it basically mean getting something that might only be slightly more comfortable? Sadly, the ones I'm looking at, I have zero ability to go actually sit in the chairs.

Also, side thing, I work from home and use the same chair for both work and my personal PC (I have an even-side L desk and I just turn to each machine to make it easy), so I am in this chair for many hours out of the day. Another side thing, Herman Millers and Steelcase chairs are out of my price range. Also, I'm a big believer in headrests, and most of those don't have them.

 

[Dick Sledge]

While not hardware/PC stuff exactly and I'm not sure where to talk about this, I've currently had my Secret Lab Omega 2018 chair for about 2.5 years. I've replaced at least half of this chair already (replaced the back of the seat, replaced the arm rest pads, replaced the recliner mechanism on the side, replaced the piston and replaced the base of the chair) and while it seems to function as I need it to be right now, I also have the side wings kind of pushed out and around the steel frame (so basically the chair is kind of flat for the seat). Would it be worth even getting a new chair after all this time or would it basically mean getting something that might only be slightly more comfortable? Sadly, the ones I'm looking at, I have zero ability to go actually sit in the chairs.

Also, side thing, I work from home and use the same chair for both work and my personal PC (I have an even-side L desk and I just turn to each machine to make it easy), so I am in this chair for many hours out of the day. Another side thing, Herman Millers and Steelcase chairs are out of my price range. Also, I'm a big believer in headrests, and most of those don't have them.

KILLABEE Massage Gaming Chair High Back PU Leather PC Racing Computer Desk Office Swivel Recliner with Retractable Footrest and Adjustable Lumbar Support, Gray/Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FCZ696Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AVcOFbX5JE9TH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

This is the chair I’m currently rocking. It’s extremely comfortable. I bought this one because he has the thickest seat I could find in my price range.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I was looking at getting this, while it is similar to the fabric Titan, it's also about $100+ less than the Titan. My question is, would there really, truly be any real difference between the new chair and the one I have currently that warrants spending $400?

MAINGEAR FORMA R MK II Gaming Chair with Adjustable Lumbar - Black/ Red - Micro Center

 

[Dick Sledge]

It finally arrived.

 

[Commander Clueless]

I sincerely wish more online stores did something like EVGA's queue system.

Also, I sincerely wish they did it in Canada.

 

[Dick Sledge]

Apparently they're all out of Watch Dogs Legion codes. I was looking forward to trying it out with raytracing. So instead I got a Black Ops Cold War code. Anyone have a Watch Dogs code they want to trade?

 

[aleshemsky83]

Gamers nexus got a 4.6 GHz overclock on the 5950X, so depending on the use case it probably won't be worth OCing, same as 3rd gen ryzen and the newer Intel's. They pretty much push them to the limit at factory settings.

Also, just like 3rd gen ryzen, the chiplet design makes it so that the lowest end ryzen performs basically the same per core for gaming, so if it's not a heavily optimized game, there's not much point in getting anything other than 5600

 

[flyingkiwi]

Finally RMAing my Corsair PSU six months after I bought it.

France is back under lockdown this week so looking forward to a quiet winter of gaming once my online classes wrap up.