OT: The Off-Topic Thread sponsored by Hank Scorpio

[jkutswings]

For real. I only get away with it because I don't have children. I have no idea how parents do much of anything and I'm in awe of their time management.

I promise it's maybe 1 percent time management and 99 percent survival.

 

[TheOctopusKid]

For real. I only get away with it because I don't have children. I have no idea how parents do much of anything and I'm in awe of their time management.

I'm naturally a night owl and my children are all asleep. I play across PC - Xbox - Playstation. Right now I'm rocking Ascent because I'm a sucker for cyberpunk and Diablo Clones. Will probably end up jumping on Game Pass for Xbox for CrisTales, a JRPG homage with a cool time mechanic

 

[Bondurant]

I purchased a Viking game a few weeks ago. One of these days I might actually play it.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

This would be really helpful, @Winger98 .

You mentioned he wants to stream, so depending on what games he wants to stream, that's going to change my recommendation.

And while I think jkuts did an incredible job with that build on the original budget, if streaming is one of the primary goals, I'm going to recommend an Nvidia GPU all day long. Their current architecture is just insanely efficient for playing a game and broadcasting it. The GPU has a dedicated component for the stream broadcast without tanking your overall system performance.

Alas, GPUs are one of the hottest items in the world now and a GPU I bought over 5 years ago for $250 is currently selling routinely on eBay for $220. That's the madness of the current market. The GPU from your original list is a nice choice until things calm down.

Or... This is maybe the only time I've ever recommended people looking into pre-built machines. It's one of the only ways you can get a newer GPU at actual cost. Newegg actually has some intriguing options in their ABS line of computers.

@Winger98, Sorry, I've been out and about all day. Had to work out a delivery to my little brother so he can make me some money selling the gold coins we got from the recent release from the US mint.

Bench and Jkuts hit by far the biggest things.

In general, without knowing the exact things he's planning on streaming or composing or whatever... these are the general areas where you can "skimp" or ways you should go.

CPU - AMD/Ryzen all the way. Just the best bang for the buck (and I say this as someone who has only ever built with Intel. If the 5000 series wasn't out, the 3600/3600x would be a fine piece. Also, the Ryzen series come with a cooler that will be sufficient for what he needs. So, for a similar price to Intel, you could knock off the 40 for the Hyper 212 (which is a good fan if you go that way, if a little aged)


GPU - Right now, steer for clearer waters. Prices are coming down but it's still nutso.

Storage - 500 GB quality SSD at around 50-60. You can save and add the plate drives later at cheaper. 500GB is fine while you're building up.

Case - Either the Focus G that you had or the Cougar that Jkuts used are fantastic ones on the lower end of the budget spectrum. Much cheaper than those and you start seeing it in the build quality. I use the Focus G myself and it has everything I could need. Some pretty decent cable management options in it.

PSU - That $99 for a Bronze rated is really expensive and Rosewill is kinda ehh for them.


This is a guy who does know what he's talking about. This can kind of be a good resource.




JayzTwoCents is super knowledgable as well.


Also...

A couple reddit pages would be helpful for you too.

r/buildapcsales - Finds potential sales for items that you are selecting that you want to put in there. Just aggregators of deals from legit vendors.

r/hardwaresales - Reddit version of craigslist. I've had fantastic luck with this. As always be cautious, but they do tend to do a pretty good job rooting out the scammers and scalpers


r/buildapcforme - You could go there and ask the same thing you’ve asked us and provide the things he wants to do and budget. They can tell you if it's realistic and/or what needs to happen to have it be realistic.

wow, I must have been tired writing that up

 

[Konnan511]

@ You goons with your fancy computers.

Do any of you guys game on PC? I vaguely remember Bench stating he plays Elder Scrolls online sometimes. I think it might be fun to get a few board members together for a match on Forza or Battlefield.

EDIT: If so, what games do you guys play?

I play hockey mode on RocketLeague
Crusader King III
Franchise Hockey Manager 7
Football Manager 2021
All the Assassin Creeds
Middle Earth games.
I have a PS3 emulator where I play NCAA 14 revamped
Rimworld
Age of Empires II
Stardew Valley

That's the majority of the games I switch between.

 

[jkutswings]

@Winger98, Sorry, I've been out and about all day. Had to work out a delivery to my little brother so he can make me some money selling the gold coins we got from the recent release from the US mint.

Bench and Jkuts hit by far the biggest things.

In general, without knowing the exact things he's planning on streaming or composing or whatever... these are the general areas where you can "skimp" or ways you should go.

CPU - AMD/Ryzen all the way. Just the best bang for the buck (and I say this as someone who has only ever built with Intel. If the 5000 series wasn't out, the 3600/3600x would be a fine piece. Also, the Ryzen series come with a cooler that will be sufficient for what he needs. So, for a similar price to Intel, you could knock off the 40 for the Hyper 212 (which is a good fan if you go that way, if a little aged)


GPU - Right now, steer for clearer waters. Prices are coming down but it's still nutso.

Storage - 500 GB quality SSD at around 50-60. You can save and add the plate drives later at cheaper. 500GB is fine while you're building up.

Case - Either the Focus G that you had or the Cougar that Jkuts used are fantastic ones on the lower end of the budget spectrum. Much cheaper than those and you start seeing it in the build quality. I use the Focus G myself and it has everything I could need. Some pretty decent cable management options in it.

PSU - That $99 for a Bronze rated is really expensive and Rosewill is kinda ehh for them.


This is a guy who does know what he's talking about. This can kind of be a good resource.




JayzTwoCents is super knowledgable as well.


Also...

A couple reddit pages would be helpful for you too.

r/buildapcsales - Finds potential sales for items that you are selecting that you want to put in there. Just aggregators of deals from legit vendors.

r/hardwaresales - Reddit version of craigslist. I've had fantastic luck with this. As always be cautious, but they do tend to do a pretty good job rooting out the scammers and scalpers


r/buildapcforme - You could go there and ask the same thing you’ve asked us and provide the things he wants to do and budget. They can tell you if it's realistic and/or what needs to happen to have it be realistic.

wow, I must have been tired writing that up

All great options. If you are considering a prebuilt, then two sites I monitor are www.edealinfo.com and www.slickdeals.net - both occasionally have desktop deals in the $600-900 range, although it's fairly common to only see 8GB of RAM at that price point.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

All great options. If you are considering a prebuilt, then two sites I monitor are www.edealinfo.com and www.slickdeals.net - both occasionally have desktop deals in the $600-900 range, although it's fairly common to only see 8GB of RAM at that price point.

Ram is a fairly cheap upgrade though. 16gb of DDR4 3000mhz ram (that's basically the sweet spot of what you'd need) can be found around 65-75 dollars. Ryzen does like a little faster of ram, so DDR4 3200 or 3600mhz are also there and they can be found a shade under 100 in most places.

You would want to know how many ram DIMM slots the mother board has if you want 32 gb. Because if it has 2, you'd have to get a 16gb dual channel set to get there. If 4, you can go 4x8.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Went to Comerica for the first time to see Guns N Roses, they were definitely better than reviews suggest

 

[jkutswings]

Ram is a fairly cheap upgrade though. 16gb of DDR4 3000mhz ram (that's basically the sweet spot of what you'd need) can be found around 65-75 dollars. Ryzen does like a little faster of ram, so DDR4 3200 or 3600mhz are also there and they can be found a shade under 100 in most places.

You would want to know how many ram DIMM slots the mother board has if you want 32 gb. Because if it has 2, you'd have to get a 16gb dual channel set to get there. If 4, you can go 4x8.

Yeah, definitely. But some of those prebuilts put dumb restrictions and configurations on motherboards with regards to RAM. I'd suggest to @Winger98 that if he sees a deal, he reads the comments afterwards or seeks assistance to learn what specific parts are used (and how upgradeable they are).

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Yeah, definitely. But some of those prebuilts put dumb restrictions and configurations on motherboards with regards to RAM. I'd suggest to @Winger98 that if he sees a deal, he reads the comments afterwards or seeks assistance to learn what specific parts are used (and how upgradeable they are).

yep. Winger, when you're ready to pull the trigger, just ask one last time to make sure the upgradeability is there.

 

[Bench]

yep. Winger, when you're ready to pull the trigger, just ask one last time to make sure the upgradeability is there.

Man I love our little tech support group we got going.

When are we starting our Tech 4 Everyone business and YouTube channel???

 

[jkutswings]

Man I love our little tech support group we got going.

When are we starting our Tech 4 Everyone business and YouTube channel???

C'mon, Bench. I think it's misrepresenting things just a little to say the channel would be for everyone .

I mean, sure, everybody who's willing to recite the Channel Pledge can join. But the fine print on that might be a tough sell in some cases:

I love discussing technology.

When I don't understand something, it's good to learn from others.

When I don't agree with something, it's good to remain respectful of others.

And Jesper Wallstedt is our inspiration and personal hero.

Technology diu vivere!

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

C'mon, Bench. I think it's misrepresenting things just a little to say the channel would be for everyone .

I mean, sure, everybody who's willing to recite the Channel Pledge can join. But the fine print on that might be a tough sell in some cases:

I love discussing technology.

When I don't understand something, it's good to learn from others.

When I don't agree with something, it's good to remain respectful of others.

And Jesper Wallstedt is our inspiration and personal hero.

Technology diu vivere!

Well f*** that, I’m out.

friendship was ended with Jesper wallstedt. Now best friends with Sebastian f***ing Cossa

 

[Bench]

Well f*** that, I’m out.

friendship was ended with Jesper wallstedt. Now best friends with Sebastian f***ing Cossa

Excuse me but you're both wrong.

Ned the Red is ready to turn this entire franchise around.

 

[jkutswings]

Well f*** that, I’m out.

friendship was ended with Jesper wallstedt. Now best friends with Sebastian f***ing Cossa

No need for salt, friend. Tech 4 Everyone accepts all goaltending fans. But surely you can see the logic in a tech organization associating itself with the netminder known for his technical prowess, yes?

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

No need for salt, friend. Tech 4 Everyone accepts all goaltending fans. But surely you can see the logic in a tech organization associating itself with the netminder known for his technical prowess, yes?

I don't know if I want to associate with people who don't get Lil' Sebastian. .

Excuse me but you're both wrong.

Ned the Red is ready to turn this entire franchise around.

No, the Red guy who is going to turn the franchise around is the type that is the cream of the crop. He is one half of the Mega Powers. Redmond Savage.

Red Madness and RaymondMania.

 

[jkutswings]

Excuse me but you're both wrong.

Ned the Red is ready to turn this entire franchise around.

Sigh. And yet another noble kingdom is destroyed by the in-fighting of the feudal lords...

 

[Bench]

Sigh. And yet another noble kingdom is destroyed by the in-fighting of the feudal lords...

BEND THE KNEE.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Sigh. And yet another noble kingdom is destroyed by the in-fighting of the feudal lords...

Ha. That is the story of the world.

What would life be without tragic in-fighting?

I can sign on with Wallstedt if this is our theme song. But replace Minecraft with Technology.

 

[TCNorthstars]

Knock it off! Loud pickleball games annoy some in Michigan

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

@Winger98

 

[Bondurant]

I don't know if I want to associate with people who don't get Lil' Sebastian. .



No, the Red guy who is going to turn the franchise around is the type that is the cream of the crop. He is one half of the Mega Powers. Redmond Savage.

Red Madness and RaymondMania.

But the Mega Powers ended badly.

"You have lust in your eyes!"

 

[jkutswings]

yep. Winger, when you're ready to pull the trigger, just ask one last time to make sure the upgradeability is there.

We've got a candidate for @Winger98 ! It's only 8GB of RAM, but otherwise looks like a decent system for a very good price:

Dell XPS Desktop (Hex i5-11400/ 8GB RAM/ 512GB SSD/ 6GB Video) only $649.99

Can either @Bench or @Lil Sebastian Cossa check the parts on this one?

EDIT: Only a 360 watt power supply, but I didn't see anything else to question. Not sure about the specific motherboard or memory config.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0797CDK7J/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Definitely good quality PSUs getting out there.

 

[Bench]

We've got a candidate for @Winger98 ! It's only 8GB of RAM, but otherwise looks like a decent system for a very good price:

Dell XPS Desktop (Hex i5-11400/ 8GB RAM/ 512GB SSD/ 6GB Video) only $649.99

Can either @Bench or @Lil Sebastian Cossa check the parts on this one?

EDIT: Only a 360 watt power supply, but I didn't see anything else to question. Not sure about the specific motherboard or memory config.

I'm a little leery of the big manufacturers like Dell for these things. They tend to use a lot of custom parts that have little to no upgrade paths. And it's often unclear that's even the situation until it arrives at your door.

When I shop the pre-built space I look for guys taking commercially available parts and throwing them together to build a system.

Microcenter, for example, does this with their in-house brand. The aforementioned ABS line from Newegg seems to be the same situation.