The PC thread

[wolfking]

Thanks lads.  Will see how this Edge goes.  Seems fine for me.  This is what I got;

https://support.hp.com/th-en/document/c06639644

HP Slim Desktop - S01-aF0104a

Very cool, it's got an NVMe SSD that alone will make your new PC fly. Specs look good, it should serve you well.

Thanks man, good to hear.  I'm a bit out of touch with all the new specs and hardware, I just legit know that the basic stuff I do the cheapest would be most serviceable.

[faizoff]

came across a weird RAM problem. I have 2 A slots and 2 B slots for a total of 4 each. My B slots dont work at all. I painstakingly checked each of my four RAM sticks on each slot and rebooted every time. All RAM sticks work on the A slots, they do nothing on the B slots. My hands are so sore from the constant pull and push lol.

It's so bizarre, and haven't come across this before. I don't know if the power supply going kaput had anything to do with it. My mobo manual says technically it can only support a max of 4GB per slot but I have a set of 4 x 8 GB RAM sticks that I've been using for years with no issue. Now I'm downgraded to 16 GB total RAM and 16 GB RAM of DDR3 to figure out what to do with.

I officially retired my old i5-2500k and handed it to my daughter for her online classes since the raspberry pi wasn't powerful enough to handle videos and other simple tasks we take for granted on a PC.


Coming back to this RAM problem, I searched across the internet for a possible solution and one or two comments recommended that I reseat the CPU to test, since it's always such a pain to remove the entire setup esp when you have a giant Hyper 212 Plus cooler sitting on top of the CPU, I just skipped that route of troubleshooting.


Now while putting the components in a new case, I paid attention to reseating the CPU (not that I recall doing it any differently), I was able to get all 4 slots of RAM working again!


So my 6 year old daughter has a desktop with a 27" monitor, an OC'ed 4.5 Ghz i5-2500k CPu, 32 GB of RAM, 256 GB SATA III SSD and Radeon HD 6870 for school work. 






So my turn to ask about hard drive issues, I need to just read the contents of one of the Seagate Barracuda drives I replaced. I don't care to recover any data from it, but I just wanted to get a clearer idea of what all there was on the drive. Anytime I plug it in using a USB enclosure it doesn't recognize the drive, when I connect it on a SATA port same thing. Should I just chkdsk it?

[faizoff]

AMD revealed their new GPU lineup today and if benchmarks appear correct, it looks like it is going head to head with the 3000 series from Nvidia priced competitively.

6900XT  $1000    12/8
6800XT   $650     11/18
6800       $580     11/18

Wonder how their supply will be compared to Nvidia's. Those appear very competitive for 4k gaming and if they are reliable and benchmarks appear true will probably give Nvidia a run for the money even if they just have stock AMD will win regardless of performance.

[cramx3]

AMD revealed their new GPU lineup today and if benchmarks appear correct, it looks like it is going head to head with the 3000 series from Nvidia priced competitively.

6900XT  $1000    12/8
6800XT   $650     11/18
6800       $580     11/18

Wonder how their supply will be compared to Nvidia's. Those appear very competitive for 4k gaming and if they are reliable and benchmarks appear true will probably give Nvidia a run for the money even if they just have stock AMD will win regardless of performance.

Interesting, if the benchmarks compare well to nvidia and they actually have stock, it will be a huge win for AMD.

[faizoff]

AMD Zen 3 CPUs released today and the reviewers are pretty much proclaiming RIP Intel. The new Zen 3 CPUs are beating Intel on most gaming benchmarks and for productivity. Now good luck finding stock.


One thing to note from a reviewer who said that he was able to test 4 different CPU generations (Zen, Zen+, Zen 2 & Zen 3) on a single AMD AM4 slot motherboard which is pretty remarkable seeing as you'd need at least 3 boards and system setups for corresponding Intel CPUs.

[cramx3]

So I've been toying with the idea of building a separate PC for streaming.  I've had all my old PC parts laying around to build a solid second PC, would just need a capture card... so today I built the 2nd PC.  I ordered an elgato capture card, but it won't be here for a few days I think (should have been here already, but it seems delayed). 

Anyway, I also got my new standing desk I built yesterday so here's the new/old PC (still under construction, but it's fully built now)



Intel Core I7 6700k
16G ram
EVGA GTX 770
4x 400G SSD in RAID0 for applications
2x 2TB HDD for storage (still toying wtih this, I have a bunch of old drives but I think one of 3 2TB drives is fried, and another one I think I want to keep as cold storage.  I have two more 1TB drives just sitting around, so I'm testing what works and what doesn't.)
250G NVMe M.2 for Windows 10

turns out my old mouse is fairly busted, works but the left click is very flaky so I just ordered a cheap mouse and a cheap 5 port network switch to use for the two PC set up.  Also got myself a new fancy mouse pad with lights and all. 

Soon I'll be moving furnature around to get my office set up in the basement and return my "3rd bedroom" into a standard living space (aka no lights and curtains, plus a couch and normal desk)

[XJDenton]

4 drives in Raid 0 seems like its asking for trouble. Do you really see a performance benefit?

[cramx3]

4 drives in Raid 0 seems like its asking for trouble. Do you really see a performance benefit?

It's just for applications so if it fails, it fails.  The reality is, I just have 4 of these 400G SSDs that are kind of useless on their own since they aren't very large (I have three spares as well).  I had 3 of them in RAID0 on my old build which had 0 issues, so adding one more into the array seems like a decent gamble.  This PC's storage is WAY OP because I am not planning on really doing much with it besides hosting a potential live stream.  Anything I find worthy of storing, will go onto the HDDs.  Which I just settled with... 1x 2TB and 1x 1TB.  Confirmed one of my 2TB is bad and the other 2TB is full with all my back up files so I am just keeping that plus another full 3TB drive as "cold storage" as I just physically labelled them. In the process I found about 300G of data I'd like to actually have on my main PC so I'm currently doing a mass file transfer but otherwise, the new build seems good and once I get my capture card and new mouse, I can actually start trying to test it out in action. 

[faizoff]

I've always been curious about capture cards, the Elgato ones seem high end. I see many streamers show the BIOS captures, always wondered how they do that.

[cramx3]

I've always been curious about capture cards, the Elgato ones seem high end. I see many streamers show the BIOS captures, always wondered how they do that.

Yea, I read the elgato is the best of the best for this, I'm wondering how it'll work.  Of course I wonder if it's even worth it to do a 2 PC set up, but since the 2nd PC is all re-used parts, the elgato (and mouse) are the only new parts.  I have even more parts laying around for another couple builds, but no more graphics cards.  Actually hoping in 2021 I get a RTX 3080 and migrate my GTX 1080 FTW to this 2nd PC and retire that GTX 770.

[XJDenton]

I'm wanting to build a new PC for cyberpunk, but goddamn are the 3000 series GPUs and 5000 series Ryzens ever elusive. Can't find em anywhere.

[cramx3]

I'm wanting to build a new PC for cyberpunk, but goddamn are the 3000 series GPUs and 5000 series Ryzens ever elusive. Can't find em anywhere.

Yea, its crazy how scarce they are.  I don't expect to get it until 2021.

[faizoff]

I too am looking to upgrade and get those same components though am not in a rush.  Stock evaporates instantly the moment it comes on, I've managed to see the add to cart button once. Looks like the wait continues.


I listened to a few tech youtubers and they spoke with manufacturers that mentioned the demand is through the roof this time round about 10x more than previous launches. It will take a while for it to normalize.

[ReaperKK]

I'm wanting to build a new PC for cyberpunk, but goddamn are the 3000 series GPUs and 5000 series Ryzens ever elusive. Can't find em anywhere.

Yea, its crazy how scarce they are.  I don't expect to get it until 2021.

This. I'm guessing March for some decent stock of new gpus.

[cramx3]

I've got a lot of work to clean the cabling up (I need to order some cable sleeves, take some velcro from work, order a couple USB extension cables) but last night I moved my main PC to my new standing desk and also moved all the lighting/screen screen.  It seems legit, I'm back in business with gaming while standing now.  Really liked it while gaming last night.



This week, I will start moving around the furniture to move my side desk into the basement and that's where I'll set up my second new/old PC.

[faizoff]

Desk looks great! what monitor stand is that? I've been thinking of getting one to hold my 32" on the left and 28" on the right.

[cramx3]

Desk looks great! what monitor stand is that? I've been thinking of getting one to hold my 32" on the left and 28" on the right.

My friend recommended this but I don't think it will work for your bigger monitors as it's rated at 27" for both https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HNV3V7W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00

[MirrorMask]

Is this also the thread for Apple? because I just got an iMac!!!

[faizoff]

Is this also the thread for Apple? because I just got an iMac!!!

Cool which one?

[MirrorMask]

I wanted to enter the iMac world, but the prices are steep, so I made a compromise; a new one relatively cheaper and Full HD had a 256 GB HD, another new one, always Full HD, had 1 TB but it costed more, so I took a calculated risk: I went for a refurbished one, from 2019, directly from Apple's site. And this one is 4K Retina. And it costed 100 euros less than a new one but Full HD and with a small HD (and 300 euros less than the 1 TB version). I guess I made a deal, uh? (Size is 21,5")

The product is fine and ahestetically perfect. Not a single scratch and it works just fine. It's my first experience ever with the Apple world. I mean, it's my field, I studied informatic stuff at school so it's the least of my problems to figure out how stuff works (or how to search for informations), the biggest problem will be findiing apps equivalent to the ones I was using since forever on my old Windows PC!

[faizoff]

Apple's refurbs are usually just fine from what I heard. While they are amazing products, I really like having control over the components I can put together which is why I will probably never own a Mac. Occasionally I'll put the OS on a VM and dabble with it to see what they offer but I don't know if I'd switch to one full time.

[T-ski]

Still in the process of finding a laptop for my teenager, came across this deal from Office Max but can’t find any reviews of this model online.

https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/7022664/Lenovo-IdeaPad-3-Laptop-156-Touch/

Would like to think this deal is too good to pass, thoughts?

[cramx3]

After a few nights of gaming sessions using the new standing desk, I can say my feet and legs are getting tired, but I think this is good.  I feel this is great for my posture and my overall health.  I think I stood for 5 hours straight last night, much needed for someone who was spending so much time sitting.  Also, I think I'm getting better at gaming because I feel like I'm more into it and fluid when I stand. 

Current set up with both PCs and desk moved downstairs today:



Still need to do a mass cable clean up, but some of that won't happen until next week and I need to order some USB extension cables.

[ich bin besser]

So, I have an old 32bit Lenovo laptop, still running on Windows 7.
Does anybody know a way to upgrade this to 64bit Windows 10?

I did some research, but either I'm too old/stupid - or is this simply impossible?
Any ideas are welcome - but bare in mind that it needs to be for Dummies.  I'll try to provide you with additional infos you might need.

[El Barto]

So, I have an old 32bit Lenovo laptop, still running on Windows 7.
Does anybody know a way to upgrade this to 64bit Windows 10?

I did some research, but either I'm too old/stupid - or is this simply impossible?
Any ideas are welcome - but bare in mind that it needs to be for Dummies.  I'll try to provide you with additional infos you might need.

I may be missing something here, but why can't you just download any of the dozen or so different versions of W10 and doubleclick the setup icon?

[kirksnosehair]

A laptop still running Windows 7 is likely close to or perhaps even more than 10 years old.   


Jurgen - here is an article (English, sorry!) that explains how to check to see if your system is Windows 10 compatible.   


https://www.zdnet.com/article/will-your-pc-run-windows-10-use-this-well-hidden-compatibility-checker-to-find-out/

[ich bin besser]

It is from 2009, indeed.
Thanks, Barry - I'll check that out.

[faizoff]

Chances are the CPU in the laptop will support 64 bit edition of windows 10.

My wife has a Toshiba laptop from 2009, and I replaced the HDD with an SSD and gave it a 2nd life with windows 10 Home edition. I transferred the windows 7 license that was on there to the new Windows 10 installation.

Installing Windows 10 should be a breeze even on the existing drive of the laptop like Barto said, just get a copy of win 10 and double click the setup. If you need help installing I can provide more detailed instructions.

[nobloodyname]

So, I have an old 32bit Lenovo laptop, still running on Windows 7.
Does anybody know a way to upgrade this to 64bit Windows 10?

I did some research, but either I'm too old/stupid - or is this simply impossible?
Any ideas are welcome - but bare in mind that it needs to be for Dummies.  I'll try to provide you with additional infos you might need.

If the laptop (the CPU, to be specific) is 32-bit, you won't be able to run 64-bit Windows on it, no.

[El Barto]

64 bit CPUs became the norm in the early 2000s. Since a 64 bit CPU can also perform 32 bit functions, 32 bit exclusive CPUs went the way of the dinosaur. It's software that took a while to catch up. The only problem I can see running into is a lack of driver support. Windows has excellent legacy driver support, but some device manufactures (fucking logitech!) didn't bother creating 64 bit drivers for their legacy components. Really, though, the onboard VGA and NIC are probably the only two potential stumbling blocks, and they'll probably be fine. Unlike fucking logitech, VGA manufacturers offer very good legacy support.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

https://www.gigabyte.com/se/Graphics-Card/GV-N3090IXEB-24GD#kf

Water-cooled external RTX 3090 GPU, didn't know this was a thing. Interesting but it just sounds so expensive.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

https://www.gigabyte.com/se/Graphics-Card/GV-N3090IXEB-24GD#kf

Water-cooled external RTX 3090 GPU, didn't know this was a thing. Interesting but it just sounds so expensive.

It's also a massive waste of money. And funnily enough, it's bottlenecked by the Thunderbolt connection.

[cramx3]

Yea, that's why storage uses PCIe now. Direct to CPU, no other bottleneck

[El Barto]

I reckon it's strictly for people who want to game on their laptop, where you can't have a state of the art GPU. Even with the bottleneck, wouldn't it still outperform most onboard GPUs?

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I reckon it's strictly for people who want to game on their laptop, where you can't have a state of the art GPU. Even with the bottleneck, wouldn't it still outperform most onboard GPUs?

Probably only until laptops start coming with RTX 3000 series gpus. Which will be soon, by all accounts.