PC build thread

[emwearz]

So intel feels they've learned enough from years of developing their HD line of built in video processors they can strike out on their own eh? That should be interesting.

They also hired Raja Koduri, who was the Chief Architect at AMD's Radeon Group (and also worked on Apples mobile chipsets) for their upcoming GPU's and Chris Hook who has handled AMD's marketing since the old ATI days.

[SpikeSlania]

AMD is doing well to compete with Nvida in the low-mid ranged GPUs. But high end, we might need Intel to compete with Nvida for that, unless Navi turns out amazing

[Nintendork666]

r9 380 randomly died on me

waiting on my tax return to snag an RTX 2070

i'm hopping my Xeon 1231 ( i7 4770) won't bottleneck it too badly as I can't afford to upgrade my mobo, RAM, and CPU all at once.

Considering upping my rig to 32gb of DDR3

I mostly use the PC for video editing, but game as well.

Also snagging a 500gb SSD to throw in there while I'm at it.

I'm excited.

[isiolia]

i'm hopping my Xeon 1231 ( i7 4770) won't bottleneck it too badly as I can't afford to upgrade my mobo, RAM, and CPU all at once.

It'd depend on what settings you're using and results you're expecting. Far as I've seen, if you're seeing a decent gap in performance between 3770k/4770k type CPUs and modern stuff, chances are the results are highly playable either way (some of the examples here for instance, though granted that's using OC'ed older models not stock). Or tests like this one that do include stock clocks - there's a definite gap, but 60hz panel owners (so, most of them), aren't even equipped to see a difference anyway. If you're looking at sub-60fps performance, chances are you're GPU limited.

[emwearz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc08ZPc30Zs&t=934s

Perhaps the most comparable benchmark of how it will perform, video has haswell's (and other generations) benchmarked with a GTX 1080Ti (which is more comparible to the 2080 than that 2070, but it paints a picture).

As said above if you are playing at 60hz, no issue. Yes you will be bottlenecked, but not in a way you will notice, I don't see a Haswell i7 holding you back in any titles to the point you wont hit 60fps, thus even notice it.

[Nintendork666]

New 2070 works like a champ, I went with the EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 XC Ultra Gaming, and couldn't be happier.

Homeboy here is actually also running a 2070 w/ a Xeon 1231

Deus Ex Mankind Divided:
GTA 5:
Cities Skylines:

[Ziggy]

My main desktop PC turned 10 this year!

Original build from 2009:

Intel Core i7 920 (2.66 GHz, first gen)
6 GB DDR3 (this chip set has triple channel RAM)
Biostar X58 motherboard
Enermax PSU
WD 1 TB SATA HDD
ASUS DVD/RW PATA
EVGA GeForce 9800 GT

I've upgraded it here and there over the years. Here's the current specs, if I can remember them off the top of my head...

Intel Core i7 965 (3.2 Ghz "Extreme")
Cooler Master V8 CPU cooler
18 GB DDR3 (3 x 2 GB, 3 x 4 GB)
Biostar X58 mobo (original)
Enermax PSU (original)
Samsung EVO 250 GB SSD
3x WD mechanical HDD
ASUS DVD/RW SATA
EVGA GTX 960

When I first build this PC back in 2009, I dual booted XP and Vista. Vista has a lot of negative opinions, so I was afraid to commit to it. But after a while I realized I never booted into XP, so I ended up uninstalling it and ran Vista exclusively for a year or two. Then 7 came out, so I decided to upgrade to 7 coinciding with a HDD upgrade. My first SSD was an Intel 120 GB, and boy was it expensive compared to the prices now. At one point I had both a PATA and SATA DVD drive in there, but I ended up taking the PATA one out because I simply no longer have the need for two optical drives. I always wanted to do that though!

The ridiculous amount of RAM is because I wanted to get more RAM while compatible triple channel kits were still available. I figure if some sticks ever die, I still have more than enough RAM without even having to replace any.

This motherboard is showing its age now, but it was amazing how much legacy equipment it supported and the number of i/o is insane. It has the earlier revisions of SATA, PCIe, and USB. But it also has a PATA and floppy drive controller! A floppy drive controller on a motherboard with an i7, that's nuts!

My goal when I was building this PC was to get at least 10 years out of it. Well, mission accomplished! With support for Windows 7 ending at the end of the year, I think it will be time to retire this PC. I was thinking that I could probably just upgrade to 10 and keep it going for a while longer. But, meh. The PSU is 10 years old, so I would want to replace that. Really, if I replaced the PSU and installed 10 I could keep the PC for a while longer (probably until the motherboard dies).

But it would be nice to get the newer revisions of PCIe, SATA and USB. Especially because of the increased speed of SATA and USB. If I'm replacing the motherboard, I'm building a new computer. So I'm thinking toward the end of the year, I'll just build a new PC. I'll probably keep the GTX 960, but the rest will be a new build. This current PC will still live on, though. It just wont be my main desktop anymore. It's kind of sad to see it go, but it definitely served me well!

[isiolia]

Nice. The X58 build I did in that timeframe is still in use, just not by me. I more or less built my current i7 3770k based machine to free that up to gift to a friend. I'm getting tempted to upgrade it, though really not because it doesn't do what I need. Similarly, it'd be nice to have m.2 based SSDs, USB-C, and that sort of thing. I'm wanting to see how the next round of Ryzen turns out. That, and it's just fun to build.

Really, until recently, I think the tech in all my home machines was 2012 or earlier - third gen i5 in my laptop, Mac Mini, even stuff like the Surface Pro I don't really use anymore. A few weeks ago, however, I ended up buying the Cyperpower version of the Tongfang GK5CN6Z when they were clearing them out to make room for the RTX 2060 variant. So, not as great a deal as the Wal Mart Overpowered one, but, still nice for the hardware, and I was able to swap a couple things on the configuration for a reasonable price.

[Ziggy]

I think I will always have fond memories of my X58 build. It was the first really good computer that I've had, and I had it for 10 years. My main desktop before the X58 was also 10 years old, but I had a love/hate relationship with it.

Whatever desktop I have next, I will again be looking to keep it running for 10 years. It's kinda crazy for me to think that by the time I'm ready to retire this next computer I will be in my 40s!

[Jagosaurus]

@isiolia, how are you liking that laptop? I'm still in the market for one. If I'm going to to go 2/3 of the way and get upper middle class... tempted to spend a little more to get one I can run games on too.

@Ziggy, that's awesome you've been able to maintain that guy & leapfrog it through time