PC build thread

[emwearz]

So I put my friends PC together today but didn't have a windows disc on hand so that's on hold until tomorrow. Everything went well and the system booted up on the first try so it should be good to go tomorrow when I get the disc.

I've got one question that I'm not sure on though. The video card takes two 6 pin connectors from the power supply does it need to be two separate cords from the PSU or can I use one since they both split off at the end and have two six plus twos. It's one of those little things I just don't know and I'm not sure if I did it correctly.

You question is hard to understand.
Any of the PCIE sockets will pull 12v, same with the moltex>converterted to PCIE sockets.

[flex wood]

I know it was hard to understand. I'll try to get a pic up in bit to show the cord I'm talking about.

[flex wood]

Ok I figured it out. I talked to a friend of mine who helped me build my computer and he said something stupid that made me doubt how the video card was hooked up. It's fine I just looked at my card in my computer and it's set up the exact same way that I set his up. Opening my case just opened a different can of worms for me though, now I want to flip my power supply so it's pulling air from outside the case. Might as well clean while I'm in here then I guess.

[Cronozilla]

The only risk is if the graphics card needs more amps than what is on that rail. If you look on the power supply (or in the book) you'll see which rail goes to which port(s). Just make sure the graphics card has the proper total amperage. (It probably does, but some power supplies split the amps up across many rails)

[marlowe221]

Any Linux gamers on Racketboy? I am a dual-booter (Ubuntu) but do my gaming in Windows. I'm not a professional tech guy, just a hobbyist but I really like Linux. Gaming prospects really seem to have taken off for Linux platforms in the past few years and I was wondering what the general mood of the forum was on the subject.

[fastbilly1]

Any Linux gamers on Racketboy? I am a dual-booter (Ubuntu) but do my gaming in Windows. I'm not a professional tech guy, just a hobbyist but I really like Linux. Gaming prospects really seem to have taken off for Linux platforms in the past few years and I was wondering what the general mood of the forum was on the subject.

The Indie Game Renaissance is the best thing to happen for Linux gaming ever. Steam supporting it is just icing on the cake.

[marurun]

Any Linux gamers on Racketboy? I am a dual-booter (Ubuntu) but do my gaming in Windows. I'm not a professional tech guy, just a hobbyist but I really like Linux. Gaming prospects really seem to have taken off for Linux platforms in the past few years and I was wondering what the general mood of the forum was on the subject.

The Indie Game Renaissance is the best thing to happen for Linux gaming ever. Steam supporting it is just icing on the cake.

Humble Bundle has also been pretty good for this. Especially early on, indie games were pretty much required to have Mac and Linux ports to participate.

[marlowe221]

OK, this is bugging the crap out of me.

I'm launching into my first PC build in the near future, as some of you know from my other thread, and there is something I just do not understand. I've been doing a lot of reading on /r buildapc and people almost NEVER include the cost of Windows in their builds. What's up with that? At the budget of most of the posters on that subreddit (and MY budget, for that matter) the cost of Windows is non-trivial and is a great way to spend a quick $100 that you don't get to spend on a better CPU or GPU.

So how are they doing that? Are they pirating it or what? It seems a little suspect that on /r buildapc it is rarely discussed.

I'm strongly considering going with Ubuntu on my build because I like the concept of Linux (not to mention a lot less bloat in the OS) but also because of the COST of Windows and the impact it will have on my hardware purchasing power.

*ahem* sorry, didn't mean for that to turn into a mini-rant.

[isiolia]

PC build budgets in general tend to focus on the core tower, I think, unless someone specifies that they also need to work in a monitor and so on as well.

I have no doubt a number of people don't account for the cost of Windows because they're using a cracked version, but being fair, there are a variety of other potential reasons. Plenty of college students (for example) may have Windows available through a software bundle (I know the students here do). They might have a transferable license, or a spare one, or whatever.

While a lot less likely when looking at gaming rigs, running Linux or another free OS is also possible.

Personally, I don't think it makes a lot of sense to run Linux if the point of the PC is to play games (or run other predominately Windows-native applications). As annoying as it is to factor an extra $100 or so into a build, realistically, it's not much for the continued updates and support for years to come, running the software you built the machine to run.

In any case, I think it's not usually part of the conversation for largely the same reason that input devices, monitors, speakers/headphones, gamepads, extra HDDs, or whatever else isn't included. You may or may not need to buy them, and what you do buy can vary wildly. In the meantime, the parts that do get included are usually more directly related to performance.

[Pulsar_t]

Who cares if you pirate that POS Windows? Microsoft won't send the fuzz after you if you use an activator or something.