The PC Builders Thread ("I Need a New PC") v2

[gblues]

Last piece of the puzzle - could anyone recommend a good set of speakers for gaming please?

Preferably Bluetooth, I'm trying to get rid of as many wires as possible, but will go wired if that's a better option.

Probably looking at the €/$200 range, thanks.

Click to shrink...

The things I would be concerned about using a BT soundbar: sound quality and latency. Not a matter of the speaker quality (although that's important too), but the BT protocol typically compresses audio so you can lose dynamic range and audio fidelity. It's been a long time since I've looked at BT audio so maybe the newer spec includes lossless audio profiles? If so, make sure the device you want to use supports those profiles.

 

[Darkstorne]

Thank you so much for all the advice with picking parts! Somehow I've managed to do my first build (used to buy pre-builts or custom builds) with zero issues. Everything works! Drivers and bios updated, essentials installed, and the fan curves with Noctuas mean this thing is whisper quiet. CPU (Ryzen 3600X) idles around 35-40C, and the GPU (1070) idles at 25-30C. While gaming they both sit around 10-15C higher. I'm so happy =D

Here's the one thing that's bothering me though - the AIO pipes. The way they're positioned at the moment obscures the cooler LED from front viewing angles. And I really like the idea of very few LEDs for effect, with this darkened glass, so they stand out really well. And the pipes really frustrate me there!

What I could try doing is using a zip tie to wrap them close to the front intake fans. But I'd have to use the fan support bar things (can't see anything else to tie them to in the area). I've tested it out with the PC switched off, and the positioning works perfectly. But it strains the pipes quite a bit because they want to pull back to this default position. So I haven't tried running it like that properly yet. Think it's safe to zip tie them like that? Photos below to show the issue, and where I could zip tie them to:

Click to shrink...

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Yeah those things can take awhile. It took Sony ~8months longer than expected to deliver Dolby Vision updates to certain TV models like mine. It was supposed to be released in late 2017 and then wasn't delivered until May-Jone '18. LG has taken a long time with fixing bugs in their firmware too, such as the elevated black levels issue.

Click to shrink...

yeah I'm honestly considering selling my 2070 for a 5700xt so I can finally have hdr and freesync at the same time. I do like the rtx stuff but I'd rather have hdr. More support and a bigger visual impact. Plus it seems a 5700xt with a power table mod does stock 2080 FPS.

 

[SarcasticRobot]

yeah I'm honestly considering selling my 2070 for a 5700xt so I can finally have hdr and freesync at the same time.

Click to shrink...

I was thinking about a 5700xt, as well! Have read about some issues with drivers, though, anyone have any experience to enlighten me? Overblown? Not overblown but fixed? Stay away?

 

[Deleted member 17092]

I was thinking about a 5700xt, as well! Have read about some issues with drivers, though, anyone have any experience to enlighten me? Overblown? Not overblown but fixed? Stay away?

Click to shrink...

iirc there were just some driver issues at launch that have since been well sorted.

 

[BennyWhatever]

Where do you guys go to sell your old gear?

I'm doing a full new build, and my current PC is 10 years old. Should I sell each component individually, or like "all in for parts" for like $100 or something?

Here are the general stats...
AMD Athlon II X4 630 Quad Core Processor - 2.80GHz, Socket AM3, 2MB Cache, 2000MHz
Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case and Ultra LSP550 550-Watt Power Supply
Galaxy 64TGF8HX6FTZ GeForce GT 640 GC 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
6gb of (I believe) DDR3 2400 ram

Also has an optical drive and MSI MicroATX mobo. I'll be keeping all the hard drives in it.

How would you go about selling all that?

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Where do you guys go to sell your old gear?

I'm doing a full new build, and my current PC is 10 years old. Should I sell each component individually, or like "all in for parts" for like $100 or something?

Here are the general stats...
AMD Athlon II X4 630 Quad Core Processor - 2.80GHz, Socket AM3, 2MB Cache, 2000MHz
Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case and Ultra LSP550 550-Watt Power Supply
Galaxy 64TGF8HX6FTZ GeForce GT 640 GC 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
6gb of (I believe) DDR3 2400 ram

Also has an optical drive and MSI MicroATX mobo. I'll be keeping all the hard drives in it.

How would you go about selling all that?

Click to shrink...

I would try to sell this on fb marketplace. I don't know if you will get any takers given how old it is though. But yeah probably like list it at $100 and see if you get any takers. Maybe someone would wanna use it as a media server or something.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Am I crazy or did 4TB SSD prices go up? I thought they were about $400/$450 for something like the 970 EVO and now it's 550+?

 

[Lakeside]

Am I crazy or did 4TB SSD prices go up? I thought they were about $400/$450 for something like the 970 EVO and now it's 550+?

Click to shrink...

Crazy I think.

I paid $650 for a 4TB 860 EVO in May. They have likely dipped since then but $400's? I would have bought another one.

There is no 4TB in the 970 EVO line.

 

[Evolution of Metal]

Where do you guys go to sell your old gear?

I'm doing a full new build, and my current PC is 10 years old. Should I sell each component individually, or like "all in for parts" for like $100 or something?

Here are the general stats...
AMD Athlon II X4 630 Quad Core Processor - 2.80GHz, Socket AM3, 2MB Cache, 2000MHz
Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case and Ultra LSP550 550-Watt Power Supply
Galaxy 64TGF8HX6FTZ GeForce GT 640 GC 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
6gb of (I believe) DDR3 2400 ram

Also has an optical drive and MSI MicroATX mobo. I'll be keeping all the hard drives in it.

How would you go about selling all that?

Click to shrink...

It is worthless. What you are selling is a redundant PC, capable of office/internet browsing only, coming after 10 years with a high chance of problems/failure. You will spend more time organizing and transporting the parts even if someone is buying.

Donate it to someone, or dispose it at the hardware/appliances recycling point.

Am I crazy or did 4TB SSD prices go up? I thought they were about $400/$450 for something like the 970 EVO and now it's 550+?

Click to shrink...

Evo NVME is one of the most expensive consumer drive. Intel 660p is definitely around $100/TB.

 

[jviggy43]

So last night and today I had two totally random crashes. One while I was playing OW and the computer just froze for a second before the screen went black and then rebooted. Same thing this morning only I only had twitch up. Graphics card and MB are brand new, and have no idea why this started happening all of a sudden. My hdd is pretty full but that wouldn't cause an outright crash, would it?

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Crazy I think.

I paid $650 for a 4TB 860 EVO in May. They have likely dipped since then but $400's? I would have bought another one.

There is no 4TB in the 970 EVO line.

Click to shrink...

Oh shit, I'm mixing up the M.2 with the 2.5" whoops. Yeah, I thought they were cheaper. I guess I'm misremembering things. Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

This destiny transfer to steam is kind of annoying given it means a full uninstall and redownload of 82gb.

 

[Optional Objectives]

Got a question about using an eGPU and graphics card compared to just building a PC. The situation is that I have a 2017 MacBook Pro that I could throw Windows on, then spend somewhere around $300 for an eGPU and like $500 on a card. But at that point, would I be better off just building a PC tower for $800?

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Got a question about using an eGPU and graphics card compared to just building a PC. The situation is that I have a 2017 MacBook Pro that I could throw Windows on, then spend somewhere around $300 for an eGPU and like $500 on a card. But at that point, would I be better off just building a PC tower for $800?

Click to shrink...

yeah probably. You might end up with more like $1k though if you go with a $400 gpu. Imo there aren't really any $300 gpus worth buying. So budget, $400 gpu, $200 3600x, $70 ram, $80 board, $50 psu, plus a cheap windows license, plus any tax.

 

[I Don't Like]

Got a question about using an eGPU and graphics card compared to just building a PC. The situation is that I have a 2017 MacBook Pro that I could throw Windows on, then spend somewhere around $300 for an eGPU and like $500 on a card. But at that point, would I be better off just building a PC tower for $800?

Click to shrink...

Well if you turn $800 into your budget for the whole PC you won't be able to buy a $500 GPU obviously. So strictly from that perspective no. So you either lower the GPU or raise the total budget. If this is meant to be a gaming machine though I'll always recommend maxing out the GPU.

 

[Deleted member 1120]

Got a question about using an eGPU and graphics card compared to just building a PC. The situation is that I have a 2017 MacBook Pro that I could throw Windows on, then spend somewhere around $300 for an eGPU and like $500 on a card. But at that point, would I be better off just building a PC tower for $800?

Click to shrink...

I'd say just build a pc. You'd be bottlenecked hard by that 2017 macbook pro.

 

[Nothing]

Imo there aren't really any $300 gpus worth buying. So budget, $400 gpu, $200 3600x, $70 ram, $80 board, $50 psu, plus a cheap windows license, plus any tax.

Click to shrink...

Yeah it's funny how that works now, isn't it? ~$300+ used to always be my sweet spot for what used to be 2nd tier, high-end GPU and there's really not a tier for that anymore. It's more like $400-500 now. Oh well, at least we got off that crazy initial RTX price hike pricing strategy.

Right now it's hard to recommend anything outside of a RTX 2060-2070 Super or a Radeon 5700, 5700XT. Even the 1660 Ti's with nice coolers tend to be a little too expensive. Anything > $250 and you should be stepping up. On the low-end, a used or open-box 1660 / Ti for ~$200 is probably the way to go.

 

[FriendlyNPC]

Hi Era, I currently plan on buying a new PC and wanted some opinions on what I got so far:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (€335.89 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler (€94.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard (€136.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€73.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€112.48 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE Video Card (€438.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case (€139.46 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€104.99 @ ARLT)
Total: €1437.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-09 22:41 CEST+0200

What I use my desktop for: Media consumption, internet browsing, light gaming (mostly emulation and pc centric games like isometric rpgs). I play quite a bit on consoles as well, in fact it'd be fair to say I mostly game on consoles. This will be paired with a 42" 4k (freesync) TV as a primary monitor with an additional 24" discord/music secondary monitor!

Budget: I don't really have a fixed budget but I thought about 1.4k €s sounds reasonable for something that I want to last 4-6 years.

Explanation time: First of all I don't upgrade my PC, like ever. I keep it for 4-6 years and then toss it. Because of that I like to buy (reasonably) high quality parts mostly. I am well aware I could get the same performance for like 200€s less. The CPU cooler is oversized but I like my PC to be kinda silent so that's mostly intentional. The Fractal Define R6 ties into that silent theme as well on top of being nice looking - I really don't like windowed cases or RGB. I don't want mechanical drives in this so I opted for a single 1TB SSD. Initially I was looking at a Samsung 970 EVO here but man I don't know if the price mark up is worth it. Probably not. As for the graphics card I just went with some 5700XT that I saw some positive youtube video about but I really don't know if this is any good.

I don't need any additional accessories and will be migrating an existing Win10 Professional license to this new build. I am not much of an overclocker but will probably play around a bit for funsies. I plan to order this as soon as possible as I want to build this within my three weeks of vacation starting next week.

My biggest doubts in regards to this build: Being AMD. I have only ever built Intel/Nvidia based desktops and I am not quite sure if a AMD based build is ideal for emulation for example. From what I gathered and Intel/Nvidia build should fare better for that.

Any opinions and/or suggestions?

 

[DJ Lushious]

Right now it's hard to recommend anything outside of a RTX 2060-2070 Super or a Radeon 5700, 5700XT.

Click to shrink...

I've been looking at GPUs lately, in an attempt to replace my RX 580 with something that can handle 4K, or near 4K, at 60fps (I'd be happy with turning off AA to get there). Here's what my local Best Buy has for sale (who I have to buy from, so I have reward zone points:

XFX 5700 XT -$409.99
eVGA 2070 XC Ultra - $449.99
eVGA 2070 Super XC Ultra - $569.99

I looked at benchmarks and the 2070 Super overclocked seems like it can very close to 2080 performance. However, hitting that $450+ range gives me pause.

I've been leaning towards the 5700 XT, but isn't a wash, performance-wise, between the 5700 XT and the 2070?

The RX 580 is the little engine that could, though. I am really happy with what I've been able to get out of it, made all the better by having gotten it second-hand for $125.

 

[Optional Objectives]

Thanks folks - that's all good advice!

 

[Nothing]

I've been looking at GPUs lately, in an attempt to replace my RX 580 with something that can handle 4K, or near 4K, at 60fps (I'd be happy with turning off AA to get there). Here's what my local Best Buy has for sale (who I have to buy from, so I have reward zone points:

XFX 5700 XT -$409.99
eVGA 2070 XC Ultra - $449.99
eVGA 2070 Super XC Ultra - $569.99

I looked at benchmarks and the 2070 Super overclocked seems like it can very close to 2080 performance. However, hitting that $450+ range gives me pause.

I've been leaning towards the 5700 XT, but isn't a wash, performance-wise, between the 5700 XT and the 2070?

The RX 580 is the little engine that could, though. I am really happy with what I've been able to get out of it, made all the better by having gotten it second-hand for $125.

Click to shrink...

The 5700 XT is comparable to the base 2070 yeah, with the 2070 performing a tick above. The Super is kind of one step higher. Here's a chart for becnhmark comparison's sake. I'd be most concerned with getting the brand that is going to match the kind of adaptive sync that your monitor uses. Or the target monitor that you're looking to purchase. (G-sync vs Freesync)

Spoiler

"Do I need G-sync compatible or Freesync compatible?" That's the first major component of a brand new GPU purchasing decision these days, now that AMD has finally stepped up to the plate with capable GPUs. If you're running some old 60hz 1080p monitor like most people then it doesn't matter which manufacturer you choose. But you should still plan ahead because an adaptive sync monitor is a massive hardware upgrade for graphical performance in your games.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

Hi Era, I currently plan on buying a new PC and wanted some opinions on what I got so far:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (€335.89 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler (€94.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard (€136.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€73.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€112.48 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE Video Card (€438.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case (€139.46 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€104.99 @ ARLT)
Total: €1437.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-09 22:41 CEST+0200

What I use my desktop for: Media consumption, internet browsing, light gaming (mostly emulation and pc centric games like isometric rpgs). I play quite a bit on consoles as well, in fact it'd be fair to say I mostly game on consoles. This will be paired with a 42" 4k (freesync) TV as a primary monitor with an additional 24" discord/music secondary monitor!

Budget: I don't really have a fixed budget but I thought about 1.4k €s sounds reasonable for something that I want to last 4-6 years.

Explanation time: First of all I don't upgrade my PC, like ever. I keep it for 4-6 years and then toss it. Because of that I like to buy (reasonably) high quality parts mostly. I am well aware I could get the same performance for like 200€s less. The CPU cooler is oversized but I like my PC to be kinda silent so that's mostly intentional. The Fractal Define R6 ties into that silent theme as well on top of being nice looking - I really don't like windowed cases or RGB. I don't want mechanical drives in this so I opted for a single 1TB SSD. Initially I was looking at a Samsung 970 EVO here but man I don't know if the price mark up is worth it. Probably not. As for the graphics card I just went with some 5700XT that I saw some positive youtube video about but I really don't know if this is any good.

I don't need any additional accessories and will be migrating an existing Win10 Professional license to this new build. I am not much of an overclocker but will probably play around a bit for funsies. I plan to order this as soon as possible as I want to build this within my three weeks of vacation starting next week.

My biggest doubts in regards to this build: Being AMD. I have only ever built Intel/Nvidia based desktops and I am not quite sure if a AMD based build is ideal for emulation for example. From what I gathered and Intel/Nvidia build should fare better for that.

Any opinions and/or suggestions?

Click to shrink...

It's a minor thing, but since the Define R6 has USB C port in the front panel, you could get also a mobo with the respective header if you wanted to take advantage of that.

 

[Interested Observer]

Hi Era, I currently plan on buying a new PC and wanted some opinions on what I got so far:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (€335.89 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler (€94.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard (€136.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€73.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€112.48 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE Video Card (€438.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case (€139.46 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€104.99 @ ARLT)
Total: €1437.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-09 22:41 CEST+0200

What I use my desktop for: Media consumption, internet browsing, light gaming (mostly emulation and pc centric games like isometric rpgs). I play quite a bit on consoles as well, in fact it'd be fair to say I mostly game on consoles. This will be paired with a 42" 4k (freesync) TV as a primary monitor with an additional 24" discord/music secondary monitor!

Budget: I don't really have a fixed budget but I thought about 1.4k €s sounds reasonable for something that I want to last 4-6 years.

Explanation time: First of all I don't upgrade my PC, like ever. I keep it for 4-6 years and then toss it. Because of that I like to buy (reasonably) high quality parts mostly. I am well aware I could get the same performance for like 200€s less. The CPU cooler is oversized but I like my PC to be kinda silent so that's mostly intentional. The Fractal Define R6 ties into that silent theme as well on top of being nice looking - I really don't like windowed cases or RGB. I don't want mechanical drives in this so I opted for a single 1TB SSD. Initially I was looking at a Samsung 970 EVO here but man I don't know if the price mark up is worth it. Probably not. As for the graphics card I just went with some 5700XT that I saw some positive youtube video about but I really don't know if this is any good.

I don't need any additional accessories and will be migrating an existing Win10 Professional license to this new build. I am not much of an overclocker but will probably play around a bit for funsies. I plan to order this as soon as possible as I want to build this within my three weeks of vacation starting next week.

My biggest doubts in regards to this build: Being AMD. I have only ever built Intel/Nvidia based desktops and I am not quite sure if a AMD based build is ideal for emulation for example. From what I gathered and Intel/Nvidia build should fare better for that.

Any opinions and/or suggestions?

Click to shrink...

I built something similar recently, looks good to me. As you say the cooler is massive ( I have the same one), I'm sure it'll be fine but just double check the case has clearance. Its performance is quite amazing, don't think I've seen my CPU go over 40c so far. Is the mobo ready to take that CPU or will you need to update it? Just maybe another thing to check.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

I've been looking at GPUs lately, in an attempt to replace my RX 580 with something that can handle 4K, or near 4K, at 60fps (I'd be happy with turning off AA to get there). Here's what my local Best Buy has for sale (who I have to buy from, so I have reward zone points:

XFX 5700 XT -$409.99
eVGA 2070 XC Ultra - $449.99
eVGA 2070 Super XC Ultra - $569.99

I looked at benchmarks and the 2070 Super overclocked seems like it can very close to 2080 performance. However, hitting that $450+ range gives me pause.

I've been leaning towards the 5700 XT, but isn't a wash, performance-wise, between the 5700 XT and the 2070?

The RX 580 is the little engine that could, though. I am really happy with what I've been able to get out of it, made all the better by having gotten it second-hand for $125.

Click to shrink...

Sapphire Rtx 5700 XTs have a very nifty little resolution scaler tool built in which provides a nice boost. With 85% scaling it does considerably better than a 2080 super. Downside is currently Radeon image sharpening which you kind of need if you go this route is DX12, but DX 11 support is expected by end of year. Look up some trixx boost vids on YouTube. In some cases it looks better than native res.

also with an aftermarket model if you're willing to do a little tinkering with a custom power table they will boost to 2100-2200mhz which provides stock 2080 performance (something my vanilla 2070 is not capable of even with 16000mhz ocd memory).

stock for stock a 5700xt is about 6% slower than a 2070 super in recent benches. Someone did a 37 game comparison on YouTube.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

I just picked up a sapphire 5700xt and a 1tb nvme. Hopefully I get to some tinkering tonight. From what I've seen it will be a nice boost over my vanilla 2070 and I get my hdr back.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Here is a mega 2070 super and 5700xt comparison from hardware unboxed. TLDR is it is 6% slower than the 2070 super at 1440p. Imo the 5700xt has more oc headroom than the super though.



here is the 5700xt at 2200mhz with a blower cooler keeping up with the 2080. Yes it is pushing 90 degrees but an aftermarket cooler will keep that much more manageable or put it underwater if you wish. But 2100mhz clocks are definitely achievable on air without issue. So yes, some tweaking, but a $300 cheaper gpu is keeping up with the 2080 which is quite remarkable. 5800xt and 5900xt are going to be monsters.



I think we will see amd surpass the 2080ti at a much more affordable price point next year. Nvidia of course will do the same with ampere but this is good competition. I also think with the next gen consoles using rdna you will see better optimization for amd cards. I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility to see a 5700xt quite close to a 2080ti in next gen titles.

 

[DJ Lushious]

Sapphire Rtx 5700 XTs have a very nifty little resolution scaler tool built in which provides a nice boost. With 85% scaling it does considerably better than a 2080 super. Downside is currently Radeon image sharpening which you kind of need if you go this route is DX12, but DX 11 support is expected by end of year. Look up some trixx boost vids on YouTube. In some cases it looks better than native res.

also with an aftermarket model if you're willing to do a little tinkering with a custom power table they will boost to 2100-2200mhz which provides stock 2080 performance (something my vanilla 2070 is not capable of even with 16000mhz ocd memory).

stock for stock a 5700xt is about 6% slower than a 2070 super in recent benches. Someone did a 37 game comparison on YouTube.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, that's a good reinforcement of the 5700 XT. And I especially like playing the overclock game!

The 5700 XT is comparable to the base 2070 yeah, with the 2070 performing a tick above. The Super is kind of one step higher. Here's a chart for becnhmark comparison's sake. I'd be most concerned with getting the brand that is going to match the kind of adaptive sync that your monitor uses. Or the target monitor that you're looking to purchase. (G-sync vs Freesync)

Spoiler

"Do I need G-sync compatible or Freesync compatible?" That's the first major component of a brand new GPU purchasing decision these days, now that AMD has finally stepped up to the plate with capable GPUs. If you're running some old 60hz 1080p monitor like most people then it doesn't matter which manufacturer you choose. But you should still plan ahead because an adaptive sync monitor is a massive hardware upgrade for graphical performance in your games.

Click to shrink...

My PC is in the living room, hooked up to my 65" tv. That's where the 4K (or near 4K) part comes in. I have a 2016 Vizio P-Series, which can do 120Hz @ 1080p, but I'm more than happy with 60Hz with a much higher resolution.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Yeah, that's a good reinforcement of the 5700 XT. And I especially like playing the overclock game!



My PC is in the living room, hooked up to my 65" tv. That's where the 4K (or near 4K) part comes in. I have a 2016 Vizio P-Series, which can do 120Hz @ 1080p, but I'm more than happy with 60Hz with a much higher resolution.

Click to shrink...

yes I would say if you enjoy tinkering the 5700xt is a great choice. If you prefer set it and forget it and really want rtx features spend the extra $100 or so for a 2070 super. I'd also say the game bundle comes into play here as well. If you want cod go nvidia if you want borderlands go amd.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

The 5700 XT is comparable to the base 2070 yeah, with the 2070 performing a tick above. The Super is kind of one step higher. Here's a chart for becnhmark comparison's sake. I'd be most concerned with getting the brand that is going to match the kind of adaptive sync that your monitor uses. Or the target monitor that you're looking to purchase. (G-sync vs Freesync)

Spoiler

"Do I need G-sync compatible or Freesync compatible?" That's the first major component of a brand new GPU purchasing decision these days, now that AMD has finally stepped up to the plate with capable GPUs. If you're running some old 60hz 1080p monitor like most people then it doesn't matter which manufacturer you choose. But you should still plan ahead because an adaptive sync monitor is a massive hardware upgrade for graphical performance in your games.

Click to shrink...

from everything more recent I've seen the 5700xt is a better card than the 2070 vanilla. Game benches and synthetics. Passmark I don't think correlates very well to actual game performance. Timespy and even og firestrike are better for that, but even those given they are synthetics don't scale at 100% what you'll see in games. Amd tends to do a bit worse in timespy and better in firestrike for example, which is odd as timespy is more of a dx12 bench and firestrike is dx11. I also don't think rdna drivers are quite mature at this point and devs are still getting used to it. It will only improve over time.

 

[Keikaku]

Thank you so much for all the advice with picking parts! Somehow I've managed to do my first build (used to buy pre-builts or custom builds) with zero issues. Everything works! Drivers and bios updated, essentials installed, and the fan curves with Noctuas mean this thing is whisper quiet. CPU (Ryzen 3600X) idles around 35-40C, and the GPU (1070) idles at 25-30C. While gaming they both sit around 10-15C higher. I'm so happy =D

Here's the one thing that's bothering me though - the AIO pipes. The way they're positioned at the moment obscures the cooler LED from front viewing angles. And I really like the idea of very few LEDs for effect, with this darkened glass, so they stand out really well. And the pipes really frustrate me there!

What I could try doing is using a zip tie to wrap them close to the front intake fans. But I'd have to use the fan support bar things (can't see anything else to tie them to in the area). I've tested it out with the PC switched off, and the positioning works perfectly. But it strains the pipes quite a bit because they want to pull back to this default position. So I haven't tried running it like that properly yet. Think it's safe to zip tie them like that? Photos below to show the issue, and where I could zip tie them to:

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You can zip tie them as long as they won't hit the blades.

I think you also have the fans on the wrong side, you want the fans to push through the radiator not pull.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Anyway I think it is great for the industry that a $400 amd gpu is really quite close to a $500 nvidia gpu, like basically splitting hairs, and with a power table mod it's quite close to a $700 nvidia gpu. The big Navi chips should further this trend and bring nvidia back to reality on pricing.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Yeah, that's a good reinforcement of the 5700 XT. And I especially like playing the overclock game!



My PC is in the living room, hooked up to my 65" tv. That's where the 4K (or near 4K) part comes in. I have a 2016 Vizio P-Series, which can do 120Hz @ 1080p, but I'm more than happy with 60Hz with a much higher resolution.

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btw I think the sapphire pulse is about the best value for a 5700xt. Good cooling, bios switch, and only $409. I just picked one up today.

 

[catpurrcat]

I've been looking at GPUs lately, in an attempt to replace my RX 580 with something that can handle 4K, or near 4K, at 60fps (I'd be happy with turning off AA to get there). Here's what my local Best Buy has for sale (who I have to buy from, so I have reward zone points:

XFX 5700 XT -$409.99
eVGA 2070 XC Ultra - $449.99
eVGA 2070 Super XC Ultra - $569.99

I looked at benchmarks and the 2070 Super overclocked seems like it can very close to 2080 performance. However, hitting that $450+ range gives me pause.

I've been leaning towards the 5700 XT, but isn't a wash, performance-wise, between the 5700 XT and the 2070?

The RX 580 is the little engine that could, though. I am really happy with what I've been able to get out of it, made all the better by having gotten it second-hand for $125.

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There are real world performance differences between these cards.

Much depends on how long you're going to keep it for. I went through a similar decision lately deciding between a 5700 XT (nitro or pulse with excellent cooling) and a 2070 super xc ultra.

Hopefully my thought process will help you with your decision. I was coming from a 1660ti.

-watch real world game FPS benchmarks on YouTube at the resolution YOU play at. 1440p benchmarks are near-useless if you are playing at 4K.

-look at the brands and cooling. Are they what you would value in a build? If you're working with a warm room and/or closed case, then you need optimal cooling (so in other words, not the reference model).

-google search people's experiences with the cards you are looking at and the games you play. Are there complaints about drivers? Stuttering? BSOD?

-Ask at a computer store if there have been any complaints. In my case, the salesman showed evidence for/against certain cards including those within the same family of cards, like return rates.

I ended up with a 2070 Super because I was familiar with the brand, drivers, and satisfied with 4K benchmarks - what I play at. Also resale value. The salesman was clear that the 5700XT Nitro and Pulse were excellent, as was the 2070 Super XC.

I highly recommend this article which has a 37 game benchmark between the two cards, including at 4K.

 

[catpurrcat]

So last night and today I had two totally random crashes. One while I was playing OW and the computer just froze for a second before the screen went black and then rebooted. Same thing this morning only I only had twitch up. Graphics card and MB are brand new, and have no idea why this started happening all of a sudden. My hdd is pretty full but that wouldn't cause an outright crash, would it?

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when did you upgrade your motherboard and graphics card? And what are your CPU temps like?

 

[catpurrcat]

Got a question about using an eGPU and graphics card compared to just building a PC. The situation is that I have a 2017 MacBook Pro that I could throw Windows on, then spend somewhere around $300 for an eGPU and like $500 on a card. But at that point, would I be better off just building a PC tower for $800?

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build a PC instead. I say this as a huge mac fan.

 

[Nothing]

Anyway I think it is great for the industry that a $400 amd gpu is really quite close to a $500 nvidia gpu, like basically splitting hairs, and with a power table mod it's quite close to a $700 nvidia gpu. The big Navi chips should further this trend and bring nvidia back to reality on pricing.

Click to shrink...

My biggest takeaway is that it is still rarely worth it for most people to spend $700+ on a video card. GPU's get better in large enough increments every couple of years that you can buy twice as often at half the price.

People will say "yeah well look at the 1080 ti". True, that one turned out to be a good investment. But the same people that bought those on day one have also been itching to upgrade to a 2080 or 2080 Ti ever since. So most of them are never going to fully realize the benefits from that investment. They replace it in a couple of years anyways.

It only really pays to spend that much for gamers that are going to put an expensive card in there, don't want to have to think about it again, and never want to touch rebuilding their rig for the next 5-7 years. And even then, that's only if your expensive piece of hardware never experiences any problems during its lifespan.

The diminishing returns that you receive for your dollars spent grows exponentially after the moderate enthusiast ($300-500) price point.

 

[catpurrcat]

Hi Era, I currently plan on buying a new PC and wanted some opinions on what I got so far:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (€335.89 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler (€94.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard (€136.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€73.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€112.48 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE Video Card (€438.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case (€139.46 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€104.99 @ ARLT)
Total: €1437.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-09 22:41 CEST+0200

What I use my desktop for: Media consumption, internet browsing, light gaming (mostly emulation and pc centric games like isometric rpgs). I play quite a bit on consoles as well, in fact it'd be fair to say I mostly game on consoles. This will be paired with a 42" 4k (freesync) TV as a primary monitor with an additional 24" discord/music secondary monitor!

Budget: I don't really have a fixed budget but I thought about 1.4k €s sounds reasonable for something that I want to last 4-6 years.

Explanation time: First of all I don't upgrade my PC, like ever. I keep it for 4-6 years and then toss it. Because of that I like to buy (reasonably) high quality parts mostly. I am well aware I could get the same performance for like 200€s less. The CPU cooler is oversized but I like my PC to be kinda silent so that's mostly intentional. The Fractal Define R6 ties into that silent theme as well on top of being nice looking - I really don't like windowed cases or RGB. I don't want mechanical drives in this so I opted for a single 1TB SSD. Initially I was looking at a Samsung 970 EVO here but man I don't know if the price mark up is worth it. Probably not. As for the graphics card I just went with some 5700XT that I saw some positive youtube video about but I really don't know if this is any good.

I don't need any additional accessories and will be migrating an existing Win10 Professional license to this new build. I am not much of an overclocker but will probably play around a bit for funsies. I plan to order this as soon as possible as I want to build this within my three weeks of vacation starting next week.

My biggest doubts in regards to this build: Being AMD. I have only ever built Intel/Nvidia based desktops and I am not quite sure if a AMD based build is ideal for emulation for example. From what I gathered and Intel/Nvidia build should fare better for that.

Any opinions and/or suggestions?

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This is such an intelligent build. Well done IMO.

AMD is perfectly fine. If you're really anxious and are used to intel/nvidia perhaps swap the GPU with a comparable nvidia, but honestly I don't think you need to.

I've had 3 AMD CPU's and each one impressed me.

 

[jviggy43]

when did you upgrade your motherboard and graphics card? And what are your CPU temps like?

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I just upgraded them about 3 weeks ago now. CPU is sitting at around 65-70.

 

[Tallshortman]

I was thinking about a 5700xt, as well! Have read about some issues with drivers, though, anyone have any experience to enlighten me? Overblown? Not overblown but fixed? Stay away?

Click to shrink...

I have one, haven't had any driver related issues so far.

 

[laxu]

My biggest takeaway is that it is still rarely worth it for most people to spend $700+ on a video card. GPU's get better in large enough increments every couple of years that you can buy twice as often at half the price.

People will say "yeah well look at the 1080 ti". True, that one turned out to be a good investment. But the same people that bought those on day one have also been itching to upgrade to a 2080 or 2080 Ti ever since. So most of them are never going to fully realize the benefits from that investment. They replace it in a couple of years anyways.

It only really pays for people that are going to put an expensive card in there, don't want to have to think about it again, and never rebuild their rig for the next 5-7 years. And even then, that's only if your expensive piece of hardware never experiences any problems during its lifespan.

Click to shrink...

I'd say it's more about enjoying the absolute best performance you can get for the time that a GPU is the top dog. I bought a 2080 Ti at the start of the year and I really do need its performance at 5K x 1440p resolution I have now and I'm happy that it hasn't been surpassed with some mid-gen refresh like the vanilla 2080 (by now being roughly on par with 2070S and slightly slower than 2080S). That said, I did not pay the 1300 euro plus prices the 2080 Tis were going for at the time but got one of the cheaper models at several hundred less - which was only a few hundred more than a 2080 at the time in EU. With current pricing I would go 2070S or 2080S instead.

Whether I upgrade to the "3080 Ti" depends entirely on its raytracing performance. The 2080 Ti runs everything non-raytracing like a champ. I hope this time around Nvidia has some heat from AMD's faster cards so they will end up making the next gen a bit cheaper.

 

[Nothing]

I'd say it's more about enjoying the absolute best performance you can get for the time that a GPU is the top dog. I bought a 2080 Ti at the start of the year and I really do need its performance at 5K x 1440p resolution I have now and I'm happy that it hasn't been surpassed with some mid-gen refresh like the vanilla 2080 (by now being roughly on par with 2070S and slightly slower than 2080S). That said, I did not pay the 1300 euro plus prices the 2080 Tis were going for at the time but got one of the cheaper models at several hundred less - which was only a few hundred more than a 2080 at the time in EU. With current pricing I would go 2070S or 2080S instead.

Whether I upgrade to the "3080 Ti" depends entirely on its raytracing performance. The 2080 Ti runs everything non-raytracing like a champ. I hope this time around Nvidia has some heat from AMD's faster cards so they will end up making the next gen a bit cheaper.

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How many raytracing games have you played since you bought your 2080 Ti?

 

[Santini]

Last piece of the puzzle - could anyone recommend a good set of speakers for gaming please?

Preferably Bluetooth, I'm trying to get rid of as many wires as possible, but will go wired if that's a better option.

Probably looking at the €/$200 range, thanks.

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The BudgetAudiophile subreddit has some good resources for what to buy in a given price range, e.g., bookshelf speakers, powered speakers/monitors, etc., from which you can then dive deeper and find reviews, comparisons, and so on.

Given the price that you stated and that you also want Bluetooth, here are two mentioned from the lists above:

Edifier R1010BT @ 79.99 USD

Edifier R1700BT @ 149.99 USD

Though more expensive, the R1700BT is considered to be better than the R1010BT. If you don't need Bluetooth, you'll find that there are plenty of options well below and above those prices that suit other uses in addition to gaming. For instance, if you wanted to get into audio/video production and don't want to break the bank, you might want a more accurate sound from monitors such as the PreSonus Eris 3.5 or PreSonus Eris 4.5.

I'd also recommend checking out this YouTube channel, Digital Stereophony, for audio comparisons between different speakers and monitors.

Here are videos which compare some of the speakers/monitors I listed above. Wear your best pair of headphones.

 

[RandomSeed]

Got the rest of my parts and built the system (3700x and 5700 xt). The Noctua was a little harder to get on than other coolers I've used in the past (it's HUGE too), but things went fine on the hardware side. I did run into software issues. I haven't used AMD in a while, so I just installed software I'm not too familiar with, and AMD Overdrive screwed my install. A looping BSOD on boot, and I could even get in safe mode. Just did a reset...not like I had much installed at that point to lose.

BIOS lagged like crazy before updating, and even now, it's not very smooth for some reason. 3200 memory was also set to 2400.

Oh, I have the Phanteks P400 case, and one of the two front USB ports supplies power (tested charging my phone), but no data. Tried a few different USB sticks and USB headphones, and it just won't work. It has enough USB ports not to worry about it, but still.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

My biggest takeaway is that it is still rarely worth it for most people to spend $700+ on a video card. GPU's get better in large enough increments every couple of years that you can buy twice as often at half the price.

People will say "yeah well look at the 1080 ti". True, that one turned out to be a good investment. But the same people that bought those on day one have also been itching to upgrade to a 2080 or 2080 Ti ever since. So most of them are never going to fully realize the benefits from that investment. They replace it in a couple of years anyways.

It only really pays to spend that much for gamers that are going to put an expensive card in there, don't want to have to think about it again, and never want to touch rebuilding their rig for the next 5-7 years. And even then, that's only if your expensive piece of hardware never experiences any problems during its lifespan.

The diminishing returns that you receive for your dollars spent grows exponentially after the moderate enthusiast ($300-500) price point.

Click to shrink...

true. that's why I often kind of side grade. Sold a Vega 64 nitro at an actual profit to grab a 2070. The 2070 I bought was a great deal ($450) and I won't lose much on it. Hopefully next year there is a $400ish card I can do the same with for a nice boost.

I also sold my monitor I bought for $280 for $250 and bought a better $300 monitor. I think holding onto things forever is more of a losing proposition.

 

[Nothing]

true. that's why I often kind of side grade. Sold a Vega 64 nitro at an actual profit to grab a 2070. The 2070 I bought was a great deal ($450) and I won't lose much on it. Hopefully next year there is a $400ish card I can do the same with for a nice boost.

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Nice. How do you sell your used cards?

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Nice. How do you sell your used cards?

Click to shrink...

I have sold on bst on here, amazon, eBay, fb marketplace, and even craiglist. So kind of whatever works.

 

[Isayas]

Question. My rig I will be building next Tuesday will be this. i9-9900K, SSD 860 samsung and velcdoraptor 10k rpm for internal ssd and 2080 super gpu. Is that going to be powerful than the next gen? I am worried that it is not. If it is not. Should I start over?

 

[R dott B]

Decided to upgrade from a 2070 to a 2080TI.
I decided to go with the Seahawk even though it has mixed reviews.

 

[catpurrcat]

I just upgraded them about 3 weeks ago now. CPU is sitting at around 65-70.

Click to shrink...

thanks, lets get the basics out-of-the-way first.

I would first check to see if your drivers are up-to-date, particularly your video card.

Make sure windows itself is up-to-date. You may have an update failing in the background you haven't noticed yet.

If all that is fine, then let's move on to the hardware steps. (conversely, if it was not good, meaning you needed to do an update, try and push your hardware by playing overwatch again once you have the software updated and see if the problem occurs).

Next, hardware basics. The fact you upgraded your motherboard recently means there are small things that could be causing the issue. Such as a loose cable, loose screw somewhere, etc. Particularly focus on power cables, make sure they are secure.

Re-seat your RAM. It's possible they are not sitting fully secure, or worse yet, there could be some debris (like a staple) in the connectors.

do a visual inspection of your CPU cooler. Make sure it's sitting properly.

Re-seat your new GPU, for the same reason as the RAM noted above.

if your power supply is modular, make sure the cables are securely fastened to the power supply itself. Very easy to jiggle them loose especially during the new motherboard install. If you have zip ties for cable management, make sure those are not inadvertently tugging on something going into the motherboard. Case fans air can push/pull cables ever so slightly causing a short or glitch.

hope that helps! Report back if it does :)