PC Building, Upgrading, and Parts Picking: Everything is pretty fast now (except AMD)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > PC Building, Upgrading, and Parts Picking: Everything is pretty fast now (except AMD)

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

HalloKitty posted:

Don't think it's available just yet, but no doubt it'll be of interest simply because of the status of the Noctua NH-D14 as the long standing king of air coolers: Noctua NH-D15.

Notably, there's a notch cut for EXTREME RAM sticks.

That is a sexy beast. Of course, all the Youtube comments are complaining about Noctua's color scheme.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2014 19:09

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 20:49

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

Black Dynamite posted:

Is there a certain make and model of PSU that works particularly well with an ASUS Maximus Hero VI for around $100?

What else is going in there? The Seasonic G550 is my go-to for PSUs <$100, but without knowing the other components, that's just a shot in the dark.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

# ¿ Apr 9, 2014 19:28

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

Ignoarints posted:

I don't remember details, but I'm pretty sure that was the case for people who did it for a living, which I'm not saying you don't but there is probably a wide range in workloads. That said, most people have 16 gb and are happy with it.

But no the build looks good. I actually didn't even know there was a 4771. In case 32gb is a total waste, you can always pick up 16* more gb later.

As a few people mentioned earlier, if you don't need the IGP, the E3-1240v3 is $30 cheaper (although 100mhz slower). The E3-1230v3 is $60 cheaper (200mhz slower).

You ~~probably~~ almost certainly won't notice the 100/200 mhz drop. If you did, it would be worth it to go up to the i7-4770k for an extra :20bux:

# ¿ Apr 9, 2014 21:16

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

Ignoarints posted:

I wonder if it will be a go to i7 recommendation now.

Come to find out they used to cost almost exactly the same as their i5 counterpart :o. Practically a no brainer back then all else equal

http://ark.intel.com/compare/65516,65732

They still pretty much do.

http://ark.intel.com/compare/75043,75047,75054

# ¿ Apr 9, 2014 21:29

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

deimos posted:

Isn't haswell around 5-10% faster per clock though? That would give the 4771 a bigger advantage than just 100-200MHz. Still might not be worth the price difference, but it's something to consider (along with power consumption, having to buy an older motherboard, etc, etc).

The Xeon E3-xxxx v3 processors are all Haswell, and the 1230 is identical in hardware to the Haswell i7's with the exception of missing the IGP (it's actually fused off). The e3 and i7 also has 8MB cache; the i5 only has 6.

http://ark.intel.com/compare/75122,75043,75047,75054

KillHour fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Apr 9, 2014

# ¿ Apr 9, 2014 21:32

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

khy posted:

A question regarding processors.

First off, I read the OP and it recommends Intel over AMD. I use Intel all the time due to being in an environment where temperatures are a concern, and I prefer not to go through the hassle of liquid cooling, so for me intel always works best.

However a friend of mine has been telling me about some new AMD thing that's on the horizon that'll likely trump the entire i series, superior multi-core, blah blah blah.

I know that AMD and Intel usually see-saw back and forth between the lead, but I haven't heard much about any new AMD innovations on par with the i series. Is there something coming soon from AMD that'll put it back on par with Intel? (Soon meaning 3-6 months from now)

AMD and nVidia usually seesaw back and forth. Intel has consistently made AMD its bitch for the past 7-8 years (since Conroe/Wolfdale), so I wouldn't hold your breath.

KillHour fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Apr 14, 2014

# ¿ Apr 14, 2014 23:18

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

deimos posted:

NetBurst was Intel's worst idea ever.

You have to remember that NetBurst came out in 2000, meaning it went into development in '96 or so. Back then, Intel didn't really understand how to get a really high IPC - AMD was way ahead. Everything was still 32 bit and single-threaded, so they made a chip designed to clock as high as they possibly could. When they realized that multiple cores was the only way to catch up, they came out with Hyperthreading to triage until they could get their true multi-core architecture out.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2014 05:17

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

For everyone looking at soundcards/DACs for headphones, you want to look here:
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3563521

If you want one for a set of nice speakers (or you want a nice set of speakers) this is the thread you want:
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3444077

If you're using your PC as an HTPC or you want to go all-out (separate amp, subs, etc.) on your office speakers for some reason ( :shepicide:

), go here first:
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3384469

and then show it off here:
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2385480

KillHour fucked around with this message at 14:40 on Apr 16, 2014

# ¿ Apr 16, 2014 14:37

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

Wizard of Smart posted:

A friend of mine gave me a gtx 550ti that I want to put into my wife's computer, because she needs an upgrade more than I do. But I just don't think it's compatible. She has a gt5464 http://www.engadget.com/products/gateway/gt5464/specs/ stock. Is the 550ti compatible with it?

Technically, yes. The motherboard has a PCIe x16 slot, and you could use a molex to PCIe 6 pin adapter to provide power. However, that power supply was only built to provide the power needed to run the actual PC, and probably cannot handle the extra power draw. OEM power supplies are notoriously poo poo, and I can't find any ratings on the one you have.

Overloading a power supply may lead to dangerous conditions including, but not limited to:
Dead power supply
Dead motherboard
Dead CPU
Dead graphics card
Fire
Explosions
Electrocution
Fire
Fire
Fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP8nFQYQW34

You could replace the power supply if you really wanted to do it, but CFox is right - putting a new graphics card in a machine like that would be a waste.

KillHour fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Apr 18, 2014

# ¿ Apr 18, 2014 21:43

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

Wizard of Smart posted:

Thank you both for your replies. Apparently I was mistaken about it being stock, my wife informs me that there are "extra ram sticks in there." I'm going to find out more information and find out exactly how much I'm working with, but what would I be looking for in terms of adequate ram?

If it turn out to have enough memory, then would upgrading the power supply and OS make it worthwhile, or no?

This is the processor in there.

http://ark.intel.com/products/29738/Intel-Pentium-Processor-E2140-1M-Cache-1_60-GHz-800-MHz-FSB

It's an entry-level model from 2007.

Here's a comparison to today's entry-level model in the same price bracket:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=1133&cmp%5B%5D=1838

Here's how it compares to a modern $200 processor:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=1133&cmp%5B%5D=1933

There is a literal order-of-magnitude difference, there.

The only reason to put a graphics card in a PC is to play games, and you won't be playing any games on that. You would probably be better off replacing it with a Chromebook.

Edit: To be clear, a graphics card will not provide ANY performance improvement outside of games or professional 3d graphics work (CAD, Maya, MAX, etc.), neither of which that computer could ever hope to handle. There would be no improvement in surfing the internet, paying bills, running Office, etc.

KillHour fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Apr 18, 2014

# ¿ Apr 18, 2014 23:20

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 20:49

KillHour: Oct 28, 2007

Grumio posted:

Awesome, thanks.

Got everything hooked up now (minus one SATA data cable). The orientation of the SATA plugs from the PSU was kind of annoying, and they were extremely hard to attach to the drives. I'm hoping I didn't break any of the pins on the SSD

What PSU did you buy?

# ¿ Apr 19, 2014 16:16

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > PC Building, Upgrading, and Parts Picking: Everything is pretty fast now (except AMD)