Topic: The PC-building/hardware knowledge thread (Read 101177 times)

Eternal_Newbie · « **Reply #500 on:** 02 Mar 2012, 11:54 »

Thanks for the replies,

I tried both RAM sticks singly in different slots, the PSU has the right connectors for motherboard and I unplugged and reinserted them all.

Unfortunately I don't have any alternative parts to swap in. My old Motherboard is a Core 2 Dou with DDR2 ram, and the only spare PSU i have is a dodgy old 400 Watt one which I still don't know why I didn't throw out. (But I've got a dead Nvidia 9800 and an old IBM keyboard full of coffee lying about as well (I'd have even more computer crap like an AMD i386 sx40, a working EMMS card fully populated with 2 Mb RAM and IBM OS/2 Warp on 60 floppy diskettes, if I hadn't moved ) .

I've RMA'ed the motherboard and RAM as the (IMHO slightly clueless) people at EBuyer think it could be either of them. But I spent 3 days trying to get the damn thing to show a BIOS screen and that is as good a clue as any I have.

I've still got a nasty feeling it may be the PSU. I've got a new one on order.

pwhodges · « **Reply #501 on:** 02 Mar 2012, 02:54 »

That sounds as good a way to proceed as any. And if it wasn't the PSU, you'll have a spare - all I can say to that is that I have never ended up with an unused PS!

Eternal_Newbie · « **Reply #502 on:** 22 Mar 2012, 09:04 »

Turned out the PSU was starting to die - and it's just out of warranty, of course.

The GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 motherboard is probably not the best Z68 out there - it basically seems to be one of Gigabytes older LGA 1155 motherboard designs with a Z68 chipset droppped in, so it doesn't use all the features, but it does the job.

LTK · « **Reply #503 on:** 25 Mar 2012, 02:43 »

I'm going to plunge into the deep end: Buy a second-hand video card. There's an MSI-manufactured GTX 560Ti that's advertised for €150; the same one is €210 on the hardware site I usually frequent. It's a reasonable price to pay and I think the amount I save on getting it second-hand will offset the risk of the possible drop in reliability.

The card is 2,2cm longer than my current one, plus the power supply cables connect at the long end as well, but I think I still have 3 cm to spare in my case. The other issue is the power consumption. NVidia lists a 500W PSU (which I have) as adequate for its GTX 560Ti range, but I know it's usually recommended to put an extra 50-100W on top of what you'll actually need when you build a computer, so that might pose a problem...

I think I'll ask the advertiser whether or not he's willing to take it back if it turns out to be nonfunctional. If he says no, I might yet consider buying one new...

bicostp · « **Reply #504 on:** 26 Mar 2012, 06:11 »

Check the number of amps on your 12-volt rail(s). Many lower-end power supplies (OEM, the ones that come with cases, etc) pad their wattage rating by pushing tons of amperage on the 5 volt rail, where it doesn't do your video card any good.

If your power supply has two rails, keep them balanced, or move a couple devices from one to the other to give the video card enough headroom.

LTK · « **Reply #505 on:** 05 Apr 2012, 09:47 »

An update on that video card: It arrived in a box that contained the original box that contained the video card and a guide, software CD, VGA-to-DVI adapter, and a HDMI-to-mini-HDMI adapter. That is rather excellent. In addition, it fits in my case like a hand in a glove, and it's really quiet while not under load. That turned out pretty well!

Now, anyone want my GTS 450 for half the money I bought it for?

IrrationalPie · « **Reply #506 on:** 09 Apr 2012, 06:16 »

Just bought a new case :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352013

Was on sale for $80 with free shipping.

LTK · « **Reply #507 on:** 04 May 2012, 12:32 »

My sister is looking for a small-ish laptop for college use. She thinks a numpad makes it too big. Any recommendations?

Say Apple and you'll get bludgeoned with my own two-kilo laptop.

sparksflyupward · « **Reply #508 on:** 04 May 2012, 02:28 »

Quote from: LTK on 04 May 2012, 12:32

My sister is looking for a small-ish laptop for college use. She thinks a numpad makes it too big. Any recommendations?

Say Apple and you'll get bludgeoned with my own two-kilo laptop.

I would suggest sticking to the 13,3" form factor, and as long of a battery time as you can get as she'll probably be using it a lot on the go. If I could afford it I'd go for one of the Ultrabooks, or if it's not too urgent wait a little while for the Ivy Bridge ones to release. And as for the Apple comment: she's gonna have an easier time borrowing chargers from people with a Macbook Air [putting my helmet on].

LTK · « **Reply #509 on:** 04 May 2012, 03:23 »

Judging by the prices on the most popular national e-tailer, any Macbook that fits the criteria is priced 2 to 2.5 times what my sister is willing to spend.

Also, *whack*

pwhodges · « **Reply #510 on:** 04 May 2012, 03:29 »

Has she checked if there are any college-specific deals?

LTK · « **Reply #511 on:** 04 May 2012, 04:15 »

Apple only gives discounts for students in vocational, not higher, education, and only up to 10%. The other offers include a Toshiba and Asus laptop and are only barely below retail price. She has already made up her mind about which university to enroll in, so window-shopping for institution-specific discounts is not really an option.

We also mustn't forget that there's a second-hand market to consider. There's some money-saving potential.

bicostp · « **Reply #512 on:** 04 May 2012, 08:45 »

ThinkPad x130e. I've got its ancestor (x100e), and the size is great without making it too difficult to touch-type on. (It's basically a 12" laptop, but it has a nearly full size keyboard and the screen has a 1366x768 resolution, same as you find in most budget 15" creaktops.)

Check the Lenovo Outlet for one. They sell everything from customer returns to brand new ones out of canceled orders for a nice discount. Dell and a few other OEMs do something similar.

LTK · « **Reply #513 on:** 05 May 2012, 04:55 »

I don't think that whatever savings they may provide are going to make up for the added tax and shipping costs. There was one excellent second-hand Toshiba laptop offered by someone right in my city but it was gone the day it was posted. The rest is all crap.

LTK · « **Reply #514 on:** 06 Jul 2012, 06:27 »

Did I mention? The final choice was for a new Acer Aspire that fit all of the requirements. It's a pretty cool thing.

Myself, I just bought a new hard drive because the ones I have (2x Western Digital 150GB) are noisy and sluggish. I planned on getting a Samsung Spinpoint hard drive, but the usual PC-components shop I go to only sells them in capacities as low as 650GB, which cost €75, while the 1TB ones are €100 and they get proportionally cheaper as the capacity goes up. That's too expensive, so I found someone who removed the hard drive from his media center and put it up for sale, a 500GB Spinpoint for €50. I jumped at that opportunity, so right now it's in my computer and moving all of my data off of the old hard drive. When it's done, I'm just going to disconnect the other one so that noise won't bother me again, and keep it as a backup drive.

LTK · « **Reply #515 on:** 28 Aug 2012, 07:20 »

Oh hey, it's me again. So it turns out that installing Windows on two different hard drives does not create a boot sector on the second hard drive. I found that out after formatting the first hard drive and discovered that it refused to start. This is inconvenient.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #516 on:** 11 Dec 2012, 07:21 »

My HD's are officially dying and now I'm in the process of trying to decide on replacements. I'm going to be getting 2 of them, one SSD for the OS and one plate drive for everything else. Probably looking at a 2tb plate since it's just so much more economical (possibly a 3tb) and then I've got to decide between the Samsung 840 and 840 Pro.

The 840 Pro comes with Assassin's Creed 3 which by itself makes the Pro the same cost as the 840, but I'm trying really really hard to not let that influence my decision too much. Any suggestions?

LTK · « **Reply #517 on:** 11 Dec 2012, 03:15 »

If you were planning on buying the game for $46 or more anyway, and you were also planning to buy an SSD for $98 or more, then I suppose you can safely take advantage of that offer. Though if you want to play AC3 in the near future, you're guaranteed to find it for less than than in the Steam Christmas sale. $30, I wager, maybe $25. So unless there is another online retailer that offers the same SSD or less, you just have to ask yourself if you want to pay $15-20 more for whatever the 840 Pro offers.

Personally? I'd just buy the 840. According to this, the 840 Pro is absolute top-of-the-line for SSDs, but do you really need that if the 840 is almost as good? Don't spend more money on something that's better in a way you're not going to be able to notice.

riccostar · « **Reply #518 on:** 30 Dec 2012, 09:51 »

For anyone looking for a keyboard, I just got the Razer Anansi for Christmas. The thumb modifier keys are definitely a huge help gaming and it is backlit in many different colours! It's very good for typing and I would say it is totally worth its price.

TheCollyWolly · « **Reply #519 on:** 08 Apr 2013, 09:32 »

I've been looking to put together a gaming rig at ~$1000 the past few weeks, and I never thought I'd ask this, but how do you guys feel about the Alienware X51?

mtmerrick · « **Reply #520 on:** 08 Apr 2013, 01:20 »

Depends. Are you planning on making a custom rig with this as its pre-built base, planning on modifying this as you need to, or leaving what you buy as is? Because my opinions will change based on that.

snalin · « **Reply #521 on:** 08 Apr 2013, 03:57 »

From what I've seen, you can usually get computers that's as good as the alienware rigs for slightly less if you build them yourself. Not sure if that holds wherever you are at. When I got my last computer, even with the crazy weak dollar, the transport costs of a laptop from AW still pushed their prices higher than just buying the exact same computer locally. In Norway, the home of high prices. So you pay a bit much for the brand name and slick looks.

mtmerrick · « **Reply #522 on:** 08 Apr 2013, 04:13 »

Here's the thing - for a modder/tweaker/DIYer/someone who's going to be upgrading components on a regular basis, Alienware is quite overrated. You can build your own - better - PC for cheaper, and it'll be more you .

However, I've learned that (shocker) not everyone can, or is interested in the modding/DIY/specwars game. They want something that just works when you plug it in, and its powerful enough to play some games or simply last them 10 Years. Perhaps they don't want to HAVE TO mod it, but want something that can be modded if they ever want to.
For these type of people, Alienware is actually quite good. It's not the best, and not necessarily the best bang for their buck, but the shopping experience is simple, is good stuff, and the chassis look badass.

That said I cannot recommend an Alienware laptop to anyone. They're shit.

What you're looking at, I see, it's a slim-tower Alienware desktop. This is not a chassis type that's not very common in gaming PCs or workstations. The case size also lets it work as a console replacement really easily.
Since there's not much else if this category, I have no problem with you getting this one, if you are in fact buying it because if it's slim-tower design.

Course, it all depends on you, and your use scenarios.

TheCollyWolly · « **Reply #523 on:** 10 Apr 2013, 07:19 »

I'm aware that I could probably put together an equivalent DIY desktop for a little bit cheaper, but I have only the most basic knowledge of how to actually put one together and get it working. It would definitely be a Project with a capital P for me.

I'm really thinking that $1100 for an X51 with an i7 and GTX660 that works out of the box is looking pretty attractive to me. I'm definitely not dead-set on an Alienware, though. Are there any suggestions out there for another equivalent ~$1000 gaming desktop? A sound card would be a biiig plus.

mtmerrick · « **Reply #524 on:** 10 Apr 2013, 08:35 »

My recommendations for semi-custom pre-built gaming/superpowerful PCs are maingear and origin. I've also had some good experiences with iBuypower.

Source: I've custom ordered many workstations for my uncle's business.

Also, I want to point out something many people don't realize - Alienware is a subsidiary of dell. If you aren't a fan of Dell, well, you should probably think twice before buying a Dell computer.

Pilchard123 · « **Reply #525 on:** 12 Apr 2013, 06:32 »

I bought this a while back and it seems to be holding up fine. The warranty is good too - provided it isn't deemed your fault I think you get 2 years parts, lifetime labour. Whether you'll be able to get it wherever you are in the world (I'm in the UK and they're based about an hour away from me), I don't know.

bryntheskits · « **Reply #526 on:** 30 Apr 2013, 03:48 »

Current Build:

24" AOC, it's ok
i7 2600k @ 3.5Ghz
16GB 1666 Mhz RAM
nVidia GeForce 560Ti
120GB Samsung 840 SSD Primary Drive
2TB Samsung Secondary
And a couple externals as well

I just got the SSD and I am finding it hard to decide what to upgrade next, it plays everything with very little lag on most games (even with full AA on some games).

Can anyone here suggest a good mouse to buy, old one is screwing up.

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Author Topic: The PC-building/hardware knowledge thread (Read 101177 times)