General PC Discussion

[Lily Adler]

Or get an AMD X if you want to mess with OC but it looks like you don't like AMD CPU
Edit: OC is over rated anyway or at least for the common user or so I think.

I do. My current build is an FX-4300 with 8GB of RAM and a Radeon R7 GPU. It could get me 60fps on 720p Ultra and 1080p on Medium-High. Also I tried to link to 2 Ryzen builds with RTX GPUs.

But @geetard says an Core i5 would give me better performance than Ryzen 7 I'll go with that one.

 

[Iceman]

Did a quick Amazon spree and I see the build will cost me $1700.01 after S&H and taxes.

Had GPU prices stayed as intended it would have been 1,054.84.

Oh, how annoying.

 

[Iceman]

I do. My current build is an FX-4300 with 8GB of RAM and a Radeon R7 GPU. It could get me 60fps on 720p Ultra and 1080p on Medium-High. Also I tried to link to 2 Ryzen builds with RTX GPUs.

But @geetard says an Core i5 would give me better performance than Ryzen 7 I'll go with that one.

Glad to see you’re getting involved. Best of luck with the build and it seems like you are in good hands above. I had a lot of help from this thread when I had mine built.

 

[Lily Adler]

Glad to see you’re getting involved. Best of luck with the build and it seems like you are in good hands above. I had a lot of help from this thread when I had mine built.

Okay I found a Core i5 11600 and my other parts went down on the price, so now it will be $1684.84 after taxes with free shipping. 1470.51 for GTX3060. I plan to use my Amazon Store Card to finance it for 12 months.

 

[Lily Adler]

The hyperlinks to the builds did not paste correctly.

If you are going to multi-task with the PC, I'd go with 8 cores because they will definitely help if you do video re-encoding (e.g. backing up your Blu-ray collection), although 6 cores are a sweet spot. Since you are a Linux user, bear in mind the GPU drivers between AMD and Nvidia. Last time I checked, the Nvidia drivers are not well liked among the Linux community.

Like @Monsieur Xavier said, when it comes to GPUs Nvidia is king. If you want performance/price ratio, then AMD is the way especially for the CPU. Another thing to consider, Intel's CPUs with K suffix do not offer a cooler. The 3700X and 3800X both include a decent cooler so you can still buy an aftermarket one months later. Also, they are both 7nm so they are smaller than Intel's (14nm) so less heat/more energy efficient if you care about that.

Between the 3700X and 3800X, the former is the better deal:
UserBenchmark: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X vs 3800X

11600K vs 10700K, the former is better (also more recent):
UserBenchmark: Intel Core i5-11600K vs i7-10700K

The 11600K is apparently the winner against the 3700X:
UserBenchmark: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X vs Intel Core i5-11600K

FYI. I do use both Windows and Linux. I like KDE Neon, but Steam doesn't like it sometimes and Wine doesn't help. I want to give Elementary OS and Ubuntu Unity a go.

 

[Gee]

FYI. I do use both Windows and Linux. I like KDE Neon, but Steam doesn't like it sometimes and Wine doesn't help. I want to give Elementary OS and Ubuntu Unity a go.

I tried Elementary OS when I received my Pine A64 years ago. Maybe it was the SD card or the actual SBC, but the experience was sluggish. I'm sure the experience is great on an actual desktop computer.

Seems your build is ready. One last check is to verify your mobo supports the CPU without the need of a BIOS update. For example, you'd get an Asus Z590 motherboard if you're going with the i5 11600 or any other Intel 11th gen CPU for that matter.

 

[Lily Adler]

I tried Elementary OS when I received my Pine A64 years ago. Maybe it was the SD card or the actual SBC, but the experience was sluggish. I'm sure the experience is great on an actual desktop computer.

Seems your build is ready. One last check is to verify your mobo supports the CPU without the need of a BIOS update. For example, you'd get an Asus Z590 motherboard if you're going with the i5 11600 or any other Intel 11th gen CPU for that matter.

It's very Mac like. I currently have an ASUS motherboard. So the BIOS updates issues aren't limited to the new Ryzen chips then? I always had that warning when choosing Ryzen chips.

 

[Gee]

It's very Mac like. I currently have an ASUS motherboard. So the BIOS updates issues aren't limited to the new Ryzen chips then? I always had that warning when choosing Ryzen chips.

Unless you get a recent motherboard model that supports the current-gen CPUs out of the box, then you'll generally need to flash the BIOS so the mobo can support such CPUs. Some manufacturers can release a new batch of last year's motherboard models with the latest BIOS (box usually has a sticker that mentions it) and you're good to go.

If you're stuck with a previous-gen motherboard, then you'd have to put in a previous-gen CPU, flash the BIOS and then swap for the current-gen CPU. It's a bit of a hassle, but you can save some money.

What case are you going with?

 

[Lily Adler]

Unless you get a recent motherboard model that supports the current-gen CPUs out of the box, then you'll generally need to flash the BIOS so the mobo can support such CPUs. Some manufacturers can release a new batch of last year's motherboard models with the latest BIOS (box usually has a sticker that mentions it) and you're good to go.

If you're stuck with a previous-gen motherboard, then you'd have to put in a previous-gen CPU, flash the BIOS and then swap for the current-gen CPU. It's a bit of a hassle, but you can save some money.

What case are you going with?

I'm a lowkey person and I'm using a Silverstone GD-04 media case. I've registry hacked Windows to boot into Steam Big Picture Mode by default and linked iexplorer.exe, GoG, and Origin in the Games Library. I want to get a IR remote dongle for streaming and media consumption.

I'm looking at this one right now:

Amazon.com: Q6 Backlit Voice Remote Control,2.4G Wireless Voice Control Sensing Colorful Backlight Air Remote Mouse with IR Learning for Nvidia Shield,PC,Projector,Smart TV,Android TV Box: Computers & Accessories

 

[Lily Adler]

Ngl, I wish I knew this was an option back when I was shopping for my HP Omen Pro.

Dell Precision 3561 Mobile Workstation | Dell USA

Dell Precision 5560 AI-optimized Mobile Workstation Laptop | Dell USA

The fact I can choose Ubuntu out of the box is really awesome for me since I prefer to use Blender, Kdenlive, Krita, and Audacity already.

And look at System76 upping their cosmetic game:

Oryx Pro - System76

Gazelle - System76

 

[Lily Adler]

Can someone explain to me why the Dell XPS 15 is more expensive than a Razer Blade 15 Base model? I specced both the same, but the Dell somehow came up to almost $2000 while the Razer stayed at $1300. I guess it's the Razer's infamous build quality and longevity.

 

[Gee]

Can someone explain to me why the Dell XPS 15 is more expensive than a Razer Blade 15 Base model? I specced both the same, but the Dell somehow came up to almost $2000 while the Razer stayed at $1300. I guess it's the Razer's infamous build quality and longevity.

I believe so. I always thought Razer products are overpriced electronic toys.

 

[Lily Adler]

I believe so. I always thought Razer products are overpriced electronic toys.

HP has stepped up the Envy series to my surprise. I can get an 11th generation Intel Core i7 with 16gb of Ram and 512GB Nvme SSD for just over $1500. That's including a GTX 1650ti and they do have a GTX 2060 model that's sold out.

HP ENVY Laptop- 15t-ep100 (31F21AV_1)

Lisa from MobileTechReview said the display is surprisingly tuned to be very color accurate about 95% SRGB and 75% Adobe RGB. So if you are a video/photo editor on a budget this may be the laptop for you. Plus you can do some light gaming on Med-High settings.

Ah figured it out. The Razer model I was looking at has an older i7. But then I see this model for $1800. The Dell had a GTX 1650TI.

Razer Blade 15 Base Model - Full HD 144Hz - GeForce RTX 3060 - Black | PC

I blame Linus and his Razer bias for even looking at these laptops. I heard a bunch of horror stories that they don't last in the long run and they're just gamer MacBooks with poor QC.

 

[Lily Adler]

What is this monstrosity!?! It's like a MacBook Pro 2015 bred with a gaming computer.

 

[Marvolo]

Jason Schreier's new investigation of Warcraft 3 Reforged's awful production.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Edit: Forgive the goofy link title. Its a direct link to the article.

 

[Gee]

Jason Schreier's new investigation of Warcraft 3 Reforged's awful production.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Edit: Forgive the goofy link title. Its a direct link to the article.

I don't have great hopes for the Diablo II remaster even though it does look in better shape than W3: Reforged.

 

[Gee]

Steam Deck hands-on: PC power with console conveniences
Valve Steam Deck hands-on: the Nintendo Switch of PC gaming

 

[Lily Adler]

Steam Deck hands-on: PC power with console conveniences
Valve Steam Deck hands-on: the Nintendo Switch of PC gaming

Some days I just want to punch Linus in the face. Give me Riley, James, Dennis, Madison, Anthony and Colton any day. I see Luke's not officially part of LMG anymore.

Also second the push by some fans for Anthony to host a Linux Tech Tips spinoff channel or series.

 

[Iceman]

Steam Deck hands-on: PC power with console conveniences
Valve Steam Deck hands-on: the Nintendo Switch of PC gaming

Is anyone thinking of getting this? I’m not but would love to hear opinions of anyone who does.

 

[Lily Adler]

Is anyone thinking of getting this? I’m not but would love to hear opinions of anyone who does.

I can't justify getting it other than a personal birthday or Christmas present for myself. It looks cool, but I'm not sure. I'd rather put that money to my PC upgrade... That will probably never happen.

 

[Gee]

I'll wait for the second revision model or the "Deck 2" if it gets released down the road.

For certain games, I can definitely see myself play on it while laying down on my bed or on the couch. Also, it could be used as an emulation powerhouse (PS2/Wii era and anything before).

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

News about Intel's upcoming graphic card.
Maybe I will wait for them to get a new PC.

Intel Introduces New High-Performance Graphics Brand: Intel Arc

Today marks a key moment in the graphics journey we started just a few years ago. The launch of the Intel Arc brand and the reveal of future hardware generations signifies Intel’s deep and continued commitment to gamers and creators everywhere. We have teams doing incredible work to ensure we deliver first-class and frictionless experiences when these products are available early next year.”

–Roger Chandler, Intel vice president and general manager of Client Graphics Products and Solutions

 

[Gee]

News about Intel's upcoming graphic card.
Maybe I will wait for them to get a new PC.

Intel Introduces New High-Performance Graphics Brand: Intel Arc

Today marks a key moment in the graphics journey we started just a few years ago. The launch of the Intel Arc brand and the reveal of future hardware generations signifies Intel’s deep and continued commitment to gamers and creators everywhere. We have teams doing incredible work to ensure we deliver first-class and frictionless experiences when these products are available early next year.”

–Roger Chandler, Intel vice president and general manager of Client Graphics Products and Solutions

They've got like two former designers from AMD and recently hired the architect who worked on Nvidia's DLSS and ray tracing. Hopefully the GPUs turn out well so Intel can bring some competition and drive down prices because I don't want to buy an RTX 5080 Ti at $3000+ CAD in two years.

 

[thalidomide]

Anyone here planning on getting Diablo 2 Remastered?

 

[Gee]

Anyone here planning on getting Diablo 2 Remastered?

Not anytime soon. I played the multiplayer beta few weeks ago and, nostalgia aside, some QoL improvements and modern graphics aren't enough for me to justify spending $55 CAD on a remaster of a 20-year-old game.

Removing TCP/IP support was a deplorable decision.