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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:16 
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Esoteric

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H=22xW=9xD=22". However it slopes.. what im running now is 28x27x13.5.

After eight years and pretty much every model ever made I've realised they're not for everyone :)

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 13:58 
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OK selling my old machine. Specs.

Intel 3970x 6 core 12 thread. Clocks to 4.7ghz daily
Corsair H110
Asus RIVE
Corsair Dominator 16gb 1866mhz
Cooler Master Cosmos 2
Cougar Vortex fans throughout
MNPCtech grill in front
Aerocool fan controller
Enermax Revolution 1250w PSU
Corsair Nova series SSD, 60gb X4 in RAID 0
Couple of Xigmatek fans.

Do note, the orange panels all come off in about ten seconds.

£700 collected, I paid £2000 for this 11 months ago and it's mostly still within warranty. I'm getting a MSI 970 gaming and a 960 soon so I could work something out with a GPU fitted too.

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 14:03 
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Any one interested in one of these, brand new never opened?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprod ... =GX-259-MS

£220 delivered with UPS.

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 14:17 
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Bargain at that price, nice cooler too.

How come you've ended up with a spare one?


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 14:38 
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Well the motherboard in my £3.5k rig went bang. Oddly it was called a MSI Big Bang... I sent it back, no replacements so they're sending me that instead.

Never again dude. I've now achieved my life's ambition of a literally no limits PC. Now I'm back to Alienware (with my GPUs and SSDs and so on).

Talking of which, a small write up I did :)

So whilst the buzz of buying that PC last year was good it was something I will never do again as long as I live. The good thing is that when all is said and done I have made the switch to the Alienware for not much money. My wife paid a chunk into it and that is basically my PC present for this year. As her kids are grown up and fiercely independent they're no longer a financial cost. I mean sure, we bung them cash and spoil them but they don't come asking for it any more. Couple that with me who has no kids (my choice, not really my cup of tea) and yeah, we're OK.

But as for stupidly expensive hardware and honking, great ugly cases? it's over for me. Up until I bought that hunk of crap I was happy with my Alienware Area 51, which is reasonably smaller than the Cosmos 2 (I would say about 30%). Before that I had the MATX Aurora and again, I was blissfully happy with that (I had that one for nearly three years with my I7 950 at stock).

Money. It's a funny thing. My philosophy is that I hate it, and if I ever get my hands on it I spend it. That's part of my illness but I rid myself of it because I don't like what it does to me. It just makes my bloody head go mad thinking what I can spend it on. Mania, basically guys, it's ain't much fun.

So overclocking for me, benchmarking for me, dumping continual money into computers for me.. It's over. Had I continued on that path I would have been very ill. Instead I've actually stepped back and taken things into account. Realised that I just want a nice looking rig with a decent warranty and that's good enough for me. That's why I returned to Alienware. My friend, my very close friend for many, many years. I'm gutted that I strayed now, but looking back they had nothing to offer me last year (the new Area 51 wasn't out and they had stopped making the old one months before). So I strayed and I stepped into stupid land and I paid the price (three and a half bags of sand to be precise). So what does the future hold? naff. I'm going to keep this rig now, intact, and game. Game game game. Something I've done more of over the past two days than I had done in months. Months of worrying about my temps, pissing around with benchmarks trying to make sure my stupid rig was still competitive. And then Nvidia "reward" me for spending £1400 on two graphics cards by releasing one for £499 not even a year later that's twice as fast as one of mine. Great. See, another trap I won't fall into again...

So now I'm done waffling let me say a few words about what I got, the new Alienware Area 51. Call this a review if you like, call it me showing off (though that would be silly considering it's actually a downgrade to my older rig) call it what you like (just don't call me baby.... )

The outside. Alienware, even under Dell, have always known how to make a stunning looking case. Like a moth to a flame I fall for every bloody one of them and I believe in them like they want people to. Sometimes at first I have to sort of look around it a bit to get my head around it but yeah, usually I give way to the radical pretty quickly. So this time it was no exception. I soon learned that a fool and his cash are quickly parted, and like sod's bloody law Alienware went and released this thing about two months after I'd just spent enough money to buy two. What a prized pillock... So here is the new Area 51.

Image

This time around though the looks are far, far more meaningful than before. Last time there were motorised vents, motorised front panel and god knows what else and none of it actually did anything. This time around though the thermal performance is absolutely stellar. So let's talk about that a bit first before anything else. It won't take long. This rig is so quiet that even in the weather we have been having I have not heard the fans spin up any more than their idle speed. Not once. The thermal performance is so good and gets the heat out so well that my GPU fans hardly even spin up, even on a pretty aggressive fan profile. That means I have done about 20 hours of gaming since I got this thing and throughout it has made barely a whisper. Compare that to my old rig where I had to run most of the fans on 12v just to keep the cooling in check and yeah, silence is bliss. Here is how it all works.

Image

There are two intake fans and one exhaust, which also doubles as the fan for the AIO that cools the 5820k. Again, I have not heard that fan spin up. I have not aggressively overclocked the rig as I don't need to. Stock performance is far better than the 3970x and I don't need to make it rev its guts out in order to cool the CPU properly. This is nice, very nice. So yeah, a rig as bold and as powerful as this running on three very quiet 120mm fans. Compare that in contrast to my old 3970x rig which ran nine fans and you can understand, the ALXman is in heaven right now.

Storage. You get room for two 2.5" drives and three 3.5" drives. What with there being 6tb hard drives now and possibly more this is more than enough room for storage. Gone is my old 4 60gb RAID 0 SSDs and they have been replaced with my Asus RAIDR PCI Express drive that offers the same storage space. I'm currently running two old 500gb laptop drives I use for downloads and stuff, a 600gb Raptor for my music films and games as well as a 2tb drive the system came with.

What Alienware don't tell you when you buy this rig is that the motherboard has a Killer E2205 network card, Intel pro wireless set and Creative Labs Soundblaster Recon. That may not mean much to some, but it's allowed me to basically rid myself of three add in cards I used to use. I like Killer NIC, I really do like the software they provide it's excellent. Here is my storage layout.

Image

More than good enough really. So let's move onto the fun part, the controls. Firstly there are nine lighting zones. Each is shown in the picture. These can be changed between any colour you like really, as well as being made to flash, change and morph.

Image

And then there are the thermal controls. These are to adjust fan speeds on the fly, or, you can leave that down to the computer itself.

Image

And then of course, like most other Alienware computers there are the overclocking options.

Image

Summary.
Well obviously as you guys will know I had a bit of a pig recently. I found out that no matter how much money you throw at a computer there is still a high chance something will go wrong. And when it does you are not covered well enough. £3500 was a lot of money to spend and I will never get anything near that back. I also learned that high end hardware is also incredibly difficult to sell on should you wish to. People are just not in the market for that sort of stuff.
Now with the Alienware you are getting a full, proper warranty. Alienware are not as fickle as other companies and do keep spares for their computers long after the sale date. I paid a total of £1298 for the Alienware, but, managed to claw back £100 from the GTX 960 I did not need. TBH? for £1200 it's a lot of computer. If you went elsewhere for the same spec (will list that at the end) you would not get much change from that including a GTX 970 or something of that ilk. However, where the Alienware shines is through its case and design, as well as the plethora of features it offers in lighting, cooling and overall solid build quality and looks.

This isn't quite the Area 51 we have seen in the past. The build quality is beautiful but it's no match for the quality of build that the last iteration of the Area 51 had. Gone are the motors, gone are the vents, gone are the large lit panels. However, let's not be too harsh here. Just look at it.. Look at it ! it's as stunning as you would expect for an Alienware.
Another nice thing to bear in mind with Alienware computers is their resell value. Right now I could probably go back on Ebay and sell this PC for £50 less than I paid for it. Apple are very similar in that regard so if you are ever thinking of selling your old hardware on you will always get a much higher price for it being an Alienware or an Apple.

Spec. Here is the spec of the system I ordered.
CPU - 5820k factory overclocked to 3.8ghz, bumped to 4ghz by myself
8gb 2333 DDR4 memory
MSI Alienware motherboard, Quad SLI capable, triple SLI capable
850w 80+ silver Delta power supply
GTX 960 2gb (replaced with my Titan Blacks)
Soundblaster Recon 3d (onboard)
Killer E 2205 network card
Intel Proset wireless
2tb Toshiba hard drive

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 14:53 
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Pic of 970

Image

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 10:37 
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Beex price on GPU £200 inc.

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 22:07 
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Made a pretty bold move today. Sold my Titan Blacks and bought a Fury X for £450.

Will be acebest at 4k, and I made a few quid too. Due to get it Friday,will up some pics then :)

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 23:35 
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Even one of them is 'about as fast as a 980Ti', how do you expect them to compete with Titan Blacks in SLI?

(I appreciate the Fury-X really seems to shine at 4K, but I'm not sure what you're expecting compared to what you're leaving behind.)


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 8:41 
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One 980ti, believe it or not, is about 10% faster than both of my Titan Blacks put together. No seriously, I shit you not. I knew from synthetic benchmarks that this was the case but thought in games it would fare better. So, yesterday a mate of mine with a 980ti ran some game benchmarks with me and even down clocked his CPU so we were running the same and sure enough, my average in the two Metro games was 10% or worse slower than his.

The Fury X is less than 1% slower than the 980ti at 4k, and given that's the resolution I run it was hard to say no at £450 (cheaper than any 980ti).

The main aim was to go from two rather hot cards down to one with a water cooler on it, that will be my main boost. So yeah, it's not a ton faster but it is faster, cost me nothing (I sold the two Titans for £500, so I've actually got £50 in my pocket) is cooler, quieter and will use at least 200 watts less power at the wall.

I've had AIOs on my GPUs for ages now. I actually bought two adapters and two Corsair H55 coolers for my TBs, but the hoses were not long enough to fit where I needed to fit them (doh). I do have one on Mrs JC's TB and it will not break 47c in Valley after almost two hours. I also had an AIO on my 480 Lightning recently and it too refused to go over 49c. That's incredible.

Then of course there's the option to install a second one at a later date, but I'm trying hard to avoid doing that. The issue I had with SLI (and it was small) is that two games I own don't like it. One (Far Cry 4, which I can live without because it's shite) doesn't bother me but the other is Wolfenstein : The old blood and I loved the first one and really wanted to play it but even at low settings it runs like ass at 4k because it simply refuses to run on more than one GPU.

I've been on SLI for many years now, it's time for a bit of completely pain free gaming for a while.. Give it time dude. I'm almost certain that when AMD get this launch sorted and get out some review samples the tools to overclock them will be forthcoming. Right now reviewers are literally having to send the card on to one another there is so few of them. Thankfully a good mate of mine bought the card, reviewed it and then got bored with it so he's sold it on to me :)

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 14:40 
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Prince of Fops

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I fear there may be no helpful answer to this, but here goes:

Given the choice, would you rather work on two smallish monitors or one massive (34 inch) monitor? Probably wanting to have 3-4 applications visible at once? Is there anything frustrating about working on one big screen? Never done it with a biggun before fnar fnar.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 14:41 
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What am I doing?


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 14:44 
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Prince of Fops

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markg wrote:
What am I doing?


You're in a darkened room. You see a lamp in the corner, emitting a greenish glow.

Writing. Probably with this kind of setup:
- emails open in one application
- reference material/research in a browser
- word doc to write in
- Newsfeed in another window


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 14:50 
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Bad Girl

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Findus Fop wrote:
markg wrote:
What am I doing?


You're in a darkened room. You see a lamp in the corner, emitting a greenish glow.


>Go east


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 14:54 
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Screen size is the last of your worries. What you want is screen size and resolution. That's basically how you pack in a few apps at once.

I wouldn't bother with multiple monitors myself, I've usually always just used one screen. Remember, the monitor is your gateway to the computer and the thing you interact with more than anything else, so always get the best one you can afford.

Obviously as usual it all depends on your budget..

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 14:57 
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Prince of Fops

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Saturnalian wrote:
Findus Fop wrote:
markg wrote:
What am I doing?


You're in a darkened room. You see a lamp in the corner, emitting a greenish glow.


>Go east


You've been bummed by a grue.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 15:01 
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Oh to add.. What you really want is a 4k monitor. There are a few small caveats, though. 4k requires some serious balls to shift games around. You're looking at a 980ti or Fury X if you game and like to crank the settings. Obviously if you're not gaming that's of no importance.
Things can appear small on a 4k monitor, so 30 inches plus is where you want to be. I have a 28 and some things are a real squint fest. You can adjust Windows to make things look bigger, but that's defeating the purpose of having that sort of resolution in the first place IMO.

Another downside is that most 4k monitors are Displayport only, so you need to make sure your GPU has one.

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 15:01 
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Prince of Fops

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JohnCoffey wrote:
Screen size is the last of your worries. What you want is screen size and resolution. That's basically how you pack in a few apps at once.

I wouldn't bother with multiple monitors myself, I've usually always just used one screen. Remember, the monitor is your gateway to the computer and the thing you interact with more than anything else, so always get the best one you can afford.

Obviously as usual it all depends on your budget..


cheers dude. Was thinking something like this, which seems like the least I can spend for a screen that size.

Chez Bezos


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 15:01 
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Findus Fop wrote:
markg wrote:
What am I doing?


You're in a darkened room. You see a lamp in the corner, emitting a greenish glow.

Writing. Probably with this kind of setup:
- emails open in one application
- reference material/research in a browser
- word doc to write in
- Newsfeed in another window

I'd rather have two for that sort of stuff, but then again 34" is pretty gigantic for a monitor.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 15:13 
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Hello Hello Hello

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Findus Fop wrote:
JohnCoffey wrote:
Screen size is the last of your worries. What you want is screen size and resolution. That's basically how you pack in a few apps at once.

I wouldn't bother with multiple monitors myself, I've usually always just used one screen. Remember, the monitor is your gateway to the computer and the thing you interact with more than anything else, so always get the best one you can afford.

Obviously as usual it all depends on your budget..


cheers dude. Was thinking something like this, which seems like the least I can spend for a screen that size.

Chez Bezos


2560x1080 is fairly limited on the vertical axis (same number of pixels as a 1920x1080).

The first big jump IMO is up to 2560x1440, and those screens are available for a reasonable price.

27 inch is fine for 2560x1440, but as JC says for 4K you want to be looking at 30 inch as a minimum.

For the situation you've described though, you may actually be better off with two 24 inchers (or similar) at 1920x1080, if you've got the desk space for it.

I use two screens at work, but one screen at home. For a 'productivity' style scenario, I prefer multiple screens.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 15:46 
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Yeah I would say you want 1440p at least. If you are not gaming on it (because it is limited to 30hz) then this is a cracking buy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I ... 13&sr=8-13

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 15:58 
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Bad Girl

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Findus Fop wrote:
Saturnalian wrote:
Findus Fop wrote:
markg wrote:
What am I doing?


You're in a darkened room. You see a lamp in the corner, emitting a greenish glow.


>Go east


You've been bummed by a grue.


>Light cigarette


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 16:02 
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Prince of Fops

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Thanks folks. I'd be hoping to do a little gaming every now and then, but probably nothing more taxing than the new Xcom.

Hearthly, two of these could work then? ebuyer

JC - what's with all the user reviews claiming that Dell bad boy is unusable? Are they just being screaming elmos?


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 16:03 
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Prince of Fops

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Saturnalian wrote:
Findus Fop wrote:
Saturnalian wrote:
Findus Fop wrote:
markg wrote:
What am I doing?


You're in a darkened room. You see a lamp in the corner, emitting a greenish glow.


>Go east


You've been bummed by a grue.


>Light cigarette


You've received a text. "Hello big boy, when are you taking me for cocktails (and sausages?)" What do you do?


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 16:06 
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Esoteric

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I think they're bitching because it's a 30hz display. If you are OK with 30 FPS then it's absolutely fine, but the ERMAGERD MUST HAVS 144 FPS crowd will shun it.

The thing is at 4k even with a Fury X my games run between 40 and 60 FPS (I have a 60hz model but it costs over twice that Dell !) and mostly sits in the high 30s any way. With any lesser GPU set up 30 FPS would be a luxury.

But yeah, if you're not into taxing games I would go 4k.

Edit. Don't get two 1080p displays they are gimped by the height again.

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 16:13 
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Hello Hello Hello

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JohnCoffey wrote:
Edit. Don't get two 1080p displays they are gimped by the height again.


Yeah but you get so many horizontal pixels that the height deficit is tolerable.

At work I have a 1600x1200 4:3 and a 1280x1024 4:3, I'd much prefer that to my home setup of a single 2560x1440 when it comes to doing work stuff.

Two 1920x1080s is a popular choice with my colleagues but I'm a fucking Luddite so I'm sticking with my ancient 4:3s until they break.

In FF's case he just has to decide which he'd prefer, but if you look at his summary of what he's looking to run concurrently, I honestly think two screens may be better than one. Plus of course a single 1920x1080 screen is a decent choice for PC games when you're not running a monster PC.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 16:29 
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Problem is 1200p kinda died out when IMO should have been the standard. I guess it was just panel manufacturers being tight, but 1080p was absolute bullshit when we were using 1600x1200 CRTs. It was actually a downgrade, and really annoying to me because I had designed and made around 100 fruit machines at 1200p only to fucking lose the bottoms off of them when I ran them on my 1080p monitor. This is something that haunted me until I got my 4k panel, and then finally I got the rest back.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-P2815Q-2 ... 27f1be58b9

NRG are a very good company and do take care of their customers. I would look into possibly getting two of those and TBH? you would never want for desktop area ever again.

I've had a few Alienware bits and bobs from NRG including my Area 51 ALX 2009. FF - do make sure your GPU has two Displayport connectors though ! Edit. Actually the Dell has HDMI too !

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 12:56 
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Prince of Fops

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Gents, thank you very much for all your advice on this, much appreciated. I am going to get a monitor. Maybe two. I have no idea. Perhaps one of JC's 4k jobbers. Or more likely two 24 inch jobbers, the consensus seems to be on two screens for working. Will see how tight money gets. STAY TUNED!


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 12:56 
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Prince of Fops

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And now I have to choose a PC.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 12:56 
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Get two small ones.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 13:01 
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Esoteric

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Findus Fop wrote:
And now I have to choose a PC.


Budget?

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 13:05 
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Prince of Fops

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JohnCoffey wrote:
Findus Fop wrote:
And now I have to choose a PC.


Budget?


Ah don't worry, this is a question I've raised here before, and now I'm procrastinating. Was hoping to do a grand all-in for PC and screen(s). Not after mega performance, just something that can cope with virtualization and running a few other apps at the same time.

Have previously been directed to ChillBlast before, but I think Sat's model has been replaced by the new Intel processors so isn't available.

And I think your goodself directed me to CCLonline.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 13:15 
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Ah OK yes I remember now :)

The only concern will be the GPU and what ports it has. So yeah, before you order anything let's check how many monitors/which ports it has. You should be fine though because most GPUs nowadays support Nvidia Surround or AMD Eyefinity :)

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 13:25 
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Prince of Fops

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JohnCoffey wrote:
Ah OK yes I remember now :)

The only concern will be the GPU and what ports it has. So yeah, before you order anything let's check how many monitors/which ports it has. You should be fine though because most GPUs nowadays support Nvidia Surround or AMD Eyefinity :)


thank you very much sir, very kind of you.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 13:32 
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FWIW, I use 3 20 inch Apple Cinema Displays (A1081) at work.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 13:39 
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Prince of Fops

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DavPaz wrote:
FWIW, I use 3 20 inch Apple Cinema Displays (A1081) at work.


competitively priced!


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 13:45 
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Unpossible!

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Findus Fop wrote:
DavPaz wrote:
FWIW, I use 3 20 inch Apple Cinema Displays (A1081) at work.


competitively priced!

Well, they were free for me ;)


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 0:48 
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Can you dig it?

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I like multiple monitors, if you have a lot of windows open it can be useful 'snapping' them to the edge of your various displays (and easy too).

Some monitors can rotate into portrait orientation, which I hear is nice for writing and playing vertical scrolling shmups. My monitor can do this, but I've never really bothered - you might like it though...

DavPaz wrote:
FWIW, I use 3 20 inch Apple Cinema Displays (A1081) at work.


I've got one of those too, it was retired from work. I'm going to sell it. The screen has a really nasty purple tint all over it that I couldn't get rid of through calibration so maybe the backlights have gone a bit funny.

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 8:02 
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You're right about changing the orientation. It's very useful and fun... This is my old TV. The pound coin is for scale.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 12:21 
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Prince of Fops

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TheVision, that's ludicrous.

Anyone have an opinion on either of these? Seem similarly priced. Would prob look to stick a 2TB SSHD hybrid in them.

FOR ASGARD!

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 12:51 
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Esoteric

Joined: 12th Dec, 2008
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Location: On Mars as an anthropologist...
May as well go Skylake...

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 15:33 
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Hello Hello Hello

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Depends what the pricing is I suppose. If Skylake systems are the same price then yes of course go for them, but they're only about a 10% boost over Devil's Canyon performance wise so not worth paying any great premium for.

Certainly I'd be quite happy with a Devil's Canyon system if the pricing was keen.

EDIT - D'oh those two systems are Devil's Canyon and Skylake. The Skylake one is £25 more but gets a 128GB SSD as well as the hard drive, plus you're getting the extra performance and DDR4. No competition then, get the 100 Stellas.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 15:47 
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Prince of Fops

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Hearthly wrote:
Depends what the pricing is I suppose. If Skylake systems are the same price then yes of course go for them, but they're only about a 10% boost over Devil's Canyon performance wise so not worth paying any great premium for.

Certainly I'd be quite happy with a Devil's Canyon system if the pricing was keen.

EDIT - D'oh those two systems are Devil's Canyon and Skylake. The Skylake one is £25 more but gets a 128GB SSD as well as the hard drive, plus you're getting the extra performance and DDR4. No competition then, get the 100 Stellas.


Stellar, I'll go and get lairy. Cheers folks.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 13:30 
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Esoteric

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Location: On Mars as an anthropologist...
Long post and I warn you you will probably find it boring, TL;DR.

When I bought the new Alienware it came standard with a 850w Silver PSU, as in Silver 80+. I was going to leave it be but 1. It looks like arse, as do the cables and 2. It whines under load. It was so bad before when I had the two Titan Blacks that I could feel the desk vibrating as it buzzed away. All not good.

However Tom Logan @ OC3D had a give away a week or so back and he is sending me this.

Image

With these.

Image

Image

Image

I have done some trace work on the inside and it seems the only things that will need looking at are that the board has a 8 pin EPS connector at the bottom (which powers the PCIE lanes on the board) and a nice simple molex plug to power the IO board that controls all of the lighting ETC.

I have also promised myself that when I'm in there changing out the PSU I will do something about the cooling. Dell don't seem to understand that desktops do not need Delta/Nidec savage fans that make a ton of noise, so I found these.

Image

Image

So I have ordered five of those. They will replace all of the stock cooling. I used one here in Mrs JC's rig to draw air in for the fets and rads.

Image

Note though I removed the gasket and used it elsewhere.. They are very quiet indeed, so should bring down the horrible whirring sound I get now. I will be using these too.

Image

To save my knuckles.

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:56 
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The mental PC we were using as a test GPU farm is now no longer needed and kicking around the store

Its got 16 physical CPU's, 64GB of Ram and 4X GTX Titans in it

Was thinking of using it home until there is a work use for it (which is doubtful) then I just thought about the cost of running the bloody thing and how little use I would get out of 4 cards

Using it for folding at the moment.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:03 
SupaMod
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Take it home and take three cards out (and send one to me)?

Do some Bitcoin mining?

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:05 
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Grim... wrote:
Take it home and take three cards out (and send one to me)?

Do some Bitcoin mining?



I would be concerned about how long the cards would last now, they were hammered 24\7 for 9 months which is not really what they are designed to do. The cards we got with the "enterprise" solution were 5K each as they are built to do this


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:08 
SupaMod
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Dedicated folding or mining rigs run the cards hot constantly, so they shouldn't break.

What were you using the rig for in the first place?

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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:11 
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Paws for thought

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Grim... wrote:
Dedicated folding or mining rigs run the cards hot constantly, so they shouldn't break.

What were you using the rig for in the first place?


Oil mining.


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 Post subject: Re: PC gaming hardware thread.
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:18 
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Master of dodgy spelling....

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Windows 10 does not support my radeon HD 48XX, what is a good, cheap replacement?

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