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Looking for comments on gaming computer build (1 Viewer)

Thanks!  Are there other things like this that I should be aware of when first configuring the bios?  I feel like I am going to miss something obvious if I don't have some sort of check list.
It's been a long time, I don't think I did anything else

 
OK, I have ordered all of the components (including a new computer desk), except for keyboard and mouse.

Now I am just hitting F5 over and over to see when they all ship :)   I am really looking forward to this build.

I think the mail in rebate forms are going to take longer to fill out than building the computer, damn they make you work for the money :)

 
I guess I need to give this more thought.  I have been living with 128g memory space on my Surface and have no issues with the games I play and still have plenty of room.

If I go with a split SSD and HD is the general organization this?

1) All game related stuff on SD

2) OS and all other sw (browsers, media players etc) on the HD
I think most of us do it the other way around.  We put the OS on the SSD so it boots quick and the background stuff the OS is doing runs quicker.  We then have the large 2TB HD, or hybrid that we throw our games on.  Then of course there are the guys that run only SSD's to get the max performance out of everything.

If you really don't plan to install a lot of games, you'd be better off on the SSD only, but that's up to you.  I'm not sure anyone on here would recommend putting the OS on the HD though.

 
Need a new video card.  Had a Radeon 6790.   Machine is 5 years old. Not looking to break the bank but needs dx12 support
You need to check if you even have Gen3 PCIE on a 5 year old machine, if not, it's not even worth upgrading video cards, probably just throwing money away in my opinion.

 
I think most of us do it the other way around.  We put the OS on the SSD so it boots quick and the background stuff the OS is doing runs quicker.  We then have the large 2TB HD, or hybrid that we throw our games on.  Then of course there are the guys that run only SSD's to get the max performance out of everything.

If you really don't plan to install a lot of games, you'd be better off on the SSD only, but that's up to you.  I'm not sure anyone on here would recommend putting the OS on the HD though.
Thanks!  I should have updated that post since I did learn that putting the OS on the SSD was preferable a day or so ago.

One of the games I play is highly recommended to run from the SSD for load times so I will maybe pay attention to which games I put where.

 
You need to check if you even have Gen3 PCIE on a 5 year old machine, if not, it's not even worth upgrading video cards, probably just throwing money away in my opinion.
I do not have Gen3

But its for 1080p gaming 

My current card does not support dx12.  shrug   I'm not buying a new computer - so it's that or nothing :shrug:

 
Thanks!  I should have updated that post since I did learn that putting the OS on the SSD was preferable a day or so ago.

One of the games I play is highly recommended to run from the SSD for load times so I will maybe pay attention to which games I put where.
OK, only difficulty with that is if you are using steam for most of your games, it wants the data directory in one spot as far as I know.  not sure if you can split it, don't know if that will cause you an issue or not.

 
OK, only difficulty with that is if you are using steam for most of your games, it wants the data directory in one spot as far as I know.  not sure if you can split it, don't know if that will cause you an issue or not.
Thanks!  I will keep this in mind.

As of now I have 3 pc games I play.

POE (not steam).  This has to go on SSD.

Hearthstone (not steam) This can go on HDD

Darkest Dungeon (steam).  This will have no benefit from SSD but your comment is going to make me research this more for future steam games that may benefit from SSD.

 
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OK, only difficulty with that is if you are using steam for most of your games, it wants the data directory in one spot as far as I know.  not sure if you can split it, don't know if that will cause you an issue or not.
OK I looked into this more and it looks like you can split using steam.  Here are two answers on reddit from knowledgeable posters

===================

1) You can split. If you have multiple drives installed, Steam will ask which one you want the game installed on.

2) You can split up where they are downloaded to, you just have to create a folder for steam downloads on both drives.

Games that would benefit from an SSD are ones with typically long load times, such as Skyrim

 
OK I looked into this more and it looks like you can split using steam.  Here are two answers on reddit from knowledgeable posters

===================

1) You can split. If you have multiple drives installed, Steam will ask which one you want the game installed on.

2) You can split up where they are downloaded to, you just have to create a folder for steam downloads on both drives.

Games that would benefit from an SSD are ones with typically long load times, such as Skyrim
Thanks, I didn't know this, thought I found out it wasn't possible last time I was looking to set it up.  I'll have to look further.

 
Maybe it has been too long since I last did this, but I'm finding it hard to spec something better than this (although I dislike the case):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883230136&ignorebbr=1 

Kinda like this one, but dunno if it all fits together (love that case tho):  https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JkxZzM
That site you linked was awesome for compatibility and size issues!  For my build, it told me any time that something was not going to fit in the case, down to the millimeter at times.

Your link shows that there are no compatibility issues, so I think it will all fit.

One thing that caught my eye in that build was the large price on the 128g SSD at $134.  I bought almost twice that much (240g) (different brand) for $59 today.  I assume that the $134 must be top end type storage at that price difference?

 
My 11 year old son is looking for a gaming pc or gaming computer.  Not sure if I should buy a bundle or if I should buy components separately.  I'm also not really all that PC literate when it comes to these types of things.

Any gaming guys willing to recommend some deals for me?

Not looking to spend an arm and a leg...he's basically going to be using it to play minecraft, rocket league, etc..

Thanks in advance!  Trying not to hijack thread. My apologies

 
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My 11 year old son is looking for a gaming pc or gaming computer.  Not sure if I should buy a bundle or if I should buy components separately.  I'm also not really all that PC literate when it comes to these types of things.

Any gaming guys willing to recommend some deals for me?

Not looking to spend an arm and a leg...he's basically going to be using it to play minecraft, rocket league, etc..

Thanks in advance!  Trying not to hijack thread. My apologies
if you don't want to build, the pc that @Slapdashjust linked from New Egg looks really nice for a very competitive price.  You would just need a monitor. 

 
That site you linked was awesome for compatibility and size issues!  For my build, it told me any time that something was not going to fit in the case, down to the millimeter at times.

Your link shows that there are no compatibility issues, so I think it will all fit.

One thing that caught my eye in that build was the large price on the 128g SSD at $134.  I bought almost twice that much (240g) (different brand) for $59 today.  I assume that the $134 must be top end type storage at that price difference?
Not sure about the SSDs.  For some reason I have it stuck in my head that Corsair was the brand to get.  Looks like there are some well reviewed Samsungs and Crucials out there. 

Is there any reason to get a better MoBo?  Not looking to overclock or anything

 
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Save $60 and just buy a Windows 10 License key.
So I went ahead and gave this a shot.  I figure I am risking $20 to save $60.  Odds seem good to me.

He sent me the key and a link to the iso to download.

When going to the link I noticed the name of the .iso file was identical to the name of the .iso file on the microsoft web site.

I have previously already downloaded the .iso from microsoft.   Is the key he gave me paired to the .iso on the link he provided or should the key work with the .iso that I have already downloaded?

Just trying to save a step since my download speed is so slow.

 
You're going to be able to stream "movies" like a madman with that thing.
We stream a lot of local media via plex.   The plex setup is on an older desktop.  I think I am going to move that setup to this new computer which is going to be located in our home theater area so it makes better sense to have it closer if things need to be added or adjusted in plex.

 
This is probably a dumb question but I will ask it anyway...

============================

*The mother board has a socket.

*The socket supports multiple CPU's

*The different CPU's each have different clocking requirements

*How does the motherboard know what clock to provide?

My guess is that the mother board defaults to a slow clock rate and then the BIOS determines which CPU is loaded and changes the clock to match.  I could be way off though.....

 
Damn, those are the best SSD prices I've ever seen. Time to transfer my entire Windows installation to that 960gb.
The are prices are really good.  Note the price went up $10 today too.  Yesterday it was $59 for 240g :)

I hope the SSD is not a dog but the reviews look good.

This is fairly mature technology right now so I am assuming this is going to be fine even given the cheaper price.

 
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So I went ahead and gave this a shot.  I figure I am risking $20 to save $60.  Odds seem good to me.

He sent me the key and a link to the iso to download.

When going to the link I noticed the name of the .iso file was identical to the name of the .iso file on the microsoft web site.

I have previously already downloaded the .iso from microsoft.   Is the key he gave me paired to the .iso on the link he provided or should the key work with the .iso that I have already downloaded?

Just trying to save a step since my download speed is so slow.
If it works at all it should work with either.

Also, I noticed a lot of i7 machines with 8GB+ memory on Amazon's certified refurbished section over the weekend for like $500.  Might go that route when the old lady's machine gives up the ghost.  

 
This is probably a dumb question but I will ask it anyway...

============================

*The mother board has a socket.

*The socket supports multiple CPU's

*The different CPU's each have different clocking requirements

*How does the motherboard know what clock to provide?

My guess is that the mother board defaults to a slow clock rate and then the BIOS determines which CPU is loaded and changes the clock to match.  I could be way off though.....
I think your last sentence is pretty much correct.  I think of the motherboard and BIOS as the same thing working together.  The motherboard doesn't work without firmware and the correct BIOS.  Go into the BIOS and you'll see the clock speed and over clock it if you want to, if you buy a CPU that allow overclocking.  

 
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If it works at all it should work with either..  
this is kind of what I am thinking too.  I can always try with the one I already downloaded first I guess.

Since the key is used at the beginning of the install before the internet is up, how does the OS know if the key has been used by anyone else before (or does the OS not care if it has been used before),,,,

 
this is kind of what I am thinking too.  I can always try with the one I already downloaded first I guess.

Since the key is used at the beginning of the install before the internet is up, how does the OS know if the key has been used by anyone else before (or does the OS not care if it has been used before),,,,
It runs a script to check if the key is valid first, then once it's connected to the internet it will update and let you know if it's been used (currently tied to another motherboard, or if it's an OEM that's been used and can't be reused).

 
It runs a script to check if the key is valid first, then once it's connected to the internet it will update and let you know if it's been used (currently tied to another motherboard, or if it's an OEM that's been used and can't be reused).
ok that makes complete sense.

The seller did say that if the key was rejected to just ask him for a new one.  I assume the keys are random generated (using a specific formula to generate key).  Hopefully there is a low chance that it will have been used before.

 
ok that makes complete sense.

The seller did say that if the key was rejected to just ask him for a new one.  I assume the keys are random generated (using a specific formula to generate key).  Hopefully there is a low chance that it will have been used before.
Yes, but Microsoft has a lot of protections against key generators like matching against their database of officially generated keys.  It will probably still work, but, your version of Windows might not be recognized as official.  You might also get a trial version that will work for a year before your license expires, it's really easy to reset though, you just have to do it every year. 

 
Yes, but Microsoft has a lot of protections against key generators like matching against their database of officially generated keys.  It will probably still work, but, your version of Windows might not be recognized as official.  You might also get a trial version that will work for a year before your license expires, it's really easy to reset though, you just have to do it every year. 
Is there a way after installation to know whether it has been flagged as a trial or not official?

What issues would I face if it was considered not official?  Would it not work at all or would it just not perform things like updates?

 ​
 
Is there a way after installation to know whether it has been flagged as a trial or not official?

What issues would I face if it was considered not official?  Would it not work at all or would it just not perform things like updates?

 ​
Control Panel>Settings>Activation

Link

 
So assuming all of the mail in rebates come through, I got everything done on Cyber Monday for just under $800.  That price included a new desk, gaming keyboard, mouse and monitor along with the normal components for a build (HDD, SDD, motherboard, CPU, GPU, cooler, case, power supply, Windows 10 and SDRAM).

I caught some good deals yesterday.  Today the exact same package is going for over $925.

I might have to cough up another $85 if the Windows Key does not work for me but even then I am pretty happy

 
My wife wakes me up this morning, and tells me a package arrived for me.

I jump out of bed and go bounding down the stairs like an 8 year old on Christmas morning.

"is it my mother board, is it the case, is it the GPU?"

The box is small so I figure it is my dram or one of the drives, still excited I rip it open, dig through the material and find only a tube of thermal paste.

:sadbanana:

 
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I have my new chair and desk assembled.

I have received the DRAM, the PSU, the case, the GPU, the LED bling, the monitor, Windows 10 key and the CPU Cooler.

Amazon is sitting on my order that has everything else (CPU, motherboard, mouse, HDD and SDD).  Hope they ship soon!

 
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ok computer is up and running!  Everything looks great, and even the windows 10 key I purchased for $20 works correctly.

I only have one problem left to solve and ironically it should have been the easiest piece to do and that is the LED bling inside of the case.  For some reason it is not staying on and not able to be controlled by the remote.  I will continue to work on that more tomorrow.

Everything else went as smooth as silk.

Thanks again to everyone for all of your help!

 
I dunno.  A computer I built 9 years ago (that the old lady uses) finally gave up the ghost.  When you can get an i5, 8GB memory and 2TB storage for $400 and delivered the next day (Amazon).  Doesn't make much sense to build you own budget rig anymore.  I'll still probably build my own next one for me, but, this is the first time I bought a ready made computer in probably 15 years.  

 
can someone direct me to a pre built setup that will play the new games....say i have around 1200 to spend...

not smart enuff and not enuff time to actually build something....

tia...

 

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