Tech Gaming Hardware discussion (& Hardware Sales) thread

[90 50]

In other news intels shareholders want to grab stock at drop prices, nowing it will rebound and grab them at a discount.

FUCK YOU INTEL

 

[JaviBrewski]

So I've been debating buying a 1700x. I was set on the 2600 but when Micro Center prices their 1700x, and the fact I live close to one (relatively) has me going back and forth. Are the 2 cores and 4 threads a significant difference?? Every review of the two states they're pretty much the same.

If it helps I'll be playing and streaming.

 

[90 50]

So I've been debating buying a 1700x. I was set on the 2600 but when Micro Center prices their 1700x, and the fact I live close to one (relatively) has me going back and forth. Are the 2 cores and 4 threads a significant difference?? Every review of the two states they're pretty much the same.

If it helps I'll be playing and streaming.

I’m debating the exact same thing right now.

With streaming at the same time the 1700x might be the way to go. But maybe not.

 

[jefferz]

So I've been debating buying a 1700x. I was set on the 2600 but when Micro Center prices their 1700x, and the fact I live close to one (relatively) has me going back and forth. Are the 2 cores and 4 threads a significant difference?? Every review of the two states they're pretty much the same.

If it helps I'll be playing and streaming.

Keep in mind the 1700x doesn't come with a cooler. The 2600 does come with a cooler, but you can't overclock on it. A cheap Cooler Master Hyper 212, Gammax 400, or equivalent cooler can be found for around $20-$25 which is sufficient.
Going with the 1700x means you're giving up a little of clock speed, it's about 6%, but I think the extra 2/4 cores will give you a longer time before you upgrade. I really think that we'll start to see more games programmed for more than 4 cores in the near future.

 

[JaviBrewski]

Looks like Newegg is offering the Ryzen 5 2600x for the lowest you can find it at $179.99. There goes another kink in my choices lol.

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-ryzen-5-2600x-processor-is-dollar50-off-right-now/

 

[rob mafia]

https://www.microcenter.com/product...-am4-boxed-processor-with-wraith-spire-cooler

$169 with cooler

 

[jefferz]

Looks like Newegg is offering the Ryzen 5 2600x for the lowest you can find it at $179.99. There goes another kink in my choices lol.

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-ryzen-5-2600x-processor-is-dollar50-off-right-now/

Only difference between the 2600 and 2600x is a slight bump in stock clock speeds. They'll both overclock to the same number and perform the same. Save the $20 and buy the Ryzen 5 2600. Personally I'd buy the Ryzen 7 1700x for $149.
When it comes to Ryzen overclocking, it's really easy.

 

[Madmick]

Cliffs:
R7-1700X@$150 >> R5-2600@$160
R7-1700X@$150 > R5-2600X@$170

So I've been debating buying a 1700x. I was set on the 2600 but when Micro Center prices their 1700x, and the fact I live close to one (relatively) has me going back and forth. Are the 2 cores and 4 threads a significant difference?? Every review of the two states they're pretty much the same.

If it helps I'll be playing and streaming.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XBCJMZ
The cooler-less 1700X from Newegg for $149 is (along with recent $129 sales for the R7-1700) the best value we've ever seen on a CPU for an online sale, and the Hyper 212 LED is just $24.95 at several sites, which is identical to the bestselling aftermarket cooler in existence, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, except that it comes with a Red LED fan, but even more attractively because you don't have to fit the AM4 adapters before fixing it to your motherboard. It's one of Cooler Master's only coolers that comes with AM4 compatibility out-of-the-box:
http://www.coolermaster.com/amd-am4-ryzen-compatability/en/
The Hyper 212 EVO has dominated the market from a standard price of $29.99 for the past several years, so this is another $5 chopped off. You can actually get the R7-1700X from Newegg via eBay, too, if you want the benefit of also enjoying their buyer protections at an identical price (Newegg takes the hit by having to share their profits with eBay, after all, and they're not passing that onto the customer):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/302242007237

The 2 cores and 4 threads are not a major difference for gaming, but if clocked to the same frequency, the 1700X will be an outright superior gaming processor. It has more overall horsepower in reserve, so it will hang on longer going forward to meet hard requirements for games moving forward as on game debate. For example, to this day, you still see the old (8 core) FX-8350 listed for the most demanding games. The (6 core) FX-6350 taps out. It lost relevancy first.

You can see how this shows up in the UserBenchmark:
UserBenchmark: R7-1700 vs. R5-2600
UserBenchmark: R7-1700 vs. R5-2600X
1700X is just 2% better in their "Effective Speed" score. That about as accurate a measurement as we've ever gotten for gaming performance capability out-of-the-box. However, notice under "Average User Bench" the "MC Mixed" (i.e. Multicore Mixed) scores below. That tells you total raw horsepower. There you see the R7-1700X is 27% superior. That is where streaming and multitasking capability shines. This is the heart of that future-proofing resiliency.

So long as you buy any motherboard type except A320 (i.e. B350, B450, X370, X470) you will be able to overclock either of these processors. Do be aware that overclocking almost invariably voids warranty. Two main difference between first gen Ryzen processors vs. 2nd Gen processors:
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/577/AMD_Ryzen_5_2600_vs_AMD_Ryzen_7_1700X.html
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/665/AMD_Ryzen_5_2600X_vs_AMD_Ryzen_7_1700X.html

1. 2nd Gen Ryzen is natively designed to harness & benefit from faster RAM speeds (DDR4-2933 vs. DDR4-2666)
   
2. 2nd Gen Ryzen tends to hit the "overclock wall" at 4.2GHz-4.3GHz whereas 1st Gen Ryzen tends to hit the overclock wall at 4.0GHz-4.1GHz

That higher frequency is desirable for gaming. If an R7-1700 is overclocked to the same frequency as an R7-1700X they are identical. If an R5-2600 is clocked to a higher frequency than the R7-1700X it will perform better in some (not all) games.

With most processor lines, you would expect the better processor to be able to overclock just a wee bit higher because it is "binned" better; this means after fabrication they culled the better performing chips of the same blueprint design from in-factory testing, gave those the "1700X" designation, clocked them higher out of the factory, and charged more for them. This is mostly nullified by the low OC wall for Ryzen processors of the same generation, but Ryzen 2nd gen have that higher OC wall than 1st gen Ryzen.

Nevertheless, if you study the UserBenchmark comparison above, you'll notice this doesn't show up in the absolute score for the R5-2600. You can see this under "Peak Overclocked Bench" (the best overclocked score of anybody who ran the benchmark with either processor). The best overclocked R7-1700X actually gained more performance than the best overclocekd R5-2600 over their stock scores.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Anyone else remember, around 8 to 10 years ago, all the hype around mineral oil filled computers?

Sounded awesome at the time.

 

[Minnja]

Looking to get a 4k TV for my PS4 Pro.

Currently I am using a 32' Vizio TV, not sure of the exact specs as it was a gift but it is not 4k. I don't need anything much larger but I also don't want to go smaller either. I'd like to get something $500 or less if possible. This will be mainly used for console gaming purposes so I prefer something that has limited input lag although I know that many monitors/TVs will have some. Anyone have any recommendations?

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsun...rt-4k-uhd-tv-with-hdr/6288348.p?skuId=6288348

I'm taking a look at that and with my very limited knowledge of TVs it seems like a good deal and it says it

"
Game Mode
Get a leg up on the competition, thanks to an optimized gaming experience with minimal input lag.
"

 

[KaNesDeath]

Looking to get a 4k TV for my PS4 Pro.

Ohh, been looking for a reason to post this:

 

[Madmick]

Ohh, been looking for a reason to post this:

Caught this in my YouTube feed a few days ago. Bit of a Titanic headline, and one that also needs a slight correction: 4K PC Gaming is Dumb.

This was the consensus already reached by the PC gaming community in May 2016 when the GTX 10 series was released, and we realized (except for the increasingly rarer games where SLI is supported) that there still isn't even enough GPU horsepower to drive a 4K display at desirable framerates for the more challenging games. Unfortunately, the RTX series didn't materially change that 2 1/2 years later. Still, that's only true for games that don't support SLI, or that are highly demanding. The vast majority of games aren't.

However, I was a bit disappointed that he is stacking up a 4K 60Hz monitor against a 1440p 144Hz monitor in November, 2018. Supposedly, this is video is intended to assess the question through the prism of whether or not you have an unlimited budget (as he said). So why isn't he using the below monitors for the 4K setup? I understand that the video is more relevant to the widespread market reality of 4K monitors and actual gaming setups, but if you set a hypothetical where you dismiss budget concerns, then you should stick to it. For 4K 27" is scraping the floor, but if you sit close enough, the average human eye can resolve the difference according to the charts describing that average:
G-SYNC HDR 4K 144Hz Monitors Available Now From Acer and ASUS (August 1, 2018)

With these monitors you get 4K display resolutions at up to 144Hz, 1,000 nits of peak brightness, DCI P3- color, 384-zone controllable backlights, a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, Quantum Dot Enhancement Film, and of course, G-SYNC variable refresh rate technology.

• ($1,799) Acer Predator X27
  
• ($1,796) ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ

We're still waiting on those NVIDIA BFGD 65" displays to actually become available on the market. They'll probably end up getting to the market before a GPU that is really capable to drive them:
BIG FORMAT GAMING DISPLAYS

Still, the further we stray from theory, and into realities, the more complicated this question becomes. Competitive FPS gamers don't give a shit how the game looks. Last I checked pro pages I was seeing 1080p screens, some that that nerf the resolution scale 70%, and some that even use 720p outright. Some play with 4:3 aspect ratios, stretched aspect ratios, or even play with black bars.

They used mixed graphical settings to nerf eye candy that isn't conducive to a competitive advantage despite how it looks. To almost all of us these setups are also "stupid". The guys who don't game competitively, or who don't play games where you're constantly spinning around like ballerinas, and there is more emphasis on cutscenes and ambience, for example Ori and the Blind Forest or Metal Gear or Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, those gamers might prefer the higher resolution at the lower framerate, especially if they are on a larger screen.

Furthermore, for console gamers, who are always going to be locked to 60fps maximum, what the hell is learned by comparing a 1440p@144Hz monitor to a 4K@60Hz monitor? Comparing stills and slow-moving videos his staff all picked the 4K monitor as the best, and that's with 27" monitors. Most console guys game on TVs. Compare Forza with that super-smooth 27" 1440p screen to a 77" LG C8 OLED running on an Xbox One X, and your deck will be just as stacked.

Generally speaking, anyone sane will concur with Linus, and I appreciate what he is doing, but in its own way, this video is a bit misleading.

 

[Minnja]

Not gonna watch the video yet as I’m at work but this is for console gaming. I have a PC and separate monitors for that (probably looking into upgrading those in the future). I do play fighting games and multiplayer games on console so minimal input lag is preferred but as mentioned I’m already playing on a 32’ that I’m fairly certain probably has some input lag to it. I’m likely not going to be entering any tournaments so as long as the input lag and frames aren’t THAT bad I can live with something that isn’t the best.

So yeah, basically I’m just trying to upgrade my TV for console gaming and movie watching.

 

[jefferz]

Anyone else remember, around 8 to 10 years ago, all the hype around mineral oil filled computers?

Sounded awesome at the time.

A lawsuit ended that fad. Someone got a patent and sued everyone that tried to offer a kit.
Derbauer has shown systems submerged in 3M Novec fluid.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

A lawsuit ended that fad. Someone got a patent and sued everyone that tried to offer a kit.
Derbauer has shown systems submerged in 3M Novec fluid.

That's a shame.

I loved the concept, and the overclocking would have been great. But I never liked the idea of putting in fans, that were meant to blow air, to move around thick mineral oil.

Hopefully some big corporation will buy out the patent one day.

 

[jefferz]

That's a shame.

I loved the concept, and the overclocking would have been great. But I never liked the idea of putting in fans, that were meant to blow air, to move around thick mineral oil.

Hopefully some big corporation will buy out the patent one day.

I never paid enough attention to them to know if there's any benefits to overclocking or not. It looks like it would be a mess for maintenance.


Cheapest I've found Novec fluid online is about $300 a gallon.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Cheapest I've found Novec fluid online is about $300 a gallon.

That's disgusting. I'm sure mineral oil would do just as good of a job if they adjusted their components to use it.

 

[jefferz]

That's disgusting. I'm sure mineral oil would do just as good of a job if they adjusted their components to use it.

3M Novec doesn't leave a film like mineral oil, it behaves like water. Pull the part out of the Novec, give it a couple shakes, and it's dry.

 

[KaNesDeath]

I do play fighting games and multiplayer games on console so minimal input lag is preferred but as mentioned I’m already playing on a 32’ that I’m fairly certain probably has some input lag to it.

Input and display lag are two different things. Both of which consoles have problems with. For the display, controller input device and display adapter used by console gamers arent designed for gaming. 4K TV you want is best used for TV and movies, not gaming.

 

[echohead]

Anyone find a good Xbox/black ops 4 bundle?
I doubt I will play much else other than COD with a few friends so a oneX seems like a waste. Currently I am thinking of getting the battlefield 5 bundle for 220$ and just picking up black ops after.