Tech Gaming Hardware discussion (& Hardware Sales) thread

[Madmick]

The Nvidia Shield TV is on sale for $140 on Black Friday & Cyber Monday
But the best deal is the one that includes the controller for just $20 more which has also been marked down $40 via Amazon (to $160):
https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Shiel...-20&ascsubtag=pcg-2615185724150111957-20&th=1

This remains the best HTPC and emulation station that isn't a Linux/Windows PC itself:
Just got an NVIDIA Shield...any tips?

*Edit* It briefly dropped to $119 on Cyber Monday.

 

[Concrete]

Any good external HDD deals today? I don't know which deals to trust, and which were just marked up a few days ago so they can say the prices have dropped. A 1TB HDD is what I'm looking for, preferably that doesn't need its own power source.

 

[Madmick]

Any good external HDD deals today? I don't know which deals to trust, and which were just marked up a few days ago so they can say the prices have dropped. A 1TB HDD is what I'm looking for, preferably that doesn't need its own power source.

They usually call those "portable" HDDs.

$80 ($199 MSRP, -$120)
4TB WD Easystore Portable + 32GB USB flash drive
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-eas...dc2f19411e894e53e8a4a86d54f0INT&skuId=6290668

$45 ($52 MSRP, -$7)
1TB Toshiba Canvio Basics
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079D359S6/ref=twister_B07BC45H1X?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

 

[goronsaki]

Amazon selling faulty ps4 controllers I even called and got a replacement it doesn't sync to my ps4 pro just charges never had this problem before. Fuck amazon

 

[90 50]

Amazon selling faulty ps4 controllers I even called and got a replacement it doesn't sync to my ps4 pro just charges never had this problem before. Fuck amazon

Xbox controller > ps controller
They were trying to do you a favor

 

[Plissken]

Any good buys on NvMe SSD's? Looking for a good price on a Samsung 970 Pro 512 GB. So far best I've seen is $178. Would settle for a 970 EVO 500 GB.

 

[Madmick]

Any good buys on NvMe SSD's? Looking for a good price on a Samsung 970 Pro 512 GB. So far best I've seen is $178. Would settle for a 970 EVO 500 GB.

The best price I saw on any proper NVMe or PCIe class SSD this month from the major retailers (without a discount or rebate) was $89.99 for a 500GB unit, by Crucial IIRC, on Cyber Monday. Otherwise, the deals on BF/CM mostly paled in comparison to those running up in the two weeks prior.

Just saw a sale on the gold standard, but it's already sold out. As it so happens, though, if you've never bought before using Google Express, you are eligible for the 20% off (up to $20) deal on their platform. Best Buy is currently offering the Samsung 970 EVO m.2 NVMe 500GB drive on their for $20, so the drive is $99.99 after the discount, but this one was gone in less than a day:
https://express.google.com/u/0/prod...607853260445515_8352592323560827089_125181302
But Slickdeals flags all of these Express deals, so it's worth watching if you want to beat the rest of Reddit before it trends, and snag the next big sale on a highly in-demand SSD like the Samsung:
https://slickdeals.net/deals/ssd/

As you can see, right now, your best bet right now entails going with an HP (from the manufacturer) via eBay-- $75 for a 500GB unit:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-EX900-M...D-Internal-Solid-State-Drive-SSD/292510736330

Problem is this is a DRAM-less unit, so it's not quite up to par with 970 EVO or the other top NVME units with the endurance concerns. Nevertheless, it has an HMB, so the performance gap is partly bridged. Solid review from Tom's Hardware here:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hp-ex900-ssd,5531.html

Bludgeons the hell out of any SATA-class SSD:

 

[Slobodan]

Xbox controller > ps controller
They were trying to do you a favor

I bought a red Xbox controller, been playing Mortal Kombat with it

 

[jefferz]

The FSP Windale 6 blue led version in on sale for $35
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIABP95N94691&ignorebbr=1

Spoiler: temps charts

 

[method115]

Xbox controller > ps controller
They were trying to do you a favor

I can use either controller but the xbox controller still using batteries is fucking embarrassing.

 

[90 50]

I can use either controller but the xbox controller still using batteries is fucking embarrassing.

Meh, the recharge me battery kits can be had for under ten bucks on sale for two controllers.

The upside is, if the battery dies and you sit to far back to have it plugged in and charging to play it, I can pop double a’s in and keep playing while the battery charges on the side.

 

[90 50]

LOL,

Mods to let you play original console cd’s on a PC!!

So the question is, they were at one time working on a console to sell that would play all old style console cd games, would you have bought this?

Anywho, I’m trying to fix my Sega cd/32x and I find this. I have two old broken pc’s in the attic with disk drives in them.

Fixing ONE of those, might be something to do now with this software.

And can get super cheap old games on disks at thrift stores etc.

Anyway, thought this was cool.

Enjoy.

 

[GSP_37]

I might buy that since it's easier to replace a computer disc drive than a PS3 laser rack.

I'd rather be able to make my own disc image after showing proof of purchase somehow and play off of the disc image instead of reading from laser each time.

 

[90 50]

The FSP Windale 6 blue led version in on sale for $35
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIABP95N94691&ignorebbr=1

Spoiler: temps charts

I don’t know why but that reminds me of a Borg ship everytime I see it?

 

[Madmick]

AMD Ryzen 3000 Series To Feature Support on X570 Chipset Based AM4 Boards – Allegedly The First Platform To Support PCIe 4.0, Launching at Computex 2019

AMD X570 PCH For AM4 Platform and Next-Gen Ryzen 3000 Series CPUs Allegedly Leak Out – The First Consumer Platform To Support PCIe Gen 4.0
In one slide that was allegedly presented by Gigabyte, it is mentioned that Matisse, the codename for the upcoming Ryzen family, will be getting a new chipset known as the X570. The entire Ryzen family of processors is forward compatibility with the new chipset while the new processors will be backward compatible with the older chipsets but if you’re to get the best feature support from the new Ryzen CPUs, it is better to get a new X570 motherboard.

Not that we need it. PCIe isn't even remotely close to bottlenecking the RTX 2080 Ti.

AMD Zen 2 – More Than Just a Frequency / IPC Bump
Most people think that Zen 2 is nothing more than a generational Frequency / IPC bump. That is a very wrong assumption as Zen 2 as an architecture is entirely overhauled. The jump from Zen to Zen+ was one incremental step, the jump from Zen+ to Zen 2 aims to be a revolutionary step. Yes, the rumors claim that the IPC improvement and higher clock speeds are there. They also mention that those are higher than expected on very early engineering samples. This shows that final retail samples could be more than 15% IPC jump versus what we have been hearing for a while. But it doesn’t end here.



Zen 2 is also aiming to fix and improve upon the memory controller by reducing the memory delay and allowing better support for higher frequency, lower latency memory. This is great considering the consumer PCs already have access to fast memory but it is also crucial for the server market, which currently relies on higher bandwidth access directly from the system memory. EPYC ‘Napes’ disrupted the performance charts with stellar bandwidth increases and reducing delay could get it up to speed with competitive Xeon platforms too.

The other thing being talked about is AVX support. It is said that Zen 2 won’t support AVX-512 but will definitely get AVX performance enhancement compared to what Zen 1 can do right now. The clock speeds also get a huge jump, thanks to both, the TSMC 7nm node and revamped architecture design and one can also expect refined boost frequencies, allowing for higher XFR and Precision Boost limits.

 

[90 50]

AMD Ryzen 3000 Series To Feature Support on X570 Chipset Based AM4 Boards – Allegedly The First Platform To Support PCIe 4.0, Launching at Computex 2019

Not that we need it. PCIe isn't even remotely close to bottlenecking the RTX 2080 Ti.

Curious to see what kind of clock speeds they will be getting..

 

[Madmick]

Curious to see what kind of clock speeds they will be getting..

The motherboard architecture isn't a major factor in determining that (the power delivery system is what determines which MoBos overclock better). The CPU architecture is. So it will depend on Zen2.

The only reason this became an issue at an architectural level for Intel was because the core expansion increased the TDP of the 8th & 9th gen CPUs, and there wasn't enough pins in the earlier MoBo designs to support stable delivery to meet those increased energy demands (or so Intel says). As the post I made in the PC thread last night highlights, though, this doesn't inhibit overclocking at all. The Finnish OCer hit 5.5 GHz on a lidded, liquid-cooled 9900K using the older Z170 motherboard. The problem was this may have overburdened the VRM, and perhaps this was because too much power was surging through the mode of delivery on the older board (because there was less heat dispersion without the additional pins, or lack of spread in the surface area output). I don't know. The OC community on Reddit seemed convinced Intel forced the MoBo update to make more money.

Dissecting the Modern Motherboard: Connectors, Ports & Chipsets Explained

 

[90 50]

The motherboard architecture isn't a major factor in determining that (the power delivery system is what determines which MoBos overclock better). The CPU architecture is. So it will depend on Zen2.

The only reason this became an issue at an architectural level for Intel was because the core expansion increased the TDP of the 8th & 9th gen CPUs, and there wasn't enough pins in the earlier MoBo designs to support stable delivery to meet those increased energy demands (or so Intel says). As the post I made in the PC thread last night highlights, though, this doesn't inhibit overclocking at all. The Finnish OCer hit 5.5 GHz on a lidded, liquid-cooled 9900K using the older Z170 motherboard. The problem was this may have overburdened the VRM, and perhaps this was because too much power was surging through the mode of delivery on the older board (because there was less heat dispersion without the additional pins, or lack of spread in the surface area output). I don't know. The OC community on Reddit seemed convinced Intel forced the MoBo update to make more money.

Dissecting the Modern Motherboard: Connectors, Ports & Chipsets Explained

Yeah I get all that, was just wondering what clock speeds would be achievable with the new zen series since they mentioned higher clocks.

But no mention of how much higher.

 

[Strychnine]

I can use either controller but the xbox controller still using batteries is fucking embarrassing.

https://smile.amazon.com/Panasonic-...r=8-7&keywords=eneloop+rechargeable+batteries

I have one of these and it's a game changer. I always have batteries now.

 

[90 50]

https://smile.amazon.com/Panasonic-...r=8-7&keywords=eneloop+rechargeable+batteries

I have one of these and it's a game changer. I always have batteries now.

Got this set on sale for 10.00, works perfect.

Can charge the battery in or out of the controller.

https://www.target.com/p/play-and-c...BD8ssLHOVysgUjEvSMwaAin-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds