Tech Gaming Hardware discussion (& Hardware Sales) thread

Madmick said:
The most recent Xbox controller. Easy choice.

It's Xinput, it's designed to integrate natively with Windows software at the OS-level in every conceivable way, like with the Share button, and it comes with Bluetooth by default. You may also purchase the Xbox Wireless Adapter ($25) separately if you want a lower-latency wireless connection (note that it works with Win11, too). Not necessary, but this method also allows you to wirelessly connect up to 8 controllers using the adapter, and for you to connect your headset directly to your controller which is nice if you don't have a wireless headset, or you're sitting far away from your PC, and find it a hassle to wire the headset directly into your PC.
($55 via Microsoft directly) https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/xbox-wireless-controller

It costs more, but you can design your own controller with their Lab ($70+). This includes the option of springing for rubberized side grips and/or back grips, and a personalized engraving:
https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/
Click to expand...
Is there any advantage to getting the Elite or Elite 2? They're like $130.00 - $150.00 on Amazon
 
WhiteMousse said:
Is there any advantage to getting the Elite or Elite 2? They're like $130.00 - $150.00 on Amazon
Click to expand...
Yes, but I just know what I've read anecdotally on here. Apparently it's the best controller you'll ever own, but there is a serious concern with stick drift within 3-6 months. Of course, that might just be a loud minority. It is averaging 4.6* on Amazon (though I think buyers are less likely to revise reviews six months down the road if a product has issues).

It's marked down to $140 from Microsoft directly.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/xbox-elite-wireless-controller-series-2/8rsn7j6375gg
67d28ace-f099-4baf-87cb-0deac6f01fe5.jpg


  • Adjustable tension thumbsticks (thumbstick-adjustment tool included)
  • Shortened trigger locks
  • Wrap-around rubberized grip
  • Customizable buttom mapping not available to standard controllers (ex. you can make one button a "modifier" key like CTRL/ALT/SHIFT on keyboards where it changes the hotkey function of every other key)
  • 40-hr rechargeable battery (2050 mAh vs. 1310 mAh in the Rechargeable Battery accessory for the Xbox Series X controller)
  • Interchangeable Thumbsticks --> Set of 6 thumbsticks: Standard (2), Classic (2), Tall (1), Wide Dome (1)
  • Interchangeable Paddles --------> Set of 4 paddles: Medium (2), Mini (2)
  • Interchangeable D-Pads ---------> Set of 2 D-pads: Standard, Faceted
  • Charging dock included
  • 9' USB-C cable included
  • Carrying case
 
Team Group is releasing a CPU/SSD AIO for some reason.

The T-FORCE SIREN Series All-in-One liquid cooling system allows gamers to solve both CPU and SSD heating issues with an easy installation and helps provide stable operation when both components are under heavy loads, contributing to longer hardware lifespans. Its ARGB dual water block design can also display a wide array of dazzling lights, giving players the freedom to create their own unique, eye-catching PC rig.
0c8be21378b8ef6695a31dccf73b60ca-20220315145702.jpg
 
jefferz said:
Team Group is releasing a CPU/SSD AIO for some reason.

The T-FORCE SIREN Series All-in-One liquid cooling system allows gamers to solve both CPU and SSD heating issues with an easy installation and helps provide stable operation when both components are under heavy loads, contributing to longer hardware lifespans. Its ARGB dual water block design can also display a wide array of dazzling lights, giving players the freedom to create their own unique, eye-catching PC rig.
0c8be21378b8ef6695a31dccf73b60ca-20220315145702.jpg
Click to expand...
soprano-get-the-fuck-outta-here.gif
 
Madmick said:
Yes, but I just know what I've read anecdotally on here. Apparently it's the best controller you'll ever own, but there is a serious concern with stick drift within 3-6 months. Of course, that might just be a loud minority. It is averaging 4.6* on Amazon (though I think buyers are less likely to revise reviews six months down the road if a product has issues).

It's marked down to $140 from Microsoft directly.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/xbox-elite-wireless-controller-series-2/8rsn7j6375gg
67d28ace-f099-4baf-87cb-0deac6f01fe5.jpg


  • Adjustable tension thumbsticks (thumbstick-adjustment tool included)
  • Shortened trigger locks
  • Wrap-around rubberized grip
  • Customizable buttom mapping not available to standard controllers (i.e. you can make one button a "modifier" key like CTRL/ALT/SHIFT on keyboards where it changes the hotkey function of every other key)
  • 40-hr rechargeable battery (2050 mAh vs. 1310 mAh in the Rechargeable Battery accessory for the Xbox Series X controller)
  • Carrying case
  • Interchangeable Thumbsticks --> Set of 6 thumbsticks: Standard (2), Classic (2), Tall (1), Wide Dome (1)
  • Interchangeable Paddles --------> Set of 4 paddles: Medium (2), Mini (2)
  • Interchangeable D-Pads ---------> Set of 2 D-pads: Standard, Faceted
  • Charging dock
  • 9' USB-C cable included
Click to expand...


I really want this now. You shouldn't have shared lol.
 
Last edited:
PEB said:
There are more sources I found them at other sources. Just posting the availability has improved as well as price. Point is the prices are coming back to earth seen now 3080's for under 1,000. Not here but looking around will find it.

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce...cphy=9001946&hvtargid=pla-1638452549739&psc=1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
Click to expand...
Top link: $1309.
Bottom Link: $1199 (from a seller with 28 total reviews).

I'm posting this reply within an hour of you sharing these links.
 
Yeah the cheapest used 3080 on Ebay is still almost $900 and the cheapest one at MC is $1280.
 
My Spot said:
Yeah the cheapest used 3080 on Ebay is still almost $900 and the cheapest one at MC is $1280.
Click to expand...
I fully expect the closer Intel's GPU release the cheaper it will become. I remember used 3080's selling for over 1,700 on ebay.
 
I'm looking for a W11 PC. Disappointed most high ends still have some USB 2.0.
Also almost none have a CD rom drive. I do like them HDD slots in the front.

The ranking system for the NVidea 3000 series videocards is not clear to me.
Is 3090 or 3090 TI the highest model ?

My current 1080 Ti FE has 11 GB RAM.
Most I see have 8 GB
 
Joe_Armstrong said:
I'm looking for a W11 PC. Disappointed most high ends still have some USB 2.0.
Also almost none have a CD rom drive. I do like them HDD slots in the front.

The ranking system for the NVidea 3000 series videocards is not clear to me.
Is 3090 or 3090 TI the highest model ?

My current 1080 Ti FE has 11 GB RAM.
Most I see have 8 GB
Click to expand...
I would say the 3080 TI is a faster card but overall the 12 gigs of extra ram 3090 can drive more displays at a higher frame rate. The 3080ti gives you faster single screen frame rates just slightly I believe. For majority the 3080ti represents the best performance overall. RTX 3090Ti does not available yet.
 
Just virtually compiled my ideal PC : $ 2800 with a 3070 TI and 32GB RAM
Just an AMD processor was in stock, the 3 5 7 system is the same for AMD as in Intel right ?

I don't see the advantage of large SSD's.
I mean, it only benefits your windows right ?
I always prefer 512 SSD for programs and Windows
And a separate HDD of a few TB's
 
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Joe_Armstrong said:
Just virtually compiled my ideal PC : $ 2800 with a 3070 TI and 32GB RAM
Just an AMD processor was in stock, the 3 5 7 system is the same for AMD as in Intel right ?

I don't see the advantage of large SSD's.
I mean, it only benefits your windows right ?
I always prefer 512 SSD for programs and Windows
And a separate HDD of a few TB's
Click to expand...
Ryzen uses similar numbering as Intel, yes. Ryzen 3, 5, 7, 9 are like Intel's i3, i5, i7, i9.

SSD performance is huge for gaming. They benefit your load times in games. That isn't just launching the game. That's starting back up after a death, or loading up new areas.

In fact, the speed of our drives is going to become more important than ever in coming years. That's because Microsoft just released their DirectStorage API to PC game developers earlier this week. This is a brand new software technology which brings us out of the dark ages. It's the first that truly lets games take advantage of the superior I/O of SSDs. This will affect gameplay, and what is possible for developers to make for us. Things like pop-in will be a thing of the past because the drive will be able to load the 3D world so quickly that even those textures outside a character's current view will be loaded, and so when you approach them, they will appear gradually and organically, they won't pop in suddenly because the drive finally loaded what the video card had already resolved.

A larger SSD will only be incrementally faster than a smaller version of the same drive. For example, the 2TB Samsung 970 EVO is slightly faster than the 1TB, and the 1TB is faster than the 512GB.

You don't need an enormous SSD, but you definitely don't want to play games from an HDD unless they are older, or smaller indie games where the load times don't really matter. You can use HDDs as storage, and then transfer the games to the SSD when you decide to start playing it. Most of the major launchers have tools that make moving games from one drive to another really easy, now.

The general wisdom is that HDDs are for media storage. You want your OS and applications (including games) on an SSD.
 
Neph said:
@Madmick
Apparently some of the shine of the M1 Ultra is coming off:

Click to expand...

No, not at all. We already knew Apple's claims were hyperbolic as I noted in my post from a week and a half ago (ex. claiming 90% higher multicore performance than the 12900K despite that early Geekbench leaks showed it was +50% at best). PC Gamer couldn't help stifle a bit of sarcasm in its headline covering this "surprise". Generally, the negging clickbait was strong yesterday, partly because Apple boasted too strongly, but moreso simply because tech journalists sought to capitalize on the interest the M1 series has drawn. This might be the finest example of a misleading headline:
Appuals: Apple’s New M1 Ultra SoC is Nearly 3 Times Bigger Than an AMD Ryzen CPU But Still Falls Behind Performance Claims
Mac-Studio-FULL-Teardown-M1-Ultra-chip-REVEALED-18-30-screenshot.png


Uh, who cares? The M1 Ultra isn't just a CPU. Glue that 3300X to an RTX 3090 (or an RTX 3050 for that matter) and this size comparison would mean something. Nor does mention of how the M1 Ultra falls short of Apple's exaggerated performance claims tell us anything about its performance respective to the Ryzen CPUs in terms of CPU performance, and its size has no relevance to this assessment, anyway.

I'm actually floored by how well the Mac Pro did in the cross-platform game benchmarks. I expected it to do nearly this well in editing tasks better optimized for parallel processing, though not quite this well, but certainly not gaming. It's nuts. Observe how it fared against a 12900K + RTX 3090:
Apple-M1-Ultra-SOC-Shadow-of-The-Tomb-Raider-Benchmark-Gaming.webp


Know where that puts the gaming performance of the M1 Ultra? Just barely shy of the RTX 3080. That's just one game, because it does more poorly in most if you dig deeper, but it's one where Mac's glaring deficit in optimization isn't holding its hardware back, and it's also one that tests most of the more modern features.

And, again, the key here isn't just performance, but power consumption. Remember the most power the M1 Max pulled even in stress testing (measured by Anandtech) was 92W. Since the M1 Ultra is just two Max's put together, it's reasonable to deduce its peak is roughly double this. That's ~185W. That's far less than the 12900K draws by itself. It's less than half what the RTX 3090 draws.

Furthermore, without regarding power consumption, consider where Apple would have stood in this race in 2019. If you aren't astonished, you're harder to impress than a trash-talking GSP.
 
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