Tech Gaming Hardware discussion (& Hardware Sales) thread

[jefferz]

Picked this up. Wow. I had no idea a DAC would make this much difference. Thanks for the recommendation. Paired with Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro.

The amp in it makes more of a difference but yeah, they can make a hell of a difference especially with high independence head phones.

 

[ToxicShocker]

I took the heatsink off, reapplied thermalpaste, slapped the heatsink back on and the bios said temperature warning... The heatsink clamps are weird and it wasn't fully seated.

Redid it a second time and idle temps are 49c, gaming was 75, Norton fullscan 80%cpu is 84 degrees. I thought I'd try a better load tester so I downloaded Aida64 and that ran a true 100% The CPU hit 92-96 degrees.

Let it cool back to idle for 5 seconds and hopped in game. No stutters with 4k settings 16xAF, 8xAA. 245 FPS!

Something I've never noticed before; The CPU which is stock and not overclocked rises from the listed 3.4 ghz to ~4.10 ghz when loads get real high. Task manager also showed CPU load as 115% several times.

 

[Madmick]

I took the heatsink off, reapplied thermalpaste, slapped the heatsink back on and the bios said temperature warning... The heatsink clamps are weird and it wasn't fully seated.

Redid it a second time and idle temps are 49c, gaming was 75, Norton fullscan 80%cpu is 84 degrees. I thought I'd try a better load tester so I downloaded Aida64 and that ran a true 100% The CPU hit 92-96 degrees.

Let it cool back to idle for 5 seconds and hopped in game. No stutters with 4k settings 16xAF, 8xAA. 245 FPS!

Something I've never noticed before; The CPU which is stock and not overclocked rises from the listed 3.4 ghz to ~4.10 ghz when loads get real high. Task manager also showed CPU load as 115% several times.

Those are the turbo boosts. The max turbo is 3.9GHz, but maybe with the latest 2020 drivers, they're working some of their 3.0 magic to spike the top core above its original specification for very brief periods. If your gaming loads stay under 75C, and you don't run any kind of synthetic workload too often, I'd say you're good, since you obviously won't be running stress tests like AIDA or Powermax regularly, but that's still unfavorably high. I will still entreat you to get yourself a better cooler.

Unfortunately, you missed the Amazon sale, I'm assuming it lingered from Prime Day, because the EVO shot up $10 since I posted last night.

 

[jefferz]

Those are the turbo boosts. The max turbo is 3.9GHz, but maybe with the latest 2020 drivers, they're working some of their 3.0 magic to spike the top core above its original specification for very brief periods. If your gaming loads stay under 75C, and you don't run any kind of synthetic workload too often, I'd say you're good, since you obviously won't be running stress tests like AIDA or Powermax regularly, but that's still unfavorably high. I will still entreat you to get yourself a better cooler.

Unfortunately, you missed the Amazon sale, I'm assuming it lingered from Prime Day, because the EVO shot up $10 since I posted last night.

Gammax 400 is $25

 

[Madmick]

Gammax 400 is $25

Yeah, always the best option under $30. Tried and tested. Just disappointing to miss that Hyper 212 EVO sale. Slightly better.

The other ones I mentioned are more obscure, less proven options outside perhaps the Thermalright True Spirit 140 Direct. Though if one steps up to this $50 range, it's tough to argue against the Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. B. It's the monster ruling the sub-$50 class.

 

[ToxicShocker]

I dunno if its worth upgrading now. Ill monitor the temps and see if they go high again. Presumably the sole failure was the 7 year old paste bond.

I'll start watching the thread and see if I can piece together a top of the line system since the manufacturers are all delayed.

Whatever is stopping the 3090 restock may put a damper on that plan.

Thank God I didn't fall for the 2080 like a jabroni a few months ago

 

[jefferz]

Yeah, always the best option under $30. Tried and tested. Just disappointing to miss that Hyper 212 EVO sale. Slightly better.

The other ones I mentioned are more obscure, less proven options outside perhaps the Thermalright True Spirit 140 Direct. Though if one steps up to this $50 range, it's tough to argue against the Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. B. It's the monster ruling the sub-$50 class.

I used a Hyper 212 for 7+ years but after awhile the plastic bracket that holds the fan to the cooler finally broke. When I contacted Cooler Master, I couldn't buy just the brackets. I had to buy the accessory kit which is $20+. At that price you may as well just buy a new cooler.
$20 for this is a rip off

I switched to the Enermax ETS-T40F and when I went to install it, I dropped a screw and lost it. When I contacted Enermax support to purchase a replacement, they sent me out a kit free of charge.

It's too bad Cryorig got hit with the tariffs, they used to be a great bang for the buck.

For $5 more than the Scythe Mugen, you can pick up the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240mm for $55.
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/891730-cpu-cooler-performance-tier-list/

 

[Madmick]

I dunno if its worth upgrading now. Ill monitor the temps and see if they go high again. Presumably the sole failure was the 7 year old paste bond.

I'll start watching the thread and see if I can piece together a top of the line system since the manufacturers are all delayed.

Whatever is stopping the 3090 restock may put a damper on that plan.

Thank God I didn't fall for the 2080 like a jabroni a few months ago

It would definitely be ideal to get those peak temps down. Ambient temps are always a major factor to results, and I'm pretty sure every reliable tester out there works in a exquisitely air-conditioned office, most in or around the bay area and Silicon Valley, but despite assuming excellent ambient environments, even CPUs that run much hotter than your old Ivy League i7, even aggressively overclocked to 5GHz+ across all cores, even running the most merciless stress tests, don't hit anywhere close to 93C in testing.

You haven't specified your cooler, but $25 isn't a serious cost. Besides, you can always transfer the CPU cooler you buy now to a future build. Air coolers don't really wear out. It's a hunk of metal that absorbs heat. This is where the above concerns Jeff raises about the peripheral attachment pieces becomes relevant if you want to maximize a cooler's longevity while also maximizing your thrift. New fan, new thermal paste, voila! It's like a brand new cooler. So this is why spending a bit more for better performance, perhaps overkill now, might behoove you. Alternatively, you could always pay the premium for the best, get a Noctua NH-D15, and don't neglect to register that 10-year warranty. This is one of the greatest and somewhat hidden advantages of that premium. Almost every other CPU cooler out there has a warranty of 2 years or less. Very rare to see even 3yr-5yr warranties.

Liquid cooling is more complicated, with more upkeep issues and potential compatibility issues, plus a higher initial cost, which is why I eschewed it, but it's also an option.

 

[jefferz]

I've been trying to remember where I seen Cooler Master advertising how many Hyper 212's it has sold and I finally found it, Computex 2018. That's a lot of coolers.

 

[jefferz]

 

[Madmick]

Evga selling b stock cards right now if you don’t care for refurb or blemish, just got a 2080 super black for 450 bucks. Got sick of trying to cop a used 1080ti for under 350.

Fuck me, well done, sir.

 

[Drain Bamage]

I used a Hyper 212 for 7+ years but after awhile the plastic bracket that holds the fan to the cooler finally broke. When I contacted Cooler Master, I couldn't buy just the brackets. I had to buy the accessory kit which is $20+/QUOTE]

Yeah those brackets suck you could also use tape or super glue to hold the fan there

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

Is it still bad to mix ram sticks of different make and speed?

If so on speed, is the benefit of more speed more than outweigh size?

LIke is it better to have 16gb at 3200mhz than 32 gb at 2400mhz?

 

[method115]

Is it still bad to mix ram sticks of different make and speed?

If so on speed, is the benefit of more speed more than outweigh size?

LIke is it better to have 16gb at 3200mhz than 32 gb at 2400mhz?

I think 16 would be better. I don’t think I ever go over 16gb of ram.

 

[TestosterOWN]

Fuck me, well done, sir.

They keep having the bstock sales too. Reddit posted it again yesterday but they go OOS pretty quick.

also that i9-9900k is a steal god damn. Wish I had a micro center near me.

 

[jefferz]

Is it still bad to mix ram sticks of different make and speed?

If so on speed, is the benefit of more speed more than outweigh size?

LIke is it better to have 16gb at 3200mhz than 32 gb at 2400mhz?

Personally I'd rather have the 32gb of 2400 vs the 16gb 3200mhz. I'm a firm believer that if you have a Ryzen 5 or Intel i5 you should be running 32gb, especially at these price. 16gb can be had for around $60 these days. Wait until next paycheck to pick your additional 16gb, mow some lawns, sell a couple of your porcelain clown collectibles, etc.
This depends on the games you're running as well. Of course if you're just playing DOTA or other "esports" titles you don't need 32gb. But games like COD Warzone, Division 2, or Borderlands 3 will use all 16gb and hit the page file. This is even more enhanced if you have a second monitor running Youtube, Discord, etc. This is one of those instances where benchmarks don't tell the whole story. If you're continually bouncing off that page file, frame pacing will suffer.

 

[method115]

Personally I'd rather have the 32gb of 2400 vs the 16gb 3200mhz. I'm a firm believer that if you have a Ryzen 5 or Intel i5 you should be running 32gb, especially at these price. 16gb can be had for around $60 these days. Wait until next paycheck to pick your additional 16gb, mow some lawns, sell a couple of your porcelain clown collectibles, etc.
This depends on the games you're running as well. Of course if you're just playing DOTA or other "esports" titles you don't need 32gb. But games like COD Warzone, Division 2, or Borderlands 3 will use all 16gb and hit the page file. This is even more enhanced if you have a second monitor running Youtube, Discord, etc. This is one of those instances where benchmarks don't tell the whole story. If you're continually bouncing off that page file, frame pacing will suffer.

Wow I had no idea those games were using so much ram. Guess I’ll go ahead and upgrade to 32.

 

[Swing]

The nearest Best Buy is like an hour and a half from me, but I'm nearby today because my car is getting routine maintenance at the dealership. I'm just gonna walk in with my fingers crossed and see if a 3080 is present. When it's not I'll go stare at the Blu-rays for like a minute, and then I'll leave in a huff.

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

Would any of you know which format of storage is more durable/safer?

I.e. if I wanted a non-cloud back up of data of important stuff that I wanted to keep forever, locked away in a drawer somewhere, and not ever have the data corrupted on disk, am I better off using an SD Card/micro SD Card or a USB flash drive, or an external Solid State Drive.

Any advice on which is the best bet?

 

[Slobodan]

Would any of you know which format of storage is more durable/safer?

I.e. if I wanted a non-cloud back up of data of important stuff that I wanted to keep forever, locked away in a drawer somewhere, and not ever have the data corrupted on disk, am I better off using an SD Card/micro SD Card or a USB flash drive, or an external Solid State Drive.

Any advice on which is the best bet?

They all use solid state storage so I wouldn't think it would matter too much.

I have an old SD card from 2008 that still works and has all my files on there. I have only checked on it a handful of times in the past decade, last time was a few weeks ago.