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When using this resource, please read FragKrag's opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly. |
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Hey i'm just about to build a new system to run SC2/Wow/Possible fps's and I was just wondering if I7 processor really worth the extra £100 over an I5? Considering the I7 i'd get is 3.2 GHz 4.8GTs/8MB and the is I5 3.3 GHz 6MB Cache, both quad core, would there be any noticeable difference for gaming/multitabbing? The only reason I can see for getting and I7 is that it would last longer before I had to upgrade again?
I also looked around but I still can't decide between the Radeon HD6790 and the HD 6850, all the tech sites that have tested them with games say that both can handle pretty much all games but the HD6790 is cheaper.
Also would there be a noticeablle difference between 4/6/8GB of RAM?
Thanks in advance!
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Small question regarding a USB setup between 3 devices.
Items: I have 1 PC, 1 TV and 1 external HDD.
I want: To be able to not have to remove the external HDD from my PC and move it to the TV to use it. I want both to be able to use it without unplugging and moving, but using the HDD simultaneous by both isn't possible I believe, that's ok.
(Pressing a button to switch is no problem, neither is plugging out the PC cable and plugging in the TV cable, as long as this can be done from a centralised location i.e. when the cable are next to each other. Unplugging all the cables and moving the HDD is what I want to avoid having to do)
What I've come up with: A USB switch that will allow me to plug in both the PC and the TV in the switch and then the HDD on the other side.
The question: When reading the explanation of those switches it always says "control two pc's with one keyboard" (as an example). However in my setup, I want to have it the other way around. Have both the PC and the TV be able to access the HDD. ("have two PC's control one keyboard", for lack of better words).
Is that possible with the same switch? If I can connect all the cables does it matter which side is which? Like does it make any distinction on which way the information travels?
A follow up question: A USB cable has a maximum length of 5 meters because of signal strength. However I would need to span 10 meters from TV to PC.
What I've come up with is using two 5m cables and putting the switch, or another solution from the previous, in the middle. But that will only work is the switch is powered or something?
So my question is, what do I need to do to make sure I can span the 10 meters.
In addition I've read that you can split a patch/ethernet cable and attack a USB plug to it, but that still doesn't allow the signal to span further than 5 meters.
Thanks a lot for your time 
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5930 Posts
On April 25 2011 19:32 zedest wrote:
Questions and stuff
For gaming, an i7 is not worth it. When the i5 becomes obsolete, so will the i7 because it doesn't honestly perform significantly better. 4GB of RAM is good enough, if you need more in the future just buy another 2x2GB memory kit...of course be sensible about it, if a 8GB memory kit is like $5 more than a 4GB kit there isn't any reason to pick the 4GB kit.
HD6970 is a bit of a nasty deal. While you are saving like $20 Australian dollars, it fairly often givens around ~5-10 minimum FPS less than the HD6850 and is worse than it in all other important areas (power consumption, noise, heat, need for 2x PCIe plugs). Its not a bad card but its a victim of its true nature.
On April 25 2011 21:37 legatus legionis wrote:
Lots of questions
How much do you want to spend. The solution for all of these problems is pretty easy but expensive. I don't think the shared keyboard via anything is possible without adding another software layer (that means you need Mac OS or Windows 7).
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Womwomwom,
20-25 euros. If I can use a generic USB switch it wouldn't be that expensive and the only question outstanding would be the spanning of 10 meters with USB.
What is a possible solution?
I don't want to share the keyboard, I want to share the HDD. And I have no problem toggling manually. All I want is to not have to move the thing when I want to access it from a different device.
I apologize if that comes of harsh and straight to the point but I actually tried writing the response 4 times and I couldn't do it properly because it's near impossible to feel like you didn't read the question.
I thought all the different things added to the layout to improve readability should be enough to avoid any possible confusion.
In pictures:
What I do now:
+ Show Spoiler +
What I want to do:
+ Show Spoiler +
Questions:
What does the (???) need to be?
How do I span 10 meters with USB cables?
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I didn't think it would be necessary to make a separate thread for this, so here goes.
My dad is looking to buy a laptop for work purposes. Let's just call him a "businessman". He won't be using it for any gaming or anything extreme. He wants a laptop with a pretty large screen, around 18-19+ inches. I've found plenty of good 17.3" laptops that would fit his budget, but he'll want a bigger screen than that. He's trying to spend as little as possible, and most of the bigger display laptops I can find are very expensive ~$1000+. We were hoping for $700-800 or so. We don't need a dedicated GPU or anything fancy. 2GB RAM and a decent dual core CPU would suffice. I've looked at NCIX, Amazon, Newegg, TigerDirect, and any other common sites I look though, but I haven't found any good matches. Does anyone have any links or recommendations for us?
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5930 Posts
On April 25 2011 23:57 legatus legionis wrote:
Stuff to reduce space
No, that makes a lot more sense. I noticed what you were saying after reading it again which is why I edited my post out.
Spanning USB cables 10 meters is fairly simple - a USB hub should do this easily and extend the distance by another 5m. Hubs don't manage network traffic at all, they just replicate signals.
A USB hub doesn't manage any traffic so if you want to let two devices have access to the external hard disk, you would need a USB switch. A USB switch, like a Kensington Share Central, would work but (because?) only one device at a time would have access to the hard disk. This means you need to go over to the USB switch and flick switches to allocate who is using what but apparently you're fine with that...
If you're cool flicking switches around, a USB switch + USB hub to increase operation distance should work fine but it doesn't really solve the problem of needing to go to something and move a part of it (which is what confused me, this seems like a bandaid solution than an actual one and it probably going to cost more than your budget).
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United States1654 Posts
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Yes it would just downclock to 1333MHz.
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So I have had the idea of building a gaming desktop to play SC2 and Stream in the back of my head for awhile now. Through this thread and a couple other resources I have compiled a list of common tips. Was hoping someone would be able to tell me if these are false or not.
-i7 processors are not cost-effective for gaming.
-4GB of RAM is more than enough for any game but having 8GB may help with streaming.
-About 1/4th of the budget should be dedicated to the GPU
-the 2500k processor is only neccisary for overclocking
-1600MHz RAM has no large advantage over 1333MHz RAM
Also I have a few questions:
- I have noticed that cases range from ~30$ to ~200$. I know that some are noise dampening but really... is there that large of an improvment?
-As far as PSU's go... How do I know how much wattage I will need to power everything? Does every component list the ammount of power that it requires? Also, if I upgrade later and my PSU's wattage becomes insufficient what happens? Will certain components just not power up?
-Is the SSD kind of like an add-on to the HDD? Can an SSD operate by itself?
-I see that people are asked to note what resolution they are planning to run on. Do certain GPUs only run on certain resolutions or are they just optimized for certain resolutions?
I realize there is a lot of questions here so minimal explanations are fine I am not a complete computer noob (I would consider myself ~gold in SC2 terms) so I should be able to understand a decent ammount of computer jargon.
THANKS in advance!
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-i7 processors are not cost-effective for gaming.
-4GB of RAM is more than enough for any game but having 8GB may help with streaming.
-About 1/4th of the budget should be dedicated to the GPU
-the 2500k processor is only neccisary for overclocking
-1600MHz RAM has no large advantage over 1333MHz RAM
1/4 of the budget is rather arbitrary, but yeah. 8GB helping for streaming...it's not like streaming uses that much memory either, but it's something on top of what you already have to run I guess. It's only $40 more anyway.
Noise-dampening panels help, but the fans and overall construction matter a lot too, not to mention all the noise-producing computer parts inside the case.
For power supplies, you can estimate what you need based on what parts you're using. When a good power supply becomes insufficient, it will just turn itself off under heavy load that exceeds what it can do (and your computer will cut off). Ideally it turns itself off at a range where it is still operating in specification, which is not the situation for a lot of otherwise decent budget units.
SSD is functionally the same as a HDD, at least from a high-level perspective. It is just another storage device like an HDD. You can read and write data to it, and when your computer turns off, the data on it remains. It's just that the performance characteristics are a lot different--SSDs are orders of magnitude better at accessing some data quickly. It depends on the models, but SSDs are generally comparable to HDDs in larger sequential transfers.
All modern GPUs output a wide range of resolutions including whatever it is your monitor might be. They're not optimized for resolutions. It's just that there is more data to process at higher resolutions and more computations required, particularly when rendering 3D stuff like games, so a more powerful GPU is needed to run a higher resolution (at the same performance level). For just normal desktop use, a low-end GPU is enough to handle multiple high-resolution monitors.
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Are these RAM okay for the sandy bridge motherboard (http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-PC3-10666-240-Pin-Memory-CMX8GX3M2A1333C9/dp/B003N8GVUY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303583827&sr=1-1) or should i get the corsair vengeance just to be safe?
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On April 26 2011 06:53 skyR wrote:
Yes those will work but why not buy from Newegg? Atm, you get 15% off memory with promo code DM15AP11US.
because I live in CA and I get taxed :<.
Also, i'm a college student so I have amazon prime for the free shipping + no tax from amazon.
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Hi i want to stream on ultra/high my budget is around 800ish
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On April 26 2011 07:02 SouL_Miracle wrote:
Hi i want to stream on ultra/high my budget is around 800ish
Country? USA, so newegg, or something else?
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@SouL_Miracle
The build at the top of this page would be capable of it, maybe get 2x4GB of RAM instead of 2x2GB since Newegg is having a promotion on memory right now:
+ Show Spoiler +
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Show nested quote +On April 26 2011 06:30 Myrmidon wrote:-i7 processors are not cost-effective for gaming.
-4GB of RAM is more than enough for any game but having 8GB may help with streaming.
-About 1/4th of the budget should be dedicated to the GPU
-the 2500k processor is only neccisary for overclocking
-1600MHz RAM has no large advantage over 1333MHz RAM 1/4 of the budget is rather arbitrary, but yeah. 8GB helping for streaming...it's not like streaming uses that much memory either, but it's something on top of what you already have to run I guess. It's only $40 more anyway. Noise-dampening panels help, but the fans and overall construction matter a lot too, not to mention all the noise-producing computer parts inside the case. For power supplies, you can estimate what you need based on what parts you're using. When a good power supply becomes insufficient, it will just turn itself off under heavy load that exceeds what it can do (and your computer will cut off). Ideally it turns itself off at a range where it is still operating in specification, which is not the situation for a lot of otherwise decent budget units. SSD is functionally the same as a HDD, at least from a high-level perspective. It is just another storage device like an HDD. You can read and write data to it, and when your computer turns off, the data on it remains. It's just that the performance characteristics are a lot different--SSDs are orders of magnitude better at accessing some data quickly. It depends on the models, but SSDs are generally comparable to HDDs in larger sequential transfers. All modern GPUs output a wide range of resolutions including whatever it is your monitor might be. They're not optimized for resolutions. It's just that there is more data to process at higher resolutions and more computations required, particularly when rendering 3D stuff like games, so a more powerful GPU is needed to run a higher resolution (at the same performance level). For just normal desktop use, a low-end GPU is enough to handle multiple high-resolution monitors.
Thank you so much! This fills so many holes in my understanding!
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Hey, quick question before I complete my order
Dual channel memory vs a single stick : what kind of performance difference?
I took one of the cheapest Mobo for my friend's sandy bridge build. And I've picked a 4gb ram corsair (1 stick), so leaving 1 more slot for future upgrade. But just wanted to make sure it was the right decision. It hasnt been shipped yet so I can probably modify it
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EPT![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/YxUOc.png)
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