this is the benchmark for the new Samsung SSD



so either go with the use of RAM like above now or shell out for one of these...in a few months when they are available to consumers.

1/8/2015 9:02:34 PM

There have been full size PCIe SSDs with speeds like that for a while, but this is the first M.2 form factor one.

1/9/2015 7:40:42 AM

I've got a Radeon 6950 I'm looking to replace, but looking at the current slew of choices I'm not sure which direction I should go..

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

Any recommendations? I'm open to purchasing an upgrade, but I'm not looking for bleeding edge performance.

[Edited on January 11, 2015 at 9:46 AM. Reason : Thinking about the R9 285...]

1/11/2015 9:36:31 AM

want a 6970 for crossfire?

1/11/2015 6:33:27 PM

yeah I need a new card as well, currently suffering graphics failure effects.

I have a 4850 so I'm looking for something in the sub $200 range.

2/7/2015 5:44:11 PM

I've got a fairly new Precision Workstation, currently running a 9800GT video card, and I'm trying to upgrade to a GeForce 560 Ti video Card. The 560 Ti requires 2 PCI-E power connectors and I've only got one. I've got a spare IDE molex connector (and a molex->PCI-E adapter), but I'm not sure that's going to be enough juice...

The card is rated for a max 170 watts, so assuming the video card gets 75 watts from the motherboard, and 75 watts from the 1st PCI-E connector, and *if* that molex (which is on the 5V rail) can supply an additional 25 watts, I'm good? http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html



[Edited on February 24, 2015 at 11:48 AM. Reason : I've also got an extra SATA cable if that can be used somehow.]

2/24/2015 11:48:03 AM

"Fairly new"? Didn't that card come out 7 years ago? As long as you get it the power it needs it should be fine. You can always try it out. Too little power isn't going to fry anything. I don't think.

On another note picked up the Dell Power Companion. It's a 12,000 mAh battery backup. It's tiny (weighs 10oz) and will charge your tablet or smart phone. It will also charge your laptop. I'm giving it a shot on my XPS 12. Dell says it will extend the battery life by up to 7 hours on the FHD version of the new XPS 13. So I'm hoping for decent results on my XPS 12. It's been really nice being able to charge my laptop in my bag.

2/25/2015 12:10:33 PM

Quote :

""Fairly new"? Didn't that card come out 7 years ago?"

I said the workstation was fairly new, not the card

[Edited on February 25, 2015 at 12:49 PM. Reason : Card that came with it was some Quadro BS]

2/25/2015 12:48:38 PM

^^ what are some examples of competing products for that battery?

[Edited on February 25, 2015 at 12:50 PM. Reason : also how long does it take to charge?]

2/25/2015 12:50:24 PM

All the battery backups I've seen / used can't compete because they only charge your phone or tablet (mophie battery backups, etc).

I did just do an Amazon search for external laptop batteries and there's quite a few out there but they're all 2-3lbs (albeit higher capacity). This one is only 10oz.

Next lightest one I've found is:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenmar-PowerPort-External-Notebook-eMachines/dp/B008EG64PC/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1424887058&sr=1-1&keywords=laptop+battery+backup

It's 1.6 pounds (so ~26 ounces) but does have a 5,500 mAh capacity compared to only 12,000 on this one. Still if this one gives me an extra 4-5 hours of charge I'll be happy and it's light enough to carry in a jacket pocket for phones.

2/25/2015 1:01:12 PM

In regards to the 560 Ti, just try it and see what happens. Most likely the machine is going to boot up fine, the question will be when it is under stress. You definitely are not going to damage anything, the worst you will get is a freeze or BSOD.

So whatever you plan to use the card for, try it. If you are gaming, fire up the most graphically intense game you have and see how it does. If it doesn't freeze you are good. If the PC freezes you can always underclock the card to make it stable if you aren't delivering enough power.

2/25/2015 1:08:21 PM

has anyone had much experience, or know anything, about Fractal Design and their case build quality? looking a new case and theirs seem pretty legit. http://www.fractal-design.com/

3/9/2015 10:38:15 AM

No but they look pretty cool.

3/9/2015 11:07:40 AM

^^^ I've only played Starcraft 2 on it, but so far so good!

[Edited on March 9, 2015 at 2:28 PM. Reason : ]

3/9/2015 2:27:54 PM

I'm seriously contemplating buying this https://xforma.com/mbx_mkii/

3/9/2015 5:38:27 PM

The custom boards and cable management on that thing look sweet. Unfortunately my desktop box is under my desktop and mostly not visible. I couldn't get something like that and not have it visible.

3/9/2015 6:14:00 PM

.

[Edited on March 9, 2015 at 7:43 PM. Reason : .]

3/9/2015 7:42:54 PM

That is a ridiculous case. Mostly for the built in cable management. I couldn't justify buying a case that cost as much as my last PC though.


^x6

Fractal Design makes great cases.

[Edited on March 10, 2015 at 8:59 AM. Reason : a]

3/10/2015 8:59:22 AM

Quote :

"I'm seriously contemplating buying this https://xforma.com/mbx_mkii/"

You're seriously considering spending $1500+ on a computer case?

[Edited on March 10, 2015 at 11:17 AM. Reason : Seriously?]

3/10/2015 11:16:38 AM

ive narrowed down my case choices to Fractal Design Define R5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352048&cm_re=fractal_design-_-11-352-048-_-Product

or Cooler Master HAF 922 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=cooler_master_haf_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product


what do you all think? which do you like better?

3/10/2015 12:24:27 PM

^ i like the looks of the 1st one way more

3/10/2015 12:26:13 PM

I really like the R5, when I built my PC a few years back I almost went with it, but instead chose the Silverstone KL04.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=324&area=en

3/10/2015 1:11:45 PM

hm.. i dont see anything in the silverstone that would make me want to go with that one over the R5

3/11/2015 9:46:03 AM

If I ever build a gaming PC in something other than my current case, it'll be something like this,

3/11/2015 12:08:55 PM

just replaced the stock cooler with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103181
replaced my 780gtx with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133564
and added
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4YW2F28216

booted the first time!

3/12/2015 1:58:57 AM

^soo.... is your old 780gtx available (srs question tho )


also, Samsung 850 EVO ssds are on sale right now, check amazon/newegg.. 250GB is $105 (reg. price $149.99), 500GB is $189 (reg. price 269.99)

3/12/2015 8:50:08 AM

http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-850-Evo-250GB-vs-Crucial-M550-256GB/2977vs2000

I actually got the m550 for $200 at microcenter. if the evo wasn't having weird problems right I'd do it. i think i'm going back today though, the damn 970 makes too much noise

3/12/2015 9:17:37 AM

My 980 is quieeeeeeet. Find one with a better cooler.

3/12/2015 9:30:17 AM

So anyone try Steam home streaming? Apparently it's awesome over a fast network. Run the game on your gaming desktop then stream it to your HTPC on your TV with a controller.

3/14/2015 9:54:04 PM

its not bad, but high input latency. limelight + nvidia has been a much better experience for me

3/16/2015 12:16:08 AM

I was late to the SSd party, but holy shit, it makes a huge diff in performance.

3/16/2015 1:28:13 AM

Have you tried it over a wired network? It works much better. Could you elaborate on Limelight + Nvidia?

3/16/2015 9:48:31 AM

I've tried Steam In-Home and Limelight over mostly AC wireless. Both are extremely playable, and input lag wasn't really an issue in any game I tried, including FPS and action games like Arkham Origin. While I used Steam In-home through a laptop on my TV, I've only tried Limelight on my smartphone. It seems to initialize and launch games more reliably, and actually works best when you load Steam Big Picture through it and select your game in there. I think once the game actually starts, both are basically identically because they use the same hardware encoders/decoders.

So, if you have a good desktop with a recent NV GPU and a fast home network, in my experience lan streaming works super well and is nearly indistinguishable from playing it on the host device given good input (a controller or KB/mouse, obviously playing Civ:BE with just a touch screen kinda blows).

[Edited on March 16, 2015 at 11:35 AM. Reason : :]

3/16/2015 11:31:30 AM

I only use a wired network in home. nvidia + limelight is still superior and steam stream still has quite the noticeable input lag.

[Edited on March 16, 2015 at 10:55 PM. Reason : i also tried grid service on wifi and it's pretty solid on 5ghz]

3/16/2015 10:54:19 PM

I'll give them both a try. I'm pretty sure they use the same Nvidia hardware encoding (you have to enable it in the Steam Streaming settings) so they should be similar if not the same.

3/17/2015 11:13:50 AM

Just how big is the performance gap between a 65W AMD A6-6420 & a 125W FX-8370? Not sure if ready to take the liquid cooled, ahem, plunge.
Dammit, TomsHardware!

Looking to update from the mediocre-for-2009 Athlon 7750 soon.

3/17/2015 9:20:24 PM

No idea on AMD.

This looks cool too:

http://store.steampowered.com/universe/link

Another way to play your steam games on your desktop on your tv in your living room. I wonder how this compares to streaming as far as input lag. Maybe similar?

3/18/2015 1:16:11 PM

So when are these super fast SSDs gonna be available to us, and how long will I have to wait until they're remotely affordable?

3/18/2015 2:03:22 PM

that controller looks retarded...

3/18/2015 3:43:34 PM

Yeah it's gotten mixed reviews but the new one is supposed to be pretty nice. I'm hoping you can use other controllers with Steam Link but I'm not sure. It does have USB ports...

3/18/2015 3:45:05 PM

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Supermicro C7Z87-OCE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES.3 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case:Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Total: $1062.77




[Edited on March 20, 2015 at 10:29 PM. Reason : ]

3/20/2015 10:27:35 PM

Video card?

3/21/2015 1:45:07 AM

^^fractal design released the Define R5 not too long ago. i picked one up, it is an amazing case.

3/21/2015 7:46:10 AM

I'm loving the R4. It has made cable management a breeze. I just wanted a slightly bigger case. Wasn't sure how I wanted set things up for now and the future.

No video card. Just using the onboard video. This is just a lab box for me to learn VMware and Citrix on. Later on I'll add another Seagate drive to it.

I'm looking at a Synology DS412+ for later on fun times.

I'm also looking at a Cisco SG300 switch for later on. I'd really like to get a Meraki switch to use instead and I might be able to get one through work.

I've got one VMware cert. Looking to go for my VCP next. Also want to get the CCA from Citrix and start down that path. Work pays for them and gives bonuses for getting them. Also work is paying for most of the lab. Hooray!

3/21/2015 10:26:56 AM

Nice! Yeah didn't know the purpose of the build. That's why I asked.

3/22/2015 12:54:54 PM

this is a new build i am contemplating for gaming mostly. i want to get a long life out of this build similar to my current build of 4 years. i'm in no rush to build this as priorities are a bit altered since i'm getting married next month. i've already gone back and forth on a couple things so nothing is set in stone at this point.

Case: NZXT H440 Mid-Tower, Blk/Red or Wht/Blk (undecided)
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K Devil’s Canyon Quad-Core 4.0GHz
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61
Mobo: ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z97
RAM: G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 (PC3 19200)
GFX Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB
SDD: (1x or 2x) SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200 RPM
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850GS 850W 80+ GOLD Certified Full Modular

[Edited on March 23, 2015 at 12:42 PM. Reason : .]

3/23/2015 12:36:20 PM

Get a 980 TI now! $650 and very close to the performance of the Titan for much cheaper. Almost wish I had waited on it instead of the 980.

6/1/2015 4:27:42 PM

My gaming PC is now 5 years old and starting to show its age. I'm looking to upgrade.

I see that nVidia pascal is on the horizon, the estimates put a release about a year from now. I'm debating on whether to stick it out one more year (it's supposedly a huge step up) or just go ahead and get something now.

Are there any other developments coming down the line where waiting would pay off? Like some better than average increase in performance for processors that's looming in the near future?

6/29/2015 3:55:15 PM

What processor are you currently running? My i7 950 is 6 years old and I have it clocked at 4.0 ghz. With a nice video card a decent processor (even an old one) won't be a huge bottleneck in newer games. With that being said I'll probably update the rest of my computer (mobo, ram, cpu) when the new Skylake Intel processors come out.

6/29/2015 4:05:18 PM

i5 750.

I can't remember which but some recent game I was playing pushed it up to near 100% usage. Maybe it was GTA 5.

6/29/2015 4:08:03 PM