Steam periodically updates the hardware survey.
I've probably filled it out 10 times the last 15 years. But I've only had 3 PC builds in that time.
Why do you think Steam believes it is a laptop?
Because the summary they showed me said it was a laptop. They got everything else right, including the storage, desktop-class 3070, the 27" 1440p primary display, and the existence of a second monitor. That's one hell of a laptop.
Do you have it plugged into a battery backup?
Yup. I plugged in the USB cable and it displays the charge same as it would on a laptop. Could it really be that simple? And that dumb?
Gaald wrote:Do you have it plugged into a battery backup?
Yup. I plugged in the USB cable and it displays the charge same as it would on a laptop. Could it really be that simple? And that dumb?
Yup I believe so.
Checking my mobo manufacturer page, I noticed a bunch of new drivers for MS Wifi, MS Network, Intel Chipset driver, IME, etc. My mobo is relatively new to market (about a year since release), so maybe they need updated drivers for better support or is this a case of "if it ain't broke don't fix it"?
Wonky ram is the wooooorst. It's given me untold headaches over the years.
I'm looking at purchasing a pre-built to replace my four year-old home-built PC, with its Ryzen 3700X CPU and RTX 2080 Super GPU. It's still running fine, but frame rates have suffered a bit on BG3.
I'll keep my spinning disk, existing monitors, and other peripherals.
I read this PCMag article, checked out the Alienware Aurora R16 online, and today I went to Microcenter and looked at this PowerSpec G443.
There appear to be some good options under $2000, which include a RTX 4070, which seems to be the sweet spot GPU right now, both in terms of bang-for-the-buck and in lower power usage.
Wondering what folks' thoughts are on these latest pre-builts, comparing the Alienware and PowerSpec, or thoughts on some of the other brands in the PCMag article.
All I can say is that we are happy with the Alienwares we have purchased. However, get the high-end support contract. It has preventive tools and such as well as white glove service.
Oh, and Alienware uses custom motherboards, so look very hard at the number and type of slots, and the allowed video card (due to case clearance), that sort of thing. While they don't mind you adding in whatever fits, they are not giving you a lot of expansion capability - just, some.
I'm really happy with my R10.
Over the years I've had a few of their laptops and always been happy with them as well.
OP and others: does discussion around how to best configure/tweak your PC build after you've built it fit in this thread or is there a better people to discuss that on GWJ that I didn't notice?
If it makes sense in this thread, I'm curious if anyone here has configured the Message Signaled Interrupt on their devices and seen good results. On my recently built desktop most devices are in MSI mode but some things like my audio controller are not. I'm starting to poke around my other custom built machines to see how they are configured.
Article:
https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/wi...
Video: How to increase FPS, lower input latency on ANY GPU with ONE setting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MuX...
The 4070 seems like a nice bump from the 2080 super. But Nvidia gpus are still way over priced so I can't help that is reflected in the pre-built price. The specs are nice (2tb ssd and 32gb ram with a 13700k)
But would I pay $1800 for that?
I have a 6800 that run BG3 very nicely. Its $150 cheaper and only 10% weaker than a 4070. It also has more VRAM (16gb vs. the 4070's 12gb)
The 7800XT is $50 cheaper also and 7% faster than a 4070...
New Intel 14th 'gen' processor reviews are posting and... it's just a new number on the same last gen processor. The only difference is the 14700k has 4 more cores, but only results in about 3-4% improvement. And in games, the 7800X3D is still just plain better. Gamers Nexus measured the power draw of just the CPU and the 13/14700 intel CPUs draw around 280w while the 7800X3D draws only 86w. Hardware Unboxed measured total system power and the difference of the same is 100w average across their 12 game suite. HU also noted that in blender the 14700 and 14900 hit the 100 degree max almost right away. If gaming performance, power, and/or heat generation are a concern, you should really be looking at AMD cpus first right now.
Bottom line, Intel 14th gen processors are a big pass.
Good feedback everyone, thanks. I've been very happy with my AMD 3700X CPU for the last four years. It's been rock solid through the pandemic until now, running 24/7. I'll look at AMD build options for my upgrade. It's too bad the new AW R16 only offers Intel CPUs.
It seems like the pre-built prices are pretty good right now compared to buying everything individually, and I really just want it all to work, rather than deal with assembly, cable management, etc. Been there, done that for 25+ years.
ETA: I used to prefer AMD/ATI GPUs exclusively, but switched to nVidia to support G-Sync with my monitor, and decided to just stick with it. While the 4070 does seem overpriced still, it has come down recently, and I think gets a better discount as part of a system.
I have to laugh a little (not at you). But mid range cards selling for $550 is a "bargain" in the current market 
The 4070 is a solid gpu and certainly nothing to sneeze at. I think many only look at a 4090 or 7900 XT/X. They think "everything else is trash" which couldn't be further from the truth. These class cards will game at 4K and if it won't turn a couple settings from ultra to high and be done with it...
And really, $150 premium on something that will last you 3+ years is chump change.
I am once again looking to build a new PC, ideally one that'll come in at roughly the $2500 range.
We're still 2-3 months out from me pulling the trigger on parts, but I wanted to enquire what people think of the early build I've put together so far. Criticisms? Recommendations?
I'd consider a 4K gaming monitor and/or another 32GB RAM, if you can afford them. But it looks like a tasty build. 
Looking at a build for the first time in years, as I've not been gaming as much recently.
My current PC had some spontaneous reboot issues awhile back, so I had ordered a Corsair RM850x, but never installed it. It's sealed in its box.
I know there's a new standard for ATX power supplies from a couple of years ago that was designed to support intermittent high power GPU power draws and probably some other stuff. How important is that for a new build?
Leaning to a 7800X3D build but am probably going to stay mid-range on the GPU right now and likely target high 1440P. Do I NEED a new PSU at this point? Should I try to ebay this RM850X and buy a new one?
Can't speak specifically about that power supply, but most newer video cards come with adapters that should work with that power supply. just need to make sure you have sufficient power.
Criticisms? Recommendations?
If you are likely to build/upgrade again within the lifespan of this power supply, then I would probably go a bit bigger with power supply. You don't need it for this build, thanks to the RTX 4070 having lower power requirements than the 3070 did, but come next time, the power demands might be elevated.
If you're likely to end up doing a complete new build next time, PSU and all, then you can ignore this.
Hey peeps, any advice on moving windows install from a ssd to a different, faster, roomier and sleeker ssd?
No-nonsense youtube tutorials someone has recently used also can help. Thanks in advance for any and all leads.
The bigger SSD makers usually have software to do exactly this that you can download, or they will recommend it. Are they both from the same manufacturer?
For example, if they are Samsung, you can look up the free Samsung Magician software and just use that to do the cloning. I've done that and it works.
If you just want to go from one arbitrary SSD to another, you can try a "Sabrent SABRENT USB 3.0 to SATA I/II/III Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5 or 3.5in HDD, SSD with Hard Drive Duplicator/Cloner Function". You stick the two drives in the appropriate slots and hit the Clone button.
And if you need to clone from one NVMe to another, but also might want to do the same from an SSD, the "SABRENT Tool Free USB Type C Dual Docking Station for PCIe NVMe M.2 SSDs with Offline Cloning Function (EC-SSD2) " has you covered for about 3x the price.
(I picked Sabrent because they are reputable. There are a *ton* of cloning devices out there and I am suspicious of many of them. There are also other variants on Amazon, just pick the one that fits.)
But as I said, if it's, say, Samsung to Samsung and you can have both of them in the system at the same time, Samsung Magician will do the job. Ditto for other manufacturers, they should have their own cloning tools.
Thanks Robear, yes, Crucial has a tool for this very thing, whowouldhavethought?
Thanks Robear, yes, Crucial has a tool for this very thing, whowouldhavethought?
If Crucial drives still come with Acronis, it is very easy to use. Here's a tutorial.
I use easeus partition magic or whatever the name is.
I use easeus partition magic or whatever the name is.
Clonezilla is also an option to do it from a USB boot drive, but it's a bit more complicated. But free no matter the drive brand. Lots of tutorials of how to do it on Youtube. I used it recently to upgrade my 64GB Steam Deck to a 2TB.
Feeank wrote:Thanks Robear, yes, Crucial has a tool for this very thing, whowouldhavethought?
If Crucial drives still come with Acronis, it is very easy to use. Here's a tutorial.
Yep, this is the tool I ended up using despite the original drive being a Kingston, there was no problem whatsoever. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!
Now I'm fascinated with the idea of using a second drive and that push-button cloning box to keep a backup copy of my drive made right before OS upgrades. Could make reversion as easy as snap out, snap in and reboot.
Now I'm fascinated with the idea of using a second drive and that push-button cloning box to keep a backup copy of my drive made right before OS upgrades. Could make reversion as easy as snap out, snap in and reboot.
I miss my Windows Home Server. I'm sure there's something similar out there these days, but that was easy and did incremental backups nightly for all my PC's, and restoring from bare metal was very fast.
I've recently bought a couple of little used HP EliteDesks G4 Mini's for about $100 each from ebay. I may try to figure out the modern way to do that using one of those.
Now I'm fascinated with the idea of using a second drive and that push-button cloning box to keep a backup copy of my drive made right before OS upgrades. Could make reversion as easy as snap out, snap in and reboot.
I just keep an image or two of my drive at various states of installs. With SSDs it clones so fast and your not wasting a full drive as a backup image.
I keep one for the repeat offenders, of breaking their OS, at work too.
MannishBoy, google Synology and take a look at it and its competitors.
Thanks EvilDead! Am I right that if I did that, I could revert just by swapping the OS drives?
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