The Power PC Thread [f*ck off consoles]

[Gareth]

What was wrong with it?

I had to send one back because the left half of the screen was going a bit funny (off coloured lines appearing, and it wasn't the cable).

It had a white spot / screen bleed spot (post 2152), the replacement is perfect. I just hope they are both ok long term, lots of stories of issues.

 

[Darren S]

It had a white spot / screen bleed spot (post 2152), the replacement is perfect. I just hope they are both ok long term, lots of stories of issues.

That's in the back of my mind with this monitor. Tbf, if it starts acting up in a couple of months - I'm going to approach Asus directly about it. When you're paying a ton for a basic monitor - fair enough. But north of 500 notes for a high-end one, it should be resilient at least.

Still not got it setup yet. Christmas Day for me! :blush:

 

[Gareth]

They are great monitors, but yeah definitely in the back of my mind to almost expect problems which as you say isn't great. One of my two has had a couple of occasions of flickering, but I think that is due to the longer (3m) cables I am using with them, if it happens again and more so I atleast switch to the cable it came with, its just rather snug to the computer.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

I was about to type something earlier about my first ROG Swift but then didn't want to tempt fate. My new one's been ok so far. Is a shame really because there aren't any alternatives, if there were then I'd have never bought Asus in the first place.

 

[Gareth]

Yeah agreed, unfortunately there isn't much of an alternative.

 

[SharkyUK]

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Is it just me that finds Linus' voice incredibly irritating ?

 

[Cookie]

Is it just me that finds Linus' voice incredibly irritating ?

Nope, not just you
I cringed the entire way through one of his videos the other day (the one where he failed to have any proper backups and nearly lost lots of business critical data)

 

[Wilkeh]

Is it just me that finds Linus' voice incredibly irritating ?

Not at all. I absolutely love him! He reminds me of Brian Cox. I don't understand how anybody could not like him haha

 

[Darren S]

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd the reason why PCs are brilliant. No real possible need for anything like that, but the fact that it CAN be done, is what's impressive. :up:

 

[welshname]

I watch all the LTT videos. It's what I found when I was looking for something to get me back into the whole PC hardware game and actually know what was going on.

This whole overclocking non K processors on non OC chipsets is REALLY interesting. You can essentially buy a 6700 instead of the 6700K and have all the same performance, sure the binning for the non K series processors might not be quite as good but lets be honest, it's not going to make a whole lot of real world difference.

Adding in the cheaper MoBo and you're saving around £50+ which is another chunk of money to throw the way of a better GFX card.

 

[Addicted]

I thought those monitors looked great and I could do with one.

Yeah maybe not, £900.

 

[Darren S]

I thought those monitors looked great and I could do with one.

Yeah maybe not, £900.

Bargain. Buy three. :smile:

 

[Snake182]

This years new home built gaming pc so far.
Its based on Intel's new Sky-lake 6700k processor running at a 5Ghz with a nice tweak on the Vcore, 16gb DDR4 2400mhz RAM, 256gb ssd, x2 gtx geforce gpus in SLi, all on a MSI z170 M7 board inside a NZXT h440 case. I am currently (impatiently) waiting for my GTX 980ti to be delivered.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Picked up a new keyboard last week to replace my nearly 6 year old Razer Lycosa.

Initially ordered a Razer Blackwidow Chroma which I kept for a few weeks, but it had a weird defect where you could hear the whine of the LED power supply by the Numpad when the LEDs were bright enough.

Not only that, but the click of the key happened a fraction before the key was registered on screen, which I never noticed when typing- but when playing games that require pressing a key in quick succession I would notice that I could press the key twice without hearing the click twice and that bothered me.

Ended up buying a Ducky Shine 5 to try out and really liking it so far. Not as good LED customisation as the Razer, but doesn't have annoying macro keys that confuse my finger positioning. Went for MX Brown switches as that was the only one in stock and so far really enjoying it. Not got the nice click clack that the Razer had when typing, but the tactile bump on the key press happens precisely where the key is registered on the computer.

In typing tests (for s***s and giggles) I get the same score on that keyboard as I do with the £5 membrane keyboard I have for work but it does feel 10x nicer to use I must say. Would recommend if anyone wants an expensive keyboard.

 

[Wilkeh]

Picked up a new keyboard last week to replace my nearly 6 year old Razer Lycosa.

Initially ordered a Razer Blackwidow Chroma which I kept for a few weeks, but it had a weird defect where you could hear the whine of the LED power supply by the Numpad when the LEDs were bright enough.

Not only that, but the click of the key happened a fraction before the key was registered on screen, which I never noticed when typing- but when playing games that require pressing a key in quick succession I would notice that I could press the key twice without hearing the click twice and that bothered me.

Ended up buying a Ducky Shine 5 to try out and really liking it so far. Not as good LED customisation as the Razer, but doesn't have annoying macro keys that confuse my finger positioning. Went for MX Brown switches as that was the only one in stock and so far really enjoying it. Not got the nice click clack that the Razer had when typing, but the tactile bump on the key press happens precisely where the key is registered on the computer.

In typing tests (for s***s and giggles) I get the same score on that keyboard as I do with the £5 membrane keyboard I have for work but it does feel 10x nicer to use I must say. Would recommend if anyone wants an expensive keyboard.

My Ducky Shine 3 just recently packed in so just waiting for the Shine 5's to come back in stock. I only want black keys as I prefer linear mechanics. They've got loads of browns still for some reason. I always thought browns were quite a popular one, not unless it is and they just shipped more of them to the UK?

Anyway, the blacks and reds should be in the UK first week of February according to their facebook page so will order straight away

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

My Ducky Shine 3 just recently packed in so just waiting for the Shine 5's to come back in stock. I only want black keys as I prefer linear mechanics. They've got loads of browns still for some reason. I always thought browns were quite a popular one, not unless it is and they just shipped more of them to the UK?

Anyway, the blacks and reds should be in the UK first week of February according to their facebook page so will order straight away :smile:

Packed in? Take it that's not common if you're looking to get a 5?

Yeah I've seen the browns come in and out of stock on Amazon and OCUK. Blues were in stock at OCUK briefly and I think so were reds. Browns seem to be either the highest supply or lowest demand. I am personally really liking them though. That said I've only tried the equivalent of Blues from Razer and these Browns.... So who's to say whether I'd prefer a different type...

 

[Wilkeh]

Packed in? Take it that's not common if you're looking to get a 5?

No not common at all mate. I dropped a full pint of beer on it about 10 months ago and it never worked fully right after that. It's just slowly got worse and worse and now it's unusable. I'm not joking though it was literally a full fresh poured pint lol.

 

[Martin_172]

i keep seeing these backlit gaming keyboards, this might seem like a silly question but are these ok to use as a normal keyboard or do they have any downsides?

 

[Pistachio]

Viewing angle. If you like to slouch in your chair like me, it's hard to see what key is what. The F keys and the !"£$%^&*() are difficult to see for me. I have a Roccat Isku

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

i keep seeing these backlit gaming keyboards, this might seem like a silly question but are these ok to use as a normal keyboard or do they have any downsides?

Price.

 

[Martin_172]

Viewing angle. If you like to slouch in your chair like me, it's hard to see what key is what. The F keys and the !"£$%^&*() are difficult to see for me. I have a Roccat Isku

wouldn't be a problem i sit quite stright up

Price.

i see them referring to mechanical keys etc, these ok to type on? im still using the standard dell keyboard and like the look of the backlit ones

 

[Gareth]

Mechanical keys are noisy as hell, not my thing. Quiet and wireless for me!

 

[McGherkin]

I have a sidewinder X4 and whilst they are a little bit noisy you do soon get used to it.

 

[Mike@Rentech]

Just built myself a decent pc , last time I built a pc was in the pentium 166mhz days.
Current spec is amd 8750 8 core ecu a 4ghz , 16gb of ram , 250gb solid state drive and nvidia 750ti grafix, 1td hd.
Built it for video editing for my youtube channel as my last pc was sooooo slow rendering 1080p vids.
Not mega high spec but beats the s**t out of my xbox one which will be sold soon.
Games are cheaper than xbox and just seem to be a lot better.
Anyone recommend a decent flight or air combat game?

 

[McGherkin]

Depends what you want to spend!

I still fly FSX, with mods like Dino Cattaneo's F35 and the VRS Tacpack it's a lot of fun. There's also Lockheed Martin's Prepar3d but that is mega-moolah.

Spoiler

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

i see them referring to mechanical keys etc, these ok to type on? im still using the standard dell keyboard and like the look of the backlit ones

Keyboards used to be mechanical until manufacturers figured out how to make them cheaply.

They're not "for gaming". They're just high end keyboards. If you don't think £100-£150 is too much money to spend on a keyboard then get one!

There are several different types of mechanical switch though. You're best off checking Google for the differences. I have Cherry MX Brown switches on mine which have a tactile bump and feels very nice to type with. So much so that I want to get another for work.

 

[Martin_172]

Keyboards used to be mechanical until manufacturers figured out how to make them cheaply.

They're not "for gaming". They're just high end keyboards. If you don't think £100-£150 is too much money to spend on a keyboard then get one!

There are several different types of mechanical switch though. You're best off checking Google for the differences. I have Cherry MX Brown switches on mine which have a tactile bump and feels very nice to type with. So much so that I want to get another for work.

brilliant thats what i was looking for cheers, ive struggled to find a good keyboard in recent years and i suppose thats because i prefer the feel of mechanical ones! thats why ive never bothered changing from the Dell one that came with it!.

ill have a read up online and get one ordered

 

[Darren S]

This years new home built gaming pc so far.
Its based on Intel's new Sky-lake 6700k processor running at a 5Ghz with a nice tweak on the Vcore, 16gb DDR4 2400mhz RAM, 256gb ssd, x2 gtx geforce gpus in SLi, all on a MSI z170 M7 board inside a NZXT h440 case. I am currently (impatiently) waiting for my GTX 980ti to be delivered.

The only change I'd make to that m8, would be to ditch the flexible SLi bridge and get a fixed one. I had issues with a couple of flexible bridges back in my GTX460 days. Blue-screening, sometimes saying that SLi was disabled when I'd only just put it on, etc. Switching to a rigid one fixed it immediately - plus it does look smarter with one fitted!

 

[Lal B3N]

I have a Logitech G910 keyboard, its brilliant. Pretty quiet for a mechanical one too.

 

[guysy]

Could do with a little help please, been a while since I "built" a PC, mine is getting sluggish so I was going to freshen up some main parts.

Current:
Motherboard - Asus p7p55d e lx
Ram - G-skill 8gb DDR3 Ripjaws 1600mhz
CPU - i5 750
GPU - EVGA GeForce GT 430 1gb

Its by no means got to be the best of the best, and I'll try and get to my question in a minute.

Currently bought:

16gb Crucial Ballistix as it was the Amazon deal of the day at £42.99 yesterday:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007PNNTY4/?tag=cliospnet01-21

And this motherboard :
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00K9R1OCW/?tag=cliospnet01-21

My question is I have no current knowledge of CPU's... My current set up I only strain when I either have a million tabs open in Chrome and I have photoshop /sketchup open etc. I was thinking of the below

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KPRWB9G/?tag=cliospnet01-21

Purely because its popular, so should I go for that processor or is there something better for the money etc? and also the graphics seem to be in built into the CPU's now? if I run my current graphics card will I see any benifit from this or not until I removed the card? (I wont I need it for the monitors). Just curious.

Cheers!

 

[SharkyUK]

Purely because its popular, so should I go for that processor or is there something better for the money etc? and also the graphics seem to be in built into the CPU's now? if I run my current graphics card will I see any benifit from this or not until I removed the card? (I wont I need it for the monitors). Just curious.

That CPU (i5-4690K) will be a very nice performance upgrade over your existing setup and, as you don't necessarily want the best-of-the-best, it will do very nicely indeed. It's a very popular CPU for good reason.

As for the integrated graphics (Intel HD) you either use that or your existing graphics card. They won't benefit each other by running together as they don't work like that. If the system detects that you have your graphics card plugged into a slot then it will automatically use that instead of the built-in graphics. Performance-wise, there isn't much to choose between the Intel HD 4600 and your GT 430 - they are both quite 'weak' by modern standards (if you are considering playing games or 3D intensive software). The GT 430 probably just edges it in terms of performance but I would probably consider upgrading to a better GPU (it doesn't have to break the bank).

 

[guysy]

That CPU (i5-4690K) will be a very nice performance upgrade over your existing setup and, as you don't necessarily want the best-of-the-best, it will do very nicely indeed. It's a very popular CPU for good reason.

As for the integrated graphics (Intel HD) you either use that or your existing graphics card. They won't benefit each other by running together as they don't work like that. If the system detects that you have your graphics card plugged into a slot then it will automatically use that instead of the built-in graphics. Performance-wise, there isn't much to choose between the Intel HD 4600 and your GT 430 - they are both quite 'weak' by modern standards (if you are considering playing games or 3D intensive software). The GT 430 probably just edges it in terms of performance but I would probably consider upgrading to a better GPU (it doesn't have to break the bank).

Excellent, thanks for your help.

I'll go for that CPU next month, should be a nice improvement over what I have now. I might upgrade the GPU at some point, performance is fine for me but the stock cooler on the card has a small fan and its so whiny. I've tried to adjust the fan speed, it whines at all speeds and its already in a "silent" antec case.

Is there any better bolt on coolers with bigger fans does anyone know for grahpics cards? I used to add Zalman Heatsink fans but they are weird looking things.

 

[Wilkeh]

New treat

Came back in stock yesterday. I've gone for black keys as I did on my previous (now dead) Shine 3.

Just waiting for a Steelseries Rival 700 now - https://steelseries.com/gaming-mice/rival-700

 

[sburrell93]

Been needing a new PC case for a while so I could fit a bigger CPU cooler. Just bought a Fractal Design R5 after reading some reviews online. Looks a good case! Also got said CPU cooler and some thermal paste, which should all arrive tomorrow. Anyone got any tips for removing the old cooler and paste and applying the new stuff? Never done it before.

 

[Amos91]

I've got the Define R5 Midi - lovely case!

Unscrew/unclip the cooler and use a bit of kitchen roll to wipe the thermal paste from the cpu. If you want to properly clean it then you can use some TIM cleaner or isopropyl alcohol.

Some terrible photos of mine -

 

[sburrell93]

I've got the Define R5 Midi - lovely case!

Unscrew/unclip the cooler and use a bit of kitchen roll to wipe the thermal paste from the cpu. If you want to properly clean it then you can use some TIM cleaner or isopropyl alcohol.

Ah right so fairly simple then, cheers!

Genuine question...would an IPA based car cleaning product work, like Carpro Eraser? Lol. It's all I'd have lying around I could use to clean it

 

[Amos91]

To be honest, I'd just wipe it off with kitchen roll and not worry about it.

 

[welshname]

To be honest, I'd just wipe it off with kitchen roll and not worry about it.

Yep comes off easy.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

If it's a gaming computer you'd be surprised the amount of difference well applied paste makes (along with different compounds).

TIM cleaner is cheap enough (and smells cool) so I would always recommend using it. I imagine something like brake cleaner would do the job too, essentially you just want something that will clean and then completely evaporate. Not sure I'd want to try it on my CPU though for the sake of a trip to PC World.