Hardware Discussion Thread

[fatbeard]

Micro Center is selling i7 6700K's for $260 through 12/1, plus another $30 off if you get a motherboard with it (in-store only). That's the best price you'll find, even accounting for sales tax.

 

[ytsejam]

My Vive seems great if I could get the display to work. Grr! Everything tracks, but I get the dreaded 208 error.
I just want to play mini golf and pet dinosaurs!

 

[Monsieur Tirets]

that microcenter deal for a 6700k is looking pretty good. im debating whether i should sell my 6600k and go for one of those or just keep the 6600k since it pairs up fine with the 390. thing is the 6600k can bottleneck the new nvidia cards so if i upgrade the gpu in the future then ill have to live with that bottleneck or upgrade the cpu anyway. but the bottleneck is slight and only at 1080p, so it looks like upgrading the gpu is a good move.

but then theres the fact that a fury tri-x can be had for 250 bucks and it has pretty much caught up to the 980ti/1070 and is only a few fps behind most of the time at worse, and thats a hell of a deal for 250 bucks. but then i wonder if 4g vram, hbm or not, is worth it.

i think ill just wait until all the new shit is announced next year and see whats what. this rigs still pretty new and can run everything pretty much maxed out, so...

 

[Wintermute]

you oc that yet?

No. Some weird issues just popped up. Thinking I have a wonky PSU or failing mobo on my hands. Mother@#$%&$. I really didn't want to spring for any more components until well after Zen's release.

I should be getting a PSU tester in the mail tomorrow, so I'll know for sure.

 

[fatbeard]

that microcenter deal for a 6700k is looking pretty good. im debating whether i should sell my 6600k and go for one of those or just keep the 6600k since it pairs up fine with the 390. thing is the 6600k can bottleneck the new nvidia cards so if i upgrade the gpu in the future then ill have to live with that bottleneck or upgrade the cpu anyway. but the bottleneck is slight and only at 1080p, so it looks like upgrading the gpu is a good move.

but then theres the fact that a fury tri-x can be had for 250 bucks and it has pretty much caught up to the 980ti/1070 and is only a few fps behind most of the time at worse, and thats a hell of a deal for 250 bucks. but then i wonder if 4g vram, hbm or not, is worth it.

i think ill just wait until all the new shit is announced next year and see whats what. this rigs still pretty new and can run everything pretty much maxed out, so...

Nothing should really bottleneck a 6600K unless you're running Quad SLI. If fi you've got the 6600K I wouldn't upgrade to the 6700K, better to wait and see what Zen has to offer in January, then you could upgrade from four cores (and no HT) to 8 cores/16 threads with a Zen chip. That will serve you much better with core scaling in DX12 going forward.

 

[Monsieur Tirets]

Nothing should really bottleneck a 6600K unless you're running Quad SLI. If fi you've got the 6600K I wouldn't upgrade to the 6700K, better to wait and see what Zen has to offer in January, then you could upgrade from four cores (and no HT) to 8 cores/16 threads with a Zen chip. That will serve you much better with core scaling in DX12 going forward.

the 6600k does bottleneck the 1070 and higher cards in cpu intensive games... at 1080p. but its not a big deal, unless you are looking for a constant 120+ fps for a high refresh monitor. anyway, i definitely wont be upgrading to zen. i just built this pc less than a year ago and im not going to upgrade the mobo and cpu. if i do upgrade the itll be simply because it can be done for like 60 bucks after selling the 6600k and swapping in the 6700k. but i may very well stick with what i have for some time.

plus im not buying the zen hype. well see, but i wouldnt be surprised if their 6 core chips perform around intels 4c/8t i7s. and their 8 core chip, if its at all competitive wont come cheap. maybe cheaper than intel, but still 500+ imo.

 

[botfly10]

6600K not gon bottleneck anything. If you are talking about on 1080, then ok maybe you only get 200 fps instead of 220. Thats pretty artificial. There will not be any bottlenecking at reasonable fps.

6700K won't reach even a 10% performance gain except in heavily cpu bound games which are pretty rare. Mostly any gains will be within the margin of error.

 

[botfly10]

Is kaby lake gon require a new socket?

 

[Crystallas]

If the motherboard manufacturer releases a bios update for Kaby Lake, then yes. Intel claims LGA 1151 *100-series chipsets can support Kaby Lake. I don't know if *200-series chipsets will support all Skylakes.

 

[Monsieur Tirets]

6600K not gon bottleneck anything. If you are talking about on 1080, then ok maybe you only get 200 fps instead of 220. Thats pretty artificial. There will not be any bottlenecking at reasonable fps.

6700K won't reach even a 10% performance gain except in heavily cpu bound games which are pretty rare. Mostly any gains will be within the margin of error.

yeah, at 1080p the 6600k bottlenecks the new gtx 1070/80. but its only really an issue if you have a high refresh monitor and a gtx 1080. and it is in heavily cpu bound games, most of which dont concern me like RTS and city builders, but open world games hit the cpu hard as well. thing is though someone on a forum made a good point, its not even hyper threading that makes the difference since if the cores are maxed on a 6600k theyd be on a 6700k as well making hyper threading irrelevant, the difference is likely the larger cache. anyway, a used 980ti or even a new fury tri-x for 250 bucks seems like a better deal than the new nvida cards at the moment, so im interested to see what amd does with vega.

as for kaby lake, yeah itll be compatible with 1151 and most current chipsets should support it, at least the higher end ones should. i know my board has already been updated to support it. which is another reason i have no interest in upgrading to zen, at the very least ill have a decent upgrade path to kaby in the future. and hell maybe intel will stop fucking around and will keep a socket around for a little longer than 2 gens and coffee lake(6 core main stream in 2018) will remain on 1151 as well since itll still be 14nm and a hold over until desktop cannon lake is ready.

 

[ytsejam]

I had a 2.5 hour chat adventure with Vive support tonight. My 3 in 1 cable is bad. I'm shipping it out tomorrow. They will send replacement when they get mine.

 

[ytsejam]

HTC got my bad cable last Monday but customer service has no idea where my replacement is. So last night I bought one from Newegg for $40. When I eventually get my cable from HTC I'll return it to Newegg. ****! I won't be buying any more HTC products.

 

[fatbeard]

Anyone using the Razer green or orange switch keyboards? I'm thinking about moving away from Cherry MX Reds, or maybe installing O-rings for a different feel.

 

[Crystallas]

I stay away from all MX and MX-Type/clome switches(like the razers). They are a joke, such a bad joke, that even some rubber dome keyboards are better(Topre, BTC models).

At one point I was all about them, because all of the other mechanical switch makers left and Cherry stuck around. But really, I'm not sure why I was happy when the shittiest mechanical switch design was the only one remaining that still sold individual switches for custom manufacturing. It's just too bad that they now have fanboys, so the truth of how shitty they are will take a long time to sift through. They aren't reliable, they wear quick, they have fluctuating actuation consistency, the point of tactility is piss poor for accuracy compared to other mechanical switches(even OLD Cherry ML switches), the switch posts are flimsy which makes for uneven resistance on non-centered presses. Large keys are even worse. And this includes the Razer/Zorro/Gateron/Clones with super claims.

Mataias/Unicomp Model Ms, refurbed ALPS SKCx switch KBs/Space Invaders, and Topre, all depending on preference, will outperform in objective tests, including hand strain and accuracy over any MX-style switch on the market from any maker.

 

[fatbeard]

I stay away from all MX and MX-Type/clome switches(like the razers). They are a joke, such a bad joke, that even some rubber dome keyboards are better(Topre, BTC models).

At one point I was all about them, because all of the other mechanical switch makers left and Cherry stuck around. But really, I'm not sure why I was happy when the shittiest mechanical switch design was the only one remaining that still sold individual switches for custom manufacturing. It's just too bad that they now have fanboys, so the truth of how shitty they are will take a long time to sift through. They aren't reliable, they wear quick, they have fluctuating actuation consistency, the point of tactility is piss poor for accuracy compared to other mechanical switches(even OLD Cherry ML switches), the switch posts are flimsy which makes for uneven resistance on non-centered presses. Large keys are even worse. And this includes the Razer/Zorro/Gateron/Clones with super claims.

Mataias/Unicomp Model Ms, refurbed ALPS SKCx switch KBs/Space Invaders, and Topre, all depending on preference, will outperform in objective tests, including hand strain and accuracy over any MX-style switch on the market from any maker.

Topre is intriguing, but dropping $250+ on a keyboard is less so.

 

[botfly10]

Anyone using the Razer green or orange switch keyboards? I'm thinking about moving away from Cherry MX Reds, or maybe installing O-rings for a different feel.

You should check out MX browns if the reds feel sloppy for typing

 

[Crystallas]

Topre is intriguing, but dropping $250+ on a keyboard is less so.

Get what you want. I just threw out topre, because my point is MX-type switches are so bad, that a few rubber dome switches out perform them. Not necessarily suggesting you buy a topre.

I got my topre before they became really popular. I wouldn't pay the modern prices either, especially since I have to many systems with their own keyboards.

The Dell AT101W with SKCM ALPS switches. If you can see where you are typing (no illumination), it's a gaming keyboard that can be done for $50. I have 4 of them myself, but I'm a Model M person and built my own controller to get rid of NKR and use USB without a conversion. Model Ms for gaming are kind of weird, but for typing, not many better. Just so many options that make Cherry MX-types look stupid. I fell for the MX trap too, every reviewsite praised them without any real understanding of keyswitches, other than they hated their shitty logitech and didn't know where to go, bought a cherry mx red switch KB, then acted like they knew everything). In 2002-2004ish, that made sense because every OEM at this point went away from mechanical switches and Cherry still produced them. In 2016 it's just idiocy.

 

[AussieBear]

Get what you want. I just threw out topre, because my point is MX-type switches are so bad, that a few rubber dome switches out perform them. Not necessarily suggesting you buy a topre.

I got my topre before they became really popular. I wouldn't pay the modern prices either, especially since I have to many systems with their own keyboards.

The Dell AT101W with SKCM ALPS switches. If you can see where you are typing (no illumination), it's a gaming keyboard that can be done for $50. I have 4 of them myself, but I'm a Model M person and built my own controller to get rid of NKR and use USB without a conversion. Model Ms for gaming are kind of weird, but for typing, not many better. Just so many options that make Cherry MX-types look stupid. I fell for the MX trap too, every reviewsite praised them without any real understanding of keyswitches, other than they hated their shitty logitech and didn't know where to go, bought a cherry mx red switch KB, then acted like they knew everything). In 2002-2004ish, that made sense because every OEM at this point went away from mechanical switches and Cherry still produced them. In 2016 it's just idiocy.

jesus.. what is it you do exactly.. you seem to cover all the bases in the computer tech world..

between you and bot.. lots of computer knowledge on the board.. and if i missed anyones pc knowledge.. **** ya.. my brane memory aintz da best

 

[fatbeard]

You should check out MX browns if the reds feel sloppy for typing

That's what I was thinking, but I have some sampler brown switches and they always felt "wobbly" when pressed, with inconsistent resistance if I didn't strike the key dead-on. That's why I was curious about the Razer oranges.

 

[Ares]

jesus.. what is it you do exactly.. you seem to cover all the bases in the computer tech world..

between you and bot.. lots of computer knowledge on the board.. and if i missed anyones pc knowledge.. **** ya.. my brane memory aintz da best

Crys runs one of those Counter Terrorism Units you would see in the show 24.... but its all cyber terrorism.... so like hes always building new machines on the fly to replace ones that terrorists shot up when they invaded the CTU.... and then hes gotta be writing super leet hacks to stop computer worms with seconds to spare before they cause all the nuclear power plants in America from melting down.

It's a pretty intense job

EDIT: I found a pic of Crys on duty the other week