What's your latest tech purchase?

[Vendor]

It's not a bad card. Not great, but not bad either. It'll do a solid amount gaming at 1080P.

2gb vram really struggles even at 1080p low nowadays, games like Cyberpunk, AC Valhalla and Watch Dogs Legion also ask for much faster gpu as well, should be fine if it's 4gb vram variant

 

[lexluthermiester]

2gb vram really struggles even at 1080p low nowadays, games like Cyberpunk, AC Valhalla and Watch Dogs Legion also ask for much faster gpu as well, should be fine if it's 4gb vram variant

If you're going to play AAA titles from the last 18 months, sure you're gonna have some playability issues if you don't turn some settings down. However, everything from 2018 on back will play just fine. You're also assuming that the card is a 2GB version. However, that is an EVGA SSC edition card, which is very likely to be the 4GB model. Let's not split hairs there..

 

[8BitZ80]

2gb vram really struggles even at 1080p low nowadays, games like Cyberpunk, AC Valhalla and Watch Dogs Legion also ask for much faster gpu as well, should be fine if it's 4gb vram variant

When someone wants to play a few games for the first time, they're most likely not going straight for the most demanding titles on the market.

 

[btarunr]

Putting together a retro PC (at least 2000-2002 period-accurate). So far I have:

• P4 Northwood 2.4 GHz non-HTT, pure 32-bit, 533 FSB
• ASUS P4V8X-MX (this board has VIA's most powerful/latest IGP chipset for s478, including support for 800 FSB Prescotts, dual-channel DDR, and AGP 8X).
• 2x 1 GB DDR-333

What I need:

• An s478 CPU cooler that's on its way
• One of those IDE-to-CF adapters
• An IDE CD-ROM
• A 3.5-inch FDD wouldn't hurt
• Currently haggling with an eBayer for a Radeon 9800 Pro

Initially I'll be using this contraption for Win9x gaming by underclocking the CPU as much as I can, using a single 1 GB memory stick, and using the S3 Graphics IGP (that's fairly powerful by 2000 standards since it was designed around 2003-05). I'll throw in an SB Live PCI sound card that has pure-DOS (Adlib-compatible) drivers.

Later I'll upgrade this to a Windows XP machine to play 2000-2007 (pre-Crysis) games, with that second memory stick, the Radeon 9800, and taking advantage of the board's SATA ports.

The reason I went with P4 (and not older), has to do with power. Older platforms power the CPU from 5V and 3.3V power rails, and modern PSUs flat-out won't work as they have weaker 5V/3.3V rails. I don't want to take a chance with a used older-gen PSU that has fat 5V rails (think >30 A). The P4 platform is the first to use 12V to power the CPU, and I'll be able to use a modern PSU.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Putting together a retro PC (at least 2000-2002 period-accurate). So far I have:

• P4 Northwood 2.4 GHz non-HTT, pure 32-bit, 533 FSB
• ASUS P4V8X-MX (this board has VIA's most powerful/latest IGP chipset for s478, including support for 800 FSB Prescotts, dual-channel DDR, and AGP 8X).
• 2x 1 GB DDR-333

What I need:

• An s478 CPU cooler that's on its way
• One of those IDE-to-CF adapters
• An IDE CD-ROM
• A 3.5-inch FDD wouldn't hurt
• Currently haggling with an eBayer for a Radeon 9800 Pro

Initially I'll be using this contraption for Win9x gaming by underclocking the CPU as much as I can, using a single 1 GB memory stick, and using the S3 Graphics IGP (that's fairly powerful by 2000 standards since it was designed around 2003-05). I'll throw in an SB Live PCI sound card that has pure-DOS (Adlib-compatible) drivers.

Later I'll upgrade this to a Windows XP machine to play 2000-2007 (pre-Crysis) games, with that second memory stick, the Radeon 9800, and taking advantage of the board's SATA ports.

The reason I went with P4 (and not older), has to do with power. Older platforms power the CPU from 5V and 3.3V power rails, and modern PSUs flat-out won't work as they have weaker 5V/3.3V rails. I don't want to take a chance with a used older-gen PSU that has fat 5V rails (think >30 A). The P4 platform is the first to use 12V to power the CPU, and I'll be able to use a modern PSU.

View attachment 183161

Very nice this! Caps look ok? If not, a cap replacement job will not be difficult on that board.

 

[r9]

My wife would divorce me if I purchased a video card worth over $2K cad

I call that a win win.

That's still not abuse.

I get that it was supposed to be a joke. Just didn't find it to be a good one...


And there it is. A 1500x is a great first time CPU!

Dude you gonna give yourself a heart attack.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Dude you gonna give yourself a heart attack.

Eh? What are you on about?

 

[btarunr]

Very nice this! Caps look ok? If not, a cap replacement job will not be difficult on that board.

Yup, it has fresh caps on the VRM.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Yup, it has fresh caps on the VRM.

Cool!

 

[Durvelle27]

If you're going to play AAA titles from the last 18 months, sure you're gonna have some playability issues if you gon't turn some settings down. However, everything from 2018 on back will play just fine. You're also assuming that the card is a 2GB version. However, that is an EVGA SSC edition card, which is very likely to be the 4GB model. Let's not split hairs there..

It’s a 4GB model and her display is 1080P 120Hz

Putting together a retro PC (at least 2000-2002 period-accurate). So far I have:

• P4 Northwood 2.4 GHz non-HTT, pure 32-bit, 533 FSB
• ASUS P4V8X-MX (this board has VIA's most powerful/latest IGP chipset for s478, including support for 800 FSB Prescotts, dual-channel DDR, and AGP 8X).
• 2x 1 GB DDR-333

What I need:

• An s478 CPU cooler that's on its way
• One of those IDE-to-CF adapters
• An IDE CD-ROM
• A 3.5-inch FDD wouldn't hurt
• Currently haggling with an eBayer for a Radeon 9800 Pro

Initially I'll be using this contraption for Win9x gaming by underclocking the CPU as much as I can, using a single 1 GB memory stick, and using the S3 Graphics IGP (that's fairly powerful by 2000 standards since it was designed around 2003-05). I'll throw in an SB Live PCI sound card that has pure-DOS (Adlib-compatible) drivers.

Later I'll upgrade this to a Windows XP machine to play 2000-2007 (pre-Crysis) games, with that second memory stick, the Radeon 9800, and taking advantage of the board's SATA ports.

The reason I went with P4 (and not older), has to do with power. Older platforms power the CPU from 5V and 3.3V power rails, and modern PSUs flat-out won't work as they have weaker 5V/3.3V rails. I don't want to take a chance with a used older-gen PSU that has fat 5V rails (think >30 A). The P4 platform is the first to use 12V to power the CPU, and I'll be able to use a modern PSU.

View attachment 183161

Hey if you can’t find anything I have some old IDE HDDs and CD drive

 

[lexluthermiester]

It’s a 4GB model and her display is 1080P 120Hz

That's a solid card! She'll enjoy that gaming experience!

 

[cst1992]

One of the motherboards from asus for my 2 systems in 1 case, has arrived. A Mini-ITX board. All ready got some parts home last year, but this is the first part i get home in 2021.
Mouse in the second picture, is just to get an idea of the motherboard size.

That's one tiny board. I mean, it's smaller than my hand, maybe!

 

[Splinterdog]

My stepson's new employer gave him a generous allowance for a work chair, so he got this which apparently is very comfortable indeed. This is to go with the high end PC they supplied him with.
Unfortunately they don't have any more vacancies

 

[cst1992]

Putting together a retro PC (at least 2000-2002 period-accurate). So far I have:

• P4 Northwood 2.4 GHz non-HTT, pure 32-bit, 533 FSB
• ASUS P4V8X-MX (this board has VIA's most powerful/latest IGP chipset for s478, including support for 800 FSB Prescotts, dual-channel DDR, and AGP 8X).
• 2x 1 GB DDR-333

What I need:

• An s478 CPU cooler that's on its way
• One of those IDE-to-CF adapters
• An IDE CD-ROM
• A 3.5-inch FDD wouldn't hurt
• Currently haggling with an eBayer for a Radeon 9800 Pro

Initially I'll be using this contraption for Win9x gaming by underclocking the CPU as much as I can, using a single 1 GB memory stick, and using the S3 Graphics IGP (that's fairly powerful by 2000 standards since it was designed around 2003-05). I'll throw in an SB Live PCI sound card that has pure-DOS (Adlib-compatible) drivers.

Later I'll upgrade this to a Windows XP machine to play 2000-2007 (pre-Crysis) games, with that second memory stick, the Radeon 9800, and taking advantage of the board's SATA ports.

The reason I went with P4 (and not older), has to do with power. Older platforms power the CPU from 5V and 3.3V power rails, and modern PSUs flat-out won't work as they have weaker 5V/3.3V rails. I don't want to take a chance with a used older-gen PSU that has fat 5V rails (think >30 A). The P4 platform is the first to use 12V to power the CPU, and I'll be able to use a modern PSU.

View attachment 183161

This seems to be from the days when even Intel had PGA sockets.

 

[Tomgang]

That's one tiny board. I mean, it's smaller than my hand, maybe!

Yeah mini-itx boards are small. It's not called mini for nothing.

But I am limited to this size, If I want two systems in one case. It takes one mini-itx and one ATX size motherboard. Case is Phanteks Enthoo 719 black version or Enthoo Luxe 2 is it also known as.

 

[Valantar]

My stepson's new employer gave him a generous allowance for a work chair, so he got this which apparently is very comfortable indeed. This is to go with the high end PC they supplied him with.
Unfortunately they don't have any more vacancies
View attachment 183190

Ugh, I don't mean to rain on his parade, but when getting the expenses covered, why not get an actually long-term comfortable and ergonomically beneficial chair (i.e. a good office chair)? Those "racing seat" "gaming chairs" are widely known to be pretty terrible in that regard, forcing your shoulders forward and inward thanks to the backrest shape, not providing sufficient lumbar support (those pillows are woefully insufficient, go flat quickly and don't stay in place), typically have no seat adjustments beyond height... They're mostly fine for people below 25-30 who haven't yet started to feel how their bodies wear down over time, but for anyone else, those are really not good for your body. Oh, and the pricing is also bordering on scam levels of markup. Gaming chairs are a silly trend that hopefully will either mature into actually being good chairs or going away entirely.

 

[Splinterdog]

Ugh, I don't mean to rain on his parade, but when getting the expenses covered, why not get an actually long-term comfortable and ergonomically beneficial chair (i.e. a good office chair)? Those "racing seat" "gaming chairs" are widely known to be pretty terrible in that regard, forcing your shoulders forward and inward thanks to the backrest shape, not providing sufficient lumbar support (those pillows are woefully insufficient, go flat quickly and don't stay in place), typically have no seat adjustments beyond height... They're mostly fine for people below 25-30 who haven't yet started to feel how their bodies wear down over time, but for anyone else, those are really not good for your body. Oh, and the pricing is also bordering on scam levels of markup. Gaming chairs are a silly trend that hopefully will either mature into actually being good chairs or going away entirely.

Thanks for your reply.
He loves the chair and finds it incredibly comfortable, perhaps in comparison with what he had before, which has now been passed down to my wife.
For me, the most important aspect is back support and yes, they are overpriced, but it's up to him in the end.

 

[Liviu Cojocaru]

Got lucky and managed to get an MSI RTX 3080 Suprim X for £771, had to change my PSU as well. Bought the Corsair RM850 for £115

 

[cst1992]

Got lucky and managed to get a MSI RTX 3080 Suprim X for £771

Lucky indeed! That's much less than what it'd cost over here(£854)!
Congratulations!

 

[Durvelle27]

So it’s sad to say this but my rig not even built yet and I got got the upgrade itch again

Ended up picking up a 5800X today

 

[Valantar]

Thanks for your reply.
He loves the chair and finds it incredibly comfortable, perhaps in comparison with what he had before, which has now been passed down to my wife.
For me, the most important aspect is back support and yes, they are overpriced, but it's up to him in the end.

Oh, absolutely. At times I just get annoyed when I see people making questionable choices My impression is that most people find those chairs immediately comfortable, the issue is that that doesn't actually say anything about whether it's good (or bad!) for your body. Those "racing seats" tend to encourage slouching due to the combination of poor lumbar support, poor seat adjustability and the backrest pushing your shoulders forwards, which means that they both teach poor sitting habits and are potentially harmful long-term. Oh, and there are tons of reports of even "premium" gaming chairs having very questionable longevity in terms of materials (seat foam padding collapsing or outer fabrics wearing through). Here's hoping he has a strong back and neither him nor the chair are prone to those issues

 

[cst1992]

Ended up picking up a 5800X today

The way you're holding it seems to indicate that it doesn't come with a CPU cooler.
Is that correct?

 

[Durvelle27]

The way you're holding it seems to indicate that it doesn't come with a CPU cooler.
Is that correct?

You are correct. It doesn’t include a cooler.

 

[Valantar]

The way you're holding it seems to indicate that it doesn't come with a CPU cooler.
Is that correct?

AFAIK none of the 5000-series CPUs above the 5600X do.

 

[Durvelle27]

Gave the wife my old case and bought me a new one