General PC Help Thread - OP updated with useful links - READ

[HSH28]

Do the few extra features in the sixth gen make them much better than fourth gen cores (i don't mean just clock speed)? Basically, something like 4xxxk or 6x00k ? I'm ignoring 7th gen because mad expense.

The 6th gen processors will be better, but probably the main reason to go with them is that you then get DDR4 RAM which should make a difference.

[That's not a growth]

Apparently a few tests have been done on some boards that take both DDR3 and DDR4 and, shock horror, there's not much difference really.

Also, M2 drives aren't faster than SATA3 SSDs in the real world due to other parts of the system being a bottleneck.

It's all a con! *dons tinfoil hat*

[Orbital]

I didn't even know what M2 was, I think i'll get a sixth gen core then, something affordable I5, I7 seems overkill, but if you guys suggest i will consider.

What mobo brand or model has top jazz rep?

Edit: thisseems pretty decent.

Thoughts?

[HSH28]

Apparently a few tests have been done on some boards that take both DDR3 and DDR4 and, shock horror, there's not much difference really.

Are you talking about tests where they run the fastest possible DDR3 RAM and the slowest possible DDR4 RAM at the same speeds 'and, shock horror, there's not much difference really'?

Because that's not the point. Pretty sure running a PC with DDR4 running at 3Ghz+ would see a difference from a PC running DDR3 running at around 2Ghz.

EDIT - Assuming you are talking about comparisons where the system isn't bottlenecked by its graphics card.

[That's not a growth]

Just general tests really.

Basically my point is don't let it be a major deciding factor, find an affordable chip and board and go from there.

[SandyCoin]

Having speaker issues. Unplugged them when I need to take my PC to another room to connect to ethernet. Came back, plugged in as normal and no sound was coming out.

Speaker icon has a red X next to it and is saying no speakers found.

I go to playback devices and it has...

NVIDIA HDMI Output (port 1) Not plugged in
NVIDIA HDMI Output (port 2) not plugged in
Speakers Realtek high def audio not plugged in

Absolutely no idea why this is happening as I literally unplugged and plugged them back in.

Any ideas?

[<]:^D]

check the input on both ends
check the contacts on both ends
check the ports themselves (may have been pushed in when you plugged back in)
try restarting with them plugged in/restarting with them out, then re-plugging

other than that im stumped!

[SandyCoin]

check the input on both ends
check the contacts on both ends
check the ports themselves (may have been pushed in when you plugged back in)
try restarting with them plugged in/restarting with them out, then re-plugging

other than that im stumped!

yeah, done that.

No reason for it to have been damaged though. It was working literally 20 minutes before it went wrong. Then I plugged them back in and the MSi audio manager popped up (that doesn't normally happen) asking if it was line in, out or whatever.

Realtek Digital output was disabled but is now back (set to default device). However, speakers are still saying not plugged in. No sound whatsoever. Completely random as I literally unplugged and plugged them back in.

It's certainly recognising that speakers are being plugged in, but not fully recognising them.

strawberry floating infuriating.

EDIT: Sorted it. I assumed it was a device issue, but it was telling me that the driver was up to date. So I had to tell it to find the driver on the computer. No idea why unplugging them caused the issue though

[<]:^D]

that is very weird! glad you sorted it out

[Death's Head]

check the input on both ends
check the contacts on both ends
check the ports themselves (may have been pushed in when you plugged back in)
try restarting with them plugged in/restarting with them out, then re-plugging

other than that im stumped!

yeah, done that.

No reason for it to have been damaged though. It was working literally 20 minutes before it went wrong. Then I plugged them back in and the MSi audio manager popped up (that doesn't normally happen) asking if it was line in, out or whatever.

Realtek Digital output was disabled but is now back (set to default device). However, speakers are still saying not plugged in. No sound whatsoever. Completely random as I literally unplugged and plugged them back in.

It's certainly recognising that speakers are being plugged in, but not fully recognising them.

strawberry floating infuriating.

EDIT: Sorted it. I assumed it was a device issue, but it was telling me that the driver was up to date. So I had to tell it to find the driver on the computer. No idea why unplugging them caused the issue though

Are they USB and maybe you plugged them into a different port?

[SandyCoin]

Nah just normal pc speakers. Power plug and an audio cable to the back of the pc.

Maybe I put it in the wrong socket first. But still not sure why that would cause the problem.

[Orbital]

Thoughts on a NXZT H440 new edition Vs. Fractal Define S?

Reading the former has shitter airflow and pretty bad cable management but it's quite pretty and i can get it relatively cheap.

Edit: Despite the h440 looking much prettier for me, i went with the define S as the engineering is supposedly far superior.

[Victor Mildew]

Got to return my monitor as it has several grey stripes running horizontally along the screen which get more pronounced the higher the refresh rate is, so if i play at 144hz its shite

[Orbital]

I'm 1 component away from upgrade completion with only the GPU to go, i don't game much but do plan on having a decent VR rig for the future:

I've now purchased:

MSI Z270 M5 which is promo'd with an m2 drive £200 (if stocks last lol msi)
I5 6600k £206
Noctua NH-D15 £67
Fractal Designs Define S £75
Seasonic X750 750W 80+ Gold Certified £89
Corsair Vengeance LED 16GB 2x 8GB 3000MHz Overclocking DDR4 Memory £98

Total so far: £735

The final piece is a graphics card that won't break the bank, but will do until i know i absolutely need it, so i've been eyeing up the MSI NVIDIA GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr which i know is an old card, but seems roughly matchthe 1060.

I truly have no idea about GPUs today but didn't want to spend more than £300, so can someone tell me if £218 is a good price for that card which 2 years old (but should perform well) - or if it's a gooseberry fool card and i should look elsewhere.

I'm quite happy with the rest of my build, but feel free to let me know if it's good or gooseberry fool.

[That's not a growth]

You can get the 6GB 1060 version of that GPU for £250, which I'd personally go for, but the 970 is still a good card. Also, I'd go for the L9i cooler since I assume your mobo will hang vertically in your case which always makes me uneasy with such a big cooler hanging off it.
Also, mobo promo page doesn't load for me so can't see what it is for, but £200 for a mobo and ssd doesn't jump out as a massive great deal unless it's 500GB.

[Victor Mildew]

Looking at buying this (or the 24 inch version, I'm unsure).

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/ ... 9-pdt.html

Annoyingly it seems hard to find a monitor of this spec with inbuilt speakers, which my current one I'm sending back has (really handy for passing my ps4 on it.

Anyone recommend some external speakers that can take both optical and 3.5mm input? Failing that, a G-sync monitor with built in speakers would be better.

Edit: this looks alright https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-agon ... 46-ao.html

[Orbital]

You can get the 6GB 1060 version of that GPU for £250, which I'd personally go for, but the 970 is still a good card. Also, I'd go for the L9i cooler since I assume your mobo will hang vertically in your case which always makes me uneasy with such a big cooler hanging off it.
Also, mobo promo page doesn't load for me so can't see what it is for, but £200 for a mobo and ssd doesn't jump out as a massive great deal unless it's 500GB.

I was having major doubts about that promo anyway so i cancelled it on your advice, from the site: Z270 GAMING M5 motherboard, get the latest Intel SSD 600P for free! (256gb)

What mobo would you recommend then? I was eyeing up the asus sabertooth but it's also really expensive, i just want something that'd be valid in about 3-5 years when VR is much cheaper. I imagine a cheaper z170 would be the way to go.

I think i can get away with the bigger cooler, i've done a bunch of pcb layout / assembly and know they can take quite a bit of stress. Those heatsinks are also very light. But thanks for the suggestion.

Great call on the gfx suggestion, I'm eyeing up thisvariant given the two deals.

[Tafdolphin]

Looking at buying this (or the 24 inch version, I'm unsure).

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/ ... 9-pdt.html

Annoyingly it seems hard to find a monitor of this spec with inbuilt speakers, which my current one I'm sending back has (really handy for passing my ps4 on it.

Anyone recommend some external speakers that can take both optical and 3.5mm input? Failing that, a G-sync monitor with built in speakers would be better.

Edit: this looks alright https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-agon ... 46-ao.html

For about that price I got a Asus PG279Q which has inbuilt speakers. Incredibly hard to find, but if you see one nab it. The Acer equivalent is the XB271HU.

[That's not a growth]

Actually, if you really specifically want that mobo and that SSD, then that's a good price, I was thinking it would be a cheaper Z170/H170.

That gigabyte is a decent GPU too, Tom's hardware have been comparing different types of cards, like loads of 1070s and a bunch of 1080s, can't remember if they've done the same with 1060s though.

A big cooler is normally fine, otherwise they wouldn't make them, that's again more of a personal preference since there isn't too much of a difference in performance, especially at stock. Personally I'd only go for the larger one if I was going for the best OC I could.

[Orbital]

Actually, if you really specifically want that mobo and that SSD, then that's a good price, I was thinking it would be a cheaper Z170/H170.

That gigabyte is a decent GPU too, Tom's hardware have been comparing different types of cards, like loads of 1070s and a bunch of 1080s, can't remember if they've done the same with 1060s though.

A big cooler is normally fine, otherwise they wouldn't make them, that's again more of a personal preference since there isn't too much of a difference in performance, especially at stock. Personally I'd only go for the larger one if I was going for the best OC I could.

Cool, I ended up spending £40 more for a brand new 1060 G1 which supposedly has a backplate (don't even know what this for, weight distribution i guess), better cooler and better clocks. and RGB lighting but only on their logo. got a Gigabyte FOC XM300 GAMING MOUSE thrown in for free, nice.

I might re-order that mobo then, it;'s only £60 ish more than the good z170's and supposedly comes with the m2 drive.