General PC Help Thread 2

[Memento Mori]

I'm deeply fond of my current PC which I built myself 8 years ago but I think I'm at the limit of upgrading it. The case is too small and it was a struggle to put in a GTX970 a few years back. In order to play HL:Alyx, I would need more RAM, a new GPU and a new CPU so I think it's time for a completely new system.

I've seen recently though that Overclockers and Scan will custom build the PC for you if you choose the components. Being a lazy bastard that sounds intriguing but has anyone used this service previously? Rough estimate how much extra would I be paying for the convenience rather than buying all parts and doing it myself?

[KjGarly]

I'm looking to go the Ryzen 7 + new mobo route next month if, IF, I can spare the dosh. Think I'd get about £200+ back from my current I7 and mobo.

[Jenuall]

I've been flip flopping between going Ryzen or sticking with Intel for my new build for about 3 months now. The Ryzen CPUs report great figures in terms of benchmarking but the FPS in games still don't seem to match up to the i7's

[Jam-Master Jay]

There have been some decent offers on Ryzen CPUs over the past couple of months with the 3600/X being pretty hard to beat in terms of value and I saw a 3900X dip below £400 earlier today.

[Jenuall]

Yeah I'm still leaning toward the Ryzen as well, it's definitely a fantastic price point for what you are getting.

[KjGarly]

OK so have funds to buy a Ryzen, noticed on eBay there's a MB bundle with a Ryzen 5 3600X (Motherboard is an MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max) for £301.99.

Anywhere cheaper than that (I'd prefer the MB to be bundled rather than separate) and I'm right in thinking it will be much better than my current I7 7700/MSI Z270 Camo Squad.

My current Ram is compatible with Ryzen (16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport 3200MHz) and of course I'll be using my RTX 2060.

Edit*

Purchased a Ryzen 5 3600x with an MSI B450 Tomahawk Max, hopefully here by Friday/Saturday. My current I7 7700 and Mobo/Hyper 212 cooler should scrape a bit of the money back once I pop them on eBay as a bundle.

[KjGarly]

And done! Installed the new motherboard myself with the 3600X and booted first time (Bios then straight to Windows) which I was a little proud of seeing as I had to get my dads friend to sort out the swap over of a MB last time. Tested a few games to make sure it actually works. Had a few screws left over and can I strawberry float find what they were from other than the DVD Writer I left out. Wanted the drive bay out for more breathing room but couldn’t find a way of removing it. Was planning a tidy up of the cables but gave up on that one

[SandyCoin]

Anyone use an external SSD drive? I'm contemplating getting one as the regular HDD's I have keep slowing down and I'm worried they will pack in soon. I'm put off by the price though as you don't get much memory for a decent amount of money.

Are they worth the investment. I'm only guessing they will be much more reliable that standard ones. I also thought they'd be a bit cheaper these days, but clearly I'm wrong.

[Meep]

Do you really need a proper external drive these days? You can get 250GB thumb drives for like £30. I suppose that depends on your use case though.

[Mafro]

I need an external SSD to keep virtual machines on. A normal thumb drive is too slow. I got this one for Christmas, it's about the size of a credit card https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MU-PA1 ... 466&sr=8-3

[7256930752]

I have a budget spreadsheet that I've made a load of changes to that has suddenly reverted back to a very old version. This coincides with me logging on the PC for the first time in ages, is it possible that Google Drive has updated to whatever is on the PC?

[Errkal]

I have a budget spreadsheet that I've made a load of changes to that has suddenly reverted back to a very old version. This coincides with me logging on the PC for the first time in ages, is it possible that Google Drive has updated to whatever is on the PC?

Probably, does google drive have version? You may be able to refer to your “proper” version.

Might also be worth migrating it to sheets instead of a file stored in drive, it will have proper version and doesn’t sync as such so won’t have this issue again.

[7256930752]

I have a budget spreadsheet that I've made a load of changes to that has suddenly reverted back to a very old version. This coincides with me logging on the PC for the first time in ages, is it possible that Google Drive has updated to whatever is on the PC?

Probably, does google drive have version? You may be able to refer to your “proper” version.

Might also be worth migrating it to sheets instead of a file stored in drive, it will have proper version and doesn’t sync as such so won’t have this issue again.

So just don't use Google Drive?

[Errkal]

I have a budget spreadsheet that I've made a load of changes to that has suddenly reverted back to a very old version. This coincides with me logging on the PC for the first time in ages, is it possible that Google Drive has updated to whatever is on the PC?

Probably, does google drive have version? You may be able to refer to your “proper” version.

Might also be worth migrating it to sheets instead of a file stored in drive, it will have proper version and doesn’t sync as such so won’t have this issue again.

So just don't use Google Drive?

If all you doing is a spreadsheet and you don't mind using a web based editor then yeah, your adding extra complexity with no major benefit by using an excel file in Google drive

[7256930752]

I have a budget spreadsheet that I've made a load of changes to that has suddenly reverted back to a very old version. This coincides with me logging on the PC for the first time in ages, is it possible that Google Drive has updated to whatever is on the PC?

Probably, does google drive have version? You may be able to refer to your “proper” version.

Might also be worth migrating it to sheets instead of a file stored in drive, it will have proper version and doesn’t sync as such so won’t have this issue again.

So just don't use Google Drive?

If all you doing is a spreadsheet and you don't mind using a web based editor then yeah, your adding extra complexity with no major benefit by using an excel file in Google drive

Cool, thanks.

[SandyCoin]

I need an external SSD to keep virtual machines on. A normal thumb drive is too slow. I got this one for Christmas, it's about the size of a credit card https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MU-PA1 ... 466&sr=8-3

Yeah that's one I was looking at. Had any problems with it all? Any slow down?

[Mafro]

I need an external SSD to keep virtual machines on. A normal thumb drive is too slow. I got this one for Christmas, it's about the size of a credit card https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-MU-PA1 ... 466&sr=8-3

Yeah that's one I was looking at. Had any problems with it all? Any slow down?

Not had any problems so far and transfer speeds are rapid.

[KjGarly]

Ordered a new cooler (Gammaxx 400 Blue LED) which came today and what a horrible experience that was pushing down to clip it on against the CPU/Motherboard. I actually thought I was either going to bend and snap it or crush the CPU



Cables slightly tidy now

[Choclet-Milk]

My desktop is woefully out of date (it was mid-range about 6 years ago), so I'm thinking of putting together a new one:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Gxnzjp
Any thoughts on this setup? Something I've missed, or could do better for the price?

[KjGarly]

My desktop is woefully out of date (it was mid-range about 6 years ago), so I'm thinking of putting together a new one:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Gxnzjp
Any thoughts on this setup? Something I've missed, or could do better for the price?

Maybe switch the GPU out for a 1660 Ti if you can spare the extra?