(PCGT VI) It's not just about hardware

I am looking forward to seeing more the new Ryzen 7000 chips on AM5 after the Computex keynote.

I'm 'looking forward' to seeing the prices alongside a new X670 motherboard. At least the power draw is still looking good for ITX systems.

Howdy chaps. I'm looking to do some PC gaming and streaming and so need to get myself a PC. Whilst it would be great to play new games like Elden Ring I think perhaps getting a PC capable of running it may well be more than I'm prepared to initially spend.
There's probably countless older games I've still got to play (case in point I picked up Bioshock from the Epic Games store) so I think I'd be fine with something that can run that sort of level and stream.
Can anyone provide some guidance on what I'd be needing in terms of PC bits and a cost estimate to do this?

I'm also sort of looking on Facebook Marketplace for second hand gaming pcs but have no idea if the price is any good or what they'd be capable of running
I.e.
windows 10
Intel(R) core(TM) i5-8400 16gb ram
Nvidia geforce gtx 1060 3gb
For £400

Brand new IONZ Pro Gamer Chassis with 3 red fans
MSI H110M Gaming Motherboard Core 15-7500 3.4ghz 7th gen CPU 16gb Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2133mhz memory
500gb Samsung SSD harddrive DVDRW
MSI 2gb AMD Radeon R9 270x gaming graphics card
For £280

drivers. CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (6 Cores 12 Threads) 3.9 Ghz turbo boost
GPU
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 3GB (Faster than GTX 1650)
RAM
16GB DDR4 RAM
Boot Drive
128GB Samsung SATA SSD (Windows boots very fast)
Second Drive
2TB Seagate Video 3.5" hard drive Case
MicroATX with controllable RGB and tinted, tempered glass door
Wi-Fi
USB 5GHZ (Wi-Fi 5/VWi-Fi AC) adaptor PSU
700W 80PLUS power supply (all black cables ensuring clean looking build)
For £420

Are any of these any good for what I'd be looking to do? And how are they price wise?
Cheers all

I compared the two graphics cards for you here - generally I just type in [PART NAME] v [PART NAME] and something pops up :lol:

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/N ... 3646vs2188

I have a i5 4590 and a 1050Ti which is probably a bit below what you're looking at. If you want me to check anything on Can You Run It let me know. I too grabbed Bioshock off Epic and I'm expecting it to run :lol:

No idea about second hand pricing or streaming demands though. I would probably lean towards getting the best CPU/GPU you can afford, because stuff like an SSD is easy enough to put in later.

That last one looks ok. I mean nothing spectacular. Do you have a budget in mind? With that sort of spec I guess you’ll be looking at older stuff and 1080p 60maximum. I reckon you’ll be on medium at best.

I know this isn't a specific PC question but I don't think this deserves a dedicated topic so I'm asking in here.

With PC components how powerful could you make a machine the size of something like a Wii?
Could you get to XBOX One X power level or PS5 Pro?
Have any of you built a small form factor PC or are tower PCs still the normal way to go?

SFF is something I have wanted to build however it is quite an involved thing and needs a lot of planning and reading up on to make sure you have the correct components that would fit a case. I would be lazy and just get a sff pc and be done and accept I wont be playing anything to graphically heavy.

If you remove the restriction to something a bit larger you can get a nice Dan case and stick a 3080 iin ti and an ITX mobo. https://www.dan-cases.com/c4sfx.php if you look at the spec of the case they recommend parts that are compatible as well.

Peter Crisp wrote:I know this isn't a specific PC question but I don't think this deserves a dedicated topic so I'm asking in here.

With PC components how powerful could you make a machine the size of something like a Wii?
Could you get to XBOX One X power level or PS5 Pro?
Have any of you built a small form factor PC or are tower PCs still the normal way to go?

If you want something the size of a Wii you'd probably be looking at a NUC (even that might be a bit bigger than the Wii). That would have integrated graphics so you'd be nowhere near current console gen power.

If you're specifically building a PC from parts then AFAIK you're tied into the main motherboard form factors (ATX, microATX and miniITX) which will determine the size of the case you'd need. A powerful GPU will almost certainly be massive and may not physically fit into a SFF case (let alone the cooling you'd need). Ditto a big CPU cooler.

If you don't need a small PC and are starting out with your first build I'd say go big on the form factor (ATX) and on the case as the smaller ones can be fiddly and need a bit more thought for airflow. I've not built an SFF but have built a caseless PC and so have thought about ways to reduce clutter and size etc so I have fewer parts on the wall.

Peter Crisp wrote:I know this isn't a specific PC question but I don't think this deserves a dedicated topic so I'm asking in here.

With PC components how powerful could you make a machine the size of something like a Wii?
Could you get to XBOX One X power level or PS5 Pro?
Have any of you built a small form factor PC or are tower PCs still the normal way to go?

A friend of mine builds smaller stuff. He built an ‘Xbox Pc’ in an Xbox one shell. The issue isn’t so much cpu or ram, the limiting factor is GPU. You end up needing single fan air cooled cards. You might possibly get a water cooled version in, like the Corsair one (still bigger than a series x). There are some series x type cases (nzxt H1 or the themaltake p100). But I think they are all bigger.

Best you can do is probably a 3060 in a single fan really small form factor. Those cases above take most of the dual fan GPUs and some of the shorter triples. But much bigger than a wii.

The Corsair one has got some serious grunt. But it’s expensive.

Bertie wrote:
Peter Crisp wrote:A friend of mine builds smaller stuff. He built an ‘Xbox Pc’ in an Xbox one shell. The issue isn’t so much cpu or ram, the limiting factor is GPU. You end up needing single fan air cooled cards. You might possibly get a water cooled version in, like the Corsair one (still bigger than a series x). There are some series x type cases (nzxt H1 or the themaltake p100). But I think they are all bigger.

Best you can do is probably a 3060 in a single fan really small form factor. Those cases above take most of the dual fan GPUs and some of the shorter triples. But much bigger than a wii.

My last PC build had a Q6600 cpu so whenever that was?

Back then graphics cards were pretty regular size but I look at video's of graphics cards now and they're bloody huge.
A 3080 would have filled my old pc tower and I seriously doubt I had the power supply to run it.
It's no wonder console manufacturers can't use the most modern GPUs even if they could afford them as I get the feeling a console with a 3080 inside would be bloody massive.

The 3090 which I'm far to cheap to even consider is an absolute beast.

It depends. The consoles do pretty well considering the power and heat these new cards generate. Cooling is absolutely the limiting factor. The Corsair one does pretty well but it’s got water cooled cpu and GPU and maximises airflow well. I’ve seen the tear downs of the consoles and there is quite a lot of unused areas, lots of plastic, but not the best airflow. It makes me wonder if they properly embraced it could they have a big open intake and help airflow.

All of this pushes the boundary of ‘does it fit under my tv’. So it’s a constant compromise.

YouTube

Peter Crisp wrote:I know this isn't a specific PC question but I don't think this deserves a dedicated topic so I'm asking in here.

With PC components how powerful could you make a machine the size of something like a Wii?
Could you get to XBOX One X power level or PS5 Pro?
Have any of you built a small form factor PC or are tower PCs still the normal way to go?

Without the proprietary cards inside of those consoles, its extremely difficult to get the form factor and power output required. You can build viable small form pcs that will perform at a very decent level - but you end up needing more space to deal with the larger size of modern graphics cards, which are designed to be modular rather than embeded like in console design. You could have a small form, powerful cpu build with only the absolute basicos in it, and then use a GPU enclosure I guess.

Get a notification that the Final Fantasy VII remake is on sale on Epic Games Store.

£37.26 after all discounts.

:simper:

I will wait for it getting to steam.....sale.

When I made my new PC, I ended up moving my old PC into a new case and keeping it set up in a different room, so I couldn't carry my Windows license across from an old (inactive) PC to a new one. What's the best/cheapest way of getting a Windows license now? I use the Remote Desktop Connection pretty frequently, so from what I can see it would need to be a Pro key?

After a bit of Googling, it looks like it's slightly cheaper to get a Windows 10 key and then let it upgrade itself to Windows 11 automatically instead of buying a Windows 11 key, but I'm always a little nervous about buying a key in case it's one of the not-quite-legitimate sources...

I recommend…

https://www.electronicfirst.com/ef-weekly-sale/

PC Specific stuff from todays many Xbox announcements -

Microsoft is Bringing New Gaming Experiences to Microsoft Edge and Windows 11

We’re continuing to collaborate across Microsoft to provide great gaming experiences. That work continues with new updates coming to Windows 11 to deliver an even better gaming experience:

Optimizations for windowed games are currently being tested in the Windows Insider program. These are designed to significantly improve latency and unlock other exciting gaming features, including Auto HDR and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR).

A new HDR calibration app will enable players to improve color accuracy and consistency of their HDR displays.

The Game Pass Widget will allow players to browse and discover games from Game Pass and jump back into their recently played titles.

Controller bar features a list of most recent games, and shortcuts to popular game launchers, including the Xbox app. Controller bar enables players to jump back into their games or even access Xbox Cloud Gaming without the need for a mouse and keyboard. This is also currently being tested in the Windows Insider program.

We’re also excited to share how Microsoft Edge is evolving to meet gamers’ needs and help bring gaming to everyone, everywhere. Exclusive new gaming features are coming soon to the desktop version of Microsoft Edge, including some Xbox Cloud Gaming integrations:

A new personalized gaming home page featuring news, game guides, live streams, game highlights, tournaments, upcoming and newly released games, and the Xbox Cloud Gaming library, including easy access to recently played games and related content.

Built-in Clarity Boost makes gameplay from the cloud look sharper and clearer when playing in the Microsoft Edge browser on Windows.

The new Games menu in Microsoft Edge offers easy access to free, popular games like Microsoft Solitaire, Atari Asteroids, Microsoft Jewel, and Microsoft Edge’s exclusive Surf game, plus helps players discover new ones.

Efficiency mode helps improve gaming performance on Windows 10 and 11 to keep them running fast and smooth by automatically reducing browser resource usage when a PC game is launched.

Details and links - https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/06/09/ ... or-gaming/

PC Gaming Show is live just now and on till 10:30.

The Invincible looks pretty interesting.

Right up my street.

(PCGT VI) It's not just about hardware

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