(PCGT VI) It's not just about hardware

Feliz Knoyvidad wrote:Hey guys, anyone know if there's a good deal on for Alien Isolation? Preferably tied to a gooseberry fool launcher?

I'm not too familiar with the Epic game launcher. Is it a pain to use?

jawa2 wrote:

Feliz Knoyvidad wrote:Hey guys, anyone know if there's a good deal on for Alien Isolation? Preferably tied to a gooseberry fool launcher?

I'm not too familiar with the Epic game launcher. Is it a pain to use?

Any games I've bought through Epic, I launch through the GOG Galaxy launcher instead.

jawa2 wrote:

Feliz Knoyvidad wrote:Hey guys, anyone know if there's a good deal on for Alien Isolation? Preferably tied to a gooseberry fool launcher?

I'm not too familiar with the Epic game launcher. Is it a pain to use?

I find it better than Steam in all honesty, seems far less cluttered.

jawa2 wrote:

Feliz Knoyvidad wrote:Hey guys, anyone know if there's a good deal on for Alien Isolation? Preferably tied to a gooseberry fool launcher?

I'm not too familiar with the Epic game launcher. Is it a pain to use?

It is crazily resource intensive. When it runs in the background (ie not even open) it makes my 5600X 10C hotter.

Epic launcher is pretty bare bones but fine, seems to generate strawberry floating massive notifications though which I've yet to investigate whether they can be turned off

Ding Dong Merrily on Hide wrote:

jawa2 wrote:

Feliz Knoyvidad wrote:Hey guys, anyone know if there's a good deal on for Alien Isolation? Preferably tied to a gooseberry fool launcher?

I'm not too familiar with the Epic game launcher. Is it a pain to use?

I find it better than Steam in all honesty, seems far less cluttered.

It scales horribly, like it was designed for mobile, the overlay in game scales incorrectly as well, so you have to click way over to the left of buttons, and the lack of proper lack of any sort options in library is a pain in the arse, too. Also, there's still no cart option in store, which isn't an issue when you're only there to claim 1 free game, but I remember seeing a game on there with a load of free DLC, and all had to be claimed and checked out one at a time.

I also had an extended period where the "hamburger" options button just didn't work for months, and it was stuck in Spanish for me. This persisted even after uninstalling and reinstalling.

Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

Super Dragon 64 wrote:Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

I got this for £280. But it seems the price has jumped now. Keep an eye out, surely there will be a good deal over Christmas.

Acer Nitro VG270UPbmiipx 27 inch WQHD Gaming Monitor, (IPS Panel, FreeSync, 144Hz, 1ms, ZeroFrame, DP, HDMI, Speakers) Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07G9J35CQ/ ... UTF8&psc=1

Pathologic 2 (Steam) - £4.29 @ CD Keys

Super Dragon 64 wrote:Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

Currently looking into these at the minute looking at 34'' Iiyama curved monitor.
Scan did have a Gigabyte 32'' monitor for £300 but its now gone to £340 it did review well.

Bertie wrote:

Super Dragon 64 wrote:Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

I got this for £280. But it seems the price has jumped now. Keep an eye out, surely there will be a good deal over Christmas.

Acer Nitro VG270UPbmiipx 27 inch WQHD Gaming Monitor, (IPS Panel, FreeSync, 144Hz, 1ms, ZeroFrame, DP, HDMI, Speakers) Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07G9J35CQ/ ... UTF8&psc=1

darksideby182 wrote:

Super Dragon 64 wrote:Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

Currently looking into these at the minute looking at 34'' Iiyama curved monitor.
Scan did have a Gigabyte 32'' monitor for £300 but its now gone to £340 it did review well.

Thanks for the recommendations. I don't want to go higher than 27 inches so the Acer seems to be pretty much what I'm looking for. I'll keep an eye on it to see if it drops in price again.

Anyone had a graphics card develop a whining noise?

My RTX 2060 (had it since February) has just started doing it and I'm already thinking of replacing it as I can't stand hearing it.

Its doing it constantly, not just when playing games.

Have you checked for dust buildup on the GPU fans? That can sometimes introduce extra noise.

Does it sound like coil whine?


I have decided to be that guy and wait to upgrade my cpu and mobo till the next Ryzen update. I will still get a new GPU in the new year but I can't be arsed with the faffing for a zen 3 cpu when the AM4 is effectively end of line.

Xeno wrote:Does it sound like coil whine?


I have decided to be that guy and wait to upgrade my cpu and mobo till the next Ryzen update. I will still get a new GPU in the new year but I can't be arsed with the faffing for a zen 3 cpu when the AM4 is effectively end of line.

I initially thought so but having seen people describe it as a 'buzzng' sound, I'm not so sure.

Super Dragon 64 wrote:

Bertie wrote:

Super Dragon 64 wrote:Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

I got this for £280. But it seems the price has jumped now. Keep an eye out, surely there will be a good deal over Christmas.

Acer Nitro VG270UPbmiipx 27 inch WQHD Gaming Monitor, (IPS Panel, FreeSync, 144Hz, 1ms, ZeroFrame, DP, HDMI, Speakers) Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07G9J35CQ/ ... UTF8&psc=1

darksideby182 wrote:

Super Dragon 64 wrote:Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

Currently looking into these at the minute looking at 34'' Iiyama curved monitor.
Scan did have a Gigabyte 32'' monitor for £300 but its now gone to £340 it did review well.

Thanks for the recommendations. I don't want to go higher than 27 inches so the Acer seems to be pretty much what I'm looking for. I'll keep an eye on it to see if it drops in price again.

Down to £350 with the option for 5 monthly payments. Have a look at reviews, the stand is very wobbly and so mine is mounted on a arm fixed to the desk. Much better.

Bertie wrote:

Super Dragon 64 wrote:

Bertie wrote:

Super Dragon 64 wrote:Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

I got this for £280. But it seems the price has jumped now. Keep an eye out, surely there will be a good deal over Christmas.

Acer Nitro VG270UPbmiipx 27 inch WQHD Gaming Monitor, (IPS Panel, FreeSync, 144Hz, 1ms, ZeroFrame, DP, HDMI, Speakers) Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07G9J35CQ/ ... UTF8&psc=1

darksideby182 wrote:

Super Dragon 64 wrote:Has anyone ever seen any good 1440p, 120Hz monitors for under £300? I'm looking to get a new monitor bit might need to settle for a lower resolution or refresh rate.

Currently looking into these at the minute looking at 34'' Iiyama curved monitor.
Scan did have a Gigabyte 32'' monitor for £300 but its now gone to £340 it did review well.

Thanks for the recommendations. I don't want to go higher than 27 inches so the Acer seems to be pretty much what I'm looking for. I'll keep an eye on it to see if it drops in price again.

Down to £350 with the option for 5 monthly payments. Have a look at reviews, the stand is very wobbly and so mine is mounted on a arm fixed to the desk. Much better.

Used one on my last two monitors and don't think I could go back to not using it.

Ding Dong Merrily on Hide wrote:

Xeno wrote:Does it sound like coil whine?


I have decided to be that guy and wait to upgrade my cpu and mobo till the next Ryzen update. I will still get a new GPU in the new year but I can't be arsed with the faffing for a zen 3 cpu when the AM4 is effectively end of line.

I initially thought so but having seen people describe it as a 'buzzng' sound, I'm not so sure.

As Imrahil said I would check the case fans or maybe the cpu fan.

Ding Dong Merrily on Hide wrote:

Xeno wrote:Does it sound like coil whine?


I have decided to be that guy and wait to upgrade my cpu and mobo till the next Ryzen update. I will still get a new GPU in the new year but I can't be arsed with the faffing for a zen 3 cpu when the AM4 is effectively end of line.

I initially thought so but having seen people describe it as a 'buzzng' sound, I'm not so sure.

I've maybe had something similar with my 1060 for a little while when the fan speed ramps up past a certain RPM. Apparently it's the bearings coming loose. I haven't bothered really looking into it as I'm looking to replace it anyway but if your card is still under warranty you may want to have the manufacturer take a look at it.

Ironhide few things you could try:

seat and unseat the card
remove and reattach the heatsink
swap the heatsink/fan for an aftermarket solution
dust the fan

hope you can sort it!