New build issues

[SpyderTracks]

I got just one more question: can I contact PCS and ask them to upload every driver and piece of software they used for my build just like they did with an install image of Windows 10? Just so I can download them and store them on a drive somewhere in case I ever need to reinstall something without spending too much time sifting through 20 motherboard editions for example.

I don't believe that's possible because drivers change so frequently, so what they'd use to build it would be entirely different to the time you come to reinstalling.

But windows update will find all drivers aside from GPU driver, that you download from nvidia / AMD.

 

[FOX76255]

Thanks, you just melted my brain a little
Had to do a little double take on the drives. If the picture had connectors cropped out, I wouldn't even tell the difference between NVME and M2. mSATA I have not even heard of, maybe in passing but I honestly can't remember ever seeing one. Doubly embarrassing because I wouldn't even know where to plug these into a mobo without a manual or reference sheet.
PCI-E 3? 5? 20? I don't know, it's the socket underneath my cpu and that's all I know.

Joking aside, some of the tech seemed stagnant for a while but now that I'm at least trying to dig into some hardware related stuff, current and upcoming components look leaps and bounds ahead of ones released just a few years ago. CPUs and GPUs are somewhat easy to keep track of but, assuming there is genuine competition on the market and AMD/NV are trying to innovate, the stuff that's under the hood is honestly mind boggling. My old Phenom 2 x4 had process size [previously called manufacturing technology?] of 40nm. Ryzen 3600 has 7nm, with even SMALLER ones coming later on. And all of that in the span of a decade???
So yeah, if you, someone I would consider highly knowledgable - no disrespect to other forum goers - think you're often out of the loop, then imagine what happens when I try to internalise all the new bits of hardware and their specs/capabilities.

Edit: oops forgot the last post. That's fair, I'll just use windows update for everything barring GPU stuff.

 

[Aza]

Just touching back on the bit about the Samsung 970 M.2
Have you downloaded Samsung Magician? Its kinda bloatware, but also kinda not...
It will deal with firmware updates for the M.2 drive and also allow you to benchmark them and record performance, as well as giving health readouts on the drive.
I think with the 970's it doesnt have many additional features in terms of performance enhancement, but I know with the 980's you can enable a "full power" mode on it to boost it a little, also will allow you to trim the drive and set data provisioning if you wish.

I dont have it so it loads on start up (you'll need to change that in its settings) but it can be a useful reference tool and might give some reassurance regarding temps etc as it will tell you if its running too hot and tracks how much data is written etc

It will also give info on other drives, but its limited if it isnt Samsung
This is an old pic I used before but should give a brief idea

 

[FOX76255]

Sadly many programs are somewhat bloated because of CEF, but that's the industry standard now so there's not a lot you can do, though personally I prefer good old dotnet rather than chromium as far as software is concerned.
I might give this piece a try later on, mainly for firmware updates.

Also, any recommendations for a 24" monitor? Perhaps something from PCS' catalogue, but doesn't have to be strictly from there. Looking to upgrade this old one, preferrably 1080p, 60-75hz, something inexpensive.

 

[Aza]

I would avoid buying it from PCS if you can, not because theres anything wrong with it but because youll get a much wider range and can find some real deals on places like amazon etc.

I saw a post recently that had loads of monitors in it but I cant find it atm, theres a sub forum in sales advice about monitors and a few posts with info on them, this one has a video for best monitors for 2022 but have a google theres lots of advice about, this should get you started

best 1080p gaming monitor 2022 at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

Monitor Roundup 2022

Nice grading of monitors released this year, worth checking out

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[FOX76255]

Ah, yea I've seen that video, but those are mostly for gaming so they'll be anywhere between £50 and £100 more than I'm able to spend, really.
I think my old one might be developing a fault in the power adapter, buying a replacement is risky because if you get the voltage/amps wrong, the monitor will get fried.

 

[FOX76255]

Nothing super specific, just a 1080p monitor running 60hz. I know that's ancient tech but that's all I really need to get by.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Nothing super specific, just a 1080p monitor running 60hz. I know that's ancient tech but that's all I really need to get by.

I would strongly suggest not settling for 60Hz, it's incredibly poor especially at 1080p and it's just needless in this day and age, gaming monitors have come down so much in price. A 144hz would fit your GPU and give a far better experience overall. Otherwise you're just wasting the GPU.
But what's your max budget for the monitor?

 

[Aza]

I'm quite surprised to see an M.2 drive running at the temperatures reported earlier, even taking into account it being the OS drive...I have a cheap and cheerful ADATA M.2 drive as my OS drive and, despite me currently running compression on 6 video files and playing music through Firefox etc, it is only in the mid 30s according to HWMonitor and CrystalDiskInfo. Maybe Samsung's just run hotter?

Monitor-wise, guess it depends what you are looking for? Whether there's anything specific you need from it?

What motherboard/heatsinks with it though?

My OS drive (980 pro) is on a strix MB with a decent heatsink and tends to stay around 40 to 45C regardless of what I do, the games one (Firecuda 520) sits at a lower temp, high 30's unless playing stuff from what ive noticed. Both have heatsinks which are basically just metalic bars with a jelly like strip for heat transfer

 

[Aza]

I would strongly suggest not settling for 60Hz, it's incredibly poor especially at 1080p and it's just needless in this day and age, gaming monitors have come down so much in price. A 144hz would fit your GPU and give a far better experience overall. Otherwise you're just wasting the GPU.
But what's your max budget for the monitor?

AMD 6600 wasnt it? Loads of choice for 1080p at 144Hz and all pretty cheap.

 

[FOX76255]

Not sure, something around £130-140 max, anything higher just seems like overkill.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Not sure, something around £130-140 max, anything higher just seems like overkill.

Forget overkill, what's your max budget? The maximum you're willing to spend, that's completely separate to any performance of the monitor

Most people would spend £200 - 300 on a 1080p monitor.

I strongly advise, don't go with any cost saving measures, be open to spending what would make the best use of the system that you've paid money for. Remember, this is to be with you for 7 - 10 years, it's not a small insignificant purchase, and the more you spend, the better results you'll get.

A lot of people don't understand that a PC is a system, it is bottlenecked by the lowest performing component in the chain from PSU (input) to monitor (output). People think they can cheap out at various stages and don't realise the entire system suffers as a result.

Similarly with panel technology from entry level TN (which should be avoided) to VA to IPS, each stage is more expensive but returns better image quality.

You may not realise how much of a difference 60Hz is from 144Hz as I doubt you've ever experienced it, but even moreso at 1080p it's absolutely essential, especially when you're system so deserves it.

 

[FOX76255]

Max budget is none, really. I already spent £1500 on this desktop, but if my monitor happens to be on its way out, then I need some sort of contingency in form of one that's decent enough but not too expensive.
I understand where you're coming from with "higher cost = quality" but I'm presently skint and £300 for a monitor might seem normal to you, but it will take a while before I save that sort of money.
And yes, I know 144hz is ideal, but here's a counterpoint: not every game runs well at 144hz, some games are engine-locked to lower framerates, some games break or become buggy at higher framerates, and some games start at high framerate but as time goes on and more things happen on screen and ingame generally, framerate will gradually drop.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Max budget is none, really. I already spent £1500 on this desktop, but if my monitor happens to be on its way out, then I need some sort of contingency in form of one that's decent enough but not too expensive.
I understand where you're coming from with "higher cost = quality" but I'm presently skint and £300 for a monitor might seem normal to you, but it will take a while before I save that sort of money.
And yes, I know 144hz is ideal, but here's a counterpoint: not every game runs well at 144hz, some games are engine-locked to lower framerates, some games break or become buggy at higher framerates, and some games start at high framerate but as time goes on and more things happen on screen and ingame generally, framerate will gradually drop.

In that case hold off until you have the sum to make a worthwhile purchase. It doesn't matter how poor you are, just means saving up longer, but there's zero point limiting the capabilities of the decent pc you have for the sake of saving £30, just doesn't make any sense at all.

Spending fractionally less now for "something to make do" costs far more in the long term go get something that's gonna match the system.

How poor you are has no relevance to an investment.

 

[FOX76255]

Interesting
PCS price seems to hover around RRP, give or take a few quid.
But one thing that really bothers me about the south american river's rating system is this: If a product is sold through a single listing with several options available, all reviews, regardless of style, go into the main product page rating, making it virtually impossible to distinguish which option is good, bad, mediocre or too expensive.

In that case hold off until you have the sum to make a worthwhile purchase. It doesn't matter how poor you are, just means saving up longer, but there's zero point limiting the capabilities of the decent pc you have for the sake of saving £30, just doesn't make any sense at all.

Spending fractionally less now for "something to make do" costs far more in the long term go get something that's gonna match the system.

How poor you are has no relevance to an investment.

That's fair. But the worst thing is that hardware failures are never convenient, there is never an "ideal time" for something to break.

 

[AgentCooper]

I did see it for £159 on the website whose name seems to indicate it might be a South American river

www.rio-de-la-plata.com?

 

[Aza]

www.rio-de-la-plata.com?

Link doesnt work...

 

[FOX76255]

I've just read the full review on KG. Is the colour uniformity going to be really bad and/or noticeable? Otherwise £180 for 1080p/144hz doesn't sound ridiculous.

 

[FOX76255]

I don't care that you're biased, if you find a make/model solid, performant and reasonably priced, I will definitely consider it.
Though this is giving me strange vibes, as I got an AOC monitor with my 2010 toaster and it packed in after about 2 years.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Interesting
PCS price seems to hover around RRP, give or take a few quid.
But one thing that really bothers me about the south american river's rating system is this: If a product is sold through a single listing with several options available, all reviews, regardless of style, go into the main product page rating, making it virtually impossible to distinguish which option is good, bad, mediocre or too expensive.


That's fair. But the worst thing is that hardware failures are never convenient, there is never an "ideal time" for something to break.

Anyone who looks at Amazon and most online store ratings doesn't understand how they work. There's no moderation and it's incredibly easy to leave a fake review and there are worldwide corporations paid billions simply to do exactly that. Amazon are currently in court for not having done anything about it

Companies selling fake reviews are “tarnishing” brand, Amazon says

Amazon seeks profits from two companies it says sell positive Amazon reviews.

arstechnica.com

Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

A Which? investigation found 10 sites offering fake Amazon Marketplace reviews from as little as £5 each.

www.bbc.co.uk

You go to reputable 3rd party reviews to find out performance, it has no relevance where it's sold so long as it's not fake merchandise, so it's always worth buying direct from Amazon and not through a marketplace seller.