technology The Glorious PC master race thread

[Envy 6,160]

Elitists in a group that calls themselves a "Master Race"?

 

Gee, who would have thought?

 

(That alone turns me off from the community, because that combined with constant hating on consoles just makes the community out to be very elitist)

[long gone 8,929]

Yeah, I saw some dude get trashed for being an elitist in there because he went on a long-winded rant about how people that paid to have someone build it for them or went with cheap builds weren't real PC gamers.  

I have heard that it's more satisfying if you build it yourself, but just because you had someone else build it for you doesn't make you any less of a PC gamer than anyone else.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Elitists in a group that calls themselves a "Master Race"?

 

Gee, who would have thought?

 

(That alone turns me off from the community, because that combined with constant hating on consoles just makes the community out to be very elitist)

 

It's kind of only the idiot fanboys that take seriously(for a lot of people the whole "master race" bit is really tongue and cheek and the console hate is just played up to piss off fanboys)

[Maxii 11]

I wanna get a new mouse. What should I get/be looking for?

LISTEN TO ME!

Gaming mouses are usually the most comfortable ones.

I would recommend Gigabyte M6900. This is the best mouse I've ever had. I got it for 15 euros but the normal price is about 30 bucks. 

It is worth the money. I promise you. You will not be dissapointed. 

 

Sawry if I told this too late 

I have heard that it's more satisfying if you build it yourself, but just because you had someone else build it for you doesn't make you any less of a PC gamer than anyone else.

I agree on this. 

 

I build my own Gaming PC just this summer. In the community it can give you more ''respect'' from the other Gamers if you build it by yourself.

After-all it doesn't matter so much, you are just going to be gaming. That's all. (basically repeated what you just said.)

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I have to address that post again, because I can't imagine who would consider 1080p "low resolution" when monitors supporting higher are massively expensive and there's still 720p TVs on the shelves.

 

It's like those people complaining their game is running at 60FPS instead of 90.   

[long gone 8,929]

On 60FPS, that has been the standard frame rate for games since the NES days. Some people want more frames per second than that, typically to go with their 120 or 144Hz monitors. Better to have a higher frame rate for 3D or any kind of virtual reality than a low one, like 30.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

On 60FPS, that has been the standard frame rate for games since the NES days. Some people want more frames per second than that, typically to go with their 120 or 144Hz monitors. Better to have a higher frame rate for 3D or any kind of virtual reality than a low one, like 30.

 

I dunno, I've played some really old games like Serious Same at like 90-150FPS and it never really felt any different from 60FPS, but then again I can't tell much change between 48 and 60. 

[long gone 8,929]

I dunno, I've played some really old games like Serious Same at like 90-150FPS and it never really felt any different from 60FPS, but then again I can't tell much change between 48 and 60. 

Well, what's the refresh rate of your monitor? 60? Because a 60Hz monitor can't display more than 60FPS.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Well, what's the refresh rate of your monitor? 60? Because a 60Hz monitor can't display more than 60FPS.

 

Might be, I'm using a Lenovo C540 All-in-One right now.

 

It doesn't seem to bug me though, it's why I chose the cheapest 1080p monitor I could find in the size I wanted for my build. 

[long gone 8,929]

Might be, I'm using a Lenovo C540 All-in-One right now.

 

It doesn't seem to bug me though, it's why I chose the cheapest 1080p monitor I could find in the size I wanted for my build. 

Right now I'm targeting 60Hz too, so this 60Hz IPS monitor is fine. Kinda wish it had a faster response time, but IPS.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Right now I'm targeting 60Hz too, so this 60Hz IPS monitor is fine. Kinda wish it had a faster response time, but IPS.

 

I've literally played a Xbox360(quite extensively) on a 20 in, 480p LCD so a proper 1080p screen is heaven to me no matter the other specs on it(even the 32in, 720p TV I use in my game-room is paradise considering what I upgraded from) 

[long gone 8,929]

I've literally played a Xbox360(quite extensively) on a 20 in, 480p LCD so a proper 1080p screen is heaven to me no matter the other specs on it(even the 32in, 720p TV I use in my game-room is paradise considering what I upgraded from) 

480p? What is this, 1995?

 

Yeah, even 720p is a huge upgrade from that.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

480p? What is this, 1995?

 

Yeah, even 720p is a huge upgrade from that.

 

It was one of the first LCD-TVs, from when even having the capability for 480p over 480i was the big leagues and HD wasn't even thought of. It was horrible for Xbox360 because I had to squint to see text and heaven help me if it was a game with dark environments.  

[long gone 8,929]

It was one of the first LCD-TVs, from when having even having the capability for 480p over 480i was the big leagues and HD wasn't even thought of. It was horrible for Xbox360 because I had to squint to see text and heaven help me if it was a game with dark environments.  

Sounds like the best TV ever. Surely can't be as bad as my TV though, a 22" 1680x1050 one. Yeah, ever see an 8:5 resolution on a TV before? Console games, which are designed for 16:9 (and formerly 4:3), look like shit on it. Only 30Hz refresh rate, too. Blegh.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Sounds like the best TV ever. Surely can't be as bad as my TV though, a 22" 1680x1050 one. Yeah, ever see an 8:5 resolution on a TV before? Console games, which are designed for 16:9 (and formerly 4:3), look like shit on it. Only 30Hz refresh rate, too. Blegh.

 

I didn't even think TVs came in anything but 640x480, 1280x720, 1920x1080, or the wide-screen equivalents. 

[long gone 8,929]

I didn't even think TVs came in anything but 640x480, 1280x720, 1920x1080, or the wide-screen equivalents. 

Apparently a few years ago, Toshiba made TVs with 1440x900 and 1680x1050 native resolutions when, by then, TVs were expected to be 16:9. Smart!

 

Oh yeah, I can only access the native resolution over VGA, but if I select it I get no picture. Over HDMI, I can only select 1280x720 or 1920x1080, which naturally do not fit in the 8:5 aspect ratio. 256/10 TV.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Apparently a few years ago, Toshiba made TVs with 1440x900 and 1680x1050 native resolutions when, by then, TVs were expected to be 16:9. Smart!

 

Oh yeah, I can only access the native resolution over VGA, but if I select it I get no picture. Over HDMI, I can only select 1280x720 or 1920x1080, which naturally do not fit in the 8:5 aspect ratio. 256/10 TV.

 

Sounds like something that should be on So Bad It's Horrible pages in the tech section on TVtropes.

[Envy 6,160]

Hi, surely you all can help me out with this?

 

I have my PC up and working now, and it's great! But I haven't really installed anything past Firefox and protection to do internet. I'm pondering how I need to handle SSD vs. HDD? Surely, people here know how to do this. xD

 

My questions are mainly on how I would handle iTunes, Origin (unfortunately I need it, since most of my The Sims 3 EPs are digital), and maybe Steam. I would think the best way to go about it would be putting Origin and Steam on the HDD, but the games on the SSD, but I don't know if that's possible, or easy? iTunes I've pretty much settled on putting on the HDD, but I don't know.

[long gone 8,929]

Glad to hear you got it all up and running!

 

To answer your question, the SSD is usually used for the operating system along with a few essential choice applications, such as anti-viruses, browsers, instant messengers and communication programs such as Skype or TeamSpeak and perhaps even clients such as Steam or Origin. Heavier files and applications, such as things that require a lot of storage (e.g. games, music, videos) or files that need to be written to frequently, such as a document, are better suited for the mechanical hard drive. To make it easier for yourself, it's possible to redirect folders to a new location (such as somewhere on the mechanical drive) in Windows Vista, 7 and 8. So, for iTunes, I'd say the mechanical drive for all that precious storage space for your music, and for Origin and Steam, I'd say put them on the SSD but set the game installation folders to the mechanical drive.

 

For Steam:

Settings > Downloads > Steam Library Folders > Add Library Folder

For Origin:

 

Origin menu > Application Settings > Advanced > Downloaded Games > Change

[Envy 6,160]

But I was told to get an SSD specifically so I could run my games fast... You're telling me not to put them on there? =/

[lomk 20,663]

But I was told to get an SSD specifically so I could run my games fast... You're telling me not to put them on there? =/

 

I've been running games like GTA 4, Skyrim, Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3...all pretty decent sized games...with a SATA III hard disk. SSD's are great because they don't have the latency of an HDD but you can drop A LOT of money on one and fill them up pretty quickly. I mean, I'd get one if I didn't like having money lol

 

I am running an SSD but it's only my boot drive. Nothing more. 

 

My 500 GB had disk is where I keep my games and it's almost full. I have about 30 titles in my library counting those outside of Steam

Edited October 23, 2014 by Space Woona

[Panne 1,342]

Nintendo fanboy passing through... *reads pc specs* I have no idea what any of that means...

[long gone 8,929]

While you can install games on an SSD, there are no real benefits aside from faster load times and a lot of games these days require a lot of free space, and if a game needs to be written to often, that's a really great way to kill the SSD fast (SSDs have a limited amount of writes, remember, they're basically bigger, faster flash drives). Most PC gamers who have an SSD and mech drive in their systems install their games on the mechanical drive instead of the SSD because there's only one benefit to games and even then, it's not really worth it along with the lack of room on most SSDs.

 

And even then, there are some games I've noticed that don't benefit at all from SSDs, such as Kerbal Space Program. Probably due to limitations of the Unity engine, but running it off an SSD compared to a mechanical drive gave no noticeable benefits to load times.

[lomk 20,663]

Nintendo fanboy passing through... *reads pc specs* I have no idea what any of that means...

 

I love Nintendo too I think the Wii U was kiiiiiiiind of a mistake but I'll have to see. I'd love to see Nintendo have the same respect it did back when it had the 64. I think the GameCube was the beginning of Nintendo's road to the being the kid who wears the "Dunce" hat and eats paste...

 

Could be worse though. At least the Wii U isn't running Internet Explorer! xD

[Azure Envy 1,092]

I've got Steam and Origin installed to a mechanical HDD with the bulk of my game library. Steam does have a feature that allows you to choose different install locations at the time of install, documented here:

 

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7710-tdlc-0426

 

You can also do what Daring mentioned early, redirecting a folder -- moving the game you wish to play to another drive and flagging the original folder such that it'll know where to look. Useful if you already have a bunch of games installed and just want to move a few of them to your SSD.

 

Any game I'm currently playing I keep on my SSD. The difference is significant. Load times are literally cut in half in the Sims 3. I timed it once, down to about 45 seconds from over a minute and a half. Granted the game only really has one "load screen" but still. If you have it, might as well use it.

 

SSD wear is overblown. Might've been a worry with first-generation SSDs, but the flash in SSDs is of significantly higher quality than your typical thumb drive and the controllers have far more sophisticated wear-leveling algorithms. You'll ditch the drive for a new one long before it dies.

 

tl;dr

 

Games on SSD = awesome.