What are your computer specs?

[SteamyPancakes 29]

Yeah I'm planning on ocing my CPU to 4.8 or 5.2 after getting a water cooler like you said, but this is my first build ever and I'm still saving up for better parts, such as the GPU (Asus gtx 970 strix)

[ThunderQuartz 8]

As I already posted it somewhere else :

 

 

Assembled in 2009, upgraded GPU and some other things since then :

Gigabyte P55A-UD5 running i5 750 @4.00 GHz, EVGA Nvidia GTX 680, 16 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4, lots of hard drives and OS on OCZ SSD

 

I'm gonna be a little more specific here :

- Power supply: 1100W Enermax Revolution 85+ (a little bit oversized)

- CPU cooling : Noctua NH-U12P (CPU runs on temperatures about 50-60°C on average)

- Case: HAF 932 (1st gen)

 

My CPU is overclocked from about 2.6 GHz (stock settings) to 4.00 GHz. I've been using it this way for more than 2-3 years now and I have to say, it's a great way to expand the durability of my current architecture (motherboard, CPU).

[Knight Hadron 372]

Quoting myself from over in my intro thread, here's the current specs of my main Beast Rig

 

 

My back-up rig, known as TinkerRig is thus:

Chassis: CoolerMaster HAF-912

Mobo: ASRock Z77 Pro3

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 (stock clocks)

RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz DDR3 (4x4GB)

PSU: Thermaltake 550W EVO Blue PSU

Optical: a standard ASUS DVD DVD±R/RW

Storage: 3TB Seagate Barracuda

GPU: HIS Radeon HD6850 1GB

Cooling: Stock Intel CPU cooler, stock HAF-912 fans

OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit/Windows 10 Technical Preview 64-bit dual-boot

 

And there's also my Lappy:

Lenovo Thinkpad L520 with 8GB DDR3 (2x4GB SO-DIMM's), 750GB Seagate, Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

It hasn't been hit by Superfish, primarily as the first thing I did when I got the system was upgrade the RAM & drive right away then rebuilt it with a OEM copy of Win7Pro (that is now sitting on TinkerRig) and had it reactivate with the Lenovo key once it had been freshly built.

That's your BACKUP rig?? My main rig has 2gb ram, 2ghz, 250gb storage, no graphics card, running arch linux. My backup rig is 10+ years old--it came with 98 from a garage sale. I got rid of it last summer. My laptop is not even mentionable--although it runs win7 fine. I wonder how you guys can afford that stuff and still do things. No offence, just kinda blown out of the water. Should I get a new comp? It's something I've been blowing around for awhile.

[HawkeyePierce 115]

My main rig has 2gb ram, 2ghz, 250gb storage, no graphics card, running arch linux.

Random question, but how do you like Arch Linux? I'm getting tired of the UI changes in Ubuntu 14.04 and am dreaming of greener distros.

[Knight Hadron 372]

Random question, but how do you like Arch Linux? I'm getting tired of the UI changes in Ubuntu 14.04 and am dreaming of greener distros.

I want to answer this question with a well-thought out reply instead of a quick throw-together; and I'm moving non-stop from this morning to tomorrow afternoon. I'll get back to you on this one, don't worry.

[HawkeyePierce 115]

I want to answer this question with a well-thought out reply instead of a quick throw-together; and I'm moving non-stop from this morning to tomorrow afternoon. I'll get back to you on this one, don't worry.

 

No worries at all! I've been looking around and mulling all day, so I made a thread here to see if any other Linux users wanted to pitch in their opinions.

[Technous285 40]

That's your BACKUP rig?? My main rig has 2gb ram, 2ghz, 250gb storage, no graphics card, running arch linux. My backup rig is 10+ years old--it came with 98 from a garage sale. I got rid of it last summer. My laptop is not even mentionable--although it runs win7 fine. I wonder how you guys can afford that stuff and still do things. No offence, just kinda blown out of the water. Should I get a new comp? It's something I've been blowing around for awhile.

Yeah, that's my main backup rig, I've got parts for systems ranging back to Intel 486's and early Pentium 1 chips floating around the places, since Dad & I are both tech guys and we do NOT throw out old parts until they're deader than a doornail.

I think the ONLY family of Intel chips we DON'T have is the first-gen Core-i series like an i7-920, we've got some Core2Duo's in some Dell Optiplex systems (refurbs), and Dad's currently running on an i7-2600K (Sandy Bridge, second-gen Core-i), but the first generation of Core-i's is probably the ONLY family pre-Ivy Bridge we don't have at least one sample from (we currently don't have any Haswell/Broadwell chips, though my next upgrade is going to be from one of those two families).

 

Oh, if you're wondering what dad's system is...

 

Chassis: Thermaltake Armor Revo Tower w/ HDD Dock

Mobo: ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K (stock clocks)

RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz DDR3 (4x8GB)

PSU: Thermaltake 850W EVO Blue PSU

Optical: a standard ASUS DVD DVD±R/RW

Storage: 4TB Seagate Barracuda

GPU: Palit 2GB GTX760

Cooling: CoolerMaster Hyper 212, 4x GELID Wing 12 120mm PWM Blue LED Fan (2 pulling air out the roof, one pushing air through the 212, one pulling air out the back panel)

OS: Zorin-OS 9.1 (Ubuntu-based, muuuch cleaner)

Monitor: AOC U2868PQU 4K

 

He doesn't need the 4K for 3D arting or gaming, he needs it for working on 2 or 3 stories at once since he does a LOT of writing! XD

Edited March 27, 2015 by Technous285

[Knight Hadron 372]

No worries at all! I've been looking around and mulling all day, so I made a thread here to see if any other Linux users wanted to pitch in their opinions.

Answering over there.

 

Technous285: You're the type that seems to attract computers to your house. I've got a Pentuim 4 XP desktop, a old clunky desktop running nothing right now (like, seriously, no OS, just sitting in a closet), an HP 2ghz 2gb ram 250gb desktop running arch, and a win7 laptop with specs I don't know right now; it was a avarage comp when we got it ~4 years ago. I'm beginning to hate having loads of old computers around and no real powerful one; I can't run games/intense simulations except on my laptop at always <50fps on low . In your mind, do you think I should get a new computer?

[Technous285 40]

Answering over there.

 

Technous285: You're the type that seems to attract computers to your house. I've got a Pentuim 4 XP desktop, a old clunky desktop running nothing right now (like, seriously, no OS, just sitting in a closet), an HP 2ghz 2gb ram 250gb desktop running arch, and a win7 laptop with specs I don't know right now; it was a avarage comp when we got it ~4 years ago. I'm beginning to hate having loads of old computers around and no real powerful one; I can't run games/intense simulations except on my laptop at always <50fps on low . In your mind, do you think I should get a new computer?

Honestly? Yes. As long as you do a bit of research and RTFM (Read The Frelling Manual), the hardest part of actually building a computer nowadays is only really getting the right amount of thermal compound put down before attaching an aftermarket CPU/GPU cooler (hint: small blob, a little bit of compound goes a LONG way!). As long as you have a screwdriver and read the manuals, even a 5 year old can build a system (see JayzTwoCents on YouTube helping his 5 year old daughter build her first system).

 

The other hardest part is deciding on a budget for the system and how powerful you want the system to be. My usual recommendations are:

- Do NOT skimp out or spend less than 10% of the budget on RAM, CPU or GPU. eg: $1000 budget means at least $100 for RAM, $100 for CPU and $100 for GPU. If you have to skimp on one of these 3 for something like a fancy keyboard - forget the keyboard and put that money towards one of these 3 parts!

- Once you have picked the motherboard, get the LARGEST sized RAM stick you can (8GB for consumer-level DDR3) and don't bother getting 2 smaller chips for "dual-channel memory off the bat" as having Dual-Channel memory only really helps in memory-intensive processes like video editing and rendering.

- ASUS, ASRock & MSI have great ranges of motherboards at different price levels, ASRock offering more quality and options at the cheaper end of the spectrum compared to ASUS & MSI. NEVER buy a Gigabyte-made Intel board for a low-end chipset (eg: B75 or H77 for Ivy Bridge/3rd-gen Core-i) as Gigabyte cheap out on parts at the low end have have absurd limitations on things like RAM sticks ("Sure you could fill all 4 slots with 8GB chips - as long as they're single-sided! Oh, you can only buy double-sided 8GB sticks where you are? Too bad for you! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" <- Had that happen to me)

 

PCPartPicker is a great site to use to select parts as you plan a build as it takes a lot of the guesswork out of matching CPUs to motherboards. AMD-based systems tend to be cheaper than Intel systems when it comes to CPU & mobo, but you WILL pay extra in keeping a typical AMD chip cooler than an Intel chip with stock cooler (AMD's stock cooler = useless unless you're in a bind stuck waiting for a decent CPU cooler).

 

~~~~~

 

Edit:

If you're wondering WHY I said that a small blob of thermal compound goes a long way when it comes to building computers remember these facts;

No compound between the lid/heatspreader of the CPU (the metal part with the model number, match code, etc) and the underside of the heatsink is the WORST possible option as the microscopic pits and holes in the metal surfaces will capture air bubbles that will insulate the two layers from the other.

Too little compound is almost as-bad as no compound as it reduces the heat transfer capacity the less there is.

Too MUCH compound on the other side is worse than not enough as it'll act as an insulation barrier between the chip and heatsink OR it'll be squeezed out the sides with the pressure applied from the heatsink block and can interfere with the pins/pads of the processor chip itself (this is mainly for CPUs & APUs), either causing bridging between the pins/pads (particularly if it's a electrically conductive compound) or disrupting the flow of electricity between the socket and the pins/pads of the chip.

 

If in doubt, use a tiny bit and spread it out over the whole chip. If it's too little/too thin once it's been spread over the chip then you can add a little bit more, whilst you can't remove excess compound without wasting it if you put a large blob on in the first place.

Edited March 28, 2015 by Technous285

[Knight Hadron 372]

Honestly? Yes. As long as you do a bit of research and RTFM (Read The Frelling Manual), the hardest part of actually building a computer nowadays is only really getting the right amount of thermal compound put down before attaching an aftermarket CPU/GPU cooler (hint: small blob, a little bit of compound goes a LONG way!). As long as you have a screwdriver and read the manuals, even a 5 year old can build a system (see JayzTwoCents on YouTube helping his 5 year old daughter build her first system).

 

The other hardest part is deciding on a budget for the system and how powerful you want the system to be. My usual recommendations are:

Thanks for the recommendations; I haven't looked into how to build a computer yet so most of the terminology (thermal compound) is over my head. I have typically stayed on the programming/os side of computers not the hardware side. Again, thanks. However, my question was not how or what I should build, but, in this day, is it worth upgrading a computer to modern standards? I'm getting annoyed with my computer's slowness, but I don't know if speed is worth the upgrade. I don't do a lot of intense gaming, however I do like simulations like xplane, Orbiter, and the like.

[Technous285 40]

Thanks for the recommendations; I haven't looked into how to build a computer yet so most of the terminology (thermal compound) is over my head. I have typically stayed on the programming/os side of computers not the hardware side. Again, thanks. However, my question was not how or what I should build, but, in this day, is it worth upgrading a computer to modern standards? I'm getting annoyed with my computer's slowness, but I don't know if speed is worth the upgrade. I don't do a lot of intense gaming, however I do like simulations like xplane, Orbiter, and the like.

Thermal compound is the stuff (usually paste-like grey goo if you use an aftermarket CPU/GPU cooler, or the white/grey pads on the underside of stock heatsinks) that helps move heat from a chip (say CPU) to the heat dispersal device (heatsink or waterblocks and radiator if watercooling) to keep the system parts cool.

 

Considering you've got an XP-era box and a cheap Win7 laptop, it won't matter if you're gaming or simming, you might as well build a new system and retire the XP box and W7 laptop. And when you're not running your games, sims, or even light webbrowsing, when it's otherwise idling or you're turn it off (and turning off a system is a waste of time and power nowadays) you can run something like Folding@Home or do something silly like mine for bitcoins.

[Knight Hadron 372]

Considering you've got an XP-era box and a cheap Win7 laptop, it won't matter if you're gaming or simming, you might as well build a new system and retire the XP box and W7 laptop. And when you're not running your games, sims, or even light webbrowsing, when it's otherwise idling or you're turn it off (and turning off a system is a waste of time and power nowadays) you can run something like Folding@Home or do something silly like mine for bitcoins.

Why is turning a system off a waste of time and power? I think the time spent running in the night is costly...but I can't really say. I've ran this desktop for 37 days non-stop . And, isn't mining bitcoins against the law?

[Technous285 40]

Why is turning a system off a waste of time and power? I think the time spent running in the night is costly...but I can't really say. I've ran this desktop for 37 days non-stop . And, isn't mining bitcoins against the law?

The time wasted waiting for a system to boot up from a cold start and the potential to fry parts as they get a sudden jolt of power from the cold start alone isn't worth the cent-or-two-per-day worth of electricity a system would be sipping when idle, let along the time wasted waiting for the system to get to a point where you can DO something in the OS.

 

As for the legality of mining bitcoins (I was being sarcastic about them, they're getting to be almost not worth the time for the average user to try and mine), that's something you should look up for yourself in your area.

[Knight Hadron 372]

cent-or-two-per-day worth of electricity

Didn't know it was that small - I thought it was at least 75 cents, but I don't know if dad was correct when giving me a number, because I have never actually tested to see what power draw it was taking.

 

Back a while ago on this thread, you had given $1000 as an example budget for a computer to break it down into 10% blocks. Was that for ease of math or an actual budget? If I only have less than $750 to spend on a computer, do you have any pointers for what to use?

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

Acer Aspire.  A recent purchase.

 

Prior to the Acer, I had something that performed about as well as this:

It was internet-ready, though.  I could send e-mail.

[Technous285 40]

Didn't know it was that small - I thought it was at least 75 cents, but I don't know if dad was correct when giving me a number, because I have never actually tested to see what power draw it was taking.

 

Back a while ago on this thread, you had given $1000 as an example budget for a computer to break it down into 10% blocks. Was that for ease of math or an actual budget? If I only have less than $750 to spend on a computer, do you have any pointers for what to use?

Well, the $1000 figure was both for ease of maths and an actual figure for a budget. The 10%-each minimum for CPU, GPU & RAM still counts at almost every level you could imagine.

 

For $750 USD (presuming US here), I'd probably pick something like one of these two loadouts:

AMD - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZTgppg ($700.37 before discounts)

Intel - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LKTNjX ($738.42 before discounts)

 

Yes, I know with the Intel build I kinda broke my 10% min on the CPU (the Pentium G3258), however that's because it's a little beast for its price and can be overclocked (though wouldn't recommend on stock heatsink) to compare against higher-priced CPUs.

The optical drive (CD/DVD/Blu-ray recorder) is something I'd recommend for both systems though you can shave some cash by not getting one and putting that cash elsewhere.

Seagate Barracuda 2TB is a decent drive and I trust the brand more than WD or Hitachi, to last me upto a decade of use and abuse.

I didn't add an OS or things like monitor or keyboard, as I was focused on getting the core of the system (chassis and guts) spec'd (that and I'd recommend 64-bit Win7 Pro over Win8/8.1, anyway. With more than 4GB of RAM you can't use a 32-bit version of Windows if you want full access to all the memory anyway).

[Knight Hadron 372]

Well, the $1000 figure was both for ease of maths and an actual figure for a budget. The 10%-each minimum for CPU, GPU & RAM still counts at almost every level you could imagine.

 

For $750 USD (presuming US here), I'd probably pick something like one of these two loadouts:

AMD - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZTgppg ($700.37 before discounts)

Intel - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LKTNjX ($738.42 before discounts)

 

Yes, I know with the Intel build I kinda broke my 10% min on the CPU (the Pentium G3258), however that's because it's a little beast for its price and can be overclocked (though wouldn't recommend on stock heatsink) to compare against higher-priced CPUs.

The optical drive (CD/DVD/Blu-ray recorder) is something I'd recommend for both systems though you can shave some cash by not getting one and putting that cash elsewhere.

Seagate Barracuda 2TB is a decent drive and I trust the brand more than WD or Hitachi, to last me upto a decade of use and abuse.

I didn't add an OS or things like monitor or keyboard, as I was focused on getting the core of the system (chassis and guts) spec'd (that and I'd recommend 64-bit Win7 Pro over Win8/8.1, anyway. With more than 4GB of RAM you can't use a 32-bit version of Windows if you want full access to all the memory anyway).

Thanks. Is the 6-core 3.4 ghz mean 6 3.4ghz cores or combined computing power or what? In other words, what does the 3.4 mean?

 

I'd just use linux so OS isn't a problem.

 

AMD vs. Intel -- is there really a difference to be careful on?

 

And, I don't know my graphics cards. How good is that one? Eh, I should just google it...

 

Lastly, (this feels like too many questions to be asking), how powerful is this computer compared to a "regular" gaming/high workload PC?

 

What do you feel about trying to shave cost by using used hardware/setups?

[Technous285 40]

Thanks. Is the 6-core 3.4 ghz mean 6 3.4ghz cores or combined computing power or what? In other words, what does the 3.4 mean?

 

I'd just use linux so OS isn't a problem.

 

AMD vs. Intel -- is there really a difference to be careful on?

 

And, I don't know my graphics cards. How good is that one? Eh, I should just google it...

 

Lastly, (this feels like too many questions to be asking), how powerful is this computer compared to a "regular" gaming/high workload PC?

 

What do you feel about trying to shave cost by using used hardware/setups?

3.4Ghz means 3.4 Billion cycles-per-second (Giga = Billion. Hertz/Hz = Cycle(s)-per-second), and each core will work at upto that speed depending on the tasks the OS assigns at any point.

 

AMD = Cheaper but runs HOT (hence the addition of the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo). Intel = Expensive the more tech crammed in but runs cooler for most folks.

 

Both GPU's I picked as they're decent low-budget cards, though the AMD build has a possible advantage as it should be able to use the R7 260X in conjunction with the GPU side of the APU (APU is CPU+GPU in space of a typical CPU, decent for low-end systems but the bigger the budget the more you should be focused on dedicated GPU) with some of AMD's funky tech designs.

 

As for the "regular" gaming/high workload Pc comparison - there's no standards for what folks consider to be a "regular" gaming PC. Some swear that an Intel Core i5 with something like a GTX970 is the sweet spot for nearly all games out there to run at minimum of 60FPS on at least medium settings. Others would go for a Core i7 and a GTX980 for extra grunt.

My personal main system is OVERKILL for everything short of system-crusher games like Shadows of Mordor or Metro: Last Light Redux at High/Ultra settings and 1440P or higher.

 

~~~~~

 

As for shaving costs by going with used hardware/setups, you COULD do that, and know the parts typically work well enough, but you'll be buying parts with a pre-shortened lifespan and might have hidden glitches and flaws that wouldn't occur with new parts/systems.

[Kode 13]

I have an HP Envy TouchSmart 15 (2013).

 

 

Exterior:

-15" TouchSmart Display

-HDMI Port

-Gigabit Ethernet Port

-4 USB 3.0 Ports

-Multi-Format Card Reader

-Optical Drive

-Headphone/Microphone Port

-Beats Audio (Quad Speakers + 2 Subwoofers) [un-Used]

 

System:

-Windows 8.1

-Intel® Core i7 4700MQ (2.40 GHz)

-8 GB Memory (RAM)

-Intel® HD Graphics 4600

-1 TB Hard Drive

-64-Bit Operating System

-Full Windows Touch Support

 

Most Common Uses:

-Music Production

-Video Editing (Hopefully Soon)

 

I am proud to call this amazing beast laptop my own.

Edited March 31, 2015 by Kode

[long gone 8,929]

Since I built recently too, I'm gonna post my current specs now.

 

• Intel Core i5-4690K @ 3.5GHz
• Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2
• 8GB G.Skill Ares DDR3-1600 RAM
• EVGA GeForce GTX 760 SC (Dual BIOS)
• Crucial MX100 256GB
• Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
• Samsung HD320KJ (taken from an old HP desktop)
• XFX XTR 650W full-modular PSU
• Windows 8.1 x64
• Phanteks Enthoo Pro

Fully spec'd, it's gonna have 16GB RAM and a Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU cooler as well.

Bit of an update to this. Still mostly the same hardware, but now with 16GB G.Skill Ares and a 2TB Hitachi 7K2000 instead of a Samsung HD320KJ. Also with a proper CPU cooler, the Phanteks PH-TC14PE.

[Rainb0wdashie 60]

I dunno why I'm posting here, just felt like talking to someponies.

Anyway, I bought the rest of my computer components tonight, well at least enough to get the thing started. I've been trying to build this thing since 2013 but life kept getting in the way. My job at the time went south, then I was having money issues at my next job, and eventually I just forgot about it. 

 

But I've been needing to upgrade my tech for a while. I'm trying to get into game streaming and animating so I needed some serious processor power to be able to do anything like that. Even trying to record for my youtube channel I'm having issues like lag from my camcorder or only being able to record in 640p because anything higher and xsplit will stall my computer. 

 

I've still got like $500 more of parts to buy, but that's just the video card and extra ram and hard drives. 

 

 

 

 

Anywaym, I guess I need to give this thread a point. What kind of computer do you have and what do you do with it? Any mlp projects or side hobbies? 

[DATA EXPUNGED 324]

Oooh, What did you get? New CPU, MoBo, GPU, RAM? What Brand, NVidia, AMD, Intel? Do Tell!

Oh, Well, my rig right now? Lets see:

CPU: AMD FX-9590

GPU: AMD R9 280X

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 (ATX form factor)

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (4x4gb)

Storage: Can't remember the exact name, but its a 2 TB Seagate HDD

PSU: Again, I cant remember the exact name, but its 800 Watts and its a Corsair model

CPU Cooler: The model of CPU I'm using runs VERY hot, so I had to buy a fairly good Liquid cooler (Corsair H100i)

Case: Corsair Graphite 780T with some extra 180mm case fans.

 

As you can tell, I'm a AMD and Corsair guy. 

Edited April 6, 2015 by DATA EXPUNGED

[long gone 8,929]

Yes, please share what you got! And since someone else posted their specs, here's mine.

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K (3.5GHz) 
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 Dual SC (2GB) 
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 
RAM: 16GB G.Skill Ares DDR3-1600 
Cooling: Phanteks PH-TC14PE 
Storage: 256GB Crucial MX100, 1TB Western Digital Black, 2TB Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 
PSU: XFX XTR 650W 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro 
OS: Windows 8.1 x64 

 

I didn't tend to stick to one company when buying parts.

[N.W. 3,619]

I have merged your thread with the existing PC spec discussion thread.

[Azure Envy 1,092]

My (ever so slightly updated) machine:

Intel Core i5-3570K, 4.1 GHz

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0

ASRock Z77 Pro3

16 GB Kingston HyperX blu

CM Hyper 212 Plus

960 GB Micron M500 SSD, 2x2TB Toshiba HDD 1x3TB Toshiba HDD

SeaSonic M12II-650 Bronze

CM Storm Enforcer

1xViewSonic LCD, 1xDell U3011, 1xDell U2312HM

Corsair Vengeance K70 MX Blue Mechanical Keyboard

Logitech G502 Mouse

Sennheiser HD 598 Headphones/PC 141 Headset/Logitech G930 Headset/Sony Gold Wireless Headset