Help me build a gaming PC

Doctor Phibes

@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:

No. Whenever I try, I'm bored to death after 20 minutes. But I know the technology and have an informed opinion about the engineering and marketing considerations of game design.

I'm not talking about Jon's specific needs right now - I'm sure he'll get a good number of concrete suggestions from the usual suspects - but about the future of computer games in general.

You might be right, but it's worth noting that the obsolescence of gaming PC's as we know them has been just around the corner for about 30 years now.

Doctor Phibes

@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:

What do you guys think of this? I found a source that has an NVIDIA 3070 available.

Iy'll go over 2k, but it was a soft limit anyway.

I'm not really an expert, but it looks alright to me. The one I bought a couple of months back is pretty similar to that, except it's an Intel i7 processor, and it runs everything I've thrown at it on full detail, except for VR, which it still runs well, just not quite at full beans. For regular stuff, it's as fast as all heck - boots in a couple of seconds.

The problem with pre-builds can be that the cooling often isn't nearly as effective as it ought to be, and they sometimes try and use sub-standard components, such as power supplies. Also, pre-installed bloatware can be excessive. The Powerspec PC's seem to have pretty good cooling, and just about zero bloatware.

Klaus

@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:

@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:

No. Whenever I try, I'm bored to death after 20 minutes. But I know the technology and have an informed opinion about the engineering and marketing considerations of game design.

I'm not talking about Jon's specific needs right now - I'm sure he'll get a good number of concrete suggestions from the usual suspects - but about the future of computer games in general.

You might be right, but it's worth noting that the obsolescence of gaming PC's as we know them has been just around the corner for about 30 years now.

There's a well-known "wave" in computer science that applies to all kinds of applications, not just games, namely the "thin client" vs "fat client" model. Every decade or so, the two change roles. To take the example of games, the "thin client" model was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s in the form of text-based multi-user dungeon games. For games, the cycle back to "thin client" took a bit longer than for other forms of applications due to the emphasis on graphics and the required network bandwith and latency requirements. For other application domains, we saw a return to thin-client based on HTML in the early 2000s, and now we get back to "medium-thin clients" based on JavaScript, and that seems to become the sweet spot for a while.

Doctor Phibes

@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:

To take the example of games, the "thin client" model was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s in the form of text-based multi-user dungeon games.

I think "very popular" is maybe overstating it a little

I used to play text-based adventure games, and I was in a very small minority.

It's going to be interesting to see where cloud-based gaming goes. I've heard quite a bit about it, but currently I don't believe it really works as well as having everything on the local PC.

Klaus

@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:

I think "very popular" is maybe overstating it a little

Well, gaming in general wasn't very popular in the 1970s, but among those who did play computer games, MUDs were popular and basically the only option to play with others.

Copper

@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:

But in any case, there's a lot of evidence that the future of gaming is cloud-based and the clients will be lightweight JavaScript frontends.

Something like that will happen. You can't make money selling a copy that just works forever and is not connected to the internet.

I still regularly play the original Halo on the PC. There is no internet connection. I can play the game forever at no additional cost.

But of course Microsoft is always trying to make old software obsolete so Halo will not work one of these days.

Apple wants everything to be obsolete the minute you buy it. And their fans love it, they just want new stuff as soon as they can get it.

jon-nyc

@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:

The problem with pre-builds can be that the cooling often isn't nearly as effective as it ought to be, and they sometimes try and use sub-standard components, such as power supplies.

Someone want to recommend cooling? I'm not even sure how it works these days. Just fans?

Doctor Phibes

@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:

@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:

The problem with pre-builds can be that the cooling often isn't nearly as effective as it ought to be, and they sometimes try and use sub-standard components, such as power supplies.

Someone want to recommend cooling? I'm not even sure how it works these days. Just fans?

There's air cooling with fans and also liquid cooling. The simple approach for liquid is to use a pre-built All in one (AIO) cooler. Liquid tends to be a bit quieter, but there is some debate whether it's any more effective. I had one fail on me years ago, and it trashed my motherboard, but they're supposed to be more reliable now if you get a decent one.

The issue with cooling and pre-builds seems to be more associated with the case being poorly arranged. Alienware/Dell have these really fancy-looking cases, that are actually pretty shit. They just stick a load of plastic on a really cheap and nasty case, and the air circulation is poor. But they look great.

If you're not building it yourself, try and find a review of the particular PC build on YouTube by one of the better review channels - e.g. Linus Tech Tips, GamersNexus, or JayZTwoCents. I've looked at these three, and they seem honest and knowledgeable, but I'm sure there are lots of others.

Again - disclaimer, I'm in no way an expert on this stuff.

jon-nyc

This is not a pre-built.

Doctor Phibes

@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:

This is not a pre-built.

OK, sorry. If you don't me asking, how much are you paying for the 3070 GPU?

xenon

3070 is a great card and typically in the "high-end value" spot.

Very few current games would tax it unless you play in 4K.

For cooling - the best solution unless you're looking to overclock your CPU is an air-cooler.

The Noctua coolers (they use to come only in a weird beige) perform better than many AIO cooler and are actually quieter these days. They're huge and chunky though. Don't look as sexy in the box as an AIO.

mark

I prefer modern AIO cooling over Air coolers. I have the biggest Air Cooler from Noctua (the new all Black version) and both of my AIO's (a 240 and a 360) keep my 16 core Ryzen 5950 processors cooler when maxing them out. I do have them overclocked just a bit. The air cooler is sitting in the box for another lower-end build whenever I get around to it. I bought it to use because it was in-stock and wanted to to get started on my builds. It works great for day to day use but I vastly prefer the AIO coolers.

LuFins Dad

Yeah, I’d skip the fans and go with liquid cooling

LuFins Dad

Kit build? You pick the components and they ship for you to assemble?

LuFins Dad

We are quite pleased with our Alienware…

Doctor Phibes

@lufins-dad said in Help me build a gaming PC:

We are quite pleased with our Alienware…

I've got a 5-year old Alienware laptop, which I was very happy with, it was by far the best laptop I've ever owned - more of a desktop replacement, really. I only really upgraded after 5 years as it was struggling with VR, and it was a good excuse to donate it to the kids.

I've never used the desktops, so I'm just repeating what I've heard, but they could easily be fine.