Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse

The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. Tell me about building a PC

Tell me about building a PC

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion
189 Posts 19 Posters 5.6k Views
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • jon-nycJ Offline
    jon-nycJ Offline
    jon-nyc
    wrote on last edited by
    #146

    If I showed that picture to my son his heart would stop.

    Only non-witches get due process.

    • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
    1 Reply Last reply
    • RainmanR Offline
      RainmanR Offline
      Rainman
      wrote on last edited by
      #147

      Mark, first off, you're just a big kid!
      And I'm so jealous!!

      Anyway. When our power was out for a week, I purchased 2 generators: a 4000 watt, and a 2200 watt. Fortunately because Amazon (and I hate Amazon), they both arrived in a couple of days.

      Given you undoubtedly have the most powerful computer of any of us, do you have any idea how much current it draws? How many watts, amps.
      We were running the 4000 watt generator, and had several lights plugged in, a space heater using 1500 wats, and then all of our penultimate stuff like modem, router, wireless. We used 1 laptop, as I was concerned we were taxing the system too much.

      I figured an average computer and monitor doesn't require a lot of wattage, but frankly I have no idea. How much does a laptop require?

      If I plugged in all of our computers, we have 7 that we use, which includes a couple of laptops, (we really don't use the Apple equipment), how big of a generator would I need for just the computers? Is there an "average" I could use, or are there specs somewhere in the settings that would give me an answer?

      Sorry I'm stumbling around here, but I think you get the idea of what I am asking.

      markM 1 Reply Last reply
      • RainmanR Rainman

        Mark, first off, you're just a big kid!
        And I'm so jealous!!

        Anyway. When our power was out for a week, I purchased 2 generators: a 4000 watt, and a 2200 watt. Fortunately because Amazon (and I hate Amazon), they both arrived in a couple of days.

        Given you undoubtedly have the most powerful computer of any of us, do you have any idea how much current it draws? How many watts, amps.
        We were running the 4000 watt generator, and had several lights plugged in, a space heater using 1500 wats, and then all of our penultimate stuff like modem, router, wireless. We used 1 laptop, as I was concerned we were taxing the system too much.

        I figured an average computer and monitor doesn't require a lot of wattage, but frankly I have no idea. How much does a laptop require?

        If I plugged in all of our computers, we have 7 that we use, which includes a couple of laptops, (we really don't use the Apple equipment), how big of a generator would I need for just the computers? Is there an "average" I could use, or are there specs somewhere in the settings that would give me an answer?

        Sorry I'm stumbling around here, but I think you get the idea of what I am asking.

        markM Offline
        markM Offline
        mark
        wrote on last edited by
        #148

        @rainman The power supply in the big computer is 1000 watt capacity. I have calculated the most I would ever need day to day could be handled by a 650 watt power supply, I like to to have overhead, and room to experiment with overclocking etc.

        I just did a calculation for it at https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

        Power-Supply-Calculator8-Hours-Powered-On.png

        Power-Supply-Calculator16-Hours-Powered-On.png

        Power-Supply-Calculator24-Hours-Powered-On.png

        I think I will start turning my computers off when I am not using them. lol That is a huge cost on a yearly basis, per computer.

        I also have the processors and graphics cards overclocked. The CPU has a TDP (Thermal Design Power) max of 105 watts. It can spike to 135 watts or more for short periods of time. I am definitely going to start shutting down my computers at night. I have two of these monsters running 24/7, a server also running 24/7 and various other Macs, PCs, TVs . My god I am a power vampire! lol

        Most business class computers and laptops take much less power.

        I have a Generac Generator 5500 wat (8500 watt surge) and a Champion 3500 watt. I have run a rack of 5 servers a couple of PCs, Macs, a refrigerator, electric fans running on just the Generac.

        I would like to install a whole house multi-fuel generator with auto-switch over. etc. Someday

        Back to your question, I think a 3500 watt generator would have plenty of power and overhead to handle 7 average PCs even if there were a couple like my PC in the mix.

        1 Reply Last reply
        • markM Offline
          markM Offline
          mark
          wrote on last edited by mark
          #149

          I backordered an ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080 video card from BlackoutPC, back in January. It has yet to ship.

          Yesterday I received an email from EVGA. I signed up on their notification list for every video card they make. I did so, when the 30 series NVIDIA GPUs were released last year.

          EVGA pulled my name and I had the opportunity to purchase an RTX 3070 XC3 8GB ULTRA GAMING GPU at retail price direct from EVGA.

          I don't think I have clicked a button faster in my life for anything. lol

          I get there, sign in, add to cart, pay, and then I noticed that they gave me a $70 discount off of retail pricing. I think they gave me original pricing vs. the increase that recently happened.

          I just looked on eBay and they are selling for $1,200 to $1,500. lol

          1 Reply Last reply
          • HoraceH Offline
            HoraceH Offline
            Horace
            wrote on last edited by
            #150

            Awesome, mark. I accidentally overpaid for a gtx 1660 ti recently, not realizing the price crunch on graphics cards that was going on. I guess I should have read this thread. I'm so used to the market and amazon working to give reasonable prices.

            Education is extremely important.

            markM 1 Reply Last reply
            • HoraceH Horace

              Awesome, mark. I accidentally overpaid for a gtx 1660 ti recently, not realizing the price crunch on graphics cards that was going on. I guess I should have read this thread. I'm so used to the market and amazon working to give reasonable prices.

              markM Offline
              markM Offline
              mark
              wrote on last edited by
              #151

              @horace Ugh, Amazon and even Newegg are not doing anything to stop scalpers from selling stuff on their sites.

              I have joined a few discord servers that provide "drop" information. It's a crapshoot there too but at least you can weed out the scalpers.

              I am buying everything I can at this point. I know several people looking to build new PCs and I am going to have stuff to help them. Like my existing video card all of a sudden is actually worth something. lol

              1 Reply Last reply
              • RainmanR Offline
                RainmanR Offline
                Rainman
                wrote on last edited by
                #152

                Why is the shortage occurring at this point in time?
                My son just got a video card. It wasn't what he wanted, but was close.
                I read that there are shortages for new cars, which I expect would make prices increase.

                Where do these graphics cards originate? My guess would be China and Taiwan.

                Is the shortage deliberate?

                Yeah, I could spend time googling, but that would mean concentrating on something, and like, reading. There are experts here, so this I consider a shortcut.

                Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                • RainmanR Rainman

                  Why is the shortage occurring at this point in time?
                  My son just got a video card. It wasn't what he wanted, but was close.
                  I read that there are shortages for new cars, which I expect would make prices increase.

                  Where do these graphics cards originate? My guess would be China and Taiwan.

                  Is the shortage deliberate?

                  Yeah, I could spend time googling, but that would mean concentrating on something, and like, reading. There are experts here, so this I consider a shortcut.

                  Doctor PhibesD Offline
                  Doctor PhibesD Offline
                  Doctor Phibes
                  wrote on last edited by Doctor Phibes
                  #153

                  @rainman said in Tell me about building a PC:

                  Why is the shortage occurring at this point in time?
                  My son just got a video card. It wasn't what he wanted, but was close.
                  I read that there are shortages for new cars, which I expect would make prices increase.

                  Where do these graphics cards originate? My guess would be China and Taiwan.

                  Is the shortage deliberate?

                  Yeah, I could spend time googling, but that would mean concentrating on something, and like, reading. There are experts here, so this I consider a shortcut.

                  There's been production problems due to Covid and a major drought, people using GPU's to do bitcoin data-mining, and a big uptick in gaming because everybody's stuck at home. Also, the two main game consoles have just released their next generation. So overall, demand exceeds supply by quite a lot, which has led to scalping.

                  I was only joking

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • markM Offline
                    markM Offline
                    mark
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #154

                    The chip manufacturers started to ramp up production but, a production facility takes 2 years minimum to get up to speed on production. To build the new facilities, they need more robots that need more chips that they and other manufacturers make.

                    So, the ramp up gets delayed due to shortages and the shortages get worse because demand seems to be insatiable.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • RainmanR Offline
                      RainmanR Offline
                      Rainman
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #155

                      Thanks guys!
                      I wish I would have ordered a bunch of high end graphics cards right before the increase. Of course, don't we all.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • markM Offline
                        markM Offline
                        mark
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #156

                        LOL. Just scored another 30 series NVIDA GPU. And EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 XC GAMING, 12GB

                        Direct from EVGA with a $21 discount to boot.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • markM Offline
                          markM Offline
                          mark
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #157

                          And another high end GPU arrives...

                          I'm on every SKU notification list at EVGA.

                          Yesterday my number came up on a Liquid cooled NVIDIA RTX 3090 "Hybrid" They sent it overnight.

                          20210624-163716.jpg

                          I did a 3DMark benchmark test. No overclocking performed here. All stock settings.

                          2021-06-24-20-05-53-NVIDIA-Ge-Force-RTX-3090-video-card-benchmark-result-AMD-Ryzen-9-5950-X-ASUSTe-K.png

                          2021-06-24-20-04-14-NVIDIA-Ge-Force-RTX-3090-video-card-benchmark-result-AMD-Ryzen-9-5950-X-ASUSTe-K.png

                          Getting 200+fps in WoW with all graphics settings maxed out.

                          20210624-164229.jpg

                          Freaking card is drawing 409 watts of power. That's just under 50% the capacity of my power supply. I guess a bigger power supply will be heading this way sooner than later. lol

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • markM Offline
                            markM Offline
                            mark
                            wrote on last edited by mark
                            #158

                            The GPU stats during the 3DMark run. It hit 419 watts peak power. Unreal.

                            2021-06-24-20-27-14-HWi-NFO64-v7-04-4480-Sensor-Status.png

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • KlausK Offline
                              KlausK Offline
                              Klaus
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #159

                              cb32663c-b6a3-42bd-a0f3-ec27aec06396-image.png

                              🙂

                              markM 1 Reply Last reply
                              • jon-nycJ Offline
                                jon-nycJ Offline
                                jon-nyc
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #160

                                Klaus - 🤣 🤣 🤣

                                Only non-witches get due process.

                                • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
                                1 Reply Last reply
                                • KlausK Klaus

                                  cb32663c-b6a3-42bd-a0f3-ec27aec06396-image.png

                                  🙂

                                  markM Offline
                                  markM Offline
                                  mark
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #161

                                  @klaus 😛

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  • 89th8 Offline
                                    89th8 Offline
                                    89th
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #162

                                    @mark and others, I've been following this thread as I am upgrading my entire home office set up. To be clear (and perhaps to offend), I most likely will not be using my computer or monitor for gaming.

                                    My current/previous desktop (Dell XPS 8700, with an i7-4770, 12GB RAM, and Nvidia GeForce GT 635, 256 SSD hard drive) has served me well for the past 7 years but I am looking for an overall upgraded experience. In addition, I want to start viewing/editing my iPhone 4K videos and wanted a graphics card and monitor that doesn't disappoint.

                                    So I just purchased a Dell XPS 8940 Special Edition (in white!), you can view it here.

                                    • Processor: i7-11700
                                    • RAM: 16 GB
                                    • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB
                                    • Hard Drive: 512 SSD, (plus 1 TB HDD, which I will probably swap out for a 2 TB SDD for file storage)

                                    For my monitor, I am drawn in by the 1440p or 1600p ultrawide monitors. Looks like you're a fan of this LG 38" monitor, @mark ?

                                    I haven't purchased a new monitor yet, but plan to this week.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • 89th8 Offline
                                      89th8 Offline
                                      89th
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #163

                                      Oh, other home office upgrades include:

                                      Purchased

                                      • UpLift corner standing desk - link
                                      • Printer (HP LaserJet, since I don't print often and InkJet always dries out) - link
                                      • Shredder (Amazon Basics) - link text

                                      Not Purchased Yet

                                      • Monitor (see above post)
                                      • Speakers
                                      • Keyboard/Mouse upgrade
                                      • Glass chair mat
                                      • One of those floating globes via magnet lolz
                                      markM 1 Reply Last reply
                                      • markM Offline
                                        markM Offline
                                        mark
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #164

                                        Congrats on the new PC!

                                        The LG monitor you linked is excellent. I have it and love it.

                                        And it's fine for gaming. It's 75Hz refresh rate is obviously better than a 60Hz but 120Hz+ is what serious gamers go for. You will love the 1600 pixels in the vertical and the width is perfect for "professional" / "business" use. It's also very easy on the eyes.

                                        It should also be available in white, to match your tower. 😉

                                        89th8 1 Reply Last reply
                                        • markM mark

                                          Congrats on the new PC!

                                          The LG monitor you linked is excellent. I have it and love it.

                                          And it's fine for gaming. It's 75Hz refresh rate is obviously better than a 60Hz but 120Hz+ is what serious gamers go for. You will love the 1600 pixels in the vertical and the width is perfect for "professional" / "business" use. It's also very easy on the eyes.

                                          It should also be available in white, to match your tower. 😉

                                          89th8 Offline
                                          89th8 Offline
                                          89th
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #165

                                          @mark Thanks!

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups