PC Building Guide and Discussion #14

[Smelling Salt]

You could always not tell her about it until she discovers that $600 is missing, at which point she'll be incredibly relieved to hear that you spent it on a GPU and not something else.

The PC is on a desk beside the monitors, and come to think of it she HAS mentioned how empty it looked since she has never seen a PC with a glass side panel before. Hmmm....

Canada Computers are selling a 6750 XT for $500 CAD or a 6700 for $450 CAD. Pretty much tbe best deals you can get for cards that have some staying power.

CC and ME was where I was looking but yeah I see the ASUS model is cheaper than the MSI model on CC, which is the model I was focusing on. I kinda didn't want to go ASUS, and it appears to have higher power requirements (650w v 750w - I have an 850w PSU), but that price is great.

 

[PeteWorrell]

The PC is on a desk beside the monitors, and come to think of it she HAS mentioned how empty it looked since she has never seen a PC with a glass side panel before. Hmmm....


CC and ME was where I was looking but yeah I see the ASUS model is cheaper than the MSI model on CC, which is the model I was focusing on. I kinda didn't want to go ASUS, and it appears to have higher power requirements (650w v 750w - I have an 850w PSU), but that price is great.

You can check how much power your PC uses by putting in your parts on pc part picker. But as a reference, a 850W PSU is enough for the power hungry 6950 XT so you should be more than fine.

 

[93LEAFS]

Canada Computers are selling a 6750 XT for $500 CAD or a 6700 for $450 CAD. Pretty much tbe best deals you can get for cards that have some staying power.

I built a PC for my dad which he's using as primarily as for media (he's an audiophile, so it has a 4tb M.2 for all his CD's copied in .Wav or comparable files). But, since I tend to look after the place when they go on vacation and he's talked about dabbling in Racing Games again, I wanted something that could reliably output 4K on a Sony A95K oled panel for Forza Horizon, and hopefully Forza Motorsport at a locked 60fps. Was able to go to the downtown Toronto Canada Computers and get an MSI RX 6800 for like 620 including HST. Considering I think I paid $1100 (including tax) in October for a 3080ti for myself, prices have gotten more tolerable for people looking to build again. Granted, I know I paid the Team Green tax and on a pure raster price to performance the value does seem to be with the RX 6000 cards at the moment.

 

[PeteWorrell]

I built a PC for my dad which he's using as primarily as for media (he's an audiophile, so it has a 4tb M.2 for all his CD's copied in .Wav or comparable files). But, since I tend to look after the place when they go on vacation and he's talked about dabbling in Racing Games again, I wanted something that could reliably output 4K on a Sony A95K oled panel for Forza Horizon, and hopefully Forza Motorsport at a locked 60fps. Was able to go to the downtown Toronto Canada Computers and get an MSI RX 6800 for like 620 including HST. Considering I think I paid $1100 (including tax) in October for a 3080ti for myself, prices have gotten more tolerable for people looking to build again. Granted, I know I paid the Team Green tax and on a pure raster price to performance the value does seem to be with the RX 6000 cards at the moment.

The good news is that even Nvidia are finally slashing down prices after holding out for so long. The market is still bad but it has steadily been getting better since last fall. That 6800 card you bought for example, is $549 right now at Canada Computers.

 

[93LEAFS]

The good news is that even Nvidia are finally slashing down prices after holding out for so long. The market is still bad but it has steadily been getting better since last fall. That 6800 card you bought for example, is $549 right now at Canada Computers.

Yeah, I bought it on that deal, but after the 13% HST it lands at like 620.

 

[Three On Zero]

What’s a good and reputable online Canadian PC site with decent Prebuilds? Thinking of doing a little gaming again and was looking for something decent in the 2,000ish range

 

[93LEAFS]

What’s a good and reputable online Canadian PC site with decent Prebuilds? Thinking of doing a little gaming again and was looking for something decent in the 2,000ish range

Where are you based out of? If you are in a major city or close to one you could probably find a local store that you can easily deal with directly over shipping it back if there are any major issues. A lot of pre-build companies quality can vary, and you likely want to avoid companies that use a ton of OEM stuff.

 

[Three On Zero]

Where are you based out of? If you are in a major city or close to one you could probably find a local store that you can easily deal with directly over shipping it back if there are any major issues. A lot of pre-build companies quality can vary, and you likely want to avoid companies that use a ton of OEM stuff.

Edmonton, but I still have no f***ing idea what to look at anymore

 

[Smelling Salt]

Edmonton, but I still have no f***ing idea what to look at anymore

Memory Express DO have pre-builts but they will also custom build one for you. And they will recommend parts so you don't have to worry about that too much. Your budget is good so you should be able to get a pretty nice machine.

I would just do some research on the case you want as that is a major personal preference (and of course some look good but choke on airflow), and maybe mobo reviews depending on if you go Intel or AMD. For mobos, I would just stay away from Asrock and probably ASUS who have shit the bed as of late.

Lots of very helpful people here will help you with your build, too.

 

[Three On Zero]

Memory Express DO have pre-builts but they will also custom build one for you. And they will recommend parts so you don't have to worry about that too much. Your budget is good so you should be able to get a pretty nice machine.

I would just do some research on the case you want as that is a major personal preference (and of course some look good but choke on airflow), and maybe mobo reviews depending on if you go Intel or AMD. For mobos, I would just stay away from Asrock and probably ASUS who have shit the bed as of late.

Lots of very helpful people here will help you with your build, too.

I just want something that will last a bit without being outdated and doesn’t have a shit ton of LEDs

 

[Smelling Salt]

I just want something that will last a bit without being outdated and doesn’t have a shit ton of LEDs

Haha well define "shit ton".

I suppose one downside of Intel right now would be the upgrade path if you ever want to drop a newer processor in. Current Intel mobos support 12th and 13th gen CPUs. 14th gen whenever it comes out this year will be a new platform and I think will also support DDR5 RAM only, so out of the gate the CPU and RAM will be more expensive on the 14th gen and so will the mobos. But that doesn't really mean your PC will become outdated if you don't go 14th gen - guess it depends on what you play. Plenty of gamers still run 10th/11th gen Intels on today's games.

I'm not an AMD expert but their current AM5 platform will presumably be more "future proof" than a 12th/13th gen Intel because it will provide an upgrade path to drop in new processors for the next couple years. It too I believe is DDR5 RAM only so that will bump up the price on RAM and the new mobos but will provide the upgrade path on the processor.

 

[Three On Zero]

Haha well define "shit ton".

I suppose one downside of Intel right now would be the upgrade path if you ever want to drop a newer processor in. Current Intel mobos support 12th and 13th gen CPUs. 14th gen whenever it comes out this year will be a new platform and I think will also support DDR5 RAM only, so out of the gate the CPU and RAM will be more expensive on the 14th gen and so will the mobos. But that doesn't really mean your PC will become outdated if you don't go 14th gen - guess it depends on what you play. Plenty of gamers still run 10th/11th gen Intels on today's games.

I'm not an AMD expert but their current AM5 platform will presumably be more "future proof" than a 12th/13th gen Intel because it will provide an upgrade path to drop in new processors for the next couple years. It too I believe is DDR5 RAM only so that will bump up the price on RAM and the new mobos but will provide the upgrade path on the processor.

I define it as "zero", I am well over the age of needing shiny lights . Although I assume most are just RGB with the option to turn them off.

Don't plan on playing anything too crazy, Diablo 4, demonologist, Lost Ark. Maybe explore some MMOs

 

[aleshemsky83]

After getting a new boot drive and cloning the old drive, for some reason my computer refuses to kick into the bios no matter what i do, even selecting advanced startup. I should do a fresh install, i really dont have anything important on here, but I want to make absolute sure before I do. Also, I have a bootleg version of windows which wont transfer with a fresh install, but thats not a big deal.

What am I saying, I have the old boot drive right in from of me, I'm just gonna do a fresh install right now.

 

[Osprey]

This is strange, but nice. Instead of throwing out a bunch of defective 5800X3D processors, AMD is calling them the 5600X3D and selling them exclusively to Micro Center, since the limited number won't be enough for a global launch. Most people won't have an opportunity to buy them, but at least they're not going to waste.

 

[PeteWorrell]

I am not in the USA but i know that Micro Center has a good reputation. AMD picked the best vendor to sell these at MSRP.

 

[SniperHF]

TFW you go to dust out your PC and your CMOS battery is dead, and when you boot up you have to figure out OC settings you made 6 years ago

 

[Smelling Salt]

Damn this may be too good for me to refuse:

Canada Computers | Best PC, Laptop, Gaming Gear, Printer, TV, Cables - Canada Computers & Electronics

The best deals on laptops, PC, game systems, components, small appliances, cables, and office supplies. Save more by shopping online or in-store!

www.canadacomputers.com

Or from Amazon and get free shipping:

https://www.amazon.ca/MSI-192-bit-FreeSync-DirectX-Graphics/dp/B09YHW8C7Z/

Three fan version might even be more worth it for +$20 which gets you better/quieter cooling and that sweet sweet RGB:

Canada Computers | Best PC, Laptop, Gaming Gear, Printer, TV, Cables - Canada Computers & Electronics

The best deals on laptops, PC, game systems, components, small appliances, cables, and office supplies. Save more by shopping online or in-store!

www.canadacomputers.com

Could price match at ME and save a few bucks as well.

 

[Smelling Salt]

Well I bit the bullet and bought the MSI 6750 XT GAMING X TRIO 12GB to upgrade my iGPU. First real GPU since an EVGA 6600GT I bought in 2006.

It was $470+tax CDN and came with Starfield Premium Edition ($130), so why not.

 

[aleshemsky83]

I think the dumbest thing I ever did was update my bios. In my defense there was a legitimate bug with ryzen 3000 processors that caused usb to drop out when transfering files. So it was actually necessary. The update did fix it, unfortunately it caused a ton of other problems including me not even being able to get into my UEFI setting anymore and certain drivers just not installing or crashing the pc.

Will do a fresh install of windows to wipe everything and see if that solves it, if it don’t it’s definitely the bios.

I just remembered why i didnt solve this ages ago: Its impossible to update the bios without booting into the uefi settings. Unfortunately doing a clean install of windows bricks my boot drive. Fortunately i had my old boot drive, this is quite a pickle.

 

[Osprey]

Your problem could be related to Secure Boot or CSM (compatibility support module), both of which are BIOS settings. Ideally, Secure Boot should be on, CSM should be off and your boot drive should be partitioned as GPT. MBR is the old partition scheme, requires CSM to work and doesn't work with Secure Boot. If you have some combination other than those two, Windows won't boot, and updating the BIOS can toggle those settings on or off, so you may want to check and try toggling them back.

Also, if you do a clean install of Windows, it'll partition the drive as GPT if you delete the existing partition instead of simply selecting it during installation (because, if it's MBR and you select it, it'll stay MBR). You'll need to make sure that you have all of your data backed up, though, because it'll wipe everything on that drive.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Your problem could be related to Secure Boot or CSM (compatibility support module), both of which are BIOS settings. Ideally, Secure Boot should be on, CSM should be off and your boot drive should be partitioned as GPT. MBR is the old partition scheme, requires CSM to work and doesn't work with Secure Boot. If you have some combination other than those two, Windows won't boot, and updating the BIOS can toggle those settings on or off, so you may want to check and try toggling them back.

Also, if you do a clean install of Windows, it'll partition the drive as GPT if you delete the existing partition instead of simply selecting it during installation (because, if it's MBR and you select it, it'll stay MBR). You'll need to make sure that you have all of your data backed up, though, because it'll wipe everything on that drive.

It is partitioned as GPT, and that’s what has me dumbfounded, I’m not even able to kick it into secure boot/safe mode. I’m trying to figure out what could be causing the issue. There’s actually one thing that I’m thinking it might be, on one occasion I set up a Linux virtual machine through powershell just to test out pihole, it’s unlikely but that may be causing some issues on boot.

My data fortunately is backed up on my old boot drive because doing a clean install of windows caused even more problems, I’ll give it another shot because the first time it straight up got me black screened.

 

[Osprey]

It is partitioned as GPT, and that’s what has me dumbfounded, I’m not even able to kick it into secure boot/safe mode. I’m trying to figure out what could be causing the issue. There’s actually one thing that I’m thinking it might be, on one occasion I set up a Linux virtual machine through powershell just to test out pihole, it’s unlikely but that may be causing some issues on boot.

My data fortunately is backed up on my old boot drive because doing a clean install of windows caused even more problems, I’ll give it another shot because the first time it straight up got me black screened.

Do what I suggested and delete all partitions on the boot drive and let Windows re-create the ones that it needs. That'll remove anything left behind by Linux. Also, try restoring BIOS default/optimized settings, in case settings for the old and new BIOS versions don't like each other or something.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Do what I suggested and delete all partitions on the boot drive and let Windows re-create the ones that it needs. That'll remove anything left behind by Linux. Also, try restoring BIOS default/optimized settings, in case settings for the old and new BIOS versions don't like each other or something.

I did do this, however it did not fix my problem. Fortunately the nightmare is finally over and I solved it. I cleared the CMOS. Im not sure what was causing it. My theory is that I set fast boot to ultra fast and the setting just bugged. I'm pretty sure that setting is not designed to make it literally impossible to get into your UEFI settings.

I also had the issue of doing a fresh install of windows black screening my PC. I'm curious if this fixes the issue but now that I can get into my UEFI theres no point in checking.

Edit:

Nevermind, lol. The setting does in fact make it impossible to get into the bios settings without clearing the CMOS

How you get into BIOS after setting up Gigabyte ultra fast boot?

Is there a way to get into it without popping out the CMOS battery? I'd rather not have to if I don't.

linustechtips.com

This is such a bugged setting.

 

[PeteWorrell]

I don't even see the necessity of something like ultra fast boot. Computers just boot so fast these days when you have an SSD so it just seems redundant.

 

[aleshemsky83]

I don't even see the necessity of something like ultra fast boot. Computers just boot so fast these days when you have an SSD so it just seems redundant.

The thing is I have a very unaesthetic boot screen that I despised looking at. My computer would boot to a black screen with a single underscore symbol at the top left. It seems OCD but it’s actually a common complaint with this motherboard and bios.