bkrazy92

Thanks. I have completed your survey as well.

Rockstar put GTA 5 on 7 damn discs, Bethesda can't even put the full game on it smh. Discs are still important to me, 2mb/s down and 500kb/s up is damn painful and having a physical copy makes installing the game via disc saves me so much damn time.

Another game I won't be buying a physical copy for. Big middle finger to people stuck with 4G mobile broadband, and expensive and seriously limited data caps. ($140 for 16GB? Thanks Telstra).

Australia specifically needs physical media.

I was trying to help a parent over the phone on how to backup there iphone before they sent it in for a screen replacement who was having trouble finding iTunes using the Windows 7 search function 

Here's a little quip from a reddit post by user 007sk2 titled "Mark my word if we don't stop the nvidia GameWorks anticompetitive practice you will start to see games that are only exclusive for one GPU over the other"
 
"So I like many of you was disappointed to see poor performance in project cars on AMD hardware. AMD's current top of the like 290X currently performs on the level of a 770/760. Of course, I was suspicious of this performance discrepancy, usually a 290X will perform within a few frames of Nvidia's current high end 970/980, depending on the game. Contemporary racing games all seem to run fine on AMD. So what was the reason for this gigantic performance gap?
Many (including some of you) seemed to want to blame AMD's driver support, a theory that others vehemently disagreed with, given the fact that Project Cars is a title built on the framework of Nvidia GameWorks, Nvidia's proprietary graphics technology for developers. In the past, we've all seen GameWorks games not work as they should on AMD hardware. Indeed, AMD cannot properly optimize for any GameWorks based game- they simply don't have access to any of the code, and the developers are forbidden from releasing it to AMD as well. For more regarding GameWorks, this article from a couple years back gives a nice overview[1]
Now this was enough explanation for me as to why the game was running so poorly on AMD, but recently I found more information that really demonstrated to me the very troubling direction Nvidia is taking with its sponsorship of developers. This thread on the anandtech forums is worth a read, and I'll be quoting a couple posts from it.[2] [2] I strongly recommend everyone reads it before commenting. There are also some good methods in there of getting better performance on AMD cards in Project Cars if you've been having trouble.
Of note are these posts:


The game runs PhysX version 3.2.4.1. It is a CPU based PhysX. Some features of it can be offloaded onto Nvidia GPUs. Naturally AMD can't do this. In Project Cars, PhysX is the main component that the game engine is built around. There is no "On / Off" switch as it is integrated into every calculation that the game engine performs. It does 600 calculations per second to create the best feeling of control in the game. The grip of the tires is determined by the amount of tire patch on the road. So it matters if your car is leaning going into a curve as you will have less tire patch on the ground and subsequently spin out. Most of the other racers on the market have much less robust physics engines. Nvidia drivers are less CPU reliant. In the new DX12 testing, it was revealed that they also have less lanes to converse with the CPU. Without trying to sound like I'm taking sides in some Nvidia vs AMD war, it seems less advanced. Microsoft had to make 3 levels of DX12 compliance to accommodate Nvidia. Nvidia is DX12 Tier 2 compliant and AMD is DX12 Tier 3. You can make their own assumptions based on this. To be exact under DX12, Project Cars AMD performance increases by a minimum of 20% and peaks at +50% performance. The game is a true DX11 title. But just running under DX12 with it's less reliance on the CPU allows for massive performance gains. The problem is that Win 10 / DX12 don't launch until July 2015 according to the AMD CEO leak. Consumers need that performance like 3 days ago! In these videos an alpha tester for Project Cars showcases his Win 10 vs Win 8.1 performance difference on a R9 280X which is a rebadged HD 7970. In short, this is old AMD technology so I suspect that the performance boosts for the R9 290X's boost will probably be greater as it can take advantage of more features in Windows 10. 20% to 50% more in game performance from switching OS is nothing to sneeze at. AMD drivers on the other hand have a ton of lanes open to the CPU. This is why a R9 290X is still relevant today even though it is a full generation behind Nvidia's current technology. It scales really well because of all the extra bells and whistles in the GCN architecture. In DX12 they have real advantages at least in flexibility in programming them for various tasks because of all the extra lanes that are there to converse with the CPU. AMD GPUs perform best when presented with a multithreaded environment. Project Cars is multithreaded to hell and back. The SMS team has one of the best multithreaded titles on the market! So what is the issue? CPU based PhysX is hogging the CPU cycles as evident with the i7-5960X test and not leaving enough room for AMD drivers to operate. What's the solution? DX12 or hope that AMD changes the way they make drivers. It will be interesting to see if AMD can make a "lite" driver for this game. The GCN architecture is supposed to be infinitely programmable according to the slide from Microsoft I linked above. So this should be a worthy challenge for them. Basically we have to hope that AMD can lessen the load that their drivers present to the CPU for this one game. It hasn't happened in the 3 years that I backed, and alpha tested the game. For about a month after I personally requested a driver from AMD, there was new driver and a partial fix to the problem. Then Nvidia requested that a ton of more PhysX effects be added, GameWorks was updated, and that was that... But maybe AMD can pull a rabbit out of the hat on this one too. I certainly hope so.
And this post:


No, in this case there is an entire thread in the Project Cars graphics subforum where we discussed with the software engineers directly about the problems with the game and AMD video cards. SMS knew for the past 3 years that Nvidia based PhysX effects in their game caused the frame rate to tank into the sub 20 fps region for AMD users. It is not something that occurred overnight or the past few months. It didn't creep in suddenly. It was always there from day one. Since the game uses GameWorks, then the ball is in Nvidia's court to optimize the code so that AMD cards can run it properly. Or wait for AMD to work around GameWorks within their drivers. Nvidia is banking on taking months to get right because of the code obfuscation in the GameWorks libraries as this is their new strategy to get more customers. Break the game for the competition's hardware and hope they migrate to them. If they leave the PC Gaming culture then it's fine; they weren't our customers in the first place.
So, in short, the entire Project Cars engine itself is built around a version of PhysX that simply does not work on amd cards. Most of you are probably familiar with past implementations of PhysX, as graphics options that were possible to toggle 'off'. No such option exists for project cars. If you have and AMD GPU, all of the physx calculations are offloaded to the CPU, which murders performance. Many AMD users have reported problems with excessive tire smoke, which would suggest PhysX based particle effects.
These results seem to be backed up by Nvidia users themselves[3] [3] - performance goes in the toilet if they do not have GPU physx turned on. AMD's windows 10 driver benchmarks for Project Cars also shows a fairly significant performance increase, due to a reduction in CPU overhead- more room for PhysX calculations.[4] The worst part? The developers knew this would murder performance on AMD cards, but built their entire engine off of a technology that simply does not work properly with AMD anyway.The game was built from the ground up to favor one hardware company over another.Nvidia also appears to have a previous relationship with the developer.[5]
Equally troubling is Nvidia's treatment of their last generation Kepler cards. Benchmarks indicate that a 960 Maxwell card soundly beats a Kepler 780, and gets VERY close even to a 780ti, a feat which surely doesn't seem possible unless Nvidia is giving special attention to Maxwell.[6] These results simply do not make sense when the specifications of the cards are compared- a 780/780ti should be thrashing a 960.
These kinds of business practices are a troubling trend. Is this the future we want for PC gaming? For one population of users to be entirely segregated from another, intentionally? To me, it seems a very clear cut case of Nvidia not only screwing over other hardware users- but its own as well. I would implore those of you who have cried 'bad drivers' to reconsider this position in light of the evidence posted here. AMD open sources much of its tech, which only stands to benefit everyone. AMD sponsored titles do not gimp performance on other cards. So why is it that so many give Nvidia (and the PCars developer) a free pass for such awful, anti-competitive business practices? Why is this not a bigger deal to more people? I have always been a proponent of buying whatever card offers better value to the end user. This position becomes harder and harder with every anti-consumer business decision Nvidia makes, however. AMD is far from a perfect company, but they have received far, far too much flak from the community in general and even some of you on this particular issue.
original post here[7]"
 
Inb4 every nvidia user on the forum thinks purposeful segregation of the pc game market is a good thing.

Projects CARS... if it ever releases.
 
The Crew is waaaaaay too arcady to be any kind of enjoyable.

I was trying to help a parent over the phone on how to backup there iphone before they sent it in for a screen replacement who was having trouble finding iTunes using the Windows 7 search function 

The 480mm will give more surface area and there is a larger selection of pressure optimised 120mm fans.
 
Edit: Math was wrong the 420 will give more surface area

Project: Shadow Walker

In all seriousness I don't actually name my builds, this is just a title for the sake of sounding cool.
 
INTRO

This is a transition/restructuring, not a new build, although it may seem like it.
 
I never really cared how the inside of my PC looked before, but after seeing the degree of effort some people put into their systems it inspired me. So here is my attempt to make the leap into an enthusiast class build. The purpose of this was to incorporate 4 main elements to my system - Basic Theme, Cable Management, Sleeving, Modding. This took me a little over a month to complete.
 
I apologize for my lack of actual 'build' pics as I got caught up just trying to finish but you know how it is.

System Specs

Case: Antec DF-85
Mobo: MSI Z77A-GD65
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900MAX
RAM: Kingston Hyper-X 8GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x4GB)
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3GB GDDR5
SSD: 128GB Samsung 830
HDD: 500GB Seagate Barracuda
PSU: Corsair AX850
Sound: Asus Xonar DGX
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit
Display: 24" LCD Samsung @ 1920x1200
Speakers: 2.1 Logitech Z-3


1) Theme

To begin my transition I noticed my mobo had a Blue/Black color scheme and also most of my peripherals (monitor, speakers, mouse, power conditioner) are Black with Blue LEDs. However my case (Antec DF-85) is Black with Red LEDs, but has Blue power/hdd indicator. So the first step was to change the case fans.

If you are familiar with this case you will know that I need to use specific Antec fans to keep the easy access fan adjustment feature on the back as well as the front bay doors. This could have been semi costly @ $20/fan as I would need to replace a total of 5 fans (3 front, 2 rear). Now, one could argue 'how often do you actually adjust fan speeds' but I like having it there to tinker with once in a while. Luckily, because of my LAN room I have the same line of case for my other systems - the DF-35 which is a lower model in Antec's DF series. I decided to swap the fans instead of buying new ones. The DF-35 however only has 2 front and 1 rear so I needed to pull the fans from two cases to replace the fans in the DF-85. I also needed to order one additional fan (red) for one of the DF-35s to complete the swap.

NOTE: I am aware both these cases also have top fans but I am leaving those as is without LED.

Now, this isn't just a single PC theme, but a whole LAN room theme. Originally I wanted a semi-theme which was to have the large full tower as the master with Reds and then have the smaller mid towers with Blue, but since I had to change over my main system to a Blue Theme that threw off what I was going for in the room. I was still able to make it work though because two systems would now have Red, and two would be Blue. This makes the new room theme Red for AMD and Blue for Intel.

I would like to mention that I will probably not be theming out my other builds or be putting as much time and effort into making them look as great. As much as I would like to, they are secondary systems that are only used for LAN gaming and I cannot afford to constantly maintain 4 systems (5 if you count my HTPC, and 6 if you count my unlisted in progress LAN build). I do have other hobbies and I only upgrade as needed or replace parts when I upgrade something in my main rig, so some of my hardware might be a little outdated at times.

2) Modding/Cable Management

I wanted to add/mod more USB 3.0 ports to the front of my case, reasons being....

    1. I only have the one port.

    2. It's a USB extension going out the back. This takes away from cable management/clean looking build.

I had a Silverstone USB3.0 card laying around but I didn't want to take up a 5.25 bay, I wanted it to look built-in. I completely dissembled the top of the case and removed the housing for the 4 current USB ports. I then began cutting the plastic of the Silverstone USB cable to separate the two USB ports and to have just the heads on either end of the wire. I also needed to file down the outer lip around the tip of the port to make it fit in the cases front I/O panel. A lot of work but everything turned out great, it fit in and looks as if it came from the factory.

Upon finishing this mod I realized the cable was to short to reach the 20pin header of my current mobo. Again, lucky for me I was able to do a swap. My current rig was a Z68/2500K and not too long ago I put together a Z77/3570K as a replacement to an outdated LAN machine. The two mobo's are pretty much identical in terms of layout, both MSI GD65s, just slightly different positioning of connectors and one is a newer platform. Also, the SATA ports are lower on the Z77 which line up better with the cable routing hole in the DF-85 and the USB3.0 20pin is in its ideal spot, just below the 24pin power connector and is right angled.

Now it may be debatable which CPU is better and if it's in fact an upgrade at all. As I recall, the 3570K is 6% faster than the 2500K. Whether or not that makes any real world difference, I doubt it, but hey, I'd like to think of it as a free upgrade being as I own both systems anyways, why not use the 'better'/newer one even if it is marginal. At any rate, this Z77 is just a better fit in the DF-85 making it more ideal for my situation, plus it's a newer platform and a slightly faster CPU.
 
Also, just for the heck of it I added black screws to blend with the case a little more. For the most part I don't notice the silver colored screws to much, especially at the back but I figured why not.

3) Sleeving/PSU

Pretty self explanatory, to go along with my theme of cable management and blue/black I decided to give sleeving a try as I really like the look of it. I did the front I/O and fan wires in the case. Also, to clean up on un-used wiring I replaced my PSU (TX750) with a modular one (AX850). This was multipurpose as it allowed me to more easily sleeve the PSU cables and let me cut back on wires in the case that are not needed.

NOTE: Before you say anything, I know the AX850 is overkill for my system, but It was on sale for $50 cheaper than the AX750 and I couldn't justify spending more for less wattage. So I look at it as room for expansion later.

4) More Modding - Peripherals

To add to my level of enthusiast I decided to get a mechanical keyboard. I was just about to pull the trigger on a G710+ when I realized I had an old IBM mech keyboard. This was given to me by a friend who was going to throw it away but had brought over in the early stages of setting up my LAN as I did not have enough peripherals to go around. I was asking around how newer mech keyboards would compare to this old outdated monstrosity when I got several reply's that the IBM Model M is as good as gold. After finding that out, I figured I would update/mod it a little and make it more modern and aesthetically pleasing. Given its age, it's (very dirty) old school white and that doesn't go with my theme at all. I took it apart, cleaned all the insides, washed all the keycaps, and wrapped the body in black carbon fiber vinyl. I had planned to sleeve the PS/2 cable but the head is too big to get the sleeving over and if I go with a bigger size it is too baggy and won't look right. Also I wanted to get black keycaps made but I couldn't find anyone who made black ones with printed keys, either black with no print or different color with print, so I stuck with the originals.
 
All comments/suggestions welcome.

Enjoy!


 
Empty bay doors.

 
After taking the fans out of each door I discovered the whole cage door itself snaps out, that would have been a time saver. Oh well.

 
Taking apart the top panel for USB 3.0 Mod.

 
Out comes the USB.

 
Front I/O routing that came with the case.

 
Removed I/O routing in favor of my custom solution. More on that later

 
USB housing.

 
USB housing opened.

 
USB 3.0 cable after separating the heads. Don't mind the electrical tape, I used heat shrink on finished product.

 
Filed down USB lip to fit inside case front.

 
YAY, more USB 3.0!

 
Close up.

 
Now to start keyboard Mod. Got the socket wrench and deep socket. Look how dirty that is, lets get you cleaned up.

 
EWWW.

 
Opened.

 
Ready for Carbon Fiber.

 
Vacuumed, still dirty.

 
Washed, still a little dirty. It's really baked in there but I can live with that.

 
Keycaps back on. Scroll near end for finished product.

 
Antec DF-85 Bare Shell.

 
Mobo change. Can you spot the differences?

 
Side view.

 
Sleeved Front I/O.

 
Sleeved Zalman CNPS9900MAX. Also replaced white fan pin with black one.

 
Top 2.5 hotswap replaced with black screws and SATA power replaced with bitfenix sleeved cable. I wasn't able to sleeve SATA power good enough myself so I went this route.

 
Top fans reinstalled with sleeving, no more black/red ugliness from birds eye view. You can still see the fan speed wire but I accept this as it's minimal.

 
Rear shot. All black screws. ARGH Rivets, NO!

 
Now for the insides. USB 3.0 Cable just barely made it.

 
Inside 2

 
Inside 3

 
Custom solution for front I/O as mentioned above.

 
Before you say anything about my Cable Management, I challenge you to try in an Antec DF-85. I think I did quite well considering. Custom length cables will be considered in the future.

 
Gaming Station.

 
Gaming Station, Power On.

 
Model M. Starcraft Edition!

 
Model M. Close up.

 
Blue LED's.

 
LAN Room.

 
Lights Out!

iPhone 3GS