Gordon Bennett

I had the same issue... Two laptops! One had a SATA HDD, the other an IDE HDD! The SATA laptop now sits in the kitchen. It has a 3TB USB HDD attached, and plays old movies/TV shows & MP3/FLAC files (I have hooked up a decent set of small speakers, running the wire behind a kitchen cupboard). I can cook/wash up etc. with something to distract! The other with the IDE HDD, couldn't really be upgraded to much, (who sells 2.5" IDE drives anymore)? and so it sits in the bathroom, and boots from a USB stick to Windows, and plays MP3s etc whilst I shower with decent screen saver thing too! I charge it once a week or so... Neither are networked, so no security issues!

To answer the question: How old are you? Your phraseology leads me to suspect you're not very old. The question you pose in the headline actually says your dad wants you to have a PC, but you want to convince him otherwise; your use of a double negative, two "not"s! So I suspect you're not very old at all, (unless your first language isn't English, in which case I apologise). To spend $1,000+ behind your parents back, against their explicit wishes, might well ruin a lot of trust between you & them, so think carefully... Will they start to manage your money for you, as you then can't be trusted? Will they trust you to have 100% unsupervised access to the computer after you purchase it? After all, you will have broken the trust between you... Also, your dad is right when you say: "he thinks that the teach will be outdated by next year" It will be. But so will next years tech be outdated the following year. Its the nature of tech! But, you're wrong about GPU pricing! GPU's are decreasing in price, but only from unreasonably massive highs, but they are still way way too expensive. As is DDR4... But if you're as young as I suspect, take the advice of your dad. Your relationship will be stronger in the longer term. Going behind his back is a one-way ticket to a world of massive arguments and a huge loss of trust! Maybe, try this instead: Tell your dad you will abide by his wishes. Tell him you disagree and why, but you will respect his wishes as your parent(s). But maybe, suggest that if you are going to have to wait, he can sweeten the pill next year by putting some extra money to the build. Even $50 for a game or maybe $100 or so for a bigger SSD/M.2?

But as I said, I've used it all! So no different. I think perhaps its more that you lack the knowledge to calibrate them, than the equipment itself. Or you're buying rubbish TV's, that might meet the 4k pixel requirement, but the panel is manufactured to poor standards, lacking the necessary processing power to deliver a 'good enough' picture... Either way, your argument about lag being linked to resolution is daft beyond belief. The input lag of a ZX81 on TV can be measured in whole seconds (not milliseconds), yet has a resolution of 64x48 pixels! You can carry on posting as you want, as you're not worth the effort. Save to say to the O/P: Do not drop your resolution; below native (or wait, do and see how horrible it looks)! AND: Yes you can use your 4K TV as a really good monitor. I have, and I'll never look back!

I don't do the big I am, unlike you. I'm sorry you see things that way. For what its worth I have been hooking computers upto TV's since 1982, when I connected my ZX81 via a TV Modulator. Then my ZX Spectrums (16 & 48k Models), then my Atari ST, my Amiga, my 386, then 486, Pentium 200 and all the way to today. I've seen TV's through mono sound, to Sony's Nicam, to 5.1 THX where I am today, through Green screen VGA monitors (rejoicing when I got my first SVGA monitor) to Multi-sync units. Never, ever as lag been caused by the resolution of the screen. Rather, by the electronics that connect the computer to the input device! Q.E.D. !

The fact that you think input lag is only noticeable at 4k and not at all at 1080p, tells everyone all they need to know about your posts!

Best romantic tech date type vid ever:

What wrot is that? All TV's will display better on PC when using their native resolution, Whether its 4k or 1080p Or 8k or anything else! I'm using a 55" Panasonic LCD TX-55CX802B as my daily driver. Its great. It isn't set to gaming mode and I'm using a wireless keyboard & mouse, further increasing the lag time between input and display. Before that, I used a Panasonic Plasma TX-P50VT50 no problems and even the Windows desktop look great in 3D mode, and games were amazing using 2D-3D conversion! I've also used Samsung & LG LCD TV's as my main drivers at 1080p. None had any input lag! None were ever used with game mode enabled! I've even got my setup now in HDR in Windows on my 55" Panasonic, again with no lag.... and at 4K. Looks great! Maybe you didn't know how to set your system up correctly?

Whilst miners take some of the blame, its not really their fault... There are only three - yep just 3 - manufacturers of RAM left on the planet. It appears likely that they are operating a cartel, keeping prices artificially high. E.G. Samsung is now fabricating GDDR6 in bulk, and has increased DDR4 production by a third... Yet prices continue to rise, and are expected to continue to rise for the foreseeable future... In light of this, China has set up an official investigation into price fixing. Its quite likely the EU & US will follow suite and investigate these prices to see if they are artificially high. But the worldwide demand for memory (be it DDR4 or GDDR6 or whatever) is increasing exponentially. Be it in washing machines or Cars or phones, all need memory and it all comes from just those three companies... I'm holding off my upgrade to a Threadripper X1950 (R2 or Threadripper+ or whatever they are goanna call it), & until DDR4 is more realistic, or its confirmed that the price hikes are permanent.... Until then, I'm here with my perfectly useable FX-8350 with 16GB of DDR3 (XMP @1866Mhz) & a 1060 6GB... Go big or go home I say, so I'm waiting & waiting & waiting...

Why bother? I mean, the rest of the case is sealed off so tight you're goanna cook whatever is inside anyway. Its a case for dummies, who prefer style over substance. Do yourself a favour before you dig an even deeper hole, watch the videos above. They even have a kitty cat in some of them!

Before you buy anything, you should visit Gamers Nexus. Linus doesn't have a case round up, and Steve (the guy who runs the channel) appears on Linus's channel occasionally... His most recent case round up is here: His budget review from last year is here: And this video sums up the silliness that is the case industry today, highlighting the stupidity of the junk they are turning out (sealed glass front panels etc): Do yourself a favour, watch them all BEFORE you buy! The videos are funny as well as informative too!

Well, using that case is one way to kill your system with heat! What#s the gap at the bottom of the case for? Lighting a fire so you can really cook your system? LOL ! : - )

Leave them alone... at least for a few days, a week or more would be better! Do not put them in direct heat either. Put them in a living room/bedroom where the temperature is more of a constant (not in the bathroom even though the temperature is usually more or less static, the humidity rises/falls too quickly). I you have some packets of silica gell, put them on-top/around the drives. When dried out, connect only power (no sata) to see if they spin up. If power up, then power down and connect SATA and see what happens. If they don't spin up however, all is not lost, they can still be repaired by replacing the PCB or swapping out the BIOS on the PCB (that's really complicated though. My soldering skills aren't up to that task, and I can't find anyone I need to do the repair for me, and I live in Central London, have found a company in Canada, but its quite expensive)...

TS;CR? Or is that that why I used the qualifier; "might" as in when I said: "It might be a simple 'on-line' reactivation, but..." Reading is key! As is understanding Microsoft is a worldwide Co, and its activation policy is different in different locations. Of the last dozen or so re-activations I have done in the UK, all have been on Windows 10 Free updated systems (from 7 or Vista etc), and all have needed a new activation code (not on-line, nor with code generated by system with a reply code generated by Microsoft), but a full on conversation with a tech person! Maybe the poster will be lucky, maybe they won't. Hence the use of the word; "might"!

Ok first off, there is a massive difference between occasional boots and non-booting systems. You have said your system doesn't boot (as per title), then you go on to say you play games. What on a non-booting system? You need to be clearer. Is your system now not booting at all, or is it occasional? Unless you can be more specific, no one will be able to assist and all posts will be random guesses!

That's one heck of a downgrade you're going for - LOL : - ) I have had far too many bad experiences with Biostar to ever go back. But there again they might have improved (and pigs might one day learn how to fly). Brand? What has branding got to do with anything? Stay away from anyone or any board that recommends doing things based on Branding, as they are daft and have no idea what they are on about. Chipset, only if the chipset is identical n both boards, will you likely see fewer issues, but that's not to say no issues. It basically woks like this, from Best to worst: 1. Clean install of windows on new hardware, will reduce the chances of bugs & crashes. 2. Same chipset but on a new motherboard, using old windows will have a corrupt registry. Windows will likely boot, but you should expect some issues on a base-by-case use. 3. New chipset on a new motherboard, using old windows will have a very corrupt registry, increasing the possibility on incorrectly performing (non-performing) hardware (USB's etc) So will Windows work on a new mobo with a new chipset? Yes, probably. But its unlikely to be stable, and whatever else, will not perform at 100% of its capacity. In al cases, Windows 10 is likely to want to re-activate. It might be a simple 'on-line' reactivation, but if the chipset is different, its likely you'll need to phone Microsoft helpline and speak to an advisor and explain what has happened. Its discretionary for them to give you a new code, but they are 99% likely to esp if you can show a receipt for a new mobo)... The TS;CR version: Always do a clean install of Windows when replacing motherboard or CPU!