Sabarok

An electrician was the first person I spoke to. He said it was an issue with the grounding from the house itself and wasn't anything to worry about. Not only that, but everyone is so busy that it's a 2 month wait before they'll be able to return for other work I have them doing. The wiring going to my office is a brand new circuit that was installed a month ago

A few weeks ago I replaced my PC's 2.1 speakers. There is an electrical issue with my house causing the speakers to have a constant hum. I looked for speakers powered by USB, so I switched to a Creative Stage Air, but I'm not happy with it. Every morning, it's disconnected so I have to manually re-pair the speaker through the panel, which doesn't always work, and it always connects muted so I have to fix the volume, and it doesn't always stay connected. At 16" wide, it is the largest that could fit under my monitor because of how the monitor's legs are positioned. My requirements: Maximum of 16" in width for a sound bar. USB powered. Sounds better than the built-in speakers of an Asus ROG monitor. Doesn't disconnect from my PC

I am looking for a wired mouse with 4-6 programmable buttons easily accessed with small hands in a claw grip. I read the pinned thread and measured, and my hand's measurements are small. I once owned a Razer mouse with a recharge stand and an optional cable. I forgot to place it on the charger so frequently that I kept it plugged in all the time and never used the wireless feature, and haven't bought a wireless mouse since. I am currently using a SteelSeries Rival 500. It's been a fine mouse. While it has tons of buttons, only 4 of them are within easy reach with my small hands, so it's just barely met my requirements. My issue is that I bought the mouse 2 years ago, and the scroll wheel is having issues (it sometimes goes in the wrong direction. I know that it's a common issue, but none of the existing fixes or troubleshooting steps worked), so I'm looking to see if there are better options. Before this, I was using a Naga Hex. I loved it, even though the button placement would cause physical strain on my thumb. My main reason for replacing it was the sensor was bugged and would frequently place the mouse in the top-right corner where the close button was on a window just as I was clicking the button, closing whatever window I had open. I stuck with that one for many years, in spite of its sensor problem. Other than the Rival 500, the only other mouse I've seen that could meet my requirements is the Razer Trinity, where I can put a 7 button circle on there. I'd prefer 6, but I think I can manage 7. MMO mice have way too many buttons for me, and I'd never be able to remember that much and get use out of it. Worries about Razer's build quality is why I went with the Rival 500 two years ago instead of the Trinity, but the SteelSeries having an issue after the first year didn't impress me.

Budget (including currency): 500 CAD? Country: Canada Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: No games. Mostly for media and home office applications This one is for a friend of mine who has asked me for recommendations. The requirements are pretty low, and looking at Newegg, there are options under $200. I will be lending an old PC that's an i7-4770k, so we will be able to wait for some Christmas or post-Christmas sales. It would be good if the CPU doesn't feel like a noticeable downgrade. It would also be good if the case had space to install a SATA HDD. I have a spare 1 TB that I will be donating. I'm seeing a ton of options on newegg.ca, but I haven't been paying attention to which brands are good. It's going to someone with no technical knowledge and I won't be available for support, so I'm recommending a pre-built. Advice on what manufacturer to buy from would be very helpful. Suggestions on what CPUs to look for would also be appreciated. I know most hardware has a bang:buck on a bell curve, so spend too little and you get a fraction of what you could get by spending just a little more. What's a good price range for a reliable and responsive non-gaming desktop?

Am I seeing this right that this stores 50x the power? That's a big difference.

So what I'm hearing is that, instead of using my TV plugged into the UPS, I should use my chromebook (running off its battery, once I've safely turned everything else off). An outage that lasts more than a few minutes is something like a once-a-year thing, so I'm not going to go far in trying to be setup for that. It sounds like I might be able to get an hour of video streaming to my Chromebook on a UPS that's around $200, which would be a nice bonus. Thank you for helping to keep things realistic

That is useful info. I was hoping that since my Chromebook's battery can last 6 hours, that a bigger battery on a TV would also have a decent life span.

I'm thinking of getting a UPS for my home setup. This is what I'm planning on plugging into it: Synology DS220j (12.5W while being accessed according to the website) My 65" TV Sony X900H (I couldn't find power usage specs for it) A cable modem (Technicolor TC4350) Wifi Router (Netgear R6350) The last few outages I've had have been very brief. So brief that my PC was able to stay up and not reboot, but it did reset my modem, and I had to wait several minutes before I could get back online (and it happened during a meeting while I was talking). I want to have my network gear plugged in for that reason. If an outage does last longer, having my TV and NAS plugged in and able to watch videos for a few hours would be really cool. A friend of mine who also has a Synology DS220 said he was able to plug it in via USB so the NAS would safely shut down when the UPS ran low. Having that support would be cool. There's also the potential of plugging in some idle consoles. I remember the PS3 in particular being rather fussy if it don't get shut down properly, but it wouldn't be to play them during an outage (I expect that would drain the UPS quite quickly). I've never bought a UPS before, so I don't know what to look for. Looking at Newegg, I see a lot of options in the $100-$300 CAD range, and I feel like that's an appropriate budget for what I think my requirements are. By comparison, if I were to get a UPS for my gaming PC (5950x w/ GTX 3080, 850W PSU) & gaming monitor (1440p 100hz), with the requirement that it be able to last maybe 15 minutes, just enough to make sure I can safely close down whatever game I'm playing, what would I be looking to get? I already have surge protectors on all my devices (APC P11U2). Would I plug the surge protector into the UPS, plug the UPS into the surge protector, or remove the surge protector from the equation and have my devices plugged into the UPS that's plugged into the wall?

Thank you both for your comments. I have just placed my order and it should arrive by next week

My planned usage case: Media server streaming video to 2 devices at a time, with support for downloading torrents via rss through ExpressVPN. Synology & Videostation sounds perfect for this, as the intended devices will be either android or windows PC, Download station supports RSS, and ExpressVPN has instructions on how to connect with Synology. I'm thinking of getting the DS220j with a single 6TB Ironwolf. This would give me a spare bay for future upgrades if I manage to max out the 6TB. I'm not concerned with RAID as what will be on the devices will be replaceable. For anything irreplaceable, my PC has 7TB and a cloud backup subscription, but it's connected to the network wirelessly, and it's not the greatest connection. The NAS would go in the living room and have a wired connection to my TV (android), and a wired connection to my wifi router, which should make for a better streaming experience to android phones than trying to do it from my PC. I've tried Plex and wasn't happy with the experience.

I'm currently using the Logitech Z313 (2.1). I've had them for about 12 years or so, and I've been happy with them. I also used to use really cheap speakers in the 90s that I thought were "just fine" and when I bought a Logitech 4.1 system, that's when I realized what the difference is. I don't know what I don't know, so I have no idea if I'm missing out on a better experience. My usage: Almost entirely (offline) gaming. Headphones aren't an option (I know there are a lot of fantastic headphone options that would likely get me better audio, I don't want to wear them). I'm not looking for surround or anything that's going to take up a lot of space. I don't need loud volume. I tend to be on the low end of volume, so being able to stay crisp and clear at low levels is important. I do like that the Z313 has a separate volume control that I can put in an easier to reach spot than my speakers. Budget: I haven't set one. I don't think my use case calls for mid to high end equipment. I think as the price goes beyond $200-300 CAD, it enters a realm of quality/performance higher than I would have a use for. These would be used in an MSI motherboard whose audio specs say Realtek ALC1200 Codec. It's been over a decade since I bought these, and I have no idea what advances have been made since then and if my Z313 are worth replacing with something newer. On a similar topic, I've been upgrading my living room setup and I have a new TV on the way (Sony X900H). This one would be used for console gaming (the PS5 when it becomes available to buy), but also streaming TV & movies (such as Netflix). Given that I would still be on the lower-side of the volume level, would I gain much by looking into a soundbar? My living room setup doesn't really have a spot to place a subwoofer on the ground, so it would be only the bar. And if anyone is wondering why I went from 4.1 to 2.1, I didn't have good placement for the rear speakers (and it was annoying dealing with all the extra wires), so when a cat chewed through my subwoofer wire requiring a replacement, I went for a set that needed less space.

My local computer store in rural Canada said they're expecting to hear news from their supplier on Monday of a shipment arriving during the week

AMD's website for the 5950x says 3200Mhz, so that's what I bought (it arrived today). I can't speak to how well it'll do since I haven't been able to buy the CPU itself yet.

Newegg sold out faster than I realized they were up, so I went to my local retailer (they're a chain big enough to have several locations), and they didn't even have it in their inventory system. I was told they'd arrive next week. I'm really curious at how the supply will be on Newegg.

I am also in the same boat, putting together a 5000 series PC. My 3080 is on backorder, and the 5800 XT looked like a good alternative. I also have a GSync monitor (an expensive one I bought over the summer, so I won't be replacing it anytime soon). The performance boost for combining a 5000 series CPU with 6000 series GPU was interesting, but then I realized that the combo bonus is what's allowing the 6000 series to match with NVIDIA. If they're both going to perform the same, I might as well get the one that my monitor's variable refresh supports, which is NVIDIA's. If not for already owning a Gsync monitor, I'd be preparing to switch to Radeon and looking for benchmarks & availability for the final decision. As it stands, I'm sticking with NVIDIA this round because of gsync.

I just remember something. I bought a 1440p GSync monitor a few months ago. That's a fun wrench to throw into the decision

I have a question on this topic; What's the build quality on Radeons? How long do they last? I've bought a few "brand new" NVIDIA GPUs from the x80, and each of them died after only 4 years. How well do the newly released high end Radeons hold up over time?

I'm currently facing this choice. I'm building a PC around the 5950x. The stores I've been dealing with tell me the earliest I can get a 3080 is in December. I've been with NVIDIA since 3dfx went out of business. The last time I owned an ATI was a 2D accelerator card. For me to switch is something I've never considered before now. There's something appealing about having an AMD GPU paired with an AMD CPU. I don't know if that would ever make a difference. AMD is also powering the latest consoles, and I'd prefer to play multi-plats on PC, so maybe that's an advantage. If the 6800 XT was releasing at the same time as the CPU and I could snag both, it would be a done deal. The delay keeps the 3080 in play. It also lets me see the reviews to be sure the 6800 XT's performance is sufficiently comparable to the 3080. Here's another question for folks: The 6900 XT is coming in significantly cheaper than the 3090. Is anyone cancelling a 3080 to spend a bit more to grab the 6900 XT?

My latest PC Partpicker list: PCPartPicker Part List CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor ($999.99 @ Newegg Canada) CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop) Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard ($298.00 @ Newegg Canada) Memory: G.Skill Flare X 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL14 Memory ($274.99 @ Newegg Canada) Storage: *Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($474.00 @ Newegg Canada) Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card Case: Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($209.99 @ Newegg Canada) Power Supply: Enermax Revolution D.F. 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($139.75 @ shopRBC) Total: $2496.71 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available *Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-13 07:24 EDT-0400 The CPU Cooler is big, so I checked the clearances. The RAM is 40mm and the CPU Cooler has a clearance that can handle up to 42mm. I'm also worried it might be overkill since I'm not overclocking, but there are few Be Quiet options on Newegg. The only cheaper one is the Pure Rock 2, and it's only a $20 difference. I might as well get the beefier one that I can be more assured will handle the 5950. I was initially going to go with 4x8GB but, since the motherboard is dual channel, I don't think I'd get any performance advantages over 2x16. I've gone with low latency 3200 memory because AMD's website for the 5950x says 3200. I thought about getting a 1TB M.2 drive, but my current C drive is 750GB and I've maxed it out a few times, so I don't think 1TB is going to be enough. The Enermax has a fan that points up/down. Looking at screenshots of the case, it also has vents that go up/down. Should I mount the power supply so the fan is downwards and pulls in air from outside, or upwards to help pull air out of the case? My thought would be downward to keep the PSU isolated and cool. This is one component where I'm not fully decided on. Because of shipping, it comes in quite a bit higher than other similarly high quality PSUs. The Corsair RM850x is a tempting one because it's a quieter PSU for $100 less, but still of high quality (although I also have to pay duties, so the price difference will shrink a bit there). MSI as the brand for the GPU is a placeholder. Is there much of a difference between them? I'm planning on pretty much buying the first one that becomes available. It looks like it might not be available in time for my build (though that will also depend on the supply of the 5950), but I can use my GTX 1070 in the interim. I know this blows past my written budget, but I'm very happy with each selected component. The M.2, CPU Cooler, and Fractal case are currently on sale on Newegg. I might buy those later today. Thank You to Voidrunner for putting me on the MSI Tomahawk. It's the perfect board for me. Thank You also to Hazzer for the Enermax PSU suggestion. I hadn't heard of that brand before, so it's one I would have normally overlooked.

I'm building a PC that might be expected to last 6 years, who knows what things will be like then. The boot drive is the last thing I want to replace because a use case just found a reason to have a faster drive. I listed FFXIV because it's the only "online" game I currently play, though there is a chance (maybe slim?) that Star Citizen will release during this build's lifespan. I know that if I buy a gen 3 drive, every time I'm looking at a load screen or copying files, or doing anything while waiting for the PC, I'll be asking myself "How much faster would this be if I'd gotten that gen 4 drive?" On the other hand, with a gen 4 drive, I'll never say "I wish this was a bit slower so that I had that extra $150 in my bank". I'm going to stick with the gen 4. When I built my current PC almost 7 years ago at the start of 2014, people said I was wasting money buying an i7. "Gaming performance is all about the single thread, save money with an i5". I never once regretted spending a bit more for the extra threads. It's why I'm buying the 5950 over the 5900. I can afford it, and it's going to have that long lasting difference. Rating isn't the only factor, but it is a factor. If the power supply isn't efficient enough, I'll spend more on electricity than I would have spent getting something a bit better. Anything less than Gold wouldn't be worth buying. When comparing a Gold vs a Platinum/Titanium, I wouldn't spend more than $50 for the rating difference. Once a power supply meets the ratings requirements, than everything else factors in, like reliability and other features. I like the anti-dust feature your suggested power supply has. The video card brand I picked is a placeholder. Because of supply issues, I'll be lucky to get a 3080 from any brand. I'm also happy with my case choice. It's one thing I've looked into a lot. I know it has an airflow issue, but it still performs as an average case, which is good enough since I'm not overclocking. There just aren't many good options for a quiet case with nice front-panel features. I considered the Be Quiet 500DX for the better airflow, but it only has a single USB Gen A on the front panel, and it's not one available on newegg. The Fractal case also has options like removing the top panel or pulling off the door if I find a need to improve airflow. Based on the usage of my current PC, front-panel USB is something I've used often. It currently has all 4 slots filled (though two are things I will be able to retire since the new motherboard will have built-in bluetooth & wifi).

Why wouldn't I want a gen 4 SSD? I like your recommendation on the Enermax Revolution DF. 80+ Gold is still a pretty good rating. One thing to consider is Newegg wants $66 in shipping, so that pushes it to a $310 option. Still cheaper than the Corsair, but it does change what products it gets compared against.. I like the Noctua NH D15 recommendation because it's also quiet.

I knew I was forgetting about something. I do still need to pick a cooler. Here is the Partpicker list. I'm using the Ryzen 9 3950x as a stand-in for the 5950x. The CPU Cooler is one I've picked at random for the purpose of partpicker. For the M.2, I want a gen 4 drive. The motherboard & CPU supports it. PCPartPicker Part List CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor ($999.99 @ Newegg Canada) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Newegg Canada) Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard ($298.00 @ Newegg Canada) Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($97.99 @ PC-Canada) Memory: *Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($97.99 @ PC-Canada) Storage: *Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($474.00 @ Newegg Canada) Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card Case: Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($209.99 @ Newegg Canada) Power Supply: Corsair AX 850 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($139.75 @ shopRBC) Total: $2362.70 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available *Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-12 07:19 EDT-0400

I'm getting closer to narrowing things down. My build is currently sitting around $3500, and I'm happy with the quality. CPU: Ryzen 9 3950x (~$1000) GPU: RTX 3080 ($1000) Motherboard: MSI Tomahawk Wifi ($300) Case: Fractal Design R6 ($210) PSU: Corsair AX850 ($400) RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB x4 ($200. overkill for now, but future proofing, and RAM is cheap) M.2: Corsair 2TB PCI Gen 4 ($474) I could probably shave off a bit from the cost by getting a cheaper PSU, half the RAM, and a gen 3 M.2 but, given the total cost, I think I've made good choices. I hadn't even realized until writing this post that I've picked Corsair for three of my components. Their components were highly rated on Newegg, so they're a reliable brand?

I was reading through a few articles comparing motherboards, and I also landed on the ASUS TUF Gaming X570+ as a good all-round option. It has the features I'm looking for at what seems a reasonable price. I've been shocked at the price of motherboards now. There are so many in the $600-$1000 range. I just have no idea what the differences are at that price point and if there's anything worth the higher price tag. I hear ASUS TUF is built more for reliability, and that's what I like. I've used Gigabyte, MSI, and ASUS in the past, and I'm happy to stick to that family. Your suggestion of the MSI MAG X570 Tomahawk is an interesting one. I'm rather fond of MSI. For the case, I've been happy with Mid-towers. A reasonable amount of space to have an easy time installing drives, and I think I've only ever used ATX boards. Portability isn't a factor. I have a laptop for when I need to be mobile (and a work issued tablet). I currently have my PC sitting on top of a dolly with wheels, so I can very easily pull it away from the wall and have full access to all sides. PSU is one pieces where I know how important quality is, and I don't follow it enough to know which brands are reputable and what the good power supplies are right now. I wish you good luck with the ROG contest. I think I entered it too, but with very few entries. Since my build centers around a CPU that doesn't launch until November and I still need to get my hands on a 3080, who knows when I'll start buying components

Budget (including currency): $3000 CAD. That's the original budget, written in pencil, a year ago. It's fine if it goes higher. I've picked out some expensive parts, so don't feel like you need to try and pick the cheapest option to fit that total. Country: Canada Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Single player games & Final Fantasy XIV. It will also be expected to dual-boot into Ubuntu for work related tasks (the only requirement being that the hardware is capable of running. None of my work would call for higher hardware requirements beyond what is needed for gaming). Other details: I have a 1440p 100hz gsync monitor. I'm all set for other peripherals. This build is solely for the case. I posted here back in June, and the advice was to wait for new releases coming soon. Great advice, I don't at all regret the wait. With today's announcement of the Zen 3, I think it's time to start more concrete planning. I'm an experienced builder. The first PC I built was a 486. However, I'm too busy to keep on top of tech news and where the industry is. 7 years ago (early 2014), I asked Reddit for help in building my current PC (with a budget of around $2000). The goal was to have something that would last 4 years, and it's still performing beyond expectations (probably because my GPU died and I replaced it with a GTX 1070). Reddit did a hard sell in convincing me that multi-threaded wasn't the future, that I was wasting money buying a CPU with lots of cores (I disagreed, bought the I7-4770k, and it was the right choice), so I'm coming to LTT in the hopes that the crowd here has a better grasp on where the future in PC gaming might end up. I know it's overkill, but the goal is to buy one machine now, and not need to spend money on upgrades for the next 4+ years. I've raised my budget since my last build, I have a lot of flexibility, and I want to build something great that will last many years. I'm still happy with my current PC, and it's going to have a great new home when I give it to someone I know as an upgrade to their ancient machine, but it's the right time for me to do this. Timeline: Flexible. As pieces get nailed down, I can keep an eye out for sales until everything becomes available. Online Store: I prefer to do all my purchases through newegg.ca, so products available through there would be ideal. Bling: I know Linus loves his flashing lights, but they're not for me. My PC currently sits at eye level in my peripheral vision, so the fewer distractions the better. Water cooling: No. Streaming: No. Content Creation: I occasionally create videos. Overclocking: No. Priorities: Reliability is my first priority. I hate crashes. I'm willing to spend a bit more to get a brand that is going to be reliable and stable. For this reason, overclocking isn't something I do. I can't be bothered to spend hours tweaking settings and hoping things don't crash. However, if the hardware came with drivers that did this automatically and it's stable, that would be fine, but it's also fine if there's no overclocking. Performance is my second priority. I'm coming in with a big budget because I'm expecting to go to the higher end of the price-performance ratio Noise. I don't like loud noises. My audio tends to be turned down low. The quieter the PC runs, the happier I'll be. My PC currently sits arm-reach from me at head level. I had to recently unplug one of the case fans because it had recently started making a constant noise (pulling it out and cleaning it thoroughly didn't solve it, but my case has an excess of fans, so it's been fine being down one). Case: Mid-tower. I've looked at a few choices, but I haven't settled on one. I'd like one with 4 front-panel USB and maybe a USB Type-C for futureproofing. I had written down a few I'd looked at, but I don't remember where I wrote them down. My current case has 4 front-panel USB and they get frequent use. CPU: I'm pretty well decided on the Ryzen 9 5950X. I know it's a bit overkill now, but 7 years from now, I think it will still be kicking butt. GPU: RTX 3080. My brother just got his hands on one today, It looks like a great card that will meet my needs for the years to come until it stops working in 4 years. Drives: I'm thinking of getting a 2TB M.2 NVMe drive as my new primary. Any suggestions for specific brands or models? I have a few SSDs and large SATAs I'll keep from my current PC for additional storage. RAM: I haven't decided the amount or speed. This is something I've tended not to bother upgrading, so I'd like to get more than I'll need and fill out all 4 slots, then never worry about it. Motherboard: I'm thinking X570 chipset, but I haven't decided on a manufacturer or model. I'd like it to come with wifi and bluetooth built-in, provided the wi-fi is a decent enough quality. I'm currently using a cheap USB wifi adapter ($30 wavlink Dualband), so it shouldn't be hard to be better than that. PSU: Undecided, but it has to be a brand with a solid reputation for reliability and clean power. I also don't know how many watts to get. OS: Windows 10 Home or Pro? I don't know the difference. Any ideas or advice would be welcome. This forum gave me great advice in June when it told me to wait, and it also gave me great advice in picking my new 1440p monitor. TL;DR: As a summary for anyone skimming: I'm primarily looking for suggestions for case, motherboard, and PSU, but any other suggestions are welcome.