Gr8White_Bear

I have a 21:9 IPS monitor from LG.  I cringe every time one of my parents points to something on the screen and almost touches it.

something i'm being bothered about right now,
 
TLDR: Would a top tier flagship GPU be an overkill for a 1080p 60hz monitor?
 
Okay..Story time...
 
making a build for a guy who already has a good ips monitor, but it is locked at 60 hz @1080p , he wants a pretty solid gpu to go along with it & has a decent amount of cash saved up for it so that is not an issue, (originally planing on 390x or a fury x from amd side or 980 or 980 ti from the green side), He's been saving it up for a while with intention of buying the best, (other build components already locked are an i7 & ridiculous 16 gigs of ram & an overkill 1000 watts psu (hey atleast he'll get a pretty decent 12v amperage)  )
 
asked me for help on the whole thing , (unfortunately i reccommended all of those i said above :mellow: ) But chugging through some benchmarks online for a GPU portion, showed most of the games pumped out like insane amounts 140+ on BF4 etc & some/few on ultra settings getting the good ol 60fps treatement so my question would be if he were to buy one ubertastic GPU to go along with that gpu would that be stupid? or should i pursuade him to get a mid range GPU

(Now with a 3good picture from a T5 Rebel.)

 

 I’ve had an uninteresting/boring past when it comes to keyboards. My first keyboard with my gaming PC was a Microsoft Wireless 800. After that came a Logitech MK320. My first two keyboards then were plastic hunks of wireless membrane junk. There wasn’t really anything wrong with either of them, but they didn’t feel very nice and they didn’t feel like high-quality solutions. So, I wised up. I went around the internet a bit and people were talking about “mechanical keyboards.” I learned about Cherry MX, the most common switch type and the keyboards that carried them. I looked for the best price for what I wanted and I ended up with a Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition. It rocked Cherry MX Blues. While I liked the feel, the build quality and noise let me far down. I used it for about a year, and then found the Logitech G710 Plus. I heard about how Cherry MX Browns were basically quiet MX Blues and how the G710 Plus was one of the best gaming keyboards out there. I wasn’t a fan of the color scheme but I picked one up and fell in love. It felt great.

 

So, two years down the line I find myself wanting something new. The keyboard market has changed quite a lot now. Cherry’s patent on the MX design expired and companies started making their own, most notably Kailhua (Rosewill RGB80, Razer’s new BlackWidows, Thermaltake’s Poseidon Z, etc.) But they were obviously cheap Cherry ripoffs, feel and all. I wanted something that would still scream quality and be an actual upgrade from the G710+. I was originally set on getting Corsair’s K70 RGB, as the lighting and genuine Cherry switches drew me in. However, considering how much of a hard time my cousin has had with his original keyboard and his replacement, I became skeptical. The software on Corsair’s solution, while having better features than the G910 has some obvious issues and a steep learning curve. There were few other options for RGB keyboards since the RGB80 and BlackWidow Chroma use Kailhua switches. There was one obvious choice left though, and it was from Logitech. The G910 Orion Spark. The appearance is striking, the design leaves questions and the lighting is gorgeous and hassle-free. But it comes at a higher average price point than the Chroma and K70. I feel however that it’s not fair to compare the Orion Spark to the K70, as the obvious omission of macro keys leaves but the K95 RGB for Corsair, which retails at a whopping $189.99 USD (though it can be found for less.) But the G910 has Omron’s new Romer-G switch, how does it stack up to Cherry? Let's dive in and find out.

 

Build/Design

It has a fair bit of heft to it. It’s thick, chunky and very nicely built. It uses soft touch plastic nearly everywhere, with gloss black plastic in some key places (like between the wrist rest and the keyboard’s body.) Crumbs and debris may build up in that area over time, but it’s nothing a can of air won’t get rid of. The keycaps have a sharp inward angle to them to keep your fingers in place. They perform their function fairly well, though I’m not a huge fan of the feel. The inconsistency in the design of the keycaps is what really kills it though for me. The WASD, arrow keys and G keys have a line design on them, the rest of the keys do not. Some of the keys have sharp angles, some are rather tame and the Windows keys are convex. It feels like a mishmash of design decisions made by multiple people without taking input.

 

Lighting/Arx Dock/Arx Companion

The lighting shines through the keycaps in a very uniform and strong enough manner. The colors are vibrant, however the color wheel in Logitech’s Gaming Software is not entirely accurate. I found that I had to play around with it a lot to get the exact color I wanted, but I was always able to get the color right. Unfortunately, the NUM/CAPS/SCROLL lock lights and the media keys are permanently blue. Disappointing but not a deal breaker. The software is very easy to use, but I would like to see more lighting diversity in the mix (for example, make the colors in the wave mode editable and make a reactive typing mode like Corsair’s with the water pond effect.) Now for the part everyone has been waiting for, the Arx Dock! Kidding, but it’s an interesting add for sure. The Arx companion app for iOS and Android is easy to use and offers some nice features, such as modifying macros and monitoring system temps and usage. It’s a nice addition to an awesome keyboard.

               

Ergonomics/Comfort

                Sorry to bore you guys with everything but the switches, but I see this as an important time to talk about ergonomics. The keycap design is interesting, but a little strange and uncomfortable to use. You will get used to them, but it takes time. That’s not my concern though. The wrist rest design is seemingly inadequate. While writing this review, I had to take a couple of breaks because my right wrist was feeling sore (though I have not yet felt that same soreness again since.) The left wrist is fine due to the large palm mount, but the right wrist isn’t left with much as it’s assumed that the keyboard will be used primarily for gaming. I would have loved to see a uniform design here, though if you’re willing to hack apart a $170 keyboard with a Dremel it can be fixed. That’s not a valid solution though.

 

Omron's switches

                Lastly, the switches. Omron, you have really outdone yourselves here. They’re almost perfect to me. They bottom out quickly, which I happen to like a lot. They feel like shallow MX Reds, yet they feel better than an analogy can describe. They’re pretty quiet, they feel great and they’re good for any typist. Too bad the caps are so angled. If the switches were designed to be compatible with MX stems, they would be perfect. The lack of availability of aftermarket caps is another downside then. If you want a highly customizable keyboard, this isn’t the one for you.

 

Closing

                To close, I can say this with great certainty. This is the best keyboard I have ever used so far bar none. It’s nicely built out of materials that were well thought out with the end user in mind, the switches feel sublime and the lighting is beautiful. However, the keycaps are awkward to use, the blue LEDs for the media keys is a disappointment and the wrist rest is not the best. I would like to expand my mech collection in the future, hopefully with a KBC Pok3r or a Unicomp Ultra Classic 103-key. Those will wait for another day though. For a numeric score, I decided to use a system similar to JonnyGuru’s PSU ratings, which rate categorically on a scale of 1-10 and average those numbers into a final score. I will also include a list of pros and cons if the review was hard to follow or if you’re making the decision as I speak.



Pros

Beautiful design

Nice, grippy finish on keycaps and chassis

Vibrant and colorful LEDs

Amazing switch feel

 

Cons

Lighting profiles not as diverse as the competition (could be fixed in an update)

Wrist rest is inadequate, asymmetrical design does not feel good (major)

Media keys and locks are blue only (minor)

Arx Dock is blue (minor)

 

Value

It's one of six mechanical keyboards on the market that is this functional in terms of lighting. The Apex M800 RGB costs $200, the K95 RGB costs $180 and the BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma costs $160. Considering the amount that goes into building the switches alone, the typing feel compared to the others and the overall experience, I believe the keyboard is well worth what it costs.

I have this one by Powercolor. it runs pretty cool and silent.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
  Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290 4GB PCS+ Video Card  ($284.99 @ SuperBiiz)  Total: $284.99 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 14:36 EDT-0400

Here you go. This should run minecraft max out easily and it will be more then enough for normal task like internet browsing

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant   CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.89 @ OutletPC)  Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($55.98 @ Newegg)  Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)  Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.99 @ NCIX US)  Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($129.99 @ Newegg)  Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ NCIX US)  Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg)  Total: $399.82 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-16 03:32 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
 
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($296.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.75 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($84.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($60.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($544.99 @ NCIX US) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Micro Center) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $1192.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-07 13:48 EDT-0400

260X will be better than the non Ti version
 
 
I've never had issues with my Drivers. Where did you hear this?

I own an i7, but I do some video rendering and animation stuff.  Trust me, having an i7 does not help in increasing framerates.

5(x-3)=x+10
...
...
...
 
x=(x+10) + 3
       5
 
gosh darn it... did it wrong.
 
jk.. i know how to do this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£143.94 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  (£24.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£66.17 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (£110.59 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Total: £345.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 19:12 GMT+0000
 
how's this? even threw in a CPU cooler.

I own an i7, but I do some video rendering and animation stuff.  Trust me, having an i7 does not help in increasing framerates.

You will see little to no difference when gaming on an i7 contra i5/4660/4690k.
 
Only gaming i would go with an i5. More `heavy` work such as video/photos i would go with an i7.
 
But if you have the extra bucks, then yeah why not.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£143.94 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  (£24.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£66.17 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (£110.59 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Total: £345.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 19:12 GMT+0000
 
how's this? even threw in a CPU cooler.

If I had this kind of money...

Linus calls it the "Enthusiast Grade Graphics Card" now down to $600 after rebate today at NewEgg. On Amazon you'll find the same unit for $915
 
XFX Radeon R9 295X2 8GB GDDR5 Video Card — $599.99 (list $1,000) Use this rebate  

Why not just: save all necessary files and do a clean install? 
 
But also, when you have those files saved, make sure you scan it with all the good scanners to make sure nothing dodgy came back with it..better be safe than sorry!
 
 
EDIT: Here is a link to a a few methods that work for installing the "upgrade edition" without having a previous edition on there: 
 
http://winsupersite.com/article/windows-7/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media-128512
 
I'm personally a fan of double installing..because It's just funny. 
 
Install the Win 7 ultrimate, basically don't put a key in and install it in trial mode, 
 
then go back boot up windows ultimate cd and then when it checks for a version of windows..guess what's there! 
 
Then this time you put in your CD key do the gangnam style. 

Steam has a in-game overlay for FPS now.

even better if they asked where their Mac would live.

I figured as much.  That's why I only use Facebook to PM people now.

i'm just gonna wait till it's under $10

I wouldn't bother trying with the Pi. It'll definitely bottleneck the GPU.
As for laptops, it is possible, but rather impractical.
 

so this...
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant   CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($235.98 @ OutletPC)  CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Newegg)  Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($169.69 @ OutletPC)  Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($184.99 @ Amazon)  Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($219.98 @ OutletPC)  Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.97 @ OutletPC)  Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card  ($344.00 @ NCIX US)  Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($111.98 @ Newegg)  Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Newegg)  Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Newegg)  Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC)  Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 59.1 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($11.99 @ SuperBiiz)  Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 59.1 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($11.99 @ SuperBiiz)  Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 83.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($15.96 @ SuperBiiz)  Total: $1630.48 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-17 00:12 EST-0500   unless you need 16gb of ram, I would stick with 8gb.  and I would also go for a smaller ssd.   here: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant   CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($235.98 @ OutletPC)  CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Newegg)  Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($169.69 @ OutletPC)  Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($63.99 @ Newegg)  Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($62.99 @ Amazon)  Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.97 @ OutletPC)  Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card  ($344.00 @ NCIX US)  Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($111.98 @ Newegg)  Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Newegg)  Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Newegg)  Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC)  Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 59.1 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($11.99 @ SuperBiiz)  Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 59.1 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($11.99 @ SuperBiiz)  Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 83.6 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($15.96 @ SuperBiiz)  Total: $1352.49 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-17 00:14 EST-0500

it can run 4K.. whether or not it'll be enjoyable is another thing.  

i thought you meant.. nevermind. (headdesk)

I'm tired and I misread... ughh... *sorry