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UPDATE JULY 15 2023: BUILD NOW FINALIZED - THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER UPDATES TO THE OP. REVISED OP: I built the first Zen of Huayra-Tata based of the Ryzen 1700 and now it is finally time to build a new system. I literally JUST finished the system last night (05-13-2023) and Im still in the middle of downloading Applications, Games, and Benchmarking. GOAL/USE CASE: I MOSTLY game at high resolution and I really like my chosen resolution and do not ever plan to go any higher. This Resolution is 3440x1440p (2K UltraWide) and I want a perfectly smooth and responsive gaming experience with an average of 100+FPS with 1% lows above 75 FPS at Native Resolution with High Settings in higher-demand games, without using FSR or other artificial ways of enhancing FPS. Currently, the system is capable of much more than this. It actually runs 120-140 FPS on average with 1% lows above 100 FPS, all while on ULTRA Settings at Native Resolution. This overkill graphical horsepower will be great to stay "ahead of the curve" as new games get released over the next 5-10 years. I don't plan on upgrading again anytime soon, I hope to skip the rest of the AM5 Platform and upgrade straight to AM6 next. I also do some light video editing and Multi-Tasking applications and I did consider a Ryzen 7900 CPU but decided the gaming performance was more important. THEME/LORE: The same as last time - Huayra Tata is the South-American God of wind, and also the inspiration for the Pagani Huayra SuperCar. The name fits because of the theme of the build - Ultimate Air Cooled Zen-Based Gaming PC. The word "Zen" is also known to be a chilled, relaxed state. And so, the direct slang translation to the name of this build is: "The South-American God of Wind be Chillen, Dawg" - LOL The colors theme is centered around the Red Devil GPU - All Black Components with the LED lighting set to Red. However with the DeepCool Assassin-IV Cooler now installed, Im enjoying having the LEDs match the DeepCool logo on the cooler, with an RGB strip set to while illuminating the background. UPCOMING CHANGES: There is still one change to make - the CPU cooler. I want to update from this old Noctua D-15S when the new DeepCool Assassin-IV Cooler is finally released, especially as this old Noctua fan has come loose on the hub and now rubs the fan frame, which is extremely annoying. The only way to shut the fan up is to run it at 100% so for now in the BIOS I have the CPU cooler fan pinned at 100% at all times. So with all that out of the way, lets get to the stats of the new build, shall we? BUILD COMPONENTS: CPU: AMD Ryzen 7800X-3D CPU Cooler: Noctua D-15-S (For Now) Now - DeepCool Assassin-IV Thermal Paste: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme RAM: Trident Z5 Neo RGB 32GB (2 x 16GB) 6000MHz CL30-38-38-96 MoBo: MSI MAG B-650 Tomahawk WiFi GPU: AMD RX 7900-XTX 24GB (Power Color Red Devil AIB) PSU: Seasonic Focus PX-850 (850-Watt Platinum) Primary/Boot Storage: Samsung 980 Pro M.2 NVME 2TB Secondary Storage: Kingston NV2 M.2 NVME 4TB External Storage: WD Black 7200RPM 8TB HDD Case: Lian Li LanCool 216 Monitor: LG UltraGear 34GP83A-B 34" 3440x1440p 144Hz (160Hz OC) Curved HDR-400 Nano-IPS Monitor with FreeSync/G-Sync OS: Windows 11 Professional Other: USB 3.0 x 7 Ports Internal Expansion Card Keyboard: Corsair K70 RapidFire - Cherry MX Speed Switches Mouse: Corsair M65 Pro - 12,000 DPI SETTINGS AND OVERCLOCKING: CPU: EXPO-I with 1.290V SOC, PBO All-Core Curve Optimizer set to -30mV. Result is +180MHz All-Core Max Clock (4980MHz During CineBench Multi-Core) RAM: EXPO-I 1.350V, 6000MHz with Timings of 30-38-38-96 GPU (MY PREFERRED DAILY SAFE OC SETTINGS): +5% Power Limit (400-Watt Max), 1100mV Core Voltage, 2650MHz Actual VRAM Clock, Fast VRAM Timings Enabled, Custom Aggressive Fan Curve GPU ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM OC (NOT 100% STABLE): +15% Power Limit (430-Watt Max), 1020mV Core Voltage, 2760MHz Actual VRAM clock, Fast VRAM Timings Enabled, Fans Locked at 100% SUMMARY: I found some good deals on certain components. As a result, the total Cost of the TOWER (excludes Monitor and Input Devices as well as any external drives) is about $2500 USD after tax. Once the CPU Cooler is updated this will truly be the ultimate Air-Cooled experience. The massive 160mm bespoke Lian Li Intake Fans on the LanCool 216 can spin at up to 1800 RPM and create a wind-tunnel-like mass of airflow inside the case. Currently, the CPU maxes out at 81°C during the CineBench R23 10-Min Stress Loop, despite the overclocking. On Average, after a few minutes to heat-soak, the the CPU temp tends to mostly bounce around between 79°C and 80°C under full load. More Pics with more detail will show as I update the CPU Cooler and finalize the build. I will be sure to update the OP when this happens with more information. For now the only benchmarking I have done is CineBench R23 with a score of 18350 and a Unigine Superposition 4K Optimized Score of 23961. Im waiting for the new CPU cooler before I do extensive testing. For now, here are the pics of the tower itself. Don't mind the clutter surrounding the machine as I was just finishing up and the tools and parts were scattered all-around. BUILD PICS: BUILD UPDATE JULY 13 2023: The final Piece of the Puzzle has finally arrived - the DeepCool Assassin-IV CPU cooler. This is a BIG upgrade from the 5+ year old Noctua D-15-S that was installed in the system. The Noctua Fan was getting old and starting to wobble and its performance was suffering. Even with all fans at 100% speed, the D-15-S would have the Ryzen 7800X-3D CPU hitting 81.2C and with all fans in silent mode it would hit 84.1C. Meanwhile, the Assassin-IV performs much better. Even with all system fans including the CPU fans in silent mode, the Assassin-IV has the CPU maxing out at about 78.5C, and with all fans at full speed that maximum drops to 77.6C. I noticed during the run that the temperature would typically bounce between 76.5C and 77.3C. So on average, the Assassin-IV runs 4.0-5.0C cooler than the D-15-S and is quieter as well. Both coolers ran Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut paste and since I upgraded from AM4 to AM5 not long ago, the D-15-S did in fact have fresh paste and was cleaned during the upgrade as well, so no excuses for the old cooler. I also went ahead and updated to the latest BIOS for the motherboard dated 06/30/2023 and was able to tweak OC settings ever so slightly for some additional performance. I reduced SOC voltage manually only very slightly to avoid CPU melting issues in the future - 1.290V. I also gave the Chipset Core a slight voltage boost from 1.050V to 1.100V just to ensure absolute stability. The original CPU overclock and RAM EXPO-I profile remain the same as before, but thanks to the new cooler and adjustments made to other settings, I was able to increase all-core boost clock slightly resulting in a slightly better CineBench score as you can see in the screenshot below. The All-Core Boost frequency is now 4,980 MHz as the test begins, then settles in at 4,970 MHz as the CPU gets hotter. (Assassin-IV installed in system) BENCHMARKING PICS: (DeepCool Assassin-IV CineBench Results - Custom Medium Aggression Fan Curve for balance between silence and performance - 10 Min Throttle Test) (DeepCool Assassin-IV CineBench Results - Absolute Best CineBench SINGLE RUN with unnecessary background apps disabled) (Unigine SuperPosition Daily Safe OC) (Unigine SuperPosition Absolute Maximum GPU OC) (3D Mark Time Spy - Typical Daily Safe OC Settings) (3DMark TimeSpy - Absolute Maximum GPU OC) (3DMark Time Spy Extreme - Typical Daily Safe OC Settings) (3DMark SpeedWay - Typical Daily Safe OC Settings) (3DMark Port Royal - Typical Daily Safe OC Settings)

I am posting due to reading drama about 7800X3D+Asus boards blowing up or melting now I also know it effects any 7000 CPU and any motherboard. I have just recently purchased a new 7000 series specifically 7800X3D CPU but have almost Built my system but am now worried about booting it up and or using it at all incase I damage something. My motherboard is the ASUS ProArt X670E Creator WiFi. Basically is it safe to use my new shinys or go back to my 9900KS I don't desperately need to use the system due to having a laptop along side it but it's not the same and I don't want to feel like I have put almost £2000 down the drain with my new build.

Hey guys, been a while since Ive been on this forum Currently running an AMD Ryzen 3700X + Red Devil 5700-XT + 32GB RAM + ASUS B550-F Build. I am considering the possibility of upgrading to one of the new generation of CPUs, but man have there been issues from both AMD and Intel this year. Like probably most of you, I just got done watching the reviews of Intel's new 13th Gen CPUs from Linus, Jays2Cents, Hardware Unboxed, and Gamers Nexus, to get the pros and cons from multiple angles. While Intel may have just taken back the gaming crown, and at a lower price than comparable AMD chips, I realized something watching these videos and realized - maybe neither is the best option... You see there are issues with both the new AMD 7000 and Intel 13th Gen platforms, and they are not small issues but rather quite large ones that have me disappointed with both companies. When you dig deeper into the AMD Ryzen 7000 design, its clear that someone at AMD R&D wasn't thinking clearly. Im not sure if you guys of heard, but the reason Ryzen 7000 is compatible with Ryzen 5000 Cooling Solutions is simple - AMD employed a massive, super-thick IHS on the CPUs to give them the extra height needed to clear the new CPU retention mechanism and make contact with existing coolers. While this does work, the super-thick IHS traps heat insanely badly, and thats why everyone is constantly sitting at 95°C regardless of cooling solution. How dumb is that? Instead of just having cooling solution manufacturers sell us a new mounting bracket kit for Ryzen 7000, AMD decided that trapping the heat was a better option. This is easily the dumbest decision AMD has ever made in its CPU design, especially with power consumption and heat output soaring ever higher with recent generations. Jays2Cents and Der Bauer have already demonstrated that in order to get any sort of decent thermal performance out of Ryzen 7000, you are forced to void your warranty and do one of two things - LAP the CPU, removing about 1.0mm of IHS and then use a mounting bracket mod to make up for the lost space. Jay showed this rather successfully in a recent video on his channel and without even properly finishing the job was able to go from having the 7950X constantly pinned at 94-95C to more like 85-86C. He was even able to overclock it to 5.4GHz All-Core without hitting the 95C Limit. And remember, this is NOT removing the IHS. The IHS is still perfectly intact, its just been shaved down so its not so thick. The other option is delidding - far more risky and could cost you your CPU, but if done correctly using the soon-to-be available Der Bauer De-Lidding kit, you can achieve an almost unbelievable 20C drop in temps. Now some of you might say "well AMD designed the new Ryzen 7000 to run at 95C, its perfectly safe". That is true, they did. But its pretty obvious why they did it - to account for this idiotic IHS design- thats why. Plus like I said, Jay was able to achieve 5.4GHz All-Core OC without even properly finishing the job. This means that anyone who just buys a Ryzen 7000 chip and wants to just run it and keep the warranty - is just leaving performance on the table. There simply isn't any way to avoid the fact that to get the most out of Ryzen 7000, you HAVE to void the warranty. Its just so incredibly stupid. Now lets talk Intel. Sure, they took the gaming crown back today. Awesome, good for you Intel. But guess what, this absurd game of "chasing horsepower" and just not giving a crap about power draw has pushed the new i9-13900K to an absolutely stupid level. Hardware Unboxed reported that while the 7950X draws about 180W under full load, the 13900K now draws up to 330W!!! Are you joking??? Thats the kind of power HEDT ThreadRipper Chips consume, its absolutely bonkers. Of course this means rediculous temps for Intel as well. Hardware Unboxed reported Thermal Throttling in ALL FULL-LOAD TESTS!!! Literally all of them, even when he decided that fairness no longer matters and boosted the Intel system up to a 420mm AIO Liquid Cooler, it STILL thermal throttles at 100C in like 20 seconds LOL . What are these R&D people doing at these companies? This is complete insanity across the board, absolute morons, all of them. So that being said, where will I end up? Well, considering AMDs pricing will surely come down after this walloping from Intel today, I think my smartest move would be to wait for the Ryzen 7800X3D. 3D Cache has a massive impact on a lot of games. So much so that the old-gen 5800X3D is beating the new Ryzen 7000 and even the new 13900K in a fair number of games. Since Intel's win today was by an overall small margin, and this should bring the cost of Ryzen 7000 down, this likely means that the 7800X3D will not only likely take back the gaming crown, but it will do so at a fantastic value. Then Ill probably shave 1.0mm from the IHS so I can use my Noctua D-15 without thermal throttling (probably no CPU overclocking this time around just due to heat, maybe PBO + target 90C and call it a day). This way I don't need expensive liquid cooling and can get a reasonably riced system thats both fantastic at gaming and decently good at multi-thread workloads as well. Its not like 16 Threads is weak. So in conclusion, Ill say this: I think buying either Ryzen 7000 or Intel 13th Gen right now, is just not a great idea. With the costs involved in going DDR5 with the issues associated with the new generations, it just doesn't make any sense unless you are bored with a butt load of cash burning a hole in your pocket. So what do you guys think? What route are you going to go? Either way Im disappointed in design and heat management this time around, no matter who you are, its just absurd. EDIT: In case you were wondering, this is how profound of an effect that 3D Cache can have in gaming. This makes sense on a game like Factorio, and the same sort of boost (although not as profound, Factorio is just one of the best examples) happens quite often, especially in similar RTS or similar style games with thousands of units on screen. These large unit quantities throw a huge load at the CPU cores that game is using and eat up cache for breakfast, thus giving you the biggest gains. However, gains are also found in a fair number of AAA games using this same technology.

AMD’s on a roll, and while Intel has successfully fired back, there’s more on the way. With competition alive and well in the CPU space, it’s time for a PC gaming renaissance not seen since the 2000s.

AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series cranked up the power draw, but had performance to match. Now that the non-X chips are out with limited power draw, did AMD accidentally play themselves – And you?

I am looking for a motherboard that will work with an Intel i7 7700K. Are CPUs backwards compatible with 6000 series compatible motherboards or am I stuck with a thin selection of motherboards compatible specifically with 7000 series CPUs. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Dell has updated its Inspiron 7000 gaming series laptop, now with the option for a Nvidia GTX 1060 discrete graphics with 6GB of GDDR5 dedicated vram. Other updates includes, a new design and a usb type C with thunderbolt 3, capable of up to 40Gb/s bandwidth. For processors, it will still be 7th gen, maybe they'll update it again when 6 cores CoffeeLake H are out? Starting price with the entry level configuration is $999, and will be available for purchase starting September 12th. Difference between the new model and current one are, Only 3 USB type A on the current model, no type C or TB3. New one will have 3 type A and a type C with TB3 Cheapest sku during launch and up to like a week or so ago comes with a TN panel. Now all of them uses IPS panels $800 for current entry level configuration. entry level specs is 7th gen i5 and GTX 1050 w/4GB GDDR5 vram. http://www.anandtech.com/show/11780/dell-announces-updates-to-inspiron-15-7000-gaming-laptops-gtx-1060-thunderbolt-3-and-usb31

what do you think about new Dell Inspiron 7000 2017 model ? what's official date of release ? is it worth it to pay for top model ??

Buy Dell Inspiron 17 7000 on Amazon: http://geni.us/K5d23 Why on earth would anyone want a 17" convertible laptop? Let's see if we can figure it out...

1005 euros after shipping https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Inspiron-15-7000-7591-4-5-9th-Gen-i7-9750H-8GB-512-SSD-4GB-GTX-1650/303297333058?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Db7156813743a4305aadefd74f39efe30%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D11%26sd%3D303297333058%26itm%3D303297333058%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2481888&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A3f496694-e2ba-11e9-9cff-74dbd180c04f%7Cparentrq%3A7d231dc316d0abc660817363ffff3ef7%7Ciid%3A1

Hi, I just purchased the above mentioned laptop last night from BestBuy for $800 and wanted to know if there may be a better buy for the money. Basically I want something that is more powerful, with touch screen, but does not have to be 4k. I currently have an Asus G73JW-3DE which WAS super fast..died on me yesterday. I do not mind spending around $1500 if the laptop is really worth it. I play games on the laptop at times but mostly use it for work (running macros). I don't care about size and weight. Is there anything you guys can suggest or if you need other info please do let me know. Thank you in advance! V

I have a dell Inspiron 7000 series laptop(7537) and whenever I plug in the headphones there's just too much echo. Sometimes I can't even listen to the voices in the videos because of the echo. I have done pretty much everything from formatting windows to updating drivers and there's still no solution. I contacted dell for the support but they said that since the laptop warranty has expired they can't do anything. There's absolutely no problem with headphones since they work perfectly fine with my PC and I have tried the sound with at least 4-5 headphones. Does changing the sound card will help the problem? Any suggestion will be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hey everyone! So I got the Mionix NAOS 7000, and it is my daily diver since a week, here is my review: First of all the specs: - It is a right handed mice; - 103 Grams; - Fully RGB (Scroll and logo light up) - 2 Thumb buttons - 2 extra buttons behind the scroll wheel (by default the switch the DPI setting) - To configure the mice , Mionix has their own software. - 7000 DPI optical sensor - The body is in a mat black plastic . Pros: - Great ergonomics, the thumb has good support arround the mice, a bit like the Logitech MX Master. The 2 last fingers on the side of the mice also have good support, do to the extra bit of plastic on the side, witch makes the overall ergonomics way better! -The tracking on my Steelseries Qck, is perfect, at 800DPI, i could hardly tell the difference with my Razer Deathadder 2013. - The mice glides very well with it's 4 gliding surfaces. - The cable is braided, with a pretty solid usb 2.0 connector. - Great RGB options, I could not thing about something it could not do. Cons: - The software deserves a 6/10.... if you are good with new software you should be fine, but the profile system is not easy to understand at first use, and programming a macro is not that easy. - There is no User interface for a custom RGB color, you have to type in the 3 numbers yourself if you want to use a color that is not in the preset list. - (Only IMO), i would like to see a larger bump where your palm sits, since I have large hands, (compared to my Deathadder). But after a while of re-adjusting, I got around with it. - I would like to see an LED indicator to know witch of three DPI setting the mice is on (a bit like the Corsair M65) Overall: Grat mice, the box is awsome looking, and for the price, I could not be happier comming from a Deathadder that was dying on me after only 2 years. 8/10! Could be a 9/10 if the software was improved! ;D Hope you enjoyed, here are a few picture!

Hello everyone, as a future university student I was looking for a good laptop that could last for the whole 5 year course. I found the Dell Inpiron 15 7559. I was thinking about buying the base model with an SSHD of 1TB HDD + 8GB SSD. My question is: Is the SSHD only one component or is SSHD a separate hard drive and an m.2? That would help a lot, since I really want to upgrade the storage. Thank you all in advance PS: Here is the german link (in case it helps): http://www.dell.com/de/p/inspiron-15-7559-laptop/pd?oc=cn95701&model_id=inspiron-15-7559-laptop And here is the american link: http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-7559-laptop/pd?oc=dncwpw5716h&model_id=inspiron-15-7559-laptop

I've turned up the mouse sensitivity to the maximum in Windows settings and I don't find it snappy enough for me. I'm using the Mionix Naos 7000. Is there any way to increase the sensitivity more than it already is?

Hey everyone, I am saving up to upgrade my gaming mouse. I've been using a TteSports Black Element mouse for close to 4 years now and it has served me well.Unfortunately, the left click is slowly becoming finicky (it double clicks) and is slowly pissing me off. Anyway, I was going to buy the Mionix Naos 7000 from Amazon Canada, but they are not stocking it anymore. I don't want to buy it from some third party seller. It's also not available at NCIX or Canada Computers. Now, I'm sad and I'm not really sure what to get as a replacement. Normally, I would just buy something and if I don't like it in a day or two, I'd return it. BUT this is Canada and NCIX/Canada Computers charges a restocking fee if the product isn't defective (simply outrageous). So, in short: suggest a mouse that is similar to the Naos 7000 in terms of sensor awesomeness and size (the shape doesn't necessarily have to be the same). Also, please suggest something that you ACTUALLY USE/OWN YOURSELF. Don't suggest things from internet reviews (I can find those by myself, you know). I have a medium size hand and I palm grip my mouse. Here's the link to my current mouse, if you're interested. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone: http://www.ttesports.com/Mouse/16/BLACK_element/productPage.htm?a=a&g=ftr#.VVZ3D_lVhBc

I'm at work, and I'm kinda not in the mood for coding, and I'm thinking about upgrade plan for my current setup at home. This is the graphics card section of the forum, so I want to ask a few things related to graphics card. I want to know: 1. Are you still using any AMD HD7000 series cards or Nvidia GTX600 series cards or perhaps even older gen cards in your daily go-to rig for gaming and other stuff? 2. What card(s) are you using? 3. What is your upgrade plan for your GPU? Are you upgrading soon, are you getting another one (for Crossfire / SLI), or are you still happy with your current GPU(s)? Me: 1. Yes 2. HIS 7950 IceQ Boost 3. I still enjoy it for gaming on a single 1080p monitor, and I'm waiting for the R9 300 series card to come out and then decide whether it's worth upgrading or not.

AMD has just shared some very exciting info with WCCFTECH.com so lets dive straight in. AMD Confirms the new price point for the highly successful HD 7970 video card to be $329 & £299 for our friends across the pond in the UK starting next month (July) (although price cuts have already taken effect on Sapphire cards on various websites). AMD has also informed wccftech.com that the "Never Settle" campaign will see a refresh with some brand new triple A titles, coming 2013 Q3 (July-Semptember). AMD also talked about the expanding growth for high resolutions gaming & the demand for higher memory capacities on graphics cards. But perhaps the most exciting news of all is that AMD has officially stated that it will reveal next generation Radeon graphics (Volcanic Islands/HD 9000 series) at the end of Q3, that's this September folks !

AMD's own Roy Taylor Vice President of Global Channel Sales made an interesting post via twitter yesterday commenting on the release of arch rival Nvidia's GTX 770. Here is what he had to say : https://twitter.com/amd_roy/status/340200487041241088 Is AMD hinting at an upcoming release ? share your thoughts in a post below.

This is my review of the HP pavilion dv6t quad edition 7000 notebook. It is going to cover the general qualities of any dv6t qe 7000, the specs of my model, the pros, the cons, my overall rating for the notebook, and then feel free to ask questions, I'd be happy to get back to you about anything. It is based on my experience with the notebook, which I have owned since May 2012. It remains my primary PC. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The general traits: Dv6t's are 15.6" notebooks, they are of an average weight and size for a full notebook. Nothing ultrabook here. They are almost entirely plastic, except for the top of the notebook which is aluminum. As far as structural integrity, they appear to be solid, but we'll cover this again in a bit. They feature a built in fingerprint reader. You can find all the specific information you need about the ports and other general features online: however, I would be happy to answer specific questions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The spec's of my model: I happen to have, over the course of 3 (!!!) returns for some defect or another, gotten quite a high end model in my hands. Processor: Intel Core i7-3820QM @ 2.7GHz GPU: Nvidia GT 650m w/ 2GB memory Display: 1080p resolution Keyboard: backlit Bluetooth: yes Optical drive: reads Blue-Ray, writes to everything else. HDD: 750GB @5400 RPM SSD: 32GB mSATA Battery: 9 cell (roughly 6 hours of normal use) RAM: 8GB @ 1600MHz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Pros: Obviously, for a laptop, the specs are very nice, and so the ability to select high tier options is a pro. I like the keyboard. It functions well, doesn't let me down or drop keys I have pressed. Features a number pad if you like that sort of thing. Dedicated keys for brightness and volume control are a plus. The backlighting is comfortable and clear. (Keyboard backlighting) With the 650m, it can handle most any game at low to medium settings. Screen is nice and bright. Fingerprint reader usually functions well, and having it is a very nice touch. Trackpad isn't amazing, but no real problems. Get's the job done. Bloatware wasn't too encumbering, and easily removed. Overall, when everything is working the way it is supposed to, the laptop is very good. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cons: Firstly, the structural integrity of the notebook varies from book to book. As I have mentioned, I have owned three of these, and some were better than others. Much of this notebook is held together by glue, and the keyboard (while the keys themselves are fine) is not well made. My back left hinge for the screen has (without damage) come apart somewhat and then had to be pressed back together. Secondly, the heat. This notebook gets very very warm on its left side when gaming or maxing out your folding ability on the Linus team. My second replacement was due to the poor thermal management of the GPU actually destroying the GT650 within. I found the beats audio to be just average, and mostly found myself using headphones. The sides of the notebook are angled, slightly hindering the use of all ports, especially the USB ports and headphone jacks. The optical drive is hit and miss for build quality: my most recent drive randomly opens itself, and the cover on the drive, which is effectively the left side of the notebook, easily and unintentionally detaches from the notebook. It goes back on, but is a serious issue. (the detaching only happens on my third notebook.) Also, the online reviews are true: the optical drive can resonate with the built in speakers causing an unwanted vibration and noise. The display is harp enough at 1080p, but it has trouble displaying red. You stop noticing it after a while, but it is clear that the notebook leans toward orange when other notebooks have no trouble pushing out a true red color. The BIOS is quite limited. Very few real options. But is updated and allows for use of the trackpad to select some options. But overall, not worth your time. The hard drive options for customization are very limited, and they may even try to rip you off. If I hadnt been in the know about computer hardware, I never would have thought to physically check for the precense of the 32GB msata ssd. Which they hadnt installed! They corrected the issue because I called HP, but there shouldn't have been such an issue. Also, on my most recent dv6tqe, they striped the screw to access the back of the notebook, making any upgrade I would like to do myself that much more difficult. In the interest of time, my last con is that with this processor upgraded model, with the highest end mobile i7, my PC freeze's randomly. From the first day I took it out of the box. It catches back up and works fine, but there are these strange stalls where everything stops and no inputs work. This is some sort of laptop issue because it first happened when I had just fired it up for the first time, and hadn't even connected it to the internet or done anything. I guess one more con: my first and second dv6tqe's would randomly lose all power. Completely die. Plugged in with a charged battery. Horrible when you are doing work or typing a paper and suddenly it's lights out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conclusion: I would rate this notebook, when everything works, at 8 stars out of 10. My personal experience has been more like 5.5 stars out of 10 at best. I like the notebook and its features, but there have been too many problems with the build quality, and HP's service in general. I would not recommend it to anyone unless they would be willing to take a risk and spend a lot of time chatting with HP customer support. Thanks for reading my review, and good luck with your dv6tqe 7000 if you own one. Again, any questions, fire away! (THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THREE OF THESE LAPTOPS AND HP SUPPORT FOR THEM.)

Basically I'm wondering which one is better/more accurate as the 7000 is slightly cheaper. I've heard people saying the 7000 is better because it is IR-optical, while the 8200 is laser.

AMD's Mantel is released! The beta driver can be found here: http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/latest-catalyst-windows-beta.aspx Make sure to uninstall your current AMD driver before installing this one though. (As it says on their page.) Just a breif copy of what is supported with Mantel: AMD Mantle Beta driver is currently supported on: AMD Radeon™ R9 Series GPUs AMD Radeon™ R7 Series GPUs AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 Series GPUs AMD Radeon™ HD 8000 Series GPUs AMD A10-7000 Series and AMD A8-7000 Series APUs For more info, visit the link I posted. Regards, Ludwig Johnson

Contrary to previous claims, the 7000 series will fully support DirectX 11.2 with a driver update. However DX 11.2 will remain exclusive to Windows 8.1 and XBOX One. AMD Stated : Source