New The PC Build Thread

impracticaldogg said:
I'm so frustrated with PC pricing at the moment. I don't game much at all, so I prioritise productivity. AMD CPUs are great for power efficiency, but they only match Intel chip performance at the very high end. And the basic entry cost to the AM5 platform is steep.
Since I have a backup laptop that was lying around I don't *have* to replace my desktop in a hurry. But basic gaming perfomance is horrible. So wish I could win the lottery and buy a desktop without turning every cent over twice :)
Click to expand...

Erm... either way you will go new board/ram/cpu for intel and amd since there's no point going 13/14 gen for power consumption.

You're in a bit of an odd performance point. Want to game, but good productivity and lower power usage, but want to stay midrange.

That screams Amd 7500f/7600 otherwise spend more on either intel's new kak (more productivity/power usage/gaming is a mess) or go faster Amd.
 
Exaelea said:
Erm... either way you will go new board/ram/cpu for intel and amd since there's no point going 13/14 gen for power consumption.

You're in a bit of an odd performance point. Want to game, but good productivity and lower power usage, but want to stay midrange.

That screams Amd 7500f/7600 otherwise spend more on either intel's new kak (more productivity/power usage/gaming is a mess) or go faster Amd.
Click to expand...
Well, skip the gaming for all practical purposes. Any modern cpu will do for my needs. Have been leaning towards the Ryzen 7600, but saw a review where all of the 7xxx chips were obliterated by Intel competitors in productivity. It seems even a 12700 would give better price/performance. Hell, if the price of a 5950x dropped steeply I would be tempted by AM4. I keep my desktop builds for ten years or until they break
 
Fulcrum29 said:
I quoted some random on the internet:



The same method is applicable to any new device. Automatic activation only occurs when the license is linked to an account; otherwise, you will need to activate it manually.

Since Microsoft implemented account linking, I have never reached a limit on my Windows activations. From one device to another, to upgrades, etc.

I am still a bit puzzled how the microcode update triggered a deactivation. I can only think OEM key... but back in 2023 I recycled an old laptop's Windows 7 key that worked on a new Windows 11 install. MS don't allow this any more, unless the key was already used on a Windows 11 activation (and linked to an account), possibly due to grey market license sales.
Click to expand...
Ok so I chose the 'I changed hardware on this device recently' option, then I was presented with quite a long list of previous PC/laptop names, but a few of them had the same name, so I could not tell which one was my current installation of Windows, when selecting one it would then display the checkbox to choose it as the current device. So I thought let me go to the 'Device specifications' screen in Windows and increment the number on the end of my PC-name (from a 5 to a 7) and after a reboot then the new name would hopefully be the odd man out... but unfortunately that didn't achieve anything - the list of PC-names was still the same.

1731355686598.png


Then I went back to the 'Reactivate Windows' screen and I chose the first iteration of my PC name and that didn't work, Windows then directed me to the MS Store to buy a new copy for R4,799. I went back to the 'Reactivate Windows' screen and chose the second iteration and fortunately that then worked!
 
RogueTr00per said:
View attachment 1772933

:) in an alternate universe my story ended with, "and that's why I spent R4799 on a Windows 10 product key!" :X3:
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My old Outlook account was hacked. MS didn't want to give it back. I went through an almost 3-month-long process with them to get it back. The moment they took the decision that the account is compromised, they suspended it. They didn't want to give it back. In essence, they deleted every digital license attached to that account. All gone.

I haven't liked them since then. At least I am more responsible with how my accounts can be recovered nowadays.

This seems to be standard practice by them. On occasion, I see people complain about it on social media.

At least you have come right.
 
I still have the receipt(s):

I understand that a situation like this one can be difficult and I appreciate your patience while I performed an investigation of your account. I am contacting you today to provide the results of my investigation.

Account security is a top priority at Microsoft and we have a team dedicated to investigating and validating fraudulent activity. The account and billing activity associated with your Microsoft Account was thoroughly reviewed by our fraud team and I can confirm there was account takeover of your account. Unfortunately, during the investigation process, we found that your account has Two Step Verification enabled. As a result, our system doesn't allow us to send a password reset code to your account.

At this time, since we cannot support you to get back to your account, the only option we have is to permanently suspend this account to prevent any further use. At this time, I have successfully suspended this account and this will remain on indefinitely.

You may receive an email survey in a few days asking you for feedback regarding the support that I provided. I would appreciate if you could find a few minutes to share your thoughts. Your feedback will help us improve the Microsoft customer support experience.
Click to expand...

There is a long story to it. I have already told a bit about it here and there. You guys can only think how that survey went, I shared my thoughts all right. Just to add, my account was taken over with "Two-Step" enabled... Odd how they gave them the privilege and not to me.

Anyhow, this is long enough ago.
 
For precaution. Those who want to migrate their Windows license to a new device, do these steps:

www.minitool.com

How to Deactivate Windows 10/11 by Uninstalling Product Key - MiniTool

Learn how to deactivate Windows 10/11 by uninstalling the product key or digital license, so that you can activate another computer with the product key.
www.minitool.com www.minitool.com

How to Find Your Windows 10/11 Product Key​

  • Press Windows + R, type cmd, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run Command Prompt as administrator.
  • Next, type the command: wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey, and press Enter. Your Windows product key will display on the screen. You can copy the Windows product key to another place for future usage.

How to Deactivate Windows 10/11​

You can deactivate Windows 11/10 by removing the product key with Command Prompt. Check how to uninstall Windows product key with CMD below.
  • You can click Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
  • Type the command wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey and press Enter to find your product key. You can take down the product key if you want to use it to activate another computer.
  • Next, you can type the command: slmgr.vbs /upk. Press Enter to execute the command to uninstall the Windows 10/11 product key. You will see a message saying “Uninstalled product key successfully”.
  • Then you type the command slmgr /cpky command and press Enter. It will eliminate the Windows 10/11 product key from the Windows registry.
Click to expand...

Once you have done this, then go to your MS account online, and remove the device on there to which the license was assigned to. Only do this under the condition you wish to remove the backup that Windows has created, otherwise activate the key on the new device and select the old device to restore the settings. I don't do this because I like to set my things up as new, and I don't want Windows to use the new bollie Outlook.

This is only applicable to retail licenses. I think MS have now also suspended all Windows 7/8 key upgrades to 11, but it is worth a shot should you have an old device (with a Windows license sticker) in some cupboard which can do better with Linux. Old keys already used to activate Windows 11, and attached to your MS account, is now a Windows 11 key.

Keys not attached to an account are not recoverable.

Doing the above should technically allow you with unlimited* activations.

* I have a key with which I have never hit the activation ceiling, and it has been thoroughly used.
 
For the virtualisation peeps:

www.bleepingcomputer.com

VMware makes Workstation and Fusion free for everyone

VMware has announced that its VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation desktop hypervisors are now free to everyone for commercial, educational, and personal use.
www.bleepingcomputer.com www.bleepingcomputer.com

VMware makes Workstation and Fusion free for everyone​

VMware has announced that its VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation desktop hypervisors are now free to everyone for commercial, educational, and personal use.

In May, the company also made VMware Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro free for personal use, allowing students and home users to set up virtualized test labs and experiment with other OSs by running virtual machines and Kubernetes clusters on Windows, Linux, and macOS devices.

Starting this week, the Pro versions and the two products will no longer be available under a paid subscription model.

"Effective immediately, both VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation will transition away from the paid subscription model, meaning you can now utilize these tools without any cost. The paid versions of these offerings – Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro – are no longer available for purchase," said Broadcom product marketing director Himanshu Singh.
Click to expand...
 
Fulcrum29 said:
For the virtualisation peeps:

www.bleepingcomputer.com

VMware makes Workstation and Fusion free for everyone

VMware has announced that its VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation desktop hypervisors are now free to everyone for commercial, educational, and personal use.
www.bleepingcomputer.com www.bleepingcomputer.com
Click to expand...
Had a quick look. The paid versions are no longer available to new customers and support will continue until the end of existing contracts - sounds like they are discontinuing them. But they also claim that they're actively adding new features. What's the business model here?
 
Gtx Gaming said:
www.wootware.co.za

AMD 100-100001084WOF Ryzen 7 9800X3D 5.2GHz 8-Core Zen 5 Socket AM5 Desktop CPU - Cooler Not Included

Buy AMD 100-100001084WOF Ryzen 7 9800X3D 5.2GHz 8-Core Zen 5 Socket AM5 Desktop CPU - Cooler Not Included at Wootware with fast shipping & superb service.
www.wootware.co.za www.wootware.co.za

Wootware seems to be increasing price 9800x3d almost daily now :(

Supplier did not increase the price, they were allocated 40 cpus from the main distro.
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Sold out again, I'm sure they're going to see that as a sign to increase again :laugh:

What was the pricing today?

I heard Progenix had quite a lot allocated to them, not sure if more or less than 40 units.
 
impracticaldogg said:
Had a quick look. The paid versions are no longer available to new customers and support will continue until the end of existing contracts - sounds like they are discontinuing them. But they also claim that they're actively adding new features. What's the business model here?
Click to expand...

I don't know, but things have been changing there since they have been acquired by Broadcom. The average Windows hypervisor user will continue to use Hyper-V, and there are ample other type 1 hypervisor solutions. All I know is that Broadcom is cutting the support. Regardless, I have long liked to use VMware, and though it may not be a type 1 hypervisor, it is an expansive product. I am curious what Broadcom has planned, clearly they are losing ground to solutions like Proxmox, etc.
 
Ghost02 said:
Sold out again, I'm sure they're going to see that as a sign to increase again :laugh:

What was the pricing today?

I heard Progenix had quite a lot allocated to them, not sure if more or less than 40 units.
Click to expand...
Yeah reviews are so good I'm sure scalpers are getting involved as well.
 
Getting some pc's for the office. Mid-range CAD systems - don't need anything hectic. That GPU - is there something that's better value in a similar price range or is that ok?

gpu.png
 
saor said:
Getting some pc's for the office. Mid-range CAD systems - don't need anything hectic. That GPU - is there something that's better value in a similar price range or is that ok?

View attachment 1774014
Click to expand...
The 5700x would be a better bet for Autocad, the X3D is great for gaming, not for production, get faster RAM look at 3600mhz instead of 3200, CAD does prefer nippier memory + the Zen 3 also likes it. You don't really need a 750w for that setup either.
Not sure if the 4060 would do, generally for CAD you'd prefer to get a Quadro but yeah those aren't cheap :)
 
Lupus said:
The 5700x would be a better bet for Autocad, the X3D is great for gaming, not for production
Click to expand...
And between the 5700x and the Ryzen 5 7600X?
loop.png
Lupus said:
, get faster RAM look at 3600mhz instead of 3200, CAD does prefer nippier memory + the Zen 3 also likes it. You don't really need a 750w for that setup either.
Not sure if the 4060 would do, generally for CAD you'd prefer to get a Quadro but yeah those aren't cheap :)
Click to expand...
Will look at ram now. Yeah we've run Quadro cards in the past and in a recent build I took a RTX 4070 instead and it's made no noticeable difference so happy to stick with a gaming gard.
 
saor said:
And between the 5700x and the Ryzen 5 7600X?
View attachment 1774026

Will look at ram now. Yeah we've run Quadro cards in the past and in a recent build I took a RTX 4070 instead and it's made no noticeable difference so happy to stick with a gaming gard.
Click to expand...
7600, but the B650 motherboard and DDR5 memory is quite a bit more.
 

AMD RYZEN 7 5700 A520M-A PRO 32GB 3200MHz Upgrade Kit - MSI A520M-A PRO Series Motherboard + AMD RYZEN 7 5700 20MB Game Cache Up to 4.4GHz CPU + KLEVV 32GB (16GB x 2) 3200MHz DDR4 Desktop Memory (OEM No Packaging) / Discrete GPU Required - No Integrated Graphics​


Just get this

www.evetech.co.za

AMD Ryzen 7 5700 A520M A PRO Upgrade Kit - 32GB 3200MHz

Upgrade your gaming and multitasking performance with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 A520M A PRO Upgrade Kit. Featuring a powerful Ryzen 7 processor and 32GB of 3200MHz RAM, experience lightning-fast speeds and seamless performance for all your computing needs.
www.evetech.co.za www.evetech.co.za

R4300
 
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