The PC Build Thread

[prod]

7 Days, then no, but have you queried them on the delay, the why and when?

According to them the delay is due to the public holidays, which I don't quite buy but whatever. On Tuesday they said it will be ready latest today, yet I heard nothing.

If I'm honest I expected a bit better, as they are quite praised and the fact that I dropped a considerable amount on my purchase.

 

[The Voice]

So, Ryzen has been... interesting. Everything was going swimmingly, until I decided to flash the BIOS to F6 to try play with my RAM (bought 3000Mhz, and by God I'll get it to run at that speed!) - turns out it was a big nope, with most of this evening spent trying to reset the BIOS, load XMP again, have it crash continuously, rinse, repeat. Currently running on the F5 BIOS with my RAM at 2133Mhz. CBA until they release something that's more stable. At least everything works for now lol. Damned teething problems!

 

[The Voice]

Update: flashed to F6 to give it another go. RAM currently stable at 2667Mhz on the XMP profile (manually overclocked). Still not booting at 2993Mhz, but baby steps are being made I guess.

 

[InternetSwag]

Update: flashed to F6 to give it another go. RAM currently stable at 2667Mhz on the XMP profile (manually overclocked). Still not booting at 2993Mhz, but baby steps are being made I guess.

tinkering is more fun than actually using the pc

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Finishing touches on my Ryzen build coming on well. Just received and installed my Noctua fans to replace the terrible stock Corsair fans that come with the H110i.

Getting my sleeved PSU cables and lighting strip next week to bring everything together

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Update: flashed to F6 to give it another go. RAM currently stable at 2667Mhz on the XMP profile (manually overclocked). Still not booting at 2993Mhz, but baby steps are being made I guess.

New AGESA code update says to be improving memory compatibility: https://www.overclock3d.net/news/cp...n_be_receiving_a_new_agesa_microcode_update/1

Asus has been pretty good providing BIOS updates, my 3200Mhz kit been running full speed for a while but it is with a beta BIOS so I'd like to have it working on the official release BIOS.

 

[The Voice]

New AGESA code update says to be improving memory compatibility: https://www.overclock3d.net/news/cp...n_be_receiving_a_new_agesa_microcode_update/1

Asus has been pretty good providing BIOS updates, my 3200Mhz kit been running full speed for a while but it is with a beta BIOS so I'd like to have it working on the official release BIOS.

Yeah still waiting for another update from Gigabyte so that I can run my RAM at its rated speed. No F7 Beta yet, but will stick to the current one for now anyway. Would rather wait for the official release than mess about with Beta versions.

 

[bigboy529]

Couple of questions regarding case cooling and airflow before I finalize my build.
Gigabyte GA B250M motherboard, Intel i7 6700 CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 M.2 SSD, 1 TB HDD, no dedicated GPU.
I have a Coolermaster RC344SKN2 case with the 120mm stock front fan which came with it, I assume this fan draws cool air in, haven't switched it on yet.
I have a Raigintek Aidos black adition CPU cooler with its stock 92mm fan.
1. Most stock CPU coolers suck air from the case and blow it on to the CPU, but there are a lot of opinions to let it suck air from the CPU and blow in to the case, your opinion?
2. Apart from the 120mm front fan and the CPU coolers fan, do you think I should get another fan or 2? The case can take a 90mm at the back and a 80mm on the side.
3. What's the best way to keep the case clean of dust? If the best way is to install more fans then I'll do it, even though I want to keep the noise as low as possible, any aftermarket even DIY filter options?

My thinking is since the front fan will draw cool air in, I should get a fan for the back to blow the hot air out the case.
I think then it will also work best if the CPU fan suck hot air from the CPU and blow it in to the case, the hot air coming from the CPU will then also be blown out the back.

If this makes a difference, the PC will sit on the floor in my study which is relatively cool all year round, it won't be in a corner and will have at least 20 - 30cm of clearance all around it.

P.S. what is the safest way to clean the inside of a old PC to get the dust out? I presume a vacume cleaner or blower is too strong and will be bad for components?

 

[The Voice]

Couple of questions regarding case cooling and airflow before I finalize my build.
Gigabyte GA B250M motherboard, Intel i7 6700 CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 M.2 SSD, 1 TB HDD, no dedicated GPU.
I have a Coolermaster RC344SKN2 case with the 120mm stock front fan which came with it, I assume this fan draws cool air in, haven't switched it on yet.
I have a Raigintek Aidos black adition CPU cooler with its stock 92mm fan.
1. Most stock CPU coolers suck air from the case and blow it on to the CPU, but there are a lot of opinions to let it suck air from the CPU and blow in to the case, your opinion?
2. Apart from the 120mm front fan and the CPU coolers fan, do you think I should get another fan or 2? The case can take a 90mm at the back and a 80mm on the side.
3. What's the best way to keep the case clean of dust? If the best way is to install more fans then I'll do it, even though I want to keep the noise as low as possible, any aftermarket even DIY filter options?

My thinking is since the front fan will draw cool air in, I should get a fan for the back to blow the hot air out the case.
I think then it will also work best if the CPU fan suck hot air from the CPU and blow it in to the case, the hot air coming from the CPU will then also be blown out the back.

If this makes a difference, the PC will sit on the floor in my study which is relatively cool all year round, it won't be in a corner and will have at least 20 - 30cm of clearance all around it.

P.S. what is the safest way to clean the inside of a old PC to get the dust out? I presume a vacume cleaner or blower is too strong and will be bad for components?

No discrete GPU, CPU running at stock clocks. Hmmm. You probably wouldn't even need that CPU cooler (overkill tbh). Stock cooler should be fine.

With regards to dust, I'd recommend having 1 exhaust and 2 intake fans (basically you're pushing more air into the system than it can take out the back - excess air gets forced out any/all other spaces and gaps in your system, basically preventing dust from entering the system when it's running). You also need to ensure that you have dust filters, or you're just sucking dust into your system, which defeats the object.

Regarding cleaning dust out of your system, you can buy compressed air cans specifically for PC cleaning. It's not super high pressure, so won't damage anything. NEVER use a vacuum cleaner!

 

[ponder]

Get a rear extraction fan but 92mm will probably be noisy.

About once a year a take a 25mm horse hair paintbrush to my pc to clean the dust out, don't use a nylon/synthetic one as it has a habit of of building up electrostatic charge.

I think you are worrying too much.

 

[prod]

So, Ryzen has been... interesting. Everything was going swimmingly, until I decided to flash the BIOS to F6 to try play with my RAM (bought 3000Mhz, and by God I'll get it to run at that speed!) - turns out it was a big nope, with most of this evening spent trying to reset the BIOS, load XMP again, have it crash continuously, rinse, repeat. Currently running on the F5 BIOS with my RAM at 2133Mhz. CBA until they release something that's more stable. At least everything works for now lol. Damned teething problems!

Had the same issue here. Updated the BIOS and I'm now running at 2667Mhz. Still have to try the A-XMP MSI just released. Although it doesn't bother me too much, would rather wait for stable updates.

On the other hand, PC is running smoothly and I can't believe how quiet this thing is! Editing in LR and PS is a breeze. Still have to try some rendering in Premier. Had a weird issue in CS:GO where I only managed about 120fps :/ This seemed to have been a CS:GO issue and enabling the multicore rendering fixed it, running at 250-300+ now.

 

[bigboy529]

Get a rear extraction fan but 92mm will probably be noisy.

About once a year a take a 25mm horse hair paintbrush to my pc to clean the dust out, don't use a nylon/synthetic one as it has a habit of of building up electrostatic charge.

I think you are worrying too much.

Probably over thinking a bit yes, just want to do it properly this time round since I want this machine to last a couple of years.

 

[Budza]

For a laptop- I can't find any info on the mentioned GFX: 2GB DDR3 AMD R16M-M2-50 Graphics

Is that any good for some light gaming? This will be my work laptop but some gaming ability would be nice.

https://www.incredible.co.za/lenovo-510s-i5-7200u-8-256-2gb-gfx-14fhd

Any other recommendations?

Desired Spec (<R15k):
i5 6th/7th gen
8GB RAM
256SSD (SATA / PCIe / m2 - does that make a difference at my price level?)
1080p 14" screen, doesn't need to have touch.
Full size HDMI and USB3.0

 

[ponder]

Is that any good for some light gaming?

Define light gaming?

GPU does not sound very good.

 

[Chevron]

For a laptop- I can't find any info on the mentioned GFX: 2GB DDR3 AMD R16M-M2-50 Graphics

Is that any good for some light gaming? This will be my work laptop but some gaming ability would be nice.

https://www.incredible.co.za/lenovo-510s-i5-7200u-8-256-2gb-gfx-14fhd

Any other recommendations?

Desired Spec (<R15k):
i5 6th/7th gen
8GB RAM
256SSD (SATA / PCIe / m2 - does that make a difference at my price level?)
1080p 14" screen, doesn't need to have touch.
Full size HDMI and USB3.0

Yeah this won't cut it for light gaming unless you mean The Sims:
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/2414/radeon-r5-m250

 

[Budza]

Define light gaming?

GPU does not sound very good.

I'll be working on the thing all day, so I won't want to be gaming on it all night.

Running some modern games at medium settings on the built in 1080p screen or my 24" 1080p external (same difference I guess). I'm not too sure what's out there, but Doom, Hitman and BF1 would be fun to dabble in.

If I'm dreaming, I may drop the GFX completely and not bother- save myself the cash.

 

[Budza]

Yeah this won't cut it for light gaming unless you mean The Sims:
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/2414/radeon-r5-m250

I saw that- it says that card is unreleased and has 1GB whereas the ad lists it as 2GB. I couldn't find anything relating to the listed GPU- not sure what's going on there...

I'll have to go in-store and check out the box.

 

[SYNERGY]

Finishing touches on my Ryzen build coming on well. Just received and installed my Noctua fans to replace the terrible stock Corsair fans that come with the H110i.

Getting my sleeved PSU cables and lighting strip next week to bring everything together

Don't forget to post pictures! I keep on meaning to convert my current build into a PC Desk thingamijig...

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Don't forget to post pictures! I keep on meaning to convert my current build into a PC Desk thingamijig...

A terrible picture (my phone doesn't take great pics with low light) but you get the idea.

 

[SYNERGY]

A terrible picture (my phone doesn't take great pics with low light) but you get the idea.

Nice. What case?