Any PC Builders Out There?

3080 has a slight advantage depending on the game.

 

Looks like evga has had stock for quite some time now, so it’d be the FTW3 3080 if that makes any differencr

 

I got a notify on a 3070ultra from EVGA if anyone's lookin. I don't need it.

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=08G-P5-3755-KL

 

Annnnnnnnnd its gone. Looks like they are having better luck keeping these in stock now though.

 

Do any of you guys have an EVGA part number you'd be willing to pass along to help with an Elite membership? These newer games are killing my 2060 @ 1440p. My 970 was too old to qualify, my 2060 was B-stock, and my power supply was not a high enough tier I guess. I'm trying to get in on these B-stock drops every Tuesday night but the good stuff sells out in under 5 mins and the insane shipping prices kill most of the other deals.

 

https://youtu.be/usWUL3ZtUPM

 

I'll check my psu tonight but I suspect it won't be high enough either

 

I appreciate it, but I was actually able to get in! The PSU I had was on their list but for some reason when I entered the part number it said it didn't qualify. When I actually registered it to my account it automatically qualified me for elite. Now it's just a waiting game for next Tuesday night.

 

Anyone looking for a used 3060? I'm finally selling mine that I got last July. It's an EVGA XC Gaming, 2 fan, comes stock with a metal backplate and a light clock boost. It's been very gently used and kept extremely clean, but has been mined on (underclocked core, overclocked mem, kept around 60 degrees c). I have it listed on FB for 425 but would go lower for TW. ($429 MSRP). Can ship it out Monday, too.

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=12G-P5-3657-KR

With the eth merge coming up and availability increasing, I have no idea if that's even a fair price anymore. FB marketplace has listings all over the place, almost all are over MSRP still.

 

How often do you guys reformat and reinstall Windows these days? I know back in the XP / Win7 days with HDD's fragmentation lead to degrading performance over time so reformat/reinstalling almost yearly was a habit. Is it even something to do these days with Win10/11 and SSD's if there are no prevailing issues?

 

Haven't done it even once with Win10/11 and an SSD. If you are constantly replacing hardware components and installing/removing drivers, or installing and removing a lot of various software, sometimes a factory reset helps clean up stuff that doesn't get cleaned up otherwise.

 

Don't defrag SSDs. It actually wears them out. Ever since Windows 7 SSDs automatically sort there data for the best endurance and speed. It's called TRIM and you do not need to do anything for it to work, the OS automatically handles it with the drives firmware.

Trim (computing) - Wikipedia

 

Oh absolutely, I knew not to defrag, I was just curious about reformatting. Doesn't sound like it's worth the time if there's no major issues, though.

 

This is useful information. Thanks

 

Out of all the mainstream laptops out there, Dell, ACER, HP, IBM, Lanova, etc. who would you guys recommend for a mid line work computer? Say $800-$1000 range.

No programming, gaming, etc. All it will be used for is internet, emails, some word processing, xcel, blue beam/PDF work, etc. Lots of pictures, but no editing of photos. I only use an external drive for ANY files, it is always plugged in.

I am kind of partial to Dell since that is what I always get from the companies I've worked for but not loyal to anyone. I'm going out on my own and need to buy one now.

Thanks in advance.

 

I used to work for Dell, and they used to manufacture their own laptops. They switched to an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) model just before I left, about 13 years ago. Basically someone else builds them to a design spec that is "unique" to Dell. These same facilities build laptops for HP and likely other brands. I'd say just compare prices for what you get. With Dell, the Inspiron line was targeted for consumers, Latitude for business -- a little more expensive, but to me seem to be higher quality. Warranty and support availability may be a factor to consider. Support is never good, but Dell was better than HP when I had to use it.

 

Well I can proudly report I scored what I think was a killer deal on EVGA Midweek Madness. 2080ti FTW3 Ultra for $436 and some change. 3070 performance with 3GB extra Vram for $140 cheaper. Time to put this 750W PSU to the test come Tuesday when it's delivered. I know it's technically going on 4-years since the 2080ti released, but it was the best price-to-performance upgrade offered with today's GPU climate.

The RTX2060 I'm currently on goes to the wife's machine that just got a 144hz monitor upgrade, so now she'll get to utilize Gsync/Freesync.

The GTX970 can finally be retired. By the way the GTX970 aged incredibly well IMO. I bought it new for $335 in 2015, got Witcher 3 ($60) and MGSV ($60) with it for free, so really a net cost of $215 and it's still trucking along at around mostly medium settings 1080p/60 8 years later. I wouldn't put it up against something like RDR2 or Cyberpunk but it has definitely held its own.

 

PM'ing you Rich.

 

I’ve got a Dell Latitude from 2012 or something equally ridiculous that’s still running strong as my main home computer. SSD with Windows 10 does well and is still decently quick.

EDIT: Dell e6520 circa 2010!