Any PC Builders Out There?

Hey all! Used to have a full tower but decided to give the SFF world a go! The below build is all in a case the size of a standard shoebox and is running CPU temps in the mid-60s and GPU temps about the same (air cooled) while at full and consistent gaming load. It is also the quietest PC I have ever built, though the GPU fans get a little noisy at times.

Current build:
Louqe Ghost S1 w/ Large Tophat
Asus ROG Swift B450-I
AMD Ryzen 3700X @4.1ghz
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super Founders
Alphacool Eisbaer LT 240 (240mm rad/pump, no res)
Noctua 120mm silent fans @1200 RPM x2 (for rad)
Noctua slim 120mm silent (negative pressure fan on bottom of case)
Samsung 1TB 970 Evo Plus NVME
Corsair LPX 3200mhz 8GB x2
Corsair SFX 600W PSU
Custom pslate cables

Next step is to custom loop with a GPU block to the solo LT CPU pump, which can power the case. Though might need a new rad with a bigger in-house res. Or wait for the juicy EK flat res designed for the case to come out later this year... Thoughts??

 

My old computer died, so I'm thinking about doing a "cheap rebuild." My current machine was built last year, and is my "high speed, low drag" machine. It does my "real work/gaming/etc."

Thoughts about building/rebuilding my old machine with inexpensive, but new parts? Primary use will be to just screw around online, such as message boards, etc. I'm now doing everything with my primary machine. I think it's more that I feel like doing a new build...lol

 

Depending on how old everything is and what you need to replace it could end up being a whole new build in an old box lol.

 

Wouldn't be the first time...lol

But that's a good point! My current and "old" machine are "mid-towers," and I sort of like that size. The old mid-tower is in bad shape...the plastic face plates have lost some of the clips and are hanging off, so I would probably need to replace it...or use duct tape...lol That power supply is sufficient for a "low cost" build, since I won't be putting as much stuff into it as my primary machine.

Guess I'll need a new case, MOBO/CPU, RAM, and a video card. Will use the old HD, since I think it's still OK.

 

Sounds like a Ryzen 3100 build waiting to happen. Snag a cheap 1650 Super and you'll be off to the races.

 

After thinking about this over the last couple hours, I think I'm just going to make it a Linux Mint machine. I intended to do that with my last build, but for some reason I couldn't get my Radeon RX-590 to work. The only way it would boot and have a display was to plug the HMDI cable into the MOBO port. I surrendered and made it a Win-10 machine.

With that in mind, I have a SSD with (only) Linux Mint that might as well get some use. Now all I need is a video card that will work with Linux...i.e. one that I can download an existing Linux driver that will work. I have no plans to buy a video card until I know it is compatible.

I'm running two monitors. With that in mind, I ran DVI cables from my old computer to the two monitors. When I built my new machine, I ran HMDI cables from the RX-590 to the two monitors, so I would just shut down one computer at a time to use the other. Unfortunately there aren't many cards with two DVI ports, not to mention that's old technology. I'll buy a new card with two+ HMDI ports. If I do that, will two of these switches work?

https://www.amazon.com/Splitter-Tec...653&sprefix=hdmi+switcher2+in+,aps,137&sr=8-4

I would run one HMDI cable from each video card to one switch, then run the output of that switch to one monitor. Then do it again for the other monitor. Would this work? Is there a better way to do this? I really don't want to unplug the HMDI cables from one computer, then plug them into the other....

TIA!

 

A KVM switch is more along the lines of what you need. It'll be a lot more than $7 though to find one that does 2xHDMI plus mouse and keyboard.

 

Looking at KVM switches now. That will help decluter my computer desk.

Other than buying a switch that will connect two computers to "dual monitors," anything else (or any performance levels) I should be looking for? Have been told to ensure it will do 4K @60Hz, and not 30hz.

 

Do your monitors only have one port? My work monitors have both DVI and HDMI ports, so switching between my two work laptops is just a matter of switching inputs on each and flipping the swtich on my USB switch. Its not as quick as a kvm switch, but I don't do it that often.


Also - DVI, HDMI, DP etc are all the same protocol on the wire, they just have different shape plugs. You can use a converter without any loss of functionality.

 

Both are HP IPS monitors with HMDI and DVI inputs. I've currently run the DVI jacks for the old computer, and the HMDI jacks for the new computer.

My old computer has finally kicked the bucket, so I'll do a "inexpensive" (lower grade) rebuild as opposed to what I put into my primary machine (last year). Didn't see any "dual DVI" video cards, so I thought I would just buy one with HMDI outputs. Didn't think about plugging a DVI connector onto a HMDI cable.

That's when I started looking at using two individual switches to swap my dual monitor setup between computers, then someone mentioned a KVM switch. A KVM switch would definitely declutter my desk, since I can go down to one keyboard...lol

 

The GTX 550Ti I'm no longer using is dual DVI, but quite a step down from an RX570.

What drivers were you using for the RX570? Did Linux not boot at all? Or did you get dropped to a command prompt?

 

AMD should be the easiest to use with Linux. I mean Linus writes and compiles Linux code now on a 3rd Gen Threadripper paired with a RX 580.

 

Oh boy. Intel needs halp. Supposedly their Xe graphics design didn't pan out and they'll be closing that division of the company shortly. Wow. It's not even funny anymore how bad things are there.

 

Intel's CEO right now:

 

I don't think he does much coding these days. I think he just oversees what code is being added.

 

Believe it or not he's still pretty involved. Regardless, usually the RX 580 and the Vega 7 are the goto Linux cards because nVidia compatibility is poop.

 

So I was cleaning out my closet the other day, find all my parts from my old build, decide to toss it up for sale for shits and giggles. Anyways end up selling it to this kid for 200 bucks. Only question he asks me is if it can run Minecraft

 

I've had the opposite experience, for both Linux and Windows. I switched to Nvidia because AMD cards were always a headache for me. I was looking at a laptop with a 4750U, and was worried about Linux support for the GPU.