Any PC Builders Out There?

Man, enjoying Flight Simulator all over again.

New GPU made a difference -

 

Seems like it would be enough to run those games at a mid-level resolution and detail. I had the same thought about the PSU, but this build comes in at 150W, so you should have plenty of room for a discrete GPU down the road.

I'll likely need to replace my current PC soon. I'm struggling with doing a similar build as this, which is really all I need, or bumping things up a bit.

 

Been back and forth on trying to make a decision; its pretty much between this build, or a similarly priced laptop. If we do go this route, I'll update on how it performs

 

3080 in place

Had to order another cable extension.

And instead of using those 8-pin clips I actually used mobo 24-pin clips

 

How much longer before we'll need a dedicated PSU for the GPU?

 

It’s like the meme where the gpu plugs straight into the wall

 

Well, they already have add-on cards for GPUs

 

Change of plans completely; original plan was build a super budget PC for daughter. After more consideration, its just not logical to build such a piece of crap longterm. My solution? Build my wife a nice PC, and pass her gaming laptop down to daughter. Win/win. Would like to throw this parts list out there, and see if anyone sees any major issues with it before I start buying parts. Goal for this build is $1k target (with windows key), all white build (as much as possible at least), 1080p 144 frames locked in pretty much any game she'd play, possibility for 120+ in 1440p should I ever upgrade my setup and pass her down a 1440 monitor. I THINK its achievable with this setup. Any thoughts?
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kJztd9

 

That gpu won’t push the 120+ frames in 1440p, but it’s a fantastic budget 1080p gpu.
Maybe this?
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/smtPDq

 

1080p will be the focus for sure, and if it could sustain 60+ at 1440 I’d be happy. I put a 6700xt in my build and it does awesome for what we play. I considered it for her build too, but she really has no intention to dabble in higher demanding things. Yet…lol. I think if she ever moves up, it’d be bc I did first, so I could always pass down my 6700xt if needed

 

Are you opposed to used GPUs or used parts? I recently built my sffpc using used parts from hardwareswap and deals from Black Friday / Cyber Monday. I'm probably a smidge over your budget but I went with 6tb of m.2 storage and 64gb of 3600MHz ram which is overkill.

You can get a used 3080 for $500 or below these days

As for the parts list, i'd see if there are any gen 4 drives still on sale since it looks like that motherboard supports it

 

Good deal for a plat certified 850w psu with a fancy screen

ASUS ROG Thor 850 Certified 850W Fully-Modular RGB Power Supply with LiveDash OLED Panel

https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Fully-Modular-Power-Supply-LiveDash/dp/B07JZLGPCB?th=1

 

I'm not opposed to used parts from someone I personally know and trust. As for storage needs, 1 tb will be more than enough for her, 32 gb RAM will be quadruple what she's used to, and she doesn't really have any experience doing anything above 60fps/1080p. I have the Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSD, so if gen 3 works beyond my needs, I think it'll suit her fine too.

wow, I may have to add this to her build instead

 

Yeah, I was able to build a pretty slick sffpc with Amazon deals and used parts. 2TB Samsung 980 pro's were going for like $160 or something wild. I scooped up that and some SK hynix 2tb P41 gen 4 storage for $160! it's over $250 now

Here's the parts list for anyone who's interested: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Nimble9/saved/gK96Q7



I paid nothing close to the total in the link with Black Friday / used parts.

Also, cdkeyoffer for a cheap windows key: https://www.cdkeyoffer.com/microsoft-windows-10-pro-oem-cd-key-global.html

 

I keep seeing that pop up on FB, does it really allow customization that the "unactivated" version disables?

I keep wondering if I should pay for the real key or not.

 

I bought one from Kinguin the other month for $25.78 OTD for a digital activation edition, a few bucks more than one you'd have to call in to activate. Worked flawlessly. I was skeptical but did a fair bit of googling around and it all looked legit.

Edit: this was for my garage build, for the gaming build before that I was an idiot and bought a legit Microsoft USB key/installer from newegg as I didn't trust the resellers originally. Kicking myself for doing that now.

Edit 2 for pic of garage pc since I don’t think I ever posted it, and yes I cut the zip tie tails after this haha


https://pcpartpicker.com/user/spencermarkd/saved/P38Lcf

 

Beginning the slow process of moving my current storage space to an external HDD so I can delete it and re-build it with parity.
I’m not 100% sure how it’s gonna turn out but these are the drive I’m planning on having in the storage space.
1-6TB Ironwolf NAS spinning drive
1-4TB Samsung 860 Evo
2-2TB Samsung 860 Evo

 

Paid for a key last night, and it didn't work.

Woke up today and fired up the PC only to find it's activated.

 

Weird! Glad it eventually worked though.

 

The cheap keys found on eBay, Kinguin, etc are lost, stolen, or auctioned after bankruptcy OEM builder keys. The general public isn't supposed to use them and once upon a time activating them was often time consuming as they would fail a normal activation attempt. For the last couple of years though they seem to work flawlessly and I'd guess it's because Microsoft stopped giving a shit. I mean, they make money off of whatever they sell the keys to OEM's at, why would they waste their time trying to stop a few thousand people from working that system when at least they're still using windows. Especially since office 365 and gamepass are what Microsoft is really focused on selling.

Bottom line most of these keys were meant for companies like Dell and sold in bulk. You're not supposed to use them for custom builds, it's in the TOS, but Microsoft has stopped policing it in any meaningful way and even when they did, the keys still worked if you called them in.