A Tough Year and Might be Returning with New PC (comments?)

[Eclypticon]

Hello all, especially, QC members and friends.

I have had a tough year. I got evicted from my home through not fault of my own since the area is being converted to commercial property, therefore, I lost my home and had to move. Bummer.

Two of my main workstations died one right after another. I used these for all kinds of stuff, but they also were for NWN2. I have a mini PC that might be able to run NWN2, but it lacks the storage to hold all the files and single core performance may or may not be able to run NWN2. Toolset use is out of the question. So, I have not been around do to these issues and having to care for family.

So, I am building a Win7. Win8.1 Ubuntu Machine In July (no Skylake since certain features will only have support on Win10 and I will not be using that).

Let me know what you think:

PSU: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k

MB: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97gaming5

Cooling: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lepa-cpu-cooler-lpwac240hf

RAM: 32GB http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-me ... 1869dt1tx0

SSD: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-in ... xps480gg25

HHD: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-di ... wd2003fzex

CASE: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/phanteks-case-phes614pbk

PSU: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power ... 20g20750xr

Bluray: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-wh14ns40

WIFI and Bluetooth: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-w ... -gcwb867di

Monitor: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/benq-monitor-xl2730z

GPU: I’m waiting on AMD Polaris (I am expecting these to have the best power per watt performance and freesync). I will likely get the 480 or 480x if that is what it is going to be called.

I have already bought everything except the monitor and gpu as Computex 2016 is right around the corner and price changes and new items will likely be available. I will probably get two more SSDs too. Do you think my monitor is a good choice?

I'm guessing that I will be able to play all modern titles and use VR too while being able to emulate PS2 and Gamecube.

*edit*

Computex was a big disappointment regarding specs for Polaris. The only info I could get from it is that it will be cheap. No more than $300 for the best RX 480. Supposedly two cards running in X-fire will beat the 1080, but we will have to wait for benchmarks. X-fire is not yet a technology that has enough support to warrant widespread adoption. Release is June 29th. I do not know what I am going to buy yet.

Input?

[Aspect of Sorrow]

I'm glad to see the die shrink for Polaris but I'm not holding my breath any longer after what happened with Bulldozer.

What is the point of the multiple MS OS uses?

[Eclypticon]

I'm glad to see the die shrink for Polaris but I'm not holding my breath any longer after what happened with Bulldozer.

What is the point of the multiple MS OS uses?

I want to have Win8.1 for when and if Win7 no longer gets any support. I eventually plan to go with Ubuntu as my main OS once Vulkan hopefully brings more games to Linux. I actually prefer Linux over Windows anyway. AMD has also really been pushing new drivers for Linux lately which is a change of pace for them.

I have little doubt that Polaris will perform at 390 levels or above with lower power levels (I saw Hitman running at 1440p @ 60fps in the demo and some people say that might have just been the mobile version, Polaris 11), and in Summer time, I need the lack of heat. My only other choice is the Fury Nano. I will be buying Vega when it comes out since I have high expectations of what they will be able to do with HBM2 after seeing what they did with the Fury series and HBM.

*edit*

Oh, and I am expecting to see pretty big gains in DX11 performance with Polaris. They have supposedly addressed some major issues.

I will update my main post after the Computex event on May 31 7pm PST with real facts about Polaris and maybe some about Zen. We will likely know exactly what to expect then.

Its been 10 years since I built a PC. It was made with a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2 I bought on release.

[finneas]

YMMV but I had a laptop that came with win 8.1 and it was nothing but headaches. I took the free upgrade to win 10 and haven't looked back. 8.1 has been nothing but a nightmare for everything I have tried to use it for.

[Eclypticon]

YMMV but I had a laptop that came with win 8.1 and it was nothing but headaches. I took the free upgrade to win 10 and haven't looked back. 8.1 has been nothing but a nightmare for everything I have tried to use it for.

I have had two systems that came with windows 8, and they sucked. The operating system itself was not the problem though. The drivers were the issue. On my mini PC, one of the drivers caused a memory leak and I could not pinpoint exactly which one it was. I had a similar issue with my laptop and it actually slowed down my system. If the drivers worked like they should and with classic shell, Win8.1 is quite usable. But. I bought Win7 licenses and downgraded; everything is running great.

I will never instal Windows 10 because they collect too much personal data in telemetry, and they do not provide the same level of control for non enterprise users that one would expect from previous versions. Also, Win10 makes you the product, but that is my opinion.

[Aspect of Sorrow]

I haven't had any difficulties with 8.1, the laptop I use presently comes with it defacto though my preference lies elsewhere. 8 however, as mentioned, was a nightmare relative to driver support and it's prerequisite of UEFI.

Hidden: show

I have a software deployment target on 10 for testing but past that the exposure has been relatively familiar with 8.1, personally, I'm not to keen on my computing usage being known to parties unfamiliar.

I'm usually going through new systems, whether laptops or desktops every two years. The specs on this laptop is more than sufficient but eh, new shiny toys are fun too.

I'm looking forward toward more renderers using Vulkan rather than DX. The MS exodus is obvious, and tablet hardware is coming up in maturity faster than anticipated.

[Aspect of Sorrow]

Kernel 4.7 updates with 80k extra DRM code including Polaris. Should see it in the wild in the next three months.

[Eclypticon]

I haven't had any difficulties with 8.1, the laptop I use presently comes with it defacto though my preference lies elsewhere. 8 however, as mentioned, was a nightmare relative to driver support and it's prerequisite of UEFI.

Hidden: show

I use software that requires MBR for my instal, so, UEFI is not an option. I am curious, however, this should not be a problem with my GPU, should it? Maybe I am confused. I heard that new GPUs have UEFI boot and what not. Maybe the MSI Z97 Gaming 5 motherboard I am getting has a hybrid mode or something. I don't know.

Also, nice system specs.

[Aspect of Sorrow]

I use software that requires MBR for my instal, so, UEFI is not an option. I am curious, however, this should not be a problem with my GPU, should it? Maybe I am confused. I heard that new GPUs have UEFI boot and what not. Maybe the MSI Z97 Gaming 5 motherboard I am getting has a hybrid mode or something. I don't know.

Streamlined hardware install without needing to drop into legacy (depending on how your OS is installed / confgured). Many of them came out in 2014, you'll be fine.

[Eclypticon]

I updated my original post. Computex did not give me much to go on and they are releasing Polaris a little later than I expected.

[Aspect of Sorrow]

If it takes CF/SLi to outperform another card with marginal results I'm not sure it's worthwhile in the long run, especially knowing the oddity that nV/AMD's Multiadapter usage in DX12 oddly performs better with their competitor cards than they do from their own brand. The $600 early adopter cost on the 1080 is just that. Wait for eVGA, etc, to toss cards out to the wind with MSRPs that'll be another $70 lower. Then again, the 1060's could potentially be in the near horizon.

That said, you could mix and match for the features of the two vendors.

[Eclypticon]

I plan on buying a mid range card in any event to hold me over. I will not be putting a high performance card in my system that does not have HBM/HBM2, so, I will not be getting the 1080. I will be gaming at 1440p and doing video editing and photo manipulation. I have not bought a monitor yet as my original post said.

Performance per watt is important to me. I will also be using Freesync and if I go Nvidia, I will use Gsync. The 1060 will likely come out after Polaris and the 1070 will be out soon. I will not buy a reference card or founder crap though. The thermal throttling I have seen with the 1080 would be a deal breaker for me. I hope that does not happen with the 1070 or 1060 (custom water cooling is probably the best way to fix that though). Sapphire and MSI make the best AMD cards in my option while EVGA and Gigabyte are good for Nvidia. I will have to wait until these vendors release their cards and I see real benchmarks.

One thing is for sure, I will be buying a Vega when it comes out in 2017 (I do not think there is any reason to assume that it will be released sooner than a year though). So, I have time to wait for my enthusiast card. I am an AMD fan because of their business practices, but I have always bought Nvidia for Linux machines since their drivers have been better, but times are changing.

On another note, I need an AC router that works with DD-WRT. I also want something I can plug a external hard drive into (usb 3). I send lots of large files back and forth between machines regularly and I cannot wait for them to transfer. Should I get a Linksys AC1200, AC1900, or should I go with another brand? I am not as well read regarding routers as other technologies. My price range is going to be $100-200 as I cannot justify dropping anymore on a router.

Also, I appreciate your input.

[Aspect of Sorrow]

While HBM2/GDDR5X are both impressive, they're not a selling point in this generation (mobile exception). VRAM is necessary but the speed of storage is moot when the GPU can't push it which is where Pascal and likely Polaris will underwhelm the performance metrics. 1TB/s is great until your fillrate / renderer can't compute the shaders fast enough to take advantage of it. nV is rightfully focusing on the core architecture that needs to be brought up to speed to make use of it, while AMD is hopefully intending to license HBM2 long enough that their next cards to come have more performance to give where HBM2 is considered. This is one of those carts before the horse ordeals, needed but not at the right time. I don't favor either company, I'm one of those guys still raging at Transmeta's closure. . Vega should be the generation AMD actually puts together a solid product with HBM2, Polaris... eh, not as likely unfortunately. Sad given they had three years to take a stab at it. nV will need to follow suit with the HBM2 integration (as both companies cross license) or work with Micron to fix GDDR5X, but if I were a betting man, HBM2 is the new standard for both vendors.

Either way, the memory tech (interposers, etc) these companies are pioneering is going to trickle into SSDs.

Printers are great to attach to wireless routers but USB storage devices I wholeheartedly would avoid. WPS has had a poor history of security when enabled, and wireless tech is still susceptible to bruteforcing via vMAC and a few transceivers. Depending on your environment, MiMO 2.4GHz to punch through walls, 5GHz otherwise. Then you can take a $120 Chromebook and interface with your work at your leisure with all the horsepower of the desktop over RDP or Spice while not exposing your drive beyond the additional security your PC can provide.

[chad878262]

not sure about PC's, but Windows 10 still has big issues on laptops in that it often will shut the internal wireless router off. Used to be you could only fix this by restarting the computer, but within the last month or so Windows will now fix this by right clicking and running the troubleshooting. Still if you are online a lot it is a real PITA to have to troubleshoot your internet all the time.

If you plan to go to a Linux system eventually I would probably just recommend Windows 7, Heck, Vista still works on my old PC (though Chrome recently stopped supporting it...)

I'm sure Windows 10 will be fine at some point, but right now I have not been impressed with it on my laptop.

[Aspect of Sorrow]

not sure about PC's, but Windows 10 still has big issues on laptops in that it often will shut the internal wireless router off. Used to be you could only fix this by restarting the computer, but within the last month or so Windows will now fix this by right clicking and running the troubleshooting. Still if you are online a lot it is a real PITA to have to troubleshoot your internet all the time.

Fortunately it'll be fixed over time (rolling updates) but again, YMMV. Windows XP and similarly 7 were both far more broken before their respective SP1's, XP especially until SP2.

If you plan to go to a Linux system eventually I would probably just recommend Windows 7, Heck, Vista still works on my old PC (though Chrome recently stopped supporting it...)

With LTS no longer supported, zero day exploits won't be patched, rootkits will come out of the woodwork. Flame still runs without hindrance on XP targets and ransomware is the latest big ticket to financial extortion, metasploits will rise. Windows 7 CVE graph.

The *nix desktop is gaining momentum. Wine's coming of age, more engines are being incorporated with Vulkan renderers that challenge DX12, it should be good.