No, I don't think don't think I do. And eh, those are a bit more than I want to spend. I mainly just want something that will play Minecraft better, along with source games and some other indie games. I'm not looking to play Crysis 2 or anything like that.
The ~$50 mark is pretty much the baseline for video cards. Anything below that is actually kind of a ripoff in terms of value for money. For example, the HD 6450 at ~$40 is pretty much only one third as powerful as the HD 6670 at ~$60.
Nvidia's GT 430 falls somewhere in between the two, though closer to the 6450 than the 6570 and 6670 I think.
Overall, this is about as cheap as I can see for something that doesn't quite fall into the crap horizon.
So if you guys remember when my monitor failed and I had to take it apart and replace the capacitors on the power supply board, I had a second monitor from the same batch that worked through then. That one failed a week ago in the same exact way so I'm about to perform the same exact surgery for a second time.
Got a pair of these to replace the cheap case fans I had and as they're PWM fans (The four cables you see on your CPU as opposed to normal ones.) They can go from barely on to jet engine depending entirely on CPU temp. My case is back to being super quiet.
So, my desktop computer is still just perfectly fine. It plays all the games I want to play. It can do everything I ask it to do.
Despite this, it is slow at some things. I can't really edit/encode video quickly, and I'm thinking of getting the Adobe Creative Cloud. If I want to mess with Source Filmmaker, it's not the fastest. Also, there's the issue of secure boot, and I kind of want to get a new computer before it's too late, even though the next generation of CPUs will probably be better. Also, I just happen to have moneys right now, so I can afford it. I'll post a Newegg list here later today, even if I don't actually end up buying anything, because it's fun to pick out computer parts on Newegg.
What I want to ask is this. A lot of you punk kids out there always complain that your computers are too weak. Does anyone out there want to buy my current computer? I would feel less bad about necessarily upgrading my computer too early if my current perfectly good computer went to a sad geek who could not fully geek with their weak ass hardware.
I'm also thinking of just going all out and replacing my monitors that are in otherwise perfect condition. If I end up doing that, then I will have a perfectly good 20" Ultrasharp and a 17" LCD for someone in need as well. I've also got some other computers lying around that are mostly just fine I should probably give to a good home, like my old laptop.
I'm thinking after PAX is a good time to do this, if I do it. Since then it will be getting cold, and I won't have any conventions to work for until MAGFest in January. I mean, there's the Burning Con and NYCC, but those are not PAX.
I also don't know how Scott gets away with his slow old computer unless he's not doing much with it. ;^) Editing video uses all 12GB of my RAM and regularly maxes my cores once I start layering effects. Encoding one PAX panel takes 20+ hours with every core on the i7 going full bore.
I also don't know how Scott gets away with his slow old computer unless he's not doing much with it. ;^) Editing video uses all 12GB of my RAM and regularly maxes my cores once I start layering effects. Encoding one PAX panel takes 20+ hours with every core on the i7 going full bore.
What are you doing with video that's so much more amazing than what they were doing with video 10 years ago? That sounds like REALLY badly optimized code...
Scott and I pretty much have the same computer. I too have realized the same problem, but I've been luckily enough to get a free video card from a friend. The processor is really starting to become a bottle neck though.
Scott and I pretty much have the same computer. I too have realized the same problem, but I've been luckily enough to get a free video card from a friend. The processor is really starting to become a bottle neck though.
Yeah, I no longer have the video card we started with. I have been using a GTX 460 for awhile now. That has really made a huge difference.
I also don't know how Scott gets away with his slow old computer unless he's not doing much with it. ;^) Editing video uses all 12GB of my RAM and regularly maxes my cores once I start layering effects. Encoding one PAX panel takes 20+ hours with every core on the i7 going full bore.
What are you doing with video that's so much more amazing than what they were doing with video 10 years ago? That sounds like REALLY badly optimized code...
The video itself is bigger, the color quality is higher, basically there are a lot more bits of data than 10 years ago.
I also don't know how Scott gets away with his slow old computer unless he's not doing much with it. ;^) Editing video uses all 12GB of my RAM and regularly maxes my cores once I start layering effects. Encoding one PAX panel takes 20+ hours with every core on the i7 going full bore.
What are you doing with video that's so much more amazing than what they were doing with video 10 years ago? That sounds like REALLY badly optimized code...
The video itself is bigger, the color quality is higher, basically there are a lot more bits of data than 10 years ago.
HD Video is older than 10 years... I still say that software vendors don't optimize because it's work. They prefer to let faster hardware make up for their bullshit.
Erm... you are not well informed on this subject. Tons of people really have put an incredible amount of work into optimizing video in various forms and formats. "HD" is nothing really. What are you even measuring things against here?
Erm... you are not well informed on this subject. Tons of people really have put an incredible amount of work into optimizing video in various forms and formats. "HD" is nothing really. What are you even measuring things against here?
I'm not claiming to be well informed. I just don't understand why it takes a multicore processor 20+ hours to render an hour or two of video in 2012. If you say it's optimized, I can't refute it. It's just a little boggling.
Well it depends on what you want to do. Look at what a video card pushes out in a second? Sixty + frames of full video at @ 2500x1600 basically.
That sounds fantastic right?
But the memory bandwidth involved in that, and the storage needed to record that data is crazy. You'll fill a terrabyte hard-drive in no-time.
If I want to turn that into a reasonable video file, I need to compress it and convert it to a standard format at a set quality, frame rate, etc. Doing that requires taking each and every one of those bloated frames, and converting it into a high compressed and more optimized format for playback. Depending on the quality settings you want, that may be an incredibly large amount of work.
And each frame is handled in a fraction of a second... but that's a LOT of pixels and a LOT of frames... in what amounts to a highly bloated and inefficient starting format. It's one of the best understood areas of computing really.
What are you doing with video that's so much more amazing than what they were doing with video 10 years ago? That sounds like REALLY badly optimized code...
10 years ago, no consumers were editing hours of 1080p60 video, applying complex effects like color grading, visualising effects in real time while editing, and rendering at home.
It is optimized. It's just a lot of data and a lot of math. One camera angle from one PAX video in 2012 uses more disk space than the combined total of all video I ever took with my SD camcorder.
I'll just GIVE you my previous computer. It's more powerful than Scott's, but it won't have hard drives in it. ;^)
I'll take it off your hands. How much do you reckon shipping will be?
Edit: The caveat I should disclose is that I already have a god-of-gods, I could just use another PC for building a Media Center. If someone else comes forward who only has a netbook, I'll gladly cede it to them.
I'll just GIVE you my previous computer. It's more powerful than Scott's, but it won't have hard drives in it. ;^)
I'll take it off your hands. How much do you reckon shipping will be?
Edit: The caveat I should disclose is that I already have a god-of-gods, I could just use another PC for building a Media Center. If someone else comes forward who only has a netbook, I'll gladly cede it to them.
I've never shipped a PC before. I imagine it will be expensive.
How many watts PSU do you need on a modern computer...
Over 9000? j/k
Realistically, I think 650 or so is the smallest I've seen on pre-built gaming rigs. If you were really serious, you'd look at the power utilization of all your components, add them up, add in another 50-100 watts to play it safe, and go by that measure.
I'm running mine on a 380. Not that mine is modern, it's actually just as old as your's, but it has a beefy graphics card and quad core.
Yeah, that Earthwatts 380 is the awesomest PSU.
I'm actually more concerned that the PSU has all the appropriate connectors, and enough of them. Motherboards and GPUs these days need like 5 extra power connectors on top of the standard ATX one. Even the ATX power connector has four more pins than it did some years ago.
Earthwatts has all the connectors you need if you're not doing something nuts with water/Peltier/Plasma/LN cooling. If you're really concerned, get a modular power supply.
Earthwatts has all the connectors you need if you're not doing something nuts with water/Peltier/Plasma/LN cooling. If you're really concerned, get a modular power supply.
I think I'm going to need
ATX with the extra four pins. 8-pin extra motherboard thingy. 2x 6-pin GPU connectors Lots of SATA connectors for the drives. Maybe an old school molex connector or few.
Comments
Nvidia's GT 430 falls somewhere in between the two, though closer to the 6450 than the 6570 and 6670 I think.
Overall, this is about as cheap as I can see for something that doesn't quite fall into the crap horizon.
Here's the odd daisy chain plug system.
Everything in place.
Soon..
Black= Neutral
Yellow = Monitor to check the fan is spinning and how fast.
Blue = PWM signal
Some 2 and 3 cable systems work by altering voltage but PWM is the only kind that is standardised.
Despite this, it is slow at some things. I can't really edit/encode video quickly, and I'm thinking of getting the Adobe Creative Cloud. If I want to mess with Source Filmmaker, it's not the fastest. Also, there's the issue of secure boot, and I kind of want to get a new computer before it's too late, even though the next generation of CPUs will probably be better. Also, I just happen to have moneys right now, so I can afford it. I'll post a Newegg list here later today, even if I don't actually end up buying anything, because it's fun to pick out computer parts on Newegg.
What I want to ask is this. A lot of you punk kids out there always complain that your computers are too weak. Does anyone out there want to buy my current computer? I would feel less bad about necessarily upgrading my computer too early if my current perfectly good computer went to a sad geek who could not fully geek with their weak ass hardware.
I'm also thinking of just going all out and replacing my monitors that are in otherwise perfect condition. If I end up doing that, then I will have a perfectly good 20" Ultrasharp and a 17" LCD for someone in need as well. I've also got some other computers lying around that are mostly just fine I should probably give to a good home, like my old laptop.
I'm thinking after PAX is a good time to do this, if I do it. Since then it will be getting cold, and I won't have any conventions to work for until MAGFest in January. I mean, there's the Burning Con and NYCC, but those are not PAX.
That sounds fantastic right?
But the memory bandwidth involved in that, and the storage needed to record that data is crazy. You'll fill a terrabyte hard-drive in no-time.
If I want to turn that into a reasonable video file, I need to compress it and convert it to a standard format at a set quality, frame rate, etc. Doing that requires taking each and every one of those bloated frames, and converting it into a high compressed and more optimized format for playback. Depending on the quality settings you want, that may be an incredibly large amount of work.
And each frame is handled in a fraction of a second... but that's a LOT of pixels and a LOT of frames... in what amounts to a highly bloated and inefficient starting format. It's one of the best understood areas of computing really.
It is optimized. It's just a lot of data and a lot of math. One camera angle from one PAX video in 2012 uses more disk space than the combined total of all video I ever took with my SD camcorder.
Edit: The caveat I should disclose is that I already have a god-of-gods, I could just use another PC for building a Media Center. If someone else comes forward who only has a netbook, I'll gladly cede it to them.
Realistically, I think 650 or so is the smallest I've seen on pre-built gaming rigs. If you were really serious, you'd look at the power utilization of all your components, add them up, add in another 50-100 watts to play it safe, and go by that measure.
I'm actually more concerned that the PSU has all the appropriate connectors, and enough of them. Motherboards and GPUs these days need like 5 extra power connectors on top of the standard ATX one. Even the ATX power connector has four more pins than it did some years ago.
ATX with the extra four pins.
8-pin extra motherboard thingy.
2x 6-pin GPU connectors
Lots of SATA connectors for the drives.
Maybe an old school molex connector or few.