New PC build

Got a shopping cart of parts that you want opinions on? Get advice from members on your planned or existing system (or upgrade).

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Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:03 am

I'm still using windows 7. Everything is old, including Windows.

I just mailed the shop, asking them to check if their suppliers have graphics cards available, and at what price. I'm not very hopeful, at least of the prices being reasonable, but maybe I'll get lucky.

Regarding the case, I checked the prices of the cases Japanese Capacitor suggested, browsing several Portuguese shops, and the cheapest by a significant margin is the ANTEC P101 Silent. I asked the shop if they sell it. I checked a few reviews, and it seems a very nice case, thank you for the suggestion.

The thoughts of a smaller case is definitely very appealing, but at least in the short term I need several big HHD drives, so I think for now a big case is the best option. Perhaps for my next computer, in 13 years. :)

Thank you guys for your patience. I'll report back as soon as I have more info.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:59 am

I counted that you will have five HDD's, but I don't know, how many of them will be there finally (after coping everything to bigger drives). So with cases like small Defines or basic Nanoxia 8 you would need some combinations when dealing with smaller amount of cages during mentioned transfering process.

Antec P101 is totally worth buying, especially for a price it used to cost. Btw it looks so orignal - my first impression was damn bad, but now I love, how different and intriguing it is. But I reccomend it for the same reason as Define R5 - overally amazing cases, hard to say if noticeably worse than newer Defines, but they cost so much less. So they are the best deals from my reccomendations in terms of price/what you get. In Poland Define 7 is 700 PLN, when P101 costs 520 PLN and Define R5 is for 450-500 PLN - I don't know, if in Portugal they show the same proportions and I gave their normal prices - not affected by todays situation, which seems making them changing drastically every week or two.

And how's the situations with other parts? What are the final choices?

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Mon Mar 01, 2021 5:51 pm

Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:59 am
And how's the situations with other parts? What are the final choices?
Just got a mail from the shop, and the news is no news. Their supplier will probably receive some graphics cards 2 weeks from now, but they (the supplier) doesn't know how many, what models, or prices.

The person from the shop that mailed me didn't mention the CPU coolers, but I'm at least a bit more hopeful about that, comparing to the graphics cards.

Tomorrow I'll call a friend of my brother, he also has a PC shop, maybe I get lucky. But I'm starting to suspect that the most likely outcome of this is I'll have to wait at least several weeks. And probably by then have to pay 2 or 3 times the regular price for a graphics card.

I'm crossing my fingers there's a huge bitcoin bubble burst in the next few days, enough to make many miners to stop paying crazy prices for graphics cards. lol

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:44 am

I really wouldn't bother about GPU, until you try new config with current one. You can always get your computer put together, try it and than pay some store/computer service point to go to your place and replace it. I don't know, how it's in Portugal, but I would expect the same as in Poland - shops just started to scalp, so man can buy without any waiting even most popular models, but priced 100% or more than it should be priced. And I wouldn't buy SOME card. You want good, high quality, so reliable GPU with efficient cooler, which means quiet operation with good temps. These will be more expensive, but it calculates to me better than something garbage or midrange, especially if you plan to use it for ten years. If we talk about Ampere, ASUS TUF cards are my reccomendation for you, MSI Gaming Trio are also fine, but not that quality as TUF, Gigabyte Gaming OC are a little worse and the lowest-end card I would reccomend to anybody. Generally replacing GPU is that simple, that you don't need any experienced person do do it - just person, who watched few youtube videos showing how to do it.

Keep us informed.

CA_Steve
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Re: New PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Mar 02, 2021 10:37 am

I might sound like a skipping record..but you could always just replace the dying HDD for now and then gather the components you want at your leisure. There are a lot of moving parts with uncertain availability and outrageous pricing at the moment. I can't imagine your PC shop would take long or charge very much to image and replace that one component.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:12 pm

CA_Steve wrote:
Tue Mar 02, 2021 10:37 am
I might sound like a skipping record..but you could always just replace the dying HDD for now and then gather the components you want at your leisure. There are a lot of moving parts with uncertain availability and outrageous pricing at the moment. I can't imagine your PC shop would take long or charge very much to image and replace that one component.
I should have followed your advice, CA_Steve. But now I already ordered almost all components (except the GPU and CPU cooler) so I'm kind of stuck. I've been following this world of computers and everything related for the past 2 decades, and I never thought such shortage would be possible in 2021.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:44 am
I really wouldn't bother about GPU, until you try new config with current one. You can always get your computer put together, try it and than pay some store/computer service point to go to your place and replace it. I don't know, how it's in Portugal, but I would expect the same as in Poland - shops just started to scalp, so man can buy without any waiting even most popular models, but priced 100% or more than it should be priced. And I wouldn't buy SOME card. You want good, high quality, so reliable GPU with efficient cooler, which means quiet operation with good temps. These will be more expensive, but it calculates to me better than something garbage or midrange, especially if you plan to use it for ten years. If we talk about Ampere, ASUS TUF cards are my reccomendation for you, MSI Gaming Trio are also fine, but not that quality as TUF, Gigabyte Gaming OC are a little worse and the lowest-end card I would reccomend to anybody. Generally replacing GPU is that simple, that you don't need any experienced person do do it - just person, who watched few youtube videos showing how to do it.
Very good points, Japanese Capacitor. You're right, even if I get an midrange card at a decent price (not very likely, I suspect), it'd almost surely wouldn't be the one I would choose, having in mind silence and quality.

Today I spent a few hours trying to find out if a GeForce 710 would be fully compatible and fast enough for Sketchup and Vray. It's a very slow card, worse than a 1030, but if it's fully compatible perhaps it's enough to hold me for 6 or 12 months.

I'm trying to find comparisons or benchmarks comparing my current ATI 6670 with the GeForce 710, but if it's at the same level of performance, perhaps it's worth considering, since it's quite cheap, and unlike all others, it's still available. I'll post here when/if I find that it's compatible with Vray.

If it isn't, CA_Steve's suggestion is starting to be very appealing. Or I could just risk using my current GPU, but if it doesn't work with the software I use, I'll be stuck.

Thanks again for your patience, guys.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:33 am

If you want to follow Steve's advice, just return these parts. You should have like two weeks for return or maybe in Portugal it's different.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Wed Mar 03, 2021 2:39 am

Today I woke up thinking of another potential solution, which is simply not making a Windows 10 install.

I'm 100% sure that all my software works with Windows 7, I've been using it for many years, and since the problem is there a good chance of my current graphics cards not being fully compatible with Windows 10, that would solve that issue.

So, I'd send my PC to the shop, they'd remove everything and install all the new components, reusing my GPU, with a fresh Windows 7 install, and somewhere in the future, 6 or 12 months down the road I'd buy a new graphics card, carefully choosing it and making sure it's silent and fits my needs, making the upgrade to Windows 10 by then..

The ''only'' downside I can see with this strategy is I'd have to reinstall everything again, with the fresh windows 10 install, which would be laborious and time-consuming. Am I missing something with this plan?

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Wed Mar 03, 2021 4:06 am

I see one potential problem - license. But I'm not oriented in this topic, so maybe no problem. I don't know, if your Windows is connected to your motherboard or you can legally transfer it to other devices and have it there activated. I had situation like this, but with Windows 10 year-two ago, when I built current rig. I had OEM version of 10 connected to previous computer (motherboard change = new Windows needed). But Union few years ago made Microsoft let OEM owners connect their system to Microsoft Account, so transfer it to other devices - as I did. If I remember well, there was also option of upgrade 7 to 10, but that's a different topic. Generally check the license, check what you can do now and in terms of future W10 upgrade.

CA_Steve
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Re: New PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:28 am

You can use Nvidia's driver manual lookup tool to see if a gfx card is supported by a recent Windows driver. Good news is the old GT 710 is supported, will support Direct X 12 and uses less power than your 6670. The bad news is it's 3D performance is less than the 6670. Here's a comparison tool. Whether or not this will have an effect on display times for your rendering tools is unknown. I included a couple of other low end gpus for your comparison. I did see some passive GT 730's and GT 1030's on amazon.es. The prices seems to run around 40 euros for a 710, 80 for a 730 and 90-100 for a passive 1030.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:15 am

Thank you very much, Steve. Seeing that information side-by-side is very useful. I was hoping the 710 would be a little bit more powerful, compared to my current graphics card. I'd risk having a compatible GPU, but if for some reason the 3-D modeling and rendering software I use isn't properly optimized, it'd potentially end up with a GPU that it's just too slow.

Yesterday I contacted the software developer directly, asking about the 6670 and windows 7, but no reply yet.

Regarding the Windows 7 path, that's a very good point, Japanese Capacitor. I didn't think about the license issue. I just checked and my version is Windows 7 OEM. Which means I may have problems, since it would be a new motherboard. I'll mail the PC shop, asking if they could install Windows 7 instead of Windows 10.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Wed Mar 03, 2021 11:09 am

Yeah, with Windows 7 it can be more complicated, but maybe doable.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:21 am

Just received a mail from the shop, with several good news.

- Windows 7

they can install it. Problem solved.

(In the meantime I've been reading about dual boot, with Windows 7 and 10, not sure if it has drawbacks but it seems a perfect solution. I haven't asked if they'd be willing to do that, tho)

- CPU cooler

their suppliers don't have the CPU coolers I want. But they don't mind if I buy from another shop, they'll install it anyway. Problem solved.

I think I'll buy it from this shop. Can you please confirm it's this model?
https://www.pcdiga.com/componentes/cool ... 4s-nh-u14s

I also found this one, the price seems better...
https://www.mbit.pt/informatica/gaming/ ... omponentes
... but the shop isn't as well known, and from your posts and the reviews I saw it seems the Noctua has better performance and reliability.

- PC case

I don't have a final confirmation yet, but I think their suppliers also don't have the PC case I want. But they don't mind if I buy it from another shop, they'll also install it. Problem solved.

Based on your posts, I'm leaning towards the ANTEC P101 Silent, the price here in Portugal is quite good, better than Fractal Design's cases...
https://www.pcdiga.com/caixa-extended-a ... 0wQAvD_BwE

After a lot of frustration and doubts, things are moving. :)

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:34 am

Cooler: Shadow is cheaper, but worse, so answer yourself a simple question: ,,Better" means for you ,,better" or ,,worse, but cheaper" ?

About linked U14S, I don't see in specification AM4 combatiblity/mounting kit. This cooler is older one and some of them don't have AM4 mounting kit included. It can be outdated specification, it can be older supply, so ask the shop. If you buy one without AM4 mounting kit, you will need Noctua to send it to you.

Case: awesome price. Keep in mind, that if you want to put here in the future some strong, big GPU, your amount of HDD mounts may dicrease to six. I generally would remove all of unused HDD cages to somehow increase airflow. Tell the person, who will be building this computer to plug case fans directly into motherboard, not manual fan controller. You should ask Asus, if chassis fan connectors on chosen motherboard allow to change speed of 3-pin fans.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Fri Mar 05, 2021 6:06 pm

Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:34 am
Cooler: Shadow is cheaper, but worse, so answer yourself a simple question: ,,Better" means for you ,,better" or ,,worse, but cheaper" ?
That's a good question. I guess my answer is I prefer the one with the better performance and reliability, even if it's more expensive.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:34 am
About linked U14S, I don't see in specification AM4 combatiblity/mounting kit. This cooler is older one and some of them don't have AM4 mounting kit included. It can be outdated specification, it can be older supply, so ask the shop. If you buy one without AM4 mounting kit, you will need Noctua to send it to you.
I mailed the shop, but no reply yet.

But when browsing the shop on the left side it's possible to select/choose all the Noctua coolers with AM4, and the 14S isn't on that list....
https://www.pcdiga.com/componentes/cool ... turer=5480
... which makes me think their 14S isn't compatible.

I'm guessing Noctua can sell me the adapter, but in that case doesn't it make more sense to choose from the start a cooler that already brings the adapter?

IIRC you mentioned the best available is the D15, which is available in that list.
https://www.pcdiga.com/componentes/cool ... d15-se-am4

It's €20 more expensive, but maybe it's worth it, as long as it fits, since it's already compatible.
Japanese Capacitor wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:34 am
Case: awesome price. Keep in mind, that if you want to put here in the future some strong, big GPU, your amount of HDD mounts may dicrease to six. I generally would remove all of unused HDD cages to somehow increase airflow. Tell the person, who will be building this computer to plug case fans directly into motherboard, not manual fan controller. You should ask Asus, if chassis fan connectors on chosen motherboard allow to change speed of 3-pin fans.
Today I was trying to educate myself on YouTube regarding the difference between 3 pins versus 4 pins, and if I understood correctly the 4-pins is always the best choice. Aren't all modern motherboards supposed to allow the user to control the fans from inside Windows, without a manual fan controller? Or are the PWM fans only controllable through a manual fan controller?
Sorry for such a basic question.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Sat Mar 06, 2021 12:44 am

Generally, if you want reliability, there's no place for ,,deals" - most attractively priced products. Most reliable products are highest quality products and they cost. There're also overpriced products, but I wouldn't reccomend you any.

U14S is compatibile with AM4. The thing is, there's possiblility to buy one, which is from older stock, which doesn't have AM4 mounting kit included. Noctua started to add it around two years ago. Rather low chances to get one without, but better ask just for peace of mind.

It's impossible to predict, if D15 would make a noticeable difference with your configuration. I doubt it, so I don't reccomend paying that additional 20 euro. But D15 is the best you can get.

3-pin fans are controlled by voltage changes, 4-pin have constant voltage, but are controlled by fourth pin - Pulse With Modulation. Most of the modern motherboards allow to control speed of 3-pin fans, but if not - they will be running full speed all the time. PWM fans earned reputation of being superior mostly because of it and they also tend to have lower minimum speed than the same 3-pin. But that speed is more important, when we talk about some really fast fans - overall tendency of 3-pin fans is the higher the speed, the higher the minimum speed, so some of them are always noisy. You can see it on be quiet!'s site comparing 3-pin and 4-pin models - they show speed graphs.

Main reason I told you once again to ask Asus is, that P101 has four fans and your motherboard has only three case fans conntectors. You will also have one empty CPU fan, which theoritically could be utilized, but from not really clear instruction of your motherboard I assume, that one shares control with first CPU fan, so not a good idea to use it with case fan. So splitter needed to plug them all in case fan connectors and info from Asus to choose the best one. But your friend should have some splitters in his store - just tell him, that you want plug case fans into motherboard and be able to control their speed via BIOS/Windows.

CA_Steve
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Re: New PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Mar 06, 2021 6:45 am

A couple of additional points..

Noctua is awesome when it comes to keeping their coolers compatible with current CPUs. If the shop's cooler is of older stock and doesn't have the AM4 mount, they can contact Noctua and Noctua will send the AM4 mount free of charge.

PWM = Pulse Width Modulation, where the "on" time is determined by how long the 4th pin's voltage is high and "off" time by how long it's at ground. The "on" time percentage is proportional to the percentage of the fan's rated top rpm. PWM can provide finer control and lower starting speeds.

The P101 can control 5 fans. All are 4-pin PWM type. You should be able to set the 3 chassis fan headers for PWM or voltage controlled. If you opt for four PWM chassis fans, you could use the 3 mobo headers for the front fans and plug the 4th into the CPU-Opt header if you have a single fan CPU cooler. Yes, this is tied to and controlled by the CPU temp profile, but that's not really a bad thing. Otherwise, you'd need to get a PWM fan splitter (where it's set up for only one of the fans to provide the sensor reading).

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:04 am

Why do you think, that P101S has 4-pin fans? I have to say, that I just ,,remember" that P101S's fans are 3-pin, can't find now info in some review, but found a video, where guy manipulates with them. Type on youtube: AMD 5900x / RTX 3080 Silent Build. Start in 7:32. Fans are 3-pin and they are connected to splitter, which, I assume, on the other side of the cable is Molex.

Generally not a big thing with this fan mess. Ofc man can email Antec ,,3-pin or 4-pin fans?", man can email Asus ,,voltage control or not?" and know all, but in the end friend from the shop will build this computer and find answer to both questions without even asking. Then he will use the right splitter. Because I don't see a point of paying even nothing like few euros more for PWM splitter, which tend to be rarer and more expensive, where you can buy common 3-pin-3-pin splitter and achieve the same. Knowing all of this would only maybe lower the time needed to order everything and build this computer, if friend happened not to have any splitter.

CA_Steve
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Re: New PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:52 am

My bad - I meant to say:

The Asus motherboard can control 5 fans. All are 4-pin PWM type.

The caffeine hadn't kicked in, yet.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:47 am

Yeah, now I see it in thought about P101 being able to control five fans, where this case doesn't support more than four - that's generally sounded strange, but I focused on PWM : )

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Sun Mar 07, 2021 11:08 am

Still trying to wrap my head this 3 pins versus 4 pins fans, lol, but so, if I'm understanding correctly, there isn't any issue regarding the motherboard potentially not being able to control the PC case fans the ideal way, right? If I understood your post correctly, this specific motherboard can control 5 PWM fans, which is precisely the ones I'll have.

I searched again in ASUS Portugal website, and didn't find a support mail, but if necessary I can call them directly, they have phone number for ''motherboards support''.

On a completely different subject, I don't have any reply yet regarding the AM4 bracket for the Noctua 14S. But It's weekend, I guess they'll reply in 1 or 2 days.

In the unlikely scenario they reply that they don't have that bracket, could I get the D15 (AM4 version) and it'd fit the 101 case? I've seen some youtube reviews, and the 2nd fan makes the overall size rather impressive, it looks like it almost touches other components.

If so, could I at least in theory use the 2nd fan as a PC case fan instead? Or it just isn't necessary, the 4 PC case fans are more than enough?

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:37 pm

Don't bother about difference between 3-pin and 4-pin fans. Your motherboard has three case fan connectors and P101S has four fans. Your motherboard has also two CPU fan connectors and U14 or D15 would use only one. So one left possibly could be utilized for case fan, but you don't want to do it. Both CPU fan connectors share signal. It's shown in percent of speed. Noctuas have fast fans, P101 slow ones. During load you want your case fan running fast, because then still quiet and doing something, but you don't want to run cooler fan fast because then noisy. That give you a shitty choice - worse temperatures or cooler noise. That's why it's all doable without splitter, but in the way to my taste it shouldn't be done. Summing it up, you need to tell your friend: not to plug case fans into manual case fan controller, not to plug one of the case fans into CPU fan, but use splitter, which will allow to change their speed and connect them to Case Fan connectors.

D15 will be compatibile with ASUS TUF B550-Plus, HyperX Fury Black and P101. As I told before, D15 has two versions - regular and SE-AM4. When buying regular version, you have to ask about the same as with U14S.

You won't have a need to use it's fan as case fan. From the reviews of a case, it's ventilation should be more than enough for your configuration ( also with mentioned 3070 card in the future) and even with case fans running full speed it stays then impressively quiet. Plus case doesn't have place for additional fans.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Mon Mar 08, 2021 6:20 am

Thanks, Japanese Capacitor.

No reply from the shop ye regarding the CPU cooler. The good news is there are already some GPU's arriving to some stores here. Still expensive, but maybe price gets down. I'm looking in particular to you suggestion, the ASUS TUF GAMING cards. I'm seeing several, and also ASUS DUAL cards, I'll try to find the difference.
https://www.globaldata.pt/componentes/p ... =price_asc

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:24 am

Prices won't go down until mining craze stop. I'd give it half a year to one year. So decide to overspend or wait. There's nothing interesting in the link you posted - just awfully overpriced cards. That's not like only Asus cards are worth buying and Asus TUF are the best cards - that hardly depends on the model ( I mean RTX 3070 or GTX 1650). You will see more or less expensive ones of the same model - more expensive ones tend to have better quality, better cooler (efficient and quiet), are higher factory overclocked, have higher overclocking potential, sometimes have longer warranty or bonuses like games. Like MSI Gaming are better than MSI Ventus, Gigabyte Gaming better than Gigabyte Windforce/now Eagle, Asus Strix better than TUF or Dual. It's easy to buy garbage wanting to save stupid little money, easy to overspend for something you don't even need, so it's always needed to choose carefully.

If I were you, I would skip an idea of buying new GPU until prices and availability will normalize. Let your friend check, if everything will work fine with your current card. If so, I would reccomend give it some maintanance: decent cleaning, changing thermal paste and thermal pads - after so many years it's rather in a bad shape.

If you really want to buy card now, just give budget, link me all portuguese shops you would like to buy from (awesome if you use filters to save me translating your language) and then I will see, what are the best options. Cards dissapear fastly, but we can try to hit some.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:03 pm

Thanks again, Japanese Capacitor, good points again.

TBH after initially wanting to keep my current card, I'm now 90% sure that the better option is to buy a new one, even if not very powerfull. The main reason is that since I'll get a new PC case (I'm still waiting to know if the shop can get it or not), I think it makes more sense to simply leave this PC as it is, and later down the road in a few weeks or months get back to it, asking someone to clean it and format, with a new hard drive, and check if it's working as it should. And if it is, great, it becomes my 2nd machine, or I'll leave it to my nephew, for example.

This path also has another advantage, which is I don't/wouldn't need to be offline at all, while the new PC is prepared in shop, since all the components will/would be new.

Yesterday and today I kept checking GPU prices in several Portuguese shops, kind of hoping of finding something cheaper, but not much luck. I'll surely ask you before making a decision, thanks for the help. I'll give you the links, for sure.

In the meantime, I've been waiting for the reply regarding the AM4 compatibility on the Noctua 14S, but no reply yet. Which is starting to annoy me, because it's the main/biggest Portuguese PC hardware shop, they're well regarded, and I'd prefer to buy everything remaining from there. If they don't reply tomorrow, I'll mail again.

Yesterday I also mailed Noctua directly, asking exactly the same thing, and no reply yet. Maybe everyone is extremely busy selling PC hardware like never before, dunno.

Japanese Capacitor
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Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:55 am

If you use V-Ray CPU rendering (called Adv), you don't need power of GPU. So you buy new GPU only in case of requirements of other programs you use, 3900X's lack of integrated graphic card and worries about old card not working well with new system and aplications. There're also V-Ray GPU rendering (called RT) and CPU+GPU one, so check, if it would be just useful for you.

You won't find now anything cheaper. Mining plus general high demand (work from home etc) consumes all ranges of the cards and scalpers make thing even worse. Miners buy high-end ones, most of the buyers affordable like GTX 1650. A lot waited for Ampere to upgrade, but because of situation some of them decided to buy some low-end for a while, so demand for cheap cards even increased.

Email this shop again. Maybe they missed your mail. Generally I would just order this cooler. If AM4 kit is included, it will be written on the box. If not, you will email Noctua and they will send you one.

Horseman
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Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Thu Mar 11, 2021 5:10 pm

You're right, V-ray can work (almost) exclusively with the CPU, but the last few versions of the software already use the GPU for a few things that may be useful (I don't know for sure, because my card is too slow to try them currently). In theory one of the 1050 would perhaps be enough, but I think it's better to play safe, if for some reason in 6 months there's a feature that I need to use and requires a slightly more powerful GPU, I'd be stuck.

But today I got some good news, I found a shop that is selling this card for a not completely crazy price...
https://www.chip7.pt/nvidia/67271-asus- ... 44002.html

I just mailed them to make sure the card still exists, and if it does, how the guarantee would be, and so on. It's €60 cheaper than anywhere else. Not cheap by any means, but perhaps it's the best I can find in the foreseeable future. I'll wait their reply.

As it is, there are a few other 1650 cards available here, but not much else affordable.
https://www.globaldata.pt/componentes/p ... price_desc

In the meantime I mailed again the shop regarding the CPU cooler, and got an automated reply, apologizing for the delays, due to very high demand.

I also got a reply from Noctua, tho, saying...
''​Both the NH-D14 and the NH-U14S are compatible with the Ryzen 3900X.
To install the cooler you will need to use the AM4 mounting-kit, which is automatically included when you buy the cooler.''


Which is good news, but as you pointed out, it's impossible to know if the CPU cooler of that shop is for some reason old stock, and does not have the required mounting kit. But if it doesn't, especially now with this reply, I can contact Noctua, asking for the special piece.

In any case I'll wait 2 or 3 more days, for the shop reply, but I think it's safe to go ahead and buy the 14S.

Horseman
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2005 5:08 am

Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Thu Mar 11, 2021 6:39 pm

Just saw a card coming up on the site I'll buy the CPU cooler and PC case...
https://www.pcdiga.com/componentes/plac ... 06sdfmpb-o

It's the first '''powerful'' graphic start they have for sale in weeks. I'm afraid it'll soon fly off the shelves. lol

The price is competitive (compared to everyone else), significantly cheaper than all other Portuguese shops, which at the moment simply don't have any 1660, and the performance is significantly better than the 1650 I posted above just a few minutes ago. I'm tempted to buy this one, and solve the problem once and for all.

I'm a bit worried about the noise level, it isn't an ASUS, MSI, or Gigabyte, suggested by Japanese Capacitor, but I spent the last hour trying to find information about PNY, and didn't find any specifically about this 1660 SUPER, but I've seen a few positive comments and comparatives...
https://www.kitguru.net/components/grap ... review/19/

I'll try to read a bit more, but if I don't find any worry information, I think I'll take this opportunity before all these cards are sold.

Japanese Capacitor
Posts: 360
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:16 am
Location: Warszawa, Poland

Re: New PC build

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Fri Mar 12, 2021 1:07 am

Just buy U14S, because I don't see a point of waiting for anything.

First card you posted ( 90YV0CV6-M0NA00 ) is older version of 1650 with slower VRAM, so maybe that's why it's cheaper and available. Newer versions like available in globaldata 90YV0EH1-M0NA00 and 90YV0EZ2-M0NA00 have faster GDDR6 VRAM (btw specs on globaldata site are mistaken, so generally check everything with official specifications). GDDR6 1650 tend to be ~5% faster than GDDR5 ones - imo not a deal, but worth to consider if prices are really similar. These TUF from globaldata I gave SKUs above are two cards - normal one and overclocked. I have never seen them compared, but looking at the clocks differences I wouldn't expect more than OC version being like 3% faster.

PNY XLR8 cards can be considered as something between garbage and midrange, they are not popular, so can tempt with a price. But if you care only about power/price ratio, good cards are just not for you and you shouldn't expect reliability and quiet operation. But also for 50 euros more than TUFs mentioned above you get ~60% faster card. Don't compare 1660S card with 2080Ti, because all they share is a name.

The best choice from both sites I find ( I understand it's available):

https://www.chip7.pt/nvidia/56011-asus- ... 89757.html

Check if it's maybe somewhere else: 90YV0CU2-M0NA00

EDIT: And definitely stop asking about availability of GPUs, because it's like waiting for it to be unavailable. You see it available, you buy it.

Horseman
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2005 5:08 am

Re: New PC build

Post by Horseman » Fri Mar 12, 2021 2:59 am

Thanks again for your post, Japanese Capacitor.

And thanks for the link, that was also my first choice, yesterday I spent all day browsing around and that one seemed very reasonable, I contacted the shop directly but unsurprisingly they said it was gone already. Basically, there isn't a single 1660 card available anywhere in the country, as far as I can see.

And you're right, in times like these it's necessary to make a quick decision, after posting yesterday night I searched around once more and decided to pull the trigger on the PNY card, and apparently I got one (in the meantime they sold out). I'm waiting to know if the sale is effective or not.

If it is, next week I'll receive the PNY 1660 SUPER, the Noctua 14S, and the Antec P101 Slent. I had the other 2 items in the basket already, just waiting for a graphics card to appear, this way (if the sale was indeed effective) I got qualified for free shipping.

All the other components are already waiting in my friend's shop. With some luck I'll have the new PC working in 2 weeks, maybe.

Now reading your post I'm getting a bit of buyers remorse, and worrying about the PNY's noise and reliability, I'll cross my fingers it's quiet when idle. I don't play games, so the only time the graphics card will be under stress is when working with V-ray, if I use any of the GPU capabilities of the software. The remaining 95% of the time I think (?) It'll be working with the fans at minimum speed.

If necessary I don't mind underclocking the card, if it helps to keep the noise down. If even in that case it's noisy, I'll probably regret buying it.

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