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New PC

Posted By: Dart

New PC - 11/14/21 04:22 PM

Well, my trusty 12 year old PC has finally started to really show it's age. It's in hospice, with all manner of crashing, poor performance, etc.

I've done the deep dive on the problems and they're legion. The graphics card is glitchy, the RAM is sometimes erroring out, the processor is a bit behind the times, the sound is causing stutters, etc.

Bonus plan - the darned thing won't let me upgrade away from Win7, even with a new hard drive. Maybe it's a bios thing. And I can't do an in-place upgrade, because I have the dreaded Win7 build that refuses to allow it; and there doesn't seem to be a fix for it.

Since there's no longer any driver support worth a darn, it's that time.

I could have part-built it, but then I saw this:

Skytech Archangel 3.0
Ram Memory 16 GB (two sticks of 8GB)
Operating System Windows 10
CPU Model AMD Ryzen 7 (hooboy, I'm going away from Intel, but all the review say this is the way to go right now)
Graphics Coprocessor GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GDDR6

And the price point was about 100 bucks more than if I bought all the stuff myself. Interestingly enough, I bought the last of these directly from Skytech for a bit over a grand (with free shipping); now they're only on Amazon for 1600.

Air cooled GPU, which is good. I'm over liquid cooling; it's great for a few years, but not ten. The units are "not user maintained," which means one has to perform surgery to replace the fluid that will inevitably evaporate out of the system.

With my current system, it's so unstable that I don't even attempt flight sims. I really need to hook all the stuff up and get back into Rise of Flight, if only to shoot some touch and goes in the Nieuport 11. Plus it will be nice to play Fallout 4 without crashes.

It arrives Tuesday, so expect a review later this week.

I'm wondering what everyone else is running. I suppose I'm maybe upper-middle of the PC pack with this rig, but I saw a bunch of much more expensive sets out there.

Posted By: Dart

Re: New PC - 11/14/21 04:51 PM

Oh, and to add something about people in general (I don't want to edit again), as it pertains to reviews.

RGB LIGHTS MEAN NOTHING

Good grief, people, if you're going to review a PC, the lights around the fans should be a footnote, not the first thing one writes about at length.

This is like reviewing a car and having a third of it being about the rims on the wheels.

Posted By: RedToo

Re: New PC - 11/14/21 06:21 PM

Looks like we're upgrading at the same time and doing a reasonably similar upgrade from similar existing machines. Of course everything costs more for me as I'm in the UK. sigh

RAM - 32 GB in two sticks.
OS - Win 10 Pro.
CPU - Intel Core i7 11700F Rocket Lake
GPU - EVGA Nvidia RTX 3060 12GB
Storage - 1TB Samsung 9800 PCIe (M.2) SSD and a Toshiba 3TB HDD
Case - Fractal Design Meshify 2 - Zero RGB smile But a lot of room for expansion.

Not decided about the monitor, I really like the look of this ViewSonic but it is a bit on the expensive side.

Current PC is Win 7, works well but now getting too long in the tooth for flight sims which are all I play. I'm sticking with water cooling, had it in the Current machine from day one and it's still running fine. (Touches wood, crosses fingers.)

Hope all goes well with your new machine Dart.
Posted By: Herman

Re: New PC - 11/14/21 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by Dart
Well, my trusty 12 year old PC has finally started to really show it's age. It's in hospice, with all manner of crashing, poor performance, etc.

I've done the deep dive on the problems and they're legion. The graphics card is glitchy, the RAM is sometimes erroring out, the processor is a bit behind the times, the sound is causing stutters, etc.

Take those symptoms as blessings. Your PC is giving you plenty of warning over the inevitable crash. Far better to slowly degrade and give you time to prepare a replacement, than to try and start anew from a totally dead box.
Posted By: JimK

Re: New PC - 11/14/21 07:48 PM

My gaming PC has done the same, Graphics card gave up the ghost and dropping from 4k res down
to 800x600 sucks the big one. Been pricing a replacement and its almost costs as much as new PC.
Had it custom built by I Buy Power. Cost $6500 at that time.

Still on the fence about replacing the card or new.
Posted By: Arthonon

Re: New PC - 11/14/21 08:26 PM

It looks like a pretty good system, but I'll make a few comments - first, depending on what you want to play, you might want to go on up to 32GB when you get a chance, since that's almost a requirement for stuff these days. Also, you didn't list the drive (unless I missed it), but I assume it's an SSD, which is also preferred, although some come with the OS on an SSD and a second HD for the actual games.

Enjoy!
Posted By: AndyB

Re: New PC - 11/14/21 09:16 PM

Dart,

If you get this system the FIRST thing to do is disable Windows upate service.

There is currently an issue with Windows 11 where it is running AMD based system up to 30% slower than Intel based ones. There is some speculation that Intel have done a deal with Microsoft but that has yet to be proven..

If you don't disable the service you may find your system has upgraded to Windows 11 by itself. Microsoft are now sending out an automatic update where youo don't get notified before it updates.

Cheers,

Andy
Posted By: RSColonel_131st

Re: New PC - 11/14/21 09:40 PM

Originally Posted by Dart

I'm wondering what everyone else is running. I suppose I'm maybe upper-middle of the PC pack with this rig, but I saw a bunch of much more expensive sets out there.



Wish you much fun with the new box, seems like a very sensible build. The performance of your GFX card will obviously depend on what resolutions and refreshrates you have available, but the 3060 is a good medium-high pick.

I'm on my i7-8700K from summer 2018 (16GB RAM, bunch of SSDs) with the 2080 Super bought two years ago (originally got a 1080ti with this system). Win10, very early version, updates disabled (too many drama reports from all corners of the internet).

Agree on the air cooling. In the same way I stay absent from dual GFX cards (SLI or crossfire), to me simplicity beats that last little bit of performance or quietness. Easier to repair and sort out things, easier to avoid hard to notice issues before they eat your motherboard.

I'm not sure there are all that many much faster systems than yours and mine around these days, at least not here in our community. RTX3070 and upwards have been either unobtanium or requiring the sale of your firstborn due to crypto mining, covid and semiconductor protuction issues. Lots of people stuck with their 20xx series or older cards because there's just no resonable priced upgrade path.

Posted By: Ajay

Re: New PC - 11/14/21 09:52 PM

My last two rigs have been water cooled, one i had for three years then gave to a mate, and current i built mid last year...now you got me eyeing my cooler Dart..thanks.
Posted By: WangoTango

Re: New PC - 11/15/21 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by Dart
Oh, and to add something about people in general (I don't want to edit again), as it pertains to reviews.

RGB LIGHTS MEAN NOTHING

Good grief, people, if you're going to review a PC, the lights around the fans should be a footnote, not the first thing one writes about at length.

This is like reviewing a car and having a third of it being about the rims on the wheels.


I HATE RGB. It's annoying.
Posted By: Dart

Re: New PC - 11/15/21 01:53 AM

Originally Posted by Ajay
My last two rigs have been water cooled, one i had for three years then gave to a mate, and current i built mid last year...now you got me eyeing my cooler Dart..thanks.


Well, it's a function of time and what one is doing.

For us, flight sims are CPU heavy, meaning they get hot. So paying attention to dust on the radiator and temps after a few years is in order. Just like an air cooler, if one starts to see temps rise, the first thing is a good cleaning of both the radiator and checking on the thermal paste. I think that's why the top end liquid coolers have a way to refill them (or used to).

Liquid cooling is okay, especially if one upgrades regularly - I tend to keep and nurse along systems for a decade or more, which is probably past the recommended life of water coolers.
Posted By: PanzerMeyer

Re: New PC - 11/15/21 04:21 AM

It's nice to see you posting again Dart. It's been a while! As for me I'll most likely buy my new Alienware PC in December. I just don't have the patience anymore to build my own PC's.
Posted By: WangoTango

Re: New PC - 11/15/21 04:58 AM

Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
It's nice to see you posting again Dart. It's been a while! As for me I'll most likely buy my new Alienware PC in December. I just don't have the patience anymore to build my own PC's.

My son got into PC building a couple years ago. He likes to stay cutting edge, so I bought his old one, not even a year old. It is more PC than I need.
Posted By: JimK

Re: New PC - 11/15/21 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by Dart
Originally Posted by Ajay
My last two rigs have been water cooled, one i had for three years then gave to a mate, and current i built mid last year...now you got me eyeing my cooler Dart..thanks.


Well, it's a function of time and what one is doing.

For us, flight sims are CPU heavy, meaning they get hot. So paying attention to dust on the radiator and temps after a few years is in order. Just like an air cooler, if one starts to see temps rise, the first thing is a good cleaning of both the radiator and checking on the thermal paste. I think that's why the top end liquid coolers have a way to refill them (or used to).

Liquid cooling is okay, especially if one upgrades regularly - I tend to keep and nurse along systems for a decade or more, which is probably past the recommended life of water coolers.


That was my custom build,water cooled except the Titan Card. Wear it died. Just looked back on my buy. Was 2016.
Posted By: wormfood

Re: New PC - 11/15/21 03:04 PM

I'm with Dart on the LEDs on components, but I'll go further and say I absolutely hate them. It's a PC that's being put together, not a rave.
Posted By: Dart

Re: New PC - 11/15/21 11:51 PM

PC should arrive tomorrow, so tonight I went out and bought a 1 TB SSD drive. For a hundred bucks.

I spent three times that for a 20 MB drive "back in the day," when I thought it was overkill.

"I'll never fill it up!"
Posted By: Nixer

Re: New PC - 11/16/21 01:40 AM

SSD's may be the coolest end user friendly innovation for PC's so far this century.
Posted By: RSColonel_131st

Re: New PC - 11/16/21 09:38 AM

Did you get an NVMe SSD (those that plug directly into the motherboard)?

SATA Cables are out biggrin
Posted By: Dart

Re: New PC - 11/17/21 12:21 AM

Originally Posted by RSColonel_131st
Did you get an NVMe SSD (those that plug directly into the motherboard)?

SATA Cables are out biggrin


Heck, I'm unsure. I got the computer late this afternoon and my first thought was "they left out the hard drive," as I didn't see it anywhere. Then, when I added the extra drive, I was looking up the case's skirt and still didn't see it.

My old computer crashed (like normal) as I was transferring my Steam directory. I was out of the room when it did so, and didn't realize it until after putting the disk in the new computer.

I'm going to move the old drive I use for data from the old computer to the new one, too. There's a bay for it on the back side of the case.
Posted By: oldgrognard

Re: New PC - 11/17/21 12:43 AM

Don’t be using this as an excuse to not update your Nieuport build thread.
Posted By: Dart

Re: New PC - 11/18/21 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by oldgrognard
Don’t be using this as an excuse to not update your Nieuport build thread.


I'm actually hoping it will help. All the video is going to get transferred to the new computer this week, and I can actually make videos a whole lot easier with a computer that doesn't take five minutes to bring a bit of footage into an editor.

I mourn for the loss of Movie Maker, though. Sure, it's clunky and slow, but darned if it isn't easy to use.

Still haven't really stressed the computer, only playing Fallout 4 (with max graphics) and a few other games. I discovered this morning that Rise of Flight doesn't require a registry key to run. I had cut and pasted the whole folder over to the new drive and she worked. This is a good thing as that email address is long gone and I can't remember the password to run the sim.

One weird RBG glitch that caused concern: The CPU fan at one point began spinning in synch with the frequency of the light, appearing to have stopped moving. I was just about to shut it down when I noticed it twitch side to side, and that the center logo was blurred. I opened the glass door and gently put my finger on the fan...yep, spinning.

I'll make a full review of the system in a few days....so far I'm impressed.
Posted By: RedToo

Re: New PC - 11/18/21 02:46 PM

Here you go Dart: Movie Maker

Part of Windows Essentials 2012. Don't know how it will fare on Win 10 though. Let me know if there are any problems downloading.
Posted By: Nixer

Re: New PC - 11/18/21 03:07 PM

Oooooooooooooo. Thanks RedToo. I will try with Win 10 later today.

Now about that PC....

Mine has been pretty much running 24/7 for over 5 years now. Having onboard sound problems so it's off to NewEgg. Just wondering if it's best to try for Black Fridays deals or wait until AFTER Christmas?
Posted By: RedToo

Re: New PC - 11/18/21 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by Nixer
Just wondering if it's best to try for Black Fridays deals or wait until AFTER Christmas?


Everything seems to be in short supply. I think it might get worse before it gets better. The early bird ...
Posted By: wormfood

Re: New PC - 11/18/21 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by RedToo
Originally Posted by Nixer
Just wondering if it's best to try for Black Fridays deals or wait until AFTER Christmas?


Everything seems to be in short supply. I think it might get worse before it gets better. The early bird ...


Yeah, but the worm that sleeps in doesn't get eaten by the early bird.
Posted By: RedToo

Re: New PC - 11/18/21 05:08 PM

The worm that sleeps doesn't get any food.

Any minute now Panzer's going to appear with a SIMHQ thread derail alert. offtopic
Posted By: CyBerkut

Re: New PC - 11/18/21 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by Dart
Originally Posted by oldgrognard
Don’t be using this as an excuse to not update your Nieuport build thread.


I'm actually hoping it will help. All the video is going to get transferred to the new computer this week, and I can actually make videos a whole lot easier with a computer that doesn't take five minutes to bring a bit of footage into an editor.

I mourn for the loss of Movie Maker, though. Sure, it's clunky and slow, but darned if it isn't easy to use.
...


If you haven't tried it yet, check out Photos (included with Windows 10). It's basically MS's sucessor to Movie Maker. It's unfortunate that they named it Photos, as it does video, too.
Posted By: ArgonV

Re: New PC - 11/18/21 10:29 PM

Great to hear. I finally had to build a new system last Feb, did a custom build using a bare-bones to start with. My circa 2010 gaming PC with a circa 2014 g-card finally just could not keep up any more... My new PC specs are in my sig.

P.S. RGB is kinda cool - I've always had blue before, but now I can pick whatever colors I want!

Attached picture new_pc.jpg
Attached picture new_pc_2.jpg
Attached picture new_pc_3.jpg
Attached picture new_pc_4.jpg
Posted By: Dart

Re: New PC - 11/19/21 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by RedToo
Here you go Dart: Movie Maker

Part of Windows Essentials 2012. Don't know how it will fare on Win 10 though. Let me know if there are any problems downloading.


You, sir, get the Blue Ribbon for this week.
Posted By: Nixer

Re: New PC - 11/19/21 12:56 AM

Don't try it in Win 10.

I had only seen the BLACK screen of death a couple of times before. Easy reset out, RedToo said he didn't know, so I was the volunteer dumbass guinea pig.

Cyber had given me the info about the "pictures" app, but I have been lost in higher education land for awhile now, almost done.
Posted By: Nixer

Re: New PC - 11/20/21 02:45 PM

OMG, finally got back to browsing NewEgg...cheapest NV vid card is almost $900!
Posted By: ArgonV

Re: New PC - 11/20/21 04:29 PM

Yeah it’s pretty bad. I bit the bullet back in the late spring, as I hadn’t bought a vid card since 2014... Still paid $900 after taxes and shipping!
Posted By: RSColonel_131st

Re: New PC - 11/20/21 05:50 PM

Slight derail alert, but if someone's looking for a decently powerful video editor for free - I'm very fond of VSDC these days. Nice balance of features and usability.
https://www.videosoftdev.com/
Posted By: Dart

Re: New PC - 11/21/21 02:49 AM

A few observations:

First, learning W10 hasn't been as awful as I'd thought it would be. Typical Old Guy complaints, but nothing serious.

Second, I ran through some recorded tracks on Rise of Flight with all the graphics maxxed out and she only once dipped below a solid 60 fps, and that to 54. I had to order a new TrackIR LED thingie, as my old one has taken one too many hits and is toast....and I really can't fly sims without it.

Third, getting Logitech/Saitek websites to play nice and give me the right drivers and profiling software was far too much a chore than it should have been. Gonna have to rip the profiles I made from the other computer.

All in all I'm really pleased with the system. Everything I've thrown at it has been quickly dealt with and ran in an excellent manner, including my insanely modded Fallout 4 game.
Posted By: Dart

Re: New PC - 12/24/21 05:36 PM

A bit of thread necro, but it bears an update.

First, the system is rocking. I added in the drives from my old computer, so I'm back to having full data.

Second, RedToo is my hero. While OG didn't have any luck, Movie Maker is working like a champ on my system, which is great. I had about four videos I'm working on rescued! So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Third, my new TIR headset LED thingy arrived, and so I'm back to flying Rise of Flight a bit (still working through configs). The RoF team was great about changing my account's email address (an update killed the stored one) so I could get it running. Except now I'm flying at a solid 60 fps with the graphics maxed out. smile
Posted By: RedToo

Re: New PC - 12/24/21 09:19 PM

Anytime Dart, glad it worked out.
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