Best Of

Re: Very first gaming build!

Welcome to the forum Yamero77. $1500-$1800 is a very solid budget, even if we are partitioning some of that budget for a monitor. Here are a few options for you.

Option 1: https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=71366aae-3656-44a5-8ea2-e4d470d21184
This option is going to be what I would recommend at the top end of your budget. It will get you an 8 core, 16 thread Intel Core i9 9900K which is currently the best gaming CPU available on the market. It's definitely far more expensive than some of the comparable AMD offerings, but if you did not want to compromise on high core count and clock speed, this is the best choice. It also includes 16GB of DDR4 3600mhz C16 memory, a 750W fully modular gold rated PSU, a 1TB NVMe SSD, a 240mm closed loop liquid cooler, an RTX 2070 graphics card and a Dell S2417DG, a 24 inch 1440p 165hz G-Sync display that will pair absolutely perfect with the rest of the component selection. After the $20 bundle discount, this will cost around $1810 before taxes and does not include the cost of an OS.

Option 2: https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=505d04dc-9f2d-4abc-b525-f79bab000679
This option is going to be the budget option. It will provide the high refresh rate, high graphical settings that you requested for the lowest price. This will save you the most money now, but may require upgrading sooner as more graphically demanding games launch. The CPU is a fair bit slower than the 9900K, but for 1440P gaming, it doesn't matter all to much as the graphics card will matter more at this resolution. This gives you 6 cores, 12 threads, 12GB of DDR4 3600mhz memory, a 650W bronze PSU, an RTX 2060 KO graphics card, a 1TB NVMe SSD, and the same Dell 24 inch 165hz G-Sync monitor. The total price of this system is $1274 after the $20 bundle, but does not include taxes or the cost of an OS.

Option 3: https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=1923163c-96c4-4a39-804e-e99a2e273077
This is going to be my personal recommendation. It will grant you the most price:performance of the 3 builds and should last you for quite some time. It's extremely similar to build 1, except we swapped the 9900K down to a 9700K. We still get 8 cores at a very high clock speed, we just save $130 by doing away with the Hyperthreading feature. If you are not streaming while gaming or rendering videos while multi-tasking, you will not miss this feature. The $130 savings also allowed us to move up to an RTX 2070 Super, which should give you an extra 20% faster graphics card for even higher framerates in more demanding titles, all while landing right in the middle of your budget at $1650 after the $20 bundle discount. Once again, this does not include taxes or the cost of an OS.

To answer the question about which processor is better, it's honestly subjective. AMD is in a really good spot right now because they offer very similar gaming performance to Intel, while offering much better multi-threaded performance for a lower price. With that being said, Intel still has the best gaming oriented processors on the market. If gaming is your goal and you do not want to compromise on performance, Intel is still the best option.

It all boils down to how you plan on using your system. I would say if you do more than gaming, or find yourself multi-tasking while gaming, go with AMD's Ryzen 3000 series. If you are just gaming and want the highest framerates possible, go with Intel's 9th generation processors.

TSMichaelB

6 ·

Re: Need some advice for my 1st build

Welcome to the forum, Aydenb345. I would say $750-$850 is a respectable budget for VR and entry level video editing. Here is what I've come up with so far: https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=08ddb4a4-b3e9-4466-b9c4-5b16a8944e9a (Operating System not included). This will put you right at the upper limit of your preferred $750-$850 range, as it will be $845 after the $20 motherboard/CPU bundle discount and that is priced before taxes. If you wanted to save some money, you can cut the memory down from 32GB to 16GB which will save you another $60 or so. I selected the RTX 2060 KO which is a brand new version of the RTX 2060 series from EVGA/Nvidia. What makes this card unique is that it's based on the RTX 2080 and RTX 2070 Super series, and has a lot of the improved features of these cards, making it stronger for workstation and editing workflows compared to the other RTX 2060's and RTX 2060 Super series. More details on that can be found in this video from GamersNexus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUFRBnJdx3Y.

The RTX 2060 still performs great in VR and it's price is very competitive. The AMD Ryzen 5 1600 is a 6 core, 12 thread processor so you'll have plenty of CPU cores to get by with your gaming and workflow. The beauty of the Ryzen platform is that it allows future processor upgrades to work in your existing motherboard. For example: The B450 platform supports the latest Ryzen 9 3950X, which is a 16 core, 32 thread processor. It only requires a BIOS update to use the newer processors. So in the future, you can update your BIOS, then buy a more powerful CPU when you determine that you need it. If you wanted to spend closer to your $1000 limit, I would recommend switching the Ryzen 5 1600 to a Ryzen 5 3600. This processor has the same amount of cores (6 cores, 12 threads) but has a higher clock speed and performs about 20% faster in more demanding games. That would be something to keep in mind in the future.

TSMichaelB

6 ·

How to Upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10

Description: This article will show you how to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

As of January 14, 2020, Microsoft has completely discontinued support for Windows 7. This means that they will no longer offer any tech support or security and feature updates. You will still be able to use Windows 7 that already exists on your computer, however you will do so at your own risk. Just like with Windows Vista and Windows XP, over time your system will become at more risk of infection and should you encounter any issues with the operating system, you will essentially be on your own to fix it. This article will give you some general information about what to expect from this change, how to prepare for moving forward, and different options available to you for upgrading to Windows 10.

Before anything else, back up your data. Make sure that any personal data or information that needs to be kept is saved before proceeding with any sort of upgrade or installation of Windows 10. Even if you do everything correctly, there is still always that small chance that something could go wrong and cause your data to be lost. For more information about pre-planning for a Windows 10 upgrade, refer to our support article: https://www.microcenter.com/tech_center/article/8268/upgrading-to-windows-10---before-you-upgrade.
Check your specs. Depending on how old your computer is, upgrading to Windows 10 may not be a reasonable option. Older hardware is not always compatible with or capable of running Windows 10 in an optimal manner, and it might be better to just purchase a new system instead of upgrading and old one.
- According to Microsoft, the minimum system requirements for running Windows 10 include 1GB of RAM and a 1 gigahertz (GHz) processor. These minimums, however, would result in an extremely poor user experience. In practice you should have at least 4GB of RAM; 8GB is recommended. There are very few processors that would be less than 1GHz that were made after the year 2000, but having at least a dual-core processor would also be recommended.
- Some older hardware may not have any Windows 10 compatible drivers and therefore may not function correctly after you do the upgrade. For example, older wireless cards that do not have Windows 10 drivers will not let you connect to your wifi. Check the manufacturer’s website for your computer components to see if they have any Windows 10 drivers available. Even if you can’t see Windows 10 drivers on the manufacturer’s website, that doesn’t mean it won’t work. Windows 10 has a lot of generic drivers that will work with older hardware, but there are no guarantees.
- If you believe your system should be able to meet these recommended specifications, then the only other prerequisite would be to make sure you have a Windows 10 License. You can purchase a Windows 10 license through the Microsoft Store, or you can purchase a retail key at your local Micro Center location. Once you are certain that you have your license activation key then you can proceed forward with the upgrade.
Upgrade Options:
Perform an in-place upgrade:
1. Using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool, you can perform an in-place upgrade to Windows 10 on your computer. It’s like downloading and installing a program on your computer. This option will preserve the programs and data already on the system, but we still recommend backing up your data before attempting this.
2. You can download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10.
3. When you run the Media Creation Tool it will give you an option to Upgrade this PC now. Select that option and follow the prompts.
4. When Windows 10 first launched, Microsoft was offering free upgrades for many users, however that has not been available for a while. If your license is not already eligible for the upgrade, you will need to purchase a new license in order to activate Windows 10 after it installs. You can proceed with the upgrade but just be aware of the possible outcomes.
5. The in-place upgrade does not always work for various reasons. If that is the case, you will need to either perform a clean install or upgrade install from installation media.
Clean install Windows 10:
1. To perform a clean installation of Windows 10 refer to our tech article at: https://www.microcenter.com/tech_center/article/11085/how-to-perform-a-clean-installation-of-windows-10.
2. A clean install means erasing everything on your system and installing a fresh version of Windows. This is the best option in terms of ensuring there are no strange problems or issues during the upgrade process.
Perform an upgrade install from installation media:
1. Download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft at: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10.
2. Place the file onto at least a 16GB flash drive, then run it from the flash drive. Follow the prompts to create the installation media.
3. Once the media completion is complete, restart the PC and boot from the USB flash drive. You may need to go to the BIOS or Boot Options Menu to select to boot from the USB flash drive.
4. During the setup dialogue, be sure select Keep files and apps if you wish to upgrade and not do a clean installation.
5. Follow the remaining prompts to install the Windows 10 Upgrade on the device.

TSNickW

6 ·

Re: RAM question

Welcome to the forum Thadden. This is actually a really good question. The simple answer is "yes, it may work". The more technical answer is that it will run in dual channel mode as long as you occupy the DIMM's in this order:

DIMM 1: 4GB
DIMM 2: 8GB
DIMM 3: 4GB
DIMM 4: 8GB

This will allow you to use dual channel memory despite the difference in capacities. If you were to reverse this order and run 4 GB, 4GB, 8GB, 8GB, it will still work, however it will run in what's called "Flex Channel Mode", where you end up with half the bandwidth after you use the first 8GB of RAM. Here is a nice article explaining the details on this: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005657/boards-and-kits.html.

Do be mindful that mixing capacities is one thing, but mixing speeds and different types of memory can lead to instability. Always perform a memory stress test after installing your memory to make sure it's stable. You can use HCI Memtest, ASUS RealBench, AIDA64, MemTest64, etc to make sure everything is fine.

TSMichaelB

7 ·