Random Hardware topics

[Zed Clampet]

i have never used any in game. or really outside of it.
I have hwinfo tracking some temps in task bar but they don't show in game.
Never really bothered with the one from AMD or Afterburner.

Could just as easily set up logging if you really cared, that way its tracked but not on screen.

Yeah but that would take extra time to go through whatever data it produces

 

[Colif]

and hwinfo produces too much info.

If you don't need it, just turn them off.

 

[MystriVogt]

mines real or I wouldn't be typing this now

I actually watched that just before I got my new CPU. Immediately checked it out when it arrived. Good infos

 

[Colif]

So realistically, since the faster drives get, the less you gain in return (I mean, in game load times), there is no real point getting the fastest drives for pretty much anything - unless you move super large files daily. As long as you don't have a hdd, you are fine.

I knew answer to his tests before he ran them.

read times are losing their meaning with storage, they should sell them on write speeds as those are noticeable.

 

[Zed Clampet]

So realistically, since the faster drives get, the less you gain in return (I mean, in game load times), there is no real point getting the fastest drives for pretty much anything - unless you move super large files daily. As long as you don't have a hdd, you are fine.

I knew answer to his tests before he ran them.

read times are losing their meaning with storage, they should sell them on write speeds as those are noticeable.

I'm not sure what is involved in processing the shader cache that every big game does these days, but I'm willing to do just about anything to get that process to move faster.

 

[Colif]

I got bored of blue rgb after 2 months
This is a darker green to my eyes

looks like a fish tank again. I should get some plastic plants and put inside... I used to have some years ago... for my fish tanks.

 

[Colif]

Stupid Gigabyte RGB program had turned off motherboard link to ram randomly at start-up and instead was using windows 11 dynamic lighting to make the light on motherboard pulsing red... not the green everything else was. It took me a few hours to notice, - as its rgb is underneath the GPU and I don't look there all the time. I have fixed it now by disabling dynamic lighting in windows settings, and just picking the colour I want on motherboard without linking it to the ram. Hope it remembers this time.
I guess I find out if it remembers it tomorrow. Love to be able to save colours onto the board and not need to use their software to run it.

 

[Colif]

A month ago I ordered replacement fans for front and bottom of case. I would have bought 2 x 120mm reverse blade fans in white if they existed at time, but no one had any. Typical, now they have the ones I wanted.
I haven't swapped bottom fans as in winter they don't really need to spin fast to keep parts cool, but I might pick up two of these before Summer so when I do swap I won't be looking at the rear of the fans.
added bonus is they support daisy chaining the cables and have RGB so more light to make case easier to see into.

Maybe I just get:

No, maybe needing a new PSU just to run my fan... would be too much. 2k PSU to run entire system. pass.
That and strapping the case down so it doesn't blow away is also a thing I can live without.

 

[Colif]

I'm not sure what is involved in processing the shader cache that every big game does these days, but I'm willing to do just about anything to get that process to move faster.

Its out of your hands to a certain extent

Shader cache production doesn't directly utilize cores in the same way that a CPU or GPU core does for processing. Instead, it utilizes the existing hardware resources of the GPU and CPU, specifically the memory and processing units, to store and access compiled shader code.
The shader cache itself is stored in memory, and its size is configurable, impacting how much shader code can be stored for faster access

So its the GPU and maybe Smart Access Memory that would be the two things that might improve that. I doubt faster ram would really make a noticeable difference. Unsure if the compilation speed would be any faster on 5090

Storage won't help. CPU might help a little... depends where the processing occurs.

The only other people that can help with that are the game devs

 

[Zed Clampet]

Its out of your hands to a certain extent



So its the GPU and maybe Smart Access Memory that would be the two things that might improve that. I doubt faster ram would really make a noticeable difference. Unsure if the compilation speed would be any faster on 5090

Storage won't help. CPU might help a little... depends where the processing occurs.

The only other people that can help with that are the game devs

You sure storage won't help? Seems like if they start off on your storage and then extract to your VRAM then having faster storage might help?

 

[Colif]

Its probable that faster storage would help on the initial setup of the cache, As that is likely a process only run once unless the GPU driver changes its format

Shader cache is something your graphics drivers do already. It takes the shader programs that the game uses and transforms them into a format optimized for your specific graphics card, then stores that transformed data somewhere on your hard drive so it doesn't have to do the transformation step again next time. If it's a game you play frequently, you probably already have all of its shaders in this cache. If a shader isn't in there, all that means is the first time a game tries to use it, there will be a pause while your computer translates the shader program.

Shader pre-caching and compiling. :: Suggestions / Ideas

steamcommunity.com

I don't know what the differences would be or if you can actually tell.
Cache size is normally 4gb on Nvidia/AMD.
I don't think the benefit would be massive really.

The speed of CPU & GPU cores is more important than the load/write speeds

faster ram: realistically the differences noticed between fast and slower ram aren't that big, provided the two sets being compared are of similar performance. Timing isn't noticed as much except in benchmarks.

The chain from the nvme to GPU has to pass through CPU and ram on way to VRAM. Would be faster if it could just go from storage to VRAM. Shame Direct storage didn't take off

What happened to DirectStorage? Why don't more PC games use it?

DirectStorage was released for PC in 2022 but it hasn't really taken off since then. What's going on? Is it dead in the water? Or is there still hope for it going forward?

www.pcworld.com

 

[Colif]

Looking to replace three cables in my PC with custom cables. Technically its 5 cables but two of them are two groups of two cables linked together.
3 cables = $300... maybe I think about it for a while longer

they will look good though. Contrast.
Wonder if I should choose a different colour other than black for some of them. They don't have to only be 2 colours... I will have to think about it.

Sleeving Colors – CableMod

cablemod.com

finding that did help me reduce which colours I would choose apart from black/white

1. I didn't want red or bright green or yellow - anything too bright
2. I don't want purple or Brown or Noctua Beige
3. I don't think Nvidia green makes any sense in a PC with an AMD GPU.
4. carbon is more sliverish. I had to watch a video to figure out how it was different to black

Next time I play I might make the middle 2 cables Corsair Blue instead
At least they aren't like Hart cables and have about 100 colours. It took me way too long to pick headphone cables last year.

clearly I am bored, last few days I looked to buy something new every day.
PC really doesn't need anything otherwise.
GPU isn't being replaced until 2027.

I can wait.

 

[Colif]

I keep catching myself thinking 30c on cores and 40c on package is a hot temperature and wondering what CPU is doing, just to remember my last CPU would never get below 45c on package. It being on 40c only happens during the day when the heater is on, its on 37c now.
Cores sit on 25c most nights.
GPU on 29c is just as silly as it never got below 35c in last PC.
Hottest nvme being on 35c is also just as silly. I used to think 55c was good in last pc.

Hopefully get the wireless adapter for xbox controller soon so I can play a game... one step closer. I have a few games I should try since I have bought them and not played either yet.

See what temps are like in game.
Last time I ran a benchmark the GPU didn't even get hot enough to run its fans. Pretty sure the fans do work... they just don't need to try hard with two case fans below them feeding them air.

Need to bookmark this post and check it in Summer and compare temps.

 

[Why_Me]

I hope this turns out to be true.

GeForce RTX 50 SUPER Series on track for a holiday 2025 release

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 SUPER, RTX 5070 Ti SUPER, and RTX 5080 SUPER could all be here in time for the holiday season, ahead of their rumored 2026 debut.

www.tweaktown.com

 

[Colif]

I think in a few months I will mount a 120mm fan above the air cooler as exhaust. It won't conflict with my cooler up there, whereas it probably would if mounted behind it. I don't need it right now but in summer it might help.
Case came with a 140mm exhaust fan which I have removed, so I will just be adding something back in.

I have a spare silent wings 120mm I can put up there. It was originally going to replace the fans at base of the case but I can buy reverse blade fans in white now - https://www.ple.com.au/products/674...ngs-lx-argb-120mm-pwm-reverse-blade-fan-white - so it was extra.

 

[Colif]

Even if this did work

How do you fit if you use air cooling on CPU?
I can tell just by looking it wouldn't fit in the gap between card and Cooler

Many backplates aren't even attached to the cooling system so its a waste of time.

 

[Colif]

Maybe my next pc (in 5 years) will have rear ported connectors like this one does.
This motherboard came out the week I made my PC or I might have thought about it.
I would have had to change cases though as while the Normal Flux case supports rear connections on motherboards, the Pro version doesn't.

It technically not cable less, its just you can't see any. He didn't show the installation of the PSU which had to be there to power RGB.
I doubt you could measure the increase in air flow it might have over a reasonably cabled case.
Looks clean though. Took me a while to work out where PSU was.

 

[neogunhero]

I've been getting so tempted lately, it's been hard trying to keep my wallet shut.

I have been watching lots of videos on the RTX 5060 8GB. From everything I've read, yes the VRAM is low, but at this moment I think I will be okay staying at 1080p for at least a few more years. 1440p is slowly growing in popularity, and in a few years or so I can see it outpacing 1080p, but for now this is what I use.

With that being said, the 5060 would be a pretty substantial upgrade from my 2060 6GB... Most games at 1080p don't hit the full 8GB unless you're running high RT settings which I almost never will. I don't care about ray tracing, I will keep it off if it means I can hit a stable 60FPS than not.

Not every game is the same, and as new games come out that 8GB may be stressed harder, but I am not too worried about it. As of now, it seems perfectly adequate at 1080p. Maybe not very future-proof, but nothing is these days. I got 6 whole years (7 this upcoming January) off this exact same Zotac RTX 2060, so I bet I can run the 5060 for at minimum 3 years, which to me makes the $300 very valuable.

DLSS 4 and Frame Gen are also huge selling points at this price point. As much as I'd rather get great frames without the upscaling tech, it's free frames at the end of the day. Doom Dark Ages was running at full ultra with Frame Gen on at 220FPS 1080p in one video, my RTX 2060 probably would struggle to hit 60FPS with DLSS and full ultra turned on. That right there is a massive selling point. Of course it all depends on how well the game runs without those turned on, but you can always adjust some settings so that Frame Gen works better.

$299 for the 5060 8GB... it's so so so tempting. I believe I paid the exact same if not a bit less for the 2060 in 2019. Over 6 years of the same card... how much longer can I wait to upgrade??? DLSS and Frame Gen will prove extremely useful in extending the longevity of this cards life. Plus, if I buy this now, later down the line I can upgrade everything else but keep this card a bit longer, so it's not such a huge hit to the wallet all at once. AM5 keeps getting cheaper year after year, so it's only inevitable that I do a full platform upgrade.

 

[Colif]

its not a bad price.
If you think 8gb is enough, its your choice.

I understand wanting to buy something... every other day recently I have been going to buy something... problem is the something keeps changing.
PC doesn't need anything right now, I looking at headphones now.
Some of the things I want to buy need to wait until the glass in my windows is replaced, and that isn't likely to happen for a few months. So I can buy little things while I wait.

The only things I am changing in PC (hopefully) in the next 6 months are the cables and two fans. No real hurry to do either yet.

 

[neogunhero]

its not a bad price.
If you think 8gb is enough, its your choice.

I trust your judgement, and I know you’re judging the small amount of VRAM😂

It’s very hard to fight the temptation, especially with the age of my card. For just a bit more the 5060 Ti has a 16GB variant…

I keep telling myself to just wait, and perhaps that is still the best thing to do

 

[Colif]

i wasn't judging, If you think its enough and you won't need more, its your choice.

16gb would be a more logical choice though, as what does your card have now? If its 6gb I don't know if 2gb is worth the upgrade. Features might be.,.. if you play any games that use them. More VRAM you have, longer before you need to think about buying the next GPU,

Amount of vram on a GPU never really been an element of my purchase decisions. Its just a coincidence I went from 8gb to 20gb, its what the card came with. I had originally wanted a 6800xt as I wouldn't have needed to change anything in PC to use it... finding them became hard and then the new cards were announced and I just decided to wait.

Having 20gb just means next card has to be equal or better. It seems card makers relaxing and the 50 Super cards all have around 20. AMD may have 30 on next gen. So at least I won't be going backwards. I should start saving for the next one... it doesn't exist yet so plenty of time.

shame they not making a 5060 Super card... seems those start at 5070

 

[Colif]

25 minute long video on you tube - how to install a new GPU...
How can you waste 25 minutes with that?

1. run DDU in safe mode and uninstall drivers for old card.
2. Turn PC off. Unplug power cord from PC.
3. take glass/side panel off
4. unplug any PCIe power cables from old card.
5. unscrew up to 4 screws (depending on card) from backplate of the case to allow card to be pulled out
6. if you lucky and have my Motherboard, press the GPU release button to unfasten GPU from PCIe slot**
7. Pull card out

Putting a card in is the reverse of those steps - in most cases you had an old one to remove first.

1. insert GPU in PCIe slot (generally the top PCIe 16 slot underneath CPU)
2. Attach it to backplate of the case using up to 4 screws)
3. Attach to additional PCIe 8 or 6 pin or 12WHPWR cable (depends what card wants) - May need to change the power cables, depends what you had before.
4. Put side panel back on
5. Plug PC back in and restart windows.

Windows will find drivers for cards but best idea is to download Adrenaline if you have AMD card, or the Nvidia drivers if you have an Nvidia Card. the windows drivers aren't going to be the best choice if you have a new GPU.

Download The Latest Official NVIDIA Drivers

Download the latest official NVIDIA drivers to enhance your PC gaming experience and run apps faster.

www.nvidia.com

https://www.amd.com/en/products/software/adrenalin.html

if card is a chunky boy, probably helps to use a GPU holder to avoid sag.

Also helps to have made sure your PSU has the right cables and can supply what GPU needs. Really, you need to know that BEFORE buying the GPU.
Use something like this:

PSU Calculator | PC Power Supply Wattage Calculator | CORSAIR

Corsair

www.corsair.com

Seems I have too much... oh well, always helps to have too much as you never know what next upgrade might need.

**If board doesn't have a GPU Release button, it can be tricky to remove the old card. Depends how much space you have between cooler and GPU - I had fun removing my 7900xt out of my old PC, not so easy to press the clip - I had to use a knife to get into the gap. Since I have the same air cooler in old and new PC, this gap is a good indication still.

edit: I forgot someone... if you have an intel card:

Intel® Arc™ Graphics Drivers

Learn about the latest Intel® Arc™ Graphic drivers that will help bring your gaming experience to the next level.

www.intel.com

 

[neogunhero]

Amount of vram on a GPU never really been an element of my purchase decisions.

For me it really should be, as like you said going from 6gb to 8gb isn't a huge upgrade... performance wise may be better but longevity suffers at the sake of cost. The price tag is just really good and was tempting me, but really shouldn't waste the money on such a small upgrade. If I plan on using a card for long time like my current card, it needs to be more substantial. the 5060 Ti 16GB would be a much better choice, but those aren't at MSRP like the 8GB non-Ti versions are, could be another point why I was getting tempted.

 

[neogunhero]

I saw the RX 9060 XT 16GB released as a standalone card, I thought it was only for pre-builts at first. Based on benchmarks, the 5060 Ti 16GB outperforms it in every game, and if you take current pricing, you're getting much better performance for only ~$50 more. I am seeing some 5060 Ti's at MSRP but with long delivery times, but most are averaging around ~$500 with an MSRP of $420.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Sapphire Radeon RX 9060 XT Pulse OC 16 GB Review - An Excellent Choice

The Sapphire Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB sells close to MSRP, yet it features a factory overclock and higher power limit. In our testing, its cooler remained whisper-quiet even at full load. Interestingly, this model uses Samsung memory, whereas all other cards we've tested so far use Hynix.

www.techpowerup.com

Posted early by accident sorry.

I think the RX 9060 is the one thats gone OEM only, there arent good reviews for that yet I dont think.