Building computers

[Camacha]

I don't have any network adapters in the build. I need them if I want to use the internet, right? Can anyone recommend some decent ones?

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/X6QVmG

Do you mean a network card? Those come with the motherboard nowadays.

EDIT: just realised I have 2 SSDs and no HDD... http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/hspbTW is the corrected version.

Why did you pick the Kingston instead of the MX100? The latter is a better choice.

[Camacha]

Can someone explain what the specs of the wireless adapter mean?

Have fun It is basically speed and often range too. Something like n is about the fastest available, while g will be plenty in a lot of cases.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Camacha

[Javster]

Do you mean a network card? Those come with the motherboard nowadays.

Why did you pick the Kingston instead of the MX100? The latter is a better choice.

I thought I did... I'll change that! http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/HgFddC done

And how much thermal paste is needed for a single cpu (in grams or millilitres)? Is 0.01g enough?

Edited July 8, 2014 by Javster

[Camacha]

And how much thermal paste is needed for a single cpu (in grams or millilitres)? Is 0.01g enough?

A very minor amount. About a rice grain of TIM generally plenty (though it depends a little on processor and IHS size). Most people make the mistake of applying too much and that is just as bad as too little.

[Elthy]

In my opinion WLAN USB sticks are better since you can place them anywere with a cable. The antennas of PCIe cards are at the back of the PC which often results in low signal since you have a big metal obejct directly next to it. The fastest standart available is ac, but you wont need it.

[Camacha]

In my opinion WLAN USB sticks are better since you can place them anywere with a cable. The antennas of PCIe cards are at the back of the PC which often results in low signal since you have a big metal obejct directly next to it. The fastest standart available is ac, but you wont need it.

They tend to be a bit less reliable from a technology point of view, and the fact that all your data has to go over the USB protocol does not have to be a problem, but in reality often is. Then again, if you want rock solid performance and reliability you should not bother with a wireless connection at all, wired connections still have the upper hand when it comes to those factors.

I feel wireless connections are ideal for laptops, tablets and phones, or maybe in places where an infrastructure is nearly impossible to build.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Camacha

[Javster]

They tend to be a bit less reliable from a technology point of view, and the fact that all your data has to go over the USB protocol does not have to be a problem, but in reality often is. Then again, if you want rock solid performance and reliability you should not bother with a wireless connection at all, wired connections still have the upper hand when it comes to those factors.

I feel wireless connections are ideal for laptops, tablets and phones, or maybe in places where an infrastructure is nearly impossible to build.

A wired connection would be better then, but it would be hard to get that to across a corridor without tripping up everyone walking past, plus I'd need a very long wire...

Or I could attach it to the ceiling, preventing 2 doors from closing, and getting in trouble...

Edited July 8, 2014 by Javster

[Camacha]

A wired connection would be better then, but it would be hard to get that to across a corridor without tripping up everyone walking past, plus you'd need a very long wire...

It indeed depends a bit on the existing infrastructure and willingness to change it. Personally I am of the you do things right or you do not do them at all school, but I can imagine people opting for easier solutions.

A long wire could be a problem, but does not have to be. Currently I am at the end of a rather long wire and even though speeds would probably be better with a shorter and more adequately shielded/better quality wire*, things are rather quick already. Digital television has a little more trouble with the distance, so I had to amplify that at the distribution point.

*I would improve this if it were my own house, but I am not investing in some else's property.

[Nuke]

go with wired networks if you can. faster, less can go wrong, more secure. but only go that way if its practical. running a wired network in my house would be a disaster. too many floors, too many machines.

[K^2]

Seconded. If at all practical, run a wire. You'll be happier for it, and the motherboard you've selected already has a LAN port built in. Of course, running wires is not always possible. In that case, you will need to get a decent wireless adapter.

[Seret]

There's always powerline Ethernet if you can't run cables, too. Not necessarily a cheap option, but useful sometimes.

[78stonewobble]

It's not just about games though. Even if you buy a "gaming" PC chances are you'll spend a fair bit of your time doing general computing tasks. If you had to edit a video, would you do it on your high-spec "gaming" machine, or your tablet?

It just seems odd to go for decent specs across the rest of the spectrum, then massively bottleneck it for I/O.

I didn't say to bottleneck it. Everyone prefers the best possible "speed" for every possible task.

There's just "diminishing" returns for running everything from an SSD.

In my case, my games library is 600 plus GB (with not everything installed) and over 1.000 GB of movies (far from everything on my comp as I'd prefer). I either have to spend quite a lot of money on many large SSD's or, just go with the cheaper hard drives for stuff that doesn't benefit much from SSD's.

The best of both worlds.

Edited July 9, 2014 by 78stonewobble

[Roastduck]

A wired connection would be better then, but it would be hard to get that to across a corridor without tripping up everyone walking past, plus I'd need a very long wire...

Or I could attach it to the ceiling, preventing 2 doors from closing, and getting in trouble...

if your hallway is carpeted, you might be able to take a screw driver and gently tuck the cable under the baseboards. I'll emphasize the word gently again.

[78stonewobble]

Games with lots of large textures will also benefit of lots of vram if i'm not mistaken.

I play elder scroll online with a 1GB vram card and see that the card has to get textures, very visible on armor in cities where it loads low texture and then update to high after a second or two.

And you will only run into this game in large open games who is not for PS3 and 360.

Highly modded skyrim (oblivion too?) is supposedly one of the few places there higher vmem can become necessary. Haven't really seen any reputable sites make any benchmarks of it though, but I've seen posts where people recommend higher than 2gb cards for it.

[Seret]

if your hallway is carpeted, you might be able to take a screw driver and gently tuck the cable under the baseboards. I'll emphasize the word gently again.

Sure, there's a million ways to run a cable. You could also tack it to the skirting boards with clips, or run it up into the loft (or down into a basement) and cross over into the room you want that way. Going inside cupboards and wardrobes is a nice unobtrusive way to move vertically.

[Javster]

Thanks for the ideas for the cable, but it really wouldn't be practical... Can anyone recommend a good wireless thingy?

And how realistic would it be to get just the SSD first, then the HDD a bit later, to spread the cost? Would it be pointless, since I'd only have a bit of space left on the SSD? How much space (approx) does an OS take up on the SSD?

[Camacha]

In my case, my games library is 600 plus GB (with not everything installed) and over 1.000 GB of movies (far from everything on my comp as I'd prefer). I either have to spend quite a lot of money on many large SSD's or, just go with the cheaper hard drives for stuff that doesn't benefit much from SSD's.

Games do benefit from a SSD, although it also depends on the type of game and the technology it uses under the hood. I think most people will not play 600 GB worth of games at the same time, so it might be worth investing a little bit more money to get all the applications on a SSD. For movies, music and such, sure, a HDD is barely any slower.

If budget is more of a concern, running games from a HDD works fine too, especially if you reserve the quicker parts of the drive for them and keep your drive in optimum condition.

Thanks for the ideas for the cable, but it really wouldn't be practical... Can anyone recommend a good wireless thingy?

And how realistic would it be to get just the SSD first, then the HDD a bit later, to spread the cost? Would it be pointless, since I'd only have a bit of space left on the SSD? How much space (approx) does an OS take up on the SSD?

Windows 8 with some useful programs installed will take about 20 to 30 GB. Spreading it out would not be pointless, as a SSD is a fully functional harddrive and you could always transfer files back from your SSD to the HDD. Just as long as TRIM is enabled (which happens automatically for modern SSD's with a modern version of Windows (7 or 8), performance should not suffer.

Please remember to make proper backups of your important files, it sounds like you are not really doing that. Any file you do not keep on at least two physical disks is a file you do not care about.

[Javster]

Games do benefit from a SSD, although it also depends on the type of game and the technology it uses under the hood. I think most people will not play 600 GB worth of games at the same time, so it might be worth investing a little bit more money to get all the applications on a SSD. For movies, music and such, sure, a HDD is barely any slower.

If budget is more of a concern, running games from a HDD works fine too, especially if you reserve the quicker parts of the drive for them and keep your drive in optimum condition.

Windows 8 with some useful programs installed will take about 20 to 30 GB. Spreading it out would not be pointless, as a SSD is a fully functional harddrive and you could always transfer files back from your SSD to the HDD. Just as long as TRIM is enabled (which happens automatically for modern SSD's with a modern version of Windows (7 or 8), performance should not suffer.

Please remember to make proper backups of your important files, it sounds like you are not really doing that. Any file you do not keep on at least two physical disks is a file you do not care about.

I don't really have any important files, to be honest... is cloud backup a viable option too?

[shynung]

I don't really have any important files, to be honest... is cloud backup a viable option too?

It's viable, but don't rely on it. Corporations that run the cloud networks can derp off and lose some data, or they might go out of business at unfortunate times.

[Camacha]

I don't really have any important files, to be honest... is cloud backup a viable option too?

You do not have any administration, personal photo's, music or any stuff like that? Pretty much anyone with a smartphone has photo's he wants to keep.

Cloud backup can be a solution, as long as you are aware you are putting your personal info in the hands of others. I personally do not like it, but if you want a fire and forget way of backing up things it is an option. Also note that free options like OneDrive and Dropbox can be gone tomorrow, so that is not really a good option for important things.

Corporations that run the cloud networks can derp off and lose some data

Of course, you can do the same at home. This is why you keep multiple copies of your stuff, preferably on different locations. Losing your administration in a fire can be a double disaster, because tax services generally do not care what the reason is you cannot show records.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Camacha

[Javster]

I have nothing valuable stored on my computer (it's pretty new), and if I did have important files, I'd count on my hard drive and dropbox and mega not all derping simultaneously

The only valuable files are probably my savegames, which are fairly easy to replace (most games have cheat mods to return to where I was, or I can just start afresh)

Edited July 9, 2014 by Javster

[Nibb31]

Most people's most valuable files are their personal pictures and videos. They contain family, friends, vacations, parties, and important moments of their lives.. Those are pretty much the only files that would be unreplaceable if I lost them, which is why they are duplicated on a RAID NAS and backed up to the cloud.

[Javster]

Most people's most valuable files are their personal pictures and videos. They contain family, friends, vacations, parties, and important moments of their lives.. Those are pretty much the only files that would be unreplaceable if I lost them, which is why they are duplicated on a RAID NAS and backed up to the cloud.

Those are stored on another computer which I opened up a few days ago. I don't know if they've been backed up.

[Camacha]

Those are stored on another computer which I opened up a few days ago. I don't know if they've been backed up.

With these kinds of things it is best to assume the worst. Losing pictures can be a pain, espcially when it concerns moments and loved ones that are not around anymore.

and backed up to the cloud.

Encrypted, I assume?

[Javster]

With these kinds of things it is best to assume the worst. Losing pictures can be a pain, espcially when it concerns moments and loved ones that are not around anymore.

Encrypted, I assume?

Nah, I don't have any family pictures, this is my own computer (parents wouldn't trust me with those on my PC, which is good since I don't want the responsability )

Back on topic, which wireless card should I use?