Gary A

I'm surprised they don't build surge protection into the boards here (Canada) at least that I am aware, or make it code. NEC in the States did make surge protection in the panel code in 2020 Mind you why build a house without a fence and finishing the driveway. Most people are going to erect a fence when they buy the home and it pits new neighbor against new neighbor at the start. Seems common sense and especially when a surge protection is so inexpensive. Guess colonists will always lag behind the motherland, then again, you had an extra 500-years or so to get your stuff together.

I'm surprised they don't build surge protection into the boards here (Canada) at least that I am aware, or make it code. NEC in the States did make surge protection in the panel code in 2020 Mind you why build a house without a fence and finishing the driveway. Most people are going to erect a fence when they buy the home and it pits new neighbor against new neighbor at the start. Seems common sense and especially when a surge protection is so inexpensive. Guess colonists will always lag behind the motherland, then again, you had an extra 500-years or so to get your stuff together. :>)

I'm surprised they don't build surge protection into the boards here (Canada) at least that I am aware, or make it code. NEC in the States did make surge protection in the panel code in 2020 Mind you why build a house without a fence and finishing the driveway. Most people are going to erect a fence when they buy the home and it pits new neighbor against new neighbor at the start. Seems common sense and especially when a surge protection is so inexpensive. Guess colonists will always lag behind the motherland, then again, you had an extra 500-years or so to get your stuff together. :>)

I'm surprised they don't build surge protection into the boards here (Canada) at least that I am aware, or make it code. NEC in the States did make surge protection in the panel code in 2020 Mind you why build a house without a fence and finishing the driveway. Most people are going to erect a fence when they buy the home and it pits new neighbor against new neighbor at the start. Seems common sense and especially when a surge protection is so inexpensive. Guess colonists will always lag behind the motherland, then again, you had an extra 500-years or so to get your stuff together. :>)

I ran my poor brain through the gambit of whether a UPS or surge protection was necessary years ago. I decided that for my main (expensive PC) that I would invest in a good quality Sine wave UPS. Later (and in addition to) I decided to install point-of-power surge arrestors pretty much at any outlet in the house where I had electronic equipment plugged in including my secondary PC's. Then a second cheap UPS was added to my VOIP router. Then I added a whole home surge protector in conjunction with the other protection mentioned. Little will protect you from a direct lightning strike barring maybe a lightning arrestor. My decision tree: 1. Brownouts can be more frequent than blackouts and potentially more damaging. 2. Friend hit by surge wiped out every single electronic device in his house including fridge and stove 3. Friend working at Best-Buy warning number of LED TV failures due to surge 4. Transient voltage surge due to electric motor operation, i.e. home AC unit 5. Surge has an accumulative effect on electronics 6. VOIP phone requires phone and internet to be powered to work 7. Intense critical gaming where power loss was unacceptable 8. Fear On a side note if it wasn't for the near $10k price tag I would have installed, lightning rods. This after a neighbor's house burnt almost to the ground after a lightening strike, and this was in the city, not a suburban or farm land. It's like buying insurance. Nobody likes to invest in something that no tangible benefit presents. I rather put the money in CPU or GPU; I get it. It took me a long time to get to where I am.

Hi Christopher, have you given any consideration to a nice pen and a piece of paper? We no longer need participate in an instant response society. When you write on paper, whatever time the post office takes to deliver that response should be good enough for anyone. Most people have forgotten how to write cursive, you will be keeping a lost craft going. Storage is only limited by the size of your basement or spare room. If you are seeking a more advanced storage option, filing cabinets can be found cheap. I found a two drawer cabinet that someone actually was tossing in the bin. If you are adamant about a PC option I suggest the Colonel's advice above, albeit no substitute for a nice quill pen. Warm Regards, Gary😀

Hi, I chose my case based on cooling and size for ease of assembly. For that purpose paying more for the case was worth it. I also retained that case for subsequent builds, so I realized good value for my investment. In retrospect, I apply a similar thought process in other reusable components, cooling fan and PSU come to mind. I buy high quality and and have reused the PSU and fans in subsequent builds. Sound nuisance is a subjective thing. My PC sits 30-cm from my left arm and since I always wear headphones, noise has never been an issue for me. I gave my PC to my son who complained about noise from the day he received it. When I looked at the PC for him, I was like what noise?

Hi Ryan, back when Page File size was all the craze, and the internet abounded with all kinds of advice on the matter, I followed Mark Russinovich's advice. Basically Mark preached to leave the Page File alone. However, in the link below (if you must play) he says to set it at twice the commit charge less the amount of Ram installed, if negative, pick a minimum size to allow a crash dump. Good or bad? I do not understand and just let Windows manage it. https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/markrussinovich/2008/11/17/pushing-the-limits-of-windows-virtual-memory/ Wishing you good success.

I have had these for years. They are very comfortable on the ears for all day use. Great sound and good mic. https://www.hyperxgaming.com/us/headsets/cloud-gaming-headset?partnum=KHX-HSCP-RD

Hey Noel did you ever get this resolved?

Hi, I use the sledgehammer where a tack hammer would do approach to PC hardware. To put it another way; buy the best that you can afford. yet another analogy, I do not work to minimum specs. For example, I am not buying 1600mhz RAM if there is even the slightest chance that 2400 is going to be better (providing I can afford 2400). Then whatever: tests, opinions, bias etc. matter not. Difference between 1600 and 2400Mhz is 1-3 fps depending, results vary. Some folks report micro stutters eliminated or alleviated with the faster RAM. The difference in price between 1600 and 2400 memory is around 20%. What matters in RAM is the specifications, the speed, capacity and latency. I do not care about silly colors, lights or heat spreaders or fancy marketing names. Most manufacturers use the same chipsets: Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, etc. My personal biased opinionated preference is for any manufacturer using Samsung. For me for the extra $30 I would buy 2400mhz in the DDR 3 variety.

Don't forget the era of 100% CPU utilization hasn't existed for years. In those days we were lucky to have a GTX680 GPU and at 100% CPU utilization, if we could offload 4 CPU cycles with a dedicated soundcard, we did it. Today we are using 50% or less CPU utilization, maybe 75% in certain applications so a dedicated soundcard is not required for CPU offloading. I haven't used a dedicated SC for years. Now for sound quality, is a dedicated card required? No. Is there a noticeable difference between onboard and discrete? Most likely (depending on MB etc but most likely dedicated better). Do I need a discrete card? For non audiophiles flying with a gaming set of headphones listening to downloaded music, no. Audiophile or simply a person that wants the best of the best or certain features not available on integrated sound, yes, buy a dedicated card. Take the $200 US. that a good dedicated card would cost and put it into something that really matters like GPU, SSD, Memory or something. You will get much more bang for the buck.

I'm not an expert but this is what I considered based on research of various forums I purchased 3000mhz. However, I have read that with certain MB's and certain processor and whether or not you intend to clock the FSB, that 3200Mhz can be more stable. I have had zero issues with my 3000Mhz but I am the type to nip any potential problems in the bud, so I would recommend 3200Mhz for several reasons: 3200 because: 1. It shuts up many of the internet guru's debate 3000 vs 3200 etc etc 2. 3200 is a bigger number than 3000 and we all know that bigger is better; right? At the least better inflation of ego and compensation for psychological inadequacies at a minimum. You will sleep better at night with 3200. 3. Nobody is going to call you a fool for 3200 say versus 3400 or more, 3200 is a nice median. 4. Thwart any potential strap issues if any exist. I doubt strap is an issue but hey, when I read a post by an ASUS Tech regarding it, I have to listen. Why I bought 3000: a. Testing results of various memory speeds by reputable internet sources indicated that 3000Mhz was best performance versus costs. b. CAS 15-3000 is same latency as CAS 16-3200 c. I read the ASUS post after I bought 3000 Side Notes: 1. New Integrated memory controller (IMC) are not as sensitive to CAS timings as in previous CPU's therefore one should accept speed over lower CAS latency for performance. 2. anything over your CPU rating (2400Mhz in this case w/DDR4) is considered overclocking. 3. Perceivable difference 3000Mhz vs 3200Mhz =zero Buy 3200Mhz and don't look back, however any 2400 and up will serve you well based on how much money you want to spend. If you Google Strap, latency, memory frequency, memory controller etc there is a host of information on specifics on how all that works and ties.

Reasons for my RAM opinion: 1. Available at the same store that you are purchasing MOBO and CPU and in stock. 2. Those sticks are on your MOBO QVL 3. Corsair are a name brand as is G.Skill and are known for high quality. 4. Corsair and G.Skill are likely using same integrated circuit (Samsung). 5. Difference in latency 3000Mhz CAS 15 vs 3200Mhz CAS 16 = 0 6. Perceivable difference between 3000Mhz and 3200 Mhz = 0 7. 2 x 16Gb sticks for ease of overclock performance vs 4 x 8Gb. And no I am not a Corsair or any particular brand fan, pretty sure I am running G.Skill but I didn't have to go outside my PC store to find them either. To chase G.Skill name wouldn't be worth my effort, and the extra 60 or so Gbp. not worth the privilege. However I understand that opinions vary and your system will serve your purpose well regardless of RAM choice. And on a positive note all of our systems today will be dinosaur relics in 2-years time and we can come here and discuss what is better in that day. :>)

Opinion only: RAM TIM