Hardware Discussion Thread

[masterotaku]

Haha, I was going to buy a BenQ XL2411T this monday, but lucky me I saw the news about G-Sync two days before. Rumors say that there will be more frequencies compatible with Lightboost, like 85Hz and 144Hz. I hope that's true, because it's a lot easier to get 85fps with recent games rather than 100 or 120fps.
And if there were a 60Hz Lightboost mode, it would be great for emulators (though a bit flickery).

By the way, I ordered yesterday a 250GB SSD and a Noctua NH-D14. I hope it fits in my case...

[garrlker]

Yeah, I get to pick a christmas gift at $150 or below and right now I'm trying to decide between a ssd or a new monitor. I'l probably wait on the monitor due to G-Sync and get the ssd.

[Garteal]

Yeah, get the SSD first.

I also ordered a Sapphire R9 280X Dual-X which should be here tomorrow. Can't wait for it.

[garrlker]

Awesome! Since the card is basically a 7970 and that card is usually within a few fps a 680 on demanding games, I'm wondering how much of a boost Mantle will give it.

[Garteal]

(10-24-2013, 02:29 AM)garrlker Wrote: Awesome! Since the card is basically a 7970 GHz and that card is usually within a few fps a 680 on demanding games, I'm wondering how much of a boost Mantle will give it.

FTFY and yeah, it's also very competitive with a GTX770.

[NaturalViolence]

garrlker Wrote:I'm wondering how much of a boost Mantle will give it.

Well in games that don't use mantle I would image that it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of around 0% . Which currently is every game.

Garteal Wrote:Yeah, get the SSD first.

Agreed. $150 is barely enough for a decent monitor.

It looks like Gsync monitors are going to have a price premium of around $100 extra....

I'm not quite sure if it's worth it. Especially for low end monitors.

masterotaku Wrote:Rumors say that there will be more frequencies compatible with Lightboost, like 85Hz and 144Hz. I hope that's true, because it's a lot easier to get 85fps with recent games rather than 100 or 120fps.

144Hz makes sense but 85Hz? I doubt it. Remember that lightboost is still primarily designed for stereoscopic 3D use. Active stereoscopic does not work well below 100Hz.

masterotaku Wrote:By the way, I ordered yesterday a 250GB SSD and a Noctua NH-D14. I hope it fits in my case...

If it's a midtower or higher it should (most aftermarket cases are). You might have to remove any fans on the side panel.

[mudlord]

why would developers use mantle.

its command buffers all over again. >_>

[NaturalViolence]

That's why.

[Garteal]

(10-24-2013, 11:14 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote: Agreed. $150 is barely enough for a decent monitor.

It looks like Gsync monitors are going to have a price premium of around $100 extra....

I'm not quite sure if it's worth it. Especially for low end monitors.

Was about to call you out on the price, but that price difference. Totally agree with you there.
And indeed, the first G-Sync monitor will be around $399 iirc. And the DIY kits will also be pretty expensive.
It's a bit expensive IMO, and pretty stupid that it'll only be compatible with NVIDIA GPUs.
Since I already recently got a new monitor, I think I'll pass on this for now.

(10-24-2013, 02:01 PM)NaturalViolence Wrote:

That's why.

Devs have been whining over it, so they now have no excuse if it delivers its promise.


In other news... my GPU has arrived. Pretty damn fast I'd say. Estimated delivery was between 11:00 and 14:00 and he was here at 11:05. Time to take some pics if anyone cares.

Well, here are the pics. Just one of the box and a size comparison.

[AnyOldName3]

I don't know, I think the DD cooler on the XFX card looks smarter. Then again, it's pretty much the same cooler as my card, so I would say that.