Re: choosing a motherboard

On 3/29/2024 9:31 PM, [email protected] wrote:

> I was kinda attracted to this pre-built
> https://www.newegg.com/yeyian-ypi-pg49kfc-47y1n-phoenix-glass/p/N82E16883630052?Item=N82E16883630052

Do any computer stores near you, do builds ?

Some, in the "services" section of their web site, have
prices such as

Price for basic hardware assembly:          $100

Price for basic hardware assembly + Win11:  $200

These are prices over material cost of the components.

Now, not all local computer stores are "reputable",
and this option only makes sense if you've done business
before with them, and they're "square dealers".

Mine for example, gives 30 days return on a certain
number of hardware types. Some items are "manufacturer
warranty only" kind of thing. I don't care, as long
as they tell me in advance what their policy is.

When a $60 HDD I bought, was DOA when I got it home,
there was no problem getting a swap for another one.
A lot less work than wrapping the stinker of a drive
up and shipping it back somewhere. That's my first DOA,
in over thirty hard drive purchases (and 100% of the
drives are supposed to be tested, too). The store no longer
sells big HDD, so the dinky drives are all they carry.

*******

In terms of core count, a 6C 12T is about as much as
basic Windows gets an advantage from. Some of the
6C 12T processors, are cooled by straight aluminum coolers
(no copper, not even any heatpipes). The processors
are relatively low power, because the clock rate best
case might only be 4.5GHz turbo.

Maybe gaming uses 8 cores.

Maybe compressing files with 7ZIP, uses (at most) 32 cores.

When you get a monster chip, those will throttle if
they get too hot. Now you need a $120.00 air cooler
or (if you listen to their advice), water cooling
for the new CPU. Using a decent cooler, allows
the closed loop cooling system to work in a stable
manner. The BIOS will adjust the fan speed for you.

When you do a build at a local computer store, they
should be able to print off various "levels" of
computers for you. An "email" PC. A "gamer" PC.
A "God" PC. Each with a different price. There is
some room for substitution, if you want a
different case. If you don't like their 850W PSU
choice, you may be able to select another brand.
The staff actually know which brands and units
have a high defect rate, and they might whisper
"don't take that one, we've got returns on those"
and they can help you pick a better one.

Nobody is going to cool VCore properly for you,
so you have to plan ahead and buy a case with the
room for experimentation. For low-power 6C 12T
systems, this would normally not be an issue.

The problem with "super-remote" hand-builds, is
the response you get when there is trouble. I've
talked to people who have been treated in an outrageous
manner before. It's not a pleasant topic.

There's a few pictures here, of builds.

https://www.microcenter.com/search/builds.aspx

   Paul