PC Build Advice/Review II: 3090 or Bust.

[Gryffes]

It will do all of that without issue.

It obviously won't play games, or encode video very well.
For general use it'll handle everything no problem.

[Kalmado]

Wouldn't a chromebook also suffice for internet and docs?

[Gryffes]

Yup and they are a good option, just depends if you want/need W10.

[Kalmado]

Yup and they are a good option, just depends if you want/need W10.

W10 isn't a must. As long as it can run Office 365 we good.

[Elizara]

Thanks guys. And yeah, I said openoffice when I meant Libreoffice (that's what I use; that is not quite as garbagey as openoffice). Have to have SOMETHING for kiddies to type school papers on, after all.

None of us have a student email so we'd be paying retail/OEM prices for any retail software. (That includes MS Office; we'd be going for Office 2019 if we were going to do that; Jared has Comcast Internet (there's only two choices around here) and nobody wants to count on the net being up) We're all 10+ years out of school and the kids involved are in elementary/middle school, at best. I was also thinking about making up a list of my fav free utilities so when they got the PC, they could choose what they wanted after that. I think Shadowneko agrees with me; we don't want to load it with stuff they don't want and they do want some kinda word processor/office program for sure.

But I'll save that build and we will see once 'Neko gets though the erm, unexpected expense problems he's been having. ^^

[Kalmado]

If you can spend right now and buy parts as you go, pick up this SSD before it's sold out. 240gb Crucial for $38 before tax.

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-BX300...CT240BX300SSD1

[Gredival]

Any leads on a cheap key for Office 2016?

[Kalmado]

Something I just remembered. There used to be some site where you could sign up and get a college based @email. If that still exists, get that and try Office 365.

Also, until 10PM EST (I think) ebay has 15% off. Get on it ya'll!

[Zetanio]

Any leads on a cheap key for Office 2016?

There's been success with the cheap ebay things as well as student signups using an old college email. I haven't had to do it in awhile because I get it via work.

[Gredival]

Does the system screen for alumni .edu emails and/or could I get past it with a teacher .edu email?

[tenkiki]

You could always try to go to the tech store on a college campus and get the key in person. Even though I work for the university, they never check my ID or anything and the online process for obtaining the key doesn't require a .edu email. Same guy sold me 2 W10 keys, asked if he's sold me one before the 2nd time, then told him I made another desktop for fun. He didn't care since it meant more sales for him. It probably depends on the university and how much the store cares.

[Kalmado]

Does the system screen for alumni .edu emails and/or could I get past it with a teacher .edu email?

Enter the email in the box provided to see if it qualifies.

https://products.office.com/en-us/student/

[Zetanio]

I can almost guarantee it works with any edu email

[BaneTheBrawler]

Fiancee and i have been looking for some nice over-ear gaming headsets. She got a hyperx cloud alpha that we both really liked but the earpads reeked and the microphone kept echoing at the volume she wanted.



Any suggestions?

[Gredival]

Fiancee and i have been looking for some nice over-ear gaming headsets. She got a hyperx cloud alpha that we both really liked but the earpads reeked and the microphone kept echoing at the volume she wanted.

Any suggestions?

The velvet or the leatherette pads? I feel like the quality of build on the Cloud is solid IME and there's no many other manufacturers whose earpads will be made of much better stuff.

Looks like around $280 is the common price. For the specs it looks like a good value. My thing is I don't know what is really even needed specs/cost wise for needing a machine to have internet, word docs, decent video playback, and doesn't take 100 years to load stuff.

I've found that a barebones systems plus an SSD is fine for general computing builds Most modern low end Intel and AMD chips have more than sufficient on-board GPUs to handle simple video.

[BaneTheBrawler]

leatherette i think. the default ones

[Gredival]

Yeah the faux leather crumbled on me, but I use the velvet ones with my Cloud just fine. I throw the pads into the wash whenever I remember. I never had a problem with the mic.

After the Cloud the next best headset I ever had were the Logitech G35. The G230 and G430 are the same design. Every Razer I have tried physically broke on me (not the speakers, fractures on the headset itself). I have a pair of SteelSeries Siberias that are great except that they are a bit tight on me between the shape/size of my head and wearing glasses.

[Tokitoki]

I got a pair of the Sennheiser Game Zeros on sale at one point. I like them a lot. I've only ever had Sennheiser gaming headsets, though, so can't help compare them to other models. My last set of Sennheisers I purchased from Epical and used them until I bought these.

They can do 7.1 surround with a sound card that supports it, or their USB sound card. I've never been uncomfortable wearing them, but I also don't wear glasses so that could be something to look in to. I've been told my voice is clear over voice chats, though maybe a little low. That should be adjustable on my end, though I've actually never done anything about it.

[Zetanio]

My HyperX Cloud 2's have been ok. Not great. I remove the mic a lot because I work from home and need to listen on calls for extended periods (Read: Eat lunch with headphones on) and on both sets we have, the housing for the mic has come loose and the input fails. I've opened them up and tried to reseat everything properly but it doesn't work. I even got a replacement mic from Kingston but it looks like I'll either need to buy a new pair or pay someone to repair them.

[Kalmado]

I loved my Hyper Cloud Pro's but I kept running over the long cord and kind of messed up the wires so the left side cuts in and out. Removed mic because I'm too shy to talk to strangers on the internet. Using Corsair HS60's now and love them. I'd say discomfort is only felt if worn for 4+ hours straight. I did buy a Samson condenser mic but I still am too afraid to talk to strangers.