comments
you write, we respond
WE TACKLE TOUGH READER QUESTIONS ON...94 MAXIMUMPC JAN 2020 maximumpc.com
↘ submit your questions to: [email protected]
Lasting Forever
I run a small tech company
and have subscribed to
your magazine for years.
I can’t honestly say I read
every magazine and every
article, but I do find your
build challenges very
helpful. I don’t have time
to research all the new
hardware, and articles like
yours simplify my research
when it comes time to build
custom machines.
However, I may have
missed it, but I was
wondering if you have any
articles on builds that use
more durable yet budget
oriented hardware, that can
run 24/7 for years without
breaking down? I know the
cost will increase, but I
still find it hard to mix and
match those kinds of parts.
Any suggestions you have
will be helpful!
–Edward SheafferSTAFF WRITER, CHRISTIAN
GUYTON, RESPONDS:I’ve
not addressed this before,
but it’s actually less about
which components you use
and more about how you
treat your system. If you’re
running a PC 24/7, the
thing that’s gonna kill it is
dust buildup. Make sure
you regularly open up thecase and give it a good
blast with compressed
air; go with cases that
have magnetic dust filters,
and clean them regularly.
Keep that system in a room
that stays cool, out of
sunlight, and is on a hard
surface above the floor—
no carpets!
With regard to which
parts, most well-known
brands generally do build
their components to last
these days—just make
sure you’re getting good
warranties, in case a part
does give up the ghost.
Avoid moving parts where
possible; that means
SATA SSDs instead of
HDDs, motherboards
without built-in fans, and
integrated graphics on the
CPU, rather than a GPU
with its own fans. Case
fans are cheap to replace;
GPU cooling, not so much.
Lastly, it’s a good idea
to stick with a low-power
build. Get a high-quality
Gold or Platinum PSU at
a relatively low wattage,
and eliminate power use
from the system wherever
possible to minimize
temperature buildup. In
the same view, a good CPU
cooler is a must; after
dust, overheating is thebiggest thing to watch out
for. Get a motherboard with
good power management
features, and avoid RGB
lighting like the plague!Graphics Revolution
It’s time for a video card
pricing revolt! I have been
a faithful subscriber since
the days of boot magazine,
and am well versed in
Maximum PC’s “cost is no
issue” mantra, but we’ve hit
a point where it has become
absurd where video cards
are concerned. Specifically,
the RTX cards. It’s time for
a protest via keeping our
dollars, to rein in Nvidia’s
ego and pricing a whole lot
of notches.
I just retired my trusty
(then high-end) 2012 build,
with a Core i7-3770K, a
P8Z68-V PRO/GEN 3, 16GB
1,866MHz DDR3, and a 1080
Ti. I upgraded the video
card about every two years,
always going with the 80
or 80 Ti versions, starting
around $500 for a 580 GTX,
and ending up at $680 for
the 1080 Ti FE. I just built a
new higher-end system last
week that uses a Gigabyte
Auros Ultra X570 mobo,
a Ryzen 7 3800X, 32GB
3,600MHz DDR4, a 1TB 970
EVO M.2, two 3TB SeagateHDDs in RAID 1, a Corsair
H100i Pro, three Aerocool
40mm silent fans, a Cooler
Master H500p Master case,
an EVGA 850W modular
Platinum PSU, and Win 10
Home 64-bit full version.
(Thanks for pointing me
to PC Part Picker in the
recent system builder parts
pricing article.)
Total cost for all that
spicy PC goodness? About
$58 more than a 2080 Ti
RTX FE card costs, which,
for the record, is more
than double what the 1080
Ti FE cost new. An entire
high-end PC, minus video
card, for roughly the same
cost as just a video card.
It’s frankly absurd. I looked
at benchmarks and reviews
on the 2080 Ti, and since it
only sports 9–22 percent
better performance than
my 1080 Ti, depending
on title, and costs double
what my 1080 Ti did, and
as much as the entire rest
of my build, I opted to skip
this generation, and keep
my 1080 Ti, which happens
to be tearing through
everything with aplomb
on ultra settings with this
new build.
It is absurd what Nvidia
is charging for the RTX
cards, but as long asDurable PCs
Revolting Readers
Global Pricing