The Big Upgrade: Ryzen 5 3600X to Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Hooray; I've upgraded my CPU: Ryzen 5 3600X to Ryzen 7 5800X3D!

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a powerful processor that offers substantial improvements over the Ryzen 5 3600X. In this blog post, I’ll explore the key differences, gaming performance gains, and considerations for upgrading.

Performance Benchmarks

I’ve looked at extensive benchmarks to compare these two CPUs across various games and applications. Here are some highlights:

a. Gaming Performance

• CS:GO: The 5800X3D outperforms the 3600X by 81% in 1% lows and boosts the average frame rate by 55%.
• Assetto Corsa Competizione: The 5800X3D provides a staggering 95% increase in frame rates compared to the 3600X.
• Cyberpunk 2077: Even in GPU-bound scenarios, the 5800X3D maintains a significant lead, with up to 55% higher average frame rates.

Value and Considerations

• The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a worthwhile upgrade for gamers seeking top-tier performance.
• If you have a powerful GPU and prioritize gaming, the 5800X3D will deliver substantial gains.
• Keep in mind that the 3600X is still a capable CPU, especially if budget constraints are a concern.

Conclusion

Upgrading to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a smart move if you want the best gaming performance. However, consider your GPU and use case before making the switch. Happy upgrading!

Remember to check compatibility with your motherboard and ensure proper cooling for optimal performance. Enjoy your new CPU!

Friendship ended with Wooting 60HE

 Friendship ended with Wooting 60HE and friendship started with Wooting 80HE! Well not started yet, but the Wooting80HE is entering it's founders period today and I'm jumping on the buy button if I can snag one!

80% layout!? WTF!

 As I've said before playing with my Wooting 60HE feels like cheating.  I gave up my old Glorious GMMK to my teenager when I moved to the Wooting and the few times I go to use his PC I immediately miss my Wooting.

 While I love my Wooting 60HE I have to admit I am not a fan of the 60% layout.  I really liked the 75% layout of the GMMK.  The good news is Wooting is bringing us a bigger layout with the 80HE with all of the other features I've come to enjoy and rely on to be the l33t gamer that I am (not really)!

 In classic Wooting fashion they couldn't just be like the rest of the world and give us a standard 75% layout and instead landed at an 80%.  It is hard to say what actually makes the up the 5% difference and there was a small uproar in the keyboard community about the placement of the arrow keys (too far to the left).  The arrow keys will be moved to the right slightly in the final version.

 For me I just want my F# keys back and arrow keys.  As much as I've adapted to using customized key settings and the FN key on my 60HE I will be happy to be back to just using an F key or an actual arrow key.  Also delete instead of FN + Backspace will be nice.

 Of course all of the other Wooting goodness will be there and I'll still be legally cheating in all the games I play because of it :)

My teenager's new gaming PC

Proud gamer dad moment getting my teenager (yikes!) set up on his first custom built gaming PC.  Some new parts and some hand me downs. Was fun watching him build it.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Gamer Haul

 It's that time of year again where we share what we bought over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shop-a-thon.  For me I nabbed a few gamer things!

 First up was what my teenager has been waiting for: his own gaming PC.  We ordered all the parts which will make up his holiday haul.  He is also getting some hand-me-downs from my recent upgrade (GPU and PSU).  We went with an AMD build again; Ryzen 7600X CPU, 5700 XT GPU (hand me down), 2 TB NVMe SSD, and 32 GB memory.  I'd say I got great deals but it was pretty lackluster as far as deals go this year.

 Next I snagged a couple items for myself.  First I jumped on Glorious's free shipping deal to get my Model I wired mouse.  I have a Model O wired currently and it sold me on the lightweight mouse.  The only downside of the Model O for me is that it has only two side buttons.  The Model I brings three side buttons and a fourth "sniper" button (defaults to lower DPI for sniping in FPS games).  It will take a bit to retrain myself to the four buttons but so far so good and it keeps the same lightweight feel!

 I was nostalgic for some holiday season tunes ringing through the halls (home office) so am finally filling the "no speakers" gap for my home PC.  I grabbed this soundbar to fill the role.

 Lastly I surfed the board game sales and like PC parts... it felt like a down year as far as deals go.  I did end up grabbing the Arkham Horror The Card Game Revised Core Set which was at an all time low.  This was on my "want to try" list and now that I have a teenager in the family it felt like the right time to adult our co-op games.  Looking forward to giving this a whirl.

 

 

AMD RX 7800 XT or 7900 XT? Help!

Update: I went with the 7900 XT ( XFX SPEEDSTER MERC310 Radeon RX 7900 XT )

AMD released their 7800 / 7700 XT cards today.  I had planned to buy one but watching reviews, such as Gamer's Nexus, it doesn't seem like the 7800 XT is standing out like I'd of expected.  Also the cost from sellers is $50+ over what AMD was advertising.  Thus I am back looking at 7900 XT (or XTX) cards at not that much more cost but with better performance.  Help!

 Another key is I want to get a copy of Starfield with the purchase.  Also I need to upgrade my PSU at the same time as my 650W is at it's max currently and a 7 series AMD will push it over a ledge.

 So I am looking for thoughts and input on 7900 vs 7800 XT cards and need opinions and thoughts!?

CPU+PSU Upgrade: Need Suggestions

 I have been rocking a Ryzen 5 3600X for a while and I think it's time for an upgrade.  My current thought is to go with a Ryzen 7 5800x3D. This upgrade path will take me to the top end of CPUs that my motherboard (Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite) can support and should improve performance in New World.

 The AMD x3D CPUs have been noted to improve gaming performance for many games and seem particularly well suited to gaming performance over other processing tasks.  However, there is a recommendation to upgrade to a 1,000W PSU (power supply) at the same time.

 I have a current 650W PSU that has followed me for multiple builds now.  It has been ole' reliable but with recent crashing issues requiring me to undervolt my GPU the PSU is showing its underpowered nature.  So I will be on the hunt for a 1,000W PSU and open to any suggestions.  I am hoping to find a modular PSU so I can swap the PSUs without having to redo cabling.

 I am having issues logging New World's performance (external tracking is now showing an average FPS of 0.1....).  I do want to figure this out so I can do some good before and after to share with the New World community so open to ideas here as well.

Wooting 60HE Is Like Cheating

 Still under the weather and facing down travel for work so going to keep things general topic for a few days here and yes I know I said 2023 blogging would be more about gaming moments/memories instead of opinion and blather but bear with me as I fail yet again to do what I say I'll do.  With that said today I wanted to chime in on my experience so far with the Wooting 60HE keyboard.  It is like legal cheating.

 What you can do with this keyboard creates immediate difference in how you play games; especially any game where quick movement via WASD, such as side to side strafing, is advantageous (which is basically all FPS).  Out of the box this wasn't apparent but after watching YouTube videos like the one below and tweaking settings I found the difference remarkable.

 The main tweak enabled by the keyboard's lekkar switches is per key actuation settings.  Setting one key to actuate (i.e. register that it was pressed and released) at 0.7 mm and another to actuate only at full key press 4.0 mm lets you have keys be super responsive or require a full key press (i.e. eliminate you hitting it by accident).

My Wooting 60HE

 In my use case, as in the video, it is FPS games and WASD at 0.7 mm which gives such a crazy sense of response.  It is the closest I've ever felt to movement keys responding to the speed my brain is working at.  Depending on the game and how snappy movement is influences the feeling, but for many modern games such as Overwatch in the video or Battlefield 2042 for me it changes how you move in the game.

 Movement advantage wasn't as obvious in New World, but what is clear is being able to avoid accidental activation of things like my heartrune (like an ultimate ability) or key skills I want to be purposeful in using.

 There is also capability that other keyboards have such as mod tap where a single key can be set to do one thing with a tap or something else if it is held.  I don't have many creative game uses for this but since its a 60% keyboard with no arrow keys I have keys set up to act as arrow keys on tap but their normal action on hold.  No arrow keys is probably my biggest gripe with moving to a 60% board.

 The difference is not just noticeable in games, but in general productivity as well.  If, like me, you are prone to typing errors because you hit keys by accident going in and setting those keys to longer actuation or shorter if they are one's you miss easily (for me its P that I set to actuate faster just the way I reach for P).

 Then throw in things like the keyboard saving all the settings on the keyboard itself, being able to manage via a web browser instead of needing an app, and just so many nice quality of ownership features and this thing is crazy.  Any serious PC gamer is at a disadvantage without this keyboard.  Will it make you into a chad gamer just by using it?  No, but you should feel a difference and that is saying a lot for a $175 keyboard when there are many more expensive "gaming" keyboards out there that don't do anything remarkable.

New Year New Keyboard

 Ordered a Wooting 60HE a while ago and it finally got shipped to me.  So far love the keyboard; especially setting the lekkar switches actuation point (you can customize how far you need to press the key to activate it).  More thoughts to come as I get some gaming time with it.

PC Upgrade

My PC died two weeks ago, so its upgrade time:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bJFA
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bJFA/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bJFA/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6100 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX  AM3+ Motherboard  ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($48.99 @ Amazon)
Hard Drive: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: OCZ 650W ATX12V Power Supply  ($92.65 @ Amazon)
Total: $276.62
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Review: Ideazon Merc Stealth

I have, for the most part, avoided PC gaming gear. Outside of a good Logitech gaming mouse, I have stuck to using standard issue PC peripherals for my PC gaming needs. A regular keyboard has always been the end-all, be-all of PC gaming controllers.

However, for some reason, I decided to break tradition and cash in my holiday stash of gift certificates and purchase a “gamers keyboard”. I honestly thought I may be missing something with all this eye-candy PC gamer gear floating around out there. It was my turn to get the “edge” that all these gadgets claimed to give.

My first inclination was to get a gaming pad, such as the Nostromo n52 Speedpad, but after some searching and shelf surfing at my local Best Buy, I settled on the Ideazon MERC Stealth keyboard. The reasoning goes: for the same price as a side-pad type controller, I could get a full keyboard that INCLUDED a side-pad.

There are two nice things I can say about the MERC Stealth.

1. It sure is pretty.
2. The management software is user friendly.

Unfortunately, that is about all I could find for positives. Negativity, as they say, is my thing.

The first glaring problem is the layout of the QWERTY keyboard. Unlike most gaming keyboards, which maintain standard QWERTY key placements, the MERC Stealth moves critical keys around and plays complete havoc with the number pad. I found myself completely lost on the keyboard, feeling like the kid in typing class that is always getting yelled at for looking down.

Secondly, the side-pad is poorly designed. The keys are oddly shaped, poorly placed, and the pad itself is uncomfortably rotated to the side. I gave up after an hour of struggling to find a comfortable position to keep my arm in while keeping the keyboard level with me. I eventually just turned the damn keyboard and straightened out the angle on the pad.

The key placement and design on the side-pad is fundamentally flawed. The movement keys are HUGE. The function keys are tiny and all jammed together. I honestly wondered if any of the function keys were meant to be pressed at the same time as I was using the movement keys. I never found a reasonable way to utilize any of the other keys while using the HUGE movement keys. At that point, the side-pad becomes worthless.

The death knell of the MERC Stealth comes down to the combination of the altered keyboard combined with a horrible side-pad. Sure, with time, I could retrain my fingers to the MERC, but it would be a never-ending battle between my work setup and my gaming setup. The truth of the matter is that computers are a part of most PC gamers day jobs, and moving any standard keys on a keyboard is an easy way to make it feel too awkward for use.

I only spent about 30 hours gaming with the MERC stealth, so maybe it’s a muscle memory thing or maybe I just needed more time. Regardless, I returned the MERC Stealth, because at the end of the day my fingers were horribly confused.

Next up: the Nostromo n52TE Speedpad.

Bad News Bears

It has been hell since I've upgraded my computer. First, a mother board. Now, my video card. My EVGA 7800GTX took a dump on me this morning, and in the interest of time, I had to shop locally to find a replacement. Nothing sucks worse than Spring Break without a PC, not only for gaming, but the mountain of homework I need to catch up on.

Good news is that the local computer store had an MSI 9600 GT for close to $200. So, I picked one up and I'm back online. Now about that homework...

New Computer Parts = Broken Computer

TigerDirect.com had a deal I just could not resist. Quadcore processor? Check. Motherboard to support quadcore? Check. Enough RAM to support an eventual upgrade (downgrade?) to Windows Vista? Check. Essentially, this deal had everything I was looking for in my quest for computer upgrades.

At the time, this all made sense. I wouldn't just stumble into the multi-core processing scene, I would blast into it with a quadcore! Unfortunately, in my haste to capitalize on a great combo deal, I didn't do my homework. Now, I'm left out in the cold, posting this via my secondary, can't run World of Warcraft or Team Fortress 2, computer.

Everything started out great. Motherboard and hardware install went great. Booted the computer up to my Windows XP Pro CD to do a repair install to update the Windows HAL (hardware abstraction layer) to support the quadcore processor. Install completed perfectly and a short call to Microsoft and my copy of Windows XP Pro was divvied over to my new hardware. Then, I did a bit of work and reinstalled service pack 2 and several other updates.

The computer worked beautifully at this point. CPU temps were holding steady, RAM was working fine, and I was just about to throw this machine into it's first workout. However, I ran out of time for the day and shut the machine down. Unfortunately, that was the last time it was seen running.

Long story short, the motherboard died between bootups. No amount of CMOS resetting or hardware finagling can save it. Doing a bit more research, I am not the only one with a dead XFX motherboard. Every corner of the Internet seems to have someone with a dead XFX nforce 680i LT Sli motherboard. Even the TigerDirect.com customer reviews section is littered with dead on arrival (DOA) motherboards.

I am not some newb to computer hardware. I tear down and rebuild hundreds of PCs every year at work. I've helped numerous gaming friends build kick-ass rigs. I have never been stupid enough to jump on a hot deal. Yet, here I sit with a piece-of-garbage motherboard that needs to be returned. All because I wanted to catch a deal before it ended. I'm learning my lesson the hard way.

If I could, I would return the entire packaged deal, but I opened the CPU and it can not be returned. So, I will keep the OCZ RAM and Intel Q6600 quadcore CPU. However, the XFX nForce 680i LT Sli motherboard is history and I will never purchase another XFX product.

Lesson learned, be patient and smart about your computer purchases.