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Started By
Message
Gifted a gaming PC and have questions
Posted on 10/19/22 at 5:22 pm
Posted on 10/19/22 at 5:22 pm
OK first a little setup.
I’m an older gamer that long ago played PC games. Then drifted to consoles as I had less time for gaming and the consoles were simpler to keep up with. I currently have a PS4 Pro an Xbox S and a Switch. I now have more time (and money) for gaming.
A month or so ago I finally received my purchase email for my Steam Deck reservation that I had almost forgotten about. I love this thing. It has rekindled my love of gaming and I was talking about building a new PC for gaming with a diehard gamer friend. He told me not to, that he had a Dell he would give me as thanks for helping him out a while back. He bought it during the graphics card crunch and said it was a fine computer, but he wanted one easier to tinker with.
Turns out It’s an Alienware R14 with a Ryzen 9 5900 with 64GB of ram. 1 TB M.2 SSD, 2TB SATA SSD and an Nvidia RTX 3800 10GB graphics card.
This kind of floored me since I was picturing something much more like an old OptiPlex or something, but he it the type to change out hardware every six months. Definitely above what I was planning on piecing together.
From what I can tell the Alienware computers seem to catch plenty of flack online mainly over price and heat control. But price is irrelevant to my situation and I’m worried about the heat.
Any thoughts on keeping this thing running? It does seem to run on the hotter side but from what little use I’ve done so far it seems to stay at or below 90C(usually 80C or below) on both CPU and graphics. It that good enough or should I try fan upgrades etc. How hot is acceptable?
Since most of the games I’ll be playing probably won’t max this rig out I’m thinking about just running it as is making the fan curve more aggressive and just leaving well enough alone.
Another question I have is how long will this card be good for running games with high/ultra settings in 4K? I think it has a 750W power supply and I’m already looking down the road for a graphics card upgrade since it seems to be about the only upgrade I can make except for trading large hard drives.
Any input is appreciated.
And I’m already falling into the Humble Bundle/Fanatical games trap again. The Steam Deck is the handheld I’ve wanted for years.
I’m an older gamer that long ago played PC games. Then drifted to consoles as I had less time for gaming and the consoles were simpler to keep up with. I currently have a PS4 Pro an Xbox S and a Switch. I now have more time (and money) for gaming.
A month or so ago I finally received my purchase email for my Steam Deck reservation that I had almost forgotten about. I love this thing. It has rekindled my love of gaming and I was talking about building a new PC for gaming with a diehard gamer friend. He told me not to, that he had a Dell he would give me as thanks for helping him out a while back. He bought it during the graphics card crunch and said it was a fine computer, but he wanted one easier to tinker with.
Turns out It’s an Alienware R14 with a Ryzen 9 5900 with 64GB of ram. 1 TB M.2 SSD, 2TB SATA SSD and an Nvidia RTX 3800 10GB graphics card.
This kind of floored me since I was picturing something much more like an old OptiPlex or something, but he it the type to change out hardware every six months. Definitely above what I was planning on piecing together.
From what I can tell the Alienware computers seem to catch plenty of flack online mainly over price and heat control. But price is irrelevant to my situation and I’m worried about the heat.
Any thoughts on keeping this thing running? It does seem to run on the hotter side but from what little use I’ve done so far it seems to stay at or below 90C(usually 80C or below) on both CPU and graphics. It that good enough or should I try fan upgrades etc. How hot is acceptable?
Since most of the games I’ll be playing probably won’t max this rig out I’m thinking about just running it as is making the fan curve more aggressive and just leaving well enough alone.
Another question I have is how long will this card be good for running games with high/ultra settings in 4K? I think it has a 750W power supply and I’m already looking down the road for a graphics card upgrade since it seems to be about the only upgrade I can make except for trading large hard drives.
Any input is appreciated.
And I’m already falling into the Humble Bundle/Fanatical games trap again. The Steam Deck is the handheld I’ve wanted for years.
3
Posted on 10/19/22 at 5:26 pm to SpartanSoul
He just gave you a system with a video card that still retails for $700 new for free? I wish I had a friend like that.
I would just leave it be unless you're overclocking.
I would just leave it be unless you're overclocking.
This post was edited on 10/19/22 at 5:27 pm
Posted on 10/19/22 at 5:37 pm to MetroAtlantaGatorFan
Yeah, I helped him out after Hurricane Ida and it was his way of saying thanks. Also he has money and changes out his hardware constantly.
I was shocked and it's a nicer computer than I've had in a long time if not ever. That why I want to take care of it have it last as long as I can.
I was shocked and it's a nicer computer than I've had in a long time if not ever. That why I want to take care of it have it last as long as I can.
Posted on 10/19/22 at 5:39 pm to SpartanSoul
That's still a damn good setup for 4k so have fun.
Posted on 10/19/22 at 6:41 pm to MetroAtlantaGatorFan
That's what I'm thinking.
It's just when I search I find lot's of crapping on Alienware. Seems to be lots of dogpiling and echo chamber though. They would have you think it's going to incinerate me and burn down the neighborhood.
Most of my games are older and I'm thinking my next purchase will be Cyberpunk or Elden Ring as soon as I can find either on sale.
It's just when I search I find lot's of crapping on Alienware. Seems to be lots of dogpiling and echo chamber though. They would have you think it's going to incinerate me and burn down the neighborhood.
Most of my games are older and I'm thinking my next purchase will be Cyberpunk or Elden Ring as soon as I can find either on sale.
Posted on 10/19/22 at 8:10 pm to SpartanSoul
The case is a shitbox because it has terrible thermals and uses a proprietary motherboard.
With that said, the latter only affects you when you attempt to upgrade components, and being you got it for free, it doesn't matter a ton. Just ride it until the wheels fall off, then buy/build a new computer in a few years.
And the thermals aren't the end of the world. High temps will reduce your performance, but it won't actually hurt anything. You can increase fan speeds, but that will only do so much. Personally, I would undervolt the GPU first. A 5900x should stay relatively cool during gaming workloads, even with that undersized cooler, but your GPU spewing heat will make your CPU run hotter, while simultaneously reducing its own performance. If you dial in the undervolt right, you will not only run cooler, but because your default will be such high temps, your performance will likely go up as well.
With that said, the latter only affects you when you attempt to upgrade components, and being you got it for free, it doesn't matter a ton. Just ride it until the wheels fall off, then buy/build a new computer in a few years.
And the thermals aren't the end of the world. High temps will reduce your performance, but it won't actually hurt anything. You can increase fan speeds, but that will only do so much. Personally, I would undervolt the GPU first. A 5900x should stay relatively cool during gaming workloads, even with that undersized cooler, but your GPU spewing heat will make your CPU run hotter, while simultaneously reducing its own performance. If you dial in the undervolt right, you will not only run cooler, but because your default will be such high temps, your performance will likely go up as well.
This post was edited on 10/19/22 at 8:12 pm
Posted on 10/19/22 at 8:11 pm to SpartanSoul
Nice friend. Damn
I’m over here excited my 1070 from 2016 can still play Elden Ring
I’m over here excited my 1070 from 2016 can still play Elden Ring
This post was edited on 10/19/22 at 8:13 pm
Posted on 10/19/22 at 8:32 pm to Joshjrn
quote:
Just ride it until the wheels fall off
Sounds like a plan.
quote:
Personally, I would undervolt the GPU first.
As I get more of a handle on the temps I'm seeing during real world usage I'll look into this. Thanks
Posted on 10/19/22 at 8:35 pm to jefforize
quote:
Nice friend. Damn
I’m over here excited my 1070 from 2016 can still play Elden Ring
Yeah he's the type that has a flight simulator setup with the stick, pedals and all of the gauges etc., and a racing setup with the chair and 3 monitors. He saw this as a stopgap until he could get a "real" computer and it will hopefully last me for years.
Posted on 10/19/22 at 8:40 pm to SpartanSoul
quote:
As I get more of a handle on the temps I'm seeing during real world usage I'll look into this. Thanks
So, watch your GPU temps, but don’t rely on them to determine whether you’re getting sufficient cooling, as absurd as that sounds.
Your GPU uses boost binning tables that are tied directly to your temperatures. If you keep temps low, your card will boost clock speeds higher because it can increase voltage. As temps rise, the card will lower voltage to compensate, and lower clock speeds as a result. So a card that has clock speeds just above 1900mhz at the beginning of a gaming session might sag below 1800mhz half an hour in.
So yes, keep an eye on your temps, but also keep an eye on your clock speed. That’s where you can tell whether your temps are actually hurting performance.
Posted on 10/19/22 at 9:48 pm to SpartanSoul
The biggest problems with Alienware are being overpriced and using some proprietary Dell parts (Dell bought them 10-15 years ago). Which is moot since you got it for free.
Posted on 10/20/22 at 6:17 pm to Joshjrn
quote:
So, watch your GPU temps, but don’t rely on them to determine whether you’re getting sufficient cooling, as absurd as that sounds.
Your GPU uses boost binning tables that are tied directly to your temperatures. If you keep temps low, your card will boost clock speeds higher because it can increase voltage. As temps rise, the card will lower voltage to compensate, and lower clock speeds as a result. So a card that has clock speeds just above 1900mhz at the beginning of a gaming session might sag below 1800mhz half an hour in.
So yes, keep an eye on your temps, but also keep an eye on your clock speed. That’s where you can tell whether your temps are actually hurting performance.
I was able to read up/watch some videos on underclocking the GPU and I think it's within my abilities. Thanks for pointing me in the direction.
Posted on 10/20/22 at 6:44 pm to SpartanSoul
quote:
I was able to read up/watch some videos on underclocking the GPU and I think it's within my abilities. Thanks for pointing me in the direction.
Technically underclocking and undervolting aren't the same thing. Now, you could be looking at the correct thing and were just careless with your word choice, but just wanted to make sure.
And it's certainly not hard, but if you want any help with it, I'm happy to discuss it with you either on here or on Discord.
Or better yet, Benny can pay it forward and teach you, right Benny?
Posted on 10/20/22 at 8:50 pm to Joshjrn
quote:
Now, you could be looking at the correct thing and were just careless with your word choice,
Guilty as charged.
I'll reach out if I run into any problems.
Thanks again.
Posted on 10/21/22 at 8:00 am to SpartanSoul
You're very welcome 
Posted on 10/21/22 at 12:40 pm to SpartanSoul
quote:
hopefully last me for years.
unless you're absolutely dead set on running the latest stuff on ultra settings this will keep you going for several.
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