Mr. Fox

https://www.3dmark.com/pcm10/104641736

I think you will enjoy building it and appreciate it more after you are done. SFF builds can be a real pain in the butt from what I hear because there is not much wiggle room or space to spare. Don't go too small on the case and it will be easy. You should not need to buy screws separately. The case will have what you need. Generally a PSU will include screws and coolers come with all of the hardware needed for installation. You'll likely have leftover screws when the build is done. Montech is a very good option for an affordable case. The Air 903 is what I would suggest. Great case without costing too much. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=montech+air+903 The only extra thing you might want to buy is a package of nylon zip ties. They come in handy and I usually end up cutting some off and starting over during a build. I do what seems obvious on cable management and then usually change my mind because a better idea hits me later. I joined the party later and missed some drama with earlier drivers and bugs, but I have not experienced any hiccups with Arc A770. It's not my fastest GPU, and I do not expect it to be. But it is the only one I have purchased that I believe to have offered respectable value. I have yet to find anything about it that disappoints me. I suspect that sooner or later something will because nothing is perfect. The 3090 and 4090 are monster GPUs and nothing can touch them in their respective generations, but their price alone disappointed me before I ever opened the box. In both cases I felt ill when checking out online and immediately began second-guessing my intelligence while waiting for them to arrive. They are so expensive that just using them for the first few months of ownership has made me paranoid, LOL. The paranoia eventually wears off, but they are ungodly overpriced. To all of you, my friends... and your families...

This video is 5 months old and things are even better now than they were then. But, this guy makes a lot of very good and accurate points. I took a leap of faith buying mine and I am so glad I did. It feels like one of my smartest decisions in a couple of years.

Intel ARC A770 Benchmarks - air cooled GPU with nothing special other than overclocked with max fans. The first image for each benchmark showing my history of runs is specifically for Brother @ryan so he can get an accurate perspective of how the A770 stacks up in December 2023 with current drivers against other GPUs since he has some buying decisions to make soon. Beware of YouTube videos, especially older ones since Intel GPU drivers improve monthly, sometimes dramatically. NVIDIA and AMD drivers seldom bring major changes in performance. Fires Strike Extreme | https://hwbot.org/submission/5435580_ | https://www.3dmark.com/fs/31126827 Fire Strike | https://hwbot.org/submission/5435585_ | https://www.3dmark.com/fs/31126805 Wild Life Extreme | https://hwbot.org/submission/5435586_ | https://www.3dmark.com/wl/354380 Wild Life | https://hwbot.org/submission/5435587_ | https://www.3dmark.com/wl/354381 Night Raid | https://hwbot.org/submission/5435590_ | https://www.3dmark.com/nr/1022207 Sky Diver | https://hwbot.org/submission/5435591_ | https://www.3dmark.com/sd/6444891

I don't know if that is accurate. I owned a 3060 Ti and was happy with it, yet the A770 performs better in most things. Again, that video is 5 months old and just about every month Intel releases great drivers that improve performance in the random titles that have room for opportunity. If money is a problem, the A770 is a very doable option, but if you want a good experience in 4K with high settings you're not going to achieve that with an inexpensive GPU. You'll have to dig deep and 4080 is entry-level 4K gaming. AMD doesn't have a good 4K GPU and the only one great at 4K is 4090. If you are going to compromise on price the results will be compromised, and so with the graphics quality settings that allow reduced functionalty. It is indisputable that NVIDIA GPUs produce the best results in each of the respective price/performance ranges, but they also have a steep premium associated with them. Depending on what you intend to do, the added premium might not add any value. Or, conversely, I may be unavoidable and something you just can't live without even if the price is repulsive. If a person is finding a laptop 3060 GPU delivers a gaming experience that is acceptable, then the A770 should be equally or more acceptable because it is a stronger GPU than the 3060.

I am running a bunch of benchmarks today with the A770 and you will see that is not accurate. You'll see about 135-140 FPS in Battlefield V at 1440p with Ultra settings. Brother @cylixis spot on. Every driver release the A770 and lesser Arc GPUs get faster. I will post results later today and you will see the A770 is beating Futuremark results for 2023 gaming laptops with a 4070 so you won't be losing FPS Brother @ryan. You'll be a little better with a low cost entry point and easy upgrades if you decide to spend more later on more expensive parts. It is also more fun to overclock than an NVIDIA or AMD GPU because it has more voltage, power limit and core clock headroom. The gains are larger than you'll see with a red or green card. Like 350MHz increase. Edit: @ryanhere is a spoiler for you... A770 versus 4070 desktop... https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/104547987

You, too brother. Enjoy mama and baby's first Christmas. May The Reason we celebrate this holiday bring you peace and joy in the New Year. Same to the rest of you guys.

This lady does an excellent Cortana voice impression.

Yup, bigger and they could have even put a thumb screw on each side like an old VGA or serial port connector. Or, even better had they done nothing whatsoever. Total waste of time, energy and resources designed 100% for the sole purpose to make money for manufacturers and take money from consumers. A solution where no problem existed. Fithy, dirty, rotten bastards. All of them. I have no issues with Corsair PSUs and both of my RM1200x SHIFT are excellent. I especially like the cables, including the 12VHPWR they provide. My only objection to 12VHPWR is the fact that it exists at all.

And, all of this because NVIDIA needed a stupid new connector just to be different. Another example of newer is not always better and if it ain't broke don't fix it being common sense. Had they stuck with the tried and true 8-pin connector, none of this would have happened. They should share in the loss and be held equally liable and accountable. It was an unnecessary change. They created the need for right-angle adapters due to bulk and space constraints and provided chintzy pigtail adapters that look like crap and do not resolve the issue of space constraints with cases lacking clearance for a straight connection protruding from the GPU to an excessive degree. The entire conception of it is an engineering abortion and it is their fault for creating a legitimate need for third-party remediation.

They may have product liability insurance, but even if they do it may not have adequate limits and I do not know if recalls are covered if an actual loss has not occurred. There may be coverage for cost of loss prevention. Without having policy language to examine it is impossible to know. They could end up going out of business over this.

NZXT has their own PSUs (good quality) and their own mobos.

If you get a good motherboard in a pre-built you can buy it with a more affordable CPU and pick up a good second hand i9 K/KS CPU later. You do not need more than an 13th Gen i5 for gaming excellence. People will be selling their 13900KS processors once 15th Gen drops and you can probably pick up a nicely binned CPU, maybe already delidded even, for a lot less that buying it new in a pre-built or even a self-built machine.

If you get a nice 360mm AIO installing it is no different that repasting the heat sink on an air cooled desktop or installing chassis fans. Even if you have never done it before, the process is simple and they usually include very clear directions. Yeah, A770 is insanely good for $300 USD and Battlemage may put us into the 4080 performance range for $500 USD versus $1200. I think you will find all of it easy enough. If you have replaced thermal paste or installed RAM in a laptop, it's easier than that. Basic tools and an average mechanical aptitude will be all you need. The only thing to bear in mind is if you have to use force it is an indication something doesn't fit and you need to stop and have a closer look. The "get a bigger hammer" approach does not work.

Here you go... a build for every budget, bro. https://nzxt.com/product/player-one-intel-arc-edition

Yikes. I hope my 1TB version of that doesn't meet the same fate. It's a couple of years old. This one doesn't surprise me. Lenovo's consumer-focused (non-business class) garbage took the bottom feeder's crown in the turdbook cesspool.

I am happy for you and they certainly are a nice upgrade from your 7200 kit, but I can't see the logic in me spending $300+tax on an 8200 Trident Z5 kit when my 8000 Trident Z5 kit is serving me well at 8600 24/7 Y-Cruncher stable. Even if the 8200 kit was a little bit better, that is a high premium to pay for such a minor benefit in my case. Maybe I will upgrade when DDR5-9000 hits the shelves if the price is something I can stomach. I am not going to upgrade the memory on the Z690 Dark because it's already stupid fast at 8200 and it is more than I need for my work computer. I'm going to get my refund from B&H for the Patriot trash sticks and leave the money in the bank. I emailed them my order number for the v1.0 adapter that I stopped using when all of the fires started and asked for a refund. I bought it from their global store directly, so we shall see what they tell me I need to do to get my money back.

All turdbooks. EOM. Anything made by Alienware. EOM Add the Patriot Viper 8200 DDR5 kit to the do not buy list. This memory is trash. @tps3443found the same to be true in his testing. I was hoping to replace my generic A-die with a slightly better product, but it is more than slightly inferior. XMP1 and XMP2 both fail TM5 testing and increasing the voltage does not help. Tested with both the Z690 Dark and the Z790 Apex and the outcome is the same on both platforms. It is ridiculous that the only DDR5 modules that have been good enough to keep are my generic green sticks and the G.SKILL 8000 kit I already own. Everything (literally) I have purchased hoping for something better has been utter trash. I think I am done wasting my time with the endeavor. It's pointless, and shameful how much defective garbage is being offered for sale. Two TeamGroup DDR5 kits (including their so-called Xtreem memory), one G.SKILL 32GB kit and now one Patriot 48GB kit returned as garbage in the past 90 days. These are the trash sticks to steer away from: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1796763-REG/patriot_pvx548g82c38k_viper_xtreme_48gb_8200mt_s.html ^^^poo-poo-cah-cah^^^ Tested these so you don't have to... These were also pretty lackluster, but somewhat forgivable to the extent they are cheap...

Happy Birthday, Brother @ryan(a day late). You're not getting old yet.

There are similar options down below in the "More like this" section. None are off the hook amazing, but all are better options than a laptop at the same price. All are upgradable, unlike the one way dead-end street we call a laptop.

There is no such thing as a "good laptop" and a laptop is never a better product than a desktop of similar value. All laptops are a poor value when purchased new. They are all garbage.

Add the Patriot Viper 8200 DDR5 kit to the do not buy list. This memory is trash. @tps3443found the same to be true in his testing. I was hoping to replace my generic A-die with a slightly better product, but it is more than slightly inferior. XMP1 and XMP2 both fail TM5 testing and increasing the voltage does not help. Tested with both the Z690 Dark and the Z790 Apex and the outcome is the same on both platforms. It is ridiculous that the only DDR5 modules that have been good enough to keep are my generic green sticks and the G.SKILL 8000 kit I already own. Everything (literally) I have purchased hoping for something better has been utter trash. I think I am done wasting my time with the endeavor. It's pointless, and shameful how much defective garbage is being offered for sale. Two TeamGroup 48GB kits (including their so-called Xtreem memory), one G.SKILL 32GB kit and now one Patriot 48GB kit returned as garbage in the past 90 days. These are the trash sticks to steer away from: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1796763-REG/patriot_pvx548g82c38k_viper_xtreme_48gb_8200mt_s.html ^^^poo-poo-cah-cah^^^ Apex is running the G.SKILL 8000 kit 8600 CL40 24/7 stable and the Dark is running the generic sticks 8200 CL38 24/7 stable. I think I need to be content with the modules I already own and stop chasing the DDR5 unicorns.

This is going to be interesting... really excited to see how Battlemage turns out.

Looks good. I had not heard this was coming. I've not been a huge Fallout game fan, but only because of the style of gameplay. I can hardly wait for Halo S2 to drop. I loved S1, but it was WAAAYYY too short. This gal does a fantastic impression of the Micro$oft AI voice.