Flip Flopping between macOS and Windows

[xraydoc]

Most impressive.

 

[LeeW]

Very nice. See you in a couple of months when you move back to Mac.

 

[ian87w]

Windows 10 is great, but just like previous versions of Windows, a lot of work is needed to get one working properly, especially retail versions pre-installed on consumer PCs. If one goes inside the configurations and fine tune the OS (disabling un-needed data collection, uninstalling bloatware, etc), Windows 10 is one of the best Windows so far imo. Of course, making sure you're on an SSD will help overall satisfaction greatly. Alas, too many OEMs are still selling Windows computers with plain old hard-drives, which crawls like molasses (especially during first boot-up and every update installation).

 

[keeper]

After returning my Dell XPS13 I decided to take the plunge and build a tower, it’s been years since I built my own PC.
It turned out to be very rewarding and touch wood very stable.
Coming up to 60 ive actually started gaming again with FSX, Dirt Rally and F1, forgot how much fun it was and hoping it helps keep the brain sharp during the winte.

 

[LiE_]

Most impressive.

Thanks, it took a fair bit of planning and research but I enjoyed it. Water cooling is really good at keeping the system quiet and cool.

Very nice. See you in a couple of months when you move back to Mac.

I can't see it happening now, I'm very happy with this machine and I've migrated away from iCloud to Google which was seamless. I still have my iPhone 11 Pro but not sure how long I will keep that for.

Windows 10 is great, but just like previous versions of Windows, a lot of work is needed to get one working properly, especially retail versions pre-installed on consumer PCs. If one goes inside the configurations and fine tune the OS (disabling un-needed data collection, uninstalling bloatware, etc), Windows 10 is one of the best Windows so far imo. Of course, making sure you're on an SSD will help overall satisfaction greatly. Alas, too many OEMs are still selling Windows computers with plain old hard-drives, which crawls like molasses (especially during first boot-up and every update installation).

I wouldn't say a lot of work is needed, all I did is remove a couple apps and it's been great.

After returning my Dell XPS13 I decided to take the plunge and build a tower, it’s been years since I built my own PC.
It turned out to be very rewarding and touch wood very stable.
Coming up to 60 ive actually started gaming again with FSX, Dirt Rally and F1, forgot how much fun it was and hoping it helps keep the brain sharp during the winte.

Nice build It's really nice having the ability to play games and if needed swap out components for more power if needed.

 

[xraydoc]

After returning my Dell XPS13 I decided to take the plunge and build a tower, it’s been years since I built my own PC.
It turned out to be very rewarding and touch wood very stable.
Coming up to 60 ive actually started gaming again with FSX, Dirt Rally and F1, forgot how much fun it was and hoping it helps keep the brain sharp during the winte.

I built a small form factor machine with (and for) my son a few years ago. He loves it. Don't recall the specs -- I think it was a quad core i5 and a GTX 1650 or something like that with a 512GB SSD. Last time I built one for myself was over 10 years ago.

I'm awaiting delivery on a pre-built for myself. Should arrive Saturday. I know I'm not a real Jedi since I didn't built it myself, but at my age I think I prefer having a warranty and a service contract should something go wrong with it. I can do it all myself... I just don't want to any more.

But I did spec it out nicely. i7 9700K, 512GB boot NVMe, 16GB of RAM, RTX 2070 Super. Already waiting are a 1TB SATA SSD and a 4TB WD Red HDD for storage (pulled from an upgraded NAS), another 16GB of RAM and a ViewSonic 3440x1440 100Hz ultrawide monitor.

 

[ian87w]

I wouldn't say a lot of work is needed, all I did is remove a couple apps and it's been great.

That might not be a lot of work for you. Tell that to a lay person and the answer might be different.

And it's not just about removing a couple of apps. A lot of OEM bloatware rooted themselves into the system services, making it a lot harder to disable/uninstall without manually going deeper.

 

[LiE_]

That might not be a lot of work for you. Tell that to a lay person and the answer might be different.

And it's not just about removing a couple of apps. A lot of OEM bloatware rooted themselves into the system services, making it a lot harder to disable/uninstall without manually going deeper.

The experience for me is different as I don't buy off the shelf pre-build machines. I download Windows 10 professional directly from MS and during installation turn off all data collection then it's a few right clicks to uninstall some apps.

 

[maflynn]

A lot of OEM bloatware rooted themselves into the system services

There's a number of laptop makers that don't put any bloatware on their laptops or have a minimum amount of apps installed. Razer, has the synapse, Dell Lenovo has its vantage app, MS has nothing, etc etc.

I generally do what @LiE_ does and format and reinstall windows when I get a new machine. I found I really didn't need to do that for the Razer or the Surface (when I owned that).

 

[BigMcGuire]

Finally got my Desktop built. I went to a local computer tech shop and asked the guy there to build it for me. It didn't turn out exactly like I expected, so I went out and got another motherboard and then everything was perfect.

Asus ROG Strix 8450-F Gaming Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6 core processor
GSkill RipJaws 64GB of Ram (DDR4-3200Mhz)
1TB Samsung Evo Plus NVME and a 1TB Samsung 850 Evo
EVGA 850watt power supply

I put my Sonnet EGPU's AMD RX 580 graphics card in the above system.

All for less than half of what my MBP 2017 cost (not counting graphics card).

Got my Corsair K70 RGB MK.2 Low Profile in the mail today. Wow... this vs my 2017 MBP keyboard. <cries>.
A Logitech G600 gaming mouse.


Last gaming PC I built was 2011. I went Mac in 2015. Been wanting a nice desktop for some time now.

I won't even pretend I can take pictures 1/10th as good as @LiE_ --- but this thread was a huge motivator for the above.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I prefer Windows for my desktop, MacOS for my laptop, iOS for my tablet.

Currently I have a custom build desktop, AMD 2700x aio water cooled, 64gb ram OCed at 3200mhz(which was a pain to do), 1080ti GPU, SoundBlaster AE-5, on a X470 Gaming 7 wifi mobo. This thing has been a workhorse for me with editing audio and video, and great at gaming on 1440 with max settings with above 90fps. Running on a Samsung Q60 55" 4K TV (which I game at 120hz on 1440) and a Dell 27" IPS LED 1440 monitor.

I want to build a new machine when PCIe4 components becomes more mainstream and cheaper. I also want to try a custom water cooled loop on the CPU and GPU, but I'm scared. ?

My laptop is a MBP 15' 2018, 560x GPU, 16gb ram. Still smooth as butter with no issues.

iPad Mini 5 w/ Gen 1 pencil. Love this little tablet.

 

[LiE_]

I also want to try a custom water cooled loop on the CPU and GPU, but I'm scared. ?

The only scary bit is the price!

 

[BigMcGuire]

I prefer Windows for my desktop, MacOS for my laptop, iOS for my tablet.

Currently I have a custom build desktop, AMD 2700x aio water cooled, 64gb ram OCed at 3200mhz(which was a pain to do), 1080ti GPU, SoundBlaster AE-5, on a X470 Gaming 7 wifi mobo. This thing has been a workhorse for me with editing audio and video, and great at gaming on 1440 with max settings with above 90fps. Running on a Samsung Q60 55" 4K TV (which I game at 120hz on 1440) and a Dell 27" IPS LED 1440 monitor.

I want to build a new machine when PCIe4 components becomes more mainstream and cheaper. I also want to try a custom water cooled loop on the CPU and GPU, but I'm scared. ?

My laptop is a MBP 15' 2018, 560x GPU, 16gb ram. Still smooth as butter with no issues.

iPad Mini 5 w/ Gen 1 pencil. Love this little tablet.

I am starting to see the wonder of this world. I can't stand cheap Windows laptops... My MBP 2017 + this desktop ... I'm going to be happy for years and years. lol.

I've got AMD Ryzen Master keeping the CPUs at 50% and I can still do Starcraft II with vsync on with no fps loss.
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The only scary bit is the price!

The cost and lack of me ever doing something like that before kept me away.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

The only scary bit is the price!

I know they are making more starter type of kits. By the time I build again, hopefully they have something for a decent price and reliable.
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I can't stand cheap Windows laptops... My MBP 2017 + this desktop ... I'm going to be happy for years and years. lol.

I've had issues with plenty of expensive Windows laptops. That's why I'm sticking with Apple with laptops. I also have a older small laptop that I just use with Chromium OS, and it works flawless for it's low spec.

Yup, I think a MBP and Windows Desktop is the perfect combo.

 

[xraydoc]

That might not be a lot of work for you. Tell that to a lay person and the answer might be different.

And it's not just about removing a couple of apps. A lot of OEM bloatware rooted themselves into the system services, making it a lot harder to disable/uninstall without manually going deeper.

This is true. My new Dell G5 5090 desktop came with McAfee which I had to uninstall. Fortunately it seems to have come off cleanly (and gave back a TON of disk space, too). Also came with a bunch of Dell apps pre-installed, a couple of which I removed but the rest I'll keep (tech support, Dell driver updates and Dell Mobile Connect which seems to better support the iPhone than Microsoft's My Phone). Actually, more useless stuff came from Microsoft, like Candy Crush and such, than from Dell.

My Surface Book 2, however, only came with the Microsoft games and such. No other bloat.

 

[LiE_]

Build featured by Aorus UK instagram

http://instagr.am/p/B-HtZ5cKAWG/

 

[LiE_]

Took some photos as YouTuber RandomFrankP wants to feature my setup in one of his videos. Thought I’d share those photos.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Beautiful. May I ask what keyboard that is?

 

[LiE_]

Beautiful. May I ask what keyboard that is?

Durgod Hades 68 with Gateron silent browns and KP Republic grey yellow gentlemen PBT keycaps.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Durgod Hades 68 with Gateron silent browns and KP Republic grey yellow gentlemen PBT keycaps.

I got my own coming in the mail. This thread is dangerous. Now if I could just get my desk 1/5th as clean as yours.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I couldn't fight the boredom. I went to microcenter and purchased a 3950x and a new Kraken Z63 aio, to upgrade from a 2700x. The 3950x is a freaking beast. The Z63 aio display is amazing.

 

[LiE_]

Excellent choices!

 

[LiE_]

Peripherals have reached endgame

Added a custom cable to the Hades 68 and swapped the mouse for the Razer Viper Ultimate wireless.

Really pleased!

 

[BigMcGuire]

Completely your fault I went out and got a desktop with (now 2) durgod keyboards and a gaming mouse. The fact that I can play games again (egpu + MBP ... didn't work) is also your fault. And I'm loving it! lol.

Awesome pictures!

How are you liking the wireless mouse vs wired? No lag?

 

[LiE_]

Nicely done!

The mouse is very good, cannot fault it. How are you finding the Hades 68? Which switches did you go for?