Computers can get loud to some people, to others they don't care. It's really more personal preference than anything.

Here's my selection of parts for you to look at:

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | $139.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard | MSI 890FXA-GD65 ATX AM3 Motherboard | $129.99 @ Newegg
Memory | Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory | $47.99 @ Newegg
Hard Drive | Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $60.87 @ Amazon
Video Card | XFX Radeon HD 6950 1GB Video Card | $222.55 @ Newegg
Case | Silverstone PS05-B ATX Mid Tower Case | $49.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Silverstone 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $68.65 @ Amazon
|| Total
| (Prices include shipping and discounts when available.) | $720.03
Additional Parts | -- Parts not available on parts picker --| --
Optical | Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW | $22.99 @ Amazon
Monitor | Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED | $159.98 @ Newegg
Keyboard | Logitech Access Keyboard 600 | $21.95 @ Amazon
Mouse | Razer Deathadder 3500 | $44.93 @ Amazon
Mouse Pad | Razer Goliathus Omega S | $14.99 @ Amazon
Headphones | Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 | $93.90 @ buy.com
|| Grand Total
| (Prices include shipping and discounts when available.) | $1077.77

Now, I know I strayed dangerously close to your upper, upper limit but I have very good reasons for doing so which I'll explain below.

I'd also like to say (and I may catch some heat for this) I didn't skimp on your peripherals. I got you a great entry level gaming set of gear alongside a fairly high end machine. The headphones are EXTREMELY good though (you said you were an audiophile). The monitor is great quality as well. I spent a little extra on these because they will likely follow you through multiple computers. I've used the same mice, keyboards, etc. for 1-2 generations of builds.

Breakin' it down:

AMD Phenom X4 CPU is a great option for a gaming machine. It's a bit under the new i5's but plenty of power for a primarily gaming platform.

A little bit more money for a nice motherboard gets us our crossfire support for the possibility of future upgrades. also plenty of other ports and a good company name behind it.

A 2 stick 4gb memory kit leaving room to upgrade to 8gb later on. Kingston is a great brand as well.

Samsung Spinpoint 1tb for massive storage and the best value in hard drives to date.

Raedeon 6950 means maximum settings and some Crossfire possibilities in the future. We definitely didn't skimp here. XFX also sends their card out with a lifetime warranty.

Silverstone case. This is a relatively new case with a unique look but Silverstone is a great company. I chose it over the HAF because at the moment it's the same price without a rebate.

Silverstone PSU. Again, Silverstone is a great company. 600watts won't cover crossfire but in this budget we cant afford to; it covers this build fine though. 80+ certified.

Random optical drive. Newegg is usually cheaper but they don't seem to have any free shipping drives available at the moment so Amazon wins this round.

A very nice LED 1080p 22" (21.5) monitor. Well rated and good quality brand.

A nice keyboard that's a bit above your basic crap models. Not much special here but you will be gaming so I at least wanted something solid. Later on if you get more into it you can look into higher end gaming keyboards as an upgrade if you wish.

An excellent mid-range Razer gaming mouse with 3500dpi (which you turn down to your liking). Even if you don't use the full 3500dpi it will increase your precision because the mouse sensor is always running at max. Lots of people underestimate the value of great gaming peripherals and the mouse is definitely one of the most important.

The second thing people always undervalue is a good mouse-pad. I have one of these Razer Goliathus mats and I gotta say it's like I upgraded my mouse. It's a great investment if you're into it.

* Audio Technica AD700 headphones are THE BEST headphones I've ever had for gaming (and I've used $500+ headphones in the past). They are very good for music and movies as well although that's always best done with speakers. Anyway, back to gaming, these headphones have a HUGE sound-stage and contribute to excellent positional awareness in games. I've had mine for 4 years without so much as a bump in their performance and quality. I VERY highly recommend these.

I'm sure I'll catch hell from some people on here that you should be getting a better build and sacrificing peripherals but trust me. Good peripherals contribute a LOT more to the gaming experience than you would think. I've been doing this for years and I've played on everything from stock gateway mice to my now top end $100 Razer mouse; it's totally worth it.

CPU

Mother Board

GPU

8GB of RAM

1TB HDD for way more storage space then a console. You could drop the storage space to match a console and save a bit of money, but we won't do that.

PSU Cheaper/lower wattage for this build is possible, but it's better not to skimp

Disk drives are dying out and everything is going digital. Even consoles are showing massive growth in direct game purchases and downloads from PSN/XBL. But here it is if you want one.

Here's a few cases 1 2 3 4. Pick your case based on style, USB ports, whatever. All of those are 30 dollars or less and are mATX, meaning smaller form factor.

So now peripherals. Need a monitor? No you don't, plug it in to your TV. HDMI just like a console and consoles don't come with displays. You might have a monitor already.
Controller/input devices? PCs can use the old controllers you have laying around. Here's a keyboard and mouse recommendation anyway if you want one or don't already own them since most people own a computer for stuff outside gaming. That costs around half the price of an OEM console controller and KB+M is a more accurate input method. Controllers are a comfort thing and are best suited for driving games, but point and click with a high DPI sensor is much more intuitive and accurate than a controller with bad input filtering and clunky auto aim. Microsoft tried cross platform and keyboard and mouse destroyed gamepad/controller players. The only real cross platform right now is Rocket League because controllers are the better input method for driving so it's equal footing. But if you're playing Rocket League on PC, you load in faster. You'll be sitting on an empty field while you wait for other players to connect before the countdown and stuff starts, kinda neat. Also, that one I recommended has a button to change DPI/sensitivity on the fly, no need to bother with settings menus. Seamlessly go from sniping to roaming to driving. The keyboard is back lit and has a few color options.

Operating system? GNU/Linux is free and is getting more and more gaming support every day. It's not as hard as people make it out to be. Get a basic/user friendly distro like Ubuntu and all you really have to do is install. If you're a masochist, a developer, or a masochistic developer get a tougher distro like Gentoo. Funny thing as well, games with Linux support run better on Linux since it's such a great operating system on the software level. SteamOS is also free. Want Windows? Download the OS and put it on a disk or flash drive, install it on the new computer and enter the product key. Where do you get a product key? Don't buy it from a big box retail store for 100 bucks or likely more, you're getting gypped. You can buy 100% legit product keys online. r/microsoftsoftwareswap sells them for 20-25$ and the keys are straight from Microsoft

Also, all of those listings are from Amazon and are Amazon Prime eligible (for the other guy that replied to you that wants to complain about rebates/shipping/living next to a MicroCenter). You can find a lot of those parts cheaper and/or with free shipping. I recommend NewEgg. So you can do even better than the price I'm about to give you (which also means you can get better hardware for better performance):

Here's the itemized list with the prices: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QBVRNG

$448.51 total for a PC that is massively better than current gen consoles. Drop the unnecessary DVD drive and the keyboard+mouse combo and the PC itself comes in at $402.93.

So... brand new parts from a large online retailer with a great support system. You can get even better deals on the parts if you checked other great online retailers like NewEgg. Ten years ago consoles absolutely made sense, but now leaps in hardware design have made better hardware cheaper and the tables have turned.

Does that "come close without cheating"?

Here's a few more kickers now that we have the hard price set:

AMD and Nvidia are about to launch a new line of GPUs, meaning current prices will drop (better performance at lower cost on that build I just gave you) and AMD is specifically focusing on lower/mid range market with higher performance and efficiency. It's going to be great for mainstream gaming rigs.

PC gaming is usually cheaper over time because Intel/Nvida/AMD don't charge development fees (they can't), neither can EVGA/ASUS or whoever makes the parts, neither can Microsoft. Steam takes a cut, but so do stores like GameStop. Stuff like that is why Steam can have massive sales consoles can only dream of and the developers can still profit from a sale. The only reason PC games are 60 dollars like their console equivalents is because it's the standard and they can "get away with it" (especially if you're Microsoft trying to expand Windows 10 and not alienate XBox), but they can make the same or more per sale at a lower cost.

PCs also have the largest game library of any platform and the massive free to play library that comes with it as well. And it's really free, not 'pay 50 a year for a subscription and get to play a game for a month' free

PC is, in theory, forever backwards compatible. Want to play CoD4? Don't shell out the money for Infinite Warfare, just install CoD4 and play on the servers PC still hosts. Games that came out upwards of 10 years ago can still be installed and run with no issue.

You don't have to double spend. No buying a console and a computer for work/school. Put your 300 dollar home computer and 400 dollar console prices together and you made a huge leap in budget to built a killer PC. You also get a much more versatile platform capable of running much more stuff and you get so much more control over your experience.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor | $219.99 @ SuperBiiz
CPU Cooler | Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $89.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard | ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $132.99 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | $79.98 @ OutletPC
Storage | Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $124.95 @ OutletPC
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $52.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card | $348.99 @ NCIX US
Case | Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case | $129.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $103.49 @ NCIX US
Optical Drive | Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer | $16.98 @ OutletPC
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) | $90.26 @ OutletPC
Monitor | Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor | $139.99 @ Best Buy
Keyboard | Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard | $129.95 @ NCIX US
Headphones | Kingston HyperX Cloud Pro Headset | $79.99 @ Newegg
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1740.53
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-11 14:46 EST-0500 |

Things I changed:

Processor cooler:

Added one as I do recommend one if you want to overclock your system. The H100i does very well on the cooling part!

Motherboard:

I'm not much of a fan of MSI boards because of their software. Their Killer Lan drivers broke my Wi-Fi's card drives and the Sound blaster Cinema drivers said I didn't even own an MSI board :/

So I'd recommend going with the Asrock Z97 Extreme4 as it offers better overclockability because of the higher power phase count and extra ports like the Sata-Express one.

Case:

While this one is a great case, you should check out these:

- Phanteks Enthoo Pro. It's a lot bigger case, but it offers a lot more upgrade options later on. It's just an fantastic case that looks great for a decent price!

- Corsair Obsidian 750D. It's another big case, but just like the Enthoo Pro a great alternative!

- Be Quiet! Silent Base 800. This is Be Quiet!'s first take at a case and I have high hopes for this one. It looks amazing and offers a lot of options. I expect to find the well popular Silent wing fans and sound dampening material in there!

- Fractal Design Node 605. This is an excellent, but quite expensive alternative! It's a small "HTPC" like case that supports ATX motherboards and long graphics cards!

Power supply:
The G1 series of EVGA are not that great. You should go with the G2 series. You could also go with something cheaper from Rosewill, that still is a great quality power supply.

Speakers:

About speaker setups. I'd recommend one with an amplifier with it. As onboard audio is not gonna do very well for a decent setup. Or go with something a little cheaper.

From cheaper to most expensive:

- Creative Labs Gigawork T40 Series II. A great 2.0 setup that doesn't really need a good amplifier to create some nice sounds.

- Creative Labs Inspire T6160 is another great setup that is fine without dedicated amplifier. This setup is fairly cheap and it'll most likely have some sharp high tones, which are certainly annoying.

- Logitech Z506. A great and popular setup. I do highly recommend going with an external (DAC and) amplifier for the best audio quality.

- AudioEngine A2+. these are more professional boxes and thus provide you with excellent clear sounds! It has a DAC integrated for even better audio quality than all above mentioned speaker setups.

>-Previous threads here-
>
>
>Objective:
>Going back to the original - The $500 build from /u/JDM_WAAAT. Since then, many of those parts prices have drastically increased in price or are unavailable. So new objective, build it better, for less! And oh man did we ever.
>
>
>Rules for buying used server-grade parts on eBay:
>
>1. Buy from highly-rated, reputable sellers
>2. When "Or best offer" is available, use it. Sellers will likely discount parts, often up to 30%.
>3. Shop around. There are many resellers selling the same exact parts on eBay, find the one with the best price.
>4. Scrutinize the details of the auction. For example, make sure CPU stepping / revision is correct to what you need. Make sure components are listed as functioning and not "for parts only".
>5. Do not, under any circumstances buy QA/QC/QS/ES labled CPUs. Only buy official used / refurbished Intel Xeon CPUs. Chips with this label are not guaranteed to work, and might break functionality with something as simple as a BIOS update.
>6. Check sources other than Ebay. /r/buildapcsales can be a huge help with this. Amazon or Newegg often have huge sales on some of the new parts. Shop around people!
>
>Build
>
>http://i.imgur.com/X1NzK7Z.png
>
>http://i.imgur.com/r2d3lQp.png
>
>http://i.imgur.com/AHQJmto.png
>
>Type|Item|Price (eBay) | OBO? | OBO price
>:----|:----|:----|:---- |:----
>CPU | 2x Intel Xeon E5-2650 2.00GHz, 8 core 16 thread | Incl w/ MOBO | |
>Motherboard | Supermicro X9DRi-LN4F+ Dual Socket | $281.98 | YES | $260
>RAM | 16GB (4X4GB) DDR3 ECC REG x 2 | $29.89 ea | YES | $25.00 ea
>CPU Cooler | 2x Arctic Freezer i11 CO | $19.22 ea | |
>PSU | EVGA 450W BT | $24.99 | |
>EPS Splitter | 8 Pin to Dual 8 Pin EPS Splitter | $6.00 | |
>24 Pin Extention | 12" 24 Pin Power Extention | $9.99 | |
>Case | Phanteks Enthoo Pro | $79.99 | $15 MIR | $64.99
>Thermal Compound | Gelid GC Extreme | $12.99 | |
>Other | Tax, shipping, fees | $3.60 | |
>Total | | $517.76 | after OBO | $471
>Optional Extras | Sata cable 6 pack | $7.49 | |
>Optional Extras | Sata power splitter | $6.27| |
>
>---
>
>About this build:
>
>There you have it. If you recall, the original $500 build actually used this same CPU. BUT ONLY 1!. Here, we used 2, gave it more RAM, and all for over $50 less!
>
> General: I recently completed almost this exact build, same mobo, case, etc. Just ended up with different RAM config, and used dual E5-2630L CPU's that i got for a steal. This build will be using two Intel Xeon processors on Intel Socket 2011 motherboard with Quad-Channel DDR3-ECC RDIMM memory. It does not include specifications for SSD or HDD.
> CPU: The Intel Xeon E5-2650 is a high power, 8 core, 16 thread CPU that came out Q1 2012. 2.0Ghz clock, 2.8 Ghz turbo. It has a counterpart, the E5-2600L series who are also 8 cores, but low power. If you don't need quite as much Passmark power, these are also a power saving option at a slightly lower price point. MSRP when it was released was around $1100.00 USD Each. Plex Transcoder has true multi-threaded support and will take advantage of all 32 threads. So while this CPU might not be clocked as fast as what most of you are used to, the sheer amount of cores/threads will more than make up for it. Dual E5-2650's will score 15000 on passmark. Another thing to consider is that since the CPU is so cheap, you won't have to worry about it when it comes time to upgrade in the future. You can replace it with any V1 or V2 E5-2600 series cpu's. Dual E5-2660 V2, 10 core 20 thread, 2.20GHz base / 3.00 Ghz turbo in the future for about +4000 extra passmark score.
> Motherboard: Supermicro X9DRi-LN4F (Link to Supermicro Product Spec Page) This motherboard has dual 2011 sockets with a whopping 24 DIMM slots. With this build we'll be using only 8 of those available DIMMS, so there's a possible future upgrade. 6 SATA ports are standard, along with 2 SAS ports, for a total of 14 available SATA connections. Quad Gigabit NIC is also standard, plus IPMI.
> RAM: Here, we're using 8x4GB DDR3 ECC REG for quad channel support, and a total of 32GB of available memory. 32GB is a good value here. Another 2 sets would fill all 24 slots, for a total of 96GB.
> CPU Cooler: There's not much to say here. It's compatible, it's quiet, and it works. We won't be overclocking, so there's not much to worry about so long as it works. Also designed for continuous operations.
> PSU: It's cheap, powerful enough, and works. Not much more to say.
> Case: This case has full SSI-EEB+ (E-ATX with specialized mounting) support. Supports 6 3.5" hard drives two 2.5" SSDs, and two 5.25" bays natively. It's an all-around wonderful case, and it's really well-constructed (I have one, it's great). Also, one of the few cases that actually will fit this massive MOBO. In the front is a MASSIVE 200mm intake fan. Didn't even know they made them that big.
> Splitter/Extension These are necessary with the parts listed above to work. The power supply listed only has 1 8 Pin EPS connection for the CPU. Since we have 2, need a splitter. If you use a different PSU, check on the # of EPS connections. If it has 2, this part is not necessary. This board BARELY fits in the case. I know, I have both! Here's some pictures to show. Because of this, wiring the power can be a bit tricky, and to get it done in a clean way, need the 12" extension.
> Thermal Paste This is the best non-liquid metal thermal compound out there, hands down.
>
>Cautionary notes, other details
>
>1. Server equipment is stripped down to the bare minimum for compatibility and reliability. Because of this, features you are used to having might be missing - for example, some server motherboards don't have onboard audio. Also, most will use VGA onboard.
>2. Use a SSD for your host OS. This is likely where your Plex metadata will live, so if you're going to generate thumbnails and you have a sizeable library, make sure to get an appropriate size. I have about 20TB of media with thumbnails turned on, and 500GB is starting to feel tight. About 250GB is a good start for most people.
>3. Familiarize yourself with the BIOS options. Some may be different than consumer models. Make sure Hyper-threading is turned on in the BIOS. When in doubt, clear the CMOS / reset to default. You should verify that all 24-threads are showing in your host OS.
>4. Almost any OS will work. Includes ESXI, unRAID, FreeNAS, Linux, and Windows of course.
>5. Evaluate your RAID options. This motherboard has capabilities for onboard RAID, but that isn't for everyone.
>
>Upgrades, other parts
>
>1. Cheap storage in the form of $33 refurbished 2TB Hitachi Ultrastar hard drives. These are Enterprise level drives, great for use with RAID arrays.
>2. Sell the pair of E5-2650's & get Dual E5-2660 V2, 10 core 20 thread, 2.20GHz base / 3.00 Ghz turbo for 19,000 Passmark score. At time of posting these were $249.99 OBO w/ free shipping, extremely great value currently. If you're more concerned about power consumption, consider a pair of E5-2650L's for $41.50 each OBO at the time of this post, for a sweet ~14k passmark at only 70w TDP each.
>3. MORE RAM!
>4. Liquid cooling - If you plan on upgrading to V2's this is a good idea. Can get Corsair H55's for $60 each.
>5. DO IT ALL! If you want more power right now, sell the CPU's that come with the mobo for ~80 and grab a pair of E5-2660's for $240. Triple the RAM for an extra $100. Liquid cool the PSU's for an added $80. Finally, upgrade to a 550w semi modular 80+ gold psu for an extra ~$30 (one's on sale @ Newegg for $55 after MIR currently). Grand Total: around $840.
>
>FAQ
>
> Q: Aren't used parts unreliable?*

Logitech G500: Probably one of the most top rated mice you can fine. Good grip, buttons and the speed/reaction of this mouse isn't too bad at all. You can find better but for the money it's a great deal. - Logitech G500

Razer Deathadder: Personally...I like this mouse over the G500 and I'm not the biggest of Razer fan either. This mouse absolutely rocks it for the price. It's more of a Mouse's Mouse, there isn't a ton going on, you have a very good scroll wheel and two functions right where your thumb rests. If you want buttons and all kinds of other stuff look elsewhere, this mouse rocks for what it is. - Razer Deathadder

SteelSeries Xai: It /may/ almost push out the Deathadder as top mouse at a very good mouse. StealSeries I feel delivers some of the best peripherals around, they feel amazing, act great and look equally as "plain" (not flashy) but still have eye candy. The Xai has a color changing LCD in the back to change the colors of the Insignia on the back...if that's your thing. - SteelSeries Xai

Out of all of those, it's hard for me not to recommend the Deathadder. I believe (I forgot to double check the stats) but the DPI is higher for the DA than any of the other mice I listed here and it feels great in your hand.

On to the next thing: Mouse Pad. I almost feel like I'm in the minority when I say that I need a good pad for my mice. Right now I am using a Cyborg RAT 7 with a Kabuto Razer Gaming Pad. It's a bit expensive, but I used this pad with my Deathadder that I had before my RAT 7 and it worked flawlessly with it. I tried it without it and you can see a noticeable difference. However for about the same price, you can get a SteelSeries QcK+ Pad which are quite nice as well (and if you are a person for brand synchronicity, you can get this one with the Xai).

However, no matter what myself or anyone else says: Pick the right mouse for you, we cannot judge what feel good to you. Mice are a hard buy, because recommendations only work if the person who loves it has the same hand structure as you...and normally it doesn't. Some of these things can be found at Best Buy and other brick stores, so if you get a chance go out and try out every mouse you can and find one that works for you before you decide on a specific one.

Looks alright. I wouldn't reccomend Ryzen chips. I would probably get something more like an i7 6700k or the 6700 (which is around $20 cheaper if you can't justify the price) for gaming. If you end up choosing an Intel CPU you'll have to choose a different Mobo as well but there are lots of good ones.

I'd reccomend getting an entry level 144Hz Screen. If you can stretch to something like this I would seriously reccomend it, though it's not going to hurt you if you don't. I think it was Jake from LG Evil that made T500 early in the game on a Mac Book running OW in wine.

I personally don't like any gaming Headsets other than the HyperX Clouds. There is a huge quality difference between them and any other "gaming" headsets I have used.

As far as mice and keyboards, I would probably just buy a nice cheap Keyboard to begin with because there are no benefits really to having a good keyboard if you're on a budget. A mouse is kinda personal, I use a Steel Series Rival 100 but am a palm style user and am completely arm aim. It's a good cheap mouse but you may want something else if your grip style is different. My brother plays claw and doesn't mind it though.

Parts and gear you should prioritise for Overwatch are: Good GPU. 6GB 1060s are plenty for overwatch unless you want to be running the game at consistently over 240FPS (here's Taimou's settings btw. These will help with you configuring your settings for Overwatch). A fast CPU (Overwatch can be very CPU dependant). SSDs are kinda nice and fairly cheap. If you have a SSD btw you're at a direct benefit to most other players because you load in matches faster and can therefore instalock first, if that's your thing. :P Monitors are the most important peripheral by far in my opinion, followed closely by mice. If you're not getting a 144Hz screen now, you'll want one eventually (you won't need one but you'll want one). The only other peripheral that is important for Overwatch specifically is a mouse. This is one of those what suits your style things and there's no real correct answer but for First Person Shooters you usually want a nice light fast mouse. Ideally with 2 buttons on the side of the mouse for binding melee and voice. Just don't get a Razer and you'll be fine.

I'd probably ask on /r/buildapc as well because they'll probably give you better advice than this sub will. Best of luck dude with your transition to PC. Hope this helps.

Edit: oh and Mousepad! In the beginning I'd reccomend a nice control style mouse pad for getting used to using a mouse for aiming. I can't reccomend you any though because I have always used the mats that come in WoW TCG boxes since a family member has heaps of them and I've never used any other control style mats. The bigger the better.

The 1391401 is considered the quintessential Model M. It is usually what people are thinking of when they think of Model Ms. Generally, the earlier 1986 - 1988 Model Ms are the more highly desirable ones as they have thicker backplates and a more solid construction. (btw the 1391401 began production in early 1987) A few of my most prized Ms are from this 1986 era, especially the ones that have a barcode label on the back.

They then went through a few stages of cost cutting, so the case and the backplate are a little thinner as the years go on but the buckling spring switch mechanics were relatively unchanged. The keyboards are still quite nice, and there are quite a few from the later years that I really like a lot.

In 1993, some employees bought the keyboard division of IBM and renamed themselves Lexmark. The backplates and case become thinner still. Although they definitely feel a little "lighter," they are still nice keyboards and really fun to type on. That being said, it is apparent as you become familiar with them, that the molds that were used to stamp the parts out started getting rougher and less precise, and the keycap legends are not quite as sharp and bold.

One of the things I love most about Ms, is that they are tremendously durable and easy to clean up and make look new or near new. Just takes a 5.5mm (or 7/32) nut driver with thin walls to remove the case (I bought this one and it has served me nicely - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQ4XP6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Lots of guides on cleaning up Ms to be found on the web.

As a first M, I think a 1391401 is a perfect one to look for. There are a lot of Ms on ebay, however a lot of sellers seem to think theirs are worth hundreds of dollars and most aren't. There were millions of these keyboards sold, so most standard models are not rare at all. With some patience and persistent browsing, you can find a nice one for a very modest amount of $. I have found more than a few (often quite dirty) from between $30 - $50, which I think is a good range to aim for - depending on age, condition etc. You probably want to avoid a Terminal M as your first, as it will take a bit more work/money to get working with a modern computer.

Also, you will likely save money by finding one that has a SDL - PS2 cable, as buying one on its own will likely cost a few more dollars. When you do, if you don't have a PS2 connection on your pc, you will need an active adapter. The Sanoxy blue cube is perfect -

https://www.amazon.com/SANOXY-PS2-Keyboard-USB-Adapter/dp/B000BSJFJS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493617382&sr=8-1&keywords=sanoxy+blue+cube

It's cheap and works well and is endorsed by clickykeyboards, the foremost restorer and expert on Model Ms. He has written my favorite buyers guide on them:
http://www.clickeykeyboards.com/model-m-buyers-guide/

That's good the motherboard ports still work. There's a couple things you can get for more. There's just a simple external usb hub, an internal 3.5" sata hub, or an internal pcie hub ( if you're case/motherboard will support either of those).

That cpu is definitely no slouch, I don't think it needs an upgrade.

The 750 ti is a little under-powered nowadays, but it should still run those games somewhat ok. If you wanted to upgrade it I'd say an rx 470 would be a great idea. If you check r/buildapcsales you can find them for about $140 sometimes. Need to make sure your power supply and case will fit it though. Do you know what the power supply is? The case is probably fine as long as it's not one of those tiny ones.

A second monitor (or just nicer, what's the one you have?) could certainly be nice for just everyday use / multitasking. It wouldn't really make gaming a ton better unless you got a high end one like 144hz or even 1440p (which you would also need a better video card for). An i5 3470 + rx 470 should play pretty much any current game on med-high settings at 1080p 60fps.

If you don't already have an SSD I'd say that should definetly be part of the upgrade. It's one of the best things you can do to make a computer feel faster/snappier. It won't improve gaming fps. But putting the OS and most used programs/games will make the whole system feel super quick.

$800-1000 could definitely build a pretty beast rig. But imo it's not really worth it for your needs. Some good upgrades would be best I think.

Thanks /u/lamic

I looked through your post and recommendations, it looks awesome! I know I really should wait for the Hero5 but I'm not sure if I can wait.


I started to put a list of things I want/need into a spreadsheet, to start looking at Price. I have Amazon Prime so I'm thinking about ordering everything through Amazon.


Can you take a quick look through my list and see if everything checks out and if I missed anything for "Basic" operations? Then could you make any more recommendations, or let me know what my next purchases should be?

• GoPro HERO4 SILVER- $338
  
  
  
• Memory Card Lexar 64GB- $35, Looks like the cheapest one between Sandisk Extreme and Lexar, Lexar currently is the cheapest on Amazon
  
  
• Batteries - Wasabi Power Battery (2-Pack)- $22, Read a few reviews and people said they like these batteries a lot. Should give me enough juice and let me know how long I can record with, until I'm completely dead.
  
  
  
• Protection Lens - $7 I really just need to lens protector, in the reviews people are saying some parts don’t fit the Hero4 only the Hero3. Or should I put the $20 version off the actual GoPro site?
  
  
• GoPro The Tool – $4, Like you requested and reading some comments it looks like it would be worth it.
  
  
• A basic Card Reader - $7, did a quick google search on best card readers this one popped up for best for it’s price.
  
  
• SANDMARC® Pole - $40, Looked up some reviews and people tend to like this one. It seems like is always recommended to have some kind of stick or holdable mount to start off with. Also could you go into a little more detail about mounting the GoPro?
  
  
• Pelican Case -$25 I like the idea of it being waterproof and I like to be organized with my stuff. So this looks like a perfect fit. And it will be an awesome case to travel with.
  
  
• Kingston 5-in-1 Mobile Companion - $35 I was watching some videos and it seems like this could be a cool little gadget to have. I would mostly use it for “mobile uploads to Hard Drives”. Working in IT I know how important it is to have backups, and this will let me get around bringing a laptop to the resort and other stuff. This is the video I’m referring too that shows you how to upload to a HD with out a computer.
  
  
  So with everything in my cart I’m sitting at $488 which is with in my budget.
  
  I’m still reading about the remote. That might be something we add down the line. I think I’ll be pretty content with just my phone app or getting the “waterproof touch screen” case cover too.
  
  Do you think this is a good setup? Will this get me going? Do you have any recommendations, or anything that I should add or not buy yet?
  

>don't understand all of what's important regarding stats

• Figure out what form factor you want, either a slab tablet or a monitor tablet. Slab tablets are MUCH cheaper, but you need to have an external monitor and computer to use them, whereas a monitor tablet you only need a computer and can draw directly on the screen.
  
  
• Figure out what size you want.
  
  This one is kind of tricky as there's no right or wrong answer to this one, it's entirely subjective. I personally use a tablet that's 10"x6" which feels comfortable to me, but I know people who use massive ones twice the size as mine, and some who use ones smaller than mine, it's all about what's comfortable to the artist using them.
  
  
• Pressure levels.
  
  Every tablet will list their "Pressure levels", this is just the level of sensitivity that the pen is capable of achieving. In general the higher the number the better.
  
  For reference the tablet I use everyday for work is quite old at this point and has either 2048 or 4000-ish (It's been a while since I bought it, I honestly can't remember =P.) levels of pressure, whereas most modern tablets will have 8000+.
  
  
• LPI (Lines per inch.)
  
  This is basically the tablets "Resolution". Same deal as pressure levels, the higher the better.
  
  
• Screen type (Monitor tablet specific. Doesn't apply to slab tablets.)
  
  When it comes to monitors and thus monitor tablets as well, IPS monitors are generally better for art related things as they offer a better colour range, but because of this they're also more expensive than something like TFT monitors. There's tablet monitors out there that use all types of monitors in them, and while I would personally suggest one that uses an IPS monitor in it if possible, it's usually not a noticeable issue unless you have something like a TFT and IPS monitor side by side.
  
  One thing they do vary on quite a bit is their viewing angles. IPS has much better viewing angles whereas other types of monitors tend to "Colour shift" when viewing them from anything other than straight on.
  
  Note: "Colour shifting" is when as you look at the screen at more and more of an angle the colour starts to drain away and in some cases when viewed at extreme angles will actually look like a negative image.
  
  Some other things to keep in mind:
  
  
• Is it modular? aka can the cord be removed from the tablet it self meaning if the cord breaks in the future (And trust me, it will.) can you replace the cord easily without needing to replace the whole unit.
  
  
• Is the tablets surface textured or smooth? Some tablets are perfectly smooth while others have a paperlike texture, which one is better is another case of personal preference (Personally I prefer my tablets like I prefer my peanut butter, nice and smooth.), but if the tablets surface is textured then it will wear down the stylus nibs quicker than a smooth one would. Nibs are replaceable and tablets will always come with some number of replacement nibs and a nib removal tool, so it's not a huge deal.
  
  
• Does it work with your OS? It's pretty rare for a tablet to not be compatible with modern versions of Windows and OSx, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't seen some that will only support the latest version of each OS, or will only work on one and not the other, so just make sure to double check that the unit you're buying does say that it works with whatever OS you use.
  
  If you're looking for a solid and inexpensive tablet, I would personally reccomend the Huion h610 pro, I've been using ths non-pro version (Which has since been discountinued apparently.) for the past 4 years now everyday for work and have no major complaints about it other than the drivers were a little finicky when I first set it up.
  
  If you're wondering what the differences between my non-pro version and the pro version are, the pro version has slightly better specs and a textured surface. My dislike for textured tablets was why I went with the non-pro version at the time.
  
  If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll help as best I can.

So I have B1W on the sidebar. Much of it is unknown since it is new.

However I put it in the: Excellent video quality, Fair/Poor build quality, Lackluster parking mode category. Not because it deserves it, but because it is Chinese made and anything Chinese made has to prove it self and climb out of this category.

It has several wanted features:

> Wifi, G-sensor and it uses a super capacitor instead of a battery (capacitor is better for hot environments). Build quality is quite good.

> Blueskysea B1W | DashCamTalk - review

These are initial reviews, and are subject to downgrade. Much like the A119 v1, and A119S v1 suffered many downgrades.

Others like this dash cam, however, for me, I am quiet jaded. I don't want anything that looks like fair/poor build quality. I am tired of maintaining the current dash cams that I have. My future dash cams are Excellent build quality, Excellent parking mode, Good/Fair video quality dash cams - Korean made.

---

For me, I would blow your budget anyways:

• BlackSys CH-100B 2CH ($200 USD) Dashcam (Front/Rear) + Hardwire kit + 16gb Micro SD card included.
  
  Or for better video quality:
  
  
• BlackSys CH-200 2CH ($300 USD) Dashcam (Front/Rear) + Hardwire kit + 32 gb Micro SD card included.
  
  ---
  
  If I had to downshift, I would purchase:
  
  Excellent build quality, Excellent parking mode, Good/Fair video quality: No wifi/cellphone app: 1CH
  
  
• BlackVue DR450 1CH ($120-239 USD) - This dash cam is newer so it is unknown about the G sensor.
  
  or
  
  Excellent build quality, Excellent parking mode, Fair video quality: No wifi/cellphone app: 1CH
  
  
• Thinkware F50 1CH ($90-150 USD) - Fair video quality should be seriously looked at, as it is not as good as Good/Fair or Good. Common complaint is G sensor too sensitive on lowest setting, and can not be disabled.
  
  However, I would not be pleased to do so.
  
  I definitely want 2ch, Excellent build quality, Excellent parking mode, Good/Fair video quality, and wifi/cellphone app.
  
  ---
  
  If I had to go below that:
  
  B1W ($55 USD) + ($20 USD) 64gb Micro SD Card + Cheap Hardwire kit ($17 USD) <- Micro USB (Most dash cams are Mini USB) so be aware you need Micro USB) = Total cost ($92 USD)
  
  Of course I would have liked to get a High Endurance, MLC based Micro SD card, with error correction. However ($40 USD) for 32gb for Transcend High Endurance is becoming ridiculous in price. Samsung Evo should be "good enough."
  
  You could go with a cheaper hardwire kit ($13 USD) but you want to be very sure the tap a fuse matches your vehicle. 2ndary fuse also (separate purchase) matches your vehicle. 1st fuse comes from your car, and protects your car, 2nd fuse (separate purchase) 5amp protects your dash cam. 1st is closest to the blade, 2nd is further away.

Well there's a few considerations.

1: If you want to keep your data (all your downloaded games, Windows, documents, Steam, etc.) then you will need to clone your old hard drive to the new SSD. A lot of SSD's come with cloning software, but just to be safe check on the SSD's page to make sure it will come with it. If they don't, you can download a free software called EaseUS ToDo Backup Free but in my experience this software is a little unreliable. (EDIT: /u/spif_spaceman recommended another software called Macrium Reflect Free, and after testing it myself I concluded that it does seem to work much better than EaseUS, and going forward I will recommend it to everyone as well. Thanks spif!) If you don't want to move your data, you could always just disconnect the HDD, connect the SSD in its place, and reinstall Windows.

2: To actually get your system to read both drives if your going to copy your data, you can simply power off the system and install the SSD in a second drive bay and plug in SATA power and data cables, or you can get a SATA to USB conversion kit and plug the drive in externally. Here is a great kit that I use at my job as a computer repair technician all the time, as it's very reliable, works with most major drive types, and is simple to use. You could also go with something like this if you want something a little more clean and easier to use. Personally either one of those solutions would work, however that enclosure does have a USB 3.0 connection vs the cable which uses a USB 2.0 connection, so the enclosure would have a faster data transfer speed provided you have an available USB 3.0 port.

3: Once you actually get your data moved over (or not) you may need to get a 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch mounting bracket depending on your case. Most modern cases (3-5 years old generally) will have support for an SSD built right in, but some may not. If not, here is a good kit for a great price, and you get 2!

Hope this helped!

A huge thing to take care of ASAP: get rid of the echo! A better microphone (I got a $20 USB microphone not unlike this one with a stand that I already had, but something more like this would be a good idea) is a boon. In the room you're in, consider having items that don't bounce sound. There's wall tapestries that can really help cut down on that. And plenty of noise cancelling padding that you can stick on your walls too that are cheap.

Past that you clear your throat a lot and apologize. It gets a bit distracting. Drink water ahead of time and consider sipping as you go. It's nice you maintain regular commentary. Not much downtime. As far as specific commentary, you can probably spend more time talking about what you're immediately doing and putting more energy into the discussion. That's an issue I have too is I'm pretty flat when I do commentary and admittedly most people want more energy. Personally I hate the ADHD bouncing off the walls people, but then again if you have a better audio recording it'll likely come through better. I personally also don't like the vulgar language you use, but that's my personal taste.

One last thing, you're recording at 720. That's not bad itself, but later on you might want to consider sticking with 1080p. You're going to spend hours uploading a 10 minute video, but the video is dramatically more clear. Especially with a video that has text and smaller details, it really makes a difference.

Long story short, getting into putting serious effort and making solid quality early on is going to be a great boon in the long run. First off because you'll get a good reputation for quality content across all your videos and because you'll get into a habit that will make editing and production faster and streamlined. That said, don't batter yourself if what you offer early isn't up to par. You're going to get more comfortable and better with practice.

I would definitely avoid that hub. With 7 external ports the internal design will be two USB host controllers daisy chained together so 4 of those ports will at a minimum have to go through 3 host controllers to send data back to the PC. Very risky and prone to issues which will be explained below.

Apologies for the wall of text but it is all quite important to explain why USB hubs are not the best idea for a number of reasons. Only go the hub route if you have no other choice like you have a laptop and a PCI card if not an option. If you have a desktop and free PCI slots then grab one of the PCI cards listed at the end of this post.

USB 3.0 Hubs

The main concern with hubs is that there is an additional USB controller in the chain and if one of those controllers is not compatible then you might have tracking issues. The issue with compatibility is VR needs low latency and high bandwidth which is required for good tracking.

So you have something like this using a hub.

PC -> PCI Bus -> USB Controller -> Hub -> USB Controller -> Sensor.

I put together this image on the weekend to explain it to someone else - https://imgur.com/jI6Istl

If anything in that chain is sub standard you have issues. If you have good USB Controllers in that chain you wont see issues. Just remember a quality hub is only as good as the USB port on your PC you plug it into.

It is also recommended to get a powered USB hub if you have to go the hub route. People sometimes encounter not just a bandwidth/latency bottleneck but a power bottleneck. Importantly some PC USB ports can't push out enough power to power all the devices plugged into the hub. Get a powered hub to avoid this possibility.

Below are two brands Anker and Amazon Basics which are the hubs I commonly see people say have worked for the Rift. The 7 port one will have daisy chained USB controllers internally but people have recommended it so they must be good quality.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Port-2-5A-power-adapter/dp/B00DQFGH80

or

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Aluminum-Portable-Adapter-Devices/dp/B00PBZX0OM


PCI Cards

Here are the cards that Oculus have recommended (I have personally tested the top two cards) .The blog posts at the end of this post might clear up why hubs are hit and miss for some people due to data/latency bottlenecks that might occur.

StarTek 2 port card (1 ASMedia controller) – Cheaper StarTek option that could be used for 2 sensors or a sensor and headset.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013HT6K3Q

Supported Inatek 4 port card (1 Fresco controller) – Don't get the 5 or 7 port card as the design is not really suited for Rift sensors as it has daisy chained controllers in the design.

https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Superspeed-Ports-PCI-Expansion/dp/B00B6ZCNGM

Use the Inatek for your two front facing cameras and nothing else. Plug your third or fourth USB 2.0 camera and Rift HMD into your motherboard.

Supported StarTek 4 port card (2 Controllers) – Optional middle tier PCI card solution which can run all four sensors or 3 sensors and HMD. Equivalent to two Inatek cards.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00HJZE9VK

Supported StarTek 4 port card (4 Controllers) – Optional top of the range PCI card solution which can run all four sensors or 3 sensors and HMD. Equivalent to four Inatek cards.

https://www.amazon.com/Express-SuperSpeed-Adapter-Dedicated-Channels/dp/B00HJZEA2S

Both 4 port StarTek cards are pricey and a bit more than is actually required. You could achieve the same thing with 2x four port Inatek cards.

More reading for why USB controllers are important and how you should connect sensors

Oculus put together some blog posts last year explaining best practices. Parts 2 and 3 of Oculus tracking posts explain the USB subsystems and how to get the best config.

• Part 1: https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-roomscale-tips-for-setting-up-a-killer-vr-room/
  
• Part 2: https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-roomscale-balancing-bandwidth-on-usb/
  
• Part 3: https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-roomscale-identifying-host-controllers/
  
• Part 4: https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-roomscale-extra-equipment/
  
  Finally here is my setup and the placement of USB devices amongst all the USB controllers. https://imgur.com/a/fqgRP5p

I've traveled to quite a few places with my kit lens. It's pretty damn good.

You still have time to fill out the rest of your stuff, if needed:

Filters:

Singh-Ray Filters makes a "ColorCombo LB" filter. Works like wearing a pair of polarized GOOD quality sunglasses outdoors. I never took it off. Excellent quality and helped when the sky was overexposed and when I generally wanted to get a more intense color.

Lens:

Your kit lens will be more than fine for anything during the day. But at night is different. The kit is meh at night. You definitely want something to capture night time. Maybe some star time lapses? Those are always cool.

Leica 15mm F1.7 My wallet hurt when I bought this, but to be honest, it's on my camera more than it's not. It makes the night look amazing. The quality is awesome too.

Panasonic 25mm f1.7 - compared to the "nifty fifty" on a full frame (25mm*2=50mm). This is our "go-to" as a second lens (for day and/or night), but to get an idea of how 'zoomed in' it is, take your kit lens and rotate it to "25mm". That's how this lens is. Too much for me, but it's still worth mentioning.

Panasonic 45-150mm f4.0-5.6 - I just bought this lens from Amazon Warehouse for $100. It's very well built and serves it's purpose (when I want to zoom in on something far away).

Microphones:

If you want a better microphone get the Videomic Pro+. The difference between this and the others are that the mic turns on/off automatically when the camera turns on/off and it has a USB rechargeable battery.

Batteries:

Speaking of extra batteries, you're going to want more. There are three types: cheap non-decoded, cheap decoded, and OEM (which are decoded).

Non-decoded means you won't know how much battery you have left in the camera. Obviously that's dumb. Spend a little more and get decoded. I really like these OAproda 2 pack + charger. No battery lasts as long as the OEM, but it's close enough. Plus, the OAproda charger is much thinner than the others and charges via USB.

SD Cards:

I love these SanDisk Extreme Pro. I purchased the 128gb because I NEVER want to be in a position that I can ever possibly run out of space.

You'll want a way to copy the files to your pc. This Transcend USB 3.0 works amazingly, and it's $9 for a two pack.

External Drive:

You WILL run out of space on your laptop. You can either purchase 3-4 SD cards, or you can get an external HDD. Each has it's pros and cons.

Battery Pack / cables:

Whether it's your phone / headphones / batteries / tablet / whatever, I suggest the Anker PowerCore. These things are beasts. One of these made sure I was able to fly from here to Australia without worrying about battery levels.

You'll also want to carry extra wires. Whether MicroUSB, USB-C, or Lightening, I would never use anything else but Anker PowerLine


International Charger:
I used the BESTEK Travel Adapter and loved it. Plenty of ports to charge stuff on. It has a small fan (to keep it cool) that some people say bothers them, but I'm the lightest sleeper and it didn't bother me. Barely heard it.

the best decision i made was in getting the Hyper X Cloud Core headset. It is identical in every way to the Hyper X Cloud 2, same sound drivers, same everything EXCEPT it doesn't come with virtual surround (which is trash) or the control box which isn't needed and trust me it would get annoying.

but anyways I come thru clearly to my friends, it sounds awesome, detachable mic if you want to use it to listen to music on your phone, super durable feeling cord and super comfortable (I have a huge head.) And my favorite little bonus is that it came with an extra cord that makes using it as a computer headset seamless. It's awesome.

i'd look for it on sale, i got it for much cheaper at Gamestop...ur basically getting the quality of a Cloud II at a much cheaper price.

Here is a video that goes over current SD card specifications pretty well. I'll post what I got out of it and a little bit of additional research:

CAPACITY

There are three different types of SD cards that indicate a size range. SD cards are up to 2GB and are useless for our purposes. SDHC cards are from 4-32 GB and are ill-advised since 32GB isn't really enough. What we're interested in is SDXC cards which are from 64GB to 2TB. Each card has a micro version which is what we need. Capacity type doesn't have an impact on performance.

WRITE SPEED

There are two different families of speed classes that indicate a minimum write performance. The first, traditional speed class comes in Class 2, Class 4, Class 6, and Class 10. The number corresponds to their write speed, Class 2 is 2MB/s, class 10 is 10MB/s. This class is denoted by their number inside of a "C".

The other family of speed class is UHS. There are only two types, type 1 and type 3. These are denoted by their number inside of a "U" shaped symbol. UHS1 writes at 10MB/s, UHS3 writes at 30MB/s. That means the Class 10 and UHS1 have the same minimum write performance, but we're just going to look at UHS cards from now on. It is possible for a card to claim a UHS class speed, and a Class 10 speed.

Bus Interface

There are two different bus interfaces for UHS cards, UHS-I and UHS-II. These are denoted by roman numerals rather than our numbers. UHS-II cards have a second row of connection pins on the back of the card, while UHS-I just has the single row. UHS-II cards can transfer data faster than UHS-I cards when they are in a UHS-II compatible machine. If the machine is not UHS-II compatible then there is no benefit, however the UHS-II card will still work as it is backwards compatible. It does not look like the Nintendo Switch is UHS-III compatible, so there is no benefit to using a UHS-II card in it, which is a shame because the II interface can help read speeds tremendously.

So what is Nintendo recommending with OP's card? A microSDXC UHS3-I card. Meaning it is a micro version of a 64GB card, with the best write speed class, and the standard/worse Bus interface.

Nintendo-licensed Sandisk microSDXC 64GB UHS3-I for $19.99

Non licensed Sandisk microSDXC 64GB UHS3-I card for $23

/u/Nobody_is_lurking posted two contenders...

Sandisk microSDXC 64GB UHS1-I card for $14.25

Sandisk microSDXC 128GB UHS1-I card
for $23.25


...but it isn't actually an apples to apples comparison, as they are both UHS1 rather than UHS3. The $6 question is how big of a difference is there functionally between the two speed classes when actually being used by a Switch, which someone already took the time to test!

The results show that, when write speed was involved, the difference was significant, and that installed games can go by 3x faster using a UHS3 card. So sure, the UHS3 is a clear winner for installing, but what people really care about are load times, showed a less drastic story. Installing locally on the Switch beats any external storage options that we're looking at, then the UHS3 trailed shortly behind, with UHS1 following a little longer. For a regularly installed game the difference in load times doesn't seem to be more than a couple of seconds, even if the load time is a minute long. This guy also tested homebrew launched games though, which did show a much bigger difference between UHS1 and UHS3. So there is a difference in load time, but just not a massive one that many people would notice.

Looking at value, for whatever reason the Nintendo-licensed cards are currently cheaper than their equivalent nonlicensed cards, both the 64Gb and 128GB. Obviously the UHS-1 is cheaper than the UHS-3 across the board.

But if you want to branch away from Sandisk you can have the best of both worlds with a Samsung 64GB UHS3-I card for $15 The price per MB stays consistent at bigger sizes as well, so if you wanted a 128GB one it'd be $30.

tl;dr Buy this one. It is better and cheaper.

I would call myself a moderate audiophile but I'm also not willing to spend >$200 on headphones. I currently have a pair of kingston hyperx cloud IIs and they are the best headphones by far for the price. Sound great and extremely comfy. They are also currently on sale for $120. A slightly cheaper option is the cloud core at $100, which is the exact same headphone, just without anything extra. The cloud II has a usb control box for volume, mute, and simulated 7.1. They have a new model, the cloud alphas at $142, which I want to buy. Sound better, has better inline controls, and a removable cord.

They will work with anything that has a headphone jack. The mic boom is removable and has a small plug to cover the hole when it's out. As for sound quality, the bass is loud and clear, even at high levels. The mids are a little weak but if you have access to an equalizer you can make the headphones sound all around awesome. Mids sound better on the alphas because of the dual chamber audio. They sound very good on my phone using poweramp's equilizer. I use them basically exactly how it sounds like you plan on using them, except with a bit of metal and rap mixed in.

So my recommendation is alpha if you want the best for under $150, cloud II if you want something cheaper with inline controls on pc, or the core if you don't need any of the extras.

Definitely go with the mouse unless your keyboard is malfunctioning. Gaming keyboards are useful to have sometimes but not essential like a decent gaming mouse. Just make sure that the mouse you buy works well with how you play, the type of grip you use, palm or claw/fingertip.

In short, you either palm the mouse with your entire hand, moving your arm to move the mouse, or you "claw" it, grabbing it with your finger tips and moving it just with your wrist. Knowing which grip you prefer and getting a mouse that fits it well goes a long way to eliminate wrist pain and fatigue.

Personally, I claw grip and use the CM Storm Spawn. Best mouse I've ever used for my style of play due to its small size and design. (So good I bought a second one for my laptop.) It goes up to 3500 DPI but IMO the 1800 DPI preset is perfect for most all games. If I need more precision I take it down to the 800 DPI preset and if I need more look speed (i.e. BF3 vehicles) I go up to the 3500 DPI preset.

Other good options are the G500 and the Deathadder , both of which many people swear by. They're better for palm grip IMO though due to their size.

TL;DR Go with the mouse and pick one that fits your hand and style of play well.

This isn't what you want to hear, but I suggest trying to grow your budget a bit. If that means holding off a bit, do it. You can get a pair of budget speakers for $20 (no idea about conversion) and then try to set aside a bit more for something that will actually wow you in a few months. I used to work as a musician, so I'm generally a fan of powered monitors. I personally use the Audio Engine A5+ system (with an added subwoofer) and am a huge fan of them in general. Have a great sound signature, push enough air to handle decent bass without a subwoofer for most things, and have fantastic clarity in the sound.

You could save a bit more by downgrading from there to the A2+, and they may even do better on the wall (A5+ usually suggests about 6 inches of clearance from the wall to get proper air movement.)


If you really don't want to wait or don't want to spend the extra to get into the world of audiophile quality, the CA-3602a (couldn't find a UK link) is a pretty solid budget option.

I'm going on a cruise in May and would like a way to backup my pictures and to edit on the fly, preferably with my tablet. My camera doesn't have Wi-Fi capabilities, but even if it did the Wi-Fi on a cruise ship is so amazingly slow (think dial up speeds lol). I know I may need two different things to do both of these. Any suggestions?
Right now, I'd like to look into a cord to transfer to my tablet, can I edit raw on an app on an Android tablet (Lightroom?).


I'm also looking at an external hard drive for the main backup, do they make ones that hook up to the camera (sl1) or that accept sd cards?


I don't want to spend too much, but I'll probably have $100-200 or a smidge more if necessary.
Any suggestions would be great!


Edit: For anyone who's interested, I did end up getting a card reader and I had an OTG cable that was recommended to me previously to connect my camera to my phone so I could do a time-lapse (I should have realized it would have worked fine, but I had tried my dad's cable that looked exactly the same before that and it didn't work for what I wanted it to). So, it worked perfectly! Nothing else needed and I can transfer pics from my SD card to my phone/tablet. I'm still looking into an external drive or something for storage, but as long as they're on the SD and tablet I feel a lot more comfortable. Thanks everyone for your help!


What I purchased:


OTG Cable $4.99 USD http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LN3LQKQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00


SD Card Reader $6.29 USD http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009D79VH4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00


Not expensive at all!

Hiya,

ok so ive put together a bunch of amazon link of what you need (US amazon as im in the UK)

Raspberry PI B+:

http://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Model-512MB-Computer/dp/B00LPESRUK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167372&sr=8-3&keywords=raspberry+pi+b%2B


Case:

http://www.amazon.com/Mudder-Protective-Cover-Screw-Raspberry/dp/B01AVT9IWK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167372&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=raspberry+pi+b%2B&psc=1


Snes Style USB Controller:

http://www.amazon.com/Retro-Nintendo-Controller-Windows-Purple/dp/B016MEFRFU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167421&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+sneshttp://www.amazon.com/Retro-Nintendo-Controller-Windows-Purple/dp/B016MEFRFU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167421&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+snes


HDMI Cable:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00870ZHCQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


MicroUSB Power Supply:

http://www.amazon.com/NorthPada%C2%AE-Charger-Raspberry-Android-Samsung/dp/B00OY7HR1U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167495&sr=8-4&keywords=micro+usb+2a

8GB SD Card:

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Memory-SDSDUN-008G-G46-Newest-Version/dp/B00M55BS5O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167735&sr=8-2&keywords=8gb+sd

SDHC Card Reader:

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Information-Card-Reader-TS-RDF5K/dp/B009D79VH4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167758&sr=8-1&keywords=sdhc+reader


All together that comes to $75 and will play games from the Atari, NES, SNES, Master System, Genesis, Gameboy etc. If you buy that SD card then I have an 8Gb image file already put together for it with over 4000 games that I could put up for you to download, you then just write it to the SD card, pop it in the Pi and plug it in, it will auto boot to a nice menu controlled by the control pad, select your game and play, then just press "Start + Select" to go back to the menu to select another game/system. It's very easy to use as all the hard work of aquiring the games and artwork has already been done.

You can get the more powerful Pi 2 or 3 and a bigger MicroSD to have more roms but that pushes the price up and will need more work to setup.

I have aspergers and my wife is type one so I understand some of the difficulties your son faces, I hope you can use this to help make him happy. My sister has an autistic son also and I put together one of these and he loves it, she got him to write a one sentence review and score out of 10 for each game. It became something they could do together and talk about, and also helped to convince him to do things liek help with cleaning his room etc so that he could do "one more review before bed" as she thinks it important to always push him that little bit to give him the best chances later on in life.

Anyway, here is a video showing the system in use so you can see what you think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDWebx6D2Zc

Also with the addition of another SD card, usb keyboard and mouse and it also works as a computer with web browsing and programming tools for kids (Scratch).

Hope this helps, let us know if you want the 8Gb SD card image uploaded for you to download (not to be re-distributed though)

Regards

DJH

Hey, sorry for the late reply,
first and formost, you can add a separate cooling system if you like, it'll add a bit more to your cost and it's not necessary imo, but it would make the build more silent prob.
Then, I forgot to add a keyboard! a good option would be something like this if you like brown switches

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0QEYR4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_m9ehAb4VV8KZY

or something like this if you like red switches

https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-STRAFE-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B00ZUPOMDQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1511838019&sr=1-3&keywords=mechanical+keyboard+red+switch

Lastly, if you want a good cheap monitor then this is a cheap good reliable option

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BRvZxr/benq-monitor-9hle5lbqpa

my only issue with it is that it is a lot smaller than the omen I recommended, so you might want to chose something a bit more on the expensive side that is also good like this

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/PmyFf7/acer-monitor-umfg6aab01

or this

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FZJkcf/acer-xf240h-240-144hz-monitor-umfx0aa001

hope this helps! good luck on your build!

Your motherboard probably doesn't have 8 sata ports for the 8 bays, so if you want to populate all of those you'll need Forward Breakout cable(s) and a HBA card. You'll also probably need a power splitter to daisy chain power to the HDDs. For now though you could just use what sata ports you have then buy these things as you run out of room. The Forward Breakout and power splitter cables can be reused in the future. If you have the physical room then the 8 bays can also be connected to a cheap NAS/DAS. Most start small then improve and upgrade as time passes. With another processor you avoid potential VM mess and just run it directly baremetal. Ebay does have some slight gotchas here and there, especially shipping costs. There is great value in buying used, but it does suck to look for deals every few days or weekly until you find something what you are looking for and at the right price. A cheap NAS works well with OMV4, but FreeNAS/ZFS might need a bump up in hardware. If you have different sized drives then you have to do some extra planning because I believe a ZFS vdev requires all the same size HDDs and Snapraid (Windows or OMV4) will require you to use your biggest drives as parity. ZFS raidzs can be costly to expand, that is why some recommend mirrored vdevs but then you lose 50% capacity and that is where Snapraid and Snapraid parity comes in. With most of these setups, if too many things go wrong then you lose everything. With Snapraid, everything is JBOD so all is not lost (unRAID is JBOD but it has a catch on what OS can read the disks I believe); however Snapraid isn't a data pooling solution so you'll need Stablebit, OMV4, etc. The other option is minimal onsite storage and Rsync everything to G Drive then once uploaded delete the local storage then you use a VPS with a media front to host everything (Risky but the cheapest method in the long run). There is a decent post on how to set that up (it's a lot to read and some thing changed), plus some people are leaving Plex and moving to Jellyfin so there is that also.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0086OGN9E/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/d0187f/i_need_a_nas_suggestion/ez6ze4z/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/cztdnm/jdm_loves_dell_t110_ii_case_for_nas/
https://www.serverbuilds.net/the-original-nas-killer-v10
https://www.serverbuilds.net/145-nas-killer-v20
https://www.serverbuilds.net/nas-killer-v30
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/cvbs8y/mediasonic_hd_enclosure/
https://www.serverbuilds.net/16-bay-das
http://www.snapraid.it/faq#howmanypar
https://forums.plex.tv/t/local-plex-cloud-with-google-drive/335018

There is lots of good info already posted on here over the years but it gets buried fast. Some have posted neat projects and setups, but ironically enough it's tough to find these things. You pretty much gotta get lucky with searches, on top of hours and days worth of reading... Different setups fall out of favor and others rise up, as time goes on and projects get abandoned and others get fixed up. Plus combining that with lots of good information on other site's forums...
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/cetqis/the_flexraid_site_is_down_now/
https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/6vgaz7/unraid_vs_freenas/
https://blog.linuxserver.io/tag/perfectmediaserver/

CloudDrive is $40 or in the bundle sale with Stablebit Drivepool for $60... I've also seen NASLite posted some (and that Tonido looks interesting). Both look like an automated-like Rsync. Rsync is the best, however it does require more time to learn.
https://stablebit.com/CloudDrive
http://www.serverelements.com/?target=Introduction_to_NASLite_Disk_Mirroring

It might seem like Snapraid is the clear way to go, but there is still a moderate learning curve to wrap your head around, plus tweaking that setup, getting a system down, and automating what you can. There are different methods to manage it: manually editing the config file, using Elucidate GUI, or swapping over to OMV4 OS (VM or baremetal). OMV4 might even be the easiest way to manage it.
https://github.com/Smurf-IV/Elucidate
https://www.reddit.com/r/Snapraid/comments/d3ezb5/unsure_about_snapraid_setup_would_love_some_help/
https://sourceforge.net/p/snapraid/discussion/1677233/thread/e683d40e0a/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/adcqor/snapraiddrivepool_best_practice/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/a4vvx5/question_for_all_you_drivepool_snapraid_people/

I'd also recommend looking at some screenshots and videos. FreeNAS and unRAID youtube content seems more dispersed, so you'll have to go fish.
https://www.freenas.org/about/screenshots/
https://craftassets.unraid.net/uploads/featured-image/_1200xAUTO_crop_center-center_95_none/unraid_screenshot.png?mtime=20180827231443
https://www.openmediavault.org/screenshots.html
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX2Vhc0LIzSS9aMzhGFZ7PA/videos
https://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Screenshots
https://stablebit.com/CloudDrive

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B

Supports CEC. Comes with 4x USB 2.0 slots, an HDMI, quad core ARM A7 processor, 1 GB RAM, and an ethernet port. Also has GPIO pins but I don't know of any Kodi related uses for them. It is an extremely low power device (uses about $3 worth of electricity per year) and requires nothing to keep it cool (e.g., no fans blaring in the middle of your favorite movie).

Base cost is $35. Requires a microSD card, an HDMI cable, and a microUSB charger, all of which can be purchased for approximately $5 each. An existing microUSB charger, such as from your cell phone or a device like a Kindle or Chromecast can be used, of course. Optional components include a case ($10-$20 or 3D print your own), USB wifi dongle ($10+), and an external hard drive ($50+). A few companies put out bundles that include a Raspberry Pi board and various components such as this basic one and this more complete one. A wireless keyboard ($20+) can also be handy. Product links are provided as examples; there may be better deals or smarter purchases to be had.

You'll then want to use a minimalistic Linux distro such as OpenELEC or OSMC, both of which are designed specifically to run Kodi and have optimized builds for a Raspberry Pi. OpenELEC seems to be more popular and is what I use myself. Installation is easy -- you just download and write to your SD card (oh yeah, you might need an SD card reader, $5). If you'd like you can also install a "real" Linux distro and install Kodi in that as you would on a regular desktop computer. You can either store your media on an external hard drive connected to the Raspberry Pi or on a separate computer or NAS and share your files over your LAN.

Pros:

• Cheap base cost
  
• Low power
  
• Very hands off after initial setup
  
• CEC! Use your TV remote to control Kodi
  
• Hardware decoding for h264
  
• As it is full-fledged computer you can easily add in additional software such as emulators, a web browser, etc.
  
• More of a DIY solution (may be a con)
  
  Cons:
  
  
• A few plugins (typically they are Windows dependent) and more computationally intensive skins may not work
  
• May get pricey if you need to buy all the separate components
  
• Can not handle 10-bit x264 (aka Hi10p; rare outside of anime fansubs) or HEVC (aka h265) files.
  
• No 4K output, max resolution is 1920x1200
  
• More of a DIY solution (may be a pro)
  

You're making it complicated. What's your reason for wanting to use USB rather than just the normal 3.5 stereo jack/RCA audio out of your PC?

The interface you've linked is designed for recording from a mic or instrument into some recording software like Ableton, it's not for using the USB out of your PC to hook up a pair of speakers.

Why do you specifically want studio monitors? Again these are designed to be used in a recording environment and from what I can tell you just want to use them to play music. You'd be better served with a decent pair of PC speakers. I'll link some suggestions that I think will work well for you for around $200.

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/stereo_speakers/companion-20-multimedia-speaker-system.html

The Bose Companion 20 speakers are excellent for the price and you will not be disappointed, I've used a pair for a long time.

https://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A2-Powered-Speaker-System/dp/B00DQMJE7E/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1542107270&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=audioengine+a2%2B&psc=1&smid=A2XGE4CX5AV74X

I didn't know this but the Audioengine A2+ can actually be used via USB and comes with the relevant USB A to USB B cable, I haven't heard a pair but they get excellent reviews. This might be the pair to go for if you absolutely want to use USB.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/klipsch-promedia-2-1-bluetooth-speaker-system-3-piece-black/4924200.p??ref=199&loc=kXQk6*ivFEQ&acampID=1&siteID=kXQk6.ivFEQ-KGYWgul6M.uSaxcjDXrsYQ&intl=nosplash

Another system that gets excellent reviews is the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 and has the added benefit of including bluetooth so you could play music from your phone etc. as well if you wanted.

The other way to do it would be with a small stereo amplifier and a pair of bookshelf speakers, this will definitely cost quite a bit more than $200 for a decent set up though and I think using a pair of powered PC speakers will just be easier for you so I won't bother with any suggestions of amps and bookshelf speakers.

Hope this helps!

Hello!
My budget is around 60 euros. I don't mind how big it is. TKL is fine, even 65% or 60% is fine. Don't really want/need full size.
I've taken a look at a lot of keyboards. It's hard to fine good ones, but this is what i've found. I must note 3 things: 1. My parents are involved in the decision. 2. I like all switches exept MX reds. 3. I live in europe but can order in USA (my father works in the US, he can bring it home)

This list is ordered in most intersted to least interested.

1. Anne Pro 60% keyboard with RGB lights and Gateron switches 65 euros shipped to Belgium. Would go for Gateron Blue switches. Only reason I haven't ordered is, is because my parents don't really want to order from Banggood (Chines website)
   
2. Magicforce 68 30-60 euros. Good deal, but I don't like the white keyboad, and the black keyboards are very rare.
   
3. Drevo Gramr 84-keyboard 40 euros, backlight. Seems like a good deal.
   
4. Ajazz RGB keyboard Looks like a good deal for 56 euros. RGB lights, apparantly very nice (the lights)
   
5. Drevo Calibur RGB For 50 USD, looks alright
   
6. E-element keyboard again, a cheap RGB keyboard. Find it weird that RGB is an option at my price point.
   These are some I think are nice.
   I also had my eye on a 40 USD reddragon keyboard.
   
   So, I know everyone's probably gonna be like: Go for the Anne Pro. And trust me, I would want to. But my parents don't like ordering from unknown websites, defintly as it ships for China.
   Any other suggestions?

I'll be playing with:

• Razer DeathAdder
  
• CM Storm Trigger
  
• Audio Technica AD700 - Possibly. Haven't decided for sure yet.
  
  Also have a 3D monitor and glasses if I feel inclined to play GW2 in 3D, though after having tried it during recent stress tests, I'm not sure I will.
  
  ___
  
  On the subject of peripherals, if anyone is browsing through these posts trying to get ideas on future purchases:
  
  Razer products: Use caution and make informed decisions before buying them. With Razer, most of the time you're paying for the brand name more than anything. Their quality control is known to be really shoddy compared to other brands. Their mice and the Nostromo are typically good (though even then, my first DeathAdder mouse was faulty and had to be RMA'd), but everything else is average at best, faulty and unreliable at worst. I was looking into buying a Blackwidow in my mechanical keyboard search this month, but decided against it in the end because there were simply far too many reports of faulty, flimsy, or otherwise broken parts (both out of the box or down the line) for me to buy with confidence. Bottom line, do your research on the likes of Google, Amazon and Newegg reviews, etc. before making a purchase. Not even just with Razer products, but anything you ever plan on investing significant money into.
  
  Mechanical keyboards: They're a really great investment if you're in the market for a keyboard and can fit them in the budget. They're a lot more pricey, but you really get what you pay for with these. Mechanical keys are an absolute pleasure to type and game on compared to the cheap membrane keys which are standard today. These keyboards provide great tactility, feedback, accuracy, and are made to last far, far longer than your standard keyboard.
  
  Audio Peripherals: First of all, do not buy gaming headsets. Once again, you're paying a lot more for the brand and the title of "gaming headset" than the actual product quality. Frankly, most (if not all) gaming headsets' quality and audio fidelity are downright poor in comparison to dedicated headphones that you can get for the same or lesser price. The best thing to do if you want to get the most bang for your buck is to buy a nice pair of headphones, and if you're dead-set on having an attached mic, invest into something like the ModMic or mod one on yourself.

Suggestions when all I care about is 6KRO?

I don't dislike Rubber Domes, but losing key inputs from ghosting is awful. I've had a chance to try Cherry Blues and Cherry Blacks - Blacks I liked less than Rubber Dome; Blues were about equal but entirely too loud (I'm a streamer and I don't want loud keyboard noises picked up on the microphone). Desired specs:

• 6KRO. NKRO would obviously be fine but shouldn't be necessary.
  
• Full-sized keyboard (with large backspace and standard 2-row Ins-Home-PgUp) - I've heard tenkeyless is better ergonomically but I simply use the numpad too much.
  
• The quieter the better, but doesn't need to be silent.
  
• No macro keys on the sides; standard width. (Standard height is also preferable but less essential.)
  
• Other bonuses are likely irrelevant to me: I don't care about lighting, fancy keycaps, or modability.
  
• Either USB or PS/2 is fine, wired is fine (preferable?)
  
  So - I'd be perfectly happy with a Rubber Dome keyboard that had 6KRO, but these are rare and tend to cost as much as decent switches anyway. I can afford up to ~$200, but considering I currently have a preference for Rubber Dome much of what increases a keyboard's price isn't something I'm interested in paying for.
  
  Thus, I'm considering perhaps the Velocifire VM01, with off-brand Brown Switches and good ratings (I'd also get o-rings with it). I'd even consider e.g. a low-end Topre but am not convinced I'd find the extra cost worth it? Open to other suggestions as well.

No need to apologize. I certainly haven't owned every board out there, so the best I can do is take a look at reviews to feature set with you.


So first, let's decide some things.
Do you want a backlight? If so, does it need to be RGB?


What size board do you prefer? I would suggest going no lower than tenkeyless if you're using it at all for some professional work, only because it could temporarily slow down your work rate because some keys will be in different positions or missing entirely. This may take getting used to. If you're up for that, that's cool too. Full size boards have a numberpad, some are larger with "macro" keys. There are variations with fewer keys, that maybe don't have arrow keys etc. and are slightly smaller. Then there's tenkeyless, which has no numbpad, and then smaller variations often with no function keys or arrow keys, with their functions require key combos.


We've got a price range, and we're going for mechanical, but I'm wondering how much branding and brand names matter to you. There are some boards out there with big logos, and they can be ugly as sin, doesn't affect functionality, but cosmetics are worth considering on something you look at daily. Next, do you need a brand that's "famous?" It may be hard to find a RAZER, Corsair, CoolerMaster, or other big names in the industry under $40, depending on your required feature set.

Finally, that brings us to switch type. There's a lot of brands of switch style, and if I had to guess, you're probably gonna have trouble finding Cherry MX, the most iconic switch type, in this range. That said, some of the "copy" switches are nearly identical and have pretty solid build quality, differences only noticeable by the most sensitive of typists. So here's a quick break down of the most popular switch types:

Blue: Tactile Bump during actuation, can feel it and hear it(loudest switch, clicks on bump, clacks when the key "bottoms out" or is pressed all the way down)

Brown: Very light tactile bump(I don't really feel it if I've just been typing on my blue or Razer green switch board), makes a sound when bottoming out. This is considered the happy medium, somewhat silent, can be made very quiet with an accessory, still had tactile feedback.

Red: Silent, linear switches. Not whisper silent, but much quieter, no noise or tactile bump when the keypress is actuated. I really don't think you'll be able to snag a new board with these.

Black: Silent, almost exactly like reds, but require more force to press down, they're not too popular as people complain they make their fingers tired. However, I see them a lot under budget boards.


The Blue, Brown and Reds are the most common. There are more switches out there, and some brands use different colors to associate the style, but the styles are largely the same.


I'm gonna link(not affiliate links) some boards, just to show the styles and backlighting options off, these are mostly a bit out of your price range, but this should give you a general idea of what they look like, and how much extra things like RGB cost:

Pretty standard tenkeylessboard: https://www.amazon.com/TOMOKO-Water-Resistant-Mechanical-Keyboard-Non-Conflicting/dp/B01DBJTZU2/ref=sr_1_31?ie=UTF8&qid=1520206833&sr=8-31&keywords=rgb+mechanical+keyboard


A compact board, I believe it's a 75% variation: https://www.amazon.com/Element-Mechanical-Keyboard-Waterproof-Anti-Ghosting/dp/B01FXF7HFC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1520205858&sr=8-4&keywords=rgb+mechanical+keyboard


Tenkeyless RGB: https://www.amazon.com/Keyboard-Mechanical-Redragon-illuminated-ABS-Metal/dp/B019O9BLVY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1520205858&sr=8-5&keywords=rgb+mechanical+keyboard


Fullsize board, the standard: https://www.amazon.com/Element-Mechanical-Programmable-Waterproof-Anti-Ghosting/dp/B073QPDZHQ/ref=sr_1_45?ie=UTF8&qid=1520206906&sr=8-45&keywords=rgb+mechanical+keyboard


Now, these are mostly "cheap" brands, in that they're not ultra famous like RAZER, or Corsair, etc. But, these are some of the more highly rated boards. Of course, you absolutely do not have to buy from amazon either, and these are mostly out of the range, so please get back to me on the style and backlighting options you'd like. I think one of these "knock off" brands will be your best bet, particularly if you want backlighting. Other users are of course free to offer advice too.


Once you tell me, generally, the size, and switch type we're after, we can try to find some boards that are on sale, not just the stuff I quickly found that was relatively cheap and well reviewed. Sometimes you can get something that seems a decent price, for even less if you watch and wait. So that might be worth considering too.

Please let me know your preferences, and I hope my explanations were somewhat clear.

I've had razor death adder for over a year and it's fantastic. I've traveled with it extensively when I would game at other peoples houses on my laptop. There seems to be a air of disapproval on reddit about razor products but the reviews rarely show it. I have large hands and it conforms to my grip perfectly. The drivers come with customization software as well. The top of the mouse feels like velvet making it a pleasure just to use it. Price isn't outrageous either. And it looks sexy. Better than the pictures do it justice in my opinion. Link

Thanks for the info.

​

There are a few decent active speakers in your price range, but not many with an optical input. So far for $200 and under I have only found the Edifier R1850DB. This is a great starting set of speakers. You can find them here:

https://www.amazon.com/Edifier-R1850DB-Bookshelf-Speakers-Bluetooth/dp/B073W1R4XQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1541451470&sr=1-1&keywords=r1850db

​

Most active speakers in this price range will have RCA inputs instead and a lot of TV's will have RCA outputs to connect to them. If you have the option of connecting through RCA, other great options include the Edifier R1700BT and the Fluance Ai40. If you can spend over $200, some other good options would be the Edifier R2000DB for $250, the Audioengine A2+ for $250, the Kanto YU4 for $330, the Vanatoo Transparent Zero for $360(best on this list, IMO), the Kanto YU6 for $400, or the Audioengine A5+ for 400.

​

If you want to get a record player down the road, it is important to know whether or not you will want a turntable that has a phono preamp built in(this will limit your selection greatly) or if you want a turntable that requires and external phono preamp(this is most turntables and you will need an amp or receiver that has a phono preamp included). The reason I say this is because the Kanto YU4 and YU6 listed above already has a phono preamp built in, so that's one less thing you need to get down the road. The other speakers do not have this.

​

The Vanatoo's are probably the best sounding in the list above and have the most inputs if needed.

​

​

I suggest the Pro-ject pre amp

For speakers I don't know, I have a pair of Audio Pro addon t8's but they seem to be way pricier in US. Basically anything that fits your budget and has gotten favorable review usually is enough to get a nice sound out of your TT.

If you want to save a bit on the pre amp then you might wanna take a look at TCC TC-750, that would also do the trick, it is now for a pretty reasonable reduced price so be quick.

Speakers that I can recommend without a reservation would be these audio engine A2+. They are solid small powered speakers that would do your vinyls justice.

All together the TCC 750 with the A2+ now add up just shy of 300. This would be setup that with your TT will go a long way before a need to upgrade although I would add a sub when you get the chance.

If you want to save more, you could go for these Mackie CR4 but you can't add a powered sub to these, use them for your PC trough USB and don't have an option to add wireless support later. So it comes with a lack of features.

I got this one on a sale and it's been great, $43 I believe. Currently it's about 55.

Has a UL listed charging port, a USB-A to connect to your PC to display the battery status, and then 5 power/battery + 2 power outlets. Basically when the power goes out, you have 5 power sources available on battery.

I've only needed it once so far and I didn't want to drain it any more than I needed, but basically the PC, monitor, my speakers and desktop vaporizer which are all best to not have power suddenly cut.

Also has wall mount.

Just note that not very many UPS have great battery life past 20 mins or so, and I believe not many have a ton of cycles. I believe you're meant to replace the battery after 3-5 years as well. The main thing to look out for is battery quality and build quality (the wires, solder). The main thing is that when power cuts, you have some time to save your work, shut down safely, and ignore the issues that come with a power outage, even with the protection of a surge protector.

I'd definitely recommend one if you live in a high-outage area, possibly even if you're a light user. It's just a nice assurance knowing that any game you're playing or work you have open isn't going to go bye-bye because of fucking PG&E unreliable coverage.

If you're looking to game (which seems to be the case), my only real recommendation is that for $40 you're better off getting a good mouse and a standard keyboard. $40 in the keyboard department won't net you any big benefits, but a $40 for a mouse definitely will. I personally thought that mice didn't matter a whole lot, but eventually got a Razer Deathadder and MAN it made a world of difference in comfort and overall enjoyment. If you can spring for it, I'd definitely recommend something like a DeathAdder (~$50) (though it seems like the Logitech G400 for $35 might be a better option for you). Most Logitech fans rave about the MX500, though it's not sold anymore, you may be able to find one with comparable features.

Velocifire VM01 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Brown Switches LED Illuminated Backlit Anti-ghosting Keys (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0QEYR4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Euf5ybQSEJZDK


i have this one, but they also have a tenkeyless for 30 here.


Velocifire TKL01 Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard with Brown Switches LED Backlit 87 Keys Gaming Keyboard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MS8YTYX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3uf5ybD850CZJ


As an owner of this board, I'll say this board is pretty awesome, but takes about a week or two to get used to. Awesome for gaming and typing, but feel might resemble that of an mx red in terms of actuation. The sound and click is definitely still there but subtle like it should be on a brown switch. Coming from redragon kumara blue switch board, it took awhile to get used to, but the sound difference was enough alone to make me happy. (:

I've used Rosewill and Velocifire mechanicals for work. They run in the $40-100 price range and feel pretty good. The one I'm using right now at work is the Velocifire VM01 it's $40. The browns they use aren't cherry so they feel a bit different(not as stiff) - but it feels good.

The Rosewill felt the best though if you don't mind a red switch it's $80 - browns etc run upwards of $100. I suggest browns for typing (if you speed type) and clears/reds for gaming or if you're a heavy typer.

I like the Velocifier because of the backlighting. And it's really good backlighting with a nice soft aqua green glow and multiple effects. Really makes people ask questions at work LOL.

Hey guys! I'm currently shopping around for some speakers for my new PC (I spent waaayy more than I should have on it). I would be using the speakers on the computer mostly for watching movies, by the way. From the research I did, I narrowed it down to 3:

1. Edifier e25HD Luna Eclipse: These just look so wonderful, they're hard to resist. From what I've read, the sound isn't as good as the Audioengines though. Is that very noticeable to the average guy? I'm having a hard time trading sound quality for looks, but I'm not able to test either speakers so I'm not sure how much of a difference there is.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Edifier-USA-Bluetooth-Speakers-Black/dp/B00WKIY74U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498091506&sr=8-1&keywords=e25hd
   
   
2. Audioengine A2+: These seem like the best sound-wise out of the 3, but since only the black matches my setup, they would be pretty ugly. Are the sound on these clearly superior to the others?
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A2-Powered-Speaker-System/dp/B00DQMJE7E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498091258&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=audioengine&psc=1&smid=AKR88PAWTQVN2
   
   
3. Bower & Wilkins MM-1: These look beautiful, but stretch a little outside my price range. I've heard the sound is only ok and very dependent on sitting 3 feet away from the speakers, which I probably wouldn't. Anyone know if this might be true?
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Bowers-Wilkins-MM-1-Hi-Fi-Speakers/dp/B003R6U6HG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498091292&sr=8-1&keywords=bower+and+wilkins+mm1
   

Are you even a little bit tech savvy? Part of why there isn't a real bundled solution to this is because it's pretty easy to just make your own.

Find a Raspberry Pi. Install a basic OS (Arch or something) with an editor like Emacs or Vim, and nothing else. Get a housing that can accommodate a little LCD panel like the one in the Freewrite. Pick a keyboard you like. Boom. You have your own personal Freewrite for under $100.

In terms of keyboards, you can get really nice "portable" mechanical keyboards like this one: https://www.amazon.ca/Element-Mechanical-Keyboard-Waterproof-Anti-Ghosting/dp/B01FXF7HFC/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=portable+mechanical+keyboard&qid=1574228057&sr=8-9

Find one with the switches you want, and you're off to the races.

For getting your materials off the computer, there are 3 major ways:

1. Set up SSH (it's easy) so you can access your Pi's filesystem from any computer via the internet
   
2. Remove the Pi's micro SD card and put it in a computer, read files manually
   
3. Save all files on a USB stick or something similar
   
   This is what your typical writing experience would look like on a setup like this: http://jasonwryan.com/images/post_images/distract-full.png
   
   ​
   
   Let me know if you have any questions! This sounds like it could be a fun little project. I may do it too.

The purpose you're trying to use it for definitely doesn't call for a TB3 dock; you'd be able to get by fine with just a USB-C dock. The difference can be a hundred bucks or more. The main reason I'd recommend a TB3 dock specifically is for a laptop that only has one TB3 port (the dock will then give you an additional TB3 port for chaining more devices together) but since your Carbon has 2 thunderbolt ports, you can use one on a USB-C dock and then have one left over for any TB3 devices you might also wish to connect later on as you acquire them.

For maximum benefit, I'd recommend a USB-C dock that has at least 3 USB-A ports and an HDMI connector. Two come to mind - the Satechi 4k which also lets you plug in an ethernet cable and is beautiful. A personal favorite of mine for laptops that can do USB power delivery is the Iogear. That one would let you have a single cable solution to connect all your devices and get power over a single cable (you just have to have a USB charger to plug into the dock, too). Both roughly the same price.

​

If you don't care about having everything running over a single cable to your laptop, you can save yourself some pesos and just get a regular hub instead of a dock. It could even be a USB-A hub since your laptop has one of those.

Nice video! Mind if I provide some constructive criticism?

First, I really like how you filmed yourself as your Rec Room avatar. Really unique. I noticed you're using the \^YouTubeTemplate, and I'd recommend making it your own. Make a private copy of the template and decorate your background with things you like, change the colors if you want, etc.

The green-screen was also really nice, I like the fact that you were still on-screen talking throughout the video.

The thumbnail is also very impressive and professional, I really like it!

Honestly the only complaint I have is the microphone quality. It was a bit hard to make out what you were saying. If you can I'd recommend picking up an external microphone to record with, instead of using the one built into the headset. I'd suggest this one, which sounds very nice and doesn't break the bank. Plugs directly into your computer via USB.

Overall, this was a very impressive and high quality video, especially considering your age (which based on your voice i'd have to say is about 12-14). Keep it up, man!

I am an ID student. Most colleges seem to have labs that support students in college. However, if you want to start early then I would recommend this is it's a good starter tablet. It's very cheap and works pretty well. I haven't used this model though as it's been awhile. Today I use a Surface Pro 4 for all my digital work but that's a big investment and I wouldn't recommend that for your sake. Technology evolves very fast.

Like a user here said before, sketching on paper translates pretty easily to computer assisted sketching. But if I could recommend programs I'd practice on SketchBook Pro. It's $30 a year and won't expire like an Adobe trial.

I can also recommend a few books for you and critique your work if you want. I tried to get a community like that going on this sub but it never came through. PM me if you want though like I said I'm only a student.

Because the vast majority of the time buying a pair of headphones and a separate mic gives you better quality hardware for the same or less money.

It's like building your own pc vs buying a prebuilt.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009S333U4

Is a good example. these are far better than the hyperX cloud 2 in terms of quality and comfort.

Then buy a separate mic, such as https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D4HTIOY

And you will have a much better pair of headphones and an equal quality mic. (People love to recommend the zalman clip on mic, it's like $5-6, and for that price I guess it's good, but it's honestly terrible)

If you can increase your budget another $20, you can get a blue snowball which is a far better mic, or you can get the antlion modmic, or look into the V-moda mic which is very similar. (The modmic and Vmoda attach to headphones to make them a headset if you don't like stand up mics. But are $30-45)

The lower end hyper x headsets (core/stinger) are actually pretty decent overall. Since at that price range you are basically stuck with a $5 mic.

There are also a few other exceptions such as the Sennheiser headsets (pc350/360 and game zero/one), if you can find them for like $120 or less, they are a solid choice.

Edit:
But I do want to make it clear, even at a low budget range, it's still better to buy separate. Even if you are stuck with a $5 zalman clip on mic that is likely worse than what comes on the stinger, you have the choice and ability to upgrade the mic to a modmic/Vmoda or anything else.

If you purchased a $50 pair of Sennheiser headphones with a $5 mic, the headphones will be drastically better even though mic sucks. But say 6 months later you can choose to upgrade the mic. And you will always have that mic available if you choose to upgrade the headphones.

Audioengine A5 - https://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A5-Bookshelf-Resolution-Bluetooth-Wireless/dp/B079TB99K3/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=MZ7XJD5GXPB4&keywords=speakers%2Ba5&qid=1555701131&s=gateway&sprefix=speakers%2Ba5%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-1-spons&smid=AKR88PAWTQVN2&th=1

They are great and I love them but they are a little expensive and kinda big. My friend has Audioengine A2 and they are also great. I also feel like the A2 is great for PC speakers. The A5 feels like its more for a home studio or home theater.

Audioengine A2 - https://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A2-Powered-Speaker-System/dp/B00DQMJE7E/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Audioengine&qid=1555701292&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Great post OP, thank you very much. I started progress on my magic mirror following these instructions and wanted to post my experience so far.

Already had:

• Rasberry Pi A+
  
• Old monitor, stripped from casing to reduce size.
  
• VGA to HDMI converter cable to allow using my monitor with pi.
  
• Micro Usb cable for power & ac adapter.
  
• USB Wifi stick ( Mine worked perfectly with raspbian jessie without any additional work) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704140&cm_re=wifi_usb-_-33-704-140-_-Product
  
  Things I needed to purchase:
  
  
• 16 gb Micro SD card (It was practically the same price as 8gb) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010Q57SEE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
  
• USB Hub. I accidentally purchased this one thinking it was powered. Luckily I was able to power the keyboard, mouse, and wifi without an issue. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003M0NURK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
  
  
• USB card reader (since my computer doesn't have one) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009D79VH4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
  
  
  Issues Encountered:
  
  
• WiFi wouldn't work: Turned out I plugged it in while pi was already running. Spent a lot of time trying to debug before realizing that I just needed to restart. My wifi dongle (linked above) was able to work immediately without any additional work.
  
  
• Calendar not loading: In calendar.php I left the "$_GET" portion when putting my google url in. Line should just be:
  
  $url = 'YOUR_URL'
  
  
• Screen won't rotate: I changed to all lowercase display_rotate=1 and cleaned up some white space and screen rotate worked properly. Not sure what the problem was exactly but working now.
  
  I will probably be removing the news and compliments because I am using a smaller screen and want to leave more open space.
  
  I also am looking for a solution to showing events from multiple calendars. I keep my google calendars separated by type, like bills, appointments, etc. These are kept on separate calendars so I can filter which is viewed. But I'd like to consolidate this data on the mirror, or rotate between calendars. May modify the source myself if nothing already exists.
  
  But to get everything running on the pi took about 2hrs including resolving my issues. Building the frame will probably take longer as my wood working skills are pretty sub par.
  

Really depends on what feature set you're looking at.


Rule of thumb is that if you're seeing aggressive marketing from a company, their boards suck. Don't buy corsair, don't buy razor, don't buy Logitech. These can be worth your time if you get them seriously marked down but that rarely happens today.


If you just want a generic, entry level mechanical keyboard, Red Dragon is a stupidly good place to start. 49 bucks for a full feature keyboard with RGB LED's.


If you want the smaller form factor you have other choices too.


>But I don't care about LED's, I just want a keyboard that's durable!


Then you're buying the god father of the modern keyboard- either the IBM Model M, or it's family of virtual clones from Unicomp


>But I want to play video games like a pro and that's not even a mechanical keyboard!


Correct! The Model M is a membrane keyboard which limits it's ability to register repeated key strikes. It's also the best keyboard on the market for general use because of it's robust after market. Unicomp makes sure there's a healthy after market for replacement parts and use a grade of plastic that actually holds up well and doesn't yellow.


If you really need a full mechanical keyboard I'd still direct you back to the top. Buy a Red Dragon.

This is normally my go to recommended headphones, but it's like half the price in the States.

My normal suggestion is to get a microphone and headphones and pair theme up since they'll sound better all around than any headset that costs a similar price. I'm honestly having a hard time fitting your budget. If you were in the states, this would be easy.

These headphones are slightly not as good as the other ones, but an easy suggestion to make when you can't pay for the HD688B and I know it's a bit of a hassle, but you could pair it with this lav mic. You wouldn't need to but the lav mic on your shirt, you should be able to place it on the head phone cable and just keep them together.

The only headsets I recommend are the HyperX Cloud headsets from Kingston. This one fits just right in with your budget. They're actually pretty good, but might be marginally worse than the headphone+microphone setup I've suggested, but also a bit more convenient.

LED's are PCB mounted.

The extra switches are all Outemu Blues.

The sockets are only compatible with Outemu switches, but you can sharpen the pins slightly (left is clipped, right is stock) and fit other brands of switches in. I don't know how that'll affect the resale value of the switches.

The case itself resonates a bit more than other keyboards I've tried; bottoming out produces a satisfying but inconsistent "thwock". The stabilizers don't rattle at all, which is good, and the switches I've replaced feel perfectly secure as well.

That said, if you're considering dropping Gaterons in a board, you might want to look at their slightly more expensive ones; this sale is for the static rainbow-colored keyboard. For $15 more (or less if they go on sale/used) you can get the real per-key RGB lighting versions in either TKL or 75%.

No :) By external enclosure, I mean One of these

Also, If you have made a time machine backup on the 1 TB external drive, you'll be able to restore all your files and settings and programs exactly as they were, with just one click. :)

However, you still need to:

1. Download a Copy of Yosemite from the Mac App Store (Free)
   
2. Obtain an 8 GB USB Stick
   
3. Download DiskMaker X
   
4. Make sure the flash drive is empty!
   

5. Plug in the Flash Drive, Run DiskMaker X, and select the correct flash drive. Then, wait about an hour or so, and it should finish the process. Do not let your mac go to sleep during this time, so you may want to use caffeine.
   

   
   

   Once this is done, you should have a bootable disk, that will work just like an OS X CD would, however it's a USB drive :)
   

   
   

   Now... what you'll do is put the SSD you just bought into the external enclosure (from the link above) and you'll be able to plug it in like an external hard drive. Run Disk Utility on OS X and format the external SSD as a "Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)" drive.
   

   
   

   Once you do that, back up your computer using Time Machine, to the external 1TB hard drive you already have.
   

   
   

   Finally, Open up your mac, Swap the SSD for the HDD. This is the tutorial I'd watch in order to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_vk2wKwmzg (they upgrade the RAM and the Hard drive to an SSD) I've watched the entire thing to make sure it's legitimate :)
   

   
   

   ) Feel free to PM me anytime if you have issues with the process. I'll get back to you as quickly as I can. Cheers.

if ur looking for new a headset, SteelSeries Arctis 5 are awesome. Super comfortable, long cable with detachable ends, really sleek and minimal design. Would recommend over Logitech, Kingston offerings. Mouse i always go with logitech, my G203 is a budget gaming mouse that works fine. Finally E-Element has some really nice budget mech keyboards that have worked great for me. I sold my full size to stick with my tenkeyless and i love it.

A fan is essential. I ended up switching from stand fan to a carpet dryer. The carpet dryer fan sits in front of the wheel and blows air up through the handlebars. It's the best fan solution I have found for spinning. There are multiple brands but I have the one below. https://www.amazon.com/XPOWER-P-230AT-Speeds-Outlets-2-3-Amp/dp/B00BY48UU8/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1511813128&sr=8-9&keywords=carpet+dryer+fan

Get a heart rate strap. The best one I have found is the Scosche. https://www.amazon.com/Scosche-RHYTHM-Heart-Monitor-Armband/dp/B00QSRQ1UM/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1511813531&sr=8-13&keywords=heart+rate+strap

I like decent sound while riding so I bought a set of Audio Engine speakers which I connect to the bike bluetooth using an audio engine B1 bluetooth receiver. I got thew small speakers due to available space but they work well with a subwoofer I already had. There are many brands of powered speakers that are cheaper. https://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A2-Powered-Speaker-System/dp/B00DQMJE7E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511813734&sr=8-3&keywords=audioengine+a2

Finally, for mood lighting I bought a Phillips Hue Bloom light which I point at wall in front of bike.

It depends what you need. I initially thought 32 GBs on my Nexus 5 wouldn't be enough, but once I chose to download my ~1000 or more songs on Spotify in normal quality instead of 320kbps, I now have tons of free space. Your usage may be different, but depending on what you use it for, a Nexus 5 may be the better option...and if it is, you should get it instead.

1. Compatible with Ting.
   
2. Android L is coming.
   
3. It's downright gorgeous. (get it in red)
   
   MicroSD card holder.
   
   Get an OTG cable and a good SD/MicroSD reader, and you're golden.
   
   OTG is awkward? Yes. Can you have more data, images, and movies than any other phone user in the world? Yes.

Great! Okay, so according to a quick Google search, you can run both the DVI and VGA ports concurrently.

You CAN go from DVI-D, which is what you have next to the VGA port, straight to HDMI, with a cable like this.

Now, the only thing to worry about is that DVI cannot carry audio, whereas HDMI can do both audio and video. There are some TVs out there with a PC input that allows you to have audio come over a separate cable (3.5mm stereo mini, optical, RCA, etc).

If your TV does not have that, you might be better off using your PC speakers, or looking at something like this. (I have never used that part and can't vouch for its efficacy, although Monoprice is perfectly fine as a parts seller) If you can just use your PC speakers (as it sounds like the displays won't be far apart), then that would certainly be the easiest solution.

The easy way is a headset, there are a couple out there at various price points:

$30-35 is the Logitech G230

$40-45 is the Logitech G430 (A G230 is a USB dongle for Virtual 7.1, but Virtual 7.1 is nasty shit and you shouldn't care about it at all.)

$50-55 is the HyperX Cloud Stinger

$60-70 is the HyperX Cloud Core (The Cloud II, without any extra accessories.)

$100 is the HyperX Cloud II and the Cloud Alpha. (The Cloud II is the older model, but has a 7.1 dongle, and a second set of very comfy Velour earpads, which I proffered over the leatherette pads that come pre-attached. The Cloud Alpha is an updated version of the Cloud II without accessories. The Cloud II (and therefore the Cloud Core, and Cloud Alpha ) are based off the Takstar Pro80 headphone, which is a clone of the Beyedynamic DT770. Both the Pro80 and DT770 are very respected at their respective price points.

$100 is the Sennheiser GSP300 (Sennhieser makes some of the best headphones, and headsets (if not the best headsets) in the world.)

The above listed options are all 'closed-back' headphones, which means they will have smaller sound stages, and will isolate from outside noise.

-------------------------------------

If you don't mind the additional extra bit of hardware and cords to support a Headphone + seperate mic, there are a few pretty good options:

Assuming a cheap starter mic in the $20-30 range (Like this here: https://www.amazon.com/FIFINE-TECHNOLOGY-Microphone-Condenser-Recordings/dp/B01D4HTIOY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1536553253&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=computer+desk+microphone&psc=1 and don't forget to literally put a sock over it to act as a free on-hand pop filter.) Or the well-regarded MassDrop Minimic (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-mini-mic)

Headphone options:

$15 is the Monoprice 8323 (Closed-back, and I'd really not suggest it for gaming without at least $20 in new earpads for it.)


$30-35 is the Samson SR850 (Semi-open back, great sound stage.)

$35-40 is the Koss PortaPro (yes, they look old'school as shit, but they are. Basically open-backed, fun sounding, lifetime warranty.)

$35-45 is the Superlux 681, and 688 semi-open-backs (great sound stage) and the 681-Evo (closed-back, very bass heavy.)

$50-60 is the AKG K92 (closed back)

$60-65 is the AKG K220 and K240 (semi-open backed) (Also available via Massdrop at $50.)

$60-70 is the Status Audio CB-1 (closed-back)

$75-80 is the Audio-Technica AD500X (open back)


There are other options probably, but that's off the top of my head.

You might want to look up a relevant subreddit for your specific needs but something like this: https://www.amazon.com/APC-Battery-Protector-Charging-BE600M1/dp/B01FWAZEIU/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JP7ZHHLLWA8D&keywords=battery+surge+protector+for+computer&qid=1559103578&s=gateway&sprefix=battery+surge+protector%2Caps%2C199&sr=8-1

I think you can have something fitted to your home that does the same thing but for whole house but you might as well check the easier/cheaper routes first. Good luck with your neighbors I hope they're nice :)

Well I assume you already have an amp or receiver then? Those monitors are pretty common recommendations, but you could get some pretty insanely good passive speakers for $300.

Since you already have an amp, I'd take advantage of that if you want the most bang for your buck. For $300 you can get some REALLY nice passive speakers or some monitors that are simply solid. You are almost in Wharfedale diamond territory. Or some Boston Acoustics

And if you aren't producing I still think you wouldn't be taking full advantage of what monitors provide with xlr connections and whatnot. Even if you are producing, just use some neutral closed headphones..

Another common pair in that price range are the Audioengine A2 powered. Oh hey they even have a passive P4 version!

But you can get some kick ass passive speakers for under $175 even. Pioneer, Fluance, Yamaha, Infinity, etc. Then you will still have the budget for a subwoofer. Which is really what you need to make the whole system rock.

I really love my Logitech m510 wireless. Mouse has two thumb buttons & wheel has center & tilt buttons and - I use SolidWorks and Excel most of the time I'm on my computer with X-Mouse Button Control (free) I get some very intuitive shortcuts specified for whichever program I'm currently in (SW-normal to & isometric on the thumbs, rotate 90 on the tilt buttons; Excel-tab shit forward/back on the thumbs, page left/right on the wheel tilts). If you watch amazon (via camelcamelcamel) you can get it for $16 (currently $20 in black), but full price is $40. I also appreciate that the receiver is really tiny and doesn't get in the way when you throw your laptop in your bag (storage compartment in the battery compartment if you want to totally remove it without losing it), but my real hesitation was battery life which turned out to be amazing (13+ months of daily use thus far and I either haven't changed them at all or once, I honestly don't remember doing it, but I might have forgotten). Lastly, I had tried smaller travel mouses, but I'd much rather carry a slightly larger wireless without needing extra batteries (2xAA) or a charging cable and the ergonomics make my hand happy, so there's that.

congrats on the setup completion! The curvature on that mouse is sexyyy. good luck streaming!

I would be interested in the Xsplit license! I believe mine is set to expire some time this year, a little extra extension would be nice. :)

My current keyboard/mouse setup is the Cooler Master Devastator combo pack, blue. I got it when i built my PC last year and had a budget to stick to, so just got a combo. It definitely works fine and the lights are cool! blue is my favorite color too. im content with it, but of course could always be better.

I would definitely love to eventually upgrade. I have my eyes set on the Razer BlackWidow Chroma Stealth Silent RGB keyboard and the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum mouse. so expensive. eventually, eventually. T___T

WD Black (3.5"): https://www.amazon.com/Black-Performance-Desktop-Hard-Drive/dp/B00FJRS6FU/ref=pd_sbs_147_1/138-2200904-9500565?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00FJRS6FU&pd_rd_r=aebe322f-1268-4416-bcf4-344f1483f9ff&pd_rd_w=k3Ban&pd_rd_wg=Hpesb&pf_rd_p=43281256-7633-49c8-b909-7ffd7d8cb21e&pf_rd_r=60ABZBZ0F3H18EK9F8XE&psc=1&refRID=60ABZBZ0F3H18EK9F8XE

​

Looks like Amazon also has some drive enclosures if you don't actually want to crack yours open. This one looks like it could even be easily replaced if you wanted to switch up the drive down the road! https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Lay-Flat-Docking-EC-DFLT/dp/B00LS5NFQ2/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=external+hard+drive+enclosure+3.5&qid=1567645642&s=electronics&sr=1-5

​

Otherwise that WD_ Black that you found seems like a good option too and at a reasonable price point for a 2TB drive. The DIY solution using the links in this post would be roughly $40 more to get the same 2TB capacity. But I guess the benefit of the DIY is that you could switch out the drive at any time and the enclosure is compatible with both 2.5 and 3.5 HDDs/SSDs... I may have to buy one of those for personal use lol.

​

Are you using the external drives with a laptop or desktop?

I've had a look at the devastator combo and it definitely looks interesting at that pricepoint. However, I would offer the following:

1. What do you want from your keyboard? Do you want to improve your typing experience or looking to enhance your gaming? Either way, shelling out more money will get you better ergonomics (reduced strain, increased longevity, etc.) and in most cases a big increase in how long a board can stay with you.
   
2. Have you considered mechanical switches? I switched a little while back and now I can't imagine buying rubber dome again. It's not because of elitism, it's simply a better experience for me all round and I now live in the knowledge that the board I have will be with me for some time.
   
   There are some really decent boards at reasonable pricepoints scattered all about. The immediate ones that come to mind are:
   
   
3. Corsair K65
   
4. CM Storm Quickfire Rapid
   
5. Rosewill RK-6000
   
   Granted, these are above the pricepoint mentioned for the devastator but if you're willing, the ergonomics and quality of these boards should vastly outweigh it.
   
   As mentioned, have a look at /r/mechanicalkeyboards once you have a feel for what you want in a keyboard. If you spend significant amount of time behind a computer in the first place (gaming + work can easily soak up dozens of hours a week) then investing in quality kit seems like a good idea.
   
   If you think the Devastator set looks awesome and fits your needs, by all means go for it. Be sure to post pics and your experience when you get it!
   
   EDIT: For reference, have a quick look at the reviews being posted on Amazon. Though not the most reputable source, they do seem to highlight a number of concerns for this combo with build quality and polish. Most notably the fact that the scroll lock key is used to turn the LEDs on and off on the keyboard but simultaneously also turns that function on. This may be a problem if you use programs that respond to that key being on. In addition, it appears that a) the keys are not particularly well-finished and may have some chips in them and b) when the LEDs are off you can't see the writing on the keys. Not a problem if you're a touch typist but if you tend to look at the board while typing you may have issues.
   
   Linky: http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-Devastator-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B00DKXXAAQ

This is what you want to get audio to your speakers, it's called a DAC, (better, more expensive options are available, but that's the best you're gonna do for under $100 lol) and this is the cable to connect the two devices (you'll also need RCA cables)

This will get you video to your projector.

Unfortunately since it looks like you're using powered monitors, you'll need a pre-amp to control the volume.

You may be thinking wow that's a lot of stuff, and it doesn't even come with a remote! And you're absolutely right. Unfortunately, the only thing that does all that is a full blow receiver, which get quite expensive and are usually aimed at surround sound systems. Most receivers don't like powered monitors though, so you'd have to get a very special one.

This is where you realize that passive speakers are what you really want, and you blow hundreds of dollars on speakers and equipment and you become an audiophile. Luckily there's a bunch of guides to get you started over on /r/zeos. But the stuff I listed earlier should let you jerry-rig a working set up while you save up :P

If you want to play Portal (which I highly recommend!), buy the Orange Box - then you get Portal, 3 Half-Lifes, and Team Fortress 2 all for $15 (on sale right now).

Also, they are expensive, but I'd recommend looking in to a gaming mouse, like a Razer or a Logitech. These mice have extra buttons, on the side and other places, that you can program to use for standard game commands like reload, pick up, etc.

I for the LIFE of me couldn't get the hang of using keyboard commands, but I can click on stuff like a boss. This is probably the single best gadget that helped me make the jump from gamer's girlfriend to autonomous gamer. So yeah. In case you needed more stuff to spend your money on. ^.^

edit: spelling/formatting

I believe those are the Audioengine A2- which are active speakers. They don't need an amp or anything

http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A2-Premium-Powered-Speakers/dp/B00DQMJE7E/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1394415594&sr=1-2&keywords=audioengine



I personally went with the Audioengine P4- these are passive speakers that do require an amp. I can attest to the P4's, the sound great, even though you need an amp. It depends on what you want them for. If you're just looking for great bookshelf speakers for your computer for your computer desk, then then active A2's are probably best. I was going for stereo sound to be used with more then just my computer or ipod. Both are great options, just choose based on your needs.

http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-Premium-Passive-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B002FJVTGI/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1394415594&sr=1-9&keywords=audioengine

No problem.

Yeah, that would work. I've mocked up a (very) rudimentary design of the solution for you:

https://imgur.com/gallery/SsLMTsi

​

Imgur cut off my text but the color code is:

Black = Product

Blue = Connection

Pink = Item To Buy (see below)

​

Products (including suggestions):

1. USB Computer Toggle Hub: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXXQKGM?ie=UTF8
   
2. Mac Type C Dock With Charging and Display Out: https://www.amazon.com/QGeeM-Delivery-Compatible-Thunderbolt-Chromebook/dp/B07QXMNF1X/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=type+c+dock+mac+charging&qid=1574116707&refinements=p_36%3A1253503011&rnid=386442011&s=electronics&sr=1-6
   
3. HDMI to DVI: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014I8UQJY/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=techlens0e-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B014I8UL8U&linkId=707a16198e0572f08d2e77944f3adfb7&th=1
   
4. Mini DP to DP: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013PWQPFS/ref=twister_B01B1B67RG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
   
   ​
   
   With this, your mac will be one cable connected to it for both charging and connecting to the monitor as the charger connects to the type c dock :-)
   
   Thank you for the sub!, didn't expect that. I hope to make some enjoyable content for you and spark some ideas! - speaking of my first video with the webcam kill switch includes how to mount the switch to the underside of the desk (which would be perfect for the USB hub - item 1. Will be super discrete and clean)
   
   PS - if you get this setup - post a pic here for me? :-)
   
   ​
   
   ​
   
   As for keyboard, i have always liked mechanical. Aukey do one that's pretty unoffensive looking:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Mechanical-Keyboard-Anti-Ghosting-Resistant/dp/B06XKV8R9Z/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=mechanical+keyboard&qid=1574117032&refinements=p_36%3A-4000&rnid=386442011&s=electronics&sr=1-11
   
   ​
   
   The Logitech G203 is on sale at the moment: https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Prodigy-Wired-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B01M26YUKO/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=gaming+mouse&qid=1574117290&refinements=p_36%3A-4000&rnid=386442011&s=electronics&sr=1-5
   
   ​
   
   But so subjective - I have a corsair K70 Mk2 Low Profile with a Mionix Naos (will take a lot to make me change!)

If you want >60 fps @ 4k you'll need to shell out for the titan. your cpu also plays a huge role in this as well.

the 1070 will do all right in terms of 4k. you will reach >60fps but you will have to tone down settings. Again, cpu matters.

Try to use DDU to uninstall your current nvidia drivers and then reinstall the latest (if you do not know how to use DDU, all the information necessary is on the sidebar to your right).

After you have used DDU and installed the latest drivers, try it with just your 4k monitor first. Since you're using a display port, it should support this resolution.

But please, use DDU first :)

EDIT: Please give me the full name of the monitor. Make sure you have a display port 1.2 cable as well. Looking at some of the 4k monitors with that brand, they only support 4k @ 60hz with a DP 1.2 cable.

Here's a link to a fairly inexpensive one: https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-DisplayPort/dp/B005H3Q59U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481154713&sr=8-1&keywords=displayport+1.2

I have and like my Logitech G410 which fits all of your criteria. From logitech you will pay more than your budget but you can get it for cheaper via 3rd party. Its $70 right now on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Spectrum-Tenkeyless-Mechanical-920-007731/dp/B01645FHEI

I also really like and actually use my Drevo TKL more tho which is not RGB: https://www.amazon.com/DREVO-84-Key-Tenkeyless-Mechanical/dp/B01H6DHITE/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1506356645&sr=1-5&keywords=drevo But one of the main reasons I really like this keyboard isthat the F-keys are directly in line with the number keys.

Drevo also has a RGB option but it doesnt have the inline F-keys: https://www.amazon.com/Element-Water-Proof-Mechanical-Keyboard-Anti-Ghost/dp/B01FXF7HFC/ref=sr_1_15?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1506356645&sr=1-15&keywords=drevo

Overall I use my drevo for the very specific reason of the in-line f-keys and its a feature I really value. However if this isnt important I would recomend the G410. But any of these listed keyboards wont steer you wrong.

Cheers!

Logitech G-400

Razer Deathadder

Steelseries Sensei

All of these are excellent mice, which one you want really comes down to personal preference. I like the deathadder, but I know other people who are more comfortable with the logitech design.

You also might want to take into consider a nice mouse surface if you don't already have one. I can tell you that the steelseries 9HD is pretty awesome if you're into hard pads.

If you're averse to drilling into your desk like I was, here's what I used for my cable management with less room to work with than you, OP.

The Basic Stuff

2 x 40" Cable management sleeves- $14

30 x adhesive cable management clips- $7

50 x reusable velcro ties- $8

2 x Cable management bins- $23

The strongest double-sided 3M tape you can find- $10 at your local hardware store

Optional, but highly recommended

AmazonBasics Premium Dual Monitor Stand- $190

AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub with 12V/3A Power Adapter- $27

AmazonBasics 4 Port USB 3.0 Hub with 5V/2.5A power adapter- $17

• The cable management sleeves should be pretty self-explanatory, but they have the added benefit of having holes cut out already for more efficient cable routing.
  
  
• The clips are useful if you have to route any cables under your desk or just need something to hold individually-wrapped cables in a convenient location under your desk.
  
  
• The velcro ties are useful for organizing your cables before routing them through the sleeves. I prefer to group mine by audio, video, and peripherals, but you may prefer otherwise.
  
  
• Use the cable management bins to hide your messy powerstrip and whatever else you may want to hide. They can also come in handy for routing cables in more complex A/V or music-production set-ups.
  
  
• Powered USB hubs can be really helpful for reducing the number of cables you have to routing from your desk to your PC or from your desk to an outlet. They're also really convenient when you have a phone that needs charged, a new wireless dongle to plug in, or just plugging in your basic peripherals vs. having to reach around the back of your PC to do it. I keep the 7-port Amazon hub on my desk for my mouse/keyboard BT dongles, charging my phone, and when I need to occasionally plug in my mouse/keyboard. Meanwhile, I keep the 4-port hub 3M-taped to the bottom of my desk for when I need to plug in external HD/USB drives.
  
  
• If you have the room in your budget and your monitors support VESA mounts, mounting your monitors would do wonders for your cable management and organization. I recommended Amazon's because I use their VESA mount for my 34" Viotek and it's sturdy as hell, so I imagine their double mount is just as good. That said, there's cheaper alternatives out there, but I just can't speak to their quality.

Is the drive spinning up at all when you turn it on?

If it does spin up, and it's not making loud clanking noises, you can probably handle the recovery on your own.

I always recommend testdisk/photorec since I get the best results with it (and it's free), but it's all command line and not the most friendly user interface so you may want to try something else if you aren't super techy.

There are many to choose from - but other than photorec, you'll probably have to pay for one of the high end ones to get any real results. EaseUS, Recuva, and DiskWarrior (if you're on Mac) are my go-to options.

You may also need a new drive enclosure if your operating systems disk utility doesn't see the drive at all since it could just be the controller on the enclosure you've got. (This would definitely void any warranty you've got with that hard drive if you're worried about that kind of thing).

Mount the drive into the enclosure, and then you can run the recovery software.

If however the drive doesn't spin up, or it's making those clanking noises, then unfortunately you'll need to have it handled by professionals who have a proper clean room to disassemble the drive inside of.

I've been fortunate enough that all of my issues have been something I was able to resolve on my own (I used to do corporate IT work) and I haven't needed to use a service, however I know multiple people who have had great experiences with DataSavers here in town.

Good luck!

>How did you go about a reimbursement? The Blue Yeti mic is our son's mic that we were using for troubleshooting.

I did not get reimbursed, but someone who used my referral link says they did. Every point of contact with the company is through the "lesson support" live chat. If they can't answer your question, they'll tell you who can.

>The webcam has a mic too so we might just use that one

Make sure it's a good quality mic. This is the mic I use, with no problems.

>Also turns out to have 4 people in the chat you have to have at least an I5 processor so I guess she's getting an upgrade there too lol.

Are you referring to the 1v4 "Group Class" project? It pays slightly more (120% of base pay) but I would still not recommend it, at least in the beginning. I believe you only have one group class at a time so the actual bonus you get paid is only a few dollars per week and actually teaching those classes seemed much more difficult than teaching normal 1-on-1 classes (to me).

Having a nicer computer will make any at-home job better, but if normal 1-on-1 classes work fine on the computer for now I might ask your wife to reconsider the group classes and not get the upgrade. PM me if you'd like my skype to talk privately.

About gaming accessories, it really depends on what your budget is.
You can get a decent mouse for $30-50, but the "good" ones are probably closer to $100.

I don't have any specific recommendations for mice since I'm using an MMO mouse when I play Starcraft2, but it works pretty well for it. I wouldn't especially recommend it for playing SC2 though since it's relatively bulky and has A LOT of buttons that are kind of useless for SC2 out of the box. The Razer Deathadder is probably a better solution specifically and not all that expensive, although if money weren't an object I wouldn't mind having a Steelseries Xai Laser Mouse either. ;p

Keyboards, I'm using Steelseries' G6v2 (amazon link here) and have been quite satisfied with it so far. I hear a lot of people say good things about Filco keyboards and recommend them over the one I end up buying, but I don't know what specific model people are thinking of. Doing a search for Filco leads me to believe you'll be paying closer to $150 for one of their keyboards though.

Ultimately, have you asked this gamer what they may want? ;p

That depends on the model you plan on getting. You'll need a Soarer's Converter if it's an XT or 122. For an AT you can use the same XT Soarer's Converter, or just use a dummy DIN 5 to PS/2 adapter and an active PS/2 to USB converter like the Blue Cube.

The Soarer's Converter is more expensive, but it has more features like full programmability, macros and NKRO. That's just external converters though.

Pretty much all Model Fs, except for the XT, can use the xWhatsit internal replacement controller, but it's more of a process to get working. You Have to open the board up, desolder the original controller and replace it with the xWhatsit. It has pretty much the same features as the Soarer's Converter, but it's an internal solution instead of external.

Good old Amazon Basic's 4 port powered USB w/ an Apple USB-C to USB adapter.

https://smile.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Port-2-5A-power-adapter/dp/B00DQFGH80/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484871884&sr=8-2&keywords=amazon+basic+4+port+usb+hub

One I had from before using a Surface Pro Hackintosh, works great for the Oculus with 3 sensors. All the USB goes into that Rift, and 3 sensors. Long as I keep the 3rd sensor on USB2.0 using the monoprice cable I get no tracking issues related to sensor hookups.

Yeah I love the setup, I had a 2015 Macbook Pro which ran great for work / OSX needs. It made sense to dump the gaming laptop Razer and consolidate the Macbook and Razer into the new one. eGPU made that possible, TB3 rocks speed wise the hit isn't terrible long as you use an external monitor. Works great here.

I really do admire your efforts! However there is a LOT of room to improve.

Lets start with the quality of your recording. I'd start by getting Camstudio and reading some tutorials on how to export it so that it looks good.

Secondly, lets talk about a microphone, so you can do some actual commentary. I found a Cheap one on amazon that can help you at least get started (if you want to spend more, i'd suggest looking at name brands).

The music in the background is a good touch, but once you start doing commentary, i'd suggest lowering the volume of the music (any editing program can do this) and making your voice the focal point of your audio.

Lastly, I just want to say don't stop making videos, quality will come with time. Eventually you will grow a fanbase who will love what you make. Good luck!

i sorta kinda went to art school in a roundabout way. i started off in neuroscience, then i did a year of fine art and a year of community art college. i've done a lot of workshops and things though and i read a lot of art books and blogs and the like.

and yay for games! i actually work at a game company, Naughty Dog. it's a really fun industry. digital art is definitely a must for doing game art. Wacom is the tablet that I swear by however there are so many good cheap alternatives now. Here are some that I'd recommend for you to start out by trying:

http://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610PRO-Painting-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B00GIGGS6A/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449009760&sr=1-7&keywords=wacom+bamboo

http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-CTL471-Tablet-Black/dp/B00EVOXM3S/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449009760&sr=1-1&keywords=wacom+bamboo

oh and check it out manga studio is on sale, that's a good program too, great alternative to photoshop which is really pricey: http://www.amazon.com/Smith-Micro-Software-Inc-ALA31002327/dp/B00ANH074Y/ref=pd_sim_147_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=513uN0rVQlL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR111%2C160_&refRID=0VT0HQ9EMB6J118RBJWD

I actually wrote a blog on this recently.

Mirroring what others have said, the four I recommend are:

Nyne Bass - Best portable one

Marshall's Stanmore - Best looking (love the retro styling of this)

Grace CastDock Speaker - Best plug and play for Chromecast

Audio Engine A2 - Best Sound Quality

Pretty much no power supply is going to have enough connectors for a substantial number of drives. That's hardly important, though. 4:1 or 5:1 splitters are cheap and easy to come by. (That one is $6.69 right now.)

Also, one of the advantages of using a chassis with a backplane is that it saves you dealing with an enormous wiring harness.

You may, however, eventually run into other limitations of your power supply. (This is unlikely with 15 drives and a 650W PSU, however.) For example, how many rails does your power supply have, and what are their individual maximum wattages? (3.5" hard drives primary draw from the 12V rails.) There may be less than the full 650W available to your hard drives.

You will also see large current spikes at boot, when all of the drives try to spin up at the same time. The machine may fail to boot if this draw exceeds the power supply's capacity (again, either on those particular rails or overall). This can be mitigated by using staggered spin-up, which requires either controller/OS support or MacGyvering. (One of the pins in the SATA connector tells the drive not to spin up immediately when power is applied.)

All of that having been said, though, unless you have other complaints about your PSU, a few cables is probably the right fix.

If you're dead set on replacing it, then you should be most interested in power supplies with high efficiency at the load that you expect. (Do some math but also take some measurements, and then look at the PSU's datasheet. The single efficiency number that will be advertised on the product's website or box assumes that it is almost fully loaded.) Power supplies are also differentiated by features like active PFC (power factor correction).

If you're looking for a specific suggestion, I've had good luck with the EarthWatts series.

Good luck!

I have the Wii Network Adapter, but I'm sure any of them will work just fine.

You'll only need a USB Hub if you plan on playing 8 player smash using 2 GameCube Adapters. Otherwise, you have enough USB Ports to handle all of this. Smash Bros. can handle a number of different controller configuration.


I bought this enclosure with a dust cover because I didn't want the harddrive getting too dusty. We know how entertainment centers and consoles are dust magnets. This thing works great! Has it's own power supply, so I only need the one USB for data. It's compatible with USB 2.0 and 3.0. It will take SATA III 3.5 inch desktop HDDs as well as 2.5 harddrives and SSD's.


There are a number of HDD to choose from, but I picked this one up because it was sub 50 when I bought it. Speed seems just fine and I haven't has any issues.

Hey man, frankly I only know of Wacom and Genius tablets. So I researched Huion just now. Interesting. This one's from Amazon:

Q: What are the differences between the Huion h610 and the Huion h610 pro? Thanks.

A: Regarding your inquiry, the differences between the H610 and H610 Pro are as follows: 1. Different stylus. H610 Pro uses a battery free stylus, which is a recharge one with latest Huion design while the H610 uses a stylus that needs one AAA battery. The recharge stylus has a better sense and responses better to the tablet. 2. Different surface texture. The H610 Pro has a slippery-proof texture of the tablet surface so you will feel more comfortable like drawing on a real paper when you use it. The old H610 doesn't have that. 3. Different resolution. The resolution of the H610 Pro is 5080 lines per inch, and the H610 is 4000 LPI. 4. Different reporting rate. The report rate of the H610 Pro is 233 resolutions per second while the H610's is 220 RPS. 5. Different box. The whole original packaging box of H610 Pro is different from the H610, which looks more modern. 6. Different driver. The new driver for the H610 Pro is confirmed to be compatible with windows 8.1 and mac osx 10.9. Thank you for your kind attention!

http://www.amazon.com/Huion-H610-Graphics-Drawing-Tablet/dp/B00GIGGS6A

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002Q4U5DK

If you still want a nice Razer mouse, but with less buttons, there's this DeathAdder. It has blue LEDs, two side buttons, and is extremely comfortable. I've had it for a few months, its extremely nice, very worth the money.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A378L4C

As for a keyboard, this is the one I'll be getting soon. CM Storm Quickfire TK. Its compact, mechanical, blue LED backlit, and has Cherry MX Blue switches, which are supposed to be like heaven.

An alternative to the AK33 that might interest you is the E-Element Z-88. It has a very similar layout, but is slightly more standard (better aftermarket keycap compatibility) AND has hot swap switch sockets. Even though the sockets will only accept Outemu switches without modification, the good news is that newer Outemu switches are actually quite nice. I'm not a fan of clickies so I replaced the stock Blues with Purples and discovered a contender for my favorite switch in the process.

Not that I want to rob you of an opportunity to essentially build your own board, but in case you just wanted to get up and running with some customizability...

Anyhow, let us know what you end up with! Best of luck.

I have the same stick and using the rift. What works for me with extra buttons is that I place a razor orbweaver on the table to the left of my sticks and it works great!! You might not need that many extra buttons though and a tarurus would probably work just fine for cheaper. I was tempted to upgrade to the x 52 pro but I I love my current stick and I won't be upset if this breaks in me vs a 200 dollar stick that would make me very mad.

Edit:

I found this and i bet it works great without overpaying for the other gameboards.

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Numeric-Keypad-Jelly-Comb/dp/B01E8U8HKW/ref=pd_sbs_63_19?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=T8FA0QXTK4D049XMXD6Q

The raised layer in the 5 key should make it easy to memorize each button around it so you don't need to see it in Vr.

Here's another for 9 bucks! If you use a shift key on your Hotas then you are basically doubling the amount of keys here :)

https://www.amazon.com/Numeric-Jelly-Comb-Portable-Computer/dp/B01E8TTWZ2/ref=pd_cp_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=10HV6T876Q90396BM4CJ

I've been using the Audioengine A2+ and I love them. Sound great, well built, beautiful design and nice and small so they are great desk speakers.

That's a pretty tight budget, but if you can stretch an extra $30, my top choice would be a pair of Edifier R1280DB's. If you want a step up in quality, I would recommend the Audioengine A2+.

You can also go the passive route and get something like the Dayton DTA-2.1BT2 amp and a pair of budget passive speakers like the Micca RB42's. That amp will also give you the ability to add a subwoofer later if you want.

The folks over at r/BudgetAudiophile can probably give you even more options.

Woah i did not look at the cost of this in CAD holy crap that is expensive ($300 bucks plus $24 in shipping). Very good review on your part though, kinda sucks about the rebinding configurator though.

Completely unrelated but i feel like you might think this is cool. Its Outemu Blue Numpad (Outemu are Cherry knockoff's, but there pretty decent), and for $20, has full metal construction, braided cable, and some cheap Blue's. You may have seen it before cause it was on the front page like 4 months ago. Thought you might find it interesting because we have pretty similar tastes in keyboards IMO (i have been eying the model M and zealios purple for a while :P)

Anymore I don't generally take data recovery work on from people I don't know personally (just too much that could go wrong liability wise - I don't want to be the one to lose any irreplaceable pictures of grandma permanently) but I can give you some quick things you might try depending on how comfortable you are with electronics in general.



You said the drive isn't being recognized - is it making any new noises compared to when it was working? If you hear a repeating clicking noise, I would NOT attempt anything further on my own with that drive and in fact would not be turning it on any more if I could help it.



If it's not making a clicking noise but is still coming on and just not being recognized, it might just be the external enclosure/connector that's not working. If you're comfortable removing the HDD from the current enclosure, you can try the bare drive in something like this:




https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Lay-Flat-Docking-EC-DFLT/dp/B00LS5NFQ2




If the drive still refuses to be recognized by the system, the next step is utilizing software utilities to check for a busted partition table. The knowledge level you'll want for both this step and moving on from here takes a significant jump up from steos previous so if you're a basic level user, I'd stop at this point and find a guy in person that might help.

It might be as simple as a repairing the partition table but if it were my drive, I'd be getting a new identical HDD and cloning it bitwise in an attempt to preserve the original if anything goes wrong and attempting the next recovery steps on the newly-cloned drive.


Hope this helps!

> Is there a way to quickly connect the HDD to my laptop,

You'll need something like an external enclosure or a SATA to USB adapter to be able to connect it to your laptop. The enclosure/docking station I listed is a bit overkill as it works with both 2.5" and 3.5" disk drives. You can save almost half the price if you get a dedicated 2.5" OR 3.5" dedicated enclosure.

> permanently delete the already deleted files, then disconnect it and put it back where he had it?

Assuming you can get the HDD connected to your laptop, the free version of CCeaner has the capability to permanently remove those "deleted" files that still reside on the drive. Here's a youtube video showing how it's done (sorry the guy is a little hard to understand, but I think you'll get the idea). Good luck and feel free to ask questions should you have any.

You see the professional players use them because they are sponsored. They don't care to wear anything as long as they can play this game and get a salary out of it.

The HyperX Clouds are pretty decent for what you get. But by no means spectacular.
I doubt that you can beat them when you have to include a microphone though.

Here is a list of headphones that are amazing for the price.

• Sennheiser HD558 - $75
  
• Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X - $70
  
• Audio Technica ATH-AD700X - $102
  
  The Sennheiser HD558 & AD500X are both extremely good for their price. They are very fun to listen to and are competitive as well. I love the HD558s for country, classical & metal music.
  But the AD700X is absolutely legendary in games. It ditches warmth, bass, and musicality for sheer performance and detail-whoring.
  
  
• "Cheap" microphone that doesn't sound terrible - $22

I think a 15 inch Asus F55 is a really good purchase at $530. It comes with excellent specs for the price, looks very sleek and is decently light to carry around at college. It also comes with a good battery life at 6+ hours, and it has a full sized keyboard with a number pad.

For a basic wireless mouse, I just use a Logitech M510 and would recommend it. It's good if you're looking for an average sized mouse. If you're looking for something smaller in your hand, an M325 would be good.

I love my E-Elements Z-88 75%, great RGB keyboard with (mostly) standard keycaps. Get it with the blue switches (Outemu) and you'll be in clicky heaven. Great entry level price, 2 day shipping via Amazon, and smaller form factor. Trust me, you won't miss the numpad.

https://www.amazon.com/E-Element-Water-Proof-Mechanical-Keyboard-Anti-Ghost/dp/B01FXF7HFC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493142214&sr=8-2&keywords=z-88

I bought this mic from Amazon when I started mine. It's a nice entry level USB mic that's reasonably priced. The quality is good.

USB Microphone,Fifine Plug &Play Home Studio USB Condenser Microphone for Skype, Recordings for YouTube, Google Voice Search, Games(Windows/Mac)-K668 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4HTIOY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_RYLXNYqWj8q4y

While much more expensive. I know a lot of the podcasts that I listen to use the Yeti by Blue Microphones.

I've used the free program called audacity to record. It's easy enough to use. It's worth a look.

I used a Mac as well.

Good luck!

>Other necessary items such as a legal copy of Windows

I'll assume they want windows and a legal copy for that matter /r/microsoftsoftwareswap

>a good M+KB or controller

Assuming they don't already have some lying around, you can pick up cheap M+KB pairs, here or here or like this or like this or cheaper or slightly more expensive ones like this or this.
Or (if you can) go to your local shop and pick up a cheap pair for $5 each (and that's here in Australia).
And all of that's also assuming you want it brand new.

A controller isn't necessary, but if they really want them, assuming you want new and analog sticks, this or this would suffice.

>Even miscellaneous things like cables, filters

They come with the gear you buy, GPU's come with the needed output cable (whether that be DVI/VGA/HDMI/DP) even then, local shops have them for a couple dollars...except DP which is expensive for some reason. PSU always comes with it's own cables and filters come with the case as well.

>mouse-pad

You can pick up a nice cheap one for a dollar (or less if you're that desperate)

>thermal paste, zip-ties

Already on your CPU fan, which comes with your cpu, unless you buy it second hand or buy a (very expensive) high end one. Zip-ties are an unnecessary optional item (cases these days have notches etc for cables and even then you don't "need" them) that cost a dollar for 100.

ive only had my logitech m510 for a short while now but its pretty comfortable, wireless, and seems pretty durable as ive dropped it repeatedly and still works great and its 30$

Heh. Well, despite your snarky comment, I've decided to provide a suggestion. Perhaps this might be a bit more useful.

A super simple search at Amazon revealed a highly rated Best Seller product that reads SD cards and hooks to a USB port. It's $6.99 with free shipping.

Its also small, like pack of gum small, so I'd imagine you could carry it in a pocket.

So, I'd imagine that would solve your issue.

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Information-Card-Reader-TS-RDF5K/dp/B009D79VH4

Razer Deathadder. Hands down. Its wireless brother, the Mamba, has active sensitivity controls and you could probably find one for around 100 dollars... but the Deathadder only costs about 40-50 and performs to a similar level. Both are wonderful mice and I highly recommend them. The mamba's ergonomic swoop and ease of button-pressing virtually cured some tendonitis I had.

http://www.amazon.com/Razer-Deathadder-Infrared-Gaming-RZ01-00151400-R3/dp/B002Q4U5DK


For goodness sake do not buy them directly from Razer. They charge a ridiculous premium for their fancy black and green website. Just buy from Amazon. :)

That'll work fine. Brands don't matter much - they're all going to be a big step up.

For installation you'll need a small (P1) phillips screw driver, and a Torx T6 driver. I'd also recommend a can of Compressed Air Duster - if you're in there, clean it up. Any semi-good multi-bit precision screw driver set will have both. If you want to keep your data, you'll also want to have a USB SATA cable (something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Adapter-Optimized-EC-SSHD-USB-3-0-SSD-SATA-2-5/dp/B011M8YACM/ref=pd_sbs_23_3/258-6658474-5826456?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B011M8YACM&pd_rd_r=bb016fd2-3304-11e9-88d3-9bfb40e6fdf8&pd_rd_w=OEqZv&pd_rd_wg=5R3O5&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&pf_rd_r=HSN8B74MBPD7Z1J2SCSJ&psc=1&refRID=HSN8B74MBPD7Z1J2SCSJ) which will let you migrate your data back after you install your new drive.

On a clean surface shut down the machine and flip it over, undoing the 8 screws on the bottom (3 will be longer, and 5 will be short) on the bottom case. Should just pop off then. On the right-hand side of the device closest to you is the battery - a short cable with a black plastic cap on the top right is the battery connector. Disconnect the battery. (Not absolutely required, but safer).

Once open, give the inside a dusting, then look for the hard drive in the lower left hand corner. Right above it will be a small plastic holding bar, held in with two locking Phillips screws. Remove them and the bar and set aside.

Slide the drive out of the IR bracket on the opposite side and disconnect from the Hard Drive Flex SATA Cable. Be careful - break this cable, and you're adding another 25$ cable to your repair.

Remove the 4 T6 Torx screws from the original drive and put them into the matching holes on your new drive. Attach to the flex cable and reseat into the IR bracket and settle in. Replace the holding bar and screw it back in, making sure it's secure. Reconnect the battery.

Replace the bottom case and replace the screws. The 3 long ones are on the top right as it's sitting in front of you. The short screws you might need to angle slightly - they should sit flush.

If you have an OS install disk you're good - if not, reboot holding Command and R to get to Internet Recovery to install a fresh copy of mOS. It will let you connect to wifi (or auto-connect to your Wired network if you have an ethernet connection). When it boots (it will take a while, it's downloading most of an OS) open Disk Utility, format your new SSD (choose Mac OS Extended Journaled for the format) and you'l be able to then install mac OS.

Once installed, if you have a SATA cable you should then be able to go into macOS setup and use Migration assistant to copy your data - if it gives an error saying it was created on a newer version of macOS, you can back to the point, create a temporary user called Administrator or Update or something like that, then update your system. With a Mid-2012 with an SSD there's no reason not to be on 10.14 Mojave, so create a temporary user, update your system using the App Store to Mojave, and then you can go into Migration Assistant again (it's in the Applications/Utilities folder).

I hope this helps you out!

Hi there,

I'd like to upgrade my audio setup, which is OK, but not great. Here's what I currently have going on:

Turntable: Pro-Ject - Debut Carbon DC (Black)

Speakers: Audioengine A2+ Premium Powered Desktop Speakers - Pair (Black)

Preamp: BEHRINGER MICROPHONO PP400

I think the Pro-Ject is OK for me right now, but I'm thinking about upgrading my speakers, and potentially purchasing a receiver (as opposed to my preamp into speakers set up right now). I've started buying some cassettes, so would also love to buy a cassette deck at some point and also be able to plug it into my receiver.

Anyone have any tips? I am admittedly still a bit of a novice, so any advice much appreciated. :)

I also have a couple of these: Audio-Technica AT95E/HSB Headshell/Cartridge Combo Kit (AT95E Cartridge and AT-HS10BK Headshell) lying around the apartment. Is it possible to replace my Pro-Ject needle with one of these bad boys / if so, anyone know of a good explainer for how to do it?

Thanks!

Thank you so much for the response and info!

I saw this review on Amazon. What do you think?

That person also links to the following products. How essential/necessary do you think they would be to the node-804? I've read some other review that don't highlight suggestions as the review above does. What are your thoughts?

• SilverStone Technology 3.5-Inch to 2 X 2.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive HDD / SSD Bay Converter, Silver (SDP08)''
  
  
• Monoprice 108794 24-Inch 4-Pin Molex Male to 4 15-Pin SATA II Female Power Cable Net Jacket
  
  
• StarTech.com 4x SATA Power Splitter Adapter Cable (PYO4SATA)
  
  
• SilverStone Technology All Black Sleeved 1-to-2 Sleeved PWM Fan Splitter Cable (CPF01)
  
  Unfortunately I'm in a strange situation where I don't have as much time as I'd like to review/research for the absolute best route to go -- and I'm in need of making a decision very soon.
  
  I'm totally cool with building, although I must say that I'm not as experienced as I would like -- however, I will have time on my hands to learn what is needed to build the setup I decide to purchase.
  
  Any and all info/feedback is most welcome! Thanks!

I've bought 2 from this exact seller and other than the plain brown box clearly labeled "Recertified", I couldn't tell that these were not new.

Mic is removable. Great for gaming with good audio quality from the mic but just OK for music (not super clean sound separation and tend to lean on the bass side).

For the price, damn good.

I think this is the same one on Amazon, here for your comparison and user reviews

Nice, congrats on the sweet attic find! PS/2 keyboards always require a reset after being plugged in/out. To avoid that, you can get what's commonly referred to as the blue cube PS/2 to USB adapter which will make your Model M behave as a modern USB keyboard. I hope you enjoy the board, it'd definitely a great first (and for some final) step into the world of mechanical keyboards!

If you're looking for good audio with an attached microphone, this is definitely the one to get. If you don't need all the frills of the Cloud, the Cloud Core is only $59 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.ca/Kingston-HyperX-Cloud-Gaming-Headset/dp/B0153XL4V2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473300999&sr=8-1&keywords=hyperx+headset


Alternatively, Cloud II has USB adapter for 7.1 audio and a better headband, definitely worth the price.

https://www.amazon.ca/HyperX-Cloud-Gaming-Headset-PS4/dp/B00SAYCXWG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473300999&sr=8-2&keywords=hyperx+headset

After going through almost half a dozen pairs of gaming headphones, I don't think I could go back after using the HyperX. It's comfortable, light, sounds amazing, and has a good microphone.

Ok, I'm going to take a whack at this. Here is my full build list with everything I'll need.


CPU ($190-not sure if mobo is compatible, seems like AMD has different socket?): AMD Ryzen 5 1500x

RAM ($270): - 2x of Crucial 16GB DDR3 ECC

MOBO ($200 - includes 10 SATA 6.0GBps ports: bypass needing HBA): ASRock X370 Taichi AM4 AMD

PSU ($110) - EVGA 650W Gold

Case ($220- fit's 10x 3.5" drives and ATX to match mobo) - Lian Li PC-A76X Full Tower Desktop Case

Drives (10x 8TB reds @ $200 + 120GB SSD for OS)

Server NIC ($160) Dell x520 Intel 10GbE..says it only works on dell?

Switch ($750) NeatGear 8-port 10GbE switch

UPS ($60) APC UPS

TOTAL PRICE: $3940 with a 10Gbe switch...thinking it's worth just biting the bullet and going 10GbE if I'm already doing all this.

Couple more questions.

Red 8TB's are out of stock so I'm considering going with 12x 6 TB reds instead. This is better since I'll lose 12TB to the Raid z2 instead of the 16TB I'd lose with 8TB disks yeah? They're the same price per TB. I guess I'd just need to find a bigger case and a MOBO with 12x Sata or maybe I need to get a LCI HBA instead and a cheaper mobo with ECC. Preference? Seems nice to do it all out of mobo and let freeNas take care of the raid.

Looks like a fiber NIC is similar in price to a 10GbE switch, so maybe it makes sense to just get 10GbE? If I got a 24ch gigabit with 2 fiber for cheap, can I run fiber to 1 PC and have 10GbE speeds and run the rest of clients at 1GbE no problem? I'm wondering if the 2 fibers on the switch are input only, or if they can go either direction. It would be really great to save the money and get a switch for around $200, because only one client really needs 10GbE speeds anyways right now.

I see that on the X520 NIC adapter that there are 10GbE ports. Does this mean I can daisy chain to other clients? Or is it recommended to go direct from switch to each client?

This server will be plugged into a shared workroom. I'm a bit worried it's possible for it to somehow get unplugged...my guess is that this would be catastrophic. Are there "security boxes" that the server can be locked into so its impossible to unplug?

DIY gets hit by economies of scale.

You can always buy a USB numpad off Amazon or ebay, down to like $5 is you go with a membrane numpad instead of Mechanical.

As for Blue switches? How noisy is your office? Or do all your coworkers wear headphones? Blues are a good choice if you do not mind the noise. Otherwise Browns are a good choice. Reds and Blacks are OK, but if you can, try some switches at your local Best Buy or Microcenter. Note, Razer Green= Blues, Razer Orange=Browns. My local Best Buy only carries Razer and Corsair boards.

For computers, I recommend either of these units (or their lower wattage siblings where appropriate):

• APC BR1500MS
  
• CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
  
  For networking equipment, something much lower end like the APC BE600M1 would be fine.
  
  > Bonus points: simulated sine vs true sine; marketing gimmick or worthy investment?
  
  Depends on the use case. For nearly any modern computer, you'll want true sine wave. Stepped waved UPSes often cause issues with modern 80+ certified PSUs which use Active PFC.
  
  For other devices that don't have Active PFC PSUs, or just aren't all that sensitive, stepped wave is fine. Things like networking equipment, phone chargers, etc are fine on stepped wave.

1. I don't think so. I have the AOC monitor and it's great, definitely would recommend.
   
   
2. for 144hz you must use displayport. Get a displayport to display port wire like (this)[https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-DisplayPort/dp/B005H3Q59U/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1480287388&sr=1-3&keywords=displayport+to+displayport+cable]
   
   
3. For 144hz it's very easy. If you have AMD GPU you can use Radeon or even just going into the advanced display settings of your displays (you can pm me and I can walk you through if you go through with buying this). As for colour I can't really say much as I have just settled with the default settings without changing much as it doesn't matter much to me ( I have two monitors, other one is IPS which is beautiful for watching movies on).

If you're looking on the budget end, these keyboards will all be on sale tomorrow:

• Velocifire VM01 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Outemu Brown Switches 104 Keys LED Illuminated Backlit Anti-ghosting Keys (Black)
  
• MechanicalEagle Z-77 Multicolor Backlit 87 Keys Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Blue Switches DIY Replaceable Switches - Black
  
• Mechanical Keyboard Gaming Keyboard Brown Switch 68-Keys Mini Design (60%) Gaming Wired Keyboard White Silver Magicforce by Qisan
  
• EagleTec KG010 Gaming / Industrial / Office Mechanical Keyboard With LED Backlit 104 Key (Black)
  
  The first 2 are pretty regularly posted on this sub. The 3rd is highly recommended on /r/MechanicalKeyboards as a good budget board (though the more expensive Gateron keys are preferred). I'm not familiar with the 4th, but it looks like it could be the same as a MechanicalEagle with a different badge.
  
  Here is a link that finds all of those keyboards except the Qisan (#3), which is filed under "Electronics" and "Video Games > Accessories" rather than "Computers & Accessories". It should also keep populating in case more keyboards show up, since deals are only posted 24 hours in advance. You should be able to change the price range, but I don't remember seeing any mechanical keyboards for $50+. You can also "Watch" the deals from that link so you are notified when they go live.
  
  Hope this helps, and good luck finding a board!

Would something like this work? https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-DisplayPort/dp/B005H3Q59U

I dont have a displayport cord but Im happy to order one and give it a shot!

Thanks for the help =)

You have a few options that would allow you to test Linux without giving up Windows in the first place. It's easier to go back to Windows later, if it was never gone.

That being said, if you use a virtual machine [like VirtualBox], or install Linux on a USB flash drive, then you're not getting the completely native experience with Linux.

Running in a VM won't give Linux direct access to devices. Linux not having hardware level direct access to your video card may mean that some visual effects won't work right, and/or that it could be considerably slower.

If you install to a USB flash drive, then your disk access is going to be very slow, compared to HDD speeds, slower yet compared to SATA or NVMe SSD speeds.

If you configure your system to dual boot, then you have the option [at boot time] to boot into one operating system, or the other. This can be done non-destructively, by resizing your Windows partition down [free space allowing] during Linux install, then installing Linux partitions in the newly created free space.

I would recommend a dual boot system, personally. That's what I do, so I can go back and forth between them.

You can even set up virtual machines afterwards that allow you to access one from the other in a virtual machine, but that's a whole different fun thing to get into.

EDIT: I see now where you mention the lack of space on your current machine. You can grab a SATA SSD and a $10 USB3/SATA adapter and use that. Not really elegant, but neither is 32GB of storage, or using a slow USB flash.

I got 3 of these. They work great, fast, and they are compatible with smartmontools in Linux, so you can access the SMART system of a HDD, or SSD for testing and troubleshooting.

I bought this exact drive for my mom's laptop on Amazon 2 weeks or so ago when I saw the good deal. It's a great SSD but NOTE!!

It does NOT come with any cable or peripheries besides the manual and CD of Samsung's Cloning software and SSD Magician. I would recommend buying a SATA adapter to USB 3.0 for each. I bought this and it worked like a charm for cloning her old HDD to the new SSD - http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Adapter-Optimized-EC-SSHD/dp/B011M8YACM/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449613719&sr=1-5&keywords=sata+to+usb+3.0

I just recommend that one because it's USB 3.0 and just $9.99 on Prime. But there are many others, simply type "SATA to USB adapter" on Amazon.

On sale on Amazon for $60 currently: https://www.amazon.com/HyperX-Cloud-Gaming-Headset-KHX-HSCC-BK/dp/B0153XL4V2/ref=pd_sbs_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0153XL4V2&pd_rd_r=DNWE1B8HK5CDR9DJ6CBC&pd_rd_w=OMaNe&pd_rd_wg=gckpK&psc=1&refRID=DNWE1B8HK5CDR9DJ6CBC

I got my wife the cloud core and was SUPER impressed with it. I have the Logitech G430 myself and it is also and excellent headset. I'm very confident that at either of these price points you will be extremely satisfied with your purchase.

If you're on a budget like I was, Coolermaster peripherals are amazing. I recently upgraded from a really sketchy $20 chinese kb/m set to the $30 CM Storm Devastator kb/m combo, it's fantastic. I love how the keys are raised, almost like a mechanical style. And the backlighting on such an inexpensive set is impressive. I could never really justify myself spending hundreds of dollars on peripherals so I definitely appreciate CM's offering.

I've had really good luck with the Vilros starter kits off of amazon. They give you a good combination of stuff cheaper than the parts on their own. This is the last one I got:

https://www.amazon.com/Vilros-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Black/dp/B00MV6TAJI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1481083146&sr=8-2&keywords=vilros+pi+kit

Comes with a power adapter and SD card. It also comes with an HDMI cable to hook it to a TV. Since it's a Pi 3 (the latest model), it has wifi built in. As long as he has a usb keyboard he can use, this kit should be pretty much everything he needs to get up and running.

You might want to make sure his computer has an SD card slot (like you use to get pictures of of camera memory cards) to download and load the operating system onto the SD card. Most laptops have one, look for a little slot that says "SD". If not, get him a cheap USB one like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-microSDHC-Reader-TS-RDF5K-Black/dp/B009D79VH4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481083426&sr=8-4&keywords=sd+card+reader+usb

Edit: I forgot to mention that when you buy from Vilros on amazon, they usually email you a PDF with a bunch of sample projects.

With in your budget and great reviews

HyperX Cloud Alpha Gaming Headset - Dual Chamber Drivers - Award Winning Comfort - Durable Aluminum Frame - Detachable Microphone - Works with PC, PS4, PS4 PRO, Xbox One, Xbox One S (HX-HSCA-RD/AM) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074NBSF9N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_l-lOBb5VD6AK0

FIFINE TECHNOLOGY USB Microphone,Fifine Plug &Play Home Studio USB Condenser Microphone for Skype, Recordings for YouTube, Google Voice Search, Games(Windows/Mac)-K668 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4HTIOY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_I9lOBbKWTFKWC

Good luck

I've seen many choose this one too, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYoghrQH4MI
Watch this, and remember the plus goes with plus, minus with minus and so on.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1995782/144hz-asus-vg248qe-monitor.html
There's a reason the best answer was chosen as the best answer. I'm getting it too, and I have tried to look fir all problems.
My friend has this one and all you should do is just to configure it to your liking. https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-DisplayPort/dp/B005H3Q59U/ref=pd_sim_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KP6RM0SB2AMVXQ9H5YGQ
These were recommended, just choose the length you'd like and you'd be good to go. And don't ask reddit next time.

Awesome, thank you for the detailed response.

So if I'm doing my math correctly, one SATA cable from the PSU would have four connectors. Splitting it with the 4x SATA splitter would put me at 7 connectors total. Let's say I run a high estimate of 9W per HD, that's still only 63W which is well under the 192W calculation. I was thinking about running a blu-ray drive on the same line which would still only be (9W6)+30W=84W total. So I would be safe in my instance is that right?

The AMP connector route you mentioned would still be well under since the molex to 4x SATA would be the only thing connected to that cable. 9W4=36W or (9W*3)+30W (BD drive)=57W.

Would you recommend one route over the other (SATA to 4x SATA vs molex to 4x SATA)? Looking at either one of these guys..

https://smile.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Power-Splitter-Adapter-PYO4SATA/dp/B0086OGN9E/

https://smile.amazon.com/Monoprice-108794-24-Inch-15-Pin-Female/dp/B009GULFJ0/

Thanks!

This is amazing. I was going to update it to include that the 700 was without the monitor so this works out. I just have a few questions about the build:

1. Is it worth it to upgrade to the i5-6600 for $40 more? Would this make a big difference in terms of editing maybe or gaming?
   
2. I was leaning towards the GTX 1060. I know it's high in demand right now, but would there be more availability in a month? But if I was able to get it, what's the price difference and is it worth it over the RX 480? Also which brand because there are a lot.
   
3. For the monitor I was thinking the HP Pavilion 21.5-Inch IPS LED HDMI VGA Monitor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015WCV70W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_JHsMxb3JVZAPX
   I'm not sure what the big differences are or if there are any. I think that the HP aesthetically looks nicer
   
4. Is this a solid keyboard? For some reason the way it's designed, it's look really cheap and kind of over the top. My friend has a Cooler Master Devastator - LED Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Combo Bundle (Blue Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DKXXAAQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AstMxbMHYQ6GA that he said he would sell to me for $10. Idk too much a out keyboards so as long as it looks simlle and works well, I'm happy.
   
5. Do you think a wireless card is necessary? I'm not sure if I'll have access to Ethernet(probably will).
   
6. My old gaming laptop has two 512GB hard drives. Would it be smart to snag one of them? Is it possible to attach it to this computer?
   
   EDIT: Aesthetically

I don't know of any guides, but for the home user, it's really not expensive or difficult.

What you need, besides HBA in your host machine, is just a bunch of cabling. If you don't have an HBA...cheap and available on ebay.

Just an FYI: Most hard drives don't use a lot of power. (you can look up the max power requirements for specific drives through their manufacturer spec sheet) A 500 watt power supply can often supply the vast majority of that over the 12v rails. Your power supply can run many more disks than it has provisions for, so splitter cables are often the only way to maximize your chassis disk space. As I mentioned before: don't use cables with molded connectors. Cables like https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0086OGN9E - you can see they are plastic and snap around the cables themselves and aren't a molded piece.

The super quick and dirty to expand your storage past your server computer's space or power capabilities is:

• A second computer case or disk chassis with it's own power supply
  
• A way to trigger the power supply to turn on with the machine, such as: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074DGPL85/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1 (when the molex port receives power, it triggers a relay to power on the power supply connected to the 20/24 pin)
  
• A way to connect the drives, which is just SFF-8088 from host to disk chassis. You can install a bracket like https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-SFF-8088-SFF-8087-Adapter-Bracket/dp/B01GPD9QEQ - or you can just pull an SFF-8088 to Sata through a hole to the chassis. Depends on how cheap you are. (I'm pr gd cheap) You can route an internal sff-8087 out of your host chassis with that kind of bracket too.
  
  GL fellow data hoarder
  

Totally offtopic of home theater -- but, how did you figure out what size APC to use to support your NAS, switch, and the like?

Currently have a NAS / mini-itx server / networking equipment but have no idea how to choose which one would be best. I see a lot of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWAZEIU/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2VUE3DDHWTH4Y&colid=12Z7TORHW0YTP&psc=1

go on sale from time to time but don't know how to figure out if it's enough.

Also I love the setup of the wiring, so clean.

>Could I use a micro sd card with one of these:
link1
>plugged into the NUC, and install Ubuntu on the micro sd card?

Yes, Ubuntu is very flexible with the location of your install as long as it remains plugged in while the device is on.

>Also, could I buy an SSD (but not an SSD meant for the NUC), one of these: link2

Yes, but you could also put that SSD in some models of NUC like this model.

>and plug it into the NUC with one of these cables:
link3

>And then install Ubuntu on that?

yes, but you could have better success with an external enclosure that stores the whole drive rather than that model that is meant for hotswapping. Like this.

Well you could but adaptors like that are directional. There is an active conversion chip in them that only works to convert one to the other.

So a DP -> HDMI cable can't be used for HDMI -> DP.

DP can also do passive conversion if it is a DP++ port (basically the GPU is outputting HDMI not DP to begin with then). Again those passive adaptors will really not work the opposite way.

So you could use what you have, a DP -> HDMI adaptor and then one of these to do HDMI -> DP on the other side. I think you will agree that it would be much simpler (not to mention better for the signal), and far cheaper, just to use a DisplayPort cable.

Well it's certainly worth while if you spend countless hours on it over a few years. The thing is thought you're not very experienced in digital art yet so it's hard to say if a purchase that large will pay itself off. You could use it for a few months and decide either the cintiq or digital isn't for you. I would recommend the Huion H610 Pro since it's so cheap. This tablet has the exact same specs as the intuos pro. Then if you really like digital buying a cintiq might be an easier decision since you'll have some experience in digital. You could even check out a cintiq alternative, just know that installing drivers can be difficult with them. I believe all the brands that make much cheaper cintiq alternatives are Bosto, Yiynova, Monoprice and Huion. Many complain that the cintiq's screen is dark and super thick creating a feeling of parallax. If you do go with a cintiq alternative make sure the screen resolution supports 1920x1080. The Yiynova I have has a res of 1440x900 and since you're so close to the screen it's insanely easy to see pixelation. Other then that I have 0 complaints with it after I got the drivers installed.

E-Element z88. I’ve had it for about a year, it’s great. Not sure of the switches but I’m pretty sure they come in Outemu blues, reds or browns. Great keyboard for about 40 bucks. It comes with rgb so that’s a bonus, and on top of that you don’t have to solder to change the switches. You can find it here

Everything on your son's list looks pretty reasonably to me. Nothing is outrageously expensive for the use case, and I don't see any glaring errors.

I do have a couple points to bring up. They don't necessarily mean that your son is wrong, but they are just things I would do differently.

Headset - I don't have a good opinion of Razer at all. They tend to have terrible quality control and a high failure rate in their products after just 1-2 years of use. In this price range, you may be able to find the Kingston HyperX Cloud on sale. Better yet, if your son only needs headphones and not a headset (he is already getting a separate mic), there are much better options for $50.

https://www.amazon.com/HyperX-Cloud-Core-Gaming-Headset/dp/B0153XL4V2/

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M20x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR18

https://www.amazon.com/Edifier-H840-Audiophile-Over-Headphones/dp/B01J7K0OYU


Mic - I get that the Blue Snowball is a super popular mic, but I think it's overrated. Especially if you plan to mostly use it for talking. In general, I try to avoid condenser mics because I don't like how much background noise they pick up. If you're primarily doing instrument recordings, then the extra sensitivity of a condenser mic is good. But if you mostly want to record yourself talking then a dynamic mic will be much cleaner.

Check out the Samson Q2U or Audio Technica AT2005USB

https://www.amazon.com/Samson-Handheld-Microphone-Recording-Podcasting/dp/B001R747SG/

https://www.amazon.com/Technica-AT2005USB-Handheld-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/

Mic Stand - I own this exact same mic stand. It is pretty decent for the price. Just be aware that it mounts to your desk. In the google doc, you wrote that it is a "wall mount", it is not.

A 2GB 6950 will be a bit faster for about the same price. You can get a modular rebadged Seasonic for about $70 after rebate and promo code.

If you have Shoprunner (you can get a free 30-day trial), then you can save $35 by getting a slightly smaller Asus monitor.

I would recommend using the savings from those two items to purchase an aftermarket CPU cooler, such as the Hyper 212+, Corsair A50, or Corsair A70 if it has a decent rebate. You won't be able to take full advantage of an unlocked 2500 without one.

Lastly, I'd get an optical mouse instead. It tends to track better, and it doesn't require a hard mat pad. The Deathadder is a popular choice.

I have that keyboard and I think it's pretty good, though :) The Logitech G110 is another popular choice, but I was turned off by its one-year warranty. You'll want to disable the X4's Caps Lock key, though, because it's not spaced away from the "A" like normal.

Go into your recording settings and preview the audio coming from the mic (do this with headphones on or you will get massive feedback).

Next, turn the microphone boost off and then increase the record volume to 100% and place the mic about 2 inches from your mouth.

Say a few words at a volume that you will normally speak at, and then increase the gain if needed to get the audio level to around -3dB (or if needed, listen to talk radio or a radio show that also makes a podcast), and adjust your volume until you get about the same output.

Most broadcast talk radio tries to go for around -3dB , and then have a hard limitor just below 0dB to prevent clipping and distortion.

PS, if your sound card has an option for audio focus, then turn that off or it will increase your noise.

For example, on an old laptop that I have, the focus is on by default and it makes the audio tinny and increases the noise floor, which the noise reduction tries to counter, thus making the overall audio quiet.

This is how it looks by default: https://i.imgur.com/4oVbc5x.png

the sound card in my desktop PC also has an option for this, and even though it is a better sound card, it still ruins the audio: https://i.imgur.com/GtiukMM.png

PS, if you are using onboard audio, then you will naturally get more noise as many soundcards do not provide enough voltage for electret microphones.

If you want to avoid issues like this in the future, it is best to go for a quality USB microphone (only if you mainly use headphones as with a USB mic, you will no longer get echo cancellation).


If you want a USB mic that sounds decent for the money, then this generic one at amazon is okay https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4HTIOY/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=

I highly recommend the Super Scholar Z-88 (there are multiple revisions of this keyboard). It does have multiple RGB configs and you're able to replace the keys from stock to another type (Blues, Reds, Blacks, Browns). I was able to convert mine from Blue keys to Browns and I've been extremely satisfied. My wife owns the same keyboard with Reds and she loves the feel and response. Most importantly, the keyboard uses a detachable USB and works flawlessly with the Xim Apex.

​

Link

Well If you don't mind going slightly over you can get this instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor | $217.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | MSI - B350 PC MATE ATX AM4 Motherboard | $84.33 @ OutletPC
Memory | G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $120.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Sandisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $76.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $48.33 @ OutletPC
Video Card | Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card | $498.68 @ Amazon
Case | NZXT - S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case | $68.89 @ B&H
Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $79.49 @ SuperBiiz


Operating System | Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit | $133.49 @ SuperBiiz
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1329.08
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-19 13:12 EDT-0400 |

You don't need 32gb of ram for gaming. Right now the sweet spot is 16 gb of ram so for that extra 80 bucks saved you can up the gpu to a 1080. Or you can still go with a 1070 and save about 130$

Edit forgot about the mouse and keyboard,
https://smile.amazon.com/Velocifire-Mechanical-Keyboard-Illuminated-Anti-ghosting/dp/B01M0QEYR4/ref=pd_sim_147_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01M0QEYR4&pd_rd_r=8XN3BCP2YPXKP8YVEN0G&pd_rd_w=IdyCZ&pd_rd_wg=RYHjC&psc=1&refRID=8XN3BCP2YPXKP8YVEN0G


https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kJM323/logitech-mouse-910004615


So you can go with the 1070 and get a good combo when it comes to your mouse and keyboard.

For sure! Mine is petty old, so I don't think it's sold anymore, but if I were to get another this guy looks alright.

External drive enclosures like this, that let you swap drives quickly, are pretty handy if you're only concerned with sata.

There's probably better choices out there, but it'll get you started. :)

For anyone that might read this and have the same question:

Ended up finding a couple options.

1. https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-550VA-Audio-Backup/dp/B000WS0CRQ Not bad but too heavy duty for what I need and more than I was looking to pay for something like this.
   
   
2. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWAZEIU/ref=psdc_764572_t4_B000WS0CRQ?th=1 More in the price range and should fit nicely in the encloser and has the outlets on top which should be ideal for how I'll be using it.
   

I second the Dell Optiplex.

Here's one for $150. It includes an i5 3550, 8GB of ram, a 500GB HDD, an optical drive, and Windows 10 Pro. A very good deal that will overcome the overpriced ram problem.

Here's a $90 1080p, 60Hz, IPS monitor.

Here's a $225 GTX 1050 Ti (MSRP: $140). All graphics cards above a GT 1030 are overpriced right now.

Here's a $95 Samsung 860 EVO 250GB SSD. You can clone the operating system on the HDD to it.

Here's a $27 blue switch mechanical keyboard. (or if you want a more silent keyboard get this $40 brown switch keyboard).


You may want to replace the power supply. Here's a good one for $50.

• • -
    Total: $637
    
    I'm sorry, but you will have to forgo having a blue case with LEDs and a side-window if you wish to have a decent PC at or below your $700 budget. Good luck building!

In my haste I ended up buying the hero 5 session because I wasn't anyone would see this in time to help. Is that gonna work just fine? I figured unless I boguht the (original?) session I was gonna spend at least 150 and the hero 5 session seems ok?

I ended up buying This card, u3 evo select, it lists 128 on the link, so I assume 64 is fine also?

For what its worth it's a baseball game, I just want to catch most of it

My favorite time to play roguelikes is whenever I should be doing something important, look schoolwork (such as right now). Usually I'll play for a few hours, a couple of different games but I'll focus on one usually. Currently I am focusing on Caves of Qud and Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. I feel I might play some UnReal World today though, it's such a zen game.

Since I have a laptop the only thing that could be considered a set-up is I have bought an external keypad just for roguelike purposes.

Playing for a long time can be good or bad for me. It really depends on how cocky I get with my later-game characters, especially if the game has a part where it lets me be awesome, and lets me completely own everything (or I've just gotten lucky drops).

I think it's white only. You could paint it ;)

When I was shopping for a work board, I was looking for brown switches and trying to stay cheap. My choices came down to the Magicforce and this Velocifire. I already had Outemu browns on my first mech, and really wanted to try Gaterons after seeing everyone say they're appreciably smoother (they really are), so I went for the Magicforce. Options are a little more open in the cheaper boards if you like blue switches, but then that depends on your budget. There's a CoolerMaster on that list now with PBT keycaps, which might make it a really sweet deal if it's in your price range and you like the way it looks. I feel like I'm opening the wormhole now^please^stop^me^help

It might be easiest to start narrowing it down by switch type first, then aesthetics, staying in whatever your price range is.

I've heard nothing but good about the deathadder and the naga. The naga is great for the sheer fact of its size and the number of buttons. Price wise the naga is about 75 bucks after shipping and the Deathadder is about 55. Both go for the allegiance to razer and are around 75.

IF you're willing to stray from razer I personally have the logitech mx518. I've had it for years and it's one of the best mice I've ever had the chance of holding. It works well for large hands and has most all of the same buttons as that of the death adder. It's been replaced with the g500 which also had weight control (something neither razers have). It too runs around 50 or so dollars.


Links to all 3:

Razer Naga

Razer Deathadder

G500

I got this combo for my fiance. This setup destroys anything at the price range.

• Headphones
  
• Earpads (optional)
  
• Mic
  
  Cheap and within your price range, excellent positional audio (surround sound), and super clear drivers. Can't go wrong.
  
  Otherwise if you want something more traditional then the Hyper X Clouds sound better than most super gamery $150-200 headphones.

Depends on your budget and what kind of motherboard audio you have. If you have anything short of ALC1150 and your budget is <80$ you should get the Xonar DGX and pair that with something like the Superlux HD-668B. If you already have good onboard audio (alc 1150/1220) then just the Superlux HD-668B should do or if your budget is below 50$. Oh and as for the mic if you get the Xonar DGX then this would do and also sound way better than pretty much any headset. Else this would be a safer choice since it isn't dependant on your onboard audio which often needs tons of boosting to get to a decent volume level especially with desktop mics (the Xonar DGX handles even desktop mics fine, I know this since I have it and a desktop mic myself and so does 2 other people I know).

Sure, this one. I needed 4 sets to get enough connectors for all my drives. Take the back cover off of the connector, its just clipped on. Pull the wire up from both sides to keep the metal connector in place. Repeat for all the connectors. Then put your drives in your caddy or whatever you're using, put the empty connectors on the drives, then run your new wire across all of them for perfect spacing. I used new 18ga wire, but you could reuse the old too. Skip the wire for the 3.3v line, then get a flathead screwdriver out and push the wire into the connectors. Do the same for the female connector with however much spacing you want, then just put the back covers back on and you're all set.


All in all I think it took me an hour or so to do my 3 caddies. Once you figure out how to do it it goes pretty quick. Super easy as well, just make sure to double check you have the female connector the right direction so you're not reversing the pins power and killing your drives.

The XO Ones perform well for the price and include a good chat adapter with some extra features but their build quality is pretty plasticky.

For overall sound and build quality in that price range you probably can't do better much better than the HyperX Clouds. They have a core model without all the extras that works great for the consoles:

https://www.amazon.ca/Kingston-HyperX-Cloud-Gaming-Headset/dp/B0153XL4V2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1486236788&sr=8-3&keywords=HyperX+cloud

The Clouds do not come with a chat adapter though so you will need one of your own (you can use the one that came with your MS headset), a chatpad, or a new controller with the built in jack.

i would recommend you this one.. but there is tons of SD card that would work great on the switch, and the size really depends on how much games you have, and mostly if you prefer digital games over physical..

The main thing you should look for are that is an UHS-I or better or with U1 or better..

​

This one is another option, its a little more expensive due to better data speed, but specially for the switch both will work exactly the same

Great deal!

Another fantastic deal is the 200GB for $34.99. It's a good day to grab either.

And FYI, as soon as you get any microsd card, run it through h2testw to see if it's legit (if it's sold and shipped by amazon it most likely is the real deal), and then crystaldiskmark to test the speed. Make sure to use a usb 3.0 port and card reader.

I’ve had a APC UPS unit for the last two years and it’s been great. Only keeps the computer running for about 5 minutes upon loss of power, but it’s enough for a safe shutdown.

Heck, when the power went out for two days at my house we relied on that unit to charge our cellphones. Overall great $32 investment.


Here’s a similar one that looks good. It’s about double the power of mine and a little bit more expensive:

APC UPS 600VA Battery Backup & Surge Protector with USB Charging Port, APC UPS BackUPS (BE600M1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWAZEIU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_s2s7BbVABWT1R

Okay first, get a better microphone. I use one of these, it's not great, but it's good for the price. And once you have said microphone, add more narration (e.g. what you're using, how you're applying it, etc.) Also, need to do something about the lighting, but that's not as easy of a fix, for now just make sure you're not shooting out the window to avoid that washing out from the sunlight. Aside from that you need to work on ending videos better, a good sign off also helps add a consistent element to videos.

I would pay attention to what you buy however. A lot of the newer SATA-USB adapters are made for USB 3.0 and are listed as being "optimized" for SSD drives and only have a single USB 3.0 connector. What this means is that if you don't plug the adapter into a USB 3.0 port (usually blue, but they are sometimes not marked as such) then your hard drive won't be able to draw the necessary power to spin the drives and read/write data.

The older models (like the one I use) got around this by using two USB 2.0 cables, one for power and date and one for strictly power. If you're not sure if you have USB 3.0 capable ports, I would make sure you look for something like this that has a separate power supply, just to be safe. If you think plugging in SATA drives is something you'll be doing fairly often, I would consider even splurging for a docking station (similar to this one) to make life easier for you.

Real life! AWESOME.

Tablet's are actually pretty affordable if you don't get a Cintiq or a Wacom. I've got this one. I've only used it a few times so far but it's pretty nice. Can't beat that price for that size either.

Have you considered picking up a second hand monitor? The extra real estate might be handy to have.

1. They don't sound very good. A vast majority of gamers don't have any understanding of audio as a topic, so using them for advice is not a good idea. Twitch streamers aren't any better, why is it that gamers who care about their sound buy wired hifi? The standards for 'good sound quality' in gaming are set so incredibly low than virtually any product gets good reviews.
   
   
2. For convenience wireless might be nice, but for sound quality wireless is only a problem. Wired always wins for sound quality.
   
   
3. The HyperX Cloud Core is the same price and sounds better, as it is based on a set of hifi headphones, the Takstar HI2050/Pro80. These don't need an amp. If you want something thing cheaper then the Superlux HD668b headphones paired with any mic will get you better sounding headphones, leaving some money for a mic.

A KVM is possible, but the big advantage of a KVM is that it not only allows you to share a screen across two sources, but also an attached keyboard and mouse. Unless you intend to use a keyboard and a mouse with your Switch, I'd go for a far less expensive, 2-port HDMI switch. That's all you need if you're only concerned about video. Plus, I'd argue it has more future utility. It'll be smaller, because it has less ports and the ports it has are smaller. You could bring it with you when you travel and hook multiple things up to HDTV's at hotels or friends' places. Plus, most newer displays have HDMI ports. Buying a DVI KVM (or even a DVI-only video switcher) is going to be more expensive and clunkier.

Here's an example of stuff that would work. I am not endorsing these products at all, I'm just picking the first well-reviewed looking hit from my search results (on Amazon):

search terms: "2-port HDMI switch"

looks good: DotStone HDMI Switch Bi-Direction only $8.. You won't get anywhere near that with a KVM.

and then, with search terms "HDMI to dvi", you could probably use 1 or 2 of either these:

HDMI to DVI (cable)

or these HDMI to DVI (adapter)

If you have a ton of extra hdmi and/or dvi cables, you might prefer the adapter, otherwise you could use it on its own in cable-form. Keep in mind that in a typical setup, the Switch's audio is going through the HDMI cable as well, and whether you used a HDMI switch or a DVI KVM/switch, the connection to your monitor is going to have to terminate in DVI, and that DVI won't carry the audio. Does your monitor even have speakers? Even if it did, you most likely won't get any audio over DVI. I haven't tested this myself, but I just did a little research and found you can use the headphone jack on the Switch, while docked, to get it's audio, so depending on what's going to be playing your sound, you might need one or more things from this list:

stereo miniplug cable (male to male) - for going from Switch to portable speakers or anything with a line-in

miniplug couplers - handy if you need to plug the above into another male cable

miniplug to RCA adapter cable - for going from the Switch to a stereo system or similar

​

​

First thing is you need to decide what you want. I get that you want a cabinet, but do you want one that is full sized or something like a bartop model. If you want a full sized cabinet, you can either find plans and build it yourself or search around for an older cabinet to repurpose. If you want a bartop, again you can build it yourself, but you can also find rather inexpensive cabinet kits that are pre-cut and ready to put together.

Once you decide on your cabinet, you need to plan on what you want to put in it. The basics you are going to need can be found below as well as amazon links to get you started.

Raspberry Pi 3 link

Raspberry Pi Case link


Arcade Buttons & Joysticks link


Speakers link


4:3 ratio monitor link

power strip link


Micro SD Card link


Ultimately, it is your decision how you want to go with this. Building an arcade system is all about customizing it to your personal tastes. Once you have the materials, there are tons of tutorials on how to get retropie set up and running.

The first suspects to me would be the adapter, cable, or PS4's settings.

The PS4s settings are the easiest to check (if you have a TV it can connect to). Make sure the resolution is the lowest (or auto), that HDR is turned off, and all other settings are turned off or low. Then troubleshoot from there.

I'm not sure what an Accura Hdmi adapter is, but I've only used dvi/hdmi cables like this in the past (without issue): https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-DVI-to-HDMI-Cable/dp/B014I8UQJY/

Oh, and another easy possibility: You might have to change inputs on the monitor (if it has more than one input).

good luck!

Keep in mind that as an external HD you might not be getting your money’s worth. The SSD might be far faster than the dock or even USB port is capable of, effectively dumbing down the drive to a performance more on par with a basic HD.

If you want the best performance put your fastest drive into the PS4 and a regular desktop drive as an external.

As for your original question, you can use pretty much any drive as an external drive for the PS4. You just need a dock for it. Example

Get the largest Wacom model you can find for the price and don't be afraid to look for used ones, because in your price range you will be likely forced to resign to small models and people tend to upgrade from them after a while, so such investment isn't particularly wise. Avoid anything with touch interface, it's widely regarded as useless, go for non-touch versions and save some money. Intuos Pro Medium is currently considered #1 choice for professional digital artists, but it falls outside your budget.

The closest competitors to Wacom are Monoprice tablets, but they have all sorts of driver and build quality issues. Huion is another leading competitor, offering a particularly attractive Huion H610PRO tablet for a very affordable price. That would definitely be a good alternative to Wacom products, but make damn well sure to test it before paying or at least make sure you have a very good return policy. I had to return mine, because it couldn't draw straight diagonal lines and it's not exactly an uncommon issue. But if you get a working model, for the price it can't be beat.

All non-Wacom products seem to have severe compatibility issues with Windows 10 at times, so keep that in mind if you're running that.

Look at /r/retropie - it's more focused on these projects.

At minimum, you'll want: a [Raspberry Pi 3 ($35)](
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CD5VC92/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Sb.pzbAZKNASG), a case ($7-$20), a power supply ($10), an HDMI cable ($7), one or two controllers ($15-$30 each), and a micro SD card ($22 for a Class 10 64 GB). There are a lot of threads about which controllers are best - I'm a fan of the wireless 8bitdo SNES30 / SFC30 (usually cheaper on eBay).

You don't need any programming experience to set it up, though you may need to edit some configuration files to set certain things up properly. I've built 2 of these to date - they play anything up to and including PlayStation 1 consistently well. N64 is very hit and miss, though Mario Kart 64 and Kirby 64 work well.

Hey i had a look at this one and it looks AWESOME! i'm thinking about getting all these parts.
Second: is available in Australia?
Third: is it really necessary to get this video card?
And last i got a monitor from my friend and looking at This key board and mouse what do you recommend?
Thanks in advance.

> I feel like he’ll appreciate the full size since he’s a programmer.

This is potentially completely backwards. Programming isn't data entry, and a numpad is not required for most tasks.

I can't speak to his work style or personal preferences obviously, but many programmers prefer smaller boards. I get by with this.

I would say get the TKL unless you think he can go down to 60%, it's ergonomically better (keeps the angle of your shoulders better when using a mouse) and then you can get a separate numpad if he really needs it, that can be put away when not in use, or placed on the left hand side.

> LG 24GM77-B

Thank you, I looked at it and it looks like a great choice for me! Question- Should I buy another type of adapter/connection cord or is am HDMI fine? Or would a higher quality cord be fine such as:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H3Q59U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1AMUYYA3CT6HJ

Thanks again!

I have an Ultra Classic as my office board - similar to OP's, with blanks.

Best board I've used (been through several). I like heavy switches (all my boards have had blues), and I have yet to find something that feels as good as buckling springs.

I have a cheapo Z-88 from Amazon that I'm going to dissect and swap some 120g springs. I'll let you know if that's better. :)

I'm no expert, but I just got my first drawing tablet, so I'll recommend the one I have. I've got a Huion h610 Pro. Personally, I like it. Works well with Photoshop Elements 10. The pressure sensitivity works pretty well. It works better with my desktop than laptop, though I think that's just me installing the driver wrong. It's normally a $150 tablet, but it's on sale on amazon right now. I'd check compatible programs before committing, though, to see if it'll be good enough for you.

• Frame : [Playseat Challenge] (http://www.amazon.com/Playseat-Challenge-playstation-4/dp/B009ZELZDS) - $250
  
  
• Wheel/shifter/pedals - [Logitech G27] (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-941-000045-G27-Racing-Wheel/dp/B001NT9TK4/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1409082291&sr=1-1&keywords=logitech+g27) - $225
  
  
• Keyboard/Mouse - [CM Storm Devastator] (http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-Devastator-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B00DKXXAAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1409082387&sr=1-1&keywords=keyboard+mouse+combo) - $30
  
  Total : $505
  
  You may not get the HOTAS with it, but for $500 you can get pretty close to OPs setup. Not as fancy, but definitely plenty good enough for a highly immersive VR experience. ;)

I'm currently looking for a full-sized mechanical keyboard with brown (preferably cherry) switches and either blue or rgb lighting. After looking around for a while it seems that the corsair k70 rgb would probably be the best I could buy, however this is an expensive keyboard and I would like something cheaper if possible. Can anyone recommend a keyboard that meets my requirements for a more reasonable price?

Also, I found this keyboard while looking around on amazon, it offers knockoff brown switches and blue lighting for a fraction of the cost of other options.

https://www.amazon.com/Velocifire-Mechanical-Keyboard-Illuminated-Anti-ghosting/dp/B01M0QEYR4/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1484552878&sr=1-3&keywords=mechanical+keyboard+brown

The thing I'm worried about if the quality, I'd like to know what anyone thinks about this keyboard and if it's worth it.

Thanks.

It will be a mono-headset. You'll play like a potato with one of those. You should save a little more and get something like this (Kingston HyperX Cloud) or even a lesser known brand, like SADES. But believe me, anything will be better than that. Unless you have only one year...

Wacom products are good, but I find they're overpriced for what you get. I'm currently rocking a Huion H610 ($76.99 on Amazon). My first tablet was a Wacom Bamboo that served me just fine (aside from the USB cable shorting out a couple times; customer service always replaced it for a small fee), but honestly I like the Huion better.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-910-001822-M510-Wireless-Mouse/dp/B003NR57BY?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

This is what I use when I'm using my laptop. It's a great mouse, cheap, has 2 buttons on it, and it such a nice size. If you've ever used one of Logitech's dedicated gaming mouses, this is about the same size. It fits well in hands and is such a good choice for the price!

It has got to be your cable. I can't see what brand Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 you have, but most have DP and HDMI while a few also have a mDP. Like /u/Plastic_sporkz typed, get a DP to DP 1.2. I am confident with this selection. BTW, look at the questions and reviews of this product for a bit more information.

Wow. I just looked at BestBuy and Office/Max/Depot/Staples/TacoBell, and they don't have any.

Of course!! Ahh yes, I forgot the most important part, haha. Sorry :) Get the below cable as well and once you have all your parts, download the free trial of Carbon Copy Cloner to the current HDD (link below - no payment/credit card needed and you get full application access during the 30 days i.e. no features are disabled). You'll use the cable to attach the SSD via USB and then open CCC and clone the current drive (instructions below). It can take a bit since the HDD is so slow so just let it run. Once it's done then you can start the steps from the IFIXIT articles. You can keep the current HDD as a backup if you'd like.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Cable - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011M8YACM/

CCC - https://bombich.com/

CCC Instructions - https://bombich.com/kb/ccc5/i-want-clone-my-entire-hard-drive-new-hard-drive-or-new-machine

I was planning on spending $220 for mech keyboard and nice mouse when building but ended up buying the Cooler Master Storm Devastator keyboard/mouse set for $30.

The money I saved there allowed me to not cut corners on anything else while giving me ample time to consider if I really needed a top end keyboard while playing just fine with this one.

They come in red or blue LED and I bought mine from Amazon on sale for $30 but it's now $40 there. This link has it for $28.62 and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better bang for buck. I'm no pro but it works just fine for me.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=85648&vpn=SGB-3010-KKMF1-US&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DKXXAAQ/?tag=pcpapi-20

Honestly, I've got the Klipsch ProMedia, they're cheap, they're decent looking, and they sound pretty good.

I was bouncing around for awhile and was eyeing the Audioengine A2+ but opted for the cheap side.

I picked them up at Best Buy for like $100

You would have to move your computer brain to the floor because it's taking up a lot of space and then you could put your speakers on the side of your monitors. That's the only thing I didn't like about having big speakers, they take up too much space, that's why I put my studio monitors in storage and got these.

https://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A2-Powered-Speaker-System/dp/B00DQMJE7E

They fit under my main monitor and sound great. It is a bit odd to buy such big speakers and not set them up to get the best sound, might as well get something smaller. But if you like it, then that's all that matters. Cool setup by the way.