Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Xiang_flutist

Where to sell old/faulty laptops

Xiang_flutist — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 17:18:08 +0800

As the title suggests, I was wondering if anyone know where to sell or trade in old/faulty laptops in lowyat plaza or anywhere in kl??

Prebuilt vs custom build

Xiang_flutist — Wed, 31 May 2017 18:26:37 +0800

I was just wondering if pre-builts from the likes Dell, Lenovo etc are ever worth it? What are the pros and cons of prebuilds vs custom builds? I was browsing thru dell website and the xps tower with i7 7700, gtx 1060 6gb, 16gb ram, 2tb hdd, 256mb ssd cost about rm 6111 which is only slightly above the price of a custom build.

Need advice on first PC build

Xiang_flutist — Fri, 12 May 2017 01:29:01 +0800

Hi, I am planning to buy my first PC and is struggling between two builds. One intel and one ryzen. When I was first getting started in planning my build, my preference had initially been to go intel i7 7700 and nvidia. However, the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the ryzen 5 CPUs coupled with it being cheaper and has more cores/threads kinda swayed me towards them after researching online for a while. My budget is below RM6k including a monitor and genuine Windows. I will mainly use the new PC for gaming at 1080p 60fps and productivity stuff( engineering softwares and programming). I will also be running virtual machines on it. Other uses would be the usual word processing, web browsing and wacthing movies etc. So far, I have come up with two builds using IdealTech's website ( will most probably buy from them as I prefer to get all the parts in one place and have someone assemble the pc).

The Intel build:
INTEL i7 7700 (non K) - RM1390
GIGABYTE B250M D3H - RM 449
G.SKILL AEGIS DDR4 2400MHz 2X8GB - RM598
GIGABYTE GTX 1060 WINDFORCE 6GB - RM1385
FSP HYDRO G 650W - RM499
SHARKOON VG5-W - RM199
SAMSUNG 850 EVO 250GB SSD - RM509
WD 1TB BLUE - RM219
WINDOWS 10 HOME 64 BIT - RM249
ASUS VP228H 21.5 MONITOR - RM549

TOTAL: RM5945 (after rebates)

The AMD build:
AMD RYZEN 5 1600 - RM1039
ASUS B350 PLUS - RM533
G.SKILL FLARE X 2400MHz 2X8GB - RM599
GIGABYTE RX580 AORUS 8GB - RM1439
FSP HYDRO G 650W - RM499
CORSAIR CARBIDE SPEC 02 - RM280
SAMSUNG 850 EVO 250GB SSD - RM509
WD 1TB BLUE - RM219
WINDOWS 10 HOME 64 BIT - RM249
ACER KG251Q FreeSync monitor - RM659

TOTAL: RM5930 (after rebates)

Now here is my dilemma, currently I am towards liking the Ryzen build more as I could pair up with a 75Hz freesync monitor with the RX580. However, the RX580 seems to consume way more power than the GTX 1060 and the place I am living has commercial electricity rate, which is almost double the usual residential rate. I do not want to add too much to my monthly electricity bill. So here is my question, roughly how much of a difference will the RX580 make in terms of electric bills if compared to a GTX 1060? Can I pair up a GTX 1060 with the Ryzen 5 1600 instead? (In which case I would get a different monitor about 500-600 budget) as I have read in the forums that some don't really recommend pairing Nvidia and AMD.

Also what other changes or recommendations would you make to the builds above? As I will probably be getting my pc from IdealTech, it would be better if any changes to the parts selection are available in IdealTech.

Thanks in advance for any advice given!

Are these temperature normal when gaming?

Xiang_flutist — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 22:45:56 +0800

I have a Lenovo Z51-70 and recently it has been heating up a lot when I play games with it. I only play Fifa online 3 , CSGO and Dota 2. It heats up severely especially when I play dota 2. I will get around 60fps in game and then randomly drop to 10 fps every 1-5 min and especially during teamfights which makes it unplayable. Below are my spec

Processor : Intel i7-5500U
RAM: 8GB
Storage : 1 TB HDD
GPU : Intel HD 5500 and AMD Radeon R7 M360 2GB

Attached are the temperatures I obtained using HWMonitor. Apparently the CPU heats up to 90+ degrees when I am playing dota 2. After I close dota 2 , it dropped back to around 70ish where you can still feel the warmth around the left side of the keyboard.

Is it signs that my mobo or my processor is frying up and time to change a new laptop?

A-levels at Taylor's

Xiang_flutist — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:33:53 +0800

Hi guys, I am a prospective A-levels student at Taylor's college and the subjects chosen are Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Further Maths. I have a few questions that I hope some of you here might help answer.

1. Is Taylor's really that overcrowded that they hire some part-time lecturers that are inexperienced to teach and the facilities(library, etc) are always occupied? How is the learning environment there? Hope someone would enlighten me so at least I would know what to expect..

2. Anyone here taking further maths? I have heard ppl saying that it literally kills you lol. Is it really that tough? I plan to do engineering later on and further maths is recommended if I plan to get into a good Uni.. but hearing ppl saying how difficult it is and all kinda gave me second thoughts about my decision to take further maths. (The other choice for the fourth subject are econ and computing)

3. I heard that Taylor's requires you to own an iPad for notes and stuff. Is this true? Really hope someone would help explain this issue as I clearly do not wish to spend another k or two on it..Still prefer hardcopy notes

4. I have some revision books and textbooks given to me from my sister who studied a-levels in 2006. Can those books still be used or the syllabus had changed and they are outdated?? And can stpm books be used to revise for A-levels?