Support NeoGAF

[The_Inquisitor]

I'm lucky. Turns out I was eligible for a copy of Windows 10 Education from my university program. I am just going to do a clean install with that. Ill just need to make an installer with my flash drive.

 

[Aztechnology]

The DDR4 RAM and motherboard I linked are cheaper than the DDR3 parts that were in the list, though.

Doh didn't see the the links.

 

[Mohasus]

I'm lucky. Turns out I was eligible for a copy of Windows 10 Education from my university program. I am just going to do a clean install with that. Ill just need to make an installer with my flash drive.

There will be a watermark on your desktop.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

There will be a watermark on your desktop.

Please tell me there is a registry hack to remove it.

 

[Bolivar687]

Hey, I have a quick question I was hoping you guys could answer. In preparation for the Pascal GPU release in late May or June, I purchased a new monitor: Acer Predator XB271HU. It's spectacular and seems to be in great working order.

However, I currently have a GTX 570. I was aware I wouldn't be able to use G-Sync but stupidly forgot to check out the ports I could use. The monitor only has High Speed HDMi and DisplayPort 1.2 while my GPU has 2x DVI and regular HDMI.

My question is if I get an adapter like THIS will I be able to run at 120hz or am I stuck at 60hz?

Thanks guys!

I'm sure you got a great deal but I think this needs to be said for others browsing this thread:

First, I don't think anyone should be dead set on Pascal, given the landscape of PC ports in 2016 and everything else stacked in AMD's favor. I wouldn't advise locking into G-Sync before the cards are on the table.

But more importantly, regardless of brand preferences, Display Port 1.3 is coming along with the new cards and exciting new display innovations with it.

It's a great product no doubt but speaking as someone looking to upgrade a monitor this year, I don't think now's the time to buy a $7-800 display when that amount of money's likely to get you so much more in just a few months.

 

[RGM79]

Please tell me there is a registry hack to remove it.

There's a few methods listed here.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

There's a few methods listed here.

Thanks.

I updated a W7 professional key to 10 I received from school previously. I grabbed the 10 license to avoid a headache in reinstall. I'll use the above link. Thanks!

 

[Aquila]

So I built my first system years ago thanks to this thread but now it looks like I need to build another. My old faithful gpu puttered out and while its warranty was still good, my cpu/mobo decided to fry themselves out of sympathy. I'm still pretty annoyed typing this out by wii u. I've tested everything, all parts look good, and I've made sure to be anti-static so I'm at a lost... but that's beside the point.

While my case, *new* 370 gpu, hdd, and dvd drive are all safe to be reused, should I bother saving my ram sticks and psu? My system was built back in late 2010 so I'm especially unsure about the psu handling a new build. Ram was Corsair Vengeance 2x4gb ddr3 1600 and psu was an Antec hcg750 80+w bronze certified.

Don't really have the funds to put together a vr machine yet but my local frys has a combo i7-5820k and msi x99a raider for $450 that I might pickup before the week is up. Plus however much ddr4 ram and another windows copy will push me back.

 

[Nostremitus]

Second hand info, not really news but I thought it was interesting. Apparently AMD and NVidia just had separate banquets at the same restaurant in California.

No photos, but my buddy says both had GPUs out on the tables. No reason to think he's lying.

Why would they share a venue like that?

Edit: It was at SP2 in San Jose.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

What would be a good motherboard to go with an FX-8350? Been trying to set up a box suggestion for someone I know and would be nice to see what kind of motherboard and RAM go well together. The motherboard would be ideally less than or around $92, and probably RAM fast enough to prevent any memory bandwidth bottlenecks.

Oh, the CPU is fixed. No other suggestions outside similar FXes. This might make things slightly harder.

 

[catabarez]

So I'm still rocking a 2500k overclocked at 4.4GHz with stock voltage. Would increasing the voltage provide any meaningful performance increase?

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

So I'm still rocking a 2500k overclocked at 4.4GHz with stock voltage. Would increasing the voltage provide any meaningful performance increase?

Current temps and CPU cooler? Increasing voltage is a great way to squeeze out the last few hundred MHz, but be careful while doing so. Increment in very small mV increments. Remember that tossing more voltage will increase heat significantly, and throwing too much voltage to the CPU will significantly shorten its useful life.

 

[Hazaro]

So I'm still rocking a 2500k overclocked at 4.4GHz with stock voltage. Would increasing the voltage provide any meaningful performance increase?

I'm highly doubtful that's stock voltage. Probably auto which means it could be dangerously high.
If it is stock volts (Say like 1.28V) then yeah you have headroom up to 1.35/1.38V and hit 4.6Ghz maybe 4.7Ghz. Or a goldenchip than can do higher can actually sell for money.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

I'm highly doubtful that's stock voltage. Probably auto which means it could be dangerously high.
If it is stock volts (Say like 1.28V) then yeah you have headroom up to 1.35/1.38V and hit 4.6Ghz maybe 4.7Ghz. Or a goldenchip than can do higher can actually sell for money.

Hmm, interesting.

How do motherboards handle automatic voltage, anyway? Since I do not have an overclockable processor here, sometimes I do wonder how they work.

 

[catabarez]

Current temps and CPU cooler? Increasing voltage is a great way to squeeze out the last few hundred MHz, but be careful while doing so. Increment in very small mV increments. Remember that tossing more voltage will increase heat significantly, and throwing too much voltage to the CPU will significantly shorten its useful life.

I'll check out the temps, but I have a Hyper 212 Evo.

 

[Bananajama]

So I miss having a PC Desk (BIG STYLE!)
I don't play FPS or RTS anywhere near as much as I used to because of this fact I think.

Therefore I'm setting up a study in my spare room.

Plug to Plug internet connection is not possible (due to circuit breakers)

Is Wireless the best option - the signal would have to go through some wooden floorboards and a 9 inch brick wall

or circa 15m Ethernet cable that I'll need to run under floorboards, drill a hole in roof and run down the wall?

 

[Vaga]

It's been too long since the last PC I built and time has come for a new one. I'm not sure about certain parts, need a little help from PCGAF. Managed to gather this list, I live in Romania so those are local prices just to use as reference for other recommendations:

CPU: i7 6700k 4.0GHz box ~ $400
Mobo: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING ~ $170
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB DDR4 2800MHz CL14 Dual Channel Kit ~ $100 vs 16GB HyperX Savage Black DDR4 2800MHz CL14 Dual Channel Kit ~ $140
Video: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 970 G1 GAMING 4GB ~ $410
Storage: WD Blue 4TB SATA-III 5400 RPM 64MB WD40EZRZ ~ 160$
Power Supply: Corsair RM Series RM650 80+ Gold ~ $140
Case: Corsair Carbide Air 540 Arctic White ~ $175



1. Can I easily OC the CPU to match RAM or get a lower freq?
2. Should I get a bigger PSU? Can it hold pascal video card upgrade?
3. Any other things to take in consideration about these parts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

It's been too long since the last PC I built and time has come for a new one. I'm not sure about certain parts, need a little help from PCGAF. Managed to gather this list, I live in Romania so those are local prices just to use as reference for other recommendations:

CPU: i7 6700k 4.0GHz box ~ $400
Mobo: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING ~ $170
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB DDR4 2800MHz CL14 Dual Channel Kit ~ $100 vs 16GB HyperX Savage Black DDR4 2800MHz CL14 Dual Channel Kit ~ $140
Video: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 970 G1 GAMING 4GB ~ $410
Storage: WD Blue 4TB SATA-III 5400 RPM 64MB WD40EZRZ ~ 160$
Power Supply: Corsair RM Series RM650 80+ Gold ~ $140
Case: Corsair Carbide Air 540 Arctic White ~ $175



1. Can I easily OC the CPU to match RAM or get a lower freq?
2. Should I get a bigger PSU? Can it hold pascal video card upgrade?
3. Any other things to take in consideration about these parts?

Thanks in advance.

1. Yes, you will be able to underclock the CPU, why though?
2. For single card, it will be sufficient.
3. Parts look good. Some recommendations:

1. Get another cheaper MOBO, unless you want some specific features on that board.
2. Get a SSD for OS drive, at least.
3. Get the cheaper ram.

 

[Vaga]

1. Yes, you will be able to underclock the CPU, why though?
2. For single card, it will be sufficient.
3. Parts look good. Some recommendations:

1. Get another cheaper MOBO, unless you want some specific features on that board.
2. Get a SSD for OS drive, at least.
3. Get the cheaper ram.

1. Underclock? Doesn't it suport up to 2133? (sorry I forgot mostly everything about OCing so I may sound stupid)
2. Forgot to mention I already have an SSD so the HDD will be used just for storage.
3. Yep, cheaper RAM seems the way to go.

 

[thenexus6]

Asking for a friend. He wants to build a £800-1000 PC for gaming, VR, 4K editing video, after effects.

Anyone got any ideas? Just tower, everything else he has / will get himself.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

1. Underclock? Doesn't it suport up to 2133? (sorry I forgot mostly everything about OCing so I may sound stupid)
2. Forgot to mention I already have an SSD so the HDD will be used just for storage.
3. Yep, cheaper RAM seems the way to go.

Sorry, your first question confused me, it reads to me that you are asking if you can match the CPU and the RAM speed.

But if I understand correctly, you want to know if the CPU can support that 2800 ram? Maybe because you read that the 6700k only support 2133?

If so, yes it will work, the 2133 is only the base clock. It depends also on the motherboard. That motherboard you chose will do fine.

 

[Trigker]

It's been too long since the last PC I built and time has come for a new one. I'm not sure about certain parts, need a little help from PCGAF. Managed to gather this list, I live in Romania so those are local prices just to use as reference for other recommendations:

CPU: i7 6700k 4.0GHz box ~ $400
Mobo: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING ~ $170
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB DDR4 2800MHz CL14 Dual Channel Kit ~ $100 vs 16GB HyperX Savage Black DDR4 2800MHz CL14 Dual Channel Kit ~ $140
Video: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 970 G1 GAMING 4GB ~ $410
Storage: WD Blue 4TB SATA-III 5400 RPM 64MB WD40EZRZ ~ 160$
Power Supply: Corsair RM Series RM650 80+ Gold ~ $140
Case: Corsair Carbide Air 540 Arctic White ~ $175



1. Can I easily OC the CPU to match RAM or get a lower freq?
2. Should I get a bigger PSU? Can it hold pascal video card upgrade?
3. Any other things to take in consideration about these parts?

Thanks in advance.

410 for a 970? Jesus christ

Also, i'd go for a 6600K and spend the rest on a SSD.
6700K is not worth it imo

 

[MikeE21286]

It's been too long since the last PC I built and time has come for a new one. I'm not sure about certain parts, need a little help from PCGAF. Managed to gather this list, I live in Romania so those are local prices just to use as reference for other recommendations:

CPU: i7 6700k 4.0GHz box ~ $400
Mobo: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING ~ $170
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB DDR4 2800MHz CL14 Dual Channel Kit ~ $100 vs 16GB HyperX Savage Black DDR4 2800MHz CL14 Dual Channel Kit ~ $140
Video: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 970 G1 GAMING 4GB ~ $410
Storage: WD Blue 4TB SATA-III 5400 RPM 64MB WD40EZRZ ~ 160$
Power Supply: Corsair RM Series RM650 80+ Gold ~ $140
Case: Corsair Carbide Air 540 Arctic White ~ $175



1. Can I easily OC the CPU to match RAM or get a lower freq?
2. Should I get a bigger PSU? Can it hold pascal video card upgrade?
3. Any other things to take in consideration about these parts?

Thanks in advance.

There was a deal I posted in here several Days ago for the same mobo and PC combo for $420. I would hold out on a deal. Maybe not $420, but not $570. That $150 could go to a lot of other upgrades or just savings overall.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

410 for a 970? Jesus christ

Also, i'd go for a 6600K and spend the rest on a SSD.
6700K is not worth it imo

There was a deal I posted in here several Days ago for the same mobo and PC combo for $420. I would hold out on a deal. Maybe not $420, but not $570. That $150 could go to a lot of other upgrades or just savings overall.

He already said he is in Romania and already has a SSD.

Prices in Europe are atrocious compared to the US. And if it's anything like here in Finland then a deal like that is almost non-existent.

The 6600K is nice enough but if the finance allows, an i7 will last a longer time.

Recent games have been more and more favoring I7s and I can only see that trend continue and expand.

Seeing that he plans to buy a 4TB HD, he probably does video/image editing, where the i7 will outshine the i5.

 

[Vaga]

410 for a 970? Jesus christ

Also, i'd go for a 6600K and spend the rest on a SSD.
6700K is not worth it imo

Welcome to EU pricing. The G1 is now on a promotion, actually the price is around $450-460.

And yes I thought about 6600k but read about the i7 being significantly faster in 3d modelling & rendering which I use alongside gaming.

There was a deal I posted in here several Days ago for the same mobo and PC combo for $420. I would hold out on a deal. Maybe not $420, but not $570. That $150 could go to a lot of other upgrades or just savings overall.

If I lived in the US maybe Here the CPU is already on sale for $50 less. In general if you wanna compare add about 25-30% to US prices and you get EU.

 

[Ratrat]

Can I stick a gtx 970/980 in this thing?

Is this your current system or are you buying new? If the latter then that build needs updates.

New. Total noob here. I did notice that a lot of the parts were old or not sold anymore.
Is there an updated version.

 

[Collateral22]

Just waiting on my GPU to arrive but did I do wrong with my PSU? I got an EVGA 500b Bronze 80+ PSU. I can still return it to amazon and put a small bit more and get a better one. My specs are:

i5-6600k
GTX 970
8GB DDR4 RAM

Would I be better off getting say a G2 Gold 550w PSU for an extra 40 euro? PSU was the hardest thing to decide on.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Just waiting on my GPU to arrive but did I do wrong with my PSU? I got an EVGA 500b Bronze 80+ PSU. I can still return it to amazon and put a small bit more and get a better one. My specs are:

i5-6600k
GTX 970
8GB DDR4 RAM

Would I be better off getting say a G2 Gold 550w PSU for an extra 40 euro? PSU was the hardest thing to decide on.

What's your long term plan? 500-550w is sufficient for that setup.

But I suggest that you go up to 650w if you actually change the PSU and plan to stick to single GPU. It will allows you more room to wiggle when you plan to upgrade the GPU later.

 

[danthefan]

I've been thinking about my PC and what I need to do to keep it going for the next few years.

I've got:
i7 2600k over clocked to 4.2Ghz
16Gb RAM
Asus P8P67 mobo
A Corsair 750MW PSU
GTX 580

The graphics card is obviously antiquated at this point and needs replacing. The mobo is kind of old and I'm worried about compatibility with newer stuff but that's less of a concern.

So at the moment I'm thinking a new GPU and then maybe save for a Gsync monitor? What do you think GAF?

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

I've been thinking about my PC and what I need to do to keep it going for the next few years.

I've got:
i7 2600k over clocked to 4.2Ghz
16Gb RAM
Asus P8P67 mobo
A Corsair 750MW PSU
GTX 580

The graphics card is obviously antiquated at this point and needs replacing. The mobo is kind of old and I'm worried about compatibility with newer stuff but that's less of a concern.

So at the moment I'm thinking a new GPU and then maybe save for a Gsync monitor? What do you think GAF?

Pretty much the right way to go. You don't have to worry about the compatibility between the board and newer cards, at least not yet.

Maybe bump the CPU OC to 4.5-4.6 if you like, not really necessary.

 

[Collateral22]

What's your long term plan? 500-550w is sufficient for that setup.

But I suggest that you go up to 650w if you actually change the PSU and plan to stick to single GPU. It will allows you more room to wiggle when you plan to upgrade the GPU later.

My plan is to get a pascal 1070 when they are out, then the most I will do over the next 5/6 years is maybe add some more RAM and OC to around 4.5ghz. Does the Tier really matter with the PSU though? Like I have a 500B Bronze PSU from EVGA, is it really worth the 40 euro bump up to a 550w Tier 1 gold one? Or would a 650 bronze suffice?

 

[danthefan]

Pretty much the right way to go. You don't have to worry about the compatibility between the board and newer cards, at least not yet.

Maybe bump the CPU OC to 4.5-4.6 if you like, not really necessary.

Tbh I'm not that confident doing the OC so I'll read up on it but may or may not. Now to decide between a 980 or to wait for Pascal. You could wait forever for the next great card though.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

My plan is to get a pascal 1070 when they are out, then the most I will do over the next 5/6 years is maybe add some more RAM and OC to around 4.5ghz. Does the Tier really matter with the PSU though? Like I have a 500B Bronze PSU from EVGA, is it really worth the 40 euro bump up to a 550w Tier 1 gold one? Or would a 650 bronze suffice?

It's just efficiency. Going higher tier will save you energy, but it will take quite a while before you make back the money you pay for the premium price of a gold rated PSU, depending on your place's electricity price.

Tbh I'm not that confident doing the OC so I'll read up on it but may or may not. Now to decide between a 980 or to wait for Pascal. You could wait forever for the next great card though.

Pascal is my suggestion.

 

[Collateral22]

It's just efficiency. Going higher tier will save you energy, but it will take quite a while before you make back the money you pay for the premium price of a gold rated PSU, depending on your place's electricity price.



Pascal is my suggestion.

Ah okay, I thought it was to do with the quality and lasting effect. So if you would recommend a PSU, would you go EVGA or Corsair? Or something different?

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Well everyone I got a swimming deal on a gigabyte mobo and i5-6600k for 329 bucks. Looks like I have everything but the GPU for now!

Going to slap my 560 Ti in my new system until the newer 1080 comes out.

 

[danthefan]

Pascal is my suggestion.

I think this is what I'll do. I've had my card for years now so another few months won't kill me. I can run the Witcher and various CRPGs just fine in the meantime.

 

[Hawkguy]

This is what I have right now in my PC

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16gb DDR3 1600 ram
Cooler master v700- 700w
intel core i7 - 4770k 3.5 ghz
Asus maximus VI hero motherboard
geforce 970 GTX


I'm trying to get VR ready and really want to have a top of the line PC. Anyone have any recommendations on how I can get there? Or am I better off waiting for the next gen nvidia cards. Also, how long is my current CPU/RAM going to last? Should I consider investing in a new mobo so I can take advantage of the newer CPUs/DDR4 ram or is my current setup good?

Thanks

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

This is what I have right now in my PC

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16gb DDR3 1600 ram
Cooler master v700- 700w
intel core i7 - 4770k 3.5 ghz
Asus maximus VI hero motherboard
geforce 970 GTX


I'm trying to get VR ready and really want to have a top of the line PC. Anyone have any recommendations on how I can get there? Or am I better off waiting for the next gen nvidia cards. Also, how long is my current CPU/RAM going to last? Should I consider investing in a new mobo so I can take advantage of the newer CPUs/DDR4 ram or is my current setup good?

Thanks

The only sensible upgrade you can possibly do is to upgrade the 970 when Pascal/Polaris comes.

Your CPU is still very, very good. Slap on an aftermarket cooler and overclock it if you haven't.

 

[kuYuri]

This is what I have right now in my PC

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16gb DDR3 1600 ram
Cooler master v700- 700w
intel core i7 - 4770k 3.5 ghz
Asus maximus VI hero motherboard
geforce 970 GTX


I'm trying to get VR ready and really want to have a top of the line PC. Anyone have any recommendations on how I can get there? Or am I better off waiting for the next gen nvidia cards. Also, how long is my current CPU/RAM going to last? Should I consider investing in a new mobo so I can take advantage of the newer CPUs/DDR4 ram or is my current setup good?

Thanks

Are you kidding? Your PC is already VR capable, lol.

It's already a damn good build.

 

[Hawkguy]

Are you kidding? Your PC is already VR capable, lol.

It's already a damn good build.

Yea, I built it last year, but I've honestly been neglecting it. I tend to fall off the wagon when it comes to the newest PC hardware, so my automatic assumption is that what I got is out of date....I swear I'm not stealth-bragging or anything about my rig lol. Is DDR4 not going to be super beneficial to my rig then? Other than that, I guess a new video card sometime next year is gonna be it then. That saves my wallet...

 

[opticalmace]

Yea, I built it last year, but I've honestly been neglecting it. I tend to fall off the wagon when it comes to the newest PC hardware, so my automatic assumption is that what I got is out of date....I swear I'm not stealth-bragging or anything about my rig lol. Is DDR4 not going to be super beneficial to my rig then? Other than that, I guess a new video card sometime next year is gonna be it then. That saves my wallet...

Just overclock your CPU and you're good.

 

[LordAlu]

Asking for a friend. He wants to build a £800-1000 PC for gaming, VR, 4K editing video, after effects.

Anyone got any ideas? Just tower, everything else he has / will get himself.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£289.98 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£26.99 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-D3H ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£108.67 @ More Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£70.98 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£67.98 @ Novatech)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£46.68 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card (£259.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£51.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £976.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-07 19:10 BST+0100

This should be good. Graphics card meets the lowest for VR but everything else is good.

 

[PeskyToaster]

Kind of bummed right now. I ordered a case from NZXT last Thursday and I still haven't received any shipping info. I sent an email to support yesterday and I haven't heard anything back.

 

[e90Mark]

Kind of bummed right now. I ordered a case from NZXT last Thursday and I still haven't received any shipping info. I sent an email to support yesterday and I haven't heard anything back.

Was the case only available direct?

 

[PeskyToaster]

Was the case only available direct?

I doubt it but I wanted to make sure I was getting the right one so I ordered from their site which had all the specifications. I was being careful but I should have just ordered one from Amazon which has never failed me.

Edit: It's being delivered today! I had to contact support to get a FedEx tracking number. I don't know if shipping info was ever sent. I don't think my spam would have caught it because it didn't catch any of their other emails. I'll be entering the world of PC gaming today unless things go catastrophically wrong.

 

[AHappyPanda]

Not sure if this is the best spot, so my apologies in advance, will delete post if asked to but...

Got a new desktop and will be connecting it to my TV in my living room.

Coffee table however is too low to be comfortable while playing with mouse and keyboard, anyone have any good ideas/solutions? Ideally, it's something I can set on top of the coffee table to raise up the mouse and keyboard to a comfortable height where I'm not super duper hunched over.

Coffee table is smack dab between the couch and the TV, roughly 6 feet from couch to TV?

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Getting there:

I am going to steal my PSU/560 Ti from my old rig and wait out the next set of GPUs.

 

[e90Mark]

Micro Center Master Race

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Micro Center Master Race

I think it's actually a more dangerous store than Fry's.

 

[MikeE21286]

Not sure if this is the best spot, so my apologies in advance, will delete post if asked to but...

Got a new desktop and will be connecting it to my TV in my living room.

Coffee table however is too low to be comfortable while playing with mouse and keyboard, anyone have any good ideas/solutions? Ideally, it's something I can set on top of the coffee table to raise up the mouse and keyboard to a comfortable height where I'm not super duper hunched over.

Coffee table is smack dab between the couch and the TV, roughly 6 feet from couch to TV?

I was going to recommend the Logitech lapdesk n315. I use this for similar situations and love it. It's looks like a discontinued product though at my quick review. I paid about $14 for it on Amazon a couple years ago, so if you can find it o would go for it.