Posts by Chris Robinson25

What are the odds your CPU is just way too weak for that GPU?

Quick question—heading to the HG spot with a buddy today. He finally pulled the trigger on the R7 260 x 2GB. We're looking at three different brands: Sapphire, XFX, or MSI. I’m leaning toward MSI because of that 3-year warranty (I definitely mentioned that to him), but he seems pretty set on XFX. Since I can't find any decent reviews online, does anyone have a lead on which one I should push for?

So, what would be the beefiest GPU I could grab to actually keep up with my processor? I'm running an Intel Core i5.

Posting this for a buddy. He’s looking for a GPU in the $400-$233 range. I was thinking about an NVIDIA GeForce GTX, but is there anything actually better than that out there right now?

You can usually snag a 3350P with a warranty if you look around for a decent price. 🙂

Zalman R1 or Z3 are both awesome. A bunch of people actually suggested I go with the R1, even though it costs a few bucks more.

darkangler24 said:So, I'm trying to put together a gaming rig with a budget somewhere between $600 and $2667 using an Intel/NVIDIA combo. Here’s what I’ve picked out so far:

1 x ASRock B85 Pro4, s1150, Haswell
1 x Intel Core i5-4460 (3.20GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Box
1 x 8GB DDR3 (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Fury, 1866MHz, CL10
1 x Gigabyte GTX 960 WF2 Overclocked, 2GB GDDR5, DVI-I / DVI-D / HDMI
1 x 1TB WD Caviar Blue HDD, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 7200 RPM
1 x XFX P1-550S-XXB9 Pro Series Core edition 80 550W PSU
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black DVD Writer, SATA
1 x Zalman Z3 mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. MB standard
$2009

Now, this is basically my baseline. I'm torn on whether I should stick with those $667 specs or if it's smarter to push for a better CPU or GPU. If I were to upgrade, I'd look at the i5-4690K, an ASRock Z97 Anniversary motherboard, and a GTX 970 WF3. I'm thinking I might need a beefier power supply for that setup too, maybe something like the XFX 650 w xxx edition. All those upgrades would bump the price up by more than $200, but assuming I can make that happen, is it actually worth the extra cash?

If I wanted a higher-end case, like a Define R4, I'd definitely be blowing past my budget, and honestly, I don't see the point unless it's necessary—especially since I think the Z3 looks way cooler anyway.

Before I even think about overclocking the processor, I'd grab a decent cooler, but for now, I'll just stick with the stock one.

If you grab an H81 motherboard and a budget power supply, you'll actually have some breathing room left over for an R9 290. Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I’d skip the 4460 and go for the AMD FX 8320 E. It just feels like a smarter move to me—getting those 8 cores gives you a nice little bump over the 4460, and it's usually a bit easier on the wallet too.

i5 < FX 8 < i7

Man, I honestly have no clue where I managed to snag such a killer version of Windows.

Yeah, it’s a waste of cash, but my PC is absolutely killing me with these Windows issues. 😢

I’ve got a really solid version of Windows on a CD, though I have some junk versions sitting on a USB drive. Of course, my current PC is running nothing but garbage since I don't even have a CD drive anymore. 😢

Windows is giving me a hard time, and since I don't have a drive, I can't even access my backup files on a CD. I really need a reader. I think I'll grab this one—the price looks pretty solid.

So, I've got a SATA motherboard, but my old optical drive is pretty ancient, so I probably need an upgrade. Is this one a good deal for the money?

http://www.amazon.com/optical-drive-sata...l-ata__3784031

Jack Wood87 said:I'm just wondering how they're even going to stream League of Legends Worlds when there are over 600k people watching.
What, on 100 computers at once? lol

They're dropping massive amounts of cash on Twitch promotions to land right on the front page.

I won't even get started on how much bandwidth you need for that. I struggle enough just trying to upload stuff to YouTube, let alone attempting to live stream. That’s why I stick to making YT videos instead.

People streaming on Twitch usually run two separate rigs—and we're talking beastly setups where the streaming PC is actually beefier than the gaming one. Honestly, if you don't have a massive audience already, I wouldn't even bother going down that road.

Word on the street is ED might be closing down soon.

I'm really hoping we get to see Vettel and Kimi battling it out with Williams again.

darkmarlin16 said:The Grand Prix of Australia is such a unique track; you almost never see much overtaking there.

From a driver's perspective, though, the layout is incredible. It’s easily one of my favorite F1 tracks out there.

Personally, my top three cards are always the MSI Lightning, Gainward Phantom, and XFX DD. So, out of those three you mentioned, I’d grab the XFX without a second thought. I’ve never been a fan of ASUS, and while I hear good things about EVGA, my track record with XFX has been solid.

I've got an MSI 260 that I picked up for $237 at Best Buy. It’s actually a pretty solid card. Honestly, it's about as much as my CPU can handle. Once you start looking at anything over $950, it just isn't worth the jump anymore.

It’s already been a month since I posted.

I'm looking for some pen pals, so if you're into chatting, feel free to reach out.

Also, if you're a fan of billiards... we'll get along just fine.

A little about me: Washington, D.C., 20.