Posts by Jonathan Mendoza17

It’s entirely possible that some other background application is "stealing" focus from your active window—which is honestly such a headache! I did a little digging online, and apparently, that Adobe auto-update tool can be a real culprit behind this exact issue. If you happen to have that installed, maybe try disabling the automatic updates or just kicking the app out of your startup list altogether.
You might also want to play detective using your Print Screen key to see which specific app is grabbing control. Here’s the trick: if you hit Print Screen on your keyboard, it captures your entire screen to the clipboard, but if you hit alt + Print Screen, it only grabs the currently active window. So, the moment this happens, immediately hit alt + Print Screen and then paste it into a Microsoft Office Word document so you can actually see what window was captured. That should give you a massive clue as to what’s causing the glitch.
Also—just a thought—Sticky Keys could be causing issues too, making it seem like you're accidentally hitting Alt+Tab without realizing it. You can toggle that off by pressing both Shift keys at the same time.

fadedorca66 said:Always grab those drivers directly from the official AMD website

Alright, it's downloading right now... 😁

Larry Ortiz5 said:Honestly, you're usually better off just grabbing the latest driver straight from the manufacturer's website right away—but hey, no biggie 😁 as long as everything is running smoothly...

Well, I might as well ask since I haven't spent much time working with AMD hardware—usually, with Nvidia, everything just seems to find itself automatically.
Right now, I'm seeing version 13.251 listed as the most recent one over on the ASUS website specifically for this card.
Meanwhile, if you look at the AMD website, the latest version is actually 14.301.
Is it just a case where ASUS isn't keeping their site updated regularly, or is that really the absolute final version meant for this specific card? Basically, should I be downloading directly from AMD, or is it safer to stick to the manufacturer's page?
My OS is Windows 7 64-bit.

So, I finally picked up the Gigabyte R9 280 WF3 OC. Got everything mounted up and—believe it or not—it posted on the very first try! 👋 Even the cable management went smoothly, which is always a bit of a relief. I've installed the drivers, though I suspect the ones on the included CD might not be the absolute latest version—I'll have to play around with that a bit more later. For now, everything seems to be running perfectly fine, but I still need to put it through its paces to see how it handles a heavy load under pressure.
Once again, a huge thank you to everyone for all the suggestions and the helpful info 🙂

Yeah, I did take a look at the 280x, but honestly, it’s a bit $67 beyond the budget ceiling I set for myself—and I had a reason for setting that limit! It would be a dream to grab one, but you have to know when to draw the line, otherwise there's always some shiny new thing just out of reach.
I really think the 280 will be more than enough for what I need to get done. I was eyeing the Sapphire Dual-X, but let's be real—it's basically the exact same card, just with a different cooling setup. My plan is to hunt down a Gigabyte model, but if they're sold out, I'll just pivot to another version of the 280. I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes!

Chris Robinson25 said:Honestly, it doesn't matter much which one you pick. In my book, they're both top-tier options among the R9 280 lineup.

Edit: Actually, the cooling situation is worth a bit more discussion—it’s not quite a wash. 🙂 The XFX model has an unlocked voltage, whereas the Gigabyte one is locked down. This implies the VRM might not "overheat" quite as aggressively on the XFX side. That said, XFX and MSI are both somewhat notorious for running pretty hot VRMs. Of course, if you're the type of user who keeps the voltage dialed way down, you might see those VRM temps hovering around a cool 65°C during gaming sessions. Meanwhile, the Gigabyte card doesn't even feature VRM sensors at all.

I don't know, they really are incredibly similar. I just did a little digging, and both of these cards are quite beefy in terms of length. The Gigabyte version clocks in at 11.22 inches, while the XFX is 11.61 in. My case officially supports cards up to 12.5 inches, but man, managing the cables might turn into a bit of a fun little puzzle.
I'm still leaning slightly toward the Gigabyte, but I haven't quite made up my mind yet.

Alright, alright, you guys have officially sold me 🙂. Honestly, it felt a little too good to be true at first, but I just had to double-check everything to be absolutely certain.

@Larry Ortiz5/">@@Larry Ortiz5
I actually laid all of that out in this post here.

So, looking at the options, this Gigabytica approach seems like the most interesting way to go—it’s got a certain charm to it. I think I'll spend the rest of the day digging through some reviews for both the XFX and Gigabyte cards—just to be thorough, you know?—and maybe wait to see if anyone else weighs in with a fresh perspective. If not, I'll probably make my move tomorrow. Thanks so much to everyone for the advice; I really appreciate the input! 🙂

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Looking at the specs, both cards seem like absolute beasts—my only real hesitation is going to be the power draw.

Gigabyte R9 280 3GB WF3 OC

Power requirement 600W(with one 6-pin and one 8-pin external power connectors)


XFX R9-280A-TDFD

Requirements
External Power - 6-pins : 1
External Power - 8-pins : 1
Minimum Power Supply Requirement : 750 watt
XFX Recommended Power Supply : XFX 850W PSU

I know manufacturers tend to be a bit dramatic when they list these requirements—it's almost a tradition at this point—but are we absolutely certain that my Corsair CX500 can actually handle all of that? Also, just a quick side note: I'll have to use an adapter to connect these to my PSU since I'm currently working with those 4-pin connectors. Do you think using an adapter might cause any issues with system stability?

Greetings, everyone! I could really use some collective wisdom regarding a graphics card upgrade. My current card is actually a leftover from an old rig—it’s significantly underpowered compared to the rest of my setup.
Here is what I'm working with:

Monitor: Dell U2412M (1920x1200)
Motherboard: Asus s1155 P8Z77-V LX2
CPU: Intel i5-3570K
PSU: Corsair CX500
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-III
RAM: 2x4GB DDR3 Kingston 1600 MHz
SSD: Samsung evo Basic 120
HDD: Seagate 640 GB Black budget

Budget: I am aiming to stay around $150—$567 though I might be able to stretch it just a tiny bit more if it actually makes a meaningful difference.
I'll be shopping locally here in Washington, D.C.
Usage: Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how to phrase this. I just want to build a cohesive, reliable, all-purpose home workstation. In terms of graphical load, the biggest hitters will likely be gaming and some CAD-CAM software. That said, this machine isn't a dedicated workstation; I just need to be able to open and tweak things occasionally—so there's no real need to jump to those specialized professional cards. As for gaming, that will probably take the most strain, even though I don't typically lean toward high-intensity shooters or racing sims. I tend to gravitate toward strategy games, adventures, or even indie titles—though I might eventually feel the itch to try out GTA5, so it would be nice if that runs at least with decent settings (not necessarily everything on Ultra!).

The processor isn't overclocked right now, but I was thinking about doing that in maybe a year or so once I feel the need—so please, let me know if you think my power supply can handle that transition. I'm talking about a moderate overclock; I'm not trying to chase world records or anything extreme—stability is my top priority.

From what I've been looking at, my budget seems to fit an AMD R9 270 x or perhaps a slightly pricier Nvidia GTX 760.
Do you guys have any better ideas? What would be the smartest move here?