Posts by Sam Diaz2

rowdyridge58 said:Yeah, I’ll probably just hit up Newegg or something; the price gaps are honestly ridiculous.
When you're looking at the exact same GPU from different brands, how much sense does it actually make to pay extra just for a logo?
And regardless of DLSS, is the 7900 XTX still the better call over the 4070 Ti?

Personally, I think even the 7900 XT is a better move than the 4070 Ti.

rowdyridge58 said:Hey, thanks for all the input.
Here’s the build we put together. I’m looking for some feedback and wondering where the best spot to grab parts would be regarding price and warranty. Does ordering from outside the US make any sense here?

- BE QUIET PURE BASE 500 ($145)
- Corsair RM 650W 80+ gold ($170)
- AMD Ryzen 7700X ($470)
- AS Rock B650M PG ($245)
- Kingston DDR5 32GB 6000MHz Fury Beast ($195)
- Gainward GF RTX4070Ti ($1200)
- LC Power Cosmo Cool LL-CC-120 ($38)

Thanks.

If you know someone over in Germany—check out Mindfactory.de
If you want direct shipping to the States (maybe $15)—try Casekings.de

Honestly, I don't get why you'd drop that much on an RTX 4070 Ti when you could snag an RX 7900 XTX for basically the same money. Even the 7900 XT might be a smarter, more long-term play since it's cheaper and has more VRAM.

Definitely worth watching this video:

It shows how quickly certain GPUs "aged" after just two years.

wearyharbor41 said:I cannot speak to the specifics of this particular case, though I might offer a broader observation: the state effectively suppresses religious expression until one reaches their mid-teens, primarily through an educational system designed to stifle any burgeoning spiritual development (and by that, I certainly do not mean irrational superstitions or unprovable dogmas).

The state isn't banning anything. Seriously, I'm telling you this as a believer. In this country, you have the freedom to hold whatever views or beliefs you want. If anything, the government is the one allowing people to target and insult believers of a specific faith—Catholics. Everything else is just a hard NO and straight-up hate speech.

As for those core values being drilled into you? That’s on your family, not the government.

wanderingbison9 said:Went out for some shopping. Drove, stopped, drove, stopped, drove, stopped... then just stopped driving because the thing suddenly refused to start. Could be the starter or maybe a blown fuse. Probably not the battery since it won't even try to crank. Now I'm just sitting in some parking lot, no way I'm getting this sorted before Tuesday.
What kind of monitor are we talking about here? For gaming? Like 4K with a massive refresh rate? I mean, there are tons of different types and shapes of monitors out there.

Grab a multimeter and check the battery voltage. Check the cable connections too. Just start with the easiest stuff first.

When's the NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti coming?

Jack Reed said:Thanks,
I basically joined this place because of people like you who actually know their stuff and can give solid advice.
I've heard some rumors—not sure how much truth there is to them, honestly—that those specific updates are a headache for Ryzen users, like they might actually "kill" the chip or something. I'm just repeating what I've read and heard; I don't want to look like an idiot by pretending I know everything when I really don't. If Ryzen ends up being the better deal for $2,200, then obviously I'm going with that. Why wouldn't I? At the end of the day, I just need a machine that does its job. I don't care if it glows like Bethlehem at Christmas or if it has an Intel or Ryzen sticker on it. As long as Photoshop, Affinity, and XAMPP run fast and without any issues, I'm happy.

The CPU you get from a shop comes with a 36-month warranty. As long as you aren't pushing it with overclocking and you have decent cooling, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. It's been pretty popular lately to "undervolt" processors to drop power consumption and help them last longer. You can even cap the clock speeds in the BIOS. I saw some guy on YouTube who managed to cut power by 40% and temperatures by 30%, only losing about 5% performance (on a Ryzen 5000 series).

crimsonridge44 said:It's just a motherboard, I'm not planning on editing high-end video or anything. I have Pinnacle Studio on my laptop (an Intel Core i3-1005G1, 1.20GHz) and it runs fine. Not sure if it'll be upgradable later if I need to.
Also, can I just use a USB wireless adapter for Wi-Fi?
Budget is $300-$350 plus a monitor.
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard...ev-10-12/sp#sp

In my experience, cheap motherboards are usually the first thing to kick the bucket. They tend to take all the other components down with them. And funny enough, I've had bad luck with Gigabyte twice now.

If I were working with a tight budget like that, I'd honestly look at used gear that still has a warranty. There's actually some decent stuff out there (even if some people overprice it).
I put together a list using parts from Protis—which is what I'd do... leaves you room for an upgrade later (like adding a dedicated GPU) or more RAM. For Wi-Fi, you'll just have to use a USB stick. You won't find any budget boards with built-in modules.

Gigabyte mb B450M h 617
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 4.6 GHz AM4 1701
G.Skill AEGIS - DDR4 - 16 GB: 2 x 8 GB 424
MS FIGHTER S300 260
Gigabyte Pulse 550W 440
SSD Patriot P300 R1700/W1100, 256GB, M.2 NVMe 172

TOTAL: $1205.

Quick suggestion... you could probably shave $20-$10 off the case price. But you should probably grab at least two extra case fans... maybe $20-$17 per fan.
For the PSU, just go with a basic Bronze rated one. And definitely plan on adding another SSD later for more storage.

crimsonridge44 said:I'm looking at a few setups over at Protis and Instar. I don't really need anything crazy for gaming; it’s mostly for work—just running Photoshop and some video editing software.
Also, do they have wireless Wi-Fi built in?
If anyone can help me pick between these, thanks in advance.

Not sure if you realize that video editing actually demands more muscle from a PC than most games do. And yeah, these specific machines definitely aren't up to that task. Main question though: what's the budget looking like? There are motherboards out there with Wi-Fi modules already baked in, which I'd definitely suggest if you're trying to avoid running cables everywhere.

Jack Reed said:Thanks for the reply. Honestly, I’m not really an Intel fan or an AMD fan; it’s just that for stuff like XAMPP, Photoshop, and Affinity... Intel runs like a Swiss watch.
I don't really plan on changing that.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm tripping... who knows, that's why I'm asking.

Are those RX 7000 prices going to be "ugly"?

I’d go as high as $2,200 if it actually meant something!

Thanks

I wasn't really a die-hard Intel fan or an AMD fan either. When I finally sat down to build my rig after all these years, I wanted a Ryzen 5 3600X, but prices here in the States were absolutely insane at the time—it was a killer chip, just priced irrationally. So, I decided to go with an Intel Core i3-10100F and a B460 board (which was a solid entry-level choice back then $206). Got the board from Germany (ASUS TUF gaming for about $225). Then, a little while ago, seeing prices drop, I thought about upgrading to an Intel Core i7-11700, only to realize the board with the same socket (LGA 1200) doesn't even support it. Total headache. Ended up selling the board and CPU, and it cost me barely more than if I had just bought an Intel Core i7-10700 that worked with my current board, then grabbed a TUF gaming B550 + Ryzen 7 5800X.

My takeaway from all this is that we shouldn't let manufacturers screw us over. I'm not telling you to buy Intel or AMD because one is objectively "better," but because AMD is promising longevity with the AM5 platform through 2025. There's a good chance that if things go sideways in 2025, you could swap out a Ryzen 5 7600X for something like a Ryzen 9 XXXYYYZ via a simple BIOS update. And that chip will probably smoke today's 13th Gen because the Ryzen 7000 series is a bit weaker right now.

Intel's LGA 1700 platform, which handles the 13th Gen, likely won't support the next generation. By 2025, LGA 1700 will basically be a dead end.
AMD dropped prices on the 5000 and 7000 series during Black Friday, and honestly, enough said—Newegg in Germany sold five times more AM4 platforms than everything else combined. Just two months ago, AM5 wasn't worth it because DDR5 and B650/670 boards were ridiculously expensive. That's not the case anymore.

Right now, the price of a Ryzen 7 7700X is hovering around the same range as an i5 13600KF. B650 boards are starting around $250, and 32GB of Corsair memory is sitting near $180. Intel boards are cheaper, but they usually rely on DDR4, which makes the platform look better value-wise. With DDR5, Intel boards are maybe 10-20% cheaper.

As for graphics, the RX 7900 XTX MSRP in the US will be $999, and the RX 7900 XT will be $899 (just factor in roughly 20% extra for US retail vs EU pricing). It's expected to take down the RTX 4080. We'll know pretty soon.
Think about it—it's your money, so decide how you want to invest it. Looking at the used market listings, please, please don't blow that much cash on some bottom-tier X10 or X20 board (like a 410, 520, or 610 series).
If I were dropping that kind of cash, I'd definitely go with the AM5 platform and wait for the new RX 7000 generation GPUs. But that's just me. Good luck with the purchase. 👍

Jack Reed said:Hey there,

I'm looking to pick up a new desktop tower—just the rig, no peripherals or extra fluff—built with an Intel Core i5 13th Gen and an AMD graphics card (my monitor only supports G-Sync for AMD, nothing from Nvidia—it's a Samsung 34").
I'm thinking about hitting up Micro Center since they offer a 10% discount if I pay cash.

I don't need an SSD or an HDD because I've already got some new ones lying around.

The gist:
Intel Core i5 13th Gen
An AMD GPU (I've heard XFX and PowerColor are solid, but who knows, I'm not an expert).
No storage needed!
I see DDR5 is available for $400 16GB, so why not try to squeeze that in if the budget allows!
I've got $2,100 cash ready to go.

Thanks,
LP

P. S. Fl@Tron... tried reaching out to them, but it feels like they're stuck in Mexico sipping a Mojito.😁

Quick question:
Why Intel?
Just hang tight for two weeks; the AMD RX 7000 series cards are about to drop.

steelfalcon71 said:You read it just fine, so I'm not sure what part you're struggling with. There isn't exactly a massive problem here; I was just stating my opinion. The guy is looking for used gear because he wants to save some cash. It's not that deep.

I respect where you're coming from.

Quote: compare Hydro Series H150i Pro 360 vs Corsair vs be Quiet! Pure Rock 2 🤣
Motherboard's better too. Power supply is an upgrade, obviously. And if you're just looking at the CPU for gaming? It's all basically the same shit.

I haven't actually sat down to compare those two coolers myself. But if I were to give it a shot? I’d say it basically comes down to whether you're loaded or just someone who really cares about looking flashy. $567 So, I was looking into some CPU cooling options... just thinking about what might work best. $400 So, the Ryzen 5 5600 has a 65W TDP. Which, honestly, is what exactly? Who knows. Just one of those things you read on a spec sheet and wonder if anyone actually cares.
Standard procedure, really. You can always track one down at a decent price if you look hard enough. $267 You can find the exact same thing on eBay. 😉

Motherboards aren't actually an upgrade here. Honestly, LGA 1151 is ancient history at this point—just like my old LGA 1200 setup. And looking ahead, there's a good chance Intel's 14th gen won't even stick with LGA 1700 next year. Everything just moves on, I guess.
Unlike Intel, the AM5 platform dropped about a month or two ago. But here in the States—which is basically the biggest PC market in the world—the AM4 platform is still absolutely crushing it. Honestly, AM4 is moving five times faster than AM5 and all the Intel platforms combined. It’s kind of wild.

In two or three years, they might actually find some kind of viable replacement for an AM4 processor, but let's be real—neither you nor I are going to have any luck finding a decent CPU upgrade for our current sockets by then.

Will they actually notice a lower power bill with Ryzen, or just a tiny difference in FPS?
I can't really watch videos directly, but if you drop the transcript or a summary of what's being said, I can take a look. Just give me the gist and I'll get back to you.

If that were actually true, everyone would just be running a Ryzen 3 and a Celeron.
With this GPU, I’ve got a feeling the CPU is going to be a massive bottleneck. The only silver lining is that he's on AM4, so there's actually some room to upgrade later. That LGA1151 setup? Not much breathing room there at all.
So, looks like the Ryzen 5800 X3D is sitting at about $395 over in Germany right now. Just thought I'd mention it. Not that I'm planning a shopping spree or anything, but figures.

The only thing I really messed up was picking a mini tower case. It’s not going to fit the radiator, obviously. Honestly, I’d never go that route anyway—I'd stick to a mid tower. Everything is just getting too big these days, and you need the extra room to deal with the rising temps and massive components.

Component sizes aren't actually getting bigger across the board. It’s just individual GPUs that are turning into absolute behemoths. An mITX motherboard is still going to be an mITX motherboard, and mATX stays mATX. RAM hasn't changed much either, aside from those weird ones with way too much RGB, and processors are pretty much more of the same. Power supplies are still sticking to ATX, SFX, and whatever other standard sizes we have. FACT

People always get the "future-proofing" thing wrong. They talk about it like it's some grand master plan, but honestly, the order is always backwards. You’re going to swap out the GPU first, and then you'll deal with all that other stuff you listed later on. It just doesn't work any other way.

So, what you just said doesn't really track. If you aren't swapping out the GPU, what exactly is "growing" here?

At the end of the day, people can buy whatever makes them happy, but let's not go mixing up facts and fiction.

☕

If someone actually comes here looking for advice, they don't need you trying to upsell them on stuff they don't even need.

FACT:
The AM4 platform is still very much alive
LGA1151 is basically dead / a relic

FICTION:
You need a 380mm AIO for a 65W TDP CPU (like a 95W i5).
You need an 850W PSU for an R5600 and a 3080.

Anyway, good luck with the sales pitch. 👍

rustytrucker37 said:Honestly, I couldn't care less about the case. If it’s cheap and keeps things looking minimal, I'm good. I’m kind of a total noob when it comes to this stuff, though, so feel free to set me straight if I'm tripping.

So, if you're asking me... what would I actually go for regarding a case and a power supply? Honestly, it’s one of those things where you can overthink it until your brain melts. You could spend all day looking at fancy tempered glass cases that look like something out of a sci-fi movie, but at the end of the day, you just need something that doesn't turn your desk into a wind tunnel. Personally, I usually lean toward something understated—maybe a Corsair or a Fractal if I'm feeling fancy—just something with decent airflow so I don't have to worry about the whole thing melting during a heavy session. As for the PSU, don't cheap out. That's basically asking for trouble later. Just grab a reliable Gold-rated unit from somewhere like EVGA or Seasonic. It's better to spend a few extra bucks now than to watch your entire rig go dark because you tried to save fifty bucks on a generic power brick. But hey, that's just my two cents. Take it or leave it.

Your power supply is plenty beefy enough for that card, and honestly, it’s solid quality too.
Case choice is really just a matter of personal taste. You might find yourself wanting to swap things out in a few years when you're upgrading parts, whereas I’ll probably just be dropping new components into my current setup. Personally, I'm a sucker for cube cases. This happens to be my third one:
So, I was scrolling through this Tech News Today list about the best cube PC cases, and honestly? It’s a rabbit hole. If you’re like me and think standard towers are just boring boxes that take up way too much desk space, you might actually find some gems here. The whole concept of a cube case is kind of funny. You’re basically building a tiny, high-powered little cube instead of the usual skyscraper setup. It looks cool, sure, but it’s definitely a different way to manage airflow. You have to be a bit more tactical about where you shove everything if you don't want your components turning into a miniature furnace. There are a few standout options mentioned—some heavy hitters from brands like Cooler Master or Thermaltake. They've got those compact builds that look great on a minimalist desk, though I still find myself wondering if I'll regret the tight squeeze once I try to cable manage my mess of wires. It’s a gamble. A stylish, slightly cramped gamble. Anyway, if you're looking to shake up your setup and stop living in a world of vertical monoliths, it's worth a look. Just maybe keep an extra fan or two on hand. Or three. Probably four.

I’m not putting it on the desk like a wall anymore, and I’ve officially stopped putting the PC on the floor. Back when I was running those massive towers, it felt like the fans were basically vacuuming up half the dust in the entire house.

steelfalcon71 said:You're buying used gear, so it's not exactly high-end. There's no such thing as "future proof" here because you'll eventually just sell it or toss it and buy something new anyway.

Fair enough, that's your call.

Personally, I wouldn't touch anything used unless I had at least a 6-12 month warranty on it. If there's no warranty, fine, but then the price better be dirt cheap.

Hold on, you're offering someone used parts—a CPU from 2017—yet you claim you wouldn't buy used stuff? And his combo with a 5000 series processor is actually $100 more expensive. 🤔

@rustytrucker37/">@@rustytrucker37, we can all agree it's a budget case and looks decent enough, but I don't get why you wouldn't just grab a case you actually like and a future-proof PSU, then just swap out the motherboard, CPU, and RAM in a few years if you need to.

Otherwise, your build is solid and the prices seem alright.

urbanheron4

Lawrence Phillips said:I'm kind of mulling over an upgrade for my rig. Everything I read seems to point toward going for a more future-proof setup—maybe just sticking with 1080p for now but picking up a high-refresh-rate gaming monitor. Just thinking out loud, really.

I've been chewing on the idea of going with a 27-inch 1080p monitor, but honestly, everything I read says it's kind of... iffy. Like, you start seeing those individual pixels if you look too closely, and the whole image quality thing feels a bit hit-or-miss at that size. Not sure yet.

I'm sitting here at work staring at a 27-inch 1080p monitor, and honestly? I don't really notice the resolution. It's not exactly cutting-edge, but it doesn't exactly kill me either.
So, people don't exactly spend their shift gaming at work, but still...

If I were looking at an upgrade path, I’d probably swap out that Core i3-8100 for a Core i5-9600K, and ditch the old RX 580 8GB for something like an RTX 3060 or whatever else is sitting on the shelf.

So, I'm looking at this monitor here:
So, I was browsing through some specs for the Acer Nitro VG270S, and honestly, looking at these monitors can feel like a full-time job if you stare too long. It’s one of those standard gaming displays—nothing groundbreaking, but nothing that's going to make you cry either. It sits right in that middle ground where you aren't spending a fortune on a high-end pro setup, but you also aren't playing on a potato from 2005. It's got the usual stuff you'd expect: decent refresh rates, okay color accuracy, and enough ports to keep things moving. It's fine. It really is. Just a solid, unremarkable piece of hardware that does exactly what it says on the box. If you need a monitor and don't want to overthink it, this is probably in the running. Or not. Who knows? My brain usually shuts off after reading the first three rows of technical data anyway.

Got any better suggestions?
Also, I could probably use some help picking out a GPU. Any recommendations?

This is the final upgrade for this build. I'm hoping it actually lasts me a few years without needing more tinkering.

Budget? I mean, I’d like to keep things somewhat reasonable. Haven't actually settled on a specific number yet.

If we're talking hardware—specifically looking at newer parts—the Core i5-9600K is... $100 It’s cheaper than a Core i5-9600K. If you really want the ultimate upgrade, though, go for the Core i7-12700K. Right now, the LGA 1200 platform is basically running circles around everything else in the US—selling more units than the LGA 1700 and LGA 1200 setups combined. For a GPU in that same budget range, you can't really beat an RTX 3060 Ti.

The monitor is alright. Honestly, at that price point, I'm not sure you can really do much better.

Ethan Jones5 said:The thread already exists; you clearly haven't been paying attention. Everything regarding Batcave is right there.☕

Thanks. I didn't even notice. Now I need to go clean up the MLS thread so we only have actual game footage and refereeing calls left in there. 🙂

We really ought to start a dedicated thread just for officiating. Honestly, we've already hit our quota for referee analysis this season between the games involving the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. It would make way more sense if people used that specific thread to talk about player movements, big plays, scoring chances, the atmosphere, or the clubs themselves. Right now, this place is just turning into a weekly loop of "was that a foul?" or "yellow card," "red card," "penalty." If you're actually looking to debate the refs, go find the other thread.

William Hayes282 said:Hey, looking for some advice... I want to build a PC, any chance you guys could recommend a setup for under $1,000?

Sent from my smartphone using Reddit

Intel Core i3-12100F 3.30 GHz (Alder Lake-S) Socket 1700 - boxed 116.25
MSI PRO B660M-E DDR4, ASUS B660 Mainboard - Socket 1700 119.9
G.Skill RipJaws V, DDR4-3200, CL16 - 16 GB Dual-Kit, black 69.9
Crucial P2 NVMe SSD, PCIe M.2 Type 2280 - 1 TB 89.9
Zalman R2 Midi-Tower - black
49.9
EVGA Gold Power Supply, modular - 550 Watt 78.9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G LHR, 12288 MB GDDR6 416.5

$941.25 (Best Buy)

$994.72 Intel Core i3-12100F 3.30 GHz (Alder Lake-S) Socket 1700 - boxed
$883.15 ASRock B660M-HDV DDR4 ,s1700, 90-MXBH40-A0UAYZ
$536.85 DDR4 16GB (2x8) Patriot 3200MHz Corsair Vengeance, PVS416G320C6K
$705.27 Crucial P2 NVMe SSD, PCIe M.2 Type 2280 - 1 TB
$472.64 Kolink Stronghold Glass Window Black Midi Tower
$483.17 EVGA 600W W1, 80 PLUS, EVG-100-W1-0600-K2
$3736.84 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G LHR, 12288 MB GDDR6

$7812.64 (Discounted to $7422.00 after 5% off one-time payment at local retailer)

wearydriver40 said:With that diaper-wearing President and Kamala just grinning like an idiot without a clue, our dignity is completely shot. It’s not all about the money.

Those sandwich-eating criminal voters? I can't even look at them. They aren't even human to me. Disgusting!

Yet somehow, Europe still treats them like they can do no wrong. If that's the case, where exactly did Europe's respect go?

Kimberly Perez82 said:The way the President chooses his words—and honestly, the whole style of communication he uses—it’s starting to set a global precedent, which is just... well, it's unsettling. I mean, think about it. A President's primary job, the very essence of the office, should be to elevate the nation's standing on the world stage, not drag it through the mud. It feels like we're watching a slow decline in decorum. I was reading an editorial the other day about diplomatic etiquette, and it really hit home how much this matters. At this point, the whole thing just feels increasingly senseless.

What reputation?

The average person on this planet, if they’ve even heard of America, probably knows a famous soccer player, Charleston, or Nikola Tesla (without realizing he was born over here). And as for the typical politician? If they show up in the news, it’s usually in some column because they pulled a complete idiot move.

As if the reputation of the USA hasn't already tanked, considering they have a President who's basically a walking disaster—someone with a son struggling with addiction, who seems to have lost his rhythm, his focus, and maybe his mind too. He just wanders around the stage like a fly without a head.

Look, their reputation is at rock bottom and they're circling the drain. 🙄

hollowmason64 said:Being part of the European Union means you play by the rules regarding the rule of law and fundamental human rights. It's just not acceptable when certain countries act like those standards are optional just because they've already secured their membership (and let's be honest, that includes us too).
And yeah, the EU has to step in.
Saying the Union shouldn't care how its members behave would basically mean they don't care at all about how a member state spends its money once the checks have been cashed.

Our legal system has improved so much since we joined the EU.
It's just so incredibly fair and transparent that you've got convicted criminals fleeing to Canada, posting photos online, and bragging about the bribes they paid judges to fix their trials. Then, after he flees, the justice system just sits there doing absolutely nothing, letting both him and his brother—who's also a convict—just walk free.

Timothy Williams5 said:Now Index has decided to drag Joe Biden into Duhaček's latest piece:

Where are all you Putin lovers hiding? I'm sure Russia is calling for you.

Ultimately, it seems like the most absurd thing that could happen to a Russian who was forced to flee their homeland because of Putin's policies is running into a group of Putin enthusiasts somewhere in the EU (or elsewhere in the world). These are the people living in relative peace and security, in countries that aren't directly caught up in the conflict. They are the ones convinced that Putin is some great warrior fighting against the West and the New World Order, believing that NATO is what actually pushed him to invade Ukraine, and acting as if Putin's Russia should be our model or our ally.

In places like Mexico, they exist in massive numbers, and it isn't as if there aren't Putin lovers in the United States, either. We even have one sitting right there in The White House. You won't find them lacking anywhere else in the European Union, either.

Wait, so we're talking about a foreign national working without a permit here in the States?
The very same situation where the President claims our people's rights are being trampled?

Just let him spin it. We all know the truth is usually the exact opposite of whatever he's typing out.