I’m thinking about moving some funds from my overseas account over to my local US bank account using Wise. Right now, I’m working in a country that doesn't have a tax treaty with the States—which is just great, isn't it?—so I'm wondering... is there any chance the US government is going to come knocking and try to slap a tax on those funds once they land?
Hey everyone, I could really use some help here—what do you think is a fair asking price for this whole setup as a bundle? Is anyone actually looking for something like this right now? 🙂 Coolermaster Elite 335 Corsair RM450 Motherboard: Asrock 870 EXTREME3 - Intel Core i3-4130 CPU Intel Core i3-4130 Memory: 2x4Gb G.Skilll 1333Mhz - still under warranty for 2 years 1xDDR3 2Gb Kingmax 1333MHz CL9 GPU: XFX HD6850 775M 1GB DDR5 HDD: WD blue 1tb Intel Core i5-160 Monitor: Dell 22-inch Monitor Speakers: Logitech X530 2x logitech precision gamepads
So, I’m looking at shipping a 100kg scooter all the way from Cleveland to San Francisco—what are my actual options here? Like, how do people even move stuff this size without breaking the bank? Any idea which route would be the cheapest?
I don't know every single little spec, but for $500, plus I’d probably grab an SSD for $167... would it actually be worth dropping a total of $667 on a used rig (though maybe I'll skip the SSD)? Or should I just stick to your recommendation and go with that Fujitsu for $1000?
0. Store doesn't matter much—had a decent run with Best Buy before. 1. Looking for a 13.3" or 15" screen size. 2. 3. Doesn't really matter. 4. Just basic, everyday tasks. 5. The machine absolutely has to support a Windows 7 install—I'll be handling that part myself. 6. I am definitely not looking at Acer. 7. $1167 That's my total budget for both the laptop and an SSD. 8. Warranty? Not a priority. 9. I’d love to have both a DVD drive and an SSD, which means I'm happy to ditch the internal HDD entirely.
I need a laptop for some general stuff—nothing crazy, no gaming, maybe just running some management software here and there.
So, the plan is to grab a laptop for roughly $1000 and then shell out another $167 for an SSD (120GB should be plenty, honestly). I don't really care about the hard drive since I've got an external one for storage anyway—plus, I'm assuming in this price range I won't find anything that comes with an SSD pre-installed. Please hit me with some recommendations for both an SSD and a laptop; I actually care way more about build quality than raw performance.
My ex used to have a Lenovo, I think it was a T-series, 14" model... the build quality was perfect. If anyone knows of something similar that I could pick up used, let me know.
I'm looking for an external hard drive for $150—any thoughts on what's currently available in this link? Should I just grab a Pqi since they offer a solid 3-year warranty, or are WD or General Electric actually better quality? All I really care about is that it has USB 3.0, and honestly, I don't mind checking other shops if the price stays under $150
I didn't actually mention that this RAM I linked $170 was part of some group buy deal—so now I’m sitting here scratching my head wondering if it’s even worth chasing 8GB for $170. Or should I just grab 2GB for $67 and call it a day with 4GB total? Also, does anyone know if I can actually pair these new 2x4GB sticks with my old 2GB stick? If they aren't compatible—which, let's be honest, is probably what happens—I guess I could try to offload the old stuff for $33. That would bring my total cost for 8GB down to roughly $133, whereas 4GB would run me about $67 in the end.
So, here’s the deal—I’m currently running a single 2GB stick of Kingmax DDR3 at 1333 MHz, but another one just kicked the bucket on me. Does anyone know where I can snag an upgrade to 8GB without getting absolutely robbed? I was thinking maybe just picking up three more 2GB sticks of that same Kingmax DDR3 1333 MHz kit, or is this deal over at actually a better move? Basically, what's the cheapest way to hit that 8GB mark? Also, is there a massive difference in quality here, and why on earth does it say these G.Skill Sniper sticks are "gamer" RAM? My motherboard is an ASUS ROG Maximus with an Intel chipset
Benjamin King2 said:What kind of error are we talking about here? And why on earth would you assume it's the GPU? You haven't actually given me any details to go on.
Okay, look—so I was reinstalling Windows because my old hard drive basically gave up the ghost, right? So the OS is now sitting on an SSD. But then, out of nowhere, Windows starts crashing left and right—sometimes immediately, sometimes after maybe thirty minutes. Every time the system crashes, the screen just... explodes into random colors for a split second before the whole thing restarts. Then, boom, Blue Screen of Death. I can't tell you the exact error codes offhand, but they both seemed to point toward memory issues. Now, since I already tested the RAM and it passed without a hitch, I’m starting to suspect the VRAM on the graphics card might be the culprit. I did run that one diagnostic program I mentioned earlier, and hey, no errors showed up there either. To make matters worse, I ran Essential and found out the SSD has bad sectors—but honestly, that weird color glitch right before the crash feels way more like a GPU issue than anything to do with the SSD. And because I accidentally set my second new hard drive to "dynamic" during the process, I can't even get Windows installed to verify if the SSD was the sole villain here. I am currently staring at this machine wondering if I should just chuck the whole thing out the window 🙂 hope that gives you enough to work with 🙂
Benjamin King2 said:You could run it two or three times just to be safe—though honestly, it should catch the error on the very first pass if there is one. Just keep in mind that this specific test only confirms whether the video RAM is behaving itself; it doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the card is actually healthy.
So, I had some kind of memory error pop up earlier, but the DDR seems fine now—and even the card's own memory is passing its checks... so what else am I supposed to use? Is there another program I can run to actually verify if this thing is functional or just a ticking time bomb??
I’ve got another question here—maybe a bit of a silly one—but when I try to run a comparison on Google between the AMD Radeon R7 260X and the 6850, it doesn't look like there's much of an actual jump in performance? Considering I picked up that 6850 a full three years ago for $467, is it possible that this newer card at $300 isn't actually that much better than what I already have, or am I just totally misreading the charts?!
Looks like my old 6850 finally kicked the bucket—RIP. I'm looking for some upgrade advice... what can I throw into this rig that would at least match what I had, if not give me a bit of a boost? Corsair RM450 with ASUS ROG motherboard Asrock 870 EXTREME3 - AMD 870 Intel Core i3-4130 with DDR3 RAM 2xDDR3 2Gb Kingmax 1333MHz CL9 The thing absolutely needs an HDMI output.
driftingwalker19 said:So, I’ve been spending some time looking into the Cooler Master Elita 335—you know, that specific chassis setup—and honestly, where do we even start? It’s one of those cases that makes you wonder if people actually care about airflow anymore or if we're all just building glorified dust collectors at this point. Is it efficient? Maybe. Is it stylish? That's subjective, isn't it? I mean, depending on who you ask, you might get a totally different answer. Anyway, back to the hardware... So, I was looking at the Seasonic 430W again—just sitting there, staring back at me—and I started thinking... is it actually worth the hype? Or are we all just suckers for a brand name that sounds like it belongs in a high-end kitchen appliance catalog? I mean, come on. It’s a Seasonic 430W ASRock 870 EXTREME3 setup, right? You’ve got the power, you’ve got the stability, but then you start wondering if you're overthinking the whole wattage thing. Is 430W really the sweet spot, or am I just being overly cautious? Who knows. Anyway, just some food for thought while I mess around with this build. So, I've been looking into the Asrock 870 EXTREME3—specifically that AMD 870 chipset—and honestly, where do we even start? It’s one of those pieces of hardware that makes you wonder if we're just chasing benchmarks for the sake of it, or if there's actually some substance left in these builds. Is it reliable? Is it overkill? Who knows until you're elbow-deep in thermal paste and cables at 2 AM. Anyway, let's get into it. So, I've been looking at the AMD Athlon II x4 640 BX 3.0 2... just sitting here thinking about it. Is it actually worth the effort? Sometimes you wonder if you're just chasing ghosts in the machine—you know what I mean? It's one of those components that makes you question your entire build strategy. Anyway, back to the point. So, I've got my hands on 2xDDR3 2GB Kingmax 1333MHz CL9... just sitting there. Honestly, sometimes you wonder why we even bother upgrading when you can just grab a little kit like this and call it a day, right? It’s nothing fancy—definitely not breaking any speed records—but hey, it does the job. Just a small, simple addition to the setup. Simple as that. So, I was looking at the XFX HD6850 775M with 1GB of DDR5—just sitting there, staring back at me. It’s one of those cards that makes you wonder where the time went, right? You know, looking at specs like this and thinking about how much the hardware landscape has shifted since we were all obsessing over basic clock speeds. Is it still relevant? Well, that depends entirely on what kind of madness you're trying to run on it. Just a thought. So, my WD Blue 1TB—it’s only been about a month since I got it—and things are already getting interesting. Is it just me, or does it feel like these drives have a mind of their own lately? Just a thought. So, I've been looking into the Intel x25m 160 and... well, where do I even start? It’s one of those things that makes you wonder why we ever bothered with traditional spinning drives in the first place—seriously, who actually enjoys waiting for a hard drive to spin up anymore? Not me. The Intel x25m 160 feels like a bit of a jump, right? It’s that specific kind of upgrade that changes how you feel about your whole setup—it’s almost like switching from a beat-up old sedan to something that actually responds when you hit the gas. You know that feeling? That instant responsiveness? Yeah, that's what we're talking about here. Is it the absolute fastest thing on the market? Probably not if you're chasing extreme benchmarks, but for everyday stuff—booting up Windows, opening apps without staring at a loading bar like it's some kind of meditative exercise—it's solid. Just a really solid, dependable piece of tech. Anyway, just some thoughts while I'm tinkering around. So, I’m looking to offload this whole setup—minus the OS, since Windows 7 is being its usual unstable self and crashing more often than a bad stock pick—but I'm curious what you all think. What’s a fair price for the entire bundle? And honestly, if I decide to break it up and sell it component by component, what kind of numbers am I actually looking at? Is there anyone out there actually hunting for this kind of gear, or am I just shouting into the void here?
So, I've been looking at the Samsung 2223 NW—just one of those things that sits there and makes you wonder about the evolution of displays, right? It’s a solid little piece of kit, but man, does it make you think about how much we take for granted these days. Anyway, just my two cents while I sit here staring at the screen. So, I was looking at the Logitech X530 again today—you know, that setup I’ve been running? It’s funny how much we overlook the small stuff until you actually sit down to really appreciate the gear sitting right in front of you. Is it life-changing? Probably not for everyone, but for my desk, it just works. Sometimes you don't need a massive, overpriced studio rig when you've got something reliable like this tucked away. Just one of those things that makes the workspace feel complete, I guess. So, I've got two of those Logitech Precision gamepads lying around—just sitting there. Honestly, sometimes you look at your gear and wonder why you didn't grab more when you had the chance, or why you bought them in the first place? Who knows. Anyway, just a heads-up that I'm holding onto two of these Logitech Precision controllers.
Cooler Master Elita 335 Seasonic 430W ASRock 870 EXTREME3 - AMD 870 AMD Athlon II x4 640 BX 3.0 2 2x2GB Kingmax 1333MHz CL9 Dual-channel DDR3 XFX HD6850 775M 1GB DDR5 Western Digital Blue 1TB - basically a month old Intel x25m 160 It’s without an OS—meaning I've got Windows 7 on there, though it crashes more often than I’d like to admit—so, what can I realistically get for the whole bundle? Or better yet, what’s the breakdown if someone wants to pick through it component by component? Anyone actually interested??
So, I finally picked up an SSD—exciting times, right?—and while digging through some reading material, I stumbled upon this bit of advice: "Basically, you should disable virtual memory because this macOS setting is the absolute worst thing you can do to your SSD's lifespan. But—and this is a big but—before you go ahead and flip that switch like we discussed earlier, you’ve got to meet one specific requirement regarding your RAM capacity. If you want to kill off the paging file, you really need at least 8GB of RAM under the hood. Otherwise, macOS 7 is going to run out of breathing room for system tasks and apps almost instantly. This is especially true if you're the type who likes to fire up a dozen different programs all at once. If your RAM is low, don't touch the virtual memory settings. Just accept it, or risk tanking your SSD's performance and cutting its life short significantly." So, because of that... http://www.bozzabench.com/Tests/Test...SD-diskom.aspx
So, I'm looking at this ASUS ROG Maximus paired with an AMD 870 setup—just sitting here thinking about it—and honestly, where do we even start? It’s one of those builds that makes you wonder if we're chasing performance or just chasing the feeling of finally getting everything to play nice together. Is it worth the headache? Maybe. Or maybe we're all just spinning our wheels. Who knows? So, I'm looking at this old setup—just some dusty Corsair Vengeance DDR3 modules, specifically the 2 x 2 GB 1333 MHz CL9 variety—and it really makes you wonder where the time went, doesn't it? It’s one of those "is this even worth my time?" moments. Does anyone else ever just stare at their hardware and feel a sudden, inexplicable wave of nostalgia mixed with mild annoyance? Probably just me. Anyway, back to the specs... So, I'm looking at picking up another 2x2 GB of RAM—because apparently, my current setup just isn't enough—and I noticed something kind of weird. Why on earth is that Kingmax 2x2 GB kit running at 1600 MHz actually cheaper than the 1333 MHz version?! It feels like one of those "wait, is this a glitch in the matrix?" moments. Anyway, would that 1600 MHz stuff actually work for me? Or am I just asking for trouble?