Posts by Grace Peterson17

driftingwalker19 said:They're quite a bit cheaper than the big names—does anyone know if the quality actually holds up?

A bit 😂

AMD FX-6300 box
ASUS M5A78L-M LX3
DDR3 PC1600 4GB CL11 Crucial
Sapphire RADEON R9 270X Dual-X OC with Boost
Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7.2k SATA III 32MB
XFX PRO550W
LC-Power PRO-923B - Red Captor

4 $20 Newegg

lonepilot51 said:Honestly, this setup is just junk—both the power supply and the case. It’s a pretty terrible combination, if you ask me. I really can't wrap my head around what you're trying to achieve here; looking back ten years ago, if I were in your shoes, I would have invested in a proper, high-quality case instead of settling for this cheap stuff—I probably would've put that saved cash toward better internal components instead! And that LG power supply? Total garbage, just wait and see how quickly it fails you.

☕

crimsonstag84 said:M5A99X EVO R2.0 108e 😱

I'm placing my order for 😬

🤣🤣🤣 It’s kind of ridiculous, isn't it? Just read what I actually wrote 🙄

Brian Campbell6 said:Uh, I really need to look into this—it’s all pretty new territory for me, and I honestly don't know much about any of it.

Which online store is the most affordable or just generally the best here in America? And is it actually worth ordering from the US and dealing with the shipping, customs, and taxes, or would it be smarter to stick to Europe??
I'm talking about everything—warranties, prices, and all that jazz.

Well, looking at the options here in the States, you have a few online shops where you can pay cash and just wait for components to hit the warehouse—which, by the way, can sometimes take up to a week—like Uzishop or Diskont24. As for ordering from the US... honestly, forget about it. Sure, the parts themselves might be cheaper, but when you do the math—summa summa—you end up paying basically the same amount, and in some cases, even more once you factor in the customs and taxes. Plus, there's the warranty issue; if you buy from the US and something breaks, you're stuck shipping it right back across the ocean. 🤣 Regarding Europe, I think the guys over there are the best—not necessarily because they're the cheapest, but because their selection is incredible. Their components can be slightly more affordable, though nothing crazy, but they definitely offer a much wider and better variety than what we see locally. There are two specific shops that seem pretty solid regarding price and they ship here quite easily—FunTech.si and Mlacom.si.

Brian Campbell6 said:Hi there!

So—if we happen to come into a little extra cash, my girlfriend and I are looking at putting together a new PC. Since her career revolves around Adobe Premiere work, we’re trying to figure out what kind of configuration actually makes sense for her needs. We actually had a bit of a lucky break recently because she was issued a workstation for her job—which was a huge relief!—but until we have the funds for our own setup, we'll be fixing up this old machine. Regardless, before we pull the trigger on anything new, we want to do our homework and gather as much info as possible.

What we're really looking at is the CPU, motherboard, RAM, and potentially a GPU.
We’re currently using an M-Audio sound card, and the monitor is a Samsung Dell UltraSharp, which does the trick just fine. Our DVD and Blu-ray burners were actually brand new as of last month, the power supply is a Corsair TX650, and the graphics card is a Sapphire ATI HD5670.
I'm wondering which processor, motherboard, and RAM combo would be best, and whether we even need to bother upgrading the GPU.
Just to be clear, gaming isn't even on the radar here—so that's definitely not a factor we need to consider. This machine is strictly for professional video and audio recording, editing, and photo processing. It's purely a tool for work.

My current thinking is

CPU

Motherboard

RAM

Also, I'm curious about the differences between Socket 2011 versus, say, 1155 or 1150. Which one offers better performance, and more importantly, which one gives us better upgrade paths if something fails? I'd love to avoid ending up like the 775 socket where you're basically stuck with a dead end.

Thanks so much for the help, and sorry for the long-winded post!

I agree—you could probably find a better deal elsewhere since Best Buy can be a bit pricey. You might be better off ordering parts from a major distributor in Washington, D.C. and assembling it yourselves; it's usually the most cost-effective way to go. Also, what kind of budget are we talking about here?

Since I don't know your specific budget, I'll just throw out what I think would be sufficient for the professional workload you described—and honestly, this should leave you enough left over to grab a decent graphics card too.

Intel Core i7 4770 Processor
Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 Motherboard (1150, iB85, D3, S3, U3, DVI, A)
Kingston DDR3 1600MHz, C11, 16GB (2x 8GB)
Gigabyte GeForce GTX760 OC Graphics Card, 2GB GDDR5, DVI, DP

$6,017.96 via local retailer

Alexander Moore67 said:Look, this forum is meant to be a space where we actually help one another out—it’s about support, not tearing people down. You keep saying you're going to walk away from the community, but...😕

I honestly believe that while your intention is to help everyone who walks through these digital doors, you’re actually being counterproductive—especially when you flip-flop on your opinions regarding graphics cards several times within a single ten-hour window. It just ends up confusing the poor person seeking actual advice, and frankly, it creates a bit of an awkward vibe for the rest of us hanging out here. Now, don't get me wrong—I'm certainly no saint myself—but I really can't stand it when someone lacks a firm sense of their own perspective. And that's not even mentioning the rest of the crowd on this forum who basically just act like a mindless echo chamber—people who spend 90% of their time lurking in the gambling sub-forums rather than contributing anything meaningful. Not to mention that massive misconception floating around about the GTX 980 being inferior to the R9 380; that claim is fundamentally flawed, specifically in cases where... $1000 Look, if we’re talking about that $2,500 price point—well, if the prices are identical, there’s really no point in even debating it, is there? It's a non-issue. I’ve been lurking around this hardware subforum for quite a long time now, and honestly, I’ve seen just about everything—from people making absolute messes of their PC builds to some truly wild, baseless claims and, frankly, some pretty immature attitudes from certain users here. My philosophy has always been simple: go for whatever gives you the best bang for your buck. I stick to that rule, period. If that doesn't sit well with some of you, fine—but please, don't try to lecture me by implying I don't know the difference between NVIDIA and AMD or other similar little catchphrases. Honestly, those kinds of arguments just make me laugh... ☕

Larry Ortiz5 said:Conan123

Here you go—Windows 7 SP1 x64,x86 all versions. To be clear, we’re talking about totally legitimate, free, original setups straight from Microsoft. By that, I mean nothing has been messed with or tampered with like those sketchy windows you find floating around on torrent sites. Once you download it from the link provided, you'll have it as an ISO file; from there, just burn it onto a blank DVD so you've always got a backup ready to go. When you start the installation process and hit that step asking for a product key, just skip it. Once the install is finished, you can just Google how to activate Windows 7, or better yet, shoot me a private message here on the forum and I'll send you the link myself... 👍 Then you'll have fully activated windows ready to roll—they pass Microsoft validation perfectly, so you can run Windows Update and everything else without any issues. Honestly, it's pretty much like if you had walked into a Best Buy and bought them yourself...

But he won't be able to run updates, you know? 😂

Well then, why don't you just $267 go ahead and "update" it every single day 🤣

Sam Rodriguez55 said:http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/get-windows ???

Honestly, man—don't go buying that. You're basically just throwing money down the drain! Just grab a cracked version instead; you can get it installed easily enough and then you won't have to worry about it anymore. ☕

graniteharbor85 said:From what I can gather, you’ve mostly been suggesting AMD setups where those CPUs act as a bottleneck for an R9 280 or even an RTX 3060—which, granted, isn't happening in every single title, but you definitely feel the sting in those more CPU-heavy games.

So, you got called out right here 😉

Well, if that's how we're playing it, then fine! 😉

graniteharbor85 said:Timothy Fisher79

I recommended an ASUS M5A97 R2 for his build, but then you go and suggest a lower-tier AS ROCK 970 EXTREME 3—even going as far as to say he should grab it if he plans on overclocking. Honestly, talk about "expert" advice around here ☕

Hahahahha, well, I was the one who suggested the ASUS M5A97 R2 first, only to get roasted by everyone saying the AS ROCK 970 EXTREME 3 was the bare minimum... so, who's the expert now?

Sam Rodriguez55 said:Hey, if you were me, what would you swap out?

Alright Timothy Fisher79, let's get down to brass tacks—do you actually agree with the configuration or not? And who was it that mentioned getting a beefier power supply, maybe something north of 550W with a 3-year warranty? Because if that's an option, I'm definitely pulling the trigger on that.

Honestly, it’s a solid build. The only thing I might tweak—if you're really looking to push some serious overclocking—would be grabbing a different motherboard, something like a high-end ASUS ROG series. But personally, if I were in your shoes, I’d probably opt for the Microsoft-Apple setup since it's available to you anyway... and yeah, stepping up to a higher-quality power supply would definitely be a smart move.

Timothy Kim60 said:What are you even talking about, 🤷—they offer assembly services, just like Amazon does.

But honestly, it’s not like buying from Wayfair is so much cheaper right now that it's worth waiting around for them to finally open up their doors.

I actually had no idea they did assembly... my bad!

Drew Sanchez82 said:What on earth are you calling advertising 😕
I just shared the best deals my search on Amazon turned up—if those two happen to be from the same vendor, honestly, that’s hardly my concern.
You're still a bit green on this, aren't you?

If I were actually trying to push an agenda, I would have sent a link to ADM instead, since I definitely prefer them over Protis.

Look, everything has its drawbacks, but you can't have your cake and eat it too, right? 😁
But for that price point, you really can't beat this mouse.

And who exactly told you that? I genuinely don't follow.

Honestly, it all feels like the same old nonsense—you’ve got one group shouting AMD, AMD, AMD!!!! and then the other side screaming Nvidia, Nvidia, Nvidia!!! It’s honestly pretty sad that people on this forum don't seem to look at things with any sense of objectivity or realism, and I’m not just talking about GPUs here; I mean every single component. There is this constant, stubborn agreement on absolute garbage hardware, and I can't tell if people are doing it on purpose or if they genuinely have no clue what they're talking about... granted, there are exceptions, of course (Gefutko, Timothy Kim60, John Doe, Elon Musk)... but frankly, I’m done. I’m stepping away from this forum because I just don't have the energy to deal with these puffed-up types who think they’ve swallowed all the wisdom in the world and overcomplicate simple builds instead of actually making things easier...

Best regards,

Alexander Moore67 said:You can't overclock this board. It only has 3+1 phases and zero VRM cooling.
At the very least, you need an Asrock 970 Extreme3 R2.

You're absolutely right, Alexander—it’s true. But if we go down that route, we start drifting pretty far away from what was originally intended as a "budget" build—though, I really hope he doesn't run into issues later and decides he can swing a little extra $67 to pick up a 970 motherboard instead...

Sandra Vaughn said:Don't get me wrong, but I remember just a few weeks ago Grace Peterson17 couldn't even tell the difference between Intel and AMD, and now suddenly they're out here putting entire PC builds together? It feels like a bit of a leap. 😁

What are you even talking about? Seriously—about a month and a half ago, I sent over a few inquiries regarding some parts because, honestly, I was a little lost when it came to the whole assembly process (it’s been maybe five years since I really spent any serious time doing that kind of thing). But now? Now I’m here every single day helping folks pick out their gear, and I’ve actually put together a few full rigs already. It seems like you're just one of those people who loves to stir the pot—you know, someone who waits for things to boil over just so they can jump in and start an argument, right?

So, I've been spending quite a bit of time lately thinking about the Intel Core i5-4670—you know, that reliable workhorse we've all used at some point—and honestly, looking back at its performance profile, it really holds its own. It’s one of those components that just seems to strike that perfect balance between being capable enough for daily tasks and staying remarkably steady under pressure. I was tinkering with my setup recently, and even with modern hardware breathing down its neck, there's something almost nostalgic about how smoothly it handles a standard workload. It isn't exactly a powerhouse by today's standards, of course, but if you aren't trying to run cutting-edge AAA titles at max settings, it still feels surprisingly snappy. Just a little something to ponder while I'm upgrading the rest of my rig!
The ASRock H87 Pro4—now that's an interesting little board to dive into. I've been spending quite a bit of time looking over its specs lately, and honestly, it’s one of those pieces of hardware that really makes you appreciate how much we can get out of a solid, reliable build without having to break the bank on something overly flashy. It’s got that perfect balance of utility and performance that I just love.
I’ve been looking into picking up a Kingston Technology HyperX red 8GB DDR3-1600MHz Kit—just one of those little component upgrades that feels like it might actually make a difference. It’s a solid little kit, really, and I'm thinking about whether it's worth the squeeze for my current setup.
I was just looking over the specs for the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2 GB—it’s one of those pieces of hardware that really makes you stop and think about how far we've come. It's a solid little card, though, even by today's standards if you're just looking to get some decent performance without breaking the bank at a local Best Buy.
I've been looking at this Toshiba 1TB 3.5" drive—you know, the 7.2k SATA ones with the 32MB cache—and I'm just weighing my options for some extra storage space. It’s one of those reliable, workhorse drives that you can almost set and forget, though sometimes I wonder if I should be investing more in higher-capacity setups instead. Still, for a standard bulk storage solution, it seems like a solid, dependable choice.
I’ve been looking closely at the Kingston Technology SSDNow V300 120GB lately—just one of those little components that really changes your day-to-day experience once you finally get around to installing it. It's funny how we spend so much time obsessing over massive GPUs or high-end processors, yet a solid entry-level drive like this can make an aging machine feel almost snappy again. It’s definitely a budget-friendly way to breathe some life into an older build, even if it isn't exactly top-of-the-line performance by today's standards.
LG GH24NSB0
I’ve been spending some time looking into the Corsair CX600M lately—just one of those components that sits in the background of your build but really holds everything together. It’s a solid, reliable unit if you're looking for something dependable without breaking the bank, though I always find myself overthinking these power supply choices!
I’ve been spending quite a bit of time lately tinkering with my setup—you know how it goes—and I finally decided to give the Cooler Master Silencio 550 a proper run for its money. Honestly, if you're like me and you value a little peace and quiet while you're working or gaming, this case is something you really need to look at. It’s one of those rare pieces of hardware that actually lives up to the hype regarding noise dampening. The build quality feels solid—not that cheap, flimsy plastic feeling you get with some of the budget options out there—and the way it handles vibration is just impressive. It’s got this quiet, understated elegance that fits perfectly on a desk without screaming for attention. I did find myself fiddling with the internal layout for a bit longer than intended—my own obsessive nature, I suppose—but once everything was seated, the airflow and the silence were both surprisingly well-balanced. If you're looking to turn down the volume on your PC without sacrificing too much on aesthetics, I can't recommend this one enough.
The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo—honestly, it’s such a classic in the PC building world that I feel like we should probably give it a little nod every now and then. It’s one of those components that just seems to stay relevant, regardless of how much the hardware landscape shifts around it. If you're looking for something reliable without breaking the bank, this thing really hits that sweet spot. It’s dependable, straightforward, and honestly, a bit of a legend in its own right.

I'm thinking about adding a Samsung S24B150BL to my setup—it looks like a solid choice.

$3013 Amazon.com

Here’s an example of what I was telling you about—you can grab this exact same build around August 1st once the shop officially goes live. Honestly, I just put the specs together early so I wouldn't forget them—anything more than this is really overkill! You're looking at a killer processor that handles every modern game without breaking a sweat—it's a total beast. The motherboard is definitely on the budget side, but man, does it punch above its weight class. For gaming, you really can't do better than 8GB of RAM. The graphics card is an absolute monster too, performing right up there with an R9 280X. Plus, combining a 1TB hard drive with an SSD is such a solid way to ensure the system stays snappy while still having plenty of room for storage. It's a real bargain—you get an 80+ Bronze power supply from Corsair, an aftermarket cooler to keep everything running ice-cold under pressure, and a case designed to keep all that noise tucked away.

Sam Rodriguez55 said:Alright, no worries—I can wait a little longer. But please, do include an option for both an SSD and an HDD because, as cosmicseal98 mentioned, Windows boots up in about 6 seconds that way. I’m really over the constant stuttering while Far Cry loads. I assume we'd be ordering the parts from Amazon.com, but what about the actual assembly? Any recommendations there?

By the way, I'm weighing my options between an R9 290 or maybe just two 270s. I just can't deal with Chris lagging at this price point...

You'll definitely want an SSD in that setup—trust me on that. And look, you won't have any "stuttering" issues with your games as long as you install them directly onto the SSD; if you stick them on an HDD, of course, things are going to load a bit slower. Regarding those two 270 cards—personally, I'm against that idea. It's much better to go with one powerful graphics card right out of the gate rather than starting with two weaker ones; otherwise, you'll find yourself pretty much cornered when you eventually want to upgrade your GPU later on. Now, regarding Amazon.com, they operate strictly as an online retailer—basically, you order your components, pay the money, and then wait about five days for everything to arrive at their warehouse before they ship it straight to your door. They don't offer a custom assembly service like Future or Center does, so the ball is in your court. You can either order the parts and put it together yourself (believe me, it isn't rocket science—just watch a 10-minute "how to build a PC" tutorial on YouTube and you'll be good to go), or you can opt for cheaper components and let the guys at the local shop deal with the headache of putting it all together... personally, I handled the assembly myself and I don't regret it one bit. 🙂