Posts by Patrick Miller8

I wanted to pick your brains regarding those of you running an ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 motherboard... I noticed this software called Microsoft included with the board, and from what I’ve gathered, it supposedly makes games run smoother, right? I just tried to pull the installer straight from the manufacturer's site, but I hit a snag—it keeps throwing some error saying it can't detect a graphics card or something along those lines. So, I figured I'd ask: is this program actually intended to boost the integrated graphics built into the motherboard, or is it meant for my dedicated GPU?🙂

graniteharbor85 said:I think you might have misheard what was actually said.

Fine, 🙂if that's how you want to play it.

Larry Ortiz5 said:It’s perfectly normal behavior; I’m running an i5 4670k myself—which actually edges out yours just a bit—and even when I’m just watching a 1080p video on YouTube, my CPU usage sits right around 50%. Honestly, don't sweat it if your games aren't stuttering; if they run smoothly, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. If you've got some extra cash lying around, you could easily swap out your graphics card, because that i5 of yours can definitely handle some much more demanding GPUs.

Thanks a ton, 🙂 but I’m actually staring at graphics cards right now, debating whether I should pull the trigger on an R9 270X from Sapphire or go with the Gigabyte model... all just to make sure my gaming stays buttery smooth. 🙂

Timothy Kim60 said:maybe this one

It feels like they just hiked the prices up on us. I remember when those Sapphire Dual-X cards were sitting around $220, but now seeing them pushed up to the $260-$280 range? That’s just overkill for a 270x. At the end of the day, you're essentially paying a premium for what is basically just a slightly overclocked HD 7870 that used to go for about $210.

If I actually had to stretch my budget to reach those overpriced Toxic models and whatever else is out there, I’d honestly rather just pick up an NVIDIA GTX 760 and call it a day.

thanks 🙂

Hey everyone, I wanted to pick your brains on something here... I'm running an Intel Core i5-3570K, which, let's be honest, should be a total beast of a processor. It was quite an investment back in the day, and even though I haven't pushed mine with any overclocking yet, I expected more muscle than I'm getting. Here's the deal: I've been playing Minecraft, and whenever I pull up my CPU usage monitor to see what's actually happening under the hood, I see it sitting right around 50% or even higher. Given that this is an i5, I really feel like it should be absolutely crushing a game like this without breaking a sweat. Is seeing usage north of 50% actually normal for this chip when running Minecraft?
Just for context, I'm running an ASRock Z77 Extreme4 motherboard paired with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti
---------Thanks for the help----------

Ryan Hayes82 said:That Poison card might be the top performer, but let’s be real—it’ll cost you a fortune, and we’re getting dangerously close to what an NVIDIA GTX 760 would run you.

Thanks, 🙂

graniteharbor85 said:Gigabyte - it's easily the most budget-friendly option here, and honestly, it has solid overclocking potential too. Plus, you're getting a really decent cooler that actually does its job, all backed by a three-year warranty. It definitely beats out that MSI Gaming series model, which, let's be real, isn't even their top-tier stuff anyway.

Fair enough... thanks. Though, I did read somewhere online that their coolers tend to die off pretty quickly, almost like they design them to fail just to screw you over. Is there any truth to that? 🙂

Alright, I wanted to reach out and get some collective wisdom from you all regarding my next move: which graphics card should I actually pull the trigger on?
My current setup features an Intel Core i5-3570K
running on an ASROCK Z77 Extreme 4 motherboard,
and I'm torn between picking up a Gigabyte R9 270X, a Sapphire Vapor R9 270X, or perhaps the Sapphire Toxic R9 270X version.

----Thanks much----