Posts by Christian Torres3

And here we go again, the same troll keeps looping back to this thread with zero response.

Gary Perez7 said:The problem is this guy isn't even digging into the details. He just swallows whatever the mainstream media feeds him.
Just like how Fox News does it, for example.

Mainstream media isn't some holy grail of truth, just like those alternative outlets aren't. I don't get why people obsess over reading "indie" news like it’s some guaranteed badge of quality. It’s all the same.

When fifteen different forum users can all claim to be experts on the same topic, what's the point of having a moderator? The whole thing becomes completely pointless.
Seriously, what can they even moderate? They know way less than the people actually driving 99% of the conversation here.
How the hell can he moderate anything for them?

Doesn't really affect me personally, but here’s my two cents: the forum rules are his Constitution. The mods and admins are the only ones who get to interpret them. You don't need to be an expert on a subject just to moderate a thread.

Paul Kern12 said:Even that isn't right. As far as I know, nobody was actually calling for her to be killed. That's why I said that post was the final straw for me.

There was plenty of heat on both sides. Honestly, this whole thing is just absolute garbage, to put it mildly.

Stuff like this needs moderation, but I didn't see anyone raising an eyebrow when they were calling Hillary a pedophile and dumping all those other ridiculous lies on her.

Raymond Hernandez10 said:What’s the best GPU I can grab for around $233?
I know I won't get much, but I'd just be playing games from 2013 or earlier.

New or used? An ATI 7850 would probably be plenty for what you're looking for, and you can definitely find one in that price range.

Kimberly Gomez34 said:A 504W rating on the +12V rail might technically cut it, but I suspect that once you push the system hard, the actual build quality of the power supply will start to show its flaws—and let’s be honest, these units aren't exactly top-tier.
I've seen plenty of people on various forums running an Radeon HD 7950 just fine on an EVGA 550W Core Edition (which puts out 528W on the +12V rail), even when paired with a 125W FX processor; it might have been a bit louder under load, sure. Various 550W Gold-rated units are slightly more robust, offering around 540-550W on the +12V rail, and they're frequently a step up in quality compared to Bronze-rated PSUs, though that isn't a universal rule. For instance, moving up to reliable 600W Bronze models—like those from Fortron—and anything above that would be a smart choice for an Radeon HD 7950.

Hold on. Looking at it this way, for an extra 150 bucks...$67 you end up with a much better power supply in the long run. It's just smarter.

Kimberly Gomez34 said:There is absolutely no way that unit can handle an R9 290/390. According to the official Corsair website:

VS Series PSUs are the entry-level line of 240 Volt power supplies with high-end features. VS Series PSUs are a great choice if you’re building a home or office system with lower power demands, but you still demand the compatibility and reliability that Corsair is known for.

Think of it as a slightly higher-quality budget option compared to something like an EVGA or similar brand—perfect for a standard office PC or maybe a light budget gaming build.

Some people actually run a 290/390 with a VSom, and if you ask directly on the Corsair forum if a VS550 can handle that kind of setup, the moderator basically says yeah, it works. But honestly? The consensus seems to be that for a 390, you really want a PSU pushing 600W of actual power, whereas the VS550 only puts out 504W.

Alexander Moore67 said:It’s those cheap Chinese capacitors, and that's the whole issue. The claim about them using Japanese parts is a lie, and besides, that link you sent is for the VX, which is a completely different story.

You're right about that first link, my bad. And regarding the VS550, I see everyone shouting "bad caps, bad caps," but on Amazon.com, out of 90+ users, it's got a 4.5/5 rating. As far as I can tell, I don't see enough actual issues with them to say they're above average.

Anyway, the OP has recommendations and opinions, so I guess they'll figure out what to pick.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Nah, that's a terrible power supply. Especially for a build at this price point where you actually have some decent options to choose from.

Fine, for $150$67 they could definitely grab something better, but what exactly makes this unit so bad? The VS Series PSUs are just Corsair's entry level line. They're all five-star rated, so where's the proof? Where are the users actually complaining about bad experiences?

Alexander Moore67 I can't believe this. Seriously?
I'm looking at a PC build around... $2667 I wouldn't be caught dead putting a Corsair VS series PSU in my build.

N/A
Steady rails.
Look at that ripple—or rather, the total lack of it. You honestly won't find many power supplies this clean.
What a steal! $100? That’s absolute madness—pure insanity, I’m telling you!
Solid aesthetics.
Full sleeves on a budget? Now we're talking!
Japanese caps FTW!

The bad.
Loose screws? That's a disaster waiting to happen.
The Mediocre:

The sleeving doesn't even reach the top.
What if that plastic fan deflector just pops off? Total disaster waiting to happen.
That "leaning transistor of doom" thing? Honestly, it’s not even that big of a deal.
Wattage label is hidden. Link? Where? Give me the link!

If you’re looking for a solid PSU under $50, the VS Series PSUs are hands down the best move you can make. No contest. It's an incredible unit—clean design, a quiet 120mm fan, and plenty of ports. Honestly, we went looking for flaws just to be thorough, but we couldn't find a single thing wrong with it. Best buy, period. [Link]

Pretty solid PSU for this category.

Cooler Master Hyper TX3i evo, $57
Zalman Z3 mid Tower case, $101
ASRock Z170A-X motherboard, LGA 1151: $303
Intel Core i5-6402P processor: 1,$156
Corsair VS Series 550W power supply: $138
Crucial BX200 240GB SSD, SATA3: $180
Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD, 3.5", 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA3: $126
Kingston HyperX Savage 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-17000 2133MHz CL13: $130
LG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x: $43
Sapphire Nitro R9 390 8GB GDDR5 Tri-X: 2,$300

= $550, AMD

If you'd rather have an Nvidia card like the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 gaming, 4 GB: 2,$310, price is about the same.

Washington, D.C.? With or without the suburbs?

Regarding the Western Digital drives, all boards support SATA3—unless you meant an M.2 SSD (which the Intel Z170 boards can handle too)?

Charles Martin17 said:I stumbled onto this thread right after my Dell OptiPlex motherboard kicked the bucket last week. It served me well for a solid decade! Anyway, I found this one listed on eBay link.
The price is $67, but it actually comes with the processor and heatsink included. Did I just get played and overpay?
It’s definitely a gamble, though—I have zero clue if the board even works.

Regarding that dead board—if those capacitors are "bulging," you can swap them out for ones with the same specs. It takes some focus and steady hands, but if that's the issue, you can definitely bring the board back to life.

Kimberly Gomez34 said:Look, anything can fail at any time—even the top-tier, premium SSDs if you just have a run of bad luck. A buddy of mine picked up one of these a few months back, and so far, it’s running perfectly fine. Honestly, it would be incredibly helpful if there were actual reliability statistics out there for all these drives, especially those budget brands like Kingston or Crucial, so we could actually make smarter buying decisions.

Look, I get it, I'm being biased because I had a nightmare experience with this drive myself. But if anyone's thinking about buying it, they should definitely go in knowing there's a much higher chance it'll just quit on them.

A little heads-up: the Blast 240 GB is a decent investment while it actually works, but the failure rate is insanely high. If you want to play the lottery with your data, be my guest. Check out the Newegg reviews for the Blast.

crimsonstag84 said:I guess we're looking at an Intel Core i5 4460.
Just looking at the specs for this Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 x gaming GDDR5—980MHz/5700MHz, PCI-E 3.0 x16, with DP and HDMI. It seems like a decent little card, I guess.
Maybe a Raid with PSU 550?
It looks like we're talking about the Gigabyte GA-B85M3333HHA motherboard.
Patriot Blast 240 GB SSD, 2.5", 7mm.

All in all: $1693 I guess it’s just Centro.

Skip the Blast. Mine died on me after just 2.5 months (literally the day before yesterday), and from what I'm reading, those things failing isn't even rare.

mistypilot9 said:So, I fired up The Witcher 3 and played for about 15 minutes, and the peak temperature hit 55 degrees...

My core clock is at 1150 and the memory is at 1500... I guess that means I should probably lower them?

55°C is totally fine. If the thing is actually dying, I don't think tweaking settings is gonna save it.

mistypilot9 said:Never checked the temps, don't have any software installed, and honestly, this whole other thing is news to me.😵

HWmonitor

Look, there are three columns right there. Just download the app, fire up a game, and let me know what your peak temperature hits. Scroll down a bit—the GPU numbers are lower.

Maybe it just needs a good blast of compressed air? Or you might need to swap out the thermal paste on the CPU. Honestly, downclocking isn't a bad call if this thing's been running non-stop for crypto mining.

crimsonstag84 said:It’s probably not going to be worth the upgrade since the GPU is pretty weak—barely better than integrated graphics—and honestly, it just doesn't make sense financially. For $100, you can get an AMD Radeon R7 360 or an NVIDIA GTX 750 that's way more powerful, which is what I'd suggest instead.

Sure, there are stronger options, but this is enough for AutoCAD and some light gaming. And hey, why don't you tell me how quickly you'll get a PC from Downtown? You might wait a day or two, maybe a week, since they don't really keep stock and have to wait for shipments from importers—or maybe it doesn't even show up, so you might end up with better parts or you might not. Meanwhile, at Best Buy, if it's on the price tag, it's actually in stock.

crimsonstag84 said:@Christian Torres3

The build is pretty poorly balanced. I guess the power supply is low-end, the second part is total overkill, the CPU isn't really worth it, and the GPU doesn't offer much more than integrated graphics anyway.

@Anthony Reyes10

Zalman mini tower case black, ZAL-A1
Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm
Thermaltake TR2 450W Bronze
Intel Core i3 4330
MSI H81M-E33
2x Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1866MHz DDR3 CL10
AMD Radeon R7 360 GDDR5 2GB/128bit, 1200MHz/6500MHz, PCI-E 3.0 x16, DP, HDMI, 2x
Patriot SSD Blast R560/W425, 120GB, 7mm, 2.5"

Total: $1359 Downtown ($40-$27 shipping, free assembly)

As far as I know, those programs aren't great at multi-threading, so the i3 might actually be the best call here because of the stronger individual cores. Plus, you get 16GB of RAM, an SSD, and a GPU that's several times faster than a GT 730.

The first one is from Best Buy because that's what he wants. For AutoCAD, unless you're running FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro, it pretty much doesn't matter which card you pick—you'll only see a real difference if you're gaming.