Posts by George Bishop3

Thanks so much. Would you mind letting me know which store that was?

Peter Green said:What kind of monitor are you running? A standard 1080p 60Hz setup?

It’s just a basic 1080p 60Hz screen. I went ahead and polished up my original post a bit to make it clearer.

Hi everyone! I'm looking to put together a new gaming rig, and my main goal is to get the absolute best bang for my buck while making sure the build is as future-proof as possible.

My initial thought was to hold out for the third-generation Ryzen chips and the new Radeon RX-600 series (or whatever they end up calling them). However, I've been hearing whispers that prices might spike significantly due to those customs tariffs Trump is imposing on China. Since most of this hardware is manufactured over there, it feels like the ripple effect could hit the European Union just as hard as the USA. Plus, if Bitcoin goes crazy again like it did last winter, things could get even more unpredictable. I’m not an expert on macroeconomics, but does anyone here have a better handle on this? I'm not in a massive rush, but if we see a price surge similar to what happened with Coffee Lake recently—or if Radeon cards jump in price early next year—it might actually be smarter to pull the trigger on a build now rather than waiting.

Budget-wise, I’m looking to set aside about $1667. That wouldn't include a monitor or peripherals, and I'm considering a used GPU to make the money stretch (assuming I decide to buy now). I definitely need a case with a transparent side panel and great airflow; I live in a top-floor apartment, and during the summer, my room turns into a total furnace day and night. For the CPU, I want something powerful enough that I won't have to think about upgrading for at least the next 5 or 6 years. Beyond that, I'll just go with whatever the budget allows.

Here is a rough idea of what I'm planning:
Intel Core i5-9600K (I won't be overclocking it)
an A320 motherboard
a 120GB SSD
a 1TB HDD
8GB of RAM
a used GTX 1060 or RX 580—though I'd likely swap that out in about three years if it starts struggling. Alternatively, I could put the remaining funds toward a higher-quality case, a better power supply, or a larger SSD. Or, perhaps it's wiser to just grab a used RTX 3060 or 1070 Ti now and call it a day.
I currently have a 1080p IPS 60Hz monitor, and I don't plan on upgrading that anytime soon, so I won't be pushing any resolutions beyond Full HD.

Thanks so much for your time and help!

crimsonstag84 said:The power supply comes with a 5-year warranty, which usually implies high quality. But honestly, for this specific tier of PSU, that guarantee doesn't mean much—it’s mostly just peace of mind for those cheap, generic units, like those questionable '650W' models you see from $83 ^^)

I noticed in your signature that you're running a Seasonic unit too. It really goes to show that it's worth spending an extra $15 or so to get something reliable like that instead of opting for an EVGA or a Corsair

I’ve heard some talk about power supplies losing their wattage over time, and since I’m planning on keeping this rig running for at least the next three years, I wanted to get your take on it.

Ryan Hayes82 said:1 x Dell UltraSharp Monitor, 23.6" LED, 16:9 (AD-PLS), 1920x1080, D-Sub
1 x Intel Core i5-4460 (3.20GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x Asrock B85 ANNIVERSARY - Supports 4th Gen & 5th
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, Corsair Vengeance, 1866MHz, CL10
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 970 G1 GAMING, 4GB GDDR5, DVI, DP, GVN970G14GD-00
1 x Power Supply SEASONIC 450G, SS-450G, Haswell ready, G series
1 x Zalman R1 mid tower case. 192(W) x 465(H) x 450(D)mm.
1 x HDD Seagate 1TB, Serial ATA III, 7200 rpm, DESKTOP SSHD,8GB SSD

$2795
adm

I really want to thank everyone for taking the time to help me out! I've decided to go ahead with this build. My only lingering doubt is regarding the power supply. I know Seasonic makes great units, but I'm wondering if 450W will actually be enough to sustain this setup reliably over the long run?

This build is going to be used strictly for gaming.
I also need an IPS monitor.
I don't really see the need for an SSD; a standard HDD should do the job just fine for me.
I have a solid discount at Micro Center, so I’ll be picking everything up there. Because of that, my budget can stretch about 300 $133 extra if needed.
Please suggest a reliable aftermarket cooler and a case with good airflow so I don't have to worry about overheating issues down the road.
I'm not planning on doing any overclocking, but I definitely want this rig to be durable and last me a long time.

Thanks in advance!

I have a quick question regarding two different graphics cards:

From what I can gather, these look like the exact same card. Does anyone know why there's about a $10 price difference between them?

I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what this bucket of bolts might be worth:

AMD Sempron 3000+
2x512MB DDR2
GeForce 8400 GS
250GB HDD
Generic 420W power supply
AM2 motherboard with 4 DDR2 slots (2 are currently occupied)
CD/DVD burner

I know this might seem a little embarrassing, but I have one particular piece of ancient tech (honestly, I have several, but let’s use this as the prime example) that I’m hoping to get at least a fair price for:

Motherboard: p4vxasd2+
CPU: Pentium 4 2.6 GHz (Socket 478)
RAM: 1.25GB DDR1
GPU: GeForce 4 MX 440 64MB
HDD: 80GB
PSU: Generic 300W
CD/DVD Drive: Works perfectly
Monitor: 17'' CRT
Mouse and keyboard included
The whole setup runs smoothly. It would be perfect for someone looking for a dedicated media station to watch movies, a basic machine for light tasks, or even just to play some older retro games.

Please, go easy on me with the offers.