Posts by brightcyclist63

Is it just me, or does every single debate on these local stations feel like it's designed just to trigger people? I can't even listen to the drive-time shows anymore without feeling like they're just shouting for the sake of engagement. Does anyone actually find these heated rivalries entertaining, or is it all just manufactured drama now?

Does anyone know how long it usually takes for a card to actually show up at your door after you've set everything up with the bank?

I was wondering if we might see some price drops on cards like the GTX 950 or GTX 960 over the next month or so—especially since the 1080 is already out and the 1080 Ti is right around the corner.
If there’s already a thread covering this, could someone please drop a link?

So, here’s the deal—I bought this rig back on May 27, 2013. I know, I missed the official window to drop it off, but honestly, that’s kind of beside the point. Like I mentioned before, the guy actually handling the machine over at the service center is a buddy of my dad's, so I'm hoping he can help me navigate the bureaucracy and get this pushed through despite the deadline. But really, the timing isn't even the biggest headache—the real nightmare is that the processor and motherboard are completely dead. Believe me, I wouldn't be sitting here telling you this if it wasn't true. I'm certain they did a full diagnostic on every single component once I got it in there. If you're wondering what triggered this whole mess in the first place: I’d try to boot it up maybe 15 or 20 times, and all I’d get was "no input signal." Then, after about 15 minutes, it would finally kick on, but then I'd have to sit there for another 10 minutes waiting for the system to stabilize because my monitor was just flickering like crazy. Even when it finally settled down, all the desktop icons were totally glitched out—none of them looked right, and I couldn't click on a single one! After that 10-minute wait, the taskbar was still broken too, so I had to manually launch almost everything using Task Manager. I was pretty convinced the graphics card was the culprit, but—surprise, surprise—it turns out that wasn't the issue at all.

Oh, and one more thing—in case we actually manage to get the warranty claim approved, the option they offered is that I can pick out a brand-new component from their shop and apply the credit from the warranty toward it. You know, sort of like a store credit discount for the repair value, if that makes sense.

They told me the issue lies with both the motherboard and the processor—that I’d need to swap out both components. Honestly, I don't quite get it; it doesn't always mean both have to be dead at once, right? To make matters worse, they were pushing me to hurry up because my warranty was set to expire on May 27th, and now here we are on June 19th and nothing's been fixed.
I suggested just getting a whole new rig, since in my situation, I'm stuck with a graphics card that's basically useless anyway.

Man, this whole situation has turned into such an absolute mess... I just got off the phone with the repair shop, and they told me the graphics card isn't even the culprit. Turns out, the motherboard and the processor are both acting up—basically, they need to be replaced immediately. They mentioned they're going to try and pull some strings with the warranty to see if they can make it work, like some kind of miracle scenario
. But honestly? If they can't get the warranty to cover it, they gave me the worst possible news: I might just have to bite the bullet and buy a whole new PC
. If it actually comes to that, I’m just going to build it myself from scratch. Honestly, buying a pre-built rig from those big-box retailers feels like getting robbed in broad daylight
. That said, if anyone happens to have any solid recommendations for a new motherboard and CPU combo, I’d really appreciate the help

So, when it comes down to the GPU—do you guys honestly think the GTX 950 or the GTX 960 is going to be a better bet than the GTX 750, especially considering everything we have on the horizon and what's coming our way next?

brightcyclist63 said:You're totally right about that, but look—if I'm sitting here with this SanDisk DDR4 4GB stick, I actually have no idea which other 4GB module I can grab that'll play nice with it. I mean, I highly doubt I can just pick up any random stick off the shelf and expect it to work perfectly, you know?

Ah, my bad! I totally missed that suggestion earlier.

wiredotter14 said:I don't get what's happening here. The guy already has 4GB of RAM. Why on earth would he buy an 8GB stick or two 4GB sticks???
What's he going to do with the old stuff then? It's not like it'll just vanish into thin air.

Just post this in another channel and call it a day. Peace out, Mississippi.

You're totally right about that, but look—if I'm sitting here with this SanDisk DDR4 4GB stick, I actually have no idea which other 4GB module I can grab that'll play nice with it. I mean, I highly doubt I can just pick up any random stick off the shelf and expect it to work perfectly, you know?

Kimberly Gomez34 said:? Are you talking about DDR4? Just look at any DDR4 kit

Grab the 4GB sticks, especially if your motherboard has four RAM slots available. Honestly, you won't even need more than 8GB total for gaming purposes.

Eh, I was just doing a little digging and managed to find some Corsair Vengeance DDR3 2x4GB 1600 MHz 1.5v in stock—which is apparently the max speed an i3 can actually handle for $107—so I'll likely just grab those.
I've only got 2 slots left to work with.

wiredotter14 said:It’s better to just grab another 4GB stick instead of that 8GB one.

Yeah, I hear you—but looking at all this new Corsair Vengeance stuff, it feels like they're the gold standard. It seems like none of the newer 2x4GB kits actually support an i3; they're all geared toward the much newer generations.
I mean, I totally get that having two 4GB sticks is going to outperform a single
8
stick. My only real thought is whether I should just grab an exact match for the one I'm already running.

I there's one more thing I'm wondering about—right now I've got this single SanDisk DDR4 4GB stick, and since I'm planning on picking up an 8GB Corsair Vengeance stick to go along with my new GPU, I was thinking... what should I do with this first one?
Can I just leave it in there, or is that going to cause some kind of headache?

Kimberly Gomez34 said:That i3 is more than enough to handle a GTX 1060; an upgrade isn't even necessary right now. What kind of power supply are you running?

BTW, which card actually died on you? If it's still under warranty, you should be entitled to a replacement—you'd only have to pay the difference if the new one costs more than what you originally spent.

I'm not 100% sure about the PSU specs right now because all my paperwork and the PC itself are over at the repair shop... and as for the GPU, I'm basically living in the Stone Age with a GT 630. Honestly, my main priority is just getting something decent, especially since I can use that warranty discount toward a new card.

So, I actually just dropped my rig off at the repair shop because the graphics card finally kicked the bucket—it's pretty urgent, too—and since my warranty is set to expire in just a few days, they mentioned they could hook me up with a discount on a new card if I upgrade now. In that scenario, a GTX 1060 is definitely on my radar, but I have a quick question first... I'm planning on picking up some new 8GB Corsair RAM while I'm at it, so I'm wondering if that card and the RAM will play nice with my old i3-3220 3.30GHz processor and my 500W power supply? On one hand, I've heard that this specific card isn't quite powerful enough to really demand a high-end CPU, but I'd love some peace of mind to make sure everything will actually work together smoothly.

So, I’m basically torn between these two graphics cards—there’s about a $30 difference between them— $167 but my main question is whether there's actually a massive jump in performance. I really don't want to blow an extra $40 if it isn't truly necessary. On one hand, I want to make sure I'm not buying something that'll be obsolete in a heartbeat (like the GTX 1050), but on the other hand, I have to be smart about my budget. I wouldn't call myself a hardcore gamer—I don't need a NASA-grade supercomputer or anything—but I just want to know which of these two makes more sense when you weigh the price, the "shelf life," and the overall quality.