Posts by Jason Barrett62

Yeah, but I’m saying in a typical workflow it hits about 40%. Sure, if I fire up Inkscape alongside AutoCAD, or if I’ve got like 100 tabs open or something x (which, let's be honest, isn't exactly a daily thing), then usage spikes.



This is what's tripping me up. This is what "average" usage looks like on my machine. I don't get why "in use" is sitting at 4.5 gigs when the total sum of all my apps is just over 1 gig. Look, I get that there are other background processes, but we're talking about a 3.5 gig gap here. It feels like everything is just vanishing into a black hole. Maybe I'm just missing something obvious lately.🙂

Need a quick reality check on whether I should grab another stick of RAM or if I'm just chasing ghosts. Looking at Task Manager, my memory usage sits at a steady 40-50% minimum, assuming the thing is actually reading right.

The setup: i5 4460, already running two 4GB sticks (1866MHz), MSI GTX 750.

Not gaming much lately—though that might change 🙂—but my main heavy lifting is just programming. I’ve got Adobe Visual Studio open, two browsers with a mountain of tabs, and a bunch of other background junk.

I'm not sure if an extra 4GB would even move the needle, or if I should just hold off since RAM prices seem higher than they used to be. Thoughts? 🙂

Yeah, building on a budget is always a headache. 😁 Everything has its pros and cons. For one, you can always pick up an SSD or a dedicated GPU later once you actually have the cash, and just live without them in the meantime. That’s basically the whole point of a desktop—you upgrade whenever and however you feel like it. On the flip side, I get why people go the APU route as a quick fix; it’s probably the smartest move if you're looking at a two-year window. But like someone mentioned earlier, it’s a bit of a dead end. Aiming for an Intel socket like 1150 or an AMD AM3+ feels like a better long-term play, though if you're buying a bottom-of-the-barrel motherboard, you have to wonder how "long-term" that really is.

Helping a buddy put together a build. Needs everything—full tower plus a monitor. Just a heads-up, the only thing we already "have" is a single 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 stick of RAM.

The total budget for both should be around $400 (maybe a bit more if there's a good deal, paying cash). As for what he needs, it’s for standard multitasking, media, Microsoft Office work, and some light gaming—something like being able to run League of Legends on decent settings.

For the monitor, just needs to be 24 inches with Full HD resolution.

If we skip the dedicated GPU, the motherboard would need an HDMI port (needs to connect to a TV, not just a monitor).

Also, regarding an SSD—for this budget and these specific tasks, I don't think it's strictly necessary. Not sure what everyone else thinks?

Overall, I think the CPU is the most critical part here. Lately, I've been leaning toward Intel over AMD (which is what I personally use), and that choice dictates whether we go with a discrete graphics card or not. Regarding the idea of "buying a GPU later," I have to say I'm not a fan of those FM2+ sockets and their APUs. It feels like retailers are just trying to dump old stock of those CPUs and boards, though maybe I'm wrong.

What do you guys think about building around one of those processors and relying on the integrated graphics for lighter titles? Should be enough.
http://www.newegg.com/p/example-link&code=73020ADM

Just wanted to jump in regarding that cooler mentioned as part of the bundle. What exactly are we looking at here?
"Spire Kepler Rev.2, heatsink, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm"

Mainly, I'm wondering how loud this thing is. That’s my biggest concern since my current CPU cooler sounds like a jet engine taking off right on my motherboard. 🙂 Price-wise, it looks decent. It's definitely going to outperform a stock AMD cooler by a mile, but dropping extra cash $67 just for a better heatsink feels excessive to me. Sure, it probably helps with temps or noise levels, but honestly, half the appeal seems to be just for show.