Posts by Larry Bailey94

Look, let’s keep this civil—everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I’m planning to touch base with an IT specialist to get some clarity on the specifics, but here’s my take: the CPU and motherboard are relics from 2007. When I originally picked up this PC, it cost me about $600—it served its purpose, certainly—but I’m no expert on hardware. My goal is simply to build something that will last me the next four or five years without needing another upgrade... that seems like the most logical way to approach this.

EDIT: If anyone feels like helping out—aside from the person who already suggested those Intel builds under $500—please post some quality combinations. To reiterate: I already have a 500GB hard drive and the rest; I just need a new power supply, graphics card, motherboard, and processor.

Timothy Kim60 said:In short—they lie. Those cheap power supplies are falsely labeled—perfectly fine for an office PC, just like the name implies. Even if they aren't lying about the specs, they won't last long under a full load—meaning a higher chance of dying (if they don't outright explode).
With a power supply, the most critical factors are the amperage on the 12V rail and the build quality—capacitors and such. The two I suggested are at least twice as strong as those office units—maybe even three times. They feature quality construction, quiet operation, good cooling, plenty of cables, and various protections that cheap units lack.

BTW—that "600w" one isn't actually terrible; it can hold its own. But if you go with a 100w processor (Intel Core i7-750K) and something like a 7850—better not. It’s okay for an Athlon 740 (65w) paired with an AMD Radeon HD 7770, but you're better off getting something high-quality so you have peace of mind for years. You don't want to be wondering—will this thing actually hold up?—when you eventually try to put it in a new PC or upgrade a component.

aha, alright, I was just curious if this one would work here http://www.amazon.com/power-supply...example

Timothy Kim60 said:There's zero chance that processor is going to keep up with that GPU

If I were you—budget permitting—I’d maximize that GPU discount at Best Buy
1. ATI HD7850
2. Nvidia gtx 650You
3. ATI 7770

Then just order something like this
an AMD Athlon x4 740 or 750 k processor (listed below $200)
a motherboard—at least an ASRock FM2A75M ($150)
one 8GB stick of RAM (maybe $50)

Order it from a cheap online retailer that offers COD shipping (Newegg, Amazon or Micro Center if I recall correctly) + $17 shipping. And if you can't do it yourself, just find someone who knows their way around a screwdriver to build it and drop it off...

Do you have a decent power supply? If not, grab this or this from the site, or maybe a Corsair CX430, a SilverStone Strider 400W, or a Zalman unit from one of those shops (something $117 roughly in that ballpark)

Thanks so much—just one more thing: what's the actual difference between those power supplies and these 600W ones that are even cheaper? I don't get why they're priced so low

THIS ONE
THIS ONE
OR THIS ONE

And I honestly don't know—some people claim that certain folks won't...

David Sanders4 said:If an E8400 at stock speeds can handle an HD7970, then it’ll push an HD7850 without breaking a sweat.

Look, I know I don't fully grasp the technical nuances here—that much is clear—but it seems more logical to just swap everything out for a new motherboard costing maybe a couple hundred bucks. I'd rather not spend my time worrying about whether this setup will hold up for the next few years... so, honestly, I don't mind the extra cost.😁

fadedorca66 said:That’s because that processor isn't going to push that card properly.

From what I can tell, you've got an SSD and everything else required—so when looking at links, aim for something like this:
PC-12800 Memory, 4 GB, CORSAIR CMX4GX3M1A1600C9, DDR3 1600 MHz
XFX AMD RADEON HD 7770 Graphics Card, 1GB DDR5, HDMI, DVI, DP, HDTV
ASROCK B75M-GL R2.0 Motherboard, iB75, DDR3, audio, S-ATA, G-LAN, VGA, PCI-E 3.0, CrossFire, DVI, D-SUB, USB 3.0, mATX, LGA 1155
INTEL Core i3 3220 BOX Processor, LGA 1155, 3.30GHz, 3MB cache, GPU, DualCore
$899

If you can, just grab one 8GB stick of RAM.
Honestly, you could probably put a better build together at a different shop.

Well, if you feel like it, send me a link to a shop with a location in Los Angeles—or one that ships and builds rigs—it doesn't have to be a specific link; if I can find a better deal myself for the same or lower price, just suggest something else.

And if I went with an AMD processor, would it end up being cheaper—assuming a different motherboard and graphics card, obviously?

Well, if that's the case—would anyone here be willing to spare a moment to spec out a build for me? I'm looking for a CPU, GPU, motherboard (if my current one needs replacing), power supply, and the rest of the essentials. My budget is sitting between $2,500 and $2,800, assuming we pull everything from Best Buy 😕
. If you could put together a rig with an AMD processor, that would be ideal—I've heard they're more budget-friendly, and frankly, I have zero interest in throwing money away on Intel if they're going to charge an absolute fortune
.

Benjamin King2 said:Did your motherboard die, or are you just looking for an upgrade? Just make sure it takes DDR2 RAM—otherwise, you'll be stuck buying new memory too.

It didn't die—I'm just swapping everything out... as for the RAM, no worries there; I can pick some up easily.

fadedorca66 said:Let's look at it this way: what's actually in the rig right now? That CPU isn't going to do much for that GPU

Basically—I'm running an Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33 GHz, an ATI Radeon X1550, 2GB of RAM, and a 240W power supply (though I already have a 600W one sitting around waiting for new parts)—my motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-EP31-DS3L, plus a 400GB hard drive, etc., etc... I've got a Samsung SyncMaster 920n monitor that I have no intention of replacing, and I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate

@David Sanders4/">@@David Sanders4, my budget is roughly $500 so there you go.

David Sanders4 said:What do you mean—a 50% discount??

It's long, rambling... let's just get back to the point—it's essentially some kind of reward, I suppose.

Larry Ortiz5 said:The motherboards will work fine with that CPU—as for the GPU, I’d suggest looking at an HD 7770.

Fair enough. Regarding the graphics card, I need something from this site that's compatible with those three options—ideally around $1,000–$1,200 and actually decent. I have to buy through them because I've got a 50% discount on any single GPU, so there's no need for anything overkill; just something mid-range that holds up for the next 3 or 4 years.
http://www.bestbuy.com/?option=katList&...aficke-kartice

copperpanther12 said:http://ark.intel.com/products/30783/...z-1333-MHz-FSB

Supported Sockets: LGA775

Basically—you'll need a motherboard with that specific socket.

Those three options aren't compatible.

Oh, I see—so these should all work then, right? Since they all list socket 775...
http://www.bestbuy.com/...motherboard-example

http://www.bestbuy.com/...motherboard-example

http://www.bestbuy.com/...motherboard-example

Also, if you wouldn't mind helping me out—hardware isn't really my field, I'm more on the software side—would any of these graphics cards actually run on those NEW motherboards mentioned above?

1.http://www.bestbuy.com/...graphics-card-example

2.http://www.bestbuy.com/...graphics-card-example

3.http://www.bestbuy.com/...graphics-card-example
🤷🤷🤷

I was wondering if any of these newer motherboards would actually work with an Intel Core i7 2.33 GHz E6550 processor.
1.

2.

3.

🤷