Posts by brightviper13

🙂

Alexander Moore67 said:Just trolling at this point.

Jeffrey Peterson said:Give me a break, seriously...

Then explain why my take is wrong. You didn't actually ask for my reasoning; you're just talking just to hear yourself talk. Personally, I'm not a fan of certain specs on this board. But since you seem to have all the answers, why don't you tackle the big question: WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS IN A MOTHERBOARD? I've seen plenty of vague questions about it, but I haven't seen a single concrete answer yet.

Kenneth Jackson3 said:What would be my best GPU option for this

AMD Athlon II X4 640, AM3 socket, 3.0GHz
M2N32-SLI Deluxe
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD...eless_Edition/

I realize it's probably not the best setup, but I don't have the budget to upgrade my motherboard or processor right now.

Thanks.

The processor is decent enough, though the motherboard isn't much to write home about. Anyway, what kind of budget are we looking at for the card? How much are you planning to spend? Also, I need to know exactly what power supply you're running—brand and wattage.

shadowjackal16 said:I checked on eBay, but didn't find anything. 🙏
Do you think it's possible to find something slightly better for that kind of money?
I'm torn between the Nvidia 8800 gts and that Radeon card.

The 8800 gts seems like a much stronger card to me, though I suppose there's the issue of your power supply. Since you didn't mention the brand, it's hard to say for sure, but from what I can see, that card pulls quite a bit of power, which might cause some problems.

shadowjackal16 said:I need PCI-E support. Power supply is 400W, resolution is 1366x768, aiming for 200-$83.

What are your thoughts on this one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Radeon-X1950...item3a7b5f4eef

I don't see why you're looking at eBay when there's stuff on Craigslist
http://www.craigslist.org/search/image?query=X1950

Benjamin King2 said:For $200, you might only find something like a 6670 that’s roughly on par with your current card.

This one is a decent step up: http://www.craigslist.org/listing/graphics-cards-ad-6400254

Based on the testing, the 260 is about two steps stronger.
http://www.hwcompare.com/1733/geforc...0-216sp-55-nm/
But even this 9800 isn't actually that pathetic at HD resolution.
I suppose it’s not entirely clear why, but if you look at the pixel rate, texel rate, and memory bandwidth, the difference becomes apparent.
Just looking at the number of CUDA cores—listed there as unified shaders—and the bus width, the gap seems obvious enough.
I also notice that the 5670 doesn't differ much in FPS from the 9800 GT, despite the common assumption that these cards are weak or the jokes people make when they see them.
http://www.hwcompare.com/156/geforce...adeon-hd-5670/

Jesse Brown90 said:What’s the deal with graphics cards lately? It’s all just a massive mess. I need
someone to explain this to me. I see these high-end cards out there that only have a 128-bit bus,
yet I’m still sitting here with my old Nvidia 9800 that has a 256-bit bus. How does that even work?

If you used a slightly more coherent analogy than a "massive mess," it might be easier to explain the difference. It’s like looking at a car with a 1.6-liter engine and wondering why your 2.5-liter engine is being outperformed by some small-displacement turbo that leaves you in the dust at the starting line.😂

Alexander Moore67 said:I suppose the Nvidia GTX 460 DDR5 offers only a marginal improvement over the 4870 DDR5.

I suspect we're seeing weaker cards actually outperforming the Nvidia GTX 460. Maybe I'm misreading the data, but that seems to be the case.

Alexander Moore67, you haven't actually proven anything besides the fact that you enjoy mocking my posts. I'll admit I didn't read closely enough at first; I missed that it specified an HD 3870 followed by a 4850, rather than a used HD 4870 DDR5. My mistake, I guess.

crimsonstag84—where exactly are you getting the idea that the GTS 450 (DDR3) struggles just as much as the HD 6670 (DDR5)? I guess you could provide a source for that.

And also for... $200 What can really be said about choosing between older tech like the 4870 versus something newer like the GTS 450? I suppose it depends on what you're looking for, but it's a bit of a toss-up.

Here is one for $200 that performs about the same as a 4870. http://www.amazon.com/products/detail...1gb-ddr3/45625 (Palit GTS450/1GB DDR3 Graphics Card)

Joseph Wood42 said:Look, my main priority for getting a card is gaming. I gave you a rough idea of my current setup, so what I really need to know is whether one of those two options would actually provide a noticeable improvement in performance or visual quality on my specific rig.

It might be worth the investment to an extent, though you'll likely see diminishing returns on medium settings or if you're using a non-HD monitor.
If you happen to come across a 5670 or a Radeon HD 6670, I'd suggest grabbing one of those. Generally speaking, anything from the 6 series up is a solid choice; the 5 series is just mediocre by comparison.

Joseph Wood42 said:So, I guess it boils down to whether having more bits actually matters—like, should we be aiming for at least 128, or is that overkill? 🤷

It’s all just a marketing gimmick, really. They push the numbers to make it look impressive, so everyone fixates on that 2 GB of VRAM. But if that card only ends up utilizing half of it during actual use, then having that extra capacity is essentially pointless. I guess it's just more fluff for the specs sheet.
It’s critical that we aim for at least DDR3, though DDR5 would be significantly better. You really want to prioritize a wider memory bus—something like 128-bit at a minimum. Regarding processing power, you should look for a high count of stream processors if you're going with an AMD card, or CUDA cores if you're looking at NVIDIA. I suppose it’s a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison, since one NVIDIA CUDA core is roughly equivalent to six stream processors, but that's just my take on it.
There are plenty of other factors that contribute to a GPU's performance, and I won't bother listing them all here. I suppose you should probably set aside a larger budget than what was previously mentioned. $150.

Joseph Wood42 said:Yeah, just forget about that card. I found a different one for $150, and I suspect it's quite a bit better than that Nvidia
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta...176&psn=&lid=1

$150 It might be worth it if it's new, though. Now that I look at it, you seem to be pushing for 2 GB of memory, but I'm not entirely sure this specific card will even make use of that much capacity. In my opinion, that 2GB figure is likely just a marketing gimmick from the manufacturer.

Joseph Wood42 said:So... I have an Intel dual-core processor at 2.8 GHz and 4GB of DDR2 RAM. I'm looking to pick up a new graphics card, and I was wondering if the Nvidia GeForce GT 530 with 2GB of DDR3 would be a good fit?
Here are the specs: CUDA Cores 96
Graphics Clock (MHz) 700
Processor Clock (MHz) 1400
Memory Clock (MHz) 898
Standard Memory Config 2GB DDR3
Maximum Resolution 2560x1600
HDMI, DVI-I
And I should mention, it's 64-bit and I have a 400W power supply (just 🙂 )

Where did you even find this card? Where would you buy it and what's the price tag? I checked Nvidia's site and saw it listed as 128-bit.
I need more specifics to give a real answer; there might be better options out there. As for the 400W power supply, that isn't a definitive metric. It depends on whether it's a high-quality unit or some generic no-name brand. Generally, it should run, but it all comes down to the total draw of your components.
I suppose you should check the label on your power supply to see the brand and actual wattage, and let me know exactly which Intel processor you're running, how many hard drives you have, and basically just what kind of PC you're dealing with.

gentlebadger22 said:Since we're talking about 5.25", I mean standard CD/DVD ROM drives—the big ones you find in a desktop tower, to be more precise.
I've also noticed that LightScribe isn't really being built into laptops anymore... nor can you actually find them for sale... I suppose I might be the only one left using LS.

Sent from my iPhone 5

I'm not sure where you were looking, but from what I can see if I dig around online, you can still find laptops with LS, and you can definitely buy both external and internal burners that support it.

gentlebadger22 said:Does anyone know where I can pick up one of these, either new or used? I'm trying to connect a DVD-RW drive to my laptop via USB, but I want it to look decent. Right now, it’s just a mess of a USB-to-SATA converter and a desktop power supply. I found someone on eBay, but the listing seems a bit suspicious—over 400 views already...

Sent from my iPhone 5

I don't see any replies yet. Honestly, I didn't quite follow your post because it was a bit vague. Are you looking for an external hard drive enclosure or a case for an optical drive?

jadesurfer5 said:What worries me most is that the photo shows it running at 200 MHz. I haven't seen anyone selling modules rated at 200... everything out there seems to be 400 MHz.😢
thanks for being patient and helping me out.

I suppose it's likely DDR400, but your BIOS might just be set to run the RAM at half speed via the auto settings. You should probably check the BIOS to see what frequency is actually listed; there's usually an option to manually set it to 400. That would explain why Everest is reading it that way. If you have less memory available, the computer will likely run slower.
If the BIOS settings aren't clear, maybe take a photo of the screen or list the options here so I can take a look.
Here is some info from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR_SDRAM
Essentially, even if it's labeled PC3200 DDR400, it’s currently operating at 200 MHz.

jadesurfer5 said:Alright, I suppose I'll check with the IT department at the university regarding the original Windows license.
To be honest, this memory situation has me a bit uneasy because I actually want to learn how to interpret those spec labels correctly.
Is this supposed to be DDR PC3200 running at 200 MHz? It seems like most retailers carry sticks rated for 400 MHz. I plan on taking it to a local repair shop, but I’d prefer to understand the logic myself first.
thanks

The simplest approach would probably be to just open the case and check the manufacturer and specs printed directly on the modules. You could always take the risk and order something online, but don't come complaining if it doesn't work or if only the specific stick you bought functions while the others fail; as I mentioned before, dealing with older memory can be quite unpredictable.

Larry Ortiz5 said:I assume you actually know what an RTM build is. As for the key, I bought it separately. It’s not like anyone just leaves original product keys lying around, I suppose. 😉

Everything makes sense to me, but since you brought up torrents... honestly, if you had mentioned anything else, I probably wouldn't have cared either. 😂 If you're downloading directly from Microsoft's site, then I suppose I'm the only one with the original version. Still, it's worth considering. $67 If you buy a key, you have to wonder how long it’s actually going to last before it expires. You end up throwing money down the drain, even if the price seems low at the time. I suppose if I were going to buy one, I would just do it the legitimate way. It seems pointless to scavenge keys from random corners of the internet only to buy them later anyway—especially if there's a way to make the whole process simpler while still passing Microsoft's verification.

jadesurfer5 said:Thanks for the deep dive.
I suppose I'll listen to your advice and install Windows 7 32-bit.
I won't do it right away, though; I clearly need to upgrade my RAM first. This machine is about 6 years old... and things are what they are. I wouldn't call myself a power user; I just need software like MATLAB and AutoCAD to handle my coursework at university.
The memory I should be looking for is DDR400 PC3200, right?

Since you mentioned you're at a university, yeah, don't bother stressing over Windows versions. I don't know how your specific school handles it, but if they provide you with licenses, just use the official ones. Whatever you do, don't go downloading pirated copies from torrent sites.🤣

I believe it was sourced from torrents.org😂