Posts by Sarah Turner98

I won't get us sidetracked into off-topic debates here, because this could turn into a massive rabbit hole if we aren't careful.🙂

Sure, GHz isn't everything, but if you want a GPU to actually crunch data, you need high clock speeds—and that’s still measured in GHz.🙂
The real difference between 65nm and 45nm comes down to die size, lower power draw, and faster speeds...
As for cache? It's alright. Sure, more is better, but anything over 1MB per core is plenty for me.🙂

Jason Lopez2 said:Are these tests done with everything included—like the DVD-ROM, keyboard, mouse—or just the case by itself? Thanks!

edit: that card isn't the standard 1GB version, it's the Cooler Master with 2GB... maybe it draws a bit more power? And will I actually be able to overclock both the CPU and the GPU... after a while? 😁

I'm pretty sure all the tests include the full set of peripherals...
if you actually manage to make use of 2GB on that card with that processor, even Rihanna would give you a standing ovation... 🙂

either that, or just go buy a 5770 and save yourself the headache...

p.s. I hope the cards you're looking at come with a warranty, because betting on a component without one? Not exactly a smart move... $400

Big plus one to James Morris4's explanation...

Just grab the Radeon HD 4890 regardless. 🙂
It’ll still be a beast even after you upgrade your rig later on anyway...
And yeah, they say it pulls 410W at full tilt, but that's an Intel Core i7 we're talking about—that's peak load. I highly doubt you'll have both the card and your CPU pinned at max unless you're running FurMark. 🙂

Jason Lopez2 said:I guess I'll listen to you guys... but if this PSU can't handle the Radeon HD 4890, one of you is buying it for me! 🤣

If it doesn't work (which I seriously doubt), it's easy to flip that Fortress unit—you could probably snag $150-$67 for it no problem. Then just grab something slightly better for maybe $50-$33 more if it's really stressing you out. 🙂

@ Alex Harris32, look, putting a 4890 in that rig would max out at maybe 250-280W. That’s still 130W under a 400W limit—and let's be real, those Fortron 400 W units usually peak around 450W anyway 🙂
so there's zero reason to worry about the PSU... (I'm running a Phenom X4 and an HD5770 myself and haven't had a single hiccup, even with a quad-core instead of a C2D or X2)

Side note: if you aren't obsessed with DirectX 11 and all that nonsense, I'd just grab the 4890 2GB. It's way beefier than the 5770..
But hey, even the 5770 isn't a bad beast for $300 (new ones are going for $1200-$1300 these days) 🙂

quietcyclist74 said:I tried that extension you suggested, but when I plug the adapter into the wall, it makes this buzzing sound if I listen closely—is that supposed to happen? Plus, the hard drive won't even spin up once I connect it.

Maybe the drive is just dead?

Why not pull it out of the case and try plugging it directly into the motherboard via SATA or IDE?

It doesn't really matter, because the adapter covers the whole world. It handles the US 100-120V and the European Union 230V easily since the range goes from 100-240V.
And isn't the frequency in Europe 50Hz, just like it is here in the States?

The only thing you might actually need is a plug converter.
http://www.voltageconverters.com/plug_adapters.html

I'm not entirely sure which specific one you have for your hard drive..

You can probably find it at http://www.newegg.com/ but I can't check right now.

darkmaker94 said:Nah, it's just monthly or quarterly installments in equal amounts. Nobody's handing you a giant lump sum upfront.

From what I can tell, though, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management offers a consumer loan for up to $10,000 over a 5-year term. They don't specify the fine print regarding terms or insurance requirements, though.

By the way, are you 100% sure you actually need this? Starting your life off in debt... hmm...

There was an option to get it all at once to do whatever, but that's gone now. I know for sure because I was looking into it (though I wouldn't have if I hadn't read the bank's website).🙂

I don't think it's strictly "necessary," let me explain my situation...
Once I pass my exams, I'll officially be a junior (my final year). For the last three years (yeah, I failed one class 🙂), I've been scraping by on a few hundred bucks a month.
Like, maybe $500-$600—and remember, I have to eat every single day, buy textbooks, hygiene stuff, household supplies, things like that...
My parents can't really swing $3,000 a month, so I get $2,000 (and 4/5 of that goes straight to rent and utilities).

So, I want a little reward. After finishing sophomore year and starting junior year, I want to live a slightly more comfortable life. I'm tired of constantly stressing over whether I should spend $3.25 on lunch or save my last $20 because I won't have food tomorrow.🙂
Basically, I just want to live a somewhat normal life for this next year without the constant weight. Managing finances is draining my nerves, and trying to calculate how to survive the month? If I calculated this hard in class, I’d win a President's Award.

So, hopefully that explains why I want the loan. And like I said, part of it would probably go toward learning—certificates and stuff, while I still get student discounts at my college.🙂

P.S. Just so you know, I want to take out a max of $1,200$0.00 🙂 so $1,000 a month would be more than enough... I mean, I'm looking at somewhere between $1,000 and $1,700 total. These aren't massive sums like ten thousand dollars or whatever, and it's only for one year of use.🙂

I don't even need tuition money, just enough to cover basic living expenses 🙂

I actually looked into this a few months back while checking out Goldman Sachs, if I recall correctly. You can pick how you want it paid out—monthly, quarterly, every six months... basically whatever works for you

Feels like I might just have to settle for monthly annuities and save up for the big stuff 🙂

Hey,
So, I’ve been thinking—maybe I should just take out a student loan once I hit my junior year in the fall.
I might not have a co-signer ready, but maybe my dad could jump in? He’s got a pretty solid income, so I don't think it would be a huge deal. (Plus, my other parent is working too.)
I want enough to actually live on—like, maybe a monthly installment of around $500? $267 But I also want to pay for this online academy course that costs about $6,000 total ($3,000 per semester).
And honestly, I’d love to pick up a few extra things, maybe another $3,000 or so... so I'm looking at roughly a $1,000 monthly draw plus some cash upfront.
What do you guys think? What’s the best way to pull this off? Any specific banks I should look into?

Also, I can't find anything online about when the repayment actually starts:?
- After finishing my last year of undergrad?
- Once I officially graduate?
- When I land a job? (Assuming I can show the unemployment office paperwork proving I wasn't working yet.)

Thanks!

It can handle it..
The GPUs pull about 110-120W each, and the CPU is pulling either 95 or 125, I can't quite remember which....
So you're looking at roughly 330W total.. plus the HDD, RAM, and motherboard puts you at maybe 350-360W..
Those are my numbers for when everything is pinned at full load (not like you'll be running it at max capacity for 5 hours every single day).. so at idle, we're probably talking around 150W...
Besides, the 4850 draws a bit more than the 5770..

Yeah, it can definitely take the brunt of those heavy loads....
If you end up hating how it performs, it's easy enough to just sell the cx400 and grab a 450-500W unit (but honestly, I don't think you'll need to)..

Melissa Hernandez64 said:Charlie Chaplin, I've never even heard that expression before. We don't really say things like that here in the States, at least not that I know of 😂 😂 😂.

Seems a bit suspicious that you're actually from the US... maybe you're just some fancy city girl? :P

wiredotter14 said:he's begging a moderator to just delete him🤣

not happening. pure principle. 🙏

Melissa Hernandez64 said:And what exactly is "junk"😁? Seriously, this is the kind of content worth 👍! Keep it up.

"Junk" usually means ground corn—basically pig feed or chicken mash...

but it’s also just a word for cheap, low-quality crap.

Garbage, junk, trash, total shit, you name it.🙂

Anyway, here I am making my 1,000th post... explaining basic vocabulary to people. Charlie Chaplin.

It’s overpriced just because of the "Intelligent design" label and that fancy branding... for the $67 you can grab a solid mouse that lasts years and call it a day, right? Honestly, we’d all be chasing luxury if we actually had the cash 🙂
And who cares if we can just pick up a mid-range laptop instead? 😉

Like my neighbor who drives an Audi A8, then drops like $4,000 on a set of OEM rims and tires just to keep it looking factory spec 🙂

Melissa Hernandez64 said:Great, glad you're happy with it, but honestly? Way too pricey for me. Plus, I just picked up my own recently and I'm good. I don't really need all those extra buttons—the basics like left, right, and the scroll wheel ☕ are plenty—nor do I need wireless range. If someone actually needs that stuff, more power to them 👍. But, I do have a few thoughts:
1) I saw an ad in an American newspaper for some laser gaming mouse from Verizon (was it Roccat Kon, I think?) boasting 3500 dpi and 128 KB of internal memory. Seriously, what is the point of having internal memory in a computer mouse 😕?! Is it meant to store apps or programs that launch faster when you click them? (I read something about L2 cache working similarly)
2) Those batteries aren't making sense either. Are they just for wireless mice, or do "standard" ones use them too 🤷? My manual didn't mention anything about it 🤷.
3) They also featured this exclusive Titanium Black mouse from some European brand made of pure titanium. It looks gorgeous in photos, but get this: the price tag is a whopping EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS 😲 !!!! oh Bog, who is actually buying this? Maybe just billionaires like Bill Gates and his crowd...

1. Internal memory is just for saving user settings..
For example, I have one button where I swap profiles (since I have 10 buttons, I set profile 2 for browsing and profile 1 for gaming). Since I have 10 buttons, they aren't always doing the same thing 😉

And the internal memory stores that data..
Like, my macro 1 is 1200 dpi x 1200 dpi, while macro 2 is 800 x 800. On macro 1, I have a side button for throwing grenades in-game, but on macro 2, that same button opens Chrome 🙂

You're off base comparing it to cache 🙂

2. Why would you need a battery for a wired mouse? Wireless needs juice to power the laser—you know, enough voltage to actually function (like 3v or whatever)—but a wired mouse gets its power straight from the USB port (0.5 volts, specifically)..

3. Don't sweat it, there are plenty of fools out there who will buy it... there's a whole crowd of wannabe gamers who think they'll play better just because they have a Razer or something..
Spending 800 bucks is just pure vanity to show off status... 🙂

wiredotter14 said:you'll see the specs once you set them, but don't expect to run everything on max settings at 1080p

I don't want to look like I'm telling everyone they absolutely need a Radeon 4850 🤷 ,but honestly, for $250 it’s probably the best bang for your buck right now, and you shouldn't have any trouble tracking one down.
Just don't go hunting for those $250 prices in every local shop—that's just what some of the retailers listed on ZGu
(nabavi.net)
who knows what's available in San Diego

In San Diego, Links is basically just online via Nabavi (they might have physical stores, but they aren't listed there).
From $250 this is all there is...

If I were him, I'd try to grab something from a retailer in LA or check Craigslist for something with a warranty... you can get a much better deal ali za proc 🙂

p.s.
Here's what's in San Diego

Thomas Jones82 said:I'm looking to pick up a new GPU
here's what I'm running right now
mb: msi k8n sli platinum
cpu: AMD Athlon X2 4400
ram: 4 gb ddr
hdd : 160 gb
psu: 400 w chiftec
and currently rocking 2x geforce 6600 gt, which I'd swap out
thinking of setting aside about $333 and honestly, I've used geforce before, but I think I'll go with an ati card this time

My take on his setup...
Grab a 4850. Maybe you can snag a used one for under $233...

If you can find an HD5770 for $1000, grab it (otherwise they're $1200 new)

wiredotter14 said:Hold on, how can they not be making them if stores are literally overflowing with stock?

So, what, full warehouses don't count for anything??

The 5 series is out now, and all the factory lines have shifted over to that...

Maybe some newer 4 series cards like the 4770 are still rolling off the line, but I wouldn't bet on the 4850.....

It’s all basically the same thing... at least if you ask me..

but hey, you can always just run a USB stick on a long cable to catch a better signal by the window or whatever..

still, PCMCIA feels a bit more seamless in a laptop... looks a lot cleaner that way...

1) PCMCIA will tend to have a larger antenna (eg a double quad) built into the circuit board - this will get you a decent signal, but only if you are facing the right way. some PCMCIA cards will have an external antenna connector and this can make a massive difference, but is pricey.

2) USB dongles tend to have tiny folded antennas, BUT you can reposition them on the end of a USB cable to get a better signal. This can be really handy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ASUS-ATI-Long-Fl...#ht_2661wt_911

All three have the exact same clearance... If those GPUs don't fit? Well, you've got my solution right there above...