Posts by wiredotter14

Timothy Kim60 said:That Pentium? You can actually overclock it on non-Z chipsets too, provided you get a BIOS update.

From cheapest to most expensive: you've got the ASRock H81M-HDS, then the Asus B85M-G, followed by the MSI H97 PCMATE, and finally those cheaper H97/Z97 ASRock anniversary boards.

Every processor comes with its own cooler included.

Thanks. That’s exactly what I was wondering—it just doesn't make any sense for him to drop the cash on a Z series.
Look, I get that you'll get a cooler. My point was whether there's actually any real difference between a stock Pentium & stock i5 cooler. If there isn't, I might just give him my spare i5 stock cooler.

fadedorca66 said:Look, just keep in mind that if they aren't planning on running the latest AAA titles, it’s fine as is. But if they actually want to play those? Then that i5 upgrade needs to happen sooner rather than later.

Like GTA 5:
[Image Link]

Look at these two-core losers struggling down there... If they just want to play WoW and League, fine, whatever. But if they're planning on running GTA 5, they better go buy themselves a quad-core.

If you're looking at the AM3 socket, you could go with the Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P + FX4300 or maybe an fx6***. Or just stick to the FM2 route with whatever Athlon x4 740 or 750 you can find.
So you can still upgrade on AM3, but once you hit FM2, that's basically the end of the line.

Look, the rig's already rocking an HD4870, so a Pentium is more than enough.
Power supply? I'm thinking Corsair 650 w.

Who knows what the future holds, but this setup works for now. That Pentium actually has enough kick to handle a decent GPU upgrade. If he manages to scrape some cash together later, he should just grab an i5 and a beefier graphics card.

P.S. It’ll be a blast trying to OC this little beast. Might just bring my 7850 along to see how it holds up.

Timothy Kim60 said:It’s fine for most games, though you'll hit walls in some newer titles because it's just dual core. It all comes down to what you actually plan to do with it. Plus, you can always upgrade later.

Is this the one that allows overclocking?

Asking for a buddy who wants to grab this plus a motherboard (his current board died along with his Core 2 duo). He's looking to upgrade to a standard i5 down the road—no overclocking an i5 for him!

Does he need a specific board since this Pentium is overclockable, or will a "standard" chip work? (Since i5 chips vary based on clock speed). Any recommendations? Also, can he slap a stock i5 cooler onto this, or does it come with its own? (I have a spare lying around).

Thanks!

fadedorca66 said:Depends on what you need. For gaming? Not such a great call anymore. It's starting to show its age.

That's what I was thinking. Two years ago it was a solid pick, just wondering if it still holds up.

What's the verdict on an Intel Core for this price range?
And is there any point in overclocking it?

crimsonstag84 said:Depends on the specific model... this one shouldn't be too loud:

http://cdn.agilitycms.com/xfx/MediaG...X-CNF-00_0.jpg

But this one? Yeah:

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/14-150-688-Z03?$S300W$

Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that "XFX R7-260X-ZNJ4" they mentioned is actually this second one
(I have that other version, and I'm fairly certain ZNJ4 was the code)

Honestly, I have no idea how they could design a card that loud. No sane person would touch it. I only grabbed it because it had 1GB of DDR5 instead of some pathetic 2GB DDR3 setup. Later, I really regretted not dropping $17 more on a Sapphire or something similar.

Adam Moore3 said:Garbage. 🤣 Of course not. It’s APU tech—great value if you aren't asking much from your rig. The CPU is decent enough, and the integrated graphics follow suit. If you want to play some light stuff, go for it. If you ever feel like upgrading, just slap a real GPU in later. Simple.
For a build around $4500, here's how I'd lay it out:

1 x Intel Core i7 3.5GHz, 14MB, 95W, AM3+, FD6300WMHK
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingmax, 1600MHz, non-ECC, CL9.0, FLGG
1 x Kingston Fury SSD 120GB, 2.5", SATA 3 6G
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Tron 400W Power Supply, HEXA Plus 400, 12cm fan
1 x XFX NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1075M Boost 1GB DDR5 Display
1 x Zalman Z3 mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. Standard MB

$1571 forum.com

A quick heads-up for anyone looking:

That XFX 260 x has a pathetic little fan. Once you hit 75% load, it sounds like a jet engine taking off.

The Inace 260 x is fine for the price, but XFX's build quality is a disaster.
I picked one up for my brother's gaming rig and you can hear it screaming from the next room over.

Benjamin King2 said:Just pick whichever one feels right to you. 🙂

To plug either of them in, you're going to need a USB port. For instance, here’s a decent wired keyboard—not one of those mushy, shallow ones you find on cheap laptops: http://www.amazon.com/lenovo-usb-keyboard/dp/B00T33V7XW

+1

Emily Ramos35 said:So, you're recommending a wireless keyboard.

If the batteries last that long, it’s hardly an issue.
Thanks for the tip. I'll hit up some Best Buy locations to check out the specifics before making a call. I'm assuming I can just plug a wired one into my laptop anyway. All I care about is getting something that isn't total junk and actually lasts.

The guy told you wired ones are way cheaper, so just stick to whatever fits your budget.

Anyway, if you want wireless, I'd suggest this one: http://www.nabava.net/trazilica.php?...logitech+k+350

Solid keyboard. Pretty sure there's a wired version too, or maybe a combo with a mouse.

dustybear9 said:I actually agree with you on one thing—you'll definitely find a keyboard that fits your vibe over there much easier than here. Honestly, though? I'd say go for it because prices are way, way lower!!!
but saying it that way is just plain wrong!!!

I've been scouring Amazon, eBay, and some of the big electronics retailers, and I haven't seen anything cheaper than what we have right here.

Benjamin King2 said:Around here, besides Logitech, I haven't seen any other mechanical keyboards. Check out the keyboard lineup over at Logitech.

If you're looking for an all-rounder, you’ve basically got the 7G or the 6Gv2. Everything else on the market is strictly built for gaming. If you actually need a palm rest, then the 7G is your only real option.

Stores: Where can you pick up Logitech gear in America? Check out this list of retailers.

Thanks.

Have you actually tried playing on either of them?
What does it feel like?

Besides, I'm moving to England soon, so it’ll definitely be the better call there.
Any other recommendations?

I was looking at these keyboards a few years back, and this thread just brought it all back.

Right now, I'm using a Logitech Wave http://www.devicepedia.com/wp-conten...itech-wave.jpg

And honestly? I love it. Best keyboard I've ever touched, period.
I can't stand those shallow ones. I know plenty of people who dropped $100 or more on "gaming" keyboards only to realize they feel exactly like a cheap laptop keyboard.

All these mechanical options seem pretty basic to me—not that I mind—but I'm wondering about the actual ergonomics.

So, any recommendations for a solid mechanical keyboard?
I do a ton of typing, but I play shooters quite a bit too, so maybe something with a bit more tactile resistance would be better.

Thanks!

P.S.

Where can I actually find these in the States?

Didn't want to clutter things up with a new thread, so I'll just drop this here;

I've got an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX in a high-end rig (was running a 4890 before this)

I need to know what the deal is when picking up a second card for SLI. Does it have to be from the same manufacturer? And does it matter if the VRAM capacity isn't identical?

Also... how does overclocking work with SLI? Is there a way to set individual profiles for each card within the Control Center?

darkowl72 said:http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...cdbcfdfe58f1d6

The HD4850 or HD4830 are still solid picks. Especially since the next step up, the HD5770, is still way too expensive...

The 5770 isn't worth the asking price.

A 4830, or better yet an 4850, would fit your build perfectly and definitely outperform that 3870.

That 5200 processor is totally fine. Pair it with any 48xx card and you can keep gaming for a good few more years.

omg

looks like there's a massive debate going on here between the 4890 and the 5770

didn't realize you could even find a 4890 anymore, but if it's down to those two, definitely go with the 4890

it's way better

I've got a Radeon 4850 paired with an i7 920 in my current build.
My 4890 bit the dust—got my money back though, thank God.

The performance gap is definitely noticeable, but honestly, the 4850 still handles everything I could run on the 4890 just fine. That means basically everything ☕.

Wait, isn't there some kind of workaround with AM2+ boards or whatever?

I had no idea AM3 works on AM2.

Thomas Jones82 said:So you think it's not worth buying a new GPU for this setup??

Your CPU might bottleneck the card, but yeah, you'll definitely notice the difference.
You can probably still run newer games on an AMD Athlon X2 4400.

But honestly? Either grab something cheaper, or get a card you can actually reuse when you build a new rig later.

🤷🤷

I knew this one girl from the USA (BL), and she always used to say, "I don't get it."

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

Mary, you clearly don't have a clue what's going on here.

looking for a mod to delete him🤣