Posts by wiredotter14

Jeffrey Allen92 said:meh, I picked up a Sharkoon Fireglider Black at Best Buy... the thing died on me and they just swapped it for a standard Sharkoon Fireglider. They gave me what, maybe 8 days of warranty? According to consumer law, I should be getting a full fresh 2 years, right? Now what? Nothing happens. Just lose out.

They could have given you a warranty that lasts until tomorrow morning for all the difference it makes—it doesn't change your legal rights.

Also, when they swap an item for a new one—whether it's the exact same model or a different one—the warranty resets. Same goes for major repairs. If they only fix one specific part, then only that part gets a reset warranty.

I had to return my Xperia Z5 T-Com after about 10 months (phone was basically a paperweight) and ended up with a replacement device.

When they handed over the replacement, the paperwork said the warranty on the new unit was only 30 days or until the original warranty expired.
I stood my ground, insisting the warranty starts over from the date I received the replacement. After arguing with the store manager for a few minutes, they actually hand-wrote on the receipt that my warranty would last until the two-year mark from my original purchase date. So, they tried to shortchange me by about 5 or 6 days, but I basically got the full 2 years starting from the swap. Same logic applies to your situation.

Warranty Period Extension
Section 425.
(1) In the event of a minor repair, the warranty period is extended by the amount of time the consumer was deprived of the use of the item.
(2) However, if the item is replaced or undergoes a major repair due to a defect, the warranty period restarts from the date of replacement or the return of the repaired item.
(3) If only a specific part of the item is replaced or significantly repaired, the warranty period restarts only for that specific part.

Bottom line:
You’ve got two years to spot a defect and notify the retailer in writing. The item doesn't actually have to reach them within that window. Theoretically, you should report the flaw shortly after noticing it, but in reality, a retailer can't really argue that you waited too long—they can't prove exactly when the issue started, so the two-year rule basically always applies. (Though, this wouldn't fly if you noticed your Ford F-150 was burning oil, drove another 60,000 miles, and *then* decided to complain to the dealer about it.)
During the first six months after purchase, the burden of proof isn't on you; the retailer can't claim you caused the damage. After that, they can start pushing back. (That's assuming it's not obvious physical damage, obviously.)

The warranty provided by a retailer or manufacturer is completely separate from your legal consumer rights. That's just a commercial warranty, which could be 6, 12, or 120 months—whatever. It has zero impact on your legal right to file a claim within those two years.

Once those two years are up, your statutory rights expire, but the manufacturer's warranty stays valid if they issued one for longer than two years.

However, if a retailer knew—or should have known—they were selling you defective goods, your right to file a claim doesn't expire after two years. You can still demand a repair, replacement, or refund regardless of how much time has passed, just as if you were still within the initial window.

So, man, go ahead and hit up the store and demand that Corsair

Might be slightly off-topic here, but everyone should probably read this since these legal protections clearly aren't common knowledge.

P.S.

All of this applies to sale items too. The only exception is if the item was explicitly sold as "defective"—you can't claim for the specific flaw mentioned, but you can certainly claim for anything else.

Look, an HD 7850, a GTX 660, or a 650Ti are all top-tier options for you. They're solid cards. It wouldn't make sense to shell out extra for something like a GTX 670 or a 7950, and honestly, they'll probably still hold their own when you eventually build a new rig.

If you want something newer, an RX 460 might be a good fit once it drops, provided it stays under $333 at launch (it’ll likely outperform those other suggestions

as far as the warranty goes.
Hit up the retailer. Demand a full refund or have them swap that power supply for the exact model—or one of equal value—that you actually ordered.
Cite Section 407 of the Uniform Commercial Code. If the store is being total jerks and tries to brush you off, tell them you're calling the Better Business Bureau and the consumer protection agencies.

The law basically states:


A buyer doesn't forfeit the right to claim a defect just because they didn't inspect the goods immediately upon receipt or failed to notify the seller within a reasonable timeframe, nor if the defect only becomes apparent after two years—or six months for commercial contracts—following delivery, provided that the defect was known to the seller or could not have been unknown to them.

Bottom line: you keep all your rights under the UCC for two years after purchase. The retailer is legally obligated to fix or replace any junk that isn't your fault.

Obviously, don't bother hiring a lawyer for a dispute involving $133
small fry 😵😵😵😵

depends on how much cash you're willing to burn

The CPU and GPU are roughly on par, but they aren't terrible.
Regarding an upgrade, I’d hold off for about a month. Once the market stabilizes with the new cards, you'll be able to snag something much better that pulls less power. For instance, the AMD Radeon RX 470 is going to dominate 1080p. An R9 380(X) would be a decent step up, but just wait—you'll get way more bang for your buck, basically hitting the ceiling for 1080p gaming.

P.S. What cooler are you running?

Gregory Miller said:Fine. If you could actually snag that price ($300) over in Austria, it’d be a steal. $249 plus 20% Austrian sales tax puts us at $270, not even counting their extra fees and margins. And let's not even talk about the gas money for the drive. Honestly, looking at how this circus of a government runs things, I’d much rather hand that 20% over to the Austrian government than our own.

What about those weekend road trips to Austin? Just a quick $33 😁😁 😁
For the price difference compared to what we pay here, you could grab a McDonald's meal or feed the whole family meatballs at IKEA.

All in all, looks like prices will land around $2500-$900. Not bad. It’s close enough to the RX 480 that it should push that price down.

Gregory Miller said:The MSRP for the 1060 is $249. Once you factor in the exchange rate around $567, plus margins, sales tax, local fees, and all that nonsense, let's say $667 would be a somewhat reasonable price. This is ridiculous. Where can you even find GPUs at decent prices? Maybe over in Mexico or Canada?

How is it 2000?

If you take $249, convert it at the best possible rate, and slap on sales tax, you end up at $726.
That's before we even talk about distribution costs, currency conversion, or the fact that you'll probably have to pay upfront for new stock.
The absolute bare minimum would be roughly $767

Where on earth did an i5 come from in this conversation?

The GTX 950 isn't the only one
The RX 480 and whatever comes next also support HEVC

👍👍👍👍👍

Kimberly Gomez34 said:If the other shop can supply a gtx 970 for a lower price, that would be
even better.

eBay?

First off, skip the Z170 board. Stick to one of the ones crimsonstag84 or I mentioned; they’ll handle that processor just fine.
(That B150 he posted is a larger form factor—probably more connectors and all that—but they both support dual Channel RAM.

Regarding RAM: you won't really feel the difference with dual channel, so personally, I'd just grab 1x8GB (for now, at least). But if you go with a board that has 4 slots, you can start with 2x4GB and still upgrade later.
(Just don't do 2x4GB if the board only has two slots. Everything else is a decent option. Obviously, stick to DDR4; there's zero point getting a DDR3 board and RAM unless you already own them.

As for the GPU, crimsonstag84 is right. It makes way more sense to grab the 380X.

However, if you can hold out for a few more weeks, it'll definitely be worth waiting for the RX 470. It pulls less power and it's going to outperform the 380X.

Or, if you need to buy something right this second and can stretch your budget a bit, pick up that card from another shop. You can get the rest of the build at Best Buy, and they'll still put it together for you (prices are around $2300, though things are pricier at Best Buy).

Like I said, just wait for the RX 470. It's a brand-new card... perfect for your budget since it should land right around the same price (let's say $160-$$567) and it'll be stronger than the 380X.

darkowl72 said:https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/ar...Z170,H170,H110)

A Z series isn't strictly necessary since you aren't planning on overclocking, but honestly, the board is solid. It’s well-equipped, and that Z chipset gives you slightly better features and components—better price-to-quality ratio, more PCIe lanes, more USB ports, M.2, SATA Express, 8-channel HD audio... basically, if it were me, that's what I'd pick.

Like I said before, I'm pretty sure DDR3 is just a typo. If you look at the Gigabyte specs, there isn't even a board with that model number using DDR3; it clearly states DDR4.🤷

I mean, unless they photoshopped the image, it looks pretty obvious to me that it's DDR3

With his processor, he's absolutely not going to notice any difference in "features" or components (it's one of the cheapest Z170 boards out there anyway, so nothing special)

Extra PCIe lanes or an M.2 PCIe slot won't matter to him. He explicitly said he's not upgrading. Besides, the board only has two full-size PCIe slots; it's not like you can plug five devices into it. SATA Express... unnecessary.

I recommend a proven MSI Mortar. It has four RAM slots (since he's doing 2x4GB) and everything else he needs.
It also has 8-channel audio, obviously.

Personally, I think it might be smarter to go with 1x8GB now and add another stick later if needed—just for simplicity—but it doesn't make much difference. Then again, if he goes with 1x8GB, he could just use a board with only two slots if he plans on upgrading the RAM later.

For example

Edit: He could also use an H170 chipset. Aside from overclocking, it's basically identical to the Z170, though I don't see much advantage over something like the MSI Mortar.

P.S.

If the difference in price is up to $267 I'd put that money toward the RAM and just grab 2x8GB right away if he's looking to spend the cash. Otherwise, just save it.

darkowl72, why DDR3 and why Z170?

frozengull44 said:Since I decided against grabbing a GTX 960 and opted to wait for these RX cards instead, I wanted to ask what I should pick up for under $220 if I have the chance to buy in Germany. Also, this might sound basic to you guys, but what exactly is a "reference" card versus a non-reference one? Which one should I go for, and how do I spot the difference?

If you're looking at a $220 budget and passing on the GTX 960, you're better off just waiting for the RX 470, which should be dropping any day now.

A reference card is built strictly according to the original design from Nvidia or AMD. A non-reference card is different—it’s got custom cooling, different power delivery, and sometimes other tweaks.

For Nvidia, an example is:
reference
http://www.techspot.com/articles-inf.../Image_01S.jpg

Non-reference
http://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-g...-custom-cards/

With AMD's RX cards, the general consensus seems to be that it's worth waiting for the non-reference models to fix some of the flaws in the reference design.

Ethan Campbell81 said:Regarding the R9 390, I’d probably lean toward the ASUS version—mostly just because a buddy talked me into it.
I checked out that link. It’s basically just a list of hardware specs. Not much else to say there. Just more parts moving around the market.

The main advantage, like I said, is that 512-bit bus. Plus, you get a factory overclocked core clock at 1070MHz. That should be plenty to handle high settings for the next two or three years.

Look, I’m feeling pretty clueless right now. One group is telling me: "Just grab that R9 390, you can't go wrong." Another bunch says I'd be better off picking up a reference model RX 480 instead. Then there's you guys, claiming neither one is even worth the money at this point...

Ethan Campbell81 said:So I'm just sitting here looking at prices, and I realize that the Gigabyte R9 390 8GB is only 90 cents more than the RX 480. Just 90 cents.
Check this out. A decent deal on an ASUS ROG Strix card over at Best Buy. Prices are finally moving in the right direction, but you still have to watch for those hidden shipping fees. It's a solid piece of hardware if you can snag it before the stock dries up.

Like the guy said above, neither of these is a good deal right now. It’s even worse when you start seeing these insane prices being asked. An RX 480 should be sitting around $250. Of course it looks like a rip-off if you're looking at an offer for $315. Neither the RX 480 nor the R9 390 makes any sense at $300 or more in this market.

Another thing: what resolution are you planning on playing at?

Ethan Campbell81 said:Look, I'm just going for an NVIDIA GTX 1070. Since I don't feel like waiting on a Sapphire model, I'd probably grab this XFX one:
https://www.computeruniverse.net/en/...480.asp#review
or maybe the Gigabyte version:
https://www.computeruniverse.net/en/...eon-rx-480.asp

Never actually used anything from XFX before. Are they any good? Reliable? How do they handle heat issues and stuff like that?

All three links you posted are just reference designs. There's basically zero difference between them.
Just get the cheapest one (Sapphire).
Those other prices? You're just paying a premium for faster shipping.

Timothy Kim60 said:Even less. They’re calling the MSRP for the NVIDIA GTX 1060 $149. Overseas, people actually respect the MSRP for the NVIDIA GTX 1070. Now we just wait to see when prices here finally settle back down to some kind of "normal."

I said 160-170 because if there aren't any reference cards available, launch prices usually creep above MSRP. Plus, the dollar took a bit of a hit.

Ethan Campbell81 said:Well, that’s exactly the issue—the waiting. 😁
I mean, who knows when the versions with custom coolers will actually drop? What am I supposed to play until then, Angry Birds on my phone? 🙂

And how can you say an R9 380 isn't worth the money at that price point?

Regarding this RX 470, http://videocardz.com/amd/radeon-rx-400/radeon-rx-470 they're saying it should be out by Q2 2016, which means it really should have been here already. 🤔

What do you think about this RX 470 I linked? Should I just grab it despite that single cooler design?

Look, it's better to compare these prices in USD. Like you said, this NVIDIA GTX 1070 is only slightly more expensive than that R9 390X. Plus, it's way more powerful and actually pulls less power.
The RX 470 was officially supposed to launch at the same time, but I'm guessing we won't even see a standard AMD version, just direct custom cooler models.
If the price where you're shopping is $250 for the NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB, then the RX 470 will probably sit around $175-$185, and that card beats the R9 390X.
So, the 390X isn't worth it.

If you have—or plan to get—a monitor higher than 1080p, go with the NVIDIA GTX 1070. If you're sticking to 1080p, save your cash and wait for the 470X (likely later this month).

That NVIDIA GTX 1070 you linked uses AMD's reference design, and honestly, it's not bad. Most sources say it holds up fine and isn't too loud, and it looks like you can undervolt that card without losing any performance.

Bottom line: if you really don't feel like waiting, just grab the NVIDIA GTX 1070 now (once it ships).
Otherwise, wait for the custom coolers or the 470X.

It’s pretty straightforward... just cancel the order and wait until those NVIDIA GTX 1060 cards with custom coolers—meaning standard fans—hit the shelves.

The NVIDIA GTX 970 isn't worth that kind of cash. If you're planning on playing at 1080p, honestly, just hold out for the NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti. Based on everything we know, it'll likely outperform the 970, and you should be able to snag one for around $220 max.