Posts by Drew Torres3

crimsonstag84 said:Comcast has the EVGA GeForce GTX equivalent for $530 (cash), though they'll probably tack on an extra 10% if you try to pay in installments.

The 4GB version is $80 pricier.

So, I finally pulled the trigger on the 4GB version 😁 😵

Hey there, I'm trying to figure out if it's actually worth dropping about $500 on a new GPU. My current setup handles most things okay, but I can't really crank up the settings without everything looking like a pixelated mess. I've never messed around with Nvidia gear before, so I'm leaning towards Team Red. I’ll probably just put it on a 2 or 3-month payment plan. Here's what my current rig is running:
FX 8320
M5A97Pro
Sapphire 7770GHz
8GB
FSP Raider 650W

Now that I’m taking a closer look, there's also that Sapphire VaporX R9 280X 3G sitting there for a few hundred bucks more. Which one is actually the better move? I'm mostly worried about how they handle things when we get those brutal, sweltering summer heatwaves.

Hey everyone, so I’m finally looking to upgrade my GPU. Since I’ve always used Sapphire and never had a single issue with them, I’ve been eyeing this R9 280 dual x oc 3gb, $633 over at PCMag, which should set me back $667. What do you guys think? Is there something better out there for that kind of cash? The rest of my rig is
fx 8320
asus m5a97 pro
hd 7770 ghz ed
8gb
fortron raider 650w

I’m running a Katana III, and man, with this heatwave hitting, my temps are just hovering around 115 to 120 degrees right now.

I’ve only got that suite because of some Fan Expert stuff—it’s pretty basic, honestly, but fine, I’ll give it a shot like you suggested. It’s 8320, or wait, scratch that, I have no clue how I even typed that out 😁

Alright, here’s the deal. I just picked up this new Corsair RM650 power supply, and now, every thirty minutes or so, my ASUS Suite starts throwing these annoying warnings at me about voltage spikes being way out of range... I haven't touched a single setting in the BIOS, so I have no idea what's going on. The rest of my rig is an ASUS m5a97 running an AMD FX-8350, a Sapphire 7770, a 120GB Samsung EVO SSD, a 500GB Hitachi, and a 2TB WD Black drive, plus a couple of other SSDs. Here is a shot of the setup: View on imgur

That’s exactly what I was wondering too—if I actually pull the trigger on an R9 280 x, what kind of power supply am I going to need to keep things from blowing up?

Alright, listen up. I need some serious advice here. I’m gearing up to finally dive into GTA V, and frankly, my current setup isn't cutting it. I'm looking to pick up a new graphics card, so let me know what you guys suggest. I have a specific budget in mind, but I'll keep it under a certain limit. What should I be looking at? $667I just want to squeeze every single cent of value out of that money. Every last bit.
My current setup is...

The AMD FX-8320 3.5 Black Edition. Just looking at the name alone gets my blood pumping. It’s a powerhouse, or at least it was meant to be, before everyone started obsessing over everything else. People talk about these chips like they're relics, but honestly? They have character. You can't just slap a modern processor in a rig and expect that same raw, unrefined energy. It's about the grit. It's about that specific era of hardware. Simple as that.
Asus M5A97 Pro. That’s the one.
So, I’ve been staring at this AMD Radeon hd 7770 GHz edition again. Honestly? It’s enough to make me want to throw my monitor out the window. I was looking through some old specs earlier—you know how it goes, getting lost in the rabbit hole of hardware that should have stayed buried in a landfill years ago. It just gets me fired up. We talk about modern power like it's some kind of miracle, but sometimes you have to look back at these relics and realize just how much we've been through. It’s frustrating. It really is. Every time I think I understand the trajectory of GPU evolution, something like this pops up and reminds me of how much wasted potential there was in those older architectures. Just... ugh. My blood pressure can't take it.
Kingston hyper 2 x 4
So, I’ve been messing around with the Samsung SSD 840 evo 120 again. Honestly? It’s a bit of a mixed bag if you ask me. One minute everything feels snappy, then the next, I feel like I'm fighting the hardware just to get a simple task done. It’s frustrating. You expect a certain level of reliability when you're working with these components, but sometimes it feels like you're just gambling with your data. Just my two cents, though. Anyone else feeling this, or am I just losing my mind?
The power supply? It's a Zalman ZM450-GS.

Thanks so much for the help 😁👍

I'm holding off on the GPU for now since my wallet is basically screaming at me to stop spending. Thanks for the tip, though—I think I'll just grab this 8320 instead. One more thing, though: will a Katana III handle this processor without breaking a sweat?

I’ve got this ancient Hitachi desktop I’m finally about to retire. The plan? Swap in a 120GB SSD and a 2TB external drive that stays plugged in constantly so I don't lose my mind.

My ASUS M5A97 Pro setup is being a total headache. I checked the specs, and apparently, it only supports this hardware after a BIOS update. So, naturally, I went ahead and did that. Now I've got a Radeon 7770 GH Edition plugged in and ready to go.

Right now, I'm running a Zalman 450 GS 450W power supply with an Intel Core i3
but I'm thinking about swapping it out for an Intel Core i7. My big concern? I have no clue if this power supply can actually handle the draw.