David Sanders4 said:What motherboard are you running?
I mean, if you're looking at picking up an NVIDIA GTX 760 right now, you really have to run the numbers yourself regarding how much longevity you're actually buying. It’s all about that dollar-to-FPS ratio, isn't it? You can always find a used NVIDIA GTX 760 floating around on eBay or Craigslist, but you've got to weigh that against the unknown—heaven knows what kind of resource-heavy titles will be hitting the market in a year or two. If you consider yourself a serious gamer, my advice is simple: just make sure you invest in a high-quality power supply; that's where you shouldn't cut corners.
The motherboard is an ASUS H87-HD3. We actually picked one up earlier this year along with an Intel Core i5-4570, which left us with just the GPU and the power supply still on the shopping list. But honestly, there's no massive rush here; I can easily wait a month or two until we see how these newer cards perform in the wild.
In my humble estimation, the most prudent course of action would be to exercise a bit of patience; one ought to observe how the market settles regarding both pricing and actual performance metrics before finally committing to a purchase and perhaps squeezing a bit more value out of the retailers later on. While the budget ceiling sits at $1000, we simply cannot overlook the necessity of a reliable power supply unit. My sincere thanks to everyone for the input.
The only snag I've run into is that I haven't seen a single GTX 770 with 3GB of VRAM anywhere on the market. One of the games sitting on my wishlist right now is Watch Dogs, and frankly, I'm trying to plan ahead. If you're telling me that game is going to demand more memory than what I have, would it be a wise move to just pivot toward ATI and pick up something in the ballpark of an R9 280 x? I realize people love to get all worked up about the whole ATI versus Nvidia rivalry—it’s basically the same old Intel versus AMD drama we've been dealing with for years—but honestly, I couldn't care less about the brand loyalty nonsense as long as the hardware actually delivers decent quality.
Thanks, Larry Ortiz5. I'm currently sitting in front of an AOC 23" IPS monitor—1080p resolution, nothing fancy—which I picked up just this past summer, and frankly, I don't see much point in getting bogged down in the technical weeds here, but if I’ve managed to parse your point correctly, you're essentially saying that a card with 2 GB of VRAM is still perfectly adequate for a decent gaming experience.
crimsonstag84, I suppose I can afford to wait; time isn't exactly my enemy right now, though I do have this nagging suspicion that these upcoming graphics cards are going to carry an even more exorbitant price tag than they already do. David Sanders4, to be perfectly honest, I am somewhat out of my depth when it comes to GPUs, which makes the idea of scavenging through Craigslist feel a bit too much like a gamble for my liking. I think I’ve dabbled in that sort of thing before, but usually only with items I actually understand, and frankly, I’m not exactly the resident gamer in my household. My plan was really to look ahead toward those higher-end models instead. If you wouldn't mind, could you also shed some light on that question regarding memory capacity—specifically why some cards are sitting at 2 GB, others at 3 GB, and I've even spotted some with 4 GB?
Greetings! I find myself grappling with a bit of a dilemma regarding my next move with Nvidia hardware. My initial roadmap involved picking up a GTX 760, but seeing as prices are sliding downward and the GTX 770 isn't quite the elusive beast it once was, I’m reconsidering my trajectory. As it stands, my current rig is running an Intel Core i5-4570 paired with 8 GB of RAM, and I fully intend to swap out my power supply at the same time I upgrade the card—likely looking at something in the 550-650W range from a reliable brand like XFX, Seasonic, or Fortron. Budget-wise, I’ve set aside roughly $2200-$767. What I am truly wrestling with is whether the jump to a GTX 770 offers enough of a performance leap to justify the extra investment, or if I'm just chasing diminishing returns. Furthermore, I’d appreciate some clarity on what the practical implications for gaming actually look like when comparing a GTX 770 with 2GB of VRAM against something like an R9 280X with 3GB.
Press Start, press All programs, Accessories and click Notepad Copy and paste the following text into the document
I’m going to stop right there because this platform won't let me paste the rest of my message; apparently, I have 12 images attached and they only allow 10, which is just typical, isn't it? Some arbitrary limit that stalls everything just when you're getting somewhere. The process itself is quite straightforward, really, and if anyone else finds themselves facing these same headaches, please just send me a private message. I'll happily email you the full procedure. It honestly takes about five minutes, and ever since I followed these steps, my system has been running perfectly smooth again.
Look, even that isn't going to fix the underlying issue. We put this rig together back on Tuesday, installed a fresh version of Windows the very same day, and realized right then that we had a problem on our hands. By Wednesday, my wife—bless her heart, she was just trying to tidy things up—wiped the entire system and did a completely clean install of Windows, so there was absolutely nothing left on the C drive or the D drive. And yet, wouldn't you know it, the exact same problem popped right back up. My son is playing all his usual games just like he always has, and honestly, I can't see anything else acting up besides this one specific headache. We were under the impression that a total reinstall of Windows would be the magic bullet to solve this, but clearly, we were mistaken. It was only after that failed attempt that I finally turned to you all for help, because frankly, we're at our wits' end here.
Everything seems perfectly fine on the surface—the system looks solid, yet the time and date are still acting up, and the problem remains stubbornly unchanged. What should my next move be?
How does one actually access the BIOS? My friend was handling everything for me previously, so please forgive my utter lack of technical knowledge on the matter. I am currently locked in a most vexing struggle with Windows Update, which seems to have developed a stubborn, almost sentient refusal to cooperate with my every command. It is quite frankly exhausting. When I attempt to engage with it, the interface greets me with nothing but a mocking red icon marked with an "X," as if to signal its utter disdain for my troubleshooting efforts. Naturally, I attempted to rectify this by navigating into the settings to adjust the configuration, only to be met with a deceptive little green checkmark accompanied by the message "Install updates automatically." It looks perfectly functional—almost tauntingly so. Yet, the moment I click "OK" to confirm these settings, the system simply tosses me back to the initial screen, completely ignoring the instruction. To add insult to injury, when I finally decide to click "Check for updates," the computer insists with absolute certainty that I must restart the machine to finalize the changes. So, I perform the restart, waiting with a weary sense of anticipation, only to find myself right back at square one, staring at the same broken loop. It feels like a descent into madness.
Nothing to report. It’s still showing that red shield icon. For some reason, the system simply refuses to let me adjust any of the settings, insisting—with an almost stubborn persistence—that I restart my computer before anything changes.
Look, I didn't even realize I had misspoken there. These are just the copies of Windows my wife picked up and installed on her own machine, then over at her brother's place, and even one for a friend of hers. If they happen to be unlicensed in that specific scenario, well, that’s on me, I suppose. But regardless of the legality, they were functioning perfectly fine on the old computer, yet now, suddenly, they aren't working at all.
Greetings! After I finally decided to ditch my old Athlon 64 and that ancient ASRock motherboard to upgrade to an Intel Core i5-4570 on H87-HD3, I went ahead and performed a clean reinstall of Windows 7 using an original disc. Now, I’ve hit a wall with Windows Update, and frankly, it’s becoming quite a headache. I have spent far too much time scouring various forums and reading through endless threads, yet nothing seems to provide a solution. I even attempted to use Microsoft Support tools, but the result was absolutely zero progress. It simply refuses to let me modify any settings; specifically, when I attempt to set it to update automatically and click OK, the system just ignores the command entirely. It persistently prompts me to restart the computer, but of course, after a reboot, everything remains exactly as broken as before. When I ran the problem report as an administrator, this specific error popped up:
Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUpdateClient/Operational Windows update lost connectivity File name B2983D76-E1A1-4591-B6BD-E6562Fc6E72E.Diagnose.Admin.0.etl Eror code -939523550
We even attempted a complete reinstallation of Windows, hoping for a fresh start, but the issue persists stubbornly. Has anyone here encountered such a bizarre malfunction? The friend who handled the installation is a professional IT specialist, and since we are using genuine Windows, I know they work perfectly fine on three other machines in the house—and they worked flawlessly on my previous setup before this hardware upgrade.
I would be most grateful for any assistance you can offer.
Timothy Kim60, I really appreciate you bearing with me and offering such guidance; things are finally starting to click, and I have a much clearer picture of how all these components actually fit together. My next move is to sit down and scout out where to find the best deals, have a serious heart-to-heart with my son to see if this obsession with filmmaking is just a passing phase or a genuine calling, gather up a stack of cash, and finally pull the trigger on a purchase. Honestly, everything you guys suggested seems perfectly adequate for his current skill level, because I’ve never been the type of parent who believes a kid needs the absolute bleeding edge of technology the second it hits the shelves—if this turns out to be a lifelong passion, then we can worry about upgrading later.
I truly want to thank everyone here for the advice, and I wish you all nothing but the best in the coming year. And may you all deal with far fewer tedious characters like myself, ha, ha, ha.
I seem to have misspoken in my previous rambling. What I actually intended to convey was my plan to install 8 GB of RAM during this initial build phase, leaving plenty of headroom for potential upgrades down the road whenever the need arises.
Well, things are starting to make a lot more sense now. If I decide to pull the trigger on an Intel Core i5-3570K, which motherboard would actually be worth my time while still offering four RAM slots? My plan is to pick up some 8 GB sticks, so if anyone could point me toward a winner from this massive pile of options, I’d certainly appreciate it. I'm assuming it's common sense to aim for the ones clocked at 1600 MHz or higher, right?
It probably looks to you all as if I’m just indecisive for the sake of being difficult or simply don't have a clue what I'm aiming for, but I assure you, that isn't the case at all. When we first floated this idea of an upgrade, my eyes were set exclusively on gaming performance. However, things have shifted slightly because my kid—who is now a fifth grader—has been filming and editing short movies using Adobe Premiere Pro for school, and he’s actually developed quite a passion for it. He’s been churning out videos and uploading them to YouTube, and he’s one of those kids who absolutely insists on having music blasting in his ears while he plays games. Back when I first started posting on these forums, I barely grasped the fundamental differences between various CPU architectures, but with every response I receive, certain concepts become clearer, even if other parts remain a total mystery to me. It is perfectly obvious to me now that a new GPU would be a fantastic addition, but unfortunately, the budget has been completely eaten up by our winter tire expenses, so I am forced to make a choice. My ultimate goal is to avoid having to perform massive overhauls again in a year's time; ideally, I'd only need to swap out the graphics card later down the road. So, given all of this context, I am curious to know which path represents the wiser investment (keeping in mind that an i5 is the absolute ceiling of my current budget). That is just how it goes when you have a child with a million different interests and you personally still believe a computer is a pretty incredible piece of machinery.
I find myself wondering, purely out of an insatiable sense of curiosity, which specific Intel Core i5 would truly hit that sweet spot for me. You know, Timothy Kim60, you were just suggesting the Intel Core i5-4440 paired with an MSI Motherboard, and honestly, that idea took hold of me; I was actually considering pulling the trigger on them, especially since eDigital is running some decent discounts right now. But then, of course, everyone else seems to be shouting from the rooftops that I should steer clear of those components entirely, which makes them feel once again frustratingly out of reach. It feels like my only real option is to sit here, wait, and slowly scrape together enough cash, though I can't shake this persistent, nagging feeling that I am constantly missing the mark somehow. $167Well, as things stand right now, I don't actually have them on hand—it’s all just theoretical at this point. If I were forced to make a move today, I suppose I'd be looking at cutting back on the RAM just to afford an Intel Core i5 instead.
David Sanders4, I really appreciate the help. I’ve decided to pull the trigger on the FX-6300 paired with an Asuaic motherboard for now. Currently, I'm still limping along with an Nvidia GTX 650, so upgrading the graphics card will have to wait until my next big leap.