Posts by Kimberly Gomez34

dbstyle

With $100, you’re barely going to find a decent 400W power supply.

Try borrowing one from a friend just to test things out. This setup is pretty dated, so anything could be the culprit. If it isn't the power supply, use the process of elimination. If the system is being temperamental—working one minute and failing the next—the PSU is definitely your prime suspect.

placidgull21

Those aren't exactly top-tier units; they're likely even lower quality than the OC unit you didn't specify. Do you have a budget in mind?

No, that’s just straight-up garbage.

crimsoncanyon8 said:Alright, thanks a lot. I’d actually love a few more tips—what specific features or specs should I really be looking for when shopping for a new power supply?

How to Choose The Perfect Power Supply

You aren't going to get any massive overclocking out of that Cooler, so I’d suggest capping it at 4GHz and keeping your voltage as low as possible.

Do a bit of reading first before you dive in:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1434322/a...i-bios-example
http://www.overclock.net/t/1318995/o...ra-owners-club
http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=248861
http://www.overclock.net/t/1348623/a...us-motherboard

Basically, you need to go into your BIOS and disable Turbo Boost, Cool and Quiet, APM (Application Power Management), C1E, and C6. You should also enable LLC if necessary.

To hit 4GHz, you'll need to bump your CPU ratio up to 20 (since 20 x 200 = 4000MHz). Even if you have a particularly bad piece of silicon, you should be able to hit 4GHz at 1.35V—though I'm not sure what kind of temps you'll see with that Cooler. With a high-quality chip, you might even manage to stay well below 1.3V. Ultimately, you'll find your sweet spot through testing.

Regarding temperatures and how to run a proper stress test, I've outlined the reasoning here (it's more detailed there and in those links, so I won't repeat myself). The principle remains identical; the guy in the guide just undervolted his AMD FX-6300, whereas you'll be working with higher numbers because you're overclocking by raising the multiplier. Your goal is the same: find the lowest stable voltage for your set clock speed, tailored specifically to your hardware (your specific CPU sample, motherboard, and Cooler).

Look, Proline isn't some garbage office-grade unit. The real "issue" people have is that it doesn't actually deliver a true 600W; they just slap "peak power" in the title, which is a weird way to market things compared to standard US brands. It actually puts out 408w on the +12V rail, which is pretty much the same as an XFX 450W or a Silverstone Strider 500W.

If you're looking at that price range, I’d suggest going with this—it's a solid unit, fully modular, and comes with a 5-year warranty. Otherwise, you could grab a cheaper 560W GP3 LC unit instead.

Here are some options including the monitor. This type of PC setup works great if you just add this SSD plus this monitor (it features an AH-IPS panel, 24", pivot functionality, and an incredible price). This rig will handle all your games without breaking a sweat.

These builds are poorly put together. That first one, pairing an APU with a dedicated graphics card, makes absolutely no sense. As for the second build, the CPU choice is a bad value compared to an Intel Core i5-4460, and the power supply looks like a total gamble. Don't just buy a pre-built machine blindly—take a look at this thread to understand why. Honestly, if you have a budget of around $700, you could put together a much more powerful gaming rig, specifically by prioritizing a better GPU.

Are you planning to pay cash or use a financing plan?

That’s the smartest move. Honestly, I don't think it's even worth selling if you can still find a practical use for it somewhere else.

At least $100 it really depends on what the client needs.

Keep in mind that starting $233 we'll be getting new 22" 1080p Dell 22-inch Monitors in stock, all backed by a solid 2-3 year warranty.

What kind of Cooler are you running?

You don't need a BIOS update just for the graphics card. I'd suggest updating it before you swap out the processor, though. Once you upgrade both the CPU and add some RAM, your PC is going to feel like a completely different machine. Right now, your current CPU is basically acting like a bottleneck, preventing that graphics card from actually reaching its full potential—but even with just the GPU, you'll definitely notice an improvement. That said, you still won't be able to run those specific games where a single-core processor is too weak and 1GB of memory is just nowhere near enough.

Ryan Gonzalez4 said:In what way is it superior?
If you're trying to decide between these two processors, looking at raw numbers alone can be a bit misleading. It’s like comparing a reliable sedan to a heavy-duty pickup truck; they both get you from A to B, but they handle different loads entirely. One chip might dominate in single-core tasks—think smooth web browsing or light office work—while the other shines when you're pushing multi-threaded workloads like video editing or heavy multitasking. Before you pull the trigger, you really need to look at what you actually do with your PC every day. If you're just gaming and doing everyday tasks, prioritize that single-core speed. If you're a creator, go for the extra cores. Don't just chase the highest benchmark score; chase the performance that fits your specific lifestyle.
Look, at the end of the day, most people are still just running dual-core setups. You rarely see anyone pushing beyond that effectively. Honestly, I don't see how those two AMD chips are actually providing any real advantage.

Don't just take that at face value, especially regarding that 30% figure. It’s a bit more nuanced than that. If you’re going to look at synthetic benchmarks, find a heavy-duty one that actually pushes the CPU to its absolute limit—something like Cinebench R15 multi-threaded, or even better, run a 7-Zip test. That’ll show you exactly where the Intel Core i3 is hitting a wall.

The FX 63xx isn't even worth considering, especially when you look at what else is out there. $50 Investing in the more expensive AMD FX 8300 is the smarter play for long-term stability. To put it simply, think of it like this: klik If you're looking at a setup with two cores plus Hyper-Threading versus an Intel Core i3, here’s my take: if your main focus is strategy games like Total War or StarCraft II, or if you're spending your time in World of Tanks or World of Warplanes, just go with the Intel Core i3 or the G3258. It's the smarter play for those specific titles.

It’s the same story—that i5 ended up costing me an extra $15 or so too. Honestly, if I were doing it again, I’d probably just grab a different power supply.

Jamie Lopez19 said:Does the fact that it isn't 7200 RPM actually matter? I'd love to get some insight on this. Thanks! 😉

That’s not really what it's designed for; it's meant for storage.

Ryan Gonzalez4 said:Alright, what do you think about this setup?

I

If those guys were building rigs with beefier CPUs, I don't see any reason to settle for an Intel Core i3. You won't be able to push much higher with the GPU anyway, since there's a massive performance gap right after the NVIDIA GTX 960, the AMD Radeon R9 280, or the 380. Maybe some leftover 280X stock if you're lucky.

Jamie Lopez19 said:Hey everyone, sorry if this is off-topic—I didn't want to start a whole new thread—but I have one quick question. AT&T is offering me this hard drive for an extra $33 click
Is it actually worth it? Does the fact that it's 5400rpm matter?

I'm assuming they expect you to extend your contract along with it? If the terms look good to you, go for it. Just a heads-up: whenever AT&T hands out drives, they tend to be pretty flimsy. Your best bet is to ask over on the AT&T thread.

David Edwards2 said:Why aren't they in stock anymore?

Because they're outdated. Motherboard sockets change as often as people change their socks.

If you have a decent budget, just clear out the old gear and switch to a modern platform entirely.

Just send it back to them if it's still under warranty. Make sure you put together a clear, detailed list of everything that's going wrong.

You could have at least mentioned what happened 😁

Your best bet is hunting through the used market—check eBay or tech forums—since they aren't being manufactured anymore.
Head over to your motherboard manufacturer’s official website and look up their CPU support list . Just search for any quad-core FM1 processor because the specs are essentially identical . For instance, an Intel Core i5 would work just fine if you're using a dedicated graphics card, so there's no need to overspend on integrated models. If those are hard to find or priced like crazy, honestly, just pivot. Sell off your current setup and move to a newer platform.

I've gone ahead and cleaned up those posts above, so take a look (it turns out I found this guy on this forum too)

Alright, just reach out later regarding the graphics card and we can take a look then, but you absolutely have to sort out that power supply first.

EDIT

Also, if your PC is running too loud—meaning you haven't upgraded to an aftermarket cooler yet—something like this would be a lifesaver:

http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=lc-cc-95

Try something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/p/product_info.php?products_id=15157

You get a 5-year warranty here. Alternatively, you could grab the LC6560GP3 at 560W from the link for $136. It’s a beefier power supply and the quality is roughly the same, just with a shorter warranty period. That would leave you with about $200 left over for your GPU.

http://www.craigslist.org/thread/894906

Since it still has some warranty coverage, there's a good chance the price is negotiable—the seller hasn't moved it in a while (it's been sitting on another forum too). Or, if you prefer, check eBay; just let me know which state you're in.