Back to the overclocking talk again, 😁 I’d much rather see a GPU pushed to its limits via overclocking—since that was the only real option here—than see someone running hardware without thermal paste applied...
Furthermore, used gear never fetches half its original price, at least when we're talking about newer components that you can still find sitting on the shelves at Best Buy.
With Intel, you don't really have the option to buy a CPU without integrated graphics anymore. They used to offer models without an iGPU—like that old I5 3350 p—but those aren't available on the current socket. What’s funny about that specific chip was that it cost practically the same as the cheapest i5 3330 that actually had integrated graphics included. My point is, you don't need to stress over whether a chip has an iGPU or not. You can't pull a stunt like people do with AMD's FM sockets, where you end up paying a premium for an APU just to have half that extra cost wasted on integrated graphics you won't even use once you pair it with a decent dedicated GPU instead of trying to run crossfire.
Here is a comparison of Athlon processor prices, both with and without integrated graphics:
There’s always going to be a massive influx of kids once school lets out. Back when I was studying at Ohio State, even us "grown-ups" used to drift in whenever we had gaps in our schedules. You can't just spend all day lounging in coffee shops on High Street like some total slacker. 😬
In the early days, we’d have groups of six or seven hanging out on the LAN. As the crowd thinned out, we’d just pile onto the couch to play FIFA on an Xbox 360, sitting about three feet away from an 82cm screen. 😁
Now, you occasionally see people in their 30s roll in, load up their old save files on the Xbox 360, and grab a beer. Honestly, I don't see where the profit is in this, but at the end of the day, it's just budget setups.
There are also two spots down south near the train station. Generally speaking, gaming lounges don't stock such expensive PCs; this one was running something from the GTX series, at least until last year. For the specific games he mentioned, even a Pentium would probably cut it.
This particular place functions as a hybrid—it’s part game shop, part hardware store, part internet cafe, and they even have consoles, Guitar Hero, racing seats, and steering wheels available.
stormymoose9 said:Hey everyone, I could really use some advice here because I’m feeling pretty stuck. I'm running a Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H (rev 1.0) motherboard with a 3.2GHz Intel i5, integrated HD graphics, and 8GB of RAM (2x4GB) clocked at 1866MHz on BIOS F6. The issue is that my integrated graphics is only pulling 128MB of dedicated memory. Even though the settings claim there's a total of 1760MB available, the BIOS options are incredibly stingy—it only lets me choose between 32, 64, or 128MB. Honestly, that feels ridiculously low for a setup that's actually decent by today's standards. Is there any way to bump this up to a reasonable amount via the BIOS or maybe through some kind of boost? I've spent way too much time poking around the BIOS menus already and haven't found a solution. If anyone with more experience in this stuff could point me in the right direction, I’d truly appreciate it. 🙂
It looks like you're trying to bump up the dedicated video memory for your system's Intel(R) graphics controller.
To address your question: Intel(R) graphics controllers don't actually have their own dedicated memory pool. Instead, they rely on shared memory, which is essentially just a portion of the RAM installed in your PC.
The specific feature that manages how much memory is allocated for video is known as Intel(R) Dynamic Video Memory Technology. This tech allows the graphics controller to dynamically grab only the amount of RAM it needs to run various apps or software. You can't actually hard-set a specific fixed value; you can only set a ceiling for how much it is *allowed* to take. Typically, you'll find this setting in the BIOS with options like 128MB, 256MB, or "Maximum DVMT." Other increments like 512MB might exist, but that really depends on your motherboard manufacturer and how much total RAM you have installed.
Just keep in mind that you are only adjusting the upper limit, not the baseline requirement.
If you check that link, you’ll see results based on high fan speeds without including the "high" (or sometimes "low") settings—the 212 EVO comes out stronger and quieter. Honestly, I think that's accurate because for years, the 212 EVO was the consensus "best buy" across every tech site in the country. It hit that sweet spot of performance versus price, noise levels, and slim enough dimensions to ensure zero RAM clearance issues. That might have changed recently, but half of these top-tier coolers aren't even stocked in local US retailers (like that small Cryorig H7, for instance), or as Timothy Kim60 mentioned, you've got those beefier options priced north of $60, such as the Corator DS (which saw a price hike for $20), the Scythe Ninja 3, Mugen Max, or the Thermalright Macho Rev A.
There’s also a persistent issue I find myself bringing up constantly: cooler reviews are incredibly frustrating because every single one tells a different story. For example, when they compare two specific models—or if those two aren't even in the same review and they just use some third model as a universal baseline—the data is all over the place. I’ve sat through four or five different reviews for the same cooler, and if the models are closely matched, you can almost never reach a definitive conclusion. In one review, they’re neck and neck; in another, one pulls slightly ahead; in yet another, the other takes the lead; and occasionally, one absolutely destroys the other.
Almost every retailer north of $667 offers free assembly on select components. Which specific graphics card are you looking at, and what kind of financing terms are they offering? Also, are you planning to shop online or go into a physical store? That’ll definitely influence which shop I'd recommend.
FX 8300 at a few shops below $333 😵 I mean, the drop isn't massive, but seeing those three digits hit a certain level just has a stronger psychological impact.
As that CPU gets older, its price is going to bottom out, especially once Broadwell and Skylake start hitting the market...
The FX 6300 is starting to lose its value proposition; I have no idea why the price isn't dropping faster.🤷
BTW, has anyone else noticed the A10 7850K is also hovering around $333? (If I recall correctly, it was around 1200-$433 just a couple of weeks ago)
DDR3 prices are sliding, and DDR4 is dropping even faster—it’s almost reaching parity with DDR3 costs now.
Here’s my take on the R9 390 (factory overclocked version)
PowerColor Radeon R9 390 PCS+ 8GB review
The performance is honestly impressive; in a wide range of titles, it holds its own beautifully against the GTX 980 (which I assume is the reference model)
If you're paying upfront and aiming for the GTX 970:
1 x Gigabyte GF GTX970 WF3 OC, 4GB GDDR5, DVI, DP 1 x Intel CPU Desktop Core i5-4460 (3.2GHz, 6MB,LGA1150) box 2 x Kingston HyperX 4Gb DDR3 1866MHz 1 x Seagate HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M 1 x OCZ ARC 100, 240Gb Sata3 1 x Fortron Hyper 600W, 80+ 1 x LG GH24NSC0 sat Bulk Black 24 x 1 x Zalman Z3 1 x Zalman Z3, USB3.0 black, 3x120mm 1 x Asrock Intel 1150 Socket B85 ANNIVERSARY Chipset MB
Total: $2649 Micro Center price, includes free assembly and shipping
I’m still holding my ground: getting a GTX 980 for $250$867 is a total 😬steal . Check out this head-to-head comparison between the 390 and the GTX 1060 here :
It looks that way, but the raw specs aren't everything. In his benchmarks, the 280 with 3GB and the 380 with 4GB perform similarly, but the former actually holds its own—sometimes even pulling ahead at 1440p or 4K because the GPU core itself is just more substantial.
He should also consider a GTX 1050, depending on what kind of games he's into.
What’s your end goal here? The real headache is that finding solid CPU benchmarks for actual professional software—stuff people truly rely on—can be incredibly difficult, if not impossible. Meanwhile, you can find dozens of benchmarks for every trivial little game out there...
That said, synthetic tests aren't entirely useless. For instance, running Cinebench multithreading would give you a pretty accurate look at how your system handles a heavy video rendering hierarchy.