I’m not saying it’s loud, per se. It’s just that a higher-end Fortress Raider unit supposedly gets a bit noisier under heavy loads—especially when you're running an R9 290. Plus, I remember someone on this forum complaining once that the stock Zalman fans in those cases were incredibly loud, though most people don't find them to be an issue. Look, high-quality fans cost about $6 or $7 apiece, but in the Z3, you get three of them included (four if you grab the Z3+). If they were top-tier premium fans, the case wouldn't be such a bargain, but even so, it’s easily the best value case at that price point. Of course, noise sensitivity is totally subjective. He's also rocking an R9 290; it isn't using the reference cooler, but even then, under full load, it can definitely be "audible," so to speak. In my book, the stock cooler on an i5 is the last thing I'd worry about.
Are you absolutely certain the CPU cooler is the one making that noise? Looking at your setup, I wouldn't bet my life savings on it being the cooler; it’s much more likely to be
- the power supply fan - your GPU (especially when both are under load) - those stock fans in your Zalman case
Of course, if you pair it with a better CPU, having two GPUs is even more powerful... Basically, I'm looking at either picking up a Core i7-4770K or just moving to a completely new platform altogether.
And honestly, if you can swing the extra cash, I’d go with that EVGA card. Even though the Tron power supply will handle that setup just fine without breaking a sweat.
That's right, you're looking at either the GTX 750 Ti or the GTX 970—or if we're talking Nvidia, the GTX 960 (either the Gigabyte model or the Palit Ichill version).
It would be much easier for us to give you a solid recommendation if you had a specific budget in mind. That Athlon is going to bottleneck your R9 270 anyway (which, let's be honest, isn't even a great value on its own) when you try to run most modern games.
Before they completely sold out, the 7870s were $433 at Micro Center. You can see the price hasn't actually shifted much; it’s just that the dollar has spiked so aggressively (though their pricing was roughly in this ballpark even before the exchange rate went crazy).
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 prices took a hit too, all because of the dollar. Honestly, you have to factor in that Nvidia has already released two newer generations since the 6xx series launched.
As for the upcoming models—who knows what's coming, or where the exchange rates are headed.
Amanda Kelly said:Even after a BIOS reset, nothing.
That mismatch between PCI Express 2.0 and 3.0 might be the culprit. Is there any way to fix this?
It definitely isn't a PCI express issue; those two shouldn't interfere with each other. Are you sure that power supply is up to the task? Have you actually tried testing the AMD Radeon HD 6670 in this specific PC yet?
If the answer to all of that is yes, then the only thing I can suggest is updating the BIOS to the latest version found here. I've seen a few mentions online about newer cards refusing to play nice with certain motherboards until the BIOS gets an update—it's a bit strange, 🤷
Including the H1 in an elite case roundup highlights its main flaw: it's built with mid-grade materials and relies on mid-tier design choices, such as those sliding-tab side panels. It features exactly one standout characteristic, and while that single feature is quite nice, it isn't enough to elevate this chassis to best-in-class status.
The bad
Thick plastic top Front intake is stifled Narrow behind mobo tray Average build quality
I mean, you're paying nearly almost $433 for a case that's labeled as having "average build quality." Check out the reviews for the R4 (you can find US-based coverage from PC Expert too) or even the R5—they're significantly more affordable, too.
At the end of the day, they're just another international retailer. I don't see how they hold any real advantage over a major German outlet or even a massive US site like Newegg. Besides, the big guys are way faster with shipping, and customers rarely have issues with returns or claims here.
Patriot Blaze & Pyro 240GB – quick speed test (note the OCZ data in the tables)
There are enough different benchmarks here to make your head spin, but it's clear this is an excellent SSD if you're looking for the best bang for your buck.
So, if you drop the burner, you're looking at $50 roughly
1 x XFX NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 3GB DDR5 Graphic Card 1 x AMD CPU Desktop FX-Series X8 8300 (3.3GHz,16MB,95W,AM3+) box 1 x Gigabyte 970A DS3P, AM3+ 1 x CPU Cooler LC-CC-120, Intel/AMD, 120mm, PWM 1 x HDD SEAGATE Barracuda (3.5",1TB,64MB,SATA III) 1 x Zalman Z3, USB3.0 black, 3x120mm 1 x MEM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz (2x4), Kingston Fury 1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+
Total: $1819
You could opt for that 95 cooler instead, but this one is a steal for the price—it's got 4 heatpipes and a 12cm fan.
If that's pushing your budget too far, just grab the AMD FX-6300. In my opinion, it's better to save money there for gaming performance rather than skimping on the graphics card. Then again, I noticed you haven't actually specified what you'll be using this PC for.
If you’ve already reinstalled the drivers and performed a clean OS install only to have the exact same issue, then we’re likely looking at a hardware failure—your GPU might be kicking the bucket.
On the other hand, I wouldn't spend too much time digging through system settings because of it. Just run a health check and an error scan on your drive using CrystalDiskInfo or HD Tune Pro first.
Honestly, those Pentium / Celeron chips just don't hold a candle to anything else in that price bracket. It feels like a total rip-off for what you're actually getting. Of course, it really boils down to what you plan on doing with the machine. If we're talking about gaming—let’s be real here—the era of Duo Core processors is effectively over. We're heading toward a point where more and more games simply won't launch, or if they do, the stuttering will make them unplayable.
You should probably figure out which games they plan to install first. For some titles, that Pentium with an overclock is actually a sweet spot, but for others, those two cores are going to struggle—think Watch Dogs and things like that. g3258 owners club
That Corsair SSD is actually cheaper and offers much better performance 👍
Regarding the Pentium versus the i3, it isn’t quite that simple. It really comes down to whether certain games will even launch or run at all. Take Far Cry 4 or Dragon Age: Inquisition, for instance—those likely won't run because they require the four threads found in an i3. Plus, thanks to Hyper-Threading, the i3 consistently delivers better performance in almost every modern title.