Posts by Kimberly Gomez34

Don't bother with those new V300 drives—they're practically the slowest SSDs on the market. If you're looking to cut costs as much as possible, at least go with a Patriot Blaze instead.

Aesthetics 🤣
You honestly could have picked up a much better cooler for that kind of money, but I guess this one will do alright enough.

Samsung

You could've just grabbed the SSD from the same shop. It would’ve been cheaper overall, and you wouldn't have had to shell out for a second shipping fee.

Brian Campbell36, you're already starting to lose your grip on reality. This board is significantly better than that MSI one, especially since the MSI won't even support a CF setup in the end.

Let's be real—the G3220 and G3258 aren't even going to budge. They simply won't boot. This is it.I ran into some total garbage issues—specifically constant black screens—while playing Far Cry 4, but everything finally stabilized once a patch was released to fix it.

Regarding these builds—look, it’s the truth, plain and simple. Why? Because hardware and game developers design everything primarily for the Western market. Let’s be real: the US and Canada are the epicenters here. A "budget" build in America isn't the same thing as one here. In the States, even their entry-level components can be up to 30% cheaper, yet they come with much higher performance standards. For an average worker making minimum wage over there, buying a decent PC is a total breeze. What we consider a budget setup is just what you listed, but they barely even touch that tier. To them, something like an FX 6300 + R9 270X is considered a budget rig, while an Intel Core i5-4670K + GTX 970 is just a standard, everyday PC. Good grief, people over there have been mass-buying i7s, 16GB of RAM, and 700-1000W power supplies for gaming for years.
Let's be honest, most people only buy high-end gear because they don't actually know any better. They think they need the top-of-the-line stuff, but nobody ever complains about having too much power. Trust me, you won't hear anyone crying because their PC was actually too fast.

crimsonstag84 said:1 x Zalman Z1, USB3.0 black, 2x120mm
1 x Crucial 8GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x AMD FX X6 6300 3.5Ghz (4.1GHz) box processor
1 x LC POWER LC-CC-95, socket 775/1155/1156/AMD
1 x Seagate Barracuda HDD (3.5",1TB,64MB,SATA III)
1 x Sapphire R9 285 Dual-X OC, 2GB GDDR5
1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+

Total: $1834(retailers) Best Buy

If you're looking strictly at gaming performance—this thing is a beast.

Honestly, when does a major generational shift actually happen in gaming? I posted about this exact topic on this forum a few years back—it was always predictable. The last time we saw a massive jump like this was around 2007, when the new consoles launched and next-gen titles really started to take off.

That said, you should take those system requirements with a grain of salt. Some of them were just absolute nonsense for SOM, making it seem like the game runs perfectly fine on a dual-core; the "recommended" CPUs feel totally unnecessary since the game isn't even that CPU-intensive. In practice, performance is basically identical on an i3 versus an i7, though a beefier GPU definitely helps.

Here is mellowtiger83, who apparently doesn't know how to Google recommended specs :P w3 - it's pretty strange that the Phenom II 940 is being grouped in with the 2500K. My guess is developers are just padding the numbers through some technical workaround.

Word is that the game is already pushing the hardware limits of next-gen consoles, and everyone has known for at least a year now that it's going to be incredibly demanding:

On the game’s PC specs, he teased, “(Laughs) We’ll be releasing that information soon, but you can already start saving up for an upgrade.”

We'll see how it plays out. There's a rumor floating around that the graphics were downgraded—similar to what happened with Watch Dogs—because the original vision was just too much for the hardware, which could very well be the truth.

Adam Moore3 said:( though even then, I highly doubt a 660Ti will be enough to run The Witcher; that would be ridiculous )

They’ve listed the GTX 660 (not the Ti) and the HD7870 as the bare minimum requirements. That's the lowest we've seen so far. Honestly, though, we won't know how it actually performs until it drops—so let's not get ahead of ourselves. But knowing that studio and their track record with the previous two entries of The Witcher, they don't mess around; even hitting those minimum specs is going to be a struggle.

Kenneth Jackson3 said:Which GPU would be a smart upgrade over the MSI Radeon R7 7770?

M5A97 R 2.0
FX 8350
8 GB DDR3 RAM
CX 500

$1000-$500 max.
I have a hunch my power supply might be struggling since the CPU alone pulls about 250W, but if there's anything worth grabbing in this price range, I'm all ears.
Honestly, I'm not even sweating it until The Witcher 3 drops.
My current card doesn't support Crossfire.

If you aren't in a rush, I’d suggest waiting a few months if I were in your shoes. We have new mainstream cards on the horizon—Nvidia will definitely release something, and AMD will too. If you hold out, we'll also see a few more demanding titles like GTA 5 hit the scene, which can serve as great benchmarks (since The Witcher 3 isn't coming until May anyway) to give us a better idea of what future games will actually require.

Look, you could easily find bad reviews for an ASUS Sabertooth or even a Formula board if you looked hard enough. There aren't any set rules here. While the odds of getting bent pins on a motherboard right out of the box are incredibly slim, if you start searching online, you'll see it happens to everyone—even with high-end boards from Gigabyte, ASUS, and the rest.

As for that SSD, your buddy is just being jealous.😁

For the last 8 or 9 years straight, I’ve always had at least one AMD 62/65W build in my rotation (ranging from old Athlons to today's Phenom II 910e running at 1.05v and ~2800rpm) using just a stock cooler, and they haven't been loud, nor have they ever overheated. I want to emphasize the word prebučni; obviously, you’ll hear them if you’re actively listening for it. It really comes down to the individual—not everyone has the same level of sensitivity to noise. For instance, if someone is a total silence fanatic, even the stock fans included with a chassis might get under their skin, much like a pricier (and likely a best-buy option) Zalman Z3. Just keep in mind that if the case is $100, it already comes equipped with three decent 12cm stock fans—but let's be real, decent 12cm fans usually run about $70-$$27, and getting three of them would cost over $67—which is practically the price of the entire case itself. Just to give you some perspective. Being a "silent ninja" is an expensive hobby, and looking at this build's specs, I highly doubt anyone here is trying to be a ninja
.

Sean Garcia3

With the Arcadio Black Midi Tower, you aren't getting two fans; you only get one rear fan.
With an AMD TDP of 65W, you can definitely get away with using the stock cooler—especially if you decide to undervolt. It won't be overly loud, nor will you run into any overheating issues. However, if you're a total noise freak who demands absolute silence, you might want to look into something like a Spire Kepler or an LC-CC-95 instead.

coastaltiger2

If there's anything else... $167 You can definitely do that. Let's focus strictly on gaming performance—since I assume you'll be looking to run the next big titles like the new GTA 5 or the latest Battlefield. We can leave the SSD out of this one. Here is my revised first proposal:

1 x AMD FX-Series X6 6300 processor, 3.5GHz, 14MB, 95W, AM3+ socket, FD6300WMHK
Here’s the breakdown of the specs: one Gigabyte 970A-DS3P motherboard using the AM3+ socket, paired with an AMD 970 SB950 chipset. It supports four slots of DDR3 memory, capable of running at 2000 (O.C.) or 1866 MHz.
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, compatible with 1156/775/FM1 sockets, dimensions 96.5×51×125 mm, featuring a 92mm fan.
1 x Seagate 1TB HDD, SATA III, 7200 rpm, ST1000DM003
1 x CORSAIR 430W Power Supply, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
I have one MS PHOENIX case available—it's a Midi tower that supports both ATX and mATX motherboards. Note that this does not include a power supply.
1 x 4GB Crucial DDR3 stick, 1600MHz CL11
I have one Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC available. It features 1GB of GDDR5 memory with a 128-bit interface and is built on a 28nm process.

$1184 I'm not quite sure what you mean by "adm." If you were trying to ask something specific or looking for information regarding hardware or a particular setup, please let me know! I'm happy to help once I have a bit more context.

The case is quite large (ATX), but since it's from a more budget-friendly class, you have the flexibility to add components that aren't quite as massive. $47 za click

I'm ready. Send over the content you need me to work on. $100 Should I grab another identical 4GB stick of RAM, or would it be better to just go with a single 8GB module? $193)

Regarding my approach, I've decided that instead of just adding another 4GB of RAM, I'd rather invest in a more powerful graphics card, even if it means having slightly less than... $100 It’s actually more expensive than the 260X. click But let’s be real—you're definitely going to need to throw in another 4GB of RAM down the road to handle next-gen titles (which, luckily, is a pretty straightforward upgrade). For everything coming out through 2013 or 2014, though, you can still run just about any current game smoothly on 4GB.

Regarding the graphics card—take The Witcher 3 as an example. It’s arguably one of the most demanding upcoming titles and likely the first true next-gen experience. Word is that for minimum specs, you'll need something like a GTX 660 or an HD7870, and essentially, your R9 270 is just an HD7870 under a different name. That said, there is a massive difference between what the requirements say on paper and how a game actually runs in practice. It is entirely possible that a weaker card will still handle it quite smoothly. I used that specific title as an example of a next-gen game, though I realize that might not be your primary focus.

We don't have a definitive date yet, though it might happen sometime this spring.

Since Sapphire Technology is strictly an AMD partner, link, they operate much like how Palit, Gainward, Zotac, and others focus exclusively on producing cards with Nvidia chips.

You'll notice that companies like ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI are massive conglomerates that manufacture all sorts of hardware—similar to how MBO operates—so they aren't nearly as tied to any single GPU manufacturer.

Paul Miller64 said:I probably won't be pulling the trigger on a GPU until mid-year,
so right now I'm just doing some research.

Sigh, by then there will likely be brand new Nvidia and AMD graphics cards out anyway.

coastaltiger2 said:Hmm.
I am actually willing to shell out about $1167...
Just keep in mind, I need a quiet setup... nothing that sounds like a nuclear reactor running in my living room... so, maybe some better coolers... with a heavy emphasis on quality... I really like the idea of using solid-state storage—you know, not a traditional HDD, but more like a chip or something—to run the OS, while keeping a standard HDD for extra data storage.

Here is one suggestion without an SSD or a high-end GPU, focused more on raw gaming performance. Though, it might be worth picking up a few games first.

1 x AMD FX-Series X6 6300 Processor 3.5GHz, 14MB, 95W, AM3+, FD6300WMHK
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm
1 x Seagate 1TB HDD, Serial ATA III, 7200 rpm, ST1000DM003
1 x CORSAIR 430W Power Supply, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x MS PHOENIX Case (no PSU), Midi tower MBO: ATX, mATX
1 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 (1x4GB), 1600MHz CL11
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm

$1184 adm

You can swap this $17 to include a 500GB drive instead. If you add another 4GB of RAM later, you'll have a solid machine. There's also plenty of headroom to upgrade to a beefier graphics card down the road.

If you're more into titles like WoW or World of Tanks:

1 x Seagate 1TB HDD, Serial ATA III, 7200 rpm, ST1000DM003
1 x CORSAIR 430W Power Supply, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 (1x4GB), 1600MHz CL11
1 x Intel Core i3-4160 Processor (3.60GHz, 512KB, 3MB, 54 W, 1150) Box
1 x Asrock H81M-HDS, s1150, Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2 xDDR3
1 x Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS micro tower case, 189(W) x 427.5(H) x 364(D)mm
1 x MSI R7 260X LE 2GD5 OC, 2GB DDR5, DVI-I, DVI, DP, HDMI, R7 260x

$1155

Rumor has it that Carizzo isn't making the jump to desktop (Football Manager 2012).

Paul Miller64 said:What do you think would be a solid future-proof GPU?
My goal is to maintain a steady 40 FPS at 1080p on high settings for all upcoming titles over the next few years. My theory is that graphical leaps won't be massive this generation, so an AMD Radeon R9 280X might actually be plenty.
Thoughts?

And what about the CPU and power supply?

R7 260X beats the R7 260, which outperforms the GTX 650Ti, while both outshine the HD7770/250X and the HD6850 alike.

Give $133
a shot.

Samsung also offers a 5-year warranty on their 850 series