I’ve already given myself an answer here. You could go with a GTX 270/X or a GeForce GTX 760, provided you upgrade your CPU to something more substantial—think an FX 6300 or an Intel Core i5 or better. I’d personally recommend looking at MSI Gaming cards with Twin Frozr cooling or some Gigabyte models...
Given the CPU you're running now, you're looking at a GeForce GTX 750 or maybe a GTX 260X. Just keep in mind that even with those, you're going to hit a massive bottleneck if you try to play multiplayer modes in Battlefield 4 or single-player titles like Crysis 2.
Rachel Jones8 said:It’s there, it’s just... it wasn't responding properly. Now it wants to work, but I'm running into issues because most of my stuff is in OpenOffice and LibreOffice (and some won't even load, though I haven't had time to dig deep into it yet)... so I'll have to find a workaround for that too.
I honestly don't follow you at all. What do you mean by "it wasn't responding"? Is it failing to boot, freezing up, running slow, or are you just missing the right software?
Now that I've plugged the cables back in, it's working. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Which cables are you talking about?
Basically, if it's a hardware issue (like it refuses to turn on), then just return it for a refund. If it's a software issue, you're probably just missing drivers or specific programs.
As for the architecture, 64-bit should run perfectly fine; I can't think of any modern software that wouldn't work. That would have to be something ancient. Using 32-bit is totally fine too—it shouldn't affect performance at all. Your PC should run normally regardless. It certainly isn't causing trouble just because of that. The only real difference is that it won't recognize more than about 3GB of RAM.
Rachel Jones8 said:I'm still having issues with my computer. Basically, it just won't work. First, I was using it via a wired connection, then I took it in for repair because it wasn't working—it seemed fine after that—then back to the wire because they returned it without the wireless setup working... and now... it's like it's freezing up and... On the first day, it seemed to function somewhat, but it wouldn't open any documents or even the Recycle Bin; if I move an icon to the bottom right corner, it just snaps back to the top right a moment later. When I try to access my external hard drive plugged into the front port, it just keeps loading indefinitely until the screen turns gray and nothing happens... I have no clue what happened to it... whether it's the hardware or the OS installation... A friend installed Windows (32-bit) for me, and the technicians at the shop were baffled why I’m running 32-bit when I really need 64-bit... I actually wanted to add another 4GB of RAM, but they told me there's no point doing that with a 32-bit system.
Now, all I get is a black screen filled with error messages, and pressing keys like X, F, or Tab does absolutely nothing. Honestly, I'm starting to feel pretty frustrated about this...
If it isn't functioning, take it back under warranty. There is no excuse for it being unable to open documents. Do you even have the necessary software installed (like Word, a PDF reader, etc.)? It might just be a software issue...
Prices will definitely drop soon. For instance, the price of a 750Ti here plummeted by about 200-$83 in just a few days. It seems like you don't need to rush out and buy the second a new card hits the shelves. Intel basically ordered a price slash on the 260X, which doesn't move much stock over here. Card prices in the States are a joke; take the 260X, for example—it's roughly 555-$203, while a Sapphire 265 goes for about $277. Realistically, things here are at least 20-30% higher.
By the way, if anyone remembers back in the fall (before the new series arrived), the HD7770 was sitting around 670-$227 at Best Buy, and then suddenly spiked by at least $33 until recently. So, that 250X price isn't anything special; honestly, it should be even lower since half a year has passed since then.
It looks like the GTX 750 Ti is finally making its way in. Right now, they’re priced about the same as the 7850 . Honestly, I think we need to see those prices drop a bit more; being this close to the 270 mark just doesn't make sense.
That’s not ideal; at best, you're cutting it extremely close. Look, give it a shot since this power supply isn't total junk, but I've seen this go south before. I had a guy in here with a similar setup—a 450W version powering an FX 6350 (125W) and an HD 4890—and his PC just straight-up died under full load. If yours starts shutting down, you'll know exactly what the culprit is, and you'll need to swap that PSU out immediately.
As long as they share the same chip (8800 GTS), you can run them in SLI. What specific power supply are we talking about here? Give me the exact model name or, better yet, just snap a photo of the label. It should ideally be able to deliver a stable 400W, though I have my doubts. What’s the actual output on the +12V rail? You should probably budget another $150 (maybe an EVGA 550W, a Corsair 560 GP3, or a Seasonic 550W) for the PSU.
Jason Harris5 said:Check the replaced date. Then tell me when "the new Corsair" is actually going to ship that unit out to this middle-of-nowhere part of the country. Customers waiting on DOA replacements end up waiting weeks because suppliers claim they have stock they don't actually possess, and they only grab inventory once the major markets start dropping orders in ridiculous amounts.
And I'll say it again: your money, your choice. Until I see a supplier importing hundreds of Corsair units into my house (or even any of my friends' houses), it isn't happening.
Disk received Jan 20th, status posted Jan 22nd.
New disk arrived a couple days after that status update, so roughly 7 days total.
BTW, it wasn't a DOA component, but according to him, a "half-dead" SSD purchased in Canada, failed here in the States, and the RMA was handled in the Netherlands.
I'm just saying that the warranty on Corsair SSDs isn't questionable (even for those holding onto old Corsair drives). The customer has their rights; handling the claims is the retailers' or distributors' headache.
BTW, regarding Corsair power supplies:
ExxonMobil announced that instead of Corsair power supplies (once they stop stocking them), they will offer either an FSP replacement or a refund. ASBIS says they are only doing refunds, as they won't be offering any other brand as a substitute.
No matter how you look at it, everything is 5/5 in America (for now).
Michael Jackson10 said:I'm already aware of what happened above, but I assume it’ll take some time before your official channels actually get up and running...
Dammit, prices in Washington, D.C. are absolutely insane right now. $33 Cheaper? Man, I should have been born in a different era altogether.
You can always opt for cash on delivery, but honestly, once you start looking at shipping everything from overseas, the costs jump by at least 40%.$17 It's finally here. Delivery complete.
If you’ve got an HG Shop account, $213 You can snag the Samsung 850 EVO for less if you order online, but it’ll run you $699 if you walk into a retail store. Keep an eye on Links if you happen to be near one of their locations—their sale section and group buy deals are worth checking out. They actually have Intel products on sale right now.
Jason Harris5, I don't follow you—why would a customer bother stressing over this when they have a warranty to fall back on? 🤷
Here is an excerpt from an email Toshiba sent to a PC expert:
Quote:
Regarding product warranties (a topic that’s been generating quite a bit of buzz on your forum), we have issued the following statement:
“In light of recent news, Corsair wants to reassure all our valued customers that the Company is honoring all product warranties. Should any customers require assistance, we encourage them to reach out to our customer support and forum support teams, who will be more than happy to help.”
>
So, the warranty holds up. Plus, this new Corsair SSD (linked above) comes with a 5-year warranty as well.
For context, here is how an RMA for a Vertex 3 went down after the bankruptcy (from a customer at a local tech shop):
Jason Harris5 said:Exactly. On top of all that, Western Digital essentially went belly up as an independent entity, so what we're seeing now is just leftover stock clearing out...
As soon as the news broke regarding the bankruptcy, their reps reached out to us, trying to insist everything was under control and a solution was on the horizon. That "solution" turned out to be Toshiba, which recently announced they fully acquired them, rebranding the unit as Western Digital and folding it into the Toshiba Group...
It’s a solid SSD overall, but the price tag is just too high. It doesn't make sense when you compare it to the Apple EVO, which is only slightly better for a much better value.$200
Rachel Jones8 said:If I end up buying an SSD later, does that mean I have to redownload and reinstall everything? Like, moving Windows and all my programs from a regular hard drive over to the new one?
Not necessarily. You have two options: you can either clone your current Windows installation and all your software directly from the HDD to the SSD, or you can just perform a fresh install of Windows on the new drive—which is actually quite fast. But when that time comes, you'll have those choices available.
Did you end up ordering it? Honestly, any of the configurations they suggested should work fine. They’re worth the investment and make sense; just make sure you don't grab one of those overpriced, pre-built bundles where they've padded the margins.
To give you some context, the reason I recommended an SSD is because, for a casual user like yourself—handling things like Microsoft Office, browsing, or streaming movies—you wouldn't really notice the jump from a Pentium to a much pricier i5. However, switching from an HDD to an SSD as your boot drive (where Windows and your apps live) makes a massive difference. You'll feel it immediately when booting up, restarting, moving large folders, or launching programs. It makes the whole PC feel significantly more responsive. Sure, they can be pricey, but if it fits your budget, go for it. In my opinion, it’s much smarter for the average user to invest there rather than blowing the budget on a high-end CPU, a fancy case, or a beefy graphics card. An SSD will become the standard in the coming years anyway. And hey, you can always upgrade later.
I told her the exact same thing ages ago—she’s just wasting her breath messing around with those adapters. Honestly, if she had spent half as much time searching her hard drive as she has obsessing over this thread, she would have figured it out by now. In all seriousness, everything vital is sitting right there in C:\Users\All Users—just grab your My Documents, everything on the Desktop, and those essential folders from the D: drive (depending on what kind of mess she made over there). You’re going to have to reinstall your programs anyway, and stuff like games or movies? You can always just redownload them if you don't feel like hogging disk space or burning them to a disc.
How much "essential" data could you actually have? If we're talking strictly about documents (like Microsoft Office files or photos), we're looking at maybe a few megabytes. Even if she has a massive collection of photos and videos, it’ll likely only be a few GBs, and that's it. Plus, you can just upload those documents to OneDrive like I mentioned before.
Charles Fisher28 said:What's a fair price for a used HD 6970? Bought back in February 2013.
Maybe $300, you really need to aim for a price point lower than what people are asking for used 7870s (like the R9 270). I saw an HD 6970 paired with an Accelero Extreme on a tech forum for about $900-$317
