Posts by Kimberly Gomez34

Intel Core i5 8400

Sometimes with Imgur, you have to manually strip the "i." out of the URL just to get the image to actually render correctly.

Unless you find a Radeon at a decent price, I’d steer clear for now. Personally, I wouldn't bother with a 27" FHD setup unless you're sitting quite far back from the desk. Your budget is actually more suited for a 27" 1440p display, even if the GPU isn't quite there yet (and likely won't be anytime soon)

That 29" 21:9 choice you're looking at, like this click, presents its own set of headaches—specifically with older titles. A lot of those classic games don't support ultrawide resolutions, which usually results in annoying black bars on the sides or a weirdly stretched image that looks totally unnatural.

What kind of rig are you running? Specifically, what's your GPU and CPU setup?

To those who have spent more time researching those budget-friendly 144Hz TN panels:

The LG 24GM77 or the ViewSonic XG2401 are the gold standards for a 1080p 144Hz setup. Honestly, everything else in this price bracket is absolute junk.

From what I can tell, there’s a pretty solid consensus on this. Both models have even seen newer iterations released since then.

Look, you really need to have a solid backup for anything important anyway, so it doesn't make much difference. If it's working fine, just keep using it—just make sure you back up all your vital files and you'll be good to go.

Did you enable AHCI mode?

quietridge92 said:I’m figuring out my needs, and since I tend to view standard webpages at 120% zoom in my browser, my monitor choice really matters.

I did some digging, and these seem to be my best bets:
https://www.amazon.com/monitors__90?...=1000&cdo=2000
A good way to narrow this down would be focusing on monitors with a pivot option, which I think would be highly effective for vertical programming work.

Based on that, does the Dell P2417H (IPS, LCD/LED, 23.8"/24") look like a solid pick? It seems to have the most listings, so I assume it's a popular, mid-range choice. If anyone could just confirm I'm not jumping into something that misses the mark, I’d appreciate it. 🙂
How much of a difference is there compared to the $167 better U2417H?

Those are decent monitors, especially given your budget and the need for a pivot feature.

Keep in mind that the UltraSharp (U) series is a tier above the Professional (P) series, so you should expect superior image quality.

Susan Anderson said:I’d personally aim for a 144Hz monitor for less than $667 x)

Is there maybe some random sale happening at some obscure, no-name online shop that nobody has ever heard of, where they're just slashing prices to attract customers?

https://www.amazon.com/search.php?q=144hz

🙂

Those are strictly TN panels, which offer much lower image quality.

Exactly, you simply can't prove otherwise.

To ensure you're getting the absolute maximum speeds out of your SSD

If we're looking for the best bang for your buck—balancing raw power with a low price tag—I spotted someone on eBay selling an AMD Radeon R9 290 for $400. In my opinion, that’s easily the strongest deal on the market right now. Looking through Craigslist, it seems like there are plenty of them available, starting from $467

I was thinking of Speccy. You should give CPU-Z a shot instead.

As for the SSD, it’s performing exactly as expected; from what I can tell, you just plugged it in and called it a day. You still need to format it within Windows, though if you had actually installed Windows onto the drive itself, that part would already be taken care of.

It might just be an error within Speccy itself.

If your Graphics Card wasn't functioning properly, you wouldn't even be getting a signal, as you've already realized. The real question is whether those drivers actually took hold; you mentioned you installed them, but I'd suggest testing with a different set just to be sure.

Regarding the SSD—you need to install Windows and all your software directly onto it. As for why it isn't showing up, you likely need to jump into Disk Management and format the drive so the system recognizes it (assuming you haven't already installed the OS on it).

It could get a bit tight on that diagonal, honestly. It’d be best if you could catch a glimpse of it in person somewhere

That GTX 650 Ti I linked last should be the top performer here.

Check out my benchmarks using a beefier CPU setup (AMD Phenom 9500 quad Core 2.20 GHz 4 running at 2.6GHz and 3.1GHz, 4GB DDR2, plus an HD7850 2 which actually outperforms the 650Ti).

View on imgur

Benchmark for the biker expansion:

View on imgur

Tony Gay benchmark (this scene is a total resource hog):

2.6ghz - View on imgur
3.1ghz - View on imgur

When I upgraded to Ryzen, I saw a massive performance jump. You’ll likely run into some CPU bottlenecking with that card, but it's still definitely worth picking up.

https://www.craigslist.org/search/usa?query=hd7770
https://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example-1
https://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example-2
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/graphics-card-listing-3 https://www.amazon.com/graphics-card-listing-4

I wouldn't touch that GPU with a ten-foot pole; performance-wise, it’s basically sitting in the same gutter as your current one.

Anyway, the selection here in San Diego is pretty pathetic, but if you absolutely have to buy locally, this is your best bet:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing-example

If you go for it, make sure there's still a warranty left. Also, try bluffing them with an offer of $200 or $83

If you aren't strictly tied to San Diego, you can definitely find much more powerful GPUs, but first, I'm going to need you to tell me the exact model of your power supply.

Otherwise, GTA IV is notorious for being one of the most poorly optimized games ever made. You won't be getting smooth 60 FPS regardless of what you buy, though it'll run well enough—just don't go expecting high details or massive frame rates.

Alright, moving forward, we’ll be using this master thread for all printer recommendations. To get the best advice, please provide as much detail as possible, especially

- your budget
- whether you need an all-in-one, a laser printer, an inkjet, or something else entirely
- any specific requirements you might have

Effective immediately, all inquiries regarding monitor purchases should be directed to this thread. If we see enough activity and demand, I will split this into several dedicated sub-forums—perhaps categorized by budget range or screen size.

To get the best recommendations, please provide as much detail as possible:

- Your budget and preferred payment method.
- Primary use case (e.g., gaming, media consumption, video editing, Adobe Photoshop, etc.).
- Any specific requirements you have (screen size, resolution, refresh rate, panel type, etc.).

Yeah, those 29" 21:9 Dell IPS monitors are a solid choice. That extra widescreen real estate is a game-changer for boosting your productivity.