Posts by Kimberly Gomez34

EVGA GTX 1060 8gb $866 , which is actually a pretty decent price. If you were holding out specifically for FreeSync support or something similar, your wait is finally over.

I haven't been able to find much information regarding this specific model—I actually tried looking for some user reviews over on overclock.net—especially concerning VRM thermal performance. As for CF/SLI, that's just noise to me; I couldn't care less about it.

The B350 plus isn't a bad choice at all; it’s actually quite a solid board with its 4-phase power delivery. My only gripe is that it lacks some of the bells and whistles you'd find on higher-end models—it feels a bit dated compared to other B350 options, mostly because it has fewer connectors and similar legacy features. If you're looking at the X370, the main draw would be getting a faster, more updated BIOS and better chipset support. Either way, I'm definitely picking one of those three.

I was planning to hold off until Coffee Lake—specifically that i5 8400—finally hit the shelves here in the States, and maybe wait for an AMD response or the wider availability of the B350-F Strix. But honestly, who knows when that would actually happen? It might never even occur, and besides, things just shifted anyway. At any rate, the earliest I can place my order is Monday once my funds clear through my bank, and there's no way they’re shipping anything out before then regardless.

Which Asus motherboard are you talking about?

Regardless of the dollar exchange rate, I think the only way those components go is down—meaning they’re bound to start getting cheaper on their own.

Here is the B350-f (likely the best B350 out there). Finally, a retailer offering a full 3-year warranty, and it happens to be the most budget-friendly option too.

click here

Just keep in mind that $41 the X370 prime is still a step up...

True, you could pick up a Pentium G4560 paired with 8GB of DDR4 and an NVIDIA GTX 1050 6 GB for about four hundred bucks. It’s not necessarily a massive leap in raw horsepower, but you're getting brand-new hardware with a full warranty and a much more efficient power draw—for instance, the GPU pulls about a third of what the older stuff does.

Actually, that warranty only covers the graphics card if you buy it directly from Nvidia; it doesn't extend to the case or any other parts of your build.

Regarding the GPU, you shouldn't attempt to swap out the thermal paste if there are warranty seals over the screws—but if those aren't there, you're good to go.

If it’s not available right now, then it’s ancient history.

Why didn't you just grab the G4560 (2c4t)? That’s easily your only bottleneck right now.

Basically, your best move would be to drop in a new i5. If that feels too pricey, just upgrade to a G4560 and sell your current chip. It’s a pretty painless way to fix your budget issues.

That mid-tower is an absolute steal for the price you're paying.

If you're willing to shell out a bit more, the Fractal Design Define Mini is probably your best bet over an ATX case. Even their full-sized version runs surprisingly compact.

Generally speaking, finding high-quality Mini-ITX cases within that specific budget is pretty tough here in the States.

You’re likely looking at somewhere around $133 or maybe just a bit north of that—something like a Fractal Design Case. It comes with two fans, and I’d definitely recommend mounting one of them in the rear for better airflow.

Here’s a solid setup featuring an R3, a GTX 1060, and a 128GB SSD—it's definitely worth every penny.



Newegg offers free assembly and shipping. Just make sure you register the Zotac card on their website to lock in that 5-year warranty.

If necessary, you could also strip away these $20 components (either from the motherboard or maybe just 50 from the case, though I wouldn't recommend it).

Make sure you switch your BIOS to AHCI mode before you even start installing the OS onto the Samsung SSD.

techcrunch.com

You can definitely cut costs in a few spots—for instance, you could swap out the power supply (though honestly, I’d stick with this one just for that 7-year warranty), or go with 8GB of RAM (but keep in mind that won't let you push for a higher-tier graphics card later).

As for a monitor, just make sure it has at least a DVI or HDMI port and hits Full HD resolution (1920x1080).

First off, what's the primary use case for this PC? Are you looking for a monitor and peripherals too, or just the tower?

The Intel Core i5-7600K isn't really worth the extra premium over the standard model. Also, unless you're planning on running heavy multi-GPU setups, most people don't actually need the extra connectivity that comes with an X370 motherboard.

Here’s the deal: he’s already running a configuration with a G4560. I really don't think it's worth all the hassle of selling everything off just to jump to an AMD build or trying to upgrade to an i5 on his current motherboard right this second. It’s better to just let the Pentium handle the heavy lifting for now; he can always easily upgrade or swap things out later on.

In this link and this one, you can see that the setup actually has enough juice to handle a GTX 1060 6GB in quite a few games, even if there's a bit of a bottleneck popping up here and there.

Is $1333 perfectly acceptable

That card's 2GB of RAM is the bottleneck; it doesn't necessarily make it much more powerful, and depending on the title, it might not be better at all.



Based on this guy's testing, the GTX 970 is slightly stronger in Call of Duty: Ghosts, but it's actually a bit weaker than the 1050Ti when playing GTA V or Fallout 4, and it’s basically a tie in BF1.

Over time, that 2GB limit is going to feel like a curse on your FPS. Plus, newer drivers will favor the 1050Ti while this one is already drifting into "legacy" territory. It also pulls about three times less power.

Don't waste your money on a brand-new CPU right now. I've seen the Intel Core i5 4440 going for as low as $7--$267. My guess is that once the new Ryzen chips and Coffee Lake hit the market, prices for these older units are going to tank even further. For now, you should look at what's available here:

As for a monitor, if you ask me, this is the absolute best value on the market right now (it's a 24" IPS panel with 75Hz and FreeSync—even if you can't take advantage of those features quite yet—all for a really solid price)

https://www.nabava.net/search.php?q=LG+24MP59G-P

steelfox36 said:What can actually run on this motherboard?
ASUS

https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/B250M-HDV/index.asp#CPU

Basically, anything from the Skylake or Kaby Lake era will work. However, there's really no point in picking up the "K" series processors (the ones unlocked for overclocking) because this specific motherboard isn't designed for overclocking performance.

In principle, you could look for an i5 down the road (whatever the cheapest option is) or even a Ryzen 7 2700X if you find a good deal.

Ultimately, that Pentium setup offers decent value for very little cash; just pair it with a GTX 1050 Ti if you're committed to the PC route and you'll be set. It could even handle a GTX 1060 6GB in many titles with minimal slowdown, though generally speaking, 2 cores and 4 threads don't have much longevity. That said, they are perfectly fine for demanding titles right now.

Switching up the CPU isn't going to make much of a difference here.

Those low-profile cards usually suffer from weaker cooling, which can lead to lower clock speeds or less boost. Personally, I think your CPU is still pretty decent—it definitely holds its own by today's standards. Since the GTX 1030 isn't anything to write home about, if I were in your shoes, I’d save up for at least a GTX 1050 2GB (around $333), an RX 560 2/4GB ($890-$350), or ideally a GTX 1050ti ($1250-$450). Those would be the sweet spot for your current processor, so just run them until you're ready for an upgrade. Alternatively, you could look for some used gear like a GTX 750Ti, an HD7850/7870 (R7 265/370 or R9 270/270X), or a GTX 660.