The gap between drivers has narrowed slightly based on some recent re-testing, but even so, the GTX 1050 still edges out the GTX 1050 in average performance. In my opinion, the GTX 1050 sits in a bit of a "no man's land"—it’s not quite enough, yet not quite worth it. You’re much better off stretching your wallet a little further to get the GTX 1050 Ti. It offers superior speed and comes with 4GB of VRAM, making it a much more well-rounded product. Dealing with just 2GB on the GTX 1050 or the GTX 1050 4GB is tricky; most games won't show much difference on these lower-tier chips until you really start pushing them, at which point things get ugly (for instance, a 4GB card would crush a 2GB version in a title like Doom). Look, if you're strictly working with a tight budget, the GTX 1050 4GB is certainly the cheapest option listed, but the GTX 1050 is priced right alongside the 4GB model and isn't much cheaper than the 1050 Ti itself.
Definitely go with the g4560 and nothing else. If you stick with the h110, you’ll need a BIOS update—just have the guys at Micro Center handle that for you. The big advantage of the first option is having four RAM slots, an M.2 slot for your SSD, and a VRM cooler (though honestly, that won't matter much for this specific build). You won't even need to bother with an aftermarket cooler.
I think you might be misreading the pricing. If you check Architectural Digest, they list it as $2620 (either cash at the branch or a direct wire transfer). On the other hand, if you head to HGspot, the in-store price is $2766, but their website shows $7,862, so definitely double-check your payment method before you commit.
So, does it absolutely have to be what they call an "ultrabook"—which really narrows down my options and drives up the price—or can I just go with a standard 15" gaming laptop?
Even if you had an x8/x8 setup, it wouldn't fix the SLI bottleneck. It’s basic logic: if a single card isn't hitting its stride, adding a second one won't help—especially since so few titles actually scale perfectly with dual GPUs anyway.
It isn't even about the x8 bandwidth itself—since SLI and Crossfire function just fine at x8/x8—it's the fact that most motherboards offering a second PCIe x16 slot actually bottleneck you with only x4 throughput.
For instance, looking at current Z170 boards, only the high-end models around the $400 mark actually support CF and SLI properly by providing true x8/x8 lanes.
For that kind of money, you’re basically looking at a 480-525GB SSD. It's actually pretty interesting how much more sense those make, especially since you barely notice a price hike compared to the smaller drives.
Even in the absolute worst-case scenario, that GPU is barely going to pull 200W click. The rest of your components will top out at 100W—likely even less—so your current power supply can definitely handle the load. You already have one 8-pin connector (the 6+2), and for the second one, just grab this (don't sweat the pin configuration; they wouldn't design them to plug in the wrong way).
Jack Smith4 said:I wasn't aiming for quad-core Pentium chips; my point was that Celeron/Pentium architecture is advancing so rapidly that their dual-core setups will eventually perform like today's quad-core 4440. To me, that seems totally doable—just look at how my G1840 stacks up against an old Q8300 or Q8400. If they keep these prices where they are for the next 5 to 10 years, we're looking at something pretty great. 🙂
That’s definitely not going to happen, and honestly, we can already see the trend. IPC typically bumps up by about 5% per generation on average, and sometimes it doesn't move at all (look at the jump from Devil's Canyon to Kaby Lake). Other times, you even see clock speeds being dialed back (like with Broadwell or to some extent Cannon Lake).
I'm pretty certain we're looking at a glitch on the CNN website.
wiredotter14
Sure, trying to predict where things will be in ten years is a thankless task, but expecting an Intel quad-core to hit $117 is way too optimistic. If you look at a true quad-core—and I’m not talking about those AMD CMT setups with two modules that aren't even real quads—those haven't become cheap chips in over a decade. First off, they have to drop down to $333 just to be relevant, and getting them to half today's price (around $110) is going to take forever. As for the competition, based on the latest rumors, they won't even be launching a pure Zen quad or anything with six cores right away; it'll likely be 4c8t, 8c, or 8c16t architectures instead.
I’m not holding my breath that Intel will be offering a quad-core under the $117 brand ten years from now. If you look back at the last six years, progress has been incredibly sluggish—performance tiers have stayed largely stagnant while prices have actually climbed, with the exception of the current Pentium lineup which is an outlier in both categories. Plus, transitioning to even newer manufacturing processes is going to be a much steeper uphill battle than anything we've seen before.
goldenjackal46 offers free assembly too; they just charge you for shipping. As for the case, if your budget isn't super tight, I’d personally lean toward the Cooler Master Mid Tower (which comes with two pre-installed fans), the Zalman Z3, or maybe even a Cooler Master Deathclaw. For the motherboard, I'd go with an MSI H110M PRO-D (similar $136).
Well, you're essentially pulling from that exact same extreme.
Jack Smith4 said:It’s common knowledge that when it comes to XFX, the build quality of their GPUs is worlds apart from the quality of their power supplies. Anyone who knows anything about them will tell you the exact same thing. 🙂
That’s a bit of a stretch. You're generalizing again. What about the XFX GTR?
Don't just be a corporate drone for the brands. Look at every product on its own merits—and obviously, keep an eye on that price tag.
Jack Smith4 said:It’s worth noting that the ASUS hits VRM temperatures of 110°C within just 15 minutes of use. Listen, anyone with even a shred of technical knowledge knows that once a VRM hits those kinds of temperatures, it’s game over. You might get an hour of stability out of it, but after that, the whole thing is going to fry. Anything beyond an hour is just asking for disaster..
That’s incorrect! 😁 A VRM temperature around 100°C is actually perfectly normal; most of them are rated to handle up to 125°C without any issues.
Zachary Nguyen2 said:I compared it against that price point.
To be fair, you’d probably save some cash that way too. Honestly, it just comes down to preference—both options have their own set of pros and cons. For a lot of people, having that third year of warranty coverage is the real clincher; it makes the whole thing much easier to flip later on.
silentfalcon622 said:I live in Chicago, so Amazon is definitely my go-to. With any luck, it'll arrive by tomorrow, and having that 30-day return window really gives me some peace of mind.
Using this setup just to play World of Warcraft is probably overkill. 😁
Sent from my CUBOT DINOSAUR via Reddit
That’s a different story if you aren't here in the States.
Just one rule: never, under any circumstances, pay upfront. Even if you don't actually plan to, just ask if you can swing by to see it in person. If they start making up wild excuses to avoid a face-to-face meeting...
Just because your brother’s XFX card died, does that mean nobody should ever buy XFX?
Are you guaranteeing it'll last twice as long? On what basis? If I go online and find some guy whose brother had that exact GPU and it crapped out on him, does that suddenly make the card garbage?
Post a link to the situation. 😉 I honestly think this was taken completely out of context. Whether a deal is actually worth it or not is dictated by the price—hopefully, that’s a concept everyone can wrap their heads around.