Posts by Kimberly Gomez34

If you've already cycled through several different operating systems and nothing works, you might be looking at a faulty motherboard that just won't boot anything.🤷

Yup

I have no idea why they suggested that when Hexa is basically a rocket ship for this kind of setup. Maybe it’s just because they had it in stock and didn't have the other one, or perhaps they figured any basic part would cut it since your current build doesn't pull much power. Personally, I'd stick with Hexa; not only is it more reliable, but it’ll actually give you some breathing room later on if you decide to drop in a GPU or something similar.

My mistake, I was thinking about a used GPU, not an MBO

Download AIDA64 or Speccy, then let me know your motherboard model once you have it side-by-side with the specs.

Grab an SSD, like this one (you'll flash Windows and your programs onto it), and you should be able to find 2GB of DDR2 under $33. For the rest of the budget, just pick up a used motherboard—it likely won't cost more than $100 since your CPU isn't exactly a powerhouse. Just send over the power supply model; pop off the side panel and check what the sticker says.

Well, it really all boils down to what you intend to do with it. If you aren't planning on heavy gaming, I'd say just grab an SSD and maybe some extra RAM.

Do I need to pick up a monitor and other peripherals as well? If a monitor is included, does it support DVI or HDMI?

It doesn't matter; at the end of the day, all that counts is that it's a converter.

Surely it makes more sense for him to just sell the old monitor and upgrade to a new one rather than clinging to the old hardware and buying an adapter. After all, he wouldn't be spending much more, and he’d actually end up with a superior display.

http://www.amazon.com/s?k=Dell+monitor

Honestly, this isn't a unique situation. I see it happening on forums all the time now—people complaining that their monitor only has a VGA port, while modern GPUs only output digital signals. Using an adapter in those cases is basically throwing money away.

Well, we wouldn't be able to help you much without the exact model name 😁

Yeah, I was actually hoping that would be the case—it's not every day you run into a 460W unit.

Xilence is mediocre at best, though I can't quite tell which specific model you're looking at. What does the label say?

I'd go with an Intel Core i5 6400 or an i5 6402p—whichever one is cheaper at a given retailer—paired with a budget H110 motherboard using DDR4. Grab 8GB of DDR4 if it's the cheap option, too. As for the power supply, we'll have to see, but otherwise, I'd suggest putting as much of your budget as possible into the GPU. Honestly, you might be better off waiting for those post-holiday sales at stores like Best Buy; last time around, they had the best deals on GPUs and those i5 processors, so once they restock, you'll get a better idea of the prices.

Does the exact wattage of that 460W unit really matter? A Radeon 6850 pulls a bit more than what you have, the 6870 draws even more, and that GTX 560 is going to be even hungrier...
By the way, I noticed one of those items from the links you posted has already sold.

That CPU isn't compatible with that motherboard; you're going to need an Intel Core i5 6400 instead. Also, 16GB of RAM is overkill for what you're doing—8GB is plenty. You'd be much better off putting that extra cash toward a better GPU.
What specific power supply are you running?

Paul King7 I included the coffee maker and the case in my previous post, but if you strip out the Naviatec Z1 from that suggestion (since the case price remains identical), the total cost only jumps by the price of the coffee machine itself.

mistyhound94 Even a lower-tier option like an H110 would suffice, unless there are specific requirements we need to account for.

Here are the for my suggestion:



Something slightly cheaper $2333 to save some cash (based on web pricing).

The CPU is essentially the same beast as the Intel Core i5-4460, just more efficient—honestly, it’s actually a tiny bit faster if you're looking at synthetic benchmarks.

The power supply is noticeably cheaper than the Cooler Master one (about a third of the price); it offers the same quality and wattage, it just lacks modularity and that 5-year warranty. It's up to you what you prefer, but it will fit without any issues.

Just ditch the coffee maker if it's not necessary.

The case comes with two fans; you can set one as an exhaust to get decent airflow, so you won't need to buy anything extra. If the aesthetics of the other one caught your eye, go for it—it's a solid case and the price isn't bad.

You could take the extra budget and put it toward a premium model like the AMD Radeon RX 480 - MSI Gaming; the difference could mean better silence, better overclocking, and lower temperatures. For the $13 extra, you could upgrade to the MX300 275GB SSD—it's a superior drive, though the current one has a 5-year warranty, so weigh your options. In my opinion, the Samsung Evo 850 is overpriced (even if it is arguably the best consumer SATA SSD out there). As for the motherboard, if it becomes available, the MSI B150M Bazooka Plus is an option. Overall, the prices aren't bad at all (at least for the parts I picked), it's just that the GPU is a little pricier here than elsewhere.

*I hope her monitor has a digital output—either HDMI or DVI—so it's not strictly VGA-only.

It’s even weaker than your ex. You can’t just go out and grab something for $100 and expect it to match the performance of your old card
.
As for checking it out on Craigslist, man, you really have to see it in person (they're offering testing and local meetups, which is a solid sign they aren't running a scam)

That CPU socket and motherboard won't match up (1150 vs 1151). Honestly, there's no point in grabbing a Z-series board if you aren't planning on overclocking. You could easily go with an Intel Core i5-6400 paired with a higher-end Intel B150 board instead.

And seriously, get rid of that Modecom power supply immediately; it’s just bad math to spend money via $200 on such a questionable unit. If you're looking for a modular setup, grab this, it's a much better power supply and comes with a 5-year warranty. Just a heads-up, Best Buy can be a bit pricey if you're paying cash. For instance, with the same budget as that 480, you could actually snag msi gaming which is a top-tier AMD Radeon RX 480 model.

If you're looking at this for gaming purposes,

Depending on where you're located (for instance, if you're in the NYC area), testing the card in person or getting it shipped should be easy enough:

Sure link
You could also go with a standard case click, though you really should, since the Naviatec Z1 requires slimline optics similar to what you'd find in a laptop

Why not just download them online? If I swap in a dedicated GPU ($43), the whole build strategy shifts—we’d be looking at an H110 motherboard paired with a Skylake Celeron (like the G3900, which is currently seeing the best prices over at Micro Center, Newegg, or Amazon) and DDR4 RAM. The only real downside would be having much weaker integrated graphics for gaming if you stick with that setup.

Futura IT Shopping Cart

1 x AMD Kaverin A8-Series, Radeon R7 Series
1 x ASRock FM2A68M HD+, FM2
1 x Kingston ValueRAM, 2400MHz, XMP, 4GB, CL11
1 x Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x NaviaTec Z1 black, mATX/ITX
1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+

Total: $718

Should I include an optical drive?

Temperatures are sitting right around 120-$43 with this GPU (-$87)