If you bump up the RAM by at least another 4GB, you'll be in a great spot to run an Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB or an RX 480 8GB (check out the current deals at Micro Center—they have both the standard XFX RS and the GTR models on sale right now). Also, make sure to verify the exact model of your power supply; just pop off the side panel to check.
Let the kid pick out whatever he actually wants (it’s the only one he’ll truly connect with anyway). Besides, you aren't exactly eyeing those cheap, bottom-of-the-barrel cases from $33 .
Are you talking about the 8-pin CPU connector, also known as the EPS? Most modern power supplies actually come with a 4+4 pin design so they're easier to work with. Just a heads-up, though: those pins aren't the same as the ones used for your GPU.
Who cares who takes over the reins as long as the bills are being paid? You don't need to worry about the actual product quality; you aren't going to walk out of a store like Target with a literal brick instead of what you ordered 😁
What you actually need is a converter, not just an adapter. However, since it’s being sold by a retail store, it should technically work—it's unlikely they'd be hawking something that doesn't function properly.
In my opinion, you're better off selling that monitor and aiming for at least this
If you have an extra $40, you might want to consider picking up the Zalman Z3 instead of the Z1.$17 It comes with an extra fan and better support for the GPU. It isn't strictly mandatory, but since the price gap is small—that single 12cm fan alone is worth the difference—it makes sense.
Another area where you could potentially see some gains if you're looking to spend a bit more is this SSD (maybe aiming for $23 higher speeds). You probably won't notice a massive real-world difference, but it's a superior drive. Ultimately, though, all of this is optional; nothing here is a dealbreaker.
John Booth, if you insist on forcing pre-built PCs on people, you're just going to end up with a worse deal click
There’s really no reason to be afraid of picking out your own configuration. You get free assembly anyway, so you might as well optimize your hardware selection and ensure you aren't overpaying for nothing.
Typically, we see a new generation rolling out every 12 to 18 months, so I don't expect anything out of the ordinary this time around—meaning we're looking at a window from six months out through the end of the year.
There are whispers circulating that both AMD (excluding the high-end stuff, which doesn't even exist right now) and Nvidia might just rebrand the next generation (though they might refresh the high-end tier too). Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. Since this current generation features both a new architecture and a debut on a new manufacturing process, they've historically leaned on rebrands during transitions like this (think of the jump from the hd7xxx series to the RX 2 XX, or the gtx 6xx versus the gtx 7 xx).
Nvidia really ought to be delivering better performance on Linux.
On another note, I came across a slide suggesting that AMD has been quite generous with their ReLive drivers for Linux lately. Honestly, though, I haven't seen any actual benchmarks—it was just a single slide—so it's tough to say what the current landscape actually looks like. But if you're going by past experience, Nvidia is still probably your safer bet. That said, even they seem to show significantly worse gaming results on Linux compared to Windows based on some recent tests I caught a glimpse of once.
When it comes to OpenGL, AMD has traditionally been the heavy hitter (at least regarding all that processing software), and Vulkan is essentially their territory since it's a derivative of Mantle, even if it is open source.
Like I mentioned, DirectX 12 is still optional in many titles—and sometimes even performs worse, look at Battlefield 1. There was briefly only one game that required DirectX 12 exclusively. You can definitely stick with Windows 7 for a while longer, but eventually, you'll likely need Windows 10 to run certain AAA hits.
I don't see how waiting affects your choice of OS. Your options are going to be the same regardless.
Betty Allen3 said:I definitely want to play new games, I'm just feeling all nostalgic for gaming lately and I want stuff like BF1, Outlast 2 when it finally drops, GTA V and all that...
So does that mean I'm stuck with that damn Windows 10?
Everything you listed actually runs fine on Windows 7. The only catch is that you won't be able to play titles that are DirectX 12 only (right now, Quantum Break was the main one like that, though even it recently got a DirectX 11 version)
Bryan Taylor6 said:not exactly something I'd brag about (it's starting to feel like a bit of a joke) 🙂
but you can't just rely on those numbers alone... if you're looking at FPS, it's all relative because certain games are just better optimized for, say, Nvidia....so I still believe there's a tangible difference between 1600 GFLOPS and 2150....
Look, everything is relative here. Take a simple comparison—Fury X versus Titan X—that's 8,602 vs 6,144 GFLOPS, so you tell me...
It would be much more helpful if you linked actual reviews or direct comparisons from sites like AnandTech (even if they use a similar GPU since a perfect match might not exist). Honestly, extrapolating results against another GPU as a baseline is a far more reliable metric for gaming performance than just staring at GFLOPS.
boldfox15, that budget is pretty awkward. Honestly, the first GPU that actually makes sense starts at around $267 (check out that 460 link above). Unfortunately, even that dual-core AMD chip won't be able to push it to the limit, but regardless, there's just no point dropping that kind of cash on those cards. You could always swap in an athlon 845 down the road, though.
Quote : Bryan Taylor6
Look at you, acting all high and mighty now like some big shot from the countryside 😁
You can't draw any real conclusions about gaming performance based solely on GPU-Z. That's like linking to HWCompare without including the actual gaming benchmarks they sometimes have
In the first one, the power supply is absolute garbage—I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy. Plus, you're looking at a smaller SSD and a 3GB GTX 1060.
As for Konfa 2, there's no SSD included. You can't even be sure which exact components you're getting (for instance, I see a 2-year warranty here, while most others offer 3 years, etc.), and it's overpriced considering the lack of an SSD. Konfa 5 lacks an SSD entirely, especially considering the price point where you'd expect at least a 240/256GB SSD and a decent case.
Don't even bother looking at pre-built bundles; you're much better off picking out your own parts like this:
1 x Intel Core i5-6402P (2.8GHz, 6MB, LGA1151) box 1 x MSI H110M PRO-D (S1151, DDR4, USB3.1, SATA III, DVI, Audio, LAN) mATX Retail 1 x Crucial DRAM 8GB DDR4 2133 MT/s (PC4-17000) CL15 SR 1 x SSD AD 256GB SU800 SATA 3D Nand 1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance 1 x SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 480 NITRO+ OC GDDR5 8GB/256bit 1 x Fortron Hyper 600W, 80+ - 60mj. 1 x Zalman Z3, USB3.0 black, 3x120mm
Total cost: $2133 This is a solid future-proof setup. It’s cheaper and you get everything you need. If you want more bang for your buck, you could always upgrade the motherboard (maybe look at an MSI B150 Bazooka or a B150 Mortar). That would put you at roughly $67 higher than this.
I'll probably pick up an SSD down the road, then just upgrade to that Strix model—it would actually end up costing you about the same through $1833 anyway.
