Posts by David Sanders4

Brian Campbell36 said:It would be a nice touch if they included a note stating that if no one is home at the moment...

They actually do... just leave a phone number.

Brian Campbell36 said:Hey everyone, just wanted to check something. Admin mentioned an MBO delivery is coming tomorrow. It would be wonderful if we didn't all have to stay home until 3 PM waiting for it.

If the delivery happens in the morning, there won't be anyone available to receive it. My question is: if the courier can't deliver, does MBO send it back to the main office in Chicago, to the local post office, or directly to the City Express hub?

Where is the easiest place to pick up the package? As I mentioned, none of us will be around tomorrow morning to catch the driver if they show up early. 🤔

That’s really more on the retailers; they should be the ones leaving specific instructions for the courier...
Take a place like Amazon, for example—they don't even bother with detailed tracking or anything, even if you give them clear directions. They can be a bit lazy about it.
I haven't had much experience dealing with the Admin side...
It'll likely just head back to the main office, and you'll get it tomorrow.
On the other hand, companies like Best Buy have given me full tracking and mobile alerts... same with Walmart or Target.

If only things worked out that way.

GPUs are probably the one component you'll find yourself swapping out most often. In my opinion, if you have a 36-month warranty, the sweet spot is selling yours after about 18 to 24 months and putting some extra cash toward a newer model... On the other hand, you can pretty much leave the CPU alone for 3 to 5 years, much like I did back in the day with the i5 Sandy Bridge era. That said, since modern CPU advancements are increasingly seen in integrated graphics, today's i5 and i7 chips will definitely stay relevant for at least 3 years, and quite possibly even 5.

Brian Campbell36 said:It’s ordered. It supports Crossfire, it's a solid board, $283 including shipping. A buddy of mine uses an MSI model and he's pretty happy with it, so now I just wait a few days for the courier to drop it off at my place.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

You probably won't see massive performance drops on x16/x4 Crossfire, but honestly, I think you're getting the short end of the stick here. Your old P8Z68-V/GEN3 was a beast compared to this—it had a 16-phase power delivery (12 for the CPU), supported SLI/Crossfire (x8x8/x4), whereas this one doesn't even support SLI...

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't...

Stronger 🙂

Perfect 😉

You don't need any of it, unless you're just looking for ways to fund the same old cycle.

I’m going to hold off; there's no rush. That GTX 660 can still pull its weight on its own for a while longer. My current plan is to upgrade to a Core i5, though I'm trying to find a way to snag a deal and keep the total cost under a few hundred bucks. 🤣

Timothy Kim60 said:The power supply?

550W

Timothy Kim60 said:Most people steer clear of CrossFire or SLI—mostly because so many modern games don't even support it, not to mention the power draw and the heat...
Here is a recent experience of mine.
Technically, what I did above was CrossFire rather than SLI, but the principle remains the same.

I’m well aware of the risks. Personally, I've always been skeptical of SLI/CrossFire, but I feel like I need to try it.
Far Cry 4 gameplay GTX 660 discard

It actually runs quite decently for me in this case: FC4.
It's interesting to see how much better it performs on an AMD setup, and just how much it struggles on certain AMD CPUs...

Larry Ortiz5 said:You're messing around with SLI/CrossFire. One powerful card is almost always the better move. If you really want something like a GTX 970, you should probably just save up more cash.

It’s a bit pricey for me... but I feel like I need to experience SLI firsthand at least once. You only live once, right? I have to see what happens when I push two cards together. 😵

Well, there’s currently a GTX 660 (Gigabyte's OC version) available for $267. It’s essentially identical to the one I have... personally, I doubt I could get more than $300 for mine, and at the $567 mark, there really isn't a viable Nvidia alternative. I saw a few used GTX 770s going for $500 recently, but they seem to be gone now. Besides, from what I can tell, a GTX 660 SLI setup actually outperforms the GTX 770

Dennis Carter3 said:Look, new is new. You know what you have on hand, and if you're really that set on getting an $567 Core i5-4690k from Best Buy

http://www.bestbuy.com/processors/intel-core-i5-4690k/html

I’m a bit nervous about ordering from them; if I pull the trigger today, I feel like it won't even arrive until next year.🤣

Dennis Carter3 said:and this motherboard too
http://www.newegg.com/motherboard/details/14792

The board is x16/x4, which doesn't really work for my setup.
What I actually want is the Z97 Extreme 3.

It seems the cheapest one is in the link, which feels somewhat absurd.😵

Timothy Kim60 said:This seems a bit of a stretch

I’m certainly no expert here, but an i5 is definitely going to be the sweet spot. I’ve actually been eyeing the Core i5-4460; it feels like the most sensible choice... 🤷

Last year, you could pick up a Core i5-4440 at Best Buy for around $417 during one of those sales—if I recall correctly. Places like Micro Center had them sitting between $1 and $3, and they were seeing similar prices earlier this year, but now things have jumped quite a bit. I’m just waiting for a price drop of about $100-$67 before I commit to the expense...
Regarding the motherboard, it absolutely needs SLI x8/x8 support, and having 8 power phases wouldn't hurt either, just to leave the door open for a future upgrade...

My goal is to spread the cost out as much as possible over time, so I was considering picking up another GTX 660 for $267. That strikes me as the most budget-friendly way to get decent longevity...

Or, I might even hunt down a used Core i5-2500k; I’ve seen them going for as low as $850-$317... those processors aren't exactly hard to come by on the used market...

You've swapped in a weaker CPU that actually runs hotter, and if you're taking it back to Best Buy where it has a 24-month warranty, the motherboard specs are just wrong. It’s significantly inferior to the Z97x Killer—it has half the power phases and a much worse PCIe lane configuration, x16/x4 versus x8/x8...
It really depends on where and how you bought it. If it was from a retailer like Staples or an outlet, it wouldn't be worth nearly as much, though I'd say the sweet spot for a fair price would be around $35.--$767

It feels like a solid opportunity to me, what do you all think?
Intel Core i5 4690k and ASRock Fatal1ty Motherboard

It’s an inflated price, plain and simple. If you have the cash, you set the terms, which gives you all the leverage, but let's talk about what this is actually worth. $100/max for that GTS 450, considering there's a GTX 660 sitting there for that performs twice as well—in this specific case, nearly three times better—and it comes with a warranty... $750-$800 range might be more realistic if we were talking about something else, but not here.

It's the same story with those old LGA 775 CPUs; people are asking over $100 for them, not to mention you can find some listed for as little as 700-$267....

I'll give you $67 if you don't mess with me

Does this board have integrated graphics? Also, what motherboard are we actually looking at here?

Well, that’s just how the math works... if you snagged a top-tier CPU at launch, you can usually squeeze another five years out of it, whereas a GPU tops out at maybe three.
You really have to look at the long-term continuity over a fifteen-year span...
When a modern graphics card finally kicks the bucket, you aren't exactly taking it down to the local repair shop to get fixed up.

Timothy Kim60 said:If that's actually the case, there's a high probability some of those were being used for constant mining

Yeah, mostly that...
But if you can snag one for around $200, it's probably worth it. You could always flip it for a decent profit a few months before the warranty expires, or just pray to God that it doesn't die on you 😁

That said, they really only make sense to buy if they're more than 40% cheaper than buying them brand new.