You’ve had that PC for two days now and you haven't even gotten Windows on there yet. Is your BIOS really so precious that you're refusing to install anything? 🤣
Just mash F11 while the computer is booting up to pull up the boot menu. From there, just pick the DVD or SD card, but skip anything labeled UEFI—you probably need to select Legacy or whatever. Just keep cycling through them until something actually works. 🙂
Keith Wright2 said:I simply don't have the energy to argue with narrow-minded people like you. In your opinion, the best move is to dump everything into a GPU and just cobble together whatever leftovers you find in a bargain bin? 🙂 Those cases are pure nonsense; I would never buy them myself when for $67 I can get a decent, high-quality case with great airflow. As for the power supplies, they are perfectly average. The only thing in my build that is weaker than the rest is the graphics card, but even with it, you can play anything—not to mention, as I mentioned above, it's the easiest part to swap out, along with RAM which you just plug into a slot and it costs $93. However, you aren't going to be swapping the CPU, motherboard, or case anytime soon; you'll always be limited by them if they aren't strong enough from the start. This PC Build is excellently structured for a future upgrade to a more powerful GPU, and every single component is high quality. But please, feel free to sink all your money into a single GPU, kill any possibility of a future upgrade, and play for a year before you're forced to replace the entire system because it can't run games the way it's supposed to 🙂.
What kind of "bargain bin" are we talking about here? People suggested some pretty solid cases; I think you're overreacting a bit. So, if it isn't Zalman, it's trash? If it isn't XFX, it's garbage?
Did the guy actually come in and ask for a build he could upgrade in a year? No. So, this is a balanced configuration.
Keith Wright2 said:If we are looking at the long term, my current setup is actually perfect. He can just swap the GPU later for a GTX 770, bump the RAM up by 4GB, and boom—he has a beast. Prices are going to tank over the next year, so upgrading will only cost about $667. Once that's done, he'll be set for the next five years because everything else is solid. If he goes with what you guys are suggesting, how long will that actually last? What happens when the next-gen titles start dropping in 2015? With my approach, he'd be totally fine and could just run everything on Ultra once the GPU is swapped out.
Exactly, that's the question. That's why it's built for current needs, because nobody knows how Grand Theft Auto V is going to perform or what its requirements will actually be. And you keep bringing up $667. It might not even cross your mind that the guy might just want to buy a computer he doesn't necessarily plan on upgrading anytime soon.
You’re hyping up that i5 like people actually think it's some kind of holy grail. Even a casual gamer knows the GPU matters way more for actual comfort, but you still picked a weaker card than everyone else. Honestly, he'll probably need 8GB of RAM before he even worries about swapping out a quad-core Phenom or an AMD FX 6300.
If you had actually looked at the other builds, you'd see none of those cases are junk (junk cases are the ones meant for $33), and none of the power supplies are trash either (if you think Corsair or Logitech are junk, then I guess Microsoft and Linkworld are just garbage for $33?).
So basically, you went over budget for $83, built a worse PC Build than those two other options, and now you're arguing and trying to read the OP's mind because you know he's planning an upgrade
Ugh, you're early. I was still trying to sort out what we could actually find in Seattle 😁
You really have to check everything 2-3 days before buying. Who knows what else will pop up by then? Half these parts might be out of stock or the prices could shift entirely
If your monitor has both VGA and DVI ports -> just grab a DVI cable If you're stuck with only a VGA port -> maybe get a VGA to DVI adapter, or I guess you could swing by a Best Buy and see if they have any spares lying around
Supposedly the DVI image looks sharper, though I haven't really had a chance to see if there's actually a difference.
Anyway, VGA is an analog signal while DVI is digital. Analog works fine for old CRT monitors, but LCDs prefer digital. It avoids signal conversion, so every pixel just lands exactly where it's supposed to.
Those HDDs are pretty much the same thing. I just suggested this one since it's actually in stock over at Best Buy right now, so you won't be stuck waiting if you need it today.
It’s not even about the FPS or timing, really. It’s just pure build quality—better capacitors, better MOSFETs, beefier heatsinks on the pricier boards and all that.
Comparing an HDMI cable to a motherboard is kind of a reach 🤣
A pricier board just means better build quality, superior components, more slots, and more headroom overall. Since the CPU isn't exactly a power hog, the one from $100 would probably get the job done, but given what this whole rig costs, pairing it with the $100 feels a bit ridiculous.
driftingpilot8 said:I mean, can't 512 and 1024 MB be basically the same thing? Or maybe even the MHz speed?
I think that XtremeDigital stuff is just there for comparison:
Look, you don't really need to care about those technical specs; they're all pretty much the same card. That 1GB thing is mostly just marketing because they're too slow to actually use that much memory anyway, and you won't feel a 100MHz difference anywhere. Just look for passive cooling—those tiny fans tend to be loud and they die way too often, then you're stuck trying to find an identical replacement. I'd probably go with this:
Robert Rodriguez2 said:I just don't get how you can't watch YouTube or HD movies without stuttering when you have that much RAM and integrated graphics...
Maybe try installing Windows with the latest drivers for your hardware before you buy anything, just to see if that helps.
Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. 😕 I'd almost guess it's an old socket 478 board with a VIA chip, but since it's newer, it's got HD 3000 inside.