crimsonstag84 said:1 x Intel Core i3-4160 (3.60GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box 1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11 1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. MB standard 1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050 1 x Fortron 500W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA5005003, 12cm fan 1 x Asrock B85M-HDS - Intel 1150 Socket B85 Chipset M-ATX MB
$865
I'm on the fence about whether the i3 is actually worth it. I could just take this G3258 and crank it up to 4.3 or 4.4GHz paired with a Spira Kepler. You can't overclock the i3, after all...
Is there any way I could swap in an FX X6 6300 along with a compatible motherboard that has integrated graphics?
Ryan Hayes82 said:Are you running a GPU? Because if not, this AMD build isn't going to cut it.
I actually have an HD6850, but I’m planning on offloading it along with my old rig. Why wouldn't it work? I'll just be riding the integrated graphics for a bit until I can scrape together enough cash for a new card...
crimsonstag84 said:1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+ 1 x LC POWER LC-CC-97 cooler, compatible with socket 775/1155/1156/AMD 1 x Sharkoon VS3-V Chrome Tower, no PSU included, black, USB3.0 1 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 1 x AMD FX X6 6300 3.5Ghz (4.1GHz) box 1 x Toshiba DT01ACA050 HDD (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600) 1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+, active, 12 cm
Total price: $886 Best Buy
Thanks a lot! If anyone else has some ideas, feel free to throw them my way. 👍
Hey everyone, I’m looking to put together a build with a budget of about $0.83. I'm planning on skipping the GPU for now and just picking one up down the road. The main goal here is gaming, though I don't mind if we go slightly over the $0.83 mark if it makes sense. Thanks!
I have a quick question regarding HDDs. What exactly should I be looking out for when picking up a used HDD? I always make sure to check the photos and run tests in HD tuna to see if there are any bad sectors, but is there anything else I'm missing? I also noticed the "Power on Hours count" metric—basically how many hours the drive has actually been running. Is that something worth worrying about? If it is, at what point does that number get high enough that I should probably just pass on the purchase?
Roger Gray8 said:Do you happen to have a setting in your BIOS for something like case fan speed? If you do, just set it to silent or whatever the lowest possible setting is that it’ll let you get away with.
I already checked. No luck. Since it's running directly off a Molex connector from the power supply rather than plugging into the motherboard, the BIOS can't even see it.
Hey everyone. So, I used to have these two 80mm Sharkoon fans mounted on my case. They were plugged directly into the motherboard, and honestly, they were great—dead silent. But, since I’ve started doing a bit of custom work on my build, I decided to pick up two 80mm LED fans from eBay http://www.xtreme-technology.com/sho...m-fan-blue.jpg instead. These ones connect straight to the power supply. Now I’ve run into a bit of a headache: the noise. Since they're pulling power directly from the PSU, is there any way to actually quiet them down? If not, does anyone have recommendations for where I can find some decent 80mm LED fans and maybe one 92mm LED fan that won't drive me crazy? Ideally something affordable you could find on Amazon or eBay. Thanks!
I'm not really planning on doing any heavy overclocking since my cooler isn't exactly top-tier, but I might push things just a little bit. Honestly, seeing that 2.33 GHz sitting there... it just feels a bit underwhelming 😬
Hey everyone, I could really use some guidance on overclocking my Q8200. To be honest, I’ve never actually messed with CPU clock speeds before, so I’m looking for some experienced folks to walk me through the process. What should I be looking out for? What’s the best way to approach this step-by-step without breaking anything? I’ve spent some time digging through various threads online, but I’d much rather have someone give me some direct advice tailored to this specific chip. I've attached a shot showing my CPU temperatures while idling... Thanks in advance!
Rest of the build:
ASUS P5KPL-AM ----------------------------------------------------- Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 + LC CC 95 Cooler ----------------------------------------------------- AMD Radeon Sapphire HD6850 Vapor-X ----------------------------------------------------- 4GB (2x2) DDR2 800MHz ----------------------------------------------------- Corsair CX430 ----------------------------------------------------- 250GB Hard Drive ----------------------------------------------------- MS Case, 2x80mm Sharkoon Fans ----------------------------------------------------- Windows 7 64
Larry Ortiz5 said:And his budget is basically $233. Here’s the link to what he’s actually eyeing, which is a $300 deal since the seller actually dropped the price for him. Honestly, I was browsing Craigslist earlier and seeing people asking $700-$267 for an old Pentium 4 with 1GB of RAM and an AGP card—give me a break.
Here’s the link
If you can find a rig based in Washington, D.C., where prices fluctuate between $700 and $267, let me know. But seriously, this is probably the best deal out there right now because I’ve been scanning other listings and people are asking for the exact same money for much weaker hardware.
Man, Craigslist is just pure madness when it comes to pricing. If I were you, I'd spend some time looking through the classifieds on various forums and tech sites, like this one, CNET, PCMag, and so on.
crimsonstag84 said:Those comparisons don't really mean much... an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT is more in line with an HD 6670 GDDR5, and the HD 7750 is way faster than that.
I'd go with the EVGA model just because the heatsink looks better.
Look, I know those aren't perfect comparisons; I was just throwing out examples to give you a general idea of the gap... And honestly, if they're already dropping over $100, they might as well toss on a few extra $20 and grab the NVIDIA GTX 750 from ASUS with that 3-year warranty...
Actually, if you can swing it, I’d suggest stretching your budget a bit for this one. It’s worth the extra cash for the better performance and the longer warranty coverage.
My old NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT just kicked the bucket after about 4 or 5 years of solid service. I’m looking for something roughly in that ballpark, maybe a tiny bit better if the price is right. Honestly, I haven't kept up with hardware specs at all lately—what would be a decent upgrade? I'm based in Washington, D.C., have cash on hand, and I'm happy to hit up any local shop. Thanks.
First off, what kind of budget are we working with here? Also, let me know the rest of your PC specs and the exact model of your power supply.
