Posts by swiftfalcon89

Noah Miller6 said:Intel Core i7 Processor
955* 3.2 GHz 2MB 6MB socket AM3 125W 45nm SOI

I mean, why pair a processor like that with such a weak GPU? What's the absolute most you’re looking to drop on a graphics card?

Timothy Kim60 said:What kind of CPU are you running? Honestly, if you're already shelling out the cash to upgrade, just grab something decent from the jump—provided the processor can actually handle the load.
We're talking about modern titles here. Pretty soon Madden NFL 14 and FIFA 14 are going to move over to a brand new engine, and then you'll have some kid complaining his rig can't even launch the next thing before it's even hit the shelves.

Madden NFL 14 is already on the new engine, and FIFA 14 is following suit. Only FIFA 14 will be sticking with the old engine for the PC version, while FIFA 15 is also moving to the new setup...

Sam Sanchez3 said:1 x MSI HD 7870 2GB GDDR5 256bit, R7870-2GD5T/OC, 28nm, dual fan
1 x Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.3 GHz), 6MB

This is what I'm looking at picking up. My budget is sitting right around $1000. I don't plan on swapping out the motherboard, just maybe the power supply if I really have to. Honestly, I’d hate for everything to fry the next day because of a cheap PSU x). A decent, reliable unit would be perfect, maybe around $300-$167. Thanks again for the help, everyone. Have a good one.

A Corsair CX430 should handle that without breaking a sweat, and you're looking at roughly $300-$117 (depending on which retailer you hit up)...

Drew Sanchez82 said:The guy walks in looking for a CPU and GPU upgrade, and by the end, they're trying to sell him an entirely new rig.😁

I mean, fair enough. I wouldn't dream of telling someone to slap a brand-new motherboard and processor onto a junk power supply. Why risk frying the whole thing the second the PSU gives up the ghost? Plus, if we're talking about actual gaming performance, he won't feel much of a difference if his current card isn't built for it—so that’s going on the list too. It is what it is.

EDIT: Just let us know what kind of budget we're working with here...

Sam Sanchez3 said:P-CASE 460

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5791/c...e-poor-quality

Just take a look at the headline of that power supply review you linked: "Codegen P-Case 460W - Low Price, Low quality"

Sam Sanchez3 said:Thanks for all the replies.
My power supply is rated at 460W, though I didn't catch the exact model name before closing the tab.

''You can upgrade, but you'll need to flash the BIOS on that board for Intel Core i7 processors... '' One veeeeeery big update, huh? (:
And by the way, is there a specific site you guys recommend for picking up a GPU and a CPU?

Thanks again for the help, everyone.
Best,

Look, until you give us the actual model of that PSU, nobody can give you a solid recommendation. Just saying "460W" doesn't tell us anything about the quality or the rails...

gentlewalker10 said:Thanks for the input. Is it actually true that those Radeon cards are such a headache? I heard some rumors about the VRAM chips on the Xerox models running way too hot, or something like that—correct me if I'm talking nonsense. Also, any truth to the driver issues? I saw somewhere on a US tech forum that the boost version is supposedly better than this Xerox one.

That's nonsense. You really can't go wrong with the Xerox...

gentlewalker10 said:Hey everyone. I'm currently putting together a build around an i5-4670K, and I'm having a hard time picking between these GPUs: the NVIDIA GTX 760 Gaming 2048GB GDDR5, the EVGA GTX 760 OC, the AMD Radeon HD 7950 BE, or the PowerColor HD 7950 Vapor-X OC. That Gigabyte model looks pretty cheap and solid (good value), but I'm not sure if it's actually the best choice. I'd love some advice on which one to grab. Thanks.

Performance-wise, the GTX 760 and the HD 7950 are pretty much neck and neck, but if it were my money, I’d go with the PowerColor HD 7950 Vapor-X OC...

rustystag46 said:Hey there. I’m trying to figure out what this rig is worth in today's market. I'm debating whether I should try to sell it before picking up something new, or if I should just pass it down to a family member. 🙂

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 CPU
ASUS P5K motherboard
4 GB DDR2 RAM
AMD Radeon HD 3870 GPU
700 GB Seagate SATA HDD
IDE optical drive
Fortron 400PNF PSU
Generic Gigabyte case with one fan

Maybe $150 at most. Honestly, that's about as much as I'd personally pay for it.

Lawrence Murphy68 said:Oh, wait a second... will this card actually handle newer titles? I was thinking maybe Medium to High settings on something like GeForce Now, or maybe one or two games on Low? Which one should I go for? 😕

Just grab the HD6670 and call it a day. It isn't much weaker than the HD4850, but it runs way cooler and pulls significantly less power. It’ll be a perfect match for that dual-core setup of yours...

Robert Rodriguez2 said:and it's actually weaker than everything else on this list 🤦

So what? A beefier one isn't going to do anything for that processor anyway. There’s really no point, especially considering the power supply—I'd bet my life there's just a generic 400W unit sitting inside that thing...

Lawrence Murphy68 said:I managed to snag a 6670 at a decent price, so I pulled the trigger on that one. 🙂
I’m not exactly a hardcore gamer, but I’d love to be able to run some of the newer titles... No one said anything about needing to crank everything up to ultra settings, so I'm pretty happy with the 6670. Thanks! 😉

No worries at all. Honestly, I wouldn't have steered you toward an HD4850, HD4870, or anything in that ballpark anyway. There are two main reasons. First off, those cards are getting pretty old and they tend to run incredibly hot. Second, they pull a ton of power when they're under a full load—and since I don't know what kind of power supply you're running in your rig, it's better to play it safe. The HD6670 just doesn't draw nearly as much juice as those older HD48xx models.

Lawrence Murphy68 said:Look, we're talking about a used PC here—it’s a recession, after all. 😁 This is the same guy offering me the graphics cards. Anyway, I'm based over in Canada, so I doubt you care much about prices in USD... Any suggestions for a different card? I'm feeling pretty stuck. 🙂 🙂 🙂

If you can snag an HD6670 at a decent price...

Timothy Kim60 said:Honestly, swiftfalcon89 is just pulling your leg—that power supply is actually decent. You could still find them in stores until fairly recently (around $117), and it should handle a pretty solid build. I wouldn't recommend it for anything extreme, though...

As for the monitor, I'm not entirely sure what its market value is, but I'm 100% certain you won't get that much money for it. These days, the cheapest new 22" model is about $110, and you can grab one with an IPS panel (brand new with a 3-year warranty) for $367.

EDIT—looks like Benjamin King2 beat me to it.

If he’s planning on building a rig from $2500, that power supply probably isn't going to cut it...

Brian James4 said:It’s finally time to retire my old rig and start saving up for a new one, so I'm trying to figure out what I could get for this setup. I have no clue how to value it, so maybe someone here can help me out. 🙂

Here’s the breakdown:
Motherboard: ASUS P5KPL-AM
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 9600 gt, GPU cooler: Arctic-cooling Accelero L plus
CPU: Intel Core 2 duo E7200 2.53 GHz, CPU cooler: Arctic-cooling Freezer 7 pro rev 2
RAM: 2 GB (not sure on the brand)
PSU: Zalman ZM500-GS (I'm undecided on whether to include the power supply since I don't know what my next build will look like—not sure if 500W will cut it for a build in the $6,500-$7,500 range)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-2014S1T ATA Device
Case: Just a basic Micro-Star case; honestly, I doubt it's worth more than $33 (can't remember the model)
I'm keeping the hard drive because I just bought a new one recently.
Monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 2232 BW, 22"

Feel free to suggest prices for individual parts or for the whole lot together.
If anyone's interested, just shoot me a message. 😁

P.S. Also, I was wondering if these two coolers could handle any newer or beefier CPUs and GPUs? They both feel pretty recent, so I'm debating if I should just hang onto them.
And is it even possible to sell a PC as a bundle if it's missing the hard drive and maybe the PSU?

Thanks in advance. 🙂

Don't bother holding onto that power supply. It isn't high quality and probably isn't even hitting that 500W rating. Also, how much were you looking to get just for the monitor?

Kenneth Jackson3 said:The SC should be here in just under a month. As for Watch Dogs, there’s plenty of time. I went ahead and ordered this one, so if I've got some extra cash after the summer, I might just grab a newer model. (I'll be working weekends down at the coast all summer, so we'll see how things shake out) 😁

What resolution are you running?

Kenneth Jackson3 said:I’ve seen them, and honestly, it isn't even about the price—I just tend to trust Sapphire more.😁

I'll sleep on it until next Wednesday.

EDIT: I've been doing some digging online, and yeah, I think I'm going with that 7770 after all.😁

I actually wanted to follow up on what you said. I'm not sure why you're skeptical about MSI cards; they're solid, and their coolers are usually incredibly quiet and efficient. 😁 I'm running a Sapphire card in my own rig right now, but if I had the option to grab a more powerful MSI model instead, I wouldn't hesitate much.😬

Kenneth Jackson3 said:I'm currently running an HD 4850 and I really want to upgrade so I can actually play newer titles like Splinter Cell or Watch Dogs...

Money is tight, though. I'm looking at spending somewhere around $700, maybe a bit more if I have to. $267

I was thinking about picking this up:

Unless you guys have a better suggestion. My CPU is a phenom 2 x4 3.4 be and my power supply should be fine enough for it.

It's a decent pick, but if you can stretch your budget just a little bit to $267, you should definitely grab this instead:
For $33, you get a significantly more powerful card and an extra year of warranty coverage...

Christian Mendoza60 said:I’ve got a 7870 myself, specifically a VTX, and it handles everything I throw at it without overheating, even though it’s only rocking a single fan. I'm pretty happy with it. 😁

Man, an Auu VTX :zbuo: . Honestly, I won't say much since I've never actually bought one myself—and I don't plan to 😁—but a buddy of mine has been swearing by them constantly over the last six or seven months. He was running an old 8800GT that kicked the bucket about a year ago, so he picked up a VTX HD6790. It ran decently enough for nearly a year, though he did mention it sounded like a jet engine whenever he played something heavy, before it finally gave up on him, haha 😬 . He sent it back under warranty and had to wait a little over a month for a response, only for them to send him a brand new VTX HD7850 since the first one was totally dead. He was actually satisfied with that one, but now he's starting to hear this weird buzzing coming from it. Who knows how much longer it'll "breathe" before it dies too 🤣

Aaron Chavez7 said:What’s the consensus on the AMD Radeon 7870 Sapphire GHz edition 2? Looking at the 2GB DDR5 model with DVI/HDMI/256bit/11199-16-20..

If your rig can handle it, go for it. Honestly, with the Radeon line, the x850 and x870 series usually hit that sweet spot where they're pretty affordable without sacrificing much performance. They hold their own.