Maybe just take it back, honestly. It’s probably some kind of glitch with the electronics, or you could try swapping out the cable since it seems like that drive is just incredibly finicky.
I'm not even looking for anything crazy; I just want something affordable that's at least 50% faster than what I've got, since this thing has been sitting in my rig for three or four years now anyway.
So, I’ve got a question about this MSI N430GT card that just hit the shelves here in the States. I'm currently running an xfx8800gts 320 mb, and I’m starting to think it might finally be time for an upgrade. I guess I'm wondering if this is actually a worthwhile move, and honestly, just how much of a jump in power am I looking at going from my 8800 to a 430?
Hey, @Morgan Moore37, you should probably just grab some $100 high-end bookshelf speakers; I guess you won't be complaining once they're set up. You know, there was actually a thread about this a while back.
Alright, I finally managed to track down the discussion. Man, I spent like four hours digging through this.
I suppose that Corsair unit might actually be a decent buy right now.
There's just such a massive amount of those 400W Corsair models floating around on Craigslist lately, which I guess could be seen as either a good sign or a warning, depending on how you look at it.
darkowl72 said:James Morris4 made a fair point about how everything just kind of depends on whatever mood the customs agent happens to be in that day...
but, just so we're clear:
- You're looking at a 10% duty on the value of the goods if they aren't coming from within the UN, though I guess they don't always bother charging that for computer gear. - Sales tax is definitely a thing 😁 and it applies to the item price plus shipping costs too 😁 - There isn't really a markup if you're importing it yourself, but you might run into margins or broker fees (whatever you want to call them) if the customs officer decides he doesn't feel like dealing with what you're importing and sends you off to a broker instead... 😁
I suppose what you said is true, but I was more specifically building on the idea that $1 in America ends up being $2 in the States, so there's definitely a margin involved somewhere.
When you import something yourself from America, the amount used for customs and taxes includes the product price, some sort of protectionist tariff in the US, and the shipping, so the final cost is usually quite a bit higher than the listed price.
I think I already mentioned that story about one forum member who ran into some trouble while trying to import a graphics card from the US, and he was basically the one responsible for his own headache.
James Morris4, don't go mixing those up; you aren't paying VAT on imports, you're paying import duties, so there's a distinction there, and VAT is really just what the customer ends up paying.
I guess when someone is importing stuff, they aren't dealing with VAT per se, but rather that import tax—which, honestly, people kind of treat like VAT anyway. Then you've also got customs fees to deal with.
I think I remember reading some story online once about a guy who was importing a graphics card from the States, and by the time it actually arrived, he’d ended up paying way more than if he had just bought it locally. And apparently, the guy responsible for the whole mess even posted about it himself.
The so-called "discount" usually comes from importing tech gear from Europe without hitting customs duties, though whether or not you get hit with extra taxes might depend on the price tag and how much leeway the customs agent decides to give you.
Casey Long2 said:I suppose you just have to accept that with computer hardware, a dollar usually ends up being about 9-$3.25. I mean, that’s probably the only way the math for the net price actually starts to make sense.
So, if I'm following your logic, that makes $1 in America worth $2 here in the States.
Honestly, whoever is handling this should probably be reported to the FTC, because their job is supposed to be selling tech gear, not acting as some sort of money transfer service.
The way it works is basically $1 equals $1 plus customs, taxes, margins, and sales tax, since importing tech from America doesn't come with those easy discounts you might get within the UN.
I'm thinking about picking up some sort of 24" LED-backlit LCD. Right now, I'm stuck using this old Philips 170B2—it's a 17" LCD that's probably been sitting on my desk for over five years now, I guess.
So, I see people up there saying an Intel Core i3-4350 won't be able to keep up with an NVIDIA GTX 580. I guess you might be wondering if that's also true for my Intel Core i3-4250, and whether I could actually pair this GAINWARD NVIDIA GTX 460 GLH 512MB with my processor
Jason Lopez2 said:Haha... your Card isn't exactly anything to write home about... okay, I'm just messing with you. All things considered, if you aren't some hardcore gamer, I guess it'll probably serve you well enough for at least another two years. 🙂
That’s a pretty solid point you made there, but I guess you might want to consider how long I've actually had this thing. My two-year warranty expired about a year ago, so I'm already heading into my third year of ownership, which makes your suggestion of adding another two years feel maybe a little bit optimistic.
Quote: VeX7
Alex Harris32 said:Well, I guess there isn't much else a guy can say about it. 🙂
It’s an EVGA 4850, just like any other 4850 out there; I guess if you actually took a second to read some reviews online, you’d see that everyone seems to be praising it.
I guess you could always just fall back on YouTube and see how games actually perform on there.
Everything I said still holds up, but I guess you might want to take a closer look at that card's actual specs.
I probably shouldn't even bother asking what you guys think about this Card, since looking at the raw specs, an EVGA 4850 is clearly a step down from what I've got running. Not even counting things like trilinear filtering or shadow effects, let alone the basic bus speed, memory, or clock speeds—it just doesn't seem to stack up.
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Thomas Hernandez21 said:I honestly don't know what you were expecting. 😁 The Card is solid, though I guess it's no surprise that a ton of people across America are already picking them up.
And of course, two guys managed to crowd right in front of me with their posts within a few seconds. 😁
Why are you so salty with them, Thomas Hernandez21? It doesn't really matter what your deal is; just tell me what I actually need to know.
Morgan Moore37 said:I'm looking for a replacement for my NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB. I was thinking about picking up this EVGA 4850, specifically the 512MB version. I guess I'm wondering if anyone actually knows what kind of performance to expect from that card, or if anyone around the States happens to have one lying around.
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Alex Harris32 said:The EVGA 4850 is a solid Card, and you’re definitely going to notice a jump over that NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB—assuming, I guess, that you actually pair it with a decent enough processor.
Is that really all I get? I honestly thought there would be more suggestions, comments, or actual replies to my question at the end of this post. Maybe I expected too much.
I'm looking to swap out my 8800 GTS 320 MB. I've been eyeing this GAINWARD ATI RADEON HD 4850 GLH with 512MB on it, but I'm not entirely sure what to expect from it. Does anyone here actually have one available in the US?
Christian Mendoza60 said:guys, is it actually worth picking up an Antec True Power Quattro 1200 for cheap? It's used .
It really depends on how much cash you're playing with. I wouldn't drop more than $167that if it's second-hand, especially since a brand new 1000W unit goes for about $400. With used gear, unless you have a multimeter on hand, you can't really know what kind of shape it's in, though even then, those testers aren't always super reliable.
