Posts by Alexander Moore67

Seasonic G12 GC-650W
Great???
It's actually manufactured by Helly, making it basically the same thing as the 1st Player Armour AR, which also just popped up in the US market lately. I haven't seen any actual reviews for either one yet, and looking at the component selection, it doesn't seem particularly impressive. It might pass as a decent budget option, but we really need some real-world testing to be sure.
There are plenty of solid PSUs for this price in US, like the ADATA XPG Core Reactor, Bitfenix Formula Gold, Corsair TX-M, MSI MPG A-GF, or the Seasonic Focus. Don't get hung up on the wattage alone; if you're looking at a budget unit like this, a 650W or even a 550W model should suffice. However, if you truly require 750W, my advice is to bump up the budget slightly for a Corsair RM or a be quiet! Straight Power 11.

Maybe I’ve just grown old, but I always say you should set aside an extra 10% specifically for the PSU in high-end builds. In this particular case, you shouldn't skimp on the power supply—you really need to be willing to drop $200. Again, that's just my take and I'm sticking to it! An RM 850x with a 120-month warranty is about $175.

Steven Walker72 said:So, I’m looking at swapping my "old" NVIDIA GTX 1660, which I've had for almost three years now. It still works perfectly fine, but I want to upgrade to an NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti. Does anyone know what I could realistically get for it? Maybe $100 to help offset the cost of the new card?

I'd list it for around $130 first, then see if they'll budge....

fadedorca66 said:Honestly, why bother? That thing is ten years old. He should either fix what he's got or just bite the bullet and buy something new.

Well, go ahead then—give us some advice on how he can actually fix it...

Take my advice here
Dell OptiPlex Small Form Factor PC - Intel Core i5-12400, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD, DVD drive, Windows 7 Pro License - Windows 10 Pro installed. Front ports: 4x USB 2.0, 2x 3.5mm Audio. Rear ports: 6x USB 2.0, 1x DisplayPort, 1x VGA, 1x Serial, 2x PS 2, 2x 3.5mm Audio, 1x RJ45 Ethernet. Includes 4x RAM slots, with 2 currently free.
The i5 is three times more powerful than your current processor, and you'll be able to swap your graphics card into this case without any issues.
It’s priced at $128 over at Best Buy.
This would be your most budget-friendly route that still comes with a 12-month warranty.

https://www.bestbuy.com/rennowa-hp-...m_medium=click

velvetlynx3 said:They both fall into that same "not meant for gaming anymore" category. Bringing up the GT 730 is just a reminder of how long they keep making those cards just to get a display on the screen, obviously. Nobody should be buying them or recommending them for gaming, unless you're playing some really old retro titles.

If Cyberpunk 2077 counts as easy to run and retro, then sure, but that depends on whether someone is actually happy getting 40-45 fps on 1080p with low settings!

I honestly can't wrap my head around putting the GT 730 and the GTX 1650 in the same conversation!
The 1650 is literally 855% stronger on PassMark.

Spending $210 on a 6500 XT—which is barely 5% faster than an RX580 you can snag for $80 on Craigslist—and then acting like the 580 is garbage? Come on.

velvetlynx3 said:Oh yeah, because selling old junk on Craigslist for what it cost when it was brand new is just a brilliant idea... absolutely perfect...

First off, they aren't junk; they’re still great cards for lower resolutions today, and market demand dictates the price.

Ronald Bishop58 said:I'm sticking with Full HD for now, though I might move up to 2K down the road...

Given where you're at, I'd just grab an RTX 3070 from Newegg for $350. They have nine of them left; they were used for mining for about six months but still come with a warranty.
It's three times cheaper, and since it's about 40% slower, it’s actually perfect for 1080p!

Ronald Bishop58 said:I’d love to get some expert eyes on this graphics card. https://team-media.com/product/palit...m_medium=click

Is there anything better or more budget-friendly in this same tier?

Thanks.

What resolution are you running on your monitor?

Zachary Nguyen2 said:$270 cash.

The 70 is better than the 580, but if I can snag that 580 for $500-$233???

All the B550 motherboards we suggested are pretty bad for overclocking.

Go with the R5 5600 for that larger L3 cache and PCIe 4.0 support.
Grab a better motherboard, too.
The ASUS TUF Gaming B550-Plus is a solid choice.
And don't forget faster RAM.
I'd recommend the DDR4 16GB (2x8) Kingston 3200MHz Fury BEAST C16.

velvetlynx3 said:Man, you don't even know the half of it. I get home, realize I totally miscounted my power cables and actually only have one 8-pin from my old unit, and I absolutely lose my mind. 😠 I ended up tearing my entire room apart looking for more. By Saturday morning, instead of grabbing coffee, I headed straight to Micro Center and walked out minutes later with this:

https://www.fractal-design.com/produ...um-860w/black/

Since my old one is already making this weird buzzing sound:

https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A20-PWM-Fan/dp/B08S6XGZ7Y/product/

No messing around here!!!

Honestly, a 650W Corsair RM650x would've been plenty cheaper, plus it comes with a 10-year warranty!

Benjamin Sanders76 said:If they don't have it, people just keep coming back for it...
Did you get burned once, or do you work at Customs now? 😵

I actually know someone working for US Customs who mentioned that they’re reporting all VAT refunds over $2000/ $800 to the authorities. Apparently, that's a new rule from early 2023 following the shift in regulations. Just a thought...

Benjamin Sanders76 said:It used to happen, but I never ran into any trouble. I even filed for a sales tax refund on my laptop $2667 after paying for it, and everything went through without a hitch...

That's in the past now. It doesn't work anymore....

Benjamin Sanders76 said:When you actually sit down and look at the prices here in the States, it's wild—$20k for a 4090 and $18k for a 4080. 🤦
If I had the cash, I’d buy ten of them right now just to flip them here.☕
Since I'm right by the border, everything is easy for me—I can be in Miami in just an hour. 😁

Don't even think about trying to claim a VAT refund through that channel. $2000 Or maybe $800! You have to factor in customs, and once you cross into Canada, you're looking at an extra 17% sales tax on top of the import duties—meaning you'll end up paying about 35% total. At that point, it’s really only worth ordering if the total stays under $800.

If I were looking to pick up a high-end card, I’d probably go for an RTX 3060, which would run me about $450 used here in the States, $1667but hey, that's just my personal take!

Ronald Bishop58 said:That’s why I went with a smaller case. I’ve got an Nvidia card with dual fans in there right now, and even then, I’ve only got about an inch of clearance before hitting the side panel..

https://www.newegg.com/xfx-amd-radeon-rx/p/
Given the case size and using an Intel Core i5-12400, I’d probably grab this one for $350.