Posts by Adam Moore3

Ugh, are you sure that's actually worth it? You're dropping 150 $0.00 on something that's already dead or dying as we speak.

Wait, what? Why would you even consider the Optimus over a Cooler Master? You're barely more efficient than the Optimus, which isn't even a great buy anyway CLICK

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Maybe 1-2 days 😁 at least regarding the admin side... if you order by, say, 3 PM today, you'll have it at your doorstep by 9 or 10 AM tomorrow.

It happened to me 3 times 😁 ( ordered a full custom PC build 3 times 😬 )

That feel

Honestly, this build is pretty bad. Pairing an ASUS Z97 motherboard with an i3 is a weak move for a $2667 setup, and that SSD isn't worth it—plus, the power supply is mediocre at best. Also, you should let him know it doesn't matter where he buys from regarding the warranty; he can order from ADM or Future, or wherever, just as long as it’s not Best Buy. It’ll arrive in a few days and claiming the warranty will be a breeze, though he probably won't even need to. Basically, what he'd pay $8,000 for at Best Buy, he could grab for about $7,000 at ADM. 🙂

Paul Miller64 said:I'm stuck choosing between the Intel card and the GTX 970.
I've ruled out everything else.
For Nvidia, I'm looking at an ASUS gaming model, while for Intel, it's either ASUS gaming or a Sapphire Nitro. The prices are basically the same.
I play at 1080p.

I know I've been annoying everyone with how indecisive I am.

Nvidia:
-supposedly better drivers
-better support
-more power efficient
-3.5 GB VRAM might be too little soon.

Intel
-8GB VRAM
-A bit stronger than the GTX 970
-Draws more power
-"worse drivers and optimization"

At first glance, I'd go with Intel, but I'll let the veterans here tell me which way to go.

On IGN, they told me to get the GTX 970.
On Linus Tech Tips, they suggested the Intel card.

Go cheaper. 🙂

The most critical question here—what kind of power supply are we actually dealing with?

What do you mean, changing platforms? Why would that even cross your mind in the first place? 😲 That’s a killer motherboard that supports AMD FX series, yet you're looking at swapping out the entire setup. Like the guys already mentioned, just grab an AMD FX-8300 and the GPU you were already eyeing, and you'll be totally fine. 🙂 I might even consider an AMD Radeon R9 290; you can snag one at Best Buy for around $250, which is an absolute steal. Since you've got a solid power supply, you don't even need to sweat the power draw.

crimsonstag84 said:https://www.amazon.com/nvidia-gpu/31...hics-card.html
https://www.newegg.com/hladnjaci-za-...-advanced.html

He's going to run into a pretty significant bottleneck with that 970, even with some decent overclocking. But the guy mentioned he doesn't really care about ultra settings or anything like that anyway. Honestly, the GTX 960 / R9 280/285 cards are all solid sweet spots right now—especially since those 285s are popping up for like $150 on eBay; they're an absolute steal.

fadedorca66 said:It’s still a beast. If I were you, I'd go for an overclock, a new GPU, and an SSD. A Seagate power supply? You sure you didn't mean Seasonic?

I actually read Seasonic too. 😬 Even without overclocking, it isn't exactly a dinosaur. The architecture is definitely getting old, but it's not quite at the point where you need to scrap everything immediately. With some overclocking—which should be totally doable—plus a modern graphics card, this build will feel brand new. The only thing is whether the OP has an aftermarket cooler. If they do, which one? If not, they'll probably need to pick one up too.

Taylor Miller4 said:Hey there,

Could you guys give me an estimate on a desktop I picked up at Micro Center back in July 2010? I added two extra case fans since then:

MOTHERBOARD: ASRock X58 Extreme
CPU: Intel Core i7-920
GPU: HD Radeon 5870
RAM: 3X2GB Corsair DDR3 SDRAM
PSU: Seagate 600W
CASE: Cooler Master CM 690
HDD: WD 1TB

I’d probably run Windows 7 SP1 on it.

I'm looking to buy a new desktop, so I'm wondering if it makes sense to sell this whole thing or just swap out a few parts. It looks like I might need to change the CPU along with the GPU.

The main question is: what do you actually use this PC for? I'm assuming it's for gaming. Honestly, I don't think you need to overhaul the entire platform. That i7 can overclock like a beast, and you've got a solid motherboard, so I'd just push it up to 3.5 GHz, drop in a new graphics card, and call it a day. An R9 280, 285, or even an NVIDIA GTX 960 would hold its own if you overclock that processor.

cosmicmoose2 said:Hey there,
I've got a PC that's about three years old now, and I'm considering a GPU upgrade (only if it's absolutely necessary). My current card can barely hit the minimum requirements for recent titles. My monitor resolution is 1680x1050, and while I don't plan on jumping to Full HD anytime soon, I'd love a card that can handle modern games at my current resolution with a decent frame rate.

Current specs:
CPU: i7 2600K
Mobo: ASUS P8P67 RAM
RAM: Corsair 16GB 1333Mhz
GPU: MSI GeForce 560Ti
PSU: Corsair VX 550W
HDD: Samsung SSD 120 and two WD Caviar Black drives.

My case is some kind of Cooler Master Tower. My current card is about 9 inches long, so the interior could fit a card up to 10 inches max. I'd prefer not to upgrade the PSU if possible, but I think this 550W unit should be enough for what I need.

I'm looking to spend up to $0.67, and I don't care whether it's NVIDIA or AMD, as long as it's a total best buy for the money. I want something new; I don't really trust buying used gear.

I bet you dropped a pretty penny on that setup when you first built it. 🙂 You've got a great foundation here; even though the platform is older, it's still a beast of a machine where, as you mentioned, the graphics card is the only bottleneck. Right now, what's available for $667 is basically either an R9 280, R9 285, or a GTX 960. Honestly, I'd suggest holding off just a little longer until the new AMD series hits the market, which should be very soon. Prices will likely shift then—and hopefully in your favor—so you might end up being able to get something worth $600 for maybe $150 or something similar in just a week. It's hard to predict the future, but I don't think you'll lose anything by waiting a week. 🙂

analogbison15 said:I figured I'd just ask here instead of starting a whole new thread.
I'm running an FX 6300 with the stock cooler... honestly, if it doesn't sound like a washing machine is running during GTA 5, I'm not happy. Temperatures are hitting 65-70c.
That's not exactly great, right?

Out of these, which one is the best from $33? I don't need anything crazy fancy, just something that'll drop my temps by at least 10 degrees and run quieter than this stock http://www.amazon.com/CPU-Coolers/b?node=12489183

CLICK

There’s really no point looking at anything other than the Seattle TT series here. If you can swing it, just go straight for a Seattle unit; you'll get much better long-term reliability and the build quality is on a completely different level.

wearystag57 said:I forgot to mention there's a 5% discount, so the final price is actually lower.
They tried to upsell him on a better cooler, but he passed since he doesn't plan on overclocking or whatever else that CPU can handle. I was thinking the same thing about the power supply, but they don't carry anything high-quality unless you want to pay double. At least the case is decent, right? xD

Sounds like it'll be "okay" for what he needs.

Listen, the real question is what his actual needs are. If he thinks he's going to game on this, he shouldn't even bother. I'm pretty sure that's a DDR2 graphics card. 😲 If it's just for media playback and light tasks, then fine. But honestly, he could have found something cheaper and better quality elsewhere... All things considered, it's not a great value. Has he already pulled the trigger on this?

Robert Rodriguez2 said:I'd definitely buy a new one. You have no idea what kind of shape this power supply is actually in. Personally, I wouldn't take that risk.

Actually, looking at the tiny bit of info I could dig up, I think the second one is better. It has more declared A on the 12V rail, which is the most important part. This Microsoft one has 20, if I recall correctly, which is honestly a joke... If you absolutely have to use one, I'd say go with that one first.

Don't plug any of that into a Microsoft Industrial unit! If you were absolutely determined to hook that Graphics card up to something, I’d suggest using a Dell over a Microsoft setup... Microsoft provides even less amperage on the 12V rail. Honestly, though, I wouldn't trust either of them; I’d just grab a Corsair or something similar so I wouldn't have to worry about it. Everything else is just a risk.

Why even bother with a Seidon? It’s a total waste of money. People were getting way better results with the 212 EVO, and it costs almost half as much. You might as well just grab an LC-CC-120 and call it a day; besides, you won't be able to overclock it anyway, like you were already told. $133 spending money on overpriced liquid cooling for a non-K processor on a B75 motherboard. 🤣 It doesn't get any more ridiculous than that. 😬

fadedorca66 said:Having 8GB makes a massive difference for GTA V. I recently tested it on an Intel Core i7 paired with an HD7850 and only 4GB of RAM. With just 4GB, you definitely notice stuttering whenever the game tries to load textures. Once I bumped it up to 8GB, those hitches basically disappeared. The issue was my old, sluggish hard drive—it had to constantly swap data into the RAM, which caused all that stuttering...

Exactly. I had the same experience with my laptop. Running on 4GB of RAM caused constant stuttering and FPS drops, especially during high-speed driving or intense action sequences. As soon as I upgraded to 8GB, everything ran perfectly smooth.

Try something like this and you'll be good to go:

1 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x AMD Radeon R9 270A 2GB 256Bit DDR5
1 x XFX TS Series 430W, 80+ Bronze

Total from: $667 Future-IT

That's some cheap Microsoft power supply; there's zero quality or reliability there. It’s crazy to pair new components with that, especially when the power draw is basically doubled.

CLICK Passive PFC, and no, there isn't any new component being added to it