Posts by Adam Moore3

swiftnomad95 said:around $1000 (already have the HDD and RAM +$1000) and I want zero upgrades for at least 10 years—assuming nothing dies, obviously—though maybe adding another 4GB of RAM later.
If I decide to play anything even remotely modern, I'll just swap in a better GPU and call it a day...

With an AMD FX 6300, what’s the best GPU I can pair it with without totally bottlenecking the system?

That was my approach with my current PC when I bought it 11 years ago, and it's still kicking.

Nobody can promise you a computer will last 10 years. A lightning strike could fry it in two, making that $10,000 investment totally useless, or it might last until you decide to sell it for scrap metal or silicon or whatever. 😁 Regarding the FX, it's a pretty decent processor; I think pairing it with an R9 290 would be fine, though it really depends on the specific game. You should check some benchmarks to be sure, but honestly, you shouldn't worry about that within your budget. Have you actually calculated the total cost yet? I'm not sure if the whole setup with that FX and GPU will fit under $1000... If you're looking for a $3,000 build, here's how I'd approach it:

1 x Asrock FM2A88M EXTREME4+, FM2,FM2+, AMD A88X (Bolton-D4), DDR3
1 x AMD Trinity Athlon II X4 740 3.20GHz 4cores
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x ASUS R7260-1GD5, AMD Radeon, R7260, PCIe 3.0, 1024 MB, DDR5
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 ,hladnjak, 1156/755/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm
1 x Zalman ZM600-LX Power Supply, 600W

$980 techforum.com

Quad-core CPU, a decently powerful GPU, a terabyte hard drive, and an aftermarket cooler. If you happen to be interested in overclocking, just throw in an Athlon 750 k and go for it. 🙂 You'll have a much stronger machine for gaming, and it'll handle everything else without breaking a sweat. It's just a more balanced configuration. 😉

EDIT: Just realized you mentioned you already have the RAM and HDD, so feel free to cut those out and just stick with the rest. Save the extra cash and use it to (find 😛) take a girl out on a date, or just spend it on food and drinks. 😬

swiftnomad95 said:I’m not building a high-end rig for anything special—my dad just wants to browse the web, my mom needs her cards, and my sister stays on Facebook and those mindless apps. Same deal for YouTube.
As far as I'm concerned, the only thing that matters is running Warcraft III, Red Alert 2, StarCraft, and a few other "old school" classics—I don't bother with modern games because they're basically just old games with better graphics and zero actual story.
My current PC can barely even handle YouTube—it stutters, freezes, hangs, lags... it's honestly a piece of junk.
So, I’m grabbing this setup to give myself some peace of mind for the next decade—plus, now I can actually play Red Alert 2 and Warcraft III with my partner. (:
+ I also need it for a few specific programs and so I can finally watch movies on the TV without the PC being tied up.

*Sorry, it isn't > "3. Gigabyte PCIe NVIDIA GTX 650 4GB GDDR5 - GV-N650OC-4GI"
it's actually >>> "3. EVGA GeForce GTX 650 OC 2GB GDDR5"

Well, you might find an even cheaper deal if those are the only games you plan on playing; there's no need for a massive bulldozer 🙂 Just grab a Pentium G3220 and a GPU like the one suggested, and you'll get much more bang for your buck since your expectations aren't that high anyway. How much were you planning to spend on this new setup?

Timothy Kim60 said:It doesn't make any sense if he actually wants to play, or rather, if he wants better gaming performance than what he has now.

If he changed just one thing, he'd be much better off even if he completely overkilled the GPU—like grabbing a 280X or an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770—despite the bottleneck (whatever that looks like depending on the game). Compared to his current card, in something like Max Payne 3, there wouldn't be any bottleneck at all, and he'd see a massive jump in performance... the CPU will just give everything it can. Then he can upgrade the CPU later. That’s if he goes full "balls out" mode. If he just grabs an Intel Core i5 and sticks with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650, his gaming performance stays exactly the same; he won't have achieved anything. At least this way he'd actually help himself.

Going the normal route—he should just grab an AMD Radeon R7 265 and change nothing else. It's not worth swapping the whole platform just for that. At least that card is twice as powerful as his current one, making it a relevant upgrade regardless.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1127?vs=1125

I agree. I also just read THIS little thing that might soon change how everyone agrees on builds here 😬

swiftnomad95 said:I'm looking at putting together a new PC build with these parts >
1. Gigabyte 970A-UD3P AM3+ socket
2. AMD AM3+ FX-6300
3. EVGA PCIe Nvidia GTX 650 4GB GDDR5 - GV-N650OC-4GI
4. Kingston 4GB 1600MHz CL10 DIMM DDR3
5. Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO
6. Western Digital SATA3 500GB 16MB Seagate Barracuda 7200

So—to get to the point of this thread—"Is a 500W power supply going to cut it, or do I need to step things up?"
Thanks in advance

What are you using the computer for, and what's your budget? If you're looking to game, you might want to rethink that build because that GPU isn't really up to par 🙂 I don't know how many times this question gets asked on this forum, but look—it’s not just about how many Watts a PSU "has"; other factors matter way more. A cheap Linkworld 600W unit can be significantly worse than a 360W Seasonic. Regarding your specific setup, an EVGA 450 W is a solid best buy, as usual 🙂

crimsonstag84 said:It’s a super fast dual Core chip with built-in graphics, so it'll handle all those lightweight tasks just fine, exactly what the OP is looking for.

Lightweight?! You can run max settings on BF3 without breaking a sweat😬

Raymond Torres80 said:Is there any real difference between an Intel Core i5-3570K and a Ryzen 760k? Which one is better for gaming? 😉

They're somewhat similar, though if I recall correctly, the Intel chip features L3 cache which should give it a slight edge. But honestly, that doesn't matter much because the price gap between an Intel Core i5-3570K and a 4300 is so tiny that you might as well just grab the stronger one; the 4300 isn't really worth it. If you're strictly choosing between those two, I'd personally lean toward the Ryzen since you save some cash and can still get some decent Overclocking out of it. 😉

Larry Ortiz5 said:Is it actually solid enough for Battlefield 4 multiplayer at full HD with everything cranked up to high settings? Of course not. And that’s exactly my point—what works perfectly fine for some people just isn't going to cut it for others... myself included.

Good grief, do you even know how to read a quote? You could probably run it on some low-to-medium settings where the game still looks decent. I'm looking at the other side of the coin here: if you don't care about having games like Battlefield 4 fly on high settings—which are the most demanding scenarios—then there's no reason to upgrade your GPU. If that matters to you and you really want it, then go for it. Like I said before, it seems like you're having some trouble with perception and actually understanding what I'm saying. Case closed as far as I'm concerned. 👋

Larry Ortiz5 said:So, look—I’m running an Intel Core i5 with 8GB of RAM and an SSD right now, but since I don't have a dedicated graphics card at the moment, I’m basically just using it to browse the web. Following your logic, does that mean I should just sell my whole setup and pick up some cheap dual-core machine with 4GB of RAM because my current PC is "overkill" for simple browsing? If some people feel they need extreme high-end processors just to open Firefox, well, that's their business.

Bottom line is, just because an AMD Phenom and a Radeon HD 6770 might be plenty for you doesn't mean everyone else wants to struggle through basic web surfing with subpar hardware...

Did I ever say it had to be enough for everyone else? 🙄 I said it would be enough for ME, and I was simply asking why HE wants to swap out a card that is still perfectly solid—which is a fact. No need for the negative energy just because someone expresses a different opinion. 😲

Douglas Stewart3 said:I don't see that option in my BIOS (version 2.14.1219.). Plus, this dedicated graphics card is garbage—it's an NVIDIA GeForce GT 730.

Just unplug that dedicated card from the motherboard and plug your monitor cable directly into the motherboard port instead.🙂 The integrated graphics on that Dell Latitude 5480 inside your top-tier APU will definitely outperform that weak dedicated card anyway. How much RAM are you running, and what's the frequency? If you aren't sure, just download CPU-Z to check.

Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk or start any drama, I’m just genuinely curious. Personally, I wouldn't bother with an upgrade like that right now; sticking with the 6770 and that Intel Core i5 would be plenty for me for the time being. But hey, if you're chasing higher FPS and cranking up the settings, then go for it. 🙂

Amy Vaughn12 said:Solid? I mean, maybe back in 2011, but looking at the specs listed here, they're easily twice as powerful as that old hardware.

Look, I get that they are, but I'm just curious about the actual motivation for upgrading the GPU. If someone isn't worried about running the latest titles or isn't a total hardware geek, then maybe an upgrade isn't even necessary, in my opinion. THAT IS, assuming it's the GDDR5 version. 🙂

quietcyclist89 said:Hey, I'm looking for some advice. What kind of GPU would actually make a decent partner for my Intel Core i5 without completely choking out the processor?

Intel Core i5 black edition
AMD Radeon HD 6770 1GB
550W OC Zeal Fatality
4GB RAM
ASRock N68-VGS3 UCC

Thanks!

What's the actual reason you want to swap out the card? Honestly, I think the 6770 is still a perfectly solid GPU.🙂

Amy Vaughn12 said:And honestly, when you're putting together a build that includes a monitor, I feel like you shouldn't skimp on the screen. It’ll most likely outlast the actual PC anyway, and having those extra couple of inches makes a massive difference when you're gaming or just settling in to watch a movie.

Truth. At the end of the day, it's up to the OP to decide their own priorities. 🙂

I think the Flatron option is actually the best value here. That IPS monitor is more than enough, and performance-wise, you aren't making any compromises or cutting corners. Plus, there's that extra RAM which is super easy to throw in. 🙂 Though, I have to admit, Smarticov's setup is tempting because of how they managed to squeeze that 280 in there... 😬

goldennomad2 said:Hey everyone! So, I was hanging out on this other tech forum recently and asked if anyone could help me put together a decent build for $1000. Well, I ended up getting three different suggestions from people there, and now I’m sitting here wondering what you guys think about them—like, looking at these from an outsider's perspective, which one of these paths actually makes sense? Which one would be the smartest move if you were in my shoes?

Option 1:
Intel Core i5-2500K, 2.6GHz, 65W, 8MB, Socket LGA 1156
MSI AM3+ Motherboard
6GB (2+4GB) Kingston DDR3 1600MHz
Seagate Barracuda HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M
R7 260X 2G GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP OC VERSION, 1050MHz / 1500MHz, 128-bit, 2 slot active, MSI Gaming Series
LITE ON IHAS122 DVD-RW 22x Super Multi, SATA, Black, Bulk
MS GRIFFIN case + EVGA 300W PSU, bulk
Xilence case cooler 80×80×25mm, black (3-pin Molex + 4-pin)
Price: $1009

Option 2:
Intel Core i5-2500K, 3GHz, 125W, 8MB, Socket LGA 1156
Spire Pascal Architecture
Patriot Signature DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB, CL11
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P, AM3
Desktop HDD Seagate Barracuda (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600)
R7 260X 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP OC VERSION, 1050MHz / 1500MHz, 128-bit, 2 slot active, MSI Gaming Series
MS PHOENIX case without PSU
Corsair VS Series, 500W, 1x120, BlackRock
LITE ON IHAS122 DVD-RW 22x Super Multi, SATA, Black, Bulk
Price: $1067

Option 3
Intel Core i3-4130 (3.2GHz, 3MB, LGA1150) box
ASUS A78M-E Motherboard
MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB GDDR5
Patriot Signature DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB, CL11
Seagate Barracuda HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M
MS GRIFFIN case + EVGA 300W PSU, bulk
LITE ON IHAS122 DVD-RW 22x Super Multi, SATA, Black, Bulk
Price: $1005

Well, the first two options have the exact same GPU, just different CPUs. The first has a weaker processor but more RAM, while the second has a stronger chip but less memory. Personally, I’d toss the first option immediately—upgrading RAM is easy, but upgrading a CPU isn't. Option three is likely going to be the beast for gaming. You're looking at a dual-core, but it comes with a little monster that can be overclocked, giving you enough juice for basically any game. Plus, you'll get the highest FPS out of this third choice because it includes the strongest graphics card. They just swapped in a cheaper, though not necessarily worse, processor to make it work. 🙂 I actually have a very similar setup. Same motherboard, almost the same CPU (mine just can't be overclocked), and the 260X graphics. My budget was a bit tighter when I bought my 😬 I am really happy with it, and honestly, I think you'd be more than satisfied with this purchase too. So, if I were you, I'd go with option three.🙂

crimsonstag84 said:Let's get this moving 😬

1 x AOC I2269VWM, IPS monitor 21,5" Wide, WLED, 1920x1080@60 Hz
1 x CORSAIR 430W Power Supply, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x Seagate 500GB HDD, Serial ATA III, 7200 rpm, Barracuda 7200.12
1 x MS Albatross Case, no PSU
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Sapphire R9 280 3GB OC Dual-X, 3GB GDDR5 384bit, 28nm
1 x ASUS H81M-K, 1150, Intel ® H81 express chipset, DDR3
1 x Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box

$1719

No optical drive, the case doesn't have fans included (though you could add some), an entry-level motherboard that gets the job done, a small hard drive, and just 4GB of RAM. I guess the CPU and GPU combo is probably the strongest part here and should deliver decent gaming performance, but otherwise, the build feels a little unbalanced.

It's a bit much 🤣

Roger Gray8 said:man 👍
Honestly, starting off with 4GB is plenty for now, right? You can always just grab another 4GB stick later on and call it a day 🙂
though if it were me, I’d definitely go with Seagate over that WD blue drive... 😉

Hey @Adam Moore3, why on earth are you pushing for a 500GB drive when the price difference is basically nonexistent?

The difference is only about a dollar. When you're building a rig and trying to squeeze everything into a tight budget, $23 it actually matters. If he needs 1 TB and wants it, he should just get it. I went with the cheaper option. 🙄

Robert Rodriguez2 said:The power supply can handle even heavier builds than this one, so there’s nothing to worry about 🙂

That cooler is better than the stock one, and he didn't mention anything about overclocking 😬

At the end of the day, having a solid CPU and GPU is what counts. Upgrading RAM later is easy enough :P

Yeah, I agree. The CX is plenty for this setup since the components aren't drawing much power, and adding more RAM down the road is easily done.👍

I honestly think Robert Rodriguez2 put together the most balanced build here. He managed to squeeze in a top-tier GPU without compromising on the processor, which is obviously the most critical part for gaming. He achieved that by cutting corners slightly on the RAM, using a bit of a weaker power supply, and opting for a lesser cooler. But those are all minor investments when you compare them to the heavy hitters in the rig, so if you ask me, his configuration offers the best bang for your buck. 🙂

Robert Rodriguez2 said:1 x AOC I2269VWM, IPS monitor 21,5" Wide, WLED, resolution : 1920x1080@60 Hz
1 x ASUS M5A97 R2.0, AM3,AM3+, AMD 970, SB950, BUS 5200 MHz, DDR3
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz,14MB,95W,AM3+, FD6300WMHK
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3,5", 24mj
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA
1 x Spire Maverick 6009, kućište ATX/micro ATX
1 x EVGA R9-270A, R9-270A-CDFC, Double Dissipation Edition 925M Boost
1 x CORSAIR 430W, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 ,hladnjak, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm

$1670
admin.com

Solid build, definitely better than mine. By the way, are you sure that cooler works on an AM3+ CPU? It doesn't mention support for that socket.