Posts by Robert Rodriguez2

Jack Reed said:I’m no expert here, but I feel like I’m constantly hearing people claim AMD processors just can't compete with Intel. Is there actually any truth to that?

You won't find anything better at this price point. An i3 is a waste of money, and an i5 is out of reach.

MagazinRS - PayPal
totaling $1400.

Check with your bank first to see if they even allow transfers like that.

mellowtiger83 said:Finding a motherboard for an Intel Core i5-2500 is easy, but tracking down one for an s1156 or even a basic i5 650 is a pain. They exist, but the prices are ridiculous. Just don't fry your boards unless you're pushing the overclock too hard.

Because let's be real, the Intel Pentium G6950 is probably the most pathetic CPU ever made.🙂

Sandy Bridge boards aren't exactly cheap or easy to find either.

fadedorca66 said:🙂 One guy missed the user, the other missed the mark entirely. 😁

It's all lying in the future, but looks like you already figured it out...

You sound like a girl, so there's no mistake there. ☕

😬

Jose Martin13 said:Where did you even find that?

Even though I've got two decent 4GB 1333 Corsair modules, I’m just gonna sell them or give them away. No point bottlenecking a new CPU with legacy memory just to save $133 bucks.

If anyone needs some RAM for an old junker PC, shoot me a DM and we'll work something out.

Robert Rodriguez2, you got any other motherboard suggestions?

Oh yeah, forgot to mention—I'm not looking to overclock. Not worth the extra noise and the headache of more coolers.

If you're giving away RAM, count me in. 😬

For $1167, you could put together a solid build, like the one fadedorca66 put together, if only we knew which Best Buy😁

to use. But honestly, that looks like a "finished product" price. For individual parts, it'd probably run about 10% higher, so maybe $3800 total.

Roger Gonzalez41 said:Hey everyone!

Looking for some advice on upgrading an old rig.
The motherboard is an ASUS P55-ud4, socket 1156, running what I think is a first-gen Intel Core i5-2500 or similar.
RAM is 4GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz, GPU is an AMD Radeon HD 5850, there's a 1TB HDD, and a Corsair TX 650W power supply.
Main goal is a better graphics card, another 4GB of RAM, and maybe an SSD.
From what I know, my PSU should handle it fine. The main question is which GPU fits this board to get decent performance for World of Tanks or stuff like Madden at 1080p max settings.
If anyone has suggestions, my budget is about $667, maybe a bit more if necessary... thanks.

1 x Crucial RAM 4GB DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3L-12800) CL11 Unbuffered UDIMM 240pin 1.35V/1.5V Single Ranked
1 x Kingston UV400 120GB SSD, 2.5” 7mm, SATA 6 Gbit/s
1 x PALIT GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 4GB, DDR5, DVI, HDMI, DP

Total: $678
futura, if you can swing another $67 over, I’d honestly just grab an RX 470 instead.

crimsonstag84 said:The GPU is the only thing holding you back; everything else is solid.

https://www.techradar.com/msi-video-card...dmi-dvi-d.aspx

Maybe grab a decent CPU cooler too if you want to mess with some overclocking.

Solid purchase. Grab a Cooler Master liquid cooler and call it a day.😁 $367for an upgrade

fadedorca66 said:If you have the cash to actually use it, just go with the Core i7. It makes sense for you. Something like this:

1 x Intel Core i7-6700 (3.4GHz, 8MB, LGA1151) box
1 x PNY DDR4 8GB, 2133MHz
1 x MSI B150 mATX Motherboard (LGA1151, Dual DDR4, PCI-E x16, 2x PCI-E x1, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, SATA III, HDMI, DVI, GLAN) Retail
Total: $1184

Just make sure the board has enough slots for what you need—this one has 4 RAM slots, so that works.

There's a cheaper way if you're pinching pennies: grab a Xeon for an older socket, pair it with a 1150 board and some "old school" DDR3. You'd save a few bucks. But if money isn't tight, stick to the first option.

Timothy Kim60😠
Ruined my keyboard idea. Now tell me which store has it.🥱

Lol, maybe the issue is just your macOS?

You’re being ridiculous. I know plenty of people—myself included, since I run two AMD-based rigs—who don't have any issues at all.

Either you messed up the configuration, or you're running a garbage copy of macOS.

Gerald Ross8 said:So you're saying you'd prefer a 4GB card over this 2GB one? I checked some benchmarks, and there’s barely a 2 or 3 FPS difference between them. Is it even worth the extra cash for that card? Or am I missing something here?

Also, if I hold off on buying for a month or two, will some new, cheaper cards hit the market? Is waiting actually worth it?

P.S. I forgot to ask. You included a fan Cooler for the Athlon build but skipped it for the Intel setup. Does an Athlon run that much hotter, or what's the deal?

My rule of thumb is to always pair AMD processors with a decent cooler since their stock ones are usually garbage. Intel is fine.
As for GPUs, it isn't about the FPS. It's about the fact that more games are demanding 4GB or more because of massive textures. A 2GB card might work now, but that won't last six months. The price gap isn't huge, and having that extra VRAM can be a lifesaver.

Regarding whether cheaper cards are coming out—unlikely anything "significant" will hit the market by spring, at least not within the budget you're working with.

Gerald Ross8 said:Greetings.
Can someone help me put together a gaming build?
I want to play CS:GO, GTA V, FIFA 17, Just Cause 3, Rocket League, and a few others, though I'll mostly be multitasking.

I need a solid GPU, an SSD (120GB should suffice), and a DVD drive.

Ideally, it needs to stay under $4,000—actually, even less.😁

1 x Seagate BarraCuda 1TB HDD, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x Kingston UV400 120GB SSD, 2.5” 7mm, SATA 6 Gbit/s
1 x MSI Video Card Nvidia GTX 1050 GDDR5 4GB/128bit, 1210MHz/7000MHz, PCI-E 3.0 x16, DP, HDMI, DVI-D, Sleeve Fan Cooler(Double Slot) Retail
1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+
1 x LG GH24NSD1 sat Bulk Black 24 x
1 x MS Helios 3 Case, black 1x12cm+1x8cm vent
1 x AMD Athlon II X4 845, 3.5GHz, S.FM2+
1 x Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2 (SFM2+,DDR3,DVI/VGA,USB3.0,SATA III) mATX
1 x CPU Cooler LC-CC-95, Intel/AMD, 90mm 4-pin
1 x Crucial RAM 8GB DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3L-12800) CL11 1.35V/1.5V

Total: $1244
futura
Over $2000 includes free assembly and shipping

With Intel, you'd have to settle for a card with less VRAM—2GB instead of 4.
I’d stick with this setup since more games are demanding higher memory these days. Upgrading the processor here isn't really an option later on.

Going Intel gives you a safer upgrade path for the CPU (you could move up to an i5 down the road) using used parts.

1 x Seagate BarraCuda 1TB HDD, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x Kingston UV400 120GB SSD, 2.5” 7mm, SATA 6 Gbit/s
1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+
1 x LG GH24NSD1 sat Bulk Black 24 x
1 x MS Helios 3 Case, black 1x12cm+1x8cm vent
1 x Intel CPU desktop Core i3-6098P (3.6GHz, 3MB, LGA1151) box
1 x XFX Nvidia GTX 1050 GDDR5 2GB/128bit
1 x Kingmax 8GB DDR4 2133MHz
1 x MSI H110M PRO-VD (S1151, DDR4, USB3.1, SATA III, DVI, VGA, Audio, LAN) mATX

Total: $1338

Paul Barnes6 said:Found this on Craigslist and I’m wondering if you experts think it's worth it or just a waste of cash for $867 🙂
I don't really game... mostly just Photoshop and Sony Vegas

Processor: Sony Vegas processor: Intel Core i7-920
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II RAM
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Graphics Card: Phantom GTX560 1024/256 DDR5 Dx11
Storage: 1TB
Power Supply: 480W Tagan

Thanks!

For that price, it's a decent deal. Only thing is the power supply looks sketchy...

1 x ASRock B150M-PRO4, s.1151, D4, S3, U3, mATX
1 x Intel Core i5-6400 (2.7GHz, 6MB,LGA1151) box
1 x Zalman Z1, USB3.0 black, 2x120mm
1 x Fortron Hyper 600W, 80+ - 60mj.
1 x HDD Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x Kingmax 8GB DDR4 2133MHz
1 x Sapphire RX480 Nitro+, 4GB, 256bit GDDR5
1 x Kingston UV400 240GB SSD, 2.5” 7mm, SATA 6 Gbit/s

Total: $2017
futura 😁

Thomas Taylor92 said:Hey,
so my budget is $2000 for this build. I need a solid GPU and an SSD within this price range since it's for AutoCAD and the kids' games (nothing heavy, doesn't need to be a hardcore gaming rig). Basically, just a fast, reliable machine that will last a few years. I already started another thread for a lower budget, but this is what I have available now... Thanks🙂

**boldraven8**

boldraven8 said:Most of all. $2333Just the tower. No monitor, mouse, or keyboard included.

What's up? $2333 You’ll nail the setup perfectly—mouse, keyboard, and a full-on monitor config. It'll be seamless.

ovako nesto:

Build - AMD

A little over budget, sure, but at least you get everything in one go. 👍

Quote : boldraven8

mellowtiger83 said:I doubt you can even pay that way. They’ll probably just tack on extra fees for the rig and shipping if you try to prepay online or through a retail store.

I don't know, man. I doubt anyone’s gonna put together a custom build for you just to have you pay per pickup unless you leave a deposit. People need some kind of guarantee that you aren't just going to flake out, if you catch my drift.

Most shops around here give you the option to pay cash on delivery, so you just hand over the bills when the delivery guy shows up at your door. 👍

hollowowl18 said:Hey everyone,

So, about four years back, I pulled the trigger on a brand new rig. I picked up the whole build at Micro Center based on some solid advice from the legends on this forum, and honestly, I’ve been pretty stoked with how it turned out.

60052 ASUS P8H61-M LE/USB3
61018 CPU i5-2320 3.0/1155 BOX
06631 DDR3 4Gb (1x4) Kingston 1333MHz - 2x
08912 MSI R6850 1GB DDR5 OC
38066 CoolerMaster Elite 310 black/sil
18314 Silverstone 400W ST40EF ATX2
22072 Win Home Prem 7,64-bit Eng Off
09207 WD 500Gb SATA3 AAKX

The setup is still more or less the same, just with a few little tweaks here and there. In the meantime, I grabbed an SSD (Apple 850 EVO 250GB). I slapped that in as my C:/ drive and upgraded everything to Windows 10, while the old HDD just hangs out as my D:/ drive. My plan is to eventually grab another SSD and ditch the hard drive entirely because, man, the difference is just night and day. It takes maybe ten seconds from the moment I hit the power button until I'm actually browsing the web after logging in.😁

As far as speed goes, the thing still flies in most cases. When I get into some of the heavier games, the fans start spinning like crazy, but everything runs more or less fine—maybe it takes a couple extra seconds to load. And yeah, it does occasionally choke when I have like 80 tabs open in Google Chrome (literally).😁

But I'm looking to slowly upgrade the "weakest links" so I don't end up in that situation again where I have to buy everything all at once, because there's really no point dumping money into an old config like that. Generally speaking, I'm wondering what the weakest link is here and what I should tackle first.

I definitely want to pick up a 4K monitor sometime soon, so I'd want a better graphics card that can actually handle that. I'm not some hardcore gamer, but I want the next best thing. Also, upgrading the RAM always seemed like a pretty painless way to go.

How much am I looking to spend? So far, I've put in about $2000. Over the next few months, I might drop maybe 2000-3000 on upgrading two of the most important components. But honestly, it depends on what I can actually get for that and how much it'll actually boost performance.

Side note: I'm living abroad right now, but I should be heading back to Washington, D.C. in a few months, so we can look at stuff in local shops there (even hitting up Micro Center would be great). If you guys don't mind using Google Translate on Google Chrome, feel free to check out Best Buy too. 🙂

RX 480 or GTX 1060... I'd swap the PSU too, otherwise everything else is fine.
So come by a day before you buy. This makes no sense; prices and stock change literally every single day. "In a few months" and new GPUs and CPUs will already be out and stuff will be gone...

Jack Wood87 said:So, I tried cleaning my rig. Took the cooler off, went to put it back, and—since it was my first time doing this—I snapped one of the mounting clips. Now the heatsink isn't sitting flush, temps are hitting over 100°C, and the fan sounds like a jet engine taking off. I'm running an Intel Core i7 setup with a Pentium 4 CPU, so will a different cooler even work here? And how do I fix this mess?

Just hit up a local Best Buy or check eBay. You can find them for $6.75

mellowtiger83 said:A buddy's asking me through a friend—I don't have the answer, maybe you guys do. He's planning to drop an RX 480 in his rig within the week. How bad is the bottleneck going to be? Is there even a point?

The build is old, but it's a beast.

He's running an Intel QX9770@4.0. It's been at that clock speed for years 🙂—he could push it to 4.3 easily, but he stays at 4.0 just to be safe. GPU is some Shunt Katana or whatever model it is.
Memory is 4x2GB Ocz 1066MHz DDR2.
Motherboard is an Asus Maximus Formula II.

It's an older setup, but honestly, looks pretty impressive to me. Right now, he's using a Radeon 7770.

And yeah, the PSU is some 450W Seasonic, not sure which one.

There's probably going to be a massive bottleneck.

mellowtiger83 said:Give me a break, Robert Rodriguez2, two 17-inch screens actually cover more area than a single 22 🙂
Plus, I need a 4:3 aspect ratio for my setup 🙂, and those new ones cost an arm and a leg

Not true. That one in my config isn't even a hundred bucks

mellowtiger83 said:Personally, I'm still rocking dual 17-inch LCDs🙂 from IBM. Wouldn't trade them for anything, especially when I'm listening to music.

Look, if you move up to a 22-inch monitor, you'll regret ditching those 17s. I guarantee it. Especially if you actually have work to get done.