Posts by Robert Rodriguez2

1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3.5", 24mj
1 x FORTRON 550W Raider Power Supply, RA550, 12cm fan
1 x Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX 970 3GB WF3 OC, 3GB GDDR5 384bit, GV-R928WF3OC-3GD
1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X Performa, socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3
1 x Zalman Z3 mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. ATX Standard
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K Processor 3.5GHz,14MB,95W,LGA1150

$1664
www.newegg.com
Without blowing your budget, you've got a solid rig for gaming here. 🙂

1 x ASUS H81M-R, 1150, H81 express chipset, DDR3, 2 expansion slots
1 x Intel Celeron G1840 Processor (2.80GHz, 512KB, 2MB, 54 W, 1150) Box,
1 x MSI R7 250 x 1GD5, 1GB GDDR5 128GB, DVI + HDMI + Display Port
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Toshiba DT01ACA050 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, HEXA 400, 12cm fan, Active PFC
1 x MS CASTOR Midi tower Case, ATX, mATX, 4x5.25 external slots
1 x AOC E2250SWDAK, 21.5", 16:9, 1920x1080, built-in speakers, 200 cd/m2

$1054
www.newegg.com

No way you're getting an IPS or VA panel here. The cheap ones start at around $300

1 x ASRock H97-PRO4, s1150, Intel® H97, 4 x DDR3, 1 x PCI Express
1 x Intel Core i5-4460 Processor (3.20GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x 8GB DDR3 (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Fury, 1866MHz, CL10
1 x Gigabyte R9 280 3GB WF3 OC, 3GB GDDR5 384bit, GV-R928WF3OC-3GD
1 x WD 1TB HDD, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3.5", 24mj
1 x Zalman Z3 mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. MB standard
1 x FORTRON 550W Raider PSU, RA550, 12cm fan
1 x Kingston SSD 120GB HyperX Fury, 2.5", SATA 3 6G

$2027
www.newegg.com
Without the SSD, it's cheaper🙂

Sean Garcia3 said:For the first build, he got a setup with a solid foundation for future upgrades. He can drop an r9 280 in there later without a bottleneck, and the power supply is beefy enough.

I told him to save up for a monitor later, because honestly, if he wants to play anything modern, he won't even be able to get a game running without one.

The second build is totally fine for that budget. Maybe throw in another 4GB of RAM and he'll be good to go.

As far as I can see, you're just acting like a know-it-all. It's easier to just say "save more money and come back."
Maybe he already has an old monitor he can reuse, who knows? He got examples and advice; he can do whatever he wants with them.

And what if he doesn't have a monitor? You gonna stare at his ass to make the picture appear?
I'm not trying to lecture anyone, but you're suggesting nonsense that wasn't even asked for. You're building a rig for over 300 bucks based on your own rigid ideas instead of actually reading the requirements and sticking to the criteria.

silentpilot2 said:Hey there!

I'm putting together a build for a buddy, just wondering what you guys think about this setup:

1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.60GHz 4cores, FM2
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Toshiba DT01ACA050 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, Hexi 400, 12cm fan, Active PFC
1 x LG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x AOC E2270SWN 21.5" Wide LCD Monitor, WLED, 1920x1080@60Hz
1 x MS PHOENIX Case (no PSU), Midi tower MBO: ATX, mATX
1 x Asrock FM2A78M-DG3+, AMD FM2+ Socket A78 Chipset MB

- intended for mid/high gaming, browsing, etc.

I'm not really up to speed with this newer A series stuff, so I'm curious if this will actually handle some decent modern titles.

Thanks.

Tell your friend if he actually wants to play anything, he should be smart and wait. Save up a bit more cash so he can build something useful. With this, he won't be playing anything—certainly not on medium or high. Maybe low settings, but even then, don't count on it.

Sean Garcia3 said:Forget the monitor for now. He can grab one later once he saves up enough cash. This $333 23" Full HD 1080p IPS screen is solid: http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...ducts_id=14097

You’ve got two ways to play this:

Go this route and you’re basically prepping for a serious upgrade later. You could drop in a beefy fx 8320 and a much better GPU like an r9 280x or a gtx 970. That way, you're set for years and can actually crank everything to max settings.

1 x Sapphire R7 240 Boost, 1GB GDDR3
1 x AMD FX X6 6100 3.3Ghz (3.9GHz) box
1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x LC POWER LC-CC-95, socket 775/1155/1156/AMD
1 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+
1 x Toshiba DT01ACA050 (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600)
1 x Raijintek Arcadia, USB3.0, black

Total: $1041 Micro Center, free assembly and shipping!
Either way, this setup will run games better than his current APU build, and it gives him a decent foundation for a cheap upgrade down the road. The CPU is strong enough to handle an r9 280 or r9 280x later without hitting a bottleneck, and the power supply has enough juice. If he wants high end graf, he'll eventually need to swap in an fx 8320.

Or, go this way with zero upgrade potential. There aren't any significantly better CPUs coming for this socket, and he won't be able to use a powerful GPU because the processor will just bottleneck it. This is a "play until it dies, then replace everything" kind of build. The only upside is a slightly better GPU out of the gate, though even that is pretty weak by today's standards for most modern games.

1 x MSI R7 260 OC, 1GB GDDR5, VGA, DVI, HDMI
1 x AMD Athlon x4 860 k, Black edition kaver (3.7GHz,4MB,95W,FM2+) box
1 x GIGABYTE Main Board Desktop AMD A78 (SFM2+,DDR3,DVI/VGA,USB3.0/USB2.0,SATA III,RAID,LAN) mATX Retail
1 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+, active, 12 c
1 x HDD Desktop Toshiba DT01ACA050 (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600)
1 x Zalman T5 mini tower, black

Total: Total: $1009 Micro Center
He could maybe grab this cooler if he wants the rig to be quieter: http://www.microcenter.com/katalog/komp...esor/lc-cc-95/

Man, you really backed him into a corner there. That GPU in the first option is garbage; he won't be playing anything with it. And don't even get me started on "upgrading" soon—especially with parts costing hundreds of dollars. He'll run into a CPU bottleneck, then have to buy a new PSU, more RAM, and all sorts of other stuff...

Honestly, looking at it, $1000 a full gaming setup including a monitor isn't happening at this price point.

The guy asked for a build *with* a monitor, not a build where the monitor is $333 extra...

Before you start throwing builds at people, try actually reading the original post. Stop suggesting imaginary setups and upgrades that probably won't even work, especially when he never said he was planning to upgrade anyway.

Adam Moore3 said:Nice rounding there. 😬

If he was doing it on purpose, we wouldn't be looking at $2200 lol

mellowtiger83 said:Decent gaming build. The i5 beats out the Intel chip, plus there's an R9 280, decent power supply, and a good case. Comes with a 2-year warranty and financing through Denny's—interest-free for 2-12 months, or 12-36 with interest.

Stop talking nonsense. We don't know the motherboard, the PSU, the RAM, or the drive. Nothing. It's useless.

graniteharbor85 said:If you're planning to upgrade later, just go with AMD. A small SSD won't cut it from the jump, so you're better off grabbing something beefier down the road, like a Samsung evo 850 250 GB.

The FX 8320. Old news, but still around.
Raijintek Themis.
Gigabyte 970A-DS3P. Old school hardware. Still gets the job done if you aren't looking for miracles.
Need an 8GB 1600 MHz stick. Crucial.
Seagate 1TB SATA 3 hard drive.
Gigabyte R9 270 2GB DDR5 WF.
Fortron Raider 550W 80+ Silver.
Zalman Z3 MIDI ATX USB 3.0, equipped with three 120mm fans.

= $1842 Denny's with delivery included? That's just asking for a mess to clean up later.

Looks solid. Nice work. 👍

Ryan Hayes82 said:Setting warranties aside, Samsung makes a better drive than Intel.

I never said it wasn't. Sure, Samsung is fast, but for a regular user? It’s not like you’ll actually feel the difference.

And there's still the warranty issue. Five years is five years. That's basically double what Samsung offers.🙂

Brian Campbell36 said:I switched up my order. I canceled the one at the computer shop and went with your suggestion for the EVGA 😁
.
Just hoping this thing doesn't give me grief. I've always stuck with ASUS boards, so I'm praying I don't see any white smoke once everything is plugged in.

It’s arriving via FedEx on Tuesday. For the SSD, I was thinking about grabbing a Samsung
.

lol you'll be fine with the board
If I were you, I'd grab an Intel SSD. $17 It costs more, sure, but you get a 5-year warranty instead of Samsung's 3.

Brian Campbell36 said:Fine, I'll take that deal, assuming they tell me Monday there's no MSI board left.
How long does shipping actually take? I'm paying cash on delivery—does a FedEx guy bring it to my door or am I trekking to the Post Office?

You can swap things out in your order regardless of what you already placed. As for shipping, it’s next-day delivery (unless you're out in some remote part of Alaska, then it takes longer). A courier brings it straight to your house.

Just pay the driver at the door and you're done. 🙂

Quote : User

Brian Campbell36 said:I'm pulling the trigger on this order today. Looks like a solid deal with 36 months of warranty and SLI support. What do you think?

It's a decent board, but don't expect to run SLI on it.
One slot's x16, the other's just x4.
If you're planning to dump that GPU and upgrade to something better, then yeah, go for it—especially if you're sticking to a single card. 🙂
Quote : User

David Sanders4 said:If I were you, I wouldn't...

And you think you could explain why not?
Don't just go crashing in like a total amateur.

Brian Campbell36
Check this out: http://www.amd.com/product_info.php?c...ducts_id=11401
Grab this and you've got a killer board for SLI and overclocking. 🙂This one’s got full support for SLI. 😁

Brian Campbell36 said:I’d grab this board, but it looks like my Intel Core i5-2320 won't work. The description says it only supports 3rd gen Intel chips.🤔

Your CPU is right there on the support list.🙂
http://www.msi.com/support/mb/Z77A-G43.html#support-cpu

Brian Campbell36 said:So, I finally hit up Best Buy today. Finally got my hands on some cash after calling them a thousand times—apparently, the Department of Labor had to give the green light before they’d release my funds.

Now, what's the move?

Grab this MSI board;

Or should I just jump to the new LGA 1150 socket? I already picked out these parts for the future:

Or maybe

Can I do better than this?

Thinking of spending up to $667 on the CPU and $433 on the motherboard.

Need advice here. I'm leaning toward ASUS, but this Gigabyte doesn't look half bad either.🤔

If you ask me, grab that MSI Z77 board, stick with your current CPU and everything else you've already got, then pocket the rest of the cash. Save it until you have enough for a GTX 970.🙂
Since a) your CPU isn't the bottleneck right now. You can overclock it like you used to and still have a solid gaming rig
without any issues.😛 😁

You'll end up with some extra cash in your pocket. Sell both your current graphics cards together for $333 and you'll have enough for that GTX 970.
😁

Sean Garcia3 said:12GB-$200

2x4GB-350/$133

2x2GB-150/$67

lol
this guy has 12GB total split into 2x4 and 2x2 😁 he doesn't have 24 gigs

Brian Campbell36 said:That's exactly how it goes. You call them and they play games, then they just hang up the second things get uncomfortable.

I actually went down to the store myself. They’re acting like they don't care. Right now I'm stuck waiting for the repair center and Best Buy to hammer out a deal—either pay up or give me a new replacement board. Now I'm looking at another month of waiting while they figure their lives out. Two months without a PC? It makes you want to lose it and walk in there swinging.🍿

First thing I'll do is keep calling and showing up. I need to find out where the local Department of Labor office is in Pittsburgh, assuming they even have one there.

They don't have separate inspectorates anymore.

Quote : User

Brian Campbell36 said:Did you see what they’re trying to pass off as an upgrade? Called them yesterday and they’re claiming they can't do any better than that ASUS ROG Maximus.

All I care about is that even if things go sideways, the advantage stays with me. They’re stuck matching the market value or paying out cash, because that's what the market rate actually is. $333Yeah, I paid for mine too. $567 🤔

Honestly, I’d just take the refund. I'd rather have the cash in hand so I can pick up a new motherboard and a 120GB SSD.

Just walk right into their store and threaten to call the Department of Labor. See how fast they fold then.

Since the Department of Labor merged with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and they’re all working out of the same office now... just file your complaint there if these guys decide to stop playing around. 😛

Brian Campbell36 said:Which SSD should I go with if my budget is capped at 120 GB?

http://www.amazon.com/example-ssd-link-1

Or perhaps

http://www.amazon.com/example-ssd-link-2

My intention is simply to host the Windows 7 64 operating system and a handful of essential programs on the drive itself.🤔

I'd go with the Intel option. It’s got two extra years of warranty. Sure, Samsung might be slightly faster, but you won't feel the difference in daily tasks. Just pick Intel.😁

Sean Garcia3 said:I think you got mixed up. I was actually the first one to tell him not to switch platforms. This board is LGA 1155. You’re probably thinking of Smartic—he was offering him a whole new platform.

My bad, meant to say Smartic. xD