That is correct; I completely misread the situation. My apologies for the misunderstanding.
A few options for an X470 Micro ATX board would be quite welcome right about now. The current X370 Micro ATX I am working with is from Biostar, and if I am being perfectly honest, my experiences with their products have been somewhat underwhelming most of the time.
Personally, I intend to hold onto my current setup for as long as it remains functional, though I recognize that within the next year or two, I will eventually need to invest in a truly high-performance motherboard. My current ASRock B350M Pro4 has somewhat limited my upgrade potential, even though everything continues to operate reliably and without issue. Does anyone happen to know if there are any rumors regarding whether AMD might release a high-end Micro ATX board before the end of 2020?
I am not entirely certain about that approach, to be honest. I currently have a Ryzen 5 1600, and I personally feel that making the leap to a Zen+ processor simply isn't worth the effort, let alone the expense, especially since I struggle to see any meaningful gains in performance or any other measurable area. At most, I suspect it might offer a marginal boost if paired with an RX 580 instead of an RX 480, though even that seems like a stretch.
They say if you wait too long, you'll end up settling for something less than ideal. There are moments in life where one simply has to accept a compromise and decide to shift things into second gear just to keep moving forward. $33 Pairing an R5 1600 with $300 alongside a GTX 960 4GB under warranty, and the fun finally begins.
It is certainly possible that such a setup could suffice for those specific titles, though I must admit that a budget in the range of $5,500-$$2000 is really aiming for something more substantial, like being able to run Metro, The Witcher, GTA, or whatever the current heavy hitters happen to be these days.
That perceived gap of $600 simply isn't there, because even if you attempt to overclock the 2400G, you aren't going to achieve anything more than what a standard office desktop provides without a dedicated GPU. Furthermore, the R5 1600 is only about twenty dollars more expensive, rather than the full thirty. Beyond that, they didn't even bring up the 1050Ti, and I believe you previously suggested a used 960, which sits in that same performance tier and could potentially be found in good condition with a warranty for just $300.
I certainly agree, though I suppose integrated graphics are still a necessity for a certain subset of users. They serve those who simply need a machine for basic daily tasks, whereas our discussion here centers on gaming, potentially video editing, or heavy rendering. In my estimation, opting for an integrated solution alongside an R5 1600 serves little purpose for this level of performance, even if it were theoretically $100 more budget-friendly. One could technically subsist on integrated graphics while waiting for a better opportunity to invest in a dedicated GPU, but I fear one might find themselves waiting indefinitely for such a moment to arrive.
Here is what looks like a very solid comparison between the 2400G and the 1600 processors: https://www.notebookcheck.net/2400G-....247596.0.html
Based on current pricing here in the States, where there's roughly a $100-$50 difference between them, I honestly don't think it's worth even considering the 2400G over the 1600, unless you find yourself absolutely needing integrated graphics. Beyond that, they seem to perform quite similarly when it comes to overclocking, so the 1600 doesn't really fall behind in any meaningful way, aside from its base clock speed—which isn't much of a drawback in my book anyway.
Honestly, it just isn't worth it at all right now. Most people buying hardware during this period end up overpaying significantly; inflation has truly made things difficult. The only way to make it worthwhile is if you consider buying a used graphics card and RAM, provided they are still under warranty and in excellent condition—meaning you've seen photos, videos, real-time stress tests, and have the original receipt and box in hand. As for the RAM, any basic DDR4 of any speed or brand will do, and 8GB should be plenty for your needs. For the GPU, I would strongly suggest avoiding anything too ancient. As a baseline, I’d recommend looking at the GTX 9 xx series or the R9 3 xx series, though you could certainly aim higher with newer options like the GTX 10xx or the RX 4xx and 5xx series. To be more specific, the best value choice would likely be a dual-fan GTX 960 4GB, assuming it comes with at least a six-month local retailer warranty along with the receipt and packaging, priced around $850-$333, provided you plan to play at 1200p/75Hz or lower.
You might also want to consider an R5 1600 instead of what I mentioned above, assuming you don't strictly require integrated graphics—unless, for some reason, a 2400G feels more appropriate for an SFF build, as the prices are quite similar. You can find a decent enough monitor for about $400, especially once you take a moment to calibrate it, which is a fairly straightforward process using either your OS settings or the physical buttons on the monitor itself. Mind you, that process can become quite time-consuming if you happen to be a perfectionist like me, constantly chasing the absolute best image quality. A few months back, I picked up a monitor (an AOC i2269vvm) for $283 and spent some time tweaking it. The picture quality is superb, even though it's only 21.5'', which some people might find a bit small, but the bezels are very thin.
It is truly a dismal state of affairs when your graphics card finally gives up the ghost, leaving you with no choice but to scavenge the used market—where you will most likely end up with some relic used for crypto mining. It feels as though manufacturers have lost all incentive to develop fresh hardware; instead, they simply repackage aging components and funnel them toward miners, since very few people outside of that niche seem to have any interest in buying anything else. I would even venture to bet that a significant portion of this entire situation has been orchestrated and pushed to manipulate consumers into abandoning the PC platform in favor of consoles, a transition I personally could never bring myself to make.
Of course, if consumers actually start paying these inflated prices, manufacturers will certainly take advantage of the situation; within two years, we’ll likely see some mid-range hardware, perhaps something comparable to a GTX 1060, costing $1167. Honestly, I suppose I am being a bit overly optimistic and naive here.
Are you truly keeping pace with the current volatility of the market? I find myself questioning whether one would reasonably consider paying $1000 for a graphics card that was priced at a mere $2,000 just last month. Given the present valuation, you could have almost secured a GTX 1070 for what people are asking for a GTX 1060 lately.
In my estimation, opting for the GTX 960 with at least a year of warranty remaining at around $850 $300 appears to be the most prudent course of action. Until very recently, I had considered a GTX 970 if one could find a unit with a warranty for about $367, or perhaps an even older model priced between $400 and $167. However, I would personally advise against looking at the GTX 750 series as a viable middle ground; for roughly $67, you end up with an older, significantly inferior card from the GTX 960 series that lacks any form of warranty coverage whatsoever.
You have assembled this quite impressively, if I do so say myself. In fact, if it were any better, it would almost feel unnatural; you truly deserve a great deal of credit for this. What they managed to achieve with that GTX 970 is nothing short of a minor miracle, honestly.
I can't help but feel that investing in older generations, such as the GTX 700 series or the R9 200 series, might be a rather questionable decision. There is always that nagging uncertainty regarding their longevity; they could fail at any moment, and one often runs into issues where the video connectors simply refuse to function properly. Furthermore, they tend to run quite hot and consume a significant amount of power. In my humble opinion, if you can stretch your budget by an additional 300-$$167, it would likely be much more prudent to aim for a GTX 960, a GTX 970, an R9 380, an R9 390, or perhaps even hunt down a used or new 1050Ti. With those options, you stand a much better chance of finding a card that still carries some form of warranty or peace of mind.
Perhaps your standards on this matter are a bit more modest than most, but I must say, they aren't entirely wrong. A 720p resolution feels quite underwhelming for an 80cm screen, particularly if you plan on sitting closer than about six feet away. Furthermore, there is little point in obsessing over your graphics settings if the image clarity is fundamentally lacking, just as there is no value in pushing for high resolutions if your hardware settings are forced to stay low.
'HD ready' typically refers to 1270x720p, whereas 1366 x768 is technically classified as 'HD+', much like anything else falling short of Full HD. And when it comes to current graphics cards, looking at lower-tier options simply isn't worth your time anymore—to put it bluntly, the experience is miserable.
In any case, I would suggest heading down to a local electronics retailer like Best Buy to find a TV in that same size range, so you can see firsthand how that specific resolution and pixel density actually looks to your eyes.
Yes, you made a sound decision there. Given how cutthroat the market is right now, having options feels more like a luxury of the past than a reality for the future. If you find that VRAM starts becoming an issue, my suggestion would be to slightly dial back the AA, depth of field, and render distance, and perhaps disable motion blur entirely. You might also consider capping your FPS to match your monitor's refresh rate without relying on Vsync. There are a handful of settings out there where the visual trade-off just isn't worth the performance gain, so it might be worth doing a little digging online to see which ones fall into that category. On the other hand, you can certainly experiment with various graphical settings; it isn't strictly necessary to disable everything or tank your settings just to get by. My main advice, however, is to avoid sacrificing texture quality and try not to drop below 1080p unless you absolutely have to. I would rather you focus on the aforementioned tweaks and look up the specifics of each setting online; that way, you will truly understand what to adjust depending on the situation you find yourself in.
Don't be so quick to take their word for it, my friend; talk is cheap. Besides, when you're investing in high-end components, you simply shouldn't pull the trigger without a proper warranty, a receipt, and the original packaging in hand.
It wasn't stolen; it was likely used for crypto mining. That was my immediate thought, because there is simply no way you could find a card like that at such an absurdly low price unless it had been running mining rigs non-stop and comes without any warranty left.