Trading with a friend—need some advice...

Hey everyone, a buddy of mine is offering me a trade, but I’m having a hard time deciding if it's actually worth it, so I wanted to get some input from you guys 😁 ... He's offering an LG flatron 24" monitor (not sure of the exact model) but basically just an older Full HD LCD, paired with an Intel Core i5 750 processor on a Gigabyte 55-ud3 motherboard. I don't know the specific board name, but it seems decent—it doesn't support SLI, only Crossfire, though I wouldn't be using SLI anyway, just thought I'd mention it for context. It has plenty of expansion options, but lacks USB 3.0. He wants to swap this for my Samsung 27" SyncMaster P2770HD (Full HD) and maybe somewhere around $167... though he might take less. If we did the swap, I'd be running his motherboard and CPU alongside an Nvidia GTX 550ti and 4GB of DDR3 RAM until I can save up enough for a new GPU and 2x4GB of memory by Christmas... The reason I'm leaning toward this swap is because my current setup is a nightmare. I'm running an AMD Athlon II X3 445 on an ASRock 770 Extreme 3 motherboard, which is so bad I wouldn't buy it again in a million years. I can't even play World of Tanks smoothly without dropping to low-to-mid settings!! Honestly, props to Intel for those first-gen processors like the 750 and 760; they really haven't aged a day. That's why this combo looks tempting. Any advice? Thanks 🙂

Is he really going to ask for $167 more money? What is he thinking with this cracked version? 😛

If you check Craigslist for $300, you can find deals like this—you could either flip that monitor for some quick cash (assuming you don't need $300) or just hold onto it. Honestly, you'd be better off getting a motherboard with better overclocking potential... I'm just not sure where the seller is located, though he mentioned he's willing to ship via USPS..

http://www.craigslist.org/cs/processors/int...listing-10551078

I’d honestly suggest picking up an Intel Core i3-4130 and an H81 board for $367 instead of that used i5 and motherboard combo priced at $300. I guess the i3 actually has much better single-thread performance.

ASUS H81M-VG4, 1150
$97
Intel Core i3-4130 (3.40GHz,512KB,3MB,54W,1150) Box, Intel HD Graphics 4400
$256

Total: $353 diskont24.com

Oh yeah, I totally blanked on that... That would definitely be the better way to go. Honestly, if you just toss in another 100-$50 bucks, you could probably snag a slightly more "premium" motherboard that actually comes with USB 3.0—since you mentioned needing that earlier.

The ASUS H81M-VG4 actually comes equipped with both SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0. 😉

🤔 My bad—I totally misspoke there and got my wires crossed... I actually meant the internal USB 3.0 header that plugs directly into the motherboard (assuming the case actually has that specific connector) rather than just a standard external USB 3.0 port. 😬 🙂

Why don't you try swapping in a more powerful Phenom for that motherboard you're running http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/770%20Extreme3/?cat=CPU

Regarding that game—are you playing online? Maybe your browser is acting up... try using Opera instead...

Look, if you want my honest opinion, the smartest move for that motherboard would be to grab a Phenom II X4 or X6. However, when it comes to that specific game, you're much better off going with a newer Intel chip. If I recall correctly, World of Tanks relies heavily on single-core performance, so the superior single-thread strength you get from an Intel processor will make a massive difference in your actual gameplay experience.
It’s becoming a recurring pattern in these newer multi-threaded titles like Crysis 3, Battlefield 3, and Battlefield 4 Multiplayer—the Intel Core i3 just can't keep pace. It's consistently getting outperformed by the Phenom X4, and it doesn't stand a chance against the X6.

So, we did a swap for about an hour and, honestly... yeah, no. 😁 His monitor is actually 23", even though he was convinced it was 24"—but whatever. If I had agreed to the deal, he would've thrown in a 2GB DDR3 stick, and I would have just handed over my $67 in exchange for everything (motherboard, CPU, the 23" monitor, and the 2GB stick). In my book, that would have been a fair trade, but still, I passed. 😁 Because once I got home and hooked it all up, I was almost in tears. 😁 Even the picture looks sharper on my own monitor, and I really thought it would be the same level of quality... plus, it’s just way too small. I might get used to it, but trying to watch a movie from my bed? Forget it. So, I've decided I'm just going to sell my current board and processor and pick up an Intel Core i5 760 with a decent motherboard from a listing if the price is right. Or, I could just wait another two months until I've saved up close to $667 and then grab an Intel Core i5 4440 along with a board for around 500-$200, which would make a future GPU or RAM upgrade pretty easy. Regarding those Phenom 2 X4 or X6 chips, I gave them some thought, but I'm done with AMD. In my opinion, Intel is just better across the board... but hey, to each their own.

i, by the way. Since I already brought up this Intel Core i5 4440, I was reading through some threads on here where people were saying there isn't much of a massive difference between the 4440 and the 4670. That said, if you go for the 4670K version to overclock, you're going to need a much higher-end motherboard, which naturally bumps up the price. So, I wanted to get your take: is it better to just grab something new, like the Intel Core i5 4440 paired with a board up to $200, or should I be hunting through Craigslist for an older Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge setup with an overclockable board? I just want to make sure that once I pick up a GPU on the used market for around $500 and add some extra RAM, I'll actually be able to run World of Tanks on max settings at 60fps for the next 2 or 3 years. Ever since patch 9.0 dropped, the graphics have changed significantly, and I heard they’re planning even more graphical and physics overhauls through the end of 2014. I'm wondering if that Intel Core i5 4440 will still hold its own when it comes to newer titles dropping over the next couple of years.

It’s pretty straightforward. Just grab this processor

http://www.ebay.com/itm/processors/listing-10833757

sell your old one... you won't lose more than $250-$100

Sure, but if you're looking at the long game, I honestly think an Intel Core i5 4440 or a 4670 is a way better move overall...

Scott Howard13 said:Sure, but if you're looking at the long game, I honestly think an Intel Core i5 4440 or a 4670 is a way better move overall...

I agree, but you'll end up dropping over $450 instead of $100... money you probably don't have sitting around right now...

The whole point is just to play World of Tanks without any stuttering....

But tomorrow you could grab that processor... and slowly start saving up for an i5 and everything else...

And I don't think those $100 will really hold you back from your future plans... plus, you can always sell the new CPU, the motherboard, and hopefully the RAM later on... and get some cash back...

Look, if I were in your shoes, the one thing I absolutely would not do is pick up a used Intel Core i5 750 paired with a random motherboard. It’s just not worth it when you can grab a Phenom II that fits right into your current, perfectly decent board. You really have two smart paths here: either stick with your upgrade path using that Phenom, or if you're dead set on going Intel, move toward something modern like Ivy Bridge or Haswell. For instance, picking up an Intel Core i5 would be a game-changer for World of Tanks thanks to those efficient cores, and it'll actually hold its own when you start playing more demanding AAA titles down the road.

Look, the motherboard is where the trouble starts... I wouldn't touch an ASRock board again if you paid me; I'd much rather grab a cheaper Asus or Gigabyte instead. I actually had to RMA this specific board once before because three or four of the USB ports just died on me. On top of that, there’s this incredibly weird, infuriating audio issue—this constant "popping" sound whenever someone talks on Skype or even just when I'm browsing the web. It’s like whenever there's a spike in signal, it pops, and the whole system would crash. After that mess, they swapped it for the exact same model and extended my warranty by another two years, but now, after eighteen months, the audio glitch is back. It’s not quite as intense as before, but it’s definitely audible. Plus, when I plugged my mouse into the back recently, one of the USB ports failed again... so now I'm looking at being without a PC for two weeks straight, which is total crap. If they fix or replace the board, I should get another warranty extension, but honestly, I'll probably just sell it immediately along with the processor. In the meantime, I might look for an $267 maybe a slightly lower-end Intel Core i5 760 with a budget Asus board from a local listing. I'd be lowballing the guy since the parts are two and a half years old, but it’ll serve me perfectly fine for the next two or three years until I potentially start working and can afford a full overhaul. My other option is to wait until my birthday in June and just go for an Intel Haswell i5 4440 with a decent motherboard for about $200. That would be great too, but it’ll cost more money, and that might tempt me into buying a new GPU with more VRAM, so the first option actually seems smarter if I just want something reliable to last me 2.5 years. A buddy of mine has an Intel Core i5 750, and once he picks up a new graphics card, I bet tanks will basically fly in games. He hasn't tried everything else yet, but I reckon it'll run solid on high-mid settings. I’ve always liked Intel's first generation because they made such a massive leap over AMD, and even over their own previous stuff. Sure, all the subsequent generations are better, obviously, but the jump from Gen 1 to Gen 4 isn't nearly as huge as that initial breakthrough. Those processors are still really capable; the only real headache is that finding an LGA 1156 motherboard nowadays is getting impossible, so if this thing dies, I'm stuck.

ASRock 770 Extreme 3

I see this board has three legacy PCI slots. That means for $33 you could just grab an extra PCI card with four USB 2.0 ports and maybe a cheap sound card... that would solve both your USB port shortage and that annoying background noise...

One other thing I'd try... (assuming you're running Windows 7) is rolling everything back to Windows XP... since the OS itself uses way fewer resources than the hardware, which helps gaming, especially when the game prefers a single core anyway...

Windows 7 can have issues with USB ports on certain motherboards... whether it's the chipset or some driver routine, who knows... it's pretty rare, but it happens...

Don't test the USB through the OS by plugging in a mouse and seeing if it moves; instead, plug in a flash drive and try moving files to and from the hard drive...

With the Intel Core i5, just do whatever you think is best...

Look, if this is the same issue they already approved a claim for once before, you might be able to leverage that for a brand-new motherboard if you file another claim—especially since they definitely don't have any of those old 770 chipsets in stock anymore. Alternatively, just ask the retailer if they can swap it out for an Intel socket instead; that way, you kill two birds with one stone. You certainly don't need a board from $200 for an Intel Core i5 4440. Or, if you end up getting an AM3+ board, you could always look into pairing it with something like an FX 6300 for $267
.

That’s exactly what I’m aiming for—maybe they’ll toss me a newer model as a replacement for this Extreme 3 board, something with a more recent chipset or whatever. When I first filed the warranty claim, I figured there was a chance they might just swap it out for a different, newer board, but obviously not. Now, a year and a half has passed, making it three years total since I bought the PC. It would be ideal if they could swap it for an Intel socket, but I highly doubt that's on the table... I'll probably head over to Best Buy on Monday to drop off the motherboard since I'll be in Chicago anyway, but man, being without a computer for another two weeks? That absolutely kills me. I’ve also been thinking about putting together some combinations where I buy a dedicated sound card; I actually really need one because I play drums and want to start recording, and having better audio quality would make everything feel much higher end—even with my current stock setup, it’s not exactly great. I don't necessarily need all these USB 3.0 ports, but I might as well use the warranty while I still have it. I'll let you know if they upgrade me to an Intel socket or at least a newer chipset.

Scott Howard13 said:That’s exactly what I’m aiming for—maybe they’ll toss me a newer model as a replacement for this Extreme 3 board, something with a more recent chipset or whatever. When I first filed the warranty claim, I figured there was a chance they might just swap it out for a different, newer board, but obviously not. Now, a year and a half has passed, making it three years total since I bought the PC. It would be ideal if they could swap it for an Intel socket, but I highly doubt that's on the table... I'll probably head over to Best Buy on Monday to drop off the motherboard since I'll be in Chicago anyway, but man, being without a computer for another two weeks? That absolutely kills me. I’ve also been thinking about putting together some combinations where I buy a dedicated sound card; I actually really need one because I play drums and want to start recording, and having better audio quality would make everything feel much higher end—even with my current stock setup, it’s not exactly great. I don't necessarily need all these USB 3.0 ports, but I might as well use the warranty while I still have it. I'll let you know if they upgrade me to an Intel socket or at least a newer chipset.

You definitely won't be able to switch the socket, that's a lock. You can't just swap an Intel board for something else.

The best you'll likely get is a board equivalent to yours.

I think I'm going to settle on a build intended to last me about five years. I'll be financing it over 36 months—the interest rates are pretty steep, but I don't really have any other choice... aiming for a setup that hits a max of $2167. My plan is to grab an Intel Core i5-4670K paired with an MSI Z87 GD65 motherboard. For the GPU, I’d ideally love an Nvidia GTX 770, though the Nvidia GTX 760 is an option if I have to, but hm. Since I'm buying this on credit, the whole point is to crank everything up to Ultra settings, specifically titles from 2013, 2014, and whatever is coming down the pipeline for 2014/2015. I'm open to some AMD recommendations too, even though I'm not a huge fan because of their drivers... I had a nightmare with an AMD Radeon HD 5770 where the screen would just black out whenever I opened a web browser or anything similar, so I swapped it for the Nvidia GTX 550 I'm using now. A friend of mine also bought a laptop with an AMD card and it took him three hours just to "tweak" the drivers lol... but anyway, it doesn't matter. If there's an AMD card that might actually be a better bet than the Nvidia GTX 770, let me know 😁. For memory, I'm looking at Kingston DDR3 RAM 2x4 1600 HyperX Beast, or whatever else fits that board. I already have most of the other parts except for an SSD; I've got a Cooler Master case, an LC Power 650 Silent Giant Green Power PSU, a 500GB Caviar Black hard drive, and a CD-ROM.