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Strangelove
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Should I stick with getting a GTX 660 graphics card, or go ahead with a GTX 760 for basically $50 more? I've seen some information putting the card series around or above 660 Ti cards. At this point, even with discounts and rebates, 660 Ti cards are a little more expensive.

 

I had always planned on getting the Gigabyte GTX 660 card for $209, but now there are two cards for $259 that I'm looking into.

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  • 4 weeks later...

AAAAAGH.

 

My keyboard's U J M 6 keys don't work. It's an apple keyboard (i know i know). It's the best one I've used since ever, I really like it, but it's also the only one that died on me. Everything else I replaced (after >1 year) to get a better one. So I really want to get another one but I'm torn.

 

Dammit.

 

Any good keyboard suggestions? Nothing fancy, I just really like this since I can type really fast with it. Plus, hey, I use a mac so the built in shortcuts are great too.

 

apple-aluminum-keyboard.jpg

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Aren't Apple usually pretty good with repairs/replacements?

 

Failing that..get a new one? I'd assume Apple still do the same keyboard, looks like one in their current range at least. If you love it and it's still a model that's available I wouldn't see reason in getting a different brand and model as a replacement.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I put my computer together, but before I post the result, I have one problem.

 

No ethernet access, and I didn't get a wireless card. So, which option should I go with? I don't plan on running wireless with this desktop, but my current setup doesn't have any place for a wired connection. Should I get a USB wireless adapter, or put in a card?

 

Any recommendations?

 

EDIT: And by "no ethernet," I mean there's no outlet for ethernet close by and wireless is the only option.

Edited by Atomsk88
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Any specific card out there, or look around and see what's popular and highly rated? I think I'm going to find more USB wireless adapters in retail stores, and some of the more popular items are from brands I don't recognize when I search online.

 

I did see a decently priced D-Link PCI card, but otherwise I'm seeing those shoddy Ethernet adapters that need to plug in. I know I lent my folks an old N-wireless adapter I had, but that thing worked 50% of the time and needed an outlet.

Edited by Atomsk88
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Nah, it was an Ethernet adapter where you plug the cable from the device (at the time a roommate's blu-ray player) to the adapter which needs a power source. The official adapter for the player was $100, so we needed another option. Truth be told it probably would have worked better if it wasn't in an environment with eight other wireless signals within a single building.

 

Eventually the official adapter went down to $50 and I gave away the other adapter to my parents. They could have used it, but it's kind of a pain to set up, so they didn't.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So... my graphics card pooped out while I was playing RAGE, it restarted and everything was kinda okay except I was getting horrible framerates in rage when I tried to run it again.  Restarted my computer and tried to run RAGE again and "poof" lines appeared across the screen and the computer became unresponsive.  Slowly started taking parts out to see which was the culprit and it appears to be my gfx card.  It's a XFX Radeon 6870 I bought ~2 years ago.  Every time I try to boot with the hdmi cable I get a black screen.  So far I've tried placing it in a different PCI-E slot but, no luck.  Not 100% how to troubleshoot this problem or if I should just give up and start shopping for a new gfx card.  Thanks in advance. 

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Thought I'd go ahead and post pictures of my first build.

 

bXKGVuA.jpg

 

ABvxfkZ.jpg

 

Rather than list all the individual prices, with the sales and everything, I ended up a little under $1,200 for my first build.

 

OS: Windows 8 64-bit System Builder

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming LGA 1155 Intel

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHZ Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core

GPU: MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-bit GDDR5

PSU: Corsair HX Series 750W

RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1866

Storage: Western Digital Black 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0GB/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B3ST SATA 24X DVD Burner

CPU Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus

Wireless Adapter: D-Link Wireless N 300 Model DWA-548

Case: Cooler Master CM Storm Enforcer

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire Rapid Mechanical Gaming Keyboard CherryMX Blue

Additional Case Fan: Cooler Master Megaflow 200mm Red LED

 

I already had my mouse and monitor, but if you're curious, they're a Razer DeathAdder and Samsung 22" LED HDTV.

 

EDIT: Oh, and if you're wondering what that blue thing under it is, it's the free mousepad I got with my Intel processor. The thing is huge, so I'm using it to cushion the weight of my PC. The case already had risers, but they don't work on carpet. That is also why I'm using my leftover wooden shelves as support.

 

EDIT-2: Forgot to fill out my wireless adapter...

Edited by Atomsk88
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To be fair, a good looking case (in my eyes) is kind of hard to find on the cheap. I like full towers as well so the price is even steeper for the kinds I like... which are essentially featureless metal boxes that cost more than funky looking cases. Metals man, they be expensive especially when housing computer hardware.

 

And no, fuck Lian Li. Now those prices are insane. 

 

Huh, the prices seem to have gone down in the last few years. Keeping my old comment I was typing.

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