PhilsComputerLab wrote:

It would be awesome if you could do a write up after checking out its retro gaming compatibility 😊

I did some very quick testing using Radeon 8500 LE 128MB conected via single-link DVI. To my surprise desktop works even at 2560x1440 (which is way over specs of SL DVI and most likely R200 too). 1600x1200 and 1920x1440 are working as well... basically pretty much all resolutions work.
The problem is 1280x1024 is the last one actually usable in 3D games. 1600x1200 and up can start but only for for 5-10 seconds, after that no signal message. Actually I'm not sure if R200 officially supports 1600x1200 over DVI... must do more research later. Perhaps even connect old native 1600x1200 20'' LCD and see how that one turns out.

Perhaps I'll start a new thread and write a list of maximum supported resolutions over DVI on various old GPUs. 😀

clueless1 wrote:

archsan wrote:

I just checked our local prices and WDC Black 4TB is only about $12 more expensive than HGST Deskstar NAS of the same size. From quality/reliability standpoint, the Black is still better than the HGST, right?

At least according to BackBlaze, HGST have the lowest failure rates.
https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-rel … -stats-q1-2016/

Yes, I'm aware of BackBlaze' surveys/data, hence my question. Point is, they seem to have only used the cheaper WDC drives in the comparison (from reading the model numbers: WD..EFRX = Red; WD..EADS = Green), though to be fair the HGST models were also older 5400rpm (the HGST Deskstar NAS versions I was looking at are the newer 7200rpm model, which explains their rather expensive price).

I'll check where to get retail WDC Black with effective 5-year warranty. The HGST I checked have 3-year warranty. No experience yet with HGST but I have some older WDC Black and Green drives which are alright (well, the Black is good). But I definitely won't buy drives with only 1-year warranty anymore regardless of brand (had a portable WD drive that was dying/undetectable after a little more than a year with only little usage 🙁 ).

If you poke around, you will find older blog posts that cover older hdd models. A couple of years ago, Seagate drives were failing at atrocious rates. It looks like their newer models are doing much better, but I'm still leery of Seagate drives made in the past 10 years. Their drives back in the 90s and early 2000s were rock solid, and it seems like their 2016 models are doing well (according to BackBlaze link above).

Yeah, Seagate was probably 'forced' to do a better job with their newer models. But I'll wait a bit longer to see others' reviews. I think the sweet spot / safe bets for me today are Samsung SSDs and WD Black HDDs.

Placed an order for the 4gb version of the Sapphire RX480 Nitro. Hits my budget right on the head at $250 after a ridicules 20% tax from Amazon, and will be a solid upgrade from the HD7870.

Wow, you got screwed. I got the overclocked 8gb model for 265

ODwilly wrote:

after a ridicules 20% tax from Amazon

Amazon is not the place to go anymore. They lured people with cheap prices and then they hiked them up. It's a pretty common business scheme. Always shop around for sales and better deals.

luckybob wrote:

Wow, you got screwed. I got the overclocked 8gb model for 265

Ya no kidding. Although from what I could find everything is out of stock currently and the prices are around $300+ for the 4gb version reference card that you can find in stock. Figured if I dont go for i now while I have money I wont end up upgrading at all. As much bad press as the RX480 got initially it really does not seem like anyone selling them for a fair/reasonable price can keep them in stock.

havli wrote:

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

Perhaps I'll start a new thread and write a list of maximum supported resolutions over DVI on various old GPUs. 😀

Yes ATI cards are known to have some issues with the DVI 😀

Dreamer_of_the_past wrote:

ODwilly wrote:

after a ridicules 20% tax from Amazon

Amazon is not the place to go anymore. They lured people with cheap prices and then they hiked them up. It's a pretty common business scheme. Always shop around for sales and better deals.

Ok, cancelled the order at no cost. All good, I will keep looking and hopefully get the 8gb for my $250 budget 😊 thanks guys.

rein_ein wrote:

Decide to play with that your "VR" so for 30$ i got this: […]
Show full quote

Decide to play with that your "VR" so for 30$ i got this:

Yes i already found way to connect it to pc and play with,no i still didn't do it.

What is this "that your "VR"" ? 😕
Is it for smartphones?

ODwilly wrote:

Dreamer_of_the_past wrote:

ODwilly wrote:

after a ridicules 20% tax from Amazon

Amazon is not the place to go anymore. They lured people with cheap prices and then they hiked them up. It's a pretty common business scheme. Always shop around for sales and better deals.

Ok, cancelled the order at no cost. All good, I will keep looking and hopefully get the 8gb for my $250 budget 😊 thanks guys.

I had a SMS and email alert setup and I got mine through this site: http://www.nowinstock.net/computers/videocards/amd/rx480/

Thanks just picked up the reference 8gb Power Color card (not my first choice, but meh) on Newegg ebay thanks to that site!

ODwilly wrote:

Thanks just picked up the reference 8gb Power Color card (not my first choice, but meh) on Newegg ebay thanks to that site!

I hate Newegg's eBay store though. Happened to me after I received a refurbished and bare iPad instead of new one sealed in a retail box. The worst part was when I realized that I was not alone with the exact same problem. Patience is a must when it comes to shopping for a new graphics card.

Dreamer_of_the_past wrote:

ODwilly wrote:

Thanks just picked up the reference 8gb Power Color card (not my first choice, but meh) on Newegg ebay thanks to that site!

I hate Newegg's eBay store though. Happened to me after I received a refurbished and bare iPad instead of new one sealed in a retail box. The worst part was when I realized that I was not alone with the exact same problem. Patience is a must when it comes to shopping for a new graphics card.

A few years back when the HD3870x2 was new, I wanted one badly.. and didn't have the money right away. But when I did get it.. like now, they were sold out everywhere. But I was so excited for a new GPU and wanting one badly that Instead of waiting for a name brand one, I ended up buying a "GeCube" brand HD3870x2. Which -DID- work, but there was zero support.The company never responded to emails at all, phone number went to voicemail and I never got an answer. And the fan bearings dried out in 8 months and I had to buy another fan and replace it and the replacement fans on ebay didn't fit their card and I ended up having to disassemble the entire f'ing thing and oil the bearings and it was just a nightmare and total waste of my money and If I'd just waited another few weeks for newegg to restock I could of gotten a Sapphire card. Or XFX...... and one of those would probably still be working today.

kithylin wrote:

A few years back when the HD3870x2 was new, I wanted one badly.. and didn't have the money right away. But when I did get it.. like now, they were sold out everywhere. But I was so excited for a new GPU and wanting one badly that Instead of waiting for a name brand one, I ended up buying a "GeCube" brand HD3870x2. Which -DID- work, but there was zero support.The company never responded to emails at all, phone number went to voicemail and I never got an answer. And the fan bearings dried out in 8 months and I had to buy another fan and replace it and the replacement fans on ebay didn't fit their card and I ended up having to disassemble the entire f'ing thing and oil the bearings and it was just a nightmare and total waste of my money and If I'd just waited another few weeks for newegg to restock I could of gotten a Sapphire card. Or XFX...... and one of those would probably still be working today.

Ouch you and Dreamer have some horror stories 😲 at least I have heard and used Power Color products before, and as a reference card you would think it would be rather difficult for them to mess up since they basically just put their sticker on it.

Arctic wrote:

What is this "that your "VR"" ? 😕
Is it for smartphones?

Yes,since when all this mess around introduced Oculus started i missed... all until now and finally bought cheap alternative to pair and play with my Nexus 5

kithylin wrote:

A few years back when the HD3870x2 was new, I wanted one badly.. and didn't have the money right away. But when I did get it.. like now, they were sold out everywhere. But I was so excited for a new GPU and wanting one badly that Instead of waiting for a name brand one, I ended up buying a "GeCube" brand HD3870x2. Which -DID- work, but there was zero support.The company never responded to emails at all, phone number went to voicemail and I never got an answer. And the fan bearings dried out in 8 months and I had to buy another fan and replace it and the replacement fans on ebay didn't fit their card and I ended up having to disassemble the entire f'ing thing and oil the bearings and it was just a nightmare and total waste of my money and If I'd just waited another few weeks for newegg to restock I could of gotten a Sapphire card. Or XFX...... and one of those would probably still be working today.

Ouch, this is probably why I never buy noname products. The best time to shop for a new video card is when new products are about to be released and that's when the previous generation of graphics cards goes on sale. That alone can save up to 50% on previous products. Just like I purchased this GTX 980 Ti. Although, it wasn't cheap however, I got it much cheaper than $799 that it used to cost a few months ago. I just really wanted a water cooling edition, since modern cards run hotter and tend to die faster these days.

Dreamer_of_the_past wrote:

kithylin wrote:

A few years back when the HD3870x2 was new, I wanted one badly.. and didn't have the money right away. But when I did get it.. like now, they were sold out everywhere. But I was so excited for a new GPU and wanting one badly that Instead of waiting for a name brand one, I ended up buying a "GeCube" brand HD3870x2. Which -DID- work, but there was zero support.The company never responded to emails at all, phone number went to voicemail and I never got an answer. And the fan bearings dried out in 8 months and I had to buy another fan and replace it and the replacement fans on ebay didn't fit their card and I ended up having to disassemble the entire f'ing thing and oil the bearings and it was just a nightmare and total waste of my money and If I'd just waited another few weeks for newegg to restock I could of gotten a Sapphire card. Or XFX...... and one of those would probably still be working today.

Ouch, this is probably why I never buy noname products. The best time to shop for a new video card is when new products are about to be released and that's when the previous generation of graphics cards goes on sale. That alone can save up to 50% on previous products. Just like I purchased this GTX 980 Ti. Although, it wasn't cheap however, I got it much cheaper than $799 that it used to cost a few months ago. I just really wanted a water cooling edition, since modern cards run hotter and tend to die faster these days.

I usually get em a couple years used myself. Also yeah, I shared my old experience here for others to learn from it.

kithylin wrote:

Dreamer_of_the_past wrote:

ODwilly wrote:

Thanks just picked up the reference 8gb Power Color card (not my first choice, but meh) on Newegg ebay thanks to that site!

I hate Newegg's eBay store though. Happened to me after I received a refurbished and bare iPad instead of new one sealed in a retail box. The worst part was when I realized that I was not alone with the exact same problem. Patience is a must when it comes to shopping for a new graphics card.

A few years back when the HD3870x2 was new, I wanted one badly.. and didn't have the money right away. But when I did get it.. like now, they were sold out everywhere. But I was so excited for a new GPU and wanting one badly that Instead of waiting for a name brand one, I ended up buying a "GeCube" brand HD3870x2. Which -DID- work, but there was zero support.The company never responded to emails at all, phone number went to voicemail and I never got an answer. And the fan bearings dried out in 8 months and I had to buy another fan and replace it and the replacement fans on ebay didn't fit their card and I ended up having to disassemble the entire f'ing thing and oil the bearings and it was just a nightmare and total waste of my money and If I'd just waited another few weeks for newegg to restock I could of gotten a Sapphire card. Or XFX...... and one of those would probably still be working today.

Been through worse, most laptops out there these days give that a run for its money especially with all the plastic snaps that break and the millions of different screws of all different sizes in the same machine ect. One of my biggest grips is the flat flex connectors that easily break and that there is so many vs how it was in the good old days.

The reference model 3870x2 was even worse due to the poor thermals that slow roasted most of them into oblivion.

I ordered an XFX card almost 2 weeks ago. Sadly, it got lost in the mail: https://www.fedex.com/apps/fedextrack/?trackn … n&cntry_code=us

Newegg is pretty awesome about it. A bit slow on the refund process, but I cried on the phone to a customer service agent, then cried to his manager, told them how my dog had cancer and this was his final wish ( joking ). Long story short, they said they were going to cancel my order, and give me a different brand of card. I had two choices, a MSI reference 480 card or this: https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/ROG-STRIX … X480-8G-GAMING/ But I had to pay the difference, and wait until release day. Which they wouldn't tell me.

I chose the 2nd option. So i have to suffer with my overheating 8800GT for a while longer. 🙁

NEVER sell your old card until you get a new one kids. Lesson learned.

Someone likely stole the card in transit, learned the hard way to NEVER use DHL and never trust UPS as they are likely to deliver to the wrong address.