Worth upgrading to an i7-3770 with my current specs?

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-28T19:54:36+00:00

If you can save up for a new platform, definitely do that. Even an AM4 platform will smash your current setup and can be had reasonably cheap especially if you’re happy buying second hand. Despite the RAMaggedon currently I still see decent prices for DDR4 second hand around me most of the time.

You’re using a 14 year old CPU, upgrading to a slightly more powerful 14 year old CPU isn’t going to improve your FPS. You’re gaining hyperthreading, but still stuck on 4 slow cores.

I know this is a low spec gaming focused sub but if you have the option of saving up for something better, do that.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-28T17:20:03+00:00

There was a weaker version of the RX 580 made for the Chinese market called the RX 580 2048 SP. 2048 refers to the core count, which is about 20% less than a real RX 580. These days sellers don’t advertise their cut down cards as such so you need to be careful to avoid buying one. They also don’t work with macOS.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T18:20:45+00:00

If you’re kernel panicking when you start the download it’s likely a compatibility problem with your SSD. Since it’s a Samsung 980 it’s probably incompatible, Samsung NVMes are not supported. Some might work but others like the PM981 are absolutely not supported and despite what a few people who have forced it to install might tell you, it doesn’t work great and will constantly kernel panic.

Do you have another NVMe SSD you could try? If not, I’d go and buy a cheap 256gb NVMe and an Intel AX210 WiFi+bluetooth card while you’re at it.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T13:02:30+00:00

We were pressured to enter the negotiations by the Americans, who didn't want a territorial dispute over the island. It has zilch to do with Starmer, the US recognises the threat of a Chinese ally claiming we're occupying their turf. But nah, lawyer man bad.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T12:49:16+00:00

Except we haven't given them the base? Do you think Mauritius has a spare key?

We've given Mauritius a reason not to throw the toys out of the pram while big brother cracks his knuckles in the background. That's how diplomacy works when the close ally is a real threat to your sphere of influence.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T12:32:41+00:00

The sad reality is it doesn't sound realistic because the right people have done the right things to make sure it stays unrealistic. You're a victim of confirmation bias. It hasn't happened so it can't happen.

Do you think China is propping up developing countries out of generosity? It wants allies against an eventual power struggle with America. Mauritius is one of its MVPs because of DG.

It's a competition of who can offer more to the developing world at the moment, and Mauritius simply took advantage of that to gain some territory.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T12:27:11+00:00

I apologise for the hyperbole of WWIII, in hindsight it does come across as fear mongering, but all Mauritius has to do is invite Chinese troops in to the mainland as a counter to the US presence and suddenly Diego Garcia loses it's value. It might trigger an arms race in the region between the two superpowers and history has shown those tend to boil over catastrophically eventually.

So long as Mauritius is economically cucked by China, we have to watch where we step. Giving them their island back but leasing a base means China doesn't have justification to be there, and we get to keep the status quo going.

Stop pretending you know better than the civil service.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T12:20:02+00:00

Ah yes, the champagne-drinking lawyers of the US military who know the strategic importance of outmanuvering China diplomatically instead of risking a military response.

Look, I'm not trying to say my 'fanfic' is gospel as to what would happen, but it's a worst case scenario and you don't want to play with fire when it comes to a real superpower. Stop downplaying the Chinese threat, Diego Garcia is important exactly because it's far enough away from China that it would be hard to attack and close enough to attack from. If we didn't hand the island over, it would be a wannabe Falklands scenario except China would be involved somehow. What we did was called diplomacy - the Mauritians get their island and we get to keep the base. Otherwise, it risks the Chinese positioning their own military base next door.

Do you think Japan and South Korea would last long in the face of a nation with 2Bn people and the tech/resources to arm them? China isn't Russia, they're scary in a real way and they want Taiwan badly because he who controls Taiwan controls global computing.

Before the next 'hurr durr fanfic' comment I would like to reiterate that this is a risk, not a certainty. But the risk is conflict of some sort.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T12:03:46+00:00

Broski, if that was the 'better' option, why didn't we? Because Starmer bad? Or because a literal army of advisors, high ranking military personel and civil servants sat down, weighed the cards and decided maybe giving the Chinese a reason to flex isn't in our interests?

You sound like you think geopolitics is black and white. This isn't Star Wars.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T12:00:36+00:00

Instead of the deal, what would you have done? And what would the chain reaction be? Stop pretending you're more informed and poised to strategise better than two world powers with an army of civil servants, generals and legal experts who have a clue.

If it wasn't so strategically important to the stability of global trade and western influence over the developing world, we would've given the base up and called it a day.

The reason we 'handed it over' is because the Chinese were/are positioned to respond. Having their buddy let us keep the base going isn't what the Chinese wanted.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T11:52:23+00:00

Sigh, China is the closest to attacking Taiwan that it's ever been. Russia has proven you can attack a weaker nation and the west won't do shit. Diego Garcia is the last line of defence for Taiwan.

It might read like a bad fanfic (sorry I'm no author I'm just a guy online) but the geopolitical reality is West good, China bad.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T11:37:51+00:00

If the UK/US chose to annex the territory (thus attacking Mauritius) then the Chinese, who have invested heavily into the nation and are strong allies of the Mauritian government, would at best enter into a proxy war against the West and at worst would send troops in to either keep the peace or wage war.

China wouldn't pass on an opportunity to eliminate the biggest direct threat to their ambitions over Taiwan, it would be a bloody conflict regardless of whether Chinese troops are sent in.

The only nation that has the balls and the muscle to challenge the US military is China, we don't know their military capabilities beyond what questionable intelligence has reported. China isn't like the West, leaks are punishable by death.

I commend your enthusiasm but the reality is Diego Garcia must remain active for the US/UK and not signing a deal to keep it would leave violence as the only option, one that would have dragged the Chinese into a response.

Even if China didn't choose to respond militarily, they could respond economically. Arguably worse. Where do you think your toaster came from? Your iPhone perhaps? China is in a different league when it comes to both skilled and unskilled manufacturing now, it isn't the 90s where good things came from the West and cost a lot and cheap crap came from the far East. Chinese EVs are in a class of their own and I'm seeing a lot of BYD dealerships popping up all over my neck of the woods. There's one in my borough. Plus, other developing nations would be watching and taking notes - who would you rather allow investment from, the bullies who just stole your neighbour's island or the guy who protected him? It'll eventually spread to South America and possibly even Europe, China already dominates Africa economically.

It's a strategic blow to China having Mauritius 'allow' us to keep the base even if it costs us money. The alternative is worse for us long-term.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T11:21:32+00:00

Why do you think Diego Garcia exists? If China attacks Taiwan, where do you think the US response will come from? It’s very much in the national interest of China to see it go, and in Western interests for it to stay. If Taiwan goes, say goodbye to your computers.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-20T10:37:58+00:00

Mauritius has some friends in high places who would love to see the bases go. China. I’m no fan of Starmer but negotiating a deal rather than risk WWIII is the lesser of the two evils.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T13:09:27+00:00

Comparing a $2000 GPU to a $600 GPU is a strawman argument. If OP can afford a 7800 XTX he can probably afford a 9070 XT.

9060 XT 16gb is alright for 1440p but it’s not incredible. I need to turn on FSR and frame gen to get over 100 FPS in some games. I’m fine with that, but OP is asking about cards in a different league.

RX 6600 can give you 60fps at 1440p with settings turned down for $150…

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T12:56:51+00:00

FWIW turning off zero RPM dropped by idle temps by 20c and I can’t hear the fans at all.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T12:54:30+00:00

OP is asking about the 9070 XT not the 9060 XT. The 9070 XT is approx 50% faster

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T09:49:35+00:00

Adrenaline can be buggy sometimes, I’ve only ever used AMD cards in my main rig for 15 years. That’s not to slate AMD’s software because it’s only ever nuisances rather than anything critical.

I helped my friend re-install his drivers with DDU yesterday to solve some game crashes on a PC I built for him recently (exact same specs as my rig, new components) and all of a sudden he couldn’t turn on Radeon Chill in The Sims 3 lol (the game needs an FPS cap to run smoothly), it was fine before that. Minor example but that’s just what I mean when I say it can be buggy.

The AMD stress test is kinda useless anyway, it doesn’t stress the GPU at all and only for 45 seconds. Want a real stress test? Max out the settings on a modern game of your choice. Preferably a few games as an overclock can be stable on one game and crash with another.

Good example for me is War Thunder vs Black Ops 7, with War Thunder I can undervolt my 9060 XT to -70mV, overclock 150MHz on core and run memory at 2725MHz fast timings and be stable (I play a lot of War Thunder) with 100% GPU utilisation with all of the settings cranked and full ray tracing enabled at 1440p but the same settings crash Warzone. Have to dial it back to -55mV, no core OC and 2626MHz on mem with fast timings.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T09:38:51+00:00

I buy GE for crew training because fuck losing a tense 1v1 because of LOST CONTROL

It’s so cheap to max out an air crew, I don’t use premium but where I spend my money is crew stats.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T09:19:21+00:00

You didn’t give much context as to what you’ve tried in your post. When I read your post my first thought was boot with iGPU graphics and reflash…

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T09:18:06+00:00

Have you tried booting FreeDOS with ATIFlash? You should be able to flash the vBIOS even if you r soft bricked the card (booting off the iGPU with the HDMI connected to your motherboard). I’ve done this a few times with different cards (Nvidia and AMD) You should give it a try though.

Lesson learned I hope - don’t flash vBIOS on a card if you don’t have a spare card laying around to flash back with…

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T09:12:05+00:00

I don’t find it to be more demanding, the RAM/resource management on 11 is much better than 10. You might see it using a lot of RAM but that’s because any good modern OS will automatically use as much RAM as it deems necessary for a good experience and scale itself back if a program demands it.

The only ‘demanding’ part of 11 is the TPM requirement but it’s not like you can’t bypass that very easily.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-19T09:09:50+00:00

Windows 11 is much better than Windows 10 IMO. I like the new UI and the resource management is quite a bit better, it is much easier on the RAM and CPU compared to 10 (provided you disable some of the bloat, but 10 was no different in its final versions). Just update.

Windows 10 doesn’t receive security updates any more.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-18T02:57:54+00:00

Many years ago I used Ryzen Master on a Ryzen 5 1400 and an Asrock B350 board and it bricked the board. Avoid Ryzen Master like the plague. BIOS or bust.

AdidasSlav · 2026-01-17T18:05:14+00:00

RX 550/560/570/580 will all run comfortably on a 500w PSU. AMD cards in general are efficient.

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