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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
Erebus
Member
As a matter of fact, quite recently I bought an MSI GTX460 1GB OC which I push further to 850/1700/2015 whenever I play Just Cause 2 too.ZZMitch said:Merry Christmas GAF!
Anyway, I have been having some issues with my PC. I have been having random shutdowns. Pretty much my computer screen will freeze, if any sound is playing it will sort of repeat that same sound over and over and eventually my video card/motherboard will shut off (I can hear the click) and and computer will shut down and restart.
Now I am pretty sure this is a result of my resent overclock of my Gigabyte GTX 460 1G, which I clocked up to 850/1700 and 2000 in MSI Afterburner. I think this because these shut downs seem like a pretty new thing and I don't recall them happening before the overclock.
I am not sure if it is an overheating issue, because I tested my overclock for 10 minutes using Kombuster and the highest temp seen was 72C which seems pretty normal. I don't know if it is a dust issue either, seeing as my PC is only a few months old.
For now I have put my video card back to default settings (snce I only really need it overclocked for Just Cause 2 and Metro).
Here are my specs-
ASUS P7P55D-E LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA 6GB Motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 Fermi 715MHZ 1GB GDDR5 2XDVI Mini-HDMI PCI-E DX11 Video Card
Corsair TX650W 650W ATX 12V 52A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan
G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24
Intel Core i5 760 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.8GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA775 LGA1156 120MM
Maybe need to upgrade my power supply or cooler?
Any input would be helpful!
EDIT - It might actually be tied to Microsoft Security Essentials...
Only difference is I never had any restart/shutdown issues, well at least so far. In other words, your gfx card might not be the culprit here. Does it happen when you run it at the default clock speeds?
I've been bouncing a few ideas off stew. I was thinking of doing it since I think I can put in time.TheExodu5 said:
Layout wise it'll be similar to the 2009 OP (Links + FAQ), but would have a $600, $900, and $1,200 build (Or abouts, I think the GPU and CPU prices + SSD line up with those a tad more).
Additionally unless someone wants to keep updating just about everything we could use a slightly modified version of Falcon's Logical Incremental Price Guide:
http://tinyurl.com/falconguidelite
http://tinyurl.com/falconguide
There's a lot of good solid information in there, but some picks (like x4 965, and video cards under the GTX 460) don't make that much sense for what we are looking at.
Cases I can leave in a separate section to you
*Anyone feel free to chime in. The idea is that the basic FAQ + 3 builds will cover most thing though.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Is 550W PSU too little for an i7 or the new sandy bridge chips? I'm thinking one of those with a GTX 470.
Hari Seldon
Member
Ok so I got my new system and I am building it tomorrow. I am going with 2 AMD cards. I have never crossfired before. Should I put just 1 in first and then install the drivers?
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Hazaro said:
I got an antec modular with the 80 plus rating so it's not a shitty brand. I just wanted to make sure since I bought that to try and fix my old pc and now I'm stuck with it since that wasn't the problem.
DarkUSS said:As a matter of fact, quite recently I bought an MSI GTX460 1GB OC which I push further to 850/1700/2015 whenever I play Just Cause 2 too.
Only difference is I never had any restart/shutdown issues, well at least so far. In other words, your gfx card might not be the culprit here. Does it happen when you run it at the default clock speeds?
I am almost certain it is a software issue. I read that Microsoft Security Essentials was the cause of random crashes that sounded like the issue I had. And they were random, like it would crash when just sitting at the desktop. I uninstalled MSE as well as a few other programs I had installed around the time the crashes started and haven't had any crashes in the last day.
To answer your question, I don't think so. But I installed MSE right around the time I overclocked so that may be why
I am running overclocked now, If I get any more crashes like that then it probably wasn't related to MSE but I have been ok so far.
pedrothelion
Member
I'm debating purchasing this combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.563645 from newegg. I'm just wondering if this would be a decent set up? Will this be upgradable down the line? Any video card recommendations would be great as well. I have about $135 in Best Buy gift cards to work with.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
I was looking at bundles on newegg and WTF at the Lian Li spider case. Shit is ridiculous. :lol
Thank you for replying and merry christmas·feist· said:
I've packed everything up due to stress but would give it another go tomorrow morning, but to clarify:
- I've double checked the front panel connectors and everything seems okay, I even checked manuals for both the case and Mobo. I will check again though
- All the power connectors are fine, I even tried my own PSU on that desktop, and when the issue remained the same, I put it back in my own PC, and my PC worked fine, so I have confidence its not human error on the connectors
- As for the memory, I checked that and reseated it twice
Now on to the issue i believe is occurring. Im not a technician and not knowledgeable on short circuiting or anything with the board, but here are some problems i noticed:
- All of the stand-offs were in place and tightened well, although the board (it's an intel, btw) supported only 8 while most are 9, for an mATX. Im not sure this matters, but i thought it should be noted.
** - 3 screws are fucked. After screwing them into the mobo, they seem to have stripped and will keep turning regardless the direction i turn the screwdriver, if that makes any sense. Basically I cannot remove them at the moment and even worse I cannot tighten them. Theres enough space to move the board at those locations.
Could this be the problem? This was supposed to be a gift to for my brother's girlfriend and im already late and failed him miserably
tl;dr: It boils down to the motherboard or the case itself. To reiterate, flicking on the IO switch shows the keyboard lights flash, but then nothing else happens. Fans don't even move a bit. Same issue happens with two different PSUs
Thus is what i would do to narrow down possible causes. Take MB out of case and put it on something, MB box. Install only CPU, power supply, and maybe ram. Attached the power switch to MB, plug power supply into wall and try to turn it on. If you get CPU fan spinning, that means all those parts look to be good. If you get no CPU fan, most likely one of those item is bad. Since you already rule out PS, it's probably the MB.Arsenic said:Thank you for replying and merry christmas
I've packed everything up due to stress but would give it another go tomorrow morning, but to clarify:
- I've double checked the front panel connectors and everything seems okay, I even checked manuals for both the case and Mobo. I will check again though
- All the power connectors are fine, I even tried my own PSU on that desktop, and when the issue remained the same, I put it back in my own PC, and my PC worked fine, so I have confidence its not human error on the connectors
- As for the memory, I checked that and reseated it twice
Now on to the issue i believe is occurring. Im not a technician and not knowledgeable on short circuiting or anything with the board, but here are some problems i noticed:
- All of the stand-offs were in place and tightened well, although the board (it's an intel, btw) supported only 8 while most are 9, for an mATX. Im not sure this matters, but i thought it should be noted.
** - 3 screws are fucked. After screwing them into the mobo, they seem to have stripped and will keep turning regardless the direction i turn the screwdriver, if that makes any sense. Basically I cannot remove them at the moment and even worse I cannot tighten them. Theres enough space to move the board at those locations.
Could this be the problem? This was supposed to be a gift to for my brother's girlfriend and im already late and failed him miserably
tl;dr: It boils down to the motherboard or the case itself. To reiterate, flicking on the IO switch shows the keyboard lights flash, but then nothing else happens. Fans don't even move a bit. Same issue happens with two different PSUs
Try reinstalling video drivers first. Test for overheating by Opening the case and blowing a fan at it. Try underclocking cpu/ram. Try different ram. Could be software conflict. Random crashes could be a bitch to narrow down.ZZMitch said:Well GAF, my random crashes weren't a result of MSE or my overclocking
Just had it crash again twice. What should I try now, maybe a video card driver reinstall?
kamorra said:
Depending on what you want to do with it, you really need pretty much everything. Upgrade the memory first, but that will probably need a mobo upgrade, but then your CPU could use a kick in the add, and then a more modern graphics card as well. Work out a budget and go window shopping. If you use newegg, then just pay attention to the specs. CPUs will only take a certain socket type on the mobo, which then will dictate your memory type, and from there, you just need to choose video card.
ColonelColon
Member
My video card has been mostly unusable due to flashing artifacts for more than a month now, and I'm unsure of how to fix the problem, since the temperatures are apparently fine, I've reinstalled drivers, etc. But I've also noticed in device manager that there are several duplicate entries for many of the controllers and drivers. There are 3 PCI Express Root Ports, 5 PCI Standard Host CPU Bridges, and 2 PCI Standard RAM Controllers. When I uninstall these entries, they are immediately reinstalled after reboot. Does this indicate that the motherboard might be damaged, and could it be causing the artifacts I've seen in games?
edit: And as a side note, you could buy a GTX 460 including HAWX 2 for $143 with a $60 rebate at Tigerdirect ($83 including rebate).
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/439...orce-gtx-460-gc-edtion-768mb-gddr5-video-card
edit: And as a side note, you could buy a GTX 460 including HAWX 2 for $143 with a $60 rebate at Tigerdirect ($83 including rebate).
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/439...orce-gtx-460-gc-edtion-768mb-gddr5-video-card
ColonelColon said:
What's your vid card?
Check your mobo manual, are you sure these are dupes, can you check them in the control panel under General and Resources and make sure they're on different IRQs and Bus locations? Cause if they are unique entries their being reinstalled on reboot because they're still part of your system and are being auto-detected.
Anyone have any experience with Acer monitors?
I plan on picking up my screen today, and I'm limited to Best Buy, so I think I will get THIS ONE. It's can do 1080p, it has HDMI input, and it lands right in my price range. Down the road, I may upgrade to something more flashy but if there aren't any serious issues with this brand, I'll probably go for it today.
I plan on picking up my screen today, and I'm limited to Best Buy, so I think I will get THIS ONE. It's can do 1080p, it has HDMI input, and it lands right in my price range. Down the road, I may upgrade to something more flashy but if there aren't any serious issues with this brand, I'll probably go for it today.
Follow up question if anyone is kind enough to respond, I see that another Acer monitor is listed, it's only one inch more (24") but it's almost $100 more because it says "HD".
Both are at a 1920 x 1080 resolution, but the one I'm looking at doesn't say HD while the more expensive one does. What is the difference? I wanna make sure I don't get something too primitive.
Both are at a 1920 x 1080 resolution, but the one I'm looking at doesn't say HD while the more expensive one does. What is the difference? I wanna make sure I don't get something too primitive.
grap3fruitman
Banned
Thanks for the input. The reviews I've seen didn't really go into specifics on either Amazon or Newegg, they were just "omgthisisthebestmonitorevar." So I had to go off of specs alone and your experience is really helpful. I wasn't even aware of that dimming feature, that would be extremely helpful because I notice myself changing the brightness on my tv at night. I've seen the edge bleeding on every LCD I've ever used, I guess this is something I'm going to have to get used to though, huh?JRW said:
Just did a clean reinstall of the drivers.
One thing I noticed last night was that GPU Z reported my card was at a PCI-E of x8 (only reported to support x16 1.1/2.0 depending on the load). After my driver reinstall it is back up to x16... I wonder why it was at x8 before.
edit- played through an hour of Darksiders (pretty awesome game btw) with no issues. Gunna try Bad Comany 2 next, since that has been where most of my crashes have been (I have been spending most of my computer time playing that anyway so that's why )
One thing I noticed last night was that GPU Z reported my card was at a PCI-E of x8 (only reported to support x16 1.1/2.0 depending on the load). After my driver reinstall it is back up to x16... I wonder why it was at x8 before.
edit- played through an hour of Darksiders (pretty awesome game btw) with no issues. Gunna try Bad Comany 2 next, since that has been where most of my crashes have been (I have been spending most of my computer time playing that anyway so that's why
)DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Installed new SDD. It's amazing. Looks so puny in case next to my 3 standard hard drives though :lol
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Snuggler said:
Do you want to use HDMI?
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
It would be nice since I have a few extra cords lying around. Also, it would make using it with my PS3 a lot easier. Looks like the monitor I had my eye on does have HDMI inputs, so I should be set I guess.
I've so out of date with my PC knowledge. I feel like an elderly person.
I'm thinking of replacing the whiny little fan on my 5750 with something more substantial. I find the sound of low speed 120mm fans extremely pleasant and would like to fit one to my videocard. From the looks of it, I'll need to buy a large, flat passive heatsink and strap a fan to it. I'm looking at an Accelero S1 (Revision 2) topped off with a Yate Loon. It sounds like the Accelero will need to be modded, though. Anyone have experience with this?
Manp
Member
so gaf... 6970 or GTX 570? same price (around 315).
i really don't know. they have basically the same performances and both seems to offer something the other don't:
GTX 570
+ physx
+ seems it makes a bit less noise under load
+ no sli on my current mb
+ better (?) tessellation performances
+ power consumption lower while playing blurays
- no eyefinity (probably useless to me)
- no hd audio bitstream
- overall power consumption a bit higher
- 1,25 gb of ram
6970
+ eyefinity (probably useless to me)
+ hd audio bitstream
+ overall lower power consumption
+ crossfire possible on my mb
+ 2 gb of ram
- no physx
- seems a bit more noisy under full load
- apparently power consumption during bluray playback is a lot higher
and probably something else i forgot.
what would gaf do?
i really don't know. they have basically the same performances and both seems to offer something the other don't:
GTX 570
+ physx
+ seems it makes a bit less noise under load
+ no sli on my current mb
+ better (?) tessellation performances
+ power consumption lower while playing blurays
- no eyefinity (probably useless to me)
- no hd audio bitstream
- overall power consumption a bit higher
- 1,25 gb of ram
6970
+ eyefinity (probably useless to me)
+ hd audio bitstream
+ overall lower power consumption
+ crossfire possible on my mb
+ 2 gb of ram
- no physx
- seems a bit more noisy under full load
- apparently power consumption during bluray playback is a lot higher
and probably something else i forgot.
what would gaf do?
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Manp said:so gaf... 6970 or GTX 570? same price (around 315).
i really don't know. they have basically the same performances and both seems to offer something the other don't:
GTX 570
+ physx
+ seems it makes a bit less noise under load
+ no sli on my current mb
+ better (?) tessellation performances
+ power consumption lower while playing blurays
- no eyefinity (probably useless to me)
- no hd audio bitstream
- overall power consumption a bit higher
- 1,25 gb of ram
6970
+ eyefinity (probably useless to me)
+ hd audio bitstream
+ overall lower power consumption
+ crossfire possible on my mb
+ 2 gb of ram
- no physx
- seems a bit more noisy under full load
- apparently power consumption during bluray playback is a lot higher
and probably something else i forgot.
what would gaf do?
Since they are the same in essentially every way, unless you care a lot about power consumption where the GTX 570 uses more, I'd get that over the 6970. Nvidia has always had much better drivers so I usually lean towards them if performance is the same but that's just me.
Teknopathetic
Member
OK GAF PC component duders, lend me your advice.
New PC build coming up soon, and since I plan on OCing at least a fair amount, I want a case with good airflow, but here's the problem: 90% of the cases with decent air flow that I've seen look like molded raccoon shit. I like the way the Antec P180 stuff looks, as well as the Fractal Define R3, but I've read those are more for people looking for silent PCs than cool ones and I don't care much about silence at all.
The Silverstone RV02 looks decent (except for the top...ugh) and it's still a little bit in my range.
The Fortress FT02 I much prefer to the RV02 but is a bit out of my price range.
The Cooler Master ATCS 840 is just barely in my range and I don't hate it.
I like the way the Corsair 700D/800D look but they're both out of my price range and apparently have shit air flow.
And on the cheaper side I do not dislike the CM 690 II and that is one I'm strongly considering.
I guess I'm mostly just asking if there's any other cases I should consider out of the above I've mentioned. I do prefer a fairly clean/minimal look.
New PC build coming up soon, and since I plan on OCing at least a fair amount, I want a case with good airflow, but here's the problem: 90% of the cases with decent air flow that I've seen look like molded raccoon shit. I like the way the Antec P180 stuff looks, as well as the Fractal Define R3, but I've read those are more for people looking for silent PCs than cool ones and I don't care much about silence at all.
The Silverstone RV02 looks decent (except for the top...ugh) and it's still a little bit in my range.
The Fortress FT02 I much prefer to the RV02 but is a bit out of my price range.
The Cooler Master ATCS 840 is just barely in my range and I don't hate it.
I like the way the Corsair 700D/800D look but they're both out of my price range and apparently have shit air flow.
And on the cheaper side I do not dislike the CM 690 II and that is one I'm strongly considering.
I guess I'm mostly just asking if there's any other cases I should consider out of the above I've mentioned. I do prefer a fairly clean/minimal look.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Teknopathetic said:
Out of curiosity what are you putting in your new build?
Teknopathetic said:
Personally I've always been partial to the Antec 300 because of the price. The airflow is pretty solid and it has a very simple, clean look to it. I actually went from an aluminum Lian Li to this and I still like it a lot. That money can be put to better use.
Teknopathetic
Member
"Out of curiosity what are you putting in your new build?"
i7 2600K, either a 6970 or GTX570 depending on my mood when I order, and the obvious other bobs and bits, mobo, 8GB of ram, etc. Still haven't decided on specific models for those.
"Personally I've always been partial to the Antec 300 because of the price. The airflow is pretty solid and it has a very simple, clean look to it. I actually went from an aluminum Lian Li to this and I still like it a lot. That money can be put to better use."
I did notice that one, but I find it almost too understated for my taste (same with most Lian Li's until you get to the 250+ price range :/).
i7 2600K, either a 6970 or GTX570 depending on my mood when I order, and the obvious other bobs and bits, mobo, 8GB of ram, etc. Still haven't decided on specific models for those.
"Personally I've always been partial to the Antec 300 because of the price. The airflow is pretty solid and it has a very simple, clean look to it. I actually went from an aluminum Lian Li to this and I still like it a lot. That money can be put to better use."
I did notice that one, but I find it almost too understated for my taste (same with most Lian Li's until you get to the 250+ price range :/).
Generally, big air just means grills all over the place. It's the price you pay.
CM 690 Advanced II is probably your best bet.
You may also like the Corsair 600T.
I understand your frustration in looking for this type of case. I looked for weeks, and didn't find anything that fit the bill. I decided to hell with looks, so I'll be going for the HAF X.
CM 690 Advanced II is probably your best bet.
You may also like the Corsair 600T.
I understand your frustration in looking for this type of case. I looked for weeks, and didn't find anything that fit the bill. I decided to hell with looks, so I'll be going for the HAF X.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
Wallach said:
Do you know what fan size are used for the front of the case?
Angelus Errare
Banned
What exactly do you need to know? Not trying to be funny but the question is vague without a reference point. How up to date are you with each company, do you need a complete rundown (GHz don't matter, IPC, etc, etc.)
Quick and dirty
Intel's new line (Sandy Bridge is coming out), Intel has pretty much been ruling the performance kingdom. AMDs are a better value if you're on a budget. AMD supports their sockets longer. If you're going to spend more than $200 on a processor go Intel, if you're spending less go AMD. AMD's next line of processors (code name bulldozer) isn't due out till Q32011.
Quick and dirty
Intel's new line (Sandy Bridge is coming out), Intel has pretty much been ruling the performance kingdom. AMDs are a better value if you're on a budget. AMD supports their sockets longer. If you're going to spend more than $200 on a processor go Intel, if you're spending less go AMD. AMD's next line of processors (code name bulldozer) isn't due out till Q32011.
Teknopathetic
Member
"You may also like the Corsair 600T.
I understand your frustration in looking for this type of case. I looked for weeks, and didn't find anything that fit the bill. I decided to hell with looks, so I'll be going for the HAF X."
Funny that I just started moving towards that line of thinking before I saw your edit. The 600T looks acceptable, so I'll put that on my list as well and I'll also start considering swallowing the HAF pill. God that shit is so ugly, though. Same with the Antec Dark Fleet.
UGH
I understand your frustration in looking for this type of case. I looked for weeks, and didn't find anything that fit the bill. I decided to hell with looks, so I'll be going for the HAF X."
Funny that I just started moving towards that line of thinking before I saw your edit. The 600T looks acceptable, so I'll put that on my list as well and I'll also start considering swallowing the HAF pill. God that shit is so ugly, though. Same with the Antec Dark Fleet.
UGH
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
B33 said:
You gotta be a little less vague... What do you want to know exactly?
Edit: Wow, Haf X is ugly... I don't know if I could swallow that pill.
Not very up to date. Majority of what I know has come from browsing this thread and Google ostensibly.Angelus Errare said:
So Intel is the more expensive brand of the two, but offers more performace while AMD is more or less for those on a budget? How do the more expensive AMD processors stand up to Intel's line-up?
Could you tell me the jist of Quad Core vs. Dual Core? Is it strictly a matter of performace or are there other factors that come in to play?
Edit: To be less vague, I've been browsing parts, articles, and posts within this thread to help aid in research for building a rig. The most experience I have with the process is taking a part an old pre-built rig that died a couple years ago.
Are there any resources out there that gives one the general rundown of brands and recommendations for those building their first rig?
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
B33 said:
There's pretty much no reason to get a dual core anymore for a desktop, they are long dead. AMD is better for more budget builds and as you go higher the AMD chips are less competitive. A lot also depends on deals you can get as well as intel motherboards being more expensive than an AMD motherboard if you're worried about price. But it depends on what specifically you're looking to do and what you want to spend. If you get a better idea of budget/use for the machine we can give you a better idea.