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[chixdiggit]

I think if you right click on the device and select "configure speakers" you get that option. I can confirm it later when I get home. I'm at work at the moment on an XP box....

Hmmm so my PC seems to think I have no speakers hooked up. I'm guessing this is because it is going through my receiver?

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Hmmm so my PC seems to think I have no speakers hooked up. I'm guessing this is because it is going through my receiver?

If you right click on the speaker icon in your system tray, and go to "playback' devices, does it show one being plugged in, specifically the optical out? Or nothing being plugged in?

 

[lachesis]

Hello all.

I've just received my yearly, kinda like a small bonus at sum of around $1750 dollars. My wife, has granted me that I can spend that money anyway that I see fit. So, I was thinking about upgrading my main computer to Core i7 + X58 mobo + 6gb of ram. At the same time, getting a new monitor, and perhaps to get a laptop for my wife.

Here's my current setup.

Main Computer - Need some power for 3DS Max, Photoshop, CAD, Premier and other graphic/animation/editing, and somewhat casual gaming.

Antec P182 case
Corsair 525W modular PSU
Core 2 Quad Q6600 - B3 Stepping - to sell on ebay
Asus Maximus Formula MB - to sell on ebay
Zalman 9700 CPU fan - not sure what to do with this.
Corsair DDR2-1066 2gbx2 - to transfer to my living room computer
WD 10k Digital Raptor (for main drive) 150gb
WD 7200 Caviar (I think) 500gb
EVGA 8800 GTS 512mb - keeping it for another yr.
and DVD RW, wifi card, etc, which will remain the same.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit


Living Room Computer - watching animes, light internet browsing etc, and very light gaming (mostly retro)

Cooler Master Centurion case
Antec Earthwatt 500w PSU
Core 2 Duo E7200 CPU - I have no issue with this CPU, and it's pretty peppy for what I use... so I'm keeping it.
Artic Pro Freezer 7 CPU cooler - very cheap one.
Asus P5QL Pro (I think) - pretth cheap MB, but I like the performance and all. Keeping it.
Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-1066 1gb x 4 - to sell on ebay, get Corsair 2gb x2 rams on this.
Hitachi 7200 HDD
EVGA 8600 GTS - keeping it for a little while. I'm actually pretty happy with the performance for what it is.
and a couple of DVD RW, wifi card etc... which all will remain the same.
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit

Wife's notebook - basically for book keeping (our living budget), internet/internet shopping/messenger/itunes library

Sony VAIO VGN FS-680W - about 5 yrs old (was a very expensive machine back then, but now a piece of garbage... although all's in good condition.) I swapped out dead ODD with a new OEM ODD... and I'm getting a new (and cheap) chinese battery for it shortly. I added some RAM upto 2gb (max), and a 64gb PATA SSD and installed Windows 7 - but it's slow as hell. (I'm having some issues with my wife's Windows Live Messenger+Windows 7+SSD slow-down issue) Will put back the original 4200rpm HDD with XP Home back to factory default, and will sell the body to my co-worker who's looking for a cheaper than netbook laptop for his wife, who needs just some internet connection... for maybe 100 to 150 dollars or so, and sell SSD and 1gb DDR rams on ebay - Will have to buy a new laptop for her though.

I'm pretty much set my mind on main computer's upgrade as...

Intel Core i7 920 Bloomfield CPU
This is my stop-gap CPU till next upgrade

ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Expensive, but USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb, I should be set till next slew of real Core i7 comes out (hexcore?)

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Retail

But I realize that I'd need either an adapter for Zalman 9700 CPU fan cooler (for 8 dollars) or get a new CPU Cooler - maybe TRUE 120 or Mugen 2+ or Megahelm thingie... + 120mm fan. As of now, I'm leaning towards TRUE 120... and I see 3 different models. Stainless Steel color, black and copper. I understand copper being most heavy and expensive - and I am just looking for an moderate OC on this... Should I stick to Zalman 9700 or get TRUE or other gigagantic 120mm CPU coolers? I've searched a little, and many are saying that Zalman 9700 isn't good enough for Core i7s, and some are saying that it still does job quite well. To be honest, on my Q6600 B3, the performance of Zalman 9700 wasn't anything too spectacular that I wished it woud be.

I could try out how Zalman 9700 works before I either sell it on ebay or install it on my living room computer... but cpu cooler install/uninstall is a painful one (literally) because it wolverines my hands, and due to it's weight, I have to disassemble from back of the mb, which I don't have access to with my P182.

My 2nd question is...
I'm considering getting TRUE 120. However, I only know few reliable online pc component sellers with good price. Would someone kindly point out where to buy TRUE 120 (steel or black) at good price, and recommend me a good fan for it? I don't want it to be too loud, but at the same time, I don't want it to be too weak so that it doesn't cool the cpu.

Final question is... for TRUE 120 slip streaming, would I have to buy a separate clips? Does included clip support both 25mm and 38mm (?) fans?

---------------------------
On top of that, I'm thinking of getting a new DELL Ultra Sharp 24inch monitor - so I have 2 monitor set-up for work purpose. I already have an older model of Dell Ultra Sharp monitor which nearly cost me a grand back than... It's not about 530 dollars.

Plus, I'm thinking about getting either a Mac or Mac Book Pro for my wife... mostly due to itunes, and will probably get a iphone or ipad in the future. Just don't like the way itunes behave on pcs... but they are expensive.

So basically I'm rather over-buggeted the whole thing. Even if I sell some pc components at decent price, I'd be several hundred dollars short. If I buy a cheap laptop for my wife, it might be okay... as I see several sub 500 dollar ones with pretty decent specs, win 7 and all... but I'm rather certain that I'd like to give Mac a go at home this time around... so I've been debating whether to sell of my gaming stash... to make up some money... sigh.

 

[Lkr]

So no one has advice for me in regards to XBMC?

DCX

Do you need a fancy front-end? If not, I'd recommend MPC-HC for playback since it has DXVA support and has all filters built in. For live tv, I use 7MC, which is beautiful

 

[Inkwell]

So, I posted a little while back about upgrading my computer for approximately $200. Never did it, and it really worked to my advantage. I am now looking for a more serious upgrade, though I'd still like to keep as low of a budget as possible. I have an 8800 GT That I plan on keeping for now. I'm pretty sure my power supply will still suffice as well.

I am looking for a decent cpu/mobo/ram upgrade. I'm pretty sure that I will get the i5-750 as it seems to be the best bang for your buck intel processor at the moment. I see it doesn't do triple channel memory though. Is it really worth getting an i7 for that? Microcenter has the i5-750 for $179.99 and both the i7-920 and 860 for $229.99.

I'm not quite sure what to do about a motherboard. I have an audigy 2 zs because I wanted to take the load for the audio off of my current processor, plus the on-board sound quality wasn't very good. The audigy 2 zs is nice for me since I mainly use headphones, although I have had some issues with it. The debate here would be this: is it worth it to shell out the extra cash for a decent on-board chipset, or should I go cheaper on the motherboard and keep my audigy or buy a new sound card (preferably not one by Creative)?

My target budget for the components would be around $400. I can go a little higher with this, but I would still need to buy Windows 7 (OEM), which should be about $100.

 

[Hazaro]

Hello all.

---------------------------

TRUE clips fit 25 and 38mm.
Tankguys / Petras Tech Shop for TRUE. You can buy a TRUE and get an adapter kit and save a bit... kind of. Silly expensive either way.

Unless you need amazing colors for both your monitors there is no harm in getting a $200 24" TN imo.

A nice netbook right now is the Dell Mini 311. Any other nice options with Ion are good as well as they start to roll out.

I am looking for a decent cpu/mobo/ram upgrade. I'm pretty sure that I will get the i5-750 as it seems to be the best bang for your buck intel processor at the moment. I see it doesn't do triple channel memory though. Is it really worth getting an i7 for that?

Nope.

The debate here would be this: is it worth it to shell out the extra cash for a decent on-board chipset, or should I go cheaper on the motherboard and keep my audigy or buy a new sound card (preferably not one by Creative)?

I personally would keep the sound card. Although on-board has come a long way I can still very plainly tell the difference and I am no audiophile.
If possible you can try looking for the custom creative drivers made by some guy who got in trouble for making them. Maybe ask head-fi.org

 

[lachesis]

TRUE clips fit 25 and 38mm.
Tankguys / Petras Tech Shop for TRUE. You can buy a TRUE and get an adapter kit and save a bit... kind of. Silly expensive either way.

Unless you need amazing colors for both your monitors there is no harm in getting a $200 24" TN imo.

A nice netbook right now is the Dell Mini 311. Any other nice options with Ion are good as well as they start to roll out.

Thank you Hazaro, as always.
Tank Guys has seems to have the regular TRUE at 44 dollars or so, but it doesn't say which rev or what not... To be honest, I'm not even sure what it comes with. 2 clips? Is it 1366 socket compatible, or whatnot Is Fan adapter really necessary, or just clip is fine.. etc. I guess I'll search a little more on installing, I guess - but if you know any recommended fan configuration(s) and let me know, I'd appreciate it.

As per monitors...

I do need some good colors for both of my monitors. The work my wife does on it, really has a lot to do with colors, and she constantly complains her workstation monitor at work being so... sucky. So far, my 5 yr old Dell 24inch is doing quite fine - and I do feel like a good monitor isn't really going anywhere, so I'd decided to get another Dell. I saw a lot of much cheaper models (I just found out what TN means! LOL) - and while they are really attractive, I don't see too many of them on NewEgg for 16:10 ratio. Another reason for me to get the Dell is that I'd like to have at least similar dimension, height and all for when I use it for double monitor setup. However, I think if the worst comes worst... this will probably have to wait till few more weeks or so, or just do it with next yr's bonus or what not. I'll probably upgrade my GPU, CPU, add some more RAM and change my PSU for more powerful one... and maybe overhaul home network into wireless n. (currently wireless g).. but that's a long way to go now I guess.

As per Dell Mini 311... I guess you mean the ion based HP one? Thank you for recommendation... maybe I could use my wife's windows 7 license on it. (I've got family pack, and her laptop will get her old xp back and to be sold, so I hope I can use that left over license on that netbook... if I do decide to buy it). I thought about netbooks and I've been pushing the ideas to my wife. I don't know.. for some reason, I am kinda inclined towards Mac Book Pro 13", cheapeast (gasp) model. Through my company I do get 6% off, but as I'll probably buy from our local apple retailer, it's more or less just saving a little off on tax - or maybe I'd order or maybe I should check our intranet has any special dc link.

 

[chixdiggit]

If you right click on the speaker icon in your system tray, and go to "playback' devices, does it show one being plugged in, specifically the optical out? Or nothing being plugged in?

Yes it shows a "Digital Audio device S/PDIF". I assume that is my receiver. It also says the device is working properly.

 

[Lkr]

So uhhh...probably a really dumb question, but am I missing out on a lot by only playing at 1360x768, rather than a higher resolution?

 

[lachesis]

Well, it seems like Noctua P12 might be my choice for the fan for TRUE 120... thinking about going for 1 fan set-up though, as I hear push-pull doesn't meant 2times more cooling. Instead, I'm thinking of getting a fan controller, so that I can reduce my noise when I need to. Sigh.. additional 50+ dollars, for fan and sink only - but I'm hoping this TRUE 120 would last me for at least through my next CPU.

Adapter, seems to be only for 25mm ones, and Noctua P12 probably is 38mm... so no good. It does seem like TRUE 120 comes with the clip(s), so hopefully I won't have to buy the clips separately.

At the same time... I'm starting to think, do I really need this upgrade. LOL.. maybe I'll just get a mac book pro, and extra monitor and maybe throw in additional 4g of ram on main machine and be done with it...

 

[Hazaro]

Well, it seems like Noctua P12 might be my choice for the fan for TRUE 120... thinking about going for 1 fan set-up though, as I hear push-pull doesn't meant 2times more cooling. Instead, I'm thinking of getting a fan controller, so that I can reduce my noise when I need to. Sigh.. additional 50+ dollars, for fan and sink only - but I'm hoping this TRUE 120 would last me for at least through my next CPU.

Adapter, seems to be only for 25mm ones, and Noctua P12 probably is 38mm... so no good. It does seem like TRUE 120 comes with the clip(s), so hopefully I won't have to buy the clips separately.

At the same time... I'm starting to think, do I really need this upgrade. LOL.. maybe I'll just get a mac book pro, and extra monitor and maybe throw in additional 4g of ram on main machine and be done with it...

Sorry I forgot the fan question.
I did some lazy testing myself and fan speed/CFM/25 or 38mm doesn't matter too much.

Some nice quiet 25mm fans will be just fine. Any new TRUE should come with 2 fan clips.
Many people go for Yate Loons, but honestly any 40-60CFM fan should be fine. No need for a fan controller.

So uhhh...probably a really dumb question, but am I missing out on a lot by only playing at 1360x768, rather than a higher resolution?

Is that your monitors native resolution? If so not really, just could be a bit sharper.
e.g. that 20 pixel blob face in the distance would a bit more like a 40 pixel face

Probably should just grab what Petra's has, either TRUE or MEGA. If you went with TankGuys (who is great, but shipping might be $10) you'd need the 1366 adapter from Petra.

 

[bizatch]

I just ordered the parts for my upgrade...
Gigabyte P55A-UD3 ATX
Intel Core i5 750
G-SKILL DDR3 1600 4gig

$501 CND after taxes/shipping

This will go along with my 8800GT.

After overclocking the i5 to 3.6ghz, will this setup run Bad Company 2 well? Wind Waker on Dolphin? Both at low resolutions (my monitor is only 720p atm).

 

[Hazaro]

I just ordered the parts for my upgrade...
Gigabyte P55A-UD3 ATX
Intel Core i5 750
G-SKILL DDR3 1600

$501 CND after taxes/shipping

This will go along with my 8800GT.

After overclocking the i5 to 3.6ghz, will this setup run Bad Company 2 well? Wind Waker on Dolphin? Both at low resolutions (my monitor is only 720p atm).

CB2 limited by your 8800GT, but your res is low so it should run fine.
Dolphin is 'limited' by your new i5. But that will run everything perfectly

 

[bizatch]

CB2 limited by your 8800GT, but your res is low so it should run fine.
Dolphin is 'limited' by your new i5. But that will run everything perfectly

Thanks for the quick reply.
So dolphin will run bad? :$
Also, how well will gta 4 do on 720p res with the 8800gt?

 

[Romance Pie]

Adapter, seems to be only for 25mm ones, and Noctua P12 probably is 38mm... so no good. It does seem like TRUE 120 comes with the clip(s), so hopefully I won't have to buy the clips separately.

Noctua fans are all 25mm so they will fit fine with the clips.
The one thing I'm waiting for is the PWM version of the NF-P12 that was shown last year at a show in June Linky Here and throw that on my xigamek cooler.

Still no news when that become available retail though :/

 

[Anaxagoras]

I am back again with a better pc parts collection, I will start with what I previously posted and quote the recommended changes that I should follow.

The old one:
INTEL CORE I7 920 2.66GHZ 8MB S-1366
ASUS P6T DELUXE V2 X58 S-1366 ATX
ZOTAC GEFORCE GTX 260 AMP! EDITION 896MB GDDR3 PCI-E DVI
CORSAIR 6GB DDR3 XMS3 INTEL I7 9XX PC10666 1333MHZ (3X2GB)
WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR GREEN 1TB SATA/300 32MB
ACE MIDITOWER GAME EDGE 990 ATX BLACK
Cooler Master Silent PRO 850 Watt
LG DVD±RW 22x Double Layer

1,660.881 USD

I would go with a cheaper Core i5 750 and Socket 1156 board, and spend that extra money on a better GPU, like a Radeon HD 5850.

You should swap that HDD for a samsung spinpoint. Western digital green drives aren't suited for OS use.

That power supply is overkill. I'd personally go with a 650w corsair or antec PSU.

Also as exodus said, going with a intel i5 750 will save you money, to improve that gpu to a 5850. Or a SSD drive for your OS. Whatever you prefer.

The GTX 260 was a great card but its stupidly overpriced these days, get a 5850 instead, not a huge increase in price but it utterly trashes it.

An i5-750 + 1156 motherboard + 4GB DDR3 will actually net you better gaming performance but save you a whole stack of cash.

An 850 watt PSU is just crazy overkill. A 500w PSU is enough for any single GPU rig but if you want the option for dual GPUs then 650w will do you fine. Stick with a decent brand as always.

Caviar Greens are super slow, get a Smasung F3 instead, or at least a Caviar Black


Basically, change pretty much everything! :lol

So I found an offer that includes an i5 750, 1156 motherboard, 4GB DDR3, 650 W PSU and 1 GB 5850:

Cooler Master HAF 932 Big Tower Black Fans: 1x 230mm Front, 1x 230mm Top, 1x 230mm Side, 1x 140mm Rear, Red
Corsair TX 650W PSU ATX 12V V2.2, 80 Plus, Standard. 2x 6+2-pin PCIe, 8x SATA, 120mm Fläkt
Intel Core™ i5 Quad Processor i5-750 2,66GHz, Socket LGA1156, 8MB, Boxed
Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz 4GB CL9 Kit w/2x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL9-9-9-24, for Core i5 and i7, 1.65V, Intel XMP
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3, P55, Socket-1156 4xDDR3, ATX, GbLAN, 4phase power, PCI-Ex(2.0)x16
HIS Radeon HD 5850 1GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, DVI, native-HDMI, DisplayPort, HDCP
Western Digital Caviar® GreenPower™ 1TB Sata 3 Gb/s, 64MB Cache
Antistatic Armchain 180cm
Black DVD±RW burner

Price: 1,377.01 USD

I can't change any parts in this collection so I will have to stick with this hard disk. Also, is it really that bad? if it is I can buy another one and use this as a secondary if that works.

Is there anything else that you recommend?
Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[Hazaro]

Thanks for the quick reply.
So dolphin will run bad? :$
Also, how well will gta 4 do on 720p res with the 8800gt?

Nono, it is CPU limited but your CPU is far and beyond what it needs. No worries.
GTA 4 is also largely CPU bound and should run decently at that res.

I can't change any parts in this collection so I will have to stick with this hard disk. Also, is it really that bad? if it is I can buy another one and use this as a secondary if that works.

Off the top of my head the green edition changed between 5,400 and 7,200 RPM giving it not as good performance. Might have other issues that I don't know about.

Rig looks fine just glancing at it.

 

[Kamaki]

Heya everyone, this questions about a tablet PC that I recently got for cheap; the Compaq TC1000. When I got it I knew it wasn't going to be amazing, I mean I got it mainly so I could draw directly to a screen. I'm still surprised by how badly it performs though and my questions is is it the processor?

Spec, prepare to be blown away:

• Transmeta Crusoe TM5800 1GHz
• 488mb of ram, I didn't know you could get to a number like that. I assumed it was 512.
• NVIDIA GeForce2 Go 100 graphics controller 16MB SDRAM

So far I've found it is unable to: scroll through a web page without that annoying jumping, play a SD video file, play unreal tournament 1994, watch youtube. Is this normal of such a low spec machine? I used to have a desktop like this before and I'm pretty sure it beat this machine at everything.

 

[Cuthbert 80]

Hi, ermmmm...I have an Intel i5-750 cpu and was wondering roughly how much I could overclock it with the stock cooler? (Unable to get a better cooling solution just yet).

Specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte P55M-UD2
CPU: Intel i5-750
Memory: Ermm...GSkill 4 Gig of Ram
PSU: Winpower 700w (I think)
GPU: XFX HD 4870

Thanks in advance?!

Cuthbert 80

 

[Hazaro]

Heya everyone, this questions about a tablet PC that I recently got for cheap; the Compaq TC1000. When I got it I knew it wasn't going to be amazing, I mean I got it mainly so I could draw directly to a screen. I'm still surprised by how badly it performs though and my questions is is it the processor?

I hope you got it for nothing because that thing is like 8 years old... Which is forever.
I mean I guess... try cleaning out and reinstalling the drivers?
I'd also say try using the new version of flash that supports GPU loading but I don't think it will support your GPU.

Hi, ermmmm...I have an Intel i5-750 cpu and was wondering roughly how much I could overclock it with the stock cooler? (Unable to get a better cooling solution just yet).

Memory: Ermm...GSkill 4 Gig of Ram
PSU: Winpower 700w (I think)

Get a new PSU then overclock. Adding another 65w of hard voltage to regulate might cause it to die. (If the PSU is as bad as I imagine)

 

[Cuthbert 80]

lol ok thanks Hazaro

 

[Inkwell]

I personally would keep the sound card. Although on-board has come a long way I can still very plainly tell the difference and I am no audiophile.
If possible you can try looking for the custom creative drivers made by some guy who got in trouble for making them. Maybe ask head-fi.org

I think I'll stick with my audigy for now then. I can always upgrade it later if there are issues. I used to get what was dubbed "the screech of death," which is a blue screen error plus one of the most horrible noises you will ever hear. For whatever reason this hasn't happened recently.

So, i5-750 it is. I'm not 100% sure on what ram to get, though I'll probably go for 4 Gb of 1600. Not sure about the motherboard either. I have plenty of time to do a bit more research for that though.

 

[Tiduz]

ooo a dutch guy managed to get a i7 930, is complaining about how it became unstable @ 4.2 ghz and his 920 is stable @ 4.4

still getting the I7 930 since i run stock, and if i ever overclock highest i would want is 3.2 ghz

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

Posted in the GTA 4 PC thread, but I'm not sure anyone checks it so I'll ask here: I've been playing GTA4 PC on my AMD X3 435 OC to 3.3GHz and a 5770. I'm mostly satisfied, but I'm wondering if there is a way to get the min fps up in crowded areas. Have there been any mods released to increase performance? I've heard you can edit config files to have less cars zooming around the city and things like that. Worth the effort or just work on a bigger overclock?

 

[diederich]

After a month of getting screwed around by cyberpowerpc.com and now getting screwed out of a full refund I'm going to do what I should have at the outset and just build a computer myself.

I'll post again when I have my build ready to see if pcgaf approves, but mainly wanted to say seriously steer clear of cyberpowerpc. Not only is there customer service absolute shit, they managed to send me a broken pc not once but twice.

 

[Violater]

After a month of getting screwed around by cyberpowerpc.com and now getting screwed out of a full refund I'm going to do what I should have at the outset and just build a computer myself.

I'll post again when I have my build ready to see if pcgaf approves, but mainly wanted to say seriously steer clear of cyberpowerpc. Not only is there customer service absolute shit, they managed to send me a broken pc not once but twice.

Same goes for IBUYPOWER.com
I luckily canceled my order with them after reading all the horror stories on their forums.

My parts from Newegg are now on their way

Now I am looking for an economical non TN panel monitor.

 

[thatbox]

Same goes for IBUYPOWER.com
I luckily canceled my order with them after reading all the horror stories on their forums.

"Once you know ..."

My parts from Newegg are now on their way

"you Newegg."

 

[Dipper145]

I'd like to go around ~$500 initially, but after really digging through Newegg I realized I might have to increase the bar. I DEFINITELY do not want to spend over 750-800 if possible.

I'm looking now at cases/power supplies. Any good suggestions for this set up? I'd like to go as cheap as possible, but willing to sacrifice that for quality.

If you are looking at a case/power supply combo, the only one I can really recommend, is the Antec Sonata III. Comes with a good Earthwatts 500w power supply. I wouldn't necessarily go as cheap as possible, but there are definitely a lot of good budget PSUs out there. I really like the look of the antec 300, so I would probably take a look at this. There are some decent combo deals on newegg.

You don't want to skimp too much on the PSU, it will be keeping all your expensive parts running safely.

 

[confused]

Does it run for exactly the same amount of time before rebooting when you power it on? It does sound like a power issue of some sort, but as Brain_stew said that power supply is more than enough for that setup. Doesn't sound like a short on the mobo, it wouldn't really power on at all if that were the case. Sometimes it helps if you can post a pic of the insides, might give us a better idea whats going on, if possible...

Yes, it runs the exact same amount of time every single time, then restarts, fires up again for the same amount of time then restarts again. It's an endless loop that's driving me nuts. Stupid Intel crap, built an AMD a few months ago, no prob.

Afb0037.jpg (1.4 MB)

Sorry for the crappy cellphone pic. All that is hooked up now is the mobo, cpu and one stick of RAM. I know the RAM is in the wrong slot in the picture, according to the mobo-manual RAM slot 1 is the second from the CPU.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Yes, it runs the exact same amount of time every single time, then restarts, fires up again for the same amount of time then restarts again. It's an endless loop that's driving me nuts. Stupid Intel crap, built an AMD a few months ago, no prob.

Afb0037.jpg (1.4 MB)

Sorry for the crappy cellphone pic. All that is hooked up now is the mobo, cpu and one stick of RAM. I know the RAM is in the wrong slot in the picture, according to the mobo-manual RAM slot 1 is the second from the CPU.

Hmm, might try checking the brass stand-off's just to make sure. And I dont suppose you have another power supply around to test? Also try booting without ANY ram, you should get a continuous beep or something. This would indicate the mobo is ok, but perhaps the ram is incompatible.

 

[borghe]

any Core i5 750 owners out there that can give me an idea on how far I can safely overclock my CPU with stock/retail cooling? I have a Gigabyte P55-UD4P and Crucial DDR3-1333 RAM.

 

[vocab]

any Core i5 750 owners out there that can give me an idea on how far I can safely overclock my CPU with stock/retail cooling? I have a Gigabyte P55-UD4P and Crucial DDR3-1333 RAM.

3.4 - 3.6 Higher maybe. I dunno. Just watch your temps.

 

[captain wow]

Bought myself a new motherboard and overclocked my q8300 to 3ghz but ive got a friend now who is selling his 5850 for dirt cheap, is it worth taking it over my 5770 or should i save my money for something better down the line? I dont really know if its enough of an upgrade to replace a card i only got recently anyway.

 

[vocab]

Bought myself a new motherboard and overclocked my q8300 to 3ghz but ive got a friend now who is selling his 5850 for dirt cheap, is it worth taking it over my 5770 or should i save my money for something better down the line? I dont really know if its enough of an upgrade to replace a card i only got recently anyway.

Depends on what res you'll be using. Either way the 5770 is a good card.

 

[TheExodu5]

Bought myself a new motherboard and overclocked my q8300 to 3ghz but ive got a friend now who is selling his 5850 for dirt cheap, is it worth taking it over my 5770 or should i save my money for something better down the line? I dont really know if its enough of an upgrade to replace a card i only got recently anyway.

What is dirt cheap exactly? The 5850 is quite a bit faster (about 50% faster).

 

[captain wow]

What is dirt cheap exactly? The 5850 is quite a bit faster.

£50, only have a 500w psu which is apparently enough just a bit worried about that too. And i play at 1080

 

[Nabs]

thats it?! you have no choice but to buy it. you can sell your 5770 for more than that.

 

[Smash88]

"Once you know ..."

"you Newegg."

Newegg is a rip off in Canada.

Same goes for any site that ships.

Get it local. Only stuff that doesn't exist in the your area, should be ordered.

 

[vocab]

I assume £50 is piss cheap. Go for it.

 

[captain wow]

I assume £50 is piss cheap. Go for it.

Retails for about £240-250 i think so either way its a steal. Can always try before i buy too seeing as he lives 5 minutes away.

 

[TheExodu5]

£50, only have a 500w psu which is apparently enough just a bit worried about that too. And i play at 1080

Do it.

 

[R2D4]

This is my pc currently.


E8400@3.6
Asus P5Q Pro
Super Talent 64gb SSD
8gb Corsair XMS
640gb WD Black
Corsair TX650W
Sapphire 4890 1gb
Benq E2400 1080p
Win 7 Ultimate


I'm debating on getting a Q9550. I want to sell my Xbox 360 and go PC gaming for a while. Would I see a huge benefit? Or should I sell my 4890 and get a 5850 or 5870? What would I gain most by. Replacing the processor or the video card? I can't afford to replace both.

 

[lachesis]

Just got a Mac Book Pro (I know, it's a PC thread) from Upper West Apple store. Got 8% discount through our company, but with sales tax being 8.5%, it wasn't much of savings... but I do like the fact, that going into a store and picking up myself rather than online shopping.

Anyhow... Have a $580 left on my budget. I'll probably sell off my old vaio and components... hopefully a couple of hundred dollars for vaio, PATA SSD, and little bit of RAM - and I should be able to get Core i7 upgrade as well... I guess that 24inch 2ndary montior just took a step back in priority.

 

[thatbox]

Newegg is a rip off in Canada.

 

[Salaadin]

I have a spare 500GB SATA laptop drive laying around and want to either put it in my PC via one of those adapters or just make an external out of it. Ill probably make it an external to save on space and heat so Im wondering how fancy I need to get here. Are those cheap 10 dollar ones on newegg good enough?

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Hey Firestorm:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.312206
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.323089

in Post #2 are dead.

 

[brain_stew]

This is my pc currently.


E8400@3.6
Asus P5Q Pro
Super Talent 64gb SSD
8gb Corsair XMS
640gb WD Black
Corsair TX650W
Sapphire 4890 1gb
Benq E2400 1080p
Win 7 Ultimate


I'm debating on getting a Q9550. I want to sell my Xbox 360 and go PC gaming for a while. Would I see a huge benefit? Or should I sell my 4890 and get a 5850 or 5870? What would I gain most by. Replacing the processor or the video card? I can't afford to replace both.

Getting a quad is a bigger priority imo.

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Going off the GAF's recommended ultimate budget gaming rig (US edition), since two of the links are dead (CPU, and not sure what the other was - Power Supply?); what parts would you suggest to replace them?

Also, in my limited experience I prefer packing as much RAM as possible into the machine. Ideally I'd be running Windows 7. What's the upper limit for memory on it?

I'd primarily be using this for GGPO, scanning, limited Photoshop work, and maybe some media center functions.

Thanks!

 

[diederich]

It'll probably be a week or so till I actually pull the trigger, but any glaring errors with the following build? I'm right at my upper limit in terms of price so I probably can't spend much more. I'm open to suggestions though.

:edited thanks to the techreport/maxpc links:

LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS50
Rosewill R220
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P
ATI 5770
Antec Basiq 500W
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4GB DDR3
AMD Athlon II X4 630
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

 

[Brazil]

I have a Core 2 Duo E8500 on my PC. Will it limit the power of my recently bought HD 5850? What should I expect in terms of performance with this setup?