darkpaladinmfc
Member
XFX is fine.blackMamba1187 said:Could you recommend a good brand?Is XFX bad?
edit: thanks
"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
blackMamba1187 said:Could you recommend a good brand?
edit: thanks
I don't know personally about their ati cards but my nvidia cards have been XFX and I've liked them a lot. And it's double lifetime warranty which is nice if you ever resell them. As long as you can get a reasonably good brand I'd jump on it since I think they're in really short supply still IIRC.
Ninja Face
Member
money is a bit tight so I'm trying to see if I can build a new rig using some older parts. I still have this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=rosewill_power_supply-_-17-182-032-_-Product
Do you guys think it's okay to throw that in a new rig?
Do you guys think it's okay to throw that in a new rig?
MikeE21286
Member
TheExodu5 said:
no, I'm not overclocking the CPU....that's something I'd rather stay away from actually. I'm totally inexperienced in it. My only OC'ing (GPU mind you) knowledge is via something easy like Rivatuner :lol
Hellsing321
Member
Ok PCgaf, I need help. I'm new to building my own rig and just put the finishing touches on my new PC, but when I turn it on everything lights up and starts going but nothing appears on the monitor. I checked inside and the power and everything is in place on the video card. Does this mean the card was DOA or could there be another cause?
brain_stew
Member
TouchMyBox said:
The i3s are the interesting ones, all the rest are a complete waste. An OCed i3 is potentially pretty damn potent.
brain_stew
Member
JRW said:
If you want full surround/EAX support in older games (through Alchemy) or surround sound over headphones, then yes, absolutely.
Ninja Face said:
Should be fine.
BravoSuperStar
Member
Hellsing321 said:
All fans come on, even on the video card? Do you hear any beeps? Has this PC ever posted before or is this the first time period? Could be a short on the mobo possibly.
Hellsing321 said:
Tear it down. First rule when assembling a new machine: try it with only the motherboard, RAM, CPU, and video card. And heat sink/fan, but you already knew that. Take out/unplug everything but that, turn it on, and see what happens. It's usually easier to try this outside the case, just so you have more room to work with, but you can try it inside, too.
Let us know how it goes.
brain_stew
Member
MikeE21286 said:
Since you're after better performance in Crysis you really (like really, really) should OC that Q6600. The Q6600 is legendary in OCing circles, it begs for it, don't leave her as the ugliest at the ball.
Hellsing321
Member
No beeps and the fan on the video card works.SuperEnemyCrab said:
Edit: Just noticed but the fan on my CPU cooler doesn't come on. That can't be good.
Spiderjericho
Member
D3RANG3D said:
I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 and am using a PC Power and Cooling 750 watt power supply and ASUS EAH4890.
I tried using the drivers that were included and then tried installing the latest. Neither one worked.
I'll try memtest, disable crossfirex and restore the default bios setting.
It's just weird.
pseudocaesar
Member
Hellsing321 said:
If your Graphics card has lights permanently on, its a power issue. Make sure the PCIE connectors are plugged in. Its like a little 4 prong plug next to the CPU.
Got my new CentOS server up and going today. Cost me $190, took 30 minutes and it's running extremely smooth. Only using 90MB of ram atm.
I will put up a tutorial in a couple days if anyone wants to create a file server with their old hardware using CentOS (Enterprise level server Linux distro, basically free version of Redhat).
I will put up a tutorial in a couple days if anyone wants to create a file server with their old hardware using CentOS (Enterprise level server Linux distro, basically free version of Redhat).
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
This Radeon 5870 card has been giving me awesome performance, but it is pissing me off at the same time.
It seems there are a lot of people that are having problems with artifacting, flickering pixels, "gray screen" crashes and other annoying issues. I've been checking out a lot of threads and can't seem to come to a solution to get it to stop permanently. It seems that problem comes from some energy-saving feature called "powerplay" that slows down the card's clock speed when it doesn't to run full speed. Unfortunately the current drivers or the actual card's BIOS does not seem to handle this powerplay feature very well which results in the card being slowed down and sped up (changing the voltage being fed to it) at strange times causing lots of problems. There are also a lot of issues where the clock speeds will get stuck unless you restart your computer.
I was just playing Sam and Max 101 in a window with the Catalyst Control Center up to monitor the clock speeds and sure enough it kept switching from 157mhz / 300mhz (GPU clock / Memory clock) to 850mhz / 1200mhz and back. This caused a lot of artifacting problems and flickering pixels.
It definitely isn't an overheating issue as my GPU usually runs in the mid 40s (Celsius) and only gets in the 50s when running something like GTAIV or Crysis but no higher. I don't even experience artifacting (outside of 2D loading screens) on games that put a higher load on the card (such as GTAIV, Crysis, Red Faction Guerrilla, The Saboteur, etc...)
I am fairly sure this is just a driver issue, but obviously there are people out there who are not experiencing this problem. I am thinking about returning the card even though the framerates are great. Has anyone else out there had similar problems with their 5870s or 58xx cards? Is there any way to disable "powerplay" and keep the card running at a specific clock speed at all times? Is that dangerous? Any help would be much appreciated.
It seems there are a lot of people that are having problems with artifacting, flickering pixels, "gray screen" crashes and other annoying issues. I've been checking out a lot of threads and can't seem to come to a solution to get it to stop permanently. It seems that problem comes from some energy-saving feature called "powerplay" that slows down the card's clock speed when it doesn't to run full speed. Unfortunately the current drivers or the actual card's BIOS does not seem to handle this powerplay feature very well which results in the card being slowed down and sped up (changing the voltage being fed to it) at strange times causing lots of problems. There are also a lot of issues where the clock speeds will get stuck unless you restart your computer.
I was just playing Sam and Max 101 in a window with the Catalyst Control Center up to monitor the clock speeds and sure enough it kept switching from 157mhz / 300mhz (GPU clock / Memory clock) to 850mhz / 1200mhz and back. This caused a lot of artifacting problems and flickering pixels.
It definitely isn't an overheating issue as my GPU usually runs in the mid 40s (Celsius) and only gets in the 50s when running something like GTAIV or Crysis but no higher. I don't even experience artifacting (outside of 2D loading screens) on games that put a higher load on the card (such as GTAIV, Crysis, Red Faction Guerrilla, The Saboteur, etc...)
I am fairly sure this is just a driver issue, but obviously there are people out there who are not experiencing this problem. I am thinking about returning the card even though the framerates are great. Has anyone else out there had similar problems with their 5870s or 58xx cards? Is there any way to disable "powerplay" and keep the card running at a specific clock speed at all times? Is that dangerous? Any help would be much appreciated.
brain_stew
Member
Can you not disable powerplay? You could always force supersampling on your older games, that'll be sure to force it into the high power mode.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
brain_stew said:
Well I just figured out that I can force clock speeds with a tool called AMD GPU Clock Tool. I just tried it with Sam and Max (which has been the biggest offender) by forcing my clock speeds to go to 850mhz / 1200mhz (stock for the card) and it worked great without artifacting. I only played for a few minutes, though.
Unfortunately I will have to do this each time I start a game because I can't keep it running that hard when I am just idling or watching a movie. I really hope ATI fixes this soon because otherwise the card is awesome.
I am also wondering if it might not be my chipset that has these problems with regulating clock speed because obviously there are some people out there who aren't having problems with the card.
D3RANG3D
Member
Spiderjericho said:
It seems to be a common problem.
http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=260&threadid=116226
This site has alot of info about how to Fix BSOD's
http://www.pcauthorities.com/pc-errors/how-to-repair-blue-screen-errors
one post in particular may help if you haven't fixed the problem.
Another thing Id suggest is to run sfc /scannow in the command prompt. This will verify and correct your Windows system files.
Do you have a program that can show you temps like GPU-Z or System Monitor and post results? I believe links to those programs are on this threads OP.
Minsc
Gold Member
Zefah said:
How long does it take to surface, and how long does it last (can I start the game and then just come back in 15 minutes)? I have Sam and Max seasons 1 and 2, and I could test it on my card, I've never noticed any problems when playing things that aren't GPU intensive like Lumines or Luxor or Defense Grid etc.
Also, if you really want to see it get fixed, make sure you report it to ATI officially, even if it has been reported, that's probably the best chance of getting it noticed, but I'm curious if it's specific to your setup or a more general problem.
I've been having some problems with WoW and other games in Windows 7 (32-bit). Occassionally, artifacts will start appearing on screen slowly and grow until eventually the entire screen will be covered in static patterns, and then eventually snow obscuring the entire screen. Once in a while, it will blue screen.
Specs:
Motherboard: Asus P5NSLI
CPU: Intel Core2 6300 @ 1.86GHz
RAM: 4gb (3gb usable)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX260 (driver 8.17.11.9581)
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower XT W0229RU 750W
Have already tried updating my BIOS, buying a new power supply, installing and reverting several graphics card driver versions, running memtest (0 errors), reinstalling windows. At this time, I don't know what to do other than replace my video card. It's either that, or it's a Windows 7 problem, because this never happened in XP.
Apparently my video card has a lifetime warranty. But...obviously I can't play games without a video card (and am not sure if my computer can even run without one). Does anyone have advice on how I can replace my video card? Do they do swaps where they send you one and you send your old card back?
Specs:
Motherboard: Asus P5NSLI
CPU: Intel Core2 6300 @ 1.86GHz
RAM: 4gb (3gb usable)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX260 (driver 8.17.11.9581)
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower XT W0229RU 750W
Have already tried updating my BIOS, buying a new power supply, installing and reverting several graphics card driver versions, running memtest (0 errors), reinstalling windows. At this time, I don't know what to do other than replace my video card. It's either that, or it's a Windows 7 problem, because this never happened in XP.
Apparently my video card has a lifetime warranty. But...obviously I can't play games without a video card (and am not sure if my computer can even run without one). Does anyone have advice on how I can replace my video card? Do they do swaps where they send you one and you send your old card back?
brain_stew
Member
If you're absolutely adamant on spending $400 then a custom build is not the way to go. Just get any Dell/HP piece of crap and you'll be fine.
Edit: You want to play WOW? With Wotlk? Eh, gonna have to probably spend a bit more than $400 to get a decent experience then. WoW can be surprisingly demanding once fully patched up.
Edit: You want to play WOW? With Wotlk? Eh, gonna have to probably spend a bit more than $400 to get a decent experience then. WoW can be surprisingly demanding once fully patched up.
LAUGHTREY said:
I can build you one that will play any game you toss at it for $480. Not all the games on max settings or anything (unless they came out around the time Mass Effect did), but it will play everything. But to get down to $400 you need to start skimping on A) ram or B) graphic cards, and thats when it starts to go down hill.
for about $480 you could get a dual core phenom, four gigs of ram, a 4850, etc..
It won't have an OS though, so unless you can use the one for the computer you are on now....
WOOT UPGRADE TIME NEOGAF
Long story short, had a pre built hp pavilion elite, since then bought the antec 300 tower, 650tx corsair power supply, an a brand new nvidia 275gtx for a decent price. Looking to upgrade it to a core i7 from the lowly q8200.
So would this stuff work? Feel like a noob but, will I need a new windows instalation, or is that saved on the hard drive. I know, I'm a noob
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
Long story short, had a pre built hp pavilion elite, since then bought the antec 300 tower, 650tx corsair power supply, an a brand new nvidia 275gtx for a decent price. Looking to upgrade it to a core i7 from the lowly q8200.
So would this stuff work? Feel like a noob but, will I need a new windows instalation, or is that saved on the hard drive. I know, I'm a noob
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
brain_stew
Member
Phloxy said:WOOT UPGRADE TIME NEOGAF
Long story short, had a pre built hp pavilion elite, since then bought the antec 300 tower, 650tx corsair power supply, an a brand new nvidia 275gtx for a decent price. Looking to upgrade it to a core i7 from the lowly q8200.
So would this stuff work? Feel like a noob but, will I need a new windows instalation, or is that saved on the hard drive. I know, I'm a noob
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
I'd check if there's a pin mod for that CPU/mobo before splashing the cash. A small bump in clockspeed and it'll be a great gaming CPU where the actual difference ingame will not be noticable at all.
Phloxy said:WOOT UPGRADE TIME NEOGAF
Long story short, had a pre built hp pavilion elite, since then bought the antec 300 tower, 650tx corsair power supply, an a brand new nvidia 275gtx for a decent price. Looking to upgrade it to a core i7 from the lowly q8200.
So would this stuff work? Feel like a noob but, will I need a new windows instalation, or is that saved on the hard drive. I know, I'm a noob
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
You don't have to re-install Windows per-say, but it gets complicated and messy and not worth the time and effort. It's always best to do a fresh install. Especially when upgrading to new chipsets or different architecture.
I also want to suggest against picking up an I7 if you aren't going to use the benefits the CPU provides ( heavy rendering, encoding, virtualization).
If you are going to use this PC for gaming, normal PC stuff and the odd bit of encoding etc.. I suggest going with a Phenom X4 965 BE. A solid AM3 board, good ram, and two WD 500gb BE drives. Set them up in a raid 0 and you will not only have beast performance, but a platform that will be upgrade friendly into 2011.
If you really want an I7, then you don't need a motherboard like that by any means. No offence, but if you don't know if you have to re-install windows or not, then you won't use 1/4 the features that board offers, which is the reason it's so highly priced.
Let me put it in perspective
1. AMD Phenom X4 965 BE
2. 8 GB - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel
3. 2 X Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
4. GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 USB 3.0 SATA 6Gbps
All this is $20 cheaper then what you would pay for above.
brain_stew
Member
Phloxy said:
The motherboard you received from HP will be locked down so you can't OC through it. Often a solution to this is a "pin mod" where you simply cover a specific pin with insulating tape and it'll boot the CPU with a higher FSB. If there's one available for your Q8200, its probably worth doing as its actually a decent enough chip, its just the stock frequency is a little low for any games tat don't make good use of quads.
Edit: If you're installing a new motherboard then definitely resinstall Windows, you'll asking for trouble if you don't. Very unlikely it'll remain stable.
Edit 2: I'm assuming you have like 4GB of DDR2 RAM already right? You could always just pick up a cheap P45 board, stick in the Q8200 and OC it to ~3ghz and you'd be set imo.
This board would manage that:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372
Saves you around $600 and honestly, there'd be basically no difference in games.
You'll want a HSF whilst you're on, this'll do:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004&Tpk=sunbeam 120mm
If you can put a computer together you can OC a Core 2, its a piece of piss tbh.
Annihilator
Member
Zefah said:
I have a 5870 and so far have had no issues like that. What games are you having the issues in besides Sam and Max? My card works great on Crysis, STALKER, Mass Effect, Torchlight.
brain_stew
Member
Oh, how fast is your current RAM, you're going to need PC6400 (800mhz) RAM to make this viable.
Well, even though I'm pretty dumb as for the building new pc stuff, I do lots of work. Lots of video recording, high def video editing, music production, etc, etc.
So that's why I'm going for the big upgrade. So, my next question is, I'm assuming, new motherboard, might as well get windows 7 64 oem to go with it? Or retail windows 7?
So that's why I'm going for the big upgrade. So, my next question is, I'm assuming, new motherboard, might as well get windows 7 64 oem to go with it? Or retail windows 7?
brain_stew
Member
Phloxy said:
Well a ~3ghz Q8200 would be no slouch in those tasks either so its definitely worth considering. If you're upgrading your motherboard then your current copy of Windows will effectively be useless, so yes, you'll need to get a copy of 7.
Hi guys. I need an opinion: i have a small budget for a build and i want to know which of these CPUs is better:
AMD Phenom II X2 550 (3.1GHz, AM3 socket) or intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (2.8 GHz, socket 775).
The Phenom is a bit more expensive but i heard that you can (if you're lucky ) unlock two additional cores making it a quad core. Also, what's the deal with cache mem? Phenom 2 x2 only has 512 KB L2, but has 6MB L3, while E6300 has 2MB L2. Which is better and in what way does it matter?
AMD Phenom II X2 550 (3.1GHz, AM3 socket) or intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (2.8 GHz, socket 775).
The Phenom is a bit more expensive but i heard that you can (if you're lucky
) unlock two additional cores making it a quad core. Also, what's the deal with cache mem? Phenom 2 x2 only has 512 KB L2, but has 6MB L3, while E6300 has 2MB L2. Which is better and in what way does it matter?New PC should be ready by Friday!
Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core 2.66GHz
Asus P7P55D-LE LGA1156 i5 CF P55 DDR3 PCIe 8-ch LAN
2x Crucial 2GB PC8500 DDR3-1066
Western Digital SATA2 500GB 32MB 7200RPM WD5001AALS
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB GDDR5
Coolermaster Power Pro 750W Quad ATX PSU
Antec Three Hundred Tower
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
I'm trying to write down a checklist of things to do with it once I get it running. Any advice for default options to change in Win7? Or anything in general. I have Malwarebytes anti-malware for a scanner right now but I don't think that covers everything. I'm done with AVG.
Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core 2.66GHz
Asus P7P55D-LE LGA1156 i5 CF P55 DDR3 PCIe 8-ch LAN
2x Crucial 2GB PC8500 DDR3-1066
Western Digital SATA2 500GB 32MB 7200RPM WD5001AALS
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB GDDR5
Coolermaster Power Pro 750W Quad ATX PSU
Antec Three Hundred Tower
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
I'm trying to write down a checklist of things to do with it once I get it running. Any advice for default options to change in Win7? Or anything in general. I have Malwarebytes anti-malware for a scanner right now but I don't think that covers everything. I'm done with AVG.
brain_stew
Member
shuyin_ said:Hi guys. I need an opinion: i have a small budget for a build and i want to know which of these CPUs is better:
AMD Phenom II X2 550 (3.1GHz, AM3 socket) or intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (2.8 GHz, socket 775).
The Phenom is a bit more expensive but i heard that you can (if you're lucky
The Phenom is better (and is available on a platform with decent future upgrades) but it isn't the CPU to go for either.
An Athlon ii X3 435 is both cheaper and faster in the majority of applications.
Also consider an Athlon ii X4 620 (though only if you plan to OC as its stock single/dual thread performance isn't too great).
If you can stretch to it the Phenom ii X4 925 is well worth the extra $40 as well.
Dual core CPUs (that lack hyperthreading) are no longer smart buys.
A friend of mine will be in Miami in 10 days (I live in Brazil) and he will buy me a HD 5870. Despite that, I'd like to order additional pc parts and have them delivered at his hotel. Thus, I wonder if is it possible to buy parts from any US store, pay with an International Card (or Paypal) and have them be delivered in US soil?
If so, what store do you recommend? Keep in mind he'll be for like a week in Miami and because of that I need some fast delivery (overnight, perhaps)
Lastly, what processor (budget for it: 300 dollars) and ram (budget for it: 180 dollars) do you recommend for the following rig:
MB: ASUS P6T
VG: HD 5870
Case: Coolermaster Gladiator 600
PSU: Corsair 650W
HD: WD 1 TB
Extra fan: Coolermaster Hyper 212
Artic Ceramique
I forgot to say, but I intend to overclock the processor to 3.8 Ghz;
Thanks
If so, what store do you recommend? Keep in mind he'll be for like a week in Miami and because of that I need some fast delivery (overnight, perhaps)
Lastly, what processor (budget for it: 300 dollars) and ram (budget for it: 180 dollars) do you recommend for the following rig:
MB: ASUS P6T
VG: HD 5870
Case: Coolermaster Gladiator 600
PSU: Corsair 650W
HD: WD 1 TB
Extra fan: Coolermaster Hyper 212
Artic Ceramique
I forgot to say, but I intend to overclock the processor to 3.8 Ghz;
Thanks
Hellsing321
Member
No lights are on on my graphics card but all four LEDs on my motherboard are permanently lit up when I turn on the computer. The CPU fan also does not spin when turned on, though I don't know if this is a problem with the fan or the motherboard.pseudocaesar said:
I should probably note that I have a GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 LGA 1156 Intel P55 motherboard. A Radeon HD 5850. A CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V PSU. And I'm using a ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro CPU cooler.
The PC hasn't posted yet.
Jeff Stephen
Member
So according to my tracking number my Radeon HD 5770 arrived. And well it's been ages since I upgraded my video card so is it still necessary to disable onboard video before installing add-ons?
Hellsing321
Member
After taking everything apart I noticed a bent pin on my CPU socket of my motherboard. Does this mean I could have fried the CPU as well when I turned it on?
BravoSuperStar
Member
Hellsing321 said:After taking everything apart I noticed a bent pin on my CPU socket of my motherboard. Does this mean I could have fried the CPU as well when I turned it on?
Even if you turn on the PC and the CPU has no fan or heatsink at all it takes a couple minutes to "fry" a cpu and you would most certainly have smelled it. Bent pins are not good though. Your CPU fan should not be affected by a bent pin though. You did plug the P4 connector in as well as the 24 pin right? And the CPU fan is plugged into the motherboard on the proper header?
Hellsing321
Member
I checked the 24 pin and the P4 to make sure they were in all the way and the CPU fan is connected in the right place. I found that after giving the fan a quick spin by hand it will start up and continue to spin.SuperEnemyCrab said:
GAF help, i'm building a new machine!
this is what i've got:
the case and powersupply i think are a bit overdone, but i think the other should be ok and last a while.
this is what i've got:
- hd: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
- gfx: XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB
- ram: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
- moboard: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
- cpu: Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W
- case: Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
- power: SeaSonic X650 Gold 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91
the case and powersupply i think are a bit overdone, but i think the other should be ok and last a while.
Just finished putting together my system but am getting no image from my monitor when I turn it on. Just replaced the graphics card because I thought that was the problem, no luck. I've checked and reconnected the hdd cable multiple times and nothing. I have speakers but don't get any beeps. Please help Gaf,thanks.