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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
Oni Jazar said:
One more question. Should I go with a 500W 500XSPX APEVIA JAVA Power Supply instead of the generic 600W? Is 500W good enough for that system? It's a $4 difference. I don't think I will ever SLI the GPU. The next option up is a Sigma Shark SP-635W PSU for $43 more.
edit: I may go with the 635W since it has a $30 mir
Hello, PC guys.
I've never really been a PC gamer. But, with Steam, I'm willing to change that.
My Dell came with an ATI Radeon HD 4350 and it's on Windows 7 64-bit, but I couldn't even get Mass Effect running as good as I thought I could. It has a Core 2 Duo 3.16 GHz processor and 3GB of RAM.
I don't know if its possible with my processor, but I want to be able to run games like BioShock 2, Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 perfectly on it, like I would (or better than I would) on the PS3 or the 360.
Which graphics card do you guys recommend? Should I upgrade my RAM? Should I throw away my processor?
Thanks in advance
I've never really been a PC gamer. But, with Steam, I'm willing to change that.
My Dell came with an ATI Radeon HD 4350 and it's on Windows 7 64-bit, but I couldn't even get Mass Effect running as good as I thought I could. It has a Core 2 Duo 3.16 GHz processor and 3GB of RAM.
I don't know if its possible with my processor, but I want to be able to run games like BioShock 2, Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 perfectly on it, like I would (or better than I would) on the PS3 or the 360.
Which graphics card do you guys recommend? Should I upgrade my RAM? Should I throw away my processor?
Thanks in advance
@Brazil: The graphics card is your limiting factor there. Thing with Dells is that you have to be careful about the power supply currently in there and replacement PSU compatibility. You could open it up and see if there's a big sticker with a bunch of current/voltage info on the power supply. Or it should be possible to grep the info in a Google search.
In any case, your box should be able to support a 5770. Maybe you could run a 5850 but I really have no clue how good the power supplies Dell uses are.
In any case, your box should be able to support a 5770. Maybe you could run a 5850 but I really have no clue how good the power supplies Dell uses are.
Brazil said:Hello, PC guys.
I've never really been a PC gamer. But, with Steam, I'm willing to change that.
My Dell came with an ATI Radeon HD 4350 and it's on Windows 7 64-bit, but I couldn't even get Mass Effect running as good as I thought I could. It has a Core 2 Duo 3.16 GHz processor and 3GB of RAM.
I don't know if its possible with my processor, but I want to be able to run games like BioShock 2, Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 perfectly on it, like I would (or better than I would) on the PS3 or the 360.
Which graphics card do you guys recommend? Should I upgrade my RAM? Should I throw away my processor?
Thanks in advance
the worst component there is definetly the graphics card
2x2 gb ram would probably make your whole computer experience a bit more plesant , but top priority is the grapics card for sure.
and as Doytch says , before you go out buying a monstercard , see if you need to upgrade the power supply.
Don't just buy any power supply. Check to see if your motherboard is ATX or BTX.Brazil said:Hello, PC guys.
I've never really been a PC gamer. But, with Steam, I'm willing to change that.
My Dell came with an ATI Radeon HD 4350 and it's on Windows 7 64-bit, but I couldn't even get Mass Effect running as good as I thought I could. It has a Core 2 Duo 3.16 GHz processor and 3GB of RAM.
I don't know if its possible with my processor, but I want to be able to run games like BioShock 2, Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 perfectly on it, like I would (or better than I would) on the PS3 or the 360.
Which graphics card do you guys recommend? Should I upgrade my RAM? Should I throw away my processor?
Thanks in advance
So what is the most basic first step for OC'ing my i7 860? I really have no clue what is going on when it comes to this stuff.
I tried out that CPU-Z program last night and I swore it said my clock speed was around 3400. Does that mean Turbo Boost alone is bumping it up that high? Or am I just a moron and that was a completely unassociated number?
I also haven't bumped my ram up to 1600 yet. Is that something I should look in to? I think they're at 1333 now.
I tried out that CPU-Z program last night and I swore it said my clock speed was around 3400. Does that mean Turbo Boost alone is bumping it up that high? Or am I just a moron and that was a completely unassociated number?
I also haven't bumped my ram up to 1600 yet. Is that something I should look in to? I think they're at 1333 now.
xerxesiani
Member
It's like a whole new world opened up for me when I discovered Steam. Thus I decided to buy a myself a gaming PC.
Currently I'm looking at these specs:
Case: Coolermaster HAF 922
Mobo: Asus Rampage II GENE
CPU: Core i7-920
CPU Cooler: Coolermaster V8
Memory: 8gb ddr3 1333
GFX: XFX 2GB HD5970 Black Edition
PSU: XFX 850W Black Edition ATX
HDD 1: Corsair P64 Performance Series 64GB SSD
HDD 2: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Any suggestions? I'm planning to hook it up to my tv and I want to play everything at max settings.
Also, Steam is bad for your wallet :-(
Currently I'm looking at these specs:
Case: Coolermaster HAF 922
Mobo: Asus Rampage II GENE
CPU: Core i7-920
CPU Cooler: Coolermaster V8
Memory: 8gb ddr3 1333
GFX: XFX 2GB HD5970 Black Edition
PSU: XFX 850W Black Edition ATX
HDD 1: Corsair P64 Performance Series 64GB SSD
HDD 2: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Any suggestions? I'm planning to hook it up to my tv and I want to play everything at max settings.
Also, Steam is bad for your wallet :-(
Baker said:
you really need to read about overclocking , dont do anything if you are unsure.
3.46 GHz is the top frequency that the 860 reaches with turbo boost so thats most likely what you saw in cpu-z , alot it shouldn't clock up like that unless you are stressing the system.
xerxesiani said:
the 1366 platform has 3 memory channels , which means you want to run the memory in pairs of 3 , the most standard thing to do is to go 3x2 gb , this making the memory run in tripplechannel , giving you extra bandwidth , if you run 8 gb , im guessing it will be a dual channel solution
im not sure how much impact the tripplechannel has over dualchannel in real world performance , but why pass it up when you are building a system like that.
xerxesiani
Member
Devildoll said:
Thanks for the tip, I didn't know that. I'll look into what the performance gains are for games.
Hmm, now when I try to overclock my Sapphire 5850, I get lockups when passing 775 core in accelerated video. When I disable DXVA in say WMP-HC it seems to work. I'll report back.. I'm using Shark007 32/64bit codec pack.. perhaps that's not a good idea. Although, it manages to crash the Windows Experience Index at 'Tuning Windows Media Encoding' also. 
It works fine in games overclocked.. just not video. I'm using the 9.12 Hotfix drivers. Wonder if they're the cause.
It works fine in games overclocked.. just not video. I'm using the 9.12 Hotfix drivers. Wonder if they're the cause.
shadowsdarknes
Member
Hey Gaf I'm looking to get a 3d monitor.
Should I get the Samsung 22 inch? OR should I get the viewsonic 22 inch?
The viewsonic is a lot cheaper and I've only got like 260 set aside right now for the monitor but I can always just take some more out of my account so it's not that big of a deal.
But are there any monitors soon on their way that are supposed to be better/cheaper?
Should I get the Samsung 22 inch? OR should I get the viewsonic 22 inch?
The viewsonic is a lot cheaper and I've only got like 260 set aside right now for the monitor but I can always just take some more out of my account so it's not that big of a deal.
But are there any monitors soon on their way that are supposed to be better/cheaper?
BravoSuperStar
Member
Oni Jazar said:
Don't buy a kingston SSD, they use the Jmicron controller which is basically the worst out there at the moment. If you are serious about SSD's get an intel drive or the OCZ vertex or agility series. If you look beyond these suggestions the important thing to keep in mind is a indilinx controller.
Edit: Also I hope you really understand what you're getting yourself into with a water cooling setup. If this is your first time using something like this I hope you are prepared.
More sponging incoming, so I just got myself a nice 1080p 22" screen and my graphics card no longer plays the games I want it to very well. In case people are wondering I had the 9400gt, which as far as I'm aware is pretty damn terrible for games.
The game I play the most is Team Fortress 2 and I'd like to max it out with at least 4xAA... I mean even the 9400 could do that at my old resolution so anything decent should be able to do it as well right?
I was thinking maybe the HD 4770, 9600gt or 9800gt; I have a budget or roughly £100. I'm pretty new on the PC gaming scene, I definitely wouldn't mind if the card let me play other games mind, for example Street Fighter 4 or Dragon Age. Cpu is Dual 2.6, haven't looked into OC'ing or anything.
Opinions on such matters please.
The game I play the most is Team Fortress 2 and I'd like to max it out with at least 4xAA... I mean even the 9400 could do that at my old resolution so anything decent should be able to do it as well right?
I was thinking maybe the HD 4770, 9600gt or 9800gt; I have a budget or roughly £100. I'm pretty new on the PC gaming scene, I definitely wouldn't mind if the card let me play other games mind, for example Street Fighter 4 or Dragon Age. Cpu is Dual 2.6, haven't looked into OC'ing or anything.
Opinions on such matters please.
10.1 just came out if you want to give it a try.pestul said:Hmm, now when I try to overclock my Sapphire 5850, I get lockups when passing 775 core in accelerated video. When I disable DXVA in say WMP-HC it seems to work. I'll report back.. I'm using Shark007 32/64bit codec pack.. perhaps that's not a good idea. Although, it manages to crash the Windows Experience Index at 'Tuning Windows Media Encoding' also.
It works fine in games overclocked.. just not video. I'm using the 9.12 Hotfix drivers. Wonder if they're the cause.
for all you ati guys out there ,
the 2010's first catalyst driver is out
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx
the 2010's first catalyst driver is out
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx
TouchMyBox
Member
vocab said:
Hah, get used to it. You'd think it would kill devs to hire someone who knows how to encode a video properly. Hell, youtube does a much better job encoding all of my videos.
turnbuckle
Member
Not sure if this is the correct thread to ask, but I'm looking for a new monitor for work to replace my 2 monitor (22 inch & 19 inch) setup. I have a 24 inch at home, but I'd prefer something a little bigger. My budget is a bit constrained since I just blew $850 on a computer chair so I'm capped out at $400.
Been searching a bunch of places and the best I've come up with so far is this:
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/898815/Samsung-T260HD-26-Widescreen-LCD-HDTV/?cm_cat=2000000007
For the most part it's been getting pretty favorable reviews with the main knocks against it being some issues with viewing angles. Anyone have any recommendations, or does this seem like a good deal? I'll be using it exclusively for work, where 50% of my time is spent reading .tiff files and the other half bouncing between a few work-related sites (and GAF, of course).
Didn't wanna start a thread over this
Oh, guess this is the right place to ask this question. I stay pretty current with computer hardware, but for my work pc I'm looking to upgrade my video card. Performance isn't really an issue, but my 7600GT i put in here a few years ago has seen better days. I'm working with a Dell OptiPlex 330 (i know, i know... i didn't buy it! Honest!) and wondering what some decent upgrade options are. 8600GT, 9600GT? Probably don't wanna drop more than $80 on a work PC upgrade, though I'm a little flexible here.
Thanks
Been searching a bunch of places and the best I've come up with so far is this:
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/898815/Samsung-T260HD-26-Widescreen-LCD-HDTV/?cm_cat=2000000007
For the most part it's been getting pretty favorable reviews with the main knocks against it being some issues with viewing angles. Anyone have any recommendations, or does this seem like a good deal? I'll be using it exclusively for work, where 50% of my time is spent reading .tiff files and the other half bouncing between a few work-related sites (and GAF, of course).
Didn't wanna start a thread over this
Oh, guess this is the right place to ask this question. I stay pretty current with computer hardware, but for my work pc I'm looking to upgrade my video card. Performance isn't really an issue, but my 7600GT i put in here a few years ago has seen better days. I'm working with a Dell OptiPlex 330 (i know, i know... i didn't buy it! Honest!) and wondering what some decent upgrade options are. 8600GT, 9600GT? Probably don't wanna drop more than $80 on a work PC upgrade, though I'm a little flexible here.
Thanks
BravoSuperStar
Member
Oni Jazar said:
Water cooling is comparable to having a really good looking but emotionally unstable high-maintenance girlfriend.
drhankmccoyphd
Member
Here's the latest build I've been toying with for budget parts on what will basically by my Steam box since I have a laptop. Case, SATA HDD, Optical and Win7 x64 are taken care of. Running on a 1680 x 1050 monitor. Any thoughts on the Vapor X 5770? Is there a model with better cooling?
http://imagesocket.com/view/NEWEGGb52.jpg
http://imagesocket.com/view/NEWEGGb52.jpg
BravoSuperStar
Member
mikespit1200 said:
It's easily worth the extra $20 to go with a Athlon 620 quad core.
Hey PC-GAF
Looking to spend a moderate amount of money for a new motherboard and processor upgrading my Win7 system. I want to spend around £350-400
I currently have a Geforce 9600GT, 4 gigs of DDR3 (2 sticks) a few SATA and IDE hdds that I'd like to transplant until I can afford to update them at a later date, so compatibility is essential.
In the UK so any Europe centric deals would be appreciated!
Looking to spend a moderate amount of money for a new motherboard and processor upgrading my Win7 system. I want to spend around £350-400
I currently have a Geforce 9600GT, 4 gigs of DDR3 (2 sticks) a few SATA and IDE hdds that I'd like to transplant until I can afford to update them at a later date, so compatibility is essential.
In the UK so any Europe centric deals would be appreciated!
drhankmccoyphd
Member
SuperEnemyCrab said:
I thought about that, but I'm trying my damndest to keep this thing under $500 and most of the CPU intensive stuff I'm doing (Dolphin, GTA4) either doesn't take advantage of more than 2 cores or is more dependent on Clockspeeds as the 435 is a better OC according to research. Plus, I have a chance at unlocking that 4th core anyways, hopefully.
BravoSuperStar
Member
mikespit1200 said:
You might be able to make it under your limit by checking out some combo's. You should be able to reach 3.4ghz plus easily with that cooler on a 620 and no gamble with a possible unlock. Unless you just plan to get a better AM3 proc later this year or something, but if not the true quad core will serve you better in the long run.
brain_stew said:
Then, could you recommend me something under $300? This isn't going to be a PC that crazy video games are played on, but more a PC to store music and movies, plus extremely casual video game playing. I guess the appropriate term would be HTPC?
Also, still looking for a cheap HDCP-enabled monitor that will do 720p. Don't want to spend much on it.
CassidyIzABeast
Member
my system wouldn't post. I had a Broadway Com Corp PSU but I sent it back. I have a MSI 770-C45 MB. It was the PSU causing me trouble amirite?