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[darkjedi187]

so What the feeling between AMD and intel. Getting ready to build a new pc finally and had fully planes on an intel i3 530. Till I came accross some info on the AMD Phenom x2 and how it can be unlocked to a x4. Any thought that could help me decide.

 

[Salaadin]

For only $20 more the intel X-25m is a better choice:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167016

OEM version, but still 20gb more space and better quality.

Thanks.
I already talked myself out of it again. Im just going to pray and wait for a drop on the X-25M.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Thanks.
I already talked myself out of it again. Im just going to pray and wait for a drop on the X-25M.

If you can wait I would. The new models should be coming out in the next couple months and prices on these drives should drop dramatically. They're already starting to arrive and the vertex 2 drive is supposed to be just awesome. The 2010 SSD's should offer a substantial improvement in price/performance/capacity over last years drives.

 

[Salaadin]

If you can wait I would. The new models should be coming out in the next couple months and prices on these drives should drop dramatically. They're already starting to arrive and the vertex 2 drive is supposed to be just awesome. The 2010 SSD's should offer a substantial improvement in price/performance/capacity over last years drives.

Yeah, I shouldnt be in a rush but once I get an idea in my head, its hard to shake it. Im constantly talking myself out of it because I know that the moment I buy one, the price will drop.

 

[Minsc]

Building my friend a PC on a $600 budget. Let me know what you guys think.

Case: RAIDMAX Quantum
Mobo: ECS Black Series A785GM-M AM3
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition OEM (I never used the stock cooler from my phenom ii x4 955, so I'm just going to give him that. It will fit, right?)
RAM: OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770
Optical Drive: LITE-ON Black 18X DVD-ROM
HDD: HITACHI Deskstar 320GB 7200 RPM
PSU: COOLMAX M-500B 500W

The total after mail-in rebates comes to $592 USD. All free shipping items.

Any suggestions?

I know it's a $600 budget, but for $40 more you can get a Samsung F3 1TB HDD, which has 3x the storage, and will be a decent amount faster too. Use the combo linked to from the previous few posts for the HDD and you get a free $40 enclosure thrown in, which you could sell to negate the difference!

 

[SundaySounds]

I know it's a $600 budget, but for $40 more you can get a Samsung F3 1TB HDD, which has 3x the storage, and will be a decent amount faster too. Use the combo linked to from the previous few posts for the HDD and you get a free $40 enclosure thrown in, which you could sell to negate the difference!

: / I'll give him the option, but his budget is pretty tight. He'll probably stick with the 250Gb and get an external later. thanks for letting me know about that, though.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

A slightly more 'random' question, but what are my chances of being able to get / build a PC that's quiet, able to get along with gaming to some degree and not be very expensive?
(I would say pretty good, but I haven't been keeping up, so I wouldn't know)

Budget: let's just $1000 is the max
Main Use(s): web browsing, student stuff, preferably some gaming, but not required. It really does need to be quiet though.
Monitor Resolution: I already own a 1920x1080 monitor, a Samsung Syncmaster 2433 (VGA and DVI in)
Speakers: older Creative 5.1 set still around

List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: I would love to be able to play Starcraft II on it, but I'm guessing that's already a no-go with my budget limit, but as far as I am aware, most videocards 'should' be able to handle modern games, like Crysis, just fine. Supreme Commander (I own it, can't play it :| ) is a different story though. If anything, I need to be able to play older games on it and maybe some newer games like Bioshock (2). At playable levels btw, not 60fps or anything fancy.

edit:

not interested in large HDD's. All the space I need is covered by an external 1 TB already and that will take me ages to fill.

location: Netherlands, so not exactly cheap in terms of components

and thanks for advice in advance, of course.

 

[Money]

Hey guys quick question, I am about to upgrade from vista 64bit to windows 7 ultimate 64bit. I built the computer myself, and I purchased vista for system builders. To save money, I was going to buy windows 7 ultimate for system builders and just do a fresh install. This wont be a problem will it? Can I not use another system builder disc instead of full retail on my same HDD or motherboard?

Google search popped up the 2009 thread, didnt mean to bump both.

 

[Jim Stark]

A slightly more 'random' question, but what are my chances of being able to get / build a PC that's quiet, able to get along with gaming to some degree and not be very expensive?
(I would say pretty good, but I haven't been keeping up, so I wouldn't know)

Budget: let's just $1000 is the max
Main Use(s): web browsing, student stuff, preferably some gaming, but not required. It really does need to be quiet though.
Monitor Resolution: I already own a 1920x1080 monitor, a Samsung Syncmaster 2433 (VGA and DVI in)
Speakers: older Creative 5.1 set still around

List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: I would love to be able to play Starcraft II on it, but I'm guessing that's already a no-go with my budget limit, but as far as I am aware, most videocards 'should' be able to handle modern games, like Crysis, just fine. Supreme Commander (I own it, can't play it :| ) is a different story though. If anything, I need to be able to play older games on it and maybe some newer games like Bioshock (2). At playable levels btw, not 60fps or anything fancy.

edit:

not interested in large HDD's. All the space I need is covered by an external 1 TB already and that will take me ages to fill.

location: Netherlands, so not exactly cheap in terms of components

and thanks for advice in advance, of course.

$1,000 USD? With that budget you will be able to play new games with no problem. You will destroy Starcraft 2. You have a great monitor already so that cuts about $200~ out of your needs. Brain_Stew will be way better than I could be at giving you exact parts but I wouldn't worry about being limited in what games you play.

Edit - Oh, I can't read, I'm not aware of how expensive parts are in dutchworld, maybe I'm wrong.

Edit 2 - Dutch Slayer seems to think parts are reasonably priced, so I'll revert back to my original statement :lol

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

location: Netherlands, so not exactly cheap in terms of components

ARE YOU KIDDING ME Netherlands is fucking cheap, ga naar www.tweakers.net/pricewatch
(at least I find it cheap compared to other countries)

There you can select literally from about 300 online shop who all compete for the lowest price.

 

[Bebpo]

I just upgraded to W7 from XP. It's all very confusing.
I have an i7 920 that was overclocked from 2.67 -> 3.8ghz through the bios. After upgrading to W7 it's showing up as 2.67ghz and my computer is running kinda slow.

Does changing OS kill an overclocking you have set for your cpu? Do I need to re-read how to overclock my cpu and do it again?

 

[brain_stew]

I just upgraded to W7 from XP. It's all very confusing.
I have an i7 920 that was overclocked from 2.67 -> 3.8ghz through the bios. After upgrading to W7 it's showing up as 2.67ghz and my computer is running kinda slow.

Does changing OS kill an overclocking you have set for your cpu? Do I need to re-read how to overclock my cpu and do it again?

Whereabouts is it "showing up" at 2.67ghz? CPU-Z?

 

[Easy_D]

Didn't want to make a new topic for my own stupid PC problems, so I figured this was the topic to post about it in.

I've been experiencing some "issues" since I installed my HD5870.


Sometimes when I play a game, the computer just shuts off, no warnings, just boom, like you pulled the plug.


I don't think it's an overheating card issue as the fan isn't spinning faster than usual nor have I seen any artifacting, I've also run furmark for a good 25 minutes, card never went above 85c and the fan was spinning as it should, no issues at all. I've also run CPU tests in the past so I'm sure CPU (A E8500 2CD) isn't the problem either.

All that leaves out is the power supply and I'm fairly certain it's a power supply failure,
perhaps running a 5870 on a 550w is pushing it a bit more than it can take, it's fairly random though and has only happened 2 or 3 times, I can only remember it happening in Battlefield Bad Company beta and Mass Effect 2.


I just want a second opinion before I order a new 750w PSU. What do you guys think?

 

[Bebpo]

under control panel, system.

Before I installed W7 it said i7 920 2.67ghz,
3.8ghz
3 gigs ram

Now it says i7 920 2.67ghz, 2.66 ghz
6 gigs ram

 

[brain_stew]

under control panel, system.

Before I installed W7 it said i7 920 2.67ghz,
3.8ghz
3 gigs ram

Now it says i7 920 2.67ghz, 2.66 ghz
6 gigs ram

That's not reliable, use CPU-Z.

 

[Bebpo]

 

[Bebpo]

My bios is still saying it's 3.8ghz

 

[cory]

I need a new case. I have a µATX board with a 4870. It needs to be easy to transport and have good air flow. Any recommendations? Cheaper would be better.

 

[brain_stew]

Run something CPU intensive while you've still got CPU-Z up, that just looks like speedstep throttling your CPu while it idles.

 

[lennylightspeed]

Hey, I'm looking to build my own system after having a Dell XPS 1710 laptop for a few years (dual core 2.16 ghz, 2 gig ram, geforce 7900gs).

I mainly use it for gaming. I play source games like L4D2 and team fortress 2. I'd like to be able to play newer titles like Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age, Crysis, etc at a decent framerate at 1680 x 1050.

The problem is I'm working with a budget around $500 (I can go up slightly if need be). Is it worth it to upgrade at this point and budget or is my current system okay? Case looks and amount of sound doesn't really bother me. I'd like something I could upgrade at some point if need be. Is there hope for my 2010 computing dreams?

 

[brain_stew]

Hey, I'm looking to build my own system after having a Dell XPS 1710 laptop for a few years (dual core 2.16 ghz, 2 gig ram, geforce 7900gs).

I mainly use it for gaming. I play source games like L4D2 and team fortress 2. I'd like to be able to play newer titles like Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age, Crysis, etc at a decent framerate at 1680 x 1050.

The problem is I'm working with a budget around $500 (I can go up slightly if need be). Is it worth it to upgrade at this point and budget or is my current system okay? Case looks and amount of sound doesn't really bother me. I'd like something I could upgrade at some point if need be. Is there hope for my 2010 computing dreams?

Step it upto $600 and (assuming you don't need a new full priced Windows license) you're golden.

Athlon ii X4 630
770/785G AM3 DDR3 mobo
4GB DDR3
1TB Samsung F3
5770 1GB
450w+ PSU from a decent brand (I'd go for the $100 Antec Sonata + 500w Earthwatts combo personally)
Sata DVDRW

 

[mm04]

Alright, PC GAF, I'm ready to rejoin my gaming roots. I have roughly $800 to assemble some components and build a rig. One thing I always fear is buying components that don't take full advantage of the other components, i.e. buying a video card that's too powerful for the CPU, buying too much memory etc. I'd like to avoid as much unnecessary bottlenecking as possible.

Anyway, I know that this is old hat for some of you, but I would greatly appreciate some direction on how I should spend my money. The $800 is dedicated the rig only, not a monitor or other peripherals.

Thanks in advance!

 

[brain_stew]

Alright, PC GAF, I'm ready to rejoin my gaming roots. I have roughly $800 to assemble some components and build a rig. One thing I always fear is buying components that don't take full advantage of the other components, i.e. buying a video card that's too powerful for the CPU, buying too much memory etc. I'd like to avoid as much unnecessary bottlenecking as possible.

Anyway, I know that this is old hat for some of you, but I would greatly appreciate some direction on how I should spend my money. The $800 is dedicated the rig only, not a monitor or other peripherals.

Thanks in advance!

Take what I said in the previous post but:

switch the CPU to a Phenom ii 925/955
Get a 500w PSU minimum (the combo deal is still good)
Upgrade the GPU to a 5850

 

[Rich!]

Got my computer finished now:

AMD Phenom II X4 3.2ghz 8mb
XFX Radeon 5770 1GB
1TB Samsung F3 HDD
4GB 1333mhz RAM
Antec 300 Case
600w OCZ PSU
ASUS mobo

Got the basic computer all set up and running, hopefully installing the graphics card when it arrives shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Most of that stuff I managed to blag off from mates second hand (RAM, motherboard, case) as opposed to using ebuyer, so altogether this is a ~£400 rig. Which is awesome.

 

[K.Jack]

Athlon ii X4 630
770/785G AM3 DDR3 mobo
4GB DDR3
1TB Samsung F3
450w+ PSU from a decent brand (I'd go for the $100 Antec Sonata + 500w Earthwatts combo personally)
Sata DVDRW

Take what I said in the previous post but:
Upgrade the GPU to a 5850

I may be tripping, but I see no GPU in the first post.

 

[Shambles]

Got my computer finished now:

AMD Phenom II X4 3.2ghz 8mb
XFX Radeon 5770 1GB
1TB Samsung F3 HDD
4GB 1333mhz RAM
Antec 300 Case
600w OCZ PSU
ASUS mobo

Got the basic computer all set up and running, hopefully installing the graphics card when it arrives shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Most of that stuff I managed to blag off from mates second hand (RAM, motherboard, case) as opposed to using ebuyer, so altogether this is a ~£400 rig. Which is awesome.

I also love how once you get past the intial investment of building your first PC your following ones become a lot cheaper. Once you don't need to buy a case, PSU, HDD, monitor, and even possibly memory you can upgrade your platform for a fraction of the price.

 

[Rich!]

I also love how once you get past the intial investment of building your first PC your following ones become a lot cheaper. Once you don't need to buy a case, PSU, HDD, monitor, and even possibly memory you can upgrade your platform for a fraction of the price.

Definitely. This case is incredible too - it has three 12cm fans, each with three speed settings. :lol

Got a big scratch down the side, but I'll paint that over once I find the right match from my set downstairs.

 

[Shambles]

Definitely. This case is incredible too - it has three 12cm fans, each with three speed settings. :lol

Got a big scratch down the side, but I'll paint that over once I find the right match from my set downstairs.

I have the same case, added the two additional fans as well. What I find annoying is the USB placement on the top of the front panel which can interfere with my access to optical drives when I have my keychain or other accessories plugged in. I definately prefer cases with the USB connections on the top of the case instead. With the 5 fans i've also noticed that there seems to be some funny airflow going on that can cause some revereration noise on the case. I have a book resting on top to get rid of it. I'm sure I could fix it if I changed the fan airflow but I prefer having the two front fans going in, and the 3 other fans pushing air out as my GPU does not blow out.

One question I do have for the masses out there with the Antec 300 is if they have found any electrical interferance over the front audio ports. I have to plug my headphones into the audio card in the back of the box (which is a pain to get to) in order to get proper audio clarity. The front audio cable does have shielding but it seems inadaquate. I don't know if this a problem with my MB or the case itself.

 

[Rich!]

One question I do have for the masses out there with the Antec 300 is if they have found any electrical interferance over the front audio ports. I have to plug my headphones into the audio card in the back of the box (which is a pain to get to) in order to get proper audio clarity. The front audio cable does have shielding but it seems inadaquate. I don't know if this a problem with my MB or the case itself.

I have to say, I haven't tried the front audio sockets - my £60 shure earphones were destroyed by my cat last week. :lol

I have the system linked up through the motherboard's optical output to my surround amp, and then I'd plug any headphones into that. The USB sockets at the front could be problematic once I get a DVD drive put in (relying on flash memory and Steam at the moment), but I'm using the ones at the back anyway. I've got a USB connection (as well as various game controller extension leads) running through from one side of the room, through the walls, to a hub socket near the seating on the other side, to reduce trailing cables for controllers and shit.

So far, the case is pretty damn quiet - this guy previously had put in another fan at the side (usually it's just the top and back ones in the case), and I guess he knew what he was doing.

 

[Bebpo]

Run something CPU intensive while you've still got CPU-Z up, that just looks like speedstep throttling your CPu while it idles.

Yeah it was speedstep. Thanks.

Still not enjoying W7 much at all. If I hadn't spent $85, I'd be almost tempted to go back to XP right now. I can't believe W7 Pro (the student version) is lacking basic features that XP home had like Japanese language support. Kinda bullshit.

 

[cory]

I really can't find any microATX cases that I like, I think I'll get a ATX mid tower, it's not too much bigger, is it?
EDIT: ATX mid tower seems too big. microATX it is. This one doesn't seem too bad http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119088

 

[Shambles]

I really can't find any microATX cases that I like, I think I'll get a ATX mid tower, it's not too much bigger, is it?
EDIT: ATX mid tower seems too big. microATX it is. This one doesn't seem too bad http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119088

I believe mini-ITX cases are smaller than micro-ATX. They are worth looking at.

 

[cory]

I believe mini-ITX cases are smaller than micro-ATX. They are worth looking at.

I already have a microATX system, I just need a new case.
It would be neat to build a miniITX system, though.

 

[HokieJoe]

Take what I said in the previous post but:

switch the CPU to a Phenom ii 925/955
Get a 500w PSU minimum (the combo deal is still good)
Upgrade the GPU to a 5850

Don't get me wrong, most all of the PC's I've built have been AMD, but why so many AMD recommendations now brain_stew? Is it simply cost/performance, or does AMD offer a legitimate alternative if OC'd? Just wondering because I've been out of the game a long time and I'm considering an upgrade.

 

[brain_stew]

I may be tripping, but I see no GPU in the first post.

You do know!

Oops!

 

[brain_stew]

Don't get me wrong, most all of the PC's I've built have been AMD, but why so many AMD recommendations now brain_stew? Is it simply cost/performance,.

The bolded.

I run an Intel rig myself and anyone spending around $1000 should be going either the core i5 or i7 route but at the low end, AMD offer some great value. You can't beat a fast 2.8ghz quad core for $100. They also have the most potential upgrade options, which is important for a budget machine.

 

[HokieJoe]

The bolded.

I run an Intel rig myself and anyone spending around $1000 should be going either the core i5 or i7 route but at the low end, AMD offer some great value. You can't beat a fast 2.8ghz quad core for $100. They also have the most potential upgrade options, which is important for a budget machine.

Ahh cool. I've been eye-balling the i7 920. Would that be a decent CPU for the money?

 

[Shambles]

Ahh cool. I've been eye-balling the i7 920. Would that be a decent CPU for the money?

It's the best consumer chip you can get while still keeping a sane grip on price. It's replacement the 930 is incoming but might not overclock as well as the 920 D0 stepping. The next popular chip is the i5 750, and then down to the Phenom II (955 mainly). There are chips that fill the gaps between but these are the major ones of note.

 

[RocketDarkness]

Alright, I mentioned this before, but I guess it got glossed over a bit. Building a gaming PC for a friend's brother. The target is $600, but my brother said I can probably convince him to pay more if I think it's worthwhile. That being said, here's what we're looking at (keep in mind, it's cobbled together from several different other builds that were within the rough price range):

Case/PSU: Antec Sonata III
MoBo: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
GPU: SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0
Hard Drive: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721032CLA362 (0A39264) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Optical: LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04

Price: $750 w/ shipping.

Everything seem compatible? His primary concern was being able to play Diablo III on high/max settings. I tried to avoid products with dodgy reliability.

Also: The $600 build in the OP is outdated, since the combos have expired.

 

[Odious Tea]

In all likelihood he'll be able to play it, but whether or not he'll be able to max it at 1920x1080, nobody can tell. Diablo III is still 2011+.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Canadian build needs to be updated.

 

[RaoulDuke]

just got my new machine up and running. all seems to be just fine. when i check the temp in the bios its showing about 40c. I think this is just fine for a athlon 2 x4 630, but i would also like to check it under load and see how high it goes.

can anyone recommend a good temp monitoring program?

 

[Odious Tea]

just got my new machine up and running. all seems to be just fine. when i check the temp in the bios its showing about 40c. I think this is just fine for a athlon 2 x4 630, but i would also like to check it under load and see how high it goes.

can anyone recommend a good temp monitoring program?

Realtemp.

 

[RaoulDuke]

Realtemp.

hmmm, looks like it only works with intel. anything similar for AMD?

 

[Romance Pie]

Didn't want to make a new topic for my own stupid PC problems, so I figured this was the topic to post about it in.

I've been experiencing some "issues" since I installed my HD5870.


Sometimes when I play a game, the computer just shuts off, no warnings, just boom, like you pulled the plug.


I don't think it's an overheating card issue as the fan isn't spinning faster than usual nor have I seen any artifacting, I've also run furmark for a good 25 minutes, card never went above 85c and the fan was spinning as it should, no issues at all. I've also run CPU tests in the past so I'm sure CPU (A E8500 2CD) isn't the problem either.

All that leaves out is the power supply and I'm fairly certain it's a power supply failure,
perhaps running a 5870 on a 550w is pushing it a bit more than it can take, it's fairly random though and has only happened 2 or 3 times, I can only remember it happening in Battlefield Bad Company beta and Mass Effect 2.


I just want a second opinion before I order a new 750w PSU. What do you guys think?

Well kinda of PSU is it? I have a friend running a 5870 in his shuttle pc and that has only a 500W unit.

750W sounds like overkill for a single GPU setup.

 

[Odious Tea]

hmmm, looks like it only works with intel. anything similar for AMD?

Oh. In that case, CoreTemp should do the trick.

 

[slamskank]

In all likelihood he'll be able to play it, but whether or not he'll be able to max it at 1920x1080, nobody can tell. Diablo III is still 2011+.

Blizzard makes games so that every internet cafe crapbox that has been running starcraft and cs 1.6 since 2001 don't need to be upgraded.

 

[brain_stew]

Blizzard makes games so that every internet cafe crapbox that has been running starcraft and cs 1.6 since 2001 don't need to be upgraded.

That's really not true though. WOW (after the expansion at least) is one of the most demanding games on the PC at times and its literally impossible to get a solid 60fps in the Starcraft 2 beta with decent graphics enabled, no matter how good your hardware.

 

[Odious Tea]

That's really not true though. WOW (after the expansion at least) is one of the most demanding games on the PC at times and its literally impossible to get a solid 60fps in the Starcraft 2 beta with decent graphics enabled, no matter how good your hardware.

Yeah, but Starcraft II is still in beta, for balancing. I would expect MASSIVE optimizations to happen. But definitely expect it to lay down the law when it's maxed out at a high resolution.

 

[brain_stew]

Yeah, but Starcraft II is still in beta, for balancing. I would expect MASSIVE optimizations to happen. But definitely expect it to lay down the law when it's maxed out at a high resolution.

I really wouldn't, there's not much track record for that.