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[Minsc]

That motherboard is God awful. Trying to fit in a SSD is a noble idea but personally I reckon you're compromising too much and while he may have said "smaller" HDDs are fine, 80GB is just no where near enough for a modern rig, you'll have to give W7 ~30GB of that at least and your average game install is often 10GB+ these days. Its just not going to work for a primary rig.

I agree, go with the 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 for ~$130 less, and re-invest the savings in to other areas.

This is my pitch, good ol' Tech Report to the rescure... currently ~$750 @ newegg with a much better motherboard and an i5 750 which will do better with the graphic/video work. You may want to search for alternative 5770s as well, the XFX brand is noisy, go with a different brand. And swap the WD Black for the Samsung Spinpoint for a couple more $ saved.

 

[JayDubya]

To be quite honest, in my conversations with Chapel, I know I've become way behind the curve in terms of knowledge of what is out there and what things cost.

I just noticed that this Solid State Drive is much more expensive than the 500 GB drive I had been looking at. I presume this is because it is fast as all hell? :lol


Example: I'm still amazed at how cheap a DVD burner is now; or hell, a BD burner.


With the incredible cost of those SSDs, I'm thinking that is something I'd like to look into for an upgrade down the road; I worry that it eats up too much of the budget for something that I have commonly upgraded in the past, whereas I haven't upgraded processors and mobos before- I would believe that would just be called "a new computer."


* * *

Edit: Thanks, Minsc. Now I REALLY wish I had taken that Fry's bundle. $225 for the i5 and the mobo to go with it.

So, stupid question time - on the one you linked, I didn't see any RAM in the shopping cart...?

 

[GHG]

Spending $300 on a SSD at this stage is insane. The prices will fall and capacity will rise tenfold in the next 18-24 months. Also that motherboard suggested isn't even SATA-3. Pointless all round. Take that $300, get a Samsung F3 500GB-1TB HDD (they are quick, I have 2 500GB versions of these and they more than get the job done), get a better motherboard with SATA-3 and USB 3.0 capabilities so you have a futureproof motherboard as far as appliances and SSD's are concerned and then spend the remainder on a better GPU such as a 5850/5870/ 470 GTX (looking at it again a better processor wouldn't go a miss either).

You want a blanced system, no good having a shit-fast SSD when everything else is too weak to take full advantage of it.

 

[Mad Max]

That's a great monitor but I got my 30" 3008WFP for $800. 2560x1600 resolution. Wouldn't pay $1k for a 27". But like Minsc said there will likely be deals that knock down the price even further. Dell usually goes crazy on coupons.

His monitor is way better tho', size isn't everything.

 

[Cheeto]

Spending $300 on a SSD at this stage is insane. The prices will fall and capacity will rise tenfold in the next 18-24 months. Also that motherboard suggested isn't even SATA-3. Pointless all round. Take that $300, get a Samsung F3 500GB-1TB HDD (they are quick, I have 2 500GB versions of these and they more than get the job done), get a better motherboard with SATA-3 and USB 3.0 capabilities so you have a futureproof motherboard as far as appliances and SSD's are concerned and then spend the remainder on a better GPU such as a 5850/5870/ 470 GTX (looking at it again a better processor wouldn't go a miss either).

You want a blanced system, no good having a shit-fast SSD when everything else is too weak to take full advantage of it.

For one, the SSD is $220, and balance isn't a problem in the slightest. My ATOM processor netbook makes full use of a $100 40gb Intel SSD. Boot times are insanely fast and apps load instantly. If you don't have a need for a lot of space it makes perfect sense to get the great performance increase from a SSD.

 

[JayDubya]

Ah.

I think I figured out why it came under in price, there, Minsc - the RAM isn't populating in the shopping cart. Maybe they're out of stock, or don't carry that item anymore?

In any event, I'd need to cut some costs on that build somewhere for it to be viable; I may have to wait for another bundle to come around.

Maybe I should start from there and then customize individual things up and down and look for good deals in the meantime.

Shit, I'm cranky about missing that bundle.

 

[Cheeto]

Ah.

I think I figured out why it came under in price, there, Minsc - the RAM isn't populating in the shopping cart. Maybe they're out of stock, or don't carry that item anymore?

In any event, I'd need to cut some costs on that build somewhere for it to be viable; I may have to wait for another bundle to come around.

Maybe I should start from there and then customize individual things up and down and look for good deals in the meantime.

Shit, I'm cranky about missing that bundle.

Check my build link again, I took the SSD out and made changes to compensate.

 

[UrbanRats]

I agree, go with the 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 for ~$130 less, and re-invest the savings in to other areas.

This is my pitch, good ol' Tech Report to the rescure... currently ~$750 @ newegg with a much better motherboard and an i5 750 which will do better with the graphic/video work. You may want to search for alternative 5770s as well, the XFX brand is noisy, go with a different brand. And swap the WD Black for the Samsung Spinpoint for a couple more $ saved.

Wich MoBo is better, between the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156, and the ASUS P7P55d 1156?

 

[Inkwell]

I originally had a really long post here, but I'll just keep it short and simple. I was an idiot and didn't buy a new heatsink & fan for my i5 750 when I originally built my system, even though everyone said the stock one was horrible. For a few different reasons, I would like to buy one. Right now I'm looking at these two:

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

COOLER MASTER GeminII

I remember both of these coming up in the thread at some point, but I couldn't find it. So, which one of these looks the best? Is there another one besides these two I should get instead?

 

[mm04]

Wow. Looks like the Vapor-X is really doing its job. Thanks for the link.

Just need to save up for another 5770 now to crossfire and i think ill be set for awhile.

I just got my second Vapor-X 5770 yesterday and it makes a noticeable difference when playing Metro 2033 in Very High / DX10 / 1600 x 900. Was easily averaging over 60fps, but at the Hunter returns scene with the volumetric fog, it drops to 30 for a few seconds. I don't know what kind of PC you need to get to that scene and have it not have a huge drop in fps.

Anyway, I saw big gains in BFBC2 as well, but the 10.3 drivers cause some crazy vertical lines in some scenes when Crossfire is used. Apparently it's well documented, but who knows when it'll be fixed. My temps for both cards in full load have been somewhere been max 67C, and if you read around, that's actually pretty good.

 

[remz]

My cousin is looking at building a new PC, this is what he has so far:

GPU: XFX ATI HD5750 1G Dual DVI DL HDMI DP
CPU: AMD Phenom II 550 DualCore 3.1GHz 7MB CACHE 80W
Memory: Kingston 2GB DDR3-1333MHZ
Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case With 450W PSU
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA74GMT-S2 M/B -AMD740G/SB710 chipset/DDR3


anything thoughts, suggestions? Tips?

Hate to be a nag, but I'm just wondering if all these bits are OK.


he wants to keep it under 700$ AU and he's aiming to mianly play starcraft 2 with it.

 

[snack]

MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard. Sometimes when I bootup my computer, my mouse and/or keyboard will not be responsive forcing me to reconnect them in their USB slots. I'd say I would have to reconnect my mouse/keyboard once every 10 startups. Both are USBs. Could the problem be because of a bad connection job when I first hooked up all the wires on the motherboard and stuff? Thanks.

Hopefully someone can help. I appreciate it.

 

[gregor7777]

Taking o/c into consideration, what the least expensive route to 4GHz on a quad core?

Looking at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

...but I'm wondering if I can spare a bit of cash and hit 4GHz on another quad core CPU. Brand doesn't matter much, but I'm thinking AMD is probably where I should be looking.

Any suggestions?

 

[Caoz]

Just posted this on the 2009 thread. Sorry for that.

Just upgraded from a 3870 to a 4850 and I'm finding out that my cheapass PSU is not cutting it. Got a couple of sudden shut downs while playing dead space and I suspect is due to the PSU not having the power required. Could anyone recommend a budget PSU that will meet my needs ? here are my specs...

VGA SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI HD4850 512M
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor
HD: 500G|WD 7K 8M SATA2 WD5000
MOBO: ECS A780GM-A AM2+ AMD780G
HOS104 BD-ROM

The newegg calculator says that I need 370 watts aprox. But I am not familiar at all with PSU brands.

Thanks.

 

[rohlfinator]

Is there anything wrong with using extensions for SATA power/data cables? I want to clean up my cable management, but trying to get all four of my drives plugged in doesn't leave me with any slack. Part of my problem is that my PSU is mounted upside down at the bottom of the case, so all the power connectors are inverted from how they should be.

Taking o/c into consideration, what the least expensive route to 4GHz on a quad core?

Looking at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

...but I'm wondering if I can spare a bit of cash and hit 4GHz on another quad core CPU. Brand doesn't matter much, but I'm thinking AMD is probably where I should be looking.

Any suggestions?

I think the 955 Black Edition can make it to 4GHz also, if you want to save ~$20 from the 965. But yeah, AMD is gonna be your best bet, seeing as how the $200 i5 750 is the cheapest Intel quad-core worth getting right now.

 

[nitewulf]

*Thumbs up* Glad to hear that Cheeto... makes me want to put an SSD in my netbook too! :lol

So--- in light of looking for the perfect netbook/laptop/desktop--- I think I'm about ready to say F'it and build myself another desktop.

In looking around, this has to be the most balanced machine not hurting in performance or options and gives me a lot of wiggle room in adding more later on.

Here's the list:

Having had a Core i7 920 rig built sometime last year... I quickly realized, it was overkill for what I was going to be doing. in looking at the Core iX series that Intel has now put out... I realized just how big of a bumble-f*** the chip business is these days. In reading the difference between the i3-530 and the i5-750, the pro's vs. con's of what I'd be doing, I saw no point in paying more than $120 bucks for a chip that would squeeze out a few extra frames here or there and there was no added benefit to me having a "turbo" button on a chip that in theory, I don't need. (based of the various musings of websites.)

That said-- I've tried to strike a balance between form and function. The i3 w/ 2 cores + HT really is all I'm going to need to game on fine and do photo editing and such, and the 5770 really looks like the best GPU on the market for the value (as it's simply an upgraded 4850) in terms of what you're getting.

Gaming wise, I'll be doing that on a Dell ST2410 @ 1920*1080 of which the 1GB 5770 should do fine at. I would expect to have less AA on some titles, but that's to be expected.

The other components aside, I don't think anything is really lacking all that much. (but that's open for your opinion! )

One thing that you might ask is "why the micro ATX board?" It's weird... if you go out and look at a mATX board in a ATX tower... Dunno, something just sexy about it.... call it a fetish or whatnot but I'm going for as least amount of junk in the box as possible this go round.

That said--- ask away or critique my build. For those wondering what I used to have....
Core i7 920 @ 3.93GHz (OC'ed of course)
Gigabyte X58 UD4P
3x1GB Corsair Dominator 1600
eVGA GTX 285 1GB DDR3
WD 640GB 7200.11 (dev0) | WD 750GB 7200.10 (dev1)
DVD Burner

basically what you wanna do is swap the case and the power supply w/ an antec sonata 3 500 case that is silent and has a 500w psu. you'll be saving the 80 odd you're paying for the psu.

 

[Ecstatic]

For a while now, I've been playing to build an extreme gaming rig.
I'm working hard and should have about AU$4000 (would probably be about $2500->$3000 worth of US parts) all of which I intend to spend on the PC parts, 3 monitors and a good mouse/keyboard.

The PC will be used for heavy video/image editing and maxing out games.

What I require:
-A high-end Core i7 processor.
-As much ASUS as you can jam in to a computer (I trust this brand like no other, and when available, always opt for ASUS).
-8GB DDR3 RAM.
-Atleast a 1TB HDD, also configured with another HDD with RAID to store my OS's and programs on OR an SSD.
-Powerful graphics card.
-3x23'+ monitors (full HD, preferably with HDMI).
-Wireless G.
-An Awesome case, water cooling??

Anyone want to build me a PC or give me some tips?

 

[Pctx]

basically what you wanna do is swap the case and the power supply w/ an antec sonata 3 500 case that is silent and has a 500w psu. you'll be saving the 80 odd you're paying for the psu.

Problem is non-modular and that Antec case.... is rather bland in terms of looks. Dunno, but thanks for the heads up.

 

[Xdrive05]

Greetings, NeoGAF. Please help me choose between Windows 7 OEM vs Windows 7 Full Retail.

My understanding is that your OEM license is tied to your motherboard, so that if you upgrade your motherboard, you're supposed to buy another copy of windows. Is this true? Opinions seem divided, but some folks are saying that all you have to do is call Microsoft and explain that you had to buy a new motherboard, then they'll allow your license. Others claim that this will only work if you've purchased the Full version.

I can't seem to find an answer on Microsoft's site. Thanks in advance for your opinions.

EDIT: finally found in a twenty-levels deep FAQ. Turns out that, yes, you must buy a new copy of OEM windows with a new motherboard. If the motherboard was defective, then you must replace it with a motherboard of the same make and model in order to reinstall OEM windows.

 

[slamskank]

A friend of mine wants to upgrade his computer and I offered my help, and it turn I'm asking for advice from you guys as you know your stuff. He currently only plays league of legends but he wants a pc that will be able to run games decently, as his currently doesn't. Here's what he wants:

- A new motherboard
- Quad core
- New video card

He has a 22" monitor, chances are the native resolution is 1680x1050, he hasn't told me. He has an antec 900 case which is fine. His power supply might need to be replaced but that's easy, I'm waiting for him to get back to me on make/wattage.

I'm almost certain I will recommend the ati 5770 as it's a good card for light to moderate gaming, and if his go to game is league of legends it would be silly to push for more I think. Now the real question is what cpu + mobo combo is the best for the money. I'm an intel guy but I think amd probably has better value. What should I be looking at? I'm in Canada, plan to use shopbot and then price match with ncix.

 

[Dipper145]

I'm an intel guy but I think amd probably has better value. What should I be looking at? I'm in Canada, plan to use shopbot and then price match with ncix.

I'd go for the AMD 630 x4. Great quad core for cheap. Excellent value.

 

[SamuraiX-]

Hey guys, quick question.

I have a notebook with a Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family graphics card. I am wondering what this can be compared to in terms of more popularized graphics cards because I'm not very familiar with it. I'm basically looking to see if I'll be able to run FFXIV with it...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Riptwo]

I went to Memory Express looking for a decent 24" monitor today, and ended up with a Samsung SyncMaster F2380 because of the decent viewing angle. While the viewing angle is nice, I haven't seen ghosting this bad since the laptop I had in the 90's. Can anyone recommend a 24" monitor with minimal backlight bleeding and minimal ghosting? It would be especially swanky if said monitor was available at memoryexpress.com

 

[Cheeto]

Hey guys, quick question.

I have a notebook with a Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family graphics card. I am wondering what this can be compared to in terms of more popularized graphics cards because I'm not very familiar with it. I'm basically looking to see if I'll be able to run FFXIV with it...

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, but, Intel integrated graphics chips are terrible... basically the only reason it card be called a graphics chip is because it has the necessary power to draw a window manager. If I had to guess, you'd probably be looking at 10-15 fps at ultra low settings for FFXIV.

 

[brain_stew]

Taking o/c into consideration, what the least expensive route to 4GHz on a quad core?

Looking at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

...but I'm wondering if I can spare a bit of cash and hit 4GHz on another quad core CPU. Brand doesn't matter much, but I'm thinking AMD is probably where I should be looking.

Any suggestions?

4GHZ isn't common with AMD's chips, the i5-750 is what you want if you're willing to OC.

 

[ColdDeckEd]

I feel kinda bad for not knowing this, but can I use an i5-750 on a h55 mobo? I'm assuming I can, since other i5s work on it. Are there any drawbacks to using a h55 instead of a p55 for a i5-750? And is it worth getting the i5-750 over a i3-530, if all i'll be using it for is gaming (PCSX2 in particular)?

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Question about upgrading my old system, guys.

Right now I have-

Quad Core 6600
8800 GTS
Abit IP3 Pro Motherboard
4 Gig Ram
Creative Xi Fi soundcard
24 inch samsung monitor (1650x1050)
Lian Li Case
vista 64
western digital 500 gb hd sata

Is there anything worth upgrading? Should I just go for a new system? Everything seems good in whatever games I play, but I feel like my system may be getting on in the years...

 

[Fitz]

Is there anything worth upgrading? Should I just go for a new system? Everything seems good in whatever games I play, but I feel like my system may be getting on in the years...

Answered your own question there. If you can do/play everything you want well, then no need to upgrade. Although if you do want to upgrade, your graphics card seems like the low point of your system (although 8800GTS is a very good card) so I'd start there.

 

[gregor7777]

4GHZ isn't common with AMD's chips, the i5-750 is what you want if you're willing to OC.

Really? That wasn't the answer I was expecting. Seems people were hitting a wall around 3.8 with the chip I linked to, but I figured I could get it to 4. That 750 will be a better choice?

Decisions.

 

[hauton]

I went to Memory Express looking for a decent 24" monitor today, and ended up with a Samsung SyncMaster F2380 because of the decent viewing angle. While the viewing angle is nice, I haven't seen ghosting this bad since the laptop I had in the 90's. Can anyone recommend a 24" monitor with minimal backlight bleeding and minimal ghosting? It would be especially swanky if said monitor was available at memoryexpress.com

i picked up a e2420hd from them a month or two ago

aside from pixel jump, it's been glorious

 

[NorrenRadd]

OC'd my i5 750 to 3.6 GHz on my Hyper 212+. Ran OCCT for 8 hours last night and no problems, no temps above 55 C. Very happy

 

[Oreoleo]

Question about upgrading my old system, guys.

Right now I have-

Quad Core 6600
8800 GTS
Abit IP3 Pro Motherboard
4 Gig Ram
Creative Xi Fi soundcard
24 inch samsung monitor (1650x1050)
Lian Li Case
vista 64
western digital 500 gb hd sata

Is there anything worth upgrading? Should I just go for a new system? Everything seems good in whatever games I play, but I feel like my system may be getting on in the years...

Like the poster above me said, you've got a pretty solid system. A quad core, even a C2Q vs i5/i7 is good enough for every game out right now. If anything, you could throw a lean $150 on a HD5770 to replace the 8800GTS but other than that you're solid.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Thanks guys, great info and advice.

 

[GHG]

Really? That wasn't the answer I was expecting. Seems people were hitting a wall around 3.8 with the chip I linked to, but I figured I could get it to 4. That 750 will be a better choice?

Decisions.

If you get a good aftermarket cooler there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to git 4ghz on a Phenom 955/965 BE (that is unless you are unlucky with the chip you get).

 

[gregor7777]

If you get a good aftermarket cooler there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to git 4ghz on a Phenom 955/965 BE (that is unless you are unlucky with the chip you get).

That's what I figured.

Does the i5 750 really have that much headroom to get from 2.6->4GHz?

 

[GHG]

That's what I figured.

Does the i5 750 really have that much headroom to get from 2.6->4GHz?

Yeh they do. Again with the right cooling you should be able to get the i5 up to 4. The i7 would be easier but again thats more expensive. Bare in mind that if you go the intel route the mobo's are more expensive as well.

The choice is yours really. You should be able to get to 4 on either a phenom or i5/7 providing you get a good mobo (I recommend Gigabyte's if you're going to be doing overclocking that significant because of the dual BIOS to save you if you royally fuck up) and an aftermarket cooler.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

So PC-GAF. I need some help building a new machine. My company covers the cost in upgrading my home machine each year and everytime I build my own I either fail horribly or it goes magically okay. My last machine went magically okay! I of course want to play games but at the same time I'm not sure if I should just upgrade some components as I may be okay with what I have or should I go all out and get a new machine.

My current set up is a Shuttle XPC
Athlon 64 X2 6000+
2GB of Ram
160GB SATA 7200 RPM Samsung HDrive (Not big I know)
ATI Radeon 5670 1GB
Integrated Sound


Runs great though its so small that its loud and it heats up quickly. At the same time I'm noticing some chugs with some video work I've been doing probably due to lack of RAM. I can still play SC2 at Medium settings but obviously some other games it chugs at if I try tweaking them any higher.


Any suggestions on just upgrading specific parts or should I just go all out for a new machine. Not sure how the Athlon X2 6000+ holds up these days. Likewise I fear building a new PC so I've been kinda glancing at some really basic i5 and i7 setups. Is there some ginormous leap between those 2 processors (Obviously I know there is for that 980x i7 that is god awful expensive )

Thanks PC GAF

 

[Lost Fragment]

Got done building my new box yesterday and so far I'm very happy with it. Building went without a hitch.

...except my scroll wheel randomly stopped working last night and trying to fix it is driving me crazy. Funny how this is the thing giving me the most headache after putting a computer together from scratch.

 

[Hazaro]

So PC-GAF. I need some help building a new machine. My company covers the cost in upgrading my home machine each year and everytime I build my own I either fail horribly or it goes magically okay. My last machine went magically okay! I of course want to play games but at the same time I'm not sure if I should just upgrade some components as I may be okay with what I have or should I go all out and get a new machine.

My current set up is a Shuttle XPC
Athlon 64 X2 6000+
2GB of Ram
160GB SATA 7200 RPM Samsung HDrive (Not big I know)
ATI Radeon 5670 1GB
Integrated Sound


Runs great though its so small that its loud and it heats up quickly. At the same time I'm noticing some chugs with some video work I've been doing probably due to lack of RAM. I can still play SC2 at Medium settings but obviously some other games it chugs at if I try tweaking them any higher.


Any suggestions on just upgrading specific parts or should I just go all out for a new machine. Not sure how the Athlon X2 6000+ holds up these days. Likewise I fear building a new PC so I've been kinda glancing at some really basic i5 and i7 setups. Is there some ginormous leap between those 2 processors (Obviously I know there is for that 980x i7 that is god awful expensive )

Thanks PC GAF

How much are you looking to spend? Also see top post in OP for what you are looking for.

Additionally download CPU-Z and check what make/model your motherboard is.

 

[DodgyGeezerFella]

Question for Tech Gaf ™ -

System has an AMD X2 240 CPU, 4GB DDR2 and an ATI 5770 1GB, Crysis & Warhead run smooth as butter on High (not FPS, which is still good, i mean stuttering, hitching etc).

Format the computer, stick in a GTX 280 1GB, get the latest drivers and load up Crysis/Warhead again, using the same settings as the 5770, the game stutters like a bitch, and the only way to get rid of it is to drop texture/object settings to medium.

Why would this happen ? Does the 280 require a fast mofo of a CPU to feed it the data quicker ? I dont think its the power supply, its a Corsair VX 550w. So what gives ? I realise the CPU is pretty low end, but i find it strange that the 5770 runs it fine whereas the 280 stutters badly.

 

[Hazaro]

Try reinstalling the drivers... did you have a custom config file set up for Crysis? Does it happen in any other games?

Make sure PCI-E bandiwth is at 16x (check using CPU-Z) if it isn't set PCI-E Mhz to 100 or 101.

 

[GHG]

Driver sweeper is your answer. http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/

Completely clean out all of your video card drivers and then do a fresh install of the Nvidia ones.

Failing that, check your PSU. It might not be strong enough.

 

[DodgyGeezerFella]

Try reinstalling the drivers... did you have a custom config file set up for Crysis? Does it happen in any other games?

Make sure PCI-E bandiwth is at 16x (check using CPU-Z) if it isn't set PCI-E Mhz to 100 or 101.

Tried a range of drivers, from the latest to 191.07, no change. Never used a custom config so cant be that, other games run absolutely fine (Metro 2033, Bad Company 2, Borderlands etc). GPU-z reports PCI-e is "currently running at x16 2.0".

I guess the Mhz option is in the bios ?

Driver sweeper is your answer. http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/

Completely clean out all of your video card drivers and then do a fresh install of the Nvidia ones.

Failing that, check your PSU. It might not be strong enough.

I installed the GTX 280 on a fresh install of windows, so i think (i hope !) there shouldnt be any driver conflicts. PSU is brand new, looking into the specs i clear the requirements power wise for the 280 (41A on the +12v). Im stumped :/ Unless the 280 itself is being dodgy.....

 

[Hazaro]

Tried a range of drivers, from the latest to 191.07, no change. Never used a custom config so cant be that, other games run absolutely fine (Metro 2033, Bad Company 2, Borderlands etc). GPU-z reports PCI-e is "currently running at x16 2.0".

I guess the Mhz option is in the bios ?



I installed the GTX 280 on a fresh install of windows, so i think (i hope !) there shouldnt be any driver conflicts. PSU is brand new, looking into the specs i clear the requirements power wise for the 280 (41A on the +12v). Im stumped :/ Unless the 280 itself is being dodgy.....

If it is at 16x no need to lock a frequency. (Yes the option would be in BIOS).

I'm guessing it's just some weird Crysis issue then. You should give a custom config a try and see if it helps anything (tweaks setting to make it look nicer and give you better fps).
HP 1.3.1 (Something like this) and Mster I like

http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=13790
http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=28937&page=1

 

[Jin34]

Hmm now that you guys mention the x16 thing, what would be the effect of running a card at x8? Not Crossfire/Sli cards, but a single card.

 

[Hazaro]

Hmm now that you guys mention the x16 thing, what would be the effect of running a card at x8? Not Crossfire/Sli cards, but a single card.

Wouldn't really notice on a PCI-E 1.1 8x connection
On modern PCI-E 2.0 the 8x is a 16x 1.1 so it would be the same.

It's only when you are on 1x or 4x pushing semi demanding games (Hence why a lot of cheaper xfire or SLi boards were 16x and 8x or even 8x 8x until chipsets were good enough)

Of course I'm talking about single GPU here, and not the $500 cards of today.

 

[Jin34]

Ok good to know, its just my best friend's mobo has a PCI-E slot that is x16 but runs at x8, so we had to make sure before buying a card (yes its an old mobo).

 

[Hazaro]

Ok good to know, its just my best friend's mobo has a PCI-E slot that is x16 but runs at x8, so we had to make sure before buying a card (yes its an old mobo).

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/7.html

Here's the article I remembered reading.

Note it is 2.0 so you're looking at the 4x vs 8x numbers (to compare 1.1's 8x and 16x)

The other examples of testing show even less difference than that.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

How much are you looking to spend? Also see top post in OP for what you are looking for.

Additionally download CPU-Z and check what make/model your motherboard is.

750 to 1000. Would love to not hit 1000 but I don't know. Maybe ill get a Phenom instead.

CPU-Z
Processor

Mobo

Thanks Haz!

 

[x3sphere]

His monitor is way better tho', size isn't everything.

Way better in what respect? The 3008WFP has a higher resolution.. 2560x1600 vs 2560x1440. Both are IPS panels. As far as any other specs go they are basically on equal ground. The 3008WFP has been Dell's top of the line monitor for over a year now so yes it is older, but not inferior.