I tend to just use Gizmo's Freeware Reviews site. They go over any number of programs and give advice on what to use. As for security on Windows 7 I just go with Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials.
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Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition
- Thread starter Spy
- Start date
longdi
Banned
general things like mse or avira for your free av.
malwarebytes to use in conjunction with your av.
realtemp to monitor your cpu core temp.
hwmonitor to monitor other components.
gpuz to monitor your gpu.
ccleaner to clear your porn tracks!
make sure to get the 64bit versions.
this is a cool program http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
autoruns, able to tweak startup items, view through your registry etc.
dont forgot to install your ssd/hdd as ahci. select from your bios to change from ide/mix to ahci. though i heard you could config your hdd as raid with intel chipset even if you not raiding them now, for even better performance. did not have the chance to try with mine, so cannot be too sure how it works aside from needing a floppy.
malwarebytes to use in conjunction with your av.
realtemp to monitor your cpu core temp.
hwmonitor to monitor other components.
gpuz to monitor your gpu.
ccleaner to clear your porn tracks!
make sure to get the 64bit versions.
this is a cool program http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
autoruns, able to tweak startup items, view through your registry etc.
dont forgot to install your ssd/hdd as ahci. select from your bios to change from ide/mix to ahci. though i heard you could config your hdd as raid with intel chipset even if you not raiding them now, for even better performance. did not have the chance to try with mine, so cannot be too sure how it works aside from needing a floppy.
Minsc
Gold Member
File Hippo is a decent place to find things.
I'd use 7zip over winrar, but that's a minor preference thing. Get VLC media player and MPC HC (people on GAF prefer this one, but I'm partial to VLC, as it works fine for me).
MSE, you'll appreciate the humor I hope, I can't link directly, as I'm on a Mac and I just get an error page.
If I were home I could link to a bunch of other programs, Cropper blows away the built in screenshot app.
You'll want to get FRAPS of course, and register it if you haven't, to contribute to the screenshot thread.
Also use D3DOverrider from Rivatuner for v-sync when it's not available and superior v-sync when it is..
I'd use 7zip over winrar, but that's a minor preference thing. Get VLC media player and MPC HC (people on GAF prefer this one, but I'm partial to VLC, as it works fine for me).
MSE, you'll appreciate the humor I hope, I can't link directly, as I'm on a Mac and I just get an error page.
If I were home I could link to a bunch of other programs, Cropper blows away the built in screenshot app.
You'll want to get FRAPS of course, and register it if you haven't, to contribute to the screenshot thread.
Also use D3DOverrider from Rivatuner for v-sync when it's not available and superior v-sync when it is..
diztrukted
Member
question for my fellow enthusiasts, nearly done with my build and i need to make a choice for an HDD. Newegg is selling the Western Digital VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX 600GB (you know, the one with the crazy 10000 rpm's) it's a bit pricey but I'm more than willing to shell out the money for it ($279 to be exact). Now originally I had planned to get the Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB hdd which goes for $149.
obviously, more space and cheaper would be the natural choice, but for a gaming pc which of the two would be best for me. oh, and I probably should've prefaced this with my pc specs earlier but I have an 80 GB SSD plus a 160 GB Seagate HDD that I plan to use when I build this...what should i do?
obviously, more space and cheaper would be the natural choice, but for a gaming pc which of the two would be best for me. oh, and I probably should've prefaced this with my pc specs earlier but I have an 80 GB SSD plus a 160 GB Seagate HDD that I plan to use when I build this...what should i do?
Odious Tea
Member
With your luck, the installation process will set off an electromagnetic reaction inside your case. But I'm holding out for you! :lolAmir0x said:Sweet. Thanks for the tips. Alright, starting the process now
Fuck no. Get a larger SSD and a Samsung Spinpoint F3.diztrukted said:
rohlfinator
Member
I second this. Or just keep your current SSD -- 80GB is plenty for an OS install as long as you're smart about not cluttering it up.Odious Tea said:
The difference in game load times between a VelociRaptor and a "normal" HDD are pretty minimal, and a good SSD will spank the Raptor in anything that involves multitasking.
Cheeto said:
OEM version = install on one (model of) motherboard
retail version = multiple installs
Best way to go is check those price matching websites. I recently picked up home premium OEM for about 85$ CDN.
There also appears to be some methods of using upgrade discs and full installs as well. Haven't tried it myself.
Alright, so, like I said earlier, looking to build a decent gaming rig and stay under $750.
I may have found a deal that helps me do this, so let me know what y'all think.
So, this place in DFW, Micro Center, like I said, they have i7-930s for $199.99. Granted, it's not online, so there would be sales tax, but even then, it works out better than Amazon or Newegg or whatnot.
Well, that's still going on, but here's what posted today.
If you buy an i7-860 for $230, there's a $35 off bundle with one of two motherboards, and both motherboards have mail in rebates.
The "Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 P55 ATX Motherboard" is $100 after bundle and rebates.
The "Asus Computer International P7P55-M Socket 1156 P55 mATX Motherboard" is $55 after bundle and rebates.
* * *
Alternatively, and I don't even know for sure that this would be compatible, the i7-930 is still $200, $30 cheaper than the i7-860, so you can get those same cards with rebates, without the "$35 off" bundle, so it's $5 more. I am too far behind to understand what I am deciding between here, though, in picking between the i7-860 and the i7-930. I know the 930 is newer.
I'm thinking either way, the Gigabyte motherboard would be the better deal based on the reviews I've seen on Newegg for the Asus one. But I'm not certain about what is compatible with what.
This would be, after tax and mail-in rebates:
$358.85 for an I7-860 and the Gigabyte mobo.
$364.27 for an I7-930 and the Gigabyte mobo.
$309.73 for an I7-860 and the Asus mobo.
My budget is still $750; I'd still need RAM, video card, PSU, and a case.
Thoughts? Good idea, bad idea? Go with AMD instead? I don't know.
I may have found a deal that helps me do this, so let me know what y'all think.
So, this place in DFW, Micro Center, like I said, they have i7-930s for $199.99. Granted, it's not online, so there would be sales tax, but even then, it works out better than Amazon or Newegg or whatnot.
Well, that's still going on, but here's what posted today.
If you buy an i7-860 for $230, there's a $35 off bundle with one of two motherboards, and both motherboards have mail in rebates.
The "Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 P55 ATX Motherboard" is $100 after bundle and rebates.
The "Asus Computer International P7P55-M Socket 1156 P55 mATX Motherboard" is $55 after bundle and rebates.
* * *
Alternatively, and I don't even know for sure that this would be compatible, the i7-930 is still $200, $30 cheaper than the i7-860, so you can get those same cards with rebates, without the "$35 off" bundle, so it's $5 more. I am too far behind to understand what I am deciding between here, though, in picking between the i7-860 and the i7-930. I know the 930 is newer.
I'm thinking either way, the Gigabyte motherboard would be the better deal based on the reviews I've seen on Newegg for the Asus one. But I'm not certain about what is compatible with what.
This would be, after tax and mail-in rebates:
$358.85 for an I7-860 and the Gigabyte mobo.
$364.27 for an I7-930 and the Gigabyte mobo.
$309.73 for an I7-860 and the Asus mobo.
My budget is still $750; I'd still need RAM, video card, PSU, and a case.
Thoughts? Good idea, bad idea? Go with AMD instead? I don't know.
longdi
Banned
i7 930 if you going to overclock (3.8 - 4.2ghz), add a second gpu (full pci-e 2.0), buy a future 6 cores cpu, buy usb3/sata3 capable board (full speed) you need to buy 3 sticks of ram for triple channel.
i7 860 is better at stock speed, slightly lower power consumption and overclock well enough (3.5 - 4ghz). usb3/sata3 are limited.
i7 860 is better at stock speed, slightly lower power consumption and overclock well enough (3.5 - 4ghz). usb3/sata3 are limited.
Dipper145 said:
Well, it doesn't have to be an i5 / i7, but those do seem to be a good way to go and they have had some good sales on them lately.
I figure, cut corners on the case (nothing fancy) and hard drive (can live with a smaller one), get 4 GB of ram to start with and expand to 6 GB later... Maybe I could make it work.
There's that one PSU / Case combo in TechReport's March 2010 guide, too... (~$100)
For a HD, there's a Caviar Black 500 GB that looks quite fine (~$65).
That leaves... yeah, not enough left for RAM and a video card.
Or maybe...
$369.27, + up to $100 for the case & power supply, + up to $70 for the HD... up to $75 for the RAM... hrm... still only leaves $136 for the video card, and then we're still missing a DVD drive, let alone a burner, unless I harvest one from a previous PC... Bah.
Even with this sale, still not going to make it.
diztrukted
Member
Odious Tea said:
rohlfinator said:
well, I'm sold....saves me a ton of money too!
may I ask why the samsung spinpoint specifically?
Druz
Member
Amir0x said:Sweet. Thanks for the tips. Alright, starting the process now
I've coveted this link for eons and I'm ready to share.
http://airopia.org/technology/100-free-hd-widescreen-nature-wallpapers
Don't know how familiar you are with windows 7, but find the directory you extract the images to and just select all. Ever 15 minutes or so it'll change backgrounds.
Odious Tea
Member
Yeah, it's a massive waste of money. 2 500GB platters. Less platters=more speed. And really, if you already have an SSD and an HDD, there's no real reason to upgrade unless you need the space or your HDD is failing.diztrukted said:well, I'm sold....saves me a ton of money too!
I've started to build a new cooling solution for my system since last week because I had to many temp issues; more on this later. Look at what I just received by the mail: A passive VGA cooler
Will post more pictures and temp differences between the old CuCore stock cooler on the Asus EAH5770 CuCore and this Arctic Cooler Accelero S1.
Will post more pictures and temp differences between the old CuCore stock cooler on the Asus EAH5770 CuCore and this Arctic Cooler Accelero S1.
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Okay guys I need to do a cheap upgrade.
Currently I'm running the first gen C2D E6300 @ 1.866 with an abit mobo that only has PCI-E 1.0. Now they updated the bios a while while back so it supports the full line of C2Ds now.
I'm happy with the rest of my system in terms of RAM, my 4830 Ati card, HDD, psu, monitor etc... so it's down to either a cheap cpu swap OR since my mobo is only PCI-E 1.0.....
I'm thinking maybe a cheap AMD setup, but I'm not as up to date on the naming scheme with AMD. Only thing the AMD setup has to have is support for my DDR2 ram along with your normal ports and stuff. Oh and just fit in my normal case so no micro boards.
Beyond that I'd like to keep this under $200 and the cheaper the better obviously cause I'm not that picky and don't need something to hella OC. Stock going will be fine. I'm thinking maybe an Athlon II X4?
Currently I'm running the first gen C2D E6300 @ 1.866 with an abit mobo that only has PCI-E 1.0. Now they updated the bios a while while back so it supports the full line of C2Ds now.
I'm happy with the rest of my system in terms of RAM, my 4830 Ati card, HDD, psu, monitor etc... so it's down to either a cheap cpu swap OR since my mobo is only PCI-E 1.0.....
I'm thinking maybe a cheap AMD setup, but I'm not as up to date on the naming scheme with AMD. Only thing the AMD setup has to have is support for my DDR2 ram along with your normal ports and stuff. Oh and just fit in my normal case so no micro boards.
Beyond that I'd like to keep this under $200 and the cheaper the better obviously cause I'm not that picky and don't need something to hella OC. Stock going will be fine. I'm thinking maybe an Athlon II X4?
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:Boy installing Windows 7 takes a long time. It feels like my PC isn't fast at all with all the stuttering! :<
can't wait til this part is over
It will be so much faster when that's over! Accessing data is a SSD's specialty, not writing it!
I mentioned it before, but make sure to get ATi's drivers from their website, not the ones on your CD from the video card!
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:
Yup! Just the main package (64-bit). SSD fast enough for you? I can open firefox with like 20 tabs restored from my previous session, load other programs simultaneously and it all goes silently without a skip, and fast as hell to boot!
Edit: You're not going to like me saying this, but when you upgrade GPU drivers, you really should create a backup image of your OS drive! :lol
The proper way to upgrade (worked for me for three versions so far on my 5870) is to make a backup image of your computer (optional, but recommended), have the new drivers downloaded and uninstall your drivers completely (everything), restart and install the new drivers, and then restart after they install (required).
And of course, only upgrade if you have a specific reason to. Upgrading your GPU drivers more than a couple times a year is asking for trouble imo!
Minsc said:
Actually the DVD drive speed is the most likely bottleneck .. I installed W7 Ultimate x64 from a 4 gig usb stick on a Intel 80g Postville and it took like 15 mins
never again will I use optical media to install an OS 
Amir0x said:
hehe best thing with SSD is that the pc will still feel as fast during the years to come :lol
my old pcs always felt lightning quick the first months, but unless you reinstalled windows every half year it just got slower and slower
now after 8 months it still boots up Photoshop & InDesign simultaneously within 10 seconds
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:
Type "resource monitor" in to the search box after clicking the windows icon and marvel at all your cores when you click the CPU tab!
Shame my gaming tastes don't overlap yours much, your posts are quite entertaining
And, yes, 64-bit OSs are a must these days, no reason for 32-bit, not even if you enjoy older games like me!
n0n44m said:
I guess the one good thing about not being able to justify the cost of those programs for home use and being stuck with Corel Photo-Paint X4 is it loads up in like 1 second
Gully State
Member
Vic said:I've started to build a new cooling solution for my system since last week because I had to many temp issues; more on this later. Look at what I just received by the mail: A passive VGA cooler
Will post more pictures and temp differences between the old CuCore stock cooler on the Asus EAH5770 CuCore and this Arctic Cooler Accelero S1.
Had one of these for my 4850 and and it dropped both load and idle temps by 10C without a fan, and almost by 20C with a 120mm fan strapped on. I was idling at 25C with the fan and around 42C at full load..
Deus Ex Machina
Member
DanDeschain
Member
I can't wait till next Saturday. I will be on the same high as you AmirOx. Going from a 6 year old P4 with a gig of ram and a 9800GTX+ to a Core I5 750, 4 gigs of ram to start, and a 5770.
You'd need an insane amount of pressure to break the dieVic said:Well, seems that the party is over: seems that I've crushed the GPU die by pressing on it too strongly while joining the video card and cooler together. Unless I find a way to resurrect the card, this card is broken.
My fault
Pictures? (Die, cooler, etc.)
I've installed an S1 myself (amazingly good cooler) and didn't run into that problem. I did have to superglue/thermal paste the RAMsinks on though.
:lolAmir0x said:
evil solrac v3.0
Member
Amir0x said:
I bet you you had the mouse and keyboard plugged in right? same thing happened to me when i first made my PC... LOL, it was so funny.
Almost every time I've had a problem with random reboots its been memory errors, I'd run memtest to be sure you don't have a bad dimm.Amir0x said:
Go to http://www.ubcd4win.com/ and burn that boot disk... it should be filled with diags.
TouchMyBox
Member
Amir0x said:
Were you installing drivers when that happened?
If so, that's totally normal.
BravoSuperStar
Member
windows taking a long time to install and random shutdowns are most likely RAM related issues.
Vic said:Well, seems that the party is over: seems that I've crushed the GPU die by pressing on it too strongly while joining the video card and cooler together. Unless I find a way to resurrect the card, this card is broken.
My fault
Damn. That's a real bummer. Have you had a chance yet to attempt any resurrections? In my experience those things tend to be built like tanks. I've bent the socket on my CPU before, but it's kept on going.
Not to be morbid, but any pictures? I just ordered one of these myself (based on your post; I'm sick of my noisy gpu fan), so i'd like to see what's going on with it.
Hopefully it will work out for you.
Minsc
Gold Member
Amir0x said:
With 12GBs of RAM you're definitely a candidate for a bad stick.
It is possible Windows downloaded a high priority update and restarted on it's own, but unlikely, unless you just missed the alert that pops up when it does so. If it continues to happen, do the memtest thing overnight. Nothing like breaking in a stubborn PC... so glad mine wasn't that much trouble!
Minsc said:With 12GBs of RAM you're definitely a candidate for a bad stick.
If it continues to happen, do the memtest thing overnight. Nothing like breaking in a stubborn PC... so glad mine wasn't that much trouble!
no i have 6GB of RAM. Anyway, the computer registers 6GB of RAM fine. Dont know if that means anything
We'll see how this goes for a while. Good times