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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition

Just upgraded my rig to an i7. Originally I had a Core 2 Duo (2.66 GHz), 2GB of RAM, and a ATi Radeon HD 4850.

Now my specs are:

Intel Core i7-930
4GB RAM
ATi Radeon HD 5750 - 1GB DDR5

So far, I'm definitely enjoying the boost. Most games I can turn the turn the settings all the way up without any sort of drop in framerate. Playing through Mass Effect 2 at the moment this way on my HDTV. Only thing left to do is get my Radeon HD 4850 and 5750 to run in Crossfire mode. Just need to find the right cable to plug the second card into my PSU.
 
The main draw of the i7 875 is it's unlocked multiplier without the Extreme Edition price tag. But from the review I read, the processor doesn't overclock well enough to take advantage of that unlocked multiplier. So you pay a premium but it isn't going to overclock any better than an i7 860.
 
Flying_Phoenix said:
Thanks alot brain_stew. I feel much better now.

Anyway in case anybody's interested in my progression here's my newest build (keep in mind I still have that cooler I'm going to buy):

2eksugo.png
Click to expand...
I'd get this SSD if you want to save a bit of money (Mostly comparable performance)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139136

Also get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128443
or this (for xfire): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131631

You should have SATA 6Gbps for an SSD. Even though the read speeds on the current SSD's (Besides high end / C300) don't max, they are coming close.
*Also you want 2x2GB now.
LaneDS said:
Thanks for the response, first off.

The system consistently has problems, whether it's random lockups, very slow hard drive performance, or consistently underwhelming performance in games like Starcraft 2 (I play on low settings just because it lags considerably on higher settings, despite the game recommending Ultra everything).

Dumb question on the dual channel thing, how can I get that working? The system actually has 6 GB present but I downgrade to XP so I can only use 3GB of it. There are 4 DIMMS, 2 1GB sticks and 2 GB sticks, all of which I believe are PC6400. My understanding of Dual Channel memory is clearly not very good.
Click to expand...
I'd just have 2x2GB running. Bit easier workload on mobo and might fix some of the issues you are having.
Just run the RAM in the proper slots. CPU-Z will tell you if it is in dual channel or not.

*Run Prime95/ORTHOS to test CPU, run FURMARK to test the GPU, run memtest86+ to test RAM. Use RealTemp/CoreTemp/GPU-Z to tell you temperatures. CPU < 70C, GPU < 90C
MiniBossman said:
So with the talk in the thread the i7 875K might be overrated?

What would be the better bang for my buck? and where might the savings be better spent?
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I'd get a 750. Also a motherboard with SATA 6 for your SSD. Also might look at the 128GB Kingston / WD Blue if you want more space.
 
Hazaro said:
HDTach and... something else I can't remember.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

My average read is 230.6 MB/s. Ive seen other benchmarks for the crucial c300 64gb putting it at 319 MB/s. ANy reason for this? Is it because my mobo only supports 3GB/s while the benchmark I saw was on a mobo supporting 6GB/s?
 
Salaadin said:
Thanks.

My average read is 230.6 MB/s. Ive seen other benchmarks for the crucial c300 64gb putting it at 319 MB/s. ANy reason for this? Is it because my mobo only supports 3GB/s while the benchmark I saw was on a mobo supporting 6GB/s?
Click to expand...
CrystalDiskMark was the other one.
And yes if you are on SATA 3 that could be it.
The C300 is the fastest reading SSD on the market by a bit if I remember right. I wouldn't worry that much since that is the ideal case and normally even on 2MB sequential files you will still pull 230/260MB/s.

For comparison standard HDD's are around 110MB/s. But more importantly normal HDD's do 0.5MB/s on 4k while a good SSD does anywhere from 9-80MB/s
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/SSD/83
Stupid fast
 
Its still wayyy faster than my WD Caviar Black so Im not complaining. Just making sure nothing is screwed up. Thanks for the info again....as usual :D
 
Salaadin said:
Its still wayyy faster than my WD Caviar Black so Im not complaining. Just making sure nothing is screwed up. Thanks for the info again....as usual :D
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What have you noticed / enjoyed so far?
SSD will probably be my next upgrade this winter along with a possible new CPU/Mobo/GPU/RAM... :lol
 
Hazaro said:
What have you noticed / enjoyed so far?
SSD will probably be my next upgrade this winter along with a possible new CPU/Mobo/GPU/RAM... :lol
Click to expand...

The big thing for me was FFXIV. Ive read some things about how SSDs can help with MMOs even if its just a small bit so aside from being an OS drive, I planned on making it a FFXIV drive. As a test, I put the benchmark (I know its broken, but still :p) on it and saw a crazy increase in the 720p bench...jumping up 1600 points to a whopping 5364. 1080p almost broke 4000 also (3988).

Windows startup is actually very nice as well. I type in my password and hit enter and in the blink of an eye, everything I need is right there. It feels the way it should feel.

So yeah, seeing these increases already has me thinking about getting another and I havent even owned this thing for 3 days. I kinda wish I got a bigger one but at the same time, the price for a larger drive isnt exactly right for me yet. As soon as I have another 150 bucks to spend, I think itll be going towards another c300 64GB so I can be more easy going about what I install and what drive I put it on.

A few weeks ago, I was also considering buying another HDD for my PC but Id rather save the cash and just get another SSD when I can. Space isnt much of a concern for me right now anyways and I feel like once Im good to get another SSD, the prices might have come down some and I can go bigger.
 
Salaadin said:
A few weeks ago, I was also considering buying another HDD for my PC but Id rather save the cash and just get another SSD when I can. Space isnt much of a concern for me right now anyways and I feel like once Im good to get another SSD, the prices might have come down some and I can go bigger.
Click to expand...
Projected new manufacturing process should start up late this year. Hopefully we can see another SSD price reduction in many products early 2011 or even late 2010.
 
So I'm running that CrystalDisk Mark and getting read/write speeds of about 1-2MB currently. Is that the sign of a failing hard drive? I'm not sure how to go about trying to fix that, but it's clearly the main problem I'm having currently.
 
Another weekend, another revision to my build. After reading article upon article about the 980x decided that I'm gonna pass on that and most likely go with the AMD X6 1055T. This way I still get my 6 cores while also using that $800 leftover from the 980x on a monitor, Win 7 Pro, and some other things. Here's where I'm at now and I think I'm getting closer to ordering my machine (hopefully by end of month/early August).

AMD X6 1055T
ASUS Crosshair IV
Antech 1200 case
Patriot 8GB RAM
GTX 480
Corsair 750W PS
Samsung F3 1GB HDD
Intel X-25 80GB SSD
Sony DVD drive
Windows 7 PRO
ASUS VH222H 22'' monitor
Hyper 212+ heatsink

Total: $1,990.

I feel much better about this build. I still keep the 480 in and the SSD, but I'm also able to add Windows 7 Pro and a monitor and still keep it under $2,000 as opposed to $2,500 ish for the 980x build w/o Win7 and the monitor.

I also added 212+ in here. I read that people were able to get the 1055t up to 3.8ghz - 3.9 with this on and that is pretty sweet.

I'm really thinking this is the system I'm going to get :D . As a gaming machine this should last me a very long time and the 6 cores @ 3.5+ ghz should as well.
 
Kintaro said:
I'll hold off then. Thanks for the info. A new video card for FF XIV, Cataclysm and more would make a nice Xmas present to myself. :D
Click to expand...

Don't read into the rumours too much. We might 'hear' about the 6000 series by the end of the year but that means we'll see a soft launch at earliest in the spring and won't find decent stocks of the cards until next summer. You can always keep waiting to see the next greatest thing but you have to jump in the pool sometime.
 
LaneDS said:
So I'm running that CrystalDisk Mark and getting read/write speeds of about 1-2MB currently. Is that the sign of a failing hard drive? I'm not sure how to go about trying to fix that, but it's clearly the main problem I'm having currently.
Click to expand...
Uh yeah that's not good.
Run HDTach and rerun Crystal after a clean reboot (close all other programs to make sure).
But that sounds like all the symptoms of a dying HDD for sure. I know because I had to go through the same stuff when my HDD was kicking the bucket. Get all your important data off ASAP.
Smokey said:
Another weekend, another revision to my build. After reading article upon article about the 980x decided that I'm gonna pass on that and most likely go with the AMD X6 1055T. This way I still get my 6 cores while also using that $800 leftover from the 980x on a monitor, Win 7 Pro, and some other things. Here's where I'm at now and I think I'm getting closer to ordering my machine (hopefully by end of month/early August).
Click to expand...
Looks good.
 
Shambles said:
Don't read into the rumours too much. We might 'hear' about the 6000 series by the end of the year but that means we'll see a soft launch at earliest in the spring and won't find decent stocks of the cards until next summer. You can always keep waiting to see the next greatest thing but you have to jump in the pool sometime.
Click to expand...

When FF XIV comes along, I'll see how my resolve is. I'll probably bite on a 460 around September. :lol I know me.
 
I'm looking to pick up a new Laptop in about the $800 range, mainly used for business but some gaming as well on the side (Mainly Sc2, World of Warcraft). Needs a 17" screen.
 
·feist· said:
Dude, $20 at Microcenter

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0315397

As someone who has a spare Arctic Freezer Pro lying around, I would not advise getting one at $28 when you can buy a 212+ for $30 all day. Being able to save an extra $10 by picking one up online or in store from MC while it's still on sale is that much better.
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I figured this was an instore only deal like the i7. My bad.
 
Not at all, you've been supremely helpful to a number of users in this thread. I still check the link before I post it (just in case they change it up) because it seems like something that would be just like their i7 deals. Once MC's sale ends, I think Amazon will be the best online choice for that HSF since they have free shipping as well as no tax in most states. Also, I've never ordered online from MC, so they may not be up to Newegg/Amazon standards as far as packaging, speed and CS.
 
so if i really wanted a performance boost from my gtx 260 sli'd i'd have to be looking at a gtx 480 or 5870, 5970? my main thing is it has to be DX11 and above my current performance. (example, 22-30 FPS 1920x1200 maximum settings crysis, etc) basically i'd want to get over 30 FPs in that game and metro 2033.
 
So, PC-GAF, I'm going to admit I was wrong about PC gaming. A few years ago, I tried to get into PC gaming, and was met with glitches, intrusive DRM, terrible performance despite having a high end computer, shoddy ports of console games, downloading patches for older games for hours on end, then applying them and having them break my game more, and only one good game every several months.

Recently, I started getting a bit tired of the way consoles are going with all of this motion control stuff, DRM, paying for what is essentially peer to peer internet, and priority on online multiplayer over a good single player experience.

I decided to take the plunge and download Steam and buy a game, just to see why on earth people who play on PCs never seem to buy their games boxed anymore.

The game I picked up was Torchlight, and honestly, it's one of the best games I've played in a long time, and it runs at a smooth 60FPS constantly, even on my relatively old computer, and, even better, after I bought and downloaded it, it patched itself and ran without a single issue.

Now, thanks to Steam, I want to get back into PC gaming in a big way again, but I'm not too up to date on what the best hardware is for the money.

A few key points:
  • I am in the UK, so I generally use Novatech to shop for my computer parts, but if anyone has any suggestions for another store, I have no problems with that
  • I don't want to buy a prebuilt.
  • I want to be able to run games with settings at Medium or High (excluding Crysis/Metro 2033) at around 45-60 FPS
  • I'd like for it to at least last me for a year or so before I have to upgrade again
  • I have a total of around £1000 to spend on a computer, but I don't want to end up buying parts that cost £50 more and only offer a slight performance boost over a slightly lower model part.

If no one can be bothered to help me with a full build, then some simple advice on the best bang for my buck pc components would be fine, similar to how everyone had a Core 2 Duo and an 8800GT a couple of years ago.

Short version: Build me a decent gaming PC for up to £1000 on Novatech or tell me what parts are awesome on the price for performance scale nowadays so I can do it myself.

Thanks in advance for any advice offered.
 
Just a quick FYI..

The Hyper 212+ is a great cooler. BUT...

I found the CM fan that comes standard a bit loud. Since it accepts speed control, it also likes to "rev" a lot when the processor clocks itself up/down.

I've since replaced it with a Noctua fan (along with the rest of my PC fans) and my machine is basically now dead silent.
 
Hey thinking about selling one of my computer towers since it just sits there and collects dust, just wondering what you guys think its worth. Its an Hp Pavilion thats about 1.5years old, and has the following specs:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4450 2.3Ghz Cpu
2GB DDR2 PC2-6400
320GB Hard drive
Nforce 430/ Geforce 6150se IGP
PCI Wireless Adapter

Windows Vista Home Premium

Bought for about 400$

What you guys think?
 
fugimax said:
I've since replaced it with a Noctua fan (along with the rest of my PC fans) and my machine is basically now dead silent.
Click to expand...
Which Noctua fan did you replace it with and how difficult was it to do?
 
So yeah ended up picking this RAM. Yeah it's not the fastest (9 latency) but it is DDR3 and very cheap.

Also I'm a college student, is there a way for me to get Windows 7 for free or very cheap? I hear people talk about getting it for free (legitimately) but I don't know where. I type it into Google and get no luck.
 
Flying_Phoenix said:
So yeah ended up picking this RAM. Yeah it's not the fastest (9 latency) but it is DDR3 and very cheap.

Also I'm a college student, is there a way for me to get Windows 7 for free or very cheap? I hear people talk about getting it for free (legitimately) but I don't know where. I type it into Google and get no luck.
Click to expand...

Edit: Wait it looks like it may just be an upgrade dont know if you would need another os first
Heres a student option for 30 bucks, windows 7 pro, enjoy lol

http://www.microsoft.com/student/office/en-us/default.aspx
 
Flying_Phoenix said:
Thanks alot brain_stew. I feel much better now.

Anyway in case anybody's interested in my progression here's my newest build (keep in mind I still have that cooler I'm going to buy):

2eksugo.png
Click to expand...

It will be tweaked but also significantly better than anything on the market now. Just not as much better as new architecture would have been.

You shouldn't worry anyway. A 460 will play games for the next 3 years easily. Most people I know still use an 8800 and c2d's and they play everything just fine. I myself have a 5770 and an E8400 and I have not found a game I couldn't play.

Though technology moves on rather quickly, we are at a point where there is a lot of overkill for gaming. So you can hold onto your parts far longer.

I was going to upgrade a couple months ago but decided against it. Simply because my old rig still plays everything. When SWTOR, Diablo 3 and the other games I am interested in playing with my Clan I will do a big upgrade then. Which is 2011. So my parts have lasted me a long time and have worked great. Yours will to.

Hell the only reason I got the 5770 was b/c my 9800GTX bit the dust and I knew enough about computers to know I didn't need a 5850 or 5870 even though I game on my PC everyday.
 
Has anyone had any experience with Dino PC? I'm about to pull the trigger on one of their pc's which seems significantly cheaper than anywhere else (i3, 4 gig etc for £370) but I've heard some bad things about it along with their dubious financial history...
 
Ash_69 said:
Has anyone had any experience with Dino PC? I'm about to pull the trigger on one of their pc's which seems significantly cheaper than anywhere else (i3, 4 gig etc for £370) but I've heard some bad things about it along with their dubious financial history...
Click to expand...
I bought my current pc from them last April and the only
problem I had was my psu blowing up twice as it was a shitty no brand one, they replaced it for free but in the end I paid more for a much better model, been fine since.

*edit* fixed some words, shitty touchpad keyboard this morning sucked.
 
Hazaro said:
:lol Come on man. The image directly above the one has this...
Like I said it completely depends on what software you are using.

In general the i5/i7 is better at video/CS stuff. However certain software may make use of the extra cores. I'm just saying it can vary and people should look into it.
handbrake.gif
Click to expand...

:lol yourself

That's a only 10% faster and the 1090T has a 10% clock advantage. The X6s are not "far better" than i7s, that is what I was saying. The person I quoted was saying clock for clock, the X6s are significantly faster than the i7s, and they aren't.

In fact, in my bench the i7 was 100% faster. And I don't know how you can say or think X6s or significantly better than i7s when I can put up a bench with an i7 beating an X6 for every bench you put up the other way around.

And the ones that matter, like photoshop, as I said are faster w/ the i7.

Let's not even mention gaming, that is skewed like around 80/20 in favor of the i7s clock for clock.

Salaadin said:
A few weeks ago, I was also considering buying another HDD for my PC but Id rather save the cash and just get another SSD when I can. Space isnt much of a concern for me right now anyways and I feel like once Im good to get another SSD, the prices might have come down some and I can go bigger.
Click to expand...

Please don't buy hardware based on that FFXIV benchmark, unless that is the only game you plan on using, as many pointed out, it is the worst benchmarking tool ever made. Make sure to run a bunch of other games too, you'll find the increase is no where near as dramatic, and $ per fps, you won't be spending your money wisely.
 
Nakazato said:
help me pick out my new GPU.
9800gt with 512 mem and 600 mhz or a 9800gt with 1 gig and 550 mhz
Click to expand...
What kind of system will be running with it? How much are you spending? What games and what resolution are you playing?
Also the 1GB.
evil solrac v3.0 said:
so if i really wanted a performance boost from my gtx 260 sli'd i'd have to be looking at a gtx 480 or 5870, 5970? my main thing is it has to be DX11 and above my current performance. (example, 22-30 FPS 1920x1200 maximum settings crysis, etc) basically i'd want to get over 30 FPs in that game and metro 2033.
Click to expand...
Well... yeah.
But it's not going to be a large performance increase, especially with that you'll be spending.
Ashkeloth said:
Short version: Build me a decent gaming PC for up to £1000 on Novatech or tell me what parts are awesome on the price for performance scale nowadays so I can do it myself.
Click to expand...
http://i.imgur.com/m1nHQ.jpg
If the system is purely for gaming you might consider going for an i5-750.
Minsc said:
:lol yourself

That's a only 10% faster and the 1090T has a 10% clock advantage. The X6s are not "far better" than i7s, that is what I was saying. The person I quoted was saying clock for clock, the X6s are significantly faster than the i7s, and they aren't.

In fact, in my bench the i7 was 100% faster. And I don't know how you can say or think X6s or significantly better than i7s when I can put up a bench with an i7 beating an X6 for every bench you put up the other way around.

And the ones that matter, like photoshop, as I said are faster w/ the i7.

Let's not even mention gaming, that is skewed like around 80/20 in favor of the i7s clock for clock.

Please don't buy hardware based on that FFXIV benchmark, unless that is the only game you plan on using, as many pointed out, it is the worst benchmarking tool ever made. Make sure to run a bunch of other games too, you'll find the increase is no where near as dramatic, and $ per fps, you won't be spending your money wisely.
Click to expand...
I just wanted to make sure people didn't get any false impressions from a very one sided graph. As I'm sure you know I was one that was gunning for the i5's until a few days ago where I might slightly favor recommending the 1055T for some. It's reminding me of people buying socket 775 when it was being phased out. Certainly a good deal, but nothing else was coming out for it.

I've said i5's are better for CS and most Media, but some programs do take advantage of all cores. (Which is what I was showing)
Also I was wondering about the gaming benchmarks so I did some digging around.

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/amd_phenom_ii_x6_1090t_be_1055t,6.html
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...sk=view&id=508&Itemid=63&limit=1&limitstart=6
http://www.guru3d.com/article/phenom-ii-x6-1055t-1090t-review/16 (5870)

Then you have 1680x1050 benchies like these:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Phenom_II_X6_1055T/10.html (5850)
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/109?vs=147 (GTX 260)
*Noting that the bottom 3 are CPU intensive

Is the i5 or i7 faster? Of course. Is the x6 still a good chip? Yup. Will a 3.6Ghz x6 hold up for games for a while? I think so.
I'm still undecided on what I will be upgrading to.

*Oh and please stop using/posting the FF14 bench. It really is terrible.
**If you can dig up some overclocked CPU gaming comparisons at 1920 that would be really neat to look at as well.
 
Hazaro said:
I've said i5's are better for CS and most Media, but some programs do take advantage of all cores. (Which is what I was showing)
Also I was wondering about the gaming benchmarks so I did some digging around.

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/amd_phenom_ii_x6_1090t_be_1055t,6.html
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...sk=view&id=508&Itemid=63&limit=1&limitstart=6
http://www.guru3d.com/article/phenom-ii-x6-1055t-1090t-review/16 (5870)

Then you have 1680x1050 benchies like these:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Phenom_II_X6_1055T/10.html (5850)
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/109?vs=147 (GTX 260)
*Noting that the bottom 3 are CPU intensive

Is the i5 or i7 faster? Of course. Is the x6 still a good chip? Yup. Will a 3.6Ghz x6 hold up for games for a while? I think so.
I'm still undecided on what I will be upgrading to.
Click to expand...

I agree it is a toss up most of the time. The point I was making was I was responding to a poster who said the X6s are "far better" than the i7s. Which they're not. Yes, they do some stuff really fast, like archiving, but they don't win by those amounts consistently. Would you recommend someone with an i7 to "upgrade" to an X6? I sure wouldn't. If you won't recommend the upgrade, then clearly the product isn't "far better." The only big upgrade from the normal i7/X6 line is to a i7 980X, which financially is a hard sell, but at least there is an undeniable, significant speed improvement in that case, unlike when looking at the rest of the i7s and X6s.

I did say when I posted that chart it was handpicked, but I can see why you wanted to make sure others didn't get the wrong impression. I just used it as a worst case scenario to show that the X6s aren't by any means "far better" than the i7s, not even the 1156 i7s.

As for your personal choice, wouldn't this make a difference? That's a nice 30% fps improvement (which at worst would probably get knocked down to 20% win when compared against an X6, cause SC2 doesn't care much for cores) clock for clock w/ the i7, kinda my proves my again point, this isn't a black and white decision, unless you have outside factors like an upgrade path, etc :)
 
Anyone know where the serial number is on an Antec P180B case? Apparently, it's supposed to be on a small sticker on the outside of the box the case came in. The serial starts with "ACC"... Allegedly.

I cracked the hinge on the front door and would like to get it replaced. Antec has the entire front bezel for around $20, but it's out of stock and I only need the door assembly. I want to e-mail customer support about my situation, but the form needs a serial number.
 
Minsc said:
The point I was making was I was responding to a poster who said the X6s are "far better" than the i7s. Which they're not.

I did say when I posted that chart it was handpicked, but I can see why you wanted to make sure others didn't get the wrong impression. I just used it as a worst case scenario to show that the X6s aren't by any means "far better" than the i7s, not even the 1156 i7s.

As for your personal choice, wouldn't this make a difference? That's a nice 30% fps improvement (which at worst would probably get knocked down to 20% win when compared against an X6, cause SC2 doesn't care much for cores) clock for clock w/ the i7, kinda my proves my again point, this isn't a black and white decision, unless you have outside factors like an upgrade path, etc :)
Click to expand...
Righto.

I'd like to see it ran at 1920x1080.
I don't run a lot of the settings on Ultra as its a waste of CPU power. So far my 3.8Ghz Core2 has been doing quite well in almost everything.
OatmealMu said:
Anyone know where the serial number is on an Antec P180B case? Apparently, it's supposed to be on a small sticker on the outside of the box the case came in. The serial starts with "ACC"... Allegedly.

I cracked the hinge on the front door and would like to get it replaced. Antec has the entire front bezel for around $20, but it's out of stock and I only need the door assembly. I want to e-mail customer support about my situation, but the form needs a serial number.
Click to expand...
No its a small white sticker separate to the barcode. The sticker has 2 lots of numbers on it "N11360" then underneath it has the serial "acc#########"
Click to expand...
It's this tiny sticker on the top near the opening
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Can't tell you which opening it is though. It should also be on the box if you still have that.
*Also it was the first result in Google for "Antec P180B serial"
 
Anyone know what's the best AGP video card at the moment? I know the architecture is old but it's all I have right now :(

I'm using an Nvidia 6200 and want to ramp things up
 
Hazaro said:
What kind of system will be running with it? How much are you spending? What games and what resolution are you playing?
Also the 1GB.
Click to expand...

One of the the 1 gig is 104 and the 512 is 89 iirc.

But the set up would look like this

2.4 c2d
2 gigs ram
and either card

im not really wanting to play in a res over 1400x900 and just playing a lil over 720 is fine
 
Nakazato said:
One of the the 1 gig is 104 and the 512 is 89 iirc.

But the set up would look like this

2.4 c2d
2 gigs ram
and either card

im not really wanting to play in a res over 1400x900 and just playing a lil over 720 is fine
Click to expand...

Neither, both the GTS 250 and 4850 are available under $100 these days, and are both better buys. These two cards in particular:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102834&cm_re=4850-_-14-102-834-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127495&cm_re=gts_250-_-14-127-495-_-Product

Honestly, I'd even take a 5670 over a 9800GT, that old thing just doesn't have a place in today's market.

Either way you really should be OCing that C2D (stock cooling/volts should manage ~3ghz but you'll be able to get as much as 3.6ghz if you do it properly) and adding another couple of gigs of RAM.
 
Just how beneficial is it to have FRAPs record to a drive not in use? Is the performance increase worth it?

All of my games are on my D: drive but so is FRAPs and I also have it set to record to D:. I havent had many performance issues doing this until Just Cause 2 and thats a game that I really want to record because of the awesome shit that happens all of the time.

I have a 5400 RPM WD Scorpio Blue 2.5 in drive that I currently dont use for anything other than backups. Would that be sufficient enough to do this?

Im using a Scythe Bay Rafter for my SSD and theres room for one more drive in it. The SSD is currently mounted on the bottom. Would there be any risk of damage to either drive if I installed the 2.5in HDD on top of it?

The drawback to installing this drive internally is that I use it to backup my PS3. Whats the best way to get around this? I see those adapters that turn an empty bay on your case into an HDD enclosure that allow you to remove the HDD as you need. Good idea? Bad idea?

Lastly, is it possible to have two partitions on a drive formatted differently? The PS3 only reads FAT32 so in order to back it up, Id need the drive to be FAT32. Can I split a 500GB drive into 250GB FAT32 and 250GB NTFS? Would the PS3 be able to read the FAT32 partition without issue?
 
So instead of replacing all of my components, I'm going to be modest and start by just replacing the hard drive. My board (DP43TF) only supports SATA and not SATAII. I'd like to get one of the X-25m drives, but if I'm using it at SATA speeds it seems like it might not be worth it.

I'm on the fence with just saying goodbye to my current setup (as it's been consistently giving me issues for a while and I feel like replacing a dying hard drive is just another band-aid), but I figure starting with an SSD drive isn't a bad idea because if I do replace the rest (mobo/cpu/memory/psu) at least I'll have one good component ready to go (well, two, I'd keep my 5770 too).

Should I drive out to Microcenter and take the $220 plunge on an X-25m to deal with this dying hard drive?
 
Mr Pockets said:
Ok...so I have been wondering if it is time to upgrade my VidCard anytime soon.

I am currently using

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130435

I am using Windows 7 32bit, Intel Core2 Duo 3.0, 4gb RAM, and I have this as a MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

Basically I am wondering if changing my graphics card will add anything to my system. Since that is the easiest thing to upgrade without major overhaul of my system.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, a 1GB GTX 460 would be perfect. Might as well pick up a Hyper 212+ and OC to 4ghz while you're on as well.
 
Hmmm...seems my motherboard has a new BIOS out to support the X6 CPUs. This works well in my favor as my girlfriend's PC is in dire need of an upgrade before FFXIV (we play together). She's more thrifty on her PC than I am, but I can pick up a X6 for myself, a new mobo and ram for her, slide my X4 over to her and pick up new video cards for the both of us.

Brilliant!

Then I can sneak in a SSD for myself while I'm at it...

Muhahaha...
 
brain_stew said:
Absolutely, a 1GB GTX 460 would be perfect. Might as well pick up a Hyper 212+ and OC to 4ghz while you're on as well.
Click to expand...
Obviously I had not bought a card in a while, but someone told me to watch out for "Fermi" based NVidia cards depending on what I am using it for.

Or is this an old issue?

I do moderate gaming, and moderate video processing (transcodings treams to PS3, streaming gaming to Xfire/Livestream etc)

I love NVidia cards though...so will do some more research :)
 
Hey guys! Go easy on me since it's my first time posting anywhere near PC-gaf.

My boyfriend is looking for a new PC and being the Mac/Console person I am, I don't know shit about what's what. He's not a too big of a PC gamer and not looking to piece something together by hand, so we're looking for a machine around $1000 (give or take) that will play most current games well-ish and will last him the next two or three years with upgrades here and there. Any helpful hints/suggestions?
 
brain_stew said:
Neither, both the GTS 250 and 4850 are available under $100 these days, and are both better buys. These two cards in particular:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102834&cm_re=4850-_-14-102-834-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127495&cm_re=gts_250-_-14-127-495-_-Product

Honestly, I'd even take a 5670 over a 9800GT, that old thing just doesn't have a place in today's market.

Either way you really should be OCing that C2D (stock cooling/volts should manage ~3ghz but you'll be able to get as much as 3.6ghz if you do it properly) and adding another couple of gigs of RAM.
Click to expand...
sadly i cant use double slot cards :( or i would pick one of these up :\. and i have to go through amazon due to gift cards
 
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