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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition

Allan Holdsworth said:
Thanks!

BTW, would you recommend to downgrade to a 4850 (512MB/1GB?) or 5770 1GB? (and 430W power supply I guess)
Reason I ask is because where I live this will probably cost me over $1000.

No way, you would have to do like me and buy 2x5770's in crossfire to compete with the 460 and even then your paying way more than you would for just the 460. It's crazy talk, get the 460.

edit- Actually after looking at some benchmark results, it looks like a stock 460gtx is around 20-25% faster than a 5770 and maybe 30-35% faster with AA turned off, however two 5770's in xfire, OC'd a good bit, should come very close to a stock 480gtx depending on the game and even without the OC will best a 470 in many games. But it's still cheaper to just get a 470 than to xfire two 5770's. Also the 460's are supposedly overclocking beasts, so for the price and raw performance, your better off with a 460. Two of them in SLI with some good OCing would almost beat 4x5770's and at almost half the price and none of the hassle.
 
brain_stew said:
No working card should ever throw up errors in any program.

You need to insist on a return because they sent you the wrong product though, it doesn't even matter if its faulty. The didn't fulfill their obligation when they sent you a replacement card that wasn't fit to fulfill its purpose (no SLI finger). What country are you based in anyway. The EU has fantastic consumer laws so you can appeal on the basis of them but I don't know what your country's local consumer laws are like.

Ok that sounds good. I'm in sweden if it matters :)


Sanjay said:
Side note but the OCCT is very extreme more so then any other gpu stress testing program or game. Have you tried any others? how is it during games? and is this at stock settings? how old is the gpu?

I've tried furmark but only for like 20minutes, I was kinda dissapointed that there wasn't an error counter. So it's more of a "wait and see if it crashes".

Most of the games I've tried has given me errors at one point. It is stock settings and the card is almost 12months old.
 
53537_1.jpg

I just bought this bad boy :D can´t wait to post before and after pics.
 
evil solrac v3.0 said:
so what kind of upgrades would I need for 3D gaming? i have GTX 260 in SLi and a regular 24" inch monitor from dell (1920x1200 res) basically what I would like to be able to do is game at 60FPS in 3D on a bigger monitor (say 30 inch monitor)and resolution.
You'll need at least SLI GTX 480 if you want 60FPS in most games.
 
I ordered yesterday a GTX 460 1Gb to replace my current GTS 250 512 Mb.

Now I tested the GTS250 with OCCT for the first time and it gave me thousands of errors after heating to near 80 degrees celsius. Is the card faulty enough for warranty? I bought it almost a year ago but I think the warranty should still be in effect.

I was going to sell it for few euros but I can't really sell it when it's faulty. (It has been giving me errors in games for a while now. Display drivers stop working usually)
 
Tonza:
Verify whether or not the 250 is still under warranty. If so, buy the 460, RMA the 250, and then sell the replacement when you receive it.


MysticX said:
I just bought this bad boy :D can´t wait to post before and after pics.
You're killing me. As much as I claim that the case will be for someone else, I can't help but want to use it for my own multiple HDD build. I love my CM690 IIA, but something about this case has been pulling me in for months now.

If you're in the US, how much was shipping? Just trying to get a rough idea.

Can anyone else share their thoughts on this?:

·feist· said:
To the members here who've ordered from NCIX US, how are they compared to Newegg and Amazon, as far as timeliness, customer service and so on?

I've just built a system for a family member with an Antec 300 and now I'm considering switching it in favor of the "new" Fractal Design Define R3, now that it's available in North America. As far as I know, NCIX is the only official seller around these parts.

53537_1.jpg


http://www.ncixus.com/products/53537/DEFINE-R3-BLACK/Fractal Design/

It's listed as $104.26 - $9.48 until 8/18. At $94.78 I've VERY tempted to order, but assuming it's shipping from Canada, I can't imagine what that would run. Hopefully they've fixed the USB issue that the Define R2 had.
 
·feist· said:
Tonza:
Verify whether or not the 250 is still under warranty. If so, buy the 460, RMA the 250, and then sell the replacement when you receive it.


It's Asus (model was Dark knight or something like that) and the store I bought it from shows that it has 3 years of warranty so it should be still under warranty.

I just need to find the receipt now. The GTX460 should arrive tomorrow I think since it's coming with UPS Express so I can take the GTS250 out.

I always thought my power was running out of juice rather than the GPU beign faulty when I got errors in games. (I have a 500W power) :P
 
evil solrac v3.0 said:
so what kind of upgrades would I need for 3D gaming? i have GTX 260 in SLi and a regular 24" inch monitor from dell (1920x1200 res) basically what I would like to be able to do is game at 60FPS in 3D on a bigger monitor (say 30 inch monitor)and resolution.
Is there even 30" 2560x1600 120Hz monitors available?

Not even 3xSLI GTX 480s is going to give you 60fps in 3D at 2560x1600 with max settings in new games like Mafia II.

In fact not even close. Those people who think hardware has gotten so good now that you can max out all games do not game at 2560x1600 with max settings and lots of AA, thats for sure.

Now throw in PhysX and 3D.

The available hardware is not good enough.
 
Allan Holdsworth said:
Thanks!

BTW, would you recommend to downgrade to a 4850 (512MB/1GB?) or 5770 1GB? (and 430W power supply I guess)
Reason I ask is because where I live this will probably cost me over $1000.

No, not at all.
 
evil solrac v3.0 said:
so what kind of upgrades would I need for 3D gaming? i have GTX 260 in SLi and a regular 24" inch monitor from dell (1920x1200 res) basically what I would like to be able to do is game at 60FPS in 3D on a bigger monitor (say 30 inch monitor)and resolution.

SLI 470s or 480s are what I'd recommend for stereo 3D. Anything less and you're going to have issues if you're used to 60fps.
 
brain_stew said:
SLI 470s or 480s are what I'd recommend for stereo 3D. Anything less and you're going to have issues if you're used to 60fps.

What kinda monitor can run 120hz at 30" though? I don't think there are any, you'd have to look at HDTVs, and even then, you're usually looking at sizes around 46", for instance, Samsung's Series 9 starts at 46" and costs like $3,000.00
 
Has the GTX 470 become quieter? I have one which I bought in May and I love it but it's not quiet to say the least. I'm seeing recommendations for SLI GTX 470 :O and I can't help but think of the heat and noise two of those stacked on top of each other would produce.
 
brain_stew said:
That HDD is no good. You'll be installing all your games on it and its only useful as a media drive.

Imo, if you can't afford the 80GB Intel drive just pass on the SSD for now, 40GB is just a little too tight for comfort imo.

The PSU should accept worldwide voltages but check the manufacturers website anyway. The plug isn't an issue just need a standard 3 pin kettle plug, you'll already have some around the house more than likely.
Ok I'll get the 80GB SSD.

edit: nevermind
 
Minsc said:
What kinda monitor can run 120hz at 30" though? I don't think there are any, you'd have to look at HDTVs, and even then, you're usually looking at sizes around 46", for instance, Samsung's Series 9 starts at 46" and costs like $3,000.00

And on those Nvidia's 3DTV is only going to output at 720P if he wants 120hz. 1080P @120hz is the absolute limit on the resolution front (and only if he sticks to the 24 inch 120hz LCDs... or waits for the Asus 27 inch this fall).
 
Minsc said:
What kinda monitor can run 120hz at 30" though? I don't think there are any, you'd have to look at HDTVs, and even then, you're usually looking at sizes around 46", for instance, Samsung's Series 9 starts at 46" and costs like $3,000.00

HDTVs are a no go as you're limited to 720p for S3D.
 
brain_stew said:
HDTVs are a no go as you're limited to 720p for S3D.

Interesting, well I guess that'll help the framerate a bit. Doesn't make the 3K pricetag look any easier to swallow though.
 
There is a lot of talk about 7200rpm hard drives, is it essential to get one with a laptop or will 5400rpm be adequate? There aren't a lot of laptops with 7200.

Also, are 5400 ones more stable than 7200? My friend thought the faster the hard drive spins the more prone to failure it is.
 
sillymonkey321 said:
There is a lot of talk about 7200rpm hard drives, is it essential to get one with a laptop or will 5400rpm be adequate? There aren't a lot of laptops with 7200.

Also, are 5400 ones more stable than 7200? My friend thought the faster the hard drive spins the more prone to failure it is.

I'd say SSDs are significantly more stable than all mechanical HDDs. 5400rpm drives have a tendency to run cooler (which may be why they're more popular, because most laptops overheat as it is), so they may be insignificantly more stable as a result of causing less heat, but would be just as likely to break for other reasons.

7200rpm drives are significantly faster than 5400rpm drives but still slow imo, SSDs are where it's at, my Studio 15 came with a 7200rpm drive which feels like molasses at times (spoiled from my X-25M), so they are out there.
 
·feist· said:
Tonza:
Verify whether or not the 250 is still under warranty. If so, buy the 460, RMA the 250, and then sell the replacement when you receive it.


You're killing me. As much as I claim that the case will be for someone else, I can't help but want to use it for my own multiple HDD build. I love my CM690 IIA, but something about this case has been pulling me in for months now.

If you're in the US, how much was shipping? Just trying to get a rough idea.

Can anyone else share their thoughts on this?:

Can´t help you with that since I´m from Yurop.

Anyway, still haven´t gotten an anwer:

If I use 5770 as primary and 8600GTS as secondary for PhysX, is that possible?
 
Hey guys, how is Nvidia 3D? I was thinking about picking up a 3D monitor around Black Friday if I find a good deal. Is it worth it? What monitor should I be looking for? Any tips?
 
'round and 'round this bloody shit goes
where it'll stop nobody knows...


Sent in gpu 1 ( sli finger-less, new replacement card )
Sent in gpu 2 ( non-replaced broken gpu )
Ordered gpu 3


Ok, ok.... so hopefully this'll happen

gpu 1 ; gets exchanged for a brand new one, put it up for sale
gpu 2 ; gets eschanged for a brand new one, use it as physX card
gpu 3 ; please lord, god in heaven , jehova, allah, buddah, please dont let this one fuck my shit up. Let this card be stable as a testament to my faith in pc-gaming.



edit : Yea speaking of 3D, from what I understand you need a 120hz screen in conjunction with shutter lenses in order to get stereoscopic 3D@60fps right? But wouldn't that mean that it's still possible to play games with a 60hz screen? Just that you'll have to settle with 30fps cap?
 
SundaySounds said:
Hey guys, how is Nvidia 3D? I was thinking about picking up a 3D monitor around Black Friday if I find a good deal. Is it worth it? What monitor should I be looking for? Any tips?

Its great by all accounts so long as you have the GPU grunt for it. You really should be aiming for SLI 470s or 480s if you want a decent S3D setup imo.


Corky said:
'round and 'round this bloody shit goes
where it'll stop nobody knows...


Sent in gpu 1 ( sli finger-less, new replacement card )
Sent in gpu 2 ( non-replaced broken gpu )
Ordered gpu 3


Ok, ok.... so hopefully this'll happen

gpu 1 ; gets exchanged for a brand new one, put it up for sale
gpu 2 ; gets eschanged for a brand new one, use it as physX card
gpu 3 ; please lord, god in heaven , jehova, allah, buddah, please dont let this one fuck my shit up. Let this card be stable as a testament to my faith in pc-gaming.



edit : Yea speaking of 3D, from what I understand you need a 120hz screen in conjunction with shutter lenses in order to get stereoscopic 3D@60fps right? But wouldn't that mean that it's still possible to play games with a 60hz screen? Just that you'll have to settle with 30fps cap?


God speed.
 
Otrebor Nightmarecoat said:
Quick question: If I buy a new NVidia 460gtx , should I just get rid of my Nvidia 220gt or will having that other card installed would give me some sort of boost?

You could try using it as a dedicated PhysX card. It may be a little too weak but its at least worth a try.
 
MysticX said:
Can´t help you with that since I´m from Yurop.

Anyway, still haven´t gotten an anwer:

If I use 5770 as primary and 8600GTS as secondary for PhysX, is that possible?

Yes, so long as you use beta Nvidia drivers for the PhysX card. Go to physxinfo.com if you need more help. The 8600 is only a 32 SP card mind so it may be a little slow as a dedicated PhysX card although so long as its faster than your CPU (which it will be) I guess that doesn't matter.
 
masumo said:
Placed an order for this case yesterday, and shipping was about $50 to CA via FedEx. :(
Ouch. That kind of negates one of its advantages over Antec's Performance 1 series. Still, I've come to prefer the Define R2/R3's cleaner lines and 8 HDD cage. Hmmm....

Thanks for the response, Masumo.


MysticX said:
Can´t help you with that since I´m from Yurop.
You have almost a direct line to Fractal, then. Lucky, lucky.


MysticX said:
Anyway, still haven´t gotten an anwer:

If I use 5770 as primary and 8600GTS as secondary for PhysX, is that possible?
It can be a hassle, but unless anything has changed, yes.
I grabbed 3 links very quickly. I'm sure they're better ones out there.

http://forums.amd.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=13&threadid=128614

http://www.geeks3d.com/20080905/ati-nvidia-graphics-physx/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qam6aEM10U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF1QZsAwAOk

edit: beaten above
 
I saw somebody at pax east who had 480's in sli, and a 280 for physx. However, it looked like he took off the plate for it. Like, the part that has the vga and dvi ports and stuff, is that normal, or would that fuck something up?
 
sillymonkey321 said:
There is a lot of talk about 7200rpm hard drives, is it essential to get one with a laptop or will 5400rpm be adequate? There aren't a lot of laptops with 7200.

Also, are 5400 ones more stable than 7200? My friend thought the faster the hard drive spins the more prone to failure it is.

+1 for SSD on this. No moving parts = cooler and replacing your HDD with an SSD is a piece of cake. Toss the HDD that comes with the laptop into the garbage, install Win 7 on the laptop and enjoy the significant speed boost and heat reduction.
 
Phloxy said:
I saw somebody at pax east who had 480's in sli, and a 280 for physx. However, it looked like he took off the plate for it. Like, the part that has the vga and dvi ports and stuff, is that normal, or would that fuck something up?

It wouldn't screw it up per say but you have literally nothing holding it in that slot then since they don't use locking ramps for GPUs. I sure as hell wouldn't do it and I don't know what that would accomplish unless you took off the cooler too to make it a single slot card, otherwise there is literally zero point in doing that. And taking off the cooler is just asking for problems.
 
Yeah it wasn't unsupported tho, he had one of those fancy gpu brackets holding it all, but im getting a bigger mobo for all my cards.
 
1stStrike said:
+1 for SSD on this. No moving parts = cooler and replacing your HDD with an SSD is a piece of cake. Toss the HDD that comes with the laptop into the garbage, install Win 7 on the laptop and enjoy the significant speed boost and heat reduction.

I think SSD is just too much money for my budget though.
 
Hey guys I'm thinking about getting a rig in the near future, but I was thinking about handling the monitor situation before I do that. So far I really like this Asus from Newegg, is this a good monitor overall.
 
peppermints said:
Hey guys,

Which is the better 5770 card between these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127490

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

The first one obviously has better reviews, but the second one is a lot cheaper and free shipping. If I get the cheaper one, it keeps my build under $600. Not the case for the first one as well.

Will I be kicking myself later if I go the cheaper route?

You're fine in this case. XFX gives double lifetime warranties with their cards. I've never had a problem so I'd go second one just for the warranty.
 
peppermints said:
Hey guys,

Which is the better 5770 card between these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127490

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

The first one obviously has better reviews, but the second one is a lot cheaper and free shipping. If I get the cheaper one, it keeps my build under $600. Not the case for the first one as well.

Will I be kicking myself later if I go the cheaper route?

If you really want to get a 5770 don't spend 180 on it. The second one has a lifetime warranty, so you should be all set. If you can squeak out an extra 70 bucks go for the Gigabyte 460 1gb, but definitely don't spend extra on the 5770 at this point.
 
Minsc said:
What kinda monitor can run 120hz at 30" though? I don't think there are any, you'd have to look at HDTVs, and even then, you're usually looking at sizes around 46", for instance, Samsung's Series 9 starts at 46" and costs like $3,000.00

What's more, the current crop of 3D HDTV's can only run Frame Packed 3D (i.e. full quality, full rez) @ 720p60 and 1080p24.
 
I'm torn between getting a 9800GT or a GT 240. I only have a 300W PSU and cannot afford to upgrade that. I just want to be able to play StarCraft 2 and Batman Arkham Asylum, since the fan on the GT 220 card I bought at the end of March seems to be shot and is causing overheating. BFG says they are not in the graphics card field anymore and it may take a month or more to get it replaced. I cannot stay without a PC for over a month.

What is a good name brand? One that hopefully won't have the fan die on me so quickly. And do I go with a 9800GT or GT 240 or is there a Radeon I should be looking at? Just remember the PSU is only 300W. How much memory should it have? 512 MB or 1GB? DDR2, DDR3, or DDR5?

Please let me know. I'm in Canada, btw.
 
I was just browsing THIS ARTICLE and came across this line:
In order to overclock your graphics card, you will need a good overclocking tool, the right graphics driver, and a sufficiently powerful CPU to help realize the benefit of better graphics performance. At lower resolutions with reduced quality settings, a brawny graphics card will practically always be held back by the processor. So if you’re still using an older or slower CPU, overclocking your graphics card won’t really help you all that much. Luckily, that can easily be remedied by tweaking the CPU as well, giving it more performance to throw at a game’s AI and physics subsystems.

Is there any way to fully tell if you have this problem?

I OCed my HD5850 to Core Clock to 760MHz and Mem Clock to 1125MHz. I have an i5 750 CPU running at stock so I just wanted to run it by you guys to see if I should finally OC the CPU?

Im putting it off because my ANtec 900 is hard to work in. I love the case but damn, it can be difficult.
 
Salaadin said:
I was just browsing THIS ARTICLE and came across this line:


Is there any way to fully tell if you have this problem?

I OCed my HD5850 to Core Clock to 760MHz and Mem Clock to 1125MHz. I have an i5 750 CPU running at stock so I just wanted to run it by you guys to see if I should finally OC the CPU?

Im putting it off because my ANtec 900 is hard to work in. I love the case but damn, it can be difficult.

An i5-750 isn't going to bottleneck a 5850, OCed or not. Still, go ahead and OC the CPU, the 750 is a great clocker.
 
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
You're fine in this case. XFX gives double lifetime warranties with their cards. I've never had a problem so I'd go second one just for the warranty.

alanias said:
If you really want to get a 5770 don't spend 180 on it. The second one has a lifetime warranty, so you should be all set. If you can squeak out an extra 70 bucks go for the Gigabyte 460 1gb, but definitely don't spend extra on the 5770 at this point.

Thanks. :)

Didn't even notice the lifetime warranty on the XFX one. Definitely sounds like a good choice in that case.

Haven't built a PC for a while. Do I need to buy any thermal paste or will my CPU come with it? It's this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702

And if a drive is OEM, I should be set because the motherboard will come with all of the necessary cables, right?
 
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