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[Shambles]

FWIW, anandtech just did their budget build, but it isn't gaming specific. Not a big fan of it, though. I'd skip the SSD and maybe use some of that money for a better GPU.

Can also always check out PC Perspectives budget builds for some ideas.

I'd have to agree with dumping the SSD to move up several GPU steps. The 5770 is a poor value, and you don't spend 100-130$ on a GPU without intending to make ample use of gaming in which case the better GPU will be more useful in my opinion. A budget non-gaming build would merely use integrated graphics as it seems to be a waste of money to buy all these components to just be able to have a very mediocore gaming experience. Also the small capacity and poor performance of the 40GB SSDs is also enough for me to not even consider them. I'd rather save my money a bit longer to get a more practical SSD in the near future. A 4850 would give you quite close performance to a 5770 for 30$ less if you really only wanted to spend a bit on a GPU and still be able to game.

 

[rocK`]

Any news / where could I find news on the whole sandy bridge issue? I'd like to know when I could pick up a mobo for my new build!

 

[Curufinwe]

I just installed my new GTX 460 and the 266.58 Nvidia drivers, but I didn't install the HD Audio drivers because I didn't think I needed them.

But when I rebooted I keep getting Found New Hardware Wizard, and in Device Manager there are four Unknown devices listed under Other Devices and they all say this for Location:

Location 65535 (Internal High Definition Audio

The sound on my computer still works fine, so I don't think there's anything wrong with onboard Realtek HD Audio. So I should be able to just "Disable" all the Unknown Devices and make the Found New Hardware Wizard go away, right?

 

[antonz]

Any news / where could I find news on the whole sandy bridge issue? I'd like to know when I could pick up a mobo for my new build!

The one place I knew online that still had P67 boards sold out today and wont be getting anymore til the various companies release the revised boards.

We know the revised chipset was sent out yesterday by Intel. How long the turn around is for boards to surface is anyones guess. Intel expects full market stability to return in April but boards will surface before then

 

[ZZMitch]

Well I have gone almost a week running my GTX 460 at PCI-E x4 without a random crash to speak of.

I am happy it is working, but this really shouldn't have to run my card slower like this. This is either my second faulty 460 in a row or there is some compatibility issue or something, I dunno.

I just know that I will be seriously considering ATI next time around (hopefully soon!) cause Nvidia cards have been shit for me so far. Maybe I am just unlucky.

 

[Naked Snake]

The one place I knew online that still had P67 boards sold out today

What place was that? And how much were they selling for?

 

[antonz]

What place was that? And how much were they selling for?

It was http://www.pugetsystems.com/ out of Seattle area. I got an ASUS P8P67-M Pro for $163.

 

[Naked Snake]

It was http://www.pugetsystems.com/ out of Seattle area. I got an ASUS P8P67-M Pro for $163.

That site seems exactly what I was looking for a few days ago. Wish I had known about it.

 

[vocab]

11.2 still has mouse cursor lag. Jesus christ AMD.

 

[antonz]

That site seems exactly what I was looking for a few days ago. Wish I had known about it.

Sorry bout that. totally slipped my mind to even bring up the site on gaf when they still had some left. Theyt went from 15 to 0 in like 2 days

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I just installed my new GTX 460 and the 266.58 Nvidia drivers, but I didn't install the HD Audio drivers because I didn't think I needed them.

But when I rebooted I keep getting Found New Hardware Wizard, and in Device Manager there are four Unknown devices listed under Other Devices and they all say this for Location:



The sound on my computer still works fine, so I don't think there's anything wrong with onboard Realtek HD Audio. So I should be able to just "Disable" all the Unknown Devices and make the Found New Hardware Wizard go away, right?

The Nvidia HD Audio is better than the Realtek on-board audio in several ways. First, it outputs audio over the mini-HDMI connector along with video, so you only need 1 cable instead of 2. Second, it supports 5.1/7.1 uncompressed multichannel LPCM output (same as PS3), since it's HDMI 1.4a compliant. This eliminates the need for Dolby Digital Live! which is required to get multichannel audio over coaxial or optical digitial outputs. Third, it supports bitstreaming of the lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, if you are watching Blu-ray on your PC.

I run everything I own through a Denon receiver for output to my HDTV and so I prefer the Nvidia HD audio over the Realtek audio on my motherboard for all 3 reasons above.

 

[Johnny2Bags]

Hey I just won Corky's contest! I will hopefully be playing many new games with my new computer now; but I have some simple questions for you guys...

I will be getting my second 5850 in and my quad pcie board X 16 in a day or so ...

What kind of special drivers do i have to download to get CrossfireX profiles? Are they included in AMD's normal catalyst drivers? And I run Ray Adams Tray tools can I configure my crossfire through that instead of CCC?

thanks!

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I get white fuzz on small parts of the screen rarely. Is this normal?

 

[Jin34]

I get white fuzz on small parts of the screen rarely. Is this normal?

While gaming?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

While gaming?

Yes. Maybe I should tune the OC down. It's not heavy at all, that's the thing. It's happened in like 2 parts in my 3 hours or so of Crysis and 1 time in Uniengine (or whatever the spelling is) benchmark. It's actually happened still even when I clocked down my GPU. It's not annoying or everywhere, just small fuzz.

When I set the OC settings down, they were still OC'd but not as high. Just thought I'd point that out.

 

[Jin34]

Yes. Maybe I should tune the OC down. It's not heavy at all, that's the thing. It's happened in like 2 parts in my 3 hours or so of Crysis and 1 time in Uniengine (or whatever the spelling is) benchmark. It's actually happened still even when I clocked down my GPU. It's not annoying or everywhere, just small fuzz.

When I set the OC settings down, they were still OC'd but not as high. Just thought I'd point that out.

Try playing at all stock settings and see if you still get it.

 

[Zzoram]

I get white fuzz on small parts of the screen rarely. Is this normal?

It's a sign your GPU is unstable because you overclocked too high.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Try playing at all stock settings and see if you still get it.

Doesn't happen. I think it's maybe the higher temps I'm hitting. And it doesn't happen all the time. But it does repeat in certain sections (2 come to mind) of Crysis. I went back with the same settings and didn't see anything there but seen something in a separate part of the area. I'm not hitting super high temps since I set my fan profile in MSI Afterburner so I'm not sure if I should leave it lower or run higher. As I said yesterday, I'm capping with temps at 75-76 while running Crysis now and with OC'd settings. I'm content but want to make sure the white fuzz will not mean harm.

I think I will run lower, thanks guys. I seen the response above mine. I won't chance it as I'm getting excellent performance already. Will clock it down some more.

One last question, which setting affects temps more, the GPU mhz or memory?

 

[Zzoram]

You guys are so new at overclocking.

Run a GPU stress test like ATI Tool or Furmark. If it detects artifacts then you should lower your clock speeds by 3MHz and test again. If it can go for ~2 hours without finding an artifact you're solid.

Test core and memory speeds separately to see what peaks you can hit with both, then set both to that peak at the same time and stress test again. If they can't go that high together, dip the memory down 3MHz at a time for a few rounds to see if it gets stable. If not, take memory back up to the peak and dip core 3MHz at a time to see if it gets stable.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

You guys are so new at overclocking.

Get ATI Tool (it's old, but useful as a GPU stability check) and run the stress test. If it detects artifacts, or if you're visibly seeing yellow dots on the 3D cube rendering, then you should lower your clock speeds by 3MHz and test again. If it can go for ~2 hours without finding an artifact you're solid.

I am new. And thanks. I will use that now!

 

[Zzoram]

I am new. And thanks. I will use that now!

I don't know if ATI Tool actually works on new GPUs, it was last updated in like 2007 lol. All I know is that it works for nVidia cards, because I used it on my GeForce 6800 Go (laptop).

Apparently ATI Tool may not work in Windows 7 but I don't think anyone has tested it.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I don't know if ATI Tool actually works on new GPUs, it was last updated in like 2007 lol. All I know is that it works for nVidia cards, because I used it on my GeForce 6800 Go (laptop).

Apparently ATI Tool may not work in Windows 7 but I don't think anyone has tested it.

It says no errors but shows some yellow. Not sure if this is an accurate gauge. You may be right on that one. And it is missing a kernel thingy but still runs. I think this will result in inaccurate readings.

And I am running Windows 7.

 

[Zzoram]

It says no errors but shows some yellow. Not sure if this is an accurate gauge. You may be right on that one. And it is missing a kernel thingy but still runs. I think this will result in inaccurate readings.

And I am running Windows 7.

There is a sensitivity setting. Set to most sensitive and it'll more likely notice when yellow artifacts appear on the cube and ping you and reset the timer.

The default sensitivity allows for some artifacts because some people don't care about them as long as their game isn't crashing.

Even on the most sensitive setting, it can sometimes miss a few artifacts that your eyes will spot. I personally keep my overclock at a level where I never see any artifacts to be safe.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

There is a sensitivity setting. Set to most sensitive and it'll more likely notice when yellow artifacts appear on the cube and ping you and reset the timer.

The default sensitivity allows for some artifacts because some people don't care about them as long as their game isn't crashing.

Even on the most sensitive setting, it can sometimes miss a few artifacts that your eyes will spot. I personally keep my overclock at a level where I never see any artifacts to be safe.

Minimal and in certain instances but temps are good. Thanks for the advice. I am not gonna run as high as my gaming performance was already excellent before overclocking.

 

[Zzoram]

Minimal and in certain instances but temps are good. Thanks for the advice. I am not gonna run as high as my gaming performance was already excellent before overclocking.

I'm only overclocking my laptop GeForce 6800 because it can barely run Starcraft II on Low as is, the extra ~25% power is probably what allows me to play 2v2 at all.

My desktop is very slightly overclocked because I haven't found the need to do any more.

 

[Curufinwe]

The Nvidia HD Audio is better than the Realtek on-board audio in several ways. First, it outputs audio over the mini-HDMI connector along with video, so you only need 1 cable instead of 2. Second, it supports 5.1/7.1 uncompressed multichannel LPCM output (same as PS3), since it's HDMI 1.4a compliant. This eliminates the need for Dolby Digital Live! which is required to get multichannel audio over coaxial or optical digitial outputs. Third, it supports bitstreaming of the lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, if you are watching Blu-ray on your PC.

I run everything I own through a Denon receiver for output to my HDTV and so I prefer the Nvidia HD audio over the Realtek audio on my motherboard for all 3 reasons above.

Thanks for the info.

I'm using my PC on a monitor that doesn't have an HDMI input and I'm only using 2 little Logitech speakers for sound, so I figured I would stick with the Realtek HD Audio drivers until the day I hook this computer up to some decent speakers or to a TV by HDMI.

 

[wandering goat]

Apparantly, there is a massive debacle going on in OCZ's forums regarding their SSDs. OCZ switched from 34nm NAND to 25nm NAND flash, and people are reporting write speed drops up to 43%, as well as lower SSD capacity. It is quite possible that you may run into issues if you try to combine the different drives in a RAID 0 array.

The main problem is that they switched without warning, and are essentially charging the same price for lower quality hardware.

Here's a news link as well.

Arggg, that's not good. I just ordered parts for a budget system for my dad which includes that very SSD (an 80GB Vertex 2 along with an X4 640, Asus M4A77T/US3, and 4GB RAM). Going to see if there's a way to check which version it is before opening it. Luckily we ordered from Canada Computers, so can just go there and return it if needed (a half hour drive). Anyone know offhand if there's an easy way to tell which is which?

 

[careful]

God damn.. Just when I'm looking into upgrading I read about the whole Sandy Bridge chipset fiasco. I have to wait til spring? wtf

 

[Shaneus]

So, Catalyst 11.2 has come out. What are the chances it'll make me glad that I'm running CFX?

Inevitable answer: Slim to fuck-all.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Between now and March 22 I'm looking to upgrade from my Radeon 4890 to a DirectX 11 card in the $200-$300 price range. While that gives me about a month to be on the lookout for good deals and such, what cards should I have my eye on? And is there a clear advantage at this point to going nVidia or ATI? Does ATI now support 3D and physX as well? I remember nVidia being the only card that can do physX and 3D.

Is there any known cards on the horizon that aren't out yet that I should wait for?

 

[MikeE21286]

^^^^

6950 1/2GB and 560 Ti come to mind.

That is unless prices on the higher end cards drop

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Radeon 6950 2GB is under 300 and offers great performance with good overclock room.

 

[CoolS]

Man, this thread really makes me wanna go back to building my own dektop pc.

Ever since i got my laptop three years ago I didn't have a desktop PC and somewhat I always missed it. Also, having my laptop on all the time AND gaming with it probably isn't the best idea anyway.

I am just still afraid of the cost of building one. I bought tons of games like Crysis, Batman and so on during the last Steam holiday sale and I would like to play them sometime this year and maybe be future proof for one or two years ^^

Does that sound possible at all. Germany here btw.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

RIP CRT. Such an annoying shame that the market wanted form factor over quality.

Well when the form factor adds a ridiculous amount of benefit and the quality jump is minimal, it's pretty obvious.

 

[antonz]

Man, this thread really makes me wanna go back to building my own dektop pc.

Ever since i got my laptop three years ago I didn't have a desktop PC and somewhat I always missed it. Also, having my laptop on all the time AND gaming with it probably isn't the best idea anyway.

I am just still afraid of the cost of building one. I bought tons of games like Crysis, Batman and so on during the last Steam holiday sale and I would like to play them sometime this year and maybe be future proof for one or two years ^^

Does that sound possible at all. Germany here btw.

I built a Sandy Bridge system 2500K with 560 Ti for just under 1000 USD. If I didnt upgrade chassis etc I could have probably managed under 800USD. Was only going to do a GPU Upgrade but I got an extra grand on my tax return and it was too tempting to pass up

 

[OneEightZero]

I need advice on a new monitor. I'm wanting to spend around $150-200. What would you folks suggest?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Can anyone point me to a GPU fan for a Radeon 6950? I am overclocking and want the temps to come down more.'

 

[nyong]

Ok, so Rift is (for sure) bottlenecking with my CPU. What would be my best course of action here?

CPU: Core2Duo 2.13
RAM: 4G DDR2
GPU: 5770

Is it worthwhile to upgradeCPU to the AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz? How substantial will my performance boost be?

 

[Kadey]

Okay. I'm planning on upgrading in two different scenarios. Wondering what you guys think.

My specs are.

E8400 at 3.6Ghz
4GB DDR2 1066 ram
4870X2
Vista
Standard Hdd (which is dying and what is positioning me to upgrade in the first place)

Scenario one.
Processor, GPU stays the same but ram is upgraded to 8GB, Hdd is upgraded to either a faster bigger standard hdd or SSD. OS is upgraded to Wins7.

Scenario two.
Processor is upgraded which means new motherboard is needed meaning also DDR3 ram is needed. OS changes, Hdd is changed as well. This scenario is much more time consuming since I have to pretty build from the ground up.

Regardless, the GPU will be the same in both setups.

Mind you. I don't play much gaming if at all on it but I do multimedia stuff and I stream.

 

[Oreoleo]

Ok, so Rift is (for sure) bottlenecking with my CPU. What would be my best course of action here?

CPU: Core2Duo 2.13
RAM: 4G DDR2
GPU: 5770

Is it worthwhile to upgradeCPU to the AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz? How substantial will my performance boost be?

Switching to AMD would require a new mobo and ram(?). Core2Quad's are still viable if you don't want to do such an overhaul to your system.
Edit: Though there is probably a chance your mobo wouldn't support c2q's but it's worth looking into at least.

 

[metsallica]

Are the Intel SSD 510s still on track for release this month? I can't find them referenced on Intel's SSD pages anymore.

 

[MWS Natural]

Was just about to ask what is the best SSD out right now and if SATA III really worth it since I would have to buy a new motherboard. Also have they figured out a way to make Trim work in a Raid 0 configuration?

 

[Hazaro]

Can anyone point me to a GPU fan for a Radeon 6950? I am overclocking and want the temps to come down more.'

Arctic Cooling ______.

Are the Intel SSD 510s still on track for release this month? I can't find them referenced on Intel's SSD pages anymore.

About a month I think.

Was just about to ask what is the best SSD out right now and if SATA III really worth it since I would have to buy a new motherboard. Also have they figured out a way to make Trim work in a Raid 0 configuration?

Wait for new models in 1-2 months to find out. SATA III is important yes. Trim in RAID, not to my knowledge but I don't keep up too much on that sort of things.

 

[dekjo]

Build is in the OP!!!

Yup, there's the OP too. I like it more than anand's or PCP's. Though it's true the SSD will help other apps, I'd still go with a nicer card (~$160-$200) and then budget an SSD upgrade later down the road.

 

[MWS Natural]

Thanks, will wait since I will have to buy another motherboard for SATA III.

 

[Kenka]

Ok, so Rift is (for sure) bottlenecking with my CPU. What would be my best course of action here?

CPU: Core2Duo 2.13
RAM: 4G DDR2
GPU: 5770

Is it worthwhile to upgradeCPU to the AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz? How substantial will my performance boost be?

It's a very good question but have you ran both Can You Run It and You Gamers' software ? Can You Run It will probabaly be a bit harsher to your system.

Normally, your computer should pass both easily. Changing your CPU would presumably force you to changing both the RAM and your motherboard. I guess it's not the kind of expenditure you want to allow yourself. Bear in mind that Can You Run It repeatedly said that my computer should not be able to run DiRT 2. But it runs a 60 FPS with details set to high. So things are not what they seem at time. I would discourage you to upgrade right now.

What games do you plan to play this year ?



Actually, I got a similar thought regarding the AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz. Does this look sufficient for some light gaming and every day use ? It's for my lil' cousin who is too jealous of me having a computer in my room :

CPU - AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz
MOB - Asrock N68C-S UCC (with USB 3.0)
RAM - Kingston 4GB RAM
GPU - Sapphire HD 5750 Vapor-X 1GB, PCI-E x16 2.0, DP, HDMI
HDD - Samsung HD154UI, F2EG, 5400rpm, 32MB, 1.5TB, SATA-II
PSU - Antec EarthWatts Green Series 380 Watt, 80Plus Bronze
Case - Thermaltake V9 BlacX Midi-Tower VM400M1W2Z - black Window

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Hey guys I am getting random blue splotches in metro 2033. It basically is a white dot with a blue outline and happens randomly. Are these overheating artifacts or DX11 glitches? My GTX460 is below 70C at full load.

Could this be my i5 overheating?

 

[slidewinder]

The 5770 is a poor value

Really? Tom's Hardware recommends it at the $130 price point in their "Best graphics for the money" articles, and even go further and call it a particular price/performance favorite at that price.

The HIS version is going for $99 AR on Newegg and Amazon. I game at 1680x1050 and am happy there for now, and was thinking that'd be the right cheap upgrade from my 4670. Not so?

 

[Hazaro]

460 768MB.
It's like 40% faster for the same price.

 

[MisterAnderson]

So I have my i7 920 Bloomfield overclocked to 3.6 GHz and running stable. When I first turn on my computer my temperatures are about 35-42 on idle. If I'm doing something not very intensive like, watching SC2 Day9 Dailies in fullscreen mode (adobe flash player) the temperatures are running 44-50 degrees. When I play games/run Prime95 it's at like 55-65 degrees.

I feel like it's running fine on max load but maybe running a little hot when idling/not doing very much. Are those temps normal for the level of overclock I have? (stock it runs 2.66 GHz). Also I have a Coolermaster V6 GT cooler on the cpu and an Antec Nine Hundred Two: Second Generation case.