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[Corky]

Is there any free software I could use to test the performance of harddrives?

I like ATTO benchmark

 

[Shambles]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/17/ocz-vertex-3-pro-hits-the-test-bench-sets-the-new-single-drive/

Holy shit, 550 MBps

Pricing and Availability:

As a professional level product, as well as by offering the best performance we have seen from any SSD to date, the Vertex 3 Pro costs a premium. Below are the prices set forth by OCZ in the included documentation, though they are cautious enough to warn of potential pricing changes before full product availability.

* 100G @ $525 ($5.25 / GB)
* 200G @ $775 ($3.87 / GB)
* 400G @ $1350 ($3.37 / GB)

Those are some pretty steep costs per GB considering the price drops we have been seeing in the SSD field over the past year or so. A 256GB Crucial C300 SSD will currently run you $479, or $1.87 / GB and if you are willing to jump back to the SATA 3.0 Gb/s drives you can find OCZ's own Vertex 2 240GB drive for $415, or $1.72 / GB. So while the performance of the new OCZ Vertex 3 Pro drives is top of the field, the price seems to be as well.

That pretty much kills any interest in it.

 

[Splash Wave]

I have more ram coming for my netbook on Saturday and I was wondering if I'd have to mess with anything in the BIOS in order to make it work, or will it work on its own?

 

[Enemy Of Fate]

OK so my parts won't be here for another week but I was just wondering if someone could give me a quick overview of what programs I should download in anticipation of stress testing it and what kind of temps I should be looking at for when its idle/not idle. Thanks!

Re-posting for new page, and because in a fantastic stroke of luck I'll actually have all my parts by the end of today (the 18th) which is great!

 

[Majeh]

Re-posting for new page, and because in a fantastic stroke of luck I'll actually have all my parts by the end of today (the 18th) which is great!

Check the first post, the utilities are listed there. As for what to look for it depends on your setup.

 

[knitoe]

I have more ram coming for my netbook on Saturday and I was wondering if I'd have to mess with anything in the BIOS in order to make it work, or will it work on its own?

Bios and OS should auto detect it. You shouldn't have to do anything else.

 

[Jin34]

That pretty much kills any interest in it.

That's because these are enterprise class drives.

 

[Javaman]

Just got yet another video card! Instead of the 460gtx I'm cooking with the original Dell OEM onboard video. Just check these amazing stats!

Was

Now

Spoiler

I accidentally blew my aftermarket 500watt while running fur-mark so now I'm back to the 300watt OEM clanker.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

lol

 

[Shambles]

That's because these are enterprise class drives.

Derp, sometimes I can't read.

 

[Chiggs]

I got an absolute great deal on a really good HP Laptop at Office Depot.

HP DV 4237US

Phenom II P960 (quad core)
6 gigs of DDR3
ATI 6370 512mb
17.3 inch screen (1600x900 res)
Beats Audio
fingerprint scanner
dual HD slots
9 cell battery

Was $899.99 - instant savings brought it to $749.99, and then HP is running a $50.00 rebate offer for certain retailers (Best Buy is excluded).

There was a Core I5 version with WiMax, but it would have been $150.00 more. Just not worth it to me.

 

[iNvid02]

wow, i cant imagine what frame rate i was on when playing the ps3. pc games are so smooth at 60fps

 

[LiquidMetal14]

wow, i cant imagine what frame rate i was on when playing the ps3. pc games are so smooth at 60fps

Batman AA was an awakening. PS3 version is still nice but damn, the PC version is in your face.

 

[antonz]

wow, i cant imagine what frame rate i was on when playing the ps3. pc games are so smooth at 60fps

The Master Race is truly THE Master Race

 

[teh_pwn]

I'm trying to understand why people would pay $600 for GTX 480 when you can crossfire 2 6850s for $350 and get significantly better performance. What are the pitfalls of crossfire/SLI?

 

[iNvid02]

I'm trying to understand why people would pay $600 for GTX 480 when you can crossfire 2 6850s for $350 and get significantly better performance. What are the pitfalls of crossfire/SLI?

extra heat, sound, power, space and you'll run into issues with some games.
might be worth just getting the next card up sometimes, value wise

 

[antonz]

I'm trying to understand why people would pay $600 for GTX 480 when you can crossfire 2 6850s for $350 and get significantly better performance. What are the pitfalls of crossfire/SLI?

While you are right I think most look at future proofing. Buying one 480 now while maybe a tad lower performance than 2 6850s gives future proofing when the 480 drops in price suddenly get 2 of those and have superior performance to newer cards.

2 6850 wont future proof against 2 480s or 2 570s etc

 

[teh_pwn]

extra heat, sound, power, space and you'll run into issues with some games.
might be worth just getting the next card up sometimes, value wise

Do heat, sound, and power apply here? The 6850/6870 x2 uses about the same power as one GTX 580, they're low heat, and mad quiet. I have a huge case with massive fans and a 1kW PSU that should stay in low noise area (600-700 W peak system power). These nvidia cards really suck up the juice. Space should be planned, but I definitely get compatibility issues. When this happens, can you just disable the SLI/CF?

Yeah, it isn't future proof, but I think that's overrated. In 2 years, any PC you build today is outmatched by a mid/high range PC chipset/GPU from the future.

I'm going to wait out a month or so because I'm waiting on P67 mobos, and the first games for this year that I'm interested in come out in March. If I don't hear anything about next gen GPUs, I'm probably just going to crossfire. Seems to run nearly every game at max settings over 60 FPS, which is probably enough for me. I want this rig to run everything through Skyrim like butter, then next year at medium-high settings. By 2013 I'll probably be more interested in PS4 or whatever, and in 2015 I'll build another PC.

 

[Kadey]

When I upgrade my ram, do I have to mess around with BIOS settings (since my old ram was overclocked)or does the PC do it automatically and I can just insert and use?

I'm looking at all these SSDs and the prices makes them not worth it to me. $300 for 160GB, yeah okay. Guess I'll have to settle for a fast regular HDD.

 

[comrade]

Do heat, sound, and power apply here? The 6850/6870 x2 uses about the same power as one GTX 580, they're low heat, and mad quiet. I have a huge case with massive fans and a 1kW PSU that should stay in low noise area (600-700 W peak system power). These nvidia cards really suck up the juice. Space should be planned, but I definitely get compatibility issues. When this happens, can you just disable the SLI/CF?

Yeah, it isn't future proof, but I think that's overrated. In 2 years, any PC you build today is outmatched by a mid/high range PC chipset/GPU from the future.

I'm going to wait out a month or so because I'm waiting on P67 mobos, and the first games for this year that I'm interested in come out in March. If I don't hear anything about next gen GPUs, I'm probably just going to crossfire. Seems to run nearly every game at max settings over 60 FPS, which is probably enough for me. I want this rig to run everything through Skyrim like butter, then next year at medium-high settings. By 2013 I'll probably be more interested in PS4 or whatever, and in 2015 I'll build another PC.

Yes you can disable CF. On my old rig with x2 5850's I would do this from Catalyst Control Panel. I had SLI'd GTX 260's but I never disabled it but I'm sure you can. At the most you'd have to take out one of the cards which takes a couple of minutes.

When I upgrade my ram, do I have to mess around with BIOS settings (since my old ram was overclocked)or does the PC do it automatically and I can just insert and use?

I'm looking at all these SSDs and the prices makes them not worth it to me. $300 for 160GB, yeah okay. Guess I'll have to settle for a fast regular HDD.

You will have to change your settings or I think your old settings will try to load with the new RAM and you'll probably just BSOD. I don't think overclocking RAM is really worth it if you buy good ram. Just set the speed and the recommended voltage from the vendor in the BIOS and you're good to go.

 

[antonz]

When I upgrade my ram, do I have to mess around with BIOS settings (since my old ram was overclocked)or does the PC do it automatically and I can just insert and use?

I'm looking at all these SSDs and the prices makes them not worth it to me. $300 for 160GB, yeah okay. Guess I'll have to settle for a fast regular HDD.

As long as your board can handle the ram its just a simple matter of pop it in and turn the pc on.

 

[Kadey]

Okay. I have this motherboard. http://www.evga.com/articles/385.asp

Will it support this ram?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0148215&cm_re=ddr2_ram-_-20-148-215-_-Product

If not, what would you recommend. Something worse or better. I'm upgrading from 4 to 8Gbs. Doing multimedia stuff. Going to buy four of them or a pack or something.

 

[antonz]

Okay. I have this motherboard. http://www.evga.com/articles/385.asp

Will it support this ram?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0148215&cm_re=ddr2_ram-_-20-148-215-_-Product

If not, what would you recommend. I'm upgrading from 4 to 8Gbs. Doing multimedia stuff. Going to buy four of them or a pack or something.

Yeah that ram will work just fine as its DDR2 800. Your board can handle DDR2 533/667/800/1200MHz variety

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Okay. I have this motherboard. http://www.evga.com/articles/385.asp

Will it support this ram?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0148215&cm_re=ddr2_ram-_-20-148-215-_-Product

If not, what would you recommend. Something worse or better. I'm upgrading from 4 to 8Gbs. Doing multimedia stuff. Going to buy four of them or a pack or something.

Memory
4 x 240-pin DIMM sockets
Dual Channel DDR2
Maximum of 8GB of DDR2 533/667/800/1200MHz

You're good to go

 

[Kadey]

Alright, thanks everyone. Looks like I'll be getting that one. Going to get Win 7 and a new HDD and I'm set for a long time.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

All right, so Nvidia SLI really works. Pictures later.

 

[The Elite]

NCIX needs to ship my custom build today or I will start cutting myself.

 

[rosjos44]

I am building a high end PC and I want to purchase the BEST video card in the market right now (though I would perfer ATI over NVIDIA but thats my fanboy in me). Suggesstions? Right now I was looking at;

SAPPHIRE 100311SR Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

also has hdmi 1.4a too

 

[Corky]

I am building a high end PC and I want to purchase the BEST video card in the market right now (though I would perfer ATI over NVIDIA but thats my fanboy in me). Suggesstions? Right now I was looking at;

SAPPHIRE 100311SR Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

also has hdmi 1.4a too

Gtx 580 atm

edit : soon within the foreseeable future ; gtx 590 or Amd/ati 6990
edit2 : however, if you ask me I'd say the GPU-race has currently sped away from current gaming "needs", sure crysis 2 is coming and we know NOTHING about the pc-version. What I'm trying to say is that you don't need a gtx 580 to max games the coming years.

 

[rosjos44]

Gtx 580 atm

Can you explain to me why its the best? Is it more than 5 to 10 FPS in high end games? I plan to watch 3D blu rays and run 3 screens too.


This is my current wishlist;

(239.00)

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDE00ZFBR BOX


(199.99)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9Q-16GBRL


(149.99)
ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

(139.99)
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply


EDit-

I agree with you on your points. I typically build a new PC every 5 to 6 years and this time around I am making a good bit of money so that I can get the best.

 

[Arucardo]

Trying to figure out whether to get a factory oc'ed GTX 560 or a Radeon 6950 next week. I'm mostly playing in 1680x1050 for now and it's unlikely that I'll get a monitor that's above 1080p in the near future. They're about the same price here.

I'm guessing a 2GB 6950 with the BIOS switch is the way to go? I'd only do the bios flash if I needed the extra performance in future games.

 

[JoeBoy101]

NCIX needs to ship my custom build today or I will start cutting myself.

March 1st is really the start of the season, so you still got a little time. Unless you're waiting to play Dead Space 2 that is.

 

[rossonero]

I just bought a Crucial C300 64gb for like $58, but I still can cancel the order. I'm hesitating because of the supposedly bad write speeds (something like 70MB/s) but I don't really know how it stacks up to my 1TB Samsung F3. And also the looming launch of the new gen SSD's which are supposed to be cheaper per GB and faster.

What do you guys say?

 

[TheExodu5]

I am building a high end PC and I want to purchase the BEST video card in the market right now (though I would perfer ATI over NVIDIA but thats my fanboy in me). Suggesstions? Right now I was looking at;

SAPPHIRE 100311SR Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

also has hdmi 1.4a too

GTX 580, with an Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme (aftermarket cooler). That would be my pick for best.

Can you explain to me why its the best? Is it more than 5 to 10 FPS in high end games? I plan to watch 3D blu rays and run 3 screens too.

If you're running 3 screens, then you either need to go AMD, or get SLI, as NVidia only supports 2 screens off 1 video card.

As for your current wishlist, if you're going for the best video card, there's no way you want to go AMD. Wait for Intel motherboards to get back in stock, and get Sandy Bridge.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Trying to figure out whether to get a factory oc'ed GTX 560 or a Radeon 6950 next week. I'm mostly playing in 1680x1050 for now and it's unlikely that I'll get a monitor that's above 1080p in the near future. They're about the same price here.

I'm guessing a 2GB 6950 with the BIOS switch is the way to go? I'd only do the bios flash if I needed the extra performance in future games.

I'd go with the 2 GB card. They OC fairly decently. I have mine running at 930/1435mhz.

Load temps, while using a fan profile, usually peak at 77-79C. No fan profile and you may see temps in the lower to mid 90's.

 

[Salaadin]

Brainstorming about The Witcher 2 thanks to THIS THREAD and wondering if my ATI 5850 will cut it to run mostly maxed @ 1920x1080. Is there a decent upgrade for this card yet? When is Nvidias next refresh as I was contemplating going with them for my next card.

My other specs:
GA-P55 UD4P mobo
i5 750 CPU
4GBs RAM
Antec EA650 PSU

 

[BigBlackGamer]

Just picked up this beast. was gonna go GTX 580 but I'm getting a 27" cinema display and needed a card with native mini display support. Will be getting another 6970 since I want to run games natively at 2560x1440

Also have the asus essence ST on the way with a pair of AV40 speakers. needed to step up my audio game.

 

[Arucardo]

Ok I'll either go with a HIS 6950 2GB or a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti SOC 1GB. They're the same price and the 560 seems to be the faster card even against a OC'd 6950. Is the extra ram on the Radeon really going to make any at 1080p against the 560?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Ok I'll either go with a HIS 6950 2GB or a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti SOC 1GB. They're the same price and the 560 seems to be the faster card even against a OC'd 6950. Is the extra ram on the Radeon really going to make any at 1080p against the 560?

It's better for the higher resolutions but you're not missing out on much. You can do the shader unlock and get modest OC's though. Either card will likely run all your games at 60fps maxed out or high settings.

 

[Jubbly]

Just ordered this lot through work for some projects - you think it'll run Crysis?

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz Sandy Bridge CPU & Intel Core i7 980X 3.33GHz Extreme Edition CPU
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme 3-way SLI Motherboard & EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI Motherboard
Thermal Paste: IC Diamond 24-Carat Thermal Compound
CPU Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalems w/ 2x Akasa AK-FN059 120mm Ultra Quiet Viper Cool Fan
RAM: CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 & CORSAIR XMS 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M1A1600C9
GPU: 4x NVIDIA GTX 580 GPUs
PSU: Silverstone ST1500
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive x2 in RAID-0
Optical: LITE-ON Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04
Case: Thermaltake Element V Nvidia Edition, Quad SLI certified
Monitor: Planar SA2311W
3D: NVIDIA 3D Vision Kit

 

[The Elite]

March 1st is really the start of the season, so you still got a little time. Unless you're waiting to play Dead Space 2 that is.

Yeah, I don't absolutely need it for anything right now. I just want it! Put my order in on February 3rd.

 

[Arucardo]

Just ordered this lot through work for some projects - you think it'll run Crysis?

That's about good enough to run solitaire and minesweeper.

Are you building two computers or just upgrading an older one on the side?

 

[R2D4]

Just ordered this lot through work for some projects - you think it'll run Crysis?

Why the two processors and motherboards?


All that and you are getting a shitty Thermotake case and air cooling and a 23 inch monitor?

 

[Krauser Kat]

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
my 4890 is going to burn in the face of witcher 2. Looks like i going to budget for a new video card around then.

 

[Nabs]

Just ordered this lot through work for some projects - you think it'll run Crysis?

Maybe at 10fps, if you're lucky.

 

[Azwethinkweiz]

Just ordered this lot through work for some projects - you think it'll run Crysis?

How are you going to get all that power and then run it through what I assume is a 23" monitor?

 

[iNvid02]

windows and cpu-z aren't displaying my overclock, but the bios is.
can someone help?

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I was posting on the Witcher 2 thread about a new video card for $100 to $150. These are my current spec's. Also how do I check my power supply? When it comes to PC hardware I'm a noob.

CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Core 9550 @2.83GHz
Memory 4GB DDR2
Motherboard Gigabyte EP45-DS3R
Video: ATI 3600

Edit: It is 420Watts

 

[n0n44m]

Just ordered this lot through work for some projects - you think it'll run Crysis?

are your projects using CUDA? looking at that website of that monitor makes me curious about what kind of projects you do =]

 

[Shambles]

windows and cpu-z aren't displaying my overclock, but the bios is.
can someone help?

Put your system underload and check again. It's probably that the CPU is just downclocked because it's idling.