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[From The Dust]

so, I was thinking I should replace my Phenom 2 X2 925 sometime later this year. or would an overclock be suffice for gaming?

 

[TheExodu5]

so, I was thinking I should replace my Phenom 2 X2 925 sometime later this year. or would an overclock be suffice for gaming?

Start with the overclock. If you feel you still want the added performance, post again in this thread (with the games in question) and we'll help you out. You may or may not be limited by your CPU in the particular games in which you're interested. Bulldozer and Ivy Bridge (AMD & Intel's offerings) are coming out later this year, so the choices available to you will change over time.

 

[·feist·]

so, I was thinking I should replace my Phenom 2 X2 925 sometime later this year. or would an overclock be suffice for gaming?

That depends on how you like the results that you're getting from your current build. Start with overclocking if you can, and move on from there.

Plenty of users are fine with OC'd dual cores and less-than-cutting-edge GPUs.

You partly answered my other question, thank you so much. So 2500K are supposedly more efficent than 2500 while having better overclocking potential (without going too much into details). Nice.

Oh, that would be the 2500T vs any other 2500/2600 variant. The 2500K is very similar to the standard 2500. Between the two, the "K" CPU's unlocked ability to overclock is also what allows you to get a big underclock if you want to lower heat and consumption.

Before 1155 was launched I was mentioning how some users were underclocking their engineering samples to 2.4-2.8GHz and still handily beating certain Intel and AMD retail chips.

 

[TheExodu5]

Yup. Clock for clock, Sandy Bridge shames everything else at this point. It's too bad they still won't be available for a few months. On the upside, maybe AMD will release Bulldozer by that point. Has there been any word on when it's coming out?

 

[JackEtc]

Yup. Clock for clock, Sandy Bridge shames everything else at this point. It's too bad they still won't be available for a few months. On the upside, maybe AMD will release Bulldozer by that point. Has there been any word on when it's coming out?

Up until a few weeks ago, I was working for a small computer store as a technician (kick-ass job for a high schooler, ). We were an AMD seller, and I think I heard my boss say something about April/May. I dunno if that's public information or not, or if it's even remotely true, but that's what he said. He was also kind of crazy, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

[antonz]

Up until a few weeks ago, I was working for a small computer store as a technician (kick-ass job for a high schooler, ). We were an AMD seller, and I think I heard my boss say something about April/May. I dunno if that's public information or not, or if it's even remotely true, but that's what he said. He was also kind of crazy, so take that with a grain of salt.

I would expect it around then maybe june/july. Its gonna be an issue of seeing how they perform versus sandy bridge. They cant afford to just match or slightly outperform considering they are supposed to be 8 core chips

 

[Kadey]

You guys know anything about streaming? Would having a better processor help?

 

[JackEtc]

You guys know anything about streaming? Would having a better processor help?

Streaming as in live video? Processor would help a ton, as it does with Fraps. That, and a good video card.

 

[Kadey]

I have an E8400@3.6ghz and 4870X2. Motherboard is 780i. Any recommendations. Yeah. My main deal is streaming now. I don't game on my PC although I have tons.

 

[·feist·]

Yup. Clock for clock, Sandy Bridge shames everything else at this point. It's too bad they still won't be available for a few months. On the upside, maybe AMD will release Bulldozer by that point. Has there been any word on when it's coming out?

We should have some info within the next 2-3 weeks (possibly sooner, if I'm not mistaken), but that will mostly be generic performance graphs, estimates (like the same ~3.5GHz+ "capable" that has been hinted at since last year), and further architecture info. Kinda surprising that we haven't seen much in the way of legit BD sample leaks so far, since they've been out since around December. Hell, we've seen really early 6- and 8-core LGA 2011 chips, boards, and double-latched Lotes sockets. Seems we'll have to wait until March for things to start picking up.

AMD missed a MAJOR opportunity by not having new, compelling product ready to capitalize on Intel's chipset slip up. Even if the actuall BD1 and Fusion desktop chips weren't on sale, they could have at least had AM3+, and, to a lesser extent, FM1 motherboards ready to go.

 

[From The Dust]

Start with the overclock. If you feel you still want the added performance, post again in this thread (with the games in question) and we'll help you out. You may or may not be limited by your CPU in the particular games in which you're interested. Bulldozer and Ivy Bridge (AMD & Intel's offerings) are coming out later this year, so the choices available to you will change over time.

That depends on how you like the results that you're getting from your current build. Start with overclocking if you can, and move on from there.

Plenty of users are fine with OC'd dual cores and less-than-cutting-edge GPUs

thanks. I'll prolly just go with the overclock for now since I'll be getting a new PSU and GPU soon

 

[Arken2121]

Aye. I just thought i'd get a general consensus about how things might go within the next 6 months on whether to just get the sandy or wait for the Ivy.

 

[antonz]

Aye. I just thought i'd get a general consensus about how things might go within the next 6 months on whether to just get the sandy or wait for the Ivy.

Sandy is definetly the way to go if you plan to upgrade this year. Ivy will be hitting around Jan or February for retail at least according to latest word. Since the Sandy Boards will be compatible with Ivy processors at least have options later

 

[Arken2121]

Sandy is definetly the way to go if you plan to upgrade this year. Ivy will be hitting around Jan or February for retail at least according to latest word. Since the Sandy Boards will be compatible with Ivy processors at least have options later

Ah. I just read that Intel was implementing sandy's for the 2011 socket. I thought it was 1155 for the longest time. Thank you.

 

[Kenka]

We should have some info within the next 2-3 weeks (possibly sooner, if I'm not mistaken), but that will mostly be generic performance graphs, estimates (like the same ~3.5GHz+ "capable" that has been hinted at since last year), and further architecture info.

AMD missed a MAJOR opportunity by not having new, compelling product ready to capitalize on Intel's chipset slip up. Even if the actuall BD1 and Fusion desktop chips weren't on sale, they could have at least had AM3+, and, to a lesser extent, FM1 motherboards ready to go.

I really hope that Bulldozer will be compatible with the AM3 socket. If there is zero chance that it is the case and if those Bulldozer CPUs really do bring a worthy piece of additional performance just as Sandy Bridge did, I will consider to hold on the purchase of a new build until the fog fades away and we get precise information on all of this.

 

[From The Dust]

I really hope that Bulldozer will be compatible with the AM3 socket. If there is zero chance that it is the case and if those Bulldozer CPUs really do bring a worthy piece of additional performance just as Sandy Bridge did, I will consider to hold on the purchase of a new build until the fog fades away and we get precise information on all of this.

I remember hearing they were supposed to be AM3+ sockets.

 

[Kenka]

Sandy is definetly the way to go if you plan to upgrade this year. Ivy will be hitting around Jan or February for retail at least according to latest word. Since the Sandy Boards will be compatible with Ivy processors at least have options later

Is this confirmed ? If this is the case, then hurra, CPUs won't be the bottleneck of any build for years to come.



edit :

I remember hearing they were supposed to be AM3+ sockets.

AM2 and AM3 processors will work in the AM3+ socket, but Bulldozer chips will not work in non-AM3+ motherboards.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2368186,00.asp

Fuck.

 

[zsswimmer]

Hey guys I posted in the gaming laptop thread but I'm pressed on time so I'd thought I would post a simple question here.


How does the Nvidia gt 540M stack up versus the Nvidia gtx 260M?

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Well said.

The 80% degradation after 1 year seems shockingly high to me, how do you know this?[/U] I know that the 520 I have has 81% efficiency at 100% load iirc (I was going to sub 75% in actually) and that it takes heat pretty well.

Yeah, that was something I read a long time ago, but searching now only yields this:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7272

It was probably bullshit then and it probably is now. The good news is that you can keep using your PSUs forever if they are decent quality. The bad news is, computer power requirements only keep increasing, so I still don't know if it's a good idea. Just make sure the fan still works and dust it regularly if you're going to use the same PSU for years, I guess.

Overclocking makes everything better!

Spoiler

Original PA comic here: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/10/30/

 

[Kenka]

Hey guys I posted in the gaming laptop thread but I'm pressed on time so I'd thought I would post a simple question here.


How does the Nvidia gt 540M stack up versus the Nvidia gtx 260M?

The 260M is more powerful. But I don't know if it supports DirectX 11. If you want DirectX 11 with somehow unexpensive stuff, go for the Mobility HD 5650. It is roughly on par with the 260M.

 

[From The Dust]

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2368186,00.asp

Fuck.

at least it's a good excuse to upgrade my mobo whenever Bulldozer comes out. unless I jump ship to Intel

 

[zsswimmer]

The 260M is more powerful. But I don't know if it supports DirectX 11. If you want DirectX 11 with somehow unexpensive stuff, go for the Mobility HD 5650.

Thanks

The reason I was asking was because there is a laptop that is $1000 with better specs including the GTX 285M. The Acer is 650 with the 540M and a few other downgraded specs. Just wondering how big a difference it is between the two.

 

[Kenka]

Thanks

The reason I was asking was because there is a laptop that is $1000 with better specs including the GTX 285M. The Acer is 650 with the 540M and a few other downgraded specs. Just wondering how big a difference it is between the two.

If your question was referring to the 285M, then you may consider both choices a bit more. The 285M is a very good card that will run most current games on med-high settings in a decent resolution (1366 x 720) but, again, doesn't support DirectX 11. Right now, with some bucks, you should aim for a card that allows you to behold the latest visual tricks. The HD Mobility 5650 is the current bang for bucks for portable GPUs but may get old pretty quickly. It's up to you, but if you value weight, maybe it is safe to go with this card for now. Make sure that you are able to upgrade it in the future though.

 

[zsswimmer]

If your question was referring to the 285M, then you may consider both choices a bit more. The 285M is a very good card that will run most current games on med-high settings in a decent resolution (1366 x 720) but, again, doesn't support DirectX 11. Right now, with some bucks, you should aim for a card that allows you to behold the latest visual tricks. The HD Mobility 5650 is the current bang for bucks for portable GPUs but may get old pretty quickly. It's up to you, but if you value weight, maybe it is safe to go with this card for now. Make sure that you are able to upgrade it in the future though.

Hmm. I was looking at the HP Envy and it has the ATI HD 5650M card. Its around the same price as the MSI laptop. Do you know anything about MSI's rep, haven't heard too much about them? And for the same price the MSI has the i7 versus the i5, and 6 gigs of ram versus 4. Damn decisions!

 

[JediMasterMatt]

My computer has now caught an SSD. I'm not sure if it was from unprotected downloading or what, but it is bad.

In all seriousness, adding the SSD has been the most noticable upgrade I've ever done to any machine I've built. Everything is just fast as fuck now. Even apps that still rely heavily on my media servers, like my photo shares of RAW files for Lightroom, benefit from their install footprint being on the solid state.

There is no going back after you get a taste for what is possible on these bad boys.

 

[Kenka]

Hmm. I was looking at the HP Envy and it has the ATI HD 5650M card. Its around the same price as the MSI laptop. Do you know anything about MSI's rep, haven't heard too much about them? And for the same price the MSI has the i7 versus the i5, and 6 gigs of ram versus 4. Damn decisions!

Mmmh, I am starting to understand where this is leading us to and I think you might consider this :

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c02529128&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=101&prodSeriesId=4247579&prodTypeId=321957

It's probably less expensive than an Envy and it boasts a good processor. It has an HD 5650 in its insides and it should be found both in Europe and the US for less than 1000 $.


You have this solution as well but the CPU looks oversized and its price is higher :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._Notebook_Pavilion_DV6-_-34-157-387-_-Product

edit : this is better

 

[TheExodu5]

<3 SSD

Can't wait for Intel G3 and C400.

 

[Naked Snake]

Even apps that still rely heavily on my media servers, like my photo shares of RAW files for Lightroom, benefit from their install footprint being on the solid state

What do you mean by "their install footprint"? Do you mean the LR Catalog?

 

[Kenka]

My computer has now caught an SSD. I'm not sure if it was from unprotected downloading or what, but it is bad.

In all seriousness, adding the SSD has been the most noticable upgrade I've ever done to any machine I've built. Everything is just fast as fuck now. Even apps that still rely heavily on my media servers, like my photo shares of RAW files for Lightroom, benefit from their install footprint being on the solid state.

There is no going back after you get a taste for what is possible on these bad boys.

Is it ? If you install a game on one of these drives, is the performance also improved ?

 

[antonz]

Is this confirmed ? If this is the case, then hurra, CPUs won't be the bottleneck of any build for years to come.



edit :


http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2368186,00.asp

Fuck.

The latest word is Sandy Boards will require a Bios update to run ivy chips but other than that will be fine. I Imagine it will have a few weaknesses like the lack of quad channel memory and such that Ivy boards will have but it is as you say a way to not be stuck with a useless board quickly.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Is it ? If you install a game on one of these drives, is the performance also improved ?

Games which constantly stream random unsynchronized data from the HDD (read: MMOGs) benefit hugely from SSDs. Other games will have dramatically improved load time between levels. However, many games these days are console ports and are optimized for loading from a very slow optical disc and SSDs will do nothing for those.

 

[Kenka]

Games which constantly stream data from the HDD (read: MMOGs) benefit hugely from SSDs. Other games will have dramatically improved load time between levels. However, many games these days are console ports and are optimized for loading from a very slow optical disc and SSDs will do nothing for those.

Thank you for this knowledgeable info. So overall, it's good to have Windows, Firefox and your media player installed on your SSD plus whatever ressource-consuming tool you'd use for work and, let's say, Aion ? If it is the case, then there is a 40 GB SSD which looks quite unexpensive compared to its friends. Everything should fit in there and there could be some room left for a Windows 8 upgrade.

 

[zsswimmer]

Mmmh, I am starting to understand where this is leading us to and I think you might consider this :

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c02529128&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=101&prodSeriesId=4247579&prodTypeId=321957

It's probably less expensive than an Envy and it boasts a good processor. It has an HD 5650 in its insides and it should be found both in Europe and the US for less than 1000 $.


You have this solution as well but the CPU looks oversized and its price is higher :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._Notebook_Pavilion_DV6-_-34-157-387-_-Product

edit : this is better

That last one you posted, I'm not too familiar with amd cpus. I assume the phenom quad core is fairly powerful. Good price, definitely will be on my top list. Thanks for the informative posts man. In all honesty the most demanding game on my laptop now is bad company 2. Sounds like the 5650 would be fine for me.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Thank you for this knowledgeable info. So overall, it's good to have Windows, Firefox and your media player installed on your SSD plus whatever ressource-consuming tool you'd use for work and, let's say, Aion ? If it is the case, then there is a 40 GB SSD which looks quite unexpensive compared to its friends. Everything should fit in there and there could be some room left for a Windows 8 upgrade.

My standard policy is to buy way more hard drive than you think you'll need, because one day, not only will you need it but it will become way too small sooner than you think. Of course, SSDs are incredibly expensive right now, so my dream of a 1TB SSD is a dream which will remain deferred.

 

[RedSwirl]

Okay can someone at least give me some tips fow differentiating the pros and cons of different versions of the same GPU?

 

[JediMasterMatt]

What do you mean by "their install footprint"? Do you mean the LR Catalog?

Yes. I meant anything you install on the drive itself. My catalog files are on my C: which is now the SSD. Lightroom's ability to edit and work with the catalog is much improved, even though the RAW files it's working with are still on an HDD.

An example would be that although the initial load of Lightroom is still limited by it connecting to the HDDs of my media server, jumping from preview to preview and functions like processing changes to the files or exporting them out to another HDD are increased.

Photoshop is vastly improved in opening and rendering.

My HDR software also is able to process images much quicker as well.

Very impressive thus far.

 

[teh_pwn]

Okay can someone at least give me some tips fow differentiating the pros and cons of different versions of the same GPU?

Benchmarks, reviews.

First I get a feel of what's best based on benchmarks:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU11/188
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/

Then I choose the specific vendor by looking at newegg reviews.

Special cases to consider:
-Cost
-Power
-Heat
-CF & SLI with the factors above compared to single boards

I found that 6950 CF fit my budget/performance target. If you aren't going to upgrade, it's really hard to justify getting a single 6970 or GTX580 compared to a 6850 CF or 460 SLI.

 

[SRG01]

Seems that way. The initial run of Fusion parts are low-end compared to what's coming later this year, and, especially, what's on deck for 2012.

At the very least, you should consider upgrading whatever components may be holding you back the most.

I'm on a 4-year old laptop right now, connected to an external monitor. T7500 with the 8400GS, so it's fairly old.

 

[MisterAnderson]

A noob question, but how do I adjust my CPU fan's speed?

Edit: Also is it not advised to turn on turbo boost when overclocking i7's? It would be cool to have the turbo boost's features (low clock when idling, but boosted up when gaming to conserve power/keep idle temps down) but I'm not sure if that's possible?

At stock when I was using turbo boost it would max out at 2.9 GHz on prime95 (2.66 stock). I believe it would only increase the multiplier by 1 but I might be mistaken...

 

[cartman414]

Thank you for this knowledgeable info. So overall, it's good to have Windows, Firefox and your media player installed on your SSD plus whatever ressource-consuming tool you'd use for work and, let's say, Aion ? If it is the case, then there is a 40 GB SSD which looks quite unexpensive compared to its friends. Everything should fit in there and there could be some room left for a Windows 8 upgrade.

You might want an SSD that's a bit bigger. Speed is somewhat proportional to size.

 

[Negator]

Awesome. Ordered most parts that I need. At this point I'm only missing the motherboard (INTEL!!!), the video card, and the hard drives (120GB SSD and 1TB internal).

I can't wait to finally order a motherboard for my 2500k.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

any ideas on what price range we are looking at for ivy bridge?

 

[Kenka]

My standard policy is to buy way more hard drive than you think you'll need, because one day, not only will you need it but it will become way too small sooner than you think. Of course, SSDs are incredibly expensive right now, so my dream of a 1TB SSD is a dream which will remain deferred.

I guess we stil need some time before reaching that point. In what case I think, data transfer from one SSD to another will be common and thus, there will be no need in re-installing all the stuff on the new drive.

You might want an SSD that's a bit bigger. Speed is somewhat proportional to size.

Really ? In that case, well.... pff, let's just wait.

That last one you posted, I'm not too familiar with amd cpus. I assume the phenom quad core is fairly powerful. Good price, definitely will be on my top list. Thanks for the informative posts man. In all honesty the most demanding game on my laptop now is bad company 2. Sounds like the 5650 would be fine for me.

It will, indeed. It's on par with the i5-580M. The laptop itself is not future-proof but as some would say here, real men go for desktop gaming a 5650 is turhfully not a bad deal, especially since it comes in relatively light laptops. Your back will be thankful.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

For the first time ever, I can finally answer the nearly four-year old question But can it run Crysis? with a resounding You'd better fucking believe it, buddy!

GeForce GTX 470 SLI is like the most amazing thing ever. 1920x1200, all settings on Ultra High, 16x Anisotropic, 8x AA, Transparency Multisampling, Fullscreen, Vsync Off, and I'm seeing 50-60fps continuously. I am deeply, madly in love with SLI right now.

 

[Stahsky]

Bought a R.A.T.7 mouse. Came in a little while ago. Pretty rad mouse. Now if only my PC worked so I could play stuff!

 

[ZombieFred]

Hi guys, can anyone on here recommend me the best thermal paste and cleaner with lint free wipes that are best for price and being reliable? Thanks in advance

 

[Waikis]

Migrated my pc to ATCS 840.

Prob gonna do more cbl management tomorrow.

 

[Mr Nightman]

Hey guys, I am currently looking for a 24 pin power cable extender, since mine barely reaches in my new case. Just looking for the best priced one around 6 inches long or so. Any suggestions?

 

[Zel3]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I think I'm going to purchase a Noctua NH-D14 and overclock my 920. It should be a nice performance boost going from 2.6Ghz to 3.5Ghz or whatever speeds I can achieve. I'm going to sell my GTX 470 to my friend and get a GTX 570, that should hold me over till LGA2011 and GTX 680 come out.

You guys think the 6/8 core Sandy Bridge processors will be $1000+ like the 980x?

 

[Veal]

I have question about Crossfire y'all. I have a PSU rated at 750 watts and a mother board that has a 16X pci-e lane and 4X lane. It states everywhere that it is Crossfire ready. Would the massive difference in lane speeds be a concern for CF? Is 750 watts enough to power two 6870's in CF without pushing the PSU too hard?