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[InertiaXr]

Can anybody help me out

I'll just quote what I posted earlier:

I can only speak to OCing using MSI Afterburner for my gtx460, however it should be mostly all the same. The way I did it which is the same way I was recommended to do here is up your memory or core clock by 5-10mhz then run Furmark for 10-15minutes. If your card is fine from that, no artifacts etc, then up it again by 5-10mhz and keep going until you see artifacts. At that point just drop back down to whatever clock speed you were able to run Furmark at without any artifacts.

 

[FatBaby]

Hey guys, I've been kind of in and out of this thread just lurking but I'd figure would make a post asking for some advise. I'm looking for some input for a upgrade to my computer I have been thinking about. I'll jump to what I have right now:


- Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
- GIGABYTE GA-MA78G-DS3H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
- SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM 600W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
- AMD Phenom 8650 Toliman 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Triple-Core Processor HD8650WCGHBOX
- NVIDIA EVGA 9800GTX (I don't know any other specs)
- 4GB Ram (1GB x 4) (Again, I don't really know the specs on this)


While everything runs great as it currently stands, every so often now, I run into a game that will start to give me some issue in terms of performance. Basically I am looking for an upgrade for the games coming in the future (namely Battlefield 3 I guess). I'd like to see how much I can keep intact and just upgrade where needed.

Since I had a friend help me build this computer I went to him for some advice. He came back to me with this:

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851

XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506

Without saying anything else (I've asked but he hasn't responded yet) I assume this is all I need to upgrade. He mentioned that I would need to upgrade the BIOS on the motherboard for the CPU to work. I'm not too familiar with how that all works but I am under the impression that BIOS flashing = bad or something. Is it easy to do?

I guess what I am getting at is, would this be a worth while upgrade? Is there something else you guys might recommend? Is there something coming later in the year I should be looking at instead? Do I need more ram, power, etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dynamic3]

Try running diskmgmt.msc from the Start menu. Does it show up there?

It says I must initialize a disk before I use it. Edit: I selected MBR and the drive shows, but says 'unallocated'.

 

[shinobi602]

I can only speak to OCing using MSI Afterburner for my gtx460, however it should be mostly all the same. The way I did it which is the same way I was recommended to do here is up your memory or core clock by 5-10mhz then run Furmark for 10-15minutes. If your card is fine from that, no artifacts etc, then up it again by 5-10mhz and keep going until you see artifacts. At that point just drop back down to whatever clock speed you were able to run Furmark at without any artifacts.

Ok thanks alot.

I'm kind of noob when it comes to PC tech (building my first PC this summer), what exactly are artifacts?

 

[MisterNoisy]

It says I must initialize a disk before I use it. Edit: I selected MBR and the drive shows, but says 'unallocated'.

I think Initialization is on the right-click menu in the Disk Management console. Just right-click the disk and you should be able to proceed.

EDIT: At that point, I think you can right-click it again and assign it a drive letter from 'Change Drive Letter and Paths'.

 

[Dynamic3]

I think Initialization is on the right-click menu in the Disk Management console. Just right-click the disk and you should be able to proceed.

I did initialize it but it remains 'unallocated'.

Edit: figured it out, just needed to right click and select a volume to create.

 

[MisterNoisy]

I did initialize it but it remains 'unallocated'.

Edit: figured it out, just needed to right click and select a volume to create.

So everything is copacetic?

 

[shinobi602]

I can only speak to OCing using MSI Afterburner for my gtx460, however it should be mostly all the same. The way I did it which is the same way I was recommended to do here is up your memory or core clock by 5-10mhz then run Furmark for 10-15minutes. If your card is fine from that, no artifacts etc, then up it again by 5-10mhz and keep going until you see artifacts. At that point just drop back down to whatever clock speed you were able to run Furmark at without any artifacts.

Also...uhh, I was reading up on Furmark and saw some pictures of fried GPUs...I mean, I don't want to burn anything lol >__>

 

[Dynamic3]

So everything is copacetic?

In terms of the hdd, yes, thank you for your help! Edit: another hdd issue, my 120gb ssd shows only 87gb avail after w7 install, is this normal?

Fan 3 still isn't showing up though which bothers me.

 

[mkenyon]

Without saying anything else (I've asked but he hasn't responded yet) I assume this is all I need to upgrade. He mentioned that I would need to upgrade the BIOS on the motherboard for the CPU to work. I'm not too familiar with how that all works but I am under the impression that BIOS flashing = bad or something. Is it easy to do?

I guess what I am getting at is, would this be a worth while upgrade? Is there something else you guys might recommend? Is there something coming later in the year I should be looking at instead? Do I need more ram, power, etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I switched from an AM2+ board w/ DDR2 Mem and a 9850 Phenom to a Crosshair IV with DDR3 1600 and a 970 @ 4.0Ghz. There were a lot of improvements and the memory upgrade as well as a mobo that could handle a lot of traffic really helped out performance. If you are dead set on going the same sort of route, then I really think you should upgrade your motherboard and RAM as well. Also go for a 1090T or 1100T because they can hit much higher clocks due to being made from superior silicon. If you can find it in you to spend just a bit more, a 2500K processor and 1155 motherboard is well worth the extra money, and will help futureproof your system more.

I went this route because I needed some extra power cheap and fast due to Civ V and APB bogging down my previous rig. I also did it knowing I'd be upgrading to the socket 2011 or AM3+ when they released, but I allocate a lot of my discretionary budget to computer building. So, you will get a really nice improvement, but it's not the best investment to go for an AM3 processor right now.

 

[InertiaXr]

Ok thanks alot.

I'm kind of noob when it comes to PC tech (building my first PC this summer), what exactly are artifacts?

I'm not sure how to describe artifacts exactly, but in any event they just make your image all janky looking. It's the type of thing that you will definitiely notice especially if your running Furmark.

http://www.overclock.net/attachment...tifacts-screen-computer-freezing-dsc02459.jpg

The green globs in that screen are artifacts

 

[FatBaby]

I switched from an AM2+ board w/ DDR2 Mem and a 9850 Phenom to a Crosshair IV with DDR3 1600 and a 970 @ 4.0Ghz. There were a lot of improvements and the memory upgrade as well as a mobo that could handle a lot of traffic really helped out performance. If you are dead set on going the same sort of route, then I really think you should upgrade your motherboard and RAM as well. Also go for a 1090T or 1100T because they can hit much higher clocks due to being made from superior silicon. If you can find it in you to spend just a bit more, a 2500K processor and 1155 motherboard is well worth the extra money, and will help futureproof your system more.

I went this route because I needed some extra power cheap and fast due to Civ V and APB bogging down my previous rig. I also did it knowing I'd be upgrading to the socket 2011 or AM3+ when they released, but I allocate a lot of my discretionary budget to computer building. So, you will get a really nice improvement, but it's not the best investment to go for an AM3 processor right now.

Yeah, I kind of figured as much. I've been back and forth about the motherboard the most I think. I don't mind spending a little more money if it means I won't need to worry about it for a little while longer.

I always hate when it's time to upgrade. Feels like I am doing something wrong.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Is this a good price for this board?

How good is that board?

 

[MisterNoisy]

In terms of the hdd, yes, thank you for your help! Edit: another hdd issue, my 120gb ssd shows only 87gb avail after w7 install, is this normal?

Fan 3 still isn't showing up though which bothers me.

As long as your total capacity shows up as something around 111GB, you're normal. Roughly 10GBs or so for the OS, 10GBs lost to the variances in the ways HDD manufacturers and Windows measure capacity, swap/page file, hibernation files, system restore files, etc. plus anything else that you've installed and that doesn't seem too out of line.

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over a fan not reporting speed as long as it's running normally, to be honest.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Is this a good price for this board?

How good is that board?

I'm using it right now and that's about what I paid for it. It's missing a couple of features from the full-size Pro-spec P67 board (it's mATX, after all), but I have no complaints.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

I'm using it right now. It's missing a couple of features from the full-size Pro-spec P67 board (it's mATX, after all), but I have no complaints.

How much extra is the Pro? And are those extra features worth it?

Also so this board can't overclock?

 

[MisterNoisy]

How much extra is the Pro? And are those extra features worth it?

Also so this board can't overclock?

Not sure what the full-ATX P8P67 PRO went for, since I was explicitly looking for a mATX solution when I got the P8P67-M PRO. The biggest difference I could see aside from size/expansion slot count were the smaller heatsinks and the lack of a front-USB3 header on the -M PRO, though I am sure there are others. While I like using full ATX when possible - if only because I like the extra room - I wanted a smaller overall build this time for LAN gaming though.

And yea - H67 isn't going to facilitate overclocking.

 

[pseudocaesar]

I have a case already, just want to get some advice on this build. Where to save money and not lose too much power etc.
Phenom II X6 1090T Black edition
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14169

Radeon 6970 2GB
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16697

Corsair 2x4gb 1600mhz ddr3 dual channel ram
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=15938

Coolermast 750w psu
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14857

Mobo
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14750

Just requoting cos it got missed.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Not sure what the full-ATX P8P67 PRO went for, since I was explicitly looking for a mATX solution when I got the P8P67-M PRO. The biggest difference I could see aside from size/expansion slot count were the smaller heatsinks and the lack of a front-USB3 header on the -M PRO. I like using full ATX when possible though, if only because I like the extra room.

And yea - H67 isn't going to facilitate overclocking.

Can I use this on it?

Also what do you mean by "size"?

 

[MisterNoisy]

Can I use this on it?

Also what do you mean by "size"?

Yea - I'm using a Xigmatek SD1283, which is pretty much identical to the Hyper 212. The socket dimensions are identical to 1156.

By size, I'm referring to the difference between the P8P67-M PRO, which is a Micro-ATX motherboard (4 expansion slots; 9.6" x 9.6") vs. ATX (7 expansion slots; 12" x 9.6") - literally the physical size of the motherboard.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Just requoting cos it got missed.

Switch to a 2GB 6950 and flash it to 6970 for starters.

Dropping to 4GB RAM wouldn't really affect gaming performance negatively, but it's always nice to have too much.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Yea - I'm using a Xigmatek SD1283, which is pretty much identical to the Hyper 212. The socket dimensions are identical to 1156.

By size, I'm referring to the difference between the P8P67-M PRO, which is a Micro-ATX motherboard (4 expansion slots; 9.6" x 9.6") vs. ATX (7 expansion slots; 12" x 9.6") - literally the physical size of the motherboard.

What's the benefit to extra space?

 

[MisterNoisy]

What's the benefit to extra space?

3 more expansion slots, more features (generally speaking), bigger chipset heatsinks usually and more room when building. I won't tell you not to get the M-PRO - I think it's a great little board, but if I was building in a roomy mid-tower, I'd go for a standard ATX board - again, if only because of the space and extra expansion opportunities.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

3 more expansion slots, more features (generally speaking), bigger chipset heatsinks usually and more room when building. I won't tell you not to get the M-PRO - I think it's a great little board, but if I was building in a roomy mid-tower, I'd go for a standard ATX board - again, if only because of the space and extra expansion opportunities.

I'm going to be sticking a 6850 in there. Should that be alright?

 

[MisterNoisy]

I'm going to be sticking a 6850 in there. Should that be alright?

Your case and PSU will be the only limiting factors there - you can put any PCI-E card in the full-size PCI-E slot(s) and it'll be fine - that motherboard even supports x8/x8 Xfire/SLI.

One other advantage to regular ATX: Typically, your video cards go in the second and fourth slots of an ATX board instead of the first and third ones. Not a huge deal with the Hyper 212, but with bigger coolers it can be an issue.

 

[MisterAnderson]

I got a gtx 580 and nvidia 3d vision. Holy crap Crysis 2, Arkham Asylum and Mirror's Edge looks and runs amazing in 1080p 3D.

sogood.gif

Going to go try like every game I own now. One thing though, how come wherever I try to download nHancer (even from the link in the OP) I get the same webpage error? It's like all the mirror's have been taken down...

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Your case and PSU will be the only limiting factors there - you can put any PCI-E card in the full-size PCI-E slot(s) and it'll be fine - that motherboard even supports x8/x8 Xfire/SLI.

One other advantage to regular ATX: Typically, your video cards go in the second and fourth slots of an ATX board instead of the first and third ones. Not a huge deal with the Hyper 212, but with bigger coolers it can be an issue.

So in other words I don't need to worry?

 

[scoobs]

So to follow up with OCing with afterburner.. Alota people are saying to bump the fan speed to 100%, is this bad for your card? Its obviously super loud and makes me worry about the life of the cards i have in there.

 

[MisterNoisy]

So in other words I don't need to worry?

Pretty much.

 

[BY2K]

In preparation for Battlefield 3, I greatly need new hardware.

I have a 5770 I want to keep (unless you tell me it's not gonna be enough), but I really need a new MB, CPU and RAM (at least 6, just to be safe) with a budget of 500$.

What do you guys suggest me?

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Alright my build is finished.

Just have to wait for the motherboard to get back in stock.

CPU

Motherboard

GPU

Power Supply

RAM

Heatsink

Case

Hard-Drive


Did I do good?

 

[MisterAnderson]

Is there any particular reason why at my TV's native resolution (1080p) there is severe overscan? This is with a GTX 580. Never had any issues like this with my old 4890 which is why I ask. The only way for me to see my entire desktop is to downgrade the resolution to 1824x1026 by using nvidia's control panel desktop resizer tool.

 

[MisterNoisy]

In preparation for Battlefield 3, I greatly need new hardware.

I have a 5770 I want to keep (unless you tell me it's not gonna be enough), but I really need a new MB, CPU and RAM (at least 6, just to be safe) with a budget of 500$.

What do you guys suggest me?

P67 motherboard - there aren't a lot available at the moment, but figure $150-180

Core i5 2500K - $230

Any of a number of 1.5v 4GBx2 RAM kits (1600 @ CL9 or 1333 at CL7/8 - I like G.Skill and Corsair) - $100

Alright my build is finished.

Just have to wait for the motherboard to get back in stock.

CPU

Motherboard

GPU

Power Supply

RAM

Heatsink

Case

Hard-Drive


Did I do good?

Looks good to me.

 

[vazel]

Is there any particular reason why at my TV's native resolution (1080p) there is severe overscan? This is with a GTX 580. Never had any issues like this with my old 4890 which is why I ask. The only way for me to see my entire desktop is to downgrade the resolution to 1824x1026 by using nvidia's control panel desktop resizer tool.

It's your tv that's doing it. ati underscans by default so that's why you didn't notice it on your 4890.

 

[BigBlackGamer]

Is there any particular reason why at my TV's native resolution (1080p) there is severe overscan? This is with a GTX 580. Never had any issues like this with my old 4890 which is why I ask. The only way for me to see my entire desktop is to downgrade the resolution to 1824x1026 by using nvidia's control panel desktop resizer tool.

you have full pixel enabled on your set? it's weird because with my 6970 and my HDTV I have underscan and I have to increase over-scan.

 

[scoobs]

Keeping my gtx470 fans @ 75% and they're in game temps are maxing at 69degrees celcius. Is this acceptable?

 

[BY2K]

P67 motherboard - there aren't a lot available at the moment, but figure $150-180

Core i5 2500K - $230

Any of a number of 1.5v 4GBx2 RAM kits (1600 @ CL9 or 1333 at CL7/8 - I like G.Skill and Corsair) - $100

Looks like awesome, stuff, keeping notes. Thanks.

 

[shinobi602]

Playing the Witcher, max everything, 1366x768 res (max I can go on my monitor), and my card is reading 95 degrees C....

I'm guessing that's not good at all >__>

It was factory OC'd to 650MHz...but damn is that much strain on it?

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Looks good to me.

You think I'll need a second fan or will the huge extra space due to it being a micro board be enough?

 

[scoobs]

Playing the Witcher, max everything, 1366x768 res (max I can go on my monitor), and my card is reading 95 degrees C....

I'm guessing that's not good at all >__>

It was factory OC'd to 650MHz...but damn is that much strain on it?

That seems quite high. Is your case super dusty or something? Mabye ur fan is clogged

 

[Corky]

Need new pc fml...

Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 REV B3

1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ

Corsair 8GB (2x4096MB) 1600MHz XMS3

Intel Core i5 2500K 3,3GHz

Noctua NH-D14

Gigabyte Radeon HD6990 Antilles 4GB

Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus

Corsair TX 850W V2 80+ Bronze

Samsung SH-S223C 22X DL




Good/bad/ugly? Compatible? Off the bat I don't want to get an SSD before they get a tad cheaper and vertex 3 is released or whatever.

The problem is, should I wait ? Is there anything on the horizon within the foreseeable future? People are talking about the next batch of gpus ( 28nm ? ) coming in like a year or so.

I don't want to buy this and just have to upgrade it in a year :[

 

[shinobi602]

That seems quite high. Is your case super dusty or something? Mabye ur fan is clogged

Maybe, pretty much haven't dusted or cleaned out the PC since I got it (2008).

Yea I know, that's atrocious, but I wasn't into PC gaming before, just starting to get into it, so I'm going to clean it out tomorrow.

 

[The M.O.B]

Need new pc fml...

Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 REV B3

1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ

Corsair 8GB (2x4096MB) 1600MHz XMS3

Intel Core i5 2500K 3,3GHz

Noctua NH-D14

Gigabyte Radeon HD6990 Antilles 4GB

Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus

Corsair TX 850W V2 80+ Bronze

Samsung SH-S223C 22X DL

Are you serious?

 

[StayUp]

I'm looking to upgrade my GPU to an GTX580. What would be the best one, a MSI N580GTX Twin Frozr II?

 

[Corky]

Are you serious?

yeap, I've looked at the prices and the 6990 runs me less money than gtx 570 sli.

I won't be playing at higher res than 1080p, but I am a n a l about games not running at 60fps, pisses me off. :[

But I might hold off for a while seeing as there won't any games until like q4 or so.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

The more I think about it, the more I'm glad that I bit into a SSD.

This will work wonders for my animation hobby.

 

[Corky]

The more I think about it, the more I'm glad that I bit into a SSD.

This will work wonders for my animation hobby.

the zippyness of an SSD far surpasses the feeling of a new mobo/ram/cpu/whatever in certain aspects of daily pcusage

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Hey guys, I've been kind of in and out of this thread just lurking but I'd figure would make a post asking for some advise. I'm looking for some input for a upgrade to my computer I have been thinking about. I'll jump to what I have right now:


- Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
- GIGABYTE GA-MA78G-DS3H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
- SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM 600W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
- AMD Phenom 8650 Toliman 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Triple-Core Processor HD8650WCGHBOX
- NVIDIA EVGA 9800GTX (I don't know any other specs)
- 4GB Ram (1GB x 4) (Again, I don't really know the specs on this)


While everything runs great as it currently stands, every so often now, I run into a game that will start to give me some issue in terms of performance. Basically I am looking for an upgrade for the games coming in the future (namely Battlefield 3 I guess). I'd like to see how much I can keep intact and just upgrade where needed.

Since I had a friend help me build this computer I went to him for some advice. He came back to me with this:

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851

XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506

Without saying anything else (I've asked but he hasn't responded yet) I assume this is all I need to upgrade. He mentioned that I would need to upgrade the BIOS on the motherboard for the CPU to work. I'm not too familiar with how that all works but I am under the impression that BIOS flashing = bad or something. Is it easy to do?

I guess what I am getting at is, would this be a worth while upgrade? Is there something else you guys might recommend? Is there something coming later in the year I should be looking at instead? Do I need more ram, power, etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

For gaming I would save $50 and go with a Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition. Take the $50 savings and use it to purchase an AMD 6950 instead of the 6870.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125356&cm_re=6950-_-14-125-356-_-Product

BAM, much better gaming rig for basically the same amount.

 

[EarsOfASnake]

the zippyness of an SSD far surpasses the feeling of a new mobo/ram/cpu/whatever in certain aspects of daily pcusage

This. It's the simple things that really shine with an SSD, like your computer turning on/off in 20 seconds.

 

[Moobabe]

I figure that this is the best place to ask this; I bought a PC about 4 months ago but and have just recently started to have problems. Almost EVERY game I run crashes - I can still play but the crashes come at random intervals - and I'm getting at LEAST 2 BSOD every day - specifically Memory Management and Bad_Pool_Header/Bad_Page_Header ones.

How do I ascertain what the problem is - are they related - and how can I go about fixing it?