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[knitoe]

Since I'm upgrading the other stuff I might as well update the RAM as well.

This is the RAM currently in my system

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

My motherboard says that it will support 1333. Can you mix and match RAM?

Can anyone suggest RAM that would be faster and a good price that would work in this setup?

All you ram will run at the same speed that you setup in the bios. Thus, if you are currently running 1000 Mhz, whatever faster ram speed you install will still only run at that 1000 Mhz unless you change it in your bios. But, if you change to a higher speed, you old ram maybe not able able to run at that setting.

Generally, if you want to run faster ram speeds, ditch the old ram and just use new ones. Or, you are going to have to try overclocking you old ram. Also, you only want to mix match ram with the same timings.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Are you sure that this power supply will last me another build?

On the 6850's system requirements it says 500W power supply recommended.

When I overclock the 2500k and possibly the 6850 I'm worried that it'll be too much on it.

 

[RedSwirl]

The HD 6850 is fully installed and everything seems to be working.

Mainly, compared to the 8800 my framerates have gone up and now I can play absolutely all my games maxed out. Crysis used to run at 30-45fps with settings between medium and high (not max). Now it runs at the same framerate maxed out. Now I can also really see the difference with Warhead. The last time I tried to run the game on Enthusiast I got a glimpse of some real-as-shit graphics running at a 10fps slideshow before I had to shut it down after about five seconds. Now I can actually play it in that mode, it looks markedly better than Crysis, and it rarely goes below 30fps in DX10.

The Dragon Age II demo actually runs smoothly in DX11 where before it was almost unplayable in DX10.

Call of Duty 4 looks the same but runs between 90 and 160fps.

Oh, and this thing is actually QUIETER than my PS3 Slim.

Thanks for all the help. I'll probably try building a whole system sometime next year.

 

[matmanx1]

On the heels of the Define R3s going on sale, Newegg has finally put up the complete XL full tower case pages, with pricing info.

Those cases are freaking gorgeous and I'm glad NewEgg is finally going to be carrying them. That said I'm extremely pleased with my Silverstone Raven RV02 because I don't have the space to put a full tower in my PC desk but the RV02 fits very well and still gives me tons of space to work with.

 

[Trojita]

All you ram will run at the same speed that you setup in the bios. Thus, if you are currently running 1000 Mhz, whatever faster ram speed you install will still only run at that 1000 Mhz unless you change it in your bios. But, if you change to a higher speed, you old ram maybe not able able to run at that setting.

Generally, if you want to run faster ram speeds, ditch the old ram and just use new ones. Or, you are going to have to try overclocking you old ram. Also, you only want to mix match ram with the same timings.

Damn I didn't want to replace most of my comptur lol. The RAM I have seems to be the only kind it would take more of according to your criteria. It's expensive and wouldn't even seem worth it but I wouldn't want to completely replace everything to get 8 GB. I was hoping I would only have to spend $40 for 4GB more :lol

 

[·feist·]

Nice. I love my R2 but it is a bit small, but it's workable. That case is perfect if it can fit my huge ass HX-1000 psu.

Here it is with an AX850, which is 1.5" shorter than your HX:

 

[Dinokill]

What do you guys think of this GPU?

PowerColor AX6850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready

I'm also planning to get a core i5-2500k SB and a H67 mobo.

I was planning to get a P67 mobo but I dont plan to overclock the cpu past 4 GHz.

 

[·feist·]

Good GPU from a reputable brand, but...

What do you guys think of this GPU?

PowerColor AX6850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready

I'm also planning to get a core i5-2500k SB and a H67 mobo.

I was planning to get a P67 mobo but I dont plan to overclock the cpu past 4 GHz.

...with an H67, you can barely overclock at all.

 

[opticalmace]

Are you sure that this power supply will last me another build?

On the 6850's system requirements it says 500W power supply recommended.

When I overclock the 2500k and possibly the 6850 I'm worried that it'll be too much on it.

At stock speeds I think it should be totally fine. If you crank them both up for overclocks I'm not sure, but if I were in your shoes I would definitely try it out with that PSU first, and get a new one later if you need it (IMO).

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

At stock speeds I think it should be totally fine. If you crank them both up for overclocks I'm not sure, but if I were in your shoes I would definitely try it out with that PSU first, and get a new one later if you need it (IMO).

Good.

Any other opinions?

 

[Zabojnik]

Hey guys. I recently upgraded my PC to a Core i7 2600K, Gigabyte P67A-UD3P, 4GB (soon to be 8GB) of DDR3 RAM and a full-HD 24" monitor.

The only 'old' component left is the 8800GTX, which has served me extremely well for a long time, if you don't count the noise under full-load and the insane amounts of heat it produces even during desktop use. I'd like to get a new graphics card, but I have some doubts. My budget is about 350 euros (~ 480$) and I could get even a little higher, but I'd actually like to spend a little less, if it makes sense. I can get a HD6950 2GB for about 270 euros (~ 375$). I'm not a particularly avid PC gamer, but I would like to own something that will be able to run games such as Witcher 2, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Crysis 2 and possibly even Battlefield 3 at 1920x1080 and at more or less maximum settings. (The latter being an impossibility, I'm sure.) What would be your recommendation for someone like me?

Also, how much to you think I should be asking for the used 8800GTX? Thanks.

 

[MacAttack]

In regard to overclocking:

I use EVGA precision for oc'ing the GPU, nHancer for things like forcing AA in SCII, and SpeedFan to control the fan and monitor temps?

What do I use to oc the CPU, and are there general settings that I should use as a starting point?

I have a 2500K and a 560 for reference.

Blind leading the blind here so I may be totally doing this wrong but Im running a 10 min furmark burn in test to test for artifacts/heat/stability on my 560. (Using Afterburner to set clock speed)

Im not sure if you ended up going with the MSI mb or not but they have a sweet little button on the board that will instantly overclock (OC Genie) for you. I got a 4.2Ghz on my 2500k with a 1.36 core voltage with it. For that little amount of work Im perfectly happy rolling with that for now.

 

[ChRoNiTe]

Welp, just transfered my parts to my new 650D this evening. Have to say it was pretty painless. Previous case was a Rosewill Blackbone

and for comparison here's my previous case...

 

[MacAttack]

And just so I have this right in my head, when I am overclocking the GPU core speeds (in increments of ~20mHz) I am trying to get my system to crash/show artifacts so that I know where the ceiling is? And then just back it off 5-10mHz and test again. If it is stable, then Im done?

Complete n00b in doing this but I did a little research even if there isnt a ton of direction out there besides what Ive just said.

 

[Dynamic3]

Blind leading the blind here so I may be totally doing this wrong but Im running a 10 min furmark burn in test to test for artifacts/heat/stability on my 560. (Using Afterburner to set clock speed)

Im not sure if you ended up going with the MSI mb or not but they have a sweet little button on the board that will instantly overclock (OC Genie) for you. I got a 4.2Ghz on my 2500k with a 1.36 core voltage with it. For that little amount of work Im perfectly happy rolling with that for now.

Yeah I have the 55, I'm having an issue with only my CPU fan and sys fan 1 and 2 showing, I can't get sys fan 3 to show up regardless of what connector I use on the mb.

 

[MacAttack]

Im just using the CPU fan. My other fans have switches on the case and I just keep them on low speed. Im ok with my temps as is. The case seems to have pretty decent airflow.

edit for clarification: my other fans are hooked up to molex adapters from the PSU.

 

[Artanisix]

If you're getting a speaker setup that has it's own amp/sound control system, you don't really need a soundcard, as you'll be getting audio through optical which is a single source. I could be wrong on that, but that's my understanding.

You are correct. Digital is digital and the source doesn't matter, only the decoder at the end of the line handles how it is converted to audio. Soundcards only matter if you're using analog outs which is probably still a large proportion of PC users.

Huh I see. Thanks for the heads up. Just to clarify, this means I won't need the sound card, right? That'd be great, that'll shave a good $150 off the final cost.

 

[cackhyena]

Welp, just transfered my parts to my new 650D this evening. Have to say it was pretty painless. Previous case was a Rosewill Blackbone

and for comparison here's my previous case...

Really nice.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Are you sure that this power supply will last me another build?

On the 6850's system requirements it says 500W power supply recommended.

When I overclock the 2500k and possibly the 6850 I'm worried that it'll be too much on it.

Again anybody else?

I'm really nervous.

 

[Fredescu]

Again anybody else?

I'm really nervous.

It'll be fine even with overclocking, but if you can see yourself increasing your power usage down the track, like perhaps your next build will have a greedier GPU or something, it doesn't cost all that much more to get a nice 600w+ PSU:

If you don't care about modular:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096

If you do:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

It'll be fine even with overclocking, but if you can see yourself increasing your power usage down the track, like perhaps your next build will have a greedier GPU or something, it doesn't cost all that much more to get a nice 600w+ PSU:

If you don't care about modular:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096

If you do:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

So if I'm overclocking both the 2500k and 6850 it should be fine?

Also thanks.

I think I'll just keep this and buy another power supply for my next upgrade.

Sorry it was just that I was lurking around on other forums with people who made similar topics and many people said "HORRIBLE PSU! DO NOT OVERCLOCK!"

 

[JWong]

OOOOOH HELL YES!

When I bought my Nvidia GTX 560 Ti, I saved $50 on an NCIX sale.
A new sale came up and both my G.Skill 4gig RAM and i7 2600k went on sale!

Nvidia GTX 560 Ti (279.99) - Sale 229.99, Save $50
Intel Core i7 2600K Quad Core Unlocked Hyperthreading Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Sandy Bridge 8MB (344.98) - Sale 309.99, Save $34.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory (54.43) - Sale 39.99, Save $14.44

Total savings: $99.43

 

[Datwheezy]

If I am picking up a motherboard that has 4 RAM slots, should I fill all the slots (is only filling 2 going to degrade my performance)? Also if I have 2 x 1GB sticks already, can I pick up another 2 x 1gb set from another company or should I stick to only one manufacturer?

Edit: Also, if I pick up something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127510

And want to run one of the connections to my HDTV for comfy couch gaming, will a DVI>HDMI adapter carry the audio as well? What about the Mini HDMI>HDMI adapter?

 

[MisterNoisy]

Welp, just transfered my parts to my new 650D this evening. Have to say it was pretty painless. Previous case was a Rosewill Blackbone

http://i.imgur.com/8pYyQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GakIm.jpg

Super slick case. Is it as heavy as it looks?

 

[ElyrionX]

Is it possible to run a dual monitor setup with two monitors of different sizes and hence different resolutions? If so, what is the experience like? Will it cause more strain on the system since the GPU would need to output two separate resolution? And what is it like when dragging a window from one screen to another?

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

I was shaken about my power supply problem until I read this thread.

Not only did I come across this excellent post (is that true by the way?).

Also I was shocked to see this guy there.

 

[Pachael]

Tricking out with Sandy Bridge i5. Boy is this thing fast. Now to wait for either the Vertex 3 to come out or wait for the next gen of SSDs.

 

[shinobi602]

Can anyone tell me what the main difference between VGA and DVI outputs is? Is DVI better?

 

[mrklaw]

Hey guys. I recently upgraded my PC to a Core i7 2600K, Gigabyte P67A-UD3P, 4GB (soon to be 8GB) of DDR3 RAM and a full-HD 24" monitor.

The only 'old' component left is the 8800GTX, which has served me extremely well for a long time, if you don't count the noise under full-load and the insane amounts of heat it produces even during desktop use. I'd like to get a new graphics card, but I have some doubts. My budget is about 350 euros (~ 480$) and I could get even a little higher, but I'd actually like to spend a little less, if it makes sense. I can get a HD6950 2GB for about 270 euros (~ 375$). I'm not a particularly avid PC gamer, but I would like to own something that will be able to run games such as Witcher 2, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Crysis 2 and possibly even Battlefield 3 at 1920x1080 and at more or less maximum settings. (The latter being an impossibility, I'm sure.) What would be your recommendation for someone like me?

Also, how much to you think I should be asking for the used 8800GTX? Thanks.

If you have the budget, I'd be tempted to get a 2GB 6970. Slight bump up from the 6950 and so it'll perform better and last you longer before you need to upgrade again.

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

I have a question regarding my future upgrade path.

I want to go with Nvidia for my next card and am interested in picking up a Kepler card this year. However, with Maxwell coming in 2013 which promises huge performance increases, might I be better waiting for that? At the moment I have a Radeon 4890 and aside from missing out on DX11, it's running most games at high settings.

Would it be best to go with a high-end Kepler this year, then a mid-end Maxwell, or its successor, in 2014?


Ironically, the *good* thing about this extended generation (for me at least) is that the consoles are holding back PC just enough so that I don't have to upgrade as much.

 

[mrklaw]

Alright, so I really really want a surround sound system for my PC. I'm extremely new to the sound thing, but quality sound makes such a huge difference in movies and games to me that I am willing to put out some money and research into making quality choices. And I don't want headphones because friends and family like to come in and watch me play games like Amnesia.

Right now I'm thinking >this< speaker system (Logitech Z-5500) and >this< sound card (Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium). I don't want to exceed maybe $600-700 ideally, so these look affordable. Are there cheaper, quality alternatives?

Also, if this isn't the right thread, can someone direct me to one that is?

If you're getting a speaker setup that has it's own amp/sound control system, you don't really need a soundcard, as you'll be getting audio through optical which is a single source. I could be wrong on that, but that's my understanding.

its not that simple.

For movies, sure. The sound starts out in dolby digital and gets passed over optical. But for games, they'll be using multichannel audio which is raw and not in a precompressed dolby digital stream. So over optical you will most likely just get stereo.

Your amp may process that quite well into prologicII or similar, but its not proper multichannel. If its a PC amp, it might take the multichannel analog outs on the back of your motherboard, in which case you'll be fine.
edit: looking at that link, it looks like a basic DD decoder only, so it won't give you surround sound with PC games.

Otherwise you'll want to check that your onboard soundcard supports dolby digital live, which takes multichannel game audio and turns it into dolby digital to squirt out the optical port. Note - your motherboard probably doesn't do that, its an optional extra on realtek chips which power most motherboards.

In that case, if you want surround sound over optical to an amp, you'll need a sound card with dolby digital live built in. Xonar gets recommended over Creative these days. Grab a Xonar DX or D1, you'll want the optical out to feed an amp/receiver. $10 less than the Creative you were looking at.

Also for a $600-700 budget, look at budget HT receivers/all in ones, not just PC ones. you can get discreet bookshelf speakers that sound great for around that budget

 

[knitoe]

Can anyone tell me what the main difference between VGA and DVI outputs is? Is DVI better?

VGA is analog signal, works best on old CRT monitors, while DVI is digital. Thus, if you are using LCD monitors, DVI would be better.

 

[Fredescu]

Can anyone tell me what the main difference between VGA and DVI outputs is? Is DVI better?

VGA is analog and DVI is digital. DVI is better because there is no analog to digital conversion gumming up the works.

 

[shinobi602]

Ok awesome, thanks guys.

 

[shinobi602]

Anybody seen this?

AMD Finalizes Shipment Dates for Next-Gen Chips

Shipments of AMD FX-series high-end desktop microprocessors will commence on the week of June 20th, 2011; Supplies of A-series APUs will begin on the week of July 4th, 2011, according to industrial sources.

Other info:

AMD plans to release four eight-core AMD FX8000-series chips, two six-core AMD FX6000-series microprocessors and two quad-core AMD FX4000-series central processing units (CPUs) this year; four chips are to be launched in Q2 2011, another four processors will be introduced in Q4 2011. The amount of quad-core and dual-core A-series APUs to be released this calendar year will be eleven, if the plans do not change.

JUNE ='(

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/di...alizes_Shipment_Dates_for_Next_Gen_Chips.html

 

[Xdrive05]

Will these new AMD chips be able to run in an AM2+/AM3 compatible board? (I think that's what I have iirc). I've been happy with my Phenom II X4 @ 3.6ghz, but would be willing to upgrade if the price (and socket) is right.

 

[shinobi602]

Will these new AMD chips be able to run in an AM2+/AM3 compatible board? (I think that's what I have iirc). I've been happy with my Phenom II X4 @ 3.6ghz, but would be willing to upgrade if the price (and socket) is right.

No, the AM3+ CPUs won't run on AM2+/AM3 boards.

However, AM2+/AM3 CPUs will work on AM3+ boards.

 

[Corky]

any slightest ideas on how they perform compare to the sandy bridge line?

 

[Corky]

A swedish retailstore has put a pricetag on the gtx 590

the 6990 goes for 930 USD
the 590 goes for 1150 USD

 

[Xdrive05]

No, the AM3+ CPUs won't run on AM2+/AM3 boards.

However, AM2+/AM3 CPUs will work on AM3+ boards.

Gotcha. How about the Phenom II X6 1090T chips? I think they're just "AM3".

 

[TheExodu5]

any slightest ideas on how they perform compare to the sandy bridge line?

I would expect it to be anywhere up to 30-50% faster in applications that support 8 cores, though still considerably below for 4 core applications.

That's a rough guess based on current 6 core performance numbers. It really depends on how much the speed increases clock for clock.

 

[cackhyena]

The core thing. I don't get it. If I get the Core i5 2500k Processor, is that what the cores are about? I'm dumb.

 

[thundr51]

A) Your processor isn't mediocre
B) You go for the midrange card, a Nvidia GTX 460 or an AMD 6850 for that price range

Just looked at the specs for the GTX 460 and I have to admit it doesn't seem that much better than my current card. Currently I've got a Geforce 9600 GSO and OC'd the core clock to 600 and the shader to about 1200? can't remember exactly. I could probably get a faster shader speed to match one of those cards but because it's a oc, would that make a difference? Should I start looking at the $200+ cards to see a real boost?

So far I haven't had any problems with the games that I've been playing but then again, I haven't played anything that recent. I played the demo for Retribution and put the settings max at 1920x1080 and things were smooth but I know if I tried a monster like Cysis my machine my start crying. Any other games I should try that aren't as extreme as Crysis?

 

[The Elite]

FFUUUCCCKKK

Tried using Motionjoy to get a PS3 controller working on my PC and now I get a BSOD on boot. Have to wait until I get home to sort it out.

Looks like I'm hunting down a wireless adapter for my 360 controller.

 

[Funky Papa]

Fractal cases are so fucking hot.

 

[koji]

Welp, just transfered my parts to my new 650D this evening. Have to say it was pretty painless. Previous case was a Rosewill Blackbone

http://i.imgur.com/8pYyQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GakIm.jpg

Hmm, I really want one of those to replace my P182 SE... Shame that I don't have money to spend atm on extras like that. :-/

 

[LiquidMetal14]

FFUUUCCCKKK

Tried using Motionjoy to get a PS3 controller working on my PC and now I get a BSOD on boot. Have to wait until I get home to sort it out.

Looks like I'm hunting down a wireless adapter for my 360 controller.

Wait a second there. I can help you. I've set it up wired and wireless with a BT dongle.

 

[winnarps]

So last night I get all of my new parts in and install everything.

Except I misplaced my Windows 7 Professional DVD. I have the product key still, but after some searching on interwebs, I can't seem to find out how to download the ISO again and burn to a DVD.

Any way to download it from MS?

 

[ElyrionX]

So I'm looking at a couple of Dell monitors on this page:

http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/22lcd?c=sg&cs=sgdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

More specifically, looking at the ST2320L and the U2311H. Both are 23" but one is a LED display with a TN panel and the other is a LCD display with a IPS panel. I've heard good things about the IPS panel but does it matter if it is LCD and not LED? Also, both have the same native resolution of 1920 x 1080 but the ST2320L says it's "Full HD" whereas there's no such indication on the U2311H. I presume the "Full HD" is just marketing bs and both are truly "Full HD" since they have the same resolution?

 

[ChRoNiTe]

Super slick case. Is it as heavy as it looks?

Its got some heft to it, definitely not a case you want to move around frequently.