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[MikeE21286]

Doubling in what you get for the cost
New process = much less expensive

It'll take a while for everyone to get competitive, but prices will fall like rocks when everyone gets in the game.

Later this year I would not be surprised to see 128GB drives for $140, or 256GB drives for $250

ahh gotcha.

Yeah the C400 128GB is gonna come out at $210 it says, and the current price is $260 for the C300 128GB.

Not sure what I'll do then...Makes sense to try and wait it out for the C400, but if it comes out at the end of February that could be kind of tough. Save $50 and get a somewhat faster drive.

I probably won't be able to wait it out until fall for ~$1/GB prices sadly enough.

 

[Hazaro]

I'll probably wait another month after launch personally to make sure there aren't too many kinks in the firmware, but it looks to be a nice drive.
Reviews should really decide how much better it is in a practical sense, 400MB/s read is just silly.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Probably a stupid question but is "DDR Voltage" the same thing as "DRAM Voltage"?

I'm trying to manually input all of the XMP profile settings since enabling XMP isn't working for some reason. Here's how it looks in my BIOS and the reason I'm confused:

DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) [Manual] (or Auto, I have it set to Manual)
Profile DDR Voltage 1.5V
Profile QPI Voltage 1.175V

Now the DDR and QPI Voltage are a different color and I'm unable to select it to change it, even on manual. But when I set the XMP profile to be enabled those values change to 1.65V and 1.2V. Where the hell can I change those values? On the bottom of this screen there's voltage tweaks and the only thing that resembles that is this:

QPI/Vtt Voltage 1.175V [Auto]
DRAM Voltage 1.500V [Auto]

Now when I change the values from Auto to 1.2V and 1.64V (It won't let me choose 1.65...it skips from 1.64 to 1.66 for some reason) the values at the top under "Timing Selectable" stays at 1.5V and 1.175V. Am I still doing it right or should those values change as well?

 

[-viper-]

IMO no unless you're planning on extreme OCs. The other benefit is that it will be quite a bit quieter than the 212+. I think most people agree that it's one of the quietest CPU coolers around. All in all it'd be better to put the money you spend towards a better GPU or SSD.

Well I've looked at reviews and see the Zalman CNPS9900 MAX is a very good cooler. It isn't that expensive at £42 and seems to have performance levels close to the D14, and is very quiet.

 

[The Nature Roy]

Okay, so simply toying with the idea of getting a budget gaming rig ($600 or so) this morning is starting to get more serious, thanks in large part to the help provided in OP.

I'm still relatively clueless though I must admit.

The plan is to have it hooked up in my living room to my 3D-ready 1080p TV. I'm looking at 460 GTX 1GB and want to be able to play some games in 3D.

I see some 460 GTX specs say 1.4a HDMI, which I believe I might need for full 3D but I can't figure out if they all are or not.

Can anyone clue me in?

 

[Hazaro]

Okay, so simply toying with the idea of getting a budget gaming rig ($600 or so) this morning is starting to get more serious, thanks in large part to the help provided in OP.

I'm still relatively clueless though I must admit.

The plan is to have it hooked up in my living room to my 3D-ready 1080p TV. I'm looking at 460 GTX 1GB and want to be able to play some games in 3D.

I see some 460 GTX specs say 1.4a HDMI, which I believe I might need for full 3D but I can't figure out if they all are or not.

Can anyone clue me in?

The 260.99 drivers updated a ton of stuff.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/3dtv-play-requirements.html

That's about all I know. Should be ok?

Probably a stupid question but is "DDR Voltage" the same thing as "DRAM Voltage"?

Yup. What exactly are you trying to do again? Your RAM gives you issues running at 1600? I'd just let it run at 1333/1066 and save the hassle.

 

[Haint]

Okay, so simply toying with the idea of getting a budget gaming rig ($600 or so) this morning is starting to get more serious, thanks in large part to the help provided in OP.

I'm still relatively clueless though I must admit.

The plan is to have it hooked up in my living room to my 3D-ready 1080p TV. I'm looking at 460 GTX 1GB and want to be able to play some games in 3D.

I see some 460 GTX specs say 1.4a HDMI, which I believe I might need for full 3D but I can't figure out if they all are or not.

Can anyone clue me in?

Present HDMI chipsets (your TV included) are limited to 720p/60Hz or 1080p/24Hz, so there isn't really "Full 3D" over HDMI--except for 24p BR's. Nvidia has (requires?) "3DTV Play" software that pipes it to your TV. I have no idea if there is a 1.4 hardware requirement, or if it acts like PS3's 3D firmware (i.e. a software solution that allows it to function with earlier HDMI versions). You can probably check out Nvidia's forums if you can't get a definitive answer here.

 

[MisterAnderson]

The 260.99 drivers updated a ton of stuff.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/3dtv-play-requirements.html

That's about all I know. Should be ok?

Yup. What exactly are you trying to do again? Your RAM gives you issues running at 1600? I'd just let it run at 1333/1066 and save the hassle.

Well it doesn't even run at 1333 when I've been setting it so I think I might be doing something wrong. So I'm going to see if manually inputting all the parameters of XMP profile will work then work on trying to get 1333 to work if that fails. I explained my situation in detail to some Fry's employee who seemed to know a lot about overclocking and said what I've been doing should work, so he's pretty stumped as to what the problem could be. :/ Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

If I overclock my CPU, my RAM should be fine staying at 1066?

Edit: Whatever I did, something different happened when booting up. It got to a screen that says this:

Physical Presence Operation Confirmation

TPM re-configuration was requested to change to the state of: Enable and Activate

NOTE: This action will turn on the TPM

Press F10 to accept, press ESC to reject this change request.

The fuck is that?

 

[Wallach]

Well it doesn't even run at 1333 when I've been setting it so I think I might be doing something wrong. So I'm going to see if manually inputting all the parameters of XMP profile will work then work on trying to get 1333 to work if that fails. I explained my situation in detail to some Fry's employee who seemed to know a lot about overclocking and said what I've been doing should work, so he's pretty stumped as to what the problem could be. :/ Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

If I overclock my CPU, my RAM should be fine staying at 1066?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but your RAM is going to run at your Bclk x multiplier, so it sounds to me like it's running 133 Bclk with an 8 multiplier (1064Mhz). You either have to up your Bclk or increase your multiplier to get it to run faster. What have you been trying to set those to?

 

[MisterAnderson]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but your RAM is going to run at your Bclk x multiplier, so it sounds to me like it's running 133 Bclk with an 8 multiplier (1064Mhz). You either have to up your Bclk or increase your multiplier to get it to run faster. What have you been trying to set those to?

I've been setting the multiplier to 12 to try to get 1600MHz or 10 for 1333. Been leaving the BCLK the same, until I get a cooler for my CPU so I can start overclocking my CPU as well. I was thinking about the V6 GT since it looks pretty slick and from some reviews I've read it seems like it works well too. TheExodu5 makes good points about the other ones, but I just really like the look of the V6GT lol.

 

[Stabby McSter]

Wah, I can only find Windows 7 Upgrade for students.

 

[Wallach]

I've been setting the multiplier to 12 to try to get 1600MHz or 10 for 1333. Been leaving the BCLK the same, until I get a cooler for my CPU so I can start overclocking my CPU as well. I was thinking about the V6 GT since it looks pretty slick and from some reviews I've read it seems like it works well too. TheExodu5 makes good points about the other ones, but I just really like the look of the V6GT lol.

So it's just not sticking? What does it come up as in CPU-Z after you save changes and reboot?

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

I've been setting the multiplier to 12 to try to get 1600MHz or 10 for 1333. Been leaving the BCLK the same, until I get a cooler for my CPU so I can start overclocking my CPU as well. I was thinking about the V6 GT since it looks pretty slick and from some reviews I've read it seems like it works well too. TheExodu5 makes good points about the other ones, but I just really like the look of the V6GT lol.

I would look at the H70 for cooling, but if you want the best performance go with the D14.

 

[MisterAnderson]

So it's just not sticking? What does it come up as in CPU-Z after you save changes and reboot?

It crashes before loading Windows (my motherboard has these tiny lights next to the RAM that light up after changing the BIOS settings and rebooting with the 1600MHz settings/XMP profile) and says that changes in clock settings/voltage have caused the system to not boot correctly or some such. I can get the exact error message I get from using XMP profile if that would help, but right now I'm sitting on the screen that I edited in my previous post after trying to manually input the XMP profile parameters:

Physical Presence Operation Confirmation

TPM re-configuration was requested to change to the state of: Enable and Activate

NOTE: This action will turn on the TPM

Press F10 to accept, press ESC to reject this change request.

 

[Krauser Kat]

Wah, I can only find Windows 7 Upgrade for students.

an upgrade disk works like an actual copy. There is no discernible difference. Just boot to disk. You will get a new Serial and everything.

 

[Wallach]

It crashes before loading Windows (my motherboard has these tiny lights next to the RAM that light up after changing the BIOS settings and rebooting with the 1600MHz settings/XMP profile) and says that changes in clock settings/voltage have caused the system to not boot correctly or some such. I can get the exact error message I get from using XMP profile if that would help, but right now I'm sitting on the screen that I edited in my previous post after trying to manually input the XMP profile parameters:

Physical Presence Operation Confirmation

TPM re-configuration was requested to change to the state of: Enable and Activate

NOTE: This action will turn on the TPM

Press F10 to accept, press ESC to reject this change request.

That's a failsafe of the TPM, requires manual confirmation of any change of the TPM settings. How or why something has changed I'm not sure.

 

[MisterAnderson]

That's a failsafe of the TPM, requires manual confirmation of any change of the TPM settings. How or why something has changed I'm not sure.

So...should I just accept it and see what happens?

 

[Wallach]

So...should I just accept it and see what happens?

I... don't know exactly, I'm not real familiar with those things. It sounds like you'd be turning it on if you accepted the change, so I guess it was off previously.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Is it worth getting one of those $70 Terrabyte drives from Seagate for Western Digital? I'm reading the cheaper terrabyte drives are prone to failure (be it DOA or over the course of a week or year). Would it be better to go with a 700GB from a reliability standpoint?

 

[Hazaro]

Is it worth getting one of those $70 Terrabyte drives from Seagate for Western Digital? I'm reading the cheaper terrabyte drives are prone to failure (be it DOA or over the course of a week or year). Would it be better to go with a 700GB from a reliability standpoint?

Nope. F3 is faster and quieter.

 

[MisterAnderson]

I... don't know exactly, I'm not real familiar with those things. It sounds like you'd be turning it on if you accepted the change, so I guess it was off previously.

Well I mean... is having TPM on or off "better"? What would having it on actually mean or do? (I have no idea what TPM is)

 

[mclaren777]

Is it worth getting one of those $70 Terrabyte drives from Seagate for Western Digital? I'm reading the cheaper terrabyte drives are prone to failure (be it DOA or over the course of a week or year). Would it be better to go with a 700GB from a reliability standpoint?

I think you would be fine going with something like this.

 

[Hazaro]

TPM is DRM for your PC basically. So no! Write your congressional representative today!

Problem is that I don't know if it is referring to the TPM action, or previous action.

 

[IrishNinja]

an upgrade disk works like an actual copy. There is no discernible difference. Just boot to disk. You will get a new Serial and everything.

...you sure about this? ive asked around here before, when going form say XP to win7 and a few insisted an upgrade disc might not work, just for going up from vista.

 

[Wallach]

TPM is DRM for your PC basically. So no! Write your congressional representative today!

Problem is that I don't know if it is referring to the TPM action, or previous action.

Yeah, I think it is trying to turn on, ESC would leave it off. Maybe he tried to reset the BIOS settings to default and the default setting is actually on, I don't know. I'd ESC and cancel.

 

[Frostburn]

...you sure about this? ive asked around here before, when going form say XP to win7 and a few insisted an upgrade disc might not work, just for going up from vista.

Upgrading from Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7 with a Windows 7 upgrade disc works just fine, you can even do a "Clean Install" which is better but you'll have to back up your data ahead of time as that will wipe the hard drive.

There are also ways to use an Upgrade disc to do a clean install even when installing to a brand new hard drive with no prior OS. This is what I do as I have a full copy of XP, an upgrade copy of Vista and an upgrade copy of Windows 7.

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

EDIT: I use Method #2 and it works like a charm.

 

[n0n44m]

...you sure about this? ive asked around here before, when going form say XP to win7 and a few insisted an upgrade disc might not work, just for going up from vista.

used method #2 from this site here on my last pc with a Win7 Ultimate upgrade student license (got an error when using the regular activation, registry "tweak" fixed it and it ran flawless for over a year)

 

[MisterAnderson]

Yeah, I think it is trying to turn on, ESC would leave it off. Maybe he tried to reset the BIOS settings to default and the default setting is actually on, I don't know. I'd ESC and cancel.

It's actually not letting me hit Escape or F10...just stuck on this screen. It's not frozen either cause there's a blinking indicator at the end of the last line. I guess I'll just reboot and try again.

Edit: After reboot escape worked. Time to see what happens.

Edit 2: After hitting escape it booted up but after going back to the BIOS I was greeted with this message in the MB Intelligent Tweaker menu

The system has experienced boot failures because of overclocking or changes of voltages.

Last settings in this page may not coincide with current H/W states.

 

[The Nature Roy]

Okay, based on the OP and a little advice, I've put together the following wish list. I'm still more or less clueless about this so I'd appreciate any thoughts. I also need to grab a case -- do I need anything special?:

 

[Hazaro]

Okay, based on the OP and a little advice, I've put together the following wish list. I'm still more or less clueless about this so I'd appreciate any thoughts. I also need to grab a case -- do I need anything special?:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/bdrmartin/NE.jpg

If you are on a budget get the 770 (870 MSI) board for $70. No point in getting a 870 board right now.

If you spend $80 more than what you have on there you can get an Intel 2500K system (add a gigabyte UD3 motherboard), which will offer a very nice improvement in just about every application. As a bonus you get Civilization V for free.

I'd change the PSU to a Seasonic 520W as that will be enough for any single GPU system for years (and it will last that long).

GTX 460, a PNY model is the same price and I'd go with that. There were some early issues reported with the GB 460, but it was also the first card instock at launch and tons of people nabbed it.

 

[scorcho]

don't get a 460 SE. the little you save over a regular 460 isn't worth the decreased performance.

 

[Hazaro]

don't get a 460 SE. the little you save over a regular 460 isn't worth the decreased performance.

Oh yeah, this. Just glanced and put '$180 AR' in my head.
Get a 1GB edition for $180 AR.

 

[The Nature Roy]

I'd change the PSU to a Seasonic 520W as that will be enough for any single GPU system for years (and it will last that long).

Even considering the one I have selected has a $30 instant rebate and is the exact same price at the moment?

And what about the Galaxy GTX 460 1GB? $155 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2055&cm_re=460_gtx_1gb-_-14-162-055-_-Product

 

[mclaren777]

Thanks for the install tips, Frostburn & n0n44m!

I have a legit copy of XP and a student upgrade for W7U and I was perplexed how I might do a clean install on a new SSD. Now I know.

 

[Kalnos]

Thanks for the install tips, Frostburn & n0n44m!

I have a legit copy of XP and a student upgrade for W7U and I was perplexed how I might do a clean install on a new SSD. Now I know.

You could just install W7 twice.

 

[Hazaro]

Even considering the one I have selected has a $30 instant rebate and is the exact same price at the moment?

And what about the Galaxy GTX 460 1GB? $155 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2055&cm_re=460_gtx_1gb-_-14-162-055-_-Product

Yes, the Seasonic 520W base is what I'm using and the company and PSU are extremely high quality. Additionally the 80+ will save you on energy and it'll last and eat power outages for you.

I'd personally take the PNY out of company preference (Not sure how Galaxy is on customer support). Cards will perform the same, only comes down to if you have trouble.

 

[johnsmith]

So I built my PC 2 years ago. Still happy with it, except it's really loud. It just has the stock fans and I haven't OCed, any tips on getting it quieter?

Here's what I have.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80570E8500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

 

[Emitan]

You could just install W7 twice.

This is how I had to it. I hate how schools only give out upgrade discs. What about those of us not dumb enough to buy Vista?

 

[mclaren777]

You could just install W7 twice.

I don't follow. Why would I need to install it twice?

 

[Teknopathetic]

"So I built my PC 2 years ago. Still happy with it, except it's really loud. It just has the stock fans and I haven't OCed, any tips on getting it quieter?"


Do you know what in particular is loud? You could replace the case fans with quieter ones as well as your CPU cooler with a quieter aftermarket heatsink.

Silent PC Review you can probably guess what the site is about from its name. It seems down at the moment though.

 

[Kalnos]

I don't follow. Why would I need to install it twice?

The second install of an upgrade W7 tricks it into believing that the first install was a previous version of Windows. I just meant if you couldn't get your hands on the XP CD.

 

[JohngPR]

Anyone looking for a 1-pack 64 bit version of Windows Home Premium?

I have an OEM version I'm looking to sell off that's unopened. PM me if interested. I hate having this extra Windows 7 lying around collecting dust.


Well, after week two with my new PC, I have to say that I'm pretty happy with it. I can run just about every game out there with reasonable frame rates at 1080p.

Whenever I do decide to upgrade, I'm thinking a GPU upgrade would do the trick.

Does anyone know if crossfire would be the way to go once I decide to get another GPU?

 

[Deadly Monk]

How do I find out with case will hold the Radeon 6950? Since it's so long, I don't want to order the wrong case and have to send it back. Anyone know of specific (good) cases that can hold the beast?

Or any other video card that comes close to the Radeon 6950s specs but isn't a hassle to fit into any mid/full tower? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[MisterAnderson]

Getting more and more frustrated with trying to find out about my RAM situation. Turns out other people have had similar problems, I find random threads about it and never a solution. I went to GIGABYTE's website and they have no phone tech support, just a ticket system that I doubt will ever get any response should I decide to submit one.

Another random question though, did I put in my Power supply right? Or is it supposed to be the other way around?

 

[Metalic Sand]

Your case has a vent at the bottom right? down would be correct then.

 

[JohngPR]

Getting more and more frustrated with trying to find out about my RAM situation. Turns out other people have had similar problems, I find random threads about it and never a solution. I went to GIGABYTE's website and they have no phone tech support, just a ticket system that I doubt will ever get any response should I decide to submit one.

Another random question though, did I put in my Power supply right? Or is it supposed to be the other way around?

Looks right to me (not that I'm an expert or anything). The fan is facing towards the exit vent right?

 

[JoeBoy101]

Getting more and more frustrated with trying to find out about my RAM situation. Turns out other people have had similar problems, I find random threads about it and never a solution. I went to GIGABYTE's website and they have no phone tech support, just a ticket system that I doubt will ever get any response should I decide to submit one.

Another random question though, did I put in my Power supply right? Or is it supposed to be the other way around?]

Submit the ticket anyways. Can't hurt.

Also, you mean as opposed to upside down for the PSU? Depends on the clearance, which I can't tell from there. If its sitting on anything other than a flat surface (i.e., carpet) then it should go fan up. As long as it has an inch or so of clearance and on a flat surface, fan down is fine, so long as there is a vent right under it to pull air through.

 

[toastyToast]

How do I find out with case will hold the Radeon 6950? Since it's so long, I don't want to order the wrong case and have to send it back. Anyone know of specific (good) cases that can hold the beast?

Or any other video card that comes close to the Radeon 6950s specs but isn't a hassle to fit into any mid/full tower? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

A bullet point for a lot of cases lately is that they can fit large GPUs. If you don't see anything in the product description look up a review or two.

A full tower case should fit it easily, most newer mid tower cases too. Make sure though.

 

[·feist·]

How do I find out with case will hold the Radeon 6950? Since it's so long, I don't want to order the wrong case and have to send it back. Anyone know of specific (good) cases that can hold the beast?

Or any other video card that comes close to the Radeon 6950s specs but isn't a hassle to fit into any mid/full tower? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

First, do you have any options in mind?

ah! see, we were debating rotating it, but given the hour of night/the shape of the cooler it looked as though it wouldnt've made a difference...awesome, gonna try again tonight then! was really trying to make this one work, as i need to get the fuck back to planescape it does indeed fit perfectly with the fan at the top. speaking of, im using said fan as an exhaust, yeah? i believe the reviews said it was most effective at spiraling hot air out, so we're setting it up that way & obviously not using the mesh/screen thing.

That's odd. So your HSF is pulling air upwards through the cooler fins, while, at the same time, your newly installed AP181 is blowing down onto your PC internals? That's a major conflict. Most HSFs like yours perform best pushing air through the fins, instead of pulling. Since heat rises, you'd think it would be good to have the cooler fan in a pull position, but not for your setup. You should either change your HSF fan to blow downwards like your 180mm intake fan, or change your intake fan to an exhaust so that it works in conjunction with your current HSF pull arrangement.

could you elaborate here? i can see where making this work will leave little to no room between the two, not sure what options i have for specific materials.
also: friend has some zip-ties, working on the cable management by the PSU grill as well, thanks again for the heads-up there.

Something like the 3M thermal pads and tape that are included with CPU back plates would do.

Of course, you wouldn't want to place it over any of the components on your GPU's exposed PCB (like any ram chips that may be on the backside). Using non-conductive material isn't absolutely. It's only as a precaution if the metal seems like it may come into contact with that side of your GPU.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Looks right to me (not that I'm an expert or anything). The fan is facing towards the exit vent right?

Yes but there's an intake fan on the bottom (facing the bottom of the case) that I can't imagine is able to get very good intake...