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[Bob Coffee]

i recently installed win7 pro x64, and while it runs great for the most part, occasionally while i watch a video the system will lock up on me and bsod, im thinking its the video card drivers, because i see garbage on the screen before it locks up and dies. would disabling catalyst control center in 7 fix these issues? the card im running is a radeon HD 4850. i only get these errors in win 7. in xp everything is rock solid.:/

 

[Cuban Legend]

Is it plugged in to the SATA controller and have power?


MSI Twin Frozr II or ASUS DCuII for the cooler, Sapphire with the BIOS switch if you want to get crazy with OC'ing.


I know it is a sad day, but my friend, it's time has come. Not really a lot you can do at this point that will net you significant improvements without a CPU/Mobo/RAM upgrade.

You could try to get one of the most recent GPU's and see if it is livable, but I don't even think that board is PCI-E 2.0. You're bottlenecked everywhere.

Here is my mobo's page on ASUS's website. It was a beast for it's time, no wonder ASUS spun off the Crosshair branding with 5 new iterations on each Intel/AMD sides since this one hit.

-How much of a difference is there in (the difference between available bandwidth and the actual transfer rate that is being used) when running a GPU on a rig with a similar mobo in PCI-Ex 16x 1.0 ve PCI-Ex 16x 2.0/2.1?
-How and what kind of bottleneck is there really when running a new single-GPU card on a 16x 1.0 Slot?

Here is what i found on the subject, reliable info?:
-The Quick PCI-Express 2.0 Guide @ 10stripe

 

[mkenyon]

i recently installed win7 pro x64, and while it runs great for the most part, occasionally while i watch a video the system will lock up on me and bsod, im thinking its the video card drivers, because i see garbage on the screen before it locks up and dies. would disabling catalyst control center in 7 fix these issues? the card im running is a radeon HD 4850. i only get these errors in win 7. in xp everything is rock solid.:/

Are you getting blue screens?

Tried newest drivers? Older drivers?

Here is my mobo's page on ASUS's website. It was a beast for it's time, no wonder ASUS spun off the Crosshair branding with 5 new iterations on each Intel/AMD sides since this one hit.

-How much of a difference is there in (the difference between available bandwidth and the actual transfer rate that is being used) when running a GPU on a rig with a similar mobo in PCI-Ex 16x 1.0 ve PCI-Ex 16x 2.0/2.1?
-How and what kind of bottleneck is there really when running a new single-GPU card on a 16x 1.0 Slot?

Here is what i found on the subject, reliable info?:
-The Quick PCI-Express 2.0 Guide @ 10stripe

It's a reliable account, but it's super old. I can't give you raw #'s on the amount it'll be bottlenecked by, but iirc newer GPUs are certainly exceeding bandwidth allowed by PCI-E 1.0. I'm sure there are some raw #'s out there if you dig enough. Try a search on overclock.net (if it's up, was recently renovated).

*edit*

Quick anecdotal theory: PCIE 1.0 has a max data transfer rate of 250MB a second. PCIE 2.0 x16 is 8GB/S. I've heard that the newest cards like 560ti and 580 are using around half of that. That's greatly exceeding specs by PCI-E 1.0.

 

[outsidah]

MSI Twin Frozr II or ASUS DCuII for the cooler, Sapphire with the BIOS switch if you want to get crazy with OC'ing.

Cool thanks. What's the deal with the Frozr III? Worth the extra money or no?

 

[mkenyon]

Cool thanks. What's the deal with the Frozr III? Worth the extra money or no?

III is OC'd more out of the box. Not really worth it.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

III is OC'd more out of the box. Not really worth it.

I thought the III also had more OC friendly features? At least for the GTX cards (better vrms, slightly better cooler, etc). If you're going for high OC'ing (and therefore high voltages), you'd be safer with the Frozr III I'd suspect.

 

[mkenyon]

I thought the III also had more OC friendly features? At least for the GTX cards (better vrms, slightly better cooler, etc). If you're going for high OC'ing (and therefore high voltages), you'd be safer with the Frozr III I'd suspect.

Thank you for making me look! Apparently the Twin Frozr III can have it's shaders unlocked to act as a 6970. Thought those went extinct. Pretty easy process.

 

[TriniTrin]

Really stupid question but i bought a windows 7 upgrade for my current PC and I was planning to build a new PC with help getting pieces i need by gutting my computer. I wanted to know if i had to buy an OEM version of windows or could i use the upgrade to install it on the new computer. Or would my current windows equipped HD transfer to the new system when i install them?

 

[mkenyon]

Really stupid question but i bought a windows 7 upgrade for my current PC and I was planning to build a new PC with help getting pieces i need by gutting my computer. I wanted to know if i had to buy an OEM version of windows or could i use the upgrade to install it on the new computer. Or would my current windows equipped HD transfer to the new system when i install them?

Supposedly there is some kind of double install process. Something like installing it, and then running the upgrade over the install.

No, it will not transfer over.

 

[vaelic]

www.overclock.net, or you can PM me any and all questions you have. I'll send you a PM to get an idea of the baseline level of WC'ing you're going for.


You are in luck, as last weekend I upgraded a friend's system that was literally the same setup. We put in a 2500K + 8GB DDR3 + H100 + Maximus IV Gene-Z and it was a complete different experience. OC'd the 2500K to 4.8 stable. 5850 was rocking Skyrim, BF3, and Tribes absolutely fine.

As to your PSU, yes.

woah I almost pulled the trigger on this but I just noticed... MY current DVD drive/CDROM use IDE connections still. I dont think the maxiumus IV has IDE connection... what to do?

 

[mkenyon]

woah I almost pulled the trigger on this but I just noticed... MY current DVD drive/CDROM use IDE connections still. I dont think the maxiumus IV has IDE connection... what to do?

Could get a IDE -> SATA converter, or buy a new one.

*edit* Upon further investigation, it might not work when you set SATA controller to AHCI (necessary for SSD's).

 

[vaelic]

Could get a IDE -> SATA converter, or buy a new one.

*edit* Upon further investigation, it might not work when you set SATA controller to AHCI (necessary for SSD's).

I dont have a SSD. Whats the cheapest sata DVD drive these days?

 

[mkenyon]

I dont have a SSD. Whats the cheapest sata DVD drive these days?

Not sure to be honest, I don't have any optical drives on any of my systems. I'd trust anything from ASUS or Plex from past experience.

 

[vaelic]

Not sure to be honest, I don't have any optical drives on any of my systems. I'd trust anything from ASUS or Plex from past experience.

yea I hate to buy one but I have some games like skyrim on DVD, so I have no choice

I saw this in OP

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

Average Rating
(2,509 reviews)
Write a Review
15% off w/ promo code NE15INCDDVD, ends 11/16

 

[Firestorm]

DVD drives are like $20 - $25 these days. Not worth getting adapters and crap.

 

[brotkasten]

I'm confused as to what NEGATIVES the mATX brings, other than less PCI slots?

It would look weird in my Lian Li PC-71 big tower.

 

[mkenyon]

It would look weird in my Lian Li PC-71 big tower.

You know, I actually kind of like the look. Had a HAF 922 serving as a temporary case to house my mATX HTPC for 6 months or so, and I actually liked the look of a mATX board in a bigger case. Very clean. Totally subjective though.

 

[PigSpeakers]

Quick, and probably stupid question.

After I shut down my computer through windows, I notice that my external hardrive and other USB devices will still be going but sound like they're trying to shut down. They don't fully turn off till I shut off the switch on the back of my PSU. Is it safe to do this?

 

[mkenyon]

Yep.

 

[Paches]

Man am I glad I waited on getting a new hard drive after mine failed. Made out with a Vertex 3 120GB SSD from Newegg today on their deal for $110 free 2 day shipping no tax. I love the holidays.

 

[PigSpeakers]

Thank goodness. I've been doing it for weeks and have been meaning to ask someone about it.

 

[drakesfortune]

I built a new PC a couple months back and all of the sudden I'm having an issue where the video card, roughly every three days, stops working. I reseat it, and it's fine. I cleaned the contacts, I built a little lego tower inside my PC to give the card support, because the cards are heavy, I didn't know if it was pulling itself out. That didn't work, today it did the same thing.

Here's what happens, I start my pc, all of the leds pop on, on the card to indicate it's powered on. They normally stay on while the PC is awake. After about 10 seconds, the turn off and the fans power down. I tried just pushing on the card too, because you would think if it's just a little off or an intermittent thing on the mother board, that pushing on it would clear it up. Nope, the card has to be reseated. Once I pull the card out (leaving the power cables to the graphics card in place) and then put it back, it works every time, and then it'll work fine for about 3 days. It's done it about 5 times now, and it never did anything like this before that.

It's really frustrating, and I have no clue what to do to fix it.

 

[mkenyon]

Certain the PSU plugs are all the way seated? Have an extra set of PCI-E plugs to use and try out? Might be a faulty wire or connectors.

 

[drakesfortune]

Certain the PSU plugs are all the way seated? Have an extra set of PCI-E plugs to use and try out? Might be a faulty wire or connectors.

Yes they are on there solid. I tried removing them and plugging them back in when the card wasn't working and it didn't do anything. Then I reseated it and it worked again. It's so odd. It's almost like a software bios bug or something.

 

[zulfate]

does anyone know where i can find a mini-itx gaming pc guide anywhere?

i really want to build one!

 

[BioHazard]

Hey guys I know in this thread everyone is in favor of building-it-yourself PCs, but I was wondering what you guys thought of pre-built machines? I'm of getting a nice beefy PC from Cyberpower for about $1500 including monitor.

The general specs are:
GTX 570
i7 3.3
8GB RAM
Not sure of the motherboard but I believe it is compatible
1TB HDD
800w power supply

What do you guys think of a setup like this, does anyone have any experience with Cyberpower or other related sites? Is there anything I should change or be careful of? Thanks!

 

[mkenyon]

Yes they are on there solid. I tried removing them and plugging them back in when the card wasn't working and it didn't do anything. Then I reseated it and it worked again. It's so odd. It's almost like a software bios bug or something.

Have a different slot to try it in? The manufacturer will make you do that before you send it in for RMA, so might as well get it over with.

does anyone know where i can find a mini-itx gaming pc guide anywhere?

i really want to build one!

Not sure about guides, but on overclock.net there is a subform for "Small Form Factor", where you can get a ton of information. I've built a few myself if you have some questions.

Hey guys I know in this thread everyone is in favor of building-it-yourself PCs, but I was wondering what you guys thought of pre-built machines? I'm of getting a nice beefy PC from Cyberpower for about $1500 including monitor.

The general specs are:
GTX 570
i7 3.3
8GB RAM
Not sure of the motherboard but I believe it is compatible
1TB HDD
800w power supply

What do you guys think of a setup like this, does anyone have any experience with Cyberpower or other related sites? Is there anything I should change or be careful of? Thanks!

You're paying a huge premium for that. Let us know the motherboard, case and the CPU heatsink as well. Those are all big factors in price. Running a sandybridge (current intel processors) proc at stock speeds is a huge waste of talent. If you can choose, switch it from the 2600K to the 2500K for procs. You're not getting any benefit out of it unless you do lots of encoding, photoshop work, that sort of thing.

*edit*

If you're in the PAC NW, I'll build it for you for free if you are interested in going that route.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Are you getting blue screens?

Tried newest drivers? Older drivers?


It's a reliable account, but it's super old. I can't give you raw #'s on the amount it'll be bottlenecked by, but iirc newer GPUs are certainly exceeding bandwidth allowed by PCI-E 1.0. I'm sure there are some raw #'s out there if you dig enough. Try a search on overclock.net (if it's up, was recently renovated).

*edit*

Quick anecdotal theory: PCIE 1.0 has a max data transfer rate of 250MB a second. PCIE 2.0 x16 is 8GB/S. I've heard that the newest cards like 560ti and 580 are using around half of that. That's greatly exceeding specs by PCI-E 1.0.

Not true.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/25/gtx_480_sli_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x4x4

The Bottom Line
The results are actually a bit shocking to us to be honest. We weren’t so surprised that in the previous evaluation x8/x8 did not cause any differences at 2560x1600 but did at 5760x1200. However, we thought certainly at x4/x4 PCIe 2.0 mode there would be some kind of a bottleneck at 2560x1600, but the results have proven otherwise. Even with all the data that GTX 480 SLI is pushing across the PCIe bus, x4/x4 is NOT a bottleneck in a single display setup at 2560x1600 with AA enabled. The only game to show us any difference was AvP, but it did not affect the gameplay experience. Therefore, if you are on an aging PCIe 1.X system at x8/x8 mode (equivalent to PCIe 2.0 x4/x4) on a single display fear not, you are not holding back the performance of GTX 480 SLI or we guess with any CrossFireX or SLI configuration.

We're not even close to maxing out PCI-E 2.0.

Hey guys I know in this thread everyone is in favor of building-it-yourself PCs, but I was wondering what you guys thought of pre-built machines? I'm of getting a nice beefy PC from Cyberpower for about $1500 including monitor.

The general specs are:
GTX 570
i7 3.3
8GB RAM
Not sure of the motherboard but I believe it is compatible
1TB HDD
800w power supply

What do you guys think of a setup like this, does anyone have any experience with Cyberpower or other related sites? Is there anything I should change or be careful of? Thanks!

I built the same PC for under $500.

If you build it yourself:

Microcenter 2500k + Z68 mobo = $225 AR
Case = $50
RAM = $40-50
1 TB HDD = $70 or less?
Microcenter 760w PCPower & Cooling PSU = $70, alternatively, $50 for Antec BP550
GTX 560 TI 446 = $250(?)
24" Asus 1080p gaming monitor = $180

Total for all that is under $900 if you do it yourself.

 

[Tashi]

lol so I scanned my sister's laptop HDD for any viruses and such and found something naughty that her husband may have accidentally picked up from certain websites. Hahahaha. Anywho, HDD runs much nicer now that it is removed however, I still want to wipe the HDD and reinstall windows.

Now, with my HP Desktop and Laptops, I was able to easily create Windows re-installation discs of the factory settings. Pretty much bringing it back to the day you bought. It was some special HP program. However, with this HP laptop, it came with Vista and she upgraded to Windows 7. I don't know where the Windows 7 upgrade disc is and I doubt she knows where it is either. I want to reinstall Windows without the upgrade disc. Can I create discs with any built in Windows 7 software? I checked the system restore points and they only go as far back as early summer so that won't work. Also, there was no system image made when Windows 7 was first installed. WTF, how do I reinstall Windows?

 

[Therion]

Don't know if anyone's mentioned it in this thread, but I can personally confirm the stories I've heard that if you buy the retail box of this Western Digital hard drive, you may find this inside the box instead. It was mentioned in a few Newegg reviews and the drive I just ordered from Best Buy turned out to be the better version. Just a heads up to anyone else who needs a hard drive at this unfortunate time.

 

[zulfate]

Not sure about guides, but on overclock.net there is a subform for "Small Form Factor", where you can get a ton of information. I've built a few myself if you have some questions.

ok thanks!

 

[drakesfortune]

Have a different slot to try it in? The manufacturer will make you do that before you send it in for RMA, so might as well get it over with.

I do, and I tried that, but I can't get the NVIDIA drivers to see the damn thing. So it limits me to 720p and single monitor because it just uses a generic driver. Is there a way I can the damned NVIDIA drivers to see the card even though it's not in the first slot? I tried running the NVIDIA software and it just keeps telling me that I don't have an NVIDIA card hooked up.

 

[vaelic]

pulled the trigger. bought the following:


1 x ($169.99) MB ASUS|MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z Z68 1155 $169.99


1 x ($20.99) DVD BRN ASUS | DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS% - OEM $20.99


1 x ($214.99) CPU INTEL|CORE I5 2500K 3.3G 6M R $214.99


1 x ($43.99) MEM 4Gx2|GSKILL F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR $43.99


1 x ($25.99) CPU COOLER CM| RR-B10-212P-G1 RT $25.99


1 x ($-3.15) DISCOUNT FOR PROMOTION CODE$-3.15


I'm going to stick with my 5850 until taxes then look to upgrade then.

2 questions:

1: should I plug my mouse and keyboard in to the USB 3.0 or 2.0 slot? any difference?

2: fans on top of cases. should they be blowing out or in?

 

[BoobPhysics101]

pulled the trigger. bought the following:


1 x ($169.99) MB ASUS|MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z Z68 1155 $169.99


1 x ($20.99) DVD BRN ASUS | DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS% - OEM $20.99


1 x ($214.99) CPU INTEL|CORE I5 2500K 3.3G 6M R $214.99


1 x ($43.99) MEM 4Gx2|GSKILL F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR $43.99


1 x ($25.99) CPU COOLER CM| RR-B10-212P-G1 RT $25.99


1 x ($-3.15) DISCOUNT FOR PROMOTION CODE$-3.15


I'm going to stick with my 5850 until taxes then look to upgrade then.

2 questions:

1: should I plug my mouse and keyboard in to the USB 3.0 or 2.0 slot? any difference?

2: fans on top of cases. should they be blowing out or in?

I always ask, but is there a MicroCenter near you?

 

[BioHazard]

Ok here's some more specifics:

CoolerMaster Elite 430

Intel Core i7-960 3.2 (no option to get i5)

For cooling I'm thinking of getting the Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan or the basic LGA1366 CPU Fan & Heatsink

GigaByte G1.Guerrilla Intel X58 motherboard

12GB (2GBx6) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Corsair XMS Gaming Memory with Heat Spreader (no option to get 8GB)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB

For power supply, would a 700W XtremeGear power supply do well?

1TB HDD

 

[element]

My sister asked me to build a new pc for them. They don't need anything crazy. Only requirement is 24" monitor. I was thinking of using SSD and AMD APU A8-3850. This would provide enough gpu for anything they would need.

This is what I have picked out.
AMD A8-3850
Gigabyte GA-A75M
Geil 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) PC1600 DDR3
Corsair 120 GB SSD SATA3
Corsair CX430
Asus vs247h-p
NXST Source 220
LG 12x Bluray burner

It is right around $820. The monitor and SSD $380 of that.

Thinks this is an alright rig for office and Internet?

 

[Wolf Akela]

8GB for office is super overkill. 4GB tops imho.

 

[vaelic]

I always ask, but is there a MicroCenter near you?

no, just a FRY's

 

[Wedge7]

Hey guys, my main PC recently just pretty much died on me, was about 4 years old though, so I guess I was in need of a new system anyway. Anyways, first things first, I'm sorta an idiot when it comes to alot of this stuff, dont really have much knowledge or insight regarding PC parts. Thus, though I know its better to make your own PC's, I just dont really have the time or confidence, I'd rather just pay for the peace of mind knowing it'll be done correctly and without any hassles.

Anyways, I put together the following system, though to be perfectly honest, all I was really somewhat sure upon was the video card and processor, as those were recommended to me. Also, I wanted a large hard drive to store alot of files and movies on, though it obviously hurts with the price increases. Everything else was sorta whatever, I sorta just picked any random Motherboard piece and also some random power supply. I honestly dont even know if those two are valid with the system, or if it Requires more power. Also, when I'm building a system, do I need to buy a soundcard?

Everything look okay? Any changes you would make? Unfortunate thing is that everything has to be from that site, as they are putting it all together. My final bill was around $1300. Though its Canadian, so the prices may appear a bit higher. I'm getting it from a place called Memory Express in Canada. As I said, I'm pretty much open to any suggestions, my price range is around what it currently is, though if something seems unnecessary or too low, I'm willing to make changes.

This pc's main use will just be essentially gaming/watching movies/internet etc. No video editing/photoshop or anything of that nature. The obvious type games like Starcraft 2, Dota2, Skyrim, Diabo 3 etc. I'm not super concerned about ultra graphics or anything, but I just want it to be stable and running at a good FPS, at 1920x1080.

Antec Nine Hundred II V3 Gamer Case $129
Intel Core™ i5-2500K Processor, 3.30GHz w/ 6MB Cache $229
Gigabyte GA-H61M-USB3-B3 w/ DDR3 1333, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, PCI-E $84
Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Quad Channel Kit (4 x 4GB), Cerulean Blue $109
Seagate 2TB Barracuda Green SATA III w/ 64MB Cache $189
LG Super-Multi 22x DVD Writer, SATA, OEM, Black $21
eVGA GeForce GTX 570 SuperClocked 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDMI $369
Antec EarthWatts EA 650W Power Supply Green $84

Final cost $1282

http://www.memoryexpress.com/SystemConfig/Default.aspx Used that to build the custom system

Thanks in advance

 

[eosos]

Alright, so I have a GTX 480 right now and I love the performance. Problem is that it's loud as a jet engine and it gets real hot. Any suggestions on what to do? Are any of the newer cards comparable in power but more quiet? Any suggestions on what to do would be great. I've also been looking into dampening kits a little bit. Thanks a bunch.

 

[wowzors]

My computer I built earlier this year just shut off and now it wont power on, it has blue leds on the side and it just keeps going on and off and will not boot. Checked wires and everything was plugged in, unseated the RAM, still nothing (tried each stick one at a time). Nada, anybody have any ideas? Im thinking the power supply might have died? its a 550w Antec PSU about 5 years old, it was powering a oc'd 2500k to 4.5ghz, a gtx 560ti, 8gb ram, hyper212+. Thats really my only idea, anyone else have any?

 

[InfiniteNine]

Alright all set up! One problem though, the top fan for my case makes an annoying clicking sound. Anything I can do about that?

 

[cartman414]

Ok here's some more specifics:

CoolerMaster Elite 430

Intel Core i7-960 3.2 (no option to get i5)

For cooling I'm thinking of getting the Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan or the basic LGA1366 CPU Fan & Heatsink

GigaByte G1.Guerrilla Intel X58 motherboard

12GB (2GBx6) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Corsair XMS Gaming Memory with Heat Spreader (no option to get 8GB)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB

For power supply, would a 700W XtremeGear power supply do well?

1TB HDD

You could go more contemporary for much less. LGA1366 is defunct. Sandy Bridge has better quads, and can be upgraded thru Ivy Bridge.

Hey guys, my main PC recently just pretty much died on me, was about 4 years old though, so I guess I was in need of a new system anyway. Anyways, first things first, I'm sorta an idiot when it comes to alot of this stuff, dont really have much knowledge or insight regarding PC parts. Thus, though I know its better to make your own PC's, I just dont really have the time or confidence, I'd rather just pay for the peace of mind knowing it'll be done correctly and without any hassles.

Anyways, I put together the following system, though to be perfectly honest, all I was really somewhat sure upon was the video card and processor, as those were recommended to me. Also, I wanted a large hard drive to store alot of files and movies on, though it obviously hurts with the price increases. Everything else was sorta whatever, I sorta just picked any random Motherboard piece and also some random power supply. I honestly dont even know if those two are valid with the system, or if it Requires more power. Also, when I'm building a system, do I need to buy a soundcard?

Everything look okay? Any changes you would make? Unfortunate thing is that everything has to be from that site, as they are putting it all together. My final bill was around $1300. Though its Canadian, so the prices may appear a bit higher. I'm getting it from a place called Memory Express in Canada. As I said, I'm pretty much open to any suggestions, my price range is around what it currently is, though if something seems unnecessary or too low, I'm willing to make changes.

This pc's main use will just be essentially gaming/watching movies/internet etc. No video editing/photoshop or anything of that nature. The obvious type games like Starcraft 2, Dota2, Skyrim, Diabo 3 etc. I'm not super concerned about ultra graphics or anything, but I just want it to be stable and running at a good FPS, at 1920x1080.

Antec Nine Hundred II V3 Gamer Case $129
Intel Core™ i5-2500K Processor, 3.30GHz w/ 6MB Cache $229
Gigabyte GA-H61M-USB3-B3 w/ DDR3 1333, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, PCI-E $84
Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Quad Channel Kit (4 x 4GB), Cerulean Blue $109
Seagate 2TB Barracuda Green SATA III w/ 64MB Cache $189
LG Super-Multi 22x DVD Writer, SATA, OEM, Black $21
eVGA GeForce GTX 570 SuperClocked 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDMI $369
Antec EarthWatts EA 650W Power Supply Green $84

Final cost $1282

http://www.memoryexpress.com/SystemConfig/Default.aspx Used that to build the custom system

Thanks in advance

Why the H61 mobo with all of that? Why not a P67 or a Z68?

 

[Wedge7]

Err, no idea actually.

As I said, I didn't really know what they did, so I figured I would just get something that looked cheap.

 

[wowzors]

My computer I built earlier this year just shut off and now it wont power on, it has blue leds on the side and it just keeps going on and off and will not boot. Checked wires and everything was plugged in, unseated the RAM, still nothing (tried each stick one at a time). Nada, anybody have any ideas? Im thinking the power supply might have died? its a 550w Antec PSU about 5 years old, it was powering a oc'd 2500k to 4.5ghz, a gtx 560ti, 8gb ram, hyper212+. Thats really my only idea, anyone else have any?

So very weird thing. I took out the Mobo battery to reset the CMOS, it booted up. What the hell happened to the CMOS that for 5 months it ran without a problem then 20 minutes ago started turning on and off ever 5 seconds. Anyone have any ideas? Im a little worried now.

 

[Hazaro]

My sister asked me to build a new pc for them. They don't need anything crazy. Only requirement is 24" monitor. I was thinking of using SSD and AMD APU A8-3850. This would provide enough gpu for anything they would need.

This is what I have picked out.
AMD A8-3850
Gigabyte GA-A75M
Geil 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) PC1600 DDR3
Corsair 120 GB SSD SATA3
Corsair CX430
Asus vs247h-p
NXST Source 220
LG 12x Bluray burner

It is right around $820. The monitor and SSD $380 of that.

Thinks this is an alright rig for office and Internet?

Recommend Intel 320 SSD for reliability and a better quality PSU.

Hey guys I know in this thread everyone is in favor of building-it-yourself PCs, but I was wondering what you guys thought of pre-built machines? I'm of getting a nice beefy PC from Cyberpower for about $1500 including monitor.

The general specs are:
GTX 570
i7 3.3
8GB RAM
Not sure of the motherboard but I believe it is compatible
1TB HDD
800w power supply

What do you guys think of a setup like this, does anyone have any experience with Cyberpower or other related sites? Is there anything I should change or be careful of? Thanks!

Old i7 and a 570 is a joke. PSU is probably lower quality too.
I'd watch an assembly video. You can get better quality and faster hardware for $300 less.

Alright all set up! One problem though, the top fan for my case makes an annoying clicking sound. Anything I can do about that?

Is it tapping a wire? Screwed in tightly? Is the fan moving up and down from suction?

 

[InfiniteNine]

Recommend Intel 320 SSD for reliability and a better quality PSU.

Old i7 and a 570 is a joke. PSU is probably lower quality too.
I'd watch an assembly video. You can get better quality and faster hardware for $300 less.

Is it tapping a wire? Screwed in tightly? Is the fan moving up and down from suction?

Nope to all of those. I spinned it myself while the PC was off and it makes that noise when it spins.

 

[Hazaro]

Nope to all of those. I spinned it myself while the PC was off and it makes that noise when it spins.

Use google fu. I haven't ever ran into or heard of that specifically.

 

[Aselith]

I was looking at this TV for Black Friday...anyone have experience with it or just Hitachi's in general? I would be looking at it for a PC monitor as well as a TV. I should be good for both since it's a native 1920x1080 resolution, right?

Here's the full product details from Hitachi's site: http://www.hitachi-america.us/produ.../details/L40A105.html#Detailed_Specifications

 

[n0n44m]

Alright, so I have a GTX 480 right now and I love the performance. Problem is that it's loud as a jet engine and it gets real hot. Any suggestions on what to do? Are any of the newer cards comparable in power but more quiet? Any suggestions on what to do would be great. I've also been looking into dampening kits a little bit. Thanks a bunch.

Arctic-Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus (II) if you're not afraid to void your warranty. Or the Zalman VF-3000 version compatible with the 480

else a GTX570 is ever so slightly faster and uses less power/gets less hot/makes less noise. Especially if you choose one with non-reference cooling.

dampening kits only help against sounds with low dB but a high frequency. The GTX480 fan at max speed is very high dB and very high frequency; you'd be better off moving the case to another room and running the cables through the wall