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[chaosblade]

It's only around $150 more going from i3 2100 & H61 MB to i5 2500K & P67 MB. The added performance and future proof well worth it long term. If he can't afford it now, just save up for another month or so.

~$130 for a motherboard (+70), +$100 for the CPU (+170), +20 for a cooler worthwhile for OCing to that range (+$190), $14 more RAM (+$204). Maybe not quite 50% of the base PC, but I don't see any reason to recommend all that if he's seriously just using this build for two games with low system requirements and normal use like web and documents.

That's his decision though, that build will perform fine for Blizzard and Valve games.

Sorry for the crudeness of the pic, I hate working on this netbook.

The only 4x2 I have looks pretty connected.

Can't really see much, but whatever it is doesn't look like a PSU plug. Hard to tell though, was anything from the old PSU plugged into it?

Given the positioning, it does indeed look like it could be a 4 pin CPU connector, and your PSU may have a 4+4 pin one. I don't see one in the picture, but the positioning is right for that.

I'd plug in everything else and try it, if something isn't getting power the worst that will happen is that you can't boot. Hopefully we're not confused over a fan header or something :lol

 

[Lionel Mandrake]

Can't really see much, but whatever it is doesn't look like a PSU plug. Hard to tell though, was anything from the old PSU plugged into it?

Given the positioning, it does indeed look like it could be a 4 pin CPU connector, and your PSU may have a 4+4 pin one. I don't see one in the picture, but the positioning is right for that.

I'd plug in everything else and try it, if something isn't getting power the worst that will happen is that you can't boot. Hopefully we're not confused over a fan header or something :lol

Yeah, there was a plug in it. I guess it would have to be the CPU, as the only two plugs that were in the motherboard were that and the giant 20-pin connector.

 

[Yoshichan]

I'm stuck... my current monitor has a VGA and a HDMI-connector and the 560ti I was planning on buying has DVI and "mini HDMI":

I have never heard of mini HDMI in my life... what should I do at this point?

 

[mkenyon]

I'm stuck... my current monitor has a VGA and a HDMI-connector and the 560ti I was planning on buying has DVI and "mini HDMI":

I have never heard of mini HDMI in my life... what should I do at this point?

Get a mini HDMI to HDMI adapter. One should have come with your card. They're pretty standard.

 

[Yoshichan]

Get a mini HDMI to HDMI adapter. One should have come with your card. They're pretty standard.

Comes with: 1 x mini-HDMI-HDMI-adapter

Wow, completely missed that. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Theonik]

I'm stuck... my current monitor has a VGA and a HDMI-connector and the 560ti I was planning on buying has DVI and "mini HDMI":

http://i.imgur.com/V6w7i.jpg

I have never heard of mini HDMI in my life... what should I do at this point?

Check the package contents. It should come with a converter. Only difference is the connector itself. Signal is the same. Mine was the same.
Edit: Beaten.

 

[Yoshichan]

One last quick question (couldn't find it in the OP), how do I check what motherboard I have?

 

[Theonik]

One last quick question (couldn't find it in the OP), how do I check what motherboard I have?

I assume for asking, it must be a prebuilt PC correct? Most boards I have encountered have their model prined somewhere on them. Just look around.

 

[chaosblade]

One last quick question (couldn't find it in the OP), how do I check what motherboard I have?

Speccy will tell you in the motherboard section. Mine, for example:

Manufacturer ASRock
Model P67 Extreme4 Gen3 (CPUSocket)

 

[Lionel Mandrake]

So, would this cable do the trick for me?

It's difficult to tell which is the male/female end of the plug. I'd like to know soon so I can go ahead and place the order and get this whole thing over with.

 

[chaosblade]

So, would this cable do the trick for me?

It's difficult to tell which is the male/female end of the plug. I'd like to know soon so I can go ahead and place the order and get this whole thing over with.

That 2x2 pin will always be the same since it plugs into the motherboard and nothing else (unless you're getting an extension).

If that 2x2 matches the one on the board, it should work. I find it odd that your PSU wouldn't have a CPU 4 pin or 4+4 pin connector.

These are your plugs, the one circled is the one that should go there (or one part of it, it splits). You said already have that plugged in somewhere else?

 

[Lionel Mandrake]

That 2x2 pin will always be the same since it plugs into the motherboard and nothing else (unless you're getting an extension).

If that 2x2 matches the one on the board, it should work. I find it odd that your PSU wouldn't have a CPU 4 pin or 4+4 pin connector.

These are your plugs, the one circled is the one that should go there (or one part of it, it splits). You said already have that plugged in somewhere else?

That plug IS currently free. I just wasn't sure if it was safe to plug it in, and leave half of the connector unhooked.

 

[chaosblade]

That plug IS currently free. I just wasn't sure if it was safe to plug it in, and leave half of the connector unhooked.

Sorry, I misunderstood, I thought you meant it looked pretty connected in the board, not that the plug was all connected together. It's kind of tough to break apart, but you can do it. Don't need to if it fits in place though. Not sure how many ways it fits, just make sure you plug in one side or the other, and not the middle. Should only go in one way.

 

[Kiyamon]

Well I finally have my build up and running!!

I am now trying to figure out all the overlclocking stuff... tons of guides out there but they all leave a lot of unknowns.

My question right now though is about air flow. Currently I have the Rozwell Challenger Midtower. I have the setup in the pic, except I added another intake fan on the side of the case... so techincally I have (counting the power supply) 3 intake fans and 3 exhaust fans... should I make the side fan an exhaust fan in order to create negative airflow. Right now my temps seem to be good, but if I can improve cooling by turning the side fan to exhaust I will do it.

Thanks!

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Well I finally have my build up and running!!

I am now trying to figure out all the overlclocking stuff... tons of guides out there but they all leave a lot of unknowns.

My question right now though is about air flow. Currently I have the Rozwell Challenger Midtower. I have the setup in the pic, except I added another intake fan on the side of the case... so techincally I have (counting the power supply) 3 intake fans and 3 exhaust fans... should I make the side fan an exhaust fan in order to create negative airflow. Right now my temps seem to be good, but if I can improve cooling by turning the side fan to exhaust I will do it.

Thanks!

Don't count the PSU fan.

Side fan should be intake, because it's most likely above your GPU, which needs to suck in cool air.

What I do to create negative pressure is to run my exhaust fans (3) faster than my intake fans (2).

 

[Yami]

Few questions before I drop some money into this...

Any alternative P67 motherboards to a P8P67Pro at similar price points or less? And how's the Z68 chipset in comparison now?

Cheers.

 

[Lionel Mandrake]

Sorry, I misunderstood, I thought you meant it looked pretty connected in the board, not that the plug was all connected together. It's kind of tough to break apart, but you can do it. Don't need to if it fits in place though. Not sure how many ways it fits, just make sure you plug in one side or the other, and not the middle. Should only go in one way.

Alright, I am now posting from my PC. You were right, it came apart when I was trying to plug in half of the connector.

Thanks for all the help. I shouldn't be a bother again until my graphics card comes in a couple of days.

 

[chaosblade]

Few questions before I drop some money into this...

Any alternative P67 motherboards to a P8P67Pro at similar price points or less? And how's the Z68 chipset in comparison now?

Cheers.

Depends on what features you're after. P8P67 (Rev 3.1) is fine for most people and is about $135 after rebate usually, and is sometimes available with combos.

P67 vs Z68 is also a matter of features. Both allow overclocking, but Z68 also lets you use the onboard GPU if you want along with the SSD caching feature and QuickSync (for video transcoding). For most, it's not worth paying extra for, but for the same price or less there isn't any reason not to jump on it over P67.

Alright, I am now posting from my PC. You were right, it came apart when I was trying to plug in half of the connector.

Thanks for all the help. I shouldn't be a bother again until my graphics card comes in a couple of days.

Glad you got it working.

 

[knitoe]

~$130 for a motherboard (+70), +$100 for the CPU (+170), +20 for a cooler worthwhile for OCing to that range (+$190), $14 more RAM (+$204). Maybe not quite 50% of the base PC, but I don't see any reason to recommend all that if he's seriously just using this build for two games with low system requirements and normal use like web and documents.

Don't know where you are checking prices, but it's off. On Newegg CPU difference is ~$90 and Asrock H vs P MB is ~$50. The stock cooler is good to ~4.0GHz which will still easily beat i3 2100. So for ~$150 more, he can have a CPU that would last a few years vs one will probably be obsolete next year.

 

[BakugekiNZ]

Can anyone suggest
a) improvements, and
b) the best places to slice some of the cost

Here is what I've built - its based off the $900 enthusiast build in the OP. I'm pretty sure I don't want to compromise on the CPU, because I use CPU-bound stuff (think simulations) for my research, but everything else is fair game.
I want to be able to play at 1080p, and don't need to have the fanciest settings. Battlefield 3 and Diablo 3 are games I'm interested in playing. Cheers!

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($157.27 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Video Card ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Lian-Li LanCool PC-K57 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $881.06
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-01-07 17:14 EST-0500)

 

[chaosblade]

Don't know where you are checking prices, but it's off. On Newegg CPU difference is ~$90 and Asrock H vs P MB is ~$50. The stock cooler is good to ~4.0GHz which will still easily beat i3 2100. So for ~$150 more, he can have a CPU that would last a few years vs one will probably be obsolete next year.

Looks like there are some cheaper motherboards than I thought. Still, not everyone is looking to buy a PC to play a wide variety of intensive games that will require hardware like that. Blizzard and Valve games will run fine on the cheaper hardware and that's specifically what he asked about - DOTA2 and Diablo 3, no interest in anything else.

I don't disagree that for most people building a gaming PC that a 2500k is the way to go. I'm just not comfortable telling somebody who is trying to build something for a low price that they need to buy a $220 CPU and $110+ motherboard when something nearly half that price will meet the needs they asked about (he'll most likely still be GPU limited with either game).

I can't really speak his mind though, I have no idea if there's a chance he'll want to branch out and do other things where he'd see big improvements. If so, then it's probably a better idea to invest the extra money, but based on his posts it's all about low price and just those two games.

Can anyone suggest
a) improvements, and
b) the best places to slice some of the cost

Here is what I've built - its based off the $900 enthusiast build in the OP. I'm pretty sure I don't want to compromise on the CPU, because I use CPU-bound stuff (think simulations) for my research, but everything else is fair game.
I want to be able to play at 1080p, and don't need to have the fanciest settings. Battlefield 3 and Diablo 3 are games I'm interested in playing. Cheers!

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($157.27 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Video Card ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Lian-Li LanCool PC-K57 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $881.06
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-01-07 17:14 EST-0500)

Looks pretty good. You could save $5 pretty easily on the optical drive from Newegg, but that's about it. Maybe change the HDD to a Caviar Blue 1TB or something, there was one for $110 or so.

 

[Kiyamon]

Can anyone suggest
a) improvements, and
b) the best places to slice some of the cost

Here is what I've built - its based off the $900 enthusiast build in the OP. I'm pretty sure I don't want to compromise on the CPU, because I use CPU-bound stuff (think simulations) for my research, but everything else is fair game.
I want to be able to play at 1080p, and don't need to have the fanciest settings. Battlefield 3 and Diablo 3 are games I'm interested in playing. Cheers!

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($157.27 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Video Card ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Lian-Li LanCool PC-K57 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $881.06
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-01-07 17:14 EST-0500)

I'm no expert like some of the people here, but you can use the Rozwell Challenger case, that you may be able to find for around $40... just finished my build and it is a great budget case. Other than the case your system is very similar to mine... I went with 650w PSU from Corsair... if you are a neophyte builder like myself I would suggest you spend a bit more on your PSU and get a modular one... it will save you headaches on cable management especially if you are using a midsize case. One way I saved money is I opened up an old external 1TB drive... I lucked out as it was a Seagate 7200K... so if you are able to recycle do so, i.e. if you have an old CD drive. Also if you want to OC you will need a different CPU cooler (I got the Cooler Master 212+ for $25)... Oh, dont forget your OS.

 

[BakugekiNZ]

Looks pretty good. You could save $5 pretty easily on the optical drive from Newegg, but that's about it. Maybe change the HDD to a Caviar Blue 1TB or something, there was one for $110 or so.

Yeah, just found the Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM, for $119.98, which is a substantial saving.

I'm no expert like some of the people here, but you can use the Rozwell Challenger case, that you may be able to find for around $40... just finished my build and it is a great budget case. Other than the case your system is very similar to mine... I went with 650w PSU from Corsair... if you are a neophyte builder like myself I would suggest you spend a bit more on your PSU and get a modular one... it will save you headaches on cable management especially if you are using a midsize case. One way I saved money is I opened up an old external 1TB drive... I lucked out as it was a Seagate 7200K... so if you are able to recycle do so, i.e. if you have an old CD drive. Also if you want to OC you will need a different CPU cooler (I got the Cooler Master 212+ for $25)... Oh, dont forget your OS.

I've also just found that, bizzarely, the Antec 650W ATX12V is a bit cheaper than the 550W! But its not modular... what does that actually mean? I've never built a PC before.

I do have an external harddrive, Seagate 1TB, would pulling it out of its shell really be OK? would I need any other cables? No other salvageable bits unfortunately, moved country and all I have is my laptop and the 24" monitor I bought when I got here. Probably won't OC (I know... maybe later, baby steps!), and can get Windows through my college (thank goodness! saves a lot).

 

[chaosblade]

Yeah, just found the Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM, for $119.98, which is a substantial saving.



I've also just found that, bizzarely, the Antec 650W ATX12V is a bit cheaper than the 550W! But its not modular... what does that actually mean? I've never built a PC before.

I do have an external harddrive, Seagate 1TB, would pulling it out of its shell really be OK? would I need any other cables? No other salvageable bits unfortunately, moved country and all I have is my laptop and the 24" monitor I bought when I got here. Probably won't OC (I know... maybe later, baby steps!), and can get Windows through my college (thank goodness! saves a lot).

Modular means the cables are not permanently attached to the PSU. You just use the cables you need instead of having a big mess of unused PSU cables cluttering up your case.

And taking a drive out of the enclosure is usually fine, it's pretty rare for an external drive to be anything more than just an enclosure with a standard internal drive in it. It might be a 2.5" drive (laptop/SSD) and not a 3.5" drive (desktop), but the PC-K57 has two slots for 2.5" drives. Intended for SSDs, but any laptop drive should fit as far as I know.

And your motherboard should come with SATA cables, which will be the only ones you'll need.

 

[Rufus]

I've also just found that, bizzarely, the Antec 650W ATX12V is a bit cheaper than the 550W! But its not modular... what does that actually mean? I've never built a PC before.

A modular PSU has detachable power cables, which cuts down on the clutter inside the case, considering most people won't use all of them.

edit: So slow...

 

[ToyMachine228]

Any recommendations as far as monitors go? This is the one I have in my cart right now.

Acer S200HLAbd Black 20" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Item #: N82E16824009317

Looking for the best I can get in that price range. And how do I bundle Windows with my motheboard or whatever?

 

[chaosblade]

Any recommendations as far as monitors go? This is the one I have in my cart right now.

Acer S200HLAbd Black 20" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Item #: N82E16824009317

Looking for the best I can get in that price range. And how do I bundle Windows with my motheboard or whatever?

That monitor seems pretty decent for the price, only seen it like once though (my brother has one).

And combo deals are in the "Buy together and save" section, click Browse More Combos under the orange View Details button for the advertised combo.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.791361.13-157-241

That's the one you're looking for though.

 

[lynguist]

Can someone give me advice, please?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=34067230&postcount=1266

 

[Rice-Eater]

Here are the parts I'm thinking about getting for my new PC

CPU: i5 2500k
Motherboard: MSI P67A-G43(B3)
RAM: G. Skill Sniper 8 GB(2x4GB)
Hard Drive: Intel SSD 320 series
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922
Optical Drive: LITE-ON 12X BD-R

I already have a new power supply(Corsair TX750) and a new video card(GTX 460) that I bought last year. Altogether this brings me to about $660. Any suggestions about whether I should get something else for a little less or a little more? I'm not a PC gamer, but would like something nice and powerful enough as a HTPC.

 

[Seventh]

Any recommendations as far as monitors go? This is the one I have in my cart right now.

Acer S200HLAbd Black 20" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Item #: N82E16824009317

Looking for the best I can get in that price range. And how do I bundle Windows with my motheboard or whatever?

For about $10 more (or less if you include shipping), you can get a 1920x1080 monitor from the same company.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009316

 

[Celcius]

Which gtx 580 do you think would run cooler and quieter: an Asus DirectCU II or an MSI Twin Frozr II?
Both should be quieter than a reference gtx 580, right?

 

[TheExodu5]

Any recommendations as far as monitors go? This is the one I have in my cart right now.

Acer S200HLAbd Black 20" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Item #: N82E16824009317

Looking for the best I can get in that price range. And how do I bundle Windows with my motheboard or whatever?

I'd rather go for this Asus, if you need to stick with that price range:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236063

Not LED, but surprise: that's actually a bonus. Regular CCFL monitors are a bit thicker, but generally have better blacks and colors than LED monitors. I'm also not a fan of Acer monitors...I tried the G23 a while back and found that I had to set brightness and contrast both to 0 to get acceptable calibration. With the Asus VH246H I've demoed, 50/50 was roughly the right calibration, which means you have a lot more breathing space in terms of settings.

Still...20" is really small. You might want to consider looking at 23-24" options if you can stretch your budget a bit. You might not think it, but the difference in between 20" and 24" is enormous. It's about 45% more screen space.

I've seen 23.6" monitors go on sale for $120-140 quite often...might want to keep a lookout if you consider a bigger screen.

Which gtx 580 do you think would run cooler and quieter: an Asus DirectCU II or an MSI Twin Frozr II?
Both should be quieter than a reference gtx 580, right?

Both should be easily quieter provided you have decent airflow in your case. As for which is quieter...I can't say. I'd lean towards the Asus just based on the fact that it has a bigger cooler and fans, but I know the Twin Frozr is no slouch, and the MSI also takes up less space which might be a benefit to you.

 

[Yoshichan]

Wow... what the hell is going on? My problem was this:

My main problem right now, everytime something hectic happens in-game (can be in SC2, WoW or whatever), my screen goes black and I get the message: “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered". I've literally tried everything for 12 hours now and nothing's been working. I re-installed new drivers. I installed older drivers. I took the GPU out and cleaned it. What more can I do? Can it actually be something wrong with my VGA cables (connected to a DVI-converter)? I even tried plugging it in the other DVI-socket and it still doesn't work. I read that some people had the same problem and not even formating the computer would solve it. What more can I possibly do?

And here's the continuation. I switched to my old CRT-screen and I haven't encountered that problem yet. IF this "solved" it, what could be the problem? The things I "tried" asking myself:

1. Is it my GPU that all of a sudden can't handle 1080p? (Currently running 1280x1024 on this CRT)
2. Is there something wrong with the DVI cables I have connected to my HD-monitor?
3. Is there something wrong with the actual monitor?

We're getting progress guys, I'd love some thoughts of this whole thing.

 

[TheExodu5]

My guess is its overheating or becoming unstable. Running at a lower resolution isn't stressing it as much.

I'd download NVidia Inspector and reduce the clock speeds a bit. That might help it stablize a bit. Reduce the core and memory clock by 10%, and see if it still crashes.

 

[Yoshichan]

Nevermind. It took a lot longer for it to actually happened but yeah, changing screen didn't help me. Here's an interesting thing I noticed though. Everytime my screen goes black, it looks like this (look at the spike):

The red one is CPU... wouldn't this mean that the actual problem is coming from the CPU?

I'd download NVidia Inspector and reduce the clock speeds a bit. That might help it stablize a bit. Reduce the core and memory clock by 10%, and see if it still crashes.

Can this "Nvidia Inspector"-software do all the following things you just said (reducing core/memory clock by 10%)?

 

[Celcius]

Both should be easily quieter provided you have decent airflow in your case. As for which is quieter...I can't say. I'd lean towards the Asus just based on the fact that it has a bigger cooler and fans, but I know the Twin Frozr is no slouch, and the MSI also takes up less space which might be a benefit to you.

I've got a haf-x using the default fans at max speed. Should be plenty of airflow, right?

 

[TheExodu5]

What spike? Can't say I see any. Both CPU and GPU temps look fine.

Yes, Inspector can reduce clock speeds.

Download it
Run it
Show Overclocking (in the bottom right)
Reduce GPU and Memory clock by about 10% (if GPU clock is greyed out, then reduce Shader Clock...they're linked).

I've got a haf-x using the default fans at max speed. Should be plenty of airflow, right?

The HAF X is about the best air cooled case for video cards, so that's a yes!

 

[Celcius]

Cool, I guess I'll just wait until next week and see how the 7970's compare.

 

[Yoshichan]

Run it
Show Overclocking (in the bottom right)
Reduce GPU and Memory clock by about 10% (if GPU clock is greyed out, then reduce Shader Clock...they're linked).

Thanks, reduced both of them 10% (GPU clock's 518MHz and Memory's 1020MHz right now). Just out of curiosity, if this doesn't work, should I keep lowering it by another 10%?

edit: yep, same problem

 

[Erebus]

Experimenting with 25man raids... peaking at 83, averaging 75... still fine?

My main problem right now, everytime something hectic happens in-game (can be in SC2, WoW or whatever), my screen goes black and I get the message: “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered". I've literally tried everything for 12 hours now and nothing's been working. I re-installed new drivers. I installed older drivers. I took the GPU out and cleaned it. What more can I do? Can it actually be something wrong with my VGA cables (connected to a DVI-converter)? I even tried plugging it in the other DVI-socket and it still doesn't work. I read that some people had the same problem and not even formating the computer would solve it. What more can I possibly do?

edit: in the following thread:

http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/42242-display-driver-stopped-responding-has-recovered.html

The guy had the same problems and it got solved by plugging in VGA-cables instead of DVI ones... but I only have DVI-sockets in my GPU ._. (again, using a VGA-DVI-converter).

Just out of curiosity, what drivers are you using?

Same thing happens to me randomly, though never while gaming. It usually occurs when I browse the internet (firefox), use Photoshop but even when idling on desktop sometimes. Every single driver post-275.33 seems to cause this. I've found that several other people are having the exact issue with the newer drivers, so my guess is that it's driver related or something.

 

[Yoshichan]

Just out of curiosity, what drivers are you using?

Same thing happens to me randomly, though never while gaming. It usually occurs when I browse the internet (firefox), use Photoshop but even when idling on desktop sometimes. Every single driver post-275.33 seems to cause this. I've found that several other people are having the exact issue with the newer drivers, so my guess is that it's driver related or something.

Currently using the 285.62 for my GTX 275. I haven't tried downgrading my drivers yet and the reason is because I couldn't find them in the Nvidia site Do you know a site that saves older drivers for my card? It'll be interesting to try them out.

 

[Erebus]

Currently using the 285.62 for my GTX 275. I haven't tried downgrading my drivers yet and the reason is because I couldn't find them in the Nvidia site Do you know a site that saves older drivers for my card? It'll be interesting to try them out.

You can find pretty much every recent driver nVidia has released here:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us

Includes the beta ones as well.

 

[YianGaruga]

I have a weird problem with my video card (GTX560 Ti):

Earlier today, I played some games and when starting Path of Exile, I noticed weird graphical errors like this

with random spikes going everywhere.

Tested it on Starcraft 2 and it had the same problems.

Well, I though my video card was on the way out and tested its memory with "Video Memory Stress Test" and it did find some errors.

After waiting a few hours with the PC turned off, I booted it up again and tested some games, and the problem seems to be gone! Even the memory test doesn't find any errors anymore.

So, how can that happen? Can video memory fix itself? I'm 99% sure it's not an overheating issue since my card never ever went above 50° C the whole time, and stayed more around 42°C.

 

[Yoshichan]

You can find pretty much every recent driver nVidia has released here:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us

Includes the beta ones as well.

Thanks! Will go to safe mode, use Phyxion's Driver Sweeper and clean my drivers and then install 266.58

 

[Kiyamon]

Ok... I am looking into OCing so I am doing some research to understand what I am doing and to not damage my MB or CPU.

Just for the hell of it I did a stress test, with the only thing I changed was the mulitplier (through the BIOS to 40; all else on default). I ran Prime 95 for about 2 hours, core max temps (65, 69, 73, 68)... would this be considered stable?

I know I need to do more longterm testing but I am just starting to play around with some of the settings, and want to know everything is stable before I start pushing anything for 8+ hours.

 

[Yoshichan]

DarkUSS, I still can't confirm if I'm having the same issues (gonna do hard testing in a moment) but something I can confirm is holy shit does everything run so much smoother! I honestly had no idea wtf was going on with my computer; when I play WoW it showed that I had 80-90fps but it chugged a lot (like it was 30 fps) but now it's perfectly smooth... so you kind of upgraded my computer with these downgraded drivers :lol

Now to see if I still get black screens when my computer struggles... I'll be back in less than an hour of hard testing.

 

[Hazaro]

I have a weird problem with my video card (GTX560 Ti):

Earlier today, I played some games and when starting Path of Exile, I noticed weird graphical errors like this with random spikes going everywhere.

Tested it on Starcraft 2 and it had the same problems.

Well, I though my video card was on the way out and tested its memory with "Video Memory Stress Test" and it did find some errors.

After waiting a few hours with the PC turned off, I booted it up again and tested some games, and the problem seems to be gone! Even the memory test doesn't find any errors anymore.

So, how can that happen? Can video memory fix itself? I'm 99% sure it's not an overheating issue since my card never ever went above 50° C the whole time, and stayed more around 42°C.

Doesn't have to be temps, sometimes it can be on and off. Maybe the piece iwth bad memory wasn't loaded, etc.

Either way I'd find some time to send an RMA back. You cal also try reducing your memory clock speed via MSI Afterburner and see if it decreases in frequency.

 

[Yoshichan]

That's really odd. I really did think that we had solved the problem since my computer is running much better right now (neither SC2 or WoW stutters) but the problem remains and it happens when something heavy is going on like:

1. I changed video settings from low to high and vice-versa
2. When I used a summon and got to a city with lots of activity

Damn, this sucks so much Any other clues? Should I just bail the fuck out and buy the 560ti and Fractal Arc Midi? What if that doesn't solve the problem? What if the true problem lies within the CPU ._.

^ That's the reason I'm scared that it's my CPU doing these shenanigans.

 

[Hazaro]

CPU less load and better cooler = drops temps faster.
CPUs are almost never bad.

 

[YianGaruga]

Doesn't have to be temps, sometimes it can be on and off. Maybe the piece iwth bad memory wasn't loaded, etc.

Either way I'd find some time to send an RMA back. You cal also try reducing your memory clock speed via MSI Afterburner and see if it decreases in frequency.

I'll test it for a while longer and run a complete memory test again tomorrow. I'm just glad it works again at the moment.

The RMA process here in Germany doesn't seem to promising form what I've read and I don't have a spare video card at the moment, but If it keeps doing that I probably have no choice.