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[beje]

every build with a sort-of-large case needs an 8-pin extender in my experience unless you want to run those across the entire board (vaderno.jpg)

Hah, that's how I currently have mine, running below the dent near the slots in the PCI cards, all the way up to the connector, there wasn't any other way of doing it.

 

[mkenyon]

Gigabyte has a strange naming scheme for some reason but the ones to look out for are their new ultra durable 5 (ud5) boards ending with "UP" suffix

microsite here, very exciting paper specs. the up7 above has a 10 layers pcb with 2oz copper! fuck the wat! lol.
http://www.gigabyte.com/microsite/312/ud5.html

UP = Ultra Power, UD = Ultra Durable.

They're using UP on the new motherboards to push their revised VRM and Phase system. UP7 has something like 32 power phases.

Hah, that's how I currently have mine, running below the dent near the slots in the PCI cards, all the way up to the connector, there wasn't any other way of doing it.

Run it under the motherboard. Not the motherboard tray, but between the tray and motherboard. That's how it was done back before there were cable management cutouts

 

[golem]

I'm sure you've taken a look at the Anandtech Review of the 840 then.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6328/samsung-ssd-840-pro-256gb-review

My main issue is that you'd see close to 0% real world performance gain and pay (estimated) 33%+ more for the drive that hasn't been on the market. I would be hesitant to buy any new SSD simply due to the new advancing nature of SSD tech/chipsets/controllers.

The charts are nice and all, but SSD is SSD fast (imo) . Granted some giant heavy workloads for an enthusiast user could see some benefits, I'll be leaving the probably much cheaper and proven 830 in the build sheet for quite a while.

Haha, true. I'm hoping that the 840 will come in at a street price that is close enough to the 830 where it isnt a big deal to go for the newer model. I actually paid the old SSD style prices for the 830, like a month before SSD prices went dropped like a rock, made me a little sad haha.

 

[mkenyon]

Haha, true. I'm hoping that the 840 will come in at a street price that is close enough to the 830 where it isnt a big deal to go for the newer model. I actually paid the old SSD style prices for the 830, like a month before SSD prices went dropped like a rock, made me a little sad haha.

You can wish in one hand and shit in the other......


I'm expecting an enterprice (my new favorite pun) on the 840s due to their supposed reliability. At least the 840 pro's will have it.

 

[beje]

Run it under the motherboard. Not the motherboard tray, but between the tray and motherboard. That's how it was done back before there were cable management cutouts

It wouldn't fit that way, the cable is short enough not to able to go all the way up the mobo then bend it down to reach the connector by very few milimetres (it would be extremely tight), that's the first thing I tried hahahaha. Took me like half an hour of screaming bloody murder until I realised I could run it through that little dent in the GFX. Didn't even think about an extension cable, honestly.

 

[yn-neko hates a cat]

When going multi display is 3 the best route? Being split in the middle seems like it hinders game play.

Mae sure you buy an nice edge to edge screen and if you want a tripple moniter KVM for display-port or dvi, be prepared to spend upwards of $800 (because why would a poor person have three monitors APPARENTLY(!! ;_).

 

[appaws]

Hey, I am posting this is this thread for all the PC tech people...

What PC/Tech podcasts do you listen to or recommend...? I do a lot of commuting and need something for when I am caught up on Stern.

I already listen to Anandtech, Tech Report, PC Gamer, and Maximum PC podcasts, and they are all very good. Anandtech is a little above my head at times and they spend a lot of time talking about cell phones, but still good.

 

[Azzurri]

Mae sure you buy an nice edge to edge screen and if you want a tripple moniter KVM for display-port or dvi, be prepared to spend upwards of $800 (because why would a poor person have three monitors APPARENTLY(!! ;_).

I have an Apple LED 27", so another 2 would be a lot. I was thinking of selling my Apple and buying the new 9 Series LED Glossy Samsung 27". I need an adapter for my monitor now since it's mini dsp port.

 

[mkenyon]

I have an Apple LED 27", so another 2 would be a lot. I was thinking of selling my Apple and buying the new 9 Series LED Glossy Samsung 27". I need an adapter for my monitor now since it's mini dsp port.

Spend a few hours going through this thread. It's all about two guys and their ridiculous pursuit of the most perfect eyefinity/surround setup.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1220962/vegas-heavyweight-display-and-computer-edition-2012/370

Hey, I am posting this is this thread for all the PC tech people...

What PC/Tech podcasts do you listen to or recommend...? I do a lot of commuting and need something for when I am caught up on Stern.

I already listen to Anandtech, Tech Report, PC Gamer, and Maximum PC podcasts, and they are all very good. Anandtech is a little above my head at times and they spend a lot of time talking about cell phones, but still good.

TechReport is the only tech heavy podcast I listen to. The cellphone and other stuff on Anand always makes me snooze.

I do watch OC3D.tv pretty religiously. Whereas TechReport would be like an engineering journal on the current tech in the automotive industry, OC3D would be a mix of a Tuner Magazine and Car & Driver. The guy can seem a bit obnoxious, but he has a lot of really good ideas and opinions.

 

[yn-neko hates a cat]

I have an Apple LED 27", so another 2 would be a lot. I was thinking of selling my Apple and buying the new 9 Series LED Glossy Samsung 27". I need an adapter for my monitor now since it's mini dsp port.

Yeah, it probably helps to get all your monitors to be relatively close to each other and be the same model. I'm running two Dell 24 inches and though their the same tier, they're 6 years appart and looking at my old display next to my new IPS monitor is a jarring reminder that more money will be spent

 

[scogoth]

Spend a few hours going through this thread. It's all about two guys and their ridiculous pursuit of the most perfect eyefinity/surround setup.

As I was reading that sentence I thought you were refering to sketch and I.

I have an Apple LED 27", so another 2 would be a lot. I was thinking of selling my Apple and buying the new 9 Series LED Glossy Samsung 27". I need an adapter for my monitor now since it's mini dsp port.

Triple screen is a hobby just like WC. Be prepared to drop a lot of money and a lot of time setting things up/tweaking.

 

[sk3tch]

FWIW - with recently NVIDIA driver releases they have improved NV Surround's capabilities when it comes to using three disparate monitors (versus all of the same make/model which used to be a requirement).

My advice: buy 3 low cost monitors and try it out. See if you like it. If you do, then invest heavy into the three higher end monitors you want. I ended up getting 3x ASUS VH236H for about $130 each to test NV Surround prior to going big. Sold them for $100 each and then went with what I wanted. Not a bad price to save yourself some pain/heartache if it's not for you.

 

[mkenyon]

FWIW - with recently NVIDIA driver releases they have improved NV Surround's capabilities when it comes to using three disparate monitors (versus all of the same make/model which used to be a requirement).

My advice: buy 3 low cost monitors and try it out. See if you like it. If you do, then invest heavy into the three higher end monitors you want. I ended up getting 3x ASUS VH236H for about $130 each to test NV Surround prior to going big. Sold them for $100 each and then went with what I wanted. Not a bad price to save yourself some pain/heartache if it's not for you.

sk3tch, you need to get in touch with Vega to post on 1pcent.

'So I finally put my 690 in the HTPC'

'Nice! I got my geothermal/watercooled/phase change system set up to play on five 120hz monitors in portrait'

'Oh! Good idea, I'm going to have to try that next week'

Of course, I'm imagining this whole conversation taking place in a smoking lounge with cigars and 21 year whiskey.

 

[Freewheelin']

Hi guys. First post in this thread and I'm a simpleton when it comes to PC stuff :lol:

So help me out here:

I have a PC and a monitor and all the connections and I'm trying to make them work together. The picture above has two monitor ports; I have tried a normal VGA cable in the monitor port as you can see in the photo, and the monitor says no signal.

I am thinking that maybe the signal is set to the other port, so I was just wondering would you know if that is is the case and if so, would you know of the name of the cable and where you can get one for cheap?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[mkenyon]

You have two identical VGA ports?

 

[Freewheelin']

You have two identical VGA ports?

Well I don't know!

 

[mkenyon]

Do the two ports that are next to each other look identical? Have you tried both?

 

[Freewheelin']

Do the two ports that are next to each other look identical? Have you tried both?

I don't have a cable that goes into that port :lol

As I said, I tried the right port and it just brings up no signal on the monitor

What can I do?

 

[Manp]

I don't have a cable that goes into that port :lol

As I said, I tried the right port and it just brings up no signal on the monitor

What can I do?

the one on the left is a serial port, not vga

 

[mkenyon]

Silly me, the one on the left is a serial port.

1) Have you tried a different cable?
2) Make sure the input is selected as 'analog' on your monitor?

*edit*
Beaten!

 

[Manp]

that looks like an integrated vga. are you sure you don't have also a discrete graphic card?

 

[Sykane]

Hey heads up guys, been considering upgrading my PC for awhile (e7200/gtx470) and I found a pretty awesome deal I couldn't say no to. TigerDirect has the i3-2100 for $79.99. I understand this cpu is no 2500k/3570k, but for $79.99 I can get the CPU/Motherboard/Ram all for less than the price of one those and have a pretty capable system. Its essentially the Sandy Bridge version of the CPU recommended in the standard build. If any of the more knowledgeable people here would like to chime in and advise if they think its a good deal, feel free.

 

[krzy123]

the weird thing is the half darker blue section on that serial port, it seems to indicated it can be video ... weird

model of pc?

 

[AndyD]

that looks like an integrated vga. are you sure you don't have also a discrete graphic card?

This. Sometimes there is a Bios setting to only output to the dedicated card and not the builtin ports.

 

[Freewheelin']

This. Sometimes there is a Bios setting to only output to the dedicated card and not the builtin ports.

How can I even get into the Bios if I can't even see what to do? :lol

I'm at my wits end here! Arghhhhh

 

[AndyD]

If you have a dedicated video card, then plug the monitor cable into that card, rather than the motherboard. Alternatively, remove the video card, and then the built in video will work fine through the currently connected port.

All of that IF you have a standalone video card plugged in.

Also, did you check that your monitor is looking for signal on that input and not from another input? Sort of like multiple inputs on a TV needing the TV to be set to the correct one.

 

[iqubal]

So what is the best brand to get for a new gtx 660 card?

I'm leaning towards gigabyte due to the cooling with dual fans. Any opinions or assistance would be extremely helpful and appreciative!

 

[yn-neko hates a cat]

So what is the best brand to get for a new gtx 660 card?

I'm leaning towards gigabyte due to the cooling with dual fans. Any opinions or assistance would be extremely helpful and appreciative!

I say either EVGA or GALAXY.

Galaxy has a pretty nice fan setup... I was all primed to get a galaxy for my 670 solution until some kind folks n here alerted me that it wouldn't work with my vertical case arrangement. I imagine you have a standard case so you can take advantage of the cards awesomeness.

 

[mkenyon]

In terms of cooler performance, Gigabyte/ASUS/MSI are all up there consistently. EVGA tends to be the loudest/worst performer because they use reference coolers. For everyone else, it's a crapshoot where they end up card to card. If you are wanting to know about one in specific, google 'x brand 660 review' and check out the comparison on noise level.

*edit*

Woo! Finally, after about a month of searching I find a trader for my 690. Incoming 3x4GB 670s.

So GAF, what say you.

+

OR

+

The former (Heatkiller blocks) would look stunning, but I think I would need a totally different case/motherboard. I'm not saying this is a giant roadblock, but it needs to be taken into consideration.

The latter would look fantastic in my current case with the acrylic SLI bridge to see that green fluid moving throughout my loop. Choices, choices.

 

[ithorien]

In terms of cooler performance, Gigabyte/ASUS/MSI are all up there consistently. EVGA tends to be the loudest/worst performer because they use reference coolers. For everyone else, it's a crapshoot where they end up card to card. If you are wanting to know about one in specific, google 'x brand 660 review' and check out the comparison on noise level.

*edit*

Woo! Finally, after about a month of searching I find a trader for my 690. Incoming 3x4GB 670s.

So GAF, what say you.

+

The former (Heatkiller blocks) would look stunning, but I think I would need a totally different case/motherboard. I'm not saying this is a giant roadblock, but it needs to be taken into consideration.

The latter would look fantastic in my current case with the acrylic SLI bridge to see that green fluid moving throughout my loop. Choices, choices.

Second choice's aesthetic wins by far imo.

 

[Salsa]

Looks like I'm trying my luck with RMA cause of the coil whine tomorrow. Wish me luck :-/

 

[yn-neko hates a cat]

Who makes a 670 card without stacked DVI ports?

Edit:
n/m... it appears that it still takes up two slots

 

[iqubal]

Cool thanks for the info : )

 

[yn-neko hates a cat]

Has anyone here ever attempted to run Quad-Crossfire 7970s?

 

[mkenyon]

Nope.

In benches, they outperform quad 680s. They scale quite a bit better.

In reality, you will pretty much have to troubleshoot almost every game you play to get it to work. Same goes for quad-SLI though.

 

[XShagrath]

Quick question. I just bought a bunch of parts based on recommendations in the OP to build a new desktop. This is the first time I'm putting together my own desktop from scratch (usually had a friend do the CPU and stuff).

Anyways, my issue is: I dropped the CPU in just fine. It only goes in one way, so that's easy. Now I'm trying to slide the plate and arm back into place to lock it, but I seem to be encountering a fair amount of resistance, and it seems to be from these little tabs on the inside of the open area (if that makes sense?)

e: It looks like I can take out the torx screw that the CPU arm enclosure locks to and then put the cover down, and then screw back over. But I don't ever remember seeing that done in the past, and it doesn't say anything like that in the instruction manual.

This is a Biostar TZ77B mobo, and an Intel i5 3470 processor.

 

[Salsa]

well, actually the dude suddenly started acting like an asshat and is now telling me that I wanna RMA it just for the fact that it's the LE model, and that this is normal and that I shouldnt be complaining

apparently he doesnt understand the fact that I wanna change it over coil whine, telling me that this is normal and that even if I get another card, it will have it.

Man, im really tired of this crap. If you told me that the good part about paying $700+ for this is that we get at least good customer support then i'd be okay with it, but everything is just fucked. Buying high-end hardware around here is the worst gamble, and it looks like ive just been screwed.

Learnt my lesson, I guess. It only costed me a fuck ton of money.

 

[statham]

okay, I can't get my SSD to work with my OEM OS, it loads but everytime I click on anything it says it can't find a file. I've tried for the past week to get this to work, and no good. I started a return process with staples to return it but now doubting it. I debating using it just for my games, I have probably 100gb in steam games. would this make a big difference? its a 128gb drive. I got it for $50 bucks. Is it worth it, without the OS on it?

 

[Zombie James]

Quick question. I just bought a bunch of parts based on recommendations in the OP to build a new desktop. This is the first time I'm putting together my own desktop from scratch (usually had a friend do the CPU and stuff).

Anyways, my issue is: I dropped the CPU in just fine. It only goes in one way, so that's easy. Now I'm trying to slide the plate and arm back into place to lock it, but I seem to be encountering a fair amount of resistance, and it seems to be from these little tabs on the inside of the open area (if that makes sense?)

e: It looks like I can take out the torx screw that the CPU arm enclosure locks to and then put the cover down, and then screw back over. But I don't ever remember seeing that done in the past, and it doesn't say anything like that in the instruction manual.

This is a Biostar TZ77B mobo, and an Intel i5 3470 processor.

You're supposed to encounter resistance, it's a very tight and sturdy locking mechanism. Definitely don't unscrew anything. If you're absolutely sure the CPU is seated properly, just push the lever down all the way and tuck it under that tab like it is in that picture.

edit: Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuGwPnWrpow

 

[mkenyon]

Try swapping out your power cord on your PSU for a really nice one, and putting it behind something like a UPS or really nice surge protector. I've seen this cure coil whine issues on videocards.

okay, I can't get my SSD to work with my OEM OS, it loads but everytime I click on anything it says it can't find a file. I've tried for the past week to get this to work, and no good. I started a return process with staples to return it but now doubting it. I debating using it just for my games, I have probably 100gb in steam games. would this make a big difference? its a 128gb drive. I got it for $50 bucks. Is it worth it, without the OS on it?

More info is needed.

1) Which OS?
2) Have you done a fresh install?
3) What kind of SSD?
4) Are there firmware updates that can be installed?

SSD's make a really big difference in MMOs and regular desktop/application use. They do reduce load times in games as well if that is important to you.

 

[DTKT]

well, actually the dude suddenly started acting like an asshat and is now telling me that I wanna RMA it just for the fact that it's the LE model, and that this is normal and that I shouldnt be complaining

apparently he doesnt understand the fact that I wanna change it over coil whine, telling me that this is normal and that even if I get another card, it will have it.

Man, im really tired of this crap. If you told me that the good part about paying $700+ for this is that we get at least good customer support then i'd be okay with it, but everything is just fucked. Buying high-end hardware around here is the worst gamble, and it looks like ive just been screwed.

Learnt my lesson, I guess. It only costed me a fuck ton of money.

Dude, that sucks. :|

Any chance of a chargback? Contact your CC company and tell them you've been misled?

 

[scitek]

I'm at work and a buddy asked me to recommend a CPU/mobo for him to buy for a new PC. It's a starter rig for him and he mainly wants to play Skyrim, and from checking the recommended parts I see dual-cores there. Would something like a G850 be good enough for him?

 

[statham]

Try swapping out your power cord on your PSU for a really nice one, and putting it behind something like a UPS or really nice surge protector. I've seen this cure coil whine issues on videocards.

More info is needed.

1) Which OS?
2) Have you done a fresh install?
3) What kind of SSD?
4) Are there firmware updates that can be installed?

SSD's make a really big difference in MMOs and regular desktop/application use. They do reduce load times in games as well if that is important to you.

its a OEM os of windows 7, gateway store bought computer and a kingston ssd. have not checked firmware. As far as I know you can't do a fresh install of windows since It came with the computer (I would be pleased to tell me I'm wrong)

 

[mkenyon]

Yes, you can do a fresh install.

http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59465.iso

use with this tool:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool

You may have to call microsoft when you do the fresh install to okay it, but since your motherboard and other parts are all the same, it'll be gravy.

I'm at work and a buddy asked me to recommend a CPU/mobo for him to buy for a new PC. It's a starter rig for him and he mainly wants to play Skyrim, and from checking the recommended parts I see dual-cores there. Would something like a G850 be good enough for him?

Skyrim is fairly CPU dependent, so the more oomph you can get in that department, the better.

Here's a good comparison showing you the kind of bottleneck that can exist in Skyrim because of it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-3.html

 

[Salsa]

Dude, that sucks. :|

Any chance of a chargback? Contact your CC company and tell them you've been misled?

not really. It's all really fishy cause everything's imported here, so I wouldnt even know where to start. I also paid in cash


Ive been examining the whine by basically putting my ear next to the card during Crysis 2 and ive discovered two things:

the noise comes from both the card and the PSU, pretty sure about this.

Now: keep in mind that this PSU had no issues with the 560ti. In fact my previous one did, so I bought this one (Antec true power 750w) and the problem was solved

then again I guess it wasnt pushing the same voltage than the 670, right?

what's the best way to narrow down wich one's really causing the issue? I know that these kind of noises could come from a bad "combo" of PSU+GPU+MOBO but im not sure how to narrow it down. The noises are different (as in, the one from the card and the one from the PSU), but what I can hear during gameplay that bothers me is definetly a combination of both.

It's not the same high pitched whine im getting when im on a game menu/loading screen, btw, where the framerate goes to the two thousands or so. I can live with that by using vsync.

 

[mkenyon]

In case you missed my previous post, what you should do is 1) Try a different (high quality) power cable to your psu, and 2) try putting a UPS or high quality surge protector between your PSU and wall. I've seen both of those cure video card coil whine. The idea is to get clean and consistent power to your PSU to prevent fluctuations.

In reality though, coil whine is here to stay. I haven't had a card in the last 3 years that hasn't had it, albeit at varying degrees.

With your RMA, did you try contacting EVGA directly?

 

[Hazaro]

well, actually the dude suddenly started acting like an asshat and is now telling me that I wanna RMA it just for the fact that it's the LE model, and that this is normal and that I shouldnt be complaining

apparently he doesnt understand the fact that I wanna change it over coil whine, telling me that this is normal and that even if I get another card, it will have it.

Man, im really tired of this crap. If you told me that the good part about paying $700+ for this is that we get at least good customer support then i'd be okay with it, but everything is just fucked. Buying high-end hardware around here is the worst gamble, and it looks like ive just been screwed.

Learnt my lesson, I guess. It only costed me a fuck ton of money.

Try swapping out your power cord on your PSU for a really nice one, and putting it behind something like a UPS or really nice surge protector. I've seen this cure coil whine issues on videocards.

I'd give this a shot for sure first.

Apart from that there are various tricks like putting nail polish on power stuff.
http://theovalich.wordpress.com/200...w-and-how-to-fix-it-no-more-gtx280-squealing/

or what you might try is leaving your computer on something that causes the coil whine (No guarantees this works or doesn't do something bad) like the Crysis 2 menu.

 

[Thraktor]

Skyrim is fairly CPU dependent, so the more oomph you can get in that department, the better.

Here's a good comparison showing you the kind of bottleneck that can exist in Skyrim because of it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-3.html

Apparently this is mainly to do with one particular setting (I think it's when you max out shadow quality), so it's certainly playable on lower-budget CPUs if you're not intent on playing at the highest settings.

 

[Salsa]

tried a different power chord and even outlet: same deal

what's weird is that the buzz kinda breaks with the framerate. Dont know if I make myself clear but for example in crysis 2 when I drop from 60 to 40-45 the noise kinda cracks with it. It goes from bzzzzzzzzz to bz-bz-bz-bz-bz. It's very easy to notice since it's immediatly distinguishable. I look at the sky and I get an ongoing buzz, the second I put my sights on an explosion for example the buzz cracks like that.

 

[scitek]

Skyrim is fairly CPU dependent, so the more oomph you can get in that department, the better.

Here's a good comparison showing you the kind of bottleneck that can exist in Skyrim because of it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-3.html

I'd heard that it was. I guess I'm mainly curious about the recommendation of a dual-core. Is that still a viable option now? I was under the impression a quad is what you'd want to go with now, but I haven't kept up.