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[godhandiscen]

Anyone have any recommendations for PC game pads?

360 wired gamepad. Is the best I've had.

 

[SRG01]

Anyone have any recommendations for PC game pads?

Use a wireless 360 controller? I thought they were PC compatible.

If you want an upgrade path then Dell is a big no no. They tend to use some none standard parts and cut corners where a gamer wouldn't want them to.

The only non-standards that they would use are the motherboard/PSU form factors and connectors. Everything else should be fine.

 

[brain_stew]

The Q6600s are a great buy and easily overclock past 3ghz, which should offer more than enough performance for any task you throw at it. If its the cheapest quad you can find, then go ahead, its a real bargain especially once its clocked.

The 8800GT easily offers the best bang for buck at the moment but if you put off the build till July then the new generation of card should be out so you should be able to do even better.

 

[godhandiscen]

Hey guys. Ran into a little problem last night on Vista 64.

I've had my computer up and running for about 3 weeks now. (P5N-D, E8400, yadda... etc)

Last night I finally got around to DLing some of the optional windows updates (dremescene and others) and now all of a sudden Vista wont recognize my DVD drive.

What gives! Im not really sure why or whats going on, it worked fine for the first 3 weeks now I cant get it sorted out.

The drive shows up in Bios and I can boot from a disc so Im thinking somehting with the optional updates has screwed up vista.

Any suggestions? Ive tried everything I can think of.

DVD Drive is a Samsung.. Ill have to look up the model #.

Try to do a system restore to see if Vista will take you to a point when the drive was recognized.

Use a wireless 360 controller? I thought they were PC compatible.

They are, but you have to buy the dongle. A friend had a dongle and it broke right after the warranty period, so thats why I dont trust it.

 

[eznark]

Use a wireless 360 controller? I thought they were PC compatible.



The only non-standards that they would use are the motherboard/PSU form factors and connectors. Everything else should be fine.

How so?

 

[brain_stew]

Use a wireless 360 controller? I thought they were PC compatible.



The only non-standards that they would use are the motherboard/PSU form factors and connectors. Everything else should be fine.

Yeah, and for someone looking for an upgrade path, those are pretty damn crucial parts. The standard Dell PSU is not going to be good enough to power a high end GPU, so being stuck with it is the last thing a gamer wants.

As a standard office machine, Dells offer great value, but for someone craving a bit more, they aren't a good buy.

 

[mambadragon]

How so?

There's a $20 Xbox 360 PC adapter

 

[Cheeto]

Anyone have any recommendations for PC game pads?

360 pad works great, Logitech also has a pad that is just like the 360 pad with a better D-Pad for cheap.

 

[eznark]

There's a $20 Xbox 360 PC adapter

Oh, awesome. I'll certainly be going that route then, if only because it will be smaller to have a dongle laying around than another damn controller (especially since it will rarely get used).

 

[SRG01]

Yeah, and for someone looking for an upgrade path, those are pretty damn crucial parts. The standard Dell PSU is not going to be good enough to power a high end GPU, so being stuck with it is the last thing a gamer wants.

As a standard office machine, Dells offer great value, but for someone craving a bit more, they aren't a good buy.

If you're not running SLI, then the standard PSU in any Dell should be able to handle it. I think they may be 430W these days, but I could be mistaken.

It can for sure handle the 8800GT, seeing how it is a standard option even for their non-XPS ones!

 

[Epix]

I can't find the Q9450 on newegg.com.

 

[zoku88]

.

Did you try uninstalling it from the Device Manager and restarting?

 

[bigmit3737]

The Q6600s are a great buy and easily overclock past 3ghz, which should offer more than enough performance for any task you throw at it. If its the cheapest quad you can find, then go ahead, its a real bargain especially once its clocked.

The 8800GT easily offers the best bang for buck at the moment but if you put off the build till July then the new generation of card should be out so you should be able to do even better.

Cool. Thanks for the advice.
I just need to figure out which motherboard now.

 

[aznpxdd]

Go for P35 motherboards for the best bang for the buck.

 

[TaeOH]

Cool. Thanks for the advice.
I just need to figure out which motherboard now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-_-Motherboards+-+Intel-_-ABIT+USA-_-13127030

Nice board...nice rebate.

 

[brain_stew]

Cool. Thanks for the advice.
I just need to figure out which motherboard now.

As has been said, P35 based boards are your best bet. Both Gigabyte and Asus have a great selection for really competitive prices. The Gigabyte DS3L is a steal atm.

Edit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

$90 for a really great board with tons of advanced options in the bios. You'll struggle to find better bang for your buck.

 

[Epix]

Question:

I'm using an AMD based system right now and want to upgrade to an Intel C2 Q6600 soon. Will I be able to simply take the HDD off my current system and use it on the new system to boot XP and still have all my files? Basically, will the OS complain that I switched CPU architectures on it?

 

[SRG01]

Question:

I'm using an AMD based system right now and want to upgrade to an Intel C2 Q6600 soon. Will I be able to simply take the HDD off my current system and use it on the new system to boot XP and still have all my files? Basically, will the OS complain that I switched CPU architectures on it?

100% for sure you cannot do that.

 

[Epix]

100% for sure you cannot do that.

So, basically I'll need to backup everything I want to keep to an external HDD and reinstall Windows on the new system?

 

[Chrange]

A friend is looking at this one for capturing HD video from consoles and asked me to make suggestions. I don't really know enough about capturing video to make recommendations, but figured someone here might know more.

The specs he gave me, copied from Dell's site I think:

Components
Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache, 2.4GHz,1066 FSB) English
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 4DIMMs
1TB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 500GB Seagate SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM HDDs)
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dual 512MB nVidia® GeForce® 8800 GT
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
22 inch UltraSharp™ 2208WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel

I didn't ask what OS, but I'm assuming a Vista blend of some kind. [EDIT - oops, I see it there after all, Vista Home Premium] He said he's going to use an Intensity Pro to capture video.

Any suggestions?

 

[Pachael]

So, basically I'll need to backup everything I want to keep to an external HDD and reinstall Windows on the new system?

Yup. It's painful, but at least you'll get a clean just-installed system out of it.

 

[GHG]

Is there even an answer to the following question? Whats better, a 9600GT or 3870?

I've searched high and low and all I've found are contradicting benchmarks and opinions. In an ideal world I'd just get a 8800GT but I have a VIA mobo and there are conflicts meaning the g92 series of nvidia cards don't work with my chipset. So, which one guys?

 

[SRG01]

A friend is looking at this one for capturing HD video from consoles and asked me to make suggestions. I don't really know enough about capturing video to make recommendations, but figured someone here might know more.

The specs he gave me, copied from Dell's site I think:

Components
Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache, 2.4GHz,1066 FSB) English
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 4DIMMs
1TB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 500GB Seagate SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM HDDs)
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dual 512MB nVidia® GeForce® 8800 GT
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
22 inch UltraSharp™ 2208WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel

I didn't ask what OS, but I'm assuming a Vista blend of some kind. [EDIT - oops, I see it there after all, Vista Home Premium] He said he's going to use an Intensity Pro to capture video.

Any suggestions?

... Where's the capture card? :lol

 

[GHG]

... Where's the capture card? :lol

Fraps ?

 

[RattleHead_]

Fraps ?

Fraps can capture from consoles?

 

[Chrange]

A friend is looking at this one for capturing HD video from consoles and asked me to make suggestions. I don't really know enough about capturing video to make recommendations, but figured someone here might know more.

The specs he gave me, copied from Dell's site I think:

Components
Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache, 2.4GHz,1066 FSB) English
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 4DIMMs
1TB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 500GB Seagate SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM HDDs)
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dual 512MB nVidia® GeForce® 8800 GT
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
22 inch UltraSharp™ 2208WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel

I didn't ask what OS, but I'm assuming a Vista blend of some kind. [EDIT - oops, I see it there after all, Vista Home Premium] He said he's going to use an Intensity Pro to capture video.

... Where's the capture card? :lol

I would assume that would be the Intensity Pro.

 

[SRG01]

I would assume that would be the Intensity Pro.

Oh shit! Sorry! :lol

 

[Kadey]

Is there even an answer to the following question? Whats better, a 9600GT or 3870?

I've searched high and low and all I've found are contradicting benchmarks and opinions. In an ideal world I'd just get a 8800GT but I have a VIA mobo and there are conflicts meaning the g92 series of nvidia cards don't work with my chipset. So, which one guys?

XFX just released a souped up 9600GT which goes for the same price as the regular. It's about even with the 8800GT in performance making it a much better deal besides pricing/lower power consumption,etc.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

XFX just released a souped up 9600GT which goes for the same price as the regular. It's about even with the 8800GT in performance making it a much better deal besides pricing/lower power consumption,etc.

Oh, maybe I should look into getting this one. As I found out pages back I too got a VIA board that's incompatible with the 8800GT.

Linky!

 

[GHG]

XFX just released a souped up 9600GT which goes for the same price as the regular. It's about even with the 8800GT in performance making it a much better deal besides pricing/lower power consumption,etc.

From all reviews I've seen it seems to only have a couple of frames over the original, nowhere near the 8800GT. At the moment I think I'll be going with the 3870. More consistent performence across the board and it overclocks like a beast using ATIs own catalyst tools and drivers.

 

[Kadey]

From all reviews I've seen it seems to only have a couple of frames over the original, nowhere near the 8800GT. At the moment I think I'll be going with the 3870. More consistent performence across the board and it overclocks like a beast using ATIs own catalyst tools and drivers.

That couldn't be further from the truth. The regular itself isn't that far off from the 8800GT, this version brings it even closer and in many cases, equal to.

The guru3d is the most detailed review and analysis of it.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/xfx-geforce-9600-gt-xxx-512mb-review/9

And if we're talking overclocking, the 9000 series excels at that. That's the main advantage they have over the 8000. The review itself says despite it being stock clocked higher reference, you can still clock it even more with huge gains.

 

[GHG]

That couldn't be further from the truth. The regular itself isn't that far off from the 8800GT, this version brings it even closer and in many cases, equal to.

The guru3d is the most detailed review and analysis of it.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/xfx-geforce-9600-gt-xxx-512mb-review/9

And if we're talking overclocking, the 9000 series excels at that. That's the main advantage they have over the 8000. The review itself says despite it being stock clocked higher reference, you can still clock it even more with huge gains.

Ah, hadn't seen that review before. They seem to do the most conclusive reviews for other cards as well. Thanks for the link.

 

[DarkAngelYuna]

I'm going to be ordering that cyberpower pc from newegg next week when its in stock. Whats the best deal for video cards right now? I don't want to spend hundreds on a card but I want to be able to play WOW on full high settings at 1400x900 and actually able to play new games on good settings with a nice frame rate. I'm guessing the 8500gt the pc comes with won't cut it.

 

[aznpxdd]

Go with at least a HD3870 or 9600GT.

 

[M3d10n]

Question:

I'm using an AMD based system right now and want to upgrade to an Intel C2 Q6600 soon. Will I be able to simply take the HDD off my current system and use it on the new system to boot XP and still have all my files? Basically, will the OS complain that I switched CPU architectures on it?

Use XP's Repair option (on the install meny). I moved my old XP install from a wildly different machine when I upgraded, and it works like a charm. Only takes you 20 minutes and you'll have your PC ready to go. Been using it for months already and had no problems.

The repair option will remove all windows updates and reset critical drivers as if your PC had been freshly reinstalled, but will keep your user account(s) and installed programs.

 

[Epix]

Use XP's Repair option (on the install meny). I moved my old XP install from a wildly different machine when I upgraded, and it works like a charm. Only takes you 20 minutes and you'll have your PC ready to go. Been using it for months already and had no problems.

The repair option will remove all windows updates and reset critical drivers as if your PC had been freshly reinstalled, but will keep your user account(s) and installed programs.

Sweet. I'll backup just in case but I'll try the repair first.

 

[DarkAngelYuna]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229025R good deal for wow and some newer games or is the cpu crap compared to a e8400?

 

[Lhadatt]

Hey Guys...

Looking to build my computer around July time.

I have been looking at the Q6600.
I understand that the Q9xx are supposed to be pretty good as well.

Is there going to be any sort of price drops on these things by July time?

Ideally I want to get the best bang for the buck. $200 or less for the Quad Core

Micro Center usually has that Q6600 for $200. Everyone else goes for $250.

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?web_group=byopc_proc_intel

 

[DarkAngelYuna]

Ok I went ahead and ordered my pc. Q6600 cpu + 2gb ram (upgrade ram later) + 8800gt for $750.. Wanted a E8400 but I really dont think it would matter for the games I play at 1400x900 I think that a Q6600 +8800 gt can run Wow and TF2 on high.. woot Nice upgrade from this Athlon 64 3000+ nvidia 6800

 

[mr stroke]

Could someone use this site:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

And configure the best possible gaming PC for about $700 (not including tax or shipping) with the ability to grow as time passes. Of course cutting out anything that can be cut in order to save money (like the fancy case, neon lights, etc...). Thanks!

avoid them like the plauge(really bad reseller rattings)
use-http://avadirect.com/
if you don't want to build and want to be able to pick and chose parts, or go to a BB or CC and pick up a cheap(700-900$) Gateway FX machine. Good warranty and most all of the Gateway FX's have 8800GT's in them.

 

[Epix]

Why has the Q9450 been deactivated on Newegg?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Question:

I'm using an AMD based system right now and want to upgrade to an Intel C2 Q6600 soon. Will I be able to simply take the HDD off my current system and use it on the new system to boot XP and still have all my files? Basically, will the OS complain that I switched CPU architectures on it?

You will get a BSOD due to the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) being different.

 

[Treo360]

In a thread dominated by Pc's I come in with a white flag of truce. Today I decided that before I start my summer session at Animation Mentor I wanted to upgrade my PPC dual 1.8 mac, so I started the configuring process today and well, it's a hell of a lot steeper than when I first bought my Power Mac. Prices starting at 2599 (and that's with the student discount!) so knowing that I will be able to boot windows I might actually take a stab at playing pc games, however it's a school work computer first and foremost (Maya 2008)

Anyhow here are the specs that I'm thinking about;

Two quad core 3.0 xeons
2gb of ram (I'll buy the cheaper non-apple branded ram later)
320gb HD (I already have 1 terabyte in the existing Mac)

Now here's the rub I have like 6 options for the graphics cards

Ati radeon 2600xt 256
twin xt's
nvidia geForce 8800 GT 512,
3 ati 2600's, 4 ati 2600's or a Nvidia Quadro FX (@ $2500!)

I was going to go for the 8800 or should I just get twin 2600's?

 

[aeolist]

In a thread dominated by Pc's I come in with a white flag of truce. Today I decided that before I start my summer session at Animation Mentor I wanted to upgrade my PPC dual 1.8 mac, so I started the configuring process today and well, it's a hell of a lot steeper than when I first bought my Power Mac. Prices starting at 2599 (and that's with the student discount!) so knowing that I will be able to boot windows I might actually take a stab at playing pc games, however it's a school work computer first and foremost (Maya 2008)

Anyhow here are the specs that I'm thinking about;

Two quad core 3.0 xeons
2gb of ram (I'll buy the cheaper non-apple branded ram later)
320gb HD (I already have 1 terabyte in the existing Mac)

Now here's the rub I have like 6 options for the graphics cards

Ati radeon 2600xt 256
twin xt's
nvidia geForce 8800 GT 512,
3 ati 2600's, 4 ati 2600's or a Nvidia Quadro FX (@ $2500!)

I was going to go for the 8800 or should I just get twin 2600's?

8800GT's your best option there by a long shot.

 

[Treo360]

8800GT's your best option there by a long shot.

Thanks I was thinking about it as well, the prospect of having two video cards seemed a bit excessive to me for what my main purpose is, however when I dual boot I want to have a reasonably fast gpu to do some lite gaming (for research of course!)

 

[DarkAngelYuna]

Has anyone ever bought an entire pc as open box from newegg before? I bought one today because it was such a good deal and in my price range. It already shipped and will be here friday but now I'm getting scared that it won't work ;( Also was wondering how good I did for a prebuilt. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229025R It was exactly my limit of $750. I didn't want to bother with building my pc any time soon cause of problems with a disease I have.

 

[zoku88]

The firingsquad has their Spring 2008 system building guide up here

 

[VaLiancY]

Positive
Intel Q6600
BFGTech 9800 GTX
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775
Seagate 750GB HD
OCZ GameXStream 700W
Samsung 20x DVD±R
Sound Blaster XtremeMusic

Undecided
Antec P182 or Lian Li PC-V1000(Both are sexy)


I've decided to go with the 32-bit version of Vista after some reading and it's what I feel most comfortable about, so the 2GBs of RAM should do me justice. I'm still doing a lot of research and checking the various forums about anything specific about all the products. I also want to put some good cooling but nothing over the top like water cooling.

 

[aznpxdd]

You want at least 4GB of ram if you are running any version of Vista. I have around 5 programs up right now and its using 1.8/8GB.

 

[brain_stew]

You want at least 4GB of ram if you are running any version of Vista. I have around 5 programs up right now and its using 1.8/8GB.

A lot of that might be superfetch though. If you've only got 2GB of RAM superfetch won't use nearly as much as if you had 8GB. Although personally yes, if going Vista I'd go 4GB and 64 bit.