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[TheGreatDave]

I don't know if I can justify going over £100 at the minute. I'll probably wait it out until that card gets a bit cheaper.

 

[bee]

This was just posted in the Cheap Ass Gaffer thread: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145605

I have an 8600GT at the minute, and I find it's just a little below what I want; is this a worth while upgrade? Or should I hold off a bit longer and get a "next gen" card when the prices lower?

go for it its certainly a big upgrade from a 8600gt, all this thread ever advises is e8400 + 4850 :/

 

[Tarin02543]

It's most likely a PSU issue but to make sure you can burn a linux live cd, boot it then shutdown. if the problem shows up, you know it's not a windows thing but a hardware problem. if the problem didn't show, it's a windows thing.

or you could replace the PSU see if the problem persist.

but really, it most likely is a power supply issue. worse case; motherboard issue.

Thanks for your feedback. My computer is fairly old (athlon2000/gf6200) so an upgrade isn't too far away. I will need to make do with my makeshift solution. Lately I've been having some strange BIOS messages as well so I think my computer is nearing its end.

 

[ctalamode]

its hard to say without knowing exactly what you have, you certainly wont need a fan.

for the power supply you need to open the case and have a look at the sticker on the side, you need max wattage and see if it has a ampage rating for the 12v line, maybe it will look like +12v 22A for example

perhaps run these two programs and take a screenshot of each and post them on here

cpu-z

gpuz

if its all ok then get something like this

2gb memory

graphics card

$127 after mail in rebates

All right. It looks like my max wattage is 350. My power source sticker says "350W Output." It also says +12v and then 18.0A under that.

Here are screenshots from CPU-Z and GPU-Z.


GPU-Z:

CPU-Z:

Does anyone here have an 8800 GT? I read some reviews and they said that it can get really hot.

EDIT: Okay, I looked at some 8800s, and what's the difference between the EVGA ones and the ASUS ones? Again, I'm really new at this.

 

[bee]

All right. It looks like my max wattage is 350. My power source sticker says "350W Output." It also says +12v and then 18.0A under that.

Here are screenshots from CPU-Z and GPU-Z.


GPU-Z:
http://wistimes.com/gpuz.bmp

CPU-Z:
http://wistimes.com/cpuz.bmp

Does anyone here have an 8800 GT? I read some reviews and they said that it can get really hot.

EDIT: Okay, I looked at some 8800s, and what's the difference between the EVGA ones and the ASUS ones? Again, I'm really new at this.

hmm, that power supply may be a little underpowered for a 8800gt, if you don't wanna replace it get a ati 3850 that should work fine with it. its still gonna be a massive upgrade from a 7300

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261020

couple of things to note, your pci-express is working at 4x speed, not sure why maybe the card only works at that speed, i don't have any experience of that card, if you do get a new card though and its still at 4x speed your gonna have to change it to 16x

you also have intel speedstep enabled which underclocks your cpu to 1.2ghz when not under heavy load. its not really an issue but i don't personally like it

8800's run hot with the stock cooller you'd want to select one of the ones with a better cooller ideally.difference between evga and asus is really just warranty (1year with asus , lifetime with evga) also if your card goes wrong and you send it back to evga it will most likely take less than a week but send a card back to asus and its more like 4-8 weeks

 

[Hazaro]

EDIT: Okay, I looked at some 8800s, and what's the difference between the EVGA ones and the ASUS ones? Again, I'm really new at this.

Only difference is warrenty.

Only the first generation of 8800GT's ran hot, because the fan was small and stuck at 20%.

New ones are fine with the fan set to 60% (Use Rivatuner) and are around the 60C range which is fine.

 

[ctalamode]

hmm, that power supply may be a little underpowered for a 8800gt, if you don't wanna replace it get a ati 3850 that should work fine with it. its still gonna be a massive upgrade from a 7300

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261020

couple of things to note, your pci-express is working at 4x speed, not sure why maybe the card only works at that speed, i don't have any experience of that card, if you do get a new card though and its still at 4x speed your gonna have to change it to 16x

you also have intel speedstep enabled which underclocks your cpu to 1.2ghz when not under heavy load. its not really an issue but i don't personally like it

8800's run hot with the stock cooller you'd want to select one of the ones with a better cooller ideally.difference between evga and asus is really just warranty (1year with asus , lifetime with evga) also if your card goes wrong and you send it back to evga it will most likely take less than a week but send a card back to asus and its more like 4-8 weeks

Thanks for all the advice. A few questions: how do I change the 4x speed and the underclocking? And will ATI cards still work as well as Nvidia cards?

 

[bee]

Thanks for all the advice. A few questions: how do I change the 4x speed and the underclocking? And will ATI cards still work as well as Nvidia cards?

you know what i have no idea, they're usually stuck at 1x speed which is some hardware incompatibility, im guessing its just a limitation of the card and when you plug another in it will goto 16x

to disable the underclock go into bios, find two things called something like cpu EIST function and cpu enhanced halt (C1E) and set them to disabled, its not really necassary just i dont like it and it messes with overclocks

ati is fine just make sure you clean out the drivers properly as there can be a lot of trouble when switching from one make of card to another if theres still remnants of the previous driver on there, use the below to do this

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=1655

 

[Agent Ironside]

Just recently purchased a GTX 260, gained around 15 fps in the Crysis benchmark coming from a 8800GTS 512mb, happy indeed.

 

[MisterAnderson]

So there is an XFX 8800GTS 640MB PCI express card on sale at my local Fry's for $139.99. Is this a good card for current PC games and would it last me a good while? Would two of these SLI'd together sometime down the line be a good alternative to buying an entirely new card when this one shows its age? (Assuming it hasn't already as I understand it Nvidia now has a 9 series).

 

[Antagon]

No, it's already outdated. A 8800GT is both cheaper and faster. For just a bit more you can get a 4850, which is a step above the 8800GT as well.

 

[SRG01]

snip

A 350W power supply should be more than sufficient for 8800GT. There's a power calculator somewhere in this thread...

edit: PS. Does undervolting a CPU give me substantial power savings? I'm thinking of putting together a moderate slimline system with a limited power supply. Undervolting CPUs yield substantial power and heat advantages on notebooks, so I was wondering if the advantages are as dramatic for the desktop side of things.

 

[aznpxdd]

Its not about the Watts, only 18A on the 12+v line is a pretty low.

 

[Chiggs]

Just recently purchased a GTX 260, gained around 15 fps in the Crysis benchmark coming from a 8800GTS 512mb, happy indeed.

It's a damn good card that begs to be overclocked. Don't neglect it!

 

[Agent Ironside]

It's a damn good card that begs to be overclocked. Don't neglect it!

My addiction is strong, I OC'd it before I actually even played a game. :lol

 

[Hazaro]

My addiction is strong, I OC'd it before I actually even played a game. :lol

It's that the obvious thing to do :lol

*Funny story I ran an untested overclock, then installed Windows, I didn't realize until I was about 80% finished, but it's still running ok so I guess it was fine. Little TOO eager.

2.53 -> 3.33 on my E7200

 

[Blizzard]

This kind of repeats my earlier questions, but like...until I get a system spec'd out, I'll just ask this:

If I (A) don't want to overclock, (B) don't want the LATEST card since it's presumably overpriced, and (C) still want good performance, what's the best video card?

I see a lot of people talking about the 8800/9800 cards. Presumably the 9000-series is cutting edge and the 8000-ones are older.

Oh, and I'd like something that doesn't run too hot or loud, please. Thanks a ton!

 

[waxer]

Is there a real advantage in getting the e0 8500 or should I not care in the scheme of things. Keeping in mind new to pc gaming and overclocking
Im also looking at the p5q pro. Anything else in that price range thats preferable?

 

[aznpxdd]

HD4850.

 

[Blackface]

Is there a real advantage in getting the e0 8500 or should I not care in the scheme of things. Keeping in mind new to pc gaming and overclocking
Im also looking at the p5q pro. Anything else in that price range thats preferable?

No point unless you overclock.

 

[JSnake]

Will my non-OCed E8400 handle 720p videos just fine? I'm gonna get all 27 HD episodes of Gurren Lagann. Last time I tried (on my laptop's AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56), it was stuttering like hell.

 

[Blackface]

This kind of repeats my earlier questions, but like...until I get a system spec'd out, I'll just ask this:

If I (A) don't want to overclock, (B) don't want the LATEST card since it's presumably overpriced, and (C) still want good performance, what's the best video card?

I see a lot of people talking about the 8800/9800 cards. Presumably the 9000-series is cutting edge and the 8000-ones are older.

Oh, and I'd like something that doesn't run too hot or loud, please. Thanks a ton!

The 8800GT is older, but it's still a fantastic card. It will play everything you toss at it, outside of Crysis on Very high, easily. It will also play games at high settings for the next 1.5 years or so.

The 9800GTX is basically an overclocked, refined version of the 8800. The 9800GX2 is two 9800GTX's on the same card. The 9800GTX+ is an overclocked 9800GTX.

All of those cards are good. There was no real reason for ATI or Nvidia to release new cards this early outside of Enthusiasts being bored and wanting to see larger numbers. Both of those cards are great.

However, ATI has a card out the HD4850. It outperforms the 9800GTX and the 8800GT and it's in the price range of both. You could easily get one for under $200.

The ATI HD4850 is the card I recommend to everyone on a budget build. The thing is amazing, it's fast, it can run every game you can think of, and it's priced well.

it really is this generations 8800GT.

 

[Blackface]

Will my non-OCed E8400 handle 720p videos just fine? I'm gonna get all 27 HD episodes of Gurren Lagann. Last time I tried (on my laptop's AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56), it was stuttering like hell.

Yes, but is mainly depends on your graphic card. What card do you have?

There are integrated graphic solutions that are on motherboards meant for HTPC, but unless you are building a HTPC, i doubt you have a motherboard with those chipsets (780G etc..).

 

[JSnake]

Yes, but is mainly depends on your graphic card. What card do you have?

There are integrated graphic solutions that are on motherboards meant for HTPC, but unless you are building a HTPC, i doubt you have a motherboard with those chipsets (780G etc..).

A 4850. My laptop uses a GeForce 7600. I thought video watching was CPU-dependant.

 

[Blackface]

A 4850. My laptop uses a GeForce 7600. I thought video watching was CPU-dependant.

It's both, but you can run it on shit CPU's with a good graphic card/integrated graphics

My HTPC has an old AMD CPU I picked up for $70 and it plays 1080p Blu Ray.

With a 4850 it will be fine.

 

[zoku88]

A 4850. My laptop uses a GeForce 7600. I thought video watching was CPU-dependant.

It depends. Some gfx card can accelerate certain codecs (h246, etc). Some can't.

But really, your laptop prolly has a Core 2 Duo, which can play HD videos without a gfx card (although, your CPU usage will be like, 10% or so.)

 

[JSnake]

It depends. Some gfx card can accelerate certain codecs (h246, etc). Some can't.

But really, your laptop prolly has a Core 2 Duo, which can play HD videos without a gfx card (although, your CPU usage will be like, 10% or so.)

No, my laptop uses an AMD Turion 64 X2.

Also, does a E8400 bottleneck a 4850 or vice-versa?

 

[Blackface]

No, my laptop uses an AMD Turion 64 X2.

Also, does a E8400 bottleneck a 4850 or vice-versa?

Nope.

Most CPU's will only bottleneck things like Tri-SLI setups or a 4870X2 if you run games on anything less then 1080p, sometimes 1680X150. This is why it's a waste of money to buy setups like that, and game on lower resolutions. You see little benefit compared to those who have large monitors/resolutions.

 

[zoku88]

No, my laptop uses an AMD Turion 64 X2.

Also, does a E8400 bottleneck a 4850 or vice-versa?

Well, I should've said, "you have a modern CPU."

 

[JSnake]

Well, I should've said, "you have a modern CPU."

But I don't...

 

[Blizzard]

The 8800GT is older, but it's still a fantastic card. It will play everything you toss at it, outside of Crysis on Very high, easily. It will also play games at high settings for the next 1.5 years or so.

The 9800GTX is basically an overclocked, refined version of the 8800. The 9800GX2 is two 9800GTX's on the same card. The 9800GTX+ is an overclocked 9800GTX.

All of those cards are good. There was no real reason for ATI or Nvidia to release new cards this early outside of Enthusiasts being bored and wanting to see larger numbers. Both of those cards are great.

However, ATI has a card out the HD4850. It outperforms the 9800GTX and the 8800GT and it's in the price range of both. You could easily get one for under $200.

The ATI HD4850 is the card I recommend to everyone on a budget build. The thing is amazing, it's fast, it can run every game you can think of, and it's priced well.

it really is this generations 8800GT.

Great praise for the HD4850. If I can find it for under $200 it sounds like the way to go. My questions would then be:

(1) Does anyone second this recommendation?
(2) What sort of power supply is recommended (I can probably find this myself, I'm lazy)
(3) Does it run hot/loud without custom modification and such?

 

[zoku88]

But I don't...

Since when are Turion 64 X2's not modern? The whole architecture, it's only 2 years old :lol :lol

You're not having trouble playing HD video, are you? Are you sure it isn't the codecs/players you're using?

 

[JSnake]

I think it's impossible to get a 4850 for $200+.

1) It's an amazing card. Yes.
2) Not a very powerful one. I use a Corsair CMPSU-450VX

3) Runs pretty hot, but the GPU is made to handle it. Pretty quiet from my experience. But really, no point in asking this. The modification is so easy a monkey can do it.

edit: Zoku, I use VLC. HD video sucks. Unwatchable.

 

[zoku88]

You should try using the CCC Pack and MPC.

 

[Wallach]

Great praise for the HD4850. If I can find it for under $200 it sounds like the way to go. My questions would then be:

(1) Does anyone second this recommendation?
(2) What sort of power supply is recommended (I can probably find this myself, I'm lazy)
(3) Does it run hot/loud without custom modification and such?

(1) Absolutely. At the moment it is the best price/performance card on the market.
(2) Go for a solid 400w PSU. I always recommend Antec or Enermax; I've used 20+ brands of PSUs over the years and these two stand out.
(3) By default the reference cards run hot due to a flaw in the drivers. This is easily fixed by altering the driver profile. It's not any louder than my 9600GT when the fan is running appropriately.

 

[otake]

Great praise for the HD4850. If I can find it for under $200 it sounds like the way to go. My questions would then be:

(1) Does anyone second this recommendation?
(2) What sort of power supply is recommended (I can probably find this myself, I'm lazy)
(3) Does it run hot/loud without custom modification and such?

1: I second that recommendation. My brother has that card and plays crysis at 1280x1024 solid.
2: He has a 700 watt ultra power supply that's overkill for the card. that said, you always want a good powerful PSU. I use corsair, most people prefer pc power & cooling. can't go wrong with any of those. Just don't cheap out on the PSU.
3: The card runs fine. overclockers worry a lot since it runs fairly hot at idle. If you're overclocking, you'll need to add a fan or something. otherwise, you're fine.

 

[master sword]

Great praise for the HD4850. If I can find it for under $200 it sounds like the way to go. My questions would then be:

(1) Does anyone second this recommendation?
(2) What sort of power supply is recommended (I can probably find this myself, I'm lazy)
(3) Does it run hot/loud without custom modification and such?

1) Yes. It's pretty much regarded as one of the most bang-for-the-buck midrange card right now. I got mine for $179 after rebate.

2) I use a Corsair VX450W. Seems pretty popular around here. I think ATI recommends 450W as minimum for this card.

3) It runs very hot! Idles at 80C and 90-100C under load. But apparenty it's still well within ATI specs, so don't expect any official driver "fix"soon.

 

[Blizzard]

Thanks for the help guys! I'm thinking I'll probably end up with a 500-600W supply hopefully. I'm actually considering getting one of these before I get a system, since the price looks good. And you people seem to be right, Newegg is cheaper than the normal $200 retail:

Option 1: $160 after rebate, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747

Option 2: $165 after rebate, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129112

Both of these have over 80% positive 5-star ratings. People say googling the 4850 fan fix should fix the heat issue (and it doesn't sound like the card is too loud if you don't keep the fan too high...I'd probably raise the speed for playing games or something if I needed it), so that sounds good. The question is, what's the difference? One's Sapphire, one's VisionTek...or is another one better? I'm clueless. XD

 

[Wallach]

Again, I have to recommend Sapphire's TOXIC 4850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102760&Tpk=4850 TOXIC

It's slightly more expensive ($180 after MIR), but the Zalman after-market cooling is quite an improvement in temps over the reference design, and is OC'd slightly out of the box. Newegg just got them back in stock recently.

 

[Blizzard]

Again, I have to recommend Sapphire's TOXIC 4850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102760&Tpk=4850 TOXIC

It's slightly more expensive ($180 after MIR), but the Zalman after-market cooling is quite an improvement in temps over the reference design, and is OC'd slightly out of the box. Newegg just got them back in stock recently.

That looks good, -but- reading http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_Toxic/25.html it sounds like it approaches 40 dB in sound for the video card alone, all the time (i.e. fan not configurable). Anyone else with noise/other thoughts on the Toxic?

 

[Wallach]

That looks good, -but- reading http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_Toxic/25.html it sounds like it approaches 40 dB in sound for the video card alone, all the time (i.e. fan not configurable). Anyone else with noise/other thoughts on the Toxic?

It is louder than the reference card, partly due to the fact that at default the reference card is spinning at a ridiculously slow rate (which is what causes the reports of people claiming the card "runs hot"). Also, bear in mind that the techpowerup dB test is done from only 100cm with the case side panel off, so in practice it is not quite that loud.

That said, if noise is more of an issue than heat for your case you may be more inclined to look at a reference 4850.

 

[Solideliquid]

Does anyone have any tips on changing a game's resolution before it starts? I connected my main PC to my 40" 1080p set and I can't get some of the games to work because they are already set to 1680x1050.


Any suggestions?

 

[zoku88]

Does anyone have any tips on changing a game's resolution before it starts? I connected my main PC to my 40" 1080p set and I can't get some of the games to work because they are already set to 1680x1050.


Any suggestions?

A lot of games use .ini files for stuff like that. They can be edited in notepad.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Again, I have to recommend Sapphire's TOXIC 4850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102760&Tpk=4850 TOXIC

It's slightly more expensive ($180 after MIR), but the Zalman after-market cooling is quite an improvement in temps over the reference design, and is OC'd slightly out of the box. Newegg just got them back in stock recently.

Damn I wish that thing looked sleeker (why...I don't know seeing that it doesn't matter because it is going to be inside a case). But I suppose that giant fan is there for a reason

I will probably be getting this soon.

Edit: Wallach, can you recommend any intel based motherboards that support crossfire? I would like to have an intel MOBO that supports both SLI and Xfire (if there are any?) so I am not limited in graphic card options in the future.

 

[Wallach]

Damn I wish that thing looked sleeker (why...I don't know seeing that it doesn't matter because it is going to be inside a case). But I suppose that giant fan is there for a reason

I will probably be getting this soon.

Edit: Wallach, can you recommend any intel based motherboards that support crossfire? I would like to have an intel MOBO that supports both SLI and Xfire (if there are any?) so I am not limited in graphic card options in the future.

Unfortunately there are not currently any motherboards that support both SLI and CrossfireX to my knowledge. I know Intel has some on the roadmap due to an agreement with nVidia, but none are available yet.

Edit - As far as Intel boards that just support CrossfireX, I'd need to know what price range you're looking at. A personal favorite of mine, though a bit pricey, is the DFI Dark X38. It's a very solid board.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

OK, I have this in my basket:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz (1066MHz) Socket 775 3MB L2 Cache
Corsair 550W VX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 5 Year Warranty
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
Zotac 8800GT AMP Edition 512mb GDDR3 Dual DVI PCI-E Graphics Card 
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache

I'm missing RAM, DVD drive and case, that's it (I think?).

I plan to play mostly Source games on it? Is there anything I could change to make it a bit cheaper?

 

[Cheeto]

OK, I have this in my basket:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz (1066MHz) Socket 775 3MB L2 Cache
Corsair 550W VX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 5 Year Warranty
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
Zotac 8800GT AMP Edition 512mb GDDR3 Dual DVI PCI-E Graphics Card 
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache

I'm missing RAM, DVD drive and case, that's it (I think?).

I plan to play mostly Source games on it? Is there anything I could change to make it a bit cheaper?

You can save a little on the power supply. Other than that, it looks solid.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003

 

[Slavik81]

My jaw dropped when Portal ran at 1650x1080 at max settings with 2x AA at a steady 60FPS.
I have honestly never seen anything like that before. Usually I play those sorts of games at medium settings at ~20-30 FPS.

Thanks guys.
Amazing.

 

[Epix]

My jaw dropped when Portal ran at 1650x1080 at max settings with 2x AA at a steady 60FPS.
I have honestly never seen anything like that before. Usually I play those sorts of games at medium settings at ~20-30 FPS.

Thanks guys.
Amazing.

I know. You should see it at 1920x1080 on a 26" display running at max settings with 115fps.

 

[Antagon]

Hmm, I was just checking out cyberpower pc while trying to help someone with a prebuilt on a different site, and it seems quite cheap. Made a decent config that's only 10-15$ more expensive then Newegg. Anyone got experience with that site?

The config:
CASE: ($10 off Mail-in Rebate) Sigma Gaming LaVie Med-Tower Case w/ Window And Leather Trim Front Panel 420 Watts Power Supply
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400 CPU @ 3.0GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit
MOTHERBOARD: (QX9650/9770 Support) Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 CrossFire Chipset LGA775 FSB1600 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN, USB2.0, IEEE1394, & 7.1Audio
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
VIDEO CARD: ATI Radeon HD 4850 PCI-E 16X 512MB Video Card (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
VIDEO CARD 2: NONE
VIDEO CARD 3: NONE
LCD Monitor: NONE
HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Optical Drive: (Special Price) LG 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: NONE
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
PSU: PZXT 600Watt

Total: 775$