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[Manp]

Anyone any ideas on that metal donut thing I posted up there?

I kinda figured it's an ESD thing, but not sure where to install it exactly :/

it's a ferrite ring... just ignore it

 

[Router]

GAF! There are too many netbooks. Which one is the best?

 

[Baloonatic]

Posting this again so it doesn't get lost at the bottom of the last page...

So I've started having a few problems getting my PC to boot. It gets past the POST and Windows loading screen, but then I just get a black screen. On my old HDD I don't even get as far as that.

Took me about 15 minutes to get it to start up by just turning it on and off. Any ideas?

 

[Minsc]

Posting this again so it doesn't get lost at the bottom of the last page...

So I've started having a few problems getting my PC to boot. It gets past the POST and Windows loading screen, but then I just get a black screen. On my old HDD I don't even get as far as that.

Took me about 15 minutes to get it to start up by just turning it on and off. Any ideas?

Nope, but does it boot in to safe mode?

Obviously it sounds like a hardware problem, normally you'd want to remove everything you can out of the machine (video cards, etc) and just hope the motherboard is fine, and see if it boots. Then add in the cards one at a time.

 

[Nos_G]

Newegg rocks!!

Ordered on Dec 29th. Received and immediately installed Dec 31st.

ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe/HDMI 780a SLI
EVGA 512-N973-TR 9800GT RT
ANTEC TP3-550RT
AMD A64 x2 6000+ 3.1G AM2 1M RT
1Gx2 OCZ DII1066 OCZ2N1066SR2GK

These replaced an old socket754 (A64 3200+/6800GT) rig that was inside Antec sonata case. DVD-drive and HDD was salvaged from the previous set up. I'm still running Win XP, so I decided to just keep memory at 2gigs.

And also 1066 timing for the memory is only for the AM2+(Phenom, x4) cpus, right now the mobo defaults to 800 because my cpu is just AM2 (x2, Sempron).

Easy build, no major hardware installation problems. It's all running on stock, since I don't really delve into OC'ing too much.

Oh and I still managed to get knicked on my left pinky finger... even though Sonata cases have little, to none sharp edges. :lol

 

[Baloonatic]

Nope, but does it boot in to safe mode?

Obviously it sounds like a hardware problem, normally you'd want to remove everything you can out of the machine (video cards, etc) and just hope the motherboard is fine, and see if it boots. Then add in the cards one at a time.

I tried booting it using the last known good configuration and it worked fine. It ran check disk and said that I had a corrupt master file table, but it couldn't fix it D:

 

[Polk]

GAF! There are too many netbooks. Which one is the best?

There is no best
If HP Mini Note was using Atom not Via cpu I'd say it's the best of the bunch. But now it comes to your preferences (one has good keyboard, but shitty cpu or vice versa).
Lest wait till CES, maybe they'll announce some netbooks based on awesome Nvidia ION architecture.

 

[Crateman]

2009 started really, really well for me.

I finally put together my new rig... I'm amazed. I didn't knew games could look -and run- like that! My new rig is a light-year leap considering what I used to have: Pentium 4 at 3.0, 512 RAM, GeForceFX 5200. Laugh as hard as you want.

The final specs are:

New:

• Intel E8400
• Intel DP35DP Motherboard
• 4 Gb worth of DDR2 PC2-6400 RAM
• Asus ATI Radeon EAH 4870 1Gb with the Dark Knight heatsink
• Acteck Zenux case with 600 Watts PSU
• WD 500GB SATA HDD
• Lite-On SATA DVD-RW
• LX310 Logitech keyboard and mouse.

Recycled from my old rig:

• SoundBlaster Audigy 2 soundcard.
• Linksys PCI Wireless G adapter.
• 17 LCD -Hopefully, I'll buy a new LCD next summer-

I'm using Vista X64 and it's lighting fast. So far I'm impressed with the stability of the OS.

Gamingwise, I still have to get Crysis in order to fully exploit its capabilities... but so far I've been running EVERYTHING at the highest settings possible with solid +60 FPS. Left 4 Dead is digital gaming bliss.

One last question: Should I stick with the GPU manufacturer's drivers -Asus- or the ATI ones?

 

[rohlfinator]

2009 started really, really well for me.

I finally put together my new rig... I'm amazed. I didn't knew games could look -and run- like that! My new rig is a light-year leap considering what I used to have: Pentium 4 at 3.0, 512 RAM, GeForceFX 5200. Laugh as hard as you want.

Dang, I'm jealous.

I've been in the PC gaming ghetto for the last couple years as well (though not quite as bad), and I'm looking at building a new machine with almost identical specs as yours. Glad to hear that it's working out great!

One last question: Should I stick with the GPU manufacturer's drivers -Asus- or the ATI ones?

ATI usually updates their drivers more regularly than the manufacturers, so I've tended to stick with the ATI drivers unless they cause problems, in which case I revert to the manufacturer drivers.

But I've been a few generations behind on my last couple of graphics cards, so things might work differently at the high end.

 

[Caesar III]

My girlfried bought a new graphics card so we have her old 8600gt lying around. Would it improve physx games a lot if I put this thing into my rig? (atm I have a 8800GTS 320 but I'll upgrage soon)

 

[VictimOfGrief]

My girlfried bought a new graphics card so we have her old 8600gt lying around. Would it improve physx games a lot if I put this thing into my rig? (atm I have a 8800GTS 320 but I'll upgrage soon)

Couple things:

Do you have room for two video cards?
Do you have power for both of them?

 

[Caesar III]

Do you have room for two video cards?
Do you have power for both of them?

yes and yes. (450W bequiet) atm around 230W full performance.

The 8600 gt is not that powerful. It doesn't even have a power connector

But I don't have a Sli board what shouldn't be the problem because I don't have to sli them anyway, right?

 

[isamu]

Thanks for the reply Now....

Nice, a Sager man. What do you have?

I have the old 9880. old old OLD! But was sooo cutting edge back in '06 :lol It's a single core with a 7900GTX but can run CoD4 OK with some frame drops here and there.

My current notebook is also a Clevo rebrand (my Prostar M860TU = Sager NP8660). I got within days of release, and it's nice having the most powerful 15.4" notebook on the planet. I got an inside deal from another reseller on a retail quality T9800 @ 2.93Ghz, so I'll be dropping that in next week.

Nice!

On to your question, @ CeBIT 2009 (March 3-8 of '09), Clevo will be revealing the successor to the DC901C (Sager NP9262), and it will have two MXM-IV slots and a new desktop platform (rumored to be the i7).

Awesome. But what are MXM-IV slots in plain English? And what exactly do you mean by "a new desktop platform"? Meaning the chip will be a desktop chip as in all other Clevo machines?


And what chip is Intel expected to unveil this year? Any sucessors to their current duo/quad series?

What's the story on Larabee?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

yes and yes. (450W bequiet) atm around 230W full performance.

The 8600 gt is not that powerful. It doesn't even have a power connector

But I don't have a Sli board what shouldn't be the problem because I don't have to sli them anyway, right?

If you don't have two PCI-E slots then you're hosed. You don't have to run them in SLI because PhysX doesn't require it.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Thanks for the reply Now....



I have the old 9880. old old OLD! But was sooo cutting edge back in '06 :lol It's a single core with a 7900GTX but can run CoD4 OK with some frame drops here and there.



Nice!



Awesome. But what are MXM-IV slots in plain English? And what exactly do you mean by "a new desktop platform"? Meaning the chip will be a desktop chip as in all other Clevo machines?


And what chip is Intel expected to unveil this year? Any sucessors to their current duo/quad series?

What's the story on Larabee?

Core i5 is supposed to be out Q2/Q3 of this year (weird saying that now that it's '09) but it will be the defacto 775 replacement. I believe it is the 1160 chipset series which looks to be correct as they are calling it socket b. (more over here at Wiki)

 

[ithorien]

Where does the ATI 4870 fall into the Nvidia mix? The 9 series or 200s?

Nvm, found it.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Longest 3 day shipping EVER.

Where's my X58!?

:lol

 

[Angry Grimace]

Core i5 is supposed to be out Q2/Q3 of this year (weird saying that now that it's '09) but it will be the defacto 775 replacement. I believe it is the 1160 chipset series which looks to be correct as they are calling it socket b. (more over here at Wiki)

Socket B is LGA1366. LGA1160 is for the new mid-range models. I'm not a fan of this scheme, especially with motherboards for the high end CPU's hovering around the mid 270s.

 

[ithorien]

Longest 3 day shipping EVER.

Where's my X58!?

:lol

I'm all jolly, the package that got super delayed got super sped up, and now it's all coming in today. Wife gonna be thrilled!

 

[Angry Grimace]

I'm all jolly, the package that got super delayed got super sped up, and now it's all coming in today. Wife gonna be thrilled!

BULLY FOR YOU!


:lol

I'm not even sure of when my GTX 260 (55nm) is coming in. I had heard it runs hotter because of a less bulky heat sink, but I'm not gonna clock it beyond what it comes like, so should be fine.

 

[Splatt]

Ok, so I'm having a tough time deciding between 2 monitors.

ViewSonic VX2260wm

Samsung T220


I'm leaning more towards ViewSonic because it has 1920x1080 resolution and HDMI but I hear a lot of praise for T220 so... heeeeeelp!

 

[Fireblend]

So GAF, what reason is there for the extremely different prices on cases on Newegg? I mean, what's the difference between these $50 mid-tower cases with added 500w Power Supply and spending $200 for both parts separately? What should I look for that makes the second option so superior to just buying the cheap bundle? I'm looking to buy me a decent machine later this year and don't want to cheap out on the case or PSU, but I do want to notice the difference if I'm gonna spend around $300 on those.

 

[ithorien]

So GAF, what reason is there for the extremely different prices on cases on Newegg? I mean, what's the difference between these $50 mid-tower cases with added 500w Power Supply and spending $200 for both parts separately? What should I look for that makes the second option so superior to just buying the cheap bundle? I'm looking to buy me a decent machine later this year and don't want to cheap out on the case or PSU, but I do want to notice the difference if I'm gonna spend around $300 on those.

Reliability of PSUs is a huge thing about combos. Usually combos come with crappy PSUs.

Also, depends on what the case is made of. Aluminum cases are cheaper, but louder. Stainless steel are more expensive but quieter.

If you're looking for a good relatively budget case, check out the Cooler Master Centurion 5 case. It's $50 without the PSU, but it's a really well put together case, I got it for my wife and I love it.

 

[Caesar III]

If you don't have two PCI-E slots then you're hosed. You don't have to run them in SLI because PhysX doesn't require it.

I have 2 PCI-E 16 Lanes but Crossfire

I'm not wondering about the technical possibility but about the improvement and if there will be one.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

I asked this earlier in the thread but it seemed to get ignored :lol

I'm trying to decide between a 9800GT and a 4850. I have a 1280x1024 monitor but occasionally play games on my 1080p TV. I understand a 4850 isn't really optimal for 1080p, but would it be worth the extra money over a 9800GT?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

I have 2 PCI-E 16 Lanes but Crossfire

I'm not wondering about the technical possibility but about the improvement and if there will be one.

Probably marginal at best. Can't hurt though.

 

[-Double_A]

There a latest deal out anywhere? Looking to spend 5-600, prefer assembled

How bad is it to go to Best Buy and drop $600?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

There a latest deal out anywhere? Looking to spend 5-600, prefer assembled

How bad is it to go to Best Buy and drop $600?

I'd say Best Buy doesn't deserve $600 of your earned money.

 

[-Double_A]

just in terms of bang for the buck, don't really care who deserves or earns my business : P

 

[FromTheFuture]

No, i find that places like Best Buy and Dell (mainstream sellers) overprice their systems a lot compared to other websites you can find. Look in the OP for some website suggestions.

 

[Minsc]

just in terms of bang for the buck, don't really care who deserves or earns my business : P

Crysis Warhead PC is $600, not a bad place to start. Also you can configure a shell type PC from dell for real cheap with the right discounts and upgrade it yourself.

 

[neoanarch]

Ok, so I'm having a tough time deciding between 2 monitors.

ViewSonic VX2260wm

Samsung T220


I'm leaning more towards ViewSonic because it has 1920x1080 resolution and HDMI but I hear a lot of praise for T220 so... heeeeeelp!

1080p and hdmi? and its 170 at tigerdirect with rebates.

 

[Minsc]

Ok, so I'm having a tough time deciding between 2 monitors.

ViewSonic VX2260wm

Samsung T220


I'm leaning more towards ViewSonic because it has 1920x1080 resolution and HDMI but I hear a lot of praise for T220 so... heeeeeelp!

If you're buying it for a gaming box, make sure your machine can run the native resolution, because not running is like a day and night difference as far as texture clarity when you compare it back and forth.

My older machine can't really handle the 1920x1200 in newer games, and if I have to run it at a lower res I can really notice the difference in details due to just lowering the resolution and nothing else.

 

[SapientWolf]

2009 started really, really well for me.

I finally put together my new rig... I'm amazed. I didn't knew games could look -and run- like that! My new rig is a light-year leap considering what I used to have: Pentium 4 at 3.0, 512 RAM, GeForceFX 5200. Laugh as hard as you want.

The final specs are:

New:

• Intel E8400
• Intel DP35DP Motherboard
• 4 Gb worth of DDR2 PC2-6400 RAM
• Asus ATI Radeon EAH 4870 1Gb with the Dark Knight heatsink
• Acteck Zenux case with 600 Watts PSU
• WD 500GB SATA HDD
• Lite-On SATA DVD-RW
• LX310 Logitech keyboard and mouse.

Recycled from my old rig:

• SoundBlaster Audigy 2 soundcard.
• Linksys PCI Wireless G adapter.
• 17 LCD -Hopefully, I'll buy a new LCD next summer-

I'm using Vista X64 and it's lighting fast. So far I'm impressed with the stability of the OS.

Gamingwise, I still have to get Crysis in order to fully exploit its capabilities... but so far I've been running EVERYTHING at the highest settings possible with solid +60 FPS. Left 4 Dead is digital gaming bliss.

One last question: Should I stick with the GPU manufacturer's drivers -Asus- or the ATI ones?

Hey, that looks similar to my case:

 

[-Double_A]

Crysis Warhead PC is $600, not a bad place to start. Also you can configure a shell type PC from dell for real cheap with the right discounts and upgrade it yourself.

That a model or something, the crysis warhead pc?

 

[rohlfinator]

No, i find that places like Best Buy and Dell (mainstream sellers) overprice their systems a lot compared to other websites you can find. Look in the OP for some website suggestions.

I've found Dell to have pretty competitive pricing, as long as you know what your doing and are willing to upgrade some stuff yourself (buying extra RAM from them is a huge ripoff, for example). You could probably come up with a pretty competent gaming PC by finding a decent deal on a Dell box and adding in a few extra sticks of memory and a video card, provided the power supply can support it.

That a model or something, the crysis warhead pc?

Yup: http://www.tigerdirect.com/go/crysis/

 

[Jamesfrom818]

Anyone know a good battery meter? The one in Windows 7 must be off because I'm seeing a 2 hour difference in battery life between XP and 7.

 

[zoku88]

Anyone know a good battery meter? The one in Windows 7 must be off because I'm seeing a 2 hour difference in battery life between XP and 7.

I think the meter itself is based off of the BIOS, actually and the OS just reports it. I think.

Battery calibration is done on the BIOS level at least. Maybe you should just do that.

 

[TheHeretic]

I've found Dell to have pretty competitive pricing, as long as you know what your doing and are willing to upgrade some stuff yourself (buying extra RAM from them is a huge ripoff, for example). You could probably come up with a pretty competent gaming PC by finding a decent deal on a Dell box and adding in a few extra sticks of memory and a video card, provided the power supply can support it.

This is my experience also. When I bought my gaming rig it cost about 2300 AU, I went on to dell and for similar money you could get a pretty similar rig. A lot of the components were slightly worse (8800GT instead of a GTS515) but overall it wasn't extortion as some people make it out to be.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

PC sold. That was easy!

 

[Ophiuchus]

DVD Burner
Cool Master case
250 gig hd
MSI 260
OCZ 700 watt PSU
4gig DDR3 ram
Gigabyte MB
i7 920

All for 1079 shipped what do you guys think? If I order today I should get it by Monday or Tues. But i want some opinions

 

[Crateman]

Hey, that looks similar to my case:

That's exactly the same case, only with a different brand.

Interesting indeed.

 

[Undubbed]

I just got finishing putting together my with a new motherboard and an AMD Phenom 9750 Quad-Core that came with it and of course got a 9800 GT which was all I wanted in the first place :/ (my old motherboard was too old )

It's working perfectly right now, but just one problem that I think may cause problems later is that the BIOS does not beep when it starts up. From what I looked up it may have to do with the power supply.

It's either cause I'm using a 20 bin power connector on a 24 pin or it's cause I mixed up my monitor power cord with my PPU's(they both fit and I have no idea which belong to what >_>)

I mean I'm having zero problem but the no beep on BIOS start up has me worried.

 

[Rufus]

It's working perfectly right now, but just one problem that I think may cause problems later is that the BIOS does not beep when it starts up. From what I looked up it may have to do with the power supply.

Did you connect the internal speaker (of your case) to the motherboard?

 

[Undubbed]

Did you connect the internal speaker (of your case) to the motherboard?

Whoah, I don't think I did I'll go try that right now...

EDIT: Yep it was the speaker connector

One beep means it works perfectly now, thank you!

 

[-Double_A]

general consensus is that crysis pc is a good deal? Anyone happen to know if they sell them at Tiger Direct outlets? Think I got 2 near me.

 

[Router]

10" Acer Aspire One at CES? Man, I'd be all over that netbook.

 

[TheFightingFish]

I know that this thread seems a little more DIY desktop, but I had a quick laptop question to ask. My condo was broken into and my previous laptop just got stolen over the holidays so I'm looking to pick up a new one to replace it. The only thing that annoyed me about the old laptop was the lack of a dedicated GFX card so I want one of those this time around, but I've got a pretty limited budget and I don't want a real laptop gaming rig. I just want enough 3D power to run some older games at medium settings. The stats that I want are about as follows.

Duel-core T5800 or more
2GB RAM
Dedicated GFX card
15 inch screen prefered
about $800 to spend

So far I've been able to configure both a Dell Studio 15 and an HP dv5t to about these specs. Does anyone have an opinion between these two? Or any other laptops that might fit the bill for me?

 

[Dry_Bones]

Hi, i'm looking to buy a new PC, but I need to cut down the cost a bit ... Any suggestions ??

[Case] XCLIO A380 SUPER TOWER BLACK
[PSU] COOLERMASTER RS-620 REALPOWER M620 620W
[CPU] INTEL CORE 2 QUAD CORE Q9550 2.83 GHZ
[Mobo] ASUS P5Q3
[GPU] XFX GEFORCE 8800GTS, G92 CORE, 512MB DDR3, PCI-E, RETAIL
[RAM] Corsair 4GB DDR 3 (2 x 2GB)
[HDD] Western Digital SATA 2 / 500 GB / 32mb buffer

 

[b.e.r.g]

I personaly go for the case w/psu combos and never had much problems. I'm a bit out of date, but I suspect 630W to be a bit overkill. Also Coolermaster is kinda expensive aint it?

Maybe a smaller HDD. Storage space is overrated Not that I expect 500GB to be very expensive. But if you can save some $ there, you could always buy one of those externals later if you're in need of more space.