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[wouwie]

Need some advice. My brother can buy a pc from dell. Maximum budget is 1000 euro (ex vat) without a monitor. Main purpose: a good all-round pc which might be used for games occasionally. He already has a 19 inch monitor so the maximum resolution is limited at about 1280*1024. It does not need to be the lastest monster gaming pc If it could play recent games at 1280*1024 with most detail on, that would be great though.

In the belgium dell shop, i saw this config for a xps 430:
- Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1, 32-bit - Dutch
- Intel® Core™2 Quad Core-processor Q8200 (2,33 GHz, 1.333 MHz, 4 MB cache)
- 640 GB Serial ATA non Raid (7200 Rpm)
- 4.096 MB 1.333 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2 x 2.048]
- 512 MB ATI® Radeon™ 4850

Rest is standard, nothing fancy. Price point is 652 euro ex vat. So there is room for some upgrades though graphics card is fixed to this particular model. Possible upgrades are more ram (and vista 64-bit) and a better cpu.

Since i'm completely out of the loop when it comes to pc hardware, i'd really appriciate gaf's expert opinion on this.

ps. I'm aware that building a pc is most probably cheaper but this is no option because it must be a dell.

 

[Coldsnap]

Anyone play their Good Old Games downlaods on a Dell mini? I'm thinking this could be a really good reason to have a Dell mini, play some Fallout while laying in bed.

 

[Pein]

don't know if this is the place to ask but my monitor isn't getting any signal from my dvi port on my 9800gt, anyone might know whats going on?

 

[Chris R]

don't know if this is the place to ask but my monitor isn't getting any signal from my dvi port on my 9800gt, anyone might know whats going on?

monitor have more than one source option? when I swap from my 360 (on hdmi) or mac (on vga) to my PC (on dvi) I have to press the source buttong.

 

[Pein]

monitor have more than one source option? when I swap from my 360 (on hdmi) or mac (on vga) to my PC (on dvi) I have to press the source buttong.

tried that, doesn't work

 

[timetokill]

Okay, so here's what I'm looking at for my final build. Any last suggestions? I'm feeling pretty good about it overall.

CAS: CoolerMaster Centurion 590 RC-590 Mid-Tower 420W Case, w/ 1 Extra Case Cooling Fan
POWERSUPPLY: PC Power and Cooling S75QB Silencer 750W Quad Power Supply
CPU: AMD PhenomTII X4 945 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
MOTHERBOARD: MSI AMD 790GX-G65 AM3 DDR3 1666+ CrossFire Chipset Mainboard
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Dominator)
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX260 CORE 216 896MB 16X PCI Express
HDD: 320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM


Thanks guys, I appreciate it a TON. I feel a lot better getting this advice.

Hey, just wanted to say I finally got my PC set up with Windows 7 RC, and overall I am completely in love with it. Computer runs fast and pretty quiet, and I haven't had any problems with the games I've thrown at it on max settings, even Far Cry 2 runs great I'll try Crysis out later to see how it performs.

Thanks again for all of your help, especially brain_stew for his consistently good help and advice.

 

[brain_stew]

Need some advice. My brother can buy a pc from dell. Maximum budget is 1000 euro (ex vat) without a monitor. Main purpose: a good all-round pc which might be used for games occasionally. He already has a 19 inch monitor so the maximum resolution is limited at about 1280*1024. It does not need to be the lastest monster gaming pc If it could play recent games at 1280*1024 with most detail on, that would be great though.

In the belgium dell shop, i saw this config for a xps 430:
- Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1, 32-bit - Dutch
- Intel® Core™2 Quad Core-processor Q8200 (2,33 GHz, 1.333 MHz, 4 MB cache)
- 640 GB Serial ATA non Raid (7200 Rpm)
- 4.096 MB 1.333 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2 x 2.048]
- 512 MB ATI® Radeon™ 4850

Rest is standard, nothing fancy. Price point is 652 euro ex vat. So there is room for some upgrades though graphics card is fixed to this particular model. Possible upgrades are more ram (and vista 64-bit) and a better cpu.

Since i'm completely out of the loop when it comes to pc hardware, i'd really appriciate gaf's expert opinion on this.

ps. I'm aware that building a pc is most probably cheaper but this is no option because it must be a dell.

My advice would be to buy one of Dell's lower end rigs and add your own videocard and extra RAM. It'll be much, much cheaper, you're paying a stupidly high premium there. Make sure the model you're interested in takes a standard ATX PSU (it should) so that you have the option of easily upgrading the PSU giving you limitless flexability in any possible GPU upgrades.

 

[RobertM]

What does a descent PC costs these days not including monitor and OS?

 

[DyTonic]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8

I'm still debating which processor I should get for this motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649


I am looking for something that can last me for a while, not sure which AMD processor to get for that motherboard.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

What does a descent PC costs these days not including monitor and OS?

Any PC you buy these days can play descent. =)

 

[Metalic Sand]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

.

I would go with this one but really either one is a good choice. Youll get alot more out of the triple core with just basic computer use. But you could go with the dual core and pump like $50-70 more into a graphics card which will get you alot more game wise.

 

[RobertM]

Any PC you buy these days can play descent. =)

Well I understand the obvious of that statement, but what will $500 get me in terms of spec and benchmarks.

 

[Kadey]

I feel for you. The Atikmdag error pissed me off so much I can't see myself going back to ATI for a very long time.

So it was going good for 24 hours but it happened again. I'm going strictly Nvidia for my next setup. This is absurd.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Well I understand the obvious of that statement, but what will $500 get me in terms of spec and benchmarks.

Sorry it was a bad joke. $500 should get you a pretty decent rig actually. And if you didn't know you can download windows 7 RC for free right now, save on $$$ for an OS. I'd look through the past few pages for examples, or wait for old reliable Brain-Stew to throw something together. I'd look into maybe a phenom II X4 as far as CPU's.

So it was going good for 24 hours but it happened again. I'm going strictly Nvidia for my next setup. This is absurd.

you running vista or win 7? I got that same blue screen error a couple times under home premium, but haven't got it since I went to win 7 RC build 7100.

 

[Chiggs]

I'm very close to buying a GTX 295. Any reason as to why I shouldn't (please don't list heat or power supply)?

 

[Metalic Sand]

I'm very close to buying a GTX 295. Any reason as to why I shouldn't (please don't list heat or power supply)?

DX 11 cards this year.

 

[Chiggs]

I have a problem with HDMI Out.. I know the post is a little long but please bear with me. If anyone can help me with it I'll be VERY grateful!
e
Yesterday, I hooked up my PC to my HDTV through HDMI using the ATI DVI-HDMI adapter. It all started after this.

My HDTV is an HD Ready LCD with 1366x768 resolution. No matter what resolution I pick the image refuses to sit correctly on the screen.

I pick 1280x720 60Hz output and the image is incorrectly displayed. Parts of the desktop is outside the viewing area on all sides. I've never had such a problem with any image source before, so I mess around with the CCC and find out about custom HDTV resolutions. I say fine, let's try this, and I set up one for myself - it turns out I can tweak the 720p signal for a viewing area of 1152x684 and get a full image.

Now, if you can do numbers in your head, you'll notice that this is NOT a 16:9 aspect ratio. The height is off - it should've been 648. What this means is, now I have rectangular pixels on my screen! Worse yet, when I play movies in 16:9 aspect ratio, I get black bars on top and bottom, which I shouldn't get on a 16:9 HDTV.

So I say what the hell and switch back to regular 720p and try the scaling option. To my surprise and horror when I underscan the image so that I can fit it horizontally, I have the exact same black bars on the top and bottom.

My graphic card is outputting HDTV in a wrong aspect ratio.

What the hell is going on? Is the driver messing up because my main monitor is 16:10 and not 16:9? Can I scale the image outside the aspect ratio - i.e. stretch it vertically more than horizontally?

This thing is driving me nuts, I spent 2 hours last night trying to fix it and gave up. My system is below and I've tried using Catalyst 9.5 and 9.6.

AOpen H600B12
High Power 430W
Biostar TA780G-M2+
AMD Phenom X3 8750
A-Data 2x 2GB PC6400
Powercolor Radeon HD3850 PCS
Samsung HD300LJ
Philips DVDR824K/40
Samsung SyncMaster 932NW
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 RC Build 7100

Please help me GAF, you are my only hope

Like you mentioned, you can add custom resolutions in the Catalyst suite. Also, if you Google ATI + HDMI output, you'll find a variety of issues. For instance, my ATI card would only run DX10 games at 1080i. Whenever I tried to switch to progressive, I would get the black bars.

The fix was for me to go into the driver suite and add customer resolutions, while selecting a few from the menu (1080p 30, 1080p 60, and 1080p 24). Obviously, your solution will probably be a little different.

My thoughts: fucking ATI drivers.

DX 11 cards this year.

That did the trick.

 

[dazzgc]

ati drivers are cancerous. since "downgrading" from a 4870x2 to a 285 gtx ive had no issues with software whatsoever. plus its a lot quieter. and runs cooler. and i really not notice any performance drops gaming@1080p. never again, ATI, never again. id rather pay the premium price for the nvidia hardware knowing that the software will, for the most part, be fantastic.

 

[Agent Ironside]

Just a heads up, if your employer is on Intels "approved" list they are doing a summer deal through their Intel Retail Edge program. One of the deals is a i7 920, Vista Ultimate 64 bit, along with Windows 7 when it comes out, for 129 bucks, cant beat that.

 

[Crazymoogle]

ati drivers are cancerous. since "downgrading" from a 4870x2 to a 285 gtx ive had no issues with software whatsoever. plus its a lot quieter. and runs cooler. and i really not notice any performance drops gaming@1080p. never again, ATI, never again. id rather pay the premium price for the nvidia hardware knowing that the software will, for the most part, be fantastic.

I won't argue with you about the GTX285, but let's be honest - the 285 has a hell of a lot less silicon onboard. The 4870x2 is literally two 4870 cards strapped together, so hotter/louder seem inevitable! :lol

I'm glad I went for the 285 over the 295; it's a lot less nonsense, it's dead silent, and on occasion the price is really good. I think it's hard to argue with the dirt-cheap 4890 cards out there (under 200cdn sometimes) but no complaints with my setup. EVGA is pretty damn upper-class when it comes to manufacturers.

 

[Kadey]

you running vista or win 7? I got that same blue screen error a couple times under home premium, but haven't got it since I went to win 7 RC build 7100.

Yep. Vista HP. I've never had this problem with my GX2, all these video errors but ever since I got a 4870X2, nothing but. Odd since one of my other systems had a 9800XT and I never had any issues with that one ever.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Ok so I have my new i7 rig up and running. I figured I might as well overclock it (just to 3ish GHz for now... using the stock CPU cooler) but I have no idea how to do this. Can anyone help me out?

I have a Gigabyte X58 UD4P board if that matters.

Another question, I was checking out my "Windows Experience Index" and everything looked pretty high except my "Primary Hard Disk" had a very low score compared to the rest of the components. Is the hard drive I bought not fast or something? (Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 1.5TB 32MB Cache 7200 RPM)

 

[godhandiscen]

Like you mentioned, you can add custom resolutions in the Catalyst suite. Also, if you Google ATI + HDMI output, you'll find a variety of issues. For instance, my ATI card would only run DX10 games at 1080i. Whenever I tried to switch to progressive, I would get the black bars.

The fix was for me to go into the driver suite and add customer resolutions, while selecting a few from the menu (1080p 30, 1080p 60, and 1080p 24). Obviously, your solution will probably be a little different.

My thoughts: fucking ATI drivers.



That did the trick.

Only ATI is launching its DX11 line this year. Nvidia has postponed their launch until March 2010 afaik. I am not recommending the 295 either though. I just think that for such a budget, you are better off waiting until next year when both DX11 lineups are on the table and you can see at real benches instead of just speculation. Otherwise you would be buying a card that will go down 50% in value in a matter of months. Which game are you struggling with right now?

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Ok so I have my new i7 rig up and running. I figured I might as well overclock it (just to 3ish GHz for now... using the stock CPU cooler) but I have no idea how to do this. Can anyone help me out?

I have a Gigabyte X58 UD4P board if that matters.

Is entering the BIOS and making low-level system changes something you are comfortable with?

Another question, I was checking out my "Windows Experience Index" and everything looked pretty high except my "Primary Hard Disk" had a very low score compared to the rest of the components. Is the hard drive I bought not fast or something? (Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 1.5TB 32MB Cache 7200 RPM)

Yes, that is a pretty standard score for a single 7200rpm drive. Raid arrays and SSD's would get you higher numbers here.

 

[JimmyV]

Alright so I'm getting a pretty sweet deal on an i7 Dell XPS, and of course the first games that come to mind to get are Crysis, Orange Box, and Witcher.

What else are must have games? Aside from game like Oblivion, and Fallout 3, since I have those for 360(even though I never beat Fallout 3, is it better on PC?).


I'll post the specs and all once I upgrade the RAM and what-not.

 

[dazzgc]

Alright so I'm getting a pretty sweet deal on an i7 Dell XPS, and of course the first games that come to mind to get are Crysis, Orange Box, and Witcher.

What else are must have games? Aside from game like Oblivion, and Fallout 3, since I have those for 360(even though I never beat Fallout 3, is it better on PC?).


I'll post the specs and all once I upgrade the RAM and what-not.

every game besides saints row 2 and...gta4 is better on pc. and gta4 is debateable. i prefer the pc version for native 1080p support and better overall visuals. but its not very optimised.

fallout 3 on pc is infinitely better on pc.


buy mirrors edge. seriously. and if you havent played them on console, or finished them, get bioshock, mass effect and burnout paradise (if you like those genres)

 

[MisterAnderson]

Is entering the BIOS and making low-level system changes something you are comfortable with?



Yes, that is a pretty standard score for a single 7200rpm drive. Raid arrays and SSD's would get you higher numbers here.

I'm comfortable as long as I have some direction as to what I should do... I checked out the BIOS just before and couldn't figure out how to OC the CPU. The clock multiplier was already set the the max allowed number (133x20= 2.66 GHz) 20 was the max it allowed for me to enter. How can I get it up to 3 GHz?

I also noticed that my RAM was for some reason set to 1066 MHz so I switched the XMP settings from Auto to Profile 1 and it set it to 1600 MHz which is the speed RAM I have. Hopefully I did the right thing and my computer won't spontaneously combust?

 

[Chiggs]

Which game are you struggling with right now?

None, really. I just want more power. Okay, fine, the more I think about this potential purchase it's really just impulsive. I'll probably snap up ATI's DX11 board.

 

[Yoboman]

Newegg is out of stock on the mobo I need

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131371

Anyone know any good mATX alternatives? Or how long newegg stays out of stock usually...?

 

[Wag]

Ok so I have my new i7 rig up and running. I figured I might as well overclock it (just to 3ish GHz for now... using the stock CPU cooler) but I have no idea how to do this. Can anyone help me out?

I have a Gigabyte X58 UD4P board if that matters.

Another question, I was checking out my "Windows Experience Index" and everything looked pretty high except my "Primary Hard Disk" had a very low score compared to the rest of the components. Is the hard drive I bought not fast or something? (Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 1.5TB 32MB Cache 7200 RPM)

I would really ignore that Windows Experience Index. It is only supposed to give a general idea, as a whole, and you obviously have a really good setup. I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you have a battery-backup you can try going into the control panel/Device Manager/ and "Enable Advanced Performance" for that drive.

I have a really good setup and I don't score higher than 5.9 on any of them on Vista 64. Simply ignore it.

 

[DyTonic]

I would go with this one but really either one is a good choice. Youll get alot more out of the triple core with just basic computer use. But you could go with the dual core and pump like $50-70 more into a graphics card which will get you alot more game wise.

So a dual core is superior choice for gaming, are quad core AMD processors any good ?

 

[MWS Natural]

Just moved from 32bit XP to Win 7 tonight, very nice so far and a big jump for me since I skipped Vista all together.Might upgrade earlier than planned and drop 4 more GB of RAM in next month. After the pricedrops on the 4890 newegg let me send my old one back and pickup a Sapphire Toxic for the same price and no restocking fee. I have always shopped there but they have earned themselves a life time customer

 

[tahrikmili]

Like you mentioned, you can add custom resolutions in the Catalyst suite. Also, if you Google ATI + HDMI output, you'll find a variety of issues. For instance, my ATI card would only run DX10 games at 1080i. Whenever I tried to switch to progressive, I would get the black bars.

The fix was for me to go into the driver suite and add customer resolutions, while selecting a few from the menu (1080p 30, 1080p 60, and 1080p 24). Obviously, your solution will probably be a little different.

My thoughts: fucking ATI drivers.

It's definitely an inconvenient situation. Another person on a board I posted this replied saying he had this exact same problem and fixed it by using a regular DVI-HDMI cable. Apparently the ATI proprietary DVI-HDMI adapter messes up the resolution on some TVs somehow. Downside? I'll lose audio. I don't stream audio through HDMI anyway so I'm ok.

I'll let you know if the DVI-HDMI cable fixes it indeed.

 

[MisterAnderson]

If anyone can provide help or a decent overclocking guide I'd really appreciate it. I've been searching online and haven't really found anything concrete and helpful enough to make me confident in overclocking (I always assumed it was just something simple like entering the MHz you wanted the speed to be...)

Is overclocking in the BIOS the best way? Or using a program and doing it with the operating system? What programs do you recommend for overclocking/temp readouts/fan speed control?

One other thing, the Antec Nine Hundred Two case has the PSU mount on the bottom. I turned the PSU (Corsair 750W) upside down so that the PSU fan intake would face up and could have some room to pull in air. Is this alright? If it was right side up (fan facing down) there would only have been a couple millimeters of clearance. I also am kind of confused because when I put my hand above the fan it almost feels like it's shooting air up... which doesn't make sense as I was pretty sure that the fan is supposed to intake and then exhaust out the back. Maybe it's just me feeling some other airflow.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

is windows 7 still in beta and if not is it worth the upgrade?

 

[Hazaro]

If anyone can provide help or a decent overclocking guide I'd really appreciate it. I've been searching online and haven't really found anything concrete and helpful enough to make me confident in overclocking (I always assumed it was just something simple like entering the MHz you wanted the speed to be...)

Is overclocking in the BIOS the best way?

One other thing, the Antec Nine Hundred Two case has the PSU mount on the bottom. I turned the PSU (Corsair 750W) upside down so that the PSU fan intake would face up and could have some room to pull in air.

Really, you can key in values for voltage, Mhz, Clock Multiplier and you should be on your way. If not bump the MCH or NB voltages a tad and see if it works. There are numerous forums, [H], OCF, XS, etc. that have lsits of what people achieve with their overclocks at what settings. Other than that it's trial and error.

Overclocking in the BIOS is the ONLY way. Do not use software.

Keep the PSU facing down, it was made that way and draws in cooler air to feed the PSU with. Although the 750w needs practically no airflow at all. It intakes via case and exhausts out the back.
It shouldn't matter, but technically it's better facing correctly.

 

[Ikuu]

I OC'd just by going to some forums and seeing the average OC people were getting for my CPU and then just copied that, bumped up the FSB and then increased the voltage as it crashed. Not the best way to OC but it's working fine for me, http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17612922 is a more detailed guide. As long as you don't do something stupid you should be fine, your machine will just crash if you set something to high.

Windows 7 has been sold for me, been running it since the RC was released and not had a single problem (only app that doesn't work for me is Kings Bounty).

I might have just came into some money that I was expecting to have to spend somewhere else, really tempted to order something like this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-003-OB even though I don't really need it :lol

 

[BravoSuperStar]

If anyone can provide help or a decent overclocking guide I'd really appreciate it. I've been searching online and haven't really found anything concrete and helpful enough to make me confident in overclocking (I always assumed it was just something simple like entering the MHz you wanted the speed to be...)

Is overclocking in the BIOS the best way? Or using a program and doing it with the operating system? What programs do you recommend for overclocking/temp readouts/fan speed control?

On my AMD gigabyte board you go into the bios, then "motherboard intelligent tweaker" and then you go to "cpu host control frequency" I think and change it to manual. You can then bump it up by 5-10 at a time and boot and see if its stable.

 

[Rapping Granny]

I am trying to build a sub $800-700 budget PC using NCIX that comes with a monitor and maybe an OS, but I can't do it.

Could someone help?

 

[brain_stew]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8

I'm still debating which processor I should get for this motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649


I am looking for something that can last me for a while, not sure which AMD processor to get for that motherboard.

If you can afford it, the 720 is definitely worth the extra cost. Both offer insane value though.

I am trying to build a sub $800-700 budget PC using NCIX that comes with a monitor and maybe an OS, but I can't do it.

Could someone help?

You don't want to be paying for an OS atm with W7 around the corner and 9 months of its fully featured RC available for free.

 

[Crye]

Hey guys, I'm likely to upgrade fairly soon from my 1950pro and AGP motherboard rig, an I'm looking for a bit of advice on two things.
For the record I'm trying to keep this as cheap as possible, an I've no interest at all in overclocking.

For a motherboard I was looking at an
Asus P5QL Pro or a Asus P5Q Pro. Leaning towards the P5QL because its £25 cheaper but any reason I should I go for the other/something else? (Will be putting in a E8400 btw)

Lastly for a graphics card, I really wanna jump over to nVidia this time, how does the GTX 260 hold up to the similar priced HD 4870? I'm getting mixed results wherever I look.
Thanks.

 

[TheExodu5]

Lastly for a graphics card, I really wanna jump over to nVidea this time, how does the GTX 260 hold up to the similar priced HD 4870? I'm getting mixed results wherever I look.
Thanks.

GTX 260 and HD 4870 are roughly equivalent.
GTX 275 and HD 4890 are roughly equivalent.

Sometimes the NVidia cards win, sometimes the AMD cards win. It's a toss up. I enjoy the support NVidia cards get, and I hate the stock AMD cooler, so the little extra cash was worth going for the GTX 275 for me. The AMD cards seem to generally sell for a tad cheaper, which gives them better bang for buck, though this may not be the case with GTX 260 vs. HD 4870. I'd go with the GTX 260 given equivalent price points.

 

[Ikuu]

This week Overclockers are selling the 4890 (http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-124-XF) for a few quid more than the 4870 you linked, though you can get this 4870 (http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-091-PC) for 110.

As you have less money to spend then overclocking is more important, it's pretty much a free performance boost.

 

[Crye]

Damn, really wanna jump ship (tired of the little things) but ATI price too damn well :-/
Could overclock but then I might have to look for a better motherboard ;S

Oh, but I wouldn't touch that Powercolor 4870, I think I know why that build is so cheap, built a mates machine with it, card broke 2 months later!

 

[Ikuu]

That's the GPU I've been running since October and not had a single issue with it.

 

[Hazaro]

Damn, really wanna jump ship (tired of the little things) but ATI price too damn well :-/
Could overclock but then I might have to look for a better motherboard ;S

Oh, but I wouldn't touch that Powercolor 4870, I think I know why that build is so cheap, built a mates machine with it, card broke 2 months later!

They come from the same factory.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Can someone with an Antec 900-two case confirm if the top fan is supposed to have glowing blue LED lights? I just noticed that there are three bulbs that won't seem to turn on...

Sucks being anal like myself and willing to redo an entire rig because of some silly shit like some lights not working on the case. But that's me, and that's what I shall do if newegg did indeed send me a defective case.

Edit: Another possible problem... when I turn on my PC, it starts up (lights turn on, fans start spinning, for like half a second) then seemingly dies. Then a second later it starts up again normally. Everything is running as it should...except this strange startup issue (which didn't happen at all yesterday).

I turned the PSU around to be right side up so it's possible that some of the wires might be loose maybe? I'll go in and check it out, but it's running without a hitch so I'm really curious as to what it could be. (PSU problem?)

 

[TheExodu5]

They come from the same factory.

The chipset? Yeah. I'm pretty sure the PCB is usually manufactured in-house, is it not?

edit: I'd avoid that PowerColor based on the NewEgg reviews, if it's the one with their custom cooler. Seems like at runs at like 70-79 degrees with the fan at 70%. That's brutal. On top of that, it blows air into the case, which is pretty unnacceptable for a cooler running a card this hot.

To compare, my MSI Twin Frozr GTX 275 (custom cooler, not stock GTX 275 cooler) runs at 30% speed and keeps my temps at 70-75. Now my cooler blows air into the case too, but my lower temps (which equals lower fan speed) more than make up for it.

Although, the stock HD 4870 cooler is loud as hell though.

 

[Rapping Granny]

Is the Radeon HD2600PRO the best card you can get at NCIX for under $100?

 

[Ikuu]

Unless they've changed the fan since I ordered that card, mine runs at like 43c idle and then jumped to around 55c when I ran around playing L4D for a while, with an OC and the fan is set to like 35%.