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[BravoSuperStar]

I was just talking to my Dad and he was wondering something about his work computers. There only a small business(5 people) and some computer guy was saying they need a new $6000 server and for every 5 people added it costs $1700.
I'm not an expert or anything at servers but would such a small number of PC's really need to be linked up to a server at all?

Need more info about the business, what the server would be for, what their needs are as far as storage, backups, applications etc. That price is actually not all that crazy if it includes hardware and software licenses. Business software and reliable server hardware is costly, but much more robust than consumer products.

 

[Darklord]

Need more info about the business, what the server would be for, what their needs are as far as storage, backups, applications etc. That price is actually not all that crazy if it includes hardware and software licenses. Business software and reliable server hardware is costly, but much more robust than consumer products.

They are a real estate company. The most they do on the computer is letters, e-mails, web surfing, printing stuff, ect. I can't imagine they use a ton of storage and back-ups are mainly accounting and letters. As for apps...MS office, MYOB, ect. Just the basic stuff really.

It just seemed like a lot for a company that really doesn't use their computers for heavy applications like graphics or something. The guy originally was trying to give them a $19,000 set up which is insane.

 

[Nemo]

Thanks guys, I got the P2370. Really wanted the LED version but it's not out yet and I couldn't wait. Ah well, this will last me a few years.

A million times yes. You'll understand when you ahve it hooked up.

Quite a few modern games "wil" play decently at 1080p with a 4850 but you have to bear in mind it just wasn't meant for playing games at such high resolutions. A 4890 will be a pretty huge upgrade, and considering the cost of them things now, its money well spent imo.

Yeah, playing the newest games I noticed the 4850 isn't the top dog anymore. I think I'll wait for the 5000 series to hit before upgrading though, playing at high instead of max won't be so bad. I used to play at the lowest of low :lol

Can't wait to try it out tonight. You got me hyped!

 

[jett]

I'm looking at buying a new monitor for my PC, but I don't know much about this stuff. What's the best brand? I'm interested in a 19" screen, with as little image blur as possible.

 

[Nemo]

I'm looking at buying a new monitor for my PC, but I don't know much about this stuff. What's the best brand? I'm interested in a 19" screen, with as little image blur as possible.

What's your budget? 19" is dirt cheap these days, you could easily get a 22 or 24" screen.

 

[jett]

What's your budget? 19" is dirt cheap these days, you could easily get a 22 or 24" screen.

I guess I don't want to spend more than $200. Oh yeah btw the prices where I live are around 30-40% higher than in USA.

 

[careful]

Thanks for the suggestion.

The thing is I can do everything else in Windows fine.. it's just the games. lol

I'm gonna try to system restore to last week maybe. I did install MediaPortal over the weekend, which required me to download and install a bunch of stuff.

Not that anyone cares, but just to update, I ended up having to re-install Windows.. Joy.

 

[TheHeretic]

I guess I don't want to spend more than $200. Oh yeah btw the prices where I live are around 30-40% higher than in USA.

TN displays are all pretty similar IMO.

What about something like this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009176

 

[Angry Grimace]

They are a real estate company. The most they do on the computer is letters, e-mails, web surfing, printing stuff, ect. I can't imagine they use a ton of storage and back-ups are mainly accounting and letters. As for apps...MS office, MYOB, ect. Just the basic stuff really.

It just seemed like a lot for a company that really doesn't use their computers for heavy applications like graphics or something. The guy originally was trying to give them a $19,000 set up which is insane.

Why can't they just do a basic network?

The set up at my law office is like 6 reasonably crappy computers that cost like 300 bucks each, and we called in a "guy" to come set up the network and it works fine. I can't imagine we do anything more strenuous than you and it cost less than that, although certainly some types of internet/networking equipment were needed.

 

[jett]

TN displays are all pretty similar IMO.

What about something like this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009176

Cool. BTW...if I were to connect something like my PS3 to this, how could I handle the sound?

 

[Nemo]

I guess I don't want to spend more than $200. Oh yeah btw the prices where I live are around 30-40% higher than in USA.

I bought mine for 220 euros in Holland, I don't know if US prices are similiar but I think you can still get a nice 22" even with the higher prices. Do you want it to be 16:10 or 16:9? 16:9 seems to be the new standard. Maybe have website you'd like to order from?

Samsung Syncmaster P2250
Samsung Syncmaster P2270
HP Pavilion W2216
BenQ G2220HD
BenQ M2200HD

You can try looking into these.

Cool. BTW...if I were to connect something like my PS3 to this, how could I handle the sound?

Lots of monitors have HDMI these days but the speakers of course suck.

You can try optical, if you don't have that you can use the 3 color cable from the PS3 and connect the white/red cables into this and connect the green cable to your PC speakers. PS3 looks wonderful on monitors btw, it's part of the reason I bought mine!

 

[pseudocaesar]

I guess I don't want to spend more than $200. Oh yeah btw the prices where I live are around 30-40% higher than in USA.

What country specifically? For online stores and whatnot...

 

[Fredescu]

They are a real estate company. The most they do on the computer is letters, e-mails, web surfing, printing stuff, ect. I can't imagine they use a ton of storage and back-ups are mainly accounting and letters. As for apps...MS office, MYOB, ect. Just the basic stuff really.

It just seemed like a lot for a company that really doesn't use their computers for heavy applications like graphics or something. The guy originally was trying to give them a $19,000 set up which is insane.

You have nowhere near enough info to make that judgement. If the server is going to host their email, maybe sql databases, and include a complete backup solution, perhaps with some support included, $19k total for a server plus five workstations might not be that bad. $6k is really nothing if it includes a maintenance agreement and some good backup gear.

Yeah you could build him a box from the local yum cha for less, but you're just asking for trouble without redundant power supplies or with some onboard raid controller that you won't be able to find an exact replacement for in five years and all kinds of things you probably haven't thought of until the shit hits the fan. Don't cut corners when it comes to business data. It's not worth it. He can claim it back on tax anyway so who cares about $6k here and there.

 

[Grayman]

I am having some trouble getting sound over hdmi on my GTX260/GA-EP45-EDR3L. I plugged the little two spronged cord into the card and spidify prongs on the board. Windows mixer is showing device digital audio S/PDIF as playing.

The adapter can go on both ways right? it has S/PDIF and Ground labeled but the motherboard does not. Is there an nvidia setting that I missed to get the sound flowing?

 

[Shawsie64]

Hey guys, just got a quick question.. looking for a bit more oomph from my PC its a E6850, 4870, 4gb ram.

I was thinking going and grabbing another 4870 and going crossfire, id need a new PSU for that aswell so im looking at about $480 (AUS). Think its worth going to a 4870x2? keeping in mind that would cost an extra $100?

 

[Erudite]

So it's starting to get pretty hot here in Vancouver, and my GPU is starting to idle at 65C. Can anyone recommend something I could attach to my 8800GT that I could grab from NCIX?

Not looking for anything fancy, just a simple fan that'll fit on or near the GPU.

 

[matmanx1]

Got my EVGA 260GXT 216 and new PSU in today. What I thought was going to be a half-hour (tops) part swap ended up as a 2 hour JOB as I had to take my entire PC apart completely! I knew the 260 was bigger than my 8800GTS but I didnt realize just how MUCH bigger it really was. I ended up having to use some wire cutters to cut out part of my hard drive cage so that beast would fit properly. And of course that was only after removing my mobo and drives so I wouldnt damage them in the process!

Still, everything is in and running smoothly and I dare say more quietly than my old setup despite the increase in PSU and GPU. I cranked Mirror's Edge up to 1920x1080 to celebrate and it is just stunning at that resolution. Really incredible stuff!

My Rig:
Intel DG965 series mobo
Intel E6600 2.4 Dual Core
4GB Corsair DDR 1066
Western Digital 320GB HDD
EVGA GeForce 260GXT 216 55nm
Antec TP 550w
Thermaltake Soprano case
Samsung 32" LCD TV
WinXP (soon to be Windows 7!)

 

[Hazaro]

Hey guys, just got a quick question.. looking for a bit more oomph from my PC its a E6850, 4870, 4gb ram.

I was thinking going and grabbing another 4870 and going crossfire, id need a new PSU for that aswell so im looking at about $480 (AUS). Think its worth going to a 4870x2? keeping in mind that would cost an extra $100?

I'd personally wait until new stuff comes out.

Do you really need that extra 2xAA or whatever you are pushing?
What about looking to overclock your processor?

So it's starting to get pretty hot here in Vancouver, and my GPU is starting to idle at 65C. Can anyone recommend something I could attach to my 8800GT that I could grab from NCIX?

Not looking for anything fancy, just a simple fan that'll fit on or near the GPU.

Check to turn up your fans normal speed via RivaTuner or whatever control panel you are using. Launch 8800GT's were defaulted to 20% with a smaller fan, but that issue was fixed in 2 weeks I believe.

But if you are going to buy a cooler the Accelero S1 is the only thing to buy. the cheapest cooler and yet the best cooler, you can even run it passive.

 

[Shawsie64]

I'd personally wait until new stuff comes out.

Do you really need that extra 2xAA or whatever you are pushing?
What about looking to overclock your processor?

Check to turn up your fans normal speed via RivaTuner or whatever control panel you are using. Launch 8800GT's were defaulted to 20% with a smaller fan, but that issue was fixed in 2 weeks I believe.

But if you are going to buy a cooler the Accelero S1 is the only thing to buy. the cheapest cooler and yet the best cooler, you can even run it passive.

Yeah I might do that but just noticed the price of the 4870's lately and thought if id could get one cheap might aswell.

 

[FromTheFuture]

Quick question here... if i were to get a Phenom II X2 and attempt to unlock the two cores to make it a quad, what are the chances of that, and also what types of risks does that carry? The same question for the X3 as well.

Oh and one more quick question actually, does DDR3 have a noticeable difference over DDR2? Or at what range does DDR3 become better than DDR2?

The price of the build i was originally planning to buy has increased somewhat, and I'm looking at all my options. Trying to see what is worth upgrading and what is worth 'settling' for. Thanks.

 

[Hazaro]

Quick question here... if i were to get a Phenom II X2 and attempt to unlock the two cores to make it a quad, what are the chances of that, and also what types of risks does that carry? The same question for the X3 as well.

Oh and one more quick question actually, does DDR3 have a noticeable difference over DDR2? Or at what range does DDR3 become better than DDR2?

No risks, it's either cut or it's not.

Not sure on chances, I personally wouldn't bank on it.

As for DDR3 brain_stew wrote out the rant I basically would have :lol
DDR3 is pointless unless you are a top bencher as it only varies performance by 1-2% in most cases.

 

[Erudite]

Check to turn up your fans normal speed via RivaTuner or whatever control panel you are using. Launch 8800GT's were defaulted to 20% with a smaller fan, but that issue was fixed in 2 weeks I believe.

But if you are going to buy a cooler the Accelero S1 is the only thing to buy. the cheapest cooler and yet the best cooler, you can even run it passive.

Yeah, my fan is set to 55%- Any higher and it starts giving me a headache from the noise.

I'll look into the Accelero S1

 

[Grayman]

I am having some trouble getting sound over hdmi on my GTX260/GA-EP45-EDR3L. I plugged the little two spronged cord into the card and spidify prongs on the board. Windows mixer is showing device digital audio S/PDIF as playing.

The adapter can go on both ways right? it has S/PDIF and Ground labeled but the motherboard does not. Is there an nvidia setting that I missed to get the sound flowing?

was backwards. Gigabyte should really mark those prongs...

How do I make windows not look like shit? I've never set up an LCD. It's a "720p" 32 inch samsung. 1280x720 is what is suggested by win7, the real res is available but the tv kicks into 1080i. text looks horrible on all.

 

[Hazaro]

was backwards. Gigabyte should really mark those prongs...

How do I make windows not look like shit? I've never set up an LCD. It's a "720p" 32 inch samsung. 1280x720 is what is suggested by win7, the real res is available but the tv kicks into 1080i. text looks horrible on all.

If it's a 720p TV it's probably x768 instead, set it to that.

Also enable ClearType

 

[Grayman]

If it's a 720p TV it's probably x768 instead, set it to that.

Also enable ClearType

When i set it to 1360x768 i lose overscan(that should not be there to begin with in just scan) but the info button on the tv says it is showing 1080i, unless that is a bug in the osd.

Maybe it could be that I need a vga or dvi cable to run in native res.

Thanks for ClearType, it has helped.

 

[Hazaro]

When i set it to 1360x768 i lose overscan(that should not be there to begin with in just scan) but the info button on the tv says it is showing 1080i, unless that is a bug in the osd.

Maybe it could be that I need a vga or dvi cable to run in native res.

Thanks for ClearType, it has helped.

Hmm, I'm not too clear on overscan issues, but someone else here should chime in.

 

[brain_stew]

You should be able to correct the overscan in your drivers.

Not all TVs will 1:1 map over HDMI, so trying out VGA might not be a bad idea. You'll be able to tell if your TV is 1:1 mapping as it will be very clear and crisp, whereas there'll be a definite amount of blur and some interlacing artefacts with a 1080i signal.

 

[FromTheFuture]

No risks, it's either cut or it's not.

Not sure on chances, I personally wouldn't bank on it.

As for DDR3 brain_stew wrote out the rant I basically would have :lol
DDR3 is pointless unless you are a top bencher as it only varies performance by 1-2% in most cases.

This will really help out in my decision. Hopefully i can buy my new PC soon! Just gotta readjust all of my build... Thanks!

 

[MWS Natural]

Ugh...Newegg didn't have any of the Toxic 4890 in stock so they issued me a refund instead of replacing. I think I'm going to just sit pat and wait for the Dx11 cards now. I've basically gone a month without a video card already. Hopefully the newer cards won't be over $350 which is probably the most I'll pay for a GPU.

 

[purvispisgah]

Hey guys. What's the best ATI GPU for $80-$100? My friend was looking at a 1GB 4670. I was thinking something in the 4800 series would be better. What's the consensus?

 

[scorcho]

Hey guys. What's the best ATI GPU for $80-$100? My friend was looking at a 1GB 4670. I was thinking something in the 4800 series would be better. What's the consensus?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770

 

[Hazaro]

Hey guys. What's the best ATI GPU for $80-$100? My friend was looking at a 1GB 4670. I was thinking something in the 4800 series would be better. What's the consensus?

4850 or 4770

 

[Grayman]

You should be able to correct the overscan in your drivers.

Not all TVs will 1:1 map over HDMI, so trying out VGA might not be a bad idea. You'll be able to tell if your TV is 1:1 mapping as it will be very clear and crisp, whereas there'll be a definite amount of blur and some interlacing artefacts with a 1080i signal.

I do get 1:1 over VGA and it looks much nicer. I can't use it regularly until I find or buy an extra vga-vga cord though. I did find the overscan adjustments in the drivers, it was hidden away somewhere.

 

[Ryoma-Echizen]

Hope this can help:

Anandtech June recommended cards

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3588&cp=7#comments

Best perfomance/buck --> Ati

HD4670 $65~
HD4830 $85~
HD4850 $90-100~ (or 4770 if you can find one, if so you have a gem)
HD4870 512MB $125-140~
HD4870 1GB / GTX 260 216 $145-170
HD4890 $200
HD4850X2 $220

On the expensive side
GTX285 $310
HD4870 X2 $380

¿295? Way to expensive, beter go with a CF of Shappire HD4890 Vapor-X / Toxic

 

[Spiderjericho]

Got my 4890 and 6GB of ram today and threw it into my desktop. I didn't do any cable management before, so I grabbed the old zip ties and went to it. It didn't come out too bad. But using PC Power and Cooling power supplies are ridiculous. I'm going with a modular next build go around.

I'm thinking of loading Vista Ultimate 64 on the desktop and upgrade to Window 7 when it finally drops.

Now, I'm going to dabble with SF4 on my PC.

 

[Hazaro]

Hope this can help:

Anandtech June recommended cards

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3588&cp=7#comments

Best perfomance/buck --> Ati

Sounds right.

Also it was mentioned in another thread how to do this so I checked :lol

brain_stew..... 574
Me..... 494
VictimOfGrief..... 234
godhandiscen..... 226
Minsc..... 180
MWS Natural..... 160
Crazymoogle..... 119
Zyzyxxz..... 93
evil solrac v3.0..... 90

 

[MWS Natural]

You guys thinking the ATI Dx11 cards being released more towards August or November?

 

[Ryoma-Echizen]

The non-official sources says that it will be available more or less at the same time as Win7. (October).

On this month the official release date will de decided. Expect news at any moment.

 

[brain_stew]

You guys thinking the ATI Dx11 cards being released more towards August or November?

No chance of an August launch, things are far too quiet and the fact that 4770s still aren't in good supply shows htat there's still issues with TMSC's 40nm process. It'll be quarter 4 imo.

 

[brain_stew]

Ugh...Newegg didn't have any of the Toxic 4890 in stock so they issued me a refund instead of replacing. I think I'm going to just sit pat and wait for the Dx11 cards now. I've basically gone a month without a video card already. Hopefully the newer cards won't be over $350 which is probably the most I'll pay for a GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121311

Buy this card man. 6 huge heatpipes, two huge fans and it pumps th eheat out the back and includes a modified PCB with voltage tuning and better caps.

For someone who tends to worry about heat, you're not going to find a more suitable card, great price this weekend and a nice factory overclock (with plenty potential for more) as well.

This is the best GPU on the market atm as far as I'm concerned. It comes with the DVI-HDMI adapter in the box which I know is important for your setup.

 

[Ryoma-Echizen]

Seems to be noisier vs 4890 Toxic from Shappire (a very quiet/fresh card with a huge amount of overclock)

Anyway, it's good to see more non-reference cards. Now we need His IceQ4 version to complete the circle :lol

 

[jett]

I wonder if any of you guys can help me with a problem I have. I got an issue with my ATI 4670 card. I know it's kind of on the low end of things, but it should be able to accelerate 1080p videos, right? Thing is 1080p videos run just as well(choppy) as they did when I was using some intergrated graphics crap. Is there a setting somewhere I might have missed?

 

[brain_stew]

I wonder if any of you guys can help me with a problem I have. I got an issue with my ATI 4670 card. I know it's kind of on the low end of things, but it should be able to accelerate 1080p videos, right? Thing is 1080p videos run just as well(choppy) as they did when I was using some intergrated graphics crap. Is there a setting somewhere I might have missed?

What codec and/or media player are you using?

You need to use a player and codec that supports DVXA to get hardware accelerated video, and most players don't support it.

Download MPC-HC and follow the guide to enabling DVXA decoding at the link I posted. Your GPU should now decode many of the popular HD codecs if you playback the files in MPC-HC, whereas you were relying upon entirely on your CPU before.

MPC-HC is absolutely the best media player out there, the playback options are quality are unmatched.

It has some lovely scaling options, the very much appreciated extensive DVXA support as discussed, and a "no tearing" mode, which can be a lifesaver.

 

[jett]

What codec and/or media player are you using?

You need to use a player and codec that supports DVXA to get hardware accelerated video, and most players don't support it.

Download MPC-HC and follow the guide to enabling DVXA decoding at the link I posted. Your GPU should now decode many of the popular HD codecs if you playback the files in MPC-HC, whereas you were relying upon entirely on your CPU before.

MPC-HC is absolutely the best media player out there, the playback options are quality are unmatched.

It has some lovely scaling options, the very much appreciated extensive DVXA support as discussed, and a "no tearing" mode, which can be a lifesaver.

Awesome, thanks. I had been trying WMP, mplayer and vlc. I'll try what you recommended...

 

[brain_stew]

Awesome, thanks. I had been trying WMP, mplayer and vlc. I'll try what you recommended...

Well there's your problem. Only WMPsupports DVXA playback out of them I believe and then only with WMVs. Your GPU was sitting idle the whole time.

 

[jett]

Well there's your problem. Only WMPsupports DVXA playback out of them I believe and then only with WMVs. Your GPU was sitting idle the whole time.

Well...I tried MPC-HC and it still lags in parts. I'm using a VC-1 video I got from the playstation store as testing, for what it's worth. I tried several of the playback options in the guide you linked to but runs the same as in all the other players.

 

[brain_stew]

Well...I tried MPC-HC and it still lags in parts. I'm using a VC-1 video I got from the playstation store as testing, for what it's worth. I tried several of the playback options in the guide you linked to but runs the same as in all the other players.

VC1?

Try WMV and try setting up DVXA playback in the options. Use similar settings to the ones you're usng in MPC-HC. DVXA playback can be picky at times, it won't be universally compatible but is very nice when it works.

What CPU are you using and where is the utilisation in task manager sitting at when you playback the file.

 

[GuessWho]

someone just gifted me a 8800gt, can someone provide me the cheapest possible rig around this card? im looking for cpu, mobo and ram.

 

[jett]

VC1?

Try WMV and try setting up DVXA playback in the options. Use similar settings to the ones you're usng in MPC-HC. DVXA playback can be picky at times, it won't be universally compatible but is very nice when it works.

What CPU are you using and where is the utilisation in task manager sitting at when you playback the file.

I have a C2D 1.86ghz, when I run the video CPU use hovers at around 52%

 

[brain_stew]

someone just gifted me a 8800gt, can someone provide me the cheapest possible rig around this card? im looking for cpu, mobo and ram.

The $500 rig sans the GPU would a decent place to start.