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Official "I need a new PC!!" 2009 Edition

P

Psychotext

Member
My vapor-x 4890 arrived and I couldn't be happier with it. It's smaller than my 8800, quieter, more powerful and cooler. I was a little freaked out by the CPU 2 test results in 3DMarkVantage, but I know why that is now so I'm not particularly concerned.

Thanks to those that advised it. :)

(Just got to get the HDMI output setup now and I'm all done)
 
D

Daigoro

Member
ok, heres my new build. i left the budget PC thread and came here instead.

GIGABYTE AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor

Mushkin HP 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

im going to be using my 4670 until the new cards come out.

feel free to critique.
 
B

BravoSuperStar

Member
Daigoro said:
ok, heres my new build. i left the budget PC thread and came here instead.

GIGABYTE AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor

Mushkin HP 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

im going to be using my 4670 until the new cards come out.

feel free to critique.
Click to expand...


Is that Mushkin ram on the QVL for that mobo? Might want to check that, I've had problems with mushkin ram on gigabyte boards in the past.
 
D

Daigoro

Member
SuperEnemyCrab said:
Is that Mushkin ram on the QVL for that mobo? Might want to check that, I've had problems with mushkin ram on gigabyte boards in the past.
Click to expand...

good question. thanks for looking. now what the hell is QVL? :lol

the last system i built had a Gigabyte board and Muskin RAM (with good results), and this seemed compatible (i compared it with some other ram that came in a combo deal with that board and they looked almost identical except for the voltage, which was slightly different).

thanks.

edit: im checking the Gigabyte site now to see if i can get more info.
 
B

BravoSuperStar

Member
QVL = Qualified vendors list.

The usually list specific companies they've tested to be compatible with your board. Should have that somewhere on the info page for your board at the main gigabyte site.
 
D

Daigoro

Member
yep. i just found that out, thanks for the tip. i learned something new today! (damn usefull info)

there is no Mushkin RAM listed in the QVL for that board at all, so the answer is no.

i guess i should choose something on the QVL to be safe? or should i try it out and see how it works?

i likes the Mushkin.
 
M

MWS Natural

Member
Psychotext said:
...and that worked like a charm. Fucking A!

:D
Click to expand...

Good choice, the best GPU out right now imo when it comes to power, value, cooling and overclocking. Really can't beat a card, that when overclocked, can go neck and neck with a gtx 285 for $200. I was looking towards the Dx11 cards but I couldn't be happier with my Toxic 4890, going to have it for a while.
 
B

BravoSuperStar

Member
Daigoro said:
yep. i just found that out, thanks for the tip. i learned something new today! (damn usefull info)

there is no Mushkin RAM listed in the QVL for that board at all, so the answer is no.

i guess i should choose something on the QVL to be safe? or should i try it out and see how it works?

i likes the Mushkin.
Click to expand...


It's not a guarantee they won't work, but there is a chance they won't and RMA'ing is a pain. It's really up to you, I like mushkin too, but Kingston and Corsair seem to be gold as far as compatibility.
 
D

Daigoro

Member
cool, thanks for the advice.

edit: im not really finding any Kingston on the QVL at 2 x2 Gigs. its all like three or one. ill figure it out though. just got to do more investigating.
 
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Ceebs said:
Got a suggestion for the X2 550 then? As of now I was going to go with one of the Xigmatek HSF combos.
Click to expand...
They are solid, no worries. (Except if you mount it sideways, then the coolant gets fucked :lol )
At least on the early ones anyway.
 
J

Janken

Member
Hai guys!

I'm looking for a good screen, and a cheap one! What are your suggestions? Oh, and which kind of screens are better? LCD, TFTs? Any other type whose acronym I completely ignore?

Thank you!
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
Janken said:
Hai guys!

I'm looking for a good screen, and a cheap one! What are your suggestions? Oh, and which kind of screens are better? LCD, TFTs? Any other type whose acronym I completely ignore?

Thank you!
Click to expand...


what size? resolution?

Are there any PC (pre-build) for $300 - $400? Something with a LCD. I dont care about specs. Thanks
Click to expand...

what are you looking to do with this?
 
G

gregor7777

Banned
My aging E2180 got a new lease on life tonight!

BSEL modded it from 2.0GHz->2.66GHz. I can put off replacing my old Dell motherboard for another day. :lol

Used a rear window defogger repair kit and this guide.

I'd go for 3.3GHz but I don't think I can vmod it for enough juice. Ah well.
 
T

Tacitus_

Member
So PC-GAF, I need a new monitor.

What's a good 22"+ widescreen monitor with HDMI or DVI (pref. both so I can hook up my X360 to it when I get it) in the 150-250 euro range?
 
J

Janken

Member
evil solrac v3.0 said:
what size? resolution?
Click to expand...
Medium to medium-big size and a decent resolution (I'm stuck at 1024x768 D:). What I'm looking for is precision and good image quality over anything else. It worries me that all the flat screens I've worked with have been blurry and imprecise, and I really need and want precision!

Thank you.
 
T

TheHeretic

Banned
Hazaro said:
Because the top 10 heatsinks are wrong :lol
Click to expand...

Based on what? Your opinion? Their testing methodology is the most variable free i've ever seen. Unless you have some evidence to back up what you are saying stop confusing people with idiotic one note remarks.
 
C

Christoff Yurievich

Member
question about a video card: says I need a 400w power supply but all of the ones I'm looking at have fans that point up...my computer case is enclosed in that direction. Is it possible to buy one that doesn't have that fan? Thanks.
 
D

Doytch

Member
allegate said:
question about a video card: says I need a 400w power supply but all of the ones I'm looking at have fans that point up...my computer case is enclosed in that direction. Is it possible to buy one that doesn't have that fan? Thanks.
Click to expand...

How do you know they point up? If you're just going by the picture, they generally have it upside down so you can see there's a fan on the underside.
 
B

BravoSuperStar

Member
allegate said:
question about a video card: says I need a 400w power supply but all of the ones I'm looking at have fans that point up...my computer case is enclosed in that direction. Is it possible to buy one that doesn't have that fan? Thanks.
Click to expand...


Uh, are you sure they point up when installed? Most power supplies are displayed showing what would be on the bottom when it's installed. And the only power supplies I know of that are totally fanless are weak 90 watt power bricks, etc.
 
D

dionysus

Yaldog
So with my new build, stock clocked i7 920, 4890, and 6GB, playing crysis on straight high settings with 2xAA I am getting about 30 fps with frequent dips in the low 20s. I am currently gaming at 1680x1050. I thought I would be getting much better performance. Should I?

Also about 3/4ths of my reboots end up with small white dots all over the screen (with higher density around moving objects like the mouse cursor) that eventually ends up in a blue screen of death. Running win 7. Could my graphics card be wonky? I've taken to never shutting off my computer once I get a satisfactory boot.
 
A

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
dionysus said:
So with my new build, stock clocked i7 920, 4890, and 6GB, playing crysis on straight high settings with 2xAA I am getting about 30 fps with frequent dips in the low 20s. I am currently gaming at 1680x1050. I thought I would be getting much better performance. Should I?
Click to expand...
I'm hardly an expert, but that sounds about right to me compared to my results. One thing I noticed is that I was getting big bumps in Crysis (~10 FPS up to 45-60 now) from OCing my GPU, so you may want to consider that if it's possible.
 
C

Christoff Yurievich

Member
and that's why I asked. :lol thanks for the insight. I have a stock computer from Dell so I don't have any experience with this sort of thing. Is there a brand of power supply that I should gravitate towards/stay away from?
 
B

brain_stew

Member
dionysus said:
So with my new build, stock clocked i7 920, 4890, and 6GB, playing crysis on straight high settings with 2xAA I am getting about 30 fps with frequent dips in the low 20s. I am currently gaming at 1680x1050. I thought I would be getting much better performance. Should I?

Also about 3/4ths of my reboots end up with small white dots all over the screen (with higher density around moving objects like the mouse cursor) that eventually ends up in a blue screen of death. Running win 7. Could my graphics card be wonky? I've taken to never shutting off my computer once I get a satisfactory boot.
Click to expand...

Download a custom config and get rid of the aa, the built in edgeAA set to 2 works much better anyway.

White dots or "snow" usually means your GPU has bad memory.
 
L

LegendofJoe

Member
I know this is a foolish question that I already know the answer to, but does anyone think it would be possible to run the Witcher on an integrated Intel 4500 MHD graphics chip?

Edit: My other specs btw are 2.10 GHz Intel Core2 Duo, 4096MB RAM, and up to 1759MB video memory.
 
D

dionysus

Yaldog
allegate said:
and that's why I asked. :lol thanks for the insight. I have a stock computer from Dell so I don't have any experience with this sort of thing. Is there a brand of power supply that I should gravitate towards/stay away from?
Click to expand...

I really like corsair power supplies. Good for cable management.

Thanks Brain_Stew. Looks like I will be sending in my GPU.
 
T

Technosteve

Banned
I need a pro tip on i7 vs the new i5 wtf is the difference, and should i wait for the i5's to come out and hope for a drop in i7 (250+) mobo prices to come down?
 
I

inner-G

Banned
dionysus said:
So with my new build, stock clocked i7 920, 4890, and 6GB, playing crysis on straight high settings with 2xAA I am getting about 30 fps with frequent dips in the low 20s. I am currently gaming at 1680x1050. I thought I would be getting much better performance. Should I?

Also about 3/4ths of my reboots end up with small white dots all over the screen (with higher density around moving objects like the mouse cursor) that eventually ends up in a blue screen of death. Running win 7. Could my graphics card be wonky? I've taken to never shutting off my computer once I get a satisfactory boot.
Click to expand...
I think Crysis is pretty biased towards nvidia GPU architecture too, so that could be a reason.
 
C

Ceebs

Member
Just got my new system up and running and was just wondering about CPU temps. I installed Mirrors Edge and it jumps to ~48C. That in a good range for an X2 550 on stock air?
 
F

Felix Lighter

Member
I want to newegg to quickly get a sense of what's out there and what things cost and I came up with this:

Motherboard ($259.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374
CPU ($279.99):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
Memory ($124.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227388
Videocard ($199.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102841
Power Supply ($79.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015
Harddrive ($74.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
BR Drive ($124.99): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136162
Case ($95.99):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811160008

Total: $1,240.92

This is outside of my budget ($1000.00) but I threw this together quickly and I've been out of the PC building world for awhile. I'm sure I've made plenty of stupid choices here and there are better or less expensive options that could bring the price down. The PC's primary function will be as a media center but obviously gaming is important as well. Any suggestions or anything I missed?
 
T

TheFightingFish

Member
I just had a quick question on PC power supplies for the build that I'm trying to put together. I was planning on doing something like brain_stew's $550 build (Phenom II X4, 4GB RAM, 4890) and I know that for that I don't need to over do it on the power supply (550W or so I would guess). But with an eye to the future I was figuring that if my computer needs a little more "ummph" in a year or two one of the best price / performance upgrades then might be to stick in another 4890 board and do the Crossfire thing while keeping all the other components.

So I was wondering, what type of a power supply should I be looking at that will support my current build and a possibly 2x 4890 down the road? I've been looking around, but I've not found much good info on power requirements for Crossfire setups. Or is this even a good idea for a possible upgrade?

edit: Actually managed to track down a pretty good 4890 CrossFire benchmarking article that listed what wattage to aim for. Article here if anyone else is interested. The benchmarks in the article do make it seem like this would be a pretty good upgrade for my machine sometime like a year from now when 4890s cost like $140 or possibly lower.
 
B

brain_stew

Member
TheFightingFish said:
I just had a quick question on PC power supplies for the build that I'm trying to put together. I was planning on doing something like brain_stew's $550 build (Phenom II X4, 4GB RAM, 4890) and I know that for that I don't need to over do it on the power supply (550W or so I would guess). But with an eye to the future I was figuring that if my computer needs a little more "ummph" in a year or two one of the best price / performance upgrades then might be to stick in another 4890 board and do the Crossfire thing while keeping all the other components.

So I was wondering, what type of a power supply should I be looking at that will support my current build and a possibly 2x 4890 down the road? I've been looking around, but I've not found much good info on power requirements for Crossfire setups. Or is this even a good idea for a possible upgrade?

edit: Actually managed to track down a pretty good 4890 CrossFire benchmarking article that listed what wattage to aim for. Article here if anyone else is interested. The benchmarks in the article do make it seem like this would be a pretty good upgrade for my machine sometime like a year from now when 4890s cost like $140 or possibly lower.
Click to expand...

Crossfire never usually makes sense as an upgrade path I find, you're far better off buying a faster single card.

Be aware that AFR that both Crossfire adn SLI use is honestly a pretty fundamentally broken approach to GPU scaling, it produces a high average framerate at the expense of a smooth ingame experience.
 
T

TheHeretic

Banned
TheFightingFish said:
I just had a quick question on PC power supplies for the build that I'm trying to put together. I was planning on doing something like brain_stew's $550 build (Phenom II X4, 4GB RAM, 4890) and I know that for that I don't need to over do it on the power supply (550W or so I would guess). But with an eye to the future I was figuring that if my computer needs a little more "ummph" in a year or two one of the best price / performance upgrades then might be to stick in another 4890 board and do the Crossfire thing while keeping all the other components.

So I was wondering, what type of a power supply should I be looking at that will support my current build and a possibly 2x 4890 down the road? I've been looking around, but I've not found much good info on power requirements for Crossfire setups. Or is this even a good idea for a possible upgrade?

edit: Actually managed to track down a pretty good 4890 CrossFire benchmarking article that listed what wattage to aim for. Article here if anyone else is interested. The benchmarks in the article do make it seem like this would be a pretty good upgrade for my machine sometime like a year from now when 4890s cost like $140 or possibly lower.
Click to expand...

http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,6...rent-multi-GPU-technologies/Grafikkarte/Test/

http://www.overclockers.com/index.p...:microstutter&catid=60:videocards&Itemid=4266

Frame rates are misleading with SLi and Crossfire, and for the most part its a dead end technology.
 
Buggy Loop

Buggy Loop

Member
So, should one simply buy cheaper non crossfire/sli motherboards and stick to a fast single card GPU ? Isnt the extra cash potentially good in the future whenenever your system starts to slow down and you slap a 2nd very cheap (i guess it would drop down in price a LOT after say 2 years) in there to get extra life?

Also, physx is dead i guess?

Btw, that micro stuttering stuffs, it affects sli and crossfire only or also multi GPUs on a single card?
 
T

TheHeretic

Banned
Buggy Loop said:
So, should one simply buy cheaper non crossfire/sli motherboards and stick to a fast single card GPU ? Isnt the extra cash potentially good in the future whenenever your system starts to slow down and you slap a 2nd very cheap (i guess it would drop down in price a LOT after say 2 years) in there to get extra life?

Also, physx is dead i guess?
Click to expand...

Cards only get so cheap. The 9800 is still 100 bucks, whereas one of the best cards on the market, the 4890 can be had for $190. A 4870 is $150, and is a significantly better card than the 9800.

At the end of the day these cards are still expensive to make and can only go down in price to a certain level. Buying another one later on is rarely, if ever, a rewarding payoff as opposed to just getting a brand new card two generations later.

Micro stuttering occurs on any multi-gpu setup, single card or dual.
 
Buggy Loop

Buggy Loop

Member
Interesting, so i might aswell dont spend extra $ on crossfire/sli compatible mobo+psu, nice!

Planning on buying a new PC at around end of december or early october, when are we supposed to see the GT300 or HD 5XXX ?
 
S

Servizio

I don't really need a tag, but I figured I'd get one to make people jealous. Is it working?
Does this thread do tech support?

I have a computer that had a video card go bad on it. I replaced the video card, then the pair of RAID'd hard drives apparently went out. I tried to run chkdisk through the WinXP install disk, but apparently it can't "see" the hard drives, as it doesn't have the RAID driver. You're supposed to be able to load those drivers up on a floppy and load them during setup. Only the floppy drive doesn't work. Fine, I'll use a program called nLite that lets make your own custom WinXP install disk with whatever drivers you need. This also does not work.

Fine. I'll get a new hard drive, maybe one non-raid'd drive will be visible where two RAID'd ones would not. It isn't. Alright, I'll try a Win7 install disk. This cannot see the new hard drive either, but it will load the RAID drivers from the DVD-ROM. The RAID drivers load! It still can't see the new hard drive.

I am sad and frustrated. Should probably just buy a new motherboard/cpu for the thing.
 
J

Janken

Member
SuperEnemyCrab said:
For those looking to get a good, but affordable monitor I suggest this:

Acer H233Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 40000:1 (ACM) Built in Speakers

You can find it on sale usually for around $180 or so. Good colors, no lag when gaming and it's a 16:9 format which is perfect if you are planning on hooking up a Xbox 360 or PS3.
Click to expand...
Thank you! Uh. This Errol guy tells the speakers have a sucky audio quality. I don't like that. Do any of you have this screen and are happy with it? If anyone has anything else to suggest, it would be cool.
 
R

Ryoma-Echizen

Member
AMD Phenom II 965BE 3.4Ghz reviews:

Two reviews:
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3619&p=3
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-965,2389-6.html

For games just look at toms (at least they use 1680x1050/1920x1200 4x AA HIGH and not the worthless medium that anand tends to use).

HD4870X2
image034.png


image036.png


image038.png


image041.png



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103692&Tpk=Phenom II 965
$249
 
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