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[Alex]

I got a simple question.

I got 4 gigs of ram, but due to my 32 bit OS, it only shows up as 3.25.

Is it worth upgrading from XP pro to Vista so it can see the full payout? I haven't kept up with OS's at all, just that I don't notice the same stigma and hatred given to Vista anymore.

 

[lowlylowlycook]

thanks, I'll mess around and see if I get it to drop below or close to $500.

MSI 4850 + MSI 785GTM-E45 mATX case
Antec case with 380W PSU + AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3
4 GB RAM
750 GB Western Digital Black HD
DVD drive

Total $466 or $451 after MiR.

I got a simple question.

I got 4 gigs of ram, but due to my 32 bit OS, it only shows up as 3.25.

Is it worth upgrading from XP pro to Vista so it can see the full payout? I haven't kept up with OS's at all, just that I don't notice the same stigma and hatred given to Vista anymore.

Vistsa is fine but W7 is better.

 

[aznpxdd]

I need a recommendation for a good gaming laptop, size/weight/battery life is not an issue, as its gonna be more like a desktop replacement. My budget is probably around $1500. Help me GAF, as I don't really keep up with the mobile scene!

 

[Linkhero1]

MSI 4850 + MSI 785GTM-E45 mATX case
Antec case with 380W PSU + AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3
4 GB RAM
750 GB Western Digital Black HD
DVD drive

Total $466 or $451 after MiR.



Vistsa is fine but W7 is better.

People complain about that particular graphic card being too big. Any other ones that are as good?

 

[Hazaro]

People complain about that particular graphic card being too big. Any other ones that are as good?

Everything else is bigger. iirc the 4850 is the smallest card that fits in smaller cases and the most powerful unless you can spare an extra cm for a 4870.

As long as it fits and doesn't hit the HDD cases it doesn't matter imo. (Even then some people were cutting cases to fit 8800GT's :lol )

 

[lowlylowlycook]

People complain about that particular graphic card being too big. Any other ones that are as good?

I don't know if it is longer than other 4850s. Anyway it was picked to save you money and any 4850 should be fine barring Sapphires which seem to implode.

 

[zbarron]

I want to build a new PC since my brother's PC died and I'm giving him my old Dell. I have never built a PC before so I don't know much. I don't need it to be high end really but good enough to run some Steam games like Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2. I do not play much PC games either. All I do is watch anime and movies. My limit is probably around $500.

I would like to know what parts I would need in order to build a PC and if someone can help me choose parts. I posted in the other thread, but I think this thread is much better since lots of people post here. Thanks.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/17571/2
This is a good system but it might be a bit over budget.

 

[Q8D3vil]

cant seems to get 5.1 channels from my onboard audio card in the motherboard (evga x58)

do i need to buy sound card to get 5.1
if so recommend me good cheap card

 

[Cheeto]

cant seems to get 5.1 channels from my onboard audio card in the motherboard (evga x58)

do i need to buy sound card to get 5.1
if so recommend me good cheap card

No you don't need a sound card. Which output are you using? Easiest way is to use either S/PDIF Outs.

 

[brain_stew]

No you don't need a sound card. Which output are you using? Easiest way is to use either S/PDIF Outs.

Its really not as then you'll be restricted to stereo in games unless your onboard audio codec supports Dolby Digital Live, even then, you're restricting yourself to compressed audio when you don't need to be.

Connect the three analog outs, update your audio drivers (probably Realtek) and configure through the control panel.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Has anyone heard anything about the ASUS P7P55D LE motherboard? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131410

I was wondering if it's any good, it's hard to find reviews on it.

The rest of his build is core i5 (The 2.66 one.) and 1600 ddr3 kingston ram.

 

[Chairhome]

Man, you guys always make me want to upgrade my stuff!

I'm looking to upgrade my CPU and mobo, I have an Acer I bought a few years ago with an AMD Athlon X2 4400+ and a mobo that won't let me OC (which I've never done but am very interested in doing). I would like to keep the case (because I'm cheap), unless the mobo I buy for some reason doesn't fit into it.

Question on the CPU and mobo. Is there anything I should be keeping an eye out for when looking at the motherboards?

Also, I just did a quick look at CPUs, and I'm looking at these two (1) and (2). I mainly use it for gaming, but I do use it for some image processing and video encoding. Is it worth the extra $70 for me to get the one with L3 Cache?

Thanks in advance.

 

[JohnsonUT]

http://techreport.com/articles.x/17571/2
This is a good system but it might be a bit over budget.

Thanks for posting this. I may buy this combination.

As for monitors, how important is it to get a monitor with resolutions that you can run the games in? I have seen the ASUS 1080P VGA/DVI-D/HDMI heavily recommended (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059), but I don't know if the resolution is a good fit if I were to use the system you linked to.

 

[Cheeto]

Its really not as then you'll be restricted to stereo in games unless your onboard audio codec supports Dolby Digital Live, even then, you're restricting yourself to compressed audio when you don't need to be.

Connect the three analog outs, update your audio drivers (probably Realtek) and configure through the control panel.

That's confusing... it seems to work okay for me. I didn't have to do anything beside point the realtek control to it.

 

[brain_stew]

Thanks for posting this. I may buy this combination.

As for monitors, how important is it to get a monitor with resolutions that you can run the games in? I have seen the ASUS 1080P VGA/DVI-D/HDMI heavily recommended (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059), but I don't know if the resolution is a good fit if I were to use the system you linked to.

Most 1080p monitors will scale 720p pretty damn well, so its not the end of the world if you have to drop back from that. For an extra $30 though you can have a GPU that will play the majority of games on the market at 1080p just fine. So, no need to compromise:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4150436&cm_re=4870_1GB-_-14-150-436-_-Product


Oh, and have a read of this:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13671

 

[brain_stew]

That's confusing... it seems to work okay for me. I didn't have to do anything beside point the realtek control to it.

You're almost certainly not getting proper multi channel audio in games then. SPDIF connections only support compressed multi channel formats (DD and DTS) and Stereo PCM.

 

[Cheeto]

You're almost certainly not getting proper multi channel audio in games then. SPDIF connections only support compressed multi channel formats (DD and DTS) and Stereo PCM.

Oh ok, do I have another option going to a Onkyo TX-605 receiver?

 

[JohnsonUT]

For an extra $30 though you can have a GPU that will play the majority of games on the market at 1080p just fine. So, no need to compromise:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4150436&cm_re=4870_1GB-_-14-150-436-_-Product

Would the 380 Watt power still be adequate?

 

[Yazus]

Ok guys I have a serious problem. I have a Fujitsu Siemens Scaleo P with a E4500 Core 2 Duo, GeForce 8400GS 120MB and 2GB of Ram. I have a 360W shit PSU.

Now thats the story: I bought this PC some years ago and not satisfied by the video card, I bougt a 4850 512MB some months ago. I removed the 8400 and used the 4850 for some time, it was a HUGE upgrade for me (I only play World of Warcraft these days). But then, the PSU started having problems, the pins I attached to the GPU didnt transfer enough power so the only way was to re install the old 8400. Now everything is ok, but fuck this PC is starting doing weird stuff like BSOD with no text, randoom reboot or PC Shutting down. Formatting didnt help. Drivers are all OK. What do I do?

I know with 400$ since I already own the video card I can get away with a good PC for what I do with it, but shit I cant get spare 400$ lately, and I need at least a stable PC.

Is ok to buy a 50$ Corsair 450W PSU and try to install the 4850? Is this only a PSU problem or could be related to faulty RAM etc?

 

[Q8D3vil]

No you don't need a sound card. Which output are you using? Easiest way is to use either S/PDIF Outs.

look like im tried my new home theater the wrong way
tried it with some anime and its amazing

but i need to know if i need to change some setting in the quality of the audio ( to reach the best quality my pc can give )

btw im using optical and its the best

i have question since im sound noob
how can i enable eax effects and will they work in 5.1 home theater ( dts , 5.1 sorround )

thanks

 

[vg260]

What's a good 1.5TB SATA drive?
Many years ago I ditched Western Digital (several failures) in favor of Seagate, and have been extremely pleased, but I haven't bought a new one in a long time. I hear now that recent Seagate drives (>1 TB?) are destined to fail. Can someone enlighten me and/or give some recommendations? Thanks!

 

[Confusatron]

I've got a power supply question (to build off of my previous video card + 3d vision question). I'm currently running the following:
C2D E8400
4GB ram
Geforce 8800GT
2 HDs
550W power supply

If I step up to a Geforce 275GTX, will my 550W power supply be enough?

 

[DietRob]

If I step up to a Geforce 275GTX, will my 550W power supply be enough?

I was told earlier in the thread that my 550w psu would support a 275GTX.

 

[Elhandro]

I've got a power supply question (to build off of my previous video card + 3d vision question). I'm currently running the following:
C2D E8400
4GB ram
Geforce 8800GT
2 HDs
550W power supply

If I step up to a Geforce 275GTX, will my 550W power supply be enough?

I have a 450W and Someone just told me that I would be ok with the GT275. The min PS on newegg is 550 though.

 

[Agent Ironside]

I've got a power supply question (to build off of my previous video card + 3d vision question). I'm currently running the following:
C2D E8400
4GB ram
Geforce 8800GT
2 HDs
550W power supply

If I step up to a Geforce 275GTX, will my 550W power supply be enough?

Yeah should be, as long as its a good branded PSU that actually puts out around 550w. Also check on the 12v rail specs, thats very important as well.

 

[Elhandro]

Actually, your RAM and power supply should be fine. 4GB is still plenty right now, and I think (you might want to get a second opinion) that your power supply should handle a decent graphics card since Corsair makes good PSUs.

I'd look into a GTX 260/275 or Radeon 4890, and if you want to go further, upgrade the processor to a Phenom II X4.

My Main two concerns are that the newer GC wont fit into my HTPC case and I havenot be been able to track down any dimensions on the newer cards.

Also on Newegg the 275 requires a powersupply of 550W......is 450W really enough.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rohlfinator]

My Main two concerns are that the newer GC wont fit into my HTPC case and I havenot be been able to track down any dimensions on the newer cards.

The 260 and 275 are about 10.5" long and the 4890 is about 9.5".

Also on Newegg the 275 requires a powersupply of 550W......is 450W really enough.

Those listings are usually overestimated to account for all the crappy PSUs out there -- your Corsair is a good brand and should be able to handle it without any trouble.

One other thing -- brain_stew mentioned it earlier, but you might want to hold off a bit until ATi's new cards come out. The 5850 will be about the same length/power consumption as a 4890, but it'll perform quite a bit better, and it'll be around $300.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

I had so much difficulty installing the stock heatsink on this core 2 quad that in the process, I snapped off one of the plastic pins that secures it to the motherboard. I picked up a 3rd party heat sink and broke that one too. How the heck are you supposed to install these? I can never get all 4 pins to go in.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

I had so much difficulty installing the stock heatsink on this core 2 quad that in the process, I snapped off one of the plastic pins that secures it to the motherboard. I picked up a 3rd party heat sink and broke that one too. How the heck are you supposed to install these? I can never get all 4 pins to go in.

It seriously sounds like you're doing something wrong when you're doing this. Are they lined up with the holes when you push on them?

 

[Parallax Scroll]

It's hard to tell. There's too much shit in the way. I'm probably better off installing the hsf first and then putting the board in the case, but I've already got the board in there.

I wonder if I can salvage either of these.

 

[Swag]

Just got my parts in the mail from newegg, going to assemble after class. Hopefully nothing goes wrong, had to call a friend to come help me .

The case I got though is HUGE, it must be like 30 inches long. Those pics on Newegg don't do these things justice.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

It's hard to tell. There's too much shit in the way. I'm probably better off installing the hsf first and then putting the board in the case, but I've already got the board in there.

I wonder if I can salvage either of these.

It's only like 4-6 screws holding it in place... Are you doing diagonals when installing? That should help.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

BTW, how long does arctic silver 5 last? Am I gonna need to clean this and reapply it? I've been at this for a while.

 

[Blackface]

I had so much difficulty installing the stock heatsink on this core 2 quad that in the process, I snapped off one of the plastic pins that secures it to the motherboard. I picked up a 3rd party heat sink and broke that one too. How the heck are you supposed to install these? I can never get all 4 pins to go in.

It's very difficult to install the push pin HSF's on various motherboards. When I was putting together a computer for a friend of mine, I put almost my entire body weight into securing it, while he had to hold it (and fuck his hand up) from the bottom so the board would not snap in half.

It's the wrong way to do it, but it simply was not working any other way.

In contrast when I was building a computer for another friend, the stock HSF popped in with ease.

It all depends on the motherboard.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

BTW, how long does arctic silver 5 last? Am I gonna need to clean this and reapply it? I've been at this for a while.

Every time you mess up I would clean off and reapply otherwise you can get air gaps and cause it to overheat.

 

[Agent Ironside]

It's hard to tell. There's too much shit in the way. I'm probably better off installing the hsf first and then putting the board in the case, but I've already got the board in there.

I wonder if I can salvage either of these.

Heres the deal, make sure and put the HSF on the board out of the case, this is the best way to do it. When taking the HSF out of the box, do not touch the push pins, they should be in the right place. Now, all you do is push one down enough to where you hear a crunch sound, then after you do, turn the board over and inspect that the little black nub is through the bottom of the push pin, do that with all of them, should be a piece of cake.

On a side note, the new i5/i7 HSF is sooo much better, the push pins arnt near as flimsy, nice solid feel.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

Heres the deal, make sure and put the HSF on the board out of the case, this is the best way to do it. When taking the HSF out of the box, do not touch the push pins, they should be in the right place. Now, all you do is push one down enough to where you hear a crunch sound, then after you do, turn the board over and inspect that the little black nub is through the bottom of the push pin, do that with all of them, should be a piece of cake.

On a side note, the new i5/i7 HSF is sooo much better, the push pins arnt near as flimsy, nice solid feel.

Well the 3rd party HSF I picked up came with an AMD bracket mounted on it, so I had to remove that and put the socket 775 pieces on first. The instructions blew, it was like, 1. install the AMD bracket, 2. remove the AMD bracket, 3. install the intel bracket. The instructions made no goddamn sense.

This is the HSF I used:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835124021

I'm pretty sure I'll need to pick up a 3rd one. What HSF isn't a POS? I don't even want to overclock it.

 

[Agent Ironside]

Well the 3rd party HSF I picked up came with an AMD bracket mounted on it, so I had to remove that and put the socket 775 pieces on first. The instructions blew, it was like, 1. install the AMD bracket, 2. remove the AMD bracket, 3. install the intel bracket. The instructions made no goddamn sense.

This is the HSF I used:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835124021

I'm pretty sure I'll need to pick up a 3rd one. What HSF isn't a POS? I don't even want to overclock it.

What happend to the original one? I havnt paid attention to the thread too much so sorry if you had mentioned already (EDIT:nvm you broke it.) If you are not overclocking, the stock Intel heatsink is perfectly fine.

In any case, here is the one I use.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

Its plenty awesome, I have my Q6600 to 3.6 with just that. Its cheap too, in a good way.

 

[zbarron]

Oh ok, do I have another option going to a Onkyo TX-605 receiver?

If you are running a 4800 series Ati card your best bet is running it through HDMI. You can get lossless 7.1 audio. If you do not have that you can buy a few of these

and run it through analog 5.1 or 7.1.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

I was directed to this thread from the 5800 one as I need help building up my machine for when I buy a 5850.

I'm currently running a machine that has a 3600 in it so I'm pretty sure I'll need to upgrade nearly everything to get the most out of it? I can't afford anything obscenely expensive, so a middle ground build that would set me back maybe £150-£200 if possible?

My knowledge of PC components is extremely limited, so I apologise in advance. I got my PC specs off EVEREST and I think this is all the info you'd need:

CPU Type: DualCore Intel Pentium D 945, 3400 MHz (17 x 200)
Motherboard Name: Intel Tappen D945GTP
Video Adapter: Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 512MB DDR2
Memory: 3.5gb

Thanks in advance

 

[Cheeto]

If you are running a 4800 series Ati card your best bet is running it through HDMI. You can get lossless 7.1 audio. If you do not have that you can buy a few of these
[IMG.]http://rcaaudiocable.com/images/rca_audio_cable.jpg[/IMG]
and run it through analog 5.1 or 7.1.

hmm, I do have a 4830 in my HTPC, however my current setup has HDMI video signals going straight to the TV since my the HDMI PCB in the receiver is fucked. I could send it in for warranty repair, but I don't really feel like being without a receiver for months...my remote takes care of all the switching once it's programed so its not an issue.

So, 3 rca cables will give me lossless audio? Interesting, I'm not audio freak, but I would have never guessed that that would be the best solution.

 

[Shambles]

If you are running a 4800 series Ati card your best bet is running it through HDMI. You can get lossless 7.1 audio. If you do not have that you can buy a few of these

and run it through analog 5.1 or 7.1.

Also depends on what resolution your monitor is running. If you're running a non-standard TV resolution expect some issues with the 605 messing with the video as it goes through the receiver. Still haven't been able to get it working properly with my 1680x1050 and as a result am just running compressed audio over digital coaxial to avoid the massive headaches of trying to get my computer to go through my receiver properly. Also thanks to Windows 7 completely screwing with audio once again, the SP/DIF does not work properly on my sound card.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

So, 3 rca cables will give me lossless audio? Interesting, I'm not audio freak, but I would have never guessed that that would be the best solution.

Analog audio, not digital.

 

[Elhandro]

The 260 and 275 are about 10.5" long and the 4890 is about 9.5".


Those listings are usually overestimated to account for all the crappy PSUs out there -- your Corsair is a good brand and should be able to handle it without any trouble.

One other thing -- brain_stew mentioned it earlier, but you might want to hold off a bit until ATi's new cards come out. The 5850 will be about the same length/power consumption as a 4890, but it'll perform quite a bit better, and it'll be around $300.

I just checked. My Asus 9800GT is only 9" long and its a very tight fit. Im screwed. I do not want to buy a new case.

Thanks for all your help though.

 

[rohlfinator]

I just checked. My Asus 9800GT is only 9" long and its a very tight fit. Im screwed. I do not want to buy a new case.

Yeah, unless you're willing to mod your case, you're probably out of luck. There are a few cards that might perform better in that size, but they're not going to be a big enough improvement to make much of a difference.

I'd suggest keeping an eye out for more details on the Radeon 5770, though. It should be sub-9", and the rumors would put it at almost 2x the performance of your 9800GT, so that would probably be your best upgrade option in the near future.

 

[Swag]

Me and my roomate are trying to hook up the front panel power connectors to this motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128401

We can't figure out though if the connectors are color co - ordinated, they have colored stripes on the wiring ( Blue, Red, Green, Grey, Grey / White ) but we can't figure out if the connectors go into their respective colors on the motherboard f panel input or if we should go with whats written on the small text underneath the f panel input on the Mobo.

 

[brain_stew]

Analog audio, not digital.

It needs to be converted to analog at some point anyway, there's no real inherent loss in quality using the analog outs.

 

[Technosteve]

Me and my roomate are trying to hook up the front panel power connectors to this motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128401

We can't figure out though if the connectors are color co - ordinated, they have colored stripes on the wiring ( Blue, Red, Green, Grey, Grey / White ) but we can't figure out if the connectors go into their respective colors on the motherboard f panel input or if we should go with whats written on the small text underneath the f panel input on the Mobo.

use what's written on the mother board, the plus pin (i think) is the one marked, you just have to match the connector to the pin. That mobo is cheap as hell to think last month i spent 200+ on a gigabyte x58 board =(

 

[Stantron]

I'm planning on getting a new desktop when Windows 7 drops. Need advice...
When building a system, is it wise to get a Solid State Drive as the primary drive to boot and run apps from? I assume it will make the OS and apps boot/launch quicker, but I've heard that SSDs are slower than traditional drives at other read/write tasks. Not sure if this is also the case with top of the line SSDs. Also, I assume SSDs are much more reliable and less power consuming than disc drives since no moving parts. Anyone have input on this?

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

Hi guys.
I am getting laid off soon so I don't have much money to build a new system. I'm not looking for a beast of a machine I just want something more up to date than can hopefully run a game like RAGE and decent settings. Or a system than can be upgraded to do so at a later date for cheap.

Instead of doing weeks of research, I took the easy way out and picked this up from Tiger Direct. ($345 incl ship)

1x Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H AMD785G Socket AM2+ MotherBoard
1x AMD Athlon II X2 240 2.8Ghz AM3 CPU
1x ULTRA 2048MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHZ
1x WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G
1x XFX Radeon HD 4650 1GB DDR2 PCIe Dual Link DVI
1x Power Up Black ATX Mid-T Case w/450w & Clear Side

I plan on running Windows 7 as my OS which I can get at a discount (maybe free) since I'm about to go back to school. I'll run the beta until then.

I already have a nice Lite On DVD Burner w/ Light Scribe.


I have some questions:

The motherboard supports Hybrid CrossFire and has an on-board ATI Radeon HD 4200 so, I'm assuming I can run the HD 4650 with the on-board card in Crossfire mode correct?

I'll probably upgrade the ram to 16GB later on.
If I decided to do this now what would be the best bang for my buck or will 8 GB suffice?

This Athlon II X2 can run Windows7 64bit version right?

The card has two DVI outs, so am I correct in assuming I can connect one out to my GDM-FW900 monitor via VGA and one to my Wega XS955 TV via HDMI?

What is a good quality Blue-tooth enabled Mouse and Keyboard for cheap?