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[Clever Pun]

You won't notice much of a difference. Just buy the cheapest card with a good cooling solution so you'll have some room to overclock. I always go for the 'budget performance' level cards because they're usually just an underclocked version of the premium part.

Sounds good, I think that's the confirmation I was looking for

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Ok, last question regarding this card (I'm sending it back tomorrow anyway ):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

This is the RAM I have. Is it at all possible this can be causing unplayable framerates at high settings or having games suggest I use 800x600? I'm just trying to rule everything out.

Edit: Ok, never mind. It must be the card. I reset all of my BIOS options to default and the framerate seems to stay about the same in ATI Tool...if it were the RAM, CPU or motherboard the framerate should have dropped when resetting to default values right? What's weirder is I'm getting a higher framerate in ATI Tool than I was when I first got the card, when I had the CPU at 3.2ghz compared to the 2.6 it is now. Hopefully the replacement works fine because I've had about enough of the 9800 already :lol

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Ok, last question regarding this card (I'm sending it back tomorrow anyway ):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

This is the RAM I have. Is it at all possible this can be causing unplayable framerates at high settings or having games suggest I use 800x600? I'm just trying to rule everything out.

Edit: Ok, never mind. It must be the card. I reset all of my BIOS options to default and the framerate seems to stay about the same in ATI Tool...if it were the RAM, CPU or motherboard the framerate should have dropped when resetting to default values right? What's weirder is I'm getting a higher framerate in ATI Tool than I was when I first got the card, when I had the CPU at 3.2ghz compared to the 2.6 it is now. Hopefully the replacement works fine because I've had about enough of the 9800 already :lol

Doubtful. You run memtestx86 on that RAM?

Either way...... best to RMA the bitch and be done with it.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Doubtful. You run memtestx86 on that RAM?

Either way...... best to RMA the bitch and be done with it.

Nah I never tested the RAM. I probably should but eh...I wasn't having these problems on my 8600.

Yeah I'm definitely sending it back. It's been a really weird card. One time I actually had it running great and I'm not sure why. It was giving me 30fps in Crysis Warhead on high but it would overheat (without overclocking). After I restarted the computer the framerate dropped back down and it stopped overheating. That's part of the reason I delayed sending it back since I saw how it *could* perform, but it was only once it did that. It's almost like some cooling option is holding the card back, even though they're all disabled.

I still think my PSU could possibly have something to do with it, even though it's 500w with enough amps...if I bought my hardware locally it'd be much easier to figure all this out :lol

 

[VictimOfGrief]

You have a fan running on your video card area from like the side of your case?

 

[Ysiadmihi]

No, I've mostly had the side of my case off since I got the card, but putting the side on barely makes a difference.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Jog my memory (no pun :lol ) you get this off Newegg?

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Yup.

Edit: One thing I haven't noted is that the framerate seems to fluctuate wildly a lot of times. If I'm standing still in WoW, I get 60fps but without moving, it will randomly drop to 50fps every few seconds. If I run 3D view in ATI Tool, the FPS goes from 950 to 1050 then down to 850 and repeats.

 

[Labombadog]

I figured as much that it was your card that was bad. Anyways, im glad you finally RMA'ed it. Today I purchased a 4850 from newegg. Cant wait!

 

[Ysiadmihi]

One thing I don't understand is that if the card is faulty, how come I can get like 150fps in WoW (v-sync off) on max settings but the second I rotate the camera it drops to 0 for about half a second. Stuff like that still gives me doubt that the card is messed up :lol

 

[Labombadog]

Thats nuts. But I am still leaning that its the GPU's fault. Are you getting the same GPU?

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Yeah. If I wanted to get a different card, would I have to do the refund instead? I didn't go that route because I don't want to pay the restocking fee.

 

[Hazaro]

Yeah. If I wanted to get a different card, would I have to do the refund instead? I didn't go that route because I don't want to pay the restocking fee.

Newegg doesn't have restocking fees. If you ask nicely.

 

[ElfoMan]

Please, help me with my airflow:

Red rectangles, fans are currently located; yellow available spaces where I could change them.

Also, which one should be facing out and which ones should be facing in?
Should the fan in the CPU Heatsink be throwing are into the heatsink or out? (left or right?)

(click for clean pic)


Here's how they are currently throwing air:
1 Left
2 Up
3 Right
4 Right
5 Out
A No Fan
B No Fan

btw, all of them are 120mm

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Shouldn't 4 be drawing air into the case rather than blowing it out?

 

[Kadey]

Please, help me with my airflow:

Red rectangles, fans are currently located; yellow available spaces where I could change them.

Also, which one should be facing out and which ones should be facing in?
Should the fan in the CPU Heatsink be throwing are into the heatsink or out? (left or right?)

(click for clean pic)


Here's how they are currently throwing air:
1 Left
2 Up
3 Right
4 Right
5 Out
A No Fan
B No Fan

btw, all of them are 120mm

Looks similiar to mine so it looks alright.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

another dumb question,

are there any water coolers for video cards? would they be worth it?

 

[Hazaro]

Please, help me with my airflow:

Red rectangles, fans are currently located; yellow available spaces where I could change them.

Here's how they SHOULD BE throwing air:
1 Left
2 Up
3 LEFT
4 LEFT
5 I personally had it as intake and it reduced my GPU temp by 2C, since you have another opening on the side up higher you can do it if you want. If it adds some noise you don't want you can remove it also.
A No Fan
B No Fan

Your PC has negative pressure. The only air that is coming into it is coming from cracks in the case. This is not good as dust gets in places you don't want it to be.

another dumb question,

are there any water coolers for video cards? would they be worth it?

Yes. No.

 

[mileS]

Have you tried to run old XP games on Vista Ultimate? (it's the 64 one?).
I plan on some GTR2, Sim City 4, etc

Looks like I want a Core i7. That's starting somewhere. I'm really pissed to be buying a PC right before an OS change though. (Windows 7)

dude i'm in the same place you are right now. I don't really want to spend over $1500 and I want something that will last me. The only thing i've decided on so far is the i7.

and I used to think I was good with computers :lol looking at all the different parts online lately I find myself completely lost.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

I asked this a few pages back but didn't get an answer:

I'm thinking of getting an AM2+ CPU for my motherboard but the website for my board says:

"*Note: If you install AMD AM2+ CPU on AM2 motherbord, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0(5200MHz) to HT1.0(2000 MT/s) spec; however, the frequency of AM2+ CPU will not be impacted. Please refer "CPU Support List" for more information."

Is this a big deal? I understand it's probably a better idea to get a new motherboard and Intel CPU but if I can upgrade to an AM2+ chip for cheap, would it be a worthy upgrade over a X2 5000+ BE?

 

[rohlfinator]

Please, help me with my airflow:

Red rectangles, fans are currently located; yellow available spaces where I could change them.

Also, which one should be facing out and which ones should be facing in?
Should the fan in the CPU Heatsink be throwing are into the heatsink or out? (left or right?)

The rule of thumb I've heard is that front and side fans should pull in, top and back fans should push out.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Please, help me with my airflow:

Red rectangles, fans are currently located; yellow available spaces where I could change them.

Also, which one should be facing out and which ones should be facing in?
Should the fan in the CPU Heatsink be throwing are into the heatsink or out? (left or right?)

(click for clean pic)


Here's how they are currently throwing air:
1 Left
2 Up
3 Right
4 Right
5 Out
A No Fan
B No Fan

btw, all of them are 120mm

How they should be flowing:
1 - Left : This is correct. You always want the rear fan to be an exhaust for the rest of the case.
2 - Up : Correct as you want positive pressure in the case (less dust)
3 - Left : Your fan is not placed correctly. You need to have air flow through the fins of your heatsink on your CPU and then vent out the back #1 fan for maximum efficenincy.
4 - Left : Again, incorrect position. You want the front fan to suck cold air in to blow across the system board and components and follow the trail of air either out the top or out the back of the case.
5 - In : You should just flip that fan so it is blow air in right onto your GPU and again pushing as much air through your case creating positive pressure.

A : Second 120MM fan if you choose so. I will have 2 120MM fans on the side of my CM690.

B : I personally would buy another 120MM fan to put there.

Looks like you have a Cool Master case. As soon as I get my gear in, I'll diagram my flow layout. In the meantime, check on Newegg for some Scythe 120MM fans and get maximum air flow through your case.

Last question---- This on the floor or on your desk?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

I asked this a few pages back but didn't get an answer:

I'm thinking of getting an AM2+ CPU for my motherboard but the website for my board says:

"*Note: If you install AMD AM2+ CPU on AM2 motherbord, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0(5200MHz) to HT1.0(2000 MT/s) spec; however, the frequency of AM2+ CPU will not be impacted. Please refer "CPU Support List" for more information."

Is this a big deal? I understand it's probably a better idea to get a new motherboard and Intel CPU but if I can upgrade to an AM2+ chip for cheap, would it be a worthy upgrade over a X2 5000+ BE?

Says to me that the only thing that will get degraded is the Hyper Transport #s right?

It would be cheaper to get an AM2+ instead of buying a new board/cpu.

 

[Irulan]

I asked this a few pages back but didn't get an answer:

I'm thinking of getting an AM2+ CPU for my motherboard but the website for my board says:

"*Note: If you install AMD AM2+ CPU on AM2 motherbord, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0(5200MHz) to HT1.0(2000 MT/s) spec; however, the frequency of AM2+ CPU will not be impacted. Please refer "CPU Support List" for more information."

Is this a big deal? I understand it's probably a better idea to get a new motherboard and Intel CPU but if I can upgrade to an AM2+ chip for cheap, would it be a worthy upgrade over a X2 5000+ BE?

AM2 "only" supports HyperTransport 1.0, AM2+ supports HyperTransport 3.0, which is backwards compatible with 1.0. Your CPU will work, but the busspeed will be lower, which will impact the performance some, but that will probably only be noticable in benchmark results.

 

[Hazaro]

Text

dem my werdz :kittownfaec:

 

[JimmyV]

another dumb question,

are there any water coolers for video cards? would they be worth it?

yep, there are water cooling heat sinks for video cards. To be completely honest though, unless you have multiple cards and your computer is getting so hot the fans cant keep it cool, its really not worth it. BUT it doesn't hurt and it can make the inside look neater.

 

[JimmyV]

Looks similiar to mine so it looks alright.

Aw, whats that little Hello Kitty thing inside?

 

[Ranger X]

Ok you experts, this is the best bundle i've found in Canada (99% of store don't even have Core i7 so far).

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4323559&CatId=114

WidowPC WGMI-2X5800 Gaming Desktop PC
- Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz, Asus P6T, 3GB DDR3-1333, 1TB SATA2, DVDRW, NVIDIA 9800GT, ExpressGate, 2x Gigabit LAN, Media Reader, 580W, Vista Home Premium 64-bit

-2209$ CAN.


Isn't it overpriced? Do you know of some better bundles? Can bundles get modified at TigerDirect? ( I would like cheaper DDR2 for now and a smaller hard drive)

.

 

[arstal]

The Asus G71G laptop I've seen looks similar, slightly slower processor, but about $400 cheaper American. (US to Canada exchange rate is still roughly 1:1 right?)

 

[itxaka]

Hey guys, let me know if this is good. I have little to no idea what I'm doing, this is based on suggestions from friends. I need my computer to be good at rendering first and foremost. Is this setup good for that?

Anyway check it out:

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner
Cool Master Case
PSU:BFG 800W
RAM:OCZ Platinum 4GB
MoBo:GIGABYTE GA-EP45
CPU:Intel Core i7 920
Case fan
Another fan
GPU:GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB

oh man, I want a Corei7 :_(

My pc purchase is being delayed and delayed because of meney and now the stupid corei7 appears....and my entry price goes higher so I have to delay it agian :_(

I want to be rich.

 

[rohlfinator]

Isn't it overpriced? Do you know of some better bundles? Can bundles get modified at TigerDirect? ( I would like cheaper DDR2 for now and a smaller hard drive)

Yeah, that's pretty overpriced. Victim's machine that he posted awhile back has very similar specs for only $910 (US dollars, but still).

Have you considered building one yourself? The i7 is still targeted to the enthusiast market, so most of the prebuilt i7 machines you see will probably be absurdly overpriced. I'm not familiar with the price differences in Canada, but you should be able to undercut that price by $400-500 pretty easily.

 

[Ranger X]

Also, which one is the Intel Core2 that will be performing the closest to a Core i7 ?

 

[Clever Pun]

Isn't it overpriced? Do you know of some better bundles? Can bundles get modified at TigerDirect? ( I would like cheaper DDR2 for now and a smaller hard drive)

I may be mistaken, but I also believe that all i7 motherboards require DDR3 RAM.

 

[Ranger X]

I may be mistaken, but I also believe that all i7 motherboards require DDR3 RAM.

*cries*

I want a PC to appear in my living room and call it a day (((((((

 

[VictimOfGrief]

dem my werdz :kittownfaec:

:lol

Oh crap man... I didn't see your post below. :lol As usual, Hazaro 4 President!

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Yeah, that's pretty overpriced. Victim's machine that he posted awhile back has very similar specs for only $910 (US dollars, but still).

Have you considered building one yourself? The i7 is still targeted to the enthusiast market, so most of the prebuilt i7 machines you see will probably be absurdly overpriced. I'm not familiar with the price differences in Canada, but you should be able to undercut that price by $400-500 pretty easily.

I was just going to comment on his build actually.

Here's the break down for the prices (and I'm building you a Core i7 rig using Newegg's CA site)


G.Skill 3x1GB DDR3 1333 - $101
Asus P6T - $297
Core i7 920 - $360
Samsung 7200.11 TB Drive - $116
eVGA 9800GT - $152
BFG 800W PSU - $166
Antec 300 - $60
Samsung 22X DVD Burner - $30
Vista Home Prem. x64 - $160

Total : $1,443.66 CAN

Now--- Throw in a media reader, good keyboard mouse, move into a bigger case... upgrade the GPU and you are WELL below the $2,200 CAN asking price of that pre-built system with much better components IMO.

Hope that helps Ranger X.

Edit: Side not to people who may PM me this weekend, I'm heading to the Oregon Coast for some R&R this weekend and will be back Monday awaiting my Core i7 parts from UPS.

 

[Ranger X]

In matter of hard drives, wich brand you'd say is the most durable?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Having used all variety of drives in my professional career.... Seagate and Samsung are my top 2 with Western Digital being #3.

I had my Raptor drive for almost what... 4 years and it is still kicking and I've had my Seagate drive now almost 9 months without any issues. Really you can't go wrong with either brand.

 

[Minsc]

In matter of hard drives, wich brand you'd say is the most durable?

Just find one with a 5 year warranty, and keep a copy of your receipt handy. I've had to RMA drives before and as long as their under warranty it's a piece of cake.

I believe WD offers 5 year warranties on a lot of their drives.

If you're really concerned about reliability, Solid State drives will probably never break down, so if you have $500, get the 80 gig intel SSD.

 

[Wired]

Someone may have mentioned this, but since I'm posting anyway I'll go ahead and say it:

Core 2 Quad price cuts coming next Monday?


Anyways, the reason I posted was to flash my ghetto kitchen-setup (I don't have a desk suitable for the computer as of yet)

Also, is the cabling in this picture OK-ish? I tried getting it out of the way as much as possible, but man I wish I had bought a modular PSU. Also, there's quite a few power cables around the hard drive now, am I being paranoid or will the magnetic fields erase it any day now?

 

[pbones85]

I had a question:

I am using an old athlon 4200 X2 socket am2 system and just upgraded my video card from a 7600 GT to the 9800GTX+. I tried running Left 4 Dead and while it looks nice, there is frequent stuttering in the frame rate. I thought it might be because I was using a 500W power supply and just installed a 700W one just in case. In spite of this, the stuttering is still a problem. Is it because my CPU is too dated now, or are the drivers I installed causing a problem? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[yamo]

Thinking of buying a new comp. Best deal I found so far (sweden) seem to be a Dell, spec as follows,

Dell Studio XPS
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 920-processor (2,66GHz, 8 MB cache, 4,8 GT/s).
Operating System: Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 (64 bit).
Video Card: 512 MB ATI® Radeon® 4850.
Memory: 4096 MB (4 x 1 024), 1 067MHz DDR3.
Hard Drive: 750GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive.

~1000 euro.

Not sure about motherboard etc as it's not listed. Anyone have experience with Dell and know what kinda stuff they use?

Thankfull for all opinions about the build etc.

 

[desertdroog]

Could I get a critique on this build guys?

For the guru's, will the following build be compatible together? Any recommendation on a graphics card (left absent for your advisment) with this architecture and case? Anything you can offer will help me out in this build.

I plan to go with:

-Cooler Master 690
-ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
-Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

Which Ram?
-CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

OR

-OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK

OR

-OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

-Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (maybe a secondary one, 400gb for the os as well?)
-CORSAIR CMPSU750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
-SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F
-ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler
-Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan (however many the Cooler Master case will let me install)

I just want to know if I am choosing compatible and good parts. I am also thinking about a nice beefy ATI card if anyone can recommend a good single one until I get the money to do an sli setup in a few months.

 

[Chris Remo]

I'm trying to reduce the overall noise level of my PC.

Right now I have a Zalman 9700 heat sink/fan combo for my motherboard:

http://images.google.com/images?q=z...al&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Anyone know of something of comparable (or better) performance that's quieter?

Also, anyone have any suggests for a quiet rear case fan?

EDIT: After Googling a bit it looks like Zalman stuff is pretty well known for being quiet, so it could just be that my fan is getting old. Is there a straightforward way to, I don't know, grease the fan axis or something, to reduce friction and quiet it down? I don't know if this question is stupid.

 

[Zombie James]

GAF, best video card for around $150 CDN?

 

[Wired]

I'm trying to reduce the overall noise level of my PC.

Right now I have a Zalman 9700 heat sink/fan combo for my motherboard:

http://images.google.com/images?q=z...al&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Anyone know of something of comparable (or better) performance that's quieter?

Also, anyone have any suggests for a quiet rear case fan?

Well, from what I've heard the Thermalright Ultra-120 coupled with a fan of your choice is about as good as it gets when it comes to air cooling, as for quiet fans I can recommend the Noctua NF-P12, bought one for the side of my chassis and it's damn quiet (it's a 120mm fan and would fit on the T-120). It's only 1300rpm though.

 

[rohlfinator]

EDIT: After Googling a bit it looks like Zalman stuff is pretty well known for being quiet, so it could just be that my fan is getting old. Is there a straightforward way to, I don't know, grease the fan axis or something, to reduce friction and quiet it down? I don't know if this question is stupid.

Just a stab in the dark, but could it be getting dusty? My friend's PC was running really loud last year, so he took out the fan and ended up blowing a huge pile of dust out of it, and it ran much quieter.

 

[Clever Pun]

PSU question time:

I'm looking for a good 500W PSU. I won't be running SLI or anything, just a 4830, Q6600, 1066 RAM, one SATA drive and a DVD/RW, some USB components. Though this won't be a 24/7 machine, I would like it to be relatively efficient. After some newegg browsing I found the following PSUs. Any comments on brand reputation or about which would be preferable in respect to price would be appreciated:

Thermaltake
Rosewill
PC Power & Cooling

Edit: I'm also more than open to suggestions, though I'd like to keep it in the price range of those listed above.

 

[Ranger X]

Would that be nice idea to buy those cheap 7500 rpm Samsung but buying 2 of them and put them in Raid 0 ??

Would I gain enough speed? The Raptors 10 000 rpm are fucking too expensive...

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Says to me that the only thing that will get degraded is the Hyper Transport #s right?

It would be cheaper to get an AM2+ instead of buying a new board/cpu.

AM2 "only" supports HyperTransport 1.0, AM2+ supports HyperTransport 3.0, which is backwards compatible with 1.0. Your CPU will work, but the busspeed will be lower, which will impact the performance some, but that will probably only be noticable in benchmark results.

As long as I can get a noticeable difference I'll be happy. Thanks guys