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[birdchili]

cntrl-+ also works for larger in-browser text.

if you need bigger fonts in all apps, you can change this in windows:

Display Properties > Settings > Advanced > Display dpi setting.

 

[Bebpo]

I meant more the aspect ratio than text size, but I solved that by just minimizing the window into a more square-ish proportion

google is totally failing me in terms of finding the optimal settings for this monitor. I'm using theater mode with sharpness turned down right now since it has the darkest blacks and alright color.

 

[birdchili]

I meant more the aspect ratio than text size, but I solved that by just minimizing the window into a more square-ish proportion

are you getting stretched text? make sure you've got your resolution set right.

this is another place where having a pivot monitor is good times.

i just went from a 17" to a 23". i would have much rather gone with a 20 or 21", but it's almost impossible to find a smallish monitor with any features now.

 

[The Last Wizard]

hey guys is this build good enough to play Aion and actual pc games?

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80GHz)

500GB SATA Hard Disk Drive (7200rpm)

6GB (4GBx1 + 2GBx1) DDR2-SDRAM-800

ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4650 graphics with 1GB dedicated video RAM

 

[thunker 9000]

I just got a HD4850 I am now looking to upgrade my processor. This is what I have now. It does the job, but on CPU intensive games it is my bottleneck.

This is my Mobo any good recommendations?

<3

 

[SuperÑ]

What's your opinion about this configuration? Thanks in advance

35675 AMD Phenom II 965 X4 Quad Core 3.4Ghz Black Edition AM3 Box 140.52
35662 Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H Socket AM3 68.97
22687 Corsair TWIN2x2048-6400 2GB DDR XMS2-6400 53.45
34098 Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB SATA2 MAESTRO 41.38
32501 Antec Three Hundred 40.47
36663 NOX Sonar 580W Modular 56.90
36282 HIS Radeon HD 5850 1GB GDDR5 + GRID 206.03

Total: ~610€

 

[Ifrit]

Help GAF, what's the difference between the diferent video card manufacturers, I'm planning on getting the Radeon HD 5770, but which one is considered the best? XFX? Asus? Sapphire? Diamond? btw, I have found two kinds of Sapphire:

or

Which of these is considered the better card? They are at the same list price

 

[TouchMyBox]

I just got a HD4850 I am now looking to upgrade my processor. This is what I have now. It does the job, but on CPU intensive games it is my bottleneck.

This is my Mobo any good recommendations?

<3

Have you done any overclocking to it? If not try it out as it might be able to net you enough of a performance increase to not bottleneck a 4850.

Help GAF, what's the difference between the diferent video card manufacturers, I'm planning on getting the Radeon HD 5770, but which one is considered the best? XFX? Asus? Sapphire? Diamond? btw, I have found two kinds of Sapphire:

Which of these is considered the better card? They are at the same list price

XFX is a quality brand, Asus has never done me wrong either. As for your second question, they are now using the cheaper (smaller) cooler to cut costs. Get the first one while you still can I'd say.

 

[Ifrit]

XFX is a quality brand, Asus has never done me wrong either. As for your second question, they are now using the cheaper (smaller) cooler to cut costs. Get the first one while you still can I'd say.

So, in other words, this one?

It's an XFX by the way

 

[TouchMyBox]

So, in other words, this one?

It's an XFX by the way

Looks perfect to me. Can't go wrong with a double lifetime warranty.

Also, I'm not sure if this poster can be believed, but XFX branded 5000 series cards also print canadian bank notes http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=17756054&postcount=938

 

[thunker 9000]

Have you done any overclocking to it? If not try it out as it might be able to net you enough of a performance increase to not bottleneck a 4850.

I am a little leery of overclocking and I would rather not risk blowing something up. I'm not the tinkering kind.

 

[Ifrit]

Looks perfect to me. Can't go wrong with a double lifetime warranty.

Also, I'm not sure if this poster can be believed, but XFX branded 5000 series cards also print canadian bank notes http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=17756054&postcount=938

:lol Awesome, thanks. Just ordered one

Can't go wrong with a double lifetime warranty.

Yep, and that's why I did it

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

Looks perfect to me. Can't go wrong with a double lifetime warranty.

Also, I'm not sure if this poster can be believed, but XFX branded 5000 series cards also print canadian bank notes http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=17756054&postcount=938

i want some of that lady looking money.

 

[TouchMyBox]

I am a little leery of overclocking and I would rather not risk blowing something up. I'm not the tinkering kind.

Overvoltaging is what you would want to steer clear from if you have no idea what you're doing. Try upping the frequency of your FSB a little and see what you can get out of it. Worst case scenario the machine doesn't boot up with the new clocks and you have to press the reset button in order to reset the clocks to their default values.

However if you've got the itch to do some shopping, pick up one of these bad boys http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041&Tpk=Q9550

 

[Volcynika]

I have a dilemma...Radeon HD 5850 XFX available for $339...but my Amazon order where they have no estimate where it'll be in stock is sitting there for $269. Oy!

 

[TouchMyBox]

I have a dilemma...Radeon HD 5850 XFX available for $339...but my Amazon order where they have no estimate where it'll be in stock is sitting there for $269. Oy!

That's getting close to the price I paid for my 5870. Good things come to those who wait (I guess that doesn't apply to my case, but whatever, I'm gangsta)

 

[Minsc]

That's getting close to the price I paid for my 5870. Good things come to those who wait (I guess that doesn't apply to my case, but whatever, I'm gangsta)

The price gouging of the 5800 series cards will probably continue to rise through February, because availability is so awful. You definitely will have a rough time finding cheap one the next few weeks before the holidays I bet.

 

[Volcynika]

That's getting close to the price I paid for my 5870. Good things come to those who wait (I guess that doesn't apply to my case, but whatever, I'm gangsta)

Well my Amazon order was made weeks ago, and the price on there has gone up since to $319.

I'm saving a good bit, but any idea of when I might actually be able to have one shipped to me from Amazon is up in the air.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

The price gouging of the 5800 series cards will probably continue to rise through February, because availability is so awful. You definitely will have a rough time finding cheap one the next few weeks before the holidays I bet.

probably why i'll just stick with my GTX 260 in SLI until the summer. it will be worth the wait though.

 

[Shambles]

New fixed X25-M firmware is up again for those who have them.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18363

 

[markot]

The price gouging of the 5800 series cards will probably continue to rise through February, because availability is so awful. You definitely will have a rough time finding cheap one the next few weeks before the holidays I bet.

Is that Global Foundry thingy going to work on ATI cards? It seems silly that there is only one fab unit for Nvidia and ATI and that they have like %40 or something >.<

 

[K.Jack]

hey guys is this build good enough to play Aion and actual pc games?

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80GHz)

500GB SATA Hard Disk Drive (7200rpm)

6GB (4GBx1 + 2GBx1) DDR2-SDRAM-800

ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4650 graphics with 1GB dedicated video RAM

Yes, but I have a few questions...

- What model is this notebook?

- Why are you needing 6GB? Unless you do some kind of work which requires more than 4GB, save yourself the cost of the 4x1 stick.

 

[TouchMyBox]

- Why are you needing 6GB? Unless you do some kind of work which requires more than 4GB, save yourself the cost of the 4x1 stick.

Not to mention that if the sticks aren't identical, he won't be getting dual channel. But I guess one does not buy a laptop for blazing fast speeds anyways.

If I were in the market for a laptop right now, I would personally wait for the 32nm mobile core i7s and core i5s to hit market early next year.

 

[MotherFan]

:lol Awesome, thanks. Just ordered one



Yep, and that's why I did it

Their customer service is very good too. Support tickets answered quickly and the phone support is high quality. I got an RMA done in a week. You chose a good brand (and thats the exact card I got too )

 

[Minsc]

New fixed X25-M firmware is up again for those who have them.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18363

Just FYI, their last (or previous to last firmware) caused your data to corrupt itself when enabling TRIM, so it's probably best to give it a week or two before flashing in case there's similar problems to be discovered.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

My 80gb X25-M will be here tomorrow. I downloaded the new FW earlier today. I will probably wait until anandtech updates their SSD article or the intel community board approves it.

Also sold my old core2duo desktop w/ 8800gt and 74gb raptor drive. Just got a call from a coworker out of the blue wanting a computer for a family member for xmas. Tempted to pick up a HP mini 311 with the $$$.

 

[Hazaro]

My 80gb X25-M will be here tomorrow. I downloaded the new FW earlier today. I will probably wait until anandtech updates their SSD article or the intel community board approves it.

Also sold my old core2duo desktop w/ 8800gt and 74gb raptor drive. Just got a call from a coworker out of the blue wanting a computer for a family member for xmas. Tempted to pick up a HP mini 311 with the $$$.

I approve of everything in this post.

 

[Ifrit]

Fuck, the XFX Radeons don't ship on Amazon until around 2 months, can't order from newegg or pretty much all of the sites from the OP because I'm paying with an international CC and they don't accept it. My only choice seems to be the Diamond Radeon HD 5770 from TigerDirect, I think they accept International CC. How good are the Diamond cards?

Or should I just go for these kind of cards?

 

[Red]

Wondering if anyone can help me with this problem:
A friend recently received an HP g60507dx notebook as a Christmas gift. She only needs it to run AutoCAD. It seems to meet all requirements but CPU, as the notebook only has a Celeron 900 (which as far as I know is a single core proc) at 2.2 GHz. Every time she tries to use AutoCAD she's given an error message stating she doesn't meet the minimum reqs. I'm assuming it's the CPU at fault, but I'm not 100%. My question is this: I have a spare T7500 core 2 duo, and seeing as how both the T7500 and the Celeron 900 are socket P processors, would I be able to replace hers with my spare? I'm not sure it'll work, since the T7500 is 65nm and the 900 is 45, which is why I'm turning to you guys for help.

 

[The Last Wizard]

Yes, but I have a few questions...

- What model is this notebook?

- Why are you needing 6GB? Unless you do some kind of work which requires more than 4GB, save yourself the cost of the 4x1 stick.

it's a sony vaio VGNFW590.

why is 6 gigs overkill? i just dont want my notebook to run slow if im running a few programs

 

[Hazaro]

it's a sony vaio VGNFW590.

why is 6 gigs overkill? i just dont want my notebook to run slow if im running a few programs

If you are running that many programs on a notebook it's going to be chugging anyway.
4GB is more than enough unless you plan to video encode and let Firefox consume 1.2GB of memory while opening 30000x20000 photoshop pictures with 8 filters.

 

[The Last Wizard]

If you are running that many programs on a notebook it's going to be chugging anyway.
4GB is more than enough unless you plan to video encode and let Firefox consume 1.2GB of memory while opening 30000x20000 photoshop pictures with 8 filters.

it'll prolly be 2 programs at a time. always a browser with either a game,microsoft word,ad=nd something i cant remember

 

[DietRob]

I need some advice on wireless laser printers. What do you guys recommend?

BTW I'm sick to death of buying cartridges, I don't print in color. All of my printing will be of cases and case law which can be hundreds of pages. Those reasons are why I am considering laser. If need be I can drop the 'wireless' preference but I'd much prefer wireless.

Whatcha know GAF?

edit : This is the one I'm looking at. (it's not wireless)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828115080

 

[Red]

5870 Vapor-X is miiiiiiiiine.

Finally.

 

[LegoDad]

It looks like a solid system overall, but the video card will be a bottleneck for gaming.

If you want a prebuilt then these two would be better for gaming:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113101 (cheaper as well, but temp. out of stock).

and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113103 (a bit more expensive, but likely quite a bit faster overall, particularly with the GPU).

If going prebuilt, I'm not a huge gateway fan, would be Asus or HP (even though HP skimps on high end builds).

I was going for a machine I could play games on, but I am mostly a PS3 gamer. It was also to future proof myself for awhile.

I've thought about building my own, but its a graduation gift from my parents to me (college). I could always add a new GFX and power supply later down the road, if I needed more gaming power.

I've also never built my own machine before, so it would be a learning experience.

 

[Minsc]

5870 Vapor-X is miiiiiiiiine.

Finally.

I have to say, I'm very pleased with ATI's drivers so far.

I've gone through and installed/tested about 30-40 games (still a couple hundred to go) ranging from the early 90s to today, and there hasn't been a single unusual thing w/ the card yet.

I was even able to uninstall them w/ the uninstall utility included without problems to upgrade to the newer version. In the past, the CCC has had issues being removed.

Actually, if anyone knows, when upgrading the drivers, should you remove all the components, or just the actual driver? I did everything (CCC, HDMI drivers, etc etc).

 

[Red]

I have to say, I'm very pleased ATI's drivers so far.

I've gone through and installed/tested about 30-40 games (still a couple hundred to go) ranging from the early 90s to today, and there hasn't been a single unusual thing w/ the card yet.

I clicked refresh and scrambled frantically to the newegg checkout as soon as I saw it in stock. Holy shit, my heart has never raced so hard while buying something :lol

Sold out in about three minutes, so I count myself very lucky.

 

[MWS Natural]

I've been a little busy with moving and the holiday so this post is about 3 weeks late. I wanted to share my new PC build though. It was my first build from scratch, but everything went well for the most part. I wanted a different/smaller case and the Lian LI I picked out has been perfect. It just barely fit the 5870 and I had to actually install the CPU Cooler while the motherboard was in the case as it was just a bit too tall to slide the motherboard in with it installed. I got the OS free through my MSDN subscription from work and I'm using an old keyboard and mouse currently, but everything else I bought on Newegg. I have to say I am more than happy with the build and everything has been running like a dream so far.

CASE: LIAN LI PC-V351B

I've been thinking about moving to a new case, my lanbox lite has been getting a bit cramped. I added another HDD the other day and had to take out my fan controller. Does your video card fit in w/o taking out the HDD bays?

 

[How About No]

Since I didn't see it asked or recommended much at all, what would a good midrange soundcard be? I see a few cheap 7.1's on Newegg such as this

I don't have a surround system yet (actually I have a cheap Logitech one boxed up in the basement, but I don't count that), but I might get one in a year or two.

EDIT I guess the card I was looking at supports HD Audio anyway =p

 

[RayStorm]

As for your second question, they are now using the cheaper (smaller) cooler to cut costs. Get the first one while you still can I'd say.

The current edition of PcGames Hardware (German magazine) states that the teardrop shaped cooler is actually an improvement over the batmobile one.

 

[state_vector_collapse]

Hmm, Ideally he'd move away from socket 775 (especially an Nvidia socket 775 board!), to take advantage of better CPU pricing, so I'll give you two potential options (one will ditch the motherboard, the other won't. First off though, how much of a gamer is he? What about the case, any potential issues with a large GPU there? What other tasks does he plan to use the PC for, heavily into 3D modelling or encoding for instance?

Edit: For £367 delivered:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/175978

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166785

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/141515

Decided to move away from that mobo and start from scratch. Bearing that in mind, what mobo would you recommend? I've been looking at the Gigabyte ones some here are linking to, but they seem a bit fussy about what ram to use?

And I assume that would mean a different processor than above? Cheers for any help

 

[How About No]

'Nother question, if I get an ATI card and an ATI mobo, can I stick my PNY GeForce 8600GT 512MB on and, um, use it at all still?

 

[K.Jack]

it'll prolly be 2 programs at a time. always a browser with either a game,microsoft word,ad=nd something i cant remember

Then you don't need it, at all. You won't even get close to 4GB utilization, especially true because you won't be gaming at high resolutions.

6GB is only trendy when you can go 2GB x3 sticks.

 

[brain_stew]

I have to say, I'm very pleased with ATI's drivers so far.

I've gone through and installed/tested about 30-40 games (still a couple hundred to go) ranging from the early 90s to today, and there hasn't been a single unusual thing w/ the card yet.

I was even able to uninstall them w/ the uninstall utility included without problems to upgrade to the newer version. In the past, the CCC has had issues being removed.

Actually, if anyone knows, when upgrading the drivers, should you remove all the components, or just the actual driver? I did everything (CCC, HDMI drivers, etc etc).

Tried out some of that nice ordered grid supersampling AA yet? You should be able to play a decent amount of titles with 4x OGSS AA on that 5870 I'd imagine. Post pics if you try it out, please!

 

[Minsc]

Tried out some of that nice ordered grid supersampling AA yet? You should be able to play a decent amount of titles with 4x OGSS AA on that 5870 I'd imagine. Post pics if you try it out, please!

I actually haven't played around with too much yet! I still haven't ventured much in to overclocking, I almost did at one point, heh.

I just upgraded the machine from 6GB to 12GB of RAM, and that was quite an adventure, since the huge CPU cooler was pretty much preventing access to one of the RAM slots.

Eventually after a few CMOS resets and multiple tries of setting the RAM (and a little tech support/help), I finally got all of it working.

Seeing your nice new PC not post is not a fun thing! Luckily everything is back in order, so much easier to upgrade a video card than RAM. RAM is a finicky beast, it is.

 

[Chris R]

My brother is still having issues with his ATI 5770 and Windows7 64bit. Getting error messages popping up. No clue what is wrong but I'm beginning to think it might be hardware (not the 5770) related :| He was getting hard freezes but then I told him to turn his fan on to like 65 or 70% all the time to keep the heat on the card down. The error he gets is popping up even though he did a reformat and fresh driver installs :|

 

[The Last Wizard]

Then you don't need it, at all. You won't even get close to 4GB utilization, especially true because you won't be gaming at high resolutions.

6GB is only trendy when you can go 2GB x3 sticks.

after checking numerous game requirements 4 gigs it is. thanks.

now what's a good pay anti virus software?

 

[Minsc]

after checking numerous game requirements 4 gigs it is. thanks.

now what's a good pay anti virus software?

If you have a legit copy of Windows (I hope you do), I'd highly recommend running Microsoft Security Essentials for free.

It's very light-weight, uses like no memory or CPU, and completely free.

I've used a few different subscription based anti-virus software in the past, and this free program from MS keeps me just as happy. Worth a shot, before committing to something you pay an annual fee for.

 

[LegoDad]

after checking numerous game requirements 4 gigs it is. thanks.

now what's a good pay anti virus software?

Nod32 or Kaspersky.

 

[brain_stew]

If you have a legit copy of Windows (I hope you do), I'd highly recommend running Microsoft Security Essentials for free.

It's very light-weight, uses like no memory or CPU, and completely free.

I've used a few different subscription based anti-virus software in the past, and this free program from MS keeps me just as happy. Worth a shot, before committing to something you pay an annual fee for.

Either that or Avast will do you fine. No need to pay £40 a year.