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[Firestorm]

That P183 is a case I'd love to grab if I had the budget for it. Seems really nice. Easy to work with inside, quiet, and looks good. I don't like the CM690 only due to the LED fan it seems to show.

I love my Logitech MX518 except for the little button that easily changes the sensitivity since I keep hitting it by mistake. I should turn that off. Dunno about other mice.

 

[Wark]

That P183 is a case I'd love to grab if I had the budget for it. Seems really nice. Easy to work with inside, quiet, and looks good. I don't like the CM690 only due to the LED fan it seems to show.

I love my Logitech MX518 except for the little button that easily changes the sensitivity since I keep hitting it by mistake. I should turn that off. Dunno about other mice.

Thanks for the info man. I'll probably end up buying the case, keyboard, and mouse first.

 

[Lostconfused]

I love my Logitech MX518 except for the little button that easily changes the sensitivity since I keep hitting it by mistake. I should turn that off. Dunno about other mice.

The MX518 is probably the best logitech mouse you can get.

 

[Wark]

The MX518 is probably the best logitech mouse you can get.

So I should choose the MX518 over the G500?

 

[adg1034]

So I should choose the MX518 over the G500?

Probably. I had one a few years back, then upgraded to the original-generation G5, but am seriously thinking about going back to the MX518. I borked my G5's scroll wheel (long story) and need to find a replacement.

I was actually considering trying out the Microsoft Sidewinder X3. It got a great review from ExtremeTech, and it's cheap, to boot. But I'm not sure. The MX518's calling to me.

Also, I finally decided to splurge on a new keyboard. For years, I've been using the original Saitek Gamer's Keyboard, which predates the Eclipse name. A blue backlight that only outlines the keys (not the letters on the keys), a 9-key (plus two shift buttons) gamepad thingy that attaches to the main board via a modified Ethernet jack... good times.

I looked around and looked around, and was this close to pulling the trigger on the Sidewinder X6, but I ended up going for the ABS M1 instead. Mechanical key action. $50. Oh yeah. Clickety-clack, bitches. Clickety-clack. No frills, no media buttons, no mute key (which I'm pretty sure I'm going to miss), but as someone who does a lot of typing, I'll wager this is a pretty good investment.

Anyway, more updates when it arrives. Which will probably be just in time to help kick off the 2010 thread.

 

[Lkr]

GAF! I NEED HELP!

My sennheiser headphones worked fine in Windows, and now they won't. They still work in my DS, so its not the headphones. I didn't mess with any settings, they are plugged into the same port, I've tried replugging them in and nothing. Windows still says it is set to the right output, and they are detected in the VIA audio control panel. Using Windows 7, and i want to listen to The Beatles in stereo! Please help me:lol

 

[adg1034]

GAF! I NEED HELP!

My sennheiser headphones worked fine in Windows, and now they won't. They still work in my DS, so its not the headphones. I didn't mess with any settings, they are plugged into the same port, I've tried replugging them in and nothing. Windows still says it is set to the right output, and they are detected in the VIA audio control panel. Using Windows 7, and i want to listen to The Beatles in stereo! Please help me:lol

Hmmm. You can try a couple things. First, reboot. Second, disable your VIA audio in Device Manager, then re-enable it. Failing that, uninstall it, then reboot, and let Windows do its thing.

Are you SURE you plugged them back into the correct jack? Double check.

 

[Lkr]

Hmmm. You can try a couple things. First, reboot. Second, disable your VIA audio in Device Manager, then re-enable it. Failing that, uninstall it, then reboot, and let Windows do its thing.

Are you SURE you plugged them back into the correct jack? Double check.

yep, its all in and all installed. will try disabling it

 

[TheExodu5]

This thread is out of date.

 

[adg1034]

This thread is out of date.

NOT FOR 18 MORE MINUTES, IT ISN'T

 

[Lkr]

disabling and renabling worked. thanks for the advice

 

[TheExodu5]

NOT FOR 18 MORE MINUTES, IT ISN'T

Mountainous heathen!

 

[adg1034]

Mountainous heathen!

Midwesternous, thankyouverymuch.

And I'm glad messing with the drivers worked out. It's nice when things can be fixed so easily.

 

[Swag]

So I need to get a laptop, doing things on my Iphone isn't working as well as I was hoping it would. I don't really know much about laptop purchases but from doing some browsing on amazon, Dell etc. It seems that they all have low battery life ( highest I saw was 3 hours ).

I'm just looking for something that can comfortably play WoW, and a couple RTS, was debating whether to get a MacBook or just go PC.

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

 

[TheExodu5]

So who's making the 2010 thread? I really think brain_stew should have the honors if he wants it.

Here's a temp banner:

 

[Lkr]

That should just be the permanent banner

 

[TheExodu5]

Alternate banner:

 

[Swag]

Alternate banner:

So subtle.

 

[Wark]

Alternate banner:

http://www.thejayzone.com/pics/pc2010_2.jpg

:lol Nice.

 

[Spy]

Test 1

 

[Spy]

 

[Wallach]

New year, new thread! DO IT!

PCs... fuck yeah.

 

[Animal]

Happy New Year!

 

[Wallach]

This edit is win. Official Wallach approval. Get it done, brain_stew. :lol

 

[TheExodu5]

I like it.

 

[Smokey]

I hope in the new thread there are some set ups done again for certain price points. I try to keep up with this thread but it moves too fast and trying to figure out the best combos for a system is intimidating.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Happy New Year everyone!

I was surprised to get a Radeon 5870 1GB the other day as a gift which replaced my 4870 1GB and I must say that I am very impressed by the difference. I can now play Crysis at maximum settings (with no AA) at 1920x1200 and it runs very smooth.

I do have a question, though. I was planning on building an entire new i7 system early this year, but now that I got the 5870 I think I might be able to postpone that until the latter end of 2010. I do feel that my processor is holding me back, though, and am thinking about upgrading. I currently have an Core 2 Duo E8500 3.2ghz and am thinking about switching to a Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83ghz. Will I see much of a difference in performance on modern games? The main game that gives me problems is Grand Theft Auto IV and I hear that game runs much better on quad core processors.

The upgrade would cost me around $200, but I am wondering if there will be enough difference in performance to justify it.

 

[TheExodu5]

You'll see a difference in a few games, but overall, no it's not worth it. You should have plenty of overclock potential in your current CPU, so why not satisfy yourself with a nice bump to 3.8GHz or so?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

You'll see a difference in a few games, but overall, no it's not worth it. You should have plenty of overclock potential in your current CPU, so why not satisfy yourself with a nice bump to 3.8GHz or so?

I've always just been such a pussy about overclocking which causes me to run stock speeds for fear of destroying my processor / motherboard since I haven't invested in any crazy cooling solutions.

Are there any good sites or threads you can recommend that feature detailed discussions of overclocking and how to do it right?

 

[TheExodu5]

I've always just been such a pussy about overclocking which causes me to run stock speeds for fear of destroying my processor / motherboard since I haven't invested in any crazy cooling solutions.

Are there any good sites or threads you can recommend that feature detailed discussions of overclocking and how to do it right?

I'll leave that Googling up to you.

Generally, you just increase the FSB in your BIOS. Make sure you manually set the voltage to spec voltage (just look up the Intel spec sheet for your CPU), so then you're assured not to hurt it with excess voltage.

Your current FSB is 333mhz (which means that your DDR is running at 667mhz). If you have 800MHz DDR2, then you can keep things all nice and tidy by bringing your FSB up to 400MHz. That means you'd get a new speed of:

3.2GHz * 400MHz/333MHz = 3.87GHz

You may want to go in smaller steps to be safer. Generally, if it's too high, then your CPU just won't get enough voltage and it'll be unstable and shut off. Your PC should reset itself with a power down (or in some cases, you need to pull out the CMOS battery from the mobo).

I'm sure you can find a guide that can explain in better detail.

Then, just run a temperature and stability test and make sure you're within spec (generally, <65 Celcius), and you're good to go.

 

[Decado]

I just received my order of 2 more gb of RAM, windows 7 home OEM and a Sapphire 5770 1gb video card.

What's the best way of going about this? Should I install the ram, the video card then the OEM version of Windows? Normally I don't do this stuff myself, but I recently installed a new HD and that wasn't too hard, so I'm hoping the video card will be easy, too.

Also, I have two HD's...one I'm happy to reformat or whatever to install windows 7, but the other just has tons of files (no programs) that I don't want erased. Any suggestions on how I should go about this?

thanks

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I'll leave that Googling up to you.

Generally, you just increase the FSB in your BIOS. Make sure you manually set the voltage to spec voltage (just look up the Intel spec sheet for your CPU), so then you're assured not to hurt it with excess voltage.

Your current FSB is 333mhz (which means that your DDR is running at 667mhz). If you have 800MHz DDR2, then you can keep things all nice and tidy by bringing your FSB up to 400MHz. That means you'd get a new speed of:

3.2GHz * 400MHz/333MHz = 3.87GHz

You may want to go in smaller steps to be safer. Generally, if it's too high, then your CPU just won't get enough voltage and it'll be unstable and shut off. Your PC should reset itself with a power down (or in some cases, you need to pull out the CMOS battery from the mobo).

I'm sure you can find a guide that can explain in better detail.

Then, just run a temperature and stability test and make sure you're within spec (generally, <65 Celcius), and you're good to go.

I'll give it a try!

Thanks for the tips.

 

[TheExodu5]

I just received my order of 2 more gb of RAM, windows 7 home OEM and a Sapphire 5770 1gb video card.

What's the best way of going about this? Should I install the ram, the video card then the OEM version of Windows? Normally I don't do this stuff myself, but I recently installed a new HD and that wasn't too hard, so I'm hoping the video card will be easy, too.

Also, I have two HD's...one I'm happy to reformat or whatever to install windows 7, but the other just has tons of files (no programs) that I don't want erased. Any suggestions on how I should go about this?

thanks

If you really want to go step by step, I'd go:

RAM -> Video card

Make sure it works. Then do a format and install the new OS. The Windows 7 installation utility will let you pick and format the drive. Just choose custom installation and format the drive you want to use. The rest is clicking Next buttons.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Thanks for the tip Exodu5. It worked great! I was surprised to actually notice a difference in framerates by increasing the speed by 600mhz.

According to two of the tools linked in the OP, my CPU has maxed out at 49 degrees Celsius. I am a bit worried about my GPU (Radeon 5870) which peaked at 70 degrees Celsius. That seems quite high.

 

[TheExodu5]

Thanks for the tip Exodu5. It worked great! I was surprised to actually notice a difference in framerates by increasing the speed by 600mhz.

According to two of the tools linked in the OP, my CPU has maxed out at 49 degrees Celsius. I am a bit worried about my GPU (Radeon 5870) which peaked at 70 degrees Celsius. That seems quite high.

70C is very low for a GPU. You're fine all the way up to around 90-95C.

Surprised you OC'ed so fast. Some people are overly cautious, even though it's really hard to do any damage nowadays.

You bring the fsb up to 400mhz?

 

[squinters]

Turns out I was wrong. Went to my friends and discovered that he does infact have a dual-core processor and can suport DDR2. The processor is a Pentium 4 E2160, not too sure how good it is, but a quick internet search says that it overclocks like a beast (reaching 3.2GHz). So getting a new video card and overclocking his processor should make Source games perform decently, right?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

70C is very low for a GPU. You're fine all the way up to around 90-95C.

Surprised you OC'ed so fast. Some people are overly cautious, even though it's really hard to do any damage nowadays.

You bring the fsb up to 400mhz?

Well I first downloaded two of those heat monitoring tools in the OP and discovered that my CPU was running in the low 40s (Celsius) even when stressed so I figured it would be safe to OC it a bit. I know all CPUs have different thresholds, but I remember that my last AMD rig ran at around 60 Celsius and it was just fine.

I just went into the BIOS and changed the FSB from 333mhz to 400mhz like you suggested and it worked like a charm. It booted up perfectly and I still have temperatures in the 40s. Hopefully no problems will arise from here on out.

 

[TheExodu5]

Did you alter any voltage settings? You're probably in spec, but that's the only thing that might possibly need tweaking. If ever you notice your computer hard locks after extended use in games or w/e, then the likely cause is too little voltage. You're probably fine at stock voltage with a fairly modest overclock though.

Congrats on the free upgrade to about the best dual-core CPU you can get. 4GHz is usually about the barrier, and considering you're only 133MHz off, I'd say you're absolutely golden.

May I suggest trying some PS2 emulation? You've got about the best CPU setup for that right now.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Did you alter any voltage settings? You're probably in spec, but that's the only thing that might possibly need tweaking. If ever you notice your computer hard locks after extended use in games or w/e, then the likely cause is too little voltage. You're probably fine at stock voltage with a fairly modest overclock though.

Congrats on the free upgrade to about the best dual-core CPU you can get. 4GHz is usually about the barrier, and considering you're only 133MHz off, I'd say you're absolutely golden.

May I suggest trying some PS2 emulation? You've got about the best CPU setup for that right now.

Thanks! I'll definitely keep the voltage settings in mind.

I'm definitely going to have to check out the PS2 emulator thread. I have only dabbled in it so far, but I am itching to play FFXII again and playing it in an emulator in high resolutions sounds quite nice.

 

[brain_stew]

Probably. I had one a few years back, then upgraded to the original-generation G5, but am seriously thinking about going back to the MX518. I borked my G5's scroll wheel (long story) and need to find a replacement. .

The MX518 has (proven) better tracking and more buttons than a G5, a G5 is a downgrade if anything.

 

[brain_stew]

So who's making the 2010 thread? I really think brain_stew should have the honors if he wants it.

Here's a temp banner:

Eh, I'd like to do it but I just don't think I've got the time, got two big assignments to finish in the next few weeks. I'd be happy to contribute some stuff.


Edit:

Alternate banner:

:lol :lol :lol

Lorik approves. Winning Albania's man of the year 2009 and being added to a GAF banner within one week, the guy's a superstar.

I'll give it a try!

Thanks for the tips.

www.overclock.net, is worth visiting. Core 2s are very easy to overclock.

 

[brain_stew]

Turns out I was wrong. Went to my friends and discovered that he does infact have a dual-core processor and can suport DDR2. The processor is a Pentium 4 E2160, not too sure how good it is, but a quick internet search says that it overclocks like a beast (reaching 3.2GHz). So getting a new video card and overclocking his processor should make Source games perform decently, right?

An E2160 is a pretty damn nice processor, use to rock a E2180 myself. Clock that to 3ghz and you're laughing. Its not terrible at stock, either.

How much RAM does he have, in what configuration and how many spare slots? CPU-Z can tell you this if he doesn't want to open her up. If the motherboard doesn't offer OCing features, there's always a pin mod.

For the GPU, go for a 4670, or a 9800GT Eco if he can afford it. RAM depends on what he already has. Definitely worth upgrading even if he can't overclock.

 

[squinters]

An E2160 is a pretty damn nice processor, use to rock a E2180 myself. Clock that to 3ghz and you're laughing. Its not terrible at stock, either.

How much RAM does he have, in what configuration and how many spare slots? CPU-Z can tell you this if he doesn't want to open her up. If the motherboard doesn't offer OCing features, there's always a pin mod.

For the GPU, go for a 4670, or a 9800GT Eco if he can afford it. RAM depends on what he already has. Definitely worth upgrading even if he can't overclock.

That's some nice news to hear. I'll try to get the RAM info tomorrow, as it's 3:30 a.m. where we are.

In fact, I'm gonna head to bed now. Happy new years everyone.

 

[adg1034]

The MX518 has (proven) better tracking and more buttons than a G5, a G5 is a downgrade if anything.

That's what I thought. It's a great, great mouse. Now, to see if it drops below $40...

 

[samven582]

I started to built a new pc but I never finished. I have q9950, 640gb harddrive and 4 gb ddr2. What do guys recommend for a motherboard, powersupply, videocard, and case?

any suggestion?

 

[brain_stew]

Whoever creates the thread in the end can you be sure to have bolded links to my triple buffering and screenshot thread as well as the HTPC thread.

Also:

Bask in its glory!

If you do not buy this whilst its £1.24/$2.50 then I won't be giving you any PC advice in 2010, you have been warned! :lol

 

[Hazaro]

An E2160 is a pretty damn nice processor, use to rock a E2180 myself. Clock that to 3ghz and you're laughing. Its not terrible at stock, either.

How much RAM does he have, in what configuration and how many spare slots? CPU-Z can tell you this if he doesn't want to open her up. If the motherboard doesn't offer OCing features, there's always a pin mod.

For the GPU, go for a 4670, or a 9800GT Eco if he can afford it. RAM depends on what he already has. Definitely worth upgrading even if he can't overclock.

Reaffirming everything here.
-

Happy new year everyone, good luck to the new OP who hopefully won't get banned!

Please also let me know / send me a rough of the OP to see if I can help or offer other opinions.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

If you do not buy this whilst its £1.24/$2.50 then I won't be giving you any PC advice in 2010, you have been warned! :lol

This goes for me as well.


Anyway, I was expecting a new thread today! Cmon who's gonna step up??

 

[adg1034]

The MX518 has (proven) better tracking and more buttons than a G5, a G5 is a downgrade if anything.

Just picked up a new, in-box Logitech MX518SE (the red one) for $30 shipped off eBay. Local seller.

Funnily enough, I owned this exact same mouse before I picked up my G5, so it'll be just like going home. Ah. Can't wait.

Also, I canceled my Newegg ABS M1 order for now. I still need to do a bit more research.

 

[Nabs]

Just picked up a new, in-box Logitech MX518SE (the red one) for $30 shipped off eBay. Local seller.

Funnily enough, I owned this exact same mouse before I picked up my G5, so it'll be just like going home. Ah. Can't wait.

Also, I canceled my Newegg ABS M1 order for now. I still need to do a bit more research.

oh my. first time hearing of the SE.. this is def gonna be my next mouse. my red mx510 will finally retire!