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[Labombadog]

How long are you letting it sit? Have you tried reinstalling it from the beginning?

On an unrelated note, I dug out a 5.1 PCI sound card and put it in my system after reading about onboard audio using CPU power. I figured it was worth a shot since I already had one. Getting about 5-6 more fps in games

wow! I mean I knew that sound cards got its own small cpu dedicated for it, but you gained that much fps!?

*orders sound card*

Btw, Ysia did you get your gpu? And which GPU did you end up with? Is it working fine now?

 

[Maaseru]

How long are you letting it sit? Have you tried reinstalling it from the beginning?

On an unrelated note, I dug out a 5.1 PCI sound card and put it in my system after reading about onboard audio using CPU power. I figured it was worth a shot since I already had one. Getting about 5-6 more fps in games

It takes like 10 min to do step 1. It reboots and continues intsllation , but it stays stuck on the part that says 'completing installation...' I can still move the mouse although it kinda freezes and if I press escape I get the do not stop installation warning, but it never ends??

 

[Ysiadmihi]

wow! I mean I knew that sound cards got its own small cpu dedicated for it, but you gained that much fps!?

*orders sound card*

Btw, Ysia did you get your gpu? And which GPU did you end up with? Is it working fine now?

I actually ended up keeping the 9800GT. I think something was definitely wrong with it at first because it was giving me a 6k score in 3dmark06, but it suddenly (with no changes to hardware or overclocking) started giving me 11k or so, which is normal. Not sure how it happened but I'm glad it did :lol

My hard drive was also partly why games were running so bad. It had a jumper limiting it to 1.5Gb/s so when new content would load during a game it would stutter horribly. It still does it, though not nearly as much now. You think they'd tell you about the jumper when you buy the thing

It takes like 10 min to do step 1. It reboots and continues intsllation , but it stays stuck on the part that says 'completing installation...' I can still move the mouse although it kinda freezes and if I press escape I get the do not stop installation warning, but it never ends??

This happened to me as well during one Vista installation. It actually completed but when it did the installation was pretty much corrupt. Your disc may be bad.

 

[Labombadog]

I actually ended up keeping the 9800GT. I think something was definitely wrong with it at first because it was giving me a 6k score in 3dmark06, but it suddenly (with no changes to hardware or overclocking) started giving me 11k or so, which is normal. Not sure how it happened but I'm glad it did :lol

My hard drive was also partly why games were running so bad. It had a jumper limiting it to 1.5Gb/s so when new content would load during a game it would stutter horribly. It still does it, though not nearly as much now. You think they'd tell you about the jumper when you buy the thing



This happened to me as well during one Vista installation. It actually completed but when it did the installation was pretty much corrupt. Your disc may be bad.

Wow, well congrats on your successful story. What games are you playing now?

Btw, add me in Steam: Labombadog

 

[FoxSpirit]

Is there currently any good place in the UK to get a Gainward 4850 golden sample, thanks to the Euro exchange rate?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

It takes like 10 min to do step 1. It reboots and continues intsllation , but it stays stuck on the part that says 'completing installation...' I can still move the mouse although it kinda freezes and if I press escape I get the do not stop installation warning, but it never ends??

Have you just let it sit?

Also--- have you tried installing a Linux distro or XP instead of Vista?

It sounds to me like it's hanging at a driver installation or driver loading if it freezes.

 

[avaya]

Is there currently any good place in the UK to get a Gainward 4850 golden sample, thanks to the Euro exchange rate?

scan.co.uk
overclockers.co.uk
dabs.com

 

[DeadTrees]

It takes like 10 min to do step 1. It reboots and continues intsllation , but it stays stuck on the part that says 'completing installation...' I can still move the mouse although it kinda freezes and if I press escape I get the do not stop installation warning, but it never ends??

Check your motherboard manufacturer's site for the latest BIOS--if you don't already have it, this would be an ideal time to do a flash.

You might also want to burn a memtest86+ disk, boot off it, and run some tests for memory errors. You may need to manually adjust your memory settings in the BIOS to get it to match the specs of your RAM.

 

[Labombadog]

E6600 @ 3.2Ghz
6Gb of DDR2 RAM
4850 @ 715/1110

I am very impressed with the 4850, sure the resolution isnt the highest but hot damn!

 

[brain_stew]

There's a good forum for you to browse around here, it's taught me quite a lot about the laptop scene (just curiosity, but I was surprised what a big community there is). It doesn't seem much of a big deal to swap out a graphics card, if you bought a laptop that has that ability.

I use to be a member there a while ago, agreed its a great forum. My knowledge is obviously out of date, which is fair enough, technology moves fast and my interest in laptops has wained significantly since building my desktop rig.

 

[brain_stew]

So what's the general consensus on building a new rig right now avoiding the new i7/DDR3/etc? How much would it last before I'm obliged to upgrade to the new architecture if I built a decent Core 2 Quad rig? I've been wanting to build a new computer myself for a while, but my budget right now is pretty restrained, and I was wondering if it would last me for a good 3 or 4 years before I have to build a new one.

Also, what would a good Core 2 Quad processor be? I'd always planned to get an C2D E8400, so I'm not really familiar with them and I'd be looking for something that tops that (the E8400, unless it's the better deal).

In terms of games, you should be fine until the next console generation hits really. Outside of GTA4 there's really nothing that taxes a good old E6600 as most setups end up GPU bound in a good majority of games. A 45nm quad will tear through anything thrown at it, and if you're willing to overclock (why not? its free performance, easy to achieve almost 100% risk free and a good learning experience) you'll be able to outperform any stock i7 you can buy today.

However, having said that if you're after saving cash and don't have a 775 motherboard then Phenom ii is the route to go. You can still buy cheap motherboards and DDR2 but will seemingly have some upgrade option. A Phenom ii is no slouch in games, especially if you take advantage of their very decent overclocking headroom.

At the end of the day you've got to remember this. A $70 E5200 and $20 cooler can give you CPU performance that is huge overkill for every game this side of GTA 4. Any E5200 will sail past 3ghz and after that point your gains are not going to be noticeable at all with any sort of "reasonable" setup.

So, got cash to burn? By all means go Core i7, want bang for buck? I'd consider your options very carefully, as a sub $200 CPU/motherboard/RAM combo will net you damn near the exact same in game experience as a Core i7 setup at more than 3 times the cost. That money may very well be better put in a GPU or stashed away for future upgrades.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

"Look at the size of that thing......"

Build will be complete on Monday (hopefully--- pending freaking UPS and their stupidness.)

Happy gaming GAF!

 

[Threi]

This is the best i could scrounge up (im going to the location, so no newegg or any of those other stores for me)

RAM: http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=016576&cid=RAM.346.307

Mobo: http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=018661&cid=MB.157 (I will try to call them to ask them to stock it when im ready to pick it up)

VCard (which I haven't decided on yet): http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=020533&cid=999.243.272 OR http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=020594&cid=999.243.272



the videocard is probably the hardest to find unfortunately

if anyone has suggestions (which are from that site only and under $130) then i would be glad to hear them.

 

[SapientWolf]

E6600 @ 3.2Ghz
6Gb of DDR2 RAM
4850 @ 715/1110

I am very impressed with the 4850, sure the resolution isnt the highest but hot damn!

I really wanted to see more benchmarks like this, so I started a benchmarking thread. Feel free to post this in there. I'm curious to see how many people are willing to participate. If that thread doesn't take off I'm just going to post all my benches in here.

People put more trust in GAF than other gaming websites for a decision on whether or not to buy a $50 game. So why shouldn't they be able to turn to GAF for all the information they need to decide how much to spend on a PC to play that game?

 

[bitq]

Hey guys I'm planning on building a system around July. Should I just wait til then to buy everything, or are there certain things that are really cheap right now? (ie. RAM). I know things usually go down in price as new and better versions are released, but maybe this doesn't apply to everything? Here's a rough plan for what I'll build:

Core 2 Duo E8400
4gb DDR2 ram
Radeon 4850
Velociraptor

Of course this'll probably change in 6 months, especially the graphics card. I know those will come down in price.

 

[Captain Knutsman]

Im not an audiophile when gaming, but that talk of adding a sound card to increase fps got my interest. Will any card do the trick? I found this (http://www.sweex.com/communicatie.php?&subsectie=4&item=27&artikel=609) for cheap.

 

[brain_stew]

This is the best i could scrounge up (im going to the location, so no newegg or any of those other stores for me)

RAM: http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=016576&cid=RAM.346.307

Mobo: http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=018661&cid=MB.157 (I will try to call them to ask them to stock it when im ready to pick it up)

VCard (which I haven't decided on yet): http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=020533&cid=999.243.272 OR http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=020594&cid=999.243.272



the videocard is probably the hardest to find unfortunately

if anyone has suggestions (which are from that site only and under $130) then i would be glad to hear them.

Given the constraints, those are pretty damn good choices, but stay the hell away from the 4650, DDR2 on a 128 bit bus is going to be bottleneck hell. The 4670 is a really nice card but stick with the 512MB version, anything more than that is just a waste. If you can stretch the 4830 it will be worth every penny.

Might want to look into an aftermarket CPU cooler as well, overclocking a Core 2 is ridiculously simple and your current CPU has over 1ghz of extra processing power just waiting to be tapped.

Edit: Oh crap just realised that 4670 is the DDR2 version. AVOID DDR2 CARDS LIKE THE PLAGUE. the 4600 series only has a 128 bit bus so it needs all the bandwidth it can get, DDR2 memory will cripple its performance.

This is the 4670 you should be looking at:

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=019954&cid=999.243.272

$20 cheaper and a very significant upgrade. Its pointless having extra memory when you don't have anything close to enough bandwidth to use it. If you can stretch to it this is the card to aim for:

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=020531&cid=999.243.272

If you're going budget though a 9600GSO for $85 is hard to argue with as well:

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=018588&cid=999.243.390

 

[HallucinatingElvis]

The thought of PC gaming is really starting to excite me, I havent gamed on PC for...7 years? well whenever the Nvidia GeForce 4 was considered tops. I have been an avid console gamer but temptation seems to be pulling at me.

So here's the deal and please dont laugh too much at my lack of knowledge. I am going in but it's gonna be baby steps, my current budget doesnt allow for much.

I am simply going to add a grfx card to my current PC but I'm lookin and I dont know what is what any more. What is a good middle of the road card at this point? I am not looking for"holy shit" performance at this point in time, I just want to get up and running again.

*edit*
I should add that my CPU and ram are going to be a serious limiting factor, 2gigs of ram and an older AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800

 

[BuddhaRockstar]

Even just seeing pictures of the standard intel heatsink give me nightmarish flashbacks of installing that foul object from the bowels of hell. I've never cursed at an inanimate object so much before...

 

[brain_stew]

The thought of PC gaming is really starting to excite me, I havent gamed on PC for...7 years? well whenever the Nvidia GeForce 4 was considered tops. I have been an avid console gamer but temptation seems to be pulling at me.

So here's the deal and please dont laugh too much at my lack of knowledge. I am going in but it's gonna be baby steps, my current budget doesnt allow for much.

I am simply going to add a grfx card to my current PC but I'm lookin and I dont know what is what any more. What is a good middle of the road card at this point? I am not looking for"holy shit" performance at this point in time, I just want to get up and running again.

What are your current specifications in detail. Budget? So long as you have a Core 2 and 2GB of RAM even a $90 videocard (4830) will max everything available out there including Crysis at 720p/30hz. You'll be surprised just how much you can get for your money.

One thing to note though is that if your system is too outdated then its often counter productive to spend money on it, soemtimes it pays to save up for a full system upgrade. Just depends on your current rig and demands, really.

Im not an audiophile when gaming, but that talk of adding a sound card to increase fps got my interest. Will any card do the trick? I found this (http://www.sweex.com/communicatie.php?&subsectie=4&item=27&artikel=609) for cheap.

You will NOT see any difference that you will notice. 1-2fps at most more than likely, and even then, that's probably only in CPU limited situations. Which are very rare. Often cheap sound cards rely on your CPU just like onboard anyway, so there's no performance gains to be had with them anyway.

Spending money on literally any other component is likely to net you a bigger fps boost.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Im not an audiophile when gaming, but that talk of adding a sound card to increase fps got my interest. Will any card do the trick? I found this (http://www.sweex.com/communicatie.php?&subsectie=4&item=27&artikel=609) for cheap.

Not a hell of a lot of information there but it looks alright.

Honestly though, if the only reason you're buying a sound card is to improve your framerate, you'd be better off just saving that money to upgrade whatever is holding your PC back. The only reason I tried it is because I had an old sound card collecting dust and a CPU bottlenecking my video card so anything to take the strain off it helps.

 

[HallucinatingElvis]

What are your current specifications

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800 and 2 gigs of Ram

 

[brain_stew]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800 and 2 gigs of Ram

Not a bad start. Throw in a $90 ATI 4830 and you're good to go really. What's the model of your motherboard? PSU?

If you've got the slots spare might as well add another 2 gigs of DDR2 800 RAM for $20, at that price its hard not to.

It might be worth looking into OCing your processor, a small bump to 3ghz could make all the differnce in the world in some games. If your motherboard is AM2+ based then you have an excellent future upgrade option in a Phenom ii processor.

 

[Open Source]

Im not an audiophile when gaming, but that talk of adding a sound card to increase fps got my interest. Will any card do the trick? I found this (http://www.sweex.com/communicatie.php?&subsectie=4&item=27&artikel=609) for cheap.

You need a card with a hardware DSP (digital signal processor). I don't think that card has one.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

So I disabled my page file and restarted to see how games run without it (I'm getting an awful lot of stuttering when new things load in game) and the XP Task Manager still says I have a page file. I've checked the settings to confirm I have it off and it is. Is it not possible to totally get rid of it under XP?

 

[HallucinatingElvis]

What's the model of your motherboard? PSU?

motherboard-Asus M2N68-LA but for the life of me I cant find any info on the PSU, I'm at work so I cany actually look at the computer.

also I was wrong about the CPU, it's an AMD 4400 not a 4800

 

[rohlfinator]

Hey guys I'm planning on building a system around July. Should I just wait til then to buy everything, or are there certain things that are really cheap right now? (ie. RAM). I know things usually go down in price as new and better versions are released, but maybe this doesn't apply to everything?

The CPU, video card, and hard drive will drop in price for sure. I don't follow RAM too much ... prices are supposedly relatively low right now, but I would guess they're going to continue dropping slightly as the transition to DDR3 continues.

The only thing I'd consider buying ahead of time is the case, but only if I had a specific case in mind and found an exceptional deal. Same thing might happen with PSUs or CPU coolers as well, but by July you might change your mind about other components and need something different.

 

[Captain Knutsman]

You need a card with a hardware DSP (digital signal processor). I don't think that card has one.

How do i check if a card has a dsp? Most manufacturers don't tell it in their specs :l Are there any pointers like, if it supports dolby, then it has a dsp?

 

[godhandiscen]

Upgraded on January 3rd. (was banned then).

Parts I upgraded to:

ASUS RAMPAGE EXTREME EDITION II (Best motherboard currently available for i7)

CORE i7 940

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

I already had a 4870x2, Corsair 750XT, Antec 900, and all other components.

 

[Hazaro]

Upgraded on January 3rd. (was banned then).

I already had a 4870x2, Corsair 750XT, Antec 900, and all other components.

940 over a 920?
Really?
:|

 

[Minsc]

So I disabled my page file and restarted to see how games run without it (I'm getting an awful lot of stuttering when new things load in game) and the XP Task Manager still says I have a page file. I've checked the settings to confirm I have it off and it is. Is it not possible to totally get rid of it under XP?

I've never read anything to suggest turning the page file off is a good idea, I vaguely remember reading the opposite actually. So I'm not too surprised performance is worse. I think XP needs the page file to function correctly regardless. All I've read about it is it should be set to be in proportion to your RAM, I just forget what. I set my to 4 gigs, with no variable size, but don't think that means anything.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

I've never read anything to suggest turning the page file off is a good idea, I vaguely remember reading the opposite actually. So I'm not too surprised performance is worse. I think XP needs the page file to function correctly regardless. All I've read about it is it should be set to be in proportion to your RAM, I just forget what. I set my to 4 gigs, with no variable size, but don't think that means anything.

Ah, I meant the stuttering happens when the page file is accessed. I know it's a bad idea to have it off but I just wanted to do some testing.

I finally got rid of it and played some Crysis and it ran smoother than I've ever seen it...until I tried to load a quick save and it crashed :lol

But I did change the HDD my page file was on and it still runs pretty smooth now anyway.

 

[KimiNewt]

"Look at the size of that thing......"

Build will be complete on Monday (hopefully--- pending freaking UPS and their stupidness.)

Happy gaming GAF!

I just got the same case it seems.. and I can't get one of those front panels off for the life of me.
I don't want to start breaking shit and maybe I'm dumb but I didn't manage to take one of them off. Any luck with that?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

You talking about the front panel itself or the actual panels on the front panel?

 

[brain_stew]

motherboard-Asus M2N68-LA but for the life of me I cant find any info on the PSU, I'm at work so I cany actually look at the computer.

also I was wrong about the CPU, it's an AMD 4400 not a 4800

From what I gather this is a HP desktop? To check the usefullness of the PSU, take off the side of the case and check the sticker on your PSU to see what it can deliver on its 12V rail. It should be fine for a 4830 though as its not a massive power hog really.

Since its not a custom built rig OCing is out of the picture which is a shame but an X2 4400+ isn't too bad of a CPU really and it'll handle most games just fine.

So basically my advice is buy these two items from Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211363

And for $105 after rebate ($125 before) you have a very capable gaming rig. Anything should run well, but obviously more CPU intensive games are going to be more taxing. Again, make sure to make note of what your PSU can deliver on its 12V rail here before going ahead, but I doubt this will prove a problem.

Could you list the model number of your HP desktop please? It "may" support an upgrade to a quad core Phenom which is great for a future upgrade path, so the more I know about the machine the better chance I can find out wether that upgrade route is a goer. Still at the very least an Athlon X2 6000 is a possible CPU upgrade and whilst not a massive leap in performance its very cheap and should add a little more life to your rig.

Still, the X2 6000+ is definitely something to consider, as it can keep up (often outperform) an E6600 which is more than enough for today's games. So if you add this to your Newegg order:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103272

Then for less than $200 you've transformed your rig into a very capable gaming machine, which is not a bad use of the money at all.

 

[Keen]

Finally got fed up with my ~5+ years old deskop. So I'm planning a new one.

I tried building an i7-system and a 775 one, and they came out roughly the same price wise.

So I'm currently thinking:

Proc:Intel Core™ i7 920 Quad Processor
Mobo+memory:MSI X58 memorybundle MSI X58 Platinum + Corsair TWIN3X 1600MHz DDR3, 6GB
PSU:Corsair Powersupply 620W, 120mm Fan
gfx:Gainward GeForce GTX 295 1792MB PhysX
hdd:Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA2 32MB 7200RPM

I already have a case, Antec P180, 2 additional hdds, and a monitor. As well as cd-burner, and a floppy drive
I plan to game on my plasma, so I want to build something that'll handle that. So basically spend a bit more now, and then I don't have to worry about it for a year or so.

I've really been out of the loop pc-gaming wise for a while as my comp started freezing up even when I only was playing something as undemanding as Counter Strike. :/

Thoughts?
I'll probably get a new CPU-fan later, unless it is critical that I get one right away.

 

[HallucinatingElvis]

From what I gather this is a HP desktop? To check the usefullness of the PSU, take off the side of the case and check the sticker on your PSU to see what it can deliver on its 12V rail. It should be fine for a 4830 though as its not a massive power hog really.

Since its not a custom built rig OCing is out of the picture which is a shame but an X2 4400+ isn't too bad of a CPU really and it'll handle most games just fine.

So basically my advice is buy these two items from Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211363

And for $105 after rebate ($125 before) you have a very capable gaming rig. Anything should run well, but obviously more CPU intensive games are going to be more taxing. Again, make sure to make note of what your PSU can deliver on its 12V rail here before going ahead, but I doubt this will prove a problem.

Could you list the model number of your HP desktop please? It "may" support an upgrade to a quad core Phenom which is great for a future upgrade path, so the more I know about the machine the better chance I can find out wether that upgrade route is a goer. Still at the very least an Athlon X2 6000 is a possible CPU upgrade and whilst not a massive leap in performance its very cheap and should add a little more life to your rig.

Still, the X2 6000+ is definitely something to consider, as it can keep up (often outperform) an E6600 which is more than enough for today's games. So if you add this to your Newegg order:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103272

Then for less than $200 you've transformed your rig into a very capable gaming machine, which is not a bad use of the money at all.

what am I looking for on my PSU? it's 250 watt.

the PC model is a6110n

 

[FoxSpirit]

Guys, how much would a HD4850 be choked by a E4400@stock (mobo no ocable)?
I know a lot of games are mostly GPU bound, unless we talk of Crysis and GTAIV (top of my head), but let's say for mostly RTS stuff and SFIV, this should be ok, right?

 

[Clevinger]

i have a quick question:

is a 450 watt power supply enough for

4870 1gb
E8400 3.0 dual core
1 harddrive
1 dvd player/burner
a motherboard
a soundcard

?

thanks a bunch

 

[Crazymoogle]

How do i check if a card has a dsp? Most manufacturers don't tell it in their specs :l Are there any pointers like, if it supports dolby, then it has a dsp?

Reviews are the only way, really. Even Creative Labs sells versions of their X-Fi series now that let the CPU do the muscle-work. :/

 

[godhandiscen]

940 over a 920?
Really?
:|

Yeah I know, but I won't be OC'ing all the time (not during summer for example, my room gets too hot and I am mostly at the beach anyway). That is also why I got the Rampage II. I OC on the go manually by just pressing a stick, and it OC's through Bios. Also, I have the processor at 3.3 GHz stable on the stock cooler. I am still thinking about which cooler I will get. I was strongly thinking about getting the same cooler as Victim since it is still the higuest ranked air cooling solution in [H], but I might go the watercooling route, and just OC all the time. Also air cooling solutions will fuck screw up once I get the fans for the dominator, and OC my memory to 1800.


edit: Ohh and my 4870x2 started overheating, so I am using my spare right now. I will post some benches later, but I can link to a couple pics of some numbers I got before I had to RMA my card.

 

[brain_stew]

what am I looking for on my PSU? it's 250 watt.

the PC model is a6110n

250 watt? Well that's not great really but often companies like HP vatly underrate their PSUs, I know Dell does. You need to see how many amps it can deliver on its 12V rail. There'll likely be a row with different voltages and underneath the amperage delivered per rail. If you can't figure it out, just take a picture of the sticker and we'll tell you what its capable of. A figure of "250 watts" means very little, it all depends on where it distributes that power and whether that's a peak or constant figure.

Is it a standard ATX PSU from what you can gather or a custom design? If its just standard ATX then it might be worth upgrading it, if not you've still got plenty of options. A 4670 has negligible power demands yet delivers decent gaming performance for $70. Still, if a 4830 can be run on your PSU, then its well worth the added cost over a 4670

Edit: Seems it takes a standard ATX PSU. Right my final advice is this either a:

buy this for $70 and be done with it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161252

You'd actually achieve the goals set out in your original post with that, and its a great low cost option.

Or b:

Do a proper upgrde, whilst still not breaking the bank. Probably the best thing to do long term, but all depends on whether you have the spare cash now, and are comfortable upgrading your PSU and CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171018

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103272

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211363

That comes to about $230 and you get a better CPU, more RAM, much better PSU and a sizeable graphics boost. It'd be money well spent, but as I say, the other option gets what you need doing for minimal outlay and fuss so the choice is yours really.

 

[Doubledex]

Question!
I'm going to buy a "Radeon HD 4870 1GB"
A friend of mine still says: A GTX 260 fast & better (for games) than mine (above).
So.... that's actually true??

 

[brain_stew]

Question!
I'm going to buy a "Radeon HD 4870 1GB"
A friend of mine still says: A GTX 260 fast & better (for games) than mine (above).
So.... that's actually true??

A GTX 260 (CORE 216) is roughly on par. The standard GTX 260 is not able to keep up. ATM the 4870 1GB is by far and away the best card in the ~$200 bracket, its an excellent buy.

 

[avaya]

Question!
I'm going to buy a "Radeon HD 4870 1GB"
A friend of mine still says: A GTX 260 fast & better (for games) than mine (above).
So.... that's actually true??

In actual performance in games you can't tell the difference, with newest ForceWare drivers it's a tiny bit faster. Nvidia just has superior drivers by the looks of it so from a stability point of view that's the only decision you have to make apart from price.

 

[godhandiscen]

Question!
I'm going to buy a "Radeon HD 4870 1GB"
A friend of mine still says: A GTX 260 fast & better (for games) than mine (above).
So.... that's actually true??

Your friend doesn't know jack. The 48701GB competes with the GTX216 (core 216), not with the regular GTX260.

In actual performance in games you can't tell the difference, with newest ForceWare drivers it's a tiny bit faster. Nvidia just has superior drivers by the looks of it so from a stability point of view that's the only decision you have to make apart from price.

8.12 upgraded the performance of the 48xx series. There isn't a difference between a 48701GB and the GTX260 core 216.

 

[avaya]

Finally got fed up with my ~5+ years old deskop. So I'm planning a new one.

I tried building an i7-system and a 775 one, and they came out roughly the same price wise.

So I'm currently thinking:

Proc:Intel Core™ i7 920 Quad Processor
Mobo+memory:MSI X58 memorybundle MSI X58 Platinum + Corsair TWIN3X 1600MHz DDR3, 6GB
PSU:Corsair Powersupply 620W, 120mm Fan
gfx:Gainward GeForce GTX 295 1792MB PhysX
hdd:Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA2 32MB 7200RPM

I already have a case, Antec P180, 2 additional hdds, and a monitor. As well as cd-burner, and a floppy drive
I plan to game on my plasma, so I want to build something that'll handle that. So basically spend a bit more now, and then I don't have to worry about it for a year or so.

I've really been out of the loop pc-gaming wise for a while as my comp started freezing up even when I only was playing something as undemanding as Counter Strike. :/

Thoughts?
I'll probably get a new CPU-fan later, unless it is critical that I get one right away.

Going down a very similar route to myself, mine arrives on Tuesday hopefully.

I would swap the Gainward 295 for an EVGA 295 - the newer ones have backplates for better cooling or an XFX 295.

Intel stock cooler is fine for the 920, but get a Thermalright TRUE or a Noctua NH-U12P (this is the one I opted for over the TRUE).

8.12 upgraded the performance of the 48xx series. There isn't a difference between a 48701GB and the GTX260 core 216.

Nice! Also do they still sell the regular 260's anymore? I thought nearly all of them are now Core 216's @55nm.

 

[Doubledex]

Your friend doesn't know jack. The 48701GB competes with the GTX216 (core 216), not with the regular GTX260.

8.12 upgraded the performance of the 48xx series. There isn't a difference between a 48701GB and the GTX260 core 216.

He said "watch this link. The GTX260 is a little bit better/faster"
?? ;-/

 

[brain_stew]

Finally got fed up with my ~5+ years old deskop. So I'm planning a new one.

I tried building an i7-system and a 775 one, and they came out roughly the same price wise.

So I'm currently thinking:

Proc:Intel Core™ i7 920 Quad Processor
Mobo+memory:MSI X58 memorybundle MSI X58 Platinum + Corsair TWIN3X 1600MHz DDR3, 6GB
PSU:Corsair Powersupply 620W, 120mm Fan
gfx:Gainward GeForce GTX 295 1792MB PhysX
hdd:Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA2 32MB 7200RPM

I already have a case, Antec P180, 2 additional hdds, and a monitor. As well as cd-burner, and a floppy drive
I plan to game on my plasma, so I want to build something that'll handle that. So basically spend a bit more now, and then I don't have to worry about it for a year or so.

I've really been out of the loop pc-gaming wise for a while as my comp started freezing up even when I only was playing something as undemanding as Counter Strike. :/

Thoughts?
I'll probably get a new CPU-fan later, unless it is critical that I get one right away.

Is it a 1080p plasma? Honestly that's not the most taxing of resolutions, heck Crysis is the only thing that gives my lowly 4850 trouble at 1080p. If you've got the cash then by all means go ahead, but be aware that a ~$200 1GB 4870 is all you need as nothing as remotely taxing as Crysis is on the horizon for several years. Fact is, you're paying a huge premium here for a boost that you might not even notice in game.

Oh, and if its only a 768p panel then you'd have to be CRAZY to go with a GTX 295.

 

[Chris Remo]

Have the Intel price cuts made their way to retail yet? What models will/did they affect?

I'm considering upgrading my E6600 CPU, as it's the weakest component in my machine.

My motherboard is an nForce 680i--I'm wondering if it makes sense to buy another CPU that's compatible with that board, or if I might as well look a little further out and just upgrade my motherboard as well so I'm not limiting myself.