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[evil solrac v3.0]

Not at 1920x1200. Try 1600x1050.

yes, you are right.crysis is about the only game that forces me to play at 1600x1200. well, if i can get better results than what i get right now (22-30 FPS with an SLI set-up@1600x1200) then i am more than happy.

 

[Irulan]

He does. If he is going to OC that Phenom, he will end up raising the voltage.


No way. 550 would barely cut it. I have experience with the Phenom II.

Also, the 4870 chip is as small as it gets. Future ATI GPU's will be bigger in die size so you will obviously need more power if you are considering an upgrade. Don't go for the minimum if it is a new build. also, if you want to CrossFire in the future, you will be thankful with a 750 PSU. Seriously, don't skimp on the PSU with a new build if you have the budget.

System Type: Single Processor
Motherboard: Regular - Desktop
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940 3000 MHz Deneb
CPU Utilization (TDP): 85% TDP

RAM: 2 Sticks DDR2 SDRAM
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870
Video Type: Single Card

SATA HDD: 1 HDD

DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive: 1 Drive

Sound Blaster - All Models: Yes

Fans
Regular: 4 Fans 92mm;

Keyboard and mouse: Yes

System Load: 90 %


Recommended Wattage: 324 Watts

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

I'm running a core i7 system on a 520W corsair power supply myself, 0 issues with it.

 

[godhandiscen]

That is the basic compsumption. A 550W PSU doesnt even give him room to add a future card in case he wants to upgrade. And since his motherboard is an AMD one, it supports Crossfire out of the box.

yes, you are right.crysis is about the only game that forces me to play at 1600x1200. well, if i can get better results than what i get right now (22-30 FPS with an SLI set-up@1600x1200) then i am more than happy.

I have a 295 (2 cards in one), and each of the cards overclocked past the 280 shader clock, and I am ok with the results in Crysis. I do get 40-50fps at enthusiast with 2xAA and V-Sync. The cool thing, is that I haven't even OC'd my processor that much, so I am still processor constrained. I have a Core i7 940 at 3.3GHz. I have seen people OC'ing it to 4.0GHz like nothing with a decent cooler. I am running the stock one at the moment.

edit: Wow, that calculator recommend a 539W for my system, while Nvidia recommends a 680W as a minimum.

 

[M.Bluth]

My PC is starting to die on me..

So I'm upgrading sooner than I planned, but because I didn't save enough yet for the planned upgrade I won't be buying a hard drive, a SATA DVD drive, or a case, and because my plan included the DirectX11 cards, I won't be buying a high end video card right now.

Here's what I am thinking of buying, feel free to give any suggestions:

CPU: Intel Core i7 920
MB: ASUS P6T Deluxe
RAM: 3GB. I'm not in the US so I won't be buying from newegg, the RAM will be whatever is available in the shops here, last time I checked they had (IIRC) a Corsair 1066 3x1GB pack (For the time being I don't need anything more than 3GB)
VGA: HD4850, since I'm planning to change it anyway, I don't wanna buy anything more expensive, will give it to my cousin when I upgrade, so it's all good.
PSU: I think a Thermaltake (they don't sell Corsairs here) 750W will be enough even for future upgrades.. right?

And one thing, I'll be buying a CPU heatsink later on, because my current case is not big enough.. Is it hard changing heatsinks? I never done it before

 

[godhandiscen]

That is very good. If you are getting a 4850 now, I would recommend skipping the first generation of DX11 cards. At what resolution do you play?

 

[M.Bluth]

Doesn't matter, I've got the perfect display, a CRT

 

[Zyzyxxz]

I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong but my OCing results are pretty disappointing with my Phenom II 920.

I haven't been able to get it to run a 1-hour test without a crash @ 3.5 ghz, I've upped the voltage to 1.5v and it didn't help since I was getting BSOD in games I was playing.

I was reading Xbits overclocking review and they were able to hit 3.36 ghz without even turning up the voltage.

It's running pretty cool now on the stock cooler, about 32-33C idle, 43-46C playing Team Fortress 2 maxed out.

 

[Irulan]

edit: Wow, that calculator recommend a 539W for my system, while Nvidia recommends a 680W as a minimum.

Nvidia probably takes a large safety margin because there are a lot of crappy power supplies on the market that claim big numbers but can't actually sustain them. I'm quite sure a good name-brand PSU of around 600W would have no problems running your setup.

 

[Cheeto]

I'm in need of a development laptop. I'm doing a lot of consulting and contracting work on the off hours now, but I still want to spend a little time with the misses. So I think a laptop I can work on in the living room with her would be great.

Any recommendations?

Wanted Features:

• Large Screen
• Fast CPU (GPU is not important)

 

[garath]

I'm in need of a development laptop. I'm doing a lot of consulting and contracting work on the off hours now, but I still want to spend a little time with the misses. So I think a laptop I can work on in the living room with her would be great.

Any recommendations?

Wanted Features:

• Large Screen
• Fast CPU (GPU is not important)

We use IBM Thinkpads at work. It is a very good work laptop.

 

[godhandiscen]

I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong but my OCing results are pretty disappointing with my Phenom II 920.

I haven't been able to get it to run a 1-hour test without a crash @ 3.5 ghz, I've upped the voltage to 1.5v and it didn't help since I was getting BSOD in games I was playing.

I was reading Xbits overclocking review and they were able to hit 3.36 ghz without even turning up the voltage.

It's running pretty cool now on the stock cooler, about 32-33C idle, 43-46C playing Team Fortress 2 maxed out.

What motherboard do you have?

Nvidia probably takes a large safety margin because there are a lot of crappy power supplies on the market that claim big numbers but can't actually sustain them. I'm quite sure a good name-brand PSU of around 600W would have no problems running your setup.

Even then, you have to consider capacitor aging. I don't doubt my system would turn on with a 600W though.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

That is the basic compsumption. A 550W PSU doesnt even give him room to add a future card in case he wants to upgrade. And since his motherboard is an AMD one, it supports Crossfire out of the box.

I have a 295 (2 cards in one), and each of the cards overclocked past the 280 shader clock, and I am ok with the results in Crysis. I do get 40-50fps at enthusiast with 2xAA and V-Sync. The cool thing, is that I haven't even OC'd my processor that much, so I am still processor constrained. I have a Core i7 940 at 3.3GHz. I have seen people OC'ing it to 4.0GHz like nothing with a decent cooler. I am running the stock one at the moment.

edit: Wow, that calculator recommend a 539W for my system, while Nvidia recommends a 680W as a minimum.

enthutiast is mid-level right?

 

[godhandiscen]

enthutiast is mid-level right?

No, enthusiast is the maximum settings. Basically I play at max with AAx2 and AF but at 1600x1050 (monitor res). Never drops below 30fps (tested the whole game already), and reaches 60fps at points. However I wasn't expecting any less of that card. I am still upgrading to a double DX11 card though. I won't be happy until I can run through Crysis at 60fps+ the whole game.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

What motherboard do you have?

ASrock 790GX/SB750

 

[godhandiscen]

ASrock 790GX/SB750

There shouldn't be any problem... what are you using as a test? AMD Overdrive? I remember my OC on the original Phenom wouldn't pass the AOD stability test, but I would be able to play for countless hours and nothing would go wrong.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

There shouldn't be any problem... what are you using as a test? AMD Overdrive? I remember my OC on the original Phenom wouldn't pass the AOD stability test, but I would be able to play for countless hours and nothing would go wrong.

I'm doing everything through BIOS, the AMD overdrive freezes when I try using it and it has problems reporting correct voltages so I use CPU-Z to check on it.

Well I'm happy with the speed it has now anyway as the only game I can't get to run without drops in framerates is Crysis of course, everything else is butter.

 

[K.Jack]

I'm in need of a development laptop. I'm doing a lot of consulting and contracting work on the off hours now, but I still want to spend a little time with the misses. So I think a laptop I can work on in the living room with her would be great.

Any recommendations?

Wanted Features:

• Large Screen
• Fast CPU (GPU is not important)

1. What's your budget?

2. When you say "Fast CPU", are you talking mobile Core 2 Quad, or is high-end mobile Core 2 Duo in the 2.66 to 3.06Ghz range sufficient?

3. How much battery life do you need?

4. What's your budget?

5. GPU: Is a Quadro at all preferred?

 

[lachesis]

Well, I'm thinking of getting Q9650, which recently the price dropped 40%... to replace my old Q6600, not the G0 stepping one... before I finally move to Corei7 sometime in the future.

I'm not so sure of what kind of LGA775 chips are in the que now - and am not even sure whether there will be any new ones - at best, I could only see cheaper, more power saving ones in the que... so I think Q9650 might be as best as it gets when it comes down to Core2 Quad.

Anyhow, coming from Q6600, stock speed - what kind of 3DS Max rendering speed improvements could I expect from about 20-25% increase in CPU speed? Would it be safe to say it will render fater about the same 20-25%? Since I have a decent cooler (Zalman 9700) already, I'm thinking of OC'ing this around 3.6 - 3.8.. which would be even faster... but I just can't think of how much of real life difference it would make in terms of rendering...?

 

[Cheeto]

1. What's your budget?

2. When you say "Fast CPU", are you talking mobile Core 2 Quad, or is high-end mobile Core 2 Duo in the 2.66 to 3.06Ghz range sufficient?

3. How much battery life do you need?

4. What's your budget?

5. GPU: Is a Quadro at all preferred?

1. No more than $2k, but prefferably around 1k. I'm flexible depending on the options.

2. I could probably use the Quad, so Quad.

3. Not much of a concern, as it'd be plugged in 90% of the time. Although, I might be presuaded by one with exceptional battery life...for trips and whatnot.

4. One Hundred Billion Dollars

5. Eh, wouldn't hurt if the price is right. But I really won't be doing much 3d work at all on it.

 

[brain_stew]

Well, I'm thinking of getting Q9650, which recently the price dropped 40%... to replace my old Q6600, not the G0 stepping one... before I finally move to Corei7 sometime in the future.

I'm not so sure of what kind of LGA775 chips are in the que now - and am not even sure whether there will be any new ones - at best, I could only see cheaper, more power saving ones in the que... so I think Q9650 might be as best as it gets when it comes down to Core2 Quad.

Anyhow, coming from Q6600, stock speed - what kind of 3DS Max rendering speed improvements could I expect from about 20-25% increase in CPU speed? Would it be safe to say it will render fater about the same 20-25%? Since I have a decent cooler (Zalman 9700) already, I'm thinking of OC'ing this around 3.6 - 3.8.. which would be even faster... but I just can't think of how much of real life difference it would make in terms of rendering...?

You might as well just attempt to overclock your current quad. The difference between a 45nm and 60nm quad is around 10% clock for clock, so if you can get a decent clock out of your Q6600 the jump would be very small.

I'd think you'd struggle to justify moving from one socket 775 quad to another, the leap is just too small to justify it imo. Personally I'd recommend saving your cash until you can afford a full upgrade to a core i7 overclocking your Q6600 should more than see you through that period.

 

[lachesis]

You might as well just attempt to overclock your current quad. The difference between a 45nm and 60nm quad is around 10% clock for clock, so if you can get a decent clock out of your Q6600 the jump would be very small.

I'd think you'd struggle to justify moving from one socket 775 quad to another, the leap is just too small to justify it imo. Personally I'd recommend saving your cash until you can afford a full upgrade to a core i7 overclocking your Q6600 should more than see you through that period.

Perhaps you are correct. I have old B1 (or is it B3?) stepping Q6600, so I'm having a little bit of hard time OC'ing that thing. I'd like to have it over 3gh, but the temps are pretty hot. I know I could push it little bit, but just don't want to take much risk doing so... I left it at stock speed. maybe I'd need to lap the thing and give a little bit of boost... that's one option, I should consider.

Jump to Corei7 isn't a problem of the money, but my wife is going to kill me if I'm to build a whole new rig (even though it's just MB/CPU/Ram change..) What she really wanted to have is actually 2nd monitor, so I might just get the 2nd monitor and be done for a while. Thanks for your input!

 

[Tideas]

man, i wonder when the i5 or cheaper i7 mobo gonna come out. I know DDR3 mem will get cheaper by the days, but the mobos is still too damn expensive

 

[godhandiscen]

Well, I'm thinking of getting Q9650, which recently the price dropped 40%... to replace my old Q6600, not the G0 stepping one... before I finally move to Corei7 sometime in the future.

I'm not so sure of what kind of LGA775 chips are in the que now - and am not even sure whether there will be any new ones - at best, I could only see cheaper, more power saving ones in the que... so I think Q9650 might be as best as it gets when it comes down to Core2 Quad.

Anyhow, coming from Q6600, stock speed - what kind of 3DS Max rendering speed improvements could I expect from about 20-25% increase in CPU speed? Would it be safe to say it will render fater about the same 20-25%? Since I have a decent cooler (Zalman 9700) already, I'm thinking of OC'ing this around 3.6 - 3.8.. which would be even faster... but I just can't think of how much of real life difference it would make in terms of rendering...?

No. I don't consider it a wise move. Just save for the Core i7. The difference is crazy.


Also, this is a question about uour habits. Do you guys uninstall games when you are done with them? I feel like uninstalling Warhead. However, I still have over 400GB left. I feel like I am falling into some OCD habits with my PC trying to keep it running fast. This is a curse.

 

[godhandiscen]

dp

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Jaw literally dropped when I looked at the memory bandwidth numbers. :lol

 

[Chiggs]

Hello, guys. Been awhile.

Current Specs:

Q9550 (stock)
8GB of DDR2
1 gig 4870 (oc'd)
Audigy Extreme Gamer

I want to give my system some extra juice for some upcoming titles like Demigod and the new Empire game. Would you suggest a complete system overhaul, or would you just throw a GTX 295 in there?

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

Jaw literally dropped when I looked at the memory bandwidth numbers. :lol

does your wife know what you spend your money on?????

and what kind of results would i get with a GTX285 (like the one you recommended) and a Q6600?

 

[K.Jack]

http://i42.tinypic.com/1sz88w.jpg
Jaw literally dropped when I looked at the memory bandwidth numbers. :lol

Mmm I can't wait to see what Nvidia does later this year with the mobile GT200.

Hello, guys. Been awhile.

Current Specs:

Q9550 (stock)
8GB of DDR2
1 gig 4870 (oc'd)
Audigy Extreme Gamer

I want to give my system some extra juice for some upcoming titles like Demigod and the new Empire game. Would you suggest a complete system overhaul, or would you just throw a GTX 295 in there?

How demanding is the next Empire supposed to be? I can't see your current setup needing a boost to max those games.

 

[Chiggs]

How demanding is the next Empire supposed to be? I can't see your current setup needing a boost to max those games.

That's a good question. All I know is that it looks unbelievable and I just want to be ready to play it without compromise.

 

[Chairhome]

So, I sold some old games off and now I think I'm ready to upgrade my Video Card.

I'm thinking of getting this 4870 and this power supply. I was thinking about going for the 1GB version of the 4870, but I don't want to overdo it, I think the 512MB should be fine for some decent gaming. Correct me if I'm wrong! Just wanted some thoughts on my selections, thanks guys, this thread is great.

Also, do any of you usually opt for the newegg extended warranties, or should I just stick with the manufacturer's warranty?

 

[FoxSpirit]

A short update: changed my case fan to this

NoiseBlocker-Multiframe® S-Series MF12-S2


Also cleaned up the wiring a bit for better airflow. Now my chipset only becomes a bit hot anymore, great improvement from "so hot it worries me". And that thing is really quiet, great investment

 

[VictimOfGrief]

does your wife know what you spend your money on?????

and what kind of results would i get with a GTX285 (like the one you recommended) and a Q6600?

Boy does she.... You would have great results even with just one. I seriously think now that I've tasted SLi am never going to be a single GPU guy again. :lol

 

[rc213]

A short update: changed my case fan to this

NoiseBlocker-Multiframe® S-Series MF12-S2


Also cleaned up the wiring a bit for better airflow. Now my chipset only becomes a bit hot anymore, great improvement from "so hot it worries me". And that thing is really quiet, great investment

That fan looks like a beast, Where did you get it?

Anyone have any links for good shops that have a decent selection of fans?

 

[Crazymoogle]

and what kind of results would i get with a GTX285 (like the one you recommended) and a Q6600?

I have a Q6700 + GTX285

The scientific answer is "rockawesome". :lol

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I have a Q6700 + GTX285

The scientific answer is "rockawesome". :lol

this is Spinal tap "awesome" the "Ramones" AWESOME, HELP ME OUT. :lol

 

[godhandiscen]

Hello, guys. Been awhile.

Current Specs:

Q9550 (stock)
8GB of DDR2
1 gig 4870 (oc'd)
Audigy Extreme Gamer

I want to give my system some extra juice for some upcoming titles like Demigod and the new Empire game. Would you suggest a complete system overhaul, or would you just throw a GTX 295 in there?

I was running DemiGod just fine maxed at 60fps with my old Phenom and 4870x2. I would say just upgrade to a GTX295.

Boy does she.... You would have great results even with just one. I seriously think now that I've tasted SLi am never going to be a single GPU guy again. :lol

hi5.

 

[YuriLowell]

Just got my asus board and everything is running well.

Although for some reason my bios says cpu fan error any guess?

 

[godhandiscen]

Just got my asus board and everything is running well.

Although for some reason my bios says cpu fan error any guess?

Are they spinning?

and what kind of results would i get with a GTX285 (like the one you recommended) and a Q6600?

Very good. However, that CPU has to be OC'd beyond 3.3GHz in order to keep up with your GPU.

 

[Crazymoogle]

this is Spinal tap "awesome" the "Ramones" AWESOME, HELP ME OUT. :lol

Damn, I don't have the scientific instruments to do such a test! :lol

Seriously though, I just played through the entirety of Portal in 1680x1050, every setting pushed as far as the meter goes, and the framerate never seemed to drop (not to mention the fan never spun up past "quiet".) Ditto for Stalker and TF2. Haven't tried Crysis yet, but basically, the card is not getting winded. At all.

I'm sure Crysis will beat down anything at absolute max settings but I should be able to run it at 1680x1050 and make it both playable and damned pretty looking. Will probably pick up that or Warhead on the weekend to test.

 

[Ryoma-Echizen]

Wow, the news this days are hot.

Phenom II humilliates Corei7 in gaming with single GPU configs.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/socket-am3-phenom,2148-10.html

And many more, everyone of them.

 

[BlackGoku03]

I guess I can ask this here since I didn't get an answer in another thread.

I have a Inspiron E1505 and I want to replace my CPU. I was wondering if my BIOS would allow for it or not... if my computer would be compatible with a more powerful Core 2 Duo processor. I want to play more game on my laptop but my processor is weak. I think I'll just start building a gaming rig if it's not possible to upgrade my cpu.

OS Name   Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium
System Type    X86-based PC
Processor	Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU   T5200  @ 1.60GHz, 1600 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date	Dell Inc. A17, 6/13/2007
SMBIOS Version	2.4
Total Physical Memory	2,045.82 MB
ATI Mobility Radeon X1400

 

[lachesis]

No. I don't consider it a wise move. Just save for the Core i7. The difference is crazy.

Also, this is a question about uour habits. Do you guys uninstall games when you are done with them? I feel like uninstalling Warhead. However, I still have over 400GB left. I feel like I am falling into some OCD habits with my PC trying to keep it running fast. This is a curse.

I just searched some rendering benchmark result, and whoa. Hyperthreading really does make diffrerence. Even the lower end, lower clocked Corei7 (920 I think) is beating out Q9650 by good margin. Thanks for the advise. I'll save for the Core i7 sometime later this year.

As per the HDD habits... yes. I also uninstall all games when I'm done. I just don't see any reason to keep them around when I'm done anyhow... unless it's an addiction like StarCraft back in the days. Even SC, I unistalled it quite a while ago, and never looked back, though.

 

[K.Jack]

I've got an interesting question for all of you Desktop PC giants:

Why isn't anyone waiting to see what the Core i5 will put out in terms of gaming price/performance?

 

[Chris R]

What are the current best ATI drivers for a 4870? Just did a fresh reformat since I was running into BSODs all over the place with my old one, and my computer just needed general clean up anyways.

 

[godhandiscen]

Wow, the news this days are hot.

Phenom II humilliates Corei7 in gaming with single GPU configs.

And many more, everyone of them.

I saw that yesterday. AMD is pulling a Hail Mary. If they post a similar loss during this year as they have been doing for the past 3, then it is game over. Hopefully they stay alive. I have always been an AMD fan, but the Core i7 was what made me switch brands.

I've got an interesting question for all of you Desktop PC giants:

Why isn't anyone waiting to see what the Core i5 will put out in terms of gaming price/performance?

I wanted the best I could afford. Also, it feels good to know what whatever is coming during this year will be slower than what you already have. Therefore, no need to worry about what kind of CPU you will need to run the most demanding titles at the higuest settings.

I guess I can ask this here since I didn't get an answer in another thread.

I have a Inspiron E1505 and I want to replace my CPU. I was wondering if my BIOS would allow for it or not... if my computer would be compatible with a more powerful Core 2 Duo processor. I want to play more game on my laptop but my processor is weak. I think I'll just start building a gaming rig if it's not possible to upgrade my cpu.

Build a gaming rig. You will see minimal gains on that laptop. I would say your GPU is your bottleneck too.

 

[Ranger X]

Quick question you pros


How do I check the motherboard and CPU temperature? I own a Asus P6T with an CoreI7 920.

Actually i'd like to know if there's some good and free software I could use for that? I actually want to test if it's necessary to leave my case's fans at "medium" because they are really loud...

.

 

[godhandiscen]

Quick question you pros


How do I check the motherboard and CPU temperature? I own a Asus P6T with an CoreI7 920.

Actually i'd like to know if there's some good and free software I could use for that? I actually want to test if it's necessary to leave my case's fans at "medium" because they are really loud...

.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1325/Real_Temp_3.00.html

My temps are depressing. Fucking stock cooler.

What are the current best ATI drivers for a 4870? Just did a fresh reformat since I was running into BSODs all over the place with my old one, and my computer just needed general clean up anyways.

Cat 9.1

 

[Ranger X]

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1325/Real_Temp_3.00.html

My temps are depressing. Fucking stock cooler.

holyshit that was fast. Tks alot


.

 

[DeadTrees]

I have a Inspiron E1505 and I want to replace my CPU. I was wondering if my BIOS would allow for it or not... if my computer would be compatible with a more powerful Core 2 Duo processor. I want to play more game on my laptop but my processor is weak. I think I'll just start building a gaming rig if it's not possible to upgrade my cpu.

The processor is upgradeable (see this Dell forum thread), but the pricing is absolutely not worth the bother.

 

[Ranger X]

I knew I would have more question.

Not sure I get the interface. There's 4 different temperature numbers and 4 different "TJ max" numbers.

Why is there 4 numbers and what is TJ max?

.