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[brain_stew]

Is the 720 faster than the Intel 8500?

I don't overclock, I just run stock and those two are basically the same price.

Slightly slower in dual/single threaded apps but you've got an extra core, more OCing headroom (seriously read up on OCing, you'll be surprised how easy and safe it is and the 720 is a beast once OCed) and you won't be stuck with a dead end platform. So, yeah the 720 is the way to go imo.

 

[Slavik81]

also one can reportedly unlock the 4th core by using a Biostar or certain brand motherboard.

I'd thought that they disabled the 4th core in those CPUs because only 3 of them actually work. Do they actually disable perfectly good cores?

StarCraft 2, Sins of A Solar Empire, The Orange Box.

Those should be fine. More demanding games might require low graphics settings, though.

 

[Hazaro]

I'd thought that they disabled the 4th core in those CPUs because only 3 of them actually work. Do they actually disable perfectly good cores?


Those should be fine. More demanding games might require low graphics settings, though.

Been done before, I think most of them should be 3 working cores though.

 

[rc213]

Any recommendations for a 19-20" LCD monitor, Looking to spend around $120. Replacing a LCD from 2000 that is on the fritz. Most likely Newegg.com or Mwave.com.

 

[Metalic Sand]

What can i expect out of this PSU wise

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156098

Small house fire, Case exploding? Im really trying to go extreme budget on this obviously. :lol

Trying to stay under $500. getting the GC at a later date. so probly $600 after the card

 

[Hazaro]

What can i expect out of this PSU wise

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156098

Small house fire, Case exploding? Im really trying to go extreme budget on this obviously. :lol

Trying to stay under $500. getting the GC at a later date. so probly $600 after the card

Antec.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000090007 50001516 1295819208&name=Yes

Or buy a cheapo case and put in a Corsair PSU. About the same.

 

[Metalic Sand]

Antec.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000090007 50001516 1295819208&name=Yes

Or buy a cheapo case and put in a Corsair PSU. About the same.

Would this PSU work
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

My processor is def going to be a 2.7Ghz wolfdale.
Probly going with a HD4850-4870.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Would this PSU work
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

My processor is def going to be a 2.7Ghz wolfdale.
Probly going with a HD4850-4870.

it probably will but it will be running awfully close if you overclock. Not much headroom if you want to go crossfire later as well.

I'd recommend at least 500W if you dont plan to add a second video card later.

Also you should wait for the 40nm ATI cards to come out in April too if you can.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

how hard is it to replace a PSU if you've never done it before?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

how hard is it to replace a PSU if you've never done it before?

very easy. unplug the psu connections to the drives and mobo. unscrew and remove. place new psu in ans screw it down. add power plugs back into al drives and mobo.

just make sure the new psu will fit into the case.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

Hmmm... all right. well, anyone have any opinions on this PSU? it's my current one.NZXT PP800 Performance Power ATX 2.0 will it be able to power a GTX 280 or 285 or 295 with 4-8 GB of RAM? any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

I wouldn't buy a NZXT brand powersupply. Stick with the known reliable brands like PC power & Cooling, Enermax, Zalman, Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, and such.

It may cost more but NEVER EVER cheap out on a power supply, if you're paying so much for a GTX285 then at least invest in a proper and reliable power supply.

 

[fatigues_gasolini]

I'd thought that they disabled the 4th core in those CPUs because only 3 of them actually work. Do they actually disable perfectly good cores?

The 4th core is considered "unstable", but from what I read, there have been no real problems with it. I wasnt lucky enough to have my 720 with one, but I still overclocked it from 2.8 to 3.5Ghz no problem.

 

[Septimus]

So my current PC has been failing off and on for a while and recently it's just become far too frequent. As such, I plan on buying or making a new one.

Old PC:
Pentium D 3.2GHz x2
1gig ram
2 x 250gig HDDs
stock radeon x550

Things I won't need if building a new one are: Monitor, already have a really nice one that is in pristine condition. Possibly the old HDDs since the failing was a result of the power supply and fan. Oh and I'm not a PC gamer, so I won't need some beefy expensive GPU. Although I do tend to do a lot of editing in Photoshop, AfterEffects, and drawing in Illustrator.

Ideally, I'd like something top-of-the-line (minus the GPU of course). I was browsing best buy and saw this. Would it be quite a bit cheaper to build (Never built one before) a similar PC myself? I've never used Vista before and I'm not sure of things like XP -> Vista compatibility in regards to programs and such. Any help at all would be great.

 

[rohlfinator]

Ideally, I'd like something top-of-the-line (minus the GPU of course). I was browsing best buy and saw this. Would it be quite a bit cheaper to build (Never built one before) a similar PC myself? I've never used Vista before and I'm not sure of things like XP -> Vista compatibility in regards to programs and such. Any help at all would be great.

I might be getting thrown off by the Canadian dollar, but at that price I don't think it would be significantly cheaper to build your own.

 

[LAMBO]

I was checking out a dell, which card would you guys suggest here are the options:

ATI Radeon HD 3650 256MB supporting HDMI [Included in Price]
ATI RADEON HD 4670 512MB [add $50 or $2/month1]
nVidia GeForce 9800GT [add $50 or $2/month1]

 

[brain_stew]

I was checking out a dell, which card would you guys suggest here are the options:

ATI Radeon HD 3650 256MB supporting HDMI [Included in Price]
ATI RADEON HD 4670 512MB [add $50 or $2/month1]
nVidia GeForce 9800GT [add $50 or $2/month1]

9800GT by far.

 

[LAMBO]

That's what i thought, wasn't sure. I have the 1GB 9800gt in my pc and it's great, this pc is for a friend. Thanks.

The PC is $900.00 with a 24" monitor. i'm going to do some more looking


Recalculating Price
Studio Desktop
Starting Price
$1,249

Instant Savings
$346

Subtotal
$903


Studio Mini-Tower:
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q8200 (4MB L2, 2.33GHz, 1333FSB) RMQ82H 1 [224-2761] 1


Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit VHP61E 1 [330-1631][420-6436][420-8873][420-8874][420-9105][420-9288][421-0323][463-2282] 11

Hardware Support Services:
1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis S111OS 1 [960-3249][983-3680][987-6238][990-8029][991-1340][992-2577] 29

Monitors:
Dell S2409W 24" Full HD Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor S2409W 1 [320-7036] 5

Memory:
6GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4DIMMs 6GB864 1 [311-9442] 3

Hard Drive:
640GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 640S 1 [341-7642] 8

Optical Drive:
16X DVD+/-RW Drive 16DVDRW 1 [313-6915][420-8152][420-9164] 16

Video Cards:
nVidia GeForce 9800GT GT9800 1 [320-7309] 6

Sound Card:
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio IS 1 [313-7114] 17

Floppy Drive and Media Reader:
Integrated 16-in-1 Media Card Reader INTMCR 1 [311-9655] 10

Mouse:
Mouse included with Keyboard purchase NONE 1 [310-5678] 12

 

[Crazymoogle]

Pentium 4D 3.2GHz x2 -> Core 2 Quad Q8200
1GB DDR1 -> 6GB DDR2
250GBx2 HD -> 640GB x1 HD
x550 -> uh...nothin

Not bad, really. I mean, if you are not using those HDs in raid, then the new hard drive is a clear upgrade. The RAM is a huge upgrade (although Photoshop can't really use more than 2GB unless you run CS4 64bit). You can probably just carry over the videocard, if it's PCIe, since all the new one has is onboard video.

It's not top of the line or anything, but the CPU is pretty fast and there's a lot of memory, so it sort of fits your bill regardless. Vista 64 is pretty good these days so I don't think you would have any issues there, although you might want to check status on any pro level apps you use.

I don't think you could build the same box for cheaper;
Vista 64 OEM ~140
Q8200 ~250 (Phenom 2 X3 is around ~200)
RAM ~80
Cheap HD ~50
MB/PSU/Case/Card reader can't quite magically fit in the remaining ~130 unless you go really bargain basement, so I'd say it's a reasonable purchase for your needs. The only problem I have is that I can't tell if it has a PCI express slot or not. If it doesn't, well, you'll never be putting a video card in there...

Anyway, there could be some comparable and more flexible options on NCIX if you tinker around...

 

[Ryoma-Echizen]

I don't think you could build the same box for cheaper;
Vista 64 OEM ~140
Q8200 ~250 (Phenom 2 X3 is around ~200)
RAM ~80
Cheap HD ~50
MB/PSU/Case/Card reader can't quite magically fit in the remaining ~130 unless you go really bargain basement, so I'd say it's a reasonable purchase for your needs. The only problem I have is that I can't tell if it has a PCI express slot or not. If it doesn't, well, you'll never be putting a video card in there...

Anyway, there could be some comparable and more flexible options on NCIX if you tinker around...

The Phenom II 940 costs $220BE blows out of the water the Q8200. X3 720BE for $149.

Q8200 $164
PII 920 2.8Ghz $184 way better then the Q8200
PII 810 2.6Ghz $169 better than the Q8200

Now dell uses Phenom II for their high end pc's. Something's changing...

 

[Metalic Sand]

I tryed looking it up but couldnt find anything. Would a PCIe 2.0 GC run fine on a PCIe 16x slot or would it be gimped because its not a 2.0?

 

[steadfast]

I tryed looking it up but couldnt find anything. Would a PCIe 2.0 GC run fine on a PCIe 16x slot or would it be gimped because its not a 2.0?

Yes, it will be fine.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I wouldn't buy a NZXT brand powersupply. Stick with the known reliable brands like PC power & Cooling, Enermax, Zalman, Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, and such.

It may cost more but NEVER EVER cheap out on a power supply, if you're paying so much for a GTX285 then at least invest in a proper and reliable power supply.

ok. but you're not telling me if you've had a personal experience with the product or not. i'm just seeing if anyone has this PSU. and i know not to cheap out on a PSU but money is tight these days and I wanna know if I really need to upgrade or not.

 

[Crazymoogle]

The Phenom II 940 costs $220BE blows out of the water the Q8200. X3 720BE for $149.

Canadian dollars; check the link. Realistically speaking it's like saying he is looking to buy a rig for $400 US, hence the comments.

 

[Bebpo]

Question. I have 3 hard drives and checked the temperatures and 2 are running at 40C, one is at 50C. They're all in the same place and none are in use atm.

10C is a pretty big difference, what's up with that? All three are WD drives.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Question. I have 3 hard drives and checked the temperatures and 2 are running at 40C, one is at 50C. They're all in the same place and none are in use atm.

10C is a pretty big difference, what's up with that? All three are WD drives.

Speed, platter density and do you have any fans on them?

 

[Smokey]

So what is better. The Phenom II's or Core i7's?

?

 

[Linkup]

Any recommendations for a 19-20" LCD monitor, Looking to spend around $120. Replacing a LCD from 2000 that is on the fritz. Most likely Newegg.com or Mwave.com.

I'm still looking for a LCD, though at this point I may just give up and try again when this CRT dies.

Also now I have to consider getting a new power supply. The Antec neopower 500w(it was free) is multi rail and doesn't give the gpu(9600gt pre-OCed) the single rail 26 amps it needs so it will crash the comp when you switch game settings or something similar. I could live with it as you can push the card running Crysis max without problem, but I'm afraid it'll kill the gpu or worse something eles on the system.

 

[Hazaro]

I'm still looking for a LCD, though at this point I may just give up and try again when this CRT dies.

Also now I have to consider getting a new power supply. The Antec neopower 500w(it was free) is multi rail and doesn't give the gpu(9600gt pre-OCed) the single rail 26 amps it needs so it will crash the comp when you switch game settings or something similar. I could live with it as you can push the card running Crysis max without problem, but I'm afraid it'll kill the gpu or worse something eles on the system.

Your PSU should be fine, almost no PSU's are truly multirail. Just add the amps together.

A 9600GT and any CPU should not be pushing anywhere near 500w.

 

[ZealousD]

Alright, so my 4-5 year old Dell Latitude is about to kick the bucket. So I'm in the market for potentially getting a new laptop.

I don't need anything screaming, running Crysis on max settings is not a strict requirement, although running Crysis on lowest is probably out of the question. Something that's behind the max curve by a year or so will probably do, I'm looking for a good bang-for-your-buck system. I would prefer widescreen since that seems to be a new standard, but I don't want a screen that's too small. My current laptop is 14" which is fine, but it's not widescreen, and so I think I might like a bigger screen then that. Looking to pay less than a $1,000 if possible.

Any suggestions GAF? Any brands I should be wary of or any that are particularly good? What should I look for in a CPU or GPU?

 

[VictimOfGrief]

So what is better. The Phenom II's or Core i7's?

?

Being blunt about not being an AMD fan... My Core i7 is the bee's knees when it comes to speed and gaming.

I have not had any issues with it not being able to keep up with me or my games. This is definitely going to last me a good 5 years or better... not to mention that the 1366 chipset is going to get updated with newer chips which which will be even better than my Bloomfield right now.... which is insane to think about.

 

[Hazaro]

Alright, so my 4-5 year old Dell Latitude is about to kick the bucket. So I'm in the market for potentially getting a new laptop.

I don't need anything screaming, running Crysis on max settings is not a strict requirement, although running Crysis on lowest is probably out of the question. Something that's behind the max curve by a year or so will probably do, I'm looking for a good bang-for-your-buck system. I would prefer widescreen since that seems to be a new standard, but I don't want a screen that's too small. My current laptop is 14" which is fine, but it's not widescreen, and so I think I might like a bigger screen then that. Looking to pay less than a $1,000 if possible.

Any suggestions GAF? Any brands I should be wary of or any that are particularly good? What should I look for in a CPU or GPU?

Wait for more models and check out the $1,100-$1,300 laptops with the new 4xxx series in them.

The performance difference is well worth the extra money.

Also for anyone wondering about wattage the Kill-A-Watt is on sale for $18 w/ free shipping.

SuperMediaStore has Kill-A-Watt P4400 Electricity Usage Monitor for $22.99 - $5 (with code EL5DOFF) = $17.99 with free shipping.

http://www.supermediastore.com/kilwateldet-bulk-package.html

 

[ZealousD]

Wait for more models and check out the $1,100-$1,300 laptops with the new 4xxx series in them.

When I say "about to kick the bucket", I mean I am currently having problems that I'm almost positive are hardware related. The computer is freezing fairly randomly, and it'll even freeze on the screen saver. It even blue screened in safe mode. Every diagnostic I've done seems to point to hardware related issues. I'm currently backing up my data now in case it's a hard drive related issue.

So, just assume I might have to buy this laptop tomorrow.

 

[zoku88]

http://www.excaliberpc.com/589019/asus-n80vn-a1-14.1-notebook.html

here's a 14 incher that's $950

It's a bit heavy att 5.7lbs, though.

The N81 is 5.3 lbs (and is more powerful,) but it also casts abou $300 more

 

[SRG01]

So what is better. The Phenom II's or Core i7's?

?

The Phenom II embarasses the i7 in some gaming benchmarks, since it will almost match the i7 (understandable, since you're nowhere CPU-bound and mostly dependent on GPU). There's also something about the cache performance of the Phenom II as well. On the other hand, the i7 kicks the Phenom II's ass in almost every synthetic benchmark.

In all, there's really no point in getting the i7 unless you're a) gaming at an ultra-high resolution with Quad-SLI, or b) working with a lot of non-gaming things like encoding/photoshop. Wait for the next series of i chips or just stick with a Core2.

 

[ZealousD]

http://www.excaliberpc.com/589019/asus-n80vn-a1-14.1-notebook.html

here's a 14 incher that's $950

It's a bit heavy att 5.7lbs, though.

The N81 is 5.3 lbs (and is more powerful,) but it also casts abou $300 more

5.7lbs doesn't seem too heavy, my current is 5.3lbs. I'm not sure I'd notice that big of a difference. Thanks for the suggestion!

What's with that disc drive btw? It says it's a Super-Multi DVDRW Dual Layer drive, which I assume means that it'll play or burn anything that's a DVD or below, but the picture has a Blu-Ray disc in there?

 

[Hazaro]

When I say "about to kick the bucket", I mean I am currently having problems that I'm almost positive are hardware related. The computer is freezing fairly randomly, and it'll even freeze on the screen saver. It even blue screened in safe mode. Every diagnostic I've done seems to point to hardware related issues. I'm currently backing up my data now in case it's a hard drive related issue.

So, just assume I might have to buy this laptop tomorrow.

I'm no laptop guru, but this was posted earlier.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152103

The 4850 is what you are looking for, it's just new and not many laptops have it right now.

 

[zoku88]

5.7lbs doesn't seem too heavy, my current is 5.3lbs. I'm not sure I'd notice that big of a difference. Thanks for the suggestion!

What's with that disc drive btw? It says it's a Super-Multi DVDRW Dual Layer drive, which I assume means that it'll play or burn anything that's a DVD or below, but the picture has a Blu-Ray disc in there?

Cerain versions of the laptop have BD drivers. Not the one I showed you, though.

I'm no laptop guru, but this was posted earlier.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152103

The 4850 is what you are looking for, it's just new and not many laptops have it right now.

That's like $300 outside of his pricerange though....

Spoiler

And god, it's 7 lbs!

 

[Hazaro]

Cerain versions of the laptop have BD drivers. Not the one I showed you, though.

That's like $300 outside of his pricerange though....

Spoiler

And god, it's 7 lbs!

If he's using it to play games there's no real alternative. A 9650 is like a desktop 9500... :lol

 

[zoku88]

If he's using it to play games there's no real alternative. A 9650 is like a desktop 9500... :lol

It's good enough for laptop purposes...

 

[ahoyhoy]

Just don't bother getting a Laptop with a video card. Besides the obvious "It's too damn expensive and you won't get much power out of it", there's also the issue of the card eventually breaking, which requires you to replace your entire motherboard. It's happened to me and a few of my friends (mostly on Dell's, although mine was an ASUS).

 

[ZealousD]

If he's using it to play games there's no real alternative. A 9650 is like a desktop 9500... :lol

I'll be playing games on it but it won't be its primary purpose, and the ones I'll be playing the most on it are probably going to be Starcraft II and Diablo III. I'll probably get Crysis at some point but as long as the system can play it on medium to medium-high settings I'll probably be happy. I don't need a Blu-Ray drive, I was just curious because the picture of the ASUS laptop that was linked had a BD in there and the specs didn't say it could play Blu-Ray.

Just don't bother getting a Laptop with a video card. Besides the obvious "It's too damn expensive and you won't get much power out of it", there's also the issue of the card eventually breaking, which requires you to replace your entire motherboard. It's happened to me and a few of my friends (mostly on Dell's, although mine was an ASUS).

Eh? My current Dell uses a video card and I haven't had any problems with my video card at all.

 

[K.Jack]

This is an awkward time to be forced into buying a new notebook, because the Nvidia vs ATi graphics war has just begun its first engagements in the mobile gaming scene, so anything 15.4 you buy within the next month at $1-$1.5k, with a 9600M, 3650 or less, will soon be the territory of the Mobility 4830, GTS 160 or 150M, cards that are far beyond what was considered mid-range.

Then there's the Asus K51AB and K50AB, 15.6", 2.5kg with 4860 1GB GDDR5. Delicious.

 

[zoku88]

Just don't bother getting a Laptop with a video card. Besides the obvious "It's too damn expensive and you won't get much power out of it", there's also the issue of the card eventually breaking, which requires you to replace your entire motherboard. It's happened to me and a few of my friends (mostly on Dell's, although mine was an ASUS).

I think that's almost never true... Maybe for only really small laptops or something. (or maybe, old ones, too.)

Think about it, does it even make sense to design a motherboard that way?

I've had a couple of laptop video cards replaced.

And as for being able to break.... it's a computer. Everything in it is able to 'stop working' at some point. Be it the CPU, GPU, HDD, RAM, motherboard, etc. Sure, it's adding one more point of failure, but laptops don't usually last that long anyway, given how cramp most of them are.

EDIT: depending on how long you can go without a working laptop, I would wait until it is actually dead before buying a new one.

 

[ZealousD]

This is an awkward time to be forced into buying a new notebook, because the Nvidia vs ATi graphics war has just begun its first engagements in the mobile gaming scene, so anything 15.4 you buy within the next month at $1-$1.5k, with a 9600M, 3650 or less, will soon be the territory of the Mobility 4830, GTS 160 or 150M, cards that are far beyond what was considered mid-range.

Then there's the Asus K51AB and K50AB, 15.6", 2.5kg with 4860 1GB GDDR5. Delicious.

Ah come on! Why'd you have to make this situation feel more shitty than it already is? =(

EDIT: depending on how long you can go without a working laptop, I would wait until it is actually dead before buying a new one.

I can't go more than a couple days without a laptop. I need a computer for school.

I have to go online. I need - a computer!

Anyway, it just continues to lock up randomly which makes it practically unworkable, and due to a suggestion from a very knowledgeable friend I'm going to run Lucifer after I'm done backing up my data. If Lucifer kills my computer than I'm going to need to buy a new one.

 

[zoku88]

Ah come on! Why'd you have to make this situation feel more shitty than it already is? =(



I can't go more than a couple days without a laptop. I need a computer for school.

I have to go online. I need - a computer!

Anyway, it just continues to lock up randomly which makes it practically unworkable, and due to a suggestion from a very knowledgeable friend I'm going to run Lucifer after I'm done backing up my data. If Lucifer kills my computer than I'm going to need to buy a new one.

Oh, your school doesn't have public computers? That kinda sucks.

WTH is Lucifer?

 

[Hazaro]

If you aren't ready to spend $1,300...

I did some research and came up with this 9600m GT (DDR3)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152073

Seems to be the best value for the money, $799, and boasts a decent 3D06 score.
For a list of benchmarks check here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9600M-GT.9449.0.html
(DDR3 version is on the higher side of the red bars)

**If you want double the GPU performance (and a faster CPU) for $300 more, then there is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152095

 

[K.Jack]

Ah come on! Why'd you have to make this situation feel more shitty than it already is? =(

Sorry dude, but these mobile machines are my life, so I have to give you straight knowledge on how things will be changing soon.

I'd go for the MSI Hazaro posted. For around $1k the 9800M GS paired w/ a 1280x800 screen will max out pretty much anything out, other than the obvious. But med/high Crysis with playable framerates won't be an issue.

The 9800M GS is an underclocked desktop 9600 GT. 530/1325/800 vs. 650/1625/900, both G94 with 64 shaders.

 

[Slavik81]

I think that's almost never true... Maybe for only really small laptops or something. (or maybe, old ones, too.)

Think about it, does it even make sense to design a motherboard that way?

That was what actually happened with a 17" Dell my brother picked up in summer '08. It had a defective GeForce 9600m that worked perfectly until it eventually died. They replaced the graphics card, but when we got it back, there were weird colour-banding and offset pixel issues. After that, they replaced the display (which didn't fix anything). On the third go, they replaced the motherboard, which solved the problem.

It is sometimes necessary, though they try not to.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Hey guys suddenly laptop started acting weird.

When I start it up the computer the black screen now turns green and the colors are all fucked up.

My Dell has a Nvidia 8400M gpu, could that be the problem?