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[Zombie James]

I had a similar issue with the 3850 AGP. ATI doesn't officially support the card. I ended up using ATI Tray Tools (which is 100x better than CCC anyway) and hacking the driver ini to recognize my card (google can help with that).

Wow, this tool seem really awesome... but none of my games launch if it's running :lol

 

[Grayman]

fucking grand. I can fit in the video card or the hard drive rack.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Which Fry's was this, I've never seen those in the Burbank location. Also, How are they Noise/CFM?

This was City of Industry location, it should be at every Fry's since it was in the LA times paper.

Noise wise, it claims 19 decibals on a 5v and I'll believe it, I got it hooked up to a 3-pin on my motherboard and it has a a slight hum.

I can't tell too well how quiet it is because I got stock Antec 120mm and a 160mm fan running and I can't pinpoint the sound.

 

[Grayman]

What was the app that some people were using to test stability with that was not and was better than prime95?

 

[MWS Natural]

What was the app that some people were using to test stability with that was not and was better than prime95?

OCCT

 

[K.Jack]

Probably Orthos

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

Benchmarked my current rig in:

-Company of Heroes (DX10 maxed settings, no AA, 1920x1080)
-Crysis Warhead (DX10 all enthusiast, no AA, 1920x1080)
-Unreal Tournament 3 (1920x1080 max settings, special physx maps and regular maps)
-3dmark 06
-3dmark Vantage

Gonna do another set of benchmarks after I get the Core i7 stuff together on friday, to see how much of a CPU bottleneck I had going on the E6600. Will post the results for both when I finish, for anyone curious.

can you tell me where you got the Unreal tournament Physx maps?

 

[Grayman]

OCCT

Thank you very much. I will give that a go for a few hours tomorrow when I get my cabling fixed up enough to run the computer with the case on.

 

[MWS Natural]

Sapphire has a new high-end graphics accelerator in the works for launch next week: the Atomic HD 4890. The card features a blue reference PCB by AMD with a few enhancements, paired with Sapphire's Vapor-X cooler to keep this factory-overclocked card cool, and more importantly, quieter than the reference cooler.

What makes this card even more special is that Sapphire generously overclocked it. The core runs at 1000 MHz, and the 1 GB of GDDR5 memory at 1050 MHz (2100 MHz DDR, 4200 MHz effective). The Catalyst Control Center ATI Overdrive page shows its GPU core overlocking limit upped to 1100 MHz, from the 1000 MHz limit release-drivers were noted to come with. To sustain such high speeds, the card's VRM has been slightly expanded. The card uses an 8-pin PCI-E power connector alongside a 6-pin one. The price of this card is yet to be known.

Man this is going to be a seriously sweet card. 4890 overclocking ability + Vapor-X cooling!

 

[EviLore]

can you tell me where you got the Unreal tournament Physx maps?

http://nzone.com/object/nzone_ut3_downloads.html

 

[Confidence Man]

For a decent mid-range CPU, is an E8400 good or should I get a quad-core for a comparable price?

 

[derder]

For a decent mid-range CPU, is an E8400 good or should I get a quad-core for a comparable price?

You'll be hard pressed to find a benchmark that beats it at the same price.

 

[John_B]

I was offered a good deal on a 80GB X25-M. It would cost me the exact same as the two 30GB Vertex that I had already ordered. The order was still under security validation, so I had Vertex drives removed and then I ordered the X25-M instead.

I know the write performance is miles away in comparison, but I think it was a good choice. Now I just hope that things will last two years, by then we should have SSD technology at a humane price level.

 

[madmook]

Make sure it has the latest firmware (install it if it doesn't).

 

[Garryk]

So I picked up my headphones and a static shock shorted out the stereo sound on my onboard sound (only get sound sound through left speaker now, but it's not the headphones, it's the sound card). Does anyone have a good suggestion for a cheap sound card to replace it?

 

[Crazymoogle]

I was offered a good deal on a 80GB X25-M. It would cost me the exact same as the two 30GB Vertex that I had already ordered. The order was still under security validation, so I had Vertex drives removed and then I ordered the X25-M instead.

I know the write performance is miles away in comparison, but I think it was a good choice. Now I just hope that things will last two years, by then we should have SSD technology at a humane price level.

The X25-M is no slouch, so sounds like you have a good deal.

I'm trying to decide between the Vertex 120GB and X25-M 80GB right now; they are basically the same price, but it's hard to ignore the extra storage on the 120...

 

[Coldsnap]

You guys think I would regret spending $700 for a dell studio for some school work, internet browsing, and some games?

http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/laptop_studio?c=us&cs=19&l=en&ref=lthp&s=dhs

 

[dasupremeone]

You guys think I would regret spending $700 for a dell studio for some school work, internet browsing, and some games?

http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/laptop_studio?c=us&cs=19&l=en&ref=lthp&s=dhs

I would

 

[kswiston]

I'm thinking of upgrading my main PC in the next 2 months. Here's what I currently have:

Vista Home Premium
AMD Athlon X2 3800
Asus A8N-SLI Motherboard
2GB DDR-400
Geforce 9500 GT

Basically, this is a 3.5 year old system other than the video card. I'm looking to dump the CPU, MB, and RAM for something a little more up to date. For now, the video card is fine. I'm not a huge PC gamer, and can put up with the 9500 for another year or so.

Any suggestions with a budget of around $400?

 

[MWS Natural]

For a decent mid-range CPU, is an E8400 good or should I get a quad-core for a comparable price?

I'd go with an Phenom II x3 720 Black Edition but I'm a bit biased since I have one

 

[Grayman]

Is it bad that my GTX260 went up to 84/85 celcius in OCCT test?

My CPU seems fine peaking at 37C.

 

[TheFatOne]

I wasn't sure were to post my question and I didn't want to make a new thread so here it goes. Recently I decided I wanted to try Linux which version would be the most noob friendly?

 

[rohlfinator]

I wasn't sure were to post my question and I didn't want to make a new thread so here it goes. Recently I decided I wanted to try Linux which version would be the most noob friendly?

Ubuntu is very easy to get into, and it's pretty popular, so it's easy to get support if you run into any problems.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

You guys think I would regret spending $700 for a dell studio for some school work, internet browsing, and some games?

http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/laptop_studio?c=us&cs=19&l=en&ref=lthp&s=dhs

its not a great deal but it aint bad. It's pretty much standard for that price.

Get this instead:

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=1326451

Sure it has a smaller hardrive but it has similar specs for alot less and the money you save can go towards upgrades, also Lenovo build quality and customer support is way better than Dell

 

[yggdrasill]

Here is another stress test that I highly recommend: Intel Burn Test

 

[Grayman]

Ubuntu is very easy to get into, and it's pretty popular, so it's easy to get support if you run into any problems.

you can also check it out from a live cd/usb before committing to an install

 

[Hazaro]

Here is another stress test that I highly recommend: Intel Burn Test

That's akin to Toast or Core Damage :lol

I would not recommend it unless you want to see your computer error.

Prime/OCCT/ORTHOS are fine.

 

[Slavik81]

Note to Canucks on online stores and shipping speeds:
Newegg's default shipping is slooooooow. Ordered last thursday and it's JUST made its way across the boarder (as of today: saturday). Tracking says its sitting in customs at the moment.

DirectCanada's in Vancouver, BC. I'm in Calgary, Alberta and their default shipping got here last Friday. (Though I'd ordered on Wensday, one day before newegg.)

Compu2000 is also in Vancouver, BC. I'd ordered a monitor on Thursday and it arrived on Tuesday.

CanadaComputers ships out of Toronto, so they're probably the fastest for those of you out east.

MemoryExpress is Calgary/Edmonton based, so they'll also probably be pretty fast for western Canada.



PS. That CoolerMaster 690 case is pretty awesome. I like it.

 

[yggdrasill]

That's akin to Toast or Core Damage :lol

I would not recommend it unless you want to see your computer error.

Prime/OCCT/ORTHOS are fine.

How long does the other stress tests take to determine a stable system? Intel Burn Test takes anywhere from 8-10 miniutes.

 

[bigmit3737]

Hey Guys.

What's the benefit of buying a CPU Retail over OEM?

I am planning to buy a separate heatsink after I purchase my CPU, so would OEM good enough?

 

[Labombadog]

OEM will be your best bet. Cheaper & doesn't come with a heatsink + fan.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

I have a question about graphics cards. I was playing Crysis Warhead last night and the game kept locking up and crashing. At first, the game played for about 10 minutes or so and then crashed. I relaunched the game and this time, it only lasted a minute or two. It sounded like there was a fan blowing a gazillion miles an hour as well. Is this a sign that my GPU is overheating?

 

[EviLore]

Looks like I had to be here to sign for my Core i7 stuff yesterday, and I was out. Gonna have to wait until Monday now, but that's still coming along with comparison benchmarks and impressions.

I have a question about graphics cards. I was playing Crysis Warhead last night and the game kept locking up and crashing. At first, the game played for about 10 minutes or so and then crashed. I relaunched the game and this time, it only lasted a minute or two. It sounded like there was a fan blowing a gazillion miles an hour as well. Is this a sign that my GPU is overheating?

Crysis doubles as a video card stress test. That was likely the variable speed fan on your card, and if it automatically went to maximum you have heat issues.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

Thanks for the help EviLore. I'm looking at getting the G-Force GTS 250 w/1GB ram. $150 is about as high as I want to go for a new GPU. Is that a good card to get or is there something better at a similar price?

My specs:
Core 2 Duo - 3Ghz
2 GB DDR2 Ram @ 1066

 

[Grayman]

Note to Canucks on online stores and shipping speeds:
Newegg's default shipping is slooooooow. Ordered last thursday and it's JUST made its way across the boarder (as of today: saturday). Tracking says its sitting in customs at the moment.

DirectCanada's in Vancouver, BC. I'm in Calgary, Alberta and their default shipping got here last Friday. (Though I'd ordered on Wensday, one day before newegg.)

Compu2000 is also in Vancouver, BC. I'd ordered a monitor on Thursday and it arrived on Tuesday.

CanadaComputers ships out of Toronto, so they're probably the fastest for those of you out east.

MemoryExpress is Calgary/Edmonton based, so they'll also probably be pretty fast for western Canada.



PS. That CoolerMaster 690 case is pretty awesome. I like it.

Newegg.ca took exactly one week for me(order thursday night and got the package on thursday) and there was no border wait with it jumping from oregon to richmond on tracking. I am not defending 50 bucks shipping for one week delivery but my experience was not as bad as yours.

 

[EviLore]

Thanks for the help EviLore. I'm looking at getting the G-Force GTS 250 w/1GB ram. $150 is about as high as I want to go for a new GPU. Is that a good card to get or is there something better at a similar price?

My specs:
Core 2 Duo - 3Ghz
2 GB DDR2 Ram @ 1066

The 250's a rebranded 9800GTX, which is pretty much a rebranded 8800 G92. That doesn't mean it's a bad card at all, but it's priced pretty closely to the GTX 260 (I'm seeing $160 and $165 after rebate), which will be a step up in priceerformance and long-term usefulness.

 

[Hazaro]

Thanks for the help EviLore. I'm looking at getting the G-Force GTS 250 w/1GB ram. $150 is about as high as I want to go for a new GPU. Is that a good card to get or is there something better at a similar price?

My specs:
Core 2 Duo - 3Ghz
2 GB DDR2 Ram @ 1066

GTX 260 instead.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

gah my 140mm ceiling fan stopped working!

I have 3 of my 120mm fans hooked up to the same power cable using those two way adapters and all of them work fine except for my 140mm.

Most likely its shorted out or something right? I suppose I should find a new one thats not too expensive but quiet enough.

 

[Barso]

I live in the UK and I am looking to buy an intel core i7 920.
I am looking to buy from cyberpower systems or mesh.
Can anyone recommend one over the other.
Thanks.

 

[Hazaro]

How long does the other stress tests take to determine a stable system? Intel Burn Test takes anywhere from 8-10 miniutes.

Hours, but I'd rather run those than run Intel or Core Damage.

Plus I'd have to lower my overclock to make it stable for those programs.
My clocks have been good for over a year with those programs, but I would think my CPU would fail either Intel or Core Damage.

 

[Grayman]

So I have had 3 crash to reboots in games now. After the second I turned off "startup and recovery \ automatically restart"(aka stupidest default ever) and the third still had me go down without a blue screen. Two of the crashes were in lost planet, and one was in the painkiller demo. Prior to those I was playing L4D for hours without incident(and it was great!)

What should I be checking first? I run CPUID hardware monitor but with the system rebooting I don't get records of it.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

I've got a question, today while I was playing mass effect for the first time the game locked up my computer after 15mins and I had to restart. It's happened three times since playing. This is the first time I've had anything like this happen, is it my you overheating or? I have two 8800GTs in sli. Thanks for any help to fix this. Also, there hasn't been any artifacting or anything like that before it locks up.

 

[besiktas1]

Ok gaf I need your help, I want a new pc, can you help me find the best one for my budget of 750GBP

I want it to be fast and with good ram so I can run photoshop and video editing software (premiere ect.) Graphics card not as important but would be nice.

Is i7 worth it? Can I afford it with my budget?
Not fussed about blu-ray drive. Or hard drive space, I got loads of external harddrives.

Thanks

 

[Hazaro]

So I have had 3 crash to reboots in games now. After the second I turned off "startup and recovery \ automatically restart"(aka stupidest default ever) and the third still had me go down without a blue screen. Two of the crashes were in lost planet, and one was in the painkiller demo. Prior to those I was playing L4D for hours without incident(and it was great!)

Check CPU and GPU temps under load using ATiTool + Realtemp and some CPU loading program a few posts above. Can you catch what the bluescreen says is the error?

I've got a question, today while I was playing mass effect for the first time the game locked up my computer after 15mins and I had to restart. It's happened three times since playing. This is the first time I've had anything like this happen, is it my you overheating or? I have two 8800GTs in sli. Thanks for any help to fix this. Also, there hasn't been any artifacting or anything like that before it locks up.

You can check same as above, but it might be the game.
http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=634786&forum=127

Try restarting and see if it will work.

Ok gaf I need your help, I want a new pc, can you help me find the best one for my budget of 750GBP

I want it to be fast and with good ram so I can run photoshop and video editing software (premiere ect.) Graphics card not as important but would be nice.

Is i7 worth it? Can I afford it with my budget?
Not fussed about blu-ray drive. Or hard drive space, I got loads of external harddrives.

Thanks

Since newer version of PS take advantage of GPU it is important.

i7 is not a good choice with your budget, and Phenom's are exactly great at photoshop...or video editing as the Intel Quads are.

Are you building it yourself?

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Check CPU and GPU temps under load using ATiTool + Realtemp and some CPU loading program a few posts above. Can you catch what the bluescreen says is the error?

You can check same as above, but it might be the game.
http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=634786&forum=127

Try restarting and see if it will work.

Since newer version of PS take advantage of GPU it is important.

i7 is not a good choice with your budget, and Phenom's are exactly great at photoshop...or video editing as the Intel Quads are.

Are you building it yourself?

Cool, I'll try it again without sli and see what happens. Thanks for the help.

 

[Hazaro]

As for building PC's I stand by what Tech Report has put up, which is in the OP.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16721/4

Swap in the GB mobo and an Intel Quad to suit your budget on the next page of the article and you are solid.

*If you want DVI -> HDMI a Galaxy 260 has that and some ATi cards as well (4850/4870) or 4770 revision if you want.

 

[Darklord]

I've had this computer for less than a week and it gets a virus! What the hell? The worst part is I have all the updates, Nod32(64?) running, firewall on, UAC on, windows defended and ad-aware. Nothing picked it up! It's only because I kept having crashes ib games I decided I'd do a full scan, oh then it picks up. Thanks a lot for telling me. Useless.

Anyway, I hope that is the reason my games were crashing and now it's gone because its happened 3 times today and before today it didn't get a single error.

 

[Grayman]

Check CPU and GPU temps under load using ATiTool + Realtemp and some CPU loading program a few posts above. Can you catch what the bluescreen says is the error?

I cannot catch a blue screen and my log viewer was empty.

OCCT CPU only went up to 37C
GPU went to 84C in OCCT but in games it was peaking in the low 70s
I do not know how to read the power supply graphs.

 

[gregor7777]

Just grabbed a 4830 from newegg. Can't beat 79.99 for a decent GPU. I'm hurting at CPU so anything more might have been bottlenecked. Hell, this may be bottlenecked but for $79 who cares?

 

[Grayman]

I may have found a factor.

OCCT is not showing a 12V stat now. I only noticed because I was going to delete a 6 min test I did yesterday and saw that test had an extra graph. I don't know what to look for in power supply problems though, the only thing I can think of changing between then and now is plugging the case fan in.