[Giriath_89]

At idle my HD 5970 is hovering around 56 degrees celsius. Is this fine? This is on a midtower btw. I have one intake in the front and the back and the H100 on top is exhaust.

56c in idle is kind of a lot; see how it does in furmark. Some more intake would be swell if you could get it.

[olore]

Well, I guess resistance is futile. 2012 is the year when I finally build a new computer. Crysis extra real super-duper-high-texture-5k mod here I come

[Sethos]

Yeah, been wondering how to take care of that. A lot of those cords are just too short to go anywhere else, and in case of that big black one, too thick. The orange one going over the blue clamp in particular is a problem because It's already stretched to the limit where it is, and it was literally the only one I could find. Do you think those cords could be obstructing air flow?.

Oh they will, especially with that amount of cables. Air won't flow freely, it'll just break up and go all over the place. Obviously it's not a 10* difference. Most cases have room behind the motherboard mount and holes into the back of the case, make sure to use those. Cables aren't that fragile, just get them packed away.

I was never really into cable management but in my last build I did my very best to tuck them away to the best of my ability, it's a great zen feeling.

[Giriath_89]

Well, I guess resistance is futile. 2012 is the year when I finally build a new computer. Crysis extra real super-duper-high-texture-5k mod here I come

Glad you'll be joining the maste- uh, welcome!

[fresquito]

What is the gaming headset that GAF recommends? If possible around 100€.

[brotkasten]

Completely wrong thread.

[JaseC]

What's the ETA on post-Thailand flood HDD prices returning to normal? Looking to buy a 3TB, probably a WD Caviar Green for $120 (last MSRP before the Thai flood), but still showing $310. That's down from $370, but obviously far from normal? I know the original estimate was mid-end calendar Q1 2012, but have there been any progress reports since then on the factory end? I haven't read any and can't find any. Anyone have the scoop?

The bloke who runs my preferred local PC hardware store has said the information he's received from manufacturers and suppliers points at prices returning to normal levels in Q2 2012.

As far as factory news is concerned, WD re-opened one of its manufacturing plants recently, with production resuming at the end of November.

[Akkad]

Why am I getting "display driver stopped responding" all the time now, and it's not even when I'm playing games or anything. I know my GPU is not overheating, could it be the PSU is not giving enough power to the graphic card? The card is a GTX460 BTW.

[mug]

Why am I getting "display driver stopped responding" all the time now, and it's not even when I'm playing games or anything. I know my GPU is not overheating, could it be the PSU is not giving enough power to the graphic card? The card is a GTX460 BTW.

does it occur across all driver versions? any new software installed?

[Akkad]

does it occur across all driver versions? any new software installed?

I had the version before the latest one and I updated because Arkham City kept complaining about the old drivers, and that's when it started happening. Then I updated to the beta drivers and it is still happening, so I guess I should go back to the older drivers but then I will have to update my drivers eventually, right?

I also had that stupid AMD dual core optimizer that was installed with AC, I just deleted that shit since I have nothing AMD related in my PC.

[Korey]

Anybody here leaves their PC open? I'm thinking of doing just that.

Why would you do that?

[chaosblade]

Pretty much confirmed my GPU fan is the noisy one. How standardized are GPU coolers? If I buy something like that VF3000A is there a decent chance it would work on a 8800/8900 series card? Don't really want to invest much in a 5850, but at the same time I don't really feel the need to upgrade. Damn fan.


More importantly, why would an OC be stable during load tests and in Windows for a month without any problems whatsoever, but then I'll have problems POSTing with it all the sudden? I'm assuming the problem is the OC since that is all I've really changed in the bios.

Asrock Xtreme4 Gen3, debug error it gives me is 98 which is on connecting console input devices. Sits there trying to POST for a while and gets to "98." Then after a while it eventually just works, or it resets the bios to default settings and boots.

Guess I should have tried troubleshooting a little more before asking. Turns out my old phone was still connected to the PC via USB and it was causing problems. Booting even with the default BIOS was hanging, but I unplugged that and it stopped having issues. Damn phone.

[Pandoracell]

Right now I have a Phenom II X4 840 proc, and i'm wondering what AM3 proc I could upgrade to, if anything, that would give me a significant boost in speed. I would love to upgrade my mobo as well and just go for an i5, but I don't know that I want to spend that much, unless there really isn't anything on the AMD side that would be worth looking at.

[mkenyon]

Anybody here leaves their PC open? I'm thinking of doing just that.

I have a test bench if that counts.

At idle my HD 5970 is hovering around 56 degrees celsius. Is this fine? This is on a midtower btw. I have one intake in the front and the back and the H100 on top is exhaust.

I dont think anyone here has a 5970, so what you would want to do is google "5970 review", and click on the page that lists temperatures.

What is the gaming headset that GAF recommends? If possible around 100€.

If you can get them for it, Sennheiser PC-350s. Otherwise, the Corsair Vengeance 1500 has been getting really good reviews.

Pretty much confirmed my GPU fan is the noisy one. How standardized are GPU coolers? If I buy something like that VF3000A is there a decent chance it would work on a 8800/8900 series card? Don't really want to invest much in a 5850, but at the same time I don't really feel the need to upgrade. Damn fan.

When you get a generic cooler, it's not going to perform nearly as well as a cooler designed for your card. In addition, you run the risk of bricking it. So, you can either hold off for a few weeks and deal with the noise, then buy a 7970/7950, or just go and buy a cooler designed for your card.

Right now I have a Phenom II X4 840 proc, and i'm wondering what AM3 proc I could upgrade to, if anything, that would give me a significant boost in speed. I would love to upgrade my mobo as well and just go for an i5, but I don't know that I want to spend that much, unless there really isn't anything on the AMD side that would be worth looking at.

Depending on your motherboard and cooling situation, you could get a 975 or 980 and try clocking to the 4.0ghz range. I had a 975 that hit 4.2 only needing multiplier and volts. At stock speeds, there arent any that will give any significant boost in performance, unfortunately.

[Pandoracell]

Depending on your motherboard and cooling situation, you could get a 975 or 980 and try clocking to the 4.0ghz range. I had a 975 that hit 4.2 only needing multiplier and volts. At stock speeds, there arent any that will give any significant boost in performance, unfortunately.

Thanks!

[mkenyon]

Not sure if old:



Supposedly they're skipping 6xx and going straight to 7xx. Love these types of charts, they always make me smile. Nvidia is claiming a 100% gain in performance between the 580 and 780 though.

[Smokey]

Not sure if old: Supposedly they're skipping 6xx and going straight to 7xx. Love these types of charts, they always make me smile. Nvidia is claiming a 100% gain in performance between the 580 and 780 though.

wut
worst y axis ever?

[Sethos]

OMG OVER 2.0 IN BATTLEFIELD 3, THAT'S INSANE!

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

I have an AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, will I have to update my CPU anytime soon?

[Hazaro]

Thanks!

You could also just clock your current cpu to 3.6 or 3.8ish.

I have an AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, will I have to update my CPU anytime soon?

It isn't really CPU limiting too many games. If you don't do RTS and you can overclock it a little bit you should still be set for a while.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

You could also just clock your current cpu to 3.6 or 3.8ish. It isn't really CPU limiting too many games. If you don't do RTS and you can overclock it a little bit you should still be set for a while.

Cool, that's the only thing "outdated" on my rig. I have a bigger cooler on it so I should try to overclock sometime.

[chaosblade]

When you get a generic cooler, it's not going to perform nearly as well as a cooler designed for your card. In addition, you run the risk of bricking it. So, you can either hold off for a few weeks and deal with the noise, then buy a 7970/7950, or just go and buy a cooler designed for your card.

Hmm, maybe I should just see about RMAing it. I'd guess an obnoxiously noisy fan would be covered under XFXs warranty.

[Yaska]

Edit: NVM, apparently the telly didn't like my hdmi 1.4 cable connected to my 580, switched to older hdmi-dvi, and works perfect.

[fresquito]

If you can get them for it, Sennheiser PC-350s. Otherwise, the Corsair Vengeance 1500 has been getting really good reviews.

I've been reading a bit about these and they look like great options, indeed. I'm more inclined to the Corsair though. I will wait for more opinions and make up my mind if it's worth the price. Thanks.

[Soi-Fong]

So, anybody here know if the 700 series videocards will be using PCIE 3?
I'd rather not have to switch over to Ivy Bridge just to take full advantage of the 700 series cards.

[Instro]

Alright guys, my PC is messed up and I need some help. I could have sworn there used to be a PC help thread but I'm not seeing it, so this thread is the best option.

On startup this morning the computer prompted me with the option to start in safe mode telling me my computer did not shut down properly. This was pretty odd considering I shut it down normally last night. Anyway, I started up normally everything worked fine etc. 15 minutes later the computer crashed to a blue screen and then restarted, I wish I checked what the error was but I didn't really pay attention. This time when it got back to windows, after going through the normal startup it gave me a black screen when windows loaded up, all that was on the screen was the mouse icon. So I hit the restart button.

This time throughout the boot screens for the mobo and everything else, there were these little bits all over the screen. I tried loading to safe mode this time, which worked(no bits on the screen in safe mode). Computer was running in safe mode so I tried a system restore, but this did not work. Since the system restore I can't get safe mode to work either. Safe mode loads but all i get is a black screen with the mouse working. If I load in normal mode it starts loading windows, but gives me a black screen, except now there is not even a mouse icon. And, there is the issue with the little bits all over the screen during boot up, and they even show up in the bios screen.

I'm thinking its either a GPU issue, either with the drivers or the hardware itself, or Windows is completely bust. Probably both.

So what is my next step at this point? I was thinking of grabbing the windows disc and trying to repair windows, or grabbing an old GPU and plugging it in to test. Any ideas? I have Windows Vista btw.

[Soi-Fong]

Alright guys, my PC is messed up and I need some help. I could have sworn there used to be a PC help thread but I'm not seeing it, so this thread is the best option. On startup this morning the computer prompted me with the option to start in safe mode telling me my computer did not shut down properly. This was pretty odd considering I shut it down normally last night. Anyway, I started up normally everything worked fine etc. 15 minutes later the computer crashed to a blue screen and then restarted, I wish I checked what the error was but I didn't really pay attention. This time when it got back to windows, after going through the normal startup it gave me a black screen when windows loaded up, all that was on the screen was the mouse icon. So I hit the restart button. This time throughout the boot screens for the mobo and everything else, there were these little bits all over the screen. I tried loading to safe mode this time, which worked(no bits on the screen in safe mode). Computer was running in safe mode so I tried a system restore, but this did not work. Since the system restore I can't get safe mode to work either. Safe mode loads but all i get is a black screen with the mouse working. If I load in normal mode it starts loading windows, but gives me a black screen, except now there is not even a mouse icon. And, there is the issue with the little bits all over the screen during boot up, and they even show up in the bios screen. I'm thinking its either a GPU issue, either with the drivers or the hardware itself, or Windows is completely bust. Probably both. So what is my next step at this point? I was thinking of grabbing the windows disc and trying to repair windows, or grabbing an old GPU and plugging it in to test. Any ideas? I have Windows Vista btw.

I'm not an expert, but you can try the GPU or you might have a bad memory stick. So try only using one of the sticks you have.

[Shambles]

Alright guys, my PC is messed up and I need some help. I could have sworn there used to be a PC help thread but I'm not seeing it, so this thread is the best option. On startup this morning the computer prompted me with the option to start in safe mode telling me my computer did not shut down properly. This was pretty odd considering I shut it down normally last night. Anyway, I started up normally everything worked fine etc. 15 minutes later the computer crashed to a blue screen and then restarted, I wish I checked what the error was but I didn't really pay attention. This time when it got back to windows, after going through the normal startup it gave me a black screen when windows loaded up, all that was on the screen was the mouse icon. So I hit the restart button. This time throughout the boot screens for the mobo and everything else, there were these little bits all over the screen. I tried loading to safe mode this time, which worked(no bits on the screen in safe mode). Computer was running in safe mode so I tried a system restore, but this did not work. Since the system restore I can't get safe mode to work either. Safe mode loads but all i get is a black screen with the mouse working. If I load in normal mode it starts loading windows, but gives me a black screen, except now there is not even a mouse icon. And, there is the issue with the little bits all over the screen during boot up, and they even show up in the bios screen. I'm thinking its either a GPU issue, either with the drivers or the hardware itself, or Windows is completely bust. Probably both. So what is my next step at this point? I was thinking of grabbing the windows disc and trying to repair windows, or grabbing an old GPU and plugging it in to test. Any ideas? I have Windows Vista btw.

Dangit, deleted my response after editing my post. First I'd try to boot into linux with a USB drive created from some other computer you might have access to. If that seems to function properly you can use memtest to check your RAM sticks or check for SMART errors on your HDD. I'd say it doesn't sound good though. :(

So, anybody here know if the 700 series videocards will be using PCIE 3? I'd rather not have to switch over to Ivy Bridge just to take full advantage of the 700 series cards.

Slides are reporting They are usins PCIE 3 but to best honest current generation cards can't even come close to saturating PCIE 2. I wouldn't worry about it.
Another quick check is (assuming you have another computer accessable) is to make a USB bootable linux stick. If linux runs fine you can move on to hardware checks such a memtest for the ram or checking for SMART errors on the HDD. A linux boot test is usually the easiest and quickest hardware check to start with. From your symptoms though I'd have to say it doesn't sound good :(

[Instro]

Dangit, deleted my response after editing my post. First I'd try to boot into linux with a USB drive created from some other computer you might have access to. If that seems to function properly you can use memtest to check your RAM sticks or check for SMART errors on your HDD. I'd say it doesn't sound good though. :(

Can't really say I know how to do that. Not familiar with Linux at all.

[BoobPhysics101]

So, anybody here know if the 700 series videocards will be using PCIE 3? I'd rather not have to switch over to Ivy Bridge just to take full advantage of the 700 series cards.

PCI-E 3.0 won't be necessary for the Kepler videocards. They won't even saturate PCI-E 2.0.

[Instro]

So it seems like the issue was my GPU. Plugged in an older one, and all the bits that were on the screen are gone. New problem has come up though, on startup instead of going to windows it stops and asks me to insert my system disk. I can insert the windows disk and it seems like it wants to re install Vista. I assume its because the DVD drive is set 1st in the boot process over the HDD, but I'm not sure why it wants to reinstall windows. It will only allow a clean install too which I'd rather not do. Any idea why its doing this?

edit

Just to be clear its saying "disk boot failure, please insert system disk."

[1-D_FTW]

Not sure if old: Supposedly they're skipping 6xx and going straight to 7xx. Love these types of charts, they always make me smile. Nvidia is claiming a 100% gain in performance between the 580 and 780 though.

There's a Last Night beta out there? Come on, Steam, give me my beta. I'm pre-ordered.

[Instro]

Well appears that last problem was a boot order issue, but windows is still loading straight to a black screen. Safe mode still the same as well...clean install time?

[Varna]

If you can get them for it, Sennheiser PC-350s. Otherwise, the Corsair Vengeance 1500 has been getting really good reviews.

I have a question about headsets like these. Noise has become an issue around my place so I've been using my PS3 Wirelesss stereo headset a lot on my PC. They work well, I definitely will invest in something better though. One thing I'm not too sure on is how they seem to just ignore my sound card and use it's own software. Do UBS headsets like this do the same?

[jonremedy]

I have a question about headsets like these. Noise has become an issue around my place so I've been using my PS3 Wirelesss stereo headset a lot on my PC. They work well, I definitely will invest in something better though. One thing I'm not too sure on is how they seem to just ignore my sound card and use it's own software. Do UBS headsets like this do the same?

All USB headsets are basically their own soundcard.

[Varna]

All USB headsets are basically their own soundcard.

But you will still need a sound card for speakers right?

[Mr Nightman]

Ok I have a quick question, I have the msi 870-g45 motherboard from an old op hazaro build with 4 gb(2x2gb sticks) of this ram.

Now I want to get a couple more identical sticks, but have a dilemma. Will this ram fit under my hyper 212 thats covering one ram slot? Anyone else have the same mobo with this ram and a hyper?

[n0n44m]

Ok I have a quick question, I have the msi 870-g45 motherboard from an old op hazaro build with 4 gb(2x2gb sticks) of this ram. [IMG]http://www.gskill.com/images/images_products/nq-2.jpg[/] Now I want to get a couple more identical sticks, but have a dilemma. Will this ram fit under my hyper 212 thats covering one ram slot? Anyone else have the same mobo with this ram and a hyper?

errr if you have it you can see right :p

but this ram is barely taller than "bare" ram sticks would be, so I assume it fits

normally coolers only have issues with exceptionally tall ram heatsinks such as the Corsair Vengeance series

[Mr Nightman]

errr if you have it you can see right :p but this ram is barely taller than "bare" ram sticks would be, so I assume it fits normally coolers only have issues with exceptionally tall ram heatsinks such as the Corsair Vengeance series

yea found another forum with picks of ripjaw g skill ram that fit under it after moving the fan a few millimeters up so mine will indeed fit :-) Oh and would check it, but can't do it myself (physically), would have to have my brother help me, but wanted to find out without him having to get into the pc lol. Not everyone likes dealing with electronics as I do I guess, so he can get frusterated with cord unhooking and all haha

[Instro]

Well I managed to get everything fixed. I think the problem stemmed from the gpu/bad drivers, and managed to fuck up windows as well. All seems to be well now though after doing a windows restore from the actual windows disc, and getting new drivers for the gpu.

[sikkinixx]

I need a CPU upgrade soon (still rocking an E8400) but I would love to ditch the big tower, was thinking of something a lot smaller. Are mATX boards any good/worth it?

I was looking at this one by Asus: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=62504&...nufacture=ASUS. Got decent reviews, I know a Gen 3 version is out but maybe Boxing Day prices could lower it a bit.

Out of my rig I can salvage the PSU, DVD drive, HDD, and the GFX card, so I guess I would need Ram, Mobo and CPU? 2500k I'm guessing.

[ThoseDeafMutes]

wut worst y axis ever?

1.0 represents the performance of the 580. Scoring a 2.0 therefore means the card gets twice the performance for that game. I'm not sure what's difficult to grasp there.

The worst Y-axis is when you get those old ATI charts that start at 1000, and give the impression of a massive boost when its actually like a 4-6% increase versus the competition.

[Zabojnik]

Since my computer case is starting to show it's age, I decided to skip my little project of treating the interior with acoustic foam and get a new 'out-of-the-box-silent' case. The Fractal Design Define XL seems to be one of the, if not the best of 'em. I really dig the minimalistic monolithic design. Can you guys think of a reason why not to get it? The price is not an issue.



In the process of moving the components to the new case I would also like to get rid of my current PSU, the Corsair TX2 750W. Apparently it's a highly recommended power supply, which is why I bought it in the first place. The fan is silent enough, however the unit emits a high piched noise that's really getting on my nerves. From what I read it's somewhat of a common 'problem' with this particular unit.

I can get the Define XL case with the Fractal Design Newton R2 800W PSU for a decent price. From what I can gather it's pretty much tailored to my needs: silent, modular (which the TX2 isn't), and a good if not spectacular performer. Should I go for it or would you guys recommend something else in the 'silent PSU' category?

My specs: i7 2600K, 570 GTX, 4GB DDR3, system SSD + data HDD. All stock, no OC now or in the future. Thanks!

[Ristamar]

I was considering formatting my new Samsung SSD with GPT (if only because it seems to be the way things are headed), but chewing up 200+ megs worth of precious space on the EFI and MSR partitions doesn't sound all that appealing. From what I've read, the only added benefit of using GPT over MBR on a small drive is added security. Conversely, third party disk utilities don't appear to currently be as GPT friendly. Should I just stick with MBR?

[ReaperXL07]

Ok so I've looked through the OP and the thread and it seems most are talking mainly about building a PC. I'm looking to get back into PC gaming, however I'll be the first to say that i've never built a PC before and was considering more just buying a PC outright from somewhere like Alienware. I'm curious though how difficult it is building a PC from the ground up, i'm pretty mechanically inclined but mainly in terms of automotive so not sure how much thats going to help here.

I'm going through all of the information in the OP and trying to read through the other threads aswell, but it's alot of information. So while i'm sorting through all of this I just thought i'd ask if anyone has any advice in this aspect. Should I just buy one outright, and learn stuff that way if i've never built one before? If so who's the best company to buy from if i'm looking to pick up a good gaming rig, Alienware is always all over the place but popularity does not always mean it's the best.

Any advice in this is much appreciated, gotta get back to reading now, lots to learn.

[BoobPhysics101]

Ok so I've looked through the OP and the thread and it seems most are talking mainly about building a PC. I'm looking to get back into PC gaming, however I'll be the first to say that i've never built a PC before and was considering more just buying a PC outright from somewhere like Alienware. I'm curious though how difficult it is building a PC from the ground up, i'm pretty mechanically inclined but mainly in terms of automotive so not sure how much thats going to help here. I'm going through all of the information in the OP and trying to read through the other threads aswell, but it's alot of information. So while i'm sorting through all of this I just thought i'd ask if anyone has any advice in this aspect. Should I just buy one outright, and learn stuff that way if i've never built one before? If so who's the best company to buy from if i'm looking to pick up a good gaming rig, Alienware is always all over the place but popularity does not always mean it's the best. Any advice in this is much appreciated, gotta get back to reading now, lots to learn.

It's easy. Don't buy an Alienware, unless it's a laptop. Building your own PC is very fun and very easy if you follow a decent guide during your first time.

[Sober]

So not entirely a hardware question but just something odd happened. Is win7 a little crazy?

I have an external HDD plugged in and all of a sudden windows asked me if I wanted to format it. I said hell no, unplugged it, plugged it back it, tried a few files. Looks like everything is okay. Didn't seem to have anything suspicious installed. Just win7 being a little weird occasionally?

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Since my computer case is starting to show it's age, I decided to skip my little project of treating the interior with acoustic foam and get a new 'out-of-the-box-silent' case. The Fractal Design Define XL seems to be one of the, if not the best of 'em. I really dig the minimalistic monolithic design. Can you guys think of a reason why not to get it? The price is not an issue.

My Fractal case looks 95% similar, although I think it's technically a different model. The loudest noise it makes is equivalent to a subdued mouse fart, and I'm very pleased with it. I say go for it.

[Prodigal]

Any recommendations for a good gaming headset? I'm looking for good voice and audio quality regardless of the price! Well, under 200 preferably lol

Definitely consider the Astro A40's (officially MLG headset lol), though I'm not sure if the quality would be any different than something like the Logitech G930's.

[Slayer-33]

Those silent cases are fucking tempting.. Coming from a Antec 300 I'm sure the difference would be huge.