Support NeoGAF

[brain_stew]

Hey GAF,

here's what I have :

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
ASRock K10N78FullHD-hSLI R3.0 AM2+ socket mobo
4 GB DDR2 800
Nvidia GT220
Vista x64 Ultimate

Thinking of upgrading to a 940 black edition and switching out the GPU for a 5850 (Not sure my case has a 6-pin power connector though)

Would that bring me up to current 1080 gaming at high? Also would I need a new case for the 6 pin power connector or can I get some type of adaptor ?

Sounds like you'll definitely need a new PSU if you want a 5850, they're smart upgrades otherwise.

 

[brain_stew]

So at some point this year I want a new PC

depending on how things go maybe even one of those 3d cards/3d screens? I'd like to see some old games in 3D, but I don't know how they work... the other 3d nvidia thread had someone talking about Fallout 3, so does that stuff work with any old game? Or just specific ones?

Anyway I'm not wanting to be like spending a bajillion dollars here anyway, and the 3D stuff is definitely optional (probably just me wishing ), is there a predicted specific point this year I should pounce on (i.e. after a certain price drop or card release)

I've heard many stories of people upgrading at the 'wrong' time and spending WAY more than they would've a very short time later, or spending the same amount but a killer card coming out shortly after.

Thanks guys

I'm in Australia btw, and looking at mostly a gaming PC (obviously) and probably getting an SSD for the OS install.

Pretty much any game will "work" with 3D vision but results will vary wildly. Sometimes they'll be perfect, sometimes you'll have to disable a couple specific effects and sometimes it'll be a complete mess.

By going the 3D route you'll be effectively halving your framerate, so bear that in mind. 3D Vision will benefit in big ways from Fermi, but that's probably Q2.

 

[teacupcopter]

Pretty much any game will "work" with 3D vision but results will vary wildly. Sometimes they'll be perfect, sometimes you'll have to disable a couple specific effects and sometimes it'll be a complete mess.

By going the 3D route you'll be effectively halving your framerate, so bear that in mind. 3D Vision will benefit in big ways from Fermi, but that's probably Q2.

I understand the halving framerate stuff, but it's an option right? So if I want to mess around in Half Life 2 in 3D I can do it, then if I play Crysis I can turn it off because... well screw attempting that ? Right?

Or is it a pain in the arse (reset PC or something?)

Thanks

 

[Choabac]

I need a new PC, I’ve had so many numerous problems with my prior PC over the years, that I’ve just about had it.

I care about stability, stability, stability. So I would look at getting at a pre-built PC, which includes a comprehensive warranty.

I'm looking for a mid-range model. I'm not much of a PC gamer. The most intensive game that I own would be Fallout 3, and future games would be StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3. Aside from those games, I'm pretty much a console gamer.

This PC will be used for honours and (hopefully) post grad work.

Are the Dell XPS computers known to be stable and well manufactured? I’m looking at getting a mid range Studio XPS model. I just wanted to check if I should be alright with one of them for the next few years.

For those that care here was the PC that I was looking at:

Studio XPS 9000

PROCESSOR
Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor (2.66GHz, 8MB)

OPERATING SYSTEM
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit (English)

MEMORY
4GB (4X1GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz Memory

HARD DRIVE
500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive with Native Command Queuing

OPTICAL DRIVE
Single Drive:16X DVD+/-RW with Dual Layer Write Capabilities

VIDEO CARD
1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD5770

SOUND CARD
Integrated high definition 7.1 channel audio

I will purchase the monitor separately, I was looking at the 21.5inch SAMSUNG 2233SW.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Could use a bit of quick advice.

Looking at a pre-built tower:

Core 2 Quad Q8300 (2.5GHz, 4MB)
Nvidia G210 512MB
4GB DDR2 RAM
Win7 Home Premium (Will upgrade to Ultimate using University if I get it)
1TB SATA (not specific about speed)

Shame about the graphics card, will have to upgrade it.
It's €400 so say $450 (Conversion rate doesn't really apply because parts are more expensive here).
What do ye think?

 

[arts&crafts]

So after recently getting a 5770, I think it is time that I try to overclock my intel core 2 duo e6400. Now I am no computer whizz so I was wondering if someone had an overclocking for dummies guide or something :lol

 

[brain_stew]

Could use a bit of quick advice.

Looking at a pre-built tower:

Core 2 Quad Q8300 (2.5GHz, 4MB)
Nvidia G210 512MB
4GB DDR2 RAM
Win7 Home Premium (Will upgrade to Ultimate using University if I get it)
1TB SATA (not specific about speed)

Shame about the graphics card, will have to upgrade it.
It's €400 so say $450 (Conversion rate doesn't really apply because parts are more expensive here).
What do ye think?

You'll need a PSU upgrade to go along with that GPU.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Its definitely an interesting choice, I've only held back on recommending it wholesale for gamers because there's still a lot of dual core optimised games out there that have demands that are possibly slightly above what you'd get out of a stock X4 620. The 2.9ghz speed of a 435 is the right side of where you want to be but 2.6ghz is kind of borderline for me, but getting 3ghz out of it even on the trash stock cooler should be easy as pie (if you could try that it'd be wonderful) and that's when things get interesting for me. Anand managed to hit 3.25ghz on stock volts and cooling, which is pretty nice.

If you can, I'd like to see how it holds up at stock in stuff like Crysis, Stalker and any other high end games that aren't particularly multithreaded that you can think of. If its good enough at stock that it won't bottleneck a 4870 class GPU at high settings then there's no reason not to go with it really, as most CPU heavy new releases are optimised for at least three threads these days and in them it'll spank any high end dual core for under $100, which is really nice.

Fwiw, if I was in the market for a low cost quad, and I very well may be soon, it would get some serious consideration from me as once that thing's clocked its going to eat up anything you throw at it. That its on a platform with a bright future is even better.


Oh, and since we've been discussing SSDs lately, I suggest everyone read this, as it looks like Intel have finally been dethroned as SSD speed kings:

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3702


Edit: Here's a table of X4 620 OC's from www.overclock.net users, seems 3.4-3.6ghz on low end air is very much an achievable target which really makes it a great little chip imo. Definitely a great low cost option for OCers (and really we should all be OCers imo, if you can build a rig, you can OC a chip).


http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=taqpnD0wwBf7ZIijViCtnFA&w=100&h=500

If your curious, I was able to push the x3 435 to 3.4GHz stock voltage with the 4th core unlocked all cool enough to run on stock cooling. Thing performs on-par gaming wise with the phenom II x4 955 from the benchmarks I've seen.

 

[Salaadin]

I guess this is best asked in here. Im trying to get the Hori Flightstick 2 to work on my PC (Windows 7). I found the drivers on THIS SITE and downloaded them but I cant figure out how to get them to install.

Windows 7 cant find the drivers itself so it looks like Im stuck manually installing the thing. Any ideas?

 

[-SD-]

This thread gets a

rating from me.

 

[Zzoram]

Single high end video cards never really need a power supply bigger than 600W. I'm running an E8400 + HD4870 on a 500W completely fine.

Some prebuilts come with awful 280W though.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

You'll need a PSU upgrade to go along with that GPU.

I've a Corsair VX 450w PSU in my current machine, I'll switch it over.
I'm thinking a HD 4350/4650 1GB as my card upgrade.

 

[Façade]

So I've put together this build:

Are there any flaws in it and as a gauge will it be able to run Crysis at max settings pretty well?

 

[MWS Natural]

Oh, and since we've been discussing SSDs lately, I suggest everyone read this, as it looks like Intel have finally been dethroned as SSD speed kings:

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3702


Edit: Here's a table of X4 620 OC's from www.overclock.net users, seems 3.4-3.6ghz on low end air is very much an achievable target which really makes it a great little chip imo. Definitely a great low cost option for OCers (and really we should all be OCers imo, if you can build a rig, you can OC a chip).


http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=taqpnD0wwBf7ZIijViCtnFA&w=100&h=500

Wow OCZ really has come a long way! Unfortunately they priced themselves out of direct competition with Intel.

 

[Minsc]

So I've put together this build:

[IM]http://i50.tinypic.com/nl2xxv.png[/IMG]

Are there any flaws in it and as a gauge will it be able to run Crysis at max settings pretty well?

The only cards that will run Crysis at max settings well (30-60 fps) are a 5970 or GTX 295, even a 5870 or 285 won't pull 30fps all the time in Crysis on max settings unless you run them in Xfire or SLI.

 

[Dina]

Are there any flaws in it and as a gauge will it be able to run Crysis at max settings pretty well?

Does the CPU cooler work on that cpu? The socket is not listed in the productname.

 

[I should be doing hw]

Looking for help or a guide/tutorial on overclocking an i5 on a P55 or a guide to overclocking in general. I know nothing about it and no site or anything I've found has given me any, non-jargon basics to do it. Hope I can get done help in this new thread, thanks.

 

[Lkr]

Put it this way the console version of the game sets its two main sliders at just 21% and 10% of what's possible on the PC version. There's also sliders for stuff completely absent in the console version as well and you quadruple the texture resolution. Add in the extra resolution and nearly triple the framerate demands og your friend and you're asking it to do about 30x as much as it does on a console. Unsuprisingly that comes with equally steap hardware requiremens, requirements that can not be met by today's hardware, PC hardware may be far ahead of console tech. but its not that far ahead.

Basically "maxed out" GTA4 isn't meant for today's hardware, and past a point you'll get some seriously diminishing returns. I love that they gave the option for the game to improve with hardware (even if the effects are very minor) but its caused a lot of backlash from people that need to be saved from their own naivety.

Thanks for explaining that. Maybe I'll give the game a shot myself now

 

[Spriig]

So I have ditched the idea of buying a laptop for my 3D Animation/Modeling work and have followed your advice to get a Desktop PC. Thankfully I already have a pretty nice HD Monitor so this will save me some money when deciding what to get. I have been told to purchase a PC with a quad core and a good graphics card and i'm just wondering what you would suggest?

My browsing doesn't really extend further than looking on dell.com and i'm really not sure if i'm looking at the right pc's or not. I would love for someone to help me out here. I'm from the UK btw. My budget is £600 give or take and I am not in need of a monitor.

Thank you.

 

[Façade]

Does the CPU cooler work on that cpu? The socket is not listed in the productname.

Thanks for spotting that. Going with http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176157 instead

 

[GamePnoy74]

I'm trying to decide on a 3rd-party CPU cooler for a LGA 1156 socket...but it looks like common issues with mounting coolers on this socket are:

- size of cooler with fan is so big it blocks a memory slot next to the CPU
- 'compatible' brackets to mount the cooler around the LGA 1156 socket aren't so...'compatible'

That said, I think I've narrowed it to the following:

- Thermalright MUX-120 - 3rd-party cooler Intel has been shipping along with their i7-870 CPUs to PC reviewers to test overclocking
- Noctua NH-U12P SE2

Any other suggestions? (not really interested in hydro-cooling)

 

[enewtabie]

I asked it in the other thread and I'm not interested in assembling a PC or ordering parts. I want to be able to buy a pretty good PC that will play pretty much everything out there already assembled. $1000 for a limit is what I'm looking at but cheaper would be better. Any suggestions? and I'm not going to build one..Thanks

The last time I was into PC gaming..A pentium 4 was good btw.:lol
So I'm not really up to snuff on a X4 Quad core or I7 or anything like that.

 

[confused]

Sounds like you'll definitely need a new PSU if you want a 5850, they're smart upgrades otherwise.

What kind of thoughput am I looking for on the PSU ? have 450W at the mo.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

I guess this is best asked in here. Im trying to get the Hori Flightstick 2 to work on my PC (Windows 7). I found the drivers on THIS SITE and downloaded them but I cant figure out how to get them to install.

Windows 7 cant find the drivers itself so it looks like Im stuck manually installing the thing. Any ideas?

You mean you need help manually installing the drivers? Go to device manager, find the device (should be called unknown device or something with a yellow exclamation point). Right click on it, go to properties then the driver tab. Choose update driver, then you should have the choice to browse your drives for it.

 

[TheExodu5]

The only cards that will run Crysis at max settings well (30-60 fps) are a 5970 or GTX 295, even a 5870 or 285 won't pull 30fps all the time in Crysis on max settings unless you run them in Xfire or SLI.

This is a tiny bit misdirecting though. You can get better visuals and performance from High+ settings on the CCC config, IMO. A GTX 275 should pull about 40fps.

 

[Frankfurter]

So I've put together this build:

Are there any flaws in it and as a gauge will it be able to run Crysis at max settings pretty well?

What Dina said in terms of the CPU cooler. But the Scythe Mugen 2 also has a rev. B, which is compatible to socket 1156. You might wanna check if that is available at that store.
You should check out if there is cheaper RAM available. Dunno how the prices are in the UK (apparently a bit higher than over here in Germany, looking at the prices for CPU/mainboard etc.), but you should be able to find 2x2GB DDR3-1600 RAM for about 60-80 pounds, for example from G.Skill.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

So can we talk about laptops here, too?

How much would a laptop run me if, say, I'm not focusing on gaming (ie, I'd play older games, but not looking to be able to play Diablo III). I mostly want it to be relatively light weight, decent battery, for net/net applications and other such things. I dont' want a netbook and I don't want it to suck. Where would I be best to purchase it from? Newegg is the only place I really know.

 

[Dennis]

can ANYTHING run GTA IV maxed out at 1920x1200 with over 60fps and Anti-Aliasing yet? A friend wants to know

No not possible. At all. Maxed out, 60 fps and with SSAA is a couple of GPU generations away. You can push those graphics sliders real far to the right in this game and just the VRAM requirements would be killer. Probably also needs faster CPUs too.

 

[NG28]

So I'm back out at school and was able to find the exact backup PSU that I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170010

Would you trust this to run Radeon 4850?

 

[BravoSuperStar]

So I'm back out at school and was able to find the exact backup PSU that I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170010

Would you trust this to run Radeon 4850?

Logisys are crap, but yeah as long as it holds up it should run. Thats basically one of the worst brand of PS you can have though.

 

[Wallach]

So I'm back out at school and was able to find the exact backup PSU that I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170010

Would you trust this to run Radeon 4850?

Scary. Probably rolling dice on that one, man. Not sure I would trust my hardware to a $20 PSU.

 

[NG28]

That's what I figured

I'm going with this guy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339025

 

[Blackface]

One suggestion I want to give, is don't upgrade until CES is over.

New products will be announced, dates will be given, and prices will drop. So hold out.

 

[zoku88]

One suggestion I want to give, is don't upgrade until CES is over.

New products will be announced, dates will be given, and prices will drop. So hold out.

I don't think, for the type of stuff at CES, it really matters in terms of upgrading a PC unless you're talking about getting a new laptop or something. For desktop stuff, the updates seem to be evenly spread out across the year, anyway.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

That's what I figured

I'm going with this guy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339025

For $5 more I would recommend this instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010

 

[Ettie]

Sapphire 5850 is deactivated in Newegg's system. I wonder if a price change or new model is incoming.

 

[NG28]

For $5 more I would recommend this instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010

Is it upside down in that picture? My PSU goes at the top of my case, so that fan would be in a bad position.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Is it upside down in that picture? My PSU goes at the top of my case, so that fan would be in a bad position.

Yeah it is, you can tell by looking at the 115 volt switch (red switch on back). Anyway, the reason I suggest it is because I would take a single 140mm fan over 2 80mm fans any day, plus LED's on fans are so 90's, lol.

 

[pestul]

Sapphire 5850 is deactivated in Newegg's system. I wonder if a price change or new model is incoming.

Hopefully there are no problems with it.. because that's the model I have.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Hopefully there are no problems with it.. because that's the model I have.

Items go in and out of "activation" at newegg all the time. My XFX 5850 was "deactivated" for a long time after the initial shipment for example. Doesn't mean a new model is incoming or anything is wrong. If it's related to a recall it will say.

 

[Nabs]

Sapphire 5850 is deactivated in Newegg's system. I wonder if a price change or new model is incoming.

probably gonna put up one w/o dirt 2

 

[Tiduz]

well fuck.

cosmos s has a huge 200mm sidefan...

problem is theres only 145mm clearance due to that, and all good core i7 heatsinks hit about 160mm

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Can anyone recommend a good LCD calibration tool please?

 

[Ikuu]

Awesome come home from staying at my parents ready to play all the shit I bought from Steam and my PC is broke. Three red lights on my 4870 and from what I'm reading is most likely a PSU problem, tried plugging in my 8800GTX and the exact same thing. Anyone got a recommendation for a good (and cheap) PSU? And anyone know of an online store in the UK that will allow me to return the PSU if it turns out that isn't the problem with my machine.

 

[vertopci]

Anyone have any suggestions for good 2.1 speaker systems? Budget is 200 bucks and I'm coming from a set of L-3800. Need them for music, movies and gaming.

I've heard good things about the Blue Sky Exo 2.1 system and the Swan M10s. Anyone got any experience with them?

Spoiler

Don't recommend Z-2300 because they suck for music >.>

edit: forget the Exo 2.1. They are 300 bucks :lol

 

[Frankfurter]

Awesome come home from staying at my parents ready to play all the shit I bought from Steam and my PC is broke. Three red lights on my 4870 and from what I'm reading is most likely a PSU problem, tried plugging in my 8800GTX and the exact same thing. Anyone got a recommendation for a good (and cheap) PSU? And anyone know of an online store in the UK that will allow me to return the PSU if it turns out that isn't the problem with my machine.

Don't you also have that law that grants you the right to basically send everything back you've bought online within the first 14 days? Thought this is a EU wide law.
If not you might wanna try out a PSU from a friend that is in the ~450W+ range (depending on the rest of your system).
Both the be quiet Straight Power 450W and the Seasonic S12II-430 430W should be in the ~50-60 pounds range in the UK I guess, which is a good price imo for a component as important as the PSU (+ both are silent, efficient and reliable).

 

[Servizio]

574.95 with rebates, that's barring any shipping fees that may occur


Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5512023&sku=A271-5772

CPU and Fan
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4950609&sku=A79-0965

RAM
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5210464&sku=O261-6258

Motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5325308&sku=S458-1334

HDD
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2795126&sku=TSD-500AAKS

D3RANG3D put this together for me yesterday (Thanks, btw!) , and I'm liking it, but it is a bit on the pricey side for me at the moment. Anyone else have any thoughts on it?

 

[x3sphere]

I don't think, for the type of stuff at CES, it really matters in terms of upgrading a PC unless you're talking about getting a new laptop or something. For desktop stuff, the updates seem to be evenly spread out across the year, anyway.

If you're thinking of picking up a high end monitor then it may be a good idea to wait. But just for general parts like motherboards and CPUs yeah I see no reason to hold off.

 

[Blackface]

I don't think, for the type of stuff at CES, it really matters in terms of upgrading a PC unless you're talking about getting a new laptop or something. For desktop stuff, the updates seem to be evenly spread out across the year, anyway.

They will probably announce 5-10 new USB 3.0 SATA 6Gbps boards at CES. Along with announcing hard dates for various other products. A lot of the desktop stuff just doesn't get the same coverage as other things, so you have to go check out forums instead of blog sites.

EVGA already showed a teaser of one of their new dual socket boards.

 

[Minsc]

This is a tiny bit misdirecting though. You can get better visuals and performance from High+ settings on the CCC config, IMO. A GTX 275 should pull about 40fps.

I don't know, I tried the Mster config, and while it generally looks better, there are things that look awful (like the clouds). Is the CCC config better than Mster config?