PC Discussion Thread - All PC related in here.

[shadow 6]

Merged "GF8800U" and "158.xx Forceware drivers" with existing PC discussion thread.

[echo1 0]

However I heard that for the new Core2 CPUs with FSB1333 will need a new mainboard. I head something about a platine that is called Bearlake and that the news CPUs wont be supported by the 775 Socket we have today. But I am realy no specialist so it could all be nonesense I am saying here

Yeah, tends to be the case that whenever Intel upgrades their CPU design, a new chipset is needed, unlike AMD.

Looking at that spec, why the 7900GTX and Athlon 64? Why not a Core 2 Duo and 8800GTS 320MB?

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Quote[/b] ]Yeah, tends to be the case that whenever Intel upgrades their CPU design, a new chipset is needed, unlike AMD.

Judging from this, you may be mistaken, although this may be an ASUS-only thing... whatever the case, I'm set.

ASUS Mobos + FSB1333

[echo1 0]

Quote[/b] ]Yeah, tends to be the case that whenever Intel upgrades their CPU design, a new chipset is needed, unlike AMD.

Judging from this, you may be mistaken, although this may be an ASUS-only thing... whatever the case, I'm set.

No, its more of a case of the Core than the speed of FSB that the motherboard can handle. Example: I wanted to put a Prescott core Pentium 4 into a motherboard that was using a Northwood core model. Although they ran at the same FSB (533MHz) the motherboard rejected the prescott. Stuff like that. Point is that the backwards compatibility with new CPUs tends to be bad with motherboards and chipsets. When AMD made their first Dual cores all you had to do was pop out the old single core and put in a dual core. With the Intel way, you needed a new motherboard and to replace anything that wouldnt work with the motherboard. (eg. RAM, Graphics card etc.)

[TheReddog 0]

I am looking at building the following system in the next few months, what do you guys think?

Thermaltake VB1000SWS Case

*Antec 550W True Power PSU

*Thermaltake 250W PSU Booster (Just for the graphics card)

Intel BX80557 E6600 Core2Duo

MSI P965 Platinum

Corsair Micro TWIN2X 2048 6400C4

Gigabyte GV-NX88S320H-B-RH 8800GTS 320MB

*Western Digital 320GB SATA2 16MB Cache HDD

Pioneer DVR-212

* Parts I already own going from this system to the new one.

[shadow 6]

its more of a case of the Core than the speed of FSB that the motherboard can handle. Example: I wanted to put a Prescott core Pentium 4 into a motherboard that was using a Northwood core model. Although they ran at the same FSB (533MHz) the motherboard rejected the prescott.

Usually all it takes is a BIOS-upgrade if the socket is the same. Atleast for Asus anyway. I know some other brands are'nt as flexible though (one of the reasons why I prefer Asus).

But still, motherboards are cheap so I dont care if I need to replace my motherboard when I change the CPU. Come to think of it, I have never kept the same motherboard when I bought a new CPU.

Its the RAM that gets expensive (if I want fast and plenty of it).

Quote[/b] ]MSI P965 Platinum

I hate MSI with a passion (I can thank Targa for that).

I recommend any of the Asus P5B boards.

Quote[/b] ]Corsair Micro TWIN2X 2048 6400C4

I'd go with something from Kingston or OCZ. Experience from 10 years as a IT-techie (less problems, less RMA)

Quote[/b] ]*Thermaltake 250W PSU Booster (Just for the graphics card)

I dont understand why you need that. It only generates more noise and heat. The Antec 550 is plenty enough for everything in that list.

[VictorTroska 0]

I am looking at building the following system in the next few months, what do you guys think?

1.)Thermaltake VB1000SWS Case

2.)*Antec 550W True Power PSU

3.)*Thermaltake 250W PSU Booster (Just for the graphics card)

4.)Intel BX80557 E6600 Core2Duo

5.)MSI P965 Platinum

6.)Corsair Micro TWIN2X 2048 6400C4

7.)Gigabyte GV-NX88S320H-B-RH 8800GTS 320MB

8.)*Western Digital 320GB SATA2 16MB Cache HDD

9.)Pioneer DVR-212

* Parts I already own going from this system to the new one.

1.)OK

2.)OK

3.)Agree with Shadow...no need for that,but u already have it so...

4.)OK

5.)Intel BadAxe 2,high quality and stable MBO,and E6600 has high multiplier so its a good choice.

6.)Corsair or OCZ

7.)OK

8.)OK

9.)Pioneer is quite good,other than that maybe LG for now

[echo1 0]

I am looking at building the following system in the next few months, what do you guys think?

Thermaltake VB1000SWS Case

*Antec 550W True Power PSU

*Thermaltake 250W PSU Booster (Just for the graphics card)

Intel BX80557 E6600 Core2Duo

MSI P965 Platinum

Corsair Micro TWIN2X 2048 6400C4

Gigabyte GV-NX88S320H-B-RH 8800GTS 320MB

*Western Digital 320GB SATA2 16MB Cache HDD

Pioneer DVR-212

* Parts I already own going from this system to the new one.

Get an ASUS mobo, scratch that PSU booster, get a Samsung 500GB T166 hard disk (Ive read some great reviews about them, and theyre not too expensive) and is it possible to get the Pioneer DVR-112 instead of the 212? The 212 is a SATA model, and SATA DVD drives can have problems. best to stick with the IDE ones for now. Pioneers are considered to be the best DVD writers out there ATM, except for those ridiculously expensive Plextor ones.

[VictorTroska 0]

I am looking at building the following system in the next few months, what do you guys think?

Thermaltake VB1000SWS Case

*Antec 550W True Power PSU

*Thermaltake 250W PSU Booster (Just for the graphics card)

Intel BX80557 E6600 Core2Duo

MSI P965 Platinum

Corsair Micro TWIN2X 2048 6400C4

Gigabyte GV-NX88S320H-B-RH 8800GTS 320MB

*Western Digital 320GB SATA2 16MB Cache HDD

Pioneer DVR-212

* Parts I already own going from this system to the new one.

Get an ASUS mobo, scratch that PSU booster, get a Samsung 500GB T166 hard disk (Ive read some great reviews about them, and theyre not too expensive) and is it possible to get the Pioneer DVR-112 instead of the 212? The 212 is a SATA model, and SATA DVD drives can have problems. best to stick with the IDE ones for now. Pioneers are considered to be the best DVD writers out there ATM, except for those ridiculously expensive Plextor ones.

ch_123...he already own HDD..look at marked parts on that list..he only need advice considering new stuff...

[echo1 0]

Oh right, my bad. Just read the other stuff then

[TheReddog 0]

The MSI board comes highly rated everywhere, especially since it uses mainly solid state capacitors. The only thing that has me scratching my noggin is that I have read that all the Intel 965 boards have the IDE channel not controlled by the main chipset, which means they need a driver for windows to work with them. Makes me wonder how the hell do you get windows to install then

I am not looking to buy one of the ridiculously expensive boards the only other I was looking at was the ASUS P5N-E SLI.

[shadow 6]

I have read that all the Intel 965 boards have the IDE channel not controlled by the main chipset, which means they need a driver for windows to work with them. Makes me wonder how the hell do you get windows to install then  

You dont need to install a driver manually to get a disk or optical drive to work on those boards.

If you use an "external" controller (not part of the motherboard) you might come into this issue. Most (if not all) RAID-controllers need a driver installed in order for WinXP to detect the disks connected to it.

You start the installation as you normally would by booting the machine with the WinXP cd. At the beginning you will see a line that reads "Hit F6 to load 3rd party drivers" or something similar, hit F6 and you are taken to a screen where you can add drivers from a floppy disk.

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Sorry to bust in here, just a quick question. CPU Z, that ubiquitous system properties program, reports the memory frequency as half of what it really is, right? Something to do with the dual channel property of DDR2.

So, for example, someone with DDR2-800 would get ~400MHz in their CPU-Z readout, yes? I just need to confirm as I bought some very, very fast RAM today, and I couldn't find a bloody benchmarking program to give me a straight answer besides Sandra.

[VictorTroska 0]

Quote[/b] ]So, for example, someone with DDR2-800 would get ~400MHz in their CPU-Z readout, yes?

That would be right.

Quote[/b] ]I just need to confirm as I bought some very, very fast RAM today

Which one,if I may ask?

[CameronMcDonald 146]

2GB OCZ Titanium Alpha DDR II DC - kickass heatsinks.

While my supplier had faster gear, none of them were instore, so I was forced to settle for these (the quickest they have are the latest 1100MHz OCZ offerings).

Stock speed is 1000MHz, here's my speed on a small RAM:FSB overclock (@ 2.4V, 5-6-6-18 timings (weak, I know)):

534.2 x 2 = 1068.4MHz.

I got it up to 1200MHz on 2.5V with a 5-5-5-15 move up, but things are stabler around 1167MHz when my C2D is running overclocked as well.

[seanathanjones 0]

Alright so i have yet to play arma because my computer is so crappy. I am thinking about getting a new computer and im wondering how you guys think it will run games out lately.

Processor: amd 64 x2 4200

Ram: 2 gigs

Graphics card: 8600gt (xtx 620mhz core clock version)

I have a relatively small monitor so i don't need a resolution over 1024x768

but how does that sound? only thing im having trouble deciding is the graphics card. Keep in mind i am 15 and i am on a tight budget.

Someone give me an estimate of how that will run arma.

[echo1 0]

The 8600GT is regarded as a rather poor card, mainly cause its little more powerful than the 7600GT that replaced it. A better option would be a Radeon X1950Pro, which doesnt cost much more but is better value for money. Are you building or buying?

[seanathanjones 0]

yeah i've heard so many mixed reviews of the 8600 but it seems to be rather poor. So i think i am going to go with the 7900gs xfx

will that with my previous mentioned system run arma at max settings on 1024x768? I only need like 30-40 fps.

---edit---

(im building)

[echo1 0]

The 7900GS is a pretty decent card, though the X1950Pro is faster and if you can afford to pay more and get a 320MB 8800GTS which would give more power and DirectX10 compatibility. What other parts are you using?

[seanathanjones 0]

mother board: (Socket AM2)MSI K9N Neo-F nForce 550 Chipset

processor: amd 64 x2 4200+

power supply: 450 watt

ram: 2 gigs of ddr2 800 dual channel

so i already have that figured out i don't need any advice on that

all i need to know is

How will the 7900gs run arma with that set up at a resolution of 1024x768?

How bout an 8600gt at the same resolution?

I don't have the money for an 8800gts, and i find them completely unnecessary for my usage. I only need a resolution of 1024x768 because i have a small monitor.

[echo1 0]

Wait, what about the Radeon X1950Pro then? See this

EDIT: Make sure to get a decent 450W PSU

[seanathanjones 0]

Well i found a great deal and i bought this computer

amd 64 x2 4200

evga 8800gts 320mb

2 gigs of ram

500 watt powersupply (good one don't remember the brand name)

i heard somewhere that the 8800's were getting bad framerates in armed assault for some reason. will this happen with my system?

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Not necessarily bad framerates, just random texture dropping, LOD problems, crashes, etc etc. I have an 8800GTX and only get the occasional CTD.

Since their GPUs are basically alike, you will most likely run into these problems, I'm sorry to say. Other GTS users have reported them.

[adumb 0]

Myself & CanadianTerror dont have this bug in 1.07b, all CT has is no MP skillz, and thats not something BIS can fix in a patch.

I need some info from you guys...

I've been thinking about adding a new hard drive, would it be best to have two 400GB hard drives or one of the new 1TB hard drives?

Thanks,

Adam

[Johannes 10]

depends on how much space do you need. If you really need the 1 tb go for the big one. But if you need less space get the 2*400 and run them in raid 0.