PC Discussion Thread - All PC related in here.

[MehMan 0]

No, I don't intend to build this myself as that means I'll have to pay for everything upfront. I'd rather pay 20-40€ per month as I can afford that.

Does anybody have a recomendation for a good 19" LCD screen?

[echo1 0]

Oh right. Whereabouts do you live? Plenty of good custom PC companies can be found in most countries.

[Deadfast 43]

Well, if you buy a pre-built everything that's been said applies here, especially that you'll get ripped off (I'm starting to think Universal makes pre-builds ).

Some shops will let you hire purchase even single components.

[MehMan 0]

Not prebuilt, but I give them a list of things I want, they give me a bill, we shake hands and that's about it. I want for them to muck around, do their job, takes a week or two since in most cases they don't have the components there. I'm from Slovenia.

[VictorTroska 0]

Not prebuilt, but I give them a list of things I want, they give me a bill, we shake hands and that's about it. I want for them to muck around, do their job, takes a week or two since in most cases they don't have the components there. I'm from Slovenia.

Naruci iz Hrvatske ako nema u Sloveniji

[Placebo 29]

I appreciate it has calmed down now but I think there's really no need to get so heated about which product to buy or not, leave personal opinions along with online sources and then the buyer has the facts in their disposal to make educated decisions

[froggyluv 2136]

@MehMan

Tom's hardware has a great thread just for people trying to create/decide a new build here

It's a good place to learn what constitutes a great build and you can argue till your blue in the face  

[Supernova 0]

MehMan if you are looking for a nice Rendering workstation/desktop you might want to read this : http://techgage.com/article/building_an_affordable_skulltrail_system/ .

Also if you must insist on a Q6600 then check that the stepping is G0.

What about case have you decided on what kind of size case and what case manufacturer ?

[Placebo 29]

Edited to fix your URL.

[kmossco 9]

Thanks for the advices lads.

I did the accounts and even though building it myself would cost around 150€ more, if I make it from scratch it will be better and cheaper indeed. But I won't mount it myself, a guy I know will do it and with a 1-year warranty.

Going to search around and see which are the best components, but at the moment I am more leaned towards buying an Intel Q6600 and maybe a 8800GT or GTS. When I get the final setup I'll return and ask your opinion

EDIT:

I am now trying to figure out which motherboard to choose. Both asus, either Asus P5Q3 Deluxe WiFi ou Asus P5KE Deluxe WiFi-AP? I am going to use nvidia cards, no SLI planned though.

Also, RAM is something I am struggling with, which DDR3 to choose. Are OCZ PC8500 2GB GOLD EDITION XTC any good?

[Placebo 29]

Finally my 4870 will be with me today, it's currently in Stockholm and soon will be in Uppsala

[Shadow NX 1]

Have fun with it, i was blown away by the sheer power this rather cheap card showed.

Crysis and co in high details on 1680x1050 resolution surely looks impressive.

Only game that didnt show such ehavy boost was ArmA... kinda expected somehow... sure looks better and runs smoother but grass still seems to cost many frames and some objects tend to give me the texture loading probs worser than on my old 7800GTX.

Oh and btw, for those who followed my pc starts but no picture problem in this thread... damn prob happened a few times again already but most of the time its enough to just restart the pc once.. what a weird prob...

[kmossco 9]

Shadow NX have you figured out which is the problem?

I decided to make myself the config and buy the parts in two stores to be cheaper. (A gain of 150€)

The set up will be this:

Quote[/b] ]Intel Core2 Quadcore Q6600 @2,4Ghz G0

Asus P5Q3 Deluxe WiFi

XFX NVidia GeForce 8800GTS 512MB DDR3 650Mhz

OCZ PC8500 2GB Gold Edition XTC DDR3 (2X1GB)

Seagate 320GB 7200RPM S-ATA2 16MB

Creative SoundBlaster Audigy SE 24 bits

Asus DVD±RW 2014L1T 20x SATA (bought)

NOX Urano 600W SLI

NOX Coolbay Window Black

LG TFT 19" W1942S 8000:1 1440 x 900 (bought)

Price: around 950~1000€

What you think? Over than 500€ cheaper than those I presented earlier.

[Placebo 29]

Have fun with it, i was blown away by the sheer power this rather cheap card showed.

So far seems pretty nice, got my TV out and audio working properly, well audio is mono because apparently my adaptor was broken and I never even realised!

Tried Crysis briefly, smooth on everything very high

[echo1 0]

Shadow NX have you figured out which is the problem?

I decided to make myself the config and buy the parts in two stores to be cheaper. (A gain of 150€)

The set up will be this:

Quote[/b] ]Intel Core2 Quadcore Q6600 @2,4Ghz G0

Asus P5Q3 Deluxe WiFi

XFX NVidia GeForce 8800GTS 512MB DDR3 650Mhz

OCZ PC8500 2GB Gold Edition XTC DDR3 (2X1GB)

Seagate 320GB 7200RPM S-ATA2 16MB

Creative SoundBlaster Audigy SE 24 bits

Asus DVD±RW 2014L1T 20x SATA (bought)

NOX Urano 600W SLI

NOX Coolbay Window Black

LG TFT 19" W1942S 8000:1 1440 x 900 (bought)

Price: around 950~1000€

What you think? Over than 500€ cheaper than those I presented earlier.

What about getting a Radeon 4870? It completely outclasses the 8800GTS 512MB, and isnt that much more expensive?

[kmossco 9]

What about getting a Radeon 4870? It completely outclasses the 8800GTS 512MB, and isnt that much more expensive?

Well, that's what everyone tells me. But there is a problem. I completely hate the ATI software and I really prefer Nvidia.

I will only buy the graphics card mid-november probably so until then I might find another bargain for a nvidia one.

A XFX Geforce GTX260 896MB DDR3 is around 280€. If it happens to descend its price to 200€ I will definetly buy it.

[echo1 0]

You could always try a 9800GT or a 9800GTX+, neither of which as as fast as the Radeon 4870 but are probably the best nVidia has to offer at the moment. There is a good possibility that the GTX260 will drop in price though as its somewhat slower than the Radeon 4870 but costs a good deal more.

[Lepardi 0]

What about getting a Radeon 4870? It completely outclasses the 8800GTS 512MB, and isnt that much more expensive?

Well, that's what everyone tells me. But there is a problem. I completely hate the ATI software and I really prefer Nvidia.

I will only buy the graphics card mid-november probably so until then I might find another bargain for a nvidia one.

A XFX Geforce GTX260 896MB DDR3 is around 280€. If it happens to descend its price to 200€ I will definetly buy it.

That's a not an excuse... nvidia has driver problems, even the lock up problem in arma is completely nvidia's fault.

I just can't see a possible reason for you not to get an HD 4870 for around 200€, and it is clearly better than the GTX260... it's just plain dumb to buy hardware just because of a brand.

People are just sucked in by the 'how its meant to be played' logo on games. Which is just false.

[kmossco 9]

You could always try a 9800GT or a 9800GTX+, neither of which as as fast as the Radeon 4870 but are probably the best nVidia has to offer at the moment. There is a good possibility that the GTX260 will drop in price though as its somewhat slower than the Radeon 4870 but costs a good deal more.

Yeah, XFX 9800GTX Black Edition 512MB (PCI-E) and XFX 9800GTX XXX 512MB are on my radar too, they will be the first to drop price. They are sold here for around 250€. I really like the Black Edition and was the GPU I first saw and liked, but the 277€ it costs turned me down.

That's a not an excuse... nvidia has driver problems, even the lock up problem in arma is completely nvidia's fault.

I just can't see a possible reason for you not to get an HD 4870 for around 200€, and it is clearly better than the GTX260... it's just plain dumb to buy hardware just because of a brand.

People are just sucked in by the 'how its meant to be played' logo on games. Which is just false.

Why is it dumb?

Just because you prefer ATI why can't I prefer Nvidia? It is not only the xx Mhz of core speed or whatever that matters to me... I prefer to have a slower GPU but with a driver interface of my liking than an ultra fast GPU that I completely hate its software.

Never had those lock ups and I have an Nvidia, probably not the same drivers, but eh, Nvidia never let me down.

And nope, it's not a case of marketing, it's a case of preference.

[echo1 0]

it's just plain dumb to buy hardware just because of a brand.

Which, naturally, is why you chime in every time someone criticizes ATI to tell them how great it is? There are people out there who have had bad experiences with ATI and wont want to spend a considerable amount of money so that the same thing will happen again. In my books, that isnt dumb, its called being smart. Even though I personally am an nVidia only person (admittedly not of personal experience, but that of technically compotent friends and family members whose ATI drivers caused them a lot of grief), I still recommend ATI cards when they are good. But if people would prefer nVidia cards, so beit.

[froggyluv 2136]

I've always had Nvidia cards and am more than willing to switch to the much ballyhooed HD 4870 as it seems to get stellar feedback in terms of bang-for-buck gameplay except for the fact that it seems to have problems with Arma. Since that is really the only game I play ( Mount&Blade;Panzer General not withstanding), I'm hesitant to buy it. Would suck to upgrade only to be disappointed

[Shadow NX 1]

Personally i had Nvidia cards in the last 2 PC and was very happy with them.

Was pretty sure the next purchase would be the GTX260 or something until i read the HD4870 reviews.

So far i wasnt dissapointed a tiny bit, drivers seem stable, card is calm while it produces lots of power and ArmA like all other games i tried worked perfectly without graphic bugs.

Ok in ArmA i had a weird shadow effect on some 3rd party addons like Kenjis T-80 frontskirts but after i installed the newest drivers from the ATI website it was fixed.

[vilas 477]

if this is offtopic, maybe someon can help me with advice, cause i am not informatician:

i had bought PC for ARMA in december 2006:

AmD 3800+ dualcore 2,1 GHZ, Tagan 430 W power, Asus M2NE Sli with the latest BIOS upgraded december 2007, 2*DDR 1024, VGA NVidia 7900GS

because ARMA is so heavy i boought 2 new things:

new VGA - 8800 GTS, works fine, ARMA works better

new CPU AMD 6000 dualcore 3GHZ

and i have problem because :

PC do not start with new CPU :/

i have tested it in such way, that i left old card (in case of power lack)

i made 6-8 retries with new CPU:

in most of cases PC was not starting, only all fans were working

in 2 cases there was boot screen, after this:

press DEL to enter setup or TAB to post screen (as usual in all PCs)

but nothing more,

so i type DEL from keyboard

"BIOS is loading ...."

...

...

...

_

nothing

should i remove CPU to shop or is it not compatibility

but Asus on their website wrotes that BIOS 1201 is working with newest CPUs

EDIT: IT HAS NOTHING TO PSU, CAUSE I TESTED CPU ON OLD 7900 CARD ONLY !!!

I PUT 8800 AFTER CPU FAILED

[echo1 0]

Mhmm, its not unusual for motherboards to have problems accepting new hardware. Starting from the top - Have you tried reseting the CMOS before you booted with the new CPU? If not, look in your motherboards manual for the location of the reset jumper, but generally, its a coloured jumper (yellow on most of the modern boards Ive seen, but it can be different) jumper near the battery on the motherboard. Make sure there is no power in your computer (turn off, unplug and hit the power switch). Now, there are three pins on the jumper, we'll call them 1, 2 and 3 (from left to right). Generally you'll find the jumper positioned on 2 and 3 (depends on the motherboard) so pull the jumper out, put it on 1 and 2, and leave it for ten seconds. Then pull the jumper out again and place it back in the position in which you found it. If you cant find the jumper, you can pull out the battey and leave it out for about 5 minutes and put it back in, but make sure it goes back in the right way around.

[Lepardi 0]

it's just plain dumb to buy hardware just because of a brand.

Which, naturally, is why you chime in every time someone criticizes ATI to tell them how great it is? There are people out there who have had bad experiences with ATI and wont want to spend a considerable amount of money so that the same thing will happen again. In my books, that isnt dumb, its called being smart. Even though I personally am an nVidia only person (admittedly not of personal experience, but that of technically compotent friends and family members whose ATI drivers caused them a lot of grief), I still recommend ATI cards when they are good. But if people would prefer nVidia cards, so beit.

I still can't see a single reason why is it smart to buy a worse nvidia card, when you can have better technology that performs better from AMD for less price. It simply is just a waste of money and not supporting the competition.

If someone has had a faulty card from ancient times it doesn't mean a card wouldn't work now.

Oh and what's so wrong with software? You can manage exactly the same settings etc. with both companies drivers. In the end it doesn't matter at all, AMD just would give you better performance on games.