PC Discussion Thread - All PC related in here.

[froggyluv 2135]

Indeed it was. Forgive me, and allow me to commend you on your sound choice of operating system! :P

Hehe, thanks ch_123, wouldn't want to buy a new spec without the thumbs up of our top-basement dwellar

[Shashman 0]

The Be Quiete is ordered after i read some more very good reviews, lets see if that is the key to all the pc problems.

And if not then i at least got a decent PSU for my next setup attempts, hehe.

What surprised me is that these things seem to suck 6watts even if you switch the PC of with the main switch.

Excellent choice!

The BeQuiet! range is superb. Their PSUs are silent, reliable, stable and powerful. I'll be getting the Darkpower Pro 650w

[echo1 0]

Indeed it was. Forgive me, and allow me to commend you on your sound choice of operating system! :P

Hehe, thanks ch_123, wouldn't want to buy a new spec without the thumbs up of our top-basement dwellar

A basement? Hah, I wish! No problems anyway, let us know when you get it.

[MehMan 0]

Hurr, what is a dynamic contrast thingy I see on some of the new screens? Phear it or love it?

[echo1 0]

Somone correct me if Im wrong, but I think I recall that dynamic contrast is some way that the manufacturers can pull the wool over your eyes and not tell you the actual contrast ratio. I'd just pick a screen than gets good reviews. I have a 20" Samsung (a 204B I think, was quite expensive, but I sold my previous monitor to cover it) and I read good reviews about other Samsung screens in the computer magazine I read (my only source of info on screens, I don't keep up with the latest screen tech unless Im looking to buy a new one, which is very seldom). That said, if the one youre looking at gets good reviews, by all means get it, but don't be afraid to spend the bit extra to get a good one, they're the bit of the PC you use the most, and if you end up with a dodgy one, it would be a purchase you regret an awful lot... That's just my 2c on the whole topic anyway

[Deadfast 43]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_contrast

[billybob2002 0]

Look what I bought for a mid-range computer....

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2

EVGA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB

ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD800JD 80GB

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

LIAN LI PC-A05B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower

And some thermal crap

The cost came out under $718. However, the real price should be under $700 when I receive the rebates. Plus, I got the new Alone in the Dark game for free.

Good Deal?  

[froggyluv 2135]

Look what I bought for a mid-range computer....

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2

EVGA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB

ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD800JD 80GB

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

LIAN LI PC-A05B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower

And some thermal crap

The cost came out under $718. However, the real price should be under $700 when I receive the rebates. Plus, I got the new Alone in the Dark game for free.

Good Deal?  

Does that video card work on your mobo? Reason I ask is I just saw this on the review for that mobo:

"the EVGA 8600GT video card does not work in this motherboard - apparently it's an issue with the whole P5Q series"

[Lepardi 0]

Look what I bought for a mid-range computer....

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2

EVGA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB

ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD800JD 80GB

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

LIAN LI PC-A05B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower

And some thermal crap

The cost came out under $718. However, the real price should be under $700 when I receive the rebates. Plus, I got the new Alone in the Dark game for free.

Good Deal?  

That's a quite bad choice on the gfx card, but otherwise it seems ok. You could have gotten Antec Sonata III with 500W PSU and a HD4850 for gfx card.

[billybob2002 0]

Hmm, thanks guys for the quick replies! I guess I will modify my order then! :-)

[echo1 0]

Also, why are you getting an 80GB and a 160GB drive? 500GB is pretty much the standard these days, and wouldnt be much more expensive that getting two smaller drives. I agree with the graphics card recomendation btw.

[MehMan 0]

I did hear the 8600 is quite a shitty card. I doubt it's worth getting anything less than a 8800GT nowadays.

[kmossco 9]

Better buy a 8800GTS mate. Will endure more time with the newer games than a 256MB board...

[Lepardi 0]

Even better buy would be the HD 4850.

[kmossco 9]

Even better buy would be the HD 4850.

If he doesn't care about brands and just wants a bang-for-the-buck, yep, best choice!

[Lepardi 0]

Even better buy would be the HD 4850.

If he doesn't care about brands and just wants a bang-for-the-buck, yep, best choice!

Indeed, unless you're a hc nvidia fanboy, or want a card that will most likely be unstable (possible lock-ups) on ArmA, it's the best choice.

[kmossco 9]

Again with the fanboyism? Damn, you are "trying" to help someone to know if it is a good buy or not. Please stop trying to "convert" people to ATI! Moderation already told you stop it, why don't you listen them?

[echo1 0]

Not intending to get fan the flames of the ATI vs Nvidia pissing competition again, but isnt the new 9800GT meant to be as good if not faster than the 4850? Last time I checked it was much cheaper too.

EDIT: Rechecked prices and reviews. The 9800GT is on par with the HD4850, but a good deal cheaper (€30 difference between the cheapest of each one), so I'd recommend the 9800GT in this case. If you want to spend a bit extra, the HD4870 would be a better choice than either of those though.

[Lepardi 0]

Again with the fanboyism? Damn, you are "trying" to help someone to know if it is a good buy or not. Please stop trying to "convert" people to ATI! Moderation already told you stop it, why don't you listen them?

I'm not trying to convert anything. I'm just telling there's better alternatives to use your money on, since you're only advicing people to buy worse nvidia counterparts for no apparent reason.

[scubaman3D 0]

...EDIT: Rechecked prices and reviews. The 9800GT is on par with the HD4850, but a good deal cheaper (€30 difference between the cheapest of each one)...

Thats not what I've read, and you're not necessarily correct about the prices either. I just ordered a 4850. My last card was an EVGA 8800GTS - which fried within 1 year.

From the information I've seen, the Radeon 4850 is more analogous to the 9800 GTX or GTX +, and its cheaper. I have read an overwhelming number of reviews and recommendations which say the 4850 is the best bang for the buck in the "Under $200" price range - and I'm an NVIDIA fanboy.

Am I nervous about this ATI card? Sure, but I figured I'd take the chance on this one.

[kmossco 9]

Again with the fanboyism? Damn, you are "trying" to help someone to know if it is a good buy or not. Please stop trying to "convert" people to ATI! Moderation already told you stop it, why don't you listen them?

I'm not trying to convert anything. I'm just telling there's better alternatives to use your money on, since you're only advicing people to buy worse nvidia counterparts for no apparent reason.

Please re-read what I said. I didn't advice him to buy an Nvidia. I said, that IF he was to buy an Nvidia (which is what we posted in his post) he better buy a 8800GTS which for the performance is the cheapest I could find within near the price range of the 8600GT he talked about.

And I think you forgot my next post where I supported your POV and said that the ATI counterpart, the 4850, was indeed better. You should learn to read.

[MehMan 0]

Har, those new ATIs look really nice and I keep hearing good things about 'em. Might even get one.

[Murtok 0]

My old mobo's (Asus P5N32E) memory controller crapped out on me. I decided to upgrade since I'm going to have my box apart anyway.

New shinies are as follows:

Asus P5N-D (Nvidia 750i NB)

Intel Q6600 (Kentsfield)

VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 (512MB)

--------------------

Total: $599.89 (+$8.97 S&H +$2.99 RP)

[echo1 0]

I'm not sure if I would have picked an nVidia chipset motherboard, Intel ones are generally regarded as better, the rest looks good though, and the chipset probably wont make any serious difference.

[Shashman 0]

Not bad, but why choose an nvidia motherboard to use with an AMD card?

Go for an ASUS P5Q Deluxe. Great performance and value for money.