PC Discussion Thread - All PC related in here.

[j w 0]

A friend found it in school, haven't seen it before. Laughed my butt off.

Even when you choose to switch language, everything is in l33t-5p34k.

The about-site shouldn't be mentioned at all

[lee_h._oswald 0]

At the moment you would probably be better off getting 2x 7900's and running them in SLI. There wont be many DX10 games for a year or two anyway.

That's not the best way to go, because:

- One GF8800GTX is faster than 2x GF7900.

- The image quality of the 8800 cards is MUCH better than any GF before.

- The GF8800 series cards performe extremly well in any dx9 game.

- The GF8800series are the first NVIDIA cards that can use HDR & AntiAliasing TOGETHER!

- The cooling system on the 8800's is extremly quiet.

---

The best way is to wait some more time, the cards are getting cheaper right now.

MfG Lee

Edit:

Read here about the freaks, gaming on 32" or bigger widescreen displays with that cards:

-> Click <-

[dm 9]

Very true Lee.

Was under the impression that the 8800's were "optimised" for DX10. Having read some in depth reviews I can see thats not the case. In which case, if you want uber screaming performance and money is no object, then yeah the 8800 is the way to go

[Heatseeker 0]

At the moment you would probably be better off getting 2x 7900's and running them in SLI. There wont be many DX10 games for a year or two anyway.

That's not the best way to go, because:

- One GF8800GTX is faster than 2x GF7900.

- The image quality of the 8800 cards is MUCH better than any GF before.

- The GF8800 series cards performe extremly well in any dx9 game.

- The GF8800series are the first NVIDIA cards that can use HDR & AntiAliasing TOGETHER!

- The cooling system on the 8800's is extremly quiet.

---

The best way is to wait some more time, the cards are getting cheaper right now.

MfG Lee

Edit:

Read here about the freaks, gaming on 32" or bigger widescreen displays with that cards:

-> Click <-

Not to mention the many game issues, driver bugs, power requirements and consuption, extra heat generated inside the box... and SLI doesnt double performance so it seems like a waste to have 2 high end cards for a 20/25% performance boost if that much. Dont even know if Arma is SLI compatible .

If you have the €'s you might aswell go with the 8800GTX/GTS.

If not a single 7900 should do. Video cards are expensive and outdate very fast... is it really wise buying 2 of them?

I dont think so . Put the extra money on the better CPU and RAM instead.

[shadow 6]

SLI doesnt double performance so it seems like a waste to have 2 high end cards for a 20/25% performance boost if that much.

Games that are optimized for SLI will give you twice the performance with SLI. Those that are not optimized for SLI will give you anywhere from Single-card performance to about 50% boost.

Most (if not all) new games today take advantage of SLI.

I have a 7950GX2.

[lee_h._oswald 0]

Problem with a 8800GTX SLI is, that there is no CPU in the world, that's fast enough for the two cards. Crazy but true.

So, if you have a single core cpu with ~3GHz, it makes no sense to buy a GTX, choose a GTS instead.

One GTX makes sense if you have dualcore 2x 3GHz+.

---

About the bugs in games, there are no "good" driver available yet. Stupid, but I'm sure, NVidia is working on it.

---

I'm very interested in the first user reports about ArmA + GF8800GT*.

MfG Lee

[xav 0]

Hi guys,

I am about to order a new computer for X-mas...and my roomate who is a computer science graduate student adviced me to go for the following...

I just wanted to have another advice on this config as you guys seem to know your stuff, can anybody tell me if the config cool and if not what part to change and for what reason.

Thanks

(Ps i can't afford to pass the $1000 limit)

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail: $218.50

- ECS NFORCE 570 SLIT-A (V5.1) Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $89.99

- DIAMOND X1950PRO512PCIE GDDR3 VIVO Video Card - Retail $259.99

- SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD300LJ 300GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $89.99

(I have a 80Gb 10000Rpm raptor in my present computer that i ll use in my future one)

- 2x OCZ Gold Series 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) System Memory Model OCZ25331024ELGEGXT - OEM (2 gigs) $219.98

- Broadway Com Corp 82-4HL Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail (Tower with 500W included) $44.99

- SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D - OEM $29.99

(And i ll keep my 19" Samsung and keyboard/mouse from my current computer)

Total $984.95 includes shipping and handling

(I did it on Newegg.com)

[shadow 6]

About the bugs in games, there are no "good" driver available yet. Stupid, but I'm sure, NVidia is working on it.

The only bug due to SLI that I've encountered is the 90.xx drivers with Far Cry. Thats easily fixed by importing the 84.xx Far Cry SLI profile into the drivers by using nhancer.

93.71 works perfect here and so did the 91.47/48 drivers.

If you read the release notes you'll see very few issues keeping you from playing any game with SLI.

Most of the issues are like this:

Game X crash to desktop if Antialiasing is set to Y.

So set AA to a different value, problem solved.

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Nice post up there Deadmeat, I agree with a lot of it.

However, I thought I'd chuck in this little snippet: you'll need a 64 bit OS (If using Windows XP) and supported CPU if you want to run more than 3GB RAM properly. Not sure about Vista, hopefully it knocks that flaw out.

[dm 9]

Nice post up there Deadmeat, I agree with a lot of it.

However, I thought I'd chuck in this little snippet: you'll need a 64 bit OS (If using Windows XP) and supported CPU if you want to run more than 3GB RAM properly. Not sure about Vista, hopefully it knocks that flaw out.

Interesting... Didnt know that...

When you say "properly" how do you mean? Got any literature (websites, specs or whatnot) that supports this?

[CameronMcDonald 146]

There's a separate topic on the Microsoft website, and in all good motherboard booklets. 32-bit Windows XP will only recognise up to 3GB of RAM. Google it, you'll run into fousands of topics. When I get home I'll post the official link for you.

[shadow 6]

All WinXP editions support up to 3GB RAM. All Vista 32-bit editions support up 4GB RAM. 64-bit basic edition 8GB, 16GB for the Premium edition and 128GB for the Business and Ultimate editions.

Business and Ultimate might support more than 128GB RAM but thats the most MS have tested so far.

Source (blog by MS employee)

All these different versions will be a mess (and very expensive). Business will apparantly be the mainstream version for companies running domain controllers seeing as its the minimum edition to support joining domains.

I'm guessing Premium will be the mainstream end-user variant due to Windows Media Center HD and HD Movie maker.

[lee_h._oswald 0]

The only bug due to SLI that I've encountered..

I was talking about problems with the new 8800 cards, because there are no optimized drivers for them available right now. Nothing to do with SLI.

MfG Lee

[DaSquade 0]

Quote[/b] ]Nice post up there Deadmeat, I agree with a lot of it.

However, I thought I'd chuck in this little snippet: you'll need a 64 bit OS (If using Windows XP) and supported CPU if you want to run more than 3GB RAM properly. Not sure about Vista, hopefully it knocks that flaw out.

Ah true indeed afaik. Something i forgot and the reason i didn't bought more bought more RAM in the past.

Personally i really don't want to make the Vista step yet. So i guess atm i would go for 2Gb (3Gb is a bit useless because of the non-dual channel thingy i guess). Maybe it is worth it to buy better (read: higher Mhz ram) then? But not sure if they are worth the extra penny, 800Mhz vs +1000Mhz.

PS: Anybody experience with LCS (liquid cooled systems)? As i might go for one of those systems (and overclock some parts). I was thinking of the Thermaltake Kandalf LCS systems with some extra recommanded cooling blocks. From what i have seen it might have a lot of pro's (less noise, good cooling preformences) but the change of a leak is the only thing that makes me bought.

[shadow 6]

(3Gb is a bit useless because of the non-dual channel thingy i guess)

2*1GB + 2*512MB = 3GB and still dual-channel.

The criteria for dual channel is that the modules must be inserted in identical pairs.

[Heatseeker 0]

Games that are optimized for SLI will give you twice the performance with SLI. Those that are not optimized for SLI will give you anywhere from Single-card performance to about 50% boost.

Most (if not all) new games today take advantage of SLI.

I have a 7950GX2.

You have a powerfull card with 2 GPU's, its not the same has having two boards inside your PC with SLI enabled.

Will you purchase a second 7950GX2 now that the 8800's are out?

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/391/

More than wanting a good card i want good games to put it to use and there arent many, im not looking forward to much other than Armed Assault honestly .

[dm 9]

Well the RAM limit is a bit of a bummer... Ho hum...

Heatseeker - its all down to what monitor you run. If you're only on a 1280 x 1024 TFT (like me) then there really is no point in getting uber-high end SLI systems, simply because all that extra power isnt going to be put to use. You may as well use that 2nd 8800 as a paperweight, the amount of good it'll be doing you at those resolutions.

If you've got some sort of 30" widescreen, then go for it tho

[Heatseeker 0]

No way DM, not made of money and even if i could afford such a graphical setup i would put the money on the CPU instead. I've read that anything less than the C2D x6800 would bottleneck these cards (in SLI).

1600x1200 or 1280x1024 will be more than good enough for me for a very long time. Latelly im not even much of a gamer.. i only want my Arma to be has smooth and beautyfull has possible within a reasonable budget. I dont play fear, BF or quake and im not even looking forward to Crysis . If it wasnt for Arma i wouldnt even consider an upgrade .

[dm 9]

Exactly, I find myself playing less and less these days too (thats mainly because I cant be arsed to play 99% of the crap thats out there)

But ArmA has "encouraged" me to update, so update I will.

I agree with you on the monster-SLI systems. Its amazing that so many people have the disposable income to be able to spend on such hardware setups, truly astonishing. Personally, I'll stick to an E6600 & 7900GTO (overclocked) setup, plenty of power for what I want to do.

[shadow 6]

You have a powerfull card with 2 GPU's, its not the same has having two boards inside your PC with SLI enabled.

The 7950GX2 is in fact 2x GF7900 cards but with 512MB VRAM for each card. They share the same PCI-e slot, but considering the PCI-e 16x slot's bandwidth there is no bottleneck there.

Quote[/b] ]Will you purchase a second 7950GX2 now that the 8800's are out?

No, my motherboard has only 1 PCI-e slot. Besides, quad-SLI is still far from effective. The 8800GTS perform pretty much identical to the 7950GX2 today.

[-Snafu- 78]

Edit: Problem solved, thanks Heatseeker.

[Heatseeker 0]

I just installed my new nvidia 7600GS card today and my OFP is screwed.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9248/dxdshot1164498729im8.jpg

The same goes for some of my other games as well.

Can anyone help?

Sure we can but you will have to search in the troubleshooting section of the forum first, try "corruption" or "artifacts"...

If that fails start a new thread in the OPF troubleshooting forum section including detailed PC specs (motherboard model and chipset included) .

[xav 0]

Hi guys,

I am about to order a new computer for X-mas...and my roomate who is a computer science graduate student adviced me to go for the following...

I just wanted to have another advice on this config as you guys seem to know your stuff, can anybody tell me if the config cool and if not what part to change and for what reason.

Thanks

(Ps i can't afford to pass the $1000 limit)

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail: $218.50

- ECS NFORCE 570 SLIT-A (V5.1) Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $89.99

- DIAMOND X1950PRO512PCIE GDDR3 VIVO Video Card - Retail $259.99

- SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD300LJ 300GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $89.99

(I have a 80Gb 10000Rpm raptor in my present computer that i ll use in my future one)

- 2x OCZ Gold Series 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) System Memory Model OCZ25331024ELGEGXT - OEM (2 gigs) $219.98

- Broadway Com Corp 82-4HL Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail (Tower with 500W included) $44.99

- SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D - OEM $29.99

(And i ll keep my 19" Samsung and keyboard/mouse from my current computer)

Total $984.95 includes shipping and handling

(I did it on Newegg.com)

Please I really need help with that. Can someone who knows stuff about hardware tell me yes it is ok, or no change this part with this one (and tell me details like brand/model and price)

Thanks

[Balschoiw 0]

As christmas is ahead I want to buy some new stuff.

I had my eyes on a MSI NX7900GTO wich is I guess cheap with about 250 Euro while it offers some solid gfx. Does anyone know the card or have it ?

Furthermore I´d like to know which Mobo+Processor would be ok for it as the gfx-card uses PCI-Express.

Mobo+processor should be around 400 Euro.

Any suggestions ?

[EiZei 0]

Mobo+processor should be around 400 Euro.

Any suggestions ?

E6600 and some cheaper compatible ASUS model might go just under 500.