PC Discussion Thread - All PC related in here.

[Placebo 28]

@Placebo: I've got the same exact card .

(the package - excuse the quality, the camera was running out of batteries so I had act fast )

You got a free Tomb Raider game with it? Yay! Not sure if I get any free games with mine, got Assassins Creed free with the 9800 but I already completed that on the 360

[VictorTroska 0]

@Placebo: I've got the same exact card .

(the package - excuse the quality, the camera was running out of batteries so I had act fast )

You got a free Tomb Raider game with it? Yay! Not sure if I get any free games with mine, got Assassins Creed free with the 9800 but I already completed that on the 360

No, he has LR (Light Retail) version. It contains: driver cd,component video out dongle and S-Video dongle, a DVI to VGA adapter, a DVI to HDMI adapter, two 4-pin Molex to 6-pin PCI Express power adapters, a CrossFire interconnect and user manual.

But there is also FR (Full Retail):

Inside the box is the Sapphire HD 4870 card, a component video out dongle and S-Video dongle, a DVI to VGA adapter, a DVI to HDMI adapter, two 4-pin Molex to 6-pin PCI Express power adapters, a CrossFire interconnect, a manual, the driver CD, a Ruby Rom Volume II goodie disk, a full version of 3DMark06, a CyberLink Power DVD 7 Disk, a CyberLink DVD Suite disk and a 2GB USB sampler Thumb Drive.

I guess it depends about country where you live, I also have LR.

[Deadfast 43]

@Placebo: I've got the same exact card .

(the package - excuse the quality, the camera was running out of batteries so I had act fast )

You got a free Tomb Raider game with it? Yay! Not sure if I get any free games with mine, got Assassins Creed free with the 9800 but I already completed that on the 360

It's not Lara Croft on the box.

It's the ATI babe they're using to show off the capabilities of the cards for some time now

Just as Victor said, I've got the Lite version.

There was also the Full Retail version, but they didn't have it on stock and I'm not going to pay 1/6 of the price for some junk I'll never use anyway

[Placebo 28]

LOL Oh! Well clearly Eidos/Core should sue cos it's a clear rip off of Lara Croft!

No idea which package I'm getting, I'll let you know later in the week when it arrives

[Deadfast 43]

LOL Oh! Well clearly Eidos/Core should sue cos it's a clear rip off of Lara Croft!

Yeah, well, certain portions of their bodies bare a clear resemblance

[MehMan 0]

Ok so after recent crapouts with my PC(the summer heat and the general shittyness is making me reach shutdown temperatures while baking AO maps) and I'd probably need something that will be able to do comprehensive 3d processing without major coughups, so I'm guessing a quad core, the very least a dual core and a decent gfx card, plus, well everything. I guess no gear I have right now could be transfered from this PC to the new one, since the components are aged from 2 to 5 or even 6 years. I guess it's pretty much all incompatible, an ATA-133 hdd, all PCI cards, etc etc. Can anybody throw some suggestions my way?

[echo1 0]

Ok so after recent crapouts with my PC(the summer heat and the general shittyness is making me reach shutdown temperatures while baking AO maps) and I'd probably need something that will be able to do comprehensive 3d processing without major coughups, so I'm guessing a quad core, the very least a dual core and a decent gfx card, plus, well everything. I guess no gear I have right now could be transfered from this PC to the new one, since the components are aged from 2 to 5 or even 6 years. I guess it's pretty much all incompatible, an ATA-133 hdd, all PCI cards, etc etc. Can anybody throw some suggestions my way?

Hi,

I assume youre building yourself? A rough spec of a decent PC these days would be as follows -

Q6600 Core 2 Quad CPU

2GB of OCZ/Corsair DDR2 RAM (4GB if you want to get Vista 64)

Radeon 4870 Graphics Card

A 600-700W PSU (such as the Corsair HX620)

A motherboard from the likes of ASUS/Abit/Gigabyte featuring a P45 chipset. (I'd read into specific models a bit more if I were you.)

You should have no problems using your IDE DVD/CD drive with your new motherboard. A SATA DVD-RW drive can be had for about €25, but there's no point in wasting money if your current one works and youre happy with it. Blu-Ray drives are still too expensive to be worth recommending. You could use your old hard disk, but it will probably cause a bottleneck because its older and slower. A 1TB Samsung F1 drive can be had for about €110 so that might be a good investment. What sort of PCI cards do you have? Unless you have a good sound card or a TV capture card, a motherboard will contain just about everything you need except possibly for WiFi. OEM copies of XP or Vista can be had for in and around €100 too.

[MehMan 0]

Well I'd like to keep my sound card, it beats onboard sound, at least it does on this motherboard, Audigy 2ZS, then the wireless card I would like to keep and that's about all I have. The HDD I guess I could keep, but if it'd be a huge bottleneck I have no problem replacing it. All in all everything would have to be replace, then I could either use the old rig as a server(unlikely) or just sell parts. I will h ave to buy a new case and a new monitor, this one is just no good. Basically I'm heading for one helluva bill.

I do have a question between PCI/AGP compatibilty with PCI-E slots, is it or is it not? As in, could I still use an AGP card in a PCI-E slot, which sounds already unlikely, but what about PCI cards to PCI-E?

[echo1 0]

Hi,

Im afraid that neither AGP or PCI are compatible with PCI-E, but if you were building a new rig, I'd assume you'd be buying a new graphics card (as that dictates 3D performace as opposed to CPU). Most boards will have at least two PCI slots, so you should be keep your old wireless and Audigy (Im pretty sure there PCI-E WLAN cards to be found though). Hard drive may or may not be a huge bottleneck, depends on make/model and its age.

[Supernova 0]

I think Mushkin and G.Skill are better recommendations for a new computer memory (DDR2-1066) rather than OCZ or Corsair. As for processor go for the Q6700 or the Q9450. If you want Dual Core go for the E8500/E8600. Also for motherboard you might want to look into the Maximus II formula or the Rampage Formula (both by ASUS). If you want to save some cash buy 2 4850's and run them in Crossfire.

[Deadfast 43]

Q6700 is nothing but OC'd Q6600.

[Supernova 0]

and so is a QX9770 (being o'clock of QX9650). You're point being ? The Q6700 is a much better recommendation than getting a Q6600 and the Q6700 is much better for Ocing.

[echo1 0]

and so is a QX9770 (being o'clock of QX9650).

His point being that there's no point in paying an extra €100 for something that is barely any different (and the QX series are different as they have unlocked multipliers)

Quote[/b] ]Q6700 is much better for Ocing.

Why? As has been pointed out by yourself, a Q6700 is just a slightly overclocked Q6600, theyre the exact same chip that come from the exact same process. They'll max out at roughly the same spot.

Quote[/b] ]I think Mushkin and G.Skill are better recommendations for a new computer memory

Why? Unless youre doing some serious overclocking, you'll never notice the difference (and even then, Corsair and OC make very good overclocking modules). OCZ and Corsair are good brands, there's nothing wrong with them at all.

Quote[/b] ]If you want to save some cash buy 2 4850's and run them in Crossfire.

How is buying two €150 cards cheaper than buying a single €200 card? And besides, considering ArmA's problems with dual card setups, a single card is always a better choice.

[Supernova 0]

Running anything at stock and not overclocking is just a waste of money and time. Also the price difference between Q6700 and Q6600 is not 100 euro's. Its more or less about 25+ (depending on certain shops). I don't know where you live but it seems you're prices are always exaggerated.

[echo1 0]

Running anything at stock and not overclocking is just a waste of money and time.

Exactly, so buy a Q6600 and overclock. It will overclock as far as a Q6700. Whats your point?

[Supernova 0]

Unless you absolutely are on a tight budget and need quad core (in which case Q6600 or Q9300) a Q6700 or Q9450 is the best option. That's my point. I know what I am talking about because I assemble and build computers and have been doing so for a long time. You also seem to forget that the higher multi on the Q6700 will especially help in overclocking (regardless if nforce chipset or intel chipset based).

[echo1 0]

I know what I am talking about because I assemble and build computers and have been doing so for a long time.

Just because you claim to be an expert on the internet doesn't mean that you're automatically right. I also assemble computers, so by your logic I'm also automatically right. What matters here is who can actually explain why they think they're right, which is exactly what youre not doing, and I am. This of course, combined with some of the rather misinformed opinions you make around these parts don't really lend much to your credibility.

Quote[/b] ]You also seem to forget that the higher multi on the Q6700 will especially help in overclocking

And you seem ignorant as to how CPUs are made. A Q6600 and a Q6700 (and the are exactly the same chip, with the Q6700 given a higher clocking at the factory because its certified to be more reliable than the Q6600 at a certain speed. Whilst it may sound like Im contradicting myself here, their standards of reliability are extraordinarily high, and in fact, the vast majority of Q6600 chips will work just as well at high speeds as Q6700 chips. In reality, most Q6600 chips and Q6700 chips will max out at approximately the same clockspeed when overclocks. Sure the Q6700 might have an ever so slightly higher chance of going a little bit higher, if you subscribe to that logic, you might as well go and buy an Extreme core chip which will definitely overclock much faster. At the end of the day, get a Q6600, you save €100 which can go towards a faster graphics card or more RAM, both of which will have a much more profound effect on your FPS than a hundred megahertz or so on an already powerful CPU.

[Supernova 0]

No I am not ignorant. The fact that you suggest Abit and Gigabyte

Quote[/b] ]don't really lend much to your credibility

. The only reliable choices in terms of motherboard manufacturers are DFI and ASUS.

[VictorTroska 0]

Q6600 Core 2 Quad CPU

2GB of OCZ/Corsair DDR2 RAM (4GB if you want to get Vista 64)

Radeon 4870 Graphics Card

A 600-700W PSU (such as the Corsair HX620)

A motherboard from the likes of ASUS/Abit/Gigabyte featuring a P45 chipset. (I'd read into specific models a bit more if I were you.)

Good configuration, but I would rather go with Mushkin XP Series

Something like 2x2GB ( Micron D9GMH Chip).

Quote[/b] ]I know what I am talking about because I assemble and build computers and have been doing so for a long time

Quote[/b] ]The only reliable choices in terms of motherboard manufacturers are DFI and ASUS.

Please....

[echo1 0]

No I am not ignorant. The fact that you suggest Abit and Gigabyte

Quote[/b] ]don't really lend much to your credibility

. The only reliable choices in terms of motherboard manufacturers are DFI and ASUS.

An Abit motherboard has been powering my main machine for three years, and consistent good reviews and recommendations from people I know suggest that Gigabyte are good boards. What makes you think otherwise?

[Supernova 0]

Mushkin XP series is a great recommendation. I was gonna suggest the Redline series if he can find some for a good price and for DDR2. I would also go with the 2X2GB modules as the 2X1GB modules cost nearly the same as the 2X2GB. Remember to put them into a dual channel configuration. Gigabyte boards look like lego pieces and their layout is horrible. Oh please and don't even mention Foxconn. Abit is even worse with layout , choices of power phase designs , choice of capacitors etc...

[VictorTroska 0]

Mushkin XP series is a great recommendation. I was gonna suggest the Redline series if he can find some for a good price and for DDR2. I would also go with the 2X2GB modules as the 2X1GB modules cost nearly the same as the 2X2GB. Remember to put them into a dual channel configuration.

Redline serie is good ,but doesn't overclock as good as XP series.I know from personal experience.

[MehMan 0]

Hurr, well, I don't intend to stray much into overclocking, my expirence with it so far has been negative and I have seen errors come out of it at render time which isn't something I'd want.

About really custom and high end gear and whatnot, I'd rather have something that is available broadly so that I don't have to order things from the internet too much. I do intend to ask around the nearby computer shops what custom rigs do they offer and at what price. Adding RAM that is not available in Europe and has to be order from across the puddle or something like that won't help with the price tag. Also, the reason why I'd like to get this done at a shop is the chopped up payment option. I'm not exactly sure if the internet vendor is for this but I'll get informed.

[Deadfast 43]

The only reliable choices in terms of motherboard manufacturers are DFI and ASUS.

Huh?

[echo1 0]

MehMan;

Things like the Q6600 and Radeon 4870 are quite commonly available. Suitable substitutes for things like RAM and PSUs can be found easily from good computer stores. I'm still not clear though, are you planning on building yourself or not?

@Deadfast:

Yeah, I know