PC Discussion Thread II - All PC related discussion goes here.

[BF2_Trooper 0]

I just got some brand new 800mhz 4GB RAM, but I want to confirm that they are indeed running at the optimum speed. How do I find this out?

Also, when I first booted up my computer with the new RAM Sticks (i removed the previous ram sticks completely) I get a message saying something about the memory configuration and the assumed speed at 533mhz or something. The only option I'm given is PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE. Then windows is able to load. I don't get this message any more during boot since then.

[echo1 0]

What sort of motherboard and CPU do you have?

[BF2_Trooper 0]

What sort of motherboard and CPU do you have?

Intel D975XBX mobo

Intel e6600 Core 2 Duo

Windows XP SP3

Now I am able to see the RAM in my control panel showing up as 3.25GB, but I believe this is the way it's supposed to be in WinXP 32-bit. I've played a couple of games and noticed improvements in load times and some performance boost. I previously had 2GB RAM before.

[peag 10]

So my computer is way outdated now and can longer run any of the demanding games out on the market(unless low settings is your cup of tea)

I also hear nividia is about to release a new set of cards, should i hold out for them?

Since im on a fixed income of 500 a month(been blowing a 100 at the casino each month down 250 atm) im looking at building this

mobo

GPU:GTS 250

PSU 550W (dont care about sli and what not just read its a reliable psu)

CPU:I5 2.66 GHz

Ram:2x 2 gig

HDD:1tb i know crap about hdd

OS:windows 7 basic

Then im gonna just find a cheap full tower

Anyone got some advise if i should change anything /wait and redo once i get the cash (looking at another 2 months till purchase)

Edited December 30, 2009 by peag

[echo1 0]

Bad hard drive choice. It's an 'eco' hard drive, which = slow. Search for the Samsung F3. It's only $10 more and is much quicker.

You're getting a pretty quick CPU and yet a mediocre card. If you want good performance, I'd get a faster card like the Radeon 5750 or 5770. If you want to save money, I'd get a cheaper CPU like the Phenom II, which would also let you get a much cheaper motherboard than the i5 offerings.

[BF2_Trooper 0]

Okay, I checked my RAM Speed on CPU-Z. It shows 400MHZ before DDR2, so that sounds right, and my other timing speeds as 5-5-5-12. Those match the timing speeds described on the product website. Is there any reason I should go to BIOS to confirm these settings? Or am I good to go?

[Bulldogs 10]

The RAM timings, if set to auto in BIOS, could change while overclocking (which can cause instability), so best to set the timings manually through BIOS if you're planning to OC.

[BF2_Trooper 0]

Well I'm not planning to overclock anything. I just want to know if my RAM is running they way it should be (800mhz DDR2) without having to mess around in BIOS. Can I rely on what CPU-Z tells me without having to check for the same settings in BIOS?

Yes, I am very reluctant to go to my BIOS because I'm afraid I might screw something up. :D

[CW001 10]

Well I'm not planning to overclock anything. I just want to know if my RAM is running they way it should be (800mhz DDR2) without having to mess around in BIOS. Can I rely on what CPU-Z tells me without having to check for the same settings in BIOS?

Yes, I am very reluctant to go to my BIOS because I'm afraid I might screw something up. :D

I fudged up my computer by doing that, but it was because I accidentally set the CPU multiplier to a value that gave me 8GHz.:cool:

In the end I had to short out the CMOS, and it was working again. And now I have a phobia of overclocking.

[echo1 0]

Ironically, if you do stuff like that, you tend to crash your computer so hard that it doesn't run at the settings you specify. It will then resume normal operation when you reset the BIOS and restart. In fact, usual overclocking procedure is that you keep pushing it until it stops working, then revert to a known stable value.

[BF2_Trooper 0]

Soo can I trust CPU-Z with the info it gives me without having to go to BIOS or what?

[BF2_Trooper 0]

Alright, I went ahead and checked my BIOS. On the MAIN tab page it said SYSTEM MEMORY SPEED - 800MHZ. And just to be Absolutely sure I didnt f*k anything up, I went to the EXIT TAB and clicked on DISCARD CHANGES AND EXIT. So I think I'm good now.

[MehMan 0]

Ok, I've tried using media player classic and frankly it sucks ass. Half the time it lags down my system so incredibly bad(how the hell can it do that?) that I just revert to using VLC. VLC isn't my primary choice because for some odd reason it doesn't support double click play. When I double click on a file and VLC is already open and playing it adds that file to the playlist instead of playing it. Why I don't know, but is there a way to change that?

[NeMeSiS 11]

Ok, I've tried using media player classic and frankly it sucks ass. Half the time it lags down my system so incredibly bad(how the hell can it do that?) that I just revert to using VLC. VLC isn't my primary choice because for some odd reason it doesn't support double click play. When I double click on a file and VLC is already open and playing it adds that file to the playlist instead of playing it. Why I don't know, but is there a way to change that?

You can find it in the option menu under the interface settings. Its not even on by default. :p

[MehMan 0]

You can find it in the option menu under the interface settings. Its not even on by default. :p

OH god, I remember having a lot of trouble with that a while ago, which was my main problem with using VLC. Other than that, VLC rules!

EDIT:

Hmm, yeah that option turns itself on when you have a file playing.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU VLC.

EDIT2:

Seems my version was old. All works fine now. Phew.

Edited January 2, 2010 by MehMan

[pete15901 10]

I need help deciding what to upgrade on my computer to get it to play ACE2 mod smoother on arma

here is my system

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3

2.20 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo

64 kilobyte primary memory cache

2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5N-E SLI 1.XX

Bus Clock: 200 megahertz

BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N-E SLI ACPI BIOS Revision

4 gigs RAM

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 megs

I can't get a whole new computer so I'm hoping a upgrade will help, any suggestions?

[tiket 0]

I have samsung TFT,2year old.when i play ofp it blinking what is problem?

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

I need help deciding what to upgrade on my computer to get it to play ACE2 mod smoother on arma

here is my system

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3

2.20 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo

64 kilobyte primary memory cache

2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5N-E SLI 1.XX

Bus Clock: 200 megahertz

BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N-E SLI ACPI BIOS Revision

4 gigs RAM

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 megs

I can't get a whole new computer so I'm hoping a upgrade will help, any suggestions?

your board supports LGA775 @ 1,333 MHz external bus; Second, it officially supports DDR2 up to 800 MHz

unless you want to buy a new motherboard, I would get the best CPU that your board can handle (Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHZ ?? ), and 4gb of 800mhz DDR2 ram.

then you might want to think about a gpu upgrade, I suggest looking at a Radeon 4890 or a GTX 275.

looking at +500 bucks here.

[sammypetter 10]

Have an ASUS v6j notebook, and it has a BT-183 Bluetooth 2.0.Everytime windows tries to install the drivers off my manufactures disk, itsays windows encountered a proble minstalling the driver software for yourdevice. A service installation section in this INF is invalid.Any suggestions?

[therev709 10]

I have samsung TFT,2year old.when i play ofp it blinking what is problem?

Need more info that that. What graphics card/drivers do you have? Have you done anything to your computer around the same time since the problem with OFP starting occuring? As simple as this may sound double check your monitor cable.

---------- Post added at 06:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:01 AM ----------

I need help deciding what to upgrade on my computer to get it to play ACE2 mod smoother on arma

here is my system

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3

2.20 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo

64 kilobyte primary memory cache

2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5N-E SLI 1.XX

Bus Clock: 200 megahertz

BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N-E SLI ACPI BIOS Revision

4 gigs RAM

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 megs

I can't get a whole new computer so I'm hoping a upgrade will help, any suggestions?

How big is your monitor? If its bigger than 22" you would notice some pretty good FPS boost in grabbing a second 8800GT (SLI/Crossfire setups usually don't see too much of a boost on monitors smaller than 22"). This would be the cheapest and quickest option to grab some more frames, especially considering how cheap 8800GTs are nowadays.

4GB of ram is plenty, I'd upgrade that last. Out of curiosity though, what speed/manufacturer is the RAM?

Nvidia is about to release their DX11 cards, so I would wait a few weeks (or month) until they release those and see how cheap the GTX2xx cards become.

I'm an AMD/ATI fanboy, but since you have an SLI mobo I'd just stick with Nvidia so you'll still have that option. However, I def think you would see the biggest performance boost in gaming by upgrading your graphics card before you toss money into a new processor. Most games bottleneck at the GPU before the CPU. Even though everything is moving into the multi-threaded world (aka use of multiple core processors), a decent CPU can last you 4 years in a gaming rig, while graphics cards typically last 2 years until you'd wanna upgrade, and your 8800GTX is about to hit its 3rd year of bein on the market.

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

Most games bottleneck at the GPU before the CPU. Even though everything is moving into the multi-threaded world (aka use of multiple core processors), a decent CPU can last you 4 years in a gaming rig, while graphics cards typically last 2 years until you'd wanna upgrade, and your 8800GTX is about to hit its 3rd year of bein on the market.

dont let this guy fool you.

Arma2 isnt like most games. It's bottelneck is CPU>GPU. That 2.2Ghz cd2 wont do AI well at all. SLI? meh, arma2s performance on the SLI front isnt great. A high end single gpu card is IMO much better than a lower card SLI setup. 2 8800gtx wont match my single gtx275 in ArmA2.

think about playing Arma2 in the long run and make your purchases count. 8800gtx = waste of money( for arma2).

Edited January 12, 2010 by [DirTyDeeDs]-Ziggy-

[MartiUK 10]

Hi all, at the moment my specs are as follows:

Windows 7 x64

ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO

AMD Phenom II X3 720BE clocked at 3.42GHz

4GB of Crucial DDR3 RAM at 1333GHz

Random IDE drive 153GB

LG IDE CD/DVD drive

HIS ATi 4670 IceQ 1GB currently clocked at Core: 800MHz Mem: 850Ghz

Random Unbranded 450W power supply (I have fears of this blowing up)

Now, I've just bought ARMA II and its on it way at this moment in time and when installed I will most likely install the ACE 2 Mod.

I am getting paid soon so I am upgrading the parts which are outdated (IDE -throws up-) and the power supply.

Here is the current shopping list on ebuyer:

Samsung SH-S223 SATA CD/DVD Drive £17.37 ($28.28)

2x Western Digital Caviar 640GB SATA II HDDs (Hopefully RAID 0) £90.41 ($147.18)

Corsair 650W HX modular PSU £93.48 ($152.17)

Now I am thinking of upgrading to a 965BE sooner or later but for the moment I need help on choosing a graphics card that will run ARMA II + ACE2 Mod with good FPS at 1280 x 1024 (not thinking on replacing the monitor just yet) I don't want to go overboard with overly expensive GFX cards (>£150)

So yeah, hope all the information helps you and I hope for a good response.

Cheers

MartiUK

Edited January 13, 2010 by MartiUK
it's a 720 Black Edition

[echo1 0]

The Radeon HD4890 would be a pretty good choice there.

I wouldn't bother upgrading the CPU. ArmA II doesn't make proper use of anything more than two cores, so you'll get next to no performance increase from the extra core.

Don't bother with RAID. Splitting your data out over two hard drives basically doubles your odds of hard disk failure. Also, unless you have a proper RAID controller, the speed increase of RAID 0 is not going to be consistent. I'd just get a fast large disk (1TB Samsung F3) and perhaps wait for SSDs to come down in price a bit, which is almost guaranteed to happen this year.

[rksl-rock 1300]

Does anyone have any experience of ArmA2 on i7-720M based Laptops?

Im in the market for a new Laptop but i still need it to run ArmA2 moderately well. Any info would be appreciated.I'm a tad concerned with the low clock speeds so im wondering if a Core2Duo @ 2.53Ghz might be better.

[echo1 0]

Core i7s are about 20% more clock efficient than Core 2 Duos. For example, one of their 2.66GHz Core i7s give the same performances as a 3.2GHz Core 2 Extreme.