I literally plunked the thing down, then went to plug it in and went "hmmm." I didn't add any thermal compound originally beyond what was already on the assembly out of the box. So I guess it's fine (?)
Weenog42 on
0
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
I literally plunked the thing down, then went to plug it in and went "hmmm." I didn't add any thermal compound originally beyond what was already on the assembly out of the box. So I guess it's fine (?)
My policy is to ALWAYS clean my HSF/CPU off with alcohol if I move the HSF. It may "seem" fine, but if that seal gets fucked up, your HSF is useless. It takes all of two minutes to take a paper towel and some rubbing alcohol, clean it up, and re-apply the paste. Remember the business card trick for applying the paste as well, helps to get a nice, thin, layer.
Okay guys: how do I diagnose a computer that has shut off in the middle of a game... and won't turn back on?
I would have thought, "okay, I've just been playing crysis for four hours, probably a thermal shutoff," but the kicker is I can't get the computer to turn back on. There are no strange smells (last time a PSU died on me, the smell was quite distinctive), there is a green light on the motherboard indicating that it is receiving *some* kind of power from the PSU, but when I press the power button... nothing happens.
I need to figure out what this is ASAP while I can still get parts replaced for free, so can anyone tell me how to proceed? At this point it seems like it could be anything from the power supply (most likely) to the motherboard to the CPU (but I guess if that doesn't work, *something* will happen when I press the power button?)
I'd vote PSU too. About as much as I'm willing to say, though :P
Oh, and Scrublet: Just buy OEM. The only difference between having to pick 32 or 64 bit and no tech support is once you install it on that motherboard it's stuck on that one forever (unless you call MS and say it died, but that's not 100% going to work technically, though I've never heard them denying it either). After you get Windows installed, run Windows Update to patch it, put some kind of virus scanner on it and then you install your programs/games.
hey folks, i'm looking for a new video card. my GeForce 9800 GTX (the old 512mb model) is just not cutting anymore. i have a quad core system and 4gb of ram, so the only thing i can think of reasonably upgrading is really the video card.
i'm thinking of going Radeon...never used their cards before. any suggestions? i'm specifically looking to run Crysis well, and anything in that level of graphics mayhem...
The real question with Crysis is the resolution. My 4890 can run it at 1080p... with settings merely on "high". But it can do 720p quite nicely with everything maxed (or even 1440x900 with just shaders and post processing on very high) but my monitor looks pretty blurry at that resolution, so I stick with 1080p, high settings, and a framerate that is fairly smooth feeling, but too low to enable vsync or AA. I consider 25-40 fps to be acceptable, so hopefully that will give you some basis for comparison.
This is all before my computer shut off mid-game of course.
The real question with Crysis is the resolution. My 4890 can run it at 1080p... with settings merely on "high". But it can do 720p quite nicely with everything maxed (or even 1440x900 with just shaders and post processing on very high) but my monitor looks pretty blurry at that resolution, so I stick with 1080p, high settings, and a framerate that is fairly smooth feeling, but too low to enable vsync or AA. I consider 25-40 fps to be acceptable, so hopefully that will give you some basis for comparison.
This is all before my computer shut off mid-game of course.
haha yeah. i've been trying to run it at 1440x900 with settings set to high, and 4x AA. all i'm getting for my trouble is probably an overheating card and a lot of crashes. i'd ideally like to run the game at 1080p, with high settings, even though this is asking a lot i guess.
it's just a bit of a shock when my system eats games like the Half Life 2 episodes for breakfast.
i'm eyeing one of the Radeon 5850s...is this overkill?
edit: apparently the trouble is actually finding one of the 5800 series even in stock. awesome.
5850 is like 5 fps faster than my 4890 tops, from what I remember of benchmarks I looked at before deciding to go with the $100-cheaper card. Edit: okay this is dead wrong for most games besides crysis, the 5850 can be up to 20fps faster depending on the game, but Crysis seems to be some kind of equalizer.
Basically Crysis is a bitch that you will have to pay a huge premium to get running at "very high" at 1080p (not even including AA), but at this level of performance you can do 1080p at "high" and have a good time. Not "very high" though, sadly. (Because, you know, Crysis looks so ugly merely at "high".) My video card eats every other game I've tried to run at 1080p for lunch - Crysis is the only one I have to turn anything down in.
If you are looking to upgrade, I would say wait a little while for the higher-tier DX 11 cards to be cost-effective, otherwise you probably won't notice that big an improvement with the current crop of $200-$300 cards over what you have currently. If you want performance right now, 4890's are way cheaper and more readily available than 5850's and are a good way to go. Also you're pretty much stuck looking at ATI products at the moment because nothing NVidia has to offer is competitive in terms of price/performance.
So I know I've posted about possible upgrades in this thread before, but I never got around to buying the parts. But I really feel that my processor is starting to kick the bucket.
I have a AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 3800+. I doubt theres anyway I could get a new processor for this socket and have it be cheap. So in that case I'll need a cheap processor, mobo, and ram set up. Any suggestions on the most bang for my buck?
Okay guys: how do I diagnose a computer that has shut off in the middle of a game... and won't turn back on?
I would have thought, "okay, I've just been playing crysis for four hours, probably a thermal shutoff," but the kicker is I can't get the computer to turn back on. There are no strange smells (last time a PSU died on me, the smell was quite distinctive), there is a green light on the motherboard indicating that it is receiving *some* kind of power from the PSU, but when I press the power button... nothing happens.
I need to figure out what this is ASAP while I can still get parts replaced for free, so can anyone tell me how to proceed? At this point it seems like it could be anything from the power supply (most likely) to the motherboard to the CPU (but I guess if that doesn't work, *something* will happen when I press the power button?)
This exact thing has happened to me. After three years of perfect operation (I mean not even the slightest hint of an error of any kind) my computer suddenly shut down, and wouldn't boot afterwards. No funny smells or sounds. Fans were spinning, and the led indicating that the mobo had power was lit, but nothing else happened. A year later I found a good PSU for cheap, so I tried switching the PSU. This time, the computer booted but got stuck forever while loading Windows. I figured I'd try to reformat and reinstall, but the installer hanged halfway through. The next time I tried reinstalling, the installer wouldn't load at all. Next restart the computer would hang during POST while checking the connected HDs. Next restart it wouldn't display any disk drives at all during POST, but they were identified in BIOS. The restart after that I was back to no POST at all.
My conclusions from that experiment are:
1. It was probably my PSU that failed.
2. It probably damaged the mobo (IDE controllers specifically?).
3. Even though many parts in that computer still works, I'm not really sure I want to switch all of them to determine which parts are damaged.
So I know I've posted about possible upgrades in this thread before, but I never got around to buying the parts. But I really feel that my processor is starting to kick the bucket.
I have a AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 3800+. I doubt theres anyway I could get a new processor for this socket and have it be cheap. So in that case I'll need a cheap processor, mobo, and ram set up. Any suggestions on the most bang for my buck?
Think I'll struggle to get many games working well at 1920x1080 with a 512mb 4850?
4gb ram, C2D E8400
Depends on the game. You have the same specs I do with a tad better C2D.
I run at 1680x1050. I run almost every game available at full resolution with full quality everything.
The only thing is that some of the highest end games, which are very very few, require me to start notching things down. Usually I remove Anti-aliasing as the first thing to go, and that pretty much solves it.
Now you're looking at even higher resolutions than I play at. I still think you'll be good for most games at highest quality, since your CPU might help out a little compared to my setup. But you may end up having to knock down AA a little or remove it for some games.
For something like Crysis, you have to ask yourself whether you really care to jack up the graphics all the way. It looks better than most games on High settings and runs great on this 4850. But even then stuff like Crysis is the exception. Most games run great on this thing.
If you're looking at multiplatform games, you can rest assured your setup will handle them easily. Virtually any game that is multiplatform with the 360/PS3 is going to run awesome on your PC.
Okay guys: how do I diagnose a computer that has shut off in the middle of a game... and won't turn back on?
I would have thought, "okay, I've just been playing crysis for four hours, probably a thermal shutoff," but the kicker is I can't get the computer to turn back on. There are no strange smells (last time a PSU died on me, the smell was quite distinctive), there is a green light on the motherboard indicating that it is receiving *some* kind of power from the PSU, but when I press the power button... nothing happens.
I need to figure out what this is ASAP while I can still get parts replaced for free, so can anyone tell me how to proceed? At this point it seems like it could be anything from the power supply (most likely) to the motherboard to the CPU (but I guess if that doesn't work, *something* will happen when I press the power button?)
This exact thing has happened to me. After three years of perfect operation (I mean not even the slightest hint of an error of any kind) my computer suddenly shut down, and wouldn't boot afterwards. No funny smells or sounds. Fans were spinning, and the led indicating that the mobo had power was lit, but nothing else happened. A year later I found a good PSU for cheap, so I tried switching the PSU. This time, the computer booted but got stuck forever while loading Windows. I figured I'd try to reformat and reinstall, but the installer hanged halfway through. The next time I tried reinstalling, the installer wouldn't load at all. Next restart the computer would hang during POST while checking the connected HDs. Next restart it wouldn't display any disk drives at all during POST, but they were identified in BIOS. The restart after that I was back to no POST at all.
My conclusions from that experiment are:
1. It was probably my PSU that failed.
2. It probably damaged the mobo (IDE controllers specifically?).
3. Even though many parts in that computer still works, I'm not really sure I want to switch all of them to determine which parts are damaged.
Well I think I remember reading that my PSU had some kind of fail-safe built-in to prevent spreading damage if it failed. Basically I don't even have any fans spinning. So here's hoping.
Well I think I remember reading that my PSU had some kind of fail-safe built-in to prevent spreading damage if it failed. Basically I don't even have any fans spinning. So here's hoping.
It seems reasonable to assume that a good PSU includes a fuse of some kind. Not sure what happened in my case though since I never heard, saw or smelled anything strange. It just went out, and appearantly took some other component with it.
Ugh, against my better judgment, I tried plugging the computer in again today and tripped a circuit breaker. I really hope that didn't do any damage, I guess I'll try completely disconnecting the PSU and if it trips a circuit breaker again then I'll know. The manual basically says it will enter auto-shutoff mode under a variety of conditions such as over-voltage, which I am now *really* hoping is accurate.
Edit: Haha fuck you newegg, your RMA page told me one set of instructions and the email that you sent me that I only read AFTER following the afforementioned instructions said something different. Competence!
Ugh, against my better judgment, I tried plugging the computer in again today and tripped a circuit breaker. I really hope that didn't do any damage, I guess I'll try completely disconnecting the PSU and if it trips a circuit breaker again then I'll know. The manual basically says it will enter auto-shutoff mode under a variety of conditions such as over-voltage, which I am now *really* hoping is accurate.
Edit: Haha fuck you newegg, your RMA page told me one set of instructions and the email that you sent me that I only read AFTER following the afforementioned instructions said something different. Competence!
There is a short in the psu if it tripped the circuit breaker. Depending on how bad the initial damage was, the over volt protection might have been fried the first time and that would mean there is a decent chance you might have wrecked other components. I would wager you are safe, but it is still a concern.
I couldn't get it to trip the circuit breaker again on its own, not connected to any components in the computer. When I get the new one, I guess I will go gradually to see if there is a short in any other components. (Believe me, first thing I thought of, but there were no exposed wires anywhere - one insulated one had dipped into the PSU fan casing, but it was much to small to have caused that fan to stop, and was not scratched in any way.)
Ground shipping from Newegg.ca was a mistake I won't make again soon. The parcel shipped from CA and was supposed to go to Montreal before hitting here and instead it ended up in NY. I know exactly where it is headed because it happens all the damn time. Suffice it to say, it isn't where it is supposed to be.
on a tip i downloaded and installed RivaTuner and adjusted the fan speed on my GeForce card to high. i was able to play Crysis at 1680 x 1050, with AA turned off, at around 30fps.
Hey people. Having all sorts of computer woes lately, so I've decided that once I start working, i'ma get a new system.
Now, At the moment I'd be happy to have a machine that plays Source games adequately. According to the Steam store, the recommended requirements for L4D2 are...
Supported OS: Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP
Processor: Intel core 2 duo 2.4GHz
Memory: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible video card with Shader model 3.0. NVidia 7600, ATI X1600 or better
Hard Drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
More specifically, I was wanting a hard drive of around 300GB - 500GB and the NVidia card, and was thinking about sticking with Windows XP for now.
How much would a system of around this spec cost to build in the UK?
Oh, please don't ask me to get any more specific. I'm afraid I know more about time travel than I do about computer builds/specs/various.
Wow, I think it's probably more expensive to build a computer (of the same specs) in the UK now as it was in August. Capitalism is a wonderful thing.
I waited a week to but my computer and it became £15 more expensive, a week later it was another £25 more expensive, so I'm glad I didn't try and wait it out.
Wow, I think it's probably more expensive to build a computer (of the same specs) in the UK now as it was in August. Capitalism is a wonderful thing.
Supply and demand... Especially RAM prices have gone up a lot in the last 6-12 months, after a period of ridiculously low prices.
Like 3 weeks ago I built a system, and it's already like £15-20 more right now. The RAM is crazy, I had to back off and pick up 2GB of Value Kingston for £30 until 4GB kits come down, but that's up to almost £40 now.
On a side note, I was wondering if anyone had a rough idea of how my system compares to my xbox; I've never looked at other formats for a multi-format release, but possibly considering stuff on the PC now too. Assassins Creed II and Bioshock II come to mind. Feel like I should give the console a break, and expand my PC collection beyond all the isometric, low-spec RPG's and strategy titles i've built up with my old laptop.
Phenom II x2 545 3.0ghz
ATi XFX 4770 512mb
2gb DDR3 Ram
1280x1024 currently max res
I'd like to highly recommend the MSI C45-770 Motherboard, under £50 (may have gone up? everything else has), AM3 socket (Not AM2+). Has made the perfect core for my budget gaming build.
Wow, I think it's probably more expensive to build a computer (of the same specs) in the UK now as it was in August. Capitalism is a wonderful thing.
Supply and demand... Especially RAM prices have gone up a lot in the last 6-12 months, after a period of ridiculously low prices.
Like 3 weeks ago I built a system, and it's already like £15-20 more right now. The RAM is crazy, I had to back off and pick up 2GB of Value Kingston for £30 until 4GB kits come down, but that's up to almost £40 now.
On a side note, I was wondering if anyone had a rough idea of how my system compares to my xbox; I've never looked at other formats for a multi-format release, but possibly considering stuff on the PC now too. Assassins Creed II and Bioshock II come to mind. Feel like I should give the console a break, and expand my PC collection beyond all the isometric, low-spec RPG's and strategy titles i've built up with my old laptop.
Phenom II x2 545 3.0ghz
ATi XFX 4770 512mb
2gb DDR3 Ram
1280x1024 currently max res
I'd like to highly recommend the MSI C45-770 Motherboard, under £50 (may have gone up? everything else has), AM3 socket (Not AM2+). Has made the perfect core for my budget gaming build.
That PC is much more powerful than a 360 fwiw. Really, your monitor is probably holding you back, if anything.
lowlylowlycook on
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Wow, I think it's probably more expensive to build a computer (of the same specs) in the UK now as it was in August. Capitalism is a wonderful thing.
Supply and demand... Especially RAM prices have gone up a lot in the last 6-12 months, after a period of ridiculously low prices.
Like 3 weeks ago I built a system, and it's already like £15-20 more right now. The RAM is crazy, I had to back off and pick up 2GB of Value Kingston for £30 until 4GB kits come down, but that's up to almost £40 now.
On a side note, I was wondering if anyone had a rough idea of how my system compares to my xbox; I've never looked at other formats for a multi-format release, but possibly considering stuff on the PC now too. Assassins Creed II and Bioshock II come to mind. Feel like I should give the console a break, and expand my PC collection beyond all the isometric, low-spec RPG's and strategy titles i've built up with my old laptop.
Phenom II x2 545 3.0ghz
ATi XFX 4770 512mb
2gb DDR3 Ram
1280x1024 currently max res
I'd like to highly recommend the MSI C45-770 Motherboard, under £50 (may have gone up? everything else has), AM3 socket (Not AM2+). Has made the perfect core for my budget gaming build.
You have about the same specs I have.
Let me put it this way:
Your computer will absolutely demolish the 360 or PS3 in terms performance for multiplatform games on your system.
It doesn't matter if you play Assassin's Creed 2 or Modern Warfare 2 or whatever. You're going to get higher framerates at higher resolutions and higher quality settings and you'll be able to enable V-sync and eliminate tearing that plagues games like Assassin's Creed 2 on the consoles.
Seriously, your computer may seem mid-range, but even mid-range PCs will blow the 360 and PS3 out of the water for performance in terms of multiplatform games.
As a side note, games running on Unreal Engine 3 like Bioshock 2 you mentioned among many, many others run particularly well on PCs.
Will a 9500gt work well as a "Just for PhysX" card when paired with a decent Ati card, since I might have one going spare.
My computer arrived, but instead of giving me the 4850 like they said I would get, I got a 3450 and a 9500gt. I have no idea why. They are probably going to give me a 4850 when I speak to them on Monday, but I am not sure. They also might not ask for the 9500gt back.
I have to question the competence of the people I am being forced to get my computer from, but it is free so I can't really complain.
Edit: I haven't done research on this, so there might be a workaround. At least be aware that it's not supported out of the box and that Nvidia are being dicks.
Your computer will absolutely demolish the 360 or PS3 in terms performance for multiplatform games on your system.
Even with a single now-aged 4850, Assassin's Creed looks so good and runs so much more smoothly on my system that playing AC2 on the 360 is a big step down to me now. I've never had such a direct comparison with the same graphics engine and it's a pretty big difference.
Also, curse all you people who keep buying 5850's and keep driving up the price! I'm waiting for a comfortable cash cushion before I buy one and the price just keeps eking upwards! Halt immediately!
So, I have to build a new computer, since my old computer that my father was using has broken down, and he is taking my 2 year old XPS 710. So I get to build a new 600-700 dollar computer and here is what I have, and I don't really know too much about components, so I basically used the budget build from the OP with a 4890 video card, since it is about the same price now with the combo with the Phenom II X3.
So what I am wondering is are there any options that are a better value for the same price? I know a lot of people are talking about the 5xxx series of video cards from Radeon, but I don't think I can swing that with the price of RAM apparently doubling.
If I could get some quick feedback that would be great, since my dad wants my computer dropped off there by Thanksgiving, and I would like to be without my own computer for the smallest amount of time possible.
So, I have to build a new computer, since my old computer that my father was using has broken down, and he is taking my 2 year old XPS 710. So I get to build a new 600-700 dollar computer and here is what I have, and I don't really know too much about components, so I basically used the budget build from the OP with a 4890 video card, since it is about the same price now with the combo with the Phenom II X3.
So what I am wondering is are there any options that are a better value for the same price? I know a lot of people are talking about the 5xxx series of video cards from Radeon, but I don't think I can swing that with the price of RAM apparently doubling.
If I could get some quick feedback that would be great, since my dad wants my computer dropped off there by Thanksgiving, and I would like to be without my own computer for the smallest amount of time possible.
I doubt you'll want to use the PSU that comes with that case. Normally they are pretty junky.
What's the resolution of your monitor? Depending on what games you play and at what resolution you might be better off with a 5770.
lowlylowlycook on
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
So, I have to build a new computer, since my old computer that my father was using has broken down, and he is taking my 2 year old XPS 710. So I get to build a new 600-700 dollar computer and here is what I have, and I don't really know too much about components, so I basically used the budget build from the OP with a 4890 video card, since it is about the same price now with the combo with the Phenom II X3.
So what I am wondering is are there any options that are a better value for the same price? I know a lot of people are talking about the 5xxx series of video cards from Radeon, but I don't think I can swing that with the price of RAM apparently doubling.
If I could get some quick feedback that would be great, since my dad wants my computer dropped off there by Thanksgiving, and I would like to be without my own computer for the smallest amount of time possible.
I doubt you'll want to use the PSU that comes with that case. Normally they are pretty junky.
What's the resolution of your monitor? Depending on what games you play and at what resolution you might be better off with a 5770.
Yeah, I realized that after remembering that the case wasn't antec who usually make good PSUs supposedly so I guess you can trust the PSU in the case a bit more.
Yeah, I don't think I will be using that case + powersupply.
So, I have to build a new computer, since my old computer that my father was using has broken down, and he is taking my 2 year old XPS 710. So I get to build a new 600-700 dollar computer and here is what I have, and I don't really know too much about components, so I basically used the budget build from the OP with a 4890 video card, since it is about the same price now with the combo with the Phenom II X3.
So what I am wondering is are there any options that are a better value for the same price? I know a lot of people are talking about the 5xxx series of video cards from Radeon, but I don't think I can swing that with the price of RAM apparently doubling.
If I could get some quick feedback that would be great, since my dad wants my computer dropped off there by Thanksgiving, and I would like to be without my own computer for the smallest amount of time possible.
I doubt you'll want to use the PSU that comes with that case. Normally they are pretty junky.
What's the resolution of your monitor? Depending on what games you play and at what resolution you might be better off with a 5770.
Yeah, I realized that after remembering that the case wasn't antec who usually make good PSUs supposedly so I guess you can trust the PSU in the case a bit more.
Yeah, I don't think I will be using that case + powersupply.
1680 x 1050 is what I have my monitor at, do you think I would be better off with a 5770?
Well the 4890 is sort of overkill for that resolution save for a few demanding titles. I'd say you are likely to get more mileage out of DX11 than with more DX10 power. Like slash says a 4850 will play most games maxed out at that res so a 5770 should even leave you room to enable some DX11 effects that might take more power.
Speaking of power, that PSU is overkill if anything. It could probably run 4 5770s or 2 4890s, which reminds me that power consumption, especially idle consumption, is another reason to go with a 5XXX part.
A good 500W PSU should be good enough for an reasonable single GPU rig. Lately it seems that a Sonata III with PSU or maybe a OCZ PSU are the cheaper way to get that.
lowlylowlycook on
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Posts
My policy is to ALWAYS clean my HSF/CPU off with alcohol if I move the HSF. It may "seem" fine, but if that seal gets fucked up, your HSF is useless. It takes all of two minutes to take a paper towel and some rubbing alcohol, clean it up, and re-apply the paste. Remember the business card trick for applying the paste as well, helps to get a nice, thin, layer.
I would have thought, "okay, I've just been playing crysis for four hours, probably a thermal shutoff," but the kicker is I can't get the computer to turn back on. There are no strange smells (last time a PSU died on me, the smell was quite distinctive), there is a green light on the motherboard indicating that it is receiving *some* kind of power from the PSU, but when I press the power button... nothing happens.
I need to figure out what this is ASAP while I can still get parts replaced for free, so can anyone tell me how to proceed? At this point it seems like it could be anything from the power supply (most likely) to the motherboard to the CPU (but I guess if that doesn't work, *something* will happen when I press the power button?)
Oh, and Scrublet: Just buy OEM. The only difference between having to pick 32 or 64 bit and no tech support is once you install it on that motherboard it's stuck on that one forever (unless you call MS and say it died, but that's not 100% going to work technically, though I've never heard them denying it either). After you get Windows installed, run Windows Update to patch it, put some kind of virus scanner on it and then you install your programs/games.
i'm thinking of going Radeon...never used their cards before. any suggestions? i'm specifically looking to run Crysis well, and anything in that level of graphics mayhem...
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
This is all before my computer shut off mid-game of course.
haha yeah. i've been trying to run it at 1440x900 with settings set to high, and 4x AA. all i'm getting for my trouble is probably an overheating card and a lot of crashes. i'd ideally like to run the game at 1080p, with high settings, even though this is asking a lot i guess.
it's just a bit of a shock when my system eats games like the Half Life 2 episodes for breakfast.
i'm eyeing one of the Radeon 5850s...is this overkill?
edit: apparently the trouble is actually finding one of the 5800 series even in stock. awesome.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
Basically Crysis is a bitch that you will have to pay a huge premium to get running at "very high" at 1080p (not even including AA), but at this level of performance you can do 1080p at "high" and have a good time. Not "very high" though, sadly. (Because, you know, Crysis looks so ugly merely at "high".) My video card eats every other game I've tried to run at 1080p for lunch - Crysis is the only one I have to turn anything down in.
If you are looking to upgrade, I would say wait a little while for the higher-tier DX 11 cards to be cost-effective, otherwise you probably won't notice that big an improvement with the current crop of $200-$300 cards over what you have currently. If you want performance right now, 4890's are way cheaper and more readily available than 5850's and are a good way to go. Also you're pretty much stuck looking at ATI products at the moment because nothing NVidia has to offer is competitive in terms of price/performance.
4gb ram, C2D E8400
Older games no prob, newer games not so much: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3658&p=5
read the whole review for benchmarks other than crysis.
I have a AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 3800+. I doubt theres anyway I could get a new processor for this socket and have it be cheap. So in that case I'll need a cheap processor, mobo, and ram set up. Any suggestions on the most bang for my buck?
This exact thing has happened to me. After three years of perfect operation (I mean not even the slightest hint of an error of any kind) my computer suddenly shut down, and wouldn't boot afterwards. No funny smells or sounds. Fans were spinning, and the led indicating that the mobo had power was lit, but nothing else happened. A year later I found a good PSU for cheap, so I tried switching the PSU. This time, the computer booted but got stuck forever while loading Windows. I figured I'd try to reformat and reinstall, but the installer hanged halfway through. The next time I tried reinstalling, the installer wouldn't load at all. Next restart the computer would hang during POST while checking the connected HDs. Next restart it wouldn't display any disk drives at all during POST, but they were identified in BIOS. The restart after that I was back to no POST at all.
My conclusions from that experiment are:
1. It was probably my PSU that failed.
2. It probably damaged the mobo (IDE controllers specifically?).
3. Even though many parts in that computer still works, I'm not really sure I want to switch all of them to determine which parts are damaged.
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145256
CPU/Mobo Combos:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.294412
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.294414
Depends on the game. You have the same specs I do with a tad better C2D.
I run at 1680x1050. I run almost every game available at full resolution with full quality everything.
The only thing is that some of the highest end games, which are very very few, require me to start notching things down. Usually I remove Anti-aliasing as the first thing to go, and that pretty much solves it.
Now you're looking at even higher resolutions than I play at. I still think you'll be good for most games at highest quality, since your CPU might help out a little compared to my setup. But you may end up having to knock down AA a little or remove it for some games.
For something like Crysis, you have to ask yourself whether you really care to jack up the graphics all the way. It looks better than most games on High settings and runs great on this 4850. But even then stuff like Crysis is the exception. Most games run great on this thing.
If you're looking at multiplatform games, you can rest assured your setup will handle them easily. Virtually any game that is multiplatform with the 360/PS3 is going to run awesome on your PC.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Well I think I remember reading that my PSU had some kind of fail-safe built-in to prevent spreading damage if it failed. Basically I don't even have any fans spinning. So here's hoping.
It seems reasonable to assume that a good PSU includes a fuse of some kind. Not sure what happened in my case though since I never heard, saw or smelled anything strange. It just went out, and appearantly took some other component with it.
Edit: Haha fuck you newegg, your RMA page told me one set of instructions and the email that you sent me that I only read AFTER following the afforementioned instructions said something different. Competence!
Supply and demand... Especially RAM prices have gone up a lot in the last 6-12 months, after a period of ridiculously low prices.
There is a short in the psu if it tripped the circuit breaker. Depending on how bad the initial damage was, the over volt protection might have been fried the first time and that would mean there is a decent chance you might have wrecked other components. I would wager you are safe, but it is still a concern.
lesson learned, cooling is all important!
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
Now, At the moment I'd be happy to have a machine that plays Source games adequately. According to the Steam store, the recommended requirements for L4D2 are...
More specifically, I was wanting a hard drive of around 300GB - 500GB and the NVidia card, and was thinking about sticking with Windows XP for now.
How much would a system of around this spec cost to build in the UK?
Oh, please don't ask me to get any more specific. I'm afraid I know more about time travel than I do about computer builds/specs/various.
I waited a week to but my computer and it became £15 more expensive, a week later it was another £25 more expensive, so I'm glad I didn't try and wait it out.
I made a game, it has penguins in it. It's pay what you like on Gumroad.
Currently Ebaying Nothing at all but I might do in the future.
Like 3 weeks ago I built a system, and it's already like £15-20 more right now. The RAM is crazy, I had to back off and pick up 2GB of Value Kingston for £30 until 4GB kits come down, but that's up to almost £40 now.
On a side note, I was wondering if anyone had a rough idea of how my system compares to my xbox; I've never looked at other formats for a multi-format release, but possibly considering stuff on the PC now too. Assassins Creed II and Bioshock II come to mind. Feel like I should give the console a break, and expand my PC collection beyond all the isometric, low-spec RPG's and strategy titles i've built up with my old laptop.
Phenom II x2 545 3.0ghz
ATi XFX 4770 512mb
2gb DDR3 Ram
1280x1024 currently max res
I'd like to highly recommend the MSI C45-770 Motherboard, under £50 (may have gone up? everything else has), AM3 socket (Not AM2+). Has made the perfect core for my budget gaming build.
That PC is much more powerful than a 360 fwiw. Really, your monitor is probably holding you back, if anything.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
You have about the same specs I have.
Let me put it this way:
Your computer will absolutely demolish the 360 or PS3 in terms performance for multiplatform games on your system.
It doesn't matter if you play Assassin's Creed 2 or Modern Warfare 2 or whatever. You're going to get higher framerates at higher resolutions and higher quality settings and you'll be able to enable V-sync and eliminate tearing that plagues games like Assassin's Creed 2 on the consoles.
Seriously, your computer may seem mid-range, but even mid-range PCs will blow the 360 and PS3 out of the water for performance in terms of multiplatform games.
As a side note, games running on Unreal Engine 3 like Bioshock 2 you mentioned among many, many others run particularly well on PCs.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
No, they have to be the same type of card.
My computer arrived, but instead of giving me the 4850 like they said I would get, I got a 3450 and a 9500gt. I have no idea why. They are probably going to give me a 4850 when I speak to them on Monday, but I am not sure. They also might not ask for the 9500gt back.
I have to question the competence of the people I am being forced to get my computer from, but it is free so I can't really complain.
It might be, unless Nvidia decided to be a bunch of dicks.
Which they did decide.
http://www.ngohq.com/graphic-cards/16223-nvidia-disables-physx-when-ati-card-is-present.html
Edit: I haven't done research on this, so there might be a workaround. At least be aware that it's not supported out of the box and that Nvidia are being dicks.
But that is an idiotic business decision. They are literally pushing their proprietary physics system at the detriment of their customers.
Even with a single now-aged 4850, Assassin's Creed looks so good and runs so much more smoothly on my system that playing AC2 on the 360 is a big step down to me now. I've never had such a direct comparison with the same graphics engine and it's a pretty big difference.
Also, curse all you people who keep buying 5850's and keep driving up the price! I'm waiting for a comfortable cash cushion before I buy one and the price just keeps eking upwards! Halt immediately!
ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS EAH4890/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBNT
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
APEVIA MX-PLEASURE-NW-BK Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 500W dual fan w/ automatic fan speed control Power Supply
LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner
So what I am wondering is are there any options that are a better value for the same price? I know a lot of people are talking about the 5xxx series of video cards from Radeon, but I don't think I can swing that with the price of RAM apparently doubling.
If I could get some quick feedback that would be great, since my dad wants my computer dropped off there by Thanksgiving, and I would like to be without my own computer for the smallest amount of time possible.
I doubt you'll want to use the PSU that comes with that case. Normally they are pretty junky.
What's the resolution of your monitor? Depending on what games you play and at what resolution you might be better off with a 5770.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
This is ridiculous: http://www.evga.com/blackfriday/
4-way SLI.
Yeah, I realized that after remembering that the case wasn't antec who usually make good PSUs supposedly so I guess you can trust the PSU in the case a bit more.
Yeah, I don't think I will be using that case + powersupply.
How about:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021
which are a combo deal on newegg for $150
1680 x 1050 is what I have my monitor at, do you think I would be better off with a 5770?
Well the 4890 is sort of overkill for that resolution save for a few demanding titles. I'd say you are likely to get more mileage out of DX11 than with more DX10 power. Like slash says a 4850 will play most games maxed out at that res so a 5770 should even leave you room to enable some DX11 effects that might take more power.
Speaking of power, that PSU is overkill if anything. It could probably run 4 5770s or 2 4890s, which reminds me that power consumption, especially idle consumption, is another reason to go with a 5XXX part.
A good 500W PSU should be good enough for an reasonable single GPU rig. Lately it seems that a Sonata III with PSU or maybe a OCZ PSU are the cheaper way to get that.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)