Well he said he got it for 'free' so.. yeah. But yeah, get a SSD if you can manage it.
Free upgrade from the 3 SLI MSI one included with the default config not "free". 20 rebate, plus another freebie with the upgrade that I was going to buy anyway. If I never use it, it's no big deal.
I've actually been wanting a good SSD for a while, but I think last year they just hit the 1$/GB mark. I think once I can get 512 for 200 or so, I'll finally get one and install windows on it, as well as my most used games/software.
So back to my original question; that upgrade should yield some noticeable results, yes?
New PSU and I'm back in business. Except that when I was trying to troubleshoot I reset my CMOS and it messed with my RAID settings, had to rebuild it and reinstall Windows.
Because if you're going to attempt to squeeze that big black monster into your slot you will need to be able to take at least 12 inches or else you're going to have a bad time...
With the way prices are in Europe and the fact that you want a new legit OS, £400 is a very restricted budget.
You can build something that will easily embarrass your current system with that money, but it still isn't going to be very spectacular.
Noted, perhaps the question I should ask is what should I budget to get something decently solid and an OS on top? There's no reason I can't save a bit longer if it's worthwhile to do so.
I feel very stupid for asking this due to the potential for the answer but if I'm running windows XP home 32 bit, can I use 4 gigs of ramm in my desktop?
I feel very stupid for asking this due to the potential for the answer but if I'm running windows XP home 32 bit, can I use 4 gigs of ramm in my desktop?
You can install 4 gigs, but you end up with 3.? I forget exactly. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but that should be close. Over 4 no.
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SarksusATTACK AND DETHRONE GODRegistered Userregular
The operating system will only be able to address 4GB of system and video memory. So if you have a video card with 512MB of RAM you'll only be able to use up to about three and a half gigabytes of system RAM.
SarksusATTACK AND DETHRONE GODRegistered Userregular
The operating system considers all of the RAM your computer is using. This includes regular system RAM (the sticks slotted into the motherboard) plus RAM used by your video card which is embedded in the card itself. As long as both your system RAM and video RAM doesn't total above 4GB you're good to go.
So if you have 2GB of system RAM installed you can have up to 2GB video RAM. You can't have 4GB of system RAM because that would leave you with no video RAM, so what happens is your available video RAM subtracts from the total possible system RAM you can effectively use. You can install 4GB, it won't break anything, but your operating system won't be able to use all of it because you have video RAM using up part of the 4GB limit.
Because if you're going to attempt to squeeze that big black monster into your slot you will need to be able to take at least 12 inches or else you're going to have a bad time...
So glad I bought Windows 7 when it went on presale for $50. Does XP 64-bit have better driver support now? I remember that being a concern back in the day.
thx, I'm no slouch when it comes to hardware, but I am somewhat humbled I could have built big blue and overlooked this information.
edit:So at 2 gigs on my motherboard and half a gig on my video card, I should get a 3rd stick of 1 gig of ram to go in my motherboard alongside the other two? and no more than that one gig?
In short, anything over 4GB is a waste until you get set up with a 64-bit OS. That being said, pushing to 4GB isn't "always" the right thing to do, depending on what you are trying to do. This is because RAM runs faster in dual channel mode. If you have an odd number of sticks (or, depending on the motherboard, more than two sticks) of RAM, your memory will be downclocked to single channel mode.
I personally prefer additional RAM to faster RAM because I don't do much more with my computer than web surf and play WoW. I would care more about fast RAM if I did anything like photo manipulation, video work, or other compute/RAM heavy tasks.
What's your current setup? Do you need DDR2 or DDR3? Honestly I don't think there is a downside to getting more than your computer can address if you need DDR3, since you can use that in a future build.
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Magus`The fun has been DOUBLED!Registered Userregular
Samsung 840 Non-Pro 250GB SSD on sale today $175 US ($0.70 per GB) with code EMCXNXM25 at Newegg.
Is this a good deal? What's the difference between Pro and not Pro? Do SSDs keep stable performance over time since I don't have my other parts yet but.. I do want a SSD eventually.
Samsung 840 Non-Pro 250GB SSD on sale today $175 US ($0.70 per GB) with code EMCXNXM25 at Newegg.
Is this a good deal? What's the difference between Pro and not Pro? Do SSDs keep stable performance over time since I don't have my other parts yet but.. I do want a SSD eventually.
The difference between Pro and non-Pro is immaterial for almost any daily use for a normal person. There is no real difference in practical terms unless you're doing tons of huge writes to the SSD every day. And yes, they should keep stable performance just as long as any platter HDD at least.
What's your current setup? Do you need DDR2 or DDR3? Honestly I don't think there is a downside to getting more than your computer can address if you need DDR3, since you can use that in a future build.
and since you people have me now thinking about my next build (5 years, where does the time go?), how much of a bottleneck would getting a pentium g620 or a i3 - 2100 prove to be a year down the line (or five years judging from my current big blue).
DuriniaEvolved from Space PotatoesRegistered Userregular
Hey compy thread. I'm starting to poke around looking at putting together some kind of really basic HTPC/Steam Box, and I'm curious what people think a good sweet spot is for:
* Plays most mid-level games (examples: XCOM, Civ V, CK2, etc.) with somewhat reasonable graphics quality (doesn't need to be high, but should run smooth at 1920x1280)
* Small form factor / quiet / low power
* Cheap
Basically, I could see possibly spending the minimum amount for the first bullet, but don't want to spend more. (I've got a ridiculous main system already for pushing top-end limits)
Are Haswell's on-chip graphics any good? Would an APU be a better fit here? Give me some ideas...
For business reasons, I must preserve the outward sign of sanity.
--Mark Twain
My understanding is the Haswell onboard chip is quite passable for most lower end games, but I suggest you look for some reviews and benchmarks to see where it lies in relation to others.
As for form factor, etc. I suggest you look into mini-ITX builds. You can get fairly robust boards for the form factor, and some cases can even handle a full sized PSU. As for sound, I think that is more based on what you decide to put in it.
Hey compy thread. I'm starting to poke around looking at putting together some kind of really basic HTPC/Steam Box, and I'm curious what people think a good sweet spot is for:
* Plays most mid-level games (examples: XCOM, Civ V, CK2, etc.) with somewhat reasonable graphics quality (doesn't need to be high, but should run smooth at 1920x1280)
* Small form factor / quiet / low power
* Cheap
Basically, I could see possibly spending the minimum amount for the first bullet, but don't want to spend more. (I've got a ridiculous main system already for pushing top-end limits)
Are Haswell's on-chip graphics any good? Would an APU be a better fit here? Give me some ideas...
Haswell's best built-in gpu isn't available as a desktop chip yet, it will be R designated ones when they do sometime Q2'13, and they're rumored to be only released as a soldered to motherboard unit.
AMD's Apu's are ok, and can do some games at 1080P at med settings with around 30fps, the next gen of them Kaveri is due to be out by the end of the year, and should have a good boost in gpu power.
and just a note that memory speed matters a lot for APU builds, so your going to need to buy ddr3-2600 or better(but 2600 is probably the right spot as ram prices jump a lot after it) ram for it
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1
4096MB RAM
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz x2 ~3000MHz
On the suggestion of the Steam Box thread, I upgraded my GPU to a Geforce GTX760.
Despite the boost in performance, I feel ready to overhaul the rest of my PC now. On the recommendation of @chrishallett83 I was given this list of components:
I'm thinking of rolling the second option, though I wrote back over the possibility of swapping one of the Tier 3 items with the Tier 2 ones in order to get a truly optimized experience. I have no interest in running multiple games in different monitors or any other kind of crazy setup, but I would like the best possible single-user experience. I want to be able to play stuff like a souped-up Skyrim with a solid 60 fps.
So if anyone has any further recommendations, I'd like to hear them. Otherwise I'll probably base my final decision on this list here.
and just a note that memory speed matters a lot for APU builds, so your going to need to buy ddr3-2600 or better(but 2600 is probably the right spot as ram prices jump a lot after it) ram for it
Thanks, that link helped a lot. It actually looks like that 6700 might be enough for my purposes - especially given the much more attractive TDP.
None of the miniITX mobos I found on newegg had support for 2600 DDR3, though - I think 2400 was the highest. The review did show that you want at least 2133 in there.
For business reasons, I must preserve the outward sign of sanity.
--Mark Twain
The current richland apus are nice. But im just wary of them as the specs of kaveri are looking so much better on the gpu side. Its going to use the new gcn graphics cores, and include a gddr5 controller. So if gddr5 prices continue to drop, and they should as more products use it, we could see fm2+ motherboards with hopefully 4+ gb of it built in.
But doing the whole wait for next gen shit always makes you crazy. So go with what makes you happier.
The current richland apus are nice. But im just wary of them as the specs of kaveri are looking so much better on the gpu side. Its going to use the new gcn graphics cores, and include a gddr5 controller. So if gddr5 prices continue to drop, and they should as more products use it, we could see fm2+ motherboards with hopefully 4+ gb of it built in.
But doing the whole wait for next gen shit always makes you crazy. So go with what makes you happier.
Yeah, haven't really hashed out the exact timeframe yet, so we'll have to see. I might get a Roku as a stopgap that I would later transfer to a different TV... we'll see.
For business reasons, I must preserve the outward sign of sanity.
--Mark Twain
Hey any of y'all brits that might be around, whats a good place to shop for parts over there? I'm trying to advise a buddy on a tight budget and i'm not sure where the best options are in the UK
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Magus`The fun has been DOUBLED!Registered Userregular
SSD ordered. I wonder what the fastest way to install Windows 8 on it would be without having an optical drive.
eh it'll be a bit. 2.0 usually seems to go faster than just off a dvd in my experience. I've been pretty much exclusively using bootable usb drives for my installs lately
Posts
Free upgrade from the 3 SLI MSI one included with the default config not "free". 20 rebate, plus another freebie with the upgrade that I was going to buy anyway. If I never use it, it's no big deal.
I've actually been wanting a good SSD for a while, but I think last year they just hit the 1$/GB mark. I think once I can get 512 for 200 or so, I'll finally get one and install windows on it, as well as my most used games/software.
So back to my original question; that upgrade should yield some noticeable results, yes?
Noted, perhaps the question I should ask is what should I budget to get something decently solid and an OS on top? There's no reason I can't save a bit longer if it's worthwhile to do so.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
You can install 4 gigs, but you end up with 3.? I forget exactly. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but that should be close. Over 4 no.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
So if you have 2GB of system RAM installed you can have up to 2GB video RAM. You can't have 4GB of system RAM because that would leave you with no video RAM, so what happens is your available video RAM subtracts from the total possible system RAM you can effectively use. You can install 4GB, it won't break anything, but your operating system won't be able to use all of it because you have video RAM using up part of the 4GB limit.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
@tsmvengy: in short -- no
@RoyceSraphim: take a look at this -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_GB_barrier Also, check out http://computer.howstuffworks.com for more general understanding of computer hardware. It's the site I started with when I first wanted to learn more about computers (~12 yrs ago).
edit:So at 2 gigs on my motherboard and half a gig on my video card, I should get a 3rd stick of 1 gig of ram to go in my motherboard alongside the other two? and no more than that one gig?
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
I personally prefer additional RAM to faster RAM because I don't do much more with my computer than web surf and play WoW. I would care more about fast RAM if I did anything like photo manipulation, video work, or other compute/RAM heavy tasks.
Install 1 stick of 1 gig ram?
Stick with two 1 gig sticks?
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
I take it you have a 32-bit processor? Cause if you have a 64-bit one, stop using Windows XP. :P
Steam Profile | Signature art by Alexandra 'Lexxy' Douglass
What's your current setup? Do you need DDR2 or DDR3? Honestly I don't think there is a downside to getting more than your computer can address if you need DDR3, since you can use that in a future build.
Is this a good deal? What's the difference between Pro and not Pro? Do SSDs keep stable performance over time since I don't have my other parts yet but.. I do want a SSD eventually.
Steam Profile | Signature art by Alexandra 'Lexxy' Douglass
The difference between Pro and non-Pro is immaterial for almost any daily use for a normal person. There is no real difference in practical terms unless you're doing tons of huge writes to the SSD every day. And yes, they should keep stable performance just as long as any platter HDD at least.
I currently have two sticks, 1 gig each, .
and since you people have me now thinking about my next build (5 years, where does the time go?), how much of a bottleneck would getting a pentium g620 or a i3 - 2100 prove to be a year down the line (or five years judging from my current big blue).
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
* Plays most mid-level games (examples: XCOM, Civ V, CK2, etc.) with somewhat reasonable graphics quality (doesn't need to be high, but should run smooth at 1920x1280)
* Small form factor / quiet / low power
* Cheap
Basically, I could see possibly spending the minimum amount for the first bullet, but don't want to spend more. (I've got a ridiculous main system already for pushing top-end limits)
Are Haswell's on-chip graphics any good? Would an APU be a better fit here? Give me some ideas...
--Mark Twain
As for form factor, etc. I suggest you look into mini-ITX builds. You can get fairly robust boards for the form factor, and some cases can even handle a full sized PSU. As for sound, I think that is more based on what you decide to put in it.
Haswell's best built-in gpu isn't available as a desktop chip yet, it will be R designated ones when they do sometime Q2'13, and they're rumored to be only released as a soldered to motherboard unit.
AMD's Apu's are ok, and can do some games at 1080P at med settings with around 30fps, the next gen of them Kaveri is due to be out by the end of the year, and should have a good boost in gpu power.
If you can't wait to see what Kaveri looks like, the A10-6800k is the current top APU, here's some benchmarks to give you an idea on performance:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a10-6700-a10-6800k-richland-review,3528.html
and just a note that memory speed matters a lot for APU builds, so your going to need to buy ddr3-2600 or better(but 2600 is probably the right spot as ram prices jump a lot after it) ram for it
ATI Radeon HD 5770
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1
4096MB RAM
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz x2 ~3000MHz
On the suggestion of the Steam Box thread, I upgraded my GPU to a Geforce GTX760.
Despite the boost in performance, I feel ready to overhaul the rest of my PC now. On the recommendation of @chrishallett83 I was given this list of components:
Budget bits (great for gaming on a single monitor with a nice card like a GTX 750, with a 760 it would be a beautiful machine)
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157387 $80
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116895 $190
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422 $64
Total: $334
Reasonably priced rig (will smash any game you throw at it on a single monitor with a card like a GTX 770, can handle a multi-monitor setup nicely)
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157378 $105
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899 $240
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186 $74
Total: $419
Stupid stuff (slap a pair of 780s in this and play two entirely different games at the same time, each on three monitors fpr 6 screens total...)
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131976 $250
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901 $350
Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104351 $153
Total: $753
I'm thinking of rolling the second option, though I wrote back over the possibility of swapping one of the Tier 3 items with the Tier 2 ones in order to get a truly optimized experience. I have no interest in running multiple games in different monitors or any other kind of crazy setup, but I would like the best possible single-user experience. I want to be able to play stuff like a souped-up Skyrim with a solid 60 fps.
So if anyone has any further recommendations, I'd like to hear them. Otherwise I'll probably base my final decision on this list here.
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well that was the last given date Intel gave on the R desktop chips, so who knows when they'll be out.
http://ark.intel.com/products/76641
"Status: Launched" :P
It's a lie, no one has anything with the chip in it for sale, Intel is just being crazy.
Thanks, that link helped a lot. It actually looks like that 6700 might be enough for my purposes - especially given the much more attractive TDP.
None of the miniITX mobos I found on newegg had support for 2600 DDR3, though - I think 2400 was the highest. The review did show that you want at least 2133 in there.
--Mark Twain
But doing the whole wait for next gen shit always makes you crazy. So go with what makes you happier.
Yeah, haven't really hashed out the exact timeframe yet, so we'll have to see. I might get a Roku as a stopgap that I would later transfer to a different TV... we'll see.
--Mark Twain
Steam Profile | Signature art by Alexandra 'Lexxy' Douglass
Steam Profile | Signature art by Alexandra 'Lexxy' Douglass