..::THE COMMUNITY TECH THREAD No. 92::.. : Othor Games

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:30 am

What you picked out thus far is perfectly fine compatibility-wise.

Your current PSU can easily go into the parents rig if you want a new one.

2GB of RAM is enough for Win 7 if they're not gaming or doing anything strenous.

Now of course, there's always ways to make the system cheaper, more modern, and more powerful....maybe even all three. How much are you looking to spend here?

The budget is essentially limitless, but the cheap the better. They aren't going to be doing anything intense with it.

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:32 pm

I went with the quad core build that was recommended by Tig,

Well, I'm going to suggest to spend an extra $100 for this system...it comes in under $700:

CASE+HDD Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492998
RAM +PSU Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492824
CPU+MOBO Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.509751
GPU+OS combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493104
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

The Phenom II X2 555 is a fast dual-core chip that actual has two extra and potentially unlockable cores. With the motherboard I suggested, you may be able to unlock them and turn this chip into a fast quad. Many have done this successfully and there are guides all over the web on how to do it.

If you want an out the box quad-core CPU, this is an alternative CPU+MOBO deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.509748

And I have a question about the PSU, Tig suggested a PSU with 520w, according to the motherboard manual it suggests a 600w PSU, am I in trouble using this PSU?

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:11 pm

The budget is essentially limitless, but the cheap the better. They aren't going to be doing anything intense with it.

Well let's see...all those items bought individually will end up costing you $550, which is pretty steep for just a basic system. Try this for pretty much the same cost:
CASE+RAM Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492939
CPU+MOBO Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.500489
HDD+PSU Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492760
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
SOUNDCARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132013

I went with the quad core build that was recommended by Tig,
And I have a question about the PSU, Tig suggested a PSU with 520w, according to the motherboard manual it suggests a 600w PSU, am I in trouble using this PSU?

:blink: A motherboard with a 600W requirement is ridiculous. The board I had linked is a single slot board that doesn't really have that many features on it, but I looked into the manual anyways just to see it. After seeing it, it's a recommendation for a "fully" configured system, but that covers so many different combinations of hardware. It's a safe number for them to avoid liability...it's not a requirement. Similar to video card vendors, Asus is overstating power requirements to get this supposed "optimal" performance. And there are a lot of junk PSU makers out there.

The reality is, the components I had suggested to you will work to the fullest. The components put together isn't even going to reach 450W of power consumption. You can relax on that one. If I had suggest something like a Radeon 5970 with a quad-core CPU, lots of RAM, hard drives, etc etc....then sure 600W quality unit is going to sound pretty reasonable. But you are FAR from needing something like that.

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:52 am

I have a fun problem for you guys to figure out.

Over the past 5 days I've gotten 2 BSODs. I'm on Windows 7 for future reference.

Both of these BSOD's happened while I was playing the same video game. The only thing I installed before they started happening was an update to Webroot Antivirus (which might be the problem I don't know). That, and the game received a hotfix update.

The first BSOD was on the 16th and the stop code was 0a or IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. The second was today and the stop code was 50 or PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA. Both say the file ntoskrnl.exe is to blame, but after reading around I don't think that's the exact cause.

These only happened when playing the game, and I do not know if it's the cause of the game update itself, the anti vir update I did, or old graphic drives or faulty memory or what not. Seeing as they haven't happened outside the game (knock on wood) and I played it on Saturday for about 6 hours without an issue. So I'm really at a loss here and I'm not technically inclined enough to really understand what's going on or how to fix it without some help, so yeah.

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:41 pm

:blink: A motherboard with a 600W requirement is ridiculous. The board I had linked is a single slot board that doesn't really have that many features on it, but I looked into the manual anyways just to see it. After seeing it, it's a recommendation for a "fully" configured system, but that covers so many different combinations of hardware. It's a safe number for them to avoid liability...it's not a requirement. Similar to video card vendors, Asus is overstating power requirements to get this supposed "optimal" performance. And there are a lot of junk PSU makers out there.

The reality is, the components I had suggested to you will work to the fullest. The components put together isn't even going to reach 450W of power consumption. You can relax on that one. If I had suggest something like a Radeon 5970 with a quad-core CPU, lots of RAM, hard drives, etc etc....then sure 600W quality unit is going to sound pretty reasonable. But you are FAR from needing something like that.
[/quote]

I only asked because of what the manual said, I thought a 600w PSU would be overkill but was not exactly sure, that's why I am asking here and not giving advice

... thanks for the good advice I have assembled everything and am very happy with the build, thanks again. :foodndrink:

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 4:38 am

:blink: A motherboard with a 600W requirement is ridiculous. The board I had linked is a single slot board that doesn't really have that many features on it, but I looked into the manual anyways just to see it. After seeing it, it's a recommendation for a "fully" configured system, but that covers so many different combinations of hardware. It's a safe number for them to avoid liability...it's not a requirement. Similar to video card vendors, Asus is overstating power requirements to get this supposed "optimal" performance. And there are a lot of junk PSU makers out there.

The reality is, the components I had suggested to you will work to the fullest. The components put together isn't even going to reach 450W of power consumption. You can relax on that one. If I had suggest something like a Radeon 5970 with a quad-core CPU, lots of RAM, hard drives, etc etc....then sure 600W quality unit is going to sound pretty reasonable. But you are FAR from needing something like that.

I only asked because of what the manual said, I thought a 600w PSU would be overkill but was not exactly sure, that's why I am asking here and not giving advice

... thanks for the good advice I have assembled everything and am very happy with the build, thanks again. :foodndrink:

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:50 am

So recently one of my XFX 9800 GTs started to fail. I had them in SLI-mode. I think it was a hardware issue. Every time it would boot I would see artifacts all over the screen then turn black. Anyways I sent it into XFX and they offered to take my other 9800GT and give me an ATI 5830. Would this be a drastic difference in display? Do I need to buy a new PSU to run the card?

Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit System Manufacturer: System manufacturerProcessor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     E8400  @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHzMemory: 8192MB RAMAvailable OS Memory: 8190MB RAMPage File: 2047MB used, 14331MB availablePSU: 550W

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 5:40 am

Please help! URGENT D:

I started my PC this morning and it got to the windows loading screen, and i get the blue screen of death. This happens no matter what option I choose to boot the computer in (even safe mode). I've read that my only option is to repair my windows installation.

So Ive put the install CD in, pressed enter to install windows. Apparently afterwards I'm supposed to get an option to select my windows installation and press R to repair windows. But instead I get a menu that shows my Partitions and I have an option to Install by hitting enter, or press D to delete the partition. Does this mean my windows installation is too corrupted to be detected? I really really can't lose my files. If I hit enter on this screen (on the partition) will it wipe it?

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:50 am

Sorry for the double post but I was also wondering if I should use the recovery console on the xp cd? I read on a tech website that I shouldn't use it.

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:46 pm

Sorry for the double post but I was also wondering if I should use the recovery console on the xp cd? I read on a tech website that I shouldn't use it.

Nothing wrong with the recovery console so long as you know what commands you are using.

Also, posting the BSOD error would be helpful.

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:11 pm

Nothing wrong with the recovery console so long as you know what commands you are using.

Also, posting the BSOD error would be helpful.

It only appears for half a second. But I can change that in the BIOS menu right? I'll go try that now and I'll be back.

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:29 pm

It only appears for half a second. But I can change that in the BIOS menu right? I'll go try that now and I'll be back.

If it is Windows automatically rebooting after a BSOD (which, unless you previously disabled that, it is), then you can't overwrite it in the BIOS. If it is a hardware problem causing Windows to BSOD and also triggering a safety feature in the PC, then sometimes you can overwrite that in the BIOS, but it is dangerous.

Solution? Grab a camera, set it to multi-shot mode, increase the shots per X to the most you can, and try and take a picture of the BSOD (or a video with a high recording frames per second)

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:24 am

If it is Windows automatically rebooting after a BSOD (which, unless you previously disabled that, it is), then you can't overwrite it in the BIOS. If it is a hardware problem causing Windows to BSOD and also triggering a safety feature in the PC, then sometimes you can overwrite that in the BIOS, but it is dangerous.

Solution? Grab a camera, set it to multi-shot mode, increase the shots per X to the most you can, and try and take a picture of the BSOD (or a video with a high recording frames per second)

Well your right I couldn't do it in BIOS. My bad.

I'm trying to find my camera but I don't know where it is.

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:39 am

Alright so I bought the PC from Cyberpower. It's still in the processing stages so it's probably going to take a while before it gets here. So while I'm waiting, I had two questions.
The first is, does anyone have any experience with the http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_parts.asp?PRID=16848 case? It was their second cheapest case and it's the one I used on this build.

The second question concerns me a little. After reading some of their warranty, I came across this line,
"CyberPower Inc. ("CyberPower") manufactures its hardware products from parts and components that are new or equivalent to new in accordance with industry-standard practices."

Does that mean that they use used or refurbished parts in the PC's?

Also, this is what I decided on:
CPU: Intel? Core? i5-760 2.80 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1156
HDD: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
MOTHERBOARD: MSI H55M-P31 Intel H55 Chipset DDR3 LGA1156 mATX w/ Onboard Graphic, HDMI, DVI, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI
VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by ATI)

Ravin

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 4:37 am

So recently one of my XFX 9800 GTs started to fail. I had them in SLI-mode. I think it was a hardware issue. Every time it would boot I would see artifacts all over the screen then turn black. Anyways I sent it into XFX and they offered to take my other 9800GT and give me an ATI 5830. Would this be a drastic difference in display? Do I need to buy a new PSU to run the card?

Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit System Manufacturer: System manufacturerProcessor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     E8400  @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHzMemory: 8192MB RAMAvailable OS Memory: 8190MB RAMPage File: 2047MB used, 14331MB availablePSU: 550W

Two 9800GT's in SLI is about the equivalence of a single GTX 260 (216 Core) at best. With that in mind, you have quite a lot of reviews and benchmarks at your disposal:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/xfx-radeon-hd5830.html
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/171?vs=170

If you can power two 9800GT's in SLI, the single Radeon 5830 shouldn't be a problem for the PSU.

Alright so I bought the PC from Cyberpower. It's still in the processing stages so it's probably going to take a while before it gets here. So while I'm waiting, I had two questions.
The first is, does anyone have any experience with the http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_parts.asp?PRID=16848 case? It was their second cheapest case and it's the one I used on this build.

The second question concerns me a little. After reading some of their warranty, I came across this line,
"CyberPower Inc. ("CyberPower") manufactures its hardware products from parts and components that are new or equivalent to new in accordance with industry-standard practices."

Does that mean that they use used or refurbished parts in the PC's?

Also, this is what I decided on:
CPU: Intel? Core? i5-760 2.80 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1156
HDD: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
MOTHERBOARD: MSI H55M-P31 Intel H55 Chipset DDR3 LGA1156 mATX w/ Onboard Graphic, HDMI, DVI, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI
VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by ATI)

Ravin

Not sure about the case, but there are plenty of reviews out there to read...even newegg's got reviews:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156244&Tpk=raidmax%20typhoon

My guess is because they do test your system before sending it out provided the operating system option was taken, the parts doesn't fall in the technicality of being "new" anymore since they turn the system on and burned it in a bit. I highly doubt they're using used parts...rather they are just protecting themselves from liability.

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:03 pm

Thinking it was a registry problem, I've taken the HDD out and put it in my Windows 7 system as a slave.

The drive appears in My Computer, but I'm unable to access it. And I get this message everytime

F:\ is not accessible
The files or directory is corrupted and unreadable

Does this mean I've lost everything?

EDIT: Nevermind. I managed to restore the drive using Chkdsk and I'm now able to view things inside.

Everything seems to be fine now. Except that my sound is absolutely horrible compared to before no matter what I do. I'm running a xfi Xtreme audio sound card

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:21 am

Thinking it was a registry problem, I've taken the HDD out and put it in my Windows 7 system as a slave.

The drive appears in My Computer, but I'm unable to access it. And I get this message everytime

F:\ is not accessible
The files or directory is corrupted and unreadable

Does this mean I've lost everything?

EDIT: Nevermind. I managed to restore the drive using Chkdsk and I'm now able to view things inside.

But now I'm having another problem. I keep being denied access to folders and files (something to do with ownership). I have to manually right click each folder I want to access and change a bunch of security options then I can access it. But I don't want to have to do this to every single thing I want to access. Is there some kind of option in control panel (sorry, im new to windows 7) that allows me to access everything automatically on that HDD?

Thanks

1. Boot off a Linux live CD, ignores WIndows file permissions

2. Since you think it is a registry problem, you can also http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=624943 (the first two steps are no longer necessary)

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:14 am

Are LED monitors worth it?

I'm thinking of getting http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236075, because I'm not happy with the contrast on my current monitor.

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:26 am

What 120mm fans you guys use anyway?... Been trying to find Gentle Typhoon A15s but they are sold out everywhere and ended up going with Yate Loon Medium speed..

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 4:21 am

Are LED monitors worth it?

I'm thinking of getting http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236075, because I'm not happy with the contrast on my current monitor.

Getting cheaper to the point where it's worth considering for PC monitors. The one you're looking at is decent enough and black levels should be pretty good.

What 120mm fans you guys use anyway?... Been trying to find Gentle Typhoon A15s but they are sold out everywhere and ended up going with Yate Loon Medium speed..

Love my Scythe S-Flex fans. You've probably already considered them though....the ones you're looking at are better than them I think,

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:42 am

I have a laptop with an AMD Sempron SI 42 in it. When I run PC Wizard it says that the processor speed is 2100mhz, and the current speed is 1050mhz. Anyone know why my processor is slower than it ought to be?

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:55 am

I have a laptop with an AMD Sempron SI 42 in it. When I run PC Wizard it says that the processor speed is 2100mhz, and the current speed is 1050mhz. Anyone know why my processor is slower than it ought to be?

Power management feature. Mobile chips from both Intel and AMD are designed to run at low speeds to preserve battery power and to prevent overheating if you're doing nothing on the notebook. The speed will ramp up to what it's advertised to be when you do actually do something intensive.

» Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:42 am

I've decided to bite the bullet and build up a new computer for my 2nd place of residence, I'm wanting to spend around ￡500 on it. I can re-use the case, HDD and disk drive from another computer that I have but I need to buy in the rest. I'm looking for it to be able to run most modern games to a high standard and eat games like WoW (and it's upcoming expansion) for breakfast. I can scrounge up a screen and all the other bits and bobs as well.

Anyone have any good suggestions, I was thinking of buying a ready picked Mobo/Ram/Processor combo kit?

Thanks.

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:47 pm

I've decided to bite the bullet and build up a new computer for my 2nd place of residence, I'm wanting to spend around ￡500 on it. I can re-use the case, HDD and disk drive from another computer that I have but I need to buy in the rest. I'm looking for it to be able to run most modern games to a high standard and eat games like WoW (and it's upcoming expansion) for breakfast. I can scrounge up a screen and all the other bits and bobs as well.

Anyone have any good suggestions, I was thinking of buying a ready picked Mobo/Ram/Processor combo kit?

Thanks.

Unfortunately don't know too many sites in the UK that do combo deals like newegg does...the ones that I do know come with one at least one component that kills the deal...so try these:

CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190673
RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191178
MOBO: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/218937
GPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/239213
PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132563

I get ￡537.54 inc VAT.

The GTX 460 is a slightly slower and cheaper alternative to the Radeon 5850 if you can't get it:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/227182

Time for new thread up:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1118559-the-community-tech-thread-no-93/