[Stephanie Valentine]

I'm having some trouble with my HDTV. I have a Vizio 32 inch 720p (or so they claim) screen. Its native resolution is 1366x768, but I can't get my PC to output at that resolution. I upgraded my graphics card from an HD 4670, which allowed for me to choose 1366x768, but when I installed my new 6850 I no longer have that resolution listed. It just goes from 1280xwhatever to 1600x900. Now I have black bars either on the sides or the top, and I'd really rather have it take up the entire display. Is there any way I can get my proper resolution?

[Emmanuel Morales]

I'm having some trouble with my HDTV. I have a Vizio 32 inch 720p (or so they claim) screen. Its native resolution is 1366x768, but I can't get my PC to output at that resolution. I upgraded my graphics card from an HD 4670, which allowed for me to choose 1366x768, but when I installed my new 6850 I no longer have that resolution listed. It just goes from 1280xwhatever to 1600x900. Now I have black bars either on the sides or the top, and I'd really rather have it take up the entire display. Is there any way I can get my proper resolution?

You might have fallen into the 16:9 / 16:10 black hole. If your card outputs one aspect ratio, but the TV uses the other, it compensates with the black bars. See if there's anything in the card display properties that will let you match the TV ratio.

[Becky Cox]

Is it legal to copy a Windows XP CD?

If so, does it have any copy protection?

If not, can I get free CDs from Microsoft? Or CD downloads or something?

It is.

Nope, not that I know of.

If you ever lose the CD for the key you have you can use any XP (Equal version) disk to install. The key is not tied to the CD in any way!! Just the PC it was installed on. (If OEM.)

[Robert Devlin]

You might have fallen into the 16:9 / 16:10 black hole. If your card outputs one aspect ratio, but the TV uses the other, it compensates with the black bars. See if there's anything in the card display properties that will let you match the TV ratio.

Yeah, I know that. What I don't understand why my old card which was from the 4600 series supported all aspect ratios, but my new 6800 series card only supports standard HD resolutions and 16:9 resolutions. Is there a way I can force my new card to output at the proper resolution?

[Marine Arrègle]

I was just wondering a few things, namely that I've always heard that laptops simply aren't as good for gaming, and I see things like, "laptop versions of this card not supported", or something along those lines. Why, exactly, are laptops not as good for gaming (or is this bull).
Also, should I revive an old desktop PC and put new guts in it or would it be a better idea to just stick with the laptop? I will not have large amounts of money to spend all in one go, but in terms of a long term project would it be feasible to resurrect ol' Frankenstein? It is old, and it struggled with Age of Mythology. Would it be far better to stick with the laptop, or is it not too expensive to get a computer up to a reasonable standard?

[Karine laverre]

I was just wondering a few things, namely that I've always heard that laptops simply aren't as good for gaming, and I see things like, "laptop versions of this card not supported", or something along those lines. Why, exactly, are laptops not as good for gaming (or is this bull).
Also, should I revive an old desktop PC and put new guts in it or would it be a better idea to just stick with the laptop? I will not have large amounts of money to spend all in one go, but in terms of a long term project would it be feasible to resurrect ol' Frankenstein? It is old, and it struggled with Age of Mythology. Would it be far better to stick with the laptop, or is it not too expensive to get a computer up to a reasonable standard?

Laptops are considered worse for gaming because, 1) If the laptop has a part in that is labeled the same as a part in a desktop, it will be throttled down to conserve power and make less heat. 2) You cant upgrade laptops GPU/CPU. 3) Less space, so more heat. There are more, but those are the main reasons.

It depends on how old the desktop is, if its too old the motherboard socket is going to be obsolete. Not to mention it may have an AGP video adapter slot, which is severely outdated. (Although I think AMD still made some of the 5xxx series in AGP). Personally, I would save the money on trying to upgrade the old PC and build a new one from scratch. A new build can come as cheap as $750 or so and still have some serious power.

[Leah]

I'm looking for a Core2Quad processor, and I need a little help deciding. Would I be suffering much if I went with the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115057, or should I splurge and go for the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041?

My GPU is an HD4890 and I feel that my current processor is holding me back.

[Kayla Bee]

Yeah, I know that. What I don't understand why my old card which was from the 4600 series supported all aspect ratios, but my new 6800 series card only supports standard HD resolutions and 16:9 resolutions. Is there a way I can force my new card to output at the proper resolution?

You can make your own resolution profile in the CCC. Navigate to the "My Digital Panels" (New 10.12 CCC) Then to HDTV support. Down below the presets is the option to the make your own option.

You may need to play with the scaling settings as well.

Good luck.

[Gemma Archer]

My GPU is an HD4890 and I feel that my current processor is holding me back.

I think it's your attitude that is holding you back.

:P

[FoReVeR_Me_N]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115057, or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041?

They are both 45nm 95w Yorktown quads. The difference is a slight clock speed increase and a massive L2 cache increase. I'd say decide if that L2 increase would be benificial to what you're trying to run. For the price on the Q9550, you could almost get an i5 of similar speed and an 1156 motherboard to gain a little "future proofing". Base the purchase on what part of the processor the applications will need. If you don't need the cache, get the 8400.


Now for my question.

I'm building an HTPC/gamer out of my spare parts after several other upgrades. I've never used SLI. What would be "better"?
3-way SLI with GTX260/216s
SLI 2x GTS450 with 8800 GTS 512 for PhysX
OS will be W7 64 and I don't run brand new bells-and-whistles games. This will be TV, movies, TES-level gaming and folding when I don't need it.

[Jamie Lee]

You can make your own resolution profile in the CCC. Navigate to the "My Digital Panels" (New 10.12 CCC) Then to HDTV support. Down below the presets is the option to the make your own option.

You may need to play with the scaling settings as well.

Good luck.

I just tried that, but it says you can only make your own option from 720p or 1080i. When I do that, in 720p I can't get the resolution above 1280x720 and in 1080 it won't go below 1440x720. Neither option lets me get to a width of 1366

[D LOpez]

They are both 45nm 95w Yorktown quads. The difference is a slight clock speed increase and a massive L2 cache increase. I'd say decide if that L2 increase would be benificial to what you're trying to run. For the price on the Q9550, you could almost get an i5 of similar speed and an 1156 motherboard to gain a little "future proofing". Base the purchase on what part of the processor the applications will need. If you don't need the cache, get the 8400.

I dunno what L2 cache is used for specifically. Would L2 matter for gaming purposes?

I don't want a new motherboard because that will break my OEM Windows 7 install, plus I heard the "new" Intel sockets are being replaced anyways.

[Skrapp Stephens]

I'm looking for a Core2Quad processor, and I need a little help deciding. Would I be suffering much if I went with the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115057, or should I splurge and go for the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041?

My GPU is an HD4890 and I feel that my current processor is holding me back.

Well what is your current processor? I'm currently in the same boat as you trying to milk LGA775 and decided on the Q9550, but I'm upgrading from my E6750 @ 3.2GHz. The Q8400 wouldn't have made much of a difference for me and it lacks the cache. The Q9550 will give me similar performance at stock speeds, I plan to overclock to somewhere between 3.4-3.8GHz to get me near the Core i7 920 performance. The pointis making the jump to a quad without downgrading on the dual side.

Keep in mind that while you can get a Core i5 chip with a LGA 1156 motherboard, this path is officially going to be a dead-end. Intel just released their Sandybridge Chips and those require entirely new sockets (LGA 1155 and LGA 1356). The current LGA 1366 will be dead-end as well. Getting rather annoyed with Intel's socket changing.


BTW...I'm getting my Q9550 used. I refuse to pay more than $175 for one and I'm pending a sale right now through a member on another forum. Just keep in mind that the chip can be found for that little if you shop hard enough...well for a used one anyways.

Now for my question.

I'm building an HTPC/gamer out of my spare parts after several other upgrades. I've never used SLI. What would be "better"?
3-way SLI with GTX260/216s
SLI 2x GTS450 with 8800 GTS 512 for PhysX
OS will be W7 64 and I don't run brand new bells-and-whistles games. This will be TV, movies, TES-level gaming and folding when I don't need it.

I'd say 3-way SLI with the GTX 260's is going to get you more with the folding. Power consumption is more, but heat dissipation will be less. TES level games haven't always been friendly to SLI, but a single GTX 260 will have you lookin better in those cases.

[J.P loves]

I dunno what L2 cache is used for specifically. Would L2 matter for gaming purposes?

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&expIds=17259,17311,18167,25451&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=gaming+l2+cache&cp=9&pf=p&sclient=psy&newwindow=1&safe=off&site=&source=hp&aq=0v&aqi=&aql=&oq=gaming+l2&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=7b989c6c17f79c85

The forums all say no, but they base the answer on heavy overclocking. Tom's Hardware gives a better answer if you just want to plug and play.

Integrated L2 cache resulted in considerably improved performance across virtually all applications. The performance impact even is significant enough to say that L2 cache is the most important performance factor on an x86 microprocessor. Disabling the L2 cache will reduce system performance more than disabling a second CPU core of a dual-core processor.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cache-size-matter,1709.html

I'd say 3-way SLI with the GTX 260's is going to get you more with the folding. Power consumption is more, but heat dissipation will be less. TES level games haven't always been friendly to SLI, but a single GTX 260 will have you lookin better in those cases.

On current work the 260s do about 6-7K PPD (X3) while the 450s do 9-11K (X2) with lower TPD. 450s win for folding (I'm running 8 450s and have retired my 4 260s). I was just unsure of 3x DX10 cards vs. 2x DX11 cards for total performance over anything I might throw at them.

[Tamara Primo]

Tig,

I know this probably does not mean much but you advised me on a complete rebuild a few months back and I wanted to say thanks.

The overall build was easy to put together and I have not had any issues or problems at all, and it has exceeded my expectations.

Very good advice from a knowledgeable source!

[Keeley Stevens]

Very good advice from a knowledgeable source!

:thumbsup:

Agreed, Tigs is the man when it comes to hardware recommendations. (Probably in many other ways I'm sure.)

[Fiori Pra]

On current work the 260s do about 6-7K PPD (X3) while the 450s do 9-11K (X2) with lower TPD. 450s win for folding (I'm running 8 450s and have retired my 4 260s). I was just unsure of 3x DX10 cards vs. 2x DX11 cards for total performance over anything I might throw at them.

:o

Sorry that was my mistake. I misread for having two 8800GTS's for some reason. Totally missed the GTS 450's option. You are right in that case, the GTS 450 is a more attractive option with its much lower power requirement, heat output and noise and DX11.

Tig,

I know this probably does not mean much but you advised me on a complete rebuild a few months back and I wanted to say thanks.

The overall build was easy to put together and I have not had any issues or problems at all, and it has exceeded my expectations.

Very good advice from a knowledgeable source!

No problemo :foodndrink:

[GLOW...]

Well what is your current processor? I'm currently in the same boat as you trying to milk LGA775 and decided on the Q9550, but I'm upgrading from my E6750 @ 3.2GHz. The Q8400 wouldn't have made much of a difference for me and it lacks the cache. The Q9550 will give me similar performance at stock speeds, I plan to overclock to somewhere between 3.4-3.8GHz to get me near the Core i7 920 performance. The pointis making the jump to a quad without downgrading on the dual side.

Keep in mind that while you can get a Core i5 chip with a LGA 1156 motherboard, this path is officially going to be a dead-end. Intel just released their Sandybridge Chips and those require entirely new sockets (LGA 1155 and LGA 1356). The current LGA 1366 will be dead-end as well. Getting rather annoyed with Intel's socket changing.


BTW...I'm getting my Q9550 used. I refuse to pay more than $175 for one and I'm pending a sale right now through a member on another forum. Just keep in mind that the chip can be found for that little if you shop hard enough...well for a used one anyways.

My processor is an E7400 @ 2.80ghz, but there may be something wrong with it since I can't overclock even a small amount without it overheating (we're talking less than 5%).

[Genocidal Cry]

My processor is an E7400 @ 2.80ghz, but there may be something wrong with it since I can't overclock even a small amount without it overheating (we're talking less than 5%).

I'd go for the Q9550 in your shoes. You'd see a bigger difference going that way instead of the Q8400. Intel CPUs love more cache and the Q9550 has triple the size of cache compared to the Q8400. Even in gaming, it makes a respectable difference:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/89?vs=50

Take a look at these benches done by Xbitlabs recently..

Mainstream (Q8400):
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpu-benchmark-mainstream.html

High-end (Q9550):
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpu-benchmark-highend.html

[helen buchan]

:o

Sorry that was my mistake. I misread for having two 8800GTS's for some reason. Totally missed the GTS 450's option. You are right in that case, the GTS 450 is a more attractive option with its much lower power requirement, heat output and noise and DX11.

Thanks. That's what I thought, and the way I was leaning, but it's nice to have confirmation. :goodjob:

[Natasha Callaghan]

Everyone so often I hear what sounds like a small motor starting up in my computer, but it coems from the top of my case where theDVD drives are. I just cleaned everythign out so there really isn't any dust or anything in there, and doesn't seems like the big 120mm fan on the side of my case.

Anyone have any idea what it could be?

[:)Colleenn]

Anyone have any idea what it could be?

but it coems from the top of my case where theDVD drives are.

That would be my guess, seeing I can not see your case to make any other judgment.

[Lynne Hinton]

That would be my guess, seeing I can not see your case to make any other judgment.

Well the reason I question is that there are no discs in the drives and since its random I don't see when I hear it why they would have a need to spin up. The side air vent is also at the top (on the side) of my case so that could just be the only place for sound to escape so it is possible it is something else. I just really have no idea where to start looking.

[Cedric Pearson]

Take a piece of paper and roll it into a tube.

Place one end to your ear, then move the other end around the area you think it is coming from and when it gets louder, you are close.

That should help pinpoint it.

[Cassie Boyle]

I will try that next time I hear it but it is usually only for a fraction of a second anyways when it does happen which is random. But will give it a shot and see what I can find.