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

[PuFu]

Pufu, im looking at the i5/i7 2600K myself, but I read theres a smallish error (enough to make intel change something) with the cougar chipset, From what ive read, the sata 3gb/s sockets are overheating when transfering large files through the thing. New mobos out in April afaik
the faulty boards are not on the market anymore agaik, after intel had the anouncement public. not sure about the new batch of boards though. all i know is that from my local vendor, the 1155 mb are limited to bellow 5 atm, while before the intel press release there were quite a few

@<hidden>: arma is my least concern when buying a new pc (my case upgrading the existing one) ;)

[BittleRyan]

So here is the computer I am thinking about buying. I know this will be able to run arma, but will it be able to run on high/very high with 30+ FPS?


Memory: 6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module (Kingston HyperX)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Power Supply Upgrade: 800 Watts - XtremeGear Gaming Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
Hard Drive: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
LCD Monitor: 24" Widescreen 1920x1080 Sceptre X246W-1080P LCD (Viewable 23.6")(Black Color) w/ Built-in Speaker, DVI & Input
Speakers: 120 Watt Stereo Speakers (Black Color)
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Keyboard: Razer Arctosa Black USB Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
External Wireless Network Card: Linksys WUSB600N IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n Draft USB 2.0 Wireless-N USB Network Adapter w/ Dual-Band Security Features
Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
USB Port: Add External USB 2.0 Hub (4x USB 2.0 Ports) (SILVER Color IR-4100-SL)
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
Office Suite: Microsoft® Office® 2010 Home and Student (Word, Excel, PowerPoint + OneNote)

[larsiano]

So here is the computer I am thinking about buying. I know this will be able to run arma, but will it be able to run on high/very high with 30+ FPS?
Not without a CPU and mobo no :)

[BittleRyan]

Not without a CPU and mobo no :)

Did i really leave that out LOL.

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-960 3.20 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366
Motherboard: (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Dolby Audio, eSATA, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, IEEE1394a, 4 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI

Edit: Just noticed there was a thread in the general section in arma 2 for this kind of stuff... Well I will post there I guess, as it is more relevant.

[vilas]

Ive heard for applications like Arma 2 the I5 is the best Preformance/Price ratio (that is in the Intel range at least).

but for people who think about buying PC now (like i do) there is lack of mobos (because of problems with socket 1155 as i remember)
so at the moment there is almost no mobos for i5 1155 or they are veeeery expensive 2 models in each shop
i read somewhere that it will last till April or May when fixed socket mobos will enter market

[SAbre4809]

Did i really leave that out LOL.

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-960 3.20 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366


Really I think wait till Sandy bridge and the 1155 issues are sorted and then get an i5 2500 or i7 2600. Everything I've read has pointed that way, saying that Sandybridge really is a giant leap, and the very high end stuff isn't even here yet.

[BangTail]

SB isn't really a giant leap over the existing high end i7s, it's just comparable performance (AKA last years top end) done cheaper (with a few bells and whistles thrown in) with a higher OC overhead (for most applications, Intel's 6 core CPUs will still beat SB in highly threaded apps).

SB-E will likely be the real game changer but we won't see that until September at the earliest.

[SAbre4809]

i5 2500 kills the 960 in almost all bechmarks I've seen, clocks higher without turboboost, with turboboost the gap is even larger and drills it for dead in gaming performance.



For gaming and many many other applications, more than 4 threads is pointless. So really getting the 6 core 9xx i7s unless you specifically need what they offer is throwing money away, since 2500/2600 are so much cheaper.

[BangTail]

Kills/drills it? Not so much when they are similarly clocked. Again, yesterday's performance at a great price.

The current SB is "mid-range". SB-E will be the real performance evolution (I hope).

I never said buying a 970/980 was a good idea at this point (it isn't unless you require maximum performance in threaded apps), simply that the 2600K is not much faster than a similarly clocked i7 (but the SBs are much stronger overclockers).

[PuFu]

the i5/i7 on SB are great yeah, but are not game changers by any means. I doubt the SB-E will be either, but that is left to be seen.
With no real competitor on the markert atm, Intel has not reason to push the boundaries at all.
Since the information about the AMD bulldozer is scarce (i haven't seen any covers/preview from CEBIT about it for one), i can't judge it. There are several decisions about core architecture that might or not work on the long run.

Buy the 6core 970 *which i also own* if you use your PC for a wider ranger of professional applications that can take advantage of the multi-core and the hyper-threading (rendering, animation, etc etc), and you just can't wait till Q4 2011 for new intel processors, or may for the new AMDs

[BangTail]

the i5/i7 on SB are great yeah, but are not game changers by any means. I doubt the SB-E will be either, but that is left to be seen.
With no real competitor on the markert atm, Intel has not reason to push the boundaries at all.
Since the information about the AMD bulldozer is scarce (i haven't seen any covers/preview from CEBIT about it for one), i can't judge it. There are several decisions about core architecture that might or not work on the long run.

Buy the 6core 970 *which i also own* if you use your PC for a wider ranger of professional applications that can take advantage of the multi-core and the hyper-threading (rendering, animation, etc etc), and you just can't wait till Q4 2011 for new intel processors, or may for the new AMDs

What a lot of people don't understand (and I'm not talking about anyone specifically) is that as far as gaming goes, we already have way more power than most games demand (ArmA 2 being one of the few exceptions, at least CPU wise).

I don't see SB-E being more than 40% faster than the current EE line but there will be an 8 core variant which is great for those of us who use applications that can take advantage of the extra threads. On the gaming the front, you can get a great rig for ~$1400.00 or less these days.

[Luxurious]

Just purchased this game after playing the demo and have a few questions for the Arma II gurus out there.

Current setup so you don't have to go profile fishing:
Q6600 @<hidden>
sli 570gtx's 1.3GB memory variant
GA-EP45-UD3P rev1.3 (NOT an SLi board but running the "SLi fix"<--------very unsure of this as updating my video drivers forces me to update the SLi fix and I've had crashes and other issues so I really would like to eliminate it from the equation by getting a new SLi certified motherboard. I realize that Windows 7 doesn't care whether the board is SLi or Crossfire "supposedly" (from what I've read it just looks for a certificate or something) but you never know if there are other issues caused by something like this) and it is a seperate "boot" option so I have no idea what the SLi Fix has actually done.

I'm considering upgrading to a Sandy Bridge 2600k and overclocking it on water and I'm curious for any input from users who:

1) run this game - Arma II or Arma II Operation Arrowhead
2) have or have upgraded from Q6600 or other quad cores to 2600k and have seen a gain or are currently running a 2600k
3) are also running SLi of some variant, dual 4 or 5 series cards, and surround configuration

I realize at 5916x1200 or other high surround resolutions, the video card memory comes in to play a lot particularly with AA though I have that disabled in-game.

My in-game settings are set using the bezel corrected 5916x1200 and are as follows:

Visibility - 3600
Quality pref - Very high
Interface resolution - 5916x1200
3D Resolution - 5916x1200
Texture detail - Very high
Video memory - Very high
AF - High
AA - Disabled
Terrain detail - Very high
Objects detail - Very high
Shadow detail - High
HDR - 8bit Low
Post processing - Disabled
Interface size - Very small
Aspect ratio - Custom
Vertical sync - On

Vertical sync in-game on or off does not seem to affect the frame rate aside from the 60fps cap it imposes.

Tree infested areas with buildings/fences/livestock/troops I'm getting in the low to mid 30's (fine), dips in the 20's occasionally (awful).

Desert areas with buildings/fences/livestock/troops the fps are from 40-60.

The SLi meter... anyone know how to decipher the behavior of this thing? Its usually about half the screen height from the center out and very rarely goes nearly all the way to the top and bottom of the screen like its not doing anything accept occasionally.

Task manager when running the game shows 1 core @<hidden>% utilization and the other 3 cores @<hidden> 70-80% utilization.


Sorry, don't mean to be long winded. I realize Surround resolutions are generally VRAM and video card bottlenecked and this game is suppose to be CPU limited with higher overclocks helping a great deal from what I hear. Is the CPU bottleneck issue only on single montior setups?

What kind of performance are you guys getting with this game and with what setups/clocks/vram.


-----------------

I also have a question about the HUD ingame. You can set triplehead=1 and that brings all the elements in to the center monitor however the left-most side of the HUD is cutoff behind my bezel . I see in the .profile you can adjust the topLeftHUD, bottom right, etc... but I've had no luck with with changing these.

Moving the Top left to the right pushes the whole HUD to the right and then cuts off the right side and the subsequent change to the bottom right corner to bring it back in pushes the left side back under the bezel. I've only made very small changes to these numbers like .01 increments trying to mess with it but can't make any ground on the issue.

Any ideas with this?

Also, does anyone know how to add comments in the profile? I'd like to comment the default lines out so I still have them and make changes to a copy.

-----------------------

Another question I've come across is about the TrackClip Pro for the TrackIR. How long is the cord? Can't find anywhere with this information even in reviews. Maybe that's because its long and a non-issue but I'd like to know.


Thanks!

[BangTail]

No need for water on 2600K and you will see a considerable performance difference.

I don't use multi monitors myself but I do have some experience with them and you will run into memory limitiations with 1.3 GB of RAM at that res.

Trackclip pro cord is about 4 feet long.

[PuFu]

i got a i7 970 6 core oced @<hidden>, on corsair h70, and the average temp is 20 degrees celsius, and never goes above 40 in full load, even when using for long time rendering purposes

[BangTail]

The H70 is an excellent solution. I am using them myself and I used the H50 beforehand.

[PuFu]

The H70 is an excellent solution. I am using them myself and I used the H50 beforehand.
bangtail, out of curiosity, why the fuck do you need 2 identical PCs (more or less) :rolleyes: Do you work in the bulk industry? :p

[BangTail]

Hahaha, well one is for gaming and one is for editing, music and video (and ArmA 2 server)

I've always kept them separate, if I'm playing Lotro for example, I can work on the other one while waiting for a raid to start or whatever.

The 2nd one is also a server for movies etc for the HTPC and I wouldn't want that on my gaming rig.

It's definitely overkill ;)

[Luxurious]

No need for water on 2600K and you will see a considerable performance difference.

I don't use multi monitors myself but I do have some experience with them and you will run into memory limitiations with 1.3 GB of RAM at that res.

Trackclip pro cord is about 4 feet long.


I already have the water system setup so replacing the board/proc in the current PC is just easier sticking with water on the CPU and who knows, maybe I'll get a decent chip and get 5Ghz with enough cooling to suffice :)

Trackclip pro cord is 4' long? Wow... what were they thinking? Should be at least 10' IMO. If you had (and I don't, mind you) a VR room setup with your computer a ways away from you, who wants the added bulk of an additional USB extension plug mucking things up. That's just a bad design choice.

What is your experience with multi-monitor setups, BangTail? My brother has a 3x gtx470 setup and his frames on core i7 are lower than mine. I realize this can be attributed to 2-way vs. 3-way driver optimization however he has an additional 1GB of VRAM over all so something doesn't add up.

In the interim since my post I did solve the FPS issue in all situations save for one. I started by lowering all settings to Very Low or Disabled with View Distance at 500, etc. Then I raised View Distance up slowly watching the FPS. Got to 10000 and still the frames didn't change at all, locked around 152ish FPS. Then I adjusted settings individually to see which had the largest performance impact. Terrain Detail by far, for my setup, had the largest perf hit with difference from Very Low to Very High being 45 fps. Object detail was a close second with Very Low to Very High dinging in at ~25 fps. This lowered the overall frames to ~65.

All other settings besides Post processing, Anti-Aliasing (set to Disabled) and HDR set to Normal (8-bit) honestly had no effect on lowering FPS. Shadows from Very Low to Very High was only 2-3 FPS difference. None of the other settings had any effect on FPS.

Something I'd missed from the demo was the new addition of the Triple 12:3 aspect ratio in the menu and I wasn't using that before. Now with that set correctly I'm getting 45-60 FPS in all the boot camp missions accept for one.

What's up with the Night Ops boot camp mission? Everything runs at 45-60 FPS but this one. It runs between 15-20fps and its unbearable. You'd think with everything black and dark the cards would have significantly less to render and yet the FPS are unbearable. Game optimization issue? Driver issue? SLi issue? (running 266.58) though the previous drivers for the 570 had the exact same issue. Not sure what's going on here, have you guys got any ideal?

Also, I think I'm going to hold off on the Sandy Bridge upgrade because of the SB-E release later in the year. I'll just save up more till then and maybe the hex-core SB with be reasonably enough priced to go that route. Really like to go from quad core to something more substantial seeing as this game obviously uses all cores on the current platform (utlization around 80% on all cores).

[RedDragon]

Also, I think I'm going to hold off on the Sandy Bridge upgrade because of the SB-E release later in the year. I'll just save up more till then and maybe the hex-core SB with be reasonably enough priced to go that route. Really like to go from quad core to something more substantial seeing as this game obviously uses all cores on the current platform (utlization around 80% on all cores).

In your situation I would advise waiting for AMD's K11 Architecture nicknamed "Bulldozer". LGA 1155 is an interim solution until we witness the LGA 2011 Platform presumably with the X79 Chipset and that will not occur till Q3/Q4.



The H70 is an excellent solution. I am using them myself and I used the H50 beforehand.
The H70 is merely a Push-Pull configuration of the H50. You can achieve the same/similar results if you implement a Push-Pull configuration on the H50. There was absolutely no need to upgrade to a H70.




The 2nd one is also a server for movies etc for the HTPC and I wouldn't want that on my gaming rig.

It's definitely overkill ;)

It definitely is in the most utmost of sense "Overkill". However it could easily serve as a Backup Personal Computer which is why in some cases "Overkill" can be useful.

[BangTail]

Trackclip pro cord is 4' long? Wow... what were they thinking? Should be at least 10' IMO. If you had (and I don't, mind you) a VR room setup with your computer a ways away from you, who wants the added bulk of an additional USB extension plug mucking things up. That's just a bad design choice.

Yah, it constantly falls off my Monitor as it is stretched. It really should have been longer.

What is your experience with multi-monitor setups, BangTail? My brother has a 3x gtx470 setup and his frames on core i7 are lower than mine. I realize this can be attributed to 2-way vs. 3-way driver optimization however he has an additional 1GB of VRAM over all so something doesn't add up.

I had 3 monitors but didn't like them so I switched back to one. I found it to be more trouble than it was worth (not unlike 3D). Some games don't like it and I find the bevels extremely annoying. The FPS hit at 3 monitor resolutions was too high for my liking. I won't go over 2560 at this point without a lot more CPU/GPU power.

In the interim since my post I did solve the FPS issue in all situations save for one. I started by lowering all settings to Very Low or Disabled with View Distance at 500, etc. Then I raised View Distance up slowly watching the FPS. Got to 10000 and still the frames didn't change at all, locked around 152ish FPS. Then I adjusted settings individually to see which had the largest performance impact. Terrain Detail by far, for my setup, had the largest perf hit with difference from Very Low to Very High being 45 fps. Object detail was a close second with Very Low to Very High dinging in at ~25 fps. This lowered the overall frames to ~65.

The problem is that a lot of these settings only have a significant effect under certain conditions. VD can drop your FPS like a bag of dirt depending on what's going on within the scenario. It's finding the 'happy' medium which can take a little while with ArmA 2 and involves a fair bit of testing.

All other settings besides Post processing, Anti-Aliasing (set to Disabled) and HDR set to Normal (8-bit) honestly had no effect on lowering FPS. Shadows from Very Low to Very High was only 2-3 FPS difference. None of the other settings had any effect on FPS.

Shadows should always be set on high or Vhigh as this causes the GPU to render them as opposed to the CPU (at lower settings). I always have post off, it makes the game look like 'Fable'.

What's up with the Night Ops boot camp mission? Everything runs at 45-60 FPS but this one. It runs between 15-20fps and its unbearable. You'd think with everything black and dark the cards would have significantly less to render and yet the FPS are unbearable. Game optimization issue? Driver issue? SLi issue? (running 266.58) though the previous drivers for the 570 had the exact same issue. Not sure what's going on here, have you guys got any ideal?

I doubt it's an SLI issue. SLI works remarkably well in ArmA 2. More likely it's some error in the mission but I'll have to take a look at it as I am not familiar.

Also, I think I'm going to hold off on the Sandy Bridge upgrade because of the SB-E release later in the year. I'll just save up more till then and maybe the hex-core SB with be reasonably enough priced to go that route. Really like to go from quad core to something more substantial seeing as this game obviously uses all cores on the current platform (utlization around 80% on all cores).

Same, I'm only interested in SB-E. The SB line were nice but they were essentially last years i7s at a better price point. I probably won't even look at Bulldozer unless it is some kind of epiphany (which I doubt it will be when compared to SB-E).


Cheers,

/10chars

[RedDragon]

Same, I'm only interested in SB-E. The SB line were nice but they were essentially last years i7s at a better price point. I probably won't even look at Bulldozer unless it is some kind of epiphany (which I doubt it will be when compared to SB-E).

I would say that the current Sandy Bridge LGA1155 setup is the equivalent of what the the LGA1156 was to LGA1366 and LGA775. However Ironically both LGA1155 and LGA1156 suffered through several incidents not the least of which is the Sandy Bridge recall which cost $1 Billion + USD.

On to the subject of the Bulldozer. The release date for Bulldozer is on June 12th. We are privy to certain leached benchmarks and a minimum trickle/limited trickle of information. However from what I have seen I would say that LGA2011 has a worthwhile competitor if that data proves valid.

On a different note it also appears that the LGA 1356 socket's development/deployment was superseded in favor of LGA 2011. If this is correct then LGA 2011 will phase out LGA 1366 in favor of LGA 2011 and not LGA 1356 as we had originally supposed. This apparently seems to be confirmed by the Leaked Intel Desktop Roadmap for X79.

[4 IN 1]

I am using a GTX 260+ now and it starts to show age, I am now looking for a replacement, what will be the current gen equivalent for this card?

[PuFu]

I am using a GTX 260+ now and it starts to show age, I am now looking for a replacement, what will be the current gen equivalent for this card?

nVidia GTX 560 TI
AMD 6850 HD

[Ben_S]

nVidia GTX 560 TI
AMD 6850 HD

For the 560, the question should've been "what will burn the biggest hole in my wallet" :rolleyes:

How does the 560 performance compare to 460? Does anyone have any stats or anything?

( I know I could go google, but I was already in this reply box. :p )

[4 IN 1]

another problem, my PC are now having random shuttering, the PC will have a 1 to 2 smooth run followed by a shutter, and may sometime resulted in BSOD, since i enabled auto restart after system fail(which is now disabled) I still cant get to see whats going on
what will be the major reason for this to happen?

[PuFu]

another problem, my PC are now having random shuttering, the PC will have a 1 to 2 smooth run followed by a shutter, and may sometime resulted in BSOD, since i enabled auto restart after system fail(which is now disabled) I still cant get to see whats going on
what will be the major reason for this to happen?

1. failing GFX drivers (card overheat for instance can lock up card)
2. overheating CPU (hence the stuttering)
3. failing HDD..

[4 IN 1]

so this means:
update GFX driver
change GFX card
change CPU cooling system
and change HDD?


Time to spend some money:yay::yay::yay:

[PuFu]

so this means:
update GFX driver
change GFX card
change CPU cooling system
and change HDD?


Time to spend some money:yay::yay::yay:

no, it means that you should check it before changing it/those...:) like what are the temps (stress test) for both gpu and cpu...do you have bad clusters? do you just need a defrag and so forth

[4 IN 1]

speaking of stress test, what softward should I use?

[BangTail]

For CPU, Intel burn test (IBT), Prime, or Everest CPU test.

For GPU stress, OCCT, for video driver stability, Vantage or 3DMark 11 (Call of Pripyat Benchmark is another good one).

[RedDragon]

For GPU stress, OCCT, for video driver stability, Vantage or 3DMark 11 (Call of Pripyat Benchmark is another good one).

In addition the older 3DMark 06 is applicable. FurMark is also a valid alternative.

[froggyluv]

Hi, I just replaced my trusty old Samsung 19'' with a newer Samsung 23" -wow what a difference :) Should have done this a long time ago.

Question: HDMI vs DVI for picture performance. I did a little research before buying and generally what I found is that video-wise, they are the same with the only difference being that HDMI provides audio as well.

I dont really understand this? Audio to what? My monitor? Also is this true as all of the salesmen at the store said that HDMI would provide better, faster video especially for fast games.

The monitor I got has both apparently but didnt come with an HDMI cable -should I get one or is it all hype and stick with my DVI default setup?

[MadDogX]

You'll be fine sticking with DVI. No difference.

Btw. HDMI audio is needed for things like hooking up an HD capable reciever to a TV.

[froggyluv]

Thanks - I picked one up last nite and they are obscenely expensive $30.00-$200.00 -for a cable...:j:

It actually worked worse for some reason and I lost all options to go above 1280x720. Taking it back.

[echo1]

HDMI == Single Link DVI with audio. No quality difference.

Single link DVI (and by extension HDMI) only supports up to 1920x1200, for anything above that, you need dual link DVI or Displayport. Dual link DVI is standard on any graphics card made over the past few years AFAIK.

[froggyluv]

My monitor max's at 1920X1080 so looks like Im fine with the single -but good to know nevertheless :)

Another question: Although my current machine has served me well and even plays Arma2 well I'm currently future proofing (oxymoron I know) my system since I have a little extra cash around that my wife cant track:

Current system: E8500 stock -doesnt like to OC with ARma2 at least
Asus P5-Q Mobo
4 Gigs ddr2 (had 8 but 4 went bad or slots went bad)
nvidia 460 gtx 1gb (2 months old)


...so, I currently did some research on cpus and decided to buy

I5 2500K (unlocked version)
Asus Sabretooth Mobo (goofy armor but got good deal on it)
8 gigs Corsair Vengeance DDR3


and was wondering about SLI. I really know very little about it and am wondering if it is worth it to get another 460 GTX or is it a major hassle and little payoff to run 2 video cards?

[colossus]

I've just moved from Windows XP to Windows 7, but it seems the font sizes has been drasticly reduced on some parts, which is why I can't just change the DPI. Most problematic is BI Forums so far.
To be more specific, it's mostly anything that isn't the post messages (I think..).

So what and where do I need to change this font to get it more like Win XP?

[Tonci87]

Guys I have a serious Problem, My two DVD Drives don´t get recognized by my PC since the todays Windows Update
I use Win 7 x64 professional by the way.
I already tried looking in the regedit for lower and upper filters or something like this, but there are no entries with upper or lower. What else can I do?

EDIT: They are not even listed in the BIOS

[SteveJA360]

Hav ya tryed turrning it off ann on again? /(irish accent)






Haha sorry could't resist :)

[MadDogX]

Open the case, unplug both DVD drives, start the computer, shut it down again, plug the DVD drives back in.

That's the first thing I would try.

Btw. are they SATA or IDE?

[Tonci87]

Problem solved. While you posted some really good suggestions, I did what MaddogX said. Surprisingly it worked...

EDIT. Problem not solved, they disapeared again....WTF?

EDIT: Repeated same as before, they are back. Seriously WTF?

[Tisman]

Hello everyone.

For quite a bit of time now, my computers performance seems pretty slow compared to what it should be. I have long suspected the gpu to be the culprit, but the other day i ran a benchmark with the free version of 3d mark vantage and the cpu result seemed a tad low.

I ran it several times and the cpu score always averages beetween 17 000 and 18 000, while other people with silimar configs (HD5870 and I7 930) all get a cpu score of above 20 000. At first i thought that it was because they overclocked their cpus, but when i look in the details of their benchmarks, while indeed some are overclocked for the majority it says that their processor' s frequency is 2800mhz, the stock frequency.

So my question is: Is the 3d mark vantage benchmark detail spewing bullshit and are the comps with cpu scores of above 20 000 overclocked even though the benchmark detail indicates the default clocks, or is the benchmark detail indicating the right clocks and then how come my cpu score is so low?

My config is Cpu I7 930, MB Asus p6t deluxe v2, GPU HIS Radeon HD5870, 6gb Corsair ddr3 1600 and alim Corsair tx850.

Thanks in advance for any help that you guys could give me.

Edit: Here are the details of 2 of the benchmarks that i ran:

With speedstep http://3dmark.com/3dmv/3079166 activated and without speedstep: http://3dmark.com/3dmv/3080686?key=JCJd8MZ9zZF6rE5wyeQ62UfpqNNmhQ

[Tonci87]

OK guys, I have another big Problem. My PC doesnt Boot anymore.
What happens:
I turn it on, the fans and the drives are starting to work.
No Boot Screen, no Beep sounds, nothing

What I tried so far:
unplugging all DVD Drives and everything else that isn't required to start the PC
unplugging the HD
Taking out the Ram sticks, trying every Ramstick in every Slot
unplugging the GPU
Cmos Reset

Nothing helped. If I only could get to the boot screen....
Any Ideas?

[larsiano]

@<hidden> Tisman: Me and alot of other peeps also have the same missing points after a mark has been preformced, besides this score the system functions perfectly so this fact does not represent the speed of your system as good as you would like.
The i7 930 should be great for Arma2 sinds its still one of the fastest CPU's available. What are your results in Arma2 & OA any stutter etc? How is the cooling and temps of your system? Did you try another driver for your GPU? Have you preformed a BIOS update (http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=P6T+Deluxe+V2&p=1&s=29)and Intel INF / Chipset driver update (http://www.battlegroup-xtra.eu/index.php/Soft-Hardware/nvidia-forceware-27527-beta.html)? There has also been a new MS DirectX driver (http://www.battlegroup-xtra.eu/index.php/Soft-Hardware/directx-april-2011.html)update in april tht you could try


@<hidden>: Try another GPU or a motherboard i'm afraid this problem demands some nasty tests. CPU's don't fry that easy so biggest chance is that eighter the mobo or GPU is busted and or the PSU has gone for good.

[Tonci87]

Well the GPU and the PSU are a few months old. I tried unpluging the GPU, the damn thing should at least boot and make some beep sounds if it is GPU related. If it would be the PSU (a high quality one!) then the damn thing wouldn't run at all, or would at least run when I unplug everything else that consumes power. (Note CPU fan, GPU fan and Drives are working.) Am I missing something?
I really start to think that it might be the mobo....

[MadDogX]

I really start to think that it might be the mobo....
Yeah, the mobo would at least be doing some kind of beeping. Normally there are different sequences of beeps if there is an error in any of the other hardware.

I see you've already tried a CMOS reset, which is what I would have suggested next.

Looks to me like your mobo may have bitten the dust.

[Steevn606]

Well it comes in tomorrow, I can't wait! I want to play Arma again! I have not played it for over a year! But you guys have any tips on making my computer live longer? What do you do with your pcs?
Do you leave it on?

And one more thing the power supply is an extremegear brand and I know they suck but, after a year I will change it to a cosair brand.

https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Xtreme_XT/

P.s everything is the same but I changed the psu too and 800 one.

[])rStrangelove]

Keep them cool & dust free. And tap them once a day and say 'you did good honey'. Uhm, although rather dont if your GF is around, she might hear it and get the wrong idea.

[Beagle]

Shut your PC off as often as possible, keep it cool and dont run it on hot days...keept it dry, dust it off with compressed air once a month and DO NOT OVERCLOCK.

Thast way it can last 10 Years...albeit you won't be able to run anything modern on it in 10 years.

my current PC is from 2006, I just had to upgrade CPU and GPU two times since to keep up.

PS: keep girlsfriends and Wifes away from PC...mine once typed "format c:" after having found porn on it. At night they creep up onto your PC and start researching what you do with it and whom you send e-mail.

[Celery]

dust it off with compressed air once a month

Lol. I just vaccuum it. :p

[weedkiller]

Same here, keep eye in pound shops for pc vacum kit, well handy, I would stay away from compressed air as they expensive just to push dust where you cant get to it lol,just remove cpu fan not heatsink and remove any dust, easier to remove gcard to remove dust too, just earth yourself by keeping ur pc plugged into the socket but socket off to save accidently turning it on and touch a metal part of case or psu and that will remove any static in you

[No Use For A Name]

Well the GPU and the PSU are a few months old. I tried unpluging the GPU, the damn thing should at least boot and make some beep sounds if it is GPU related. If it would be the PSU (a high quality one!) then the damn thing wouldn't run at all, or would at least run when I unplug everything else that consumes power. (Note CPU fan, GPU fan and Drives are working.) Am I missing something?
I really start to think that it might be the mobo....

A CPU/mobo problem will keep it from even turning on as to not fry it. I had an old C2D system that I gave to a friend, and while I was stripping it apart cleaning everything I accidentally bent a pin on the board and didn't notice (C2Ds don't have traditional pins; but very small bent metal contacts in the socket). When we fired it up only the fans would turn with no error beeps. I found the bent pin and somehow fixed it and it works flawlessly now.

---------- Post added at 03:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------


Shut your PC off as often as possible, keep it cool and dont run it on hot days...keept it dry, dust it off with compressed air once a month and DO NOT OVERCLOCK.

Thast way it can last 10 Years...albeit you won't be able to run anything modern on it in 10 years.

my current PC is from 2006, I just had to upgrade CPU and GPU two times since to keep up.

PS: keep girlsfriends and Wifes away from PC...mine once typed "format c:" after having found porn on it. At night they creep up onto your PC and start researching what you do with it and whom you send e-mail.

I have actually found quite the opposite. I used to turn off my systems all the time when not in use. That was also when I had the most problems with HDD's, fans, PSU's, and mobo's. Constantly turning on/off your system is just putting more stress on everything when it powers up. I usually keep my system on 24/7 unless I'm leaving for an extended time, lightning storms, or need to clean it.

Yes, it will tend to keep dust out; but dust is inevitable. I bought a $50 Dirt Devil hand-held vacuum that can also blow air and it works wonders; no need to keep buying over-priced compressed air. My previous system lasted 5+ years being on ~75%+ of the time (and now my roommate has been using it).

[Infam0us]

Lol. I just vaccuum it. :p

Pr0's use dustfilters :cool:

YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[CameronMcDonald]

Pr0's use dustfilters :cool:

YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Pr0s us3 w@<hidden> :p

SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

[Infam0us]

Pr0s us3 w@<hidden> :p

SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Touche :p

[cri74]

I've just put in a order for a new machine.. cant wait to get this home :)

Asus P8Z68-V PRO
Intel i7 2600 Quad
Kingston Value 1333Hz - 8 GB
Corsair SSD Force 3 - 120GB
Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB Sata3
Noctua NH - D14 CPU cooler
Corsair Obisdian 650 D
Corsair AX 1200W (In case i buy 1 more graphics card)
Asus GeForce GTX 580 (Direct CU II)


About the Z68 chipset. I bought that because of the new feature whitch allows to use a SSD as cache for the HDD. In practical use this will cache the most used games/program/files on the HDD and make them as fast as if they where on a SSD. Does anyone know if it requires a "special" SSD or will any SSD do the job ?

[NeMeSiS]

I have an HD4870 512mb and recently got another old one from my brother which was 'broken', turns out the fan was just messed up and i just replaced it with another one i had lying around(Glue, a knife, some screws and violence). My motherbord supports Crossfire. The cards are both from XFX but his seems to be a slightly updated model with a different heatsink however the specs seem to be the same(Frequency, VRAM). Would this give any problems if i try to use them in crossfire?

Also, any problems trying to use crossfire in win7 64bit with ArmA2?

[PuFu]

I have an HD4870 512mb and recently got another old one from my brother which was 'broken', turns out the fan was just messed up and i just replaced it with another one i had lying around(Glue, a knife, some screws and violence). My motherbord supports Crossfire. The cards are both from XFX but his seems to be a slightly updated model with a different heatsink however the specs seem to be the same(Frequency, VRAM). Would this give any problems if i try to use them in crossfire?

Also, any problems trying to use crossfire in win7 64bit with ArmA2?

I know a lot more about SLI than crossfire, but it should be the same. As long as the GPU is the same, manufacturer doesn't count. You can SLI an Asus 560 with an Gygabyte 560, as long as those are the same category (both 560, and not one 560 and one 560TI).

EDIT: seems AMD crossfire is ever more allowing. from WIKI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_CrossFire#Comparisons_to_Nvidia_SLI)

CrossFire can be implemented with varying-GPU cards of the same generation (this is in contrast to Nvidia's SLI, which generally only works if all cards have the same GPU). This allows buyers who have varying budgets over time to purchase different cards and still get the benefits of increased performance. With the latest generation cards, they will only crossfire with other cards in their sub series. For example, GPU in the same series can be crossfired with each other. So a 5800 series GPU (e.g. a 5830) can run together with another 5800 series GPU (e.g. 5870). However GPU's not in the same hundred series cannot be crossfired successfully. (e.g. a 5770 cannot run with a 5870)

Conclusion: yes it is more than possible.
win7 64bit has no issues with crossfire. A2, i heard there are some, but can't put my finger on it. You can definitely give it a try though

[NeMeSiS]

Thanks, i will try it as soon as i get home.

[SW1]

I've just put in a order for a new machine.. cant wait to get this home :)

Asus P8Z68-V PRO
Intel i7 2600 Quad
Kingston Value 1333Hz - 8 GB
Corsair SSD Force 3 - 120GB
Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB Sata3
Noctua NH - D14 CPU cooler
Corsair Obisdian 650 D
Corsair AX 1200W (In case i buy 1 more graphics card)
Asus GeForce GTX 580 (Direct CU II)


About the Z68 chipset. I bought that because of the new feature whitch allows to use a SSD as cache for the HDD. In practical use this will cache the most used games/program/files on the HDD and make them as fast as if they where on a SSD. Does anyone know if it requires a "special" SSD or will any SSD do the job ?

That is a sweet rig :D

About the SSD caching (Intel Smart Response), I'm pretty sure you can use any SSD you choose- also you don't have to use the whole SSD- for example you could allocate 20GB of that Corsair 120GB for caching, and keep the other 100GB for storage.

To set up Smart Response you have to set the HDD and the SSD you're using for the cache as RAID devices, then download and install IRST, then once the system has restarted you can choose the acceleration option in the main screen of the Rapid Storage program.
Hope that helps :)
BTW smart response takes a good few runs to reach maximum performance as the cache is built over time, when you first use it the perforamance will probably not be noticably faster than a standard HDD.


PS: keep girlsfriends and Wifes away from PC...mine once typed "format c:" after having found porn on it. At night they creep up onto your PC and start researching what you do with it and whom you send e-mail. Your GF knows how to use CMD?!?! :omg: I don't think mine even knows how to turn my PC on ;)

[Tyvern_Sniper-Elite]

Hi guys!

I'm a new player looking for tips on what model of computer, what the brand is, and what parts should be in it so that I can run it as smoothly as possible. I can't have it be a $2,000 computer because that would be going over my budget. I already have OA and ArmA II bought. The computer is for my birthday.

Could any of you guys help me please?

[Birdy890]

What's the Budget for it?

I'll link you to Tomshardware's Budget and intermediate builds.


http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-gaming-pc-phenom-ii-radeon-hd-6850,2903.html

I have a system I got for a decent amount of money, It's got the HD 6850, and the i5-750

Old, yes, But runs Arma2 perfectly.

I'd suggest going with an equivalent Nvidia card though, as they come with Physx, and to my understanding, that's what'll be in Arma3.

[Tyvern_Sniper-Elite]

it like $1200-$1420

[Birdy890]

and where will you be buying from? Newegg? or a local computer store?

you could even go to something like Ibuypower ot cyberpower and build a system for yourself there, then they ship it in.

would recommend building yourself though, if you have the know-how.

and if you're going for the 1000$ bracket, here's another recommendation from Tomshardware.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6950-unlock-build-a-pc-overclock,2893.html

Again, go with an Nvidia if Physx is your fancy.

[Tyvern_Sniper-Elite]

I don't know where the computer will be bought....yet!

[Tyvern_Sniper-Elite]

Will a Dell Inspiron 570 play ArmA?

**Windows 7

6GB DDR3 SDRAM- 4DIMMS_memory

1TB serial ATA hard Drive (7200RPM) with Databirst cache_Hard drive

Intergrated ATI Radeon HD4200_Video Card

16x DVD+/-RW Opical Drive

Integrated 7.1 channel audio

***$635.97***

That's what my mom told me I have to work with..........Dell

[PuFu]

Intel I5 2500K + proper 3rd party CPU cooler
8GB RAM 1600Mhz Corsair Vengence (2x4GB)
Nvidia Gtx 560 TI 2GB - Gainward
1TB Caviar Black sata3 - 6gb 64mb buffer
DVD Optical Drive
NZXT Case
750W Corsair PSU
24' LED Monitor 1920x1080
Total - 1350$

used IBuyPower just for reference

[Tyvern_Sniper-Elite]

okay thanks!

[SW1]

Will a Dell Inspiron 570 play ArmA?

**Windows 7

6GB DDR3 SDRAM- 4DIMMS_memory

1TB serial ATA hard Drive (7200RPM) with Databirst cache_Hard drive

Intergrated ATI Radeon HD4200_Video Card

16x DVD+/-RW Opical Drive

Integrated 7.1 channel audio

***$635.97***

That's what my mom told me I have to work with..........Dell

Sorry but the integrated graphics wouldn't stand a chance :D

I agree with PuFu the i5 2500k is the CPU to go with, it's a brilliant overclocker...
That said I would only bother with 4GB of RAM, and although the GTX 560Ti is a great card I'd be tempted to get the GTX 570 for the extra FPS, if that fits your budget ofcourse :)

[Heatseeker]

I have a doubt about SLI and X-fire setups. If you plug 2 cards with say.. 1024 GB of video ram each will they eat 2048 GB out of VAS? Im inclined to believe so but im not sure.. :confused: .

[Tonci87]

So, I have a new PC now with 8GB RAM. Would Arma run better if I create a RAM Disk? If yes, how can I do it?

[])rStrangelove]

Dummies guide to RAMDISKs: http://forums.bistudio.com/showpost.php?p=1464956&postcount=100


:D no offense mate



edit: kju's link to german tut - http://www.tomshardware.de/foren/240612-26-vista-nutzen-disk

[Tonci87]

Thanks for the Links, but will Arma really benefit from this? Will I have a smoother game?
(System: I7 2660k/Sapphire Toxic HD5850/8GB Corsair Vengeance RAM)

[Derbysieger]

If you don't have a SSD definitely give it a try. Arma will play way smoother.

[Tonci87]

Ok, i´ll try

[weedkiller]

To be fair I cant see you having issues running arma on that spec anyway, ive seen lower end systems play super smooth without ssd or ramdrive, from a plain n simple ide 7200 rpm seagate, if you are getting hardware lagging then id say you have other issues in the system.

[Derbysieger]

Sure you can play arma 'smooth' with a normal HDD. But with a SSD or a ramdisk it's smoother. You can have a higher VD without texture problems for example. In my experience 25fps on a SSD plays smoother than 30fps on a HDD. I had my arma 2 installed on a normal 7200rpm HDD and I have seen Arma 2 on other computers that don't have a SSD or a ramdisk. There definitely is a difference.

[hagar]

How does this look for ArmA 3? I saw they released the system requirements for ArmA 3 already, and I thought requiring a I5 Quad Core was a little crazy, although since they are aiming to be done this game next summer it may not be. I'm sure we'll get into Octacores by then. Now I know this meets system requirements in some areas, and is over in most, but do you think it's over enough to run the game well? I would prefer to run the game at medium graphics or better with at least 40-50 FPS. I know at this point, unless a dev answers, it's all speculation, but I'm curious what others think.
Antec Thee Hundred Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_re=antec_three_hundred-_-11-129-066-_-Product)
Asus M5A99X Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754&Tpk=m5a99x)
1TB 6Gb/S Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533)
AMD Phenom II CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727)
750W Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026)
8Gb of Ram (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345)
AMD Radeon 6770 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540)
Fan (http://store.antec.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductPath=kuhler-h2o-620/0-761345-77085-9)

[larsiano]

Arma3 has its own forum section, maybe you can better ask there ;)

[Derbysieger]

If you don't need a new PC now, wait until we know more about arma 3.
One thing though: a 750W PSU is way too much for this kind of system. 500-600W is enough. My overclocked rig hardly consumes 390W while running benchmarks (~310W while playing arma 2).

[Tonci87]

@<hidden> I think you should wait with the purchase until you have more cash to get a better CPU. I bought myself a i7 2600k just a few weeks ago (old mobo died) and I think it will be good enough for Arma 3

[MadDogX]

@<hidden> I think you should wait with the purchase until you have more cash to get a better CPU. I bought myself a i7 2600k just a few weeks ago (old mobo died) and I think it will be good enough for Arma 3
Looks like you and I suffered the same fate and had the same reaction. :D

May I ask what board you have and what clock speed you're running the CPU at? Also, which CPU fan you're using.

[Tonci87]

I bought myself the
ASUS P8P67 Pro Rev 3.1 (excellent for overclocking and I love the EFI Bios)
and a Cythe Mugen 2 Rev B CPU Fan (30-35°C in Idle, up to 45°C when playing something, totally noiseless. I had to lower the value for minimum CPU Fan RPM in the BIOS to not get a CPU_FAn Alert when I turn the PC on. The minimum RPM is now 400)
I didn´t overclock the core yet, there is just no need for it (yet).
CPU clocks go from 1600Mhz in idle mode up to 3800 Mhz if its really needed.
With the nice new Mainboard I just need to flip a switch to get the CPU on stable 4500 Mhz or more
That should be more than enough for Arma 3

[aLlamaWithARifle]

Looking to upgrade my RAM... I have an Abit Ip35 motherboard which says "4 X 240-pin DIMM sockets support max. memory capacity 8GB. Supports Dual channel DDR2 800/667 un-buffered Non-ECC memory" under the memory section. So I take it the following RAM selections will all work fine in this mobo?

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Product/17793/Kingston-memory-4GB-Kit--2x2GB--HyperX-800MHz
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR2/800MHz/4GB+Corsair+Memory+%282x2GB%29+XMS2+DDR2+PC2-6400+%28800%29+Dual+Channel+Desktop+?productId=36960
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR2/800MHz/4GB+Mushkin+Silverline+%23996760+%282x2GB%29+DDR2+800MHz+5-5-5-18+?productId=42036

Which of them three would be the best choice?

I've also gotten Windows XP 32 bit still which if I remember correctly only supports up to 3gb of RAM? If I get 4gb (2 sticks of 2gb) will it be able to use the 2 sticks correctly or will I get some crashes or what ever? I intend to upgrade to windows 7 fairly soon so soon I'll have support for the full 4GB but until then I want it to work perfectly on XP

And finally is installing new RAM as simple as just sticking it in or do I need to worry about drivers or my computer getting confused since it's different to the old RAM?

[BF2_Trooper]

Gonna start getting parts for a new computer soon, but I want to get a new UPS battery backup first. I don't want to spend too much on power backup, but what is the minimum voltage/watts do you think I need to backup a PC with a 750 watt PSU? I plan on getting an i7 Core 3.2 ghz cpu, 12GB of system RAM and either a 480 or a 580 GTX video card.
I don't plan on installing more than one video card btw, if that matters.

[kavoven]

Did MS change anything with their audio output-whatever-capabilities from Vista to 7?

I just updated and the sound is cruel! Its like someone switched the all the HZ>20.000 channels to maximum ...

(Realtek-Anything Onboard - I really liked my Vista sound)

Edit - Screw that. I don't know what I did but its back to normal now... must have changed a critical setting.

[namman2]

i dont know if this is the right place to ask , but my hdd had crashed :( , i lost all the projects to arma :( , is there a way i can fix it?
the problem is windows will take hell alot of time just to recognize the partitions and after it does i have to format them to be able to open them , ofcourse i didn't do that , i did chkdsk and it could read all the files there but yet nothing happened :(
is there a chance to save the files ? :(

[weedkiller]

guess you can only try and plug it in with a usb adapter into another pc and hope n prey, lots of the time once a drive is dead it is dead, always back your shit up on another drive

[Qbert]

With the release of Arma 3 in the near future, and the already taxing Arma 2/OA, I've been preparing to revamp my whole computer, each part at a time. My hardware is as follows:

AMD athlon II x2 250 3.0GHz OC'd to 3.4
ATI Radeon HD 5670
4GB RAM DDR2 running at 1200
500GB hard drive(not upgrading)
500w Power supply

My plan right now is to get a Phenom II x4 840 as a replacement for my dual core. There's two things that have me stumped right now though, first thing is that I have no idea how my power supply will react to this, it's a medium quality psu as far as I know. Second thing is that I'm not sure how much of a performance gain I'll get from having a quad core. I know the ArmA series has been very CPU intensive and all, but I really don't know what effect it'll have on my framerate. Are we talking a 5 frame boost, or a 30 frame boost?

Secondly, I have plans in the next 5 months to get a replacement gpu. This raises a few more questions. Assuming I go for something along the lines of a 5870 up to a 6850, from the HD radeon series, will I also need a new psu to go with it? I've been using passively powered cards in this computer almost exclusively. How much power would this thing be sucking up if I went for my dream hardware? (quad core cpu I mentioned and a nice graphics card) :confused:

Thanks in advance!

:yay:

[woore]

I don't think you need to upgrade your PSU. 100 W to Phenom II x4 840 and 250 W to ATI Radeon HD 6850 + 12 W for HDD and @<hidden> W for other components. 397 W total energy consumption, so 500 W is fully enough to power up your system. It's not my oven with i7 860/GTX 470/2 HDD massive, which requires 600W )))

[ArmAddict]

Hey all,
I'm looking to upgrade my PC (Which is very low end right now, can barely run ArmA II, or any other game for that matter, on normal settings). I plan on building an entire new PC. I've picked out all the parts, now I would just like some feedback. Also note that I'm not looking to spend much more than I already am (About $725 with shipping) on the parts I've chosen.

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-103-851&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519
DVD Drive: ASUS 24x DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
HDD: Western Digital 500GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795
Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102925
PSU: Rosewill RD450-2-DB 450w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182022
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB DDR3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311)
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106


I have also read over the feedback for these items and everyone seems to like them. Let me know what you think. Also note this is my first build, so please excuse any stupid mistakes that I may have made.

[weedkiller]

2.8 cpu is ok but would go bigger if possible, a 3.4 if you can, the psu will not be man enough at 450w as most gcards want 500w minimum, would go for a 700w minimum, and go for a 2gb gcard also.Dont really need 8gb ram for gaming but thats what i have so who am i to say, 6gb would be all you need unless graphic editing then 8gb
can say is the only changes i would make other than going for better of everything else but that will increase your costs otherwise everything else is fine

[Shadow NX]

Definatly a X6 1090T, if you get a good one 3,8Ghz or more shouldnt be a problem.
My X4 975 runs at 3,6Ghz without changing anythign but the multiplier, from what i tested 3,8 also worked stable.

And ArmA2 definatly is very CPU hungry, a strong CPU is more worth than more Cores .

---

And now id also like to have a problem: :D

I upgraded my system with a SSD, Windows 7 64bit is freshly installed, all smooth but after a while i encountered a weird problem.

As soon as i get to the Windows is loading screen before the windows colours start to flash it seems as if it would hang, when i reset the system boots perfectly quick afterwards.

Yesterday i noticed it doesnt hang but instead takes like 2 minutes then suddently the windows colours of the load screens flash up and im on my desktop, there all is nice and fast and the specs of the SSD seems fine for being attached to a Sata-2 port.

Very rarely the system starts fast but in 90% of the cases i now wait 2 mins till i see my desktop.

What could it be? Bios is set to AHCI for the SSD.
SSD is flashed to latest Firmware, 7 i think.

Once loaded all is running perfectly fine, no crashes or stutters.

Specs:

OS: Win7 64bits
Ram: 4Gigs G.Skill DDR-2 Ram ( 2 Modules )
Drive 1: SSD 128GB ( Crucial C300 ) on Sata2 ( Sytem partition & Programms )
Drive 2:HD Samsung Spinpoint F1 250GB on Sata2 ( For Gaming )
Board: Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H (rev. 1.0) on latest Bios versio.
GPU: ATI HD6950 Asus DUII 2GB shaders unlocked everything else is stock
CPU: AMD Phenom2 X4 975 @<hidden> 3,6Ghz

[Tonci87]

So I´m looking for a good Laptop for my brother, Price Limit is 1100€ Should have a good CPU and GPU.
Any recommendations?

Currently we have this one in mind:
http://www.euronics.de/produkt/bis-42-cm-Bildschirm-kompakte-Alleskoenner/ASUS-X5MSN-SX066V-39-6-cm-Notebook

[ziiip]

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6333387/the-state-of-pc-gaming/index.html?

State of pc gaming article by gamespot.

[NkEnNy]

Hey all,
I'm looking to upgrade my PC (Which is very low end right now, can barely run ArmA II, or any other game for that matter, on normal settings). I plan on building an entire new PC. I've picked out all the parts, now I would just like some feedback. Also note that I'm not looking to spend much more than I already am (About $725 with shipping) on the parts I've chosen.

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-103-851&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519
DVD Drive: ASUS 24x DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
HDD: Western Digital 500GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795
Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102925
PSU: Rosewill RD450-2-DB 450w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182022
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB DDR3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311)
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106


I have also read over the feedback for these items and everyone seems to like them. Let me know what you think. Also note this is my first build, so please excuse any stupid mistakes that I may have made.

While the 6-core CPU does look very attractive, for gaming you will get more (and cheaper) by selecting an equivalent Quad-core solution. If you can get a Phenom II 3.4-3.7 you should be reasonably futureproof as well. Get a BLACK edition to permit overclocking if you start feeling cocky.

450W is weaksauce. I know it hurts. Really. Who would have thought that PSUs would get so expensive? Especially for something with such hidden performance betterfits. The cold hard truth remains. A 650W is decent, but higher is better and more future proof. Coolermaster make som excellent PSU's as well. :)

I'm not personally familiar with your choice of motherboard and RAM, I'm a MSI and OCZ fanboy myself, but I cannot see any obvious weaknesses. 8gb is good. If you are on a REALLY tight budget you can go for a 4GB packet and upgrade later.

Out of preference I would have selected an nvidia graphics card. It has been my experience that nvidia is better supported by developers and suffer fewer driver issues (really. google it sometime). Neither can I claim familiarity with Saphire brand of cards. All I can really offer in that regard is whether you go for nvidia or amd/ati: don't by 3d graphics card from a crappy brand. Particularly look for 'golden sample' mid-range cards (such as the ti560) with high quality RAM and overclocked CPUs. These offer exceptional performance and durability for their cost.


Good luck :)

-k

[Derbysieger]

450W is weaksauce. I know it hurts. Really. Who would have thought that PSUs would get so expensive? Especially for something with such hidden performance betterfits. The cold hard truth remains. A 650W is decent, but higher is better and more future proof. Coolermaster make som excellent PSU's as well. :)

-k

You are right that you shouldn't buy a cheap PSU but saying that a PSU with higher W is better is absolute BS. It is dependend on what kind of rig you are going to build. For a rig with a single GPU 500W is usually more than enough and even leaves enough power to overclock your CPU unless you have A LOT of HDDs that need extra power.

To give you an idea: the rig in my sig consumes max. 390W when I'm running benchmarks (80-100W on Desktop, not more than 370W ingame). The 525W Enermax I have has enough power left to upgrade the graphicscard when Arma 3 comes out and add a few HDDs when I need more storage (currently I have 1x Intel X25-M 80GB, 1x Vertex 2 120GB, 1x Caviar Blue 640GB, 1x Caviar Green 1000GB, 1x Caviar Green 2000GB).

[NkEnNy]

Ahh, don't get me wrong. I am talking about staying future proof, ie being able to do piecemeal upgrades without extra hidden cost. Obviously a stupidly high end PSU doesn't magically transform a PC to a computing monster. :)

*shrug* I am admittedly not familiar with the power consumption of ATI cards. Were I to put together a new box I would aim higher than 500W though, and Guru3d (http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-sli-review/14) appears to agree.

-k

[Derbysieger]

If you don't plan to do SLI/CF in the near future and you don't plan to get an insane amount of storage (I know a guy who has 25TB storage on his gaming rig and 30TB on his server^^) 500W-550W is enough and it leaves room for future GPU upgrades and additional HDDs.

qoute from your link:

On your average system the card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit.

The main reason why GPU manufacturers recommend higher W than really necessary is because there are always people who think a PSU isn't really important and go for some cheap no-name product from china that breaks down as soon as you want to use more than 60% of it's capacity, often destroying the whole PC in the process.

As long as it is a good manufacturer (certified PSUs!!!) you can expect to be able to use the power output it promises. Of course you don't want to stress it too much but as long as there isn't an unusual amount of storage there is no danger.

I have seen SLI setups with 650W PSUs and an OC'ed CPU but that doesn't leave any room for big upgrades.

[PuFu]

while i agree with you derby, the difference in price between a certified 500W PSU and a 650W one is not all that high.

I always prefer having head room for further upgrades (be it another GFX card, HDD, Ram etc).

The 1000W on my 6 core rig is a bit overkill, but since i bought it, i added 2 more internal HDDs (i need to update sig), i have 2 external (1.5Tb and 1TB) connected most of the time (yes they do have to be plug in directly into a socket, but still..), i added 12GB more of Ram, and i plan on getting a SSD not that far off. That still leaves me with plenty of juice to spare for things like CF or a future SLI setup.

[Derbysieger]

Fair enough. It's just everytime I read recommendations like ohh no you need a 700W minimum (weedkiller) my head goes to the desk^^

I'm sure that a good 450W PSU will run said PC fine. It just doesn't leave room for future upgrades.

SSDs don't need much power btw. It's usually 2W-5W per SSD ;)

[PuFu]

I don't know if you noticed, but that PSU not really a branded one (rosewill - never heard of them - 34$). Do you actually think that outputs 450W to begin with?

@<hidden>: get a proper one - Enermax, OCZ, Corsair, Antec, Nexus, 80+ certified. Don't try to save money on PSU, just get a proper good one (no need to get the most expensive either)

[Derbysieger]

That's why I wrote "a good PSU". Perhabs I should've made it clearer ;)

[Tonci87]

I have a Cougar 550 CMX and I´m very happy with it. I think it has enough Potential so that I can replace my Sapphire Toxic HD5850 when Arma 3 gets released. At least I hope so...
http://www.cougar-world.de/en/products/power-supply/cougar-cmx.html

[Derbysieger]

Should be no problem, what are your specs?

[Tonci87]

MB: Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.1
CPU: Intel i7 2600k @<hidden>,9Ghz
Ram: 12 GB Corsair
GPU: Sapphire Toxic HD5850
Two Hard Drives

[Derbysieger]

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to upgrade your GPU for Arma 3. The best upgrade for your system atm would be a SSD btw. It's just so much fun to work with it. everything's smooth and superfast. I love it. No more PC without a SSD for me.
Ohh and when you get one you really need to control the urge to constantly restart your computer :D

[PuFu]

nvm..

[Frostburg]

Hey there folks,

As my titles suggests, I am in the market for a new laptop.

I know absolutely nothing about computers and want to purchase
a good quality one. Money really isn't an issue for me.

My current one has problems and I am thinking about
replacing it.

It said that it was made by Altec Lansing.

There are some other stickers on it that say:

Intel Centrino Duo, Windows Vista, NVIDIA, and lightScribe.

I bought it in 2007 or 2008.

It works fine for the most part, but I can't watch any type
of internet video such as youtube or whatever.

It is generally slow.

It always freezes up.

Not only that, but whenever I try to type in a username or password
for my email or facebook, a little box always comes up that says
something like "please enter in your password".

I think it wants to automatically store my name and password
for each site so I can automatically access them.

Sorry folks, but I like entering in my passwords the old fashioned way.

In addition, my MsWord sucks, and it makes it so that my printer
doesn't always print when I want it to.

Anyways, I know most of you tech gurus are probably wondering,
what do you want the laptop for?

Well, being a college student, I need a laptop for college stuff.

I need to be able to type up papers on MsWord, conduct internet
searches through google and google scholar. I probably also need Excel, and Powerpoint for various class presentations and whatever else. I need to be able to view internet
videos. I would also like to listen to music on the internet.

Pretty much anything a college student would need.

I also would like something that I can try some video games on perhaps.

I have many photographs and videos from my time in the military
and I would like to save those.

I also have a nice background picture that I want to keep.

I also want to keep all my word documents and papers and such.

So I probably need a pretty big memory on a powerful computer.
I want something nice, and also something that wont constantly act strange.

I have more dinero than I can use, so price really isn't an issue.

I tried looking this stuff up on google and came up with mixed results.

Sorry about the composition of my message, I don't really know much.

---------- Post added at 08:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:31 PM ----------

This is a response by PuFu.

for M$ Office Suite, internet and HD movies, any of the current 500$-1000$ would work for you. Most come with CPUs that are above what you would normally need from your average laptop, and same goes for ram and HDD space.
On the other hand, no every laptop can run games on. Most laptops have crappy GFX cards (on board or not). That said, a gaming laptop can reach up to 3000, even 4000$ range, although for about 1000$ you would get the same or better specs on a PC.

My suggestion: get an average laptop you can use (i would go for HP, or Lenovo/IBM if you are in the States, you can find good deals there) and get a gaming rig on top of that if money is not an issue. Otherwise, you need to make up your mind and see how much you are willing to spend on a gaming laptop, that would most definitely be a lot heavier and hard to carry around you...

[froggyluv]

He's right (Pufu), most any half decent lapper will do you fine for all college needs -my wifes a professor and uses Word/Excel/Powerpoint everyday with her $700 Vaio I5. Also, you had Vista which sucks imo, you'll be happier with Win.7.

Now if money aint really an issue this guy looks pretty decent for gaming:

http://computers.toptenreviews.com/gaming-laptops/asustek-computer-inc/asus-g74sx-review.html

as well as the Battalion listed tho a bit steeper price (better CPU).

[Frostburg]

Froggyluv,

That laptop you linked to looks cool. I don't really know.

The price is $1,630.

Don't take this as bragging, but that's pocket change for me.

However, I am not really looking for something for videogames.

I did buy one video game last year that I thought looked interesting
and I only played it for like two weeks. I lost interest because noone
else played it.

I just don't think that I'm big into video games. That doesn't mean I don't
want to try one. I see my college buddies playing them ALL the time.

Sometimes I feel like I want to join them just so I can be "in" on their
hobby/hobbies. To me, it would be more of a social thing
to bond with my college friends by learning about their hobbies.

The one that my two good buds play is this star wars game.

Basically they can pick between these three types of creatures. Insect
aliens, high tech aliens, and human(Marines). They control hundreds
of soldiers and send them to fight other players on the map.

It is a birds eye view type game. I tried it once as the Marines
and quickly got killed. The game started up and I decided to send what
I thought were my combat units on a little reconnaissence/combat patrol
and they all got destroyed by the bugs.

Then my one building at my base got attacked and I lost. After talking
to my friends, apparently I mistook my worker-bees who collect resources
for combat troops.

Anyways, they didn't tell me how to play. I just tried it after many days
of watching them. I just sat at their computer when the game was on, and
they were busy drinking, and setup a game for myself.

Anyways, it is always interesting watching them play. They both
have their separate laptops in their one room and play against each other
or as a team against others.

Anyways I like how deeply involved they are in their game. They get
really excited and shout things to each other like "My base is getting
attacked! Help!", or "My guys are coming to you in like 2 secs".

Haha, it's just cool to see the interaction in these games and meeting
people who play them and watching them play.

Like I said, I want a laptop mostly for academic/college things.

My main thing is I want it to be high end/high quality so that I don't
have to constantly deal with issues like I am having with my current
laptop. I want to be able to do all the things I ever would want to
do for school/extracurricular stuff. If I want to create flyers for my
club or society, then that would be cool.

Also, I don't want to get a laptop, and then realize a month down
the road that there is something that it cannot do that I would
like to do.

I soon may have to create advertisements/flyers for my psychology
club, I may want to have the capability to make/edit videos for events,
I will definitely need to do presentations, make posters, manage
club/organization finances, make logos/emblems, view all sorts of media
on the web or through other means, watch DVDs, play music in my room,
write research papers, etc...

You get what I'm saying.

And as I stated earlier, I know NOTHING about computers.

Like PuFu was mentioning things that I don't know about like "CPUs, ram, HDD,
GFX cards etc.

I definitely don't know about any of those things or what they mean.

Once I buy my laptop, I will have one of my tech geek friends teach me
how to use it for my purposes. I know one guy in my dorm who's door
I regularly knock on for help with my daily shit. I try not to be too
much of a pain when he is busy. But sometimes, I just have no clue
what to do.

Another thing. I want it to be light and portable, and have good
battery power. My current one will die within like 15 minutes if it is not
plugged in.

Hope this helps. Keep those suggestions coming.

Thanks

[PuFu]

if that asus seem cheap for you, then go to http://www.originpc.com/eon17-s-gaming-laptop-features.asp and customize your own:

EON-17-S High Performance Laptop
$1,854.00 $1,854.00


Customizations:
Laptop Exterior: Laptop Exterior: Sabot Grey
The ORIGIN Difference: Truly Custom PCs. Want a component that is not on our site? Call or email us and we will include it in your system.
Included
Chassis and Primary Display: EON17-S platform with B3 stepping - 1920 x 1080 17.3" LED Backlit Glossy Screen
Included
3D Glasses: None
Included
Graphics Card: Single 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M Overclocked (2GB of Total GFX)
$588.00
Processor: Overclocked Intel Extreme Edition Core i7-2960XM Quad-Core Processor (4.1GHz - 4.8GHz with Turbo Boost), 8MB Cache
$1,074.00
Memory: 16GB Kingston HyperX Dual-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 4 X 4GB
$162.00
RAID Configuration: None
Included
Hard Drive One: 256GB Crucial M4 - Solid State Drive
$446.00
Hard Drive Two: 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive
$104.00
Optical Drive: 6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner/8X DVD+/-R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive with Power DVD 7
$137.00
Audio: Integrated High-Definition Audio with THX TruStudio Pro and up to 7.1 Channel support
Included
Networking: Wi-Fi Link 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module with Bluetooth - Up to 300 Mbps
Included
Web Camera: Built-in 2.0 Megapixel Video Camera
Included
Operating System: Genuine MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition
Included
Warranty: 3 Year Part Replacement and Free Shipping Warranty with DVD image and Lifetime Support/Labor
$269.00
No Dead Pixel Guarantee: No Dead Pixel Guarantee
Included
ORIGIN Maximum Protection Shipping Process: ORIGIN Wooden Crate Armor
$35.00


Additional Charges:

Free ORIGIN T-shirt: ORIGIN T-shirt XLarge
Keyboards: Razer Lycosa
$80.00
Mouse: Razer Mamba
$169.00
Headsets: Razer Carcharias
$79.00

Product Subtotal: $4,997.00

[Daniel]

Hey guys,

I'm completely out of the loop concerning hardware and have been for some years.

Right now i'm after a fast rig for Windows 7 and photo and HD video editing. Then i'll be wanting to upgrade it as necessary for Take On and Arma 3 next year. My current tower is a bit of a shed and sounds like it's trying to reach escape velocity, I think i'll be better off starting from scratch.

Any advice concerning what CPU, RAM, GFX, etc I should be aiming for these days?

Cheers.

[PuFu]

I for one would be waiting till next month, sandy-e and bulldozers are close to release.

Nowadays rig:
CPU: intel i7 2600k (photo and video editing will take advantage of the hyperthreading)
MB: Z68 chipset (i would go for asus or gigabyte)
RAM: 8GB is a minimum (1600mhz). ram is dirt cheap these days. 16GB if you have the pennies
HDD: get a fast one - if possible a SSD would be great for OS. Get a 7200/64bit buffer one for storring stuff. Ideal SSD 120-256 (aim for high read/write) and at least 1TB hard. Z68 supports a hybrid mode between SSD and normal HDD
GFX: 560TI (eventually the 2gb version) and upwards.

[MadDogX]

MB: Z68 chipset (i would go for asus or gigabyte)
Does the Z68 add anything of real value over the P67 chipset?

[Daniel]

Thanks for the advice PuFu, appreciated.

[Frostburg]

if that asus seem cheap for you, then go to http://www.originpc.com/eon17-s-gaming-laptop-features.asp and customize your own:

EON-17-S High Performance Laptop
$1,854.00 $1,854.00


Customizations:
Laptop Exterior: Laptop Exterior: Sabot Grey
The ORIGIN Difference: Truly Custom PCs. Want a component that is not on our site? Call or email us and we will include it in your system.
Included
Chassis and Primary Display: EON17-S platform with B3 stepping - 1920 x 1080 17.3" LED Backlit Glossy Screen
Included
3D Glasses: None
Included
Graphics Card: Single 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M Overclocked (2GB of Total GFX)
$588.00
Processor: Overclocked Intel Extreme Edition Core i7-2960XM Quad-Core Processor (4.1GHz - 4.8GHz with Turbo Boost), 8MB Cache
$1,074.00
Memory: 16GB Kingston HyperX Dual-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 4 X 4GB
$162.00
RAID Configuration: None
Included
Hard Drive One: 256GB Crucial M4 - Solid State Drive
$446.00
Hard Drive Two: 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive
$104.00
Optical Drive: 6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner/8X DVD+/-R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive with Power DVD 7
$137.00
Audio: Integrated High-Definition Audio with THX TruStudio Pro and up to 7.1 Channel support
Included
Networking: Wi-Fi Link 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module with Bluetooth - Up to 300 Mbps
Included
Web Camera: Built-in 2.0 Megapixel Video Camera
Included
Operating System: Genuine MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition
Included
Warranty: 3 Year Part Replacement and Free Shipping Warranty with DVD image and Lifetime Support/Labor
$269.00
No Dead Pixel Guarantee: No Dead Pixel Guarantee
Included
ORIGIN Maximum Protection Shipping Process: ORIGIN Wooden Crate Armor
$35.00


Additional Charges:

Free ORIGIN T-shirt: ORIGIN T-shirt XLarge
Keyboards: Razer Lycosa
$80.00
Mouse: Razer Mamba
$169.00
Headsets: Razer Carcharias
$79.00

Product Subtotal: $4,997.00


Dude, I understand you are trying to help by posting info on good laptops, but
I really didn't understand any of it.

I checked out the website. It looks really cool, but I am not looking to
pay alot extra for a laptop just for "gaming."

Games would be just an "extra" bonus.

What good would such a laptop be if I could play all the new hit games,
yet not be able to get my school work and such done?

I'm not really into games. The last time I seriously tried to sit down and
get into one was little under a year ago.

I just need something high quality for school work/projects that
I wont have to replace in 6 months.

[PuFu]

Does the Z68 add anything of real value over the P67 chipset?
read here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z68-express-lucidlogix-virtu-ssd-caching,2888.html

Thanks for the advice PuFu, appreciated.
no worries

Dude, I understand you are trying to help by posting info on good laptops, but
I really didn't understand any of it.

I checked out the website. It looks really cool, but I am not looking to
pay alot extra for a laptop just for "gaming."

Games would be just an "extra" bonus.

I'm not really into games. The last time I seriously tried to sit down and
get into one was little under a year ago.
Maybe i don't get what you actually request here...or why is it that you post on BIS forums, if games are way outside your scope.
Do you need advice or a link to a laptop you want to buy?
I see you have no clue how computers work, maybe you would be better buying a MacBook (pro) (http://apple.com)(MS Office is available for apple computers as well)...or even a tablet?


What good would such a laptop be if I could play all the new hit games,
yet not be able to get my school work and such done?

I just need something high quality for school work/projects that
I wont have to replace in 6 months.
Why wouldn't the one i linked work for your future (low CPU/GPU and memory demanding) college work? If you would stay it would be overkill, i would agree, but saying it won't work? Really? Care to explain?

I told you before. For M$ Office, you could use a 4 years laptop without any problems. Same goes for web surfing and similar. Hell, i can use my iphone for that.
You current one is either a big piece of garbage, or it is full of bloating making an old piece if hardware act slower/stranger than it should.

If you want further help, post a maximum price you are willing to spend, screen size, as well as how heavy you want your laptop to be...seems once can't ask more from you...

[Frostburg]

read here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z68-express-lucidlogix-virtu-ssd-caching,2888.html

no worries

Maybe i don't get what you actually request here...or why is it that you post on BIS forums, if games are way outside your scope.
Do you need advice or a link to a laptop you want to buy?
I see you have no clue how computers work, maybe you would be better buying a MacBook (pro) (http://apple.com)(MS Office is available for apple computers as well)...or even a tablet?


Why wouldn't the one i linked work for your future (low CPU/GPU and memory demanding) college work? If you would stay it would be overkill, i would agree, but saying it won't work? Really? Care to explain?

I told you before. For M$ Office, you could use a 4 years laptop without any problems. Same goes for web surfing and similar. Hell, i can use my iphone for that.
You current one is either a big piece of garbage, or it is full of bloating making an old piece if hardware act slower/stranger than it should.

If you want further help, post a maximum price you are willing to spend, screen size, as well as how heavy you want your laptop to be...seems once can't ask more from you...

Ok, I will try to answer each of your questions as accurately as possible.

First off, I started posting here because as a student of psychology in college, I thought it would be interesting to get an idea of how people who
play video games, especially military ones think about things. I have friends who play these alot and just wanted to understand people who play video games. I like this forum and think I will hang around for a while and see what there is here.

I really don't know anything about apples or tablets. Yes, I HAVE heard
of apple computers.

The reason I said that the one you linked to me wouldn't work is because
I need a laptop for college work/activities/extracurricular work, not games.

I am a member and officer of a few student organizations and need to have all the fancy
gadgets and gizmos that college laptops need, such as MsOffice with both Word AND powerpoint, video making or editing stuff, ability to make posters,
and flyers, make spreadsheets, and all that stuff. Being a treasurer for
one organization, I definitely need a spreadsheet program to keep track
of finances. I also need the ability to view internet videos such as youtube
and such. This is why I said that I need a "college type laptop", not a laptop for video games.

I am willing to pay max around $2,000 for a laptop that will have all those
features and will not crap out on me in 6 months.

I want the screen size to be roughly the same size or if necessary, slightly
smaller than mine.

I don't have a ruler or tape measure, so I took a standard piece of printer
paper, and used that to measure. The printer paper wrapping paper states
that the printer paper is 8 1/2" by 11".

I used the long side of the printer paper and measured the length of
my screen. If you take the long side of the paper, divide it into thirds,
then add that third to the original length of the long side of the paper, that looks to be roughly the length of the screen.

The height of the screen is roughly the same as the long side
of the printer paper, so that would be probably about 11" tall.

Sorry, like I said, I don't have a measuring stick. And I asked my friends
around the dorm. I felt like such a moron lol.

Also, I measured not from the actual "glass" part of the screen, but the whole lid thing including the edge or frame.

I don't want a laptop that is excessively heavy or thick. Average weight or
thickness will do.

Also, I bought my current laptop in 2008 so it is very old.

[PuFu]

all the fancy
gadgets and gizmos that college laptops need, such as MsOffice with both Word AND powerpoint, video making or editing stuff, ability to make posters,and flyers, make spreadsheets, and all that stuff.
There is NOTHING fancy about MS Office. No laptop comes with it preintalled (in fact a lot do, but with a 30 days trial, so you'll need to buy it - student version will do, it is cheaper)


I want the screen size to be roughly the same size or if necessary, slightly
smaller than mine.

I don't have a ruler or tape measure, so I took a standard piece of printer
paper, and used that to measure. The printer paper wrapping paper states
that the printer paper is 8 1/2" by 11".

I used the long side of the printer paper and measured the length of
my screen. If you take the long side of the paper, divide it into thirds,
then add that third to the original length of the long side of the paper, that looks to be roughly the length of the screen.
The height of the screen is roughly the same as the long side
of the printer paper, so that would be probably about 11" tall.

Sorry, like I said, I don't have a measuring stick. And I asked my friends
around the dorm. I felt like such a moron lol.
FPDR - no comment


I am willing to pay max around $2,000 for a laptop that will have all those
features and will not crap out on me in 6 months.
I would actually recommend you go in the nearest Apple Store, and get a 13 inch mac book pro or mac air. Price starts at 1500$/1600$ plus the 150$ for Office Home/Student.

[Frostburg]

There is NOTHING fancy about MS Office. No laptop comes with it preintalled (in fact a lot do, but with a 30 days trial, so you'll need to buy it - student version will do, it is cheaper)


FPDR - no comment


I would actually recommend you go in the nearest Apple Store, and get a 13 inch mac book pro or mac air. Price starts at 1500$/1600$ plus the 150$ for Office Home/Student.

Are macs different from regular laptops?

I mean I need something that I would be familiar with.

I already know how to use firefox, you know?

Can you play video games on macs? Do they act differently
from regular laptops? I dunno man....

I think maybe the macs are too advanced for me.

I mean maybe if I was a computer science major, but unfortunately
I don't know shit about comps.

If they are no different from an ordinary computer, then that would
be cool.

[jblackrupert]

That Apple logo will cost add about 75-100% to the price.

[Frostburg]

Are macs different from regular laptops?

I mean I need something that I would be familiar with.

I already know how to use firefox, you know?

Can you play video games on macs? Do they act differently
from regular laptops? I dunno man....

I think maybe the macs are too advanced for me.

I mean maybe if I was a computer science major, but unfortunately
I don't know shit about comps.

If they are no different from an ordinary computer, then that would
be cool.

I went to the apple mac website and liked what I saw in terms
of it saying that macs rarely freeze up and crash, all the software
and hardware are made by the same company, so there are no
compatibility issues, and that it is user friendly as well as
high quality.

I mean I understand that the website was from the apple company
so it is definitely biased, so I will not base my decision on that.

I still don't know.

---------- Post added at 02:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 AM ----------


That Apple logo will cost add about 75-100% to the price.

Yeah, but if paying extra means I get a better quality laptop
that doesn't constantly shit out on me like my current one, then
that is worth the price in my opinion.

---------- Post added at 03:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 AM ----------

Speaking of freezing up all the time.

My laptop has frozen twice since my last post
simply because I had a couple different web pages open
at the same time I'm guessing.

Not only that, my current laptop freezes EVERYTIME I try
to watch an internet video such as youtube.

Damn machines!

[Frostburg]

Maybe I should just buy a typewriter, like the kind
I used in highschool.

Atleast that way I won't lose my word documents when
the power fails in the dorms. Haha.

[froggyluv]

Yeah, but if paying extra means I get a better quality laptop
that doesn't constantly shit out on me like my current one, then
that is worth the price in my opinion.

I don't believe that to be true. I just went laptop shopping a few weekends ago with the Mrs. and compared specs to price between trendy Macs and PC's. I found the Macs to be obscenely overpriced from a performance to cost ratio.

Of course, some people just love Apple and thats fine - tho I just don't see what all the hoopla is about.

[BangTail]

Macs are better if you need a shiny Apple logo on the casing and that's it.

If Apple is someone's preference, I respect that, but I am so sick to death of hearing how Apple is 'better', it's simply not true.

/rant off

[Frostburg]

I honestly don't know. That's why I am asking.

I don't know anything about apples.

But I read the reviews and asked friends at college
and they all say "get a mac book pro."

Personally, I don't give a hoot about money. I have
plenty of it.

If paying a bit more gives me a remotely better
laptop that doesn't constantly freeze and shit out
on me than, maybe that is worth it.

I'm just soo pissed at my current laptop and
need to find a quality replacement for me needs
at university.

Please people, MORE input.

I don't know what to do.

[BangTail]

If you want a high quality, lightweight, troublefree laptop and money is no object, my advice would be to go with Sony.

Start here and customize:

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SYCTOProcess?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921666344650&categoryId=8198552921644784028

The above stated model weighs around 3 lbs but is extremely powerful, if you want a bigger screen, try this and customize:

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SYCTOProcess?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921666384161&categoryId=8198552921644784016

The Dell XPS 15z is another option (and significantly cheaper) but I have had more than a few Sony laptops and they have been A1.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=fndow7s&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&model_id=xps-15z

[PuFu]

Macs are better if you need a shiny Apple logo on the casing and that's it.

If Apple is someone's preference, I respect that, but I am so sick to death of hearing how Apple is 'better', it's simply not true.

/rant off
no apple is not better, it is say...easier to grasp. The OS has a lot of advantages over windows, just like windows has its own advantage. It doesn't bother you with manually updating stuff, there are no viruses and so forth.
While i agree with you that from a hardware POV it is more expensive than other identical laptops, i have yet to see another laptop that looks that good (clean, no fancy stickers, red lights and so on...plus, full aluminium/magnesium body).

[BangTail]

no apple is not better, it is say...easier to grasp. The OS has a lot of advantages over windows, just like windows has its own advantage. It doesn't bother you with manually updating stuff, there are no viruses and so forth.
While i agree with you that from a hardware POV it is more expensive than other identical laptops, i have yet to see another laptop that looks that good (clean, no fancy stickers, red lights and so on...plus, full aluminium/magnesium body).

That wasn't an attack on you bud, just a general statement.

The ones I have suggested are the top of the line (since our friend keeps harping on about how much money he has), and the XPS 15z actually resembles the Apple model.

[Frostburg]

BangTail,

The only reason I was talking about my finances is because
others were discouraging me from buying a mac because they
are overpriced. I am just saying that I would rather pay more
for a better laptop.

As for them being easier to grasp. That's a good thing for me.

I have NEVER used any computer that did not make me want to
smash it to little pieces with a baseball bat.

I came close last night, but since I am in college, I can't be doing that.

Anyways, like you have NO idea how bad I am at computers.

Hell, even turning it on and off can be a major frustration for me.

I just need something that works, and doesn't feed me any bs
constantly.

I keep having "health checks" and crap like that pop up on
my computer. It keeps asking me to update shit. I do I know
that stuff isn't a hidden virus?

Seriously, computers piss me the fuck off. I hope whoever it was
that invented them smashes his kneecaps in a skiing accident.

They just make things 100 times more complicated than they need to be.

Do you have any idea how many times I have gone to several different
students in my dorm for help EACH??? Since August 28th, probably
about 20 -25 times each on average. There are four different computer
type students in my dorm that I regularly ask for help.

If they are not around do you know what I do?? If I am desperate
and seriously need to get a paper done, I walk around campus hoping
to bump into someone I know for help. Otherwise I walk up to and ask random students on campus.

Like for example, about a week ago I could not figure out how to
make "bullets" for my MsWord document. You know, BULLETS?

The little dots used to list different things. It took me four hours
to find someone who could help me do it so I could continue my paper.

Seriously man, FUCK computers.

Sorry for my language, but I can't wait til the day that I don't have to use them anymore.

[PuFu]

dude...please don't breed....

oh, i really wish you good luck going through the college. If you have issues with such simple things, you'll need that luck for finishing it...

[NeMeSiS]

I dont think even a mac will be able to help you. Though there is always google, which is usually easier and quicker than asking people for help. Patience also helps.

[Bee8190]

I dont think even a mac will be able to help you.

He, reminds me of friend of mine who was constantly battleing and mocking his recently new lap.When he had enough and asked me to look at it i couldn't believe my eyes.

After those two months or so he had lliterally hundreds of trojans and all kind of bad stuff, total chaos on his HDD and plenty of dust in his wents already...

I just handed him his lap back knowing that buddy would be back in two weeks blaming me for some failure which I'd hardly cause anyways :rolleyes: FPDR FPDR

[froggyluv]

LOL Frostburg! You can't go on a game forum asking for computer buying advice then go on a verbal rampage about the evils of computers.

Get the less virus prone and user friendly Mac, chicks will dig you alittle more for your chic look and spending prowess, and all will be well.

[ck-claw]

He, reminds me of friend of mine who was constantly battleing and mocking his recently new lap.When he had enough and asked me to look at it i couldn't believe my eyes.

After those two months or so he had lliterally hundreds of trojans and all kind of bad stuff, total chaos on his HDD and plenty of dust in his wents already...



Aint that the truth! The amount of friends i get asking me about their pc getting slow etc etc..
When i ask when was the last time you did a defrag?
They like wtf you on about!! :D

[Frostburg]

Yea yea, I know what I said was a little extreme.

I just get soo frustrated with computers.

I really wish no harm against the person who invented computers.

I still manage to maintain a 3.8 GPA despite my computer difficulties.

Have made the Dean's list every semester I have been in college, and I hold
the position of officer in various clubs and organizations.

Offering people free beer is a good way to get computer help.

I am no dum dum when it comes to academics, but computers
and math are my achiles heel. Don't like them, and they don't
like me.

When I get done with grad school and whatnot, I am sticking to
a computer free lifestyle if at all possible.

[Tonci87]

BangTail,

The only reason I was talking about my finances is because
others were discouraging me from buying a mac because they
are overpriced. I am just saying that I would rather pay more
for a better laptop.

As for them being easier to grasp. That's a good thing for me.

I have NEVER used any computer that did not make me want to
smash it to little pieces with a baseball bat.

I came close last night, but since I am in college, I can't be doing that.

Anyways, like you have NO idea how bad I am at computers.

Hell, even turning it on and off can be a major frustration for me.

I just need something that works, and doesn't feed me any bs
constantly.

I keep having "health checks" and crap like that pop up on
my computer. It keeps asking me to update shit. I do I know
that stuff isn't a hidden virus?

Seriously, computers piss me the fuck off. I hope whoever it was
that invented them smashes his kneecaps in a skiing accident.

They just make things 100 times more complicated than they need to be.

Do you have any idea how many times I have gone to several different
students in my dorm for help EACH??? Since August 28th, probably
about 20 -25 times each on average. There are four different computer
type students in my dorm that I regularly ask for help.

If they are not around do you know what I do?? If I am desperate
and seriously need to get a paper done, I walk around campus hoping
to bump into someone I know for help. Otherwise I walk up to and ask random students on campus.

Like for example, about a week ago I could not figure out how to
make "bullets" for my MsWord document. You know, BULLETS?

The little dots used to list different things. It took me four hours
to find someone who could help me do it so I could continue my paper.

Seriously man, FUCK computers.

Sorry for my language, but I can't wait til the day that I don't have to use them anymore.

Dude, you could have used google...

[Frostburg]

I was just wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them.

Just to go back to my example of trying to implement bullets
in MsWord.

I have come to learn that there are two types of computer "experts"
to be found in typical college dorms.

Ones who truly ARE computer experts, and those who only have a
moderate level of understanding of how to efficiently do things, or
they just prefer to do things the complicated way.

When trying to get the bullets in my paper, I finally found a guy who
had time to help.

He gladly came into my room and investigated the problem, assuring me
that it would be an easy fix.

Well he sits at my computer and starts to play with the settings.

Anyways, after a several minutes of looking around he apparently found
some backwards way of getting the bullets on the page by manipulating
some settings that were totally out of the way. By this I mean he seems to have taken the "long-cut", not the "short-cut".

He happily announces that the bullets are now enabled and I should be
able to continue on with my paper. I thank him profusely and he leaves
content that he helped out a fellow college student in need(I really
like the comraderie of college students trying to earn their degrees)

I sit down ready to continue, and my happiness of this achievement disappears when I notice that my margins, indents,
font size, etc are all changed, and not the way I intended them to be.

I reluctantly go back to this nice fellow's room to where he has returned
to his usual afternoon activity of playing StarCraft and explain the
new predicament.

He shows genuine surprise as to how this happened. Having previously seen
my complete level of technological incompetence, he gladly accompanies
me back to my room after pausing his game.

Several more minutes pass and eventually the problem is finally
rectified.

After expressing my sincere apology and deep thanks for taking the time
to help me with my simple problem, he takes his leave to continue with
his business.

I felt really bad about doing this to so many different people, but some are friends, and others are just people I see or chat with now and then, and sometimes you have to take whatever help you can get.

This is the life of the tech illiterate college student man.

[NeMeSiS]

I mean...
Come on.

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1393/llai.th.jpg (http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1393/llai.jpg)

[CameronMcDonald]

Apples. For people who can't use computers.

[PuFu]

Apples. For people who can't use computers.
well, i can tell you that the office in apple is just as "complicated" as the one in windows. If simple things like MsWord gives the man problems, it's not the computer/brand/OS to blame...
There is still pen and paper out there...

[Tonci87]

A computer is only as smart as the user in front of it....
Something that one of my programing profs likes to say.

[Derbysieger]

Hi,

I have a problem with my graphicscard. To be more precise it doesn't go into 2D-mode anymore. So instead of 80W in 2D-mode my PC has a powerconsumption of 220W all the time. If someone has any idea what it might be please let me know.
I didn't notice it until someone wondered why the energy bill was suddenly so high and we checked all the devices in the house.

Thanks

[Tonci87]

Maybe it has something to do with Windows Aero, try turning it off

[Derbysieger]

Already tried :/

[Tonci87]

Did you somehow change the clock speeds? (AMD Overdrive or something like that?)

[Derbysieger]

Nope. Even disabled the OC I did ...

[Tonci87]

OK, I think we need a hardware/software expert here... PuFu!

[PuFu]

I would try the following, in this very order (if already did, just skip the step):
1. Unplug the PC for at least 15-30 mins (hard reset for PSU)
2. Check/replug the power connectors for both MB and GFX card while you do 1 (if you have more 6pin connectors, use the new/unused ones)
3. Check your BIOS for advanced power settings that would force such behaviour
4. Uninstall the GFX drivers (uninstall from control panel, reboot in safe mode (make sure you don't allow windows to install it's own drivers on top), use driver sweeper to clean it for good, then ccleaner for registries). Reboot in safe mode again and check power consumption (legacy drivers should be 2d only).

Please post again if the above doesn't work.

[Derbysieger]

Thanks
I already did #1 and #4 so I will report back tomorrow when I have more time. (yes I did clean registries etc. I'm not new to PCs^^)

[PuFu]

well, i had to start from somewhere....(might have something to do with the guy above you knowing nothing about pcs :P)
5. try with a different PSU (get one from a friend's)

[Tonci87]

Uninstalling drivers would have been the next thing that I would have told him. But I really didn´t think of the PSU hard reset... :o

[PuFu]

Uninstalling drivers would have been the next thing that I would have told him. But I really didn´t think of the PSU hard reset... :o
Oh i was talking about the Frostburg lad btw :rolleyes:

[Tonci87]

Oh OK then. ^^

[Frostburg]

Apples. For people who can't use computers.

That would actually be a nice slogan.

It would increase sales from people like me, and all the
grandpas and grandmas and young girls who all probably know a little more than
me, lol.

It would, however, embarrass all the computer gurus who own apples
for different reasons.

[Derbysieger]

Thanks Pufu #2 somehow did the trick. Unplugged everything cleaned a bit of dust off the PSU (not much) plugged everything together again and the power consumption is now roughly 100W in idle (desktop, no read/write on the HDDs) wich I guess is fine considering I added two HDDs and a SSD since I checked 2 years ago (after OC'ing the rig).

[JdB]

I'm looking to buy a new pc. It's not going to be easy though. The main purpose of the system will be to run ArmA3 with all settings on medium at least, with some settings higher if possible. I have no problem with turning of something like PP and lowering AA and AF to 2x. I would like it to be reasonably quiet. Because of a limited budget, I can only spend €850. Nothing from my old pc can be reused in the new one as far as internal components and case goes. I have a screen and surround set that can be reused as well as the keyboard and mouse. The budget rules out an i7, and even an i5 is going to be difficult because of the other things I would need (I tried putting a system together below), so going for AMD and ATi components is something that seems inevitable.

Coolermaster HAF 912 Plus, noPSU €82
CoolerMaster Silent Pro M500, 500Watt, ATX €79 (is 500 watt enough for these parts?)
ASRock P67 Pro3 B3, S1155, P67, 4xDDR3, ATX €95
Intel Core i5-2500, 3.30GHz, 6MB, HD2000, S1155 €189
Asus GeForce GTX 560, 1GB, DirectCU II TOP €199
Corsair Vengeance B 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 €51
OCZ Agility 3 120GB 2.5" SATA3 €149 (only to run ArmA2 and later ArmA3)
WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200rpm 64MB SATA3 €75 (anything 500gb or above is good enough, but the price between 500gb and 1TB is almost negligible in comparison to the cost of the rest of the system)
Lite-On iHAS124 24xDVDRW, Black, SATA, bulk €19,50
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio, PCIe, oem €39

€977,50

As you can see I'm still €127,50 over budget. Has anyone got any ideas to lower the price without creating a real bottleneck? (or is there already a bottleneck?)

I've also got a question about SSDs. For best performance, would Windows have to be installed on the SSD as well as ArmA3, or should Windows be installed on the hard disk so the SSD can focus on ArmA3 exclusively? (if Windows doesn't have to go on the SSD, that would mean I could do with a 60GB SSD, 15 for ArmA3 and 40-ish remaining for addons, instead of a 120gb one, which would save over €60)

[PurePassion]

@<hidden>
is it out of question to wait some more time?
If the main purpose of your system will be Arma 3, I would highly recommend you to wait until the game is out. There will (very likely) be new GPU and CPU generations which will make the current stuff much more cheaper. Also you could save up some more money to really enjoy A3.

[JdB]

@<hidden>
is it out of question to wait some more time?
If the main purpose of your system will be Arma 3, I would highly recommend you to wait until the game is out. There will (very likely) be new GPU and CPU generations which will make the current stuff much more cheaper. Also you could save up some more money to really enjoy A3.

Time isn't that much of an issue*, money however is. Because of other things that I need to save for, which are higher priority, the budget unfortunately isn't going to be any higher whether it's now or in 9 months time :( (* if I don't lose my job before that time ... )

So that means the only option I have is to wait and see if prices drop, and hope the parts I can afford by that time are still in stock.

[PurePassion]

that would strategically be the best option; yes

[PuFu]

if you want to buy a new system now, just put on hold the SSD. You can get it laters if NOW you are on a budget.

But as said before, if you want a new system for A3, just wait for it...

[NeMeSiS]

Well, i got a problem i just cant figure out.

I currently have 2 HD4870's 512mb in my PC. I used them both in CrossFire until last spring/summer, when my room(very small) got so hot i made some adjustments to my PC (which is always on) so it would no longer function as a heater. One of the adjustments was to disable crossfire. However, back then the 'disable crossfire' in the CCC just did not work, i could click it and click 'apply' all i wanted but it just did not disable it, so instead i turned off my PC and took out the power plugs.
However now its autumn and my room is getting colder, so i wanted to enable the 2nd card again, especially with BF3 and Oblivion around the corner. But now that same problem bites me in the ass again, i replugged the power cables in the card and windows recognizes my 2nd card and shows it as installed, turned on and working in the device panel. I can also see the card in CCC but now its under 'disabled adapters' (or something similar) and the buttons in the crossfire menu's are greyed out and do nothing, not allowing me to enable it.

I already completely reinstalled/updated my drivers, which comes with some other odd problems*, but it did nothing to solve my problem.

*At some point during the driver installation my primary display becomes black and shows nothing, except for my mouse pointer. I can still blindly click on things and drag them to my secondary display and have to finish the installation blindy. After a succesful installation(where i blindly have to close the last window), or a reboot out of frustration everything works fine again.

[Tonci87]

Did you try to completely deinstall your drivers with driver sweeper?

[NeMeSiS]

I was hoping i could avoid that since driver sweeper did some unspeakable things to an old XP installation of mine, however since i doubt there would be any other way to solve this i went ahead with it anyway, and it worked, all is fine now. Thanks.

[Tonci87]

Now I have a Problem myself.
My old Printer HP Deskjet 816c won´t print anymore.

The LED that indicates that the cartridge is empty is flashing all the time. Now I bought a new one and its still flashing.

I really need to print a few documents...

[orlok]

Hello all

Firstly thanks to mod more moving to correct area, I'm unused to posting in sticky areas and just forgot to look above that line. Silly me. Apologies.

Anyhoo, has anyone got a Novatech Prowler Midi Case V2? (http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/cases/nov-prowle.html)

It *is* as cheap as chips, but has the fan space and some cable management etc things I need.

At that price, its probably made of cardboard, but as there are damn near next to zero reviews out there, has anyone got any hands on experience with this kit?

don't berate me for not spending an extra tenner and getting a better case, that really was the extent of my budget for this month. :(

rgds

Lok

ps oooo reply 666 I have a bad feeling about it now...

UPDATE:

Well, the case arrived....

It looks nice enough but all the materials in it's construction are awful.

Also a severe lack of space inside.

Many other cases feature things like swing out HDD enclosures for ease of access but little niceities are missing here.

Well, for 24 quid, it's a stylish case so one cant really grumble at that price, I just wish it was made from a decent material and had a bit more room.

rgds

LoK

[djfluffwug]

I recently purchased the Gainward GeForce GTX 560Ti 1GB Golden Sample

Specs can be seen here: http://www.gainward.com/main/vgapro.php?id=456

My question is, how would people rate this card? Would it be any good for ArmA 2 or similar hardware intensive games?

I hate buying something to find out it sucks :p

- Djfluffwug

[MadDogX]

I have a GTX560Ti and am completely satisfied. :)

Just make sure you have a powerful CPU and a good motherboard to go with it.

[djfluffwug]

Would an I5 750 suffice?

[PuFu]

the CPU is on the limit for fluid gameplay (there is a huge difference between the older i5s and the newer ones 2400 and 2500(k))
The GPU is a very decent one (i currently own a 460 that will change for a 560 2gb) for A2 and TKOH

[djfluffwug]

Thanks for the info MadDogX and PuFu :D

The card should be here in 2 days (If Australian postage service lives up to its expectations) and I will be trying out ArmA 2 with it. Hopefully it will be a tiny bit better than my GTX275.

I am definately next going to upgrade my I5 750 to a 2500.

[meade95]

I currently have a Samsung T220 monitor -

I'm thinking of upgrading as I am waiting on my new system (Alienware) to arrive next week -

I'm not exactly sure much on monitors today, if getting a 24+ inch has some drawbacks with it. ; Should I be getting HD, should I get LED or LCD?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[djfluffwug]

Almost all 24" monitors these days are HD.

As for LCD or LED, I am not sure of how the two compare as I only have an LCD but I figure LCD's seem good enough for me and they are cheaper to obtain so I would go with LCD but I know hardly anything about LED. I am not really the screen fanboy but more of an actual PC hardware fan.

[jblackrupert]

If you get a 24" make it at least supports 1920x1200.

[djfluffwug]

Sweetest technique I learnt to make screens bigger at no extra price. Sit closer :D

But in honesty I would think 1920x1080 would be enough for 24" monitor.

[Mr. Charles]

If you get a 24" make it at least supports 1920x1200.

A lot of content supports 16:9, rather than 16:10. So I'd look for 1920x1080.

[Katzee]

I have been considering getting a 3D monitor, are they worth it at this point or should I wait a while longer?

[Bee8190]

I'm not exactly sure much on monitors today, if getting a 24+ inch has some drawbacks with it. ; Should I be getting HD, should I get LED or LCD?


I'm not really a guru over monitors but i guess it depence what are your demands.I think most full HD 1920*1080 / 1920*1200 24'' LCD monitor will do the job just fine, if you don't feel the need to spend extra as 1920*1200 would be bit more expensive and i'm not entirely convinced its a must over 1920*1080, for few screen pixels more.
ISP / LED displays however should have better contrast ex: 200000:1 instead of 60000:1 and also have nice deep blacks, where white is truly white and not greyish. ( friend of mine has Dell 24'' ISP monitor and its colors are really much nicer compare to my LG LCD monitor )

As you know the latest monitors also supports 3D where 120HZ is bare minimum (60Hz for each eye) but you would also need higher end GPU to play games with 3D enabled.
I have no idea if arma 2 or even Arma 3 will support it though.
Why i mention the 120Hz + 3D monitors is they work well in 2D mode too and have a lot sharper, easier to read text and overall, thanks to its high refresh frequency.

*************

Now to spare you af wall of boring txt:

Full HD 1920*1080 / 1920*1080
ISP / LED
24''
60HZ and/or more
High contrast - say, at least 100000:1

That's what I will/would be looking at for my next monitor


EDIT-@<hidden> new 3D monitors are getting realeased all the time, it's like waiting for new PC hardware.
Nvidia however jsut realeased their 2nd gen stereoscopic glasses and 3D monitors are getting quite lot cheaper.Depence on what games your playing but in games that fully supports it i've read that bigger screen is lot better (at least 27'' or even lot more) , so maybe something to consider.

[Timmoboy]

Do you think it would be smart to buy an intel i7 2600k processor instead of the 2500k?

I've heard that there's not a big difference in fps in arma 2 between these two, but how about in arma 3?

Do you think BIS will support hyperthreading in the future so that the 2600k would be more future proof?

[PuFu]

I doubt A3 will be using more than 4 cores/threads, but one can never know. The only game that is actually using all the threads today is BF3. That said, if the price difference is not an issue, i will go for the 2600k if i was you, there is nothing you can have to loose.

[Bee8190]

Do you think it would be smart to buy an intel i7 2600k processor instead of the 2500k?

I've heard that there's not a big difference in fps in arma 2 between these two, but how about in arma 3?

Do you think BIS will support hyperthreading in the future so that the 2600k would be more future proof?

I think the 2600 / 2700K would be better choice if you like to mess with loads of Ai in the editor or in SP..2500K is good enough IMO, at least for MP scene..
Second option - http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Benchmarks-Intel-Ivy-Bridge-CPU-sandy-bridge,14144.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ivy-bridge-intel-cpu-processor-specs,14083.html

[Timmoboy]

It would be nice if we could get some statement or something from BIS if they're planning on adding support for hyperthreading. Because they don't have that now I guess ?

Thanks for the help guys, will probably buy the 2600k :)

[SPEKTRE76]

T-Minus 6 weeks.........

CASE: Rosewill THOR V2 Gaming ATX Full Tower Computer Case,

CPU: AMD FX-8150 Zambezi 3.6GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor

MOB: ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+ AMD 990FX

GPU: MSI R6990 HD 6990 4GB 256-bit GDDR5

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

HDD: Corsair Force 240GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

PSU: CORSAIR Pro Series HX1050 1050W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI/CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS

DVD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit - OEM

My electric bill is going to catch fire in the mail box, lol.

Now I can finally build a mission with 1000 AI like I saw on YouTube and be able to fully max out all graphics. And for the intel fanboys, Microsoft gets their processors from AMD:D

Now for my question: What the heck do I need to watercool and is it easy to do?

[froggyluv]

Nice build - 4gb video card :eek:

You do realise that the 2500k kills that Dozer for gaming I'm sure :p

[BangTail]

Not only that, but the Bulldozer is known to BSOD certain games (I know Shogun II was one and there are others but I don't remember OTTOMH)

I'd stick with Intel or non Bulldozer AMD CPUs (but preferably Intel).


Info on Bulldozer BSODs (I believe some of these may have been remedied but the fact that it happened at all is a red flag for me):

http://scalibq.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/amd-bulldozer-can-it-get-even-worse/

PS: The 6990 is 2 x 2 GB (2GB per GPU), the RAM is not shared - JFYI :)

[Bee8190]

Nice build - 4gb video card :eek:

You do realise that the 2500k kills that Dozer for gaming I'm sure :p

Might not be entirely the correct conclusion in this case..He intends heavy AI use in SP and thus i think the FX might be the better choice.

- http://cdn5.tweaktown.com/content/4/3/4357_09_amd_fx_8150_bulldozer_2600mhz_ddr_ram_overclocking_full.png

- http://assets.vr-zone.net/13704/x264.jpg

- http://assets.vr-zone.net/13704/crysis2.jpg

I personaly would have gone for higher RAM frequency though

EDIT- @<hidden>, its a new architecture and as always even SSD's werent really ready to go from day one...B2 would sure be better :)

[BangTail]

It was the right conclusion.

Bulldozer is a complete and total failure - where have you been?

PS: RAM frequency (above what he has) won't change a thing (+/- 1 FPS)

@<hidden> Your edit: Not really the best analogy as SSD's had no competition when they released (despite their teething problems) and Bulldozer is being beaten by CPUs that are significantly older than it.

AMD is out of the desktop CPU market anyway so I doubt we'll be seeing B2 :(

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AMD-APU-Z-Series-ARM-Tegra-3,14114.html

[Bee8190]

I'm certainly not impressed by the first series of FX but complete failure?I would't go this far unless you, as many others expected nothing less than 2600K crusher :)

[BangTail]

Well, it was more to do with AMD's hype. The reality fell far short of what was promised.

The same is true of the Tahiti GPU's performance which they were saying was going to be roughly the same as the 6990's. Now we are finding out that it is more like 30% faster than a 6970.

At the end of the day, AMD leaving the desktop CPU arena is not something I am happy about, as Intel needs a viable competitor.

[SPEKTRE76]

I personaly would have gone for higher RAM frequency though

Yeah but I can OC this and AMD boards are only DDR2 and I think 1600MHz is as high as they go, which sucks but with all the RAM I will have I'll be good to go!

I priced an itel build with 64GB of 1800MHz ram and a 6 core i7 LGA2011 and it was 1k more than this one.

I may just do that and slowly get the rest of the parts as I go.

The MOBO and RAM and CPU come out to $2700+ USD alone.

:yay:

[BangTail]

Yeah but I can OC this and AMD boards are only DDR2 and I think 1600MHz is as high as they go, which sucks but with all the RAM I will have I'll be good to go!

I priced an Intel build with 64GB of 1800MHz ram and a 6 core i7 LGA2011 and it was 1k more than this one.

I may just do that and slowly get the rest of the parts as I go.

The MOBO and RAM and CPU come out to $2700+ USD alone.

:yay:

Loving my 2011 although it isnt going to help much as far as gaming goes (FrostByte 2 will benefit among a select few).

Definitely seeing the benefits in After Effects and Photoshop!

If you are after a fast gaming rig, I would go with 2600K before 2011 purely from a price perspective.

If you can spend the cash, 2011 all the way bud :D

[SPEKTRE76]

Loving my 2011 although it isnt going to help much as far as gaming goes (FrostByte 2 will benefit among a select few).

Definitely seeing the benefits in After Effects and Photoshop!

If you are after a fast gaming rig, I would go with 2600K before 2011 purely from a price perspective.

If you can spend the cash, 2011 all the way bud :D



Oh I also use Adobe Illustrator CS5, Photoshop CS5 x64, Light Room v3.1, Alias Sketch Pro, 3DS Max 2010 64x and Dasault Systemes CATIA v5.0

I'm also going to buy a CAM suite for my CNC machine build. This way I can start making my own custom cases for PC's.

You see my sig, I will be able to engrave that on my custom case!

[BangTail]

If you use productivity software, no reason not to go with 2011 :D

[PuFu]

especially since you are using demanding software capable of taking full advantage of cores and threads available, the AMD FX should be the last option on the list. Hell, even the 2600k is better for this sort of software. Indeed, like bangtail suggests, the 2011 6 cores are well above all the others...even the old gen 6 cores

[Bee8190]

Maybe I'm being a cheapo but I just don't see how you would benefit from LGA2011 compare to 2600K.(lets leave the FX behind for now)
IMO even if you'd use 3|dmax, aftereffects, CS5 etc.. extensively the benefit from 2600K to LGA2011 must be just too negligible to justify the (such) premium price of LGA board and CPU alone when the difference in completed task would be only seconds, at best.
Haven't seen any benchmarks as of yet proving otherwise but i suppose as with everything, if the price is no object why not :)

[BangTail]

Maybe I'm being a cheapo but I just don't see how you would benefit from LGA2011 compare to 2600K.(lets leave the FX behind for now)
IMO even if you'd use 3|dmax, aftereffects, CS5 etc.. extensively the benefit from 2600K to LGA2011 must be just too negligible to justify the (such) premium price of LGA board and CPU alone when the difference in completed task would be only seconds, at best.
Haven't seen any benchmarks as of yet proving otherwise but i suppose as with everything, if the price is no object why not :)

~23% faster in Photoshop.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Core-i7-3960X-Extreme-Edition-CPU-Review/1429/8

I'm noticing it in PS CS5 and 23% is significant AFAIAC. It may not be for you, but then again, I think you are basing your opinion on price while I base mine purely on performance.

It doesn't blow the doors of the Hexcore 9xx CPUs, but if you are buying now, the 3930K (You can get 3960X performance from this CPU with ridiculous ease - and beyond) is a much better solution than a 990x IMHO.

Of course, this all comes down to price. This is high end enthusiast gear and it comes at a premium. If you are on a budget, this is not the gear I would recommend but I have spoken with SPEKTRE before and from the things he has said, I get the impression he is willing to spend the extra money.

X79 motherboards really aren't that expensive, you can pick up a decent one for $250.00 so I wouldn't say that is a particularly compelling argument against the 2011 platform (especially in the realm of enthusiast level systems).

In conclusion, the 2600K is a great processor, but if you want the best (especially for productivity), the 2011 platform is where it's at.

[PuFu]

Maybe I'm being a cheapo but I just don't see how you would benefit from LGA2011 compare to 2600K.(lets leave the FX behind for now)
IMO even if you'd use 3|dmax, aftereffects, CS5 etc.. extensively the benefit from 2600K to LGA2011 must be just too negligible to justify the (such) premium price of LGA board and CPU alone when the difference in completed task would be only seconds, at best.
Haven't seen any benchmarks as of yet proving otherwise but i suppose as with everything, if the price is no object why not :)
Rendering...
I am working in motion graphics as a freelance. The last project i had was a motion clip 4min long, where i had to setup, preview and render a lot of frames in max.
My 6core 970 saved the day. The other lad that i was working with had a older generation HP CAD station, Xeon driven. Still, the 970 was 150 to 200% faster in all CPU and RAM intensive operations: max, vue, ae.

So, all in all, the gain is not neglijable. If i can cut 10s seconds off one render image worth 100s (10%), for 2000 frames, i gain a LOT of time. And i am not even talking about test renders or previews here.

[BangTail]

^QFT^

/10 chars

[richiespeed13]

Hi All,

I am going to buy a new screen for my PC soon. However I have absolutely NO idea where on earth to purchase one from. I do not want to go to an overpriced high street shop, I would rather buy online, as that is usually cheaper?

I am looking for a good gaming monitor, with at least 75hz refresh rate and 1920x1080p. I am not sure exactly what size to go for, would 26" be sufficient?

And should I get LED or LCD?

Thanks a lot for any help! My budget is only about £300-400.

Thanks again if anyone can point me to a good wesbite. I don't really want anyone to find me a screen, but some good sites, or even a great ebay shop would be good.

Thanks!

P.S, I am based in the UK, if that makes any difference

[Tonci87]

I would go for a LED screen.
I advise you to wait until this month is over, prices will drop after christmas.

[PuFu]

Hi All,

I am going to buy a new screen for my PC soon. However I have absolutely NO idea where on earth to purchase one from. I do not want to go to an overpriced high street shop, I would rather buy online, as that is usually cheaper?

I am looking for a good gaming monitor, with at least 75hz refresh rate and 1920x1080p. I am not sure exactly what size to go for, would 26" be sufficient?

And should I get LED or LCD?

Thanks a lot for any help! My budget is only about £300-400.

Thanks again if anyone can point me to a good wesbite. I don't really want anyone to find me a screen, but some good sites, or even a great ebay shop would be good.

Thanks!

P.S, I am based in the UK, if that makes any difference

1. There aren't many, if any monitors running their native resolution (1920x1080) @<hidden> Most are running @<hidden> or 120Hz (3d monitors).

2. I would grab a LED monitor. Much better contrast, luminosity, power
consumption as well as black colors (as in less bleed into the black).

3. I for one would get an IPS monitor, should be in your price range (the resolution for 99% of IPS monitors is 1920x1200 btw).
But be advised that most affordable LED IPS monitors have higher response time. (a 5ms is low enough for gaming. An 8ms might be a bit much for most very fast paced games though).

4. In terms of producers, i would go with Dell (love the incorporated USBs), Asus or HP.

5. Make sure to have at least one DVI port, and one HDMI port (mini or normal). The cheaper monitors might have only VGA ports.

[Tonci87]

4. Samsung? I think they make good LCDs

5. Aren´t DVI and HDMI ports the same? At least quality wise? (HDMI can also transfer sound while DVI can´t)

[Bee8190]

Yes, dell ultrasharp would be a good chice and as Pufu said, the USB ports are neat feature, plus you can even download pre-calibrated profiles for that monitor.
Samsung does also one of the best screens, Acer, NEC, LG is good etc..

Anyways check these as to give you an idea :) -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Ultrasharp-U2412M-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B005LNDPPS/ref=pd_sim_sbs_computers_19

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ACER-S243HLAbmii-Full-LED-Monitor/dp/B005LVMSYY/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323374263&sr=8-2-fkmr1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/VE247H-Widescreen-Response-Intelligence-Technology/dp/B004T2LMP2/ref=dp_cp_ob_computers_title_2

http://www.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/VK246H/

http://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/all/monitors-tvs/lcd-24

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=17

Customer reviews included :)

[BangTail]

Hi All,

I am going to buy a new screen for my PC soon. However I have absolutely NO idea where on earth to purchase one from. I do not want to go to an overpriced high street shop, I would rather buy online, as that is usually cheaper?

I am looking for a good gaming monitor, with at least 75hz refresh rate and 1920x1080p. I am not sure exactly what size to go for, would 26" be sufficient?

And should I get LED or LCD?

Thanks a lot for any help! My budget is only about £300-400.

Thanks again if anyone can point me to a good wesbite. I don't really want anyone to find me a screen, but some good sites, or even a great ebay shop would be good.

Thanks!

P.S, I am based in the UK, if that makes any difference

As Pufu said, if you can afford it - get an IPS panel (They aren't that expensive anymore tbh)

TN and VA are fine for TVs but the difference between those and IPS is night and day where monitors are concerned.

HP and Dell both make affordable 20-24" IPS monitors.

Dell:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-052-DE&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

HP:

http://www.ebuyer.com/204376-hp-zr24w-lcd-ips-24-dvi-d-monitor-vm633at-abu

I've been using HP ZR30Ws (The big brother of the HP 24" for a while now and I won't ever go back to TN/VA, just the service alone is fantastic. One of them developed a few stuck pixels and they had a new one delivered the next business day. Absolutely first rate service.

[PuFu]

HP and Dell both make affordable 20-24" IPS monitors.

Dell:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-052-DE&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

HP:

http://www.ebuyer.com/204376-hp-zr24w-lcd-ips-24-dvi-d-monitor-vm633at-abu
+1 - those are the same monitors i would buy if i'd need one..



I've been using HP ZR30Ws (The big brother of the HP 24" for a while now and I won't ever go back to TB/VA, just the service alone is fantastic. One of them developed a few stuck pixels and they had a new one delivered the next business day. Absolutely first rate service.
I'd say that is normal when you pay close to 1000 EUs (about 1200 in my country) for one monitor :)

[BangTail]

Well, I never got that from Dell. Their service is good but it was a few days, not the next business day.

But you're right, service can improve substantially when there is more cash involved ;)

[MF_Washburn]

I was also looking for a screen cover, one that reduces glare and blocks UV rays or something like that.

[droogs]

@<hidden> post #684have a look here for some timely water cooling advice :)

http://www.avforums.com/forums/computer-systems/56924-kramer-other-members-promoting-water-cooling-you-have-alot-answer.html6

[Tonci87]

I´m going to buy a new monitor soon and I think I´ll get this one:
http://geizhals.at/deutschland/665211

Question: Will I experience a significant performance decrease if I play Arma on the monitors native Resolution of 1920x1200 compared to the 1280x1204 resolution of my current Monitor?
GPU is Sapphire Toxic HD5850
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd5850_toxic/
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd5850_toxic/5.htm

[PuFu]

I´m going to buy a new monitor soon and I think I´ll get this one:
http://geizhals.at/deutschland/665211
That is a good choice


Question: Will I experience a significant performance decrease if I play Arma on the monitors native Resolution of 1920x1200 compared to the 1280x1204 resolution of my current Monitor?
GPU is Sapphire Toxic HD5850
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd5850_toxic/
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd5850_toxic/5.htm
i'm sorry i can't give you an exact answer, as i have never played arma (1 and 2) below 1680x1050.
In theory the decrease shouldn't be significant unless you run very high AA on that card.

[Tonci87]

No I think I will leave AA to normal and FXAA to 17 just as I do now if doesn´t cause problems

[Scruffy]

I guess you will notice, but it's playable with that card. You can run some tests now, just change 3d resolution and aspect ratio.

[Flash Thunder]

First off Happy Holidays folks of the forums.

I recently just got a new HAF case and an EVGA GTX 560ti 2048MB graphics card for Christmas. Today I was planning on getting all the old contents transferred to the new case and playing some Skyrim with the 560 ti :D

But, as always theirs problems..... Mainly the 560ti requires a Power supply wattage rating of 500 or greater, my current PSU is 500 watts so it only meets the requirement but then it also requires a 30 Amp rating on the 12 Volt Rail.

My psu only supports 18 amps max on the 12 volt rail, anyways I guess im buying myself another new part (money drain much).

That doesn't seem like a problem to me you say? Well the problem is that my house was built back in 1952, we have a 100 amp reading on the house i assume, I really don't know much more than that on the subject.

Is upgrading my PSU to this http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Compatible-platforms/dp/tech-data/B004MYFODS/ref=de_a_smtd

going to start popping my house breakers or cause some form of damage to the electrical in my house? This PSU says it can allow 70 amp on the 12 volt rail.

It would really suck if i spent another 130 on the PSU only to find out once I hook it all up my fuses keep popping because my houses electrical is so out of date (don't even have ground on the wall socket)

All i know is that modern homes typically have 300 amps in them, according to a electrician/pool guy I talked to.

If this doesn't make sense im sorry im just as confused been trying to google things for hours on it, im hoping that i can just buy the new PSU and not have to worry about frying my homes electrical. :p

Also is 850watt good or should I just spend alittle extra getting 1000watt with a higher amperage limit?

Ill spend 200 dollars max.

[Bee8190]

Yup, you gonna need to get different PSU as the 18Amps is way too low.You're looking at something like 30amp + for single GFX, so 18Amps is not enough.

The TX850W should be a good choice though. Enough Amps / W even for SLI, should you want that in future and as long as your M board supports it and you have enough space in between.
Having HX 750 myself, I can recommend corsair, as I am happy enough with it ( noice, output etc..)

As of them plugs in your house, i guess you gonna need to put your PC to asleep before you switch on the cattle to get cup of coffee :p

Seriously though, I assume that as long as you dont use too many appliances at once, you should be ( hopefuly ) good.

[djfluffwug]

I never see the need of getting overly powerful power supplys. 850 watt would be way enough. I would think something like a 600 Watt PSU. I am running a GTX 560ti Golden Sample, 4G of RAM, I5 750 quad core processor, 1TB HDD and other various things and I am on a 550 watt PSU.

I wouldn't waste the money on getting a PSU if you aren't going to use the watts.

[Tonci87]

Well he needs a new GPU because of the Amps.
Thats really a tricky question with your house.
Maybe we have a electrician in this Forum?

Mods please don´t close this Thread, he would never get an answer to that in the PC Discussion Thread

[VirtualVikingX]

Well he needs a new GPU because of the Amps.
Thats really a tricky question with your house.
Maybe we have a electrician in this Forum?

Mods please don´t close this Thread, he would never get an answer to that in the PC Discussion Thread

+1 I'm curious too.

[-Puma-]

well im studying to become electrician so maybe I can help. If u check your fuse box it should contain number of fuses that are wired into different rooms. For example here in finland we usually have 10 amp fuse for a group, that contains lights and sockets. The voltage we use is 230w so yhe fuse holds up to 2300watts (current x voltage = watts) So u cab use 2 1000w heaters for example on that fuse, put a coffee machine on top of those 2 and the fuse will pop. So u can safely use 1000w power source on the said 10 amp fuse and u have 1300 w still left. This ofcourse varies what and how fuses are used.

[Flash Thunder]

ugh they merged my thread....

I guess I'm going to have to speak with an electrician on this one.

Sucks to live in an outdated home, not only poorly insulated, poorly equipped for modern electrical usage... FPDR

So after I looked at my fuse box, I see 20 amp fuses for multiple rooms/aspects like the fans/lights in our family room.

so using the formula P= I x V

20 amps X 110V = 2,200 Watts that seems like a lot of headway, its not like im going to SLI, im running one card, nothing else is new in my PC accept the case.

Im going to go ahead and purchase a modular PSU this one > http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-850-Watt-Certified-Compatible/dp/B0029F21LA/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1325041823&sr=1-4

If it doesn't work guess then im shit out of luck and will be selling the graphics card and PSU on Craigslist...

[-Puma-]

ugh they merged my thread....

I guess I'm going to have to speak with an electrician on this one.

Sucks to live in an outdated home, not only poorly insulated, poorly equipped for modern electrical usage... FPDR

So after I looked at my fuse box, I see 20 amp fuses for multiple rooms/aspects like the fans/lights in our family room.

so using the formula P= I x V

20 amps X 110V = 2,200 Watts that seems like a lot of headway, its not like im going to SLI, im running one card, nothing else is new in my PC accept the case.

Im going to go ahead and purchase a modular PSU this one > http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-850-Watt-Certified-Compatible/dp/B0029F21LA/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1325041823&sr=1-4

If it doesn't work guess then im shit out of luck and will be selling the graphics card and PSU on Craigslist...


you will be allright with that PSU. I bet it your system dosent even need more than 500w, so u have alot of head room with bigger PSU and with lighter load it might last a littlebit longer:)

[Tonci87]

Another question, when I get the new Monitor, is it better to connect it to the GPU with a DVI-D or with a Display Port cable?

[Bee8190]

@<hidden> T, if you really dont plan on going SLI, anything above 650W-750W 80/silver might be just waste of money and you might be better of getting new PSU in 3-4 years time.
Nonetheless, the (linked) supply is top of the range from corsair ( using seasonic parts afaik ) so it should work well enough for you, whatever decission you ll make

@<hidden> you won't see no difference so it doesn't matter, for gaming, at all ;)

[ezvert]

i already have a crap, HD 5450 1GB DDR3
i cant play battle field bad co 2 on even medium settings either arma 2
please suggest any good gaming graphics card from my pc
my pc specs are
core i5 2500 3.3 GHz
intel media series motherboard DH67BL
4GB RAM
windows 7 32 bit os
500 watts power supply

[vuckotadic]

How much money do you have for GPU?

[cjgsicknote]

I have a similar set up to you and went for the asus gtx 560ti cuii, moderately priced and runs arma, bf3, skyrim etc really well. 500w psu should suffice but you might want to consider giving yourself some headroom and upgrade that also.

[kotov12345]

Take one with big fans - or may be with several big fans - so not will so noisy.

Take a look on test and you can see which one approx will be faster.
http://www.ixbt.com/video/itogi-video/1211/itogi-video-cr4-wxp-aaa-1920-pcie.html

Full tests here:
http://www.ixbt.com/video3/i1211-video.shtml

Sorry on russian - but most important things in english.

I'm not recommend anything below 570/6970.

[Laqueesha]

At least a GTX 560 Ti. Anything below that is rubbish for running ArmA 2. Ideally, you'd want a GTX 580 or a GTX 590.

[Qazdar]

500 W ...

6970 is the card you wanna get.

[batto]

At least a GTX 560 Ti. Anything below that is rubbish for running ArmA 2. Ideally, you'd want a GTX 580 or a GTX 590.

Hi. I recently got new computer with MSI GTX 560 Ti. I increased resolution to 1920x1200 and disabled antialiasing. I left the rest of gfx settings on defaults (almost everything on high). Most of time I run on 60fps (60Hz LCD). I wanted MSI GTX 580 Lightning but they're all sold out worldwide. But now I'm happy because 5-10fps difference isn't really worth 270$ difference (560Ti ~ 260$, 580~ 600$).

EDIT: According to some review MSI GTX 560 Ti can be easily OCed to match reference GTX 570.

[domokun]

At least a GTX 560 Ti. Anything below that is rubbish for running ArmA 2. Ideally, you'd want a GTX 580 or a GTX 590.

Avoid the fanbois and see for yourself:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/12/22/amd-radeon-hd-7970-3gb-review/4

[Laqueesha]

Avoid the fanbois and see for yourself:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/12/22/amd-radeon-hd-7970-3gb-review/4

Heck, I'd be a happy man if I had 50 FPS as my maximum. :eek:

[Flash Thunder]

I don't get it my GPU only uses about 900MB at max in Arma 2, how would you get the game to use more than 2GB if you got one of those new beasts of a video card?

[Laqueesha]

I don't get it my GPU only uses about 900MB at max in Arma 2, how would you get the game to use more than 2GB if you got one of those new beasts of a video card?

I'd like to know this too. I know ArmA 2 only uses 2047 MB of CPU processing power, though, but I'm not sure how it would work with GPUs.

[Przemek_kondor]

I'd like to know this too. I know ArmA 2 only uses 2047 MB of CPU processing power, though, but I'm not sure how it would work with GPUs.Isn't there something like cache used internally by graphic card? Games don't have access to it directly, but whenever resource (mostly textures) is freed, it's not really errased from memory but kept to be loaded faster next time.

[PuFu]

I don't get it my GPU only uses about 900MB at max in Arma 2, how would you get the game to use more than 2GB if you got one of those new beasts of a video card?
It is dependent on your gfx settings, especially the monitor resolution. try running the game @<hidden>%, see if you can see an increase

I'd like to know this too. I know ArmA 2 only uses 2047 MB of CPU processing power, though, but I'm not sure how it would work with GPUs.
CPU processing power is not measured in MBs, not even in GHz. The 2047 is RAM...:annoy:

[SgtH3nry3]

Isn't there something like cache used internally by graphic card? Games don't have access to it directly, but whenever resource (mostly textures) is freed, it's not really errased from memory but kept to be loaded faster next time.There's a framebuffer or VRAM which is accessible via D3D or OpenGL and on the more modern GPU's there is low-level cache which cannot be accessed by regular D3D or OpenGL but rather through OpenCL, DirectCompute, nVidia CUDA/AMD Stream or assembler.

However it wouldn't surprise me if the GPU drivers "cheat" using that low-level cache as a buffer for the framebuffer.

It's very complex these days. I only know a few bits about CISC/RISC processors but not about GPU architectures which completely change every year.

[Laqueesha]

CPU processing power is not measured in MBs, not even in GHz. The 2047 is RAM.

Oops, had a brain fart there. :pet1:

[Flash Thunder]

@<hidden>

current resolution is 1680x1050 3D res at 120%

I changed the video memory setting from Very High to Default

This seems to have increased my FPS even more and my video memory sometimes gets up to 1900MB usage! So almost a full load of the dedicated Vram.

I hope that's not because of a memory leak.

I also put SSAO on Post process set to Very High and increased View distance from 3200 to 4500.

Typically get around 25-40fps, when in helicopters usually get 50 to 60fps.

This is with an older CPU too its great performance I couldn't imagine it with an i7 2600k @<hidden> something better than 2.4ghz (my current frequency) :)

I tend to do smaller missions though with no heavy scripts running besides ACE 2 functions, I can't get good FPS in any campaign missions on these settings and I doubt i would if I had more than 30 AI in my missions.

[SPQR_Semaj]

Hey all, interjecting with my own question. I'm building my own computer for the first time, and I'm pretty ignorant all around when it comes to hardware and what to look for. I've done a bit of research, but all too often I'm getting conflicting information on what to look for, or what not to look for. I want to get started on building this computer sooner rather than later, and my benchmark is to be able to run ARMA 3 on high settings, at about 60-100 FPS, with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Since the game isn't out, I know no one will be able to offer definitive answers, but any recommendations as to how I can improve efficiency and whether or not you think it will likely be able to pull this off is what I'm looking for. I got this build from HERE (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-cpu-ssd,3027.html). It's in my price range($1,000, give or take $200), and it is based around the i5 2500k, which seems to be the best all around CPU when it comes to performance and price.

Motherboard: EVGA P67 Micro SLI, LGA 1155, Intel P67 chipset

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K, 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo), Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache

Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Redline 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) 240-Pin DDR3-1600 Kit, Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit

Graphics: 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1 GB, 1 GB in SLI

Hard Drive: OCZ Vertex Series 30 GB SATA II SSD, 30 GB, SATA 3Gb/s and Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s

Not going to bother listing the cooling, case, power, or optical unless it really matters. I'm probably going to go with 8 GB of memory since it's so cheap, but I haven't done much research on what to look for when getting it. Thanks for any and all critiques and advice.

[froggyluv]

@<hidden>: Thats pretty much the system I have (except 16gigs ram for RamDisk) but who knows how it's gonna handle Arma3. 60-100fps?

Works great for Arma2 tho I'm almost certain I'll upgrade to a higher Vram video card as Arm3 draws nearer.

[Nicholas]

Hey all, interjecting with my own question. I'm building my own computer for the first time, and I'm pretty ignorant all around when it comes to hardware and what to look for. I've done a bit of research, but all too often I'm getting conflicting information on what to look for, or what not to look for. I want to get started on building this computer sooner rather than later, and my benchmark is to be able to run ARMA 3 on high settings, at about 60-100 FPS, with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Since the game isn't out, I know no one will be able to offer definitive answers, but any recommendations as to how I can improve efficiency and whether or not you think it will likely be able to pull this off is what I'm looking for. I got this build from HERE (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-cpu-ssd,3027.html). It's in my price range($1,000, give or take $200), and it is based around the i5 2500k, which seems to be the best all around CPU when it comes to performance and price.

Motherboard: EVGA P67 Micro SLI, LGA 1155, Intel P67 chipset

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K, 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo), Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache

Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Redline 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) 240-Pin DDR3-1600 Kit, Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit

Graphics: 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1 GB, 1 GB in SLI

Hard Drive: OCZ Vertex Series 30 GB SATA II SSD, 30 GB, SATA 3Gb/s and Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s

Not going to bother listing the cooling, case, power, or optical unless it really matters. I'm probably going to go with 8 GB of memory since it's so cheap, but I haven't done much research on what to look for when getting it. Thanks for any and all critiques and advice.

Don't even bother with a 30GB SSD. Buy something like a 256GB SSD. Or at least 120GB. 30GB will not offer enough room, even if you're only installing the OS and ArmA.

I would highly recommend not upgrading until ArmA III has been released.

Also, 60-100FPS on High Settings....I for some reason doubt it will be possible. Maybe 60FPS when staring at the ground or a wall with no AI around.

[SgtH3nry3]

I would highly recommend not upgrading until ArmA III has been released.This.



There is always chance on a regression which makes the projected requirements invalid that will not be fixed until 2013/2014.

For all you know you could buy a top of the bill nVidia GPU to find out it sucks in ArmA 3.

[kmossco]

Not to mention that the first or second driver from both Nvidia/Ati, after ArmAIII is out, can bring improvements and determine which flavour of graphics to buy.
Happened before with ArmaII.

[4 IN 1]

I've finally ready to get rid of my increasing problematic Windows XP 32 bit and move on to Win 7 Ultimate 64bit version (I know! I Know! XP is great, but sometime things have to move on, and with more then 3 GB of RAM now I have more chance to crash anyways)
Now I have a few question to ask before I upgrade to Win 7

A. Should I slipstream my box version of Win 7into WIN 7 SP1 like I used to with XP?(which is OH so more complicated then it used to in XP era)
B. And if so, how to?
C. Am I be able to put it on Bootable USB like I used to with XP?
D. Is there anything I have to be aware of other then the most usual stuff?
E. What should I do with my Steam install?

BTW I go back to ATI side of the display card war with 7970 now, is the offical driver ready? Or is there any 3rd modified driver available yet?

[BangTail]

A: Just install Win 7 and use the updater or get a MS ISO that has SP1 integrated (http://forum.notebookreview.com/windows-os-software/604187-legal-download-digitalriver-windows-7-sp1-13-languages.html).
C: Yes, http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/, MS has their own tool http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool but I prefer the former because it has a ton of other options.
D: Not really, Win 7 installs are usually very quick and simple.
E. Just back it up and restore it under your new install (Back up the whole steam directory and when you reinstall, install Steam and then restore your old Steam install over the fresh one.

The 7970 is on it's second post release driver.

Make sure you get the driver for the 7970 and not the 12.x drivers as they do not support the 7970.

Here is the latest one:

http://downloads.guru3d.com/AMD-Radeon-HD-7900-driver-8.921.2-RC11-download-2844.html

(The drivers for the 7970 are x64 only so you need to be running a 64bit version of Windows 7).

[4 IN 1]

I actually find that I have many things needed to resolve with upgrading, mainly to find out all the things need to backup because I can foresee the file structure be very different then XP, I also might have to preform a full check on the disk partitions and try to remove any bad sector developed over years of operation......oh well, every thing have a paid off it seems...

I am switching to 64bit system anyway so won't be too much problem with 64bit drivers. However I do plan on running a water cool system later, since my cpu is already running a cheapy cheapy toy water cool set, I plan on running a separate cycle with the display card untill the next major overhual on MB, CPU and RAM, but it seems that no 7970 compatible component on the market yet, is that correct?(I admin I am a bit too nerdy here):p

[BangTail]

Emm, I think there is but I'll have to get back to you on that as the closest I get to liquid cooling is the Corsair H Series :)

[4 IN 1]

Ok, after a review seems my PSU have to go as well, and or though my PC case can house this bigass card I don't have the room for all the fan and stuff... So in the end of the day I might just upgrade the hold goddamn system as well .......

Even with the government refund covering the card and windows cost there still a lots of money when down the drain at once FPDR

[RangerPL]

If anyone's interested or pays attention to such things, Newegg has a wonderful deal on Intel 320 Series SSDs:

$119 for an 80GB drive, with the mail-in rebate this price drops to $70.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167047