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On April 02 2012 02:05 Cozzak wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2012 01:47 JingleHell wrote:On April 02 2012 01:31 Cozzak wrote:I found this video and seemed like he went over the details for the BIOS in pretty good detail, so I'd probably just follow it as a guideline for what settings to change/use. I know hes using a different CPU, but as for motherboard thats basically the exact one (mine just has an extra slot on the motherboard, same BIOS I'm quite sure). + Show Spoiler + Not neccesarily the same BIOS, but better research than most do. I'd personally suggest starting at a milder OC, like 4.3-4.4, something that can likely be done on stock or almost stock Vcore. If your auto tells you what voltage it's using, use that as a baseline, OC, use a few passes of Intelburntest, and then work your way up slowly from there until you start crashing from insufficient Vcore. Monitor temps while doing this, of course. Once you start crashing, if you have thermal headroom, bump Vcore just a touch, and try again. When you're happy with your OC, run a longer stability test, and adjust as needed. Yeah this seemed like the best choice, thanks Jingle  EDIT: Oh and also, I'm new to overclocking so hold your facepalms if they apply, if the overclock fails (BSOD, or whatever else) I've read something about a CMOS battery thing on the motherboard you have to reset? Is that true? Or can I just reboot and adjust settings?
Normally you can adjust, but in some cases, especially when a value is extreme the computer will crash before you can adjust bios settings. A lot of newer motherboards have dual bios functions which kicks in automatically in cases like that though. If your motherboard doesn't however, yes you'll have to reset CMOS. There is either a pin switch on your motherboard or a button for that (read the manual).
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On April 01 2012 04:52 Kilos wrote:
Worth upgrading from a GTS 250 to a GTX 260 for $50?
EVGA GTS 250 512 MB vs BFG GTX 260 OCX MAXCORE 896 MB
Can I get someone to input on this?
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On April 02 2012 02:21 Shauni wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2012 02:05 Cozzak wrote:On April 02 2012 01:47 JingleHell wrote:On April 02 2012 01:31 Cozzak wrote:I found this video and seemed like he went over the details for the BIOS in pretty good detail, so I'd probably just follow it as a guideline for what settings to change/use. I know hes using a different CPU, but as for motherboard thats basically the exact one (mine just has an extra slot on the motherboard, same BIOS I'm quite sure). + Show Spoiler + Not neccesarily the same BIOS, but better research than most do. I'd personally suggest starting at a milder OC, like 4.3-4.4, something that can likely be done on stock or almost stock Vcore. If your auto tells you what voltage it's using, use that as a baseline, OC, use a few passes of Intelburntest, and then work your way up slowly from there until you start crashing from insufficient Vcore. Monitor temps while doing this, of course. Once you start crashing, if you have thermal headroom, bump Vcore just a touch, and try again. When you're happy with your OC, run a longer stability test, and adjust as needed. Yeah this seemed like the best choice, thanks Jingle EDIT: Oh and also, I'm new to overclocking so hold your facepalms if they apply, if the overclock fails (BSOD, or whatever else) I've read something about a CMOS battery thing on the motherboard you have to reset? Is that true? Or can I just reboot and adjust settings? Normally you can adjust, but in some cases, especially when a value is extreme the computer will crash before you can adjust bios settings. A lot of newer motherboards have dual bios functions which kicks in automatically in cases like that though. If your motherboard doesn't however, yes you'll have to reset CMOS. There is either a pin switch on your motherboard or a button for that (read the manual).
Okay sounds good! Thanks
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On April 02 2012 02:45 Kilos wrote:Show nested quote +On April 01 2012 04:52 Kilos wrote:
Worth upgrading from a GTS 250 to a GTX 260 for $50?
EVGA GTS 250 512 MB vs BFG GTX 260 OCX MAXCORE 896 MB Can I get someone to input on this?
No. That would be throwing money down a hole.
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On April 02 2012 02:45 Kilos wrote:Show nested quote +On April 01 2012 04:52 Kilos wrote:
Worth upgrading from a GTS 250 to a GTX 260 for $50?
EVGA GTS 250 512 MB vs BFG GTX 260 OCX MAXCORE 896 MB Can I get someone to input on this?
If you're looking for something at around the $100 price point where the GTS 250/HD 4850 once was, you're going to be disappointed in what you see there.
Hasn't moved at all. Been 3.5 years, and now the best we have at $100 is a HD 4870 level performer. As a fellow GTS 250 owner, upgrading below a the HD 6850/GTX 460 level would be absurd :/
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which cards can bios flash to a hightier card?
is it just the 6950?
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On April 02 2012 04:17 STYDawn wrote:
which cards can bios flash to a hightier card?
is it just the 6950?
you can flash most cards but it won't affect more than what a normal overclock does, from recent cards its just the 6950 that can be 'unlocked' to basically a full 6970. They 'fixed' this by cutting the shaders. I think only the toxic version of 6950 can be unlocked from the cards that still sell. Most if not all manufacturers started lasercutting the shaders. It will only be guaranteed to work with reference models.
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I've never assembled a computer before, so is there a step-by-step guide that I can peruse so I don't screw this up? I definitely want to assemble it myself so I can learn from the experience (more XP so I can get to level 2 commoner). Also, what tools would I need to assemble it? Do I need some of that anti-static thing that wraps around my wrist to prevent destroying my computer? What about a magnetic screwdriver? Would a magnetic screwdriver mess up the sensitive electronics of my computer?
Thanks to you and MisterFred!
P.S.
The combo on the video card and the memory is over, unfortunately. Any suggestions on what to get instead?
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search you tube for "hardware canucks computer build guide"
there's a newegg one too; the hardware canucks one is a ton better - I built my second computer (YEARS after the first) while having the hardware canucks video next to me. Ignore the products they mention, just follow the process
P.S. Static shock is mostly a problem if you are wearing socks on carpet or are in a very dry area (Las Vegas, say). If you ever touch your car door and it shocks you, then be a bit more careful. Otherwise touching the case now and again while building will mean you're totally fine. And don't set stuff on the outside of the grey anti-static bags they come in. Those are the two most noob-unfriendly things I can think of. Everything is just following instructions in the manual.
Magnetic screwdrivers are fine. I wouldn't go get a new one if you don't have one. A very long screwdriver helps with some heatsinks. Magnets are only a real problem with hard drives. Hard drives use magnets to write data, so running a strong magnet over a HDD will scramble the drive. Even then, I'm virtually certain the drive would be fine, it would just have random scrambled data, not a problem on a new drive. Most electronics (and flash memory, like in cell phones) couldn't care less about magnets.
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What about the video card and the memory? Any suggestions? I'm a complete newbie to this.
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On April 02 2012 04:23 Shauni wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2012 04:17 STYDawn wrote:
which cards can bios flash to a hightier card?
is it just the 6950? you can flash most cards but it won't affect more than what a normal overclock does, from recent cards its just the 6950 that can be 'unlocked' to basically a full 6970. They 'fixed' this by cutting the shaders. I think only the toxic version of 6950 can be unlocked from the cards that still sell. Most if not all manufacturers started lasercutting the shaders. It will only be guaranteed to work with reference models.
wow such assholes. icant believe they would purposely destroy their own productsn to keep prices high....
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Well I don't have time to look all that hard. All the links I posted in my response to you are still good, though the rebate for the 460 I linked earlier is $10 less (460 is roughly equal to 6850 in power):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127646
And 4gb of RAM would be $20:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820576003
(Less RAM than in Myrmidon's combo, 8GB would be $35, not that much more, but honestly 4gb is enough).
The 8GB of RAM I recommended earlier is still there if you want overkill:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820576006
There's some combo deals with the cheaper 6850 also on newegg, but they don't look better. Might want to wait an hour or so to see if someone other than me chimes in who saw something juicy. BTW, in case it wasn't clear, you can mix & match from Myrmidon's & my recommended builds. Power supplies, motherboards, monitors, all the stuff we recommended was pretty similar and compatible with each other so you can work off both lists if something else comes up.
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On April 02 2012 04:56 STYDawn wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2012 04:23 Shauni wrote:On April 02 2012 04:17 STYDawn wrote:
which cards can bios flash to a hightier card?
is it just the 6950? you can flash most cards but it won't affect more than what a normal overclock does, from recent cards its just the 6950 that can be 'unlocked' to basically a full 6970. They 'fixed' this by cutting the shaders. I think only the toxic version of 6950 can be unlocked from the cards that still sell. Most if not all manufacturers started lasercutting the shaders. It will only be guaranteed to work with reference models. wow such assholes. icant believe they would purposely destroy their own productsn to keep prices high....
Lol what? If they were assholes, you wouldn't even have a 6950...
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So this is what I got...
Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32100
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power ...
LITE-ON SK-1788/BS 2-Tone PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM
ASRock H61M/U3S3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Acer G245HQABD 23.6" LCD Monitor Black 5ms Full HD Widescreen 300 cd/m2 ACM 80,000:1 (1,000:1)
SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL
Logitech S120 2.3 Watts (RMS) 2.0 Speaker System - OEM
Subtotal $837.88
Tax $0.00
UPS Guaranteed 3 Day $20.22
Promo Code -$76.75
Order Total $781.35
Is this a good deal?
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Yeah, looks good. I'm assuming you have a mouse and remembered you need a spare power cord for the antec earthwatts.
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On April 02 2012 04:56 STYDawn wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2012 04:23 Shauni wrote:On April 02 2012 04:17 STYDawn wrote:
which cards can bios flash to a hightier card?
is it just the 6950? you can flash most cards but it won't affect more than what a normal overclock does, from recent cards its just the 6950 that can be 'unlocked' to basically a full 6970. They 'fixed' this by cutting the shaders. I think only the toxic version of 6950 can be unlocked from the cards that still sell. Most if not all manufacturers started lasercutting the shaders. It will only be guaranteed to work with reference models. wow such assholes. icant believe they would purposely destroy their own productsn to keep prices high....
Its not so much that. The card was rated a 6950 for a reason, it was a low-end or defective 6970. Technology nowadays has literally billions of transistors to be instantiated. The chance for any certain transistor or element on the card to be defective is of course really low, but multiplied by the billions the chances that something is imperfect is pretty much a guarantee.
Unlocking a 6950 into a 6970 doesnt all of a sudden re-manufacture the imperfection. All it does is allow you to access a defective or low performing product.
So what often people do is buy a 6950, and then flash it into a 6970 thinking its a new-age driver installing. And then complain for a refund when they either brick the card, or the card crashes a lot or underperforms or whatever.
So to prevent all the headache manufacturers will laser modules into oblivion so that people can't complain about it.
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On April 02 2012 06:33 Medrea wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2012 04:56 STYDawn wrote:On April 02 2012 04:23 Shauni wrote:On April 02 2012 04:17 STYDawn wrote:
which cards can bios flash to a hightier card?
is it just the 6950? you can flash most cards but it won't affect more than what a normal overclock does, from recent cards its just the 6950 that can be 'unlocked' to basically a full 6970. They 'fixed' this by cutting the shaders. I think only the toxic version of 6950 can be unlocked from the cards that still sell. Most if not all manufacturers started lasercutting the shaders. It will only be guaranteed to work with reference models. wow such assholes. icant believe they would purposely destroy their own productsn to keep prices high.... Its not so much that. The card was rated a 6950 for a reason, it was a low-end or defective 6970. Technology nowadays has literally billions of transistors to be instantiated. The chance for any certain transistor or element on the card to be defective is of course really low, but multiplied by the billions the chances that something is imperfect is pretty much a guarantee. Unlocking a 6950 into a 6970 doesnt all of a sudden re-manufacture the imperfection. All it does is allow you to access a defective or low performing product. So what often people do is buy a 6950, and then flash it into a 6970 thinking its a new-age driver installing. And then complain for a refund when they either brick the card, or the card crashes a lot or underperforms or whatever. So to prevent all the headache manufacturers will laser modules into oblivion so that people can't complain about it.
Ah i see, so you mean the nonreference 6950 cards are made from product binning?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_binning
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Correct.
In fact pretty much any tech product in the last 10 years you can think of is either a binned product or a product that is then binned to give other products. Somewhere around the pentium 4 era people realized they can sell defective products as different products and still make money as long as they make sure it doesn't blow up.
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On April 02 2012 08:23 Medrea wrote:
Correct.
In fact pretty much any tech product in the last 10 years you can think of is either a binned product or a product that is then binned to give other products. Somewhere around the pentium 4 era people realized they can sell defective products as different products and still make money as long as they make sure it doesn't blow up.
Actually, blowing up is still "ok" to an extent, because they can just ship you another product that's not up to the top specs and otherwise would have been trash. They still made more money off the failures than they would have if they threw them out, as long as the fail rates aren't so high it hurts the overall reputation of the brand.
GTX 460 hit a kind of bizarre counterpoint to the rule though... that one DID get crippled purely in the interest of profit margins, but it was STILL one of the best options, between OC potential and price point. First mid-range cards to ever really get fifteen minutes of fame for SLI purposes.
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EPT
