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When using this resource, please read FragKrag's opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly. |
@vGl-CoW
You don't necessarily have to downgrade the graphics card. I was just keeping your budget in mind (even though you said there really is none) and wanted to keep the total about the same. It's perfectly fine to stick with the 6950 2GB.
What are some of the other manufacturer models for the power supplies? There may be better options than the CX500 such as an Antec Earthwatts, XFX Core, Seasonic, etc.
You want a SSD primarily for the random access, not for the write/read speeds. Any SSD (regardless of size) will be miles ahead of a HDD. You aren't just going to install the operating system on the SSD, you'll also be installing your applications and games on it for faster load times. Choose a size based on what programs you want on the SSD. Keep in mind that Windows 7 is roughly 17GB.
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I think it's worth having 80GB to be able to have a lot of applications and other working space on it. There should be some decent performance boost, at least in write speeds, from the 80GB over the 40GB. Keep in mind that you may want the retail boxed SSD version with the drive bay adapter and SATA cable, since your case can't natively use the smaller 2.5" (laptop size) HDD form factor that most SSDs are, and your motherboard probably only comes with two SATA cables.
Corsair CX500 is decent but nothing special, a definite step down from the HX650 in quality. It may well not be better than what other manufacturers are offering, depending on what models are available. But it's also a lot better than a lot of products out there. I wouldn't hesitate to use it--just don't expect super longevity.
HD 6950 can make sense if you want to keep the computer for a while. However, if you can find one of those Sapphire HD 5850 Xtremes at a price under what the HD 6850 and GTX 460 are sold for, that's probably the best deal. You can always upgrade the GPU later on with not much extra hassle.
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@Skyr
So I went ahead and snatched a 570, and I must say I'm very impressed with how quiet it is (i got the longer one too). Playing SC2 would make me load at 80C, now I'm playing at 42C, a whopping 3C higher than idle.
One thing that I have wondered though. In my nvidia control panel under resolution, it shows
PC 1920x1080 (Native) at 60hz.
Up top it shows HD, SD
1080p, 1920x1080 but it's capped at 50hz.
With my 280 and my older drivers(260.63), I had kept them specifically because those drivers allowed me to selet HD, SD 1080p and have achieve 60hz.
What I'm wondering if there was actually a difference at all? I really notice 50hz vs 60hz.
EDIT: The monitor im using is the Samsung 2494SW connected via DVI.
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The HD/SD resolutions are meant for televisions. You should be using the PC resolutions for a monitor.
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Makes sense. Another quick question and it may be a stupid one, but on my 3D Mark 11 test it shows my ram as being clocked at 667mhz in dual channel (I have 2x2GB PC-12800 1600mhz sticks), but the software is showing it at 800mhz(Everest as well as the EVGA tool). Any reason why?
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DDR3 is dual pumped (1600 / 2 = 800) so your software readings are correct except for the 3D Mark 11 one.
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800mhz per channel, 1600mhz dual channel, your fine if it shows you have 800mhz.
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I figured it was my 3dmark being wrong
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On May 02 2011 07:34 FinBenton wrote:
800mhz per channel, 1600mhz dual channel, your fine if it shows you have 800mhz.
This is wrong. Dual channel and dual pumped are two different things. Dual channel allows the memory controller to use two data channels which increases bandwidth throughput. Dual pumped is also known as DDR (double data rate) which allows for transfer on both rising and falling edges of a clock signal.
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I don't really want to start a new thread for this, but I'm looking for a laptop not a desktop.
My budget is about $1000. Very light gaming, and not any Photoshop, AutoCAD or any of those CPU intensive programs.
I'd prefer something matte Black, but if that's not a possibility it's okay as well. Any screen size above 13" is good. I'll also need good battery life, but I'm not entirely sure what that means (I've never owned a laptop).
I've decided I want a laptop with a small SSD drive, which might be pushing it. I'll be adding a 1TB external hard drive separately though, so the size of the SSD doesn't matter as much so long as I can fit my regular use programs on it (can you install items on external drives? non-portable versions).
My only concern is that I'm not going to find a laptop that has an SSD for less than $1500, so I might be willing to buy a laptop and an SSD to install myself, but I'd need recommendations.
Thanks for the help.
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Alright so I'm finally playing SC2 with the new video card and I have an issue. Looking at this evga tool playing SC2 I am only using 35% GPU usage, and ingame there are lock ups. They may be unrelated, and they may just be driver issues, however it is a problem I have experienced before I went dual monitor and played SC2 in windowed-max.
Apparently RivaTuner doesnt support the latest drivers, so I don't have a program to monitor the core/mem clocks ingame to see if they are running on 3D performance or 2D mode(previously with 1monitor and playing on win-max, my sc2 would be playing on 2D mode or low-3D) I'll try playing fullscreen and see if the problem still persists.
Any suggestions?
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Yeah I did the oldschool safemode drivercleaner too. Ill try that application.
EDIT: Clocks seem to be just fine.Maybe need to start looking at drivers then.
EDIT2: I'm on my phone. I should probably note that while just holding a key and watching it type every now and then there would be hiccups.
EDIT3: Back on the comp, trying different drivers hopefully all is good.
So everything seems to be ok now. I used the drivers from the CD and there have been no signs of the hiccups at all. Also, in my resolutions it now behaves like the old drivers for my 280. It is once again allowing me to use HD, SD 1080p @ 60hz, except this time it doesnt even show PC 1920x1080 as the native, or there at all.
+ Show Spoiler +
Very weird behavior.
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Sadly, my options are restricted to Canada. The laptop looked great though, and I suppose it'd be easier to just buy an SSD and install it instead of wanting it pre-installed. 64GB is enough.
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Alright, I'll just make it simple, can someone link me to a pre-built laptop that's beastly for playing games and hooking up to my LED TV and watching movies off of, and is preferably below $2,500.
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On May 02 2011 12:22 Zeller wrote:
Alright, I'll just make it simple, can someone link me to a pre-built laptop that's beastly for playing games and hooking up to my LED TV and watching movies off of, and is preferably below $2,500.
I don't mean to re-complicate things, but are you sure you want a high-end $2500 gaming laptop that's huge and heavy, heats up a lot, has low battery life, is as powerful as a $900 desktop, and will soon be outdated with no real upgrade options?
You can get a new laptop that will output HD movies to your TV fine over HDMI for less than $400 (well, more like a netbook for that price and specs). To spend that kind of budget on a laptop for gaming, you're paying a huge premium for parts way beyond the bang-for-buck region. And then you have all the issues mentioned above.
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Let me start by saying this thread is amazing, thank you so much for all the information!
Here's my question, I'm building a new computer for the first time in 5.5 years and my old monitor only has a VGA cable, if I buy a VGA-DVI converter will I lose video quality or is it worth it to buy a new DVI-ready monitor?
Thanks!
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On May 03 2011 05:40 Soda wrote:
Let me start by saying this thread is amazing, thank you so much for all the information!
Here's my question, I'm building a new computer for the first time in 5.5 years and my old monitor only has a VGA cable, if I buy a VGA-DVI converter will I lose video quality or is it worth it to buy a new DVI-ready monitor?
Thanks!
Most graphic cards will include a DVI-VGA adapter in the box but double check to make sure as some manufacturers have stopped providing these.
You most likely won't notice the difference between VGA and DVI unless your monitor is poorly built. If your budget allows for it than getting a new monitor for your primary display and using your older monitor for your secondary display wouldn't be a bad idea -.^
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EPT![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/5tLLV.jpg)
