Computer Build Resource Thread - Page 28

Firstly I was wandering if the performance of the computer in terms of speed and longevity of components is effected by the memory usage on the hard drive? On my current computer (store bought and family, if I was to buy a new one it would be only mine and built myself) I had no idea about such things and just saved everything on the “:/C drive” to such an extent that it has been filled and I keep getting messages asking me to delete files to improve performance. I don’t know weither this makes a difference to its performance or but my friends and family seem convinced it’s the singular largest problem with computers (Im pretty sure none of them have any idea why this is and when I ask them why their response is “oh yeah man, that’s just common knowledge”)

This brings me somewhat to my second question. If the answer to the above is “yes”, would it make any difference to the performance if I was to save files on the “:/D drive” , with the result of an empty “:/C Drive” and would it effect the speed of programs opening ect?


Yes. The OS needs to index all the files. Over time (due to copying, deleting, moving, etc...) files can become fragmented. The computer tells you that a file is a file and that's all it is, but when it's stored on your disk it's not all stored in the same place. If you have lots of files and you've never defragged...you'll have worse performance than your computer has potential to give. Also, slower drives will affect speed, regardless of the quality of the rest of your computer. Putting files on different named partitions doesn't always matter, since a single HDD can be split into multiple partitions.


Thirdly, are operating systems reusable? If I buy Windows 7 and install it on my new computer will I be able to “upgrade” my laptop with it as well or is it a one use kind of thing? And what the general consensus is on the best operating system for longevity, performance and price
I was also wandering if I would need to buy a new copy of SC2 to install on my new computer or if I will be able to use the same disc (and battle.net account ect?) that I used to install it on my current computer? If not which part of my current computer would I have to keep as a part of my next build so that I could play it?

Sometimes. Microsoft definitely doesn't like it, and you need some hacks to do that. Blizzard CD-Keys are tied to the account. You can install the games in as many different places as you want, but you'll only be able to login and play from one place at a time if you only have one account.

Do different components have different life spans? For instance would I buy piece “x” would I “NEED” to replace it after Y years? Also for this matter can the performance of components drop with age? And does leaving the computer on for extended periods of time damage things/ harm components? I would generally have my computer on at least 5 hours a day (not playing all the time, my current computer can take ages to shut down or turn off so it is generally left on standby) and can reach like 12 hours a day on the weekends easily.

Strictly speaking no. In a general sense, yes. If you don't clean out your case, and/or have poor cooling (this can also be affected by living in a warm place in general), your hardware WILL fail sooner. Over extended periods of time, constant heating and cooling can cause contacts on the board to develop microfractures. Most of the time, you won't notice much performance hit. Other times...you will. Heat causes all kinds of problems. Most noteably, it's why laptops have such short lifespans and why XBox 360s occasionally exploded.

If I was to build my own computer, what is the general consensus on how to protect parts from ESC? Il almost defiantly get one of those wristbands, but I’ve heard lots of things like build on wood or an antistatic mat, wet your hair, build it barefoot, don’t touch anything metal (use the sides of the boards when handling) and keep packaged until you need that specific piece. All of these sound reasonable (perhaps apart from the wet hair thing). Is there anything else you can recommend? As this would be my first time building a computer I absolutely do not want to take any risks whatsoever regarding ESC.

Electronic Stability Control is usually only available on cars. From what you're saying, I think you mean static. All that stuff is overkill. All you have to do is touch a piece of metal to discharge before working, and don't work on a carpet.

Im also curious as to weither or not i would need a sound card? I never see them mentioned in these threads so i assume they are in the motherboard or something but i would like to have sound =P

If you're an audiophile or plan on getting surround sound, you will definitely need a card. Most integrated sound systems are plenty good enough these days (some even support surround sound nowadays). Personally, I didn't bother with one.


Finally I am somewhat concerned about the ability of various pieces to be able to “work” or fit” together and I would appreciate it if someone could explain how if I look to purchase a HD5850 for explain the prices can vary so wildly and apparently have apparently been build by different companies? I thought it was an “Athlon HD5850” but I can buy a “PowerColor EXDISPLAY PowerColor HD 5830 PCS Edition 1GB GDDR5 825Mhz DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card” for £179.99 or a different HD5850 marketed as “Gigabyte TechnologyGigabyte HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card” for £350 ????? Its this sort of “ambiguity” that scares me in realtion to the performance, compatability and how people rate them. I guess Athlon design it then sell the plans to various companies who then build and sell it marketed under their brand, but nonetheless as someone viewing the “computer part selling buisness” I struggle to see how I can compare one to the other in terms of the quality of the product

ATi manufactures all the GPU chips, and usually the GPU boards, and then sells them in bulk to retailers. Some retails slap some stickers on and resell them directly, while others (most of the good ones really) will replace the stock cooling systems with better ones, or change the output capabilities or something like that. For instance, there are 5870's with 2 DVI-D ports, and there are 5870's with 6 MiniDVI ports, but the GPU on both is the same. Most cards also have two or more versions, which usually only differ in the amound of RAM they have (on the card, not in the system). A 5850 with 1 GB of RAM will cost more than an identical 5850 with 512 MB of RAM. Also, you're comparing a 5830 to a 5850, which are 2 different cards completely.


As for your other spoiler block, I can't really help you there. I'm in the US, so I don't know that much about parting in UK. As for SLI/CrossFire, they are both a way of connecting 2 video cards to allow them to share processing. This means you will be buying two of the same video card. Usually, you'll need to get a better motherboard to support full capabilites (ie: 2x16 slots) of SLI/CrossFire, which is also more expensive.

Also, my new computer (need monitors before I can use my new card T.T) uses a motherboard with an integrated Radeon HD 4250 video chipset, and I'm running SC2 with most things Medium, a couple on Ultra, and a couple on Low at an average of around 60 FPS. Getting 11 FPS is hard even on basic builds these days. Sounds like you have a REALLY old computer.

Athlon II x3 435 2.9ghz processor
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176043
£60

Asus M4A785TD-V EVO 785G Socket Motherboard
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169532
£69

MSI HD 5770 1gb GDDR5 Graphics Card
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/189239
£120

Coolermaster Elite 330 Case with 460w eXtreme Power PSU
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101
£58

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1tb 32mb Cache 7200rpm Hard Drive
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804
£48

Corsair 2x2gb DDR3 1333Mhz Cas 9 1.5v
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/178943
£79

Cart total inc vat: £432.93

This should be getting you Ultra EZ at 1024x768.

The processor I picked has a chance of "unlocking" its potential to 4 cores and/or a Phenom II processor with 6mb L3 cache. This is chance though, it's not guaranteed. If this does happen though, you profit about £55 :X

64 bit will give you 64 bit software. 32 bit software will work on 64 bit Windows 7 (99% of them are).
64 bit Windows 7 will let your machine use beyond the 4GB memory limit and optimized for certain applications that use large memory spaces.

You can use upgrade disk to install the software, all you have to do is select the option that says wipe drive clean and install from scratch (or something along the line) but the key is tied that computer and can only be activated once.

That was my experience so far. I've used the Windows 7 Pro upgrade disk to install on brand new hard drives with no windows at all.

The x3 processors are typically quad processors that either have 1 core deactivated, or have 1 core that's defective, which is why they're x3. I haven't done this myself so I don't know the details (google it, it shouldn't be hard to find) but you activate some function on certain motherboards (again, don't know which ones, google that) and you could potentially unlock the core and use it. Nothing illegal here, you own the hardware, they can't really say what you can or can't do with it.

As for upgrades, you can upgrade to the phenom lineup (900 series, 1000 series), and potentially upgrade to bulldozer when that comes out (seems like that will be AM3 compatible), how big of performance gains you get with those is up in the air, depending on what you want to do. You'll be limited on upgrading your video card because your psu will be a borderline powerful enough to run anything requiring two pci-e power cords. You have extra slots for ram if u need them....which you probably won't.

You'll need the 64-bit windows for this computer because you have 4 gb of ram and 32-bit windows only recognizes 3.5 gb of ram. 30 pounds is definitely reasonable, new copies usually cost like $100+.

As for upgrading it, I had a new copy of it so I just installed it straight away, you might need a different version of windows first but I don't know for sure

@ Pure.Calm
This is something I wrote awhile ago when I was talking about how Phenom II x2 555 BE dual-core processors could be unlocked to quad-core processors. The Athlon II x3 435 follows a similar manufacturing process.

The chance of unlocking the cores are entirely how the chip has been manufactured. The 555 BEs originally started as 955s, but if the 955s had faulty cores they would be turned into 555s to make up the loss. However, if that was the only way 555s were manufactured there obviously wouldn't be enough 555s in the market. There are also some 955s that are perfectly fine but are turned into 555s. That's a risk you take when you attempt to unlock a 555.

AMD doesn't manufacture the 555 chip because that would require a completely different assembly line, so they just disable cores on the 955.
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If you can get Windows 7 64 bit for 30 pounds get it