Post your PC's specs here! + Discussion about hardware

[thatguy]

^^ the areca cards are very good, particularly in the 1200 series. but they're also quite expensive (for 8x ports or more), and if you aren't doing some serious data storage then they won't give you much more than your integrated intel RAID controller.

^ though a bit more expensive than an X1050, the new 8600GS cards are quite powerful and relatively inexpensive (about $130 retail). also, dvd burners still can't saturate even a regular PATA connection, so getting a SATA optical drive doesn't provide much benefit. actually, getting a PATA drive will keep one extra SATA connector open for another hard drive in the future. but if you have some PATA hard drives you intend on putting in your new system then SATA optical is the way to go--putting any optical burner on the same cable as a hard drive is usually a poor choice.

[NAzu]

The sata dvd-rw drive is just for the cosmetic reasons (read. cable management) I don't play games that often and the games I play are old rpg games and some old fps games like Raven Shield at lan parties. Though it would be fun to try these new games like Supreme Commander, CC3 and Stalker and others.

[JH6]

^^ the areca cards are very good, particularly in the 1200 series. but they're also quite expensive (for 8x ports or more), and if you aren't doing some serious data storage then they won't give you much more than your integrated intel RAID controller.

I search for some reviews and as far as I cansee areca is indeed one of the best. But expensive. And for my budget I rather spend the money on an extra HDD or some more Memory because 2GB is nice but for 3d animation it is still not mush. Sometimes the usage goes up to 3gb. But as fart as I know windows xp doesn't really support mush memory. Probably I have to wait until all the first bugs of windows vista have been removed and than buy a good version.

[frblckstr1]

Sometimes the usage goes up to 3gb. But as fart as I know windows xp doesn't really support mush memory. Probably I have to wait until all the first bugs of windows vista have been removed and than buy a good version.

Vista is already way more stable then XP (how many patches have you seen for it compared to say Apple in the last months?)
Memory: no 32-bit OS will address 3GB+ easy, you need a 64-bit version for that (simple mathematics for addressing memory) if you really need 4GB+ make sure you have supported hardware for Vista 64-bit.

[ebc]

Sometimes the usage goes up to 3gb. But as fart as I know windows xp doesn't really support mush memory. Probably I have to wait until all the first bugs of windows vista have been removed and than buy a good version.

Vista is already way more stable then XP

I think no matter how stable Vista is surposed to be compared to other OS's. Vista still manages gay up things that it really should be better at.
For example games still don't run as good on Vista as they do on XP.
It's a shame that MS is only releasing DX10 for Vista because half the gamers would much prefer to use XP. It just works so much better.

The other problems I've had are drivers for 64bit Vista, manufacturers still only have beta drivers. Most don't support old hardware which is still good and no reason to upgrade and then I've had customers come in with their brand new Vista laptop asking me to install their broadband modem because their ISP doesn't give phone support for Vista. They end up having to buy a new modem/router because there's no Vista drivers for their modem. Little things like this are what the mainstream user shouldn't have to deal with but are having to.

anyway just having a rant about Vista, lol in the end just use whatever works I reckon (and XP works)

[frblckstr1]

I think no matter how stable Vista is surposed to be compared to other OS's. Vista still manages gay up things that it really should be better at.

No argument there from me

It's a shame that MS is only releasing DX10 for Vista because half the gamers would much prefer to use XP. It just works so much better.

They (MS) need to somehow force people into buying Vista, no mather what you say about 'stability' of XP SP2, it does run on 95% of the hardware (and the other 3.5% of Apple's Mac's )

'Real' gamers should care about how there games run, not on which type of OS.

The other problems I've had are drivers for 64bit Vista, manufacturers still only have beta drivers. Most don't support old hardware which is still good and no reason to upgrade and then I've had customers come in with their brand new Vista laptop asking me to install their broadband modem because their ISP doesn't give phone support for Vista. They end up having to buy a new modem/router because there's no Vista drivers for their modem. Little things like this are what the mainstream user shouldn't have to deal with but are having to.

New modem?? I still use my aging 4 your old external ADSL modem, but its a 4-port hubs version so 'standonly', was a bit more expensive but hey you get what you pay for

[nox_xie]

huhu.. so much about crysis.. a must need for dx10 which only avail. on vista.. good marketing ms..

[arie]

I'm busy with my new pc and having a few questions.

Adjusting the rpm's of the fans and curious about temperatures.

So anyone knows the maximum temperatures in celsius of this parts;

CPU intell E6420.
Graphics MSI 8600GTS with fan.
Mainboard Asus P5B E
And maybe the overall temperature inside the case.

Thanks.

[thatguy]

^ are you overclocking?

- core 2 duo's can go up to 60C and a little higher. you don't need to worry about breaking it, because all intel chips from the old P6 family have a built in temp sensor that will halt the CPU if it gets too hot. but with a good cooler you should be able to manage around 40-50C easily.

- don't know specifically about the MSI 8600GTS--most SKU's vary their heatsinks as well as how much they factory-overclock. but the 8600 is less power-hungry than the 8800 chips, so any card with a fan will be okay.

- all motherboards tend to run around 35-40C, you'd be hard pressed to find one that runs hotter.

- as for the case, depends on the material. aluminum and steel and plastic have different melting points, so... plan accordingly? jk, the case itself doesn't contribute to the electronics so there is no "max temp".

for the most part you dont need to worry about general heat if you aren't overclocking. your computer will lose stability (ie: random reboots or lockups) before there's any damage to the hardware if heat becomes an issue.

however, if you are overclocking, you do need to keep an eye on the voltages. the cpu is fine because it'll automatically halt (like i said above), but the same doesn't apply to the northbridge or the ram (which also get very hot). if you're increasing the voltage to either of those, it's very important that you keep them cooled well.

[arie]

Thanks thatguy.

I'm not gonna overclock my system, only to set the fans as silent as possible.
In idle it is now;

Cpu is 45 C
Mainboard is 35 C
Graphics 45 C

And for the temperature inside the case, is more for the max temp. for memory/hard drives etc.
Room temp. is now 22 C.

I have 1 intake/1 outtake fan/silent power-supply fan/intell standard cpu cooler/and standard fan on 8600GTS.

Arie

[StreakInTheSky]

went for a cheap upgrade

I now have

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ socket 939 w/ thermaltake silent boost HSF
2GB memory (I should have 3, but I sometimes get errors from my 1GB set)
and since my old PSU broke I got a 530W RAIDMAX RX-530SS (really cheap w/ modular cabling)

my pc is now faster, quieter, cooler, and more stable than it was before.

[thatguy]

^^ all those temps look perfectly fine for what you have. if it isn't already at lowest speed, you could turn your cpu fan down some more. since you're not overclocking, your memory will be fine. but hdds should generally stay as cool as you can keep them--they should never really get more than a bit warm to the touch.

[NAzu]

Got all the parts together and now it's running fine. Cpu is oc'd to 2.7GHz which is pretty low cos I think this could do like 3GHz atleast if I had a better cooler. Temps are too high now (69 load@Orthos small fft's). I hope that I'll get the Tuniq Tower this week and then I will be able to oc this baby properly 

[thatguy]

69C

did you get the E6X00 or E4X00? also i thought you were gonna get the gigabyte mobo

still, lookin' good. esp nice psu. i just bought some parts and will do an upgrade later this week.

[frenchkiss]

Graphics cards can run pretty hot, I have a fanless 7600gs that runs well over 100 Celsius during 3d games and there is no problem with that apparently... You should take care about your HDD temperature more I guess, above 55 celsius is really bad for those...

[ebc]

Got all the parts together and now it's running fine. Cpu is oc'd to 2.7GHz which is pretty low cos I think this could do like 3GHz atleast if I had a better cooler. Temps are too high now (69 load@Orthos small fft's). I hope that I'll get the Tuniq Tower this week and then I will be able to oc this baby properly 

Cool! can't wait to see how it goes.
BTW What's the vcore set at?

[NAzu]

69C

did you get the E6X00 or E4X00? also i thought you were gonna get the gigabyte mobo

still, lookin' good. esp nice psu. i just bought some parts and will do an upgrade later this week.

I choosed to take the cheapest way It's the Pentium E2160. Couldn't wait for the Gigabyte mobos so I just bought the DFI.

Cool! can't wait to see how it goes.
BTW What's the vcore set at?

Vcore is now at 1.32v. Testing now 1.8@3GHz. Seems ok, did just a Super Pi 32M calculation (I know I know It doesn't stress both cores and Orthos/Prime would be better). Cpu is still cooled with the shitty boxed cooler  When I get the Tuniq I will probably lap the cpu cos I'm pretty sure that the HS is concave.




Orthos small fft's running now Let's hope it's stable...

[thatguy]

damn already up to 1.8 on stock? 3ghz is nice, but that's gonna get quite hot!

dunno about the DFI board, but people say the E2160 hits fsb wall, so you may not really need to crank it up to 1.8. but so far the numbers look good!

[NAzu]

At XS I've seen people who have reached 3.2-3.4GHz on these chips (on air). But I'm pretty pleased with this cpu already. 1.2GHz oc on stock cooling isn't too bad

[frblckstr1]

Stop global warming! Do not overclock your PC!