23!~

my first build will be here monday

antec 300 + earthwatts 650 combo
p5q + dominator 1066 combo
e8400
visiontek 4870
7200.11 500gb
freezer 7
samsung dvdr/w

815 after rebates and had all free shipping till i added case fans and a wireless card

[Edited on November 2, 2008 at 12:16 AM. Reason : .]

11/2/2008 12:15:55 AM

very nice build

11/2/2008 12:19:20 AM

computers are overrated

11/2/2008 12:20:29 AM

I never thought I'd see you say that, lol.

11/2/2008 12:56:50 AM

i'm seeing the truth.

11/2/2008 1:00:49 AM

Ok, question. I am looking for some parts to upgrade my PC for Christmas. Current PC specs:

Athlon XP 3700+
1.5 gigs RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS w/256 megs RAM
SB X-Fi
Got about 5 drives. 3 internals with the biggest being 120 gigs, and the 2 externals are Seagates. Gonna replace them with a 1TB SATA drive.

Need some suggestions on what components I can keep and what I should toss. Top needs are going to be mobo/proc/HD I think. First, should I go dual or quad core? Here are the two processors I think are in the price range (same price):

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail

Lastly for video card, what is a good midrange gaming card that will also output with HDMI so I can connect it to my plasma? I want to get a Blu-Ray drive so I can watch Blu-Ray movies on my TV. I'm assuming I will get at least as good quality watching through an HDMI or DVI to my TV, which my 6800 GS already supports.

11/2/2008 8:39:52 AM

Quote :

"Need some suggestions on what components I can keep and what I should toss. Top needs are going to be mobo/proc/HD I think. First, should I go dual or quad core? Here are the two processors I think are in the price range (same price): Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail"

If you can wait about 3.5 hours, the Nehalem NDA expires at 12:01 am Monday.

Quote :

"Lastly for video card, what is a good midrange gaming card that will also output with HDMI so I can connect it to my plasma? I want to get a Blu-Ray drive so I can watch Blu-Ray movies on my TV. I'm assuming I will get at least as good quality watching through an HDMI or DVI to my TV, which my 6800 GS already supports."

How much do you want to spend? The HD4670 is a good card, the 9800GT is also an option. Make sure if you buy the 9800GT, buy the hybridpower one. The rest of them are re-branded 8800GTs. Some cards are not listed that they include the HDMI adapter and the s/pdif connector. My EVGA GTX260 did not have it listed as coming in the package, but the EVGA forum members informed me that all of the new GTX260/280 cards come with the HDMI kits.

[Edited on November 2, 2008 at 8:40 PM. Reason : :]

11/2/2008 8:40:02 PM

holy shit i want an i7 series intel. They demolish the core 2 duos.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/31/intel-core-i7-benchmarks-make-core-2-extreme-look-like-a-washed

http://www.hwbox.gr/showthread.php?t=2700

[Edited on November 2, 2008 at 8:52 PM. Reason : .]

11/2/2008 8:50:43 PM

Oh yea, I just thought I would give you the source for the NDA end date.
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=411
It's at 39:40 through the podcast.

11/2/2008 10:10:13 PM

Couple deals found today for those PC builders out there:

Microsoft Windows Home Server 32 Bit 1 Pack (Power pack 1) - $99 (assumed price drop)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116550

Antec Three Hundred Computer Case & Antec earthwatts 500W 80+ Power Supply - $69.94
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/AddToCart.aspx?Submit=ADD&ItemList=Combo.136160

11/4/2008 3:13:40 PM

My next computer:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/03/intel-core-i7-equipped-falcon-northwest-mach-v-gaming-desktop-ha/

11/4/2008 3:56:41 PM

$8k, there's a reason why they call that boutique PC manf.

i could build that for 1/2 the cost.

11/4/2008 4:47:16 PM

Hey if everyone in Tech Talk gave me 100$ i could build it and we could use it for folding!

11/4/2008 6:20:42 PM

Why has no one posted this yet?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227334

http://images10.newegg.com/UploadFilesForNewegg/rebate/SH/OCZ10MIRsNov01Nov1608lt12US.pdf

8 gigs for 39.99$ after rebate.

Which is better timings? 5-5-5-18, or 5-4-4-18?

[Edited on November 4, 2008 at 7:01 PM. Reason : .]

11/4/2008 6:51:54 PM

im thinking of buying those or these( i have put those G. Skill into the last 4 PCs i built for gf sister me and me). Which do u think is better? Both have lifetime warranty, but

G. Skill 5-5-5-15 with 1.9V as listed
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

and

OCZ Fatality 5-4-4-18 with 2.1V as listed
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227334

which do u think for a 4 GB setup is better negating the price. RAM just keeps dropping and dropping...

[Edited on November 4, 2008 at 7:46 PM. Reason : links]

11/4/2008 7:45:50 PM

^well the OCZ has a 20$ MIR, so you're saving 30$ overall. Is 5-5-5-15 better timing than 5-4-4-18?

11/4/2008 7:48:17 PM

are u asking the question or implying that i know the answer?

11/4/2008 7:50:33 PM

Asking the question. I never fully understood ram timings and how it effected overclocking.

11/4/2008 7:54:51 PM

those Fatal1ty modules are so fucking horrible it's not even funny. Just read some reviews on them.

11/4/2008 8:03:40 PM

Quote :

"those Fatal1ty modules are so fucking horrible it's not even funny. Just read some reviews on them."

in regards to the timings, 5-4-4-18 is faster than 5-5-5-15 (some would debate if it was better), but it really matters what the command rate is (1T vs. 2T), i'm assuming both are 2T, 1T is the best but harder to do (it was easier with DDR). the other thing to look at is the voltages, since they are so close and one runs at 1.9v versus 2.1v it could be likely that you could actually get faster timings (per volt) with the 1.9v

the last of the four the tRAS is the least important, but you want timings that are as close to each other as possible while at the same time the lower the better, as it's called timings for a reason, the less time it takes to do something the faster. keep in mind the more voltage you pump into the memory, typically you can get lower tighter timings (with good memory). with crappy memory like the OCZ Fata1ity, i'd imagine even overclocking aren't going to help lower your timings or increase your frequency much.... not to say all OCZ memory is bad, but they do use different brands of modules in their different model series

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 12:54 AM. Reason : .]

11/5/2008 12:40:34 AM

Do places like newegg typically run sales during the holidays, or do they stick to their random instant/mail in savings? Been thinking about ordering new computer parts but was hesitant to pull the trigger if massize sales would be going on.

11/5/2008 7:32:53 PM

meh, I don't see DDR2 dropping too much more in price because DDR3 is pretty much the next big thing now with i7 and all. I'd say http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 is pretty much a solid/awesome deal and I'd just go ahead and order it.

11/5/2008 7:36:40 PM

I'd call those OCZ turds "Faul1ty" and be closer to the truth.

There's a deal at frys.com for 2x2GB DDR2-800 that run at 1.8V for $20 after $35MIR. Free shipping makes it even sweeter. Hurry though, deal ends tomorrow.

EDIT: http://www.frys.com/product/5530560

And regarding ram timings & speed: for C2D timings mean virtually nothing and bandwidth means just slightly more. In terms of real-world performance you'll never see any difference between CAS4 versus CAS5 or 6 and memory speed (DDR2-800 versus DDR2-1066 or 1200) will give a minor at best boost (example: you might see 1-2% improvement in game fps going from 800 to 1200). Mostly you just need fast enough RAM to let your processor run at its maximum overclock (don't let DDR2-800 rated memory hold back a processor that can run at 500fsb [DDR2-1000 speed]).

BTW C2D systems don't even have a 1T setting. That dates from back in the days of DDR on socket 939 motherboards. Those older X2 chips ran much better at 1T than at 2T for some reason.

[Edited on November 6, 2008 at 1:58 AM. Reason : Link to RAM deal.]

11/6/2008 1:55:57 AM

^that's the same deal i got last week, best bang/buck

as for the timings i was just explaining it. while they aren't that important on C2D systems, the frequency is, especially in memory intensive programs such as rendering, encoding, decoding, 3d, etc. there's a big difference when you have a rendering that takes 45 min. and you drop 5 min. just because of memory frequency. timings, well those are only important to overclockers.

EDIT: here's some corsair 2GB (2x1GB) with CL4 timings rather than CL6 for $15AR : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145177
(though it runs at 2.1v, so the crucial could probably do at least CL5 at this voltage)

[Edited on November 6, 2008 at 12:00 PM. Reason : .]

11/6/2008 11:51:05 AM

4gb for $13 AR, looks like they are off-loading the DDR2 now that i7 out
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/15181

11/6/2008 3:28:48 PM

Well, with the new i7 chips and x58 motherboards launching that require DDR3 I'm not surprised to see the companies trying to unload some of their excess inventory of DDR2 before demand dries up.

There are some steals right now on newegg. If you're a subscriber to their sales you can get a 600W OCZ PSU for $30AR, a 2GHz AMD single core for $20, an ASUS 780G motherboard for $65. If you're not a subscriber you should be.

11/6/2008 10:23:26 PM

I think my video card is going bad. I have an 8800gtx and lately (over past 2 weeks) both monitors have been acting up. Like it started with the right one. It would have a little horizontal jiggle to it. I would deactivate it, and activate it, and it would go away. Then the left one started acting up. It would have horrible jiggling (don't know another word), and lately it's been going crazy and turning blue in certain spots. I can get all this to stop by turning the monitors on and off. I turned the GPU fan up 100% and i don't think it's over heating. Could my GPU memory be going bad? Call of Duty 5 was crashing alot too, so i underclocked it some and it fixed the problem.

11/13/2008 6:29:18 PM

I saw an ATI card with 2GB ram in tiger direct the other day...I do not keep up with hardware and usually just research a bunch of tech sites a week before I'm ready to build a new PC.

How much longer is my 8800 GTS 720MB going to last? What's the deal with these 9000 series nvidias and shit?

/offtopic

11/13/2008 7:11:58 PM

I switched PCI-E slots to see if it was the actual slot. I hope my vid card isn't going to shit.

-do video drivers need to be reinstalled every time i switch pci-e slots?

[Edited on November 13, 2008 at 7:14 PM. Reason : .]

11/13/2008 7:13:35 PM

shouldn't it be under warranty?

11/13/2008 7:16:26 PM

Does evga offer a lifetime warranty? I got it June of 2007. I switched PCI-E slots because i have 2 x16 and one x8, and the other x16 seems to be working. I'll see if it starts acting up again.

11/13/2008 7:20:28 PM

yea, they do. apparently some people have trouble getting it honored if they didn't register within the 30 days. I'm sure it's nothing a phone call wouldn't take care of. Else it's limited to 1 year.

11/13/2008 7:51:47 PM

Limited to one year period? Mines more than a year old.

11/13/2008 7:55:15 PM

yeah but if you're at least remotely good with people, it sounds like one of those things where you just call up the EVGA rep and state your case logically. I mean who the fuck seriously takes the time to register their products?

11/13/2008 8:03:34 PM

Me, and I've already used my lifetime warranty with EVGA once

[Edited on November 13, 2008 at 8:30 PM. Reason : .]

11/13/2008 8:29:52 PM

Ok i updated my Nvidia control panel and now i can't access the overclocking settings. How do i unlock those settings under the Nvidia control panel?

-There's a "Performance" part that lets me change clock speeds but it won't let me put the GPU fan at max. It's just stuck on 0% like it's not reading it.

[Edited on November 15, 2008 at 2:53 PM. Reason : .]

11/15/2008 2:51:09 PM

http://downloads.guru3d.com/EVGA-Precision-1.3.3-download-2112.html

11/15/2008 4:14:38 PM

^yeah i'll check that one out. I'm using Rivatuner now. It seems to work fine. Just installed 8 gigs of OCZ ram. Running memtest on it now.

11/15/2008 4:24:51 PM

The new beta drivers have locked the software utilities out of normal fan control. You can fix it by updating to System tools 6.03. The EVGA and Rivatuner updates may just be workarounds.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_system_tools_6.03.html

[Edited on November 15, 2008 at 6:11 PM. Reason : :]

11/15/2008 6:09:57 PM

xp 64 will see 8gb of ram right

just thinking i might grab 2 more dominator sticks sometime as prices continue to fall

11/15/2008 11:40:22 PM

Yeah but xp 64 is just horrible. Get vista.

11/15/2008 11:44:27 PM

Quote :

"Yeah but xp 64 is just horrible. Get vista."

XP 64bit was more like a trial version of a 64bit OS. None of the drivers half worked for it because they didn't have to. To have certified drivers for Vista, you have to have working versions of both 32 and 64bit drivers.

Nehalem motherboards and processors are now for sale at Newegg. $320 for the for the cheapest I7 920 and $220 for an MSI X58 Platinum. Your results may vary on that motherboard. Platinums are hit and miss for good ones, from what I have heard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340343%201051744913&name=LGA%201366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%201070545356&name=LGA%201366



[Edited on November 16, 2008 at 2:19 PM. Reason : :]

11/16/2008 2:15:10 PM

^i just came in here to post that... so ... what he said

11/16/2008 3:50:27 PM

meh xp64 was free

11/16/2008 6:26:51 PM

At least one seller is actually selling the Core i7 920s for the price that Intel actually sets and not feeding off of fat wallets the early adopters.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/DeepSearch_v2.asp?scriteria=i7%20920&DID=&Rebate=0&ST=&page=1&ShowImage=0&SortMethod=11

11/17/2008 12:59:18 AM

http://www.passwird.com/

Quote :

" Studio XPS Intel Core i7 i7-920 2.66GHz Desktop + 23" LCD $1005.56 shipped at Dell EPP Pickup the Studio XPS Intel Core i7-920 Quad-Core 2.66GHz Desktop + Dell S2309W 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor for $1005.56 at Dell EPP. DELL EPP 1. Click through to Studio XPS config page. 2. Select Dell 23" Consumer S2309W Flat Panel [Free] 3. Select 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 [add $50] Total: $1489 - $440 instant savings - 7% instant savings when added to cart + $29.99 shipping = $1005.56. * Intel Core i7-920 Quad-Core Processor(8MB L2 Cache, 2.66GHz) * Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit * 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz * 500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache Hard Drive * 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 * 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability * Dell Laser Mouse, Dell Multimedia Keyboard * 1Yr Ltd HW WRTY, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis, 24x7 Phone Support Newegg sells the processor alone for $319.99. Dell Home sells the monitor for $299.99. "

That's a pretty sweet deal. Couldn't build something for that cheap.

11/18/2008 4:24:44 PM

^^plus shipping it's only $8 less than newegg.com

zzf has it for $297 + free shipping:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009642

11/18/2008 4:48:44 PM

@neodata686

Yesterday that upgrade to a HD4850 costs $400. The only problems I have found with it is that it that you can't OC it, the ram runs at 1066MHz, it only has one PCI-E X16 slot.

Cost of building your own Desktop the way you want it..... Priceless.

11/18/2008 7:23:21 PM

I'm building an i7 machine right now...

MAJOR room for a boner in my pants...since I'll be taking so much cash out of my wallet.

11/19/2008 7:14:09 AM

Anandtech is supposed to have their X58 motherboard roundup finished by the end of next week. If you haven't already bought a motherboard and can wait for the roundup, you will probably be able to make a better buying decision.

11/19/2008 1:19:14 PM