Random Questions

[b!gfatgoon]

Cheers for that guys.

 

One more question – the specification on the mobo bundle says it's 2 ATA-133 slots and two SATA slots, but I'm only finding ATA-100, and SATA II.

 

If you could take a few minutes to look for one for me (seller in the UK, anywhere between 250 & 500 gigabytes will do) that'll be much appreciated.

 

I'm sure I'm making myself look like a giant dinlo here, but oh well.

[Spenc938]

Even though your SATA ports aren't SATA II, you can still use any SATA II drive. It will not function at II speeds, because your motherboard isn't II, but it will work just fine. Same with the IDEs.

[b!gfatgoon]

Oh, good. Cheers m'dear.

 

And finally! - Is this an appropriate PSU for the rest of my system:

 

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.aspx?sku=314943

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.aspx?sku=320709

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?SAP-X1555E

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-LCD17W (already got this btw)

 

?

Edited July 6, 2007 by b!gfatgoon

[Fozzy Fozborne]

Alright, if you're going to start with your motherboard combo you originally posted here then you're getting 7 SATA II (AKA SATA 300) ports (no idea where they got 2 SATA ports, all 590 chipset motherboards have at least 6). That means that the 320 GB hard drive you want (which is a great choice by the way) will run at full speed.

 

If you're going to get the "AMD 6000+ Upgrade kit", instead of the first motherboard combo, then I'd recommend you read the Newegg reviews on that particular board before taking the plunge. The motherboard in this combo comes with 4 SATA 2 ports.

 

Now, I would NOT recommend an x1550 video card, mainly because it's way underpowered for the system you're putting it in. I'd say get at least a 7900GS. The 7900 has SLI so if you wanted, later on you could buy another one and double your video card's performance (for an up to 80% increase in overall system performance).

 

About the power supply, 500 watts would be enough, but I'd like to know more about that power supply before I would buy it, for example: is it dual rail or single rail? How many amps does it put out? How many SATA and molex connectors does it have?

[b!gfatgoon]

Okay, thanks for that.

 

About the PSU – I have two in mind at the moment, http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.aspx?sku=323396&view=detailed & http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpag...l?hyp-4m530&P=0. The additional info on Komplett says:

 

 

Output Voltage  +3.3, ±5, ±12 V

Output Connector(s)  4 PIN internal power, 15 pin Serial ATA power, 6 pin PCI Express power, power 24 pin ATX with detachable 4 pin section

Power Output Connectors Details  2 x 15 pin Serial ATA power

8 x 4 PIN internal power

1 x power 24 pin ATX with detachable 4 pin section

2 x 6 pin PCI Express power

Power Provided  500 Watt

Miscellaneous

Features  120 mm fan, SLI ready

Compliant Standards  CE, TUV, CB

Customer Reviews

 

 

And for the Hiper 530W one it says:

 

 

    General

Form Factor  Internal

Width  15 cm

Depth  14 cm

Height  8.6 cm

Weight  2 kg

Device Type  Power supply

Specification Compliance  ATX12V 2.2

 

    Manufacturer Warranty

Service & Support  3 years warranty

Service & Support Details  Limited warranty - 3 years

 

    Miscellaneous

Features  120 mm fan, gold-plated terminals

Compliant Standards  CE, UL, TUV

Cables Included  1 x power cable

 

    Power Device

Output Voltage  +3.3, +5, ±12 V

Power Provided  530 Watt

Output Connector(s)  4 PIN internal power, 4 PIN mini-power connector, power 4 pin ATX12V connector, 15 pin Serial ATA power, 6 pin PCI Express power, power 24 pin ATX with detachable 4 pin section

Power Output Connectors Details  1 x power 24 pin ATX with detachable 4 pin section ¦ 1 x power 4 pin ATX12V connector ¦ 2 x 15 pin Serial ATA power ¦ 8 x 4 PIN internal power ¦ 2 x 4 PIN mini-power connector ¦ 2 x 6 pin PCI Express power

 

I cannot find "Black Diamond" anywhere, but have found the Hiper website and found the other PSU there: http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4m530.html

 

About the bundle – I have read the reviews for that particular motherboard and evidently that one's out the window. They do however have another X2 6000+ with a different motherboard, but from closer inspection this only supports SATA 1.5 and not 3. Is this a problem big enough to warrant me not to buy it?

 

I hear you on the graphics card, and it's not like I know any better than any of you guys. xD

 

So at the moment (pending further advice) my upgrade is looking like this:

 

Motherboard Bundle

PSU

HDD

Graphics Card

 

EDIT: While we're at it - my monitor is a little buggered, and I'm wondering where the problem stems from. Basically, most horizontal lines (like highlighted text, scroll bars, darker bars of a skin) are all continued translucently right across my screen... it's hard to explain, but I was wondering whether this sounds like a dodgy monitor or if it's a problem with the connector (I'm using VGA, would DVI improve it).

Edited July 6, 2007 by b!gfatgoon

[Wolf68k]

Cheers for that guys.

 

One more question – the specification on the mobo bundle says it's 2 ATA-133 slots and two SATA slots, but I'm only finding ATA-100, and SATA II.

 

If you could take a few minutes to look for one for me (seller in the UK, anywhere between 250 & 500 gigabytes will do) that'll be much appreciated.

 

I'm sure I'm making myself look like a giant dinlo here, but oh well.

You're right, there is only 1 IDE port.

There are 6 SATA II ports, 1 internal SATA II port and 1 external SATA II port.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but SATA II is the SATA 3.0Gb/s, right?

 

So if your HDD(s) and you CD/DVD(s) are all IDE, then yes you will have to replace either HDDs or CD/DVD drives.

If your HDDs is/are under 80GB you might want to replace it anyway.

 

and it is ATA-133

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelme...2=101&l3=0&l4=0

[Fozzy Fozborne]

Both options have SATA II/SATA 3GB/s (same thing, different name) the combo with the 6000+ has 4 SATA II ports and the combo with the 4800+ has 7 SATA II ports. Both of them would work for you, but I'm not too sure about the quality of the board in the 6000+ package (the M2N-Plus). I'd say go for the 4800+ package.

 

Now, the motherboard with the 4800+ package has one IDE channel, so you'd need a new hard drive if it's the older IDE type (wide ribbon cable). If it's the SATA type (much smaller and almost looks like a USB cable), then you're OK as long as you're satisfied with your current one's space. if you get the 6000+ package you would not need to get a new hard drive as long as you're satisfied with the old one's space. (The M2N Plus has two IDE channels so you can run your IDE hard drive(s) and DVD drive(s) together.)

 

Oh, and for future reference, SATA I/SATA 1.5GB/s has very similar performance to SATA II. The only time you'll see any speed improvement would be "burst speed" (information moving from cache to system, which doesn't affect overall speed that much).

 

The Hyper 530 watts power supply gets the ok from me, 18 amps per rail on a dual-rail powersupply should be plenty to power that system.

 

I don't have any advise for your monitor problem other than (if possible) attach your monitor to another PC and see if it works, or attach your PC to a different monitor and see if the problems remain.

Edited July 6, 2007 by Fozzy Fozborne

[b!gfatgoon]

Well, my current HDD, whether it's the older IDE or not, is a midget 80 gigabytes, and I'm constantly switching all my things around and clearing it up to make space – so a new one is definitely necessary.

 

I'm pretty sure both my DVD drives are IDE, going to check in a bit. But if they are this shouldn't be a problem, right? Since I can just chuck one and connect the other one to the only IDE channel?

 

Will try the monitor thing – if the results come back PC-related is that my graphics card? And if it's the monitor then couldn't it be monitor or cable/connection?

 

Anyway, thanks very much for all your help guys – much appreciated.

 

Oh, and here's how it's looking atm:

 

Motherboard Bundle

Hard Drive

Graphics Card (option A)

or

Graphics Card (option B)

PSU

Edited July 7, 2007 by b!gfatgoon

[Fozzy Fozborne]

Yes, you can put a DVD drive and a Hard Drive on the same IDE channel, but it would be really slow because the hard drive would reduce its speed to run with the the DVD drive. It's highly advised to either a) run them on two different channels or b) use SATA drives and IDE drives.

 

If you're willing to spend an extra 40 pounds, check out this Motherboard Bundle. It has the same RAM and motherboard as the one you have now, but with a much faster processor.

 

That Seagate hard drive is about 3 pounds cheaper here on the site with the rest of your components, and you save on shipping.

 

Definitely go for the 7900GS instead of the 8600GT. The 7900 destroys the 8600 in todays gaming, and it's rumored to not be powerful enough to run the next generation of games (Direct X10) for which it's designed. Plus, directx 10 only works with Vista.

 

About the monitor: if you see it works on another PC, then it's probably your graphics card (but I'm not sure, it could be your RAM dieing). If it doesn't work with another PC, then I suppose it could be your connection, but once again, I'm not too sure.

 

I'm not really one to help you fix a problem, I'm good with buying hardware, but once it goes wrong: not so much.

 

So as of right now, his PC is as follows:

Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe

AMD 4200+ or 5600+ depending on how much money he's willing to spend

2 GB Corsair XMS DDR2-667 RAM

320GB Seagate Hard Drive

Nvidia 7900GS

Hiper 530 watt power supply

 

Does anyone else have anything to change? I think it looks pretty good right now.

 

 

 

[Brutuz]

I have Some Questions.

 

1. Will some DDR2-667 RAM overclock a Core 2 Duo E6320 to 3Ghz? Or will I need DDR2-800?

 

2. Will a eVGA 680i LT overclock the C2D to 3Ghz?

 

3. Are Hiper PSUs good?

 

4. Is a Inno3D 8800GTS 320Mb Video Card good Quality?

[b!gfatgoon]

So as of right now, his PC is as follows:

Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe

AMD 5600+

2 GB Corsair XMS DDR2-667 RAM

320GB Seagate Hard Drive

Nvidia 7900GS

Hiper 530 watt power supply

 

Thanks very much. I'm sure I'm saving overall with Novatech actually, since with Komplett and others I'd have to pay for shipping, whereas I live about 10 miles away from a Novatech warehouse and can just pick my stuff up for free.

 

Willing to pay the extra for the other processor (I was originally intending to get that one, actually... don't know why I forgot about it) as when I got this computer I had f*ck all idea what I was doing and ended up with a soon-to-be out of date computer, with limited upgrade capabilities. Do not want to make the same mistake twice.

 

Thanks for all your help Fozzy, wolf, Primer, and spenc.

[Fozzy Fozborne]

@B!g: Always happy to help the AM2 platform is great right now because when the K10/K8L processors come out, they will be supported by the AM2 motherboards.

 

The PCI-E 16x bus will be around for a long time, DDR2 will remain the standard until DDR3 comes down to reasonable prices and actually offers performance improvements. ATX power supplies have been around since the 90's I think, so they won't be going anywhere. In short, you're good for possible upgrades.

 

Did you discover anything about your monitor yet?

 

@Brutuz

 

 

I have Some Questions.

 

1. Will some DDR2-667 RAM overclock a Core 2 Duo E6320 to 3Ghz? Or will I need DDR2-800?

 

2. Will a eVGA 680i LT overclock the C2D to 3Ghz?

 

3. Are Hiper PSUs good?

 

4. Is a Inno3D 8800GTS 320Mb Video Card good Quality?

 

 

1) I read an article where they overclocked an E6320 to 3.3 Ghz on DDR-800 RAM. I'm not sure you'd need 800 over 667, but the price is about the same for both types of memory.

 

Here is the article, if you care.

 

2) Yes, the 680i LT is specifically designed for maximum overclocking at a reasonable price on C2D and P4/PD platforms, you shouldn't have any problems.

 

3) They have impressive specs and the reviews I've read on them don't list any specific problems. I'd say they're good.

 

4) All video cards are basically the same, all manufactures do is slap their own heatsink and sticker on them and send them out the door. Some of them overclock them, usually at higher prices. The only true difference is their warranty.

[b!gfatgoon]

Did you discover anything about your monitor yet?

 

Well, I plugged it into my Linux desktop and it was fine, and then plugged it back into this one and it's now back to normal. It has spontaneously fixed itself before, so I'm not jumping for joy just yet.

[RoAcHcliP]

hey guys, im about to get a nvidia 8500gt pci-e, but ive done some research which says it isnt very good for gaming. is this true?

[Crokey]

hey guys, im about to get a nvidia 8500gt pci-e, but ive done some research which says it isnt very good for gaming. is this true?

I'm not too sure, a guy named CharmingCharlie (in the GTA:IV PC topic) had a look at the Mobile variant of the card (Laptops) and his opinion of it wasn't that favorable. I don't know about the Desktop version, but there usually isn't that much of a difference between Mobile Chipsets and Desktop cards these days, so as far as I'm concerned the jury is still out, but it doesn't seem that whoo-hoo at the moment. Have a look around gooogle and see how it compares against similar cards from ATI or other ranges of Nvidia cards.

[Spenc938]

 

hey guys, im about to get a nvidia 8500gt pci-e, but ive done some research which says it isnt very good for gaming. is this true?

Basically yes, that is true. If you look here you can see that in many tests it was beat by the 6600GT. This was under Linux, but Nvidia's Linux drivers are supposed to be on par with their Windows drivers. Maybe when Directx10 comes out, it will be better, but as of right now the 8200, 8300, 8400, and the 8500 series are not all that great.

 

Edit: Damn you Gareth. You beat me by a minute.

[RoAcHcliP]

right, thanks for the replies. perhaps a 7600gt is better then? its getting rave reviews on ebuye. i dont need a dx10 card since i dont plan on gaming on vista. im on xp pro btw

Edited July 9, 2007 by RoAcHcliP

[Spenc938]

Yeah, that is what I would do.

 

I would recommend one from XFX's XXX line. I have the one with 590MHZ core, and there is a noticeable difference between this and one that is stock. Plus it has a double lifetime warranty, which means if you sell it the warranty will carry over to the next owner.

 

BTW, where are you buying it?

Edited July 9, 2007 by Spenc938

[RoAcHcliP]

 

Yeah, that is what I would do.

 

I would recommend one from XFX's XXX line.  I have the one with 590MHZ core, and there is a noticeable difference between this and one that is stock.  Plus it has a double lifetime warranty, which means if you sell it the warranty will carry over to the next owner.

 

BTW, where are you buying it?

i bought this one here

 

 

thanks for your advice

Edited July 10, 2007 by RoAcHcliP

[matthew1g]

Is there any news on the Q6600 Price cut? I heard it was going to be priced at $266. Is that so? I might sell my current E6420 in favour of that, if that's what's it's gonna cost. Hell, that's even cheaper than this CPU. Is this gonna happen any time soon, with the newer CPUs coming out? What date do you recon this will be happening? would it stay in vogue for longer than this E6420-in terms of gaming? I'd like to be safe on the CPU side for quite some time so that I can focus on getting better Graphic cards/ram/motherboards in the future.

[Spenc938]

Yeah, that is what I would do.

 

I would recommend one from XFX's XXX line.  I have the one with 590MHZ core, and there is a noticeable difference between this and one that is stock.  Plus it has a double lifetime warranty, which means if you sell it the warranty will carry over to the next owner.

 

BTW, where are you buying it?

i bought this one here

 

 

thanks for your advice

That is the exact one I have. Fastest 7600GT you can buy.

[RoAcHcliP]

cool man, my mind is at rest, cheers again for your help

[GycuBrun]

I need some help over here

 

I'm working on a FIFA 07 game-play video (using Windows Movie Maker) but I don't know how to put a song on the background , so how ?

[Fozzy Fozborne]

Simply find the song you want, drag it onto the collections window of windows movie maker, then wait for it to add it to the library. Now you should see it as a icon on the collections window. Set it to timeline mode by clicking "show timeline" Now drag it to the "audio/overlay" area of Windows Movie Maker.

 

Your video should be in the video part of the timeline with the audio in the audio/overlay part.

 

That's kind of confusing, but the simplest way I can explain it.

 

 

[GycuBrun]

Thanks man, I figured it out ...

 

Is there any way/program I can CUT a song, I don't need the full song, just a part from it because it's too long ?

 

Nevermind, I found out myself ...

Edited July 12, 2007 by GycuBrun

[TDP992]

I'm using Firefox and next to every single link there is some kind of number in a little box. Can this be turned off or fixed? It doesn't happen to me on Internet Explorer or AOL.

 

[Wolf68k]

I'm using Firefox and next to every single link there is some kind of number in a little box. Can this be turned off or fixed? It doesn't happen to me on Internet Explorer or AOL.

 

Might be some extension do it.

[Sixdust]

Is there any news on the Q6600 Price cut? I heard it was going to be priced at $266. Is that so? I might sell my current E6420 in favour of that, if that's what's it's gonna cost. Hell, that's even cheaper than this CPU. Is this gonna happen any time soon, with the newer CPUs coming out? What date do you recon this will be happening? would it stay in vogue for longer than this E6420-in terms of gaming? I'd like to be safe on the CPU side for quite some time so that I can focus on getting better Graphic cards/ram/motherboards in the future.

Its supposed to start July 22nd.

[TDP992]

I'm using Firefox and next to every single link there is some kind of number in a little box. Can this be turned off or fixed? It doesn't happen to me on Internet Explorer or AOL.

 

Might be some extension do it.

I uninstalled a few add-ons I don't use, and now its not there so thanks for the help.

[matthew1g]

I'm searching for a backup PSU (most of my PSUs died out on me), is this one any good for E6420(Q6600 soon), 8800GTS,2gigs ram,320GB SATA HD? Is it compatable with ATX cases?

 

 

http://www.scanmalta.com/item.php?WebCateg...de=PSU-650W-STD