The (new) Official PC building thread!

the p5n-e wouldnt even boot up, let alone let me install vista.

and i tired to install xp and vista on empty partitions on my HDD for the ds3r, but they stopped when it got to boot into vista aswell.





im having some bad luck with 2nd hand harware.

 

Which is why I don't buy complex PC parts on ebay...

 

but i have bough many a ram of ebay and its worked fine.

the ds3r was B-grade OcUK, and the 7800GT was from a guy of OcUK.

last tike i used Bgrade, (7600Gs for £21, when it was £50) it was good.

 

I'm looking for some advice. I'm thinking of retiring my aging XFX 7600GT in favor of this one!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127305
Slot cooler is a must so forget about anything else. I don't lose anything to the extra slot, so I want it to exhaust outside the case! I'm not interested in passive cooling or a video card that dumps it's hot air inside my case.

Best Regards,
Russ

 

@Loco
what did they find out about your mobo? what was wrong with it?
they had to repair the CPU socket. should have mine tomorrow

 

The HD2600XT is a relatively solid card, but it is plagued with the problems of R600's unstable architecture, so be wary of that. For something more reliable you might want to consider this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161088

 

sammorris,

Yes, I've heard that quite a bit! I was looking around and think I'll go this route. I didn't realize these were so reasonably priced!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125089

You know me, I'm an nVidia fan anyway! LOL!! The toughest thing I do with the computer these days is Roller Coaster Tycoon 3! LOL!! I don't think a new video card will help that!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I find the 2600XT is good enough for most games - I play C+C Kane Edition on high and Lost Via Domus on high settings without any issue - havent tried many other games as dont have any

Only issue I have with my card is the following:-
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/hdyve/

Its underclocked itself?!?!? - But I havent ever touched anything in Catalyst.


Edit - Good price on an 8800 - cheapest Ive seen one over here for is about £114 - or $230 odd dollars lol

 

why not go for the 9600GT

 

From what Ive read the 8800gt is still better than the 9600gt and at that price its a steal.

 

shaffaaf,

Now why did I know that either Boozer or you would ask me that question? LOL!

First and main reason is because the 9600GT doesn't have the video processing horsepower the 8800GT has! It has almost twice the Stream Processors and the final price is lower! The GigaByte 8800GT is the better card! Haven't heard any real complaints about it either! The main gripe I hear is that it's not as fast as the GTX! DUH!!! Will someone please point them towards the price tags! LOL!! I also heard a lot of good things about the 8800GT, and the price is hard to beat!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Remember Russ that the 256MB is ass on a stick compared to the 512MB version - I'd go with the 9600GT like shaff suggests, because in all truth it's probably significantly better. As for Rollercoaster tycoon 3, you're wrong, I saw a monumental performance increase with that game going from my X1900 to my HD3870 - it's actually really demanding on the graphics!

Golden rule of graphics cards: The specs are meaningless, 3dmark is meaningless. Only look at ACTUAL gaming performance.

8800GT>9600GT normally, but anything>8800GT 256MB, even an HD3850.

Oh and also Russ, you like quiet PCs, if not silent - I can tell you know, that Gigabyte cooler will probably disappoint - it's set to run at 100% speed all the time, and it's not quiet when doing so.

 

Russ, yes we would tell you to get the 9600GT. I remember having this conversation and the 8800GT 256MB is CRAP. Seriously, it takes such a performance hit it's not even worth considering. For only NINE dollars more you can get a superior 9600GT.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133216

In fact in a recent test the 9600GT averaged about 14 FPS more on 1280x1024 with AA and AF enabled.

 

Or if you wanted to do it on the cheap, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150275

 

Whoops, well spotted.

 

COMA??? lol. I'd call it a comma but that's me and you know me.

Nice link to those gpu's fellas!! Making me want my tax return even more.

..gm

 

abuzar1,

Superior? In what way? The GigaByte card has better memory (Hynix) and the Zalman cooler. It also has more stream processors than the 9800GS that Sam linked to. It's not as good a card as the GigaByte! The 8800GS has a smaller memory interface (192 bit vs 256 bit) and 20 less Stream Processors. The 8800GT is also about 2 inches shorter than the reference card, as it's GigaBytes own design!

Tests are wonderful things, but a lot of them are Bogus! It all depends on what you are trying to prove with them! Nothing beats real world experience! I talked to a lot of people I know that go to Lan parties and discovered that I know of about 6 people with this very card, and they all say the same thing. Buy it! in fact, I was advised to buy 2! According to them, the GigaByte card is the cream of the crop when it comes to a low priced 8800GT. I was also advised that if I wanted to take a worthwhile step up, to get the GigaByte 512MB version for about $40 more with the MIR!

I've also been all over the net reading reviews on the GigaByte 8800GT, and almost everybody that bought one loves it. The biggest complaint is the Zalman Fan is too loud! The second biggest gripe is that it takes up 2 slots. My answer to that is that "you knew it took up 2 slots before you bought it (unless you didn't bother to research the card first), so why complain about it now"! I also don't see a lot of complaints in general, and no one seems to be bitching about frame rates either! In fact just the opposite, they rave about how good it plays all the top games! Seems to me to be a long ways away from being "Rubbish"! I'll stick with my choice!

Respectfully,
Russ

 

Theone: You've always been a stickler for believing specs as ultimate truth - while some tests are bogus, most of them are accurate to some degree, and with graphics cards, the specs could not be more meaningless. The RAM on my graphics card is 2.25Ghz, but it's still pretty damn slow compared to the 1.8Ghz stuff on nvidia cards.
Also, the Zalman coolers on Gigabyte cards are crap, because they're locked at full speed. Additionally, the Zalman cooler doesn't exhaust air out the case. I thought that was what you wanted?