The (new) Official PC building thread!

Funny you should say that actually, one of my hosuemates is working on putting an HTPC in an old xbox case.

Shaff: Indeed, Creative are certainly appalling for drivers. I'm curious to know why you think Gigabyte are a 'failed' company though.

 

OH NO NO NO. infact form 3-4 years back, they have become a superpower in the mobo industry, im saying they failed in their personal attack against asus.

its like how nvidia are going to loose to intel. they are taking on a company multiple times as big.

 

Mmm. I think it's very childish to hold something against a company merely on the standard of their products, but I have to say, the more I consider using an nvidia graphics card, the less I'm interested. The only card I had from them was faultless, but back then I knew practically nothing about computers. I've got used to how the current ATI cards work, I know how to use the control panel for them, I like the quality of the image and as of Catalyst 8.4, I haven't really had too much hassle with drivers either. I haven't got the courage to try 8.5 everything works at the moment. When I come to reformat 8.6 will probably be out.

My initial plan was to get rid of the pair of 3870s in favour of a solo 4870 late summer early autumn time, at a similar period to me getting a Quad core. Then when I realised the 4870 wouldn't be quite as fast as first rumours suggested, and would cost a lot more than first rumours suggested, I lost interest. Having destroyed one of the cards though, and with no intention of getting another to replace it, the 4870 is back in the picture again. I'm tempted to try Age of Conan, and I know how exceptionally demanding that game is, and for that a single 3870 is really going to struggle. Who knows if hybrid crossfire for 4800s and 3800s works I might try it, but in all truth I'd probably be best off selling the 3800 to help fund the Quad core CPU. That was out of the picture when I was using a fanless CPU given the increased temperatures, but having now established an utterly silent means of using a fan with it, there's no reason not to aim for one again.

 

why else would you want to go with a company, if its product is not up to standard?

i buy for the actual product, and that includes support for the product. i dont want to be shunted once the company have my money.

as for the roumers, its being cited at $229 for the 4870 id translate that at £180.


that seems good for over 3870x2 performance. IMO, i would be happy with that. esp witht he price. whereas the GTX280 has been choosen for a $600 and the GTX260 at $450.

id translate that to about £450 (with first 2 week price hike to £500) for the GTX280 and £350 (£400) for the GTX260.

if the 4870 roumered to be $400 (£300) can stay with a GTX280 (which will be pulling a TDP Very close to 250 WATTS (MOTHER FU(KER) wont be able to make a dual card. and the yeild of the 55nm procces have been very low, so we will have to wait a few months till the 55nm versions come out.

 

So that guy sold his Macbook!

But I found a better Sony VAIO for the same price(450). The mode number is Sony Vaio VGN-SZ430N.

 

I heard that too, and was then told that that was the 4850 price, not the 4870, and the latter would be $349.

 

i see. then that puts it about £250. still not bad at all.

esp seeing as it will be better than 3870x2 (when they are working at their best) where as the GTX260, has a lower fill rate than the ULTRA :O i think it will beat the GTX260 esp when its OCed (which im sure it can do)

imagine a 1GHz Core and the sader speeds are now unlocked, which is even better. and with the GRRD5 working at 2GHz+ (4GHZ+ effective) the 256bit buss isnt crippling as there is enough bandwidth. gimmie a 1GB card for higher res, and lots of AA and i still think this card will pack a punch.

 

If it's going to have the 1GB, it'll be worth having. I heard rumours that the other rumours weren't true...

 

cincyrob,

Well don't buy that one! LOL!! You want one that's a True 133 and that one isn't. Why? Because then CS works properly and the drives will run at their maximum speeds regardless if they are 66/100 or 133 and will address properly via which plug on the cable is used. Not all round cables are created equal. Many just don't meet the standards!

Russ

 

Man, it's been a while since I've used IDE. I'd almost forgotten about this. No more though, my next optical drive will be an external - so I don't have to worry so much about ruddy Starforce and the likes.

 

officially its 512, but ATI have said partners can ffer 1GB from the off instead

 

Hmm. I hope that these do become commonplace without a lot of extra cost. 512MB graphics cards came out eons ago - it's time for something more!

 

@Russ
so this one is garbage huh?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812104043
thats the one i ordered.... figures my luck huh.

heck out of all those 24in cables i only see 2 that say "TRUE" and they are out of stock.
heck its only 3.99 ill just get one that says true.

so if it dont say true. what kinda quality loss will i see?

 

cincyrob,

It has more to do with interference as the shielding in the cable is not that good on some. Addressing drives in CS can be a problem as well. I'm not 100% certain but I think if you use the MA/SL jumper on the drive it limits it to 66/100 only. I'm almost positive that they won't run 133 set to anything but CS. I Could be wrong though! If anybody knows for sure, chime in please!

Russ

 

Rob,

I would shop around a little. check at svc.com or coolerguys.com. you might be able to get a better price on the cable as well as the shipping.

 

well i have them set now as master and slave. so should i take the jumpers out and leave them as CS?

thats why i want all sata drives dont have to worry about ms/sl...lol

 

i allready ordered it and my card reader. they goofed the order up on me so they gave me free shipping so im only out 3.99. i did see the one that said "TRUE" it was only 2.99..

funny these cables over at microcenter ar any where from $12.99 to $19.99 depending on the length.
i need that 24in one bad. with this PCI-e card i have to add the ide cable the normal 18in is about 2 1/2 in short. it is plugged in fine right now but i have my IDE drives at the bottom of the case and the cable is stretched across everything.

edit
so somthing like this is what i need..hence the ultra that i was talking about earlier..
http://coolerguys.com/840556017417.html

 

cincyrob,

You can try CS and if it doesn't work right or gives you trouble you can always switch back. Sometimes they will hang on the boot, trying to address!

All Sata drives have difficulties of their own when it comes to drive lettering, and they are a PITA to resolve! Especially if you use a dual boot system using the same OS like I did!

Russ

 

tbh the flat ribbon im useing now im sure isnt anything special and idont have problem one with them.
think when i get home i will try the CS and see what happens. how can i tell what tehy are running at? 66/100/133???