The (new) Official PC building thread!

Thanks for the feedback. I think upgrading from my DDR to DDR2 alone should speed up my system significantly, but if the lower CAS is better as everyone says, then I guess it would be worth the few extra dollars.

I see that many of you prefer Corsair XMS2 sticks but has anyone had any luck with other brands?

Cheers!

 

Hey . My sister just got married and i need to build a pc for her husband. I dont know any budget , it just should be for normal use , and a little bit gaming . He wans something thats cheap but good , its just a case. There need to be 1 pci-e on mobo , some fast cpu (no need for core duo). sound can be onboard. also some 800Mhz memory.

please post some ideas. and suggestions . Thanks

 

@the Gurus!!

Hey I just thought of something. Yep I can think sorta. LOL. Is there anything special you have to do when installing a X2 dual core AMD cpu?

TIA for your answers.

.....gm

 

@6spdSER
You can't just upgrade from DDR to DDR2, you'll need a completely new system to run it, as the two types are different physically.
DDR2 is 240 pin 1.8V
DDR is 184 Pin 2.5V

 

Not much, install a good after market HSF, and some AS5, and you should be good to go, oh, and some good memory.

 

@Greensman
No...nothing different...However your OS...if you have "Microsoft Genuine Advantage" might not like it...

 

why is that???

 

Ok, got the aftermarket HSF, AS5, and the memory isn't to bad. DDR stuff you know.

@Lp531,
Not quite sure on the GMA stuff. I have XP Pro if that means anything. Wouldn't touch M$ Vista right now with a 100' pole. LOL.

Thanks for the answers people.

...gm

 

Check AMD website for latest drivers, at least download the X2 optimizer
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_9706,00.html

 

@greensman
I am assuming you are just replacing the chip on your current system...not a new install...

If you have installed "MGA" on one of your previous updates...It will call this a new system (because of different CPU)and want you to install a new OS...

 

Thanks buddy! Bookmarked and ready for use.

...gm

@Lp531,
Read about the GMA and I should be ok. I have the "genuine" thing.

edit: the frikkin quote bug again....

 

Well thats what I am worried about...even so there are ways around it...
Just PM me...if they tell you your hardware has changed...Well take care of that...
Did you get the 3800 like you were talking about?..I might pick one up to replace my single core 4000 San Diego...

 

Deadrum33..Will the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer help in Video conversions or is it just for gaming

 

What is the difference between these two cards?

Radeon™ X1950 XTX 650MHz 2GHz 48 8 512MB GDDR4
Radeon™ X1950 CrossFire Edition 650MHz 2GHz 48 8 512MB GDDR4

Supposedly they are both CrossFire capable yet the XTX is ~100 US more then the other one. Also, are those cards (seperately) better than the X850XT PE?

Thanks.

 

I didnt see a difference in conversion such as encoding or backing up films and what not, not even really gaming. But I couldnt figure out why all my bands concerts I transferred from my miniDV camcorder came out crappy sounding an not "synching up". Here I was with a brand new killer system (back when Opterons were king not C2D) and it did these tasks worse than my old one? I was confused at the time to say the least. Also my tv card didnt input the signal correctly. By the end of a 1/2hr program, audio and video were badly out of sync. Maybe a different fix I tried did the trick, I'm no expert, but these problems stopped once I loaded the driver.

 

What is the difference between the Asus P5W-DH and the Asus Commando? I couldn't find anything except that the Commando's PCIe slots are labled electrical x16 and x4, and I don't understand what it means. Can someone explain to me what and electrical x16 and x4 slot is vs a normal x16 PCIe slot?

Can someone tell me which ATI1950XTX is better: the Asus, MSI or GECUBE?

Thanks.

 

@BigDK

thanks for the heads up, though I was aware of it which is why I ended up getting a board that had backward compatibility with DDR but had 2 DIMM slots for DDR2, though limited to PC4200 only. Many boards that feature the VIA P4M890 chipset has this capability. Here is my board the ABIT IP-95

Here is an picture of it:

Not the fastest board since it doesn't have SATA2 or dual channel memory support, but it allowed me to save my old DDR memory from going to waste.

 

@6spdSER
No Problem.
Better to be safe than sorry.

@eparker89
I'm amazed you couldn't find any differences between the boards, other than the PCI-E.

There are loads of major differences between the boards.

P5WDH Spec:
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=248&l4=0&model=1198&modelmenu=2

Commando Spec:
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&l4=0&model=1480&modelmenu=2

If you look through these you'll see all the differences on items such as chipsets, usb, firewire, SATA & e-SATA ports, audio, wifi, LCD Poster, Capless power, IDE support.

PCI-E 16 or 4 is the speed of the transfer of data to and from the video cards.

 

HI EVERYONE
I AM BUYING A NEW SYSTEM AND WANT YOUR OPINIONS.... THX

AMD ATHLON 64 X2 6000+ 3.00GZ AM2 BOX
NZXT APOLLO MIDI TOWER - SILVER
CHIEFTEC CFT-500A DELUXE EDITION 500W PCI-E
ASUS M2N-E SLI
OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB (2X1GB) SPECIAL OPS EDITION
XFX GEFORCE 8600GT PVT84JUDD 256MB XXX PCI-E RETAIL
ASUS DVD-E616A3T BLACK SILVER RETAIL
WESTERN DIGITAL 250GB 16MB WD2500KS 7200RPM SATA2
INNOVATOR MULTIMEDIA KEYBOARD BLACK PS/2
MICROSOFT WIRELESS NOTEBOOK OPTICAL MOUSE 4000 DSP
CREATIVE SBS 580
LG 17'' LCD L1753S-SF SILVER
TEAC CR7 FDD 3.5' + CARD READER BLACK
LG GSA-H50LR SUPER MULTI LIGHTSCRIBE DVD REWRITER RETAIL
WHAT DO YOU THINK??????

 

@BigDK

I guess I should've been more clear. What I was getting at was that one has two PCIe x16 slots (P5W-DH) and the other had two electrical x16 and x4 PCIe slots (Commando) and I wasn't sure of the difference in the boards that caused them to be labled differently.