The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition

I saw a 320GB for $50 on eBay brand new and shipping was free.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on this Video Card?

EVGA 01G-P3-1372-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card. $119.99 w/free shipping after $30 MIR. I'm considering one for my 1090T.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._mmc=EMC-GD052511-_-index-_-Item-_-14-130-571

Russ

 

That's a good deal much cheaper than going with the 570 fermi and I checked some others but that does seem to be the best path for SLi right now. eVGA's have a good reputation from my experience I tend not to buy them though as they also tend to cost more but not in this case. The bigger fan should also equate to a much quieter cooling system.

Stevo

 

Yeah brand differences aside that's a really good price for a GTX460.

 

The GTX460 looks reasonable value. You'll have to keep an eye out on the compatibility issue, as the GTX460 (in addition to all members of the GTX5 series) have a random chance compatibility problem with certain boards, which even a year on, nvidia have not been able to solve. Typically the issue is worse with AMDs which is why I throw caution there. The worst bit is the cards can perform fine for days, weeks and even months, then one day will suddenly stop booting in that system, even if they perform fine in a different PC. Very odd. You may very well not experience it, but it's a cautionary tale to drop at people considering Fermi cards for AMD systems.

 

I've heard the same as well. One more reason to steer clear of Nvidia if you ask me. Not to put down Nvidia users, I just won't buy their cards

 

Estuansis,

Considering that my HD4670/1GB DDR3 card is the first successful Ati card I've ever owned, and even then it's not 100% successful. I decided to upgrade to the latest drivers, and wound up with a black screen, because the backlight LEDs won't light. I tried the CFL monitor from Oxi, and that gave a black screen as well! I had to go into "Safe Mode" to remove the driver, and re-install the original drivers that came with the card. Works great otherwise!

Russ

 

It's situational really, the Radeons I've used occasionally bug out in games, causing a corrupt mouse cursor until I reboot. Conversely, the geforces some of my friends use also occasionally bug out, but they just crash, and you're forced to reset the computer. I know which bug I'd rather have...
I've troubleshooted graphics for many people over the years, probably hundreds, and I've never seen the issue you had with your sceptre monitor before or since, so I attribute it to that monitor. Most on-CD drivers seem to be crap for either brand, so issues with those don't surprise me.

 

nvidia are better at Linux, that's not even debatable. Windows, however, it's a closer call. I wouldn't say nvidia's drivers are any worse, they may even be slightly better, but in my mind, nvidia manufacture inferior hardware.

 

Sam,

This was with the new Asus 21.5" 1080p monitor and the no name one that I got with the eMachine. With the Sceptre I couldn't get 1680x1050 with the HD4650, except if I used the VGA. I didn't buy a DVI video card to use VGA! I've already voiced my displeasure with the Monitor re-build to Sceptre, who have totally ignored my complaint. Considering that it worked perfectly for almost 4 years, with all the use that I give my computer, it was the re-build job that caused the screw up! As much as I love my new 1080p, it's TN Panel still doesn't equal the viewing angles of the S-PVA screen of the Sceptre. The closer you are to the screen, the more noticeable the limitations of the TN Panel are. There is no driver CD for either the Sceptre or the Asus. The moral to the story is, if your Sceptre needs repair, don't waste your time. The quality of the work done by their service techs was piss poor! I would have fired anybody working for me that did such shoddy work!

I have a question for you or anybody else that might know the answer. I have a Dell Inspiron 1318 that has gotten some sort of Malware in it, which resulted in the Windows Vista Ultimate Edition being nackered to the point that the OS will not repair itself because of files that have been removed. Sometimes it will even complete the boot, and lock up the first time you close a window.

I've located a set of Recovery Disks for it that includes the OS, for $30.
http://recovery-disks.com/dell/dell-inspiron-1318.html

If you click the drop down menu for the OS, it lists Win 7 64 bit. Does anyone know if I can use the Win 7 recovery disks in place of the original Vista Ultimate Edition 32 bit, that came installed on the Laptop, or am I forced to get the 32 bit Vista Ultimate Edition recovery disks?

Russ

 

I agree with that totally.

I know why Russ doesn't like ATI, it didn't dawn on me until I thought of the monitor he uses and likes, Sceptre! I too had problems with Sceptre monitors and ATI years ago before getting away from them. It was that reason and several others like tonal quality, and life expectancy that I won't buy a Sceptre now. So for Russ and his choice in flat panels NVidia really is the only way for him to go.

 

Sam,
That's precisely why I usually only Buy XFX cards! They are the best when it comes to nVidia cards, although my 9500GT is from MSI and the HD4670/1GB is an XFX! LOL! I have no real complaint with either!

Russ

 

I'm happy with XFX products so far too, they have done a much better job of Radeons than most of the other AMD brands. Unfortunately, XFX's defection to AMD caused nvidia to terminate their contract, so you can't buy XFX geforces any more, not new ones anyway.

 

I think recovery disks for Vista and 7 are different. I had to deal with that once...

 

Mr-Movies,

All the problems happened "after" I had the monitor re-built by Sceptre. The x20 Naga III was an excellent monitor from day one and lasted about 4 years with very heavy use. It had an S-PVA screen and had stunning picture quality. I didn't buy the HD4670 until after it was repaired. As far as the sound quality goes, I don't even know if mine work. They've never been plugged in! As far as I'm concerned all built in monitor speakers suck! I use a 420w Sony 5.1 PL-II surround system with an Optical connection to the Motherboard. I can shatter light bulbs with it if I'm not careful when playing my two computer generated Wurlitzer Theater Organs!

Russ

 

Oman7,

Thanks! I had a strong suspicion that that might be the case. I'll order the Vista Ultimate Edition 32 bit that's in it now. Incidentally, eMachines has the best recovery disks by far. You get the disk(s) for the particular series, regardless if it's AMD or Intel, and the software sorts it all out! I had to download the one I needed for a "T" Series from a torrent, as eMachines no longer offers recovery disks.

Russ

 

Sam,

Hey, you got to go where it's best for your pocket these days, just to survive. nVidia can only blame themselves for XFX's defection. I think when Ati drubbed nVidia and Intel so badly, a year or so ago, the handwriting was on the wall! After Intel decided not to buy nVidia, and with Ati firmly in the hands of AMD, it didn't exactly take a rocket scientist to understand XFX's next move. I think it was good business on XFX's part! I'm more than pleased with my HD4670/1GB.

Today must be my lucky day! I picked up an eMachine 21.5" 16x9 1080p monitor for $79 from micro Center for Oxi. It was an "In Store" pickup only and they had 14 of them. Russell ordered it this morning, then got a call to Long Beach, and stopped at Micro Center on the way home and picked it up. The catch was that you ordered it, but they didn't charge you until it was picked up. The chances of there being any left by tomorrow are slim to none, there were three people there for the same product in the 5 minutes Russell was in the store. Looks good, and draws less than 1/2 the wattage the old 16x10 19" Proview did. Great day all around!

Russ

 

I had the 19" versions of what you have and I liked Sceptre, so much I had 10 of them, they were very sharp pixel monitors but when I said tonal I meant in color warmth not speaker quality, I can certainly see the confusion there sorry about that. However the sound quality wasn’t great either nor was it horrible for a flat panel, average at best. Sceptre was the only flat panels I have had that demonstrated problems with ATI's drivers. Once I got a good driver I was fine until upgrading the driver or like you rebuilding the PC and not using the same good driver. This was all before AMD took over and back then like you I lived & breathed nVidia with rare exception. And you’re absolutely right about viewing angles as they are much better on S-PVA monitors. I've looked at the newer Sceptre's and I just can't say I'm impressed but really it is the longevity or lack there of, on top of driver issues and few other things that keep me from going that path again.

I’d love to see that and listen to it! LOL

Stevo

 

Some are better than others to be fair, but the viewing angle difference between S-PVA and TN is remarkable. S-IPS goes a bit further, but the difference is less pronounced.