The Official PC building thread!

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

a nice program to tell you exactly what hardware and software you have installed.

Even with spending on a new card wont help a whole lot I wouldnt think because you still have older processor, mobo, and ram.
Is Vista something you are looking forward to using? I know many people are going to try and steer clear of it for as long as possible.

 

Basically pooface, the X6800 and two 7950GX2s make an incredibly powerful system, but not that much more powerful than an E6600 and Single X1950XT-X, and choosing the latter will save you something in the order of $1000. The components you chose where all very good (although I'd be a bit dubious about an own-brand liquid cooling system), and despite your claimed computer illiteracy, that stuff should all work together. We can help you out every step.

Wyntre: I wouldn't necessarily wait for DX10 stuff to arrive, compatibility or not, DX9 cards will HAVE to run DX10 games due to the complete absence of any compliant card so close to Vista's release. Couldn't agree more about floppy disks, they come in handy in those off moments! I'd generally disrecommend RAID.

High speed, but it has a few complications and can get awkward.

Pooface: If you're worried about graphics obsolescence, dont buy quad SLI. True, two 7950s will last longer than one X1950, but not much longer, and you would have spent tonnes more money. For now, I'd ignore DX10, I expect newer cards won't be needed for a good year down the line at least. Nice idea with upgrading the Dell, but you'd probably need a new case, motherboard, power supply, processor, ram and video card, so why not buy a new system? Dells are deliberately designed so only Dell can upgrade them, and that will make your life difficult.

 

As far as power supplies go,just get this one
RRP $339US.
Will do everything you want.
Check out the load they put on it!!
It's rating is also at 50 degrees celcius.



Full story/test here:
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/articles/psu/enermax/enermax_galaxy_1.jsp

 

They're ludicrously powerful PSUs, but they're also incredibly expensive. I know, don't skimp on a power supply, but that's overkill! If you are going with two 7950s, however, that is probably what I'd recommend.

 

Sammorris,
That psu with a vapochill case, 6800 conroe,best of the best ram,two of those kick ass video cards in sli,water cooled chipset/ram,all on a DFI board...............Just dreaming!!!!

 

Hey, your system is no slouch, dunno why you're dreaming!

 

sam,
Iv'e been nothing short of impressed with this old girl,(remember it's nearly 7 months old!!!)Iv'e also learnt a lot too.BUT!!! those conroes are impressive!!!!!BUT!!! Let's see what happens in the next 7 months.LOL!!!!

 

Yeah, I still love the performance (and, surprisingly, reliability) of my PC. She may only be 3 1/2 months old compared to your seven, but there are a fair few newer laptops than that in my block at uni and at my old school that have caused people grief...

 

sony firestarters?

 

No, not that bad thankfully!

 

Thanks for all the input, I think I am finally starting to understand what needs to be done. I think it would be a waste of money to go for a top of the line system right now, but I can still get a very good computer for less money, then spend a little money upgrading later on and I'll be set. So now this is my plan, wait for about a month, (thats when I will have enough money to continue). Then go for a new system, case, mobo, memory, video card, etc... but I won't be going all out with a top of the line system. There are a few things I will need help with. I would like some of the things I buy in my first build to be good enough to stay with my second build. Things like a MoBo and memory. The reason I was so worried about vista and DX10 is because some people make it sound like the gaming companies would be creating games that would only play on vista or DX10, or at least be much better on vista and DX10. But if it's not going to be a requirement than I could care less, all I want is to be able to play games at top settings. So right now I plan on building a system that I will later upgrade when the DX10 cards, and quad core processors come out. If you guys think this is the right way to go then please let me know. I knew about that dell trick a long time ago, that is what made me start thinking about building a new system, because I knew it would be impossible to upgrade anymore than I already have. Believe me, my computer illiteracy is not faked, the only way I put those components together was by going to a custom computer site and choosing the most expensive options. So don't get the wrong idea, I stay updated to the video card situation and thats about it, I don't know anything else. Thanks so much for all the help. If you think I am making the wrong decision please let me know, or if I'm making the right decision let me know. If I do finally get to build my system I am going to need your help so much, on picking things like cooling systems, mobo, etc... Thanks again for all your help, you have no idea how excited I am to build myself a new system.

 

There will be games that are DX10 and Vista only, Halo 2 for example, but there shouldn't be that many, at least not initially. Microsoft is the only type of company that would probably eliminate over half the consumers for a game, because they just get people to buy the newer OS from them too, meaning more sales. Most games may benefit from DX10 (better effects/performance or both) but I'd expect they'll run on 9.0c for a fair while to come.

 

Monitor finally arrived and work calmed down enough to finally boot this baby up, install the OS and etc...BUT, I can't seem to get over the initial hurdle.

My PC boots up to the ASUS Setup screen and then tells me to insert boot disc into boot device and hit any key...Right now I have the DVD-RW drive in there but no floppy...I see that my memory and HDs are recognized in the ASUS BIOS Setup but don't see my DVD-RW drive.

Anyone know how I proceed at this point?

 

It's set as master?

 

is the ide port enabled in the bios?

 

Uhh, brutha....Turns out I didn't have the power line connected to the PSU...Kinda would help, non?...Just dangling there for me.

 

LOL - We all miss the obvious.

 

Installed the OS, no problems...Installed misc. drivers etc. that didn't get picked up by Asus or the Windows XP install CD...Couple of problems I ran into.

1) My secondary HD doesn't show up under my Computer...When I look in Device Manager I see the 2nd HD and it appears to be ok...Yet, can't see it...When I installed the Windows XP Install CD, it prompted me about which HD to format and I chose the primary HD...Do I need to do something special now to get the 2nd HD formatted?

2) Not sure who knows much about this stuff but with my Asus P5B Deluxe M/B, it came with an Asus Update Utility to update the BIOS...I updated that utility through the internet to the most current one (?, 0.7.0.6) but I can't seem to update the BIOS with it and I am stuck on version 0302 BIOS (Current one is at 0711)...When it attempts to connect to the the server or ftp site, it simply tells me there are no BIO images there and if I select 'Auto Select' it times out with nothing...Suggestions?

 

Thanks a lot...That looks like it should do the trick (I do have a Seagate as my 2nd HD), I'll give it a shot tonight when I return from work...Gratzie.