Curse

Lynxius · Jul 25, 2007, 03:59 PM // 15:59

After numerous frustrations from HP computers i decided to take advantage of the warranty (30days to return items and get your money back), and decided to rebuild my own custom computer.

So far so good, it seems to be an okay machine, seeing as i bought it mainly for gaming.

Since i finished building it last night and took a while to instal vista, i havent played any game except Chess Titans from Windows. ~.~

So i thought id come to the pro's over here at Gw guru to get some advice =D for possible improvement ( hardware improvements i should make, usefull programs i could download )

My system info is the following:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 4300 @ 1.80GHz
3.0GB Ram (ddr2)
Nvidia Geforce 8600GTS

Thank you

Maria stormshield · Jul 25, 2007, 05:08 PM // 17:08

First off, you can try overclocking the processor. I've seen E6320 and E6600 go up to 3.5 ghz, though im not sure about the E4300's. Also, is the ram in a 3x1gb setting or a 2x1gb 2x512mb?

Lynxius · Jul 25, 2007, 06:28 PM // 18:28

It is in 3x1gb setting.

They seemed good rams, its 2x1gb from corsair +1gb from kingston.

I need to learn how to overclock the processor, but shouldnt i be careful not to (so to say), "overload" it? I mean, im afraid to push my equipment too far and get it fried.(being it brand new and all i dunno o.o)

Also, tested Neverwinter Nights 2 and it seems to run smoothly except for some minor sound lag on some areas.

Il install Guild Wars later on today.

Maria stormshield · Jul 25, 2007, 07:26 PM // 19:26

Id suggest taking out the kingston ram and putting in the corsair set ram into the same colored ram slots. Doing that enables dual channel ram, if your motherboard supports it.

Also, if you are going to overclock your processor, id suggest getting after market cooling to keep your processors temps down.

eggrolls · Jul 25, 2007, 07:53 PM // 19:53

What power supply are you using? Also, get Speedfan to monitor your temperatures, and programs like Memtest, SuperPI, 3DMark06, etc, to test your computer for stability.

Maria stormshield · Jul 25, 2007, 07:58 PM // 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by eggrolls

What power supply are you using? Also, get Speedfan to monitor your temperatures, and programs like Memtest, SuperPI, 3DMark06, etc, to test your computer for stability.

Dont forget Prime95 and orthos.

Lynxius · Jul 25, 2007, 08:52 PM // 20:52

My power supply is an "eXtreme Power Duo 650W"
"SLI & CrossFire Ready" it says on the box =D
I figured id need a decent power supply given the graphics card im running (Gygabites Geforce 8600 GTS)

Il type in the General Specifications writen on the Power Supply:

Type: Intel Form Factor ATX12V V2.01
Input voltage: 220-230V
Input Current: [email protected]
Input frequency range: 57~63Hz
Fan:Sleeve bearing 120mm fan
Power good signal: 100~500ms
Hold up time: >17ms
Efficiency: 70% typically
MTBF: >100.000 Hours
Protection: OVP / OPP / Short Circuit Protection
Dimension: Standart ATX PS2 150X140X86mm
Operation temperature: 5-50 C (Nominal Input Voltage)
Safety: Nemko / TUV 7 / cUL / CE / BSMI / FCC / CCC
--------------------------------

I think i made a good choice on the box since its all temperature friendly i think =D

And here a link to the box info:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec....iteria=BA23190

What do you guys think?

Edit: Do you think a water cooling system would be a nice investment Maria?

Lynxius · Jul 25, 2007, 10:11 PM // 22:11

Holy heck, sorry for the double post but i almost drooled when i ran Half Life 2:EP 1 on this machine. O_O

Anti-Aliasing on 4x, i think HDR was activated but im not sure, boy oh boy the graphics and performance were insane, just a minor glitch here and there (like when i killed something and blood would spill against the wall, some lightning effects from a distance would make a subtle trasparent square around the spilled blood).

Sorry for sounding so excited lolol, im just starting to think i actually made a good decision in building my comp with custom parts (Prebuilts never again -_-)

Also , my motherboard is an S-Series P35C-DS3R from Gigabyte.

Info here =D :
http://www.beachaudio.com/Gigabyte-T...-p-112499.html

Thanks for the support guys

I really wanted a gaming machine with support for the next directx10 games coming up and I think and hope im on the right track for happy gaming

electrolust · Jul 25, 2007, 10:38 PM // 22:38

How much did you spend?

eggrolls · Jul 25, 2007, 11:42 PM // 23:42

I doubt you will need watercooling to overclock the processor. A decent air cooler, properly installed, should be enough to keep the temperatures low.

Lynxius · Jul 26, 2007, 12:31 AM // 00:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by electrolust

How much did you spend?

I returned the crappy Hp computer, and acquired softly 700€ (euros) back.
I already had the graphics card for around 240€, and i went a litle above the money i was given back

I figured, since im building my own computer, i better not take risks with low power and temperature, so i chose the best power supply on sale and the best box available has pointed out by the technician.

I took a hard hit with over 1000€
But everythings working so far so i think it was worth it, and i had good fun spending the afternoon building it with two friends of mine.

But i better not be celebrating too much, i still have a crapload of games to test before i feel safe with this machine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eggrolls

I doubt you will need watercooling to overclock the processor. A decent air cooler, properly installed, should be enough to keep the temperatures low.

The box came with two air coolers already in place, one on the front, and one in the back, the front one sucks the air in and the back one sends the air out.

The front one has a pretty bright blue light

Curiously, when i woke today to check my pc, it had some dust on the front cooler, which explain the filters placed between the cooler and between the box, so the dust has trouble getting in! =D

Would you recomend placing an extra cooler, or some other device for safety's sake?

Maria stormshield · Jul 26, 2007, 01:21 AM // 01:21

What kind of heatsink is on your processor?

Lynxius · Jul 26, 2007, 02:54 AM // 02:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maria stormshield

What kind of heatsink is on your processor?

Im not exactly sure, how can i find out?

Well whatever type it is, it came with the processor, maybe that serves as reference point ~.~

manitoba1073 · Jul 26, 2007, 08:06 AM // 08:06

yes extra cooling fans are good. looking like a good setup you have so far. But you can always cheat till you get extra cooling fans by leaving the side off.

Mouser · Jul 28, 2007, 05:21 PM // 17:21

Incidentally, you only get dual-channel when ALL of the banks are set into dual-channel mode. He needs another stick of 1GB RAM identical to his single stick in order to get dual-channel to operate. You can't operate one bank in dual-channel and one in single-channel. It all drops down to single-channel mode.

Mouser · Jul 28, 2007, 05:32 PM // 17:32

<double-post>