Hardware discussion

[JRD]

JRD, there's lots of things to consider and alot of them personal preference (and money), so its hard to advise.
You have a good system there, a good balance between CPU and video.
Usually for me upgrades come when some software, usually a game, comes along that runs like crap.

At this point it sounds like your happy with it, so when planning upgrades one big factor  is screen size and resolution you want to game at in the future.
When I did my system I did it that way, found a good sale price on a 24" monitor first then built the rest up around it.

Are you planning a complete system buy, or just a slow upgrade until it is all new?

Thanks DKM2... you know what you are talking about.
Guess you are right, I'm happy with what I got.
I wasn't thinking about upgrading my system for the next 2 years and after your advice I'll stick to my original plan.
As Art mentioned... will keep track of that post, info here are priceless.
You guys are incredible...
And good luck PZ...

[DKM2]

The thermal paste stuff, I didn't want to sound scary, so;
If your just using the stock cooler the CPU comes with you just need to follow the instructions.
Think of it as like that old game Operation, just lower it straight down.
Its not that hard, but if it does get messed up, don't panic.
Get something you can use like a miniature putty knife and re-spread the paste (all of it)
over the surfaces, nice and smooth with even coverage.
Then try mounting the heat sink again, and don't mess it up this time!   ;D

Buying your own paste and applying it yourself is a little trickier, but more forgiving.
As you can cleanup and start fresh.

When you first power up and POST try and get into the bios right away.
You should be able to navigate to a screen where you can see the CPU temperature.
Below 50C is good, above that, well, it's a judgment call.
CPUs have a built in automatic thermal shutdown at about 90C, so you can't destroy it.
That's nice of them isn't it,  :)  its their warranty costs that made them do it.

Good luck, follow the manual, double check everything, and it'll be fine.
You know what, I think I'm as excited as you are about your new system.

[JRD]

Man... you guys sounds like a surgeon operating a patient in the north pole via web  ;D ;D ;D ;D

I'm praying for his soul, but I know he'll make it  ;)

[Art Blade]

he'll make it :)

If not, I'm sure someone close to him (I didn't mention "buttocks" this time, did I) will be more than happy  ;)

SO DON'T SCREW UP  ;D

[DKM2]

ROFFL, you  guys, this is serious business!!!

I can just see the wife standing there, parts scattered everywhere on the living room floor, watching, "wtf are you doing!"

"You wait, this'll be so COOL!!"

"Looks like a mess"

"Cleaned up by morning, I promise."

(story of my life anyways)

[Art Blade]

JRD, you still think he'll make it?

[JRD]

(...) parts scattered everywhere on the living room floor (...)

Does it answer your question??

Pray harder, Art, pray harder :D

[Art Blade]

I think I just saw half the pacific northwest of the USA turn black on a satellite image... An electrical power outage, perhaps... as in a fubar sort of  short-circuit...

QUICK! YOU PRAY TOO!

[DKM2]

Just so I don't give anybody the wrong idea, and the fact that this isn't a PC hardware site;

I do more industrial control systems by profession rather than PCs.
It's just a side interest from my job.

Anybody thinking of building or upgrading a PC themselves, I'd recommend this site
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/
(I'm DK2 there)

Very good in depth hardware reviews
Friendly, knowledgeable, well run and newb friendly.

[Art Blade]

good to know... thanks

The thing is, I'm not afraid of building a pc. I'm afraid of screwing it up ;D
Just the thought of buying expensive parts (cpu) and then commit a little mistake that leads to a core meltdown... whoa! I once had a small store build my pc with components I wanted, and I had to add no less than 7 ventilators myself due to overheating problems. One saturday morning, while playing a game, I thought someone in my room shot my rig - a loud bang and my monitor went black... started to smell funny too... another sharp bang and it was dead... I needed a pc so I went to another shop and told them, "I'm in a hurry. What is your most expensive PC?" (should have seen their faces) I ended up with  €999 complete rig amd dual core... the one that still works perfectly well next to my current i7. :)

[JRD]

Actually, I understand PZ...
I always wanted to build a PC because of the learning involved. But never had the guts to do so. Like Art said... I don't want screw it up and pay someone to fix it for me  :-[
When I got my old computer, the guys came to my place with it already built, turned it on and 5 minutes latter I was installing some game on it....

I know... wimpy...

[DKM2]

Maybe he's building this;
http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2006/05/22/wmd_part2_g-gnome_case_mod/1

[Art Blade]

some people, I swear... :)

[JRD]

That's great DKM2... incredible
If PZ is building one of those we better take care... he'll start black mailing the government...

"I want ALL PS3 AND PC games ever created on my front door or you'll suffer the consequences... you have 1 hour"

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Art Blade]

probably he'll have less than an hour to get away, once those government web spiders find that post  ;D

[PZ]

hahahahahahahaha!!!!!  You guys are hilarious!  ... and you know what? that part about parts all over the floor is completely true!  On a less humorous note, the build went well, with little hitch (had a problem with the power connections to the 295, but it seems to be fixed now.  Took plenty of pics.

Of course, I had to install FC2 and get started on a game - did my first few screen caps and posted one of the ride into town - saw things that I've never seen before using the PS3.  Some of the things I noticed:

• The control using the G9 laser mouse is absolutely unbelievable - makes the PS3 control seem like and old 8088 in comparison. Aiming is much easier.
• I set everything in the game to maximum (ultra high, maximum screen size, etc - unbelieveable how nice the PC runs the game
• The tower case is cool (no pun intended) - has 3 large fans (120 mm diameter) - you can see into the PC through plexiglass panels, and the thing is so big it even has wheels!  Just for looks I guess, they have some kind of red underglow coming out of the frint end.
• The G15 gaming keyboard has an LED display panel that shows things like CPU usage, memory consumption, etc, and the keys are lit in FC2 orange so you can see the keys at night!
• I also received COD WaW (as a gift for this purchase) and started playing it - again the play is much easier than on the PS3
• The graphics - fantastic!!  when standing still, the detail is remarkable; I need to get a monitor with a higher refresh rate.  Using the large screen HDMI 1080p screen nets me only 30 hz refresh.  However, even when moving fast, the graphics are even better than on the PS3 - especially the explosions and fire.

(According to my wife, I've been spending too much time on this; she's going to visit with one of her friencs soon, and wants me to help pick up the house, especially since I made this mess.)
[smg id=179]

[Art Blade]

glad everything works,PZ, good job. and MAN you've got my respects, an oldster like you showing off like that - top  :-X Enjoy your PC, and try cloning yourself so you can both attend the wife and play FC2 :)

[PZ]

[chuckle..] Yeah, I need to give her something special - she's one heck of a fine wife - she didn't even complain when I took over the TV she uses for her Wii as my PC monitor.  I'm going to look for a deal on a monitor.  Any recommendations anyone?

Again, many thanks to all you guys, especially DKM2 for your advice and encouragement.  I must admit it was a somewhat daunting experience to come home to 3 large boxes on my doorstep, and even more so when I opened the boxes and saw all the mountain of parts!

[Art Blade]

the monitor is dependant on the vid card, regarding resolution. those TFTs have a specific res hardwired, ie 22'' wide screen monitor = 1680x1050. The bigger the monitor, the higher its native resolution. When it comes to change the res, the monitor has to start processing images to make them fit full screen, that means probable quality loss and perhaps a sort of "lag". With your vidcard you should be able to run a 24'' or 26'' monitor without problems.
my small GTX260 works nicely at 1680x1050 native res of my 22'' monitor.

As for brands, hmm. I plan to purchase an Asus VK266H about €400. brand new. has up to 6x overdrive for games (fast display).

[Art Blade]

ah, forgot to say, the vid card has to "w@&k harder" the higher the res is, so if your monitor is small, it has no problems, if it is too big, you'll get "lags" as in the game appears to be a slide show (exageration)

[PZ]

Thanks for the info Art,  I'll keep my eyes open for a good deal - in the mean time, my wife chuckled when I told her I was using her TV and said "...well, at least it's getting some use now..."

[Art Blade]

hehe :) say hello from "the guys" :)

I thought you were going to post, "when I saw her TV I exclaimed 'well... look what we got here!'"  ;D

[DKM2]

No prob PZ, glad you didn't have any troubles.
Very satisfying building your own PC!

I have a GTX280 and I play all my games max. at 1920x1200 (24"),
the 295 is about 50% more powerful. I've seen some reviews of it doing 78+fps at that res.
Monitors all look the same to me, being old and half blind and all, I go on price.

[PZ]

ROFL!!!  That phrase always gets me laughing! ;D ;D ;D

[PZ]

No prob PZ, glad you didn't have any troubles.
Very satisfying building your own PC!

I have a GTX280 and I play all my games max. at 1920x1200 (24"),
the 295 is about 50% more powerful. I've seen some reviews of it doing 78+fps at that res.
Monitors all look the same to me, being old and half blind and all, I go on price.

Wow, that is an amazing frame rate.  Is that something that you can adjust in the game?