Hardware Discussion Thread

superneat · 19-04-2011 8:17pm

Tea_Bag wrote: »

im not so sure. ivy bridge will be the next X58, and the Z68 will still be a sandy bridge era motherboard.

Correctomundo

what i meant was, replacing as the "high end" for the moment! There are a few boards out already, i'll post some links if i can find them again.....

superneat · 19-04-2011 8:21pm

HERE'S one..

SAME one i saw yesterday

deconduo · 22-04-2011 4:40pm

Just spotted an AM3+ mobo on HWVS:

http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=46233&agid=1232

*crosses fingers*

Tea_Bag · 22-04-2011 4:56pm

deconduo wrote: »

Just spotted an AM3+ mobo on HWVS:

http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=46233&agid=1232

*crosses fingers*

still has a 870 chipset, not the 900.

apparently, a few higher end ASUS and Gigabyte AM3 870 chipset MoBo's will support AM3+ CPU's..
are we still on for a june launch of bulldozer?

EDIT: 4 AM3+ mobo's on HWVS now..

deconduo · 22-04-2011 4:59pm

Tea_Bag wrote: »

still has a 870 chipset, not the 900.

apparently, a few higher end ASUS and Gigabyte AM3 870 chipset MoBo's will support AM3+ CPU's..
are we still on for a june launch of bulldozer?

EDIT: 4 AM3+ mobo's on HWVS now..

Yeah, I've been refreshing the page and watching them go up

Monotype · 22-04-2011 7:33pm

Is that a parallel port on the back? I haven't seen those on a PC in a long time!

Monotype · 22-04-2011 9:26pm

Seagate is taking over Samsung's HDD division.

With Western Digital's acquisition of hitachi, there's not much choice left for HDDs... unless SSDs get a stronger foothold.

Solitaire · 23-04-2011 1:56am

So basically the two better HDD manufacturers have been obliterated leaving us with the cack ones? I suspect this is a CUNNING PLAN by Samsung and Hitachi to force us all to go SSD! :pac:

Tea_Bag · 23-04-2011 2:43pm

in fairness, the HDD market is going to start getting thinner when SSD's get a grip, so samsung made a pretty good move getting $1.7Bn and a 50% sharehold in Seagate.

Trevor451 · 23-04-2011 2:45pm

my phenom x6 processor has been dispatched from amazon and I should have it sometime next week

Anyway I have read some horror stories online about pepole removing the stock heatsink and the cpu is still attached to the cooler :eek:

Do you have any advice on removing the stock cooler and should I go to the trouble of removing the whole motherboard from the case? Thanks

Monotype · 23-04-2011 5:24pm

You could turn your computer on for a little while beforehand which may soften the thermal paste. Twist the heatsink a little when you are taking it off.

Unregistered. · 23-04-2011 8:29pm

Monotype wrote: »

You could turn your computer on for a little while beforehand which may soften the thermal paste. Twist the heatsink a little when you are taking it off.

This. If you can't twist it, it might not come off.

game4it70 · 23-04-2011 11:53pm

Unregistered. wrote: »

This. If you can't twist it, it might not come off.

An old credit card can be handy to give it a little more leverage.

Trevor451 · 26-04-2011 1:34pm

Cheers I ran prime 95 for about 5 minuites and the heatsink came right off

Just FYI I am selling my athlon x3 450 on adverts and I will include a link here later when I post

EDIT: Just posted the CPU on adverts: http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/amd-athlon-x3-450-unlockable-4th-core/566982

Ryan451 · 02-05-2011 1:37pm

I've saved enough now for a new graphics card and processor. I'm definitely getting the X6 1090T and im not too sure what graphics card im going to get.

I was thinking of either the 6950 or the GTX 570. Any recommendations as to which one performs any better? Anyway, i think there is a fairly cheap 570 on amazon for £207.
I currently have a 6850 and would these cards be a noticeable step up from the 6850?

Tea_Bag · 02-05-2011 2:13pm

they certainly would be a step up from the 6850.

this is the benchmark comparison between the 6950 and 6850,
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=291

im just going to quote my post in the budget gaming thread:

if your in the market for a 6950, get a reference design one, preferably with a dual bios switch, and 2gb Vram. i wouldnt unlock it with a 6970 BIOS, (as its risky) but i would use one of the modified 6950 BIOS's that unlock the extra shaders. free performance boost! and no worries!

its well worth your while spending the bit extra for this one:

Sapphire HD 6950 2GB @€;207

obviously, if your not doing a big order from HWVS, shop around elsewhere, cause the €30- shipping isnt worth it. scan.co.uk usually has ok prices for 6950's on their "today only" deals.

Ryan451 · 02-05-2011 2:37pm

Tea_Bag wrote: »

they certainly would be a step up from the 6850.

this is the benchmark comparison between the 6950 and 6850,
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=291

im just going to quote my post in the budget gaming thread:

obviously, if your not doing a big order from HWVS, shop around elsewhere, cause the €30- shipping isnt worth it. scan.co.uk usually has ok prices for 6950's on their "today only" deals.

Thanks man. Basing my choice on those benchmarks and a few others, i will probably go with the 570.

Do you think £207 for a GTX570 is worth putting in the bargain alerts thread?

Also, i have a 650W PSU, will I have enough power?

Tea_Bag · 02-05-2011 2:43pm

the gtx 570 is quite a bit more thirsty than the 6950, but it is a better card if your not interested in eyefinity. what make/model PSU is it?

do put it in the bargain alerts, looks to be a good tempting price.

Ryan451 · 02-05-2011 2:48pm

Tea_Bag wrote: »

the gtx 570 is quite a bit more thirsty than the 6950, but it is a better card if your not interested in eyefinity. what make/model PSU is it?

do put it in the bargain alerts, looks to be a good tempting price.

It is a Super Flower Amazon 650W.

Tea_Bag · 02-05-2011 2:55pm

Ryan451 wrote: »

It is a Super Flower Amazon 650W.

should do fine, but someone with more knowlege on PSU's than me should preferably answer that

where is your bargain alert? im getting the itch man..

deconduo · 02-05-2011 3:16pm

Ryan451 wrote: »

It is a Super Flower Amazon 650W.

Thats perfectly fine, its a good PSU.

Tea_Bag · 02-05-2011 3:23pm

Ryan i posted this in the BA discusion thread. do you know that they wont deliver to Ireland? assuming they honor that price at all

that GTX 570 in BA cant wont be shipped to Ireland FWIW

EDIT: test run to my family in UK:

Quote: Items: £207.72
Postage & Packing: £3.99

Order Total: £211.71

and according to royalmail.co.uk, @1.25kg, it can be delivered to your door for £20.50 (and insured for upto £250).

Total: ~€263 delivered. not too shabby.

Ryan451 · 02-05-2011 3:43pm

Tea_Bag wrote: »

Ryan i posted this in the BA discusion thread. do you know that they wont deliver to Ireland? assuming they honor that price at all

Thats a bit of a pity. Ah well

I guess i will go with a 6950 and try unlocking it to a 6970. Any idea which version of the 6950 has a better success of this?

cherryghost · 03-05-2011 3:21pm

Ryan451 wrote: »

Thats a bit of a pity. Ah well

I guess i will go with a 6950 and try unlocking it to a 6970. Any idea which version of the 6950 has a better success of this?

Google 6950 flash damage and rethink what you're doing. A lot of broken cards is the result

Ryan451 · 03-05-2011 3:57pm

cherryghost wrote: »

Google 6950 flash damage and rethink what you're doing. A lot of broken cards is the result

Thanks for the heads up.

Would a card with a dual bios switch prevent that?

Tea_Bag · 03-05-2011 4:09pm

Ryan451 wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up.

Would a card with a dual bios switch prevent that?

no. the problem is that the 6950 doesnt have the right memory controllers etc and draws too much power from its 6pin connectors (the 6970 has an 8pin power connector IIRC) dual BOIS means that if you **** up a BIOS mod you can save the card by running it on the second BIOS after you hit the switch.

i would never take the risk of flashing to a 6970, because money is precious to me and i wouldnt be able to afford another one, but flashing a 6950 BIOS that unlocks the extra shaders is definately worth it, and poses no risk AFAIK.

sink · 03-05-2011 4:16pm

I've had two HD 6950's for almost a month now. Initially I flashed to a HD6970 bios, but upon reading about dead cards, I switched to a modified HD6950 bios which just unlocks the shaders. Then I manually overclocked the cards and upped the fans speeds.

So far no major problems, I regularly get display driver crashes on startup for some reason, but it always recovers. I think this has to do with poor drivers for crossfire & eyefinity setups from AMD, rather than any fault with the cards. I've done several benches and played a wide selection of games and haven't noticed any tearing or other anomalies.

Ryan451 · 03-05-2011 4:47pm

Tea_Bag wrote: »

no. the problem is that the 6950 doesnt have the right memory controllers etc and draws too much power from its 6pin connectors (the 6970 has an 8pin power connector IIRC) dual BOIS means that if you **** up a BIOS mod you can save the card by running it on the second BIOS after you hit the switch.

i would never take the risk of flashing to a 6970, because money is precious to me and i wouldnt be able to afford another one, but flashing a 6950 BIOS that unlocks the extra shaders is definately worth it, and poses no risk AFAIK.

Grand, i will just unlock the extra shaders. Thanks Tea Bag

Is the unlock guaranteed to work with each 6950 card?

game4it70 · 03-05-2011 5:10pm

Ryan451 wrote: »

Grand, i will just unlock the extra shaders. Thanks Tea Bag

Is the unlock guaranteed to work with each 6950 card?

Only on the reference 1 cards .

Ryan451 · 03-05-2011 5:26pm

game4it70 wrote: »

Only on the reference 1 cards .

Are they the 2GB versions?

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