Hardware Discussion Thread

Monotype

freeze4real wrote: »

Any time I run a game my GPU performance is at 100% is this normal ?

The 450 is not a tremendously powerful GPU, not too bad now but it would struggle with newer games... which games are running and what resolution is your screen?

Opinicus wrote: »

Nice one farna_boy. That first one is pounds though just in case anyone gets there hopes up. Amazon are typically quick as well. Will order one of these next week and let ye know how I got on.

Bear in mind that the reason why Seagate are cheaper is because their warranty has been cut to just a single year. Western Digital is 2 years, which isn't fantastic either.

freeze4real

Monotype wrote: »

The 450 is not a tremendously powerful GPU, not too bad now but it would struggle with newer games... which games are running and what resolution is your screen?
.

I'M playing AVP at the moment, but will be getting avp3 soon and GTA IV as well.

I also have COD4 but its not my style i've installed it it runs well.

My screen resolution is 14400 by 900

Monotype

AVP? The original one - or the 2010 version, or is that AVP 3?
The original one would need next to nothing anyway. If you have 100% GPU on this, then there's something not quite right.

Recommended requirements for the 2010 on is NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI HD2900 PRO, so you should be okay there. Results should be a little better than the 1280x1024.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gts-450-gf106-radeon-hd-5750,2734-9.html

GTA 4 is very hungry on resources. I don't know if that's due to poor optimisation on PC or if it's drastically better than consoles. I think they were recommending a quad core. Should run anyway although you would probably need to work on the settings.

freeze4real

Monotype wrote: »

AVP? The original one - or the 2010 version, or is that AVP 3?
The original one would need next to nothing anyway. If you have 100% GPU on this, then there's something not quite right.

Recommended requirements for the 2010 on is NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI HD2900 PRO, so you should be okay there. Results should be a little better than the 1280x1024.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gts-450-gf106-radeon-hd-5750,2734-9.html

GTA 4 is very hungry on resources. I don't know if that's due to poor optimisation on PC or if it's drastically better than consoles. I think they were recommending a quad core. Should run anyway although you would probably need to work on the settings.

yes it's the original one, I thought that it was a bug initially but it wasn't.
I have scanned my system and there's no virus at all.

Monotype

It might be a bug in the drivers or something. I don't think that needs much of a graphics card at all. I remember running that on a pretty basic system a long time ago.
Have a look to see what graphics options there are, maybe it's an error with one particular property. I've seen some weird stuff happening in older games because the graphics cards manufacturers haven't tested/considered them.

freeze4real

Monotype wrote: »

It might be a bug in the drivers or something. I don't think that needs much of a graphics card at all. I remember running that on a pretty basic system a long time ago.
Have a look to see what graphics options there are, maybe it's an error with one particular property. I've seen some weird stuff happening in older games because the graphics cards manufacturers haven't tested/considered them.

Any ideas how to remove the bugs.

frozenfrozen

freeze4real wrote: »

Any ideas how to remove the bugs.

Update all drivers, reinstall windows maybe

Monotype

Yeah, just update the drivers. Or sometimes the solution is to stick with older ones.

For example, I found with recent AMD drivers, I could no longer run unreal tournament in full screen. I had to change around the in-game setting or download a different rendering driver for the game that someone else had made. It's something that you'd have to find out yourself for the individual game from either trying different settings or browsing forums specific to the game. One other place to look is in the nVidia control panel, sometimes forcing certain options can help some games.
Running in compatibility mode could help too?

thewheel2.0

This :Sapphire+HD+7850+2GB+GDDR5+PCI-Express vs
This: Sapphire+HD+7850+OC+2GB+GDDR5+PCI-Express
What's the difference? Worth the extra tenner? Whats the point of the factory overclock if most people just overclock it themselves anyway?

Tea_Bag

The OC is the only difference. if youre trying to cut costs, get the stock, but considering its a tenner more and you could get better silicon.

normally I prefer Sapphire over most brands, but id probably get this MSI one. its got an OC, cheap, and most people get the highest OC's on 7850's using MSI cards.

ZeroThreat

ok, so I'm planning on ordering components for my pc build from hwvs in next day or so, and am undecided about which SSD to choose.

Originally I was going to get one of the 128Gb models, preferably the samsung 830, but then I was thinking I might want a little more space and noticed these 2 models

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/Solid-State-Disk/56863/Samsung+SSD+830+256GB+SATA+II+Paper+Box.article

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/Solid-State-Disk/46112/Crucial+M4+256GB+SSD+6%2C4cm+%282%2C5%29.article

Which should I choose? The Crucial M4 model is €12 cheaper, but is the Samsung of a higher quality? Also I notice the Samsung is Sata II, will this pose technical difficulties over a normal sata drive?

Edit : I'm also planning on getting an aftermarket cooler for cpu overclocking, do I need to order thermal paste seperately, or is it included?

Monotype

830 and M4 are both excellent choices. The samsung has faster writes, although that's unlikely something that you'll really notice most of the time, as you'll be reading far more often. The M4 wins out in a few areas here and there, but overall I think you'd be very happy with either.

The samsung is SATA-600, regardless of what it says in the title unless they mean that it adheres to SATA II specifications + it's 6Gbps... not an issue anyway.

Pretty much all coolers come with thermal paste. You don't really need to buy it unless you have to take it back off again.

Skylinehead

That's a mistake from HWVS, the 830 is SATA III. And worth €12 over an M4 in my opinion as well.

ZeroThreat

Skylinehead wrote: »

That's a mistake from HWVS, the 830 is SATA III. And worth €12 over an M4 in my opinion as well.

The 256gb model was in stock when I was checking last week. It's out of stock now, but due in again by 11th July, so I may just place order & wait.

ZeroThreat

Well here's my final build, everything look in order??


Item|Price
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€212.12
ASRock Z77 Extreme4, Sockel 1155, ATX|€128.51
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€36.53
Corsair Carbide Series 500R schwarz, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€94.85
Seagate Barracuda 7200 2000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€100.93
Thermalright HR-02 Macho|€34.89
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 OC, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€383.93
Super-Flower SF650P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€80.30
Razer DeathAdder Re-Spawn, USB, 3500 dpi|€45.39
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€81.75
Special item: Samsung SyncMaster S23A700D "3D" inkl. 3D-Brille|€230.61
LG GH24NS bare schwarz|€16.49
Samsung SSD 830 256GB SATA II Paper Box|€206.84
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1672.13

Edit : Oh, btw the version of Windows 7 I ordered seems to be German version, but a little cheaper than the English version; do I need to go somewhere and burn the english install onto a blank dvd-rw??

Skylinehead

That looks familiar :pac:

ZeroThreat

Skylinehead wrote: »

That looks familiar :pac:

Yup, I think everyone is being recommended the same components in general on this site, I'm probably one of the few who prefers a black carbide case though.

The PSU I selected seems to be of gold standard, looks to be better quality than the standard superflower 650 but without the led fan.

N64

You would probably be better going with the adata 650w if you are going to spend €80 on a psu (free shipping)

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/power_supplies/80002628/a_data_hm_650_650_watt_atx/details.aspx

Its modular and it features all Japanese capacitors

You can download a English ISO of windows 7 home premium 64 bit here (from Microsofts digital river retail site) Provided that you have a valid home premium license , it will work fine

ZeroThreat

N64 wrote: »

You would probably be better going with the adata 650w if you are going to spend €80 on a psu (free shipping)

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/power_supplies/80002628/a_data_hm_650_650_watt_atx/details.aspx

Its modular and it features all Japanese capacitors

You can download a English ISO of windows 7 home premium 64 bit here (from Microsofts digital river retail site) Provided that you have a valid home premium license , it will work fine

hmmm that psu is tempting, only advantage the super-flower has over it is that its gold rated, to the adata's bronze rating, but tbh I'm not sure if that's much of a difference.

N64

Also, does 3D matter that much to you? If not, the Dell u2312HM is a cheaper alternative and since its IPS, it will deliver a better picture.

ZeroThreat

N64 wrote: »

Also, does 3D matter that much to you? If not, the Dell u2312HM is a cheaper alternative and since its IPS, it will deliver a better picture.

Well the pc is for gaming (amongst other things), I don't really care about 3d which at the current lvl of monitor technology is more of a gimmick in my opinion.

Mainly I chose it for the 120hz refresh rate and 2ms response time. These samsung screens got good reviews and have a reputation for as good a picture as you'll get short of a high quality IPS screen. It's an excellent display for gaming (especially fps) and takes advantage of the power of a high end graphics card, the higher refresh makes it all much smoother.

Monotype

That monitor that you have in the cart is a special item. Usually implies returned goods.

N64 wrote: »

You would probably be better going with the adata 650w if you are going to spend €80 on a psu (free shipping)

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/power_supplies/80002628/a_data_hm_650_650_watt_atx/details.aspx

Its modular and it features all Japanese capacitors

That was better value when it was €59.
Still good value if you're shopping locally though. The 850W one is far better value at only €5 more. Not that you'd need 850W here.

ZeroThreat

Monotype wrote: »

That monitor that you have in the cart is a special item. Usually implies returned goods.



That was better value when it was €59.
Still good value if you're shopping locally though. The 850W one is far better value at only €5 more. Not that you'd need 850W here.

yeah, I noticed what you said about the 'special item'. Tbh I might just splash out a little more & get this one, the newer model, more stylish base/casing

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/9855198/art/samsung/s23a750d-syncmaster-23-fu.html

was going for about €30 cheaper on hwvs until a while ago, but they all disappeared. :mad:

keithb93

Yay my computer has been shipped, even though the graphics card is out of stock .
Anyways can anyone recommend me a cheapo keyboard less than 30 euro that will be decent for gaming, preferably in argos or pcworld? I dont want to wait on a keyboard to be delivered while the rig is ready to go

Skylinehead

keithb93 wrote: »

Yay my computer has been shipped, even though the graphics card is out of stock .
Anyways can anyone recommend me a cheapo keyboard less than 30 euro that will be decent for gaming, preferably in argos or pcworld? I dont want to wait on a keyboard to be delivered while the rig is ready to go

I'd recommend this for gaming: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Sidewinder-X4-Keyboard-Layout/dp/B0037KLSS8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341322401&sr=8-1

I know it's £30 rather than €30, but it's a quality keyboard, free delivery and I'd imagine you'd get it before the rest comes.

keithb93

Skylinehead wrote: »

I'd recommend this for gaming: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Sidewinder-X4-Keyboard-Layout/dp/B0037KLSS8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341322401&sr=8-1

I know it's £30 rather than €30, but it's a quality keyboard, free delivery and I'd imagine you'd get it before the rest comes.

It looks great but is a bit over budget. The lack of a credit card doesnt help either :pac:
I was thinking about something like this until I get more moila
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9372162/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7C19780850%7CPC+and+laptop+accessories%7C14419129/c_3/4%7Ccat_14419129%7CComputer+keyboards+and+graphics+tablets%7C14419132.htm?

Skylinehead

keithb93 wrote: »

It looks great but is a bit over budget. The lack of a credit card doesnt help either :pac:
I was thinking about something like this until I get more moila
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9372162/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7C19780850%7CPC+and+laptop+accessories%7C14419129/c_3/4%7Ccat_14419129%7CComputer+keyboards+and+graphics+tablets%7C14419132.htm?

Visa Debit would do

That Logitech would be grand for a while, bog standard office keyboard really.

ZeroThreat

N64 wrote: »

You would probably be better going with the adata 650w if you are going to spend €80 on a psu (free shipping)

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/power_supplies/80002628/a_data_hm_650_650_watt_atx/details.aspx

Its modular and it features all Japanese capacitors

You can download a English ISO of windows 7 home premium 64 bit here (from Microsofts digital river retail site) Provided that you have a valid home premium license , it will work fine

Ok, I'm a little confused atm, I downloaded the ISO and extracted it to a seperate folder on my drive, this consists of :

5 sub-folders called : boot, efi, sources, support, upgrade,
4 files called : autorun, bootmgr, bootmgr.efi, setup

Do I just burn the main folder including all the above to my dvd, and it's suitable as a bootable disk for the English version of Windows 7?

I thought it was a little more complex than that to be honest, I had downloaded a windows 7 usd/dvd download tool, and for step 1 of 4, it tells me I need to browse and select the iso file, before burning to the dvd, but when I go into the folder, theres no file of that type (.iso I assume)

Is the download tool for something else I don't have?

Would appreciate a response on this, as I've just put payment through & should have pc delivered by end of next week hopefully

Monotype

You don't extract the file, you either burn it to DVD or put it on a USB drive (you need one 4GB or greater, I think).

First of all, have you got a DVD burner? If so, you need burning software. If you have Vista or windows 7, you should be able to right-click on the ISO file and burn to disc. If you don't have any DVD burning software, CDBurnerXP is a free one (although strangely doesn't always play well with my own desktop).

Alternatively, you can install Windows from a USB drive. To do this, the easiest way is to use Microsoft's USB installer. There's a link to this in the Windows guide in my signature.

Note that you don't burn the ISO file or the extracted files directly to the disk - it's a disc image that is interpreted by burning software which will extract the files and add additional information (such as disc name).

Fluffy88

The file you downloaded (that you extracted) is the .iso file.
Run the Windows 7 USB tool again and browse to where the ISO file downloaded too and select it. The Windows 7 USB tool will do all the extracting and copying of files for you. It won't work just copying the files you extracted yourself.

You can delete the files & folders created from extracting the ISO file as they are not necessary.

EDIT: Too slow ...