INFO: Building/Buying a Desktop (PC or Mac) - Page 104

Kuriin · 06-18-2009, 11:33 PM

Okay. I think my hardware is starting to crap out on my old computer. )= When I first got it, it would get about 50-70fps in WoW and able to play games like Portal, HalfLife 2, etc without any hiccups. Now, I play WoW and can only HOPE to get 15fps in any location. My computer now frequently will freeze at the Windows loading screen and I have to reboot my computer, start up in Safe Mode, then reboot again and it normally fixes itself. Also, when I boot up, I always get the CPU Fan error.

I won't lie -- I bought the computer from Alienware before because I didn't have any interest of building computers (though parts did fascinate me), but now that I'm starting to get into building the shit, I really have no idea what to do. The computer is liquid cooled and SLI, so I'm afraid of taking it apart because I have no idea if I could put it back together. Not to mention, I'm sure the thermal grease needs to be renewed on the processor.

Jysin-DW · 06-18-2009, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevincheese

So I just fucked myself over the other day, tipped back in my chair and fell over, and my monitor came down with me, due to how I had it sitting. Two big splotches of... not dead pixels, but some kind of damage that I doubt I can do anything about.

Anyhow, anyone have any good recommendations for a new LCD in the 200-300 range?

Is it worth looking into getting a small HDTV instead at this point, to use both as a monitor and for 360 play?

I had read some pretty great reviews on this one. Damn cheap too!

Dell S2309W Full HD Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

Jysin-DW · 06-18-2009, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuriin

Okay. I think my hardware is starting to crap out on my old computer. )= When I first got it, it would get about 50-70fps in WoW and able to play games like Portal, HalfLife 2, etc without any hiccups. Now, I play WoW and can only HOPE to get 15fps in any location. My computer now frequently will freeze at the Windows loading screen and I have to reboot my computer, start up in Safe Mode, then reboot again and it normally fixes itself. Also, when I boot up, I always get the CPU Fan error.

I won't lie -- I bought the computer from Alienware before because I didn't have any interest of building computers (though parts did fascinate me), but now that I'm starting to get into building the shit, I really have no idea what to do. The computer is liquid cooled and SLI, so I'm afraid of taking it apart because I have no idea if I could put it back together. Not to mention, I'm sure the thermal grease needs to be renewed on the processor.

Seriously, it would sound like something is wrong with drivers / software. I would try and back everything up and do a reinstall. If youre playing at 15fps in the same game you were hitting 70+, its going to usually be driver or OS related... and depending on using habits, possibly malware / virus.

Wipe it and re-install before screwing with hardware.

ToeMissile · 06-18-2009, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jysin-DW

Seriously, it would sound like something is wrong with drivers / software. I would try and back everything up and do a reinstall. If youre playing at 15fps in the same game you were hitting 70+, its going to usually be driver or OS related... and depending on using habits, possibly malware / virus.

Wipe it and re-install before screwing with hardware.

Yep.

Kuriin · 06-19-2009, 12:06 AM

Definitely not malware/viruses as I keep myself updated. I'll give the reformat a try. I take it the only way to backup is via buying external HDD?

brekk · 06-19-2009, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuriin

Definitely not malware/viruses as I keep myself updated. I'll give the reformat a try. I take it the only way to backup is via buying external HDD?

Its not related to malware and virusses. Its related to a bloated registry, tons of no longer used .dll's and likely some bad fragmentaton.

If you're having major performance issues that weren't there before and your OS install is more then 6 months old reformat.

And partition your drives when you do. 20gb partition for OS and basic program installs, install games on another partition. In the case of WoW and WC3 they don't need to be installed to run so when I did my last OS reinstall few weeks ago just made a new shortcut to my old WoW folder and it ran fine.

Now even if you're quite good about defragmenting you're still likely to have fragmenting within WoW itself. It uses a few gigantic .mpq files (each one is well over a GB) these individual files can get badly fragmented and are much harder to fix. My best luck has been copying the entire WoW directory to a different drive, defragmenting the drive it was on to try and get a large chunk of unfragmented space and then copying back the entire WoW directory.

Kuriin · 06-19-2009, 08:40 AM

All right, thanks.

edit: Now, it won't even start up. The PSU is working and power's going through, but seems like none is actually going to the monitor.

edit: Looks like my video card was overheating. It's working now, but looks like for the time being, I'll work in safe mode and buy an external HDD so I can back up my shit.

Candiarie · 06-19-2009, 08:59 AM

Especially if it was an fps issue earlier, time to try a different video card. I wouldn't buy a new one, but if you have an old one laying around or a friend's you can borrow.

Kaige · 06-19-2009, 09:13 AM

Anyone know where I can get my hands on one of those Nvidia SLI bridge connectors? I hit up the Nvidia site that said check the board site, MSI site has nothing, and a lot of sites aren't showing up with them for sale either. You can do it without it, but for cards over a certain GPU they say you won't get the real performance or something.

I had two and was using one for my cards but I plucked one out a while back because I thought there was an issue (was actually my RAM I found out later), but never put it back in. Now I can't find the connectors for some damn reason.

Kuriin · 06-19-2009, 10:04 AM

If you contact your mobo manufacturer, you might be able to get one/buy one.

Back to my build, Jysin/Xanadus (sp?): Should I partition the SSD so it's OS/Games or no partition?

Xandax · 06-19-2009, 02:06 PM

I wouldn't partition a ssd for os and programs. I'm assuming you picked up a 64, 80 or 128gb capacity. I would just keep all my personal files on a large wd or seagate, and throw my frequently used stuff on the ssd with your os and applications.

Ronne · 06-19-2009, 02:34 PM

In light of my recently deceased laptop I'm looking at finally getting around to building a new desktop. I've not assembled one from scratch before, but I've been decent at replacing ram/fans/video cards so I'm not terribly worried about it. My first draft looks like this thus far:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

I guess my biggest question is what am I missing? I'll need thermal past and SATA cables yes? From my quick google-fu the PSU seems fine for the card/CPU I have. Additional fans? Bigger/small case? Looking for general advice I guess as this is a first build and I'd like it to work ^^

Xandax · 06-19-2009, 04:10 PM

Sata cables come with mobo and hard drives. What case are you getting? Everything else is fine.

ToeMissile · 06-19-2009, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brekk

And partition your drives when you do. 20gb partition for OS and basic program installs, install games on another partition.

Depending on the OS you're running, 20GB is really cutting it close. For Vista, you should have at least 30 IMO, and that's w/ moving your all your temp dir's

Ronne · 06-20-2009, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xandax

Sata cables come with mobo and hard drives. What case are you getting? Everything else is fine.

Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Was my initial choice. It sounds decent enough and well ventilated, only thing I'm worried about is the video card fitting.

Stock cooling for the CPU going to be sufficient? The newegg reviews lead me to believe it would be fine, but I'm a bit iffy as far as overclocking with a stock fan.

But barring that, it looks set eh? Seems fine to me for the price.

06-18-2009, 11:33 PM	#1546 (permalink)
Kuriin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South San Francisco, CA Posts: 3,333	Okay. I think my hardware is starting to crap out on my old computer. )= When I first got it, it would get about 50-70fps in WoW and able to play games like Portal, HalfLife 2, etc without any hiccups. Now, I play WoW and can only HOPE to get 15fps in any location. My computer now frequently will freeze at the Windows loading screen and I have to reboot my computer, start up in Safe Mode, then reboot again and it normally fixes itself. Also, when I boot up, I always get the CPU Fan error. I won't lie -- I bought the computer from Alienware before because I didn't have any interest of building computers (though parts did fascinate me), but now that I'm starting to get into building the shit, I really have no idea what to do. The computer is liquid cooled and SLI, so I'm afraid of taking it apart because I have no idea if I could put it back together. Not to mention, I'm sure the thermal grease needs to be renewed on the processor. __________________ Live like you'll die tomorrow, Dream like you'll live forever

06-19-2009, 12:06 AM	#1550 (permalink)
Kuriin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South San Francisco, CA Posts: 3,333	Definitely not malware/viruses as I keep myself updated. I'll give the reformat a try. I take it the only way to backup is via buying external HDD? __________________ Live like you'll die tomorrow, Dream like you'll live forever

06-19-2009, 08:40 AM	#1552 (permalink)
Kuriin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South San Francisco, CA Posts: 3,333	All right, thanks. edit: Now, it won't even start up. The PSU is working and power's going through, but seems like none is actually going to the monitor. edit: Looks like my video card was overheating. It's working now, but looks like for the time being, I'll work in safe mode and buy an external HDD so I can back up my shit. __________________ Live like you'll die tomorrow, Dream like you'll live forever Last edited by Kuriin; 06-19-2009 at 08:57 AM..

06-19-2009, 08:59 AM	#1553 (permalink)
Candiarie Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,068 -1 Internets	Especially if it was an fps issue earlier, time to try a different video card. I wouldn't buy a new one, but if you have an old one laying around or a friend's you can borrow. __________________

06-19-2009, 09:13 AM	#1554 (permalink)
Kaige ..what? Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hell Posts: 1,790	Anyone know where I can get my hands on one of those Nvidia SLI bridge connectors? I hit up the Nvidia site that said check the board site, MSI site has nothing, and a lot of sites aren't showing up with them for sale either. You can do it without it, but for cards over a certain GPU they say you won't get the real performance or something. I had two and was using one for my cards but I plucked one out a while back because I thought there was an issue (was actually my RAM I found out later), but never put it back in. Now I can't find the connectors for some damn reason. __________________ Kaige Diplomacy: The ability to tell someone to go to Hell so that they'll look forward to making the trip.

06-19-2009, 10:04 AM	#1555 (permalink)
Kuriin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South San Francisco, CA Posts: 3,333	If you contact your mobo manufacturer, you might be able to get one/buy one. Back to my build, Jysin/Xanadus (sp?): Should I partition the SSD so it's OS/Games or no partition? __________________ Live like you'll die tomorrow, Dream like you'll live forever

06-19-2009, 02:06 PM	#1556 (permalink)
Xandax Resides in the Computer Assistance Thread Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Memphis Posts: 293	I wouldn't partition a ssd for os and programs. I'm assuming you picked up a 64, 80 or 128gb capacity. I would just keep all my personal files on a large wd or seagate, and throw my frequently used stuff on the ssd with your os and applications.

06-19-2009, 02:34 PM	#1557 (permalink)
Ronne King for a night Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Harvard IL Posts: 5,125 +12 Internets	In light of my recently deceased laptop I'm looking at finally getting around to building a new desktop. I've not assembled one from scratch before, but I've been decent at replacing ram/fans/video cards so I'm not terribly worried about it. My first draft looks like this thus far: Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops Newegg.com - Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Desktop Memory Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives I guess my biggest question is what am I missing? I'll need thermal past and SATA cables yes? From my quick google-fu the PSU seems fine for the card/CPU I have. Additional fans? Bigger/small case? Looking for general advice I guess as this is a first build and I'd like it to work ^^ __________________ Put your gamertag here too. Last edited by Ronne; 06-19-2009 at 02:47 PM..

06-19-2009, 04:10 PM	#1558 (permalink)
Xandax Resides in the Computer Assistance Thread Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Memphis Posts: 293	Sata cables come with mobo and hard drives. What case are you getting? Everything else is fine.

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