Computer Replacement

[nanobot]

I kinda stated this before, but now is the time.

I just ordered a new kit for my computer. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on additional items. (Tight budget, but I didn't do to bad.)

1 ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198

1 AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103903

2 Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134785

1 BFG GeForce 9800GT Eco (Already had it.)

1 Rosewill 550Watt PSU (Already had it.)

1 WD Cavier Green 1T HDD Sata 3Gb/s (Already had it.)

What do you all think? Fairly decent for gaming? (Mass Effect 1/2, Starcraft 2, CoD MW2/CoD Black Ops, C&C The First Decade)

I do plan to overclock it and use ASRocks UCC to turn that X2 to an X4 I believe. Should get it all by Wednesday/Thursday so I'll find more out then.

Thanks,

EBrown

[RTB]

The odds of unlocking an Athlon X2 are bad, because almost all are native dual cores. If you want a chance at unlocking try an Athlon X3, as those are genuine quad cores with a possible dead fourth core. That PSU should be able to handle that rig, but Rosewill isn't known for quality PSUs. You can find faster memory for that price, such as this.

[nanobot]

The odds of unlocking an Athlon X2 are bad, because almost all are native dual cores. If you want a chance at unlocking try an Athlon X3, as those are genuine quad cores with a possible dead fourth core. That PSU should be able to handle that rig, but Rosewill isn't known for quality PSUs. You can find faster memory for that price, such as this.

Alright, cool. It should work fine for gaming, right? Won't be to extremely slow? I am mostly worried about the GFX card, as I can always order that other RAM pretty cheap and run myself up to 8 gig.

Thanks,

EBrown

[tdawnaz]

8 gigs!! of ram...hehehe...remember 8 megs or 4 megs??

oh sorry...carry on

[mudmanc4]

That MB is RAID capable , think about grabbing another HDD by all means, at least one, in fact get two more as RAID 5 requires minimum 3 .

Cost matters here because you have a 1tb drive , so maybe just RAID1 will be a nice little read boost while gaming. But if you do , match the exact size of the drive , of course the same brand helps , but I've done it several times with different stickers on it but the same size. More then likely the same drive with different branding.

[nanobot]

That MB is RAID capable , think about grabbing another HDD by all means, at least one, in fact get two more as RAID 5 requires minimum 3 .

Cost matters here because you have a 1tb drive , so maybe just RAID1 will be a nice little read boost while gaming. But if you do , match the exact size of the drive , of course the same brand helps , but I've done it several times with different stickers on it but the same size. More then likely the same drive with different branding.

Yeah, I do plan to buy another drive soon. Prolly another 1T and a SSD for my OS. (Although that's pretty expensive.) And I planned to Raid 0 the two 1T's, and then use a different disk for my OS. (As I already do. I use an IDE one though, so it's pretty slow.)

Thanks,

EBrown

[dlewis23]

That MB is RAID capable , think about grabbing another HDD by all means, at least one, in fact get two more as RAID 5 requires minimum 3 .

Cost matters here because you have a 1tb drive , so maybe just RAID1 will be a nice little read boost while gaming. But if you do , match the exact size of the drive , of course the same brand helps , but I've done it several times with different stickers on it but the same size. More then likely the same drive with different branding.

Raid 1 doesn't increase performance, it only mirrors the drives its for redundancy. Raid 0 would give a performance increase both in read and write speeds.

Using the MB raid controller can in some cases slow the drives down because its using the CPU to do the mirroring.

Going for Raid 10 would be the fastest for both read and write, but you would need 3 drives.

Yeah, I do plan to buy another drive soon. Prolly another 1T and a SSD for my OS. (Although that's pretty expensive.) And I planned to Raid 0 the two 1T's, and then use a different disk for my OS. (As I already do. I use an IDE one though, so it's pretty slow.)

Thanks,

EBrown

If you go for Raid 0 keep in mind. If either of the drives fail or the raid it self fails you will loose all your data on the drive.

[nanobot]

Raid 1 doesn't increase performance, it only mirrors the drives its for redundancy. Raid 0 would give a performance increase both in read and write speeds.

Using the MB raid controller can in some cases slow the drives down because its using the CPU to do the mirroring.

Going for Raid 10 would be the fastest for both read and write, but you would need 3 drives.

If you go for Raid 0 keep in mind. If either of the drives fail or the raid it self fails you will loose all your data on the drive.

So I want Raid 1 then?

Thanks,

EBrown

[dlewis23]

So I want Raid 1 then?

Thanks,

EBrown

If you want redundancy then yes. If you want performance + redundancy then Raid 10.

If you just want to save money and have performance buy a SSD and put just your OS and Programs on it use a second drive for everything else.

[nanobot]

If you want redundancy then yes. If you want performance + redundancy then Raid 10.

If you just want to save money and have performance buy a SSD and put just your OS and Programs on it use a second drive for everything else.

I think I'll get a small SSD then. Seems cheaper than buying 2 more 1T HDD's for Raid 10.

Thanks,

EBrown

[TriRan]

something someone partially noted is i don't believe athlons can be unlocked period from what i've read only x2 and x3 Phenoms can be unlocked if your lucky btw i used to have that chip infact i still own it it's just not in use i had it in an ASUS MB but it overclocked like a champ i had it at 3.5GHZ stable on air with value ram >.> it didn't like going much past that even though the temps stayed low upping the voltage didn't seem to help either

also i'm not really sure the differences off the top of my head but i run the 9800GTX+ and play all the games you listed on the highest setting at 1920x1200

[nanobot]

something someone partially noted is i don't believe athlons can be unlocked period from what i've read only x2 and x3 Phenoms can be unlocked if your lucky btw i used to have that chip infact i still own it it's just not in use i had it in an ASUS MB but it overclocked like a champ i had it at 3.5GHZ stable on air with value ram >.> it didn't like going much past that even though the temps stayed low upping the voltage didn't seem to help either

also i'm not really sure the differences off the top of my head but i run the 9800GTX+ and play all the games you listed on the highest setting at 1920x1200

Alright, the GT's are simple slower than the GTX's from what I have understood. So I think I would be good then.

I am actually looking into a cheap Phenom II X3 or X4, I might actually not even touch the Athlon II.

All my stuff is arriving today, so by tomorrow I will have it all put together. (I won't get the Video card back until then, I let a friend borrow it for a test drive.)

What did you overclock with this chipset? (I mean Processor Type)

Thanks,

EBrown

[mudmanc4]

Raid 1 doesn't increase performance, it only mirrors the drives its for redundancy. Raid 0 would give a performance increase both in read and write speeds.

Using the MB raid controller can in some cases slow the drives down because its using the CPU to do the mirroring.

Going for Raid 10 would be the fastest for both read and write, but you would need 3 drives.

If you go for Raid 0 keep in mind. If either of the drives fail or the raid it self fails you will loose all your data on the drive.

Considering the RAID controller is located within the board , yes the CPU will host it ,and actually RAID 1 will give some increase to reads , because it now reads from two places instead of one.

I understand your comment though , if we were dealing in a server situation then yes you would want to consider going with another RAID option. But then again we would be utilizing an actual RAID device.

Not to forget the proper RAID10 application requires minimum of 4 physical drives where RAID1 minimum is 2.

So as my experience goes , I'll have to err on the side on RAID1 for this application.

Elliot , my thoughts on how the system will be clocked up is most definitively within the BOIS by increasing bus speed x multiplier , not forgetting about voltage, remembering when you upclock this , the main bus will be clocked , so everything will run at increased frequency , forcing the divider ( ram/cpu ) to be adjusted so we don't overclock the graphics card.

[nanobot]

Well I got all the parts except the video card and it's doing well so far. Only a couple issues. AMD Cool n' Quiet is a fail btw.

I got the CPU overclocked to 3.6 ghz but that AMD thing kept setting it to 960 MHz.

The CPU and ram are overclocked separate of the pcie bus. So when I add that video card it will run at it's normal speed.

Thanks,

EBrown

[nanobot]

Here's a screenshot of my Rating. (Ignore the Graphics, I am using an old SiS card with 4MB RAM, etc.)

Besides the terrible graphic speeds, it seems to be running quite well. I will know more once I get my other Video Card and start Mass Effect 2 again.

It is Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit btw.

Thanks,

EBrown

[RTB]

Well I got all the parts except the video card and it's doing well so far. Only a couple issues. AMD Cool n' Quiet is a fail btw.

I got the CPU overclocked to 3.6 ghz but that AMD thing kept setting it to 960 MHz.

The CPU and ram are overclocked separate of the pcie bus. So when I add that video card it will run at it's normal speed.

How do you think it would operate then? The only way to make a CPU run cooler with software is to drop the speed and/or the voltage. Cool'n'quiet does this depending on CPU usage, so ideally if you need the whole 3.6Ghz of processing power the CPU would instantly (well... delay measured in microseconds) work at full speed.

[mudmanc4]

How do you think it would operate then? The only way to make a CPU run cooler with software is to drop the speed and/or the voltage. Cool'n'quiet does this depending on CPU usage, so ideally if you need the whole 3.6Ghz of processing power the CPU would instantly (well... delay measured in microseconds) work at full speed.

Haha , yes , I remember all the " wtf " about cool n quiet once everyone started using it.

[nanobot]

How do you think it would operate then? The only way to make a CPU run cooler with software is to drop the speed and/or the voltage. Cool'n'quiet does this depending on CPU usage, so ideally if you need the whole 3.6Ghz of processing power the CPU would instantly (well... delay measured in microseconds) work at full speed.

Well it wasn't very impressive. Gaming on it would be useless. (Which is why I disabled it.)

I managed to get my GeForce 9800 GT installed and working. So far we have Overclocked the GPU to 600Mhz from 500Mhz, Shader Clock 1200->1400Mhz, and the memory frequency from 900Mhz to 950Mhz. (Not much, I know. But for me it is significant.) I am installing Mass Effect 2 right now and I am going to see how it runs at.

I installed some Cathodes in it and it looks pretty sweet. I may post pictures later. I need to mod my case with a side-glass window so I can actually see them better. But so far I am fairly impressed with the rig.

Edit: New screenshot of Windows Experience Index.

Thanks,

EBrown

[TriRan]

honestly i like cool n quiet i run it on my current system my core voltages have to be upped for this OC i'm running so that adds a lot of extra heat when cool n quiet kicks in the voltage is decreased aswell as cpu clock so it keeps the pc nice and cool when i'm not gaming also the board i used for my athlon OC was http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131618 its the the 770 chipset the board i'm running now is the 785 which had huge improvements as far as the OC ability. did you end up going athlon or go with phenom?

[nanobot]

honestly i like cool n quiet i run it on my current system my core voltages have to be upped for this OC i'm running so that adds a lot of extra heat when cool n quiet kicks in the voltage is decreased aswell as cpu clock so it keeps the pc nice and cool when i'm not gaming also the board i used for my athlon OC was http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131618 its the the 770 chipset the board i'm running now is the 785 which had huge improvements as far as the OC ability. did you end up going athlon or go with phenom?

I am using an Athlon II x2 right now. I am planning to switch to a faster more powerful processor when I can.

I finished off my GPU overclock at:

Core: 500Mhz to 600Mhz.

Shader: 1250Mhz to 1500Mhz.

Memory: 900Mhz to 1001Mhz. (I couldn't go 1000, it was either 999 or 1001...>.<)

I changed the speed curve of my GPU fan to keep it at 47 C when there is no load on it. It seems to run fine now.

I got Mass Effect 2 installed and I must say, it runs beautifully. The gaming on it is so smooth, I feel really happy that I got this new machine.

I got two 12 inch, blue, sound activated cathodes installed in my case, and I must say, they light it up nicely.

Thanks,

EBrown

[RTB]

Well it wasn't very impressive. Gaming on it would be useless. (Which is why I disabled it.)

*facepalms*

[mudmanc4]

*facepalms*

hahaa

he'll get it

Hey Elliot , I thought I should toss in my thoughts , .........yea , imagine that lol

I would think about creating two system profiles , one for everyday use , and one for gaming , this way you can use the cool n quiet , to conserve a bit of energy by slowing down the cpu clock when not needed , and log into your gaming account when you want to , so the system will be set up to rock n roll automatically . yes ?

[nanobot]

hahaa

he'll get it

Hey Elliot , I thought I should toss in my thoughts , .........yea , imagine that lol

I would think about creating two system profiles , one for everyday use , and one for gaming , this way you can use the cool n quiet , to conserve a bit of energy by slowing down the cpu clock when not needed , and log into your gaming account when you want to , so the system will be set up to rock n roll automatically . yes ?

It's a Bios setting, which pissed me off.

However, my Bios has the ability to save 3 profiles, so I may make two accounts, and then make two profiles. So all I have to do is reboot for hardcore gaming.

Thanks,

EBrown

[mudmanc4]

It's a Bios setting, which pissed me off.

However, my Bios has the ability to save 3 profiles, so I may make two accounts, and then make two profiles. So all I have to do is reboot for hardcore gaming.

Thanks,

EBrown

Well yes , thats the exact idea right there ! If i remember correctly, someone built a new bios for just that , dunno if it's for your MB , but if it gets you into a heap of madness , it's worth a looking into.

[nanobot]

Well yes , thats the exact idea right there ! If i remember correctly, someone built a new bios for just that , dunno if it's for your MB , but if it gets you into a heap of madness , it's worth a looking into.

Got a few pictures of it.

That blue stuff is my cathodes. Two Blue ones, they can be off, on, or sound activated. (Pretty cool to watch when you have a movie on. )

Yes, the fan is green. The PSU fan is blue though, so we are good there. (And the cathodes really drown out that green fan.)

That red blur is my LED. It tells me where it's at in the post if I have no Monitor in. It also has a built in Power, Reset, and clear CMOS button. (Power and RESET are next to that blur, Clear CMOS is on the back, though Idk why.)

Pictures 1/2 are of the main board. (With and then without the Cathodes on.)

Pictures 3/4 are of my Graphics card. (Same deal as 1/2.)

Picture 5 is the main board with no ambient lighting.

Thanks,

EBrown