Going to Delhi on TUE to buy PC - last questions

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bippukt

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I can see your point, but I have something else in mind.

-First, if I do this, my money invested in GTS 250 is completely wasted and I get a much more inferior proccy.
-Second, there are other users and they do some photoshopping and video encoding and I thought i5 would be very useful there.
-Third, I have a hidden agenda. I am going to set aside 2k every month for the next 5-6 months and then when Nvidia also releases its DX11 cards, I will buy a high end Gfx card and give this GTS 250 to my brother ;)
 
ssk_the_gr8

ssk_the_gr8

Make Way the LORD is Here
i agree with comp@ddict.. get an athlon x4 & 785 g... save money & get the HD5850..
dont wait nvidia dx11 cards not worth it
 
desiibond

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
@compaddict and ssk_the_gr8. he is going to use a 19" display. doesn't make sense in going for a HD5850 to game on these settings.

also, since he is saving for Fermi, GTS250 makes most sense.

@bippukt, sounds like a good plan. do remember that if you want to go for midrange-highend Fermi, you have to upgrade to a FullHD display to do full justice to these monstrous dx11 cards. using them on a 19" display is useless.

PS: if you want to get the best Fermi, you may need to save more than 2k per month :)
 
asingh

asingh

Aspiring Novelist
^^ They might also release low-end FERMI, for the lower segment, and his 19" monitor would be supported fine by that. HD5850 is way way to much for the 19".
 
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bippukt

In the zone
Yes, it is a 19" and it has max resolution 1440X900. Plus, I won't buy a new gfx card unless I need it. And there is no way I will buy something costing more than 12k. That's the hard limit. Just like right now, I can buy the LGA1156 i7 but I simply won't. And I completely agree with one point - I will have to get a new and much better monitor. Not only does this one have a low resolution, it also has a lot of ghosting. So, strategy games are fine, but FIFA or NFS? Absolutely not :(

Still tormenting myself about the cabinet. The CM and Antec cabinets are unavailable (asked in several shops). They have a good collection of iBall cases but not Zebronics ones. I may have to settle for an iBall cabinet after all - any idea which one might be passable? At least, I won't have to deal with the crappiest of iBall cases - their PSUs. My CM Extreme 600W is MUCH better than those :)
 
desiibond

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
@bippukt. don't worry about these cabinets. go to the store, get the cabinet that has best build quality. As long as the build quality is good, it doesn't matter whether it is zebronics or cooler master or antec. Also make sure that the cabinet is long enough to accomodate lengthy dx11 cards like HD5850.
 
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bippukt

In the zone
Okay, I got my new rig finally, just before Christmas ;)

Intel core i5 750 with 8 MB cache
Intel DP55WB motherboard (would have liked D55WG, but not much difference for me)
Transcend 4GB DDR3 1333MHz
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM HDD
CoolerMaster Extreme Power 600W
GTS 250 512MB

The cabinet is an iball one, but it looks quite sturdy and seems to have okay ventilation. I am not happy with the rear fan though - I can barely feel it pushing out air. Might get a new fan.

Still doing formatting of new HDD drives and setting things up. I don't like the colours - hopefully, it is just wrong settings and not some loose pin. It is also quite silent right now, but we will see when the games start ;)

And boy, the i5 is FAST! That doesn't help with the formatting, unfortunately :(

Thanks again to everyone who helped me zero down on this one. Special thanks are due to Desiibond :)

I can't wait to try high quality graphics games on this rig! The pessimistic person that I am, I will probably spend the next few days benchmarking and looking for any problems.
 
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bippukt

In the zone
Ok, now this may sound noobish, but am I expected to keep the fan upside or down towards the base? Currently, I have kept it down but I am not sure.

Also, my CPU temp is around 53C after moderate load and the abients are around 33 (that's what the other two temps in the BIOS, right?). Sounds fine to me but is it ok?

Also, can you suggest any free website/software for benchmarking my PC and to keep a tab on the temp and voltages? I have a coupon for full version of 3d Mark Vantage, but unfortunately it works only for DirectX, AFAIK.

---------- Post added at 12:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 AM ----------

Ok, now this may sound noobish, but am I expected to keep the fan upside or down towards the base? Currently, I have kept it down but I am not sure.

Also, my CPU temp is around 53C after moderate load and the abients are around 33 (that's what the other two temps in the BIOS, right?). Sounds fine to me but is it ok?

Also, can you suggest any free website/software for benchmarking my PC and to keep a tab on the temp and voltages? I have a coupon for full version of 3d Mark Vantage, but unfortunately it works only for DirectX, AFAIK.

---------- Post added at 01:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 AM ----------

What on earth is happening - this forum is eating my replies?

Anyway, I just had 1 doubt - is the graphics card fan supposed to be facing up or down? I have kept it downwards because that seemed to be the only position possible!

---------- Post added at 01:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 AM ----------

What on earth is happening - this forum is eating my replies?

Anyway, I just had 1 doubt - is the graphics card fan supposed to be facing up or down? I have kept it downwards because that seemed to be the only position possible!
 
asingh

asingh

Aspiring Novelist
Ok, now this may sound noobish, but am I expected to keep the fan upside or down towards the base? Currently, I have kept it down but I am not sure.
Click to expand...

Which fan..?

Also, my CPU temp is around 53C after moderate load and the abients are around 33 (that's what the other two temps in the BIOS, right?). Sounds fine to me but is it ok?
Click to expand...

How you got these temperatures.

You GPU is fine, there is only ONE way it can be slotted. The fan will be at the bottom.
 
asingh

asingh

Aspiring Novelist
bippukt said:
The GPU fan.



I got them from BIOS right after doing some heavy duty work.



You are so right! I would have made a terrible Mechanical Engineer; Civil is just right for me ;)
Click to expand...

Your GPU fan is fine. Do not read the BIOS temperatures, those are not good for calibrating.

Download RealTEMP, and run a sensor test, post a screen shot here. You will need Prime95 also. Set TJMax = 90.
 
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bippukt

In the zone
I downloaded both and ran the sensor test of RealTemp. Here are the results:

*img704.imageshack.us/img704/8279/sensortest.jpg

Are they ok? Also, any good utilities to test the GPU and the HDD? I am a bit doubtful about the new HDD because it sometimes makes a strange sound.
 
asingh

asingh

Aspiring Novelist
For HDD you can try HD Tune, it is good. It can trap any errors on the platters. You temperatures seem on the high side. Did you assemble the system yourself, was thermal paste applied between the HSF and CPU head. Are you sure, the HSF is mounted correct..? It should not budge even a bit, if you try to shake it.

---------- Post added at 02:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 PM ----------

Also..to test the GPU you can run furmark It will burn it bad....and monitor temperatures for the GPU.

---------- Post added at 02:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 PM ----------

Which part of India are you at. Ambient temperature. Also update your signature, I have to keep browsing back, to see your configuration.
 
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bippukt

In the zone
No, I had the PC assembled and I think he knew what he was doing. The HSF seems to be placed properly. The one problem that I can see is that the rear fan does not seem effective at all.

I forgot to mention that TJmax was set to 90 instead of 100. Are the temps still high?

I will try HD Tune, thanks.
 
asingh

asingh

Aspiring Novelist
They are slightly on high. 90C TjMax is fine. On full load, you are 23C away from throttle, so your temperature is 90 - 23 = 67(full load).
 
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bippukt

In the zone
I am in Allahabad, so the ambient temperatures are quite low ATM.

Ok, will edit the signature and do some more tests and post a consolidated reply here.
 
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bippukt

In the zone
All 3 of my HDDs seem fine to be in fine health according to HD Tune, although I keep hearing strange noises from the HDD area occasionally.

The RealTemp sensor test result I posted above.

I used the HW monitor and here is a result at negligible load:

*img707.imageshack.us/img707/1233/powerv.png

As you can see, there are no voltages and there is no listing for the chipset, fan or PWM or ACPI (what are they?). I really want to see the voltages because the CM Extreme Power Duo 600W is a bad PSU, although I think it will surely be able to handle this puny system.

Also, I sometimes see a strange sort of "flickering" (don't know what else to call it) on the monitor. I though LCD monitors didn't flicker! It is most apparent during games, but I sometimes feel that I can spot it even on the desktop background. The "flickering" is most apparent in FPS/RPG games and much less in strategy games; and much more visible on plain and light screen. Even a much less demanding game like Half Life 2 are suffering from this. This is one more reason I want to know the voltages. I had seen this sort of "flickering" even on my cousin's LCD monitor when I had installed my Gfx card and PSU in his C2D PC. Is it just my eyes decieving me or is there a problem? Unfortunately, I don't have a CRT monitor to test this and my monitor does have a severe ghosting problem (no FIFA on this PC unless you want a headache).

I would really appreciate any inputs on this :)

PS: I am getting 30-60 FPS in Crysis at High settings. Am I getting less than I should?
 
asingh

asingh

Aspiring Novelist
^^
You can see your vCore using CPU-Z. That is pretty accurate, and also show you what your ram is running at. Is this the latest version of HW Monitor. When I use it, it shows voltages, and fan speed for everything. I have version 1.14 (driver version 132).

Regarding the flickering....are you on the latest Forceware drivers..?
 
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bippukt

In the zone
Yes, it also has driver version 132. But, as you can see, there is no listing for voltages and no listing for chipset or fan.

I also tried CPU-Z, but it is also not showing any voltages. I wish Intel would release their utility for monitoring voltages and temperatures for the P55 soon.

I am using Forceware dated July. I have downloaded the latest from the XFX website too, but I don't see how it could cause any problems. Any idea what could be the reason? Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me ;)
 
asingh

asingh

Aspiring Novelist
Well..it is the forceware...which interacts with your GPU, and then helps the system render 3d. Also try CoreTemp..to see temperatures/voltages.
 
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