New Computer | Upgrade Help

[Rebel Jeb]

Could anybody give me their thoughts on these (in terms of power, power vs price, etc)? Goal is, of course, gaming. I'm looking to buy a new computer sometime soon, and I've been doing some searching. I love the design of these, but I'm not very good when it comes to judging power and good prices. I prefer buying prebuilt.

http://www.ibuypower.com/Config/Search/clg

[karamazovmm]

They are fine from a power POV. Not from a price POV. The 760 system is the less inflated there

dosed, mixed and stirred, not shaken, from taptalk

[Neoton]

Why are you upgrading?
For gaming. My old one can no longer run newer games.


What is your budget?
Around 1000 leva(~700 dollars).


Where do you live?
Bulgaria


Can you build this computer yourself, or do you need to buy prebuilt?
No, but that shouldn't be a problem as I have a friend who works with computers and he can help me(he doesn't play games though so he said he can't help me with the chosing of the parts).


What are you current system specs?
I can post the DxDiag if it's that important, but in general - Intel Core 2 Duo E7400, 4 GB RAM, ATI Radeon 5750


What screen resolution will you be using?
1680x1050.


What websites/stores can you purchase parts from?
I don't really know any except for this one - http://www.cmm.bg/cgi-bin/most/pricelist.pl (prices are in leva and the 4th column is the final price). This is where I bought my video card(2 years ago I think) and I haven't had any problems with it to this day.


Do you need to purchase peripherals?
I don't need to purchase anything else.


When do you plan to buy this computer/parts?
If it all goes well probably the following month or so.



Also I was wondering if this PC is good, my friend bought it for 700 dollars:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

MAINBOARD
ASUS P8H77-V, Intel H77, s.1155
36
CPU
INTEL CPU Desktop Core i5-3470 (3.20GHz,6MB,77W,S1155) Box
36
FAN
Yes
RAM
2x4GB KINGSTON DDR3 HyperX Blu 1600MHz
36
HDD
1TB, TOSHIBA DT01ACA100 (3.5", 32MB, SATA III-600)
24
FDD
no

ODD
DVD RW LO, 20x black.
12
VIDEO
GB GTX 650, N650OC-1Gl, 1024MB GDDR5 ,128 bit, D-SUB,HDMI
24
SOUND CARD
on board
36
CASE
Cooler Master K350 W/600W PSU

[Jarlaxe]

opened a new thread for a new pc build here

[Rebel Jeb]

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Intel-i7-Paladin-Special

Does anybody have any experience with ibuypower? What do you guys think of this deal (with a few minor upgrades) in terms of price/quality.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

Overpriced for what it is $1300 give or take with no monitor, custom built is better cheaper. For local builds near me i charge $50 for anything under $750 in parts $75 for anything at $751-1000 in parts and $100 flat rate over $1000.

NCIX will also build a system for you at a cost of $50 if you pick all the parts.

[Rebel Jeb]

Overpriced for what it is $1300 give or take with no monitor, custom built is better cheaper. For local builds near me i charge $50 for anything under $750 in parts $75 for anything at $751-1000 in parts and $100 flat rate over $1000.

NCIX will also build a system for you at a cost of $50 if you pick all the parts.

I don't have the knowledge to buy or assemble parts separately. Budget is around 1300-1500, or more with a monitor. I was toying around on NCIX, and it doesn't seem much cheaper?

[dom385]

I'm looking to get a new pc pretty much just for gaming, I tend to do uni work on my laptop and will be ordering it around the end of may. I live in the uk, in Bristol and have a budget of £1000 although i could go a little bit over it doesn't have to be exact. I A pre built would be easier but I could manage with building it myself (by which I mean my dad would build it for me) and I have all the peripherals already. I might splash out on a new monitor later if I find a good deal. The resolution on my current monitor is 1600x900 and I wont really go into detail on the system specs, the only thing that might be worth keeping is the 4G of RAM.

On the prebuilt front I was looking at this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...75&subcat=2487 or thishttp://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...75&subcat=2487 not sure about the windowed case though, not really a fan of them.

[Sar1n]

So, I might be getting a new laptop soon (month or so), and I'm interested in some ideas.

Price tag: upper limit roughly at 20000 CZK (750 EUR/1000 USD)

Main focus:
Reliability, durability. My last laptop (that was also my first) is still working after more than 6 years of heavy service (that included even one unfortunate meeting with concrete pavement), and its successor will have to live up to that.
Backwards compatibility. I don't really mind not playing on highest settings or running the newest Crysis on max or whatever, there's still a lot of older games I haven't played. I can stomach even games like Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale stretched on my laptop screen to 1024x768 resolution, but I can't stomach not being able to play some old gem because of compatibility problems.
Related to that, gaming: I have my eyes on a few games I'd like to be able to play eventually. From the future titles, it's Star Citizen and Witcher 3. I know it's hard to guess what kind of hardware will these need...oh well, probably more important will be games like Skyrim, War Thunder...and possibly some good MMORPG that might come in the near future.

I don't care much for:
Weight and size. Well, actually, a larger screen would be better. But even if it's 5kg beast, I don't carry it around that often to make the weight a problem.
Fancy trinkets and brand name.

So, I'm kinda looking for an AK-47 of laptops. Cheap, reliable, capable of doing everything even if it might not be that great at high end performance. I'll be monitoring various shops for discounts etc..., and it'll help if I knew what laptops should I watch for.

[Emperor Hantscher]

Basically all I want to do is upgrade my RAM. From what I have been reading it looks like it is not so simple.

My DXDIAG:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 560
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1201&SUBSYS_14603842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 2257 MB
Dedicated Memory: 978 MB
Shared Memory: 1278 MB
Current Mode: 1366 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
Driver Version: 9.18.0013.1106 (English)
DDI Version: 9Ex
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 9/21/2014, 21:42:54
Machine name: MATTYFO-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.100218-0019)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Dell XPS420
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A02
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 3070MB RAM
Page File: 1731MB used, 5211MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6000.16386 32bit Unicode

Now I am running Vista 32-bit, I have read that it maxes out at 4gb RAM which I think is what I have, it says 3.07GB but isn't that because it allocates the other gig for something else? So would it be true that I need to upgrade my OS in order to get more RAM? It seems like it will be a major pain in the ass and then there is a chance some of my older programs may not work. My processor supports a 64-bit system and all, I just want to be sure before I think about going ahead with this. I think my mobo accepts only DDR2 RAM. My goal is 8GB of RAM. Budget is not an issue.

[Ishan]

Yes you need Windows 64 bit if you want to upgrade to more RAM. But before that we need to know which motherboard you have.
And yes, seeing your processor RAM would be DDR2.

PS: 32 bit programs would work just work fine on 64 bit OS.

[Emperor Hantscher]

I believe the motherboard is Dell XPS420, system model right? If not I will have to pop her open tonight and see if I can read a model # off of her.

[Ishan]

I believe the motherboard is Dell XPS420, system model right? If not I will have to pop her open tonight and see if I can read a model # off of her.

No motherboard is a component inside not system model name. And no need to open anything, find it out by using CPUZ:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

[Emperor Hantscher]

No motherboard is a component inside not system model name. And no need to open anything, find it out by using CPUZ:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

Got it, thanks Ishan. I think I am ok my mobo should support 8 gigs, some confirmation would be appreciated however.
CPU-Z




Would it make a ddifferencegoing 4x2GB 2x4GB or 1X8GB? Does that matter at all?

As it stands now it looks like I have 2X1GB and 2X500MB cards. I could just upgrade my 500MB cards to 2GB cards to save cash and give me 6gb which is probably plenty for what I want to do, then I can always get another set of 2GB cards later on if I feel I need them.

I am leaning towards Crucial as the brand, mainly because I found their website very helpful ha. Would getting the Ballistix model be worth the extra ten buck as opose to just regular RAM. Is this a case of trust the manufacturers, spend more get more?

[Ishan]

Would it make a difference going 4x2GB 2x4GB or 1X8GB? Does that matter at all?

Depends but if all the same RAM types are of the EXACT specifications then it doesn't matter.

As it stands now it looks like I have 2X1GB and 2X500MB cards.

Ah so you have 3GB of RAM. By cards i mean you mean RAM chips.

I am leaning towards Crucial as the brand, mainly because I found their website very helpful ha. Would getting the Ballistix model be worth the extra ten buck as opose to just regular RAM. Is this a case of trust the manufacturers, spend more get more?

You would have to show me the links of the types you're seeing here. Really depends on the specs. What matters more is the operating frequency of the RAM.

Anyways to the point, in your Dell XPS420, your MOBO is 0TP406 with x36 Intel chipset, precisely this MOBO:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Complete specs here.

Supports DDR2 RAM type, Dual Channel configuration. And has the FSB limit 1333/1066/800 MHz. Meaning you can purchase DDR2 with operating frequency upto 1333 MHz.

So first of all tell the RAM types you have installed. I bet they are 667 MHz or 800 at max. This is important because in dual channel configuration RAM chips work together in dual, picking the weakest in power\specs since they have to operate in same frequency and latency.

And crucial is a good\reliable brand. DDR2 RAM types are old now and quite expensive in comparison to the latest DDR3 these days due to lesser demand.

[Emperor Hantscher]

Well I picked up Windows 7 64-bit today, went in to a local computer shop just to see what they had. They had Windows 7 and price matched it from Newegg because I saw it there for 99$. They also have one of the same RAM I was looking at for 40$ less than newegg. At first he was not going to price match it because the part number did not match, he had the sale anyways but noticed the same part number appeared on the Software itself so he went ahead with matching the price, let's just say he just earned himself a customer for life, and considering in the next year I may be picking up a new HD and maybe Processor(after checking Processors my mobo support this wouldn't be worth it until.....), and maybe even in the future a new mobo and all I'm a good customer to have.

Anyways I have decided on this RAM: Corsair 4GB XMS2-6400 TWIN2X Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 2GB)

I'll be picking it up at the end of the month when I get paid because I have already spent to way much this pay period, I will just feel better about it. Observe the link, it is Memory Express that gave me the great service, so anyone reading this from Western Canada, check them out they are great!

And Ishan, everything I currently have is at 400mhz! The RAM I will get is 800, but considering I still using DDR2 and may be rebuilding my whole rig in 3-5 years I think it will do. Many reps to you for all your help and quick replies to my posts! +rep +rep +rep! I spent my night backing up everything I want to keep which is surprisingly little, and may get Windows 7 installed tomorrow, if you never hear from me again then something went horribly awry...........


I will also add that now that I have a Windows CD I should be able to get my defunct laptop back up!

[Ishan]

Your current RAM is 800 MHz (PC2-6400) (the one you have shown me in the above post) and the one you're buying is also 800 MHz. 400 MHz is the command rate. See this:

Its CAS latency\memory timings is less (means good) although it won't be able to run on 5-5-5-18 because the one you have installed has 6-6-6-18 so in dual channel config every chip will run on lower configuration. This doesn't matters much though would only be noticeable in benchmark test not real time day to day use.

So buy the 4GB kit and use that with the 2 1GB sticks. Make sure you install the new RAM in alternate DIMM slots. Corsair ones in white or black slots (see the MOBO pic i attached above) and the remaining in other slot type.

[Emperor Hantscher]

Having issues getting Windows 7 installed, opened new thread In main Basement Forum...

[The Despondent Mind]

I got some extra money on the side, and before I get to my rig I thought of giving it a small boost.

Basically I have a DIMM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz Kingston CL10, and I can't find another one in any major tech provider in my country. So can I combine DIMM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz Kingston CL11 or DIMM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz Kingston HyperX Savage CL9 with it?

This is my motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. 970A-DS3P (CPU 1)

EDIT: Or is it better if I mix it with Kingston DIMM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz HyperX Fury Red CL10?
Except of the HyperX Fury it seems to have the same "stats".
EDIT2:
I've also found
KHX1600C10D3B1/8G 8GB 2Rx8 1G x 64-Bit DDR3-1600 CL10 240-Pin DIMM
It seems to fit in better with my original RAM.

[Totalheadache]

I got some extra money on the side, and before I get to my rig I thought of giving it a small boost.

Basically I have a DIMM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz Kingston CL10, and I can't find another one in any major tech provider in my country. So can I combine DIMM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz Kingston CL11 or DIMM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz Kingston HyperX Savage CL9 with it?

This is my motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. 970A-DS3P (CPU 1)

never mix differing ram types/speeds. period.

p.s if you have 8gb no point in getting anymore...