Another crash...

ndicki

ndicki

Charter Member 2016
This time it's my motherboard which has dies. I think the chip has had it - wait and see. Meanwhile, I'm on a backup rig which won't read the HDs off my main rig - no idea why! - and which won't really let me do very much; inadequate RAM, insufficient disk space, slow vid card, etc, etc. So in the meantime... :banghead:


I'm thinking of getting a new rig anyway. Bearing in mind that money is limited and that I'll need to get the whole thing - PCIe vid card, SATA drives, DDR2 RAM, etc, can anyone point me in the right direction. All I use it for outside office and internet is CFS3 so this is the best place to ask!

Or is it worth resurrecting my P4 2.8C CPU on another motherboard???
 
Just retired my P4 in favor of a C2d E8500 3.16Ghz. My rig is not "cutting edge" but it ain't far behind.

Apevia Black XCruiser Mid Tower Case
Abit IN9 32X MAX 680i SLI mobo
Antec EA650 PSU
Intel Core 2 Duo 3.16Ghz E8500 processor
2x1Gb OCZ2P800R22GK PC6400 Dual Channel memory
Seagate Barracuda 500Gb SATA HD
EVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768Mb 384bit GDDR3
Creative Soundblaster Audigy SE sound card

I've got about $700 US in it and it runs like a scalded dog. Do some serious shopping, there are some great deals out there!

CJ
 
OK, thanks - if I do build a new one, I'd be looking at similar specs - got some of the components spotted already.

What are the advantages of SLI, by the way? That may sound thick, but I'm a bit out of date... :redf:
 
Blimey at least you have an idea what's going on Nigel, I thought Cameljockey was speaking in tongues:redf:

Beau
 
Sweet system Camel. Sorry to hear the trouble nDicki. Camel, you said around $700? Did you build it from scratch? That processor sounds sweet. I don't want anything less than a 3G in a new system multicore or no. Still banging along at 2.4 in my 5 year old P4.
 
I'm slightly in the same boat with you Nigel. My #1 machine decided not to start on Monday and after swapping every possible part for another we're quite sure the motherboard is history. No idea how long it'll take the guys at the store to fix (probably change) it but at least it's covered by warranty. In the meantime I'm hitting my head to the wall with this old beater with just enough power to run CFS2.

About the advantages of SLI, you'll get two video cards working together to give you twice the graphics power. Personally I would go for one fast card though.
 
Since I live on a fixed income I did boocoo research before buying anything. This particular machine has been a WIP for about 9 months, one piece at a time. My mobo does support SLI but I opted out of that in favor of one more powerful card vs two lower end cards. Contrary to what some might believe SLI does not double your graphics power. The card in the #2 slot only enhances the one in the #1 and the amount of memory stays the same. In other words, two 512Mb cards in SLI does not give you 1024Mb of memory, only 512. Also (and I considered this) I had a 7600GS 256Mb card and was offered a 7600GS with 512Mb for the cost of postage. Cards with different memory amounts can be used in SLI if you run "Coolbits" but the usable memory would be the lower amount or 256Mb. I told him thanks but no thanks.
Squiffy, the E8500 3.16Ghz is a sweet processor. It has been documented that it can be clocked to 4.25Ghz on air cooling. I passed on the E8600 because I couldn't see the extra expense for the limited performance gains. The reason for going with a dual core instead of a quad core was what I read about the IN9 in more than one review. It tends to develop Vdroop under load with a quad and doesn't power it properly, which isn't good, so the E8500 was just the ticket.
I built my machine from scratch, which astounds me, because as of April last year I had never even looked inside the "magic box". Like I said, boocoo research and asking questions of people who do know. Knowing how deep the water is before you dive in can save your neck, and your wallet! I had been using an OEM HP machine that I'd bought in 2000 when I came across OFF (I've always been a WWI nut) and wanted a machine to run it properly. OFF takes a horse of a machine to run "in all it's glory" and mine was nowhere near up to the task. My present machine will run it with the sliders at 5,4,4,5,1 and maintain 40 to 60 fps. I'm satisfied, for now.:d

CJ
 
Well, after a bit of fiddling round with jumpers and batteries, I've deleted the CMOS, and can get as far as the Windows splash screen before it packs up. That's MAJOR progress, because it means that the motherboard is alive if not exactly well, and I should be able to refresh the BIOS and get things back together. Should...

It is a pretty decent system, so I don't want to replace it unless I have to!

P4 2.8C, 1.7GB DDR RAM, P4V800-X, 7600GS, etc, etc, could be a lot worse!
 
OK, CJ, here's what I have jotted down this morning during my basic research:

E8400 processor (3GHz, 1333Mhz bus, etc, etc), Asus P5N73-AM, 2GB DDR II, plus power and box. No decision on which vid card, as my AGP 7600GS won't go. That was just checking out the terrain - still open to ideas! And with XP not Vista.

With any luck, it won't be necessary just yet.
 
Oh, by the way, could anyone send me the "dialogs" folder, in English? My version is in French, and I'm frightened that I've lost my modded installs... The building xdps and facilities and so on, I'll just have to do by hand...
 
Too bad you live near Paris, I've got an 8600GT 256 and a 7600GS 256, both PCIe, that would at least get you by until you got a better one. I would gladly send them to you but the shipping would probably be more than they're worth. If anybody in the states is interested I've already given away an X1950 Pro 512 AGP. It's just more stuff to have to find a place for.

CJ
 
Cameljockey said:
Too bad you live near Paris, I've got an 8600GT 256 and a 7600GS 256, both PCIe, that would at least get you by until you got a better one. I would gladly send them to you but the shipping would probably be more than they're worth. If anybody in the states is interested I've already given away an X1950 Pro 512 AGP. It's just more stuff to have to find a place for.

CJ
Click to expand...

Are you saying you are giving away a Nvidia 8600GT? Does it work, or have you had problems with it and that is why you are giving it away? Would you be willing to send it to central Ohio? What type of outputs does it have? Does it use a PCIe power connector?
 
Cameljockey said:
Too bad you live near Paris, I've got an 8600GT 256 and a 7600GS 256, both PCIe, that would at least get you by until you got a better one. I would gladly send them to you but the shipping would probably be more than they're worth. If anybody in the states is interested I've already given away an X1950 Pro 512 AGP. It's just more stuff to have to find a place for.

CJ
Click to expand...

:isadizzy::isadizzy::isadizzy::banghead::banghead:

Nice thought, though! Much appreciated!

It looks as though my P4 rig is repairable, though, and it doesn't have a PCIe socket...
 
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