[Answered] A few questions. - PC Help Forum - Free Computer Help, Windows, Hardware, Software and more!

donpoppito · #1 3 Weeks Ago

I have a couple questions and wondering if you guys could give me some insight.

Specs:

Windows Xp Pro Sp3
Amd 5600 WIndsor Am2 2.8ghz
Rosewill Rcx-z3 92mm ball cpu cooler
Gigabyte m55sli-s4 rev. 2.0
Ocz Reaper 2Gb Pc 6400
Evga 8800 gts 320mb
Samsung Spinpoint HD501LJ 500 Gb
Acer 22" LCD
This case but a full tower
A 500watt Power Supply Unit, its not a no name brand but i cant remember what it is.

1. Im messing around with OC'ing just seeing what i can do. Ive got the Cpu to 3.0 and the 8800 to Core: 645 Shaders: 1511 Mem: 1030 Just wondering how high i might be able to get this. Im using Rivatuner for the 8800 and Bios for the Cpu. Just your opinions.

2. Ive been wanting to build an Intel system for while and if i were to sell this system what might i expect to get? Minus the LCD. Or would it be cheaper and/or better if i just uprgaded the ram, cpu, etc...?

3. Since the 8800 i have has dropped to under 150$ would i see a major improvement if i bought a second one and put em in SLI?

4. I keep hearing about problems Windows reading 4 gb of ram. And since the Ocz reapers dropped like 50$ a week after i paid 120$ for it what would i expect from 4gb?

Thanks for any help.

madmonkey · #2 3 Weeks Ago

Hi don,

Ans Q1,
I personally do not recommend overclocking in any shape or form, even if your motherboard and CPU is designed for overclocking. Overclocking can seriously reduce the life of your CPU, cause strange side effects to complete burn outs. If you are overclocking, the most important thing to make sure of is that your temperatures are low using tools such as SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer. You can use such a tool whist running stress tests, and incrementally adjust your clock speeds accordingly, making sure your temperatures are well below their maximum thresholds at all times.

Ans Q2,
I would have thought somewhere between $400 and $550, but it's a nice system already.

Ans Q3,
SLI would be fine, make sure that you get an identical card, and that the card has an SLI connection at the top of the card. Also make sure you have enough power. Again, cooling is another important factor. It really depends on what games your playing to be honest. When using SLI, one card renders the top half of the screen, whilst the other renders the bottom half, so you can imaging how much of a performance boost running two cards in SLI will give you.

Ans Q4,
If your running Windows XP, by default the most you'll be able to utilise in your PC is 2gb, but can be extended to 3gb with a fix in your boot.ini file, but you won't be able to utilise all 4gb.

donpoppito · #3 3 Weeks Ago

Originally Posted by madmonkey

Hi don,

Ans Q1,
I personally do not recommend overclocking in any shape or form, even if your motherboard and CPU is designed for overclocking. Overclocking can seriously reduce the life of your CPU, cause strange side effects to complete burn outs. If you are overclocking, the most important thing to make sure of is that your temperatures are low using tools such as SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer. You can use such a tool whist running stress tests, and incrementally adjust your clock speeds accordingly, making sure your temperatures are well below their maximum thresholds at all times.

Ans Q2,
I would have thought somewhere between $400 and $550, but it's a nice system already.

Ans Q3,
SLI would be fine, make sure that you get an identical card, and that the card has an SLI connection at the top of the card. Also make sure you have enough power. Again, cooling is another important factor. It really depends on what games your playing to be honest. When using SLI, one card renders the top half of the screen, whilst the other renders the bottom half, so you can imaging how much of a performance boost running two cards in SLI will give you.

Ans Q4,
If your running Windows XP, by default the most you'll be able to utilise in your PC is 2gb, but can be extended to 3gb with a fix in your boot.ini file, but you won't be able to utilise all 4gb.

I didnt exactly understand how the SLI works but thats cool. I might just have to get a 2nd card soon.

As far as the ram goes. Does that also go for 64bit? Ive read like 30 different things about it and i dont know which one to believe.

My Temps are decent. My Vga under load is around 77 to 79 celcius. Not sure about the CPU. Im using UT3 as a benchmark. With the graphics on High (Im guessing thats what it would, its on 4 out of 5 for settings) I get anywhere from 35 to 60 fps.

I was expecting around 4 to 500 for it. I paid probably 1000$ over the last year or two. Its insane how fast PC parts drop in price.

Thanks for the advice.

EDIT: I downloaded speed fan and my highest temp is 67 celcius. And that for the Core with the flame (?) beside it. Not sure if thats the main one.

madmonkey · #4 3 Weeks Ago

If your running the x64 bit version of XP, then you'll be able to use up to 128gb of RAM. The only thing your limited by is your hardware, which is maybe why your probably hearing different stories. Do you already have x64 or are you thinking of upgrading? If you thinking about upgrading for the sole purpose of utilising all 4gb, the disadvantages of upgrading may well persuade you not to.

Those temperatures you listed above are too high, are you overclocking already? Your GPU temperature should ideally be below 60°c, but should not be any higher than 69°c. Your CPU temperature should ideally be below 55°c, and should not be any higher than 70°c.

zinglebarb · #5 3 Weeks Ago

Do not sli that card. Sell the machine which you initially thought. Build a new machine around a Q9300 at least and a 9800GTX

In my opinion GPUs can run a lot higher than 69 degrees I would say upto 80. As for CPU I would not allow the actual die temp to go above 70 meaning the cores themselves not the heat spreader temp so you will need Everest or similar to measure that

Edit speedfans 67 should actually be the die temp or id be worried

donpoppito · #6 3 Weeks Ago

Ill take the clock back down to default and see what the temp are then. As far as i can remember my temps have always been around that. Even with my older 7900 and different setup and everything.

I might sell it and put it towards a new rig. It will be a while though, so by then the high end parts now will be low end parts and half the price.

zinglebarb · #7 3 Weeks Ago

The high end parts are coming in cheap anyway. I would say the high end single GPU cards are a third cheaper than the equivalent level of card 2 years ago

madmonkey · #8 3 Weeks Ago

Originally Posted by donpoppito

Ill take the clock back down to default and see what the temp are then. As far as i can remember my temps have always been around that. Even with my older 7900 and different setup and everything.

Let us know don. There's quite a lot of factors that can affect the temperature of your CPU and GPU. There should ideally be a spare slot in front of the graphics card to allow the hot air to escape unless it is water cooled. Make sure all cables are tidy and out of the way. Make sure there is no dust blocking any of the heat sinks and vents inside your PC. If possible, there should be a fan at the back of the PC blowing out the hot air, and an intake fan at the front to bring in the cool air. But there are many solutions you can use to keep your PC cool. I really do believe your GPU temperature is at risk at the moment. I agree with Zing, sell your much better off buying a new PC these days, unless it's just a single component you want to upgrade.

donpoppito · #9 3 Weeks Ago

If it is too hot for normal i would probably blame the wiring in the case. (Not entirely on the wires but part of it) I need to pick up some ties cuz the inside of my case looks like someone threw a plate of spaghetti in there. Speaking of that are there tips on how to hide the wires?

And also i forgot to ask this in my original post. I have an Ultra 7 in 1 digital media drive. And i could never get all the readers to work. I couldnt find a really detailed layout of my MB to follow. Any ideas for that? The MB is in my first post. This is the drive Clicky

Thanks for all the help so far!

madmonkey · #10 3 Weeks Ago

Tie wraps are good (except for when you want to change something), but there all sorts of cable management products out there, for example: DealExtreme: $5.23 Handy Cable Zip Wrap (Cable Management) The most important thing is making sure that none of the cables are obstructing the air flow in any way.

In terms of your media drive, I'm not quite sure by what you mean by "could never get all the readers to work", can you describe your problem in more detail? These devices are normally plug and play, so if you can see one removable storage device, you'll see them all.