typically if you buy new, dual gpus, they typically last 2 years, but a lot can change in 2 years...

i have a 9800GX2 and can run nearly all the current games DX10 at highest settings, 2 years old this March

[Edited on December 29, 2009 at 5:21 PM. Reason : .]

12/29/2009 5:20:30 PM

Is there any hope for a video card fan (8600GT) which makes a horrible noise at startup & again at random times? Is replacing a fan too big a hassle?

Or upon replacement, is a fanless 9600 or 9800 going to cook itself?

Also, looking to build a new rig...
_{AMD Phenom II x4 925?, Asus M4N82 DX, video option TBA, same DDR2 2GB x2, NZXT M59 case, same Corsair 750W, Plextor 880SA DVDRW, same hard drive fleet...}

12/29/2009 5:38:21 PM

^^ So, I'm guessing that if you added a second graphics card, you'd be above and beyond what any game could throw at you?

12/29/2009 5:57:49 PM

9800GX2 is dual-gpu, i'd say i can play any game at 90% quality, i debate putting in another 9800GX2 but they are hard to find and don't really care to pay so much money for 10% more... i'm just coming up with numbers as this only applies to my setup at my screen resolution.

but you can't really "max" out games, your FPS just keep going up.

[Edited on December 29, 2009 at 6:03 PM. Reason : .]

12/29/2009 6:01:38 PM

so i won't need to buy any thermal compound for the Freeze 7 since it's pre-applied?

if not... i think i'm good to go:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12777152

12/29/2009 8:19:08 PM

^ you're not going to try to get a .edu version of windows?

12/29/2009 10:51:17 PM

^^you won't need it unless you're anal like me an lap your heatsink:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2888/lag-01/FrozenCPU_Deluxe_Heatsink_Lapping_Kit.html

12/30/2009 1:16:40 AM

^^ yeah... forgot to take that off (i had two lists going - one with and one without)... is the student version a download only? i didn't know how strict the requirements were, but my wife is an employee of the university - so i was going to use her email address (.edu) - the worst thing is that they could deny it

[Edited on December 30, 2009 at 10:03 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2009 10:01:31 AM

Dang... I never really take any static precautions while I build computers, but holy crap... lapping looks like you're just begging to get pegged with a catastrophic static discharge!

12/30/2009 10:43:00 AM

You lap the heatsink (i never lap the cpu) so no danger of any static reaching any electronic piece of equipment, the heatsink is just a hunk of metal and you lap it under water (see: wet sanding) so not sure where you're going with that comment about static.

People who are insane about overclocking lap their CPU, not sure why they even link to that video as the kit clearly says heatsink lapping. Personally I never want to risk it and lapping the heatsink usually is 90% of the battle. CPU's are generally flat from the manufacturer and sometimes engineered differently based on the heat needs of that CPU. If you look at the bottom of the Intel heatsinks that's why they have 3 strips versus one single pad. Also why Arctic Silver tells you to apply it in a straight line parallel with the components inside the CPU itself. Read Page 4:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appinstruct/as5/ins_as5_intel_quad_wcap.pdf

btw, just got an email from the Student Offer:
HURRY, the Windows 7 store will be closing on Tuesday, January 5, 2010.

[Edited on December 30, 2009 at 11:56 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2009 11:50:17 AM

^ that makes sense but the video in the link u posted looked like the CPU was getting sanded. I guess I didn't watch it very closely

[Edited on December 30, 2009 at 11:55 AM. Reason : s]

12/30/2009 11:53:06 AM

i updated my post above.

i never recommend lapping cpu's unless you're going for the world overclocking record.... i honestly didn't see the video in the link i posted, i was just posting it b/c it was a lapping kit, but the person was indeed lapping a CPU.

CPU's have much much higher manuf. standards than heatsinks do.

[Edited on December 30, 2009 at 11:59 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2009 11:57:23 AM

Where does an NCSU student get the Windows 7 deal?

12/30/2009 1:48:18 PM

http://www.win741.com/

http://windows7.digitalriver.com/store/mswpus/en_US/DisplayHomePage?resid=SzulTQoBAkgAABrziNAAAAAK&rests=1262200140772

http://store.digitalriver.com/DRHM/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=AddItemToRequisition&SiteID=msshus&Locale=en_US&productID=161679100&quantity=1&resid=SzulTQoBAkgAABrziNAAAAAK&rests=1262200165799

12/30/2009 2:10:19 PM

So this offer is only for an upgrade, not the full install disc? I have a copy of XP so it doesn't matter but I'd rather get the full install if that's possible

n/m... read online that it says upgrade but its actually the full install license. I opted for the professional 64 bit version

[Edited on December 30, 2009 at 4:34 PM. Reason : s]

12/30/2009 4:13:07 PM

you can also burn the downloaded file to a dvd:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/how-to-make-a-dvd-of-that-student-only-windows-7/
http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool

12/30/2009 4:40:41 PM

downloading the ISO now using Wine helper since they only let you download it with a .exe.... I forked over the extra $13 for them to mail me the DVD also because I am less likely to throw away an official looking dvd

12/30/2009 4:44:49 PM

^ did you only have to provide your email address and that was it? (did you have to provide proof of enrollment or anything like that?)

12/30/2009 8:59:17 PM

just a .edu address is needed to buy it, but the license is only legal for current students, you must be enrolled in a class and have proof available.

12/30/2009 9:06:18 PM

yea had to provide a .edu address... they say they will ask for proof of enrollment in classes. You should sign up for the deal and if they ask for proof, just sign up for a free continuing education class real quick and then drop it 100% refund the next week

12/30/2009 9:59:56 PM

Solinari I lapped my e6600 because it was visably concave leaving about a 1mm gap to the heatsink over the cores. It dropped my temps considerably (6 deg C at 4.0Ghz).

Also alot of the parts you had in your build are on sale for the new year at the link below. Looks like you can save an extra $50+.
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Dec-0-2009/NewYearSale31/index-landing.html?nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL123109&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL123109-_-email-_-E0-_-PromoWord

12/31/2009 9:38:16 AM

Ok... thinking about pulling the trigger on this setup... Already bought Windows 7 yesterday so I don't need to buy it..

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=1943291

Grand total including shipping is $1,340.46

[Edited on December 31, 2009 at 11:36 AM. Reason : s]

12/31/2009 11:35:15 AM

^^i'm not against lapping the cpu entirely, just that you void your warranty instantly, so it's a toss-up, on which you prefer, lower temps, or keeping your warranty.

^looks good, any reason why you picked an LCD w/ the HDTV tuner? the DC is much lower on that LCD versus the other models like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001338

also, i just noticed the UD3, it's a "slight" improvement over the UD2. the UD3 has SATA 3.0 & USB 3.0 so it's a tad more future proof - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128412

but either way both the monitor and motherboard looks good whichever one you choose, they are so close

[Edited on December 31, 2009 at 12:26 PM. Reason : .]

12/31/2009 12:24:17 PM

I chose the monitor because it has a higher recommended resolution (1920x1200 vs 1920x1080). I didn't notice the worse DC, but in the past I've always heard that these contrast numbers are largely just a game of specmanship anyway. Thoughts?

UD3 motherboard looks good... I had actually been reading tomshardware which reviewed the UD6 and didn't notice that the UD2 wouldn't have USB 3.0 support. Good catch.

However... Tom's Hardware mentions that the UD6 at least will not allow USB3.0/SATA7gbs if the 16x graphics or SLI is enabled.... So not sure how to balance those two features.

Quote :

"Yet Gigabyte’s solution is far from perfect, as LGA 1156 platform limitations prevent any perfect solution from being developed. USB 3.0 requires a PCIe 2.0 link that the P55 Express chipset doesn’t provide, and a graphics card normally uses the 16 PCIe 2.0 pathways from the CPU. Builders must decide how valuable these features are, as enabling SATA 6.0 Gb/s forces a single graphics card to x8 mode, while running two graphics cards in the upper and middle slots makes the Turbo SATA3 and Turbo USB 3.0 functions non-selectable. Because we always test P55-based motherboards in either x16 or dual-graphics (CrossFire or SLI) modes, P55A-UD6's SATA 6.0 Gb/s and USB 3.0 functions have no place in a motherboard-performance comparison."

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/enthusiast-p55-motherboard,2494-5.html

Also, wondering about the G.Skill memory vs. more established brands... Haven't really looked into this yet. Was your recommendation of G.Skill solely based on cost or are they a new player with a good reputation?

[Edited on December 31, 2009 at 12:58 PM. Reason : s]

12/31/2009 12:33:15 PM

I have two sets of GSkill and they both perform as stated. Some ddr from like 5 years ago still kicking and some new ddr3 trident series (6months old). They dont overclock well at all. They need lots of volts to do what Corsair readily overclocks too but at half the price.

12/31/2009 1:10:24 PM

DC is a matter of specmanship, they both have the same native contrast so they probably won't be too different... not sure why you'd want a 1920x1200 monitor for 1080p HDTV though... 1080 is the typical vertical resolution for HD video.

G.Skill is a major brand and been around since 1999. Most popular brand for OC'ers and enthusiasts second to maybe Corsair. I've had Corsair and OCZ and G.Skill has been consistantly the least expensive, most compatible, best overclocking, and longest lasting. Corsair being comparable except for cost, typically more expensive. OCZ I used to swear by, but then some of their latest models required voltage boosting and having to set manual timings for, and DOA modules. So I switched to G.Skill and never looked back. All my G.Skill modules are stable and have been for the last 2 years, no voltage modification, auto timings, no DOA's.

Not sure what J33Pownr is talking about nearly all G.Skill runs lower timings at lower voltages than Corsair does. Albeit the Corsair Dominator Series is the default for aggressive OC'ers.

SATA 3.0 & USB 3.0 are a good 1-2 years from becoming mainstream.

[Edited on December 31, 2009 at 1:36 PM. Reason : .]

12/31/2009 1:11:33 PM

Ok... Like I said, I've been out of computer tech for a long time... Crucial/Kingston/Corsair were the brands I always recognized.

I don't do any sort of overclocking so what J33Pownr said won't really affect my decision.

I was a little bit unsure about how 1080p would play on 1200 lines... I don't necessarily want HDTV - I want 1200 lines. It is weird that they would include the tv tuner on the 1200 line monitor instead of the 1080 one. Not sure how the 1080p signal would look on 1200 lines

I don't mind spending extra $30 to do USB3.0... I won't be able to do it in the future with xfire with either UD2 or UD3 so might as well get UD3

[Edited on December 31, 2009 at 1:22 PM. Reason : s]

12/31/2009 1:18:56 PM

Not sure, but with the reviews it looks like a pretty solid monitor, if you want 1200 lines, go for it. So long as it's compatible with 1920x1080 (which i'm sure it is)

Yeah, you're right you might as well go UD5 if you plan on Crossfire as with the UD6 you lose the benefit of USB & SATA 3.0.

So UD3 if you want USB/SATA 3.0, and UD5 if you want Crossfire.

[Edited on December 31, 2009 at 1:38 PM. Reason : .]

12/31/2009 1:20:29 PM

But just so I'm clear, it seems like no matter which one I pick, UD2/3/5/6, I won't be able to do 16x + USB3.0/Crossfire

12/31/2009 1:41:20 PM

correct, it has to do with the chipset. P55 chipset doesn't have the bandwidth to support both.

your only option to do 16x dual-lane & USB 3.0 is the X58 chipset but it's 1366 socket so it puts you in the Core i7 setup and you just end up spending quite a bit more $

i think there's only 2 motherboards that exist that have X58 chipset w/ USB & SATA 3.0... +$200, plus another $80 for the i7 940 and another $60 for triple channel memory kit (6GB)

[Edited on December 31, 2009 at 2:08 PM. Reason : ,]

12/31/2009 1:57:52 PM

I'm gonna be a woman ITT and change my mind at the last minute.... I think I want to try to do some 3d gaming stuff, which would mean that I'd have to buy an NVidia graphics card and monitor with 120Hz display

1/1/2010 3:27:45 PM

for anyone still interested in the student Windows 7 deal - you can call microsoft directly at 1-877-MY-MS-STORE and order a copy for $29.99 plus tax and $5 shipping (my order totaled about $37)... they're sending the dvd in 4-6 business days (although you have the choice of downloading an ISO file)

you can also choose b/t Home Premium and Professional (the DVD version for Professional was out of stock right now though, so i went w/ Premium)

i liked this better than going through Digital River b/c i had read that their service was terrible if you had any issue w/ the download

just an fyi

1/3/2010 12:41:37 PM

all my stuff came today (minus windows 7)... gettin excited about putting it all together

1/6/2010 1:38:25 PM

I'm pretty sure I need a new video card. Last night I was playing TF2 and the screen suddenly froze, giving the picture all sorts of colors and both horizontal and vertical lines running all over. I booted up this morning all the way to the Start menu but with about the same graphics error, but the lines were moving/flashing/freaking out and the resolution was pretty small. I booted up tonight after work and got a BSOD: some sort of infinite loop with my video card drivers, I think. It was really hard to read the screen. It's an EVGA 8800GS, about 2 years old.

If it's a new card that I need, what can y'all recommend under about $150? I'd like to be able to run my games (TF2, Dragon Age, etc.) at a good resolution, but I'm definitely not out to break the bank. I've gotten mostly Nvidia cards in the past, but I'm ok with getting an ATI card if they're more bang for the buck.

1/6/2010 7:31:25 PM

ATI 4850/5750

1/6/2010 8:13:21 PM

Does your motherboard have built-in graphics? Try taking the video card out and using integrated graphics to confirm that the graphics card is your problem.

1/6/2010 8:22:20 PM

No integrated video, unfortunately. I'm trying to borrow a card from anyone I know to confirm that's the problem. I was able to boot up eventually, but the card isn't recognized at all in the system (control panel, speedfan, etc.). I honestly have no idea how my monitor even works with my computer telling me I have no video card.

@Prospero: thanks.

1/6/2010 9:00:43 PM

Alright, so I put together the comp which Prospero and Netstorm helped pick out with the parts. I had it up and running for about 2 days and slast night I started to load games on it. I was running Game Shadow to update all the games I had installed and let that run overnight (bad idea) and when I got back to it in the morning, I restarted and got the "Reboot or select proper boot device...etc.." message. I loaded the XP cd and tried the repair and that did not work. I even tried a fresh install of windows of the cd and that did not work. Any ideas or am I just cursed?

1/7/2010 8:38:43 AM

could be a loose cable - or you might just have bad luck and your HDD died.... My brand new iMac's hdd died in the same way about 3 days after I bought the damn thing last year. Worked fine then one morning, my computer boot-up is all, "No Proper Boot Device" or something

1/7/2010 8:44:50 AM

any good deals on a power supply? 80 PLUS would be nice, but it doesn't have to be especially powerful since all of my components are relatively low power

1/7/2010 11:06:33 AM

being that this is the first time i'm doing this, i want to do it right:

after i installed the motherboard (with cpu) last night, i went to install the AC Freezer 7 Pro... as i started to seat it, i realized i had installed the support in the wrong direction and i needed to rotate it 90 deg. the compound on the bottom of the cooler had touched the processor, so when i lifted it, the compound was spread on both the bottom of the cooler and on the processor... i went ahead and rotated the stand and re-installed the cooler (my thought was that as long as there's a good amount of compound b/t the two and it's spread pretty evenly, then i'm okay). then i started thinking that maybe that isn't okay and i should pull it out, scrape it off of both, apply some AS5, and reseat. thoughts on this?

also, i've read about wiping off any excess compound that squeezes out - what should i be worried about it touching? i didn't get a good look last night to see if i had any come out, but, at the time, i didn't know i should be looking for it

1/8/2010 9:35:49 AM

^ I always remove the stock compound for AS5 or better. The stock stuff is almost always junk because its usually too thick. I put it on the processor first and then clamp the clean heat sink to it. Remember less > more. There should be some excess but dont worry about it.

1/8/2010 10:35:41 AM

so do you mean junk as in quality, or junk just b/c it's too thick?

i guess i'm also wondering how "perfectly even" it needs to be spread

[Edited on January 8, 2010 at 10:50 AM. Reason : ..]

1/8/2010 10:49:01 AM

there's a reason they have instructions.

it entirely depends on your CPU on how you apply the thermal compound. Most of the time it's in a straight line

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

1/8/2010 11:55:00 AM

probably some good info... i was just generally asking (not specifically about AS5)

[Edited on January 8, 2010 at 12:45 PM. Reason : .]

1/8/2010 12:44:26 PM

i don't think the instructions are specific to AS5, they show why you'd do it that way with any compound, you want it directly where the heat is going to be transferred

1/8/2010 12:50:12 PM

yeah, i thought about that when i read it, so then i started wondering why the freezer pro 7 and the stock cooler that came with the i5 don't have that sort of compound configuration (they just more of an all-over coverage)

1/8/2010 1:15:46 PM

They do an all over approach to cover all their bases. Its easier to to cover the whole thing with way to much and have everyone have decent temps instead of not having any on the heatsink and providing a tube of thermal paste which some WILL forget and then claim that the heatsink fried their processor.

Also most thermal paste is close in terms of heat transfer in ideal conditions....like this review.
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=1

1/8/2010 1:43:03 PM

EVGA is going to let me RMA my dead 8800GS even though I hadn't registered it for the warranty. I'm just mildly disappointed that I won't be getting a more advanced card for a little while.

1/8/2010 9:49:06 PM

evga is unparalleled when it comes to warranty service

[Edited on January 8, 2010 at 9:55 PM. Reason : well, on the consumer side, at least]

1/8/2010 9:55:41 PM