Search results

  1. jesterb84

    Finding optimal CPU speed for GPU

    I'm currently running a 4870/512mb card but have been noticing that games are choking up at 1920x1200 with full detail, etc. However, I have no idea whether this lack of performance is due to the GPU or whether my CPU is the bottleneck (system specs still the same as in my signature). Is there...
  2. jesterb84

    Buying a netbook for the first time

    Greetings, This is my first time buying a netbook and am seeking some advice. I want to buy one for my mother, and she will basically use the netbook for the following requirements: - Browse the internet (Firefox) - Listen/stream music (iTunes/Winamp) - View photos - Watch movies (DVD...
  3. jesterb84

    Radeon HD 4870 512MB stock BIOS

    I was in the process of flashing my 4870 but something seems to have gone wrong with the BIOS. Does anyone have a workable BIOS for: P/N 288-10E85-030SA SKU 11133-03 Prior to flashing, I made a backup of the BIOS with atiwinflash, but upon restoring this backup, the card still doesn't...
  4. jesterb84

    Hardware forums with strange language

    So I was Googling on some computer-related issue and came across this website "spicygreeniguana". On the first look, it appears to be a very sizable forum dedicated to computers and tech - all in English too. I start browsing through the posts and the more I read, the stranger it gets. When I...
  5. jesterb84

    9600GT fan issues

    I recently placed my 9600GT into my system and proceeded to install the latest Windows 7 64-bit Forceware drivers (197.13) as this is a fresh install of Windows. However, I noticed that my 9600GT's fan would stop randomly and the card would reach up to 106C when idle. This was particularly...
  6. jesterb84

    RAM: 2 DIMMs okay, 4 DIMMs not

    Recently, I ran into errors with my computer where my system would blue-screen or games would crash randomly, although not often. In addition, extracting large archives (i.e. RAR files) would error out with CRC fails sometimes and other times the entire archive would extract fine. Originally...
  7. jesterb84

    Impact on electric bill?

    Recently, I've been noticing that my aging E2160 is requiring more vcore to keep it stable at 3GHz (just recently bumped it again to 1.45V last week). As I have noticed my electricity bill gradually climbing the last couple of months, this brought up the question as to whether my overclocked...
  8. jesterb84

    Keep or new LCD Monitor for XBOX 360 / PS3?

    I'm thinking to get an xbox360 and a ps3 sometime next year and was debating on keeping my current LCD monitor or getting a new one as output for both consoles (don't have a TV). Here are some of the questions I have: 1. Would investing in an LCD monitor that supports 1920x1080 (16:9)...
  9. jesterb84

    Forcing 1:1 Pixel Mapping

    I currently have a Samsung 2443BW 24" LCD supporting 1920x1200, and would like to hook up an Xbox 360 / PS3 to use this monitor as output versus a TV. The issue here is that the output coming from the game console will be 1920x1080, meaning that the picture will be vertically-stretched (due to...
  10. jesterb84

    E2160 on P35-DS3L Overclock not holding

    I have an E2160 (1.80GHz) on a Gigabyte P35-DS3L (F7 BIOS) motherboard which I have successfully overclocked to 3.0GHz (9 x 333) for 1 year now. Nothing in the system has changed since the first overclock last year but now, the CPU is always stuck at 1.80GHz. What is strange is that when I...
  11. jesterb84

    Find out max RAM usage

    I tried Google and found software which shows RAM usage for each process, etc. etc. which the Windows Task Manager can very well do. I was wondering if anyone knows of a utility which I can leave running and shows the peak physical memory usage (not current memory usage but peak memory usage)...
  12. jesterb84

    RAM speed requirements for HyperTransport

    I was just curious as to how I can calculate the speed required from RAM given a certain AMD processor without taking a performance hit. For example, let's take an AMD Phenom 9600 (Agena). Wikipedia tells me the following stats: Frequency: 2.3GHz HyperTransport: 1.8GHz Multiplier...
  13. jesterb84

    16GB USB flash drive unusable

    My sister recently bought a 16GB USB flash drive (Kingston DataTraveler). On my computer, the drive works perfectly but not on hers. Her computer can read the contents of the flash drive, but when you try and open the files, copy/delete files, or even format the drive, the computer seems to...
  14. jesterb84

    SyncMaster 22" vs 24" battle

    I'm finally making the switch from my aging 17" CRT to a 22-24" LCD monitor. I'm pretty much on a tight budget here looking to spend $400 or less, meaning I'm probably restricted to TN screens - which is okay for me. I primarily play games, surf the web, and do some coding here and there. As...
  15. jesterb84

    PWM for fans not always working?

    There is something bothering me since I built my system - regarding fan speed. Currently, I have a Gigabyte P35-DS3L motherboard and 3 Arctic Cooling AF12 PWM fans. These AF12 PWM fans are daisy-chained (along with the CPU fan) to the CPU fan header (which supports PWM). The problem here is...
  16. jesterb84

    ST3500320AS vs. WD6400AAKS

    I am in the market for a fast and reliable SATA HD (still using a WD250GB IDE) and from my local computer store, I can get either for pretty cheap: Seagate Barracuda (ST3500320AS) 7200.11 SATA NCQ 3.0Gb/s 500GB 32MB Cache (OEM) Western Digital Caviar (WD6400AAKS) 640GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB...
  17. jesterb84

    Backup Partition Image Handling

    Currently, I have a separate partition on my main hard drive which I use to store all my back up data. I have a secondary hard drive (with the same size as my back up partition) and I would like to have a program create an image of the back up partition and store this image file on my secondary...
  18. jesterb84

    Slow HD performance

    Ever since I got my new rig, load times have been unexpectedly long for some apps/games. For example, my hard disk just clicks, clicks, and clicks and takes quite a while to load for something like Team Fortress 2. I am sure it's not the processor speed (2.9GHz core2 should be enough) so I...
  19. jesterb84

    Sudden Disk Boot Failure error message?

    Last night while watching a video on my PC, Windows Vista suddenly froze and I got a blue-screen about some sort of a driver error (I think, the screen flashed by too fast). My PC restarted and I was met with the error message: "DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER" I...
  20. jesterb84

    O/C CPU Temp and case fans

    I got a good deal on an M0 E2160 and currently running @ 3.0GHz with 9 x 333 stock cooling. I did Small FFTs (Prime95) for about 20 minutes and the temperature maxed out at 72C, about 1 degree below the 73.2 max operating spec. I was wondering if buying 3 additional case fans would have any...
  21. jesterb84

    New budget Intel o/c rig

    The last time I bought a new system/upgraded was in 6 years, but thanks to this forum, I believe my knowledge is "reasonably" caught up (especially the great o/c sticky). My goal is to build a very budget system with good o/c potential and decent for expansion (looking to replace CPU to...
  22. jesterb84

    Legacy case on a new system?

    Hello all, This is my first post here and it's a very simple question. I have a second post but that's for another topic in another sub-forum. My current system (a SFF Shuttle) is on its last legs and I'm looking to build a new Intel Core2 system. I was wondering if I can re-use a very...