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  1. F

    $100 pci-e upgrade

    As an update, I have an arctic cooling accelero x2. I've seen reports of the voltage regulator overheating with the sapphire x1950xt. I noticed AC used to have a VR heat shield for sale, so I emailed them about it. They responded quickly and said they were going to send one out to me free of...
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    $100 pci-e upgrade

    Yeah, I'm wondering if they'll be able to notice that I removed the stock fan at some point. The main problem I can't get around is that I put as5 on the gpu, and I don't even know what was on it in the first place. I wonder what the chances of successfully RMAing are? No point in wasting $15 +...
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    $100 pci-e upgrade

    Since neither card can really perform well at 1920x1200, maybe I should update the assumption to be that I'll run at a lower resolution. I have a 24 inch widescreen, so maybe 1440x900, or whatever the logical next step would be. Sorry to move the goalposts, but you guys have provided a lot of in...
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    $100 pci-e upgrade

    It is actually still under warranty. I thought it was older than 1 year, but it is not. How is Sapphire for RMAs? I guess I'll need to put the original fan back on.
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    $100 pci-e upgrade

    Interesting. Here is a comparison between the 9600gt and 8800gs. It looks pretty close: http://www.gpureview.com/show_...hp?card1=557&card2=551 There was this comment under the 8800gs: "Depends on game, more shader heavy games will favor the 8800GS more since it has more shader power than...
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    $100 pci-e upgrade

    Well, I've reseated the cooler about 10 times. Also, I had this problem with the stock cooler as well. Oddly, the core temp only gets up to about 70C, and it still has trouble. Will my PS be able to handle the 9600gt? Is that pretty much the consensus pick?
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    $100 pci-e upgrade

    My basic system specs- e6420 GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 Sapphire x1950xt (upgraded with accelero cooler w/as5) Corsair 620w (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16817139002) My problem is that the x1950xt is constantly overheating and causing my ATI drivers to...
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    Do I need to RMA this card?

    Not anything definitive yet. My problem seems a little different than yours. What will happen to me is that SC will crash itself and generate an error report, and then I'll end up back in windows. Only occasionally does the system BSOD. I noticed last night that I had my PCIe overclock to 105...
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    Do I need to RMA this card?

    Interesting. I think I'll try loosening my mem timings a bit, and perhaps reseat the heatsink and put some AS5 on it, if the cleanup isn't too involved. I'm assuming doing so wouldn't prevent me from making an RMA if necessary.
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    Do I need to RMA this card?

    This is the info from Catalyst Driver Packaging Version 8.36-070314a3-044981C-ATI Catalyst® Version 07.4 Provider ATI Technologies Inc. 2D Driver Version 6.14.10.6683 2D Driver File Path System/CurrentControlSet/Control/Video/{33632A70-FE36-4C92-BB4A-E5BF67E6DC5E}/0000 Direct3D...
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    Do I need to RMA this card?

    Ultimately, I ran scan artifacts for 1.5 hours without problem. Is that a decisive test? I'm curious why SC crashed so quickly (repeatedly) when the fan settings were at stock, but not as quickly when the fans were cranked up. It really points to an overheating issue, but the scan artifacts...
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    Do I need to RMA this card?

    Ok, I've been running scan artifacts for 8m now. The temp on the GPU is at 80C, the fan is 100%. No errors yet though. Probably if I let it keep going it would crash in about 30m. The GPU env temp is pretty stable at 58C. It seems to have topped off at 80C for now. Amps are pretty stable at 30A...
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    Do I need to RMA this card?

    I have 2x120mm fans going. One for intake and exhaust. Two of these: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811998127 This is the power supply. Should be powerful enough: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002...
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    Gigabyte GA-N650SLI-DS4

    I had basically the same exact experience as peter. Same processor, 8x425, memory linked and in sync (850), rock solid. I don't know if this is a strap issue, but 416-390 is a dead zone for me. Also, at 8x425 only linked and synced memory works, even if I unlink and set it lower than 850. So...
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    Do I need to RMA this card?

    Hi all, I recently purchased a sapphire x1950xt card. This one, to be specific: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067 Whenever I play Supreme Commander, the game eventually crashes. I have ATItool running now, but before I was using that the game would crash...
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    motherboard swap

    The manual part of the installation, installing the new MB took longer than I expected. But, it all worked like a charm once I got my memory settings properly set. For the record, I uninstalled my nforce drivers (nforce2 to be exact), then I installed the latest 650i drivers before I performed...
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    motherboard swap

    Thanks all. I'm going to review that link above more closely and then make the swap in an hour or so.
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    motherboard swap

    I'm sure it'll seem fast to me no matter what!! But point taken. If I do get BSODs or erratic behavior before I OC, then I will definitely reinstall. I noticed in my add/remove programs that I have an option to uninstall all my nvidia drivers (audio, ethernet, gart, ide, memory controller...
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    motherboard swap

    Jerry, which option did you use, 1 or 2?
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    motherboard swap

    I see your point, but I dread reinstalling all my apps and getting everything reconfigured the way it was. Unless there is some easy way to do that..
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    motherboard swap

    I'm about to swap from an ancient amd 2500+ nforce2 based system to a 650i gigabyte motherboard in XP Pro. HDs and optical drives are remaining unchanged for now (all PATA). I was thinking about following this plan of attack: 1) Set ATA controller to generic controller in device manager...
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    cheap vs expensive ddr2 800 RAM

    Well, it's out of stock unfortunately, and I don't get the checkout bonus either. I'm just trying to understand how much benefit I'll see moving up the price scale. Thanks for the link though.
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    cheap vs expensive ddr2 800 RAM

    I'm piecing together a new c2d system. I plan to OC an e6420. I'm trying to decide between cheaper or more expensive RAM. Here are my current options (I'm trying to avoid rebates): expensive: $134, 4-4-3-5, g.skill http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114 cheaper...
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    c2d air for $25

    Thanks all. Ordered!
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    c2d air for $25

    Thanks Henny. They still are pretty cheap at $20. Is one of these 92mm fans preferable? http://www.svc.com/panaflo-brand.html I have an old Antec Sonata case, with a 120mm fan in back, but it never seemed to move much air.. I need to see what type it is.
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    c2d air for $25

    The seem to really like the cooler master hyper 6+ here: http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_cpu_cooler_roundup/page18.asp But, the lowest I'm seeing it for is $34, so a little out of my range. So which is better, the freezer or ultra90?
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    c2d air for $25

    So many heatsinks available it's making my head spin. I'm looking to OC an e6420, and want to spend $20-25. I'd like something on the quieter side. What are my best options? Thanks for your help!
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    For $150 what's the best option

    Thanks for the great links. I'll shoot for the 1950xt first, although with 512mb it might be out of my price range. When do we expect r600 to move prices on these recommended cards?
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    For $150 what's the best option

    I've been digging around the forums and haven't been able to find a definitive answer to this one. I'd like to spend $150-$175 on a pci-e video card. It should be relatively quiet (or upgradable with an aftermarket fan and stay within the price range), and work well in a c2d system with a 24"...
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    $500 "mother-in-law" computer

    I ran down to compUSA as suggested. I was considering the system linked above, an emachines t4010 for $399 (Intel Celeron D Processor 340, 2.93GHz, 512MB RAM, 100GB Hard Drive, 16X DVD / 48X32X48 CD-RW Combo Drive, integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2). For $100 more there was also the emachines...
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    $500 "mother-in-law" computer

    John, point taken. I'll keep Dell in the mix. I'll run down to my local CompUSA and see if there are any enticing special as suggested as well. Is there any processor that is in the sweet spot value-wise right around now? I've gotten suggestions for the Celeron D 330J 2.66GHz, and the...
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    $500 "mother-in-law" computer

    Actually, I'm pretty certain she won't bug me much at all. And I've been hearing bad reports on Dell's service lately so I figure it isn't worth it. I've pretty much decided against Dell. I'm just looking for a couple basic processor/MB/video suggestions to get me started. Any other combo...
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    $500 "mother-in-law" computer

    Hey no reason to get mean! :) I pretty much don't want to build, I don't have the spare time, and I'd like to just mail the complete system to my MiL and not have her wait until I can show up to put it together. I found Monarch in the past was reasonably priced (since you can select all the...
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    $500 "mother-in-law" computer

    Hi all, I normally build my own systems, but to be honest I'm not currently up on the latest processors and such. My mother-in-law (god bless her soul) the other day told me she wanted to get a new computer for around $500 (without a monitor, we already have a 19 inch), and was shopping at...
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    electrical difficulty

    I'm happy to say that the system has been completely stable since removing the bogus standoff. I didn't notice it earlier on because it was always covered by the cables coming out of my PSU, before I would place the motherboard in the case. I guess it is really important to pay close attention...
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    electrical difficulty

    No. Family Dell computer.. I got them a Dell so I wouldn't have to bother setting it up. Oh, the irony. The computer that is fuxed up is sitting on my kitchen table in about 20 pieces, although it is currently getting to the bios screen :)
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    electrical difficulty

    Last update for tonight. While mb was out of case, I noticed there was one standoff screw installed in the case that I was not using. I was actually pretty close to being below the cpu socket, and must have been inserted at the factory. I immediately took that standoff out. Put the mb back into...
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    electrical difficulty

    You are not going to believe this. Just to test out my theory I did the following-- I took the motherboard out of the case, and placed it on a cardboard box. I did not disconnect anything. I left everything connected exactly as it was when it was in the case. I hit the power button on my case--...
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    electrical difficulty

    Damn. Reseated the memory through all the available slots. Checked all the capacitors, and reset the bios using the mb jumper. Also checked the power connections to the mb from psu. It's still doing nothing. I also took out the RAM completely and I got no beeps, which says to me that the...
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    electrical difficulty

    Ok. I'll try that. I have reseated the RAM a few times, since that seemed to fix the problem the first time. I tried both slot 1 and 2. The clips are definitely snapping, but like I said I'll try it again because reseating can sometimes help. I'll also reset the bios using the 'insert' key...