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    Just bought a 7870 for $220 AR -- good option?

    Thanks for all the advice on this everyone... bought a new PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC from Newegg ($60 - $20 MIR = $40 AR). Returned the graphics card and about to pull the trigger on that 660 TI mentioned above (for $205). Looks...
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    Just bought a 7870 for $220 AR -- good option?

    Had a few parts laying around from an old system: ASRock X58 Extreme i7-930 6GB of PC3 12800 (3x2GB) An old 400W powersupply Wanted to build out a decent system at the lowest possible cost, so picked up a: Diamond HD7870 2GB ($239 w/ $20 MIR = $219 AR) 120GB Samsung 840 SSD ($99)...
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    Do you recognize this screw?

    It's from a brand new ASRock X58 Extreme motherboard (used to hold the heatsinks down). The one on the left is broken... (arggh!) It's kind of a flanged design where the flange catches on the back of the motherboard, and must be pinched together to remove. Anyone know where I could find a...
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    Can using an old / underpowered PSU cause damages?

    Just wondering... I'm about to put together a new build (i7 920, Radeon HD 5850, single hard drive, nothing else), and I think I'm just going to use my old Free-After-Rebate "500w" PSU: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/465/1/ Worst case scenario is: I get random crashes / instability when I...
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    Good Time to Build?

    Thanks for all the input! I ended up weighing some of the options and buying parts. :) Probably not the best idea (it's so easy to keep on justifying as you climb the budget -> premium ladder), but I'm looking forward to putting it all together when everything arrives in a few days...
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    Buying an i7 920... should I select a specific chip?

    Thanks for the info, everyone! Exactly what I needed to know... So, it's a loss leader for them? Wow. I'm surprised. For those who have been there recently, are there any HSFs they carry in-stock that are a good value? I guess I can just order on-line... they probably mark them up...
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    Buying an i7 920... should I select a specific chip?

    I was at my local Micro Center yesterday and saw they had a bunch of i7 920s in stock for $229. I'm unsure how a B&M is selling this processor for so much cheaper than all the online places, but it converted me over from my previous choice of the i5 750. Anyway, should I look for a certain UPC...
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    Good Time to Build?

    I never thought I'd admit this, but after building a new system almost every year until 2006, I've been on a bit of a hiatus... 100% satisfied with the speed of my 4yr old laptop. I can browse the web, use office apps, and stream media to my PS3. The rare time I have for gaming I've used...
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    How to Bridge Wireless Internet with Static Home Network?

    Adam -- great point! I just bought one off Amazon for $9. A way better solution than spending hours trying to figure this out. Thanks for bringing me back to reality. :)
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    How to Bridge Wireless Internet with Static Home Network?

    I recently bought a Brother MFC-440CN. I don't have any empty USB ports on my laptop, so I thought I'd connect it via LAN (on my old Dell 700m). I was able to setup the printer successfully: 1) Set the Wired LAN Connection to a static IP of 192.168.25.10 2) Set the printer to a static IP...
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    Must Push "On Button" Multiple Times to Start (!?!)

    I've got to push the power button multiple times for my computer to start up. Usually I just mash it furiously for about 10 seconds, and it'll eventually power up. No other problems. In one of my less impatient moods, it seemed like the lights / fans would come on VERY BRIEFLY after I hit the...
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    USB Power Surge Killing Dance Pads?

    I built my computer last Spring and haven't really paid much attention to it since then. It holds up fairly well: Geforce 7600 GS, Fortran 450W, 3700+, and EP-9NPA+ Ultra. Recently, I decided to try out some DDR (yes, late adopter, I know). I purchased these two pads from BNS. The major...
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    2007WFP gradient banding

    2007WFP Banding? That's my 2007WFP. The banding is most distinct in the gray, less so in the green. Negligible in blue and red. Honestly, though, I had to turn my brightness up to 100% (I usually keep it on 40%). And I had to close all the blinds in the room. And it still doesn't look...
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    Geforce 7600 GS Overclocking Results

    More like $200 performance for $100... I *wish* it was on par with a 7900. ;-) Anyone else with cards in a similar ($80-$120) price range? What type of performance are you seeing? What type of overclocks?
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    Geforce 7600 GS Overclocking Results

    Yeah, I was surprised at the low clock on the RAM. A firingsquad review complained about how they used GDDR2 instead of GDDR3, effectively halving the bandwidth. Anyone else out there with a comparable budget card? Share your benches!
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    Geforce 7600 GS Overclocking Results

    I bought this recently: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130011 The EVGA Geforce 7600 GS 256mb Retail. Heard it was a decent card, and it came out to $104 afer MIR... rather cheap! Its natural clock is 400mhz/400mhz and gives me a 3dMark05 result of: 3973 -...
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    My eyes get extremely tired from looking at my CRT

    Be careful, though. Not all LCDs are created equal. I purchased a Dell 2405FPW last fall (generally considered the ferrari of LCDs), and it was beautiful. Perfect for gaming. Really amazing monitor... But the backlight was sooo bright, that even at "0 brightness", I could barely stand to...
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    Why is it people complain about 60hz monitors?

    Ever noticed that the flicker seems exaggerated when you look out the side of your eye at the monitor? 60hz is a horrible flicker from looking straight on, but when we get to 75hz, I can only tell if I look out the side of my eye. 85hz and up is actually comfortable. I wonder why that is...
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    New Mid-range Gaming System & Price! v.2

    Well, I called Newegg and they said the PS has already shipped. If I'm at my house when they deliver, I'll reject the package. Otherwise, I'll just go ahead and live with it. Maybe it'll encourage me to cancel my Dell order, too... I don't really need a X1900XTX. ;-) If I'm not able to...
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    New Mid-range Gaming System & Price! v.2

    Thanks! I did... it comes out to $49 with s/h. Not a bad deal! A case is something I almost feel I should buy at a B&M store... shipping is so expensive compared to most parts!
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    New Mid-range Gaming System & Price! v.2

    I thought about that... I'm still in the middle of negotiating a better deal for the 3700. I heard that it wouldn't improve my gaming performance all that much, and the dual cores might even cause problems with some games. I dunno though... Maybe I should go for it? It would probably tax...
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    New Mid-range Gaming System & Price! v.2

    Hrmmm... seems to be quite a bit of concern about that. Maybe I should bump it up to the 500 W. I'm using "Patriot" brand... Specifically, from this link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220040
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    New Mid-range Gaming System & Price! v.2

    Yeah, I wasn't entirely sure about the 450W Fortron... But I don't plan on having multiple hard drives or DVD drives, so I'm hoping the load won't be too overwhelming. As far as the motherboard is concerned... that was actually my "expensive, safe" choice! I was considering the Abit KN8...
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    "Value Priced" 550W Power Supply

    I went ahead and went with the Fortron 450W in the first response. Itchy trigger finger, I suppose. Thanks for the suggestions, anyway! Hopefully it will be enough "W" for my all my devices.
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    New Mid-range Gaming System & Price! v.2

    Just a built a new system (to go with a recent 2007WFP acquisition)... Not sure why, I think I have a learning deficiency. Parts listed in order of descending price (includes s/h & tax): $380: ATI Radeon X1900 XTX 512mb PCIe $235: AMD Athlon 3700+ San Diego $127: 2x1GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM...
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    "Value Priced" 550W Power Supply

    Thanks for the help, 996GT2! Very interesting... My knowledge about power supplies isn't very extensive.
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    "Value Priced" 550W Power Supply

    So, I think I'm going to need at least a 550W power supply... I have a X1900XTX, X2 3800+, 2x1GB DIMMs, DVD+/-RW, 4 USB devices, and a SATA harddrive. http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp According to that calculator, looks like I won't be getting off cheap. SO...
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    Building a System Around X1900XT

    Do you feel like your X2 3800+ is a limiting factor in your rig? Or does it "max out" the X1900XT?
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    CPU to max out Radeon X1900XTX?

    They Opteron 144 is $140 cheaper than the X2 3800+. Would I be able to get equivalent single core performance w/ the stock HSF and overclocking? I know nothing's 100% certain with overclocking... what probability would you give that?
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    CPU to max out Radeon X1900XTX?

    Which CPU will max out the Radeon X1900XTX (in typical gaming usage... like Oblivion or HL2)? 3700+ San Diego 2.2Ghz: $235 3800+ X2 Manchester 2.0Ghz: $297 4200+ X2 Manchester 2.2Ghz: $357 I plan on using the stock heatsink. Will overclock, but only what I can achieve easily with the...
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    Building a System Around X1900XT

    Not a bad upgrade at all! Wonder how long I'd have to wait to have that deal come up again... and if I'd be lucky enough to get the coupon in my inbox required to get it. --edit-- Well, I just jumped on a Dell deal and bought the X1900XT. It was a bit more ($380ish with tax), but I...
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    Building a System Around X1900XT

    I added the cheapest 2GB kit I could find to my specs. What's the lowest CPU you think would max out my video card? Would an X2 3800+ be sufficient? Would anything less work? Maybe even a 3200+? As far as the case & powersupply... any combos out there that might be cheaper? I could get...
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    Building a System Around X1900XT

    I'm a "casual" overclocker. I'll do a couple test runs, and if it's stable -- hooray! Otherwise, I'm not going to spend hours running Prime95 benchmarks and tweaking small things to eek out that last 100mhz (which translates into a 5fps gain). Maybe I'm just bitter. I recently built an...
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    Building a System Around X1900XT

    Ok, so I think I've decided on a video card for a new system build. It's for one purpose: to play Oblivion (and HL2) on my brand, new 2007WFP. This is pretty much the minimum I can get if I want decent graphics, right? X1900XT just purchased from Dell. -edit 4/19 10:20pm- So, help me...
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    Force 2007WFP Resolution

    Yeah, my initial thoughts would be the same: Well, it doesn't support that resolution... But it does support up to 1600x1200 (just in the normal dialogue box), and I remember running it at ultra-high resolution on the 2405FPW. So, I think it has the capacity to output the resolution, but I...
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    Force 2007WFP Resolution

    The 2007WFP has a native resolution of 1680x1050. I'm going out from my laptop using a standard VGA cable. However, I can't seem to be able to select that option.... (even PowerStrip doesn't give it to me). I'm stuck at lower / malformed resolutions. This doesn't make sense, because I...
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    3200+ and GeForce 7800GT Overclock Results

    Our 3dMark scores make sense -- my overclock is about 50mHz higher than yours. I'm not sure if I understand the Aquamark score, though. Could that be because the CAS Latency of my RAM is at 3ns? Or would that be because of the 2T timing? Interesting...
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    3200+ and GeForce 7800GT Overclock Results

    The System Case: Antec Sonata II Power: Antec 450W SmartPower Mainboard: Epox Ultra 9NPA+ CPU: Athlon64 Socket989 3200+ (2.0Ghz, 10x multiplier) CPU HSF: Thermalright SI-120, 120mm Nexus fan, AS5 GPU: eVGA Geforce 7800GT GPU HSF: Zalman ZF700-AlCu, AS-Ceramique Memory: 2x1GB OCZ...
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    Dell vs. building my own

    You've got to consider the audience that's answering this question. This is primarily a DIY computer forum, after all. I've built all of my machines over the last 8 years... but I've got to admit, it's gotten to the point where Dell is very price competitive. At one point in time, there was...