**DEAD AGAIN**Loaded Quadcore system was $735.00 A"E"R, NEW INSTORE PRICE now makeing it $750.00 out the door, NO REBATE

[thatolchestnut]

i dont know. I think I would much rather prefer the fans to be on high b/c im seeing temps ranging from 60-70C on all cores when Im doing simple tasks like installing or even 60+ when just idle.

 

[kreactor]

is there a '1 level up' directory tab on vista's windows explorer? i've set it to 'classic view' but the layout is driving me nuts

also is the quad core 2.4ghz faster for single task than an xp3200 barton? it seems to take as long to get to desktop

edit: hookup this to the sharp lc46d62u, audio to tv's attached speakers (only possible on video 4 ) at desktop, was only able to set max resolution @1024x 768 (720p) though...

then tried the same thing w/ another pc w 6800gt dvi--> hdmi cable, got the same
720p resolution, what gives?

edit: 1 level up directory = alt+up

edit: 1920p enabled, had to set dot-to-dot on lc46d62u

 

[GeezerMan]

OK, I'm giving my old 7600GT card to Neighbor Bob to slide into his Acer Q6600. I told him it's an improvement over the Radeon X1650SE card that comes with it.
Trouble is, I can find almost no info on the X1650SE. Just want to make sure that is what it is and that the 7600GT is much better.

The Radeon X1650 XT is about on par with the 7600GT, but the X1650 XT is better card than what's included in the Acer?

 

[dclive]

The 7600GT is that much better. The SE model is pretty slow.

 

[GeezerMan]

OK thanks.
I'll be building my own Q6600 very soon after my experience with the Acer.
Very impressive processor.

 

[dclive]

You can grab a Dell 9200 with the same CPU for $649. A bit more simply equipped, but for a do it yourselfer that's no issue...

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: dclive
You can grab a Dell 9200 with the same CPU for $649. A bit more simply equipped, but for a do it yourselfer that's no issue...

I did a quick comparison on the Dell 9200. For the equivalant setup (but with Vista Business for $99, Home Premium not available) it is at least $1078, possibly plus shipping (didn't go that far). Unfortunately the Compusa deal is now dead.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: dclive
You can grab a Dell 9200 with the same CPU for $649. A bit more simply equipped, but for a do it yourselfer that's no issue...

I did a quick comparison on the Dell 9200. For the equivalant setup (but with Vista Business for $99, Home Premium not available) it is at least $1078, possibly plus shipping (didn't go that far). Unfortunately the Compusa deal is now dead.

Right, so we're now left to comparing with the do-it-yourself whitebox. For some that's no issue, for others that's an issue and the Dell deal is attractive.

 

[GeezerMan]

I have a related question that might help others too. My upcoming build will probably include Vista 32 bit. I know the limitations of using 3GB of ram with windows 32 bit.
How does the dual channel work ( or not work) with 3 1GB sticks? Or should one go with 2 1GB sticks and 2 512MB sticks?

 

[dclive]

I run 4 x 1GB sticks; works great. I get about 3.35GB in Win32. With the cost of RAM being so low, I'd simply get 2x2GB.

 

[bklynrickel]

for my future reference, what are the exact specs of your ram sticks, dclive? thanks in advance.

 

[GeezerMan]

So what happens with memory performance when you have dual channel running on one pair of ram, and the other channel has 1.35 usable ram? Does the funky ( funky is from my disco days in the 70s) arrangement confuse anything?

 

[bklynrickel]

yes, i'm familiar with funky. one of my favorite descriptors in certain situations - as in "hum, that was kinda funky ya know." i believe we are both dating ourselves.


as an aside geezer, don't you think war is always profitable for a few? that's why they fight em - other than for population control anyway.

 

[GeezerMan]

Originally posted by: bklynrickel
yes, i'm familiar with funky. one of my favorite descriptors in certain situations - as in "hum, that was kinda funky ya know." i believe we are both dating ourselves.


as an aside geezer, don't you think war is always profitable for a few? that's why they fight em - other than for population control anyway.

My main man! ( goes along with funky) you understand things like arming both sides in a conflict, who profits from certain wars in certain sandy hot areas...oooppppsss..better take this to another forum....or maybe weave in how too little of ram affects the outcome of war. Gotta have enough ram to fight effectively you know...

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: bklynrickel
for my future reference, what are the exact specs of your ram sticks, dclive? thanks in advance.

I have 2GB of PC5300 or whatever Acer's default is in there.

I have 2GB of PC6400 (800) RAM in there.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: GeezerMan
So what happens with memory performance when you have dual channel running on one pair of ram, and the other channel has 1.35 usable ram? Does the funky ( funky is from my disco days in the 70s) arrangement confuse anything?

This entire 'dual channel' business is silly. Try it on your box - run a benchmark with one stick, then put in two, and see if it's any faster. Note that it MUST be something that runs entirely in RAM, otherwise, predictably, both sticks will be faster.

 

[GeezerMan]

I think it was covered earlier that anything over PC2-5300 is kinda a waste if you don't overclock the CPU, and that's not gonna happen on this board.

 

[MattSibley]

First of all I'd like to introduce myself since I'm new here. My name is Matt and I'm an E.E. student at LSU. I purchased this E700 Q6600 system early in July so I've had it for about a month now. I like it so far. This is the first topic I"ve seen that had some in depth discussion on this PC so I decided to join.

LSU has a contract with microsoft where Vista Ultimate x86 or x64 are provided to students free of charge. Upon purchasing this system the first thing I did was load Vista Ultimate x64. I had a few problems when trying to put in the XFX Nvidia 8600GT(see below for more explanation). I most recently has issues with the optical drive sending access denied errors to Nero, Windows DVD Maker, and other burner programs. I've since reformatted and loaded Vista Ultimate x86. Upon doing so and putting all the most recent drivers for Nero on there the burner works again now. I'm using my PC for my HT setup in my bedroom. Its connected to a Samsung 32'' 720p LCD(the new ones with 8000:1 contrast). I'm not really a gamer but I enjoy watching movies and listening to music. I'm using the Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 system for sound and am very impressed with that system! I also have added a Hauffpauge dual TV tuner to the Acer and it works fine with Vistas Media Center.

Now, I have a couple questions. First I'd like to know if anyone has tried doing a RAID 0 configuration on this system. If so what was required and which drives did you use? I am considering two of the WD Raptor 150GB 10000RPM drives.

Secondly, I saw one of you used the XFX 8600GT card. Were there any problems with it when you installed it? I had purchased one of these and had issues. Possibly Vista x64 related, but it would boot up, show the ACER screen, go to the black screen where it checks BIOS etc and then lock up. It would never boot into Vista with that card installed. Pop the 1650 Radeon back in and everything works fine. I tried all the Nvidia forceware drivers that were available, tried drive cleaner etc. After trying everything I could think of for a few days I sent it back to newegg and got a refund. So for now I'm using the stock X1650 card and it works ok. Sometimes on initial boot it has a slight blur to the image, this goes away after about 10 minutes. If I switch my LCD to TV from the computer there is no blur so it has to be the video card.

I'd like to update it but I'm considering waiting for newer 2008 cards. My main use will be Home Theatre so I like the onboard HDCP capabilities of the ATI HD2600XT. However this card doesn't score well in gaming(which I do very little of), so I would like to wait for one that is good at doing both. Any recommendations for a card or any news of the new ones coming out?

I really appreciate all of you on this topic, its nice to see some others have purchased this system and enjoyed it as have I. I hope that my first post is not too lengthly but I thought a proper introduction was necessary. Thanks again!

 

[bklynrickel]

i had no problem with the xfx 8600 GT instiallation other than a slight maneuver of the wrist for a second snapping it into place. i e mailed xfx about which drivers to install and they directed me to the VERY LATEST vista 32 bit drivers. smooth as silk. sorry about your trouble. hope you get things settled about that.

 

[MattSibley]

Newegg refunded my money for the 8600GT. I think it may have been a 64bit issue with Vista. I'm running 32bit now but I will probably wait until the next wave of ATI or Nvidia cards arrive. Thanks.

 

[MattSibley]

Originally posted by: Shapeshifter
well I picked it up, the ASE700-EQ662A that is.

Ram according to cpu-z is pc2-5300 made by Nanya technology (cheap stuff) but it does the job.

What version of hard drive did you fellows get? Mine is a WD500AAJS, does pretty well in HD Tach.

Hate when they don't provide any discs, even just a recovery in case windows screws up.

I can't seem to find the WD500AAJS on the net. WD does have a WD5000AAKS though. Was this a typo? I'm going to tear into mine tonight and see which one it is. I think I may try running two of these drives in a Matrix RAID configuration after reading more about Intel's Matrix capabilities. What do you guys think about doing that?

 

[Tweak155]

Vista is horrible. I got a good deal like Matt and I'm just shaking my head. I'm going back to XP until the very minimum the arrival of SP1 for Vista. I even used the 32 bit version and can't stand it.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: MattSibley

Originally posted by: Shapeshifter
well I picked it up, the ASE700-EQ662A that is.

Ram according to cpu-z is pc2-5300 made by Nanya technology (cheap stuff) but it does the job.

What version of hard drive did you fellows get? Mine is a WD500AAJS, does pretty well in HD Tach.

Hate when they don't provide any discs, even just a recovery in case windows screws up.

I can't seem to find the WD500AAJS on the net. WD does have a WD5000AAKS though. Was this a typo? I'm going to tear into mine tonight and see which one it is. I think I may try running two of these drives in a Matrix RAID configuration after reading more about Intel's Matrix capabilities. What do you guys think about doing that?

Very little benefit for single users, and significantly higher risk of 100% lost data.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Tweak155
Vista is horrible. I got a good deal like Matt and I'm just shaking my head. I'm going back to XP until the very minimum the arrival of SP1 for Vista. I even used the 32 bit version and can't stand it.

What issues have you had with Vista?

 

[bklynrickel]

vista is seamless for me so far. boots quickly for me. runs fast. video drivers downloaded flawlessly. i don't get it. no problemos for me so far. i'm not thrilled with microsoft, but i like vista.