Need help with building budgeted gaming desktop (amateur)

[Kenny536]

just tried benching it.. same result.. tried using the other video card.. same result.. dont see anything on the monitor

 

[Blain]

Are you actually holding the Delete key down the whole time?

 

[Kenny536]

It was the RAM - I replaced the RAM and now I am getting into the BIOS screen! Such a relief.

But of course, the problems do not end there. I figured since it was the RAM this whole time, I would go back to the old UD3R GIGABYTE motherboard.. so I did that and hooked it up to the the CPU, RAM, and video card.

The problem now is that it will stay on the BIOS screen from anywhere from 2 minutes to 5 minutes... and then I lose all picture.

I'm pretty sure this is not the motherboard's fault, rather it is the video card's fault. I say this because of a couple reasons:

1. The rest of the power remains, fans still running, all lights still on - the only thing is that I lose picture.

2. When I touch the video card after only being on a little bit.. it is BURNING hot.


So I figured maybe there's something wrong with the video card... I try the other one (EVGA 8600 GTS) and that one is staying on the BIOS screen.. but it is still VERY hot.

So I figured this either meant that it's supposed to be this hot.. or this motherboard is not very good at heating the video card... ( I initially had everything in the case where the case fans were also cooling the video card, but that didn't help I believe).

So what do you think? Is it the mobo or the video card? Should I try the ASUS mobo?

 

[Blain]

* Is the fan on the ASUS HD 4830 running?
* Have you replaced the heatsink for any reason?
* A 4830 should not be blazing hot just after restart and in the BIOS screen.

 

[Kenny536]

Yes the fan is running.

What do you mean by heatsink? The fan on the CPU? No I haven't, it's the one that came with the processor. If you mean some other heatsink, than I have no idea what you're talking about, so no.
I checked the temps in the BIOS - the system temp was around 40C last night and the CPU temp was like 45C.. or the other way around I don't remember. How do I check the voltages? I couldn't find a way to check the video card temperature (if there is a way in BIOS).

After I installed the OS last night, I put the 4830 in for a little while and I didn't lose picture.. it is currently in the machine now also and I am not losing picture. I'm actually touching the video card now and although it's reasonably hot, it's not blazing hot like it was last night.. the hotness it is at now may be normal. So I don't know what was up with it last night but I'm going out for 2-3 hours now and I'm going to leave the machine on, and I will see if I lose picture when I come back.

But besides that, the OS is installed! Thanks to everyone that helped, I learned a lot!
A couple more questions- I installed the OS and I changed settings in the BIOS so it is 64 bit and I put it in HTEP mode and also ACHI mode (I don't really know what all that means) - but anyways, the OS is installed, but I noticed that it is Windows Vista Business 64-bit. Does it really matter that it is Business? Should I exchange it? What's the difference?

My last question (I think) - I need to go out and buy a wireless adapter so I can have wireless internet ( I know wired is better but I'm going to try this)

This is the router I have - LINKSYS WRT54GL IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless-G Broadband Router - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124190

What wireless adapter do you recommend for gaming? Should I cheap out and just buy one for 10-20$?

Thanks.

 

[Kenny536]

Hello.

The computer is running beautifully. CS:Source and BF2 run flawlessly ... video-wise.

I still have one thing which frustrates me. I did not build this computer so I can lag spike every 30 seconds. It's not the computer - the PC is fine. It's my wireless internet.

Router: LINKSYS WRT54GL IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless-G Broadband Router

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833124190

Wireless Adapter: LINKSYS WMP54G IEEE 802.11b/g, PCI 2.2 and 2.3 32bit PCI2.2 Wireless-G Adapter Up to 54Mbps Data Rates WEP, WPA, CCX 2.0 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833124115


Yes, I know that wired is much much better for gaming, I am aware of that, but at this point that is not an option because my family hates wires.

Here is what I am going to try and I need some feedback.

I am going to install 3rd party firmware on my router (Tomato). I was deciding between Tomato and DD-WRT and I went with Tomato ... what is your opinion?

Also, I have no idea how to do this but from what I understand, it increases performance. I am hoping this will eliminate the lag spikes. I know that if I am not careful, I can "brick" my router - so if you guys have any guides on how to do this, I'd appreciate it. I was just going to google for some guides.

Secondly, I am going to replace my wireless adapter with this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833124139

It's basically the same one I have now, but with SpeedBooster. However, it clearly says on the box that the speedbooster mode is only available under Windows 2000 and XP. So should I not bother?
However, reading a few NewEgg reviews here : http://www.newegg.com/Product/...ds=speedbooster&=0&=10

It looks like some people have hacked the firmware and enabled speedbooster, given that they have a speedbooster wireless adapter. What do you think of this? Will hacking the firmware and enabling speedbooster still work if I have vista 64-bit?

Will doing all this even eliminate the lag spikes?

Thanks.

 

[Kenny536]

I went to cmd and typed in "ping -t 192.168.1.1"

and then it started pinging my router.

it showed this line.. one second at a time

"reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=<1ms TTL=64

occasionaly it would have a request timed out line (every 5-15 lines)

but the thing I noticed was that EXACTLY every 60 lines ... the time would jump from <1ms to around 600-1500 ms.. just for the one line.

I'm guessing this is the spike problem that is pissing me off.

Based off google searches, I think problem is because of the incompatibility of the ralink rt2561 chipset for my adapter with Windows Vista 64-bit. It's actually a common problem.. called something like the vista 60 second lag spikes (1-3 second lag spikes every 60 seconds.

I say this because I have two other laptops. My laptop has XP. I tried this same cmd command on there... no major spikes...my dad's laptop is Windows Vista 64 bit (only difference is that his is home edition, the PC i just built has business edition) and that did not have any spikes as well.

So that means the only variable that remains is the adapter.. and based off google searches I think it's because it is incompatible with Vista 64-bit (I guess the laptop adapter is not the same chipset).

My friend has this router: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833166020

He has the same problem.. however, after downloading one of the ralink drivers from these forums:
http://www.vistax64.com/vista-...work-lag-spikes-2.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/fo...linksys-wmp54g-drivers

He was able to fix the spikes. He downloaded and installed the driver, and then ran a program called WLAN Optimizer.

http://www.martin-majowski.de/wlanoptimizer/

^ That is a fix for my exact problem.

However, I could not manage to install the rlink drivers. It kept saying unsuccessful or whatever when I clicked browse and specified the driver. It worked for him though, and he suggested that I get the same adapter as him.

What do you think?

 

[Blain]

I think your family should get over their phobia of "wires".
A good clean installation of Cat5e is no more unsightly than a cable TV outlet.

BTW, "Why does my EVGA graphics card run hot?"

 

[Kenny536]

I ditched the EVGA graphics card, my 4830 is fine now.

The root problem for this I think is the WLAN Autoconfig, checking for new networks every 60 seconds. to disable this i go to run > services.msc, and scroll down to WLAN Autoconfig and disable it.. but the problem is that when I disable it, I can't detect my network so I can't connect.


This Autoconfig is only in Vista so what I need to do is install XP drivers for this adapter. The problem is that linksys does not have 64 bit drivers for XP so I have to use ralink or some other driver.


I do not get any error code - the error I get when trying to install any of the Ralink Drivers is this :


Windows was unable to install your network controller

Windows could not find driver software for your device

If you know the manufacturer of your device, you can visit its website and check the support section for driver software.


The Ralink Wire Lan Card Utility/Status is just a big black X... the Ralink utility/status ONLY works when I install the Linksys driver from my cd that came with my Linksys adapter. That is the only driver I can get it to recognize and thus the only driver I can access the internet with, for this adapter at least.

 

[Kenny536]

I fixed it!!! Not exactly sure how - but the important thing is that it is fixed :}. My little brother has been gaming for hours without a lag spike!

I did several things - I'm not sure what fixed it - here is what I did :

1. Installed 3rd party firmware on my router (Tomato).
2. Enabled Frame Burst and AutoBurner in the Tomato settings.
3. Replaced my Linksys adapter with a SpeedBooster adapter (same adapter, just with speedbooster).

That's it. No Ralink drivers, no anti-lag software, or anything, just used the drivers from the linksys CD. I don't know what it was, it says on the box speedboster only works with XP and 2000.. but I heard people saying they utilized their non-speedbooster router to work with their speedbooster adapter via 3rd party firmware. Maybe that's what I did (I know afterburner enables speedbooster). But I don't see how that would fix it anyway.. whatever, who cares! I'm getting excellent/very good signal with great latency!

Thanks for the help.

 

[Kenny536]

Hello all.

The PC is running great - but I have this error. My videocard has this error. My ASUS video card came with a software called "ASUS SmartDoctor" - I think it just monitors my video card and allows me to overclock and adjust other settings. I haven't messed with any of it.

But the other day, I get this error from SmartDoctor:

VGA's voltage is out of safe bound. Motherboard doesn't supply reliable 12.0 voltage. Contact with its manufacturer for help.

What does this mean and how do I fix it? Is my video card overheating? I am not familiar with overclocking.

Thanks.