Upgrading gaming rig, need advice

[SylEm]

I just got my GTX 260, but now I think I'm ready to start re-building the rest of the unit. I'm trying to make a new gaming rig that gives me best bang for buck. I only have about 600 bucks to put into this machine, so anyone got any ideas of what I should add to this system or replace?

THanks!

 

[dmw16]

bigger hard drive
new motherboard and cpu

 

[DSF]

Is anything really slow? I've got an E4500 @ 2.93 with an 8800GT and everything I've played runs fine. In your position I'd stand pat unless you want a bigger hard drive or something.

You're not gaining much by buying tech that's barely a generation ahead of your current components at early-adopter prices.

 

[SylEm]

well I'm getting crazy BSOD's when I play games lately and I don't know why, so thats why I figured I'd upgrade my rig.

 

[jamesbond007]

No offense, but BSODs could be the result of nearly anything, including a simple piece of software or a driver that you'll reinstall later on your new computer. Your best bet would be to troubleshoot and solve the problem. You could start by removing the overclock on your CPU.

 

[SylEm]

forgot to update my sig, I did remove the overclock, still gettin BSOD's. I will troubleshoot it, its hard to find the answer to the error though.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: SylEm
forgot to update my sig, I did remove the overclock, still gettin BSOD's. I will troubleshoot it, its hard to find the answer to the error though.

Have you looked at your crash dumps? I was getting blue screens that turned out to be nothing more than a problem with my onboard LAN driver.

 

[dmw16]

Blue screens are often caused by overclock (which you took care of) or bad memory. Maybe try new RAM and see if it fixes it? Could also be the hard drive - maybe try running a diagnostic scan - the manufacture should have software on their site.

Failing all that, I'd say new CPU/Mobo/RAM. Sucks tho if you cant get a decent speed boost.

 

[Denithor]

Memtest86 is your friend. Run it with both sticks installed and see if there are any errors. If your sticks are a 2x2GB kit and you have errors RMA the pair.

Are you running XP32 or Vista64? If 64-bit buy another 2x2GB kit to hold you while your sticks are away and then install it all for 8GB of RAM goodness when they come back. Otherwise I think there's a 2GB kit (Corsair or Crucial, cannot remember which) at newegg for like $6AR (worth having just as backup) that you could grab to use while you RMA your kit (this is assuming you have errors).

 

[DSF]

And if your memory turns up error free after an overnight scan, then like I said look at the crash dumps. You're about to throw money at a problem that may have a free solution.

 

[SylEm]

memtest came out fine. I checked my memory dumps and got this as the latest one:

Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.10.0003.233 X86
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Loading Dump File [C:\Windows\Minidump\Mini010909-02.dmp]
Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available

Symbol search path is: SRV*c:\debug*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
Executable search path is:
Windows Server 2008/Windows Vista SP1 Kernel Version 6001 (Service Pack 1) MP (2 procs) Free x86 compatible
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS
Built by: 6001.18145.x86fre.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612
Machine Name:
Kernel base = 0x82011000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0x82128c70
Debug session time: Fri Jan 9 16:10:42.029 2009 (GMT-8)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:50:03.076
Loading Kernel Symbols
...............................................................
................................................................
.......................................
Loading User Symbols
Loading unloaded module list
..................
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck A3, {2, 90181, 85ad6a78, 850eba60}

Probably caused by : CLASSPNP.SYS ( CLASSPNP!SubmitTransferPacket+106 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

1: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

ACPI_DRIVER_INTERNAL (a3)
The ACPI Driver detected an internal inconsistency. The inconsistency is
so severe that continuing to run would cause serious problems.
The ACPI driver calls this when the state is so inconsistent that proceeding
would actually be dangerous. The problem may or may not be a BIOS issue, but
there is no way to tell.
Arguments:
Arg1: 00000002
Arg2: 00090181
Arg3: 85ad6a78
Arg4: 850eba60

Debugging Details:
------------------


CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 2

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR: 0xA3

PROCESS_NAME: svchost.exe

CURRENT_IRQL: 2

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from 8269095b to 820de0e3

STACK_TEXT:
8cc889dc 8269095b 000000a3 00000002 00090181 nt!KeBugCheckEx+0x1e
8cc889f8 826985ca 00090181 85ad6a78 850eba60 acpi!_ACPIInternalErrorEx+0x1b
8cc88a18 82693d6c 85ad6a78 8cc88a54 8cc88a44 acpi!ACPIInternalGetDispatchTable+0x3e
8cc88a48 820ccfd3 85ad6a78 850eba60 8565c008 acpi!ACPIDispatchIrp+0x20
8cc88a60 8bfcc74b 86bfe738 8565c008 00001000 nt!IofCallDriver+0x63
8cc88a74 8bfcc15b 85ad6a78 863992c8 8659f7c0 CLASSPNP!SubmitTransferPacket+0x106
8cc88ab4 8bfcbee7 00000000 00bfe738 8649cdd8 CLASSPNP!ServiceTransferRequest+0x224
8cc88adc 8bfcc342 86399210 00000000 86399210 CLASSPNP!ClassReadWrite+0x16a
8cc88af0 820ccfd3 86399210 86bfe738 86bfe89c CLASSPNP!ClassGlobalDispatch+0x20
8cc88b08 8270a116 52b00000 86bfe738 866a21c8 nt!IofCallDriver+0x63
8cc88b1c 8270a151 8649cdd8 86bfe880 8649cd20 partmgr!PmReadWrite+0x111
8cc88b30 820ccfd3 8649cd20 86bfe738 86bfe738 partmgr!PmGlobalDispatch+0x1d
8cc88b48 8b91e6f1 86bfe8c0 866a2110 86bfe738 nt!IofCallDriver+0x63
8cc88b64 820ccfd3 866a2110 86bfe738 86bfe8e4 volmgr!VmReadWrite+0x1b3
8cc88b7c 8bf6ad77 00000001 52b00000 8cc88ba4 nt!IofCallDriver+0x63
8cc88b8c 8bf6b565 866a2ce0 86bfe738 8205021b fvevol!RequestPassThrough+0x3b
8cc88ba4 8bf69b6d 866a2ce0 86bfe738 8bfa6c50 fvevol!FveFilterRead+0x23
8cc88bc8 820ccfd3 866a2c28 86bfe738 00000000 fvevol!FveFilterRundownRead+0x11b
8cc88be0 8bf98864 86bfe8ec 00000000 867a54c8 nt!IofCallDriver+0x63
8cc88c08 8bf99542 867a54c8 86bfe738 00000000 ecache!EcDeviceIoCallLowerDriver+0x1d4
8cc88cd0 820ccfd3 867a5410 86bfe738 86bfe92c ecache!EcDispatchReadWrite+0xc26
8cc88ce8 8bf14033 8cc88d38 85bcd458 855c3030 nt!IofCallDriver+0x63
8cc88d08 820ccfd3 85bcd458 86bfe738 8a113a00 volsnap!VolSnapRead+0x14d
8cc88d20 8be14500 8a113988 8cc88d44 820ca288 nt!IofCallDriver+0x63
8cc88d2c 820ca288 8a113a00 00000000 ffffffff Ntfs!NtfsStorageDriverCallout+0x14
8cc88d2c 820ca381 8a113a00 00000000 ffffffff nt!KiSwapKernelStackAndExit+0x118
8a113998 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 nt!KiSwitchKernelStackAndCallout+0x31


STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:
CLASSPNP!SubmitTransferPacket+106
8bfcc74b 5f pop edi

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 5

SYMBOL_NAME: CLASSPNP!SubmitTransferPacket+106

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: CLASSPNP

IMAGE_NAME: CLASSPNP.SYS

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 47918f70

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: 0xA3_CLASSPNP!SubmitTransferPacket+106

BUCKET_ID: 0xA3_CLASSPNP!SubmitTransferPacket+106

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

 

[SylEm]

So here's what I think I'm going to upgrade the rig to (I'm going to keep the Video card and the Hard-Drive I think for now):

EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR10664GK - Retail
NZXT Zero Black/Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
COOLMAX CUG-950B 950W ATX12V V.2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 70SB104000000 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Retail
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail

Need to make sure the the motherboard will allow for two video cards of a Nvidia GTX 260 size to fit, as well as the PCI-express sound card in it. Also need to make sure PSU will give sufficient power to the unit and that all the parts will work with current case. What do yall think?

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: SylEm
What do yall think?

I think you should finish troubleshooting your current problem before you waste money.

 

[krnmastersgt]

A GTX295 would be cheaper than 2 260's + that 750i motherboard, not saying there's anything wrong with that but if you planned on SLI there's already a single card alternative to what you want, granted it's 2 GPUs in 1 card but a single slot nonetheless.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: SylEmWhat do yall think?

I think you have to be pretty darn lazy to spend that much money without making much of an effort to fix your current computer.

 

[Denithor]

Originally posted by: DSF

Originally posted by: SylEmWhat do yall think?

I think you have to be pretty darn lazy to spend that much money without making much of an effort to fix your current computer.

Well...that or more money than sense. Can I be your new best friend?

I found this page with a quick Google search for ACPI_Driver_Internal - the fault your memory dump showed.