Milo's tech stuff Q&A thread

#26
#26
MG1968 said:
A 7100GS is most likely a turbo cache card, meaning it uses some of your system memory to act as a frame buffer to increase performance. That said, it is a low-end gpu.

If your computer has the Vista operating system, then it has Direct X 10 and it's little wonder why Halo won't work (unless you mean Halo 2). The first Halo has compatibility problems with Vista.

If you are wanting to play older games like FEAR, Doom 3, and other DX9 titles, then the Radeon X1950GT or Pro would be an excellent choice. They can be had for a good bit less than $150 at online shops like newegg or zipzoomfly. nvidia alternatives are the 7900GS, GT, or the 7950. You could even come down to something like a 7600GT (nvidia) or X1650Pro (ATI/AMD) and have a substantial performance upgrade over what you currently have.

If you're wanting all the eye-candy that DX10 brings, then your budget is going to have to increase. Current DX10 cards are no match for DX10 games. Even the 8800 Ultra, a $700 video card, has some struggles.

Also, before you invest in a new video card, what does the rest of your system look like? If you bought your computer off the shelf, then it's possible that it's power supply isn't up to the task of powering an X1900 or 7900.
Click to expand...

The power supply right now is a 450W, but will soon be upgraded to 550w or 600w.

I have a Athlon 64 X2 3800, Wintec 2 x 1GB Dual Channel DDR2, Biostar NF4U-AM2G motherboard.

I was also thinking about trying out the SLI thing. Should that change my approach to buying a video card now?
 
#27
#27
you can't do SLI unless your motherboard is an SLI motherboard. SLI needs two 8x or 2 16x PCIe graphics slots. SLI is only for nvidia cards and generally isn't necessary unless you have a very high resolution monitor. More often than not, there are single card solutions that will outperform two cards in SLI.

what kind of PSU is it? I ask because there are quality 450w PSU's and there are absolute garbage PSU's. Most local shops sell garbage, Chiefmax, Powmax, Allied, and other generic pieces of junk. The same goes for a 550 or 650w.

crappy psu review
 
#28
#28
MG1968 said:
you can't do SLI unless your motherboard is an SLI motherboard. SLI needs two 8x or 2 16x PCIe graphics slots. SLI is only for nvidia cards and generally isn't necessary unless you have a very high resolution monitor. More often than not, there are single card solutions that will outperform two cards in SLI.

what kind of PSU is it? I ask because there are quality 450w PSU's and there are absolute garbage PSU's. Most local shops sell garbage, Chiefmax, Powmax, Allied, and other generic pieces of junk. The same goes for a 550 or 650w.

crappy psu review
Click to expand...

The PSU came with the Xion case: Newegg.com - XION II XON-103 Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply - Retail
 
#29
#29
that would qualify as a crappy power supply. the "e164554" underneath the backwards looking "RU" is the UL number of the manufacturer. L&C is a well known purveyor of crap. Some of Xion's other self-branded PSU's are decent, but that one isn't.

here are a couple of good PSU's that won't break open your bank account.

550w Xclio Greatpower solid internals (built by Enhance) with active PFC, it's also SLI certified for lower end SLI setups.

Thermaltake 550w RX series this one is modular with ChannelWell internals, also has active PFC.
 
#30
#30
MG1968 said:
that would qualify as a crappy power supply. the "e164554" underneath the backwards looking "RU" is the UL number of the manufacturer. L&C is a well known purveyor of crap. Some of Xion's other self-branded PSU's are decent, but that one isn't.

here are a couple of good PSU's that won't break open your bank account.

550w Xclio Greatpower solid internals (built by Enhance) with active PFC, it's also SLI certified for lower end SLI setups.

Thermaltake 550w RX series this one is modular with ChannelWell internals, also has active PFC.
Click to expand...

Yea, I figured I would need to change out the PSU eventually. It has worked out well so far, but I've been looking at buying a new one for a while now. Thanks for the help. :salute:
 
#32
#32
f1ip said:
Had a 50" Samsung plasma for a year now...... just added the 5:1 surround

It rocks!!
Click to expand...
Samsung's 50" 1080p plasma = teh nuts

utvolpj said:
Please explain how Monster Cables are worth the price :p
Click to expand...
With audio cables and RCA's in particular, they are made of the highest quality material, which allows for a super-pure signal.

As far as HDMI's, if you're dealing with a 720p/1080i signal, any HDMI cable will do. With 1080p signals, Monsters provide cleaner, silver-lined, gold-tipped connections and higher-bandwidth cables.

vol_freak said:
They are if you buy online. Never buy from a store.
Click to expand...
I get 75% off all Monster products. :p
 
#33
#33
MG1968 said:
that would qualify as a crappy power supply. the "e164554" underneath the backwards looking "RU" is the UL number of the manufacturer. L&C is a well known purveyor of crap. Some of Xion's other self-branded PSU's are decent, but that one isn't.

here are a couple of good PSU's that won't break open your bank account.

550w Xclio Greatpower solid internals (built by Enhance) with active PFC, it's also SLI certified for lower end SLI setups.

Thermaltake 550w RX series this one is modular with ChannelWell internals, also has active PFC.
Click to expand...

Xclio makes a decent unit as long as you stay with the Greatpower/stablepower lines. There are better ones at the same price point though.

Here's some other options:

Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W
Corsair 520w

For a nice SLI unit:
CORSAIR HX CMPSU-620HX 620W

Other brands to look at: PC Power & Cooling, Silverstone OP's & Zeus, Enermax Infiniti, Seasonic
 
#40
#40
milohimself said:
As far as HDMI's, if you're dealing with a 720p/1080i signal, any HDMI cable will do. With 1080p signals, Monsters provide cleaner, silver-lined, gold-tipped connections and higher-bandwidth cables.
Click to expand...

Seriously, let's not get crazy and start making stuff up here. HDMI is rated by specifications on what actually makes it through the cable. Your Monster cable might be thicker with more padding around the cable, but it is not producing a better picture or signal from the source to your TV. Since most people hook up their cables and then leave them hanging behind their entertainment center, who really cares about how the cables are manufactured? Not like you are dragging it across concrete or having people walk on it daily.

Monster is pretty much a rip off in all cases. Not saying they are bad products, just a blatent ripoff because of name recognition and product placement inside the big box stores. If they can sell at those prices, power to Monster. But, I don't think everyone should be fooled or talked into thinking they are somehow better from a functionality standpoint.

I appreciate all the graphic card talk. I haven't built a system in years and have been thinking about putting together a new rig. DX10 cards are probably the reason I'm hesitating right now. I want DX10 power, but the cost/performance isn't exactly a good deal yet as indicated above. Still, I'm fairly clueless on recent cards and like seeing the write up on DX9 cards above. Last one I bought was a 6800 that was fairly top of the line when I got it ($300 card at the time), so it's been awhile since I've looked at the marketplace.
 
#42
#42
DrRosenRosen said:
Seriously, let's not get crazy and start making stuff up here. HDMI is rated by specifications on what actually makes it through the cable. Your Monster cable might be thicker with more padding around the cable, but it is not producing a better picture or signal from the source to your TV. Since most people hook up their cables and then leave them hanging behind their entertainment center, who really cares about how the cables are manufactured? Not like you are dragging it across concrete or having people walk on it daily.

Monster is pretty much a rip off in all cases. Not saying they are bad products, just a blatent ripoff because of name recognition and product placement inside the big box stores. If they can sell at those prices, power to Monster. But, I don't think everyone should be fooled or talked into thinking they are somehow better from a functionality standpoint.

I appreciate all the graphic card talk. I haven't built a system in years and have been thinking about putting together a new rig. DX10 cards are probably the reason I'm hesitating right now. I want DX10 power, but the cost/performance isn't exactly a good deal yet as indicated above. Still, I'm fairly clueless on recent cards and like seeing the write up on DX9 cards above. Last one I bought was a 6800 that was fairly top of the line when I got it ($300 card at the time), so it's been awhile since I've looked at the marketplace.
Click to expand...

DRR:

Here are some reviews on cards for what it its worth.

Sharkey

Toms
 
#43
#43
Milo do they make a VGA cable to go from the cable box to the hi def tv? My games through VGA look better on my computer moniter than my hi def tv.
 
#44
#44
Some TV's support it, but no, you cannot get resolution out of your tv like you can with your computer. A higher-end monitor will have much better resolution than any TV in existence.
 
#45
#45
milohimself said:
Some TV's support it, but no, you cannot get resolution out of your tv like you can with your computer. A higher-end monitor will have much better resolution than any TV in existence.
Click to expand...
ah yea I have a year old Samsung and the VGA looks great. My hi def tv also has a vga hook up. I want to see how it looks with VGA hookup.
 
#46
#46
milohimself said:
Some TV's support it, but no, you cannot get resolution out of your tv like you can with your computer. A higher-end monitor will have much better resolution than any TV in existence.
Click to expand...
What should I set my resolution to for the computer monitor for best results? Its a LCD.
 
#47
#47
Fine Vol said:
What should I set my resolution to for the computer monitor for best results? Its a LCD.
Click to expand...

Most likely whatever the native resolution on the monitor is. The picture will be scaled because your monitor is probably not 1280x720 native. Set the source to whatever is closest to the native. Of course, the monitor might be great at scaling and sending the actual signal (720p or 1080i if we are talking a cablebox) might give you a better result.

Best to try both ways because scaling in various products can vary so much (360, cablebox, monitor, etc).
 
#48
#48
thedank said:
Most likely whatever the native resolution on the monitor is. The picture will be scaled because your monitor is probably not 1280x720 native. Set the source to whatever is closest to the native. Of course, the monitor might be great at scaling and sending the actual signal (720p or 1080i if we are talking a cablebox) might give you a better result.

Best to try both ways because scaling in various products can vary so much (360, cablebox, monitor, etc).
Click to expand...

QFT
 
#49
#49
thedank said:
Most likely whatever the native resolution on the monitor is. The picture will be scaled because your monitor is probably not 1280x720 native. Set the source to whatever is closest to the native. Of course, the monitor might be great at scaling and sending the actual signal (720p or 1080i if we are talking a cablebox) might give you a better result.

Best to try both ways because scaling in various products can vary so much (360, cablebox, monitor, etc).
Click to expand...
Thanks
 
#50
#50
I'm trying to watch a video on my windows media player but it wont play. It says... "Windows Media Player cannot play the file because there is a problem with your sound device. There might not be a sound device installed on your computer, it might be in use by another program, or it might not be functioning properly."

I was watching a video the other day so I know I have a sound device. I even tried going to my control panel to turn my volume up but it said that I have no audio device. How can I fix this?
 
New Posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

Advertisement



Back
Top