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jono_astra

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Thought there might of been some need for this for either help and advice ( which im in need of atm ) and also for just general chat about Computers and games Etc.


So my question is.

I just reinstalled Vista 64bit OS due to my pc getting rather slow. So after reinstalling the Os and all the updates and drivers for everything, i decided to play COD Blackops cause i aint played it for a while and the pc halts after about 10 mins. Now im using 800mhz ddr2 ram and the processor is a q6600 Fsb 1066mhz, so the ram is the set up to 667mhz to link them. Now i used the Ntune program after it halted to tune the system and see if it improved. it changed the Reference clock (pci-e) From 2500mhz to 4000mhz and Same for reference clock (pci-e) too which i assume is for the gpu and its overclocked it rather ALOT. It also OC'ed the CPU by 11% too. All this on standard cooling, so i tried the game and it crashed within mins, so i changed the ram settings in the bios too 800mhz, and re tried it and now it seams to be working fine, Very fast and not crashing.

Now do you think the ram setting from the Fsb linked was causing it to halt and now changing the settings to the ram's dedicated 800mhz is better for the system???
Or do you think its something else, if so any pointers.

And also is that ntune over clocking fine or wouldnt you risk it??? im not sure never really overclocked before.

My spec is

Intel q6600 Quad core CPU
Kingston 800mhz hyper x ram (6gb)
Nvidia BFG 9800GTX+OC 512mb GPU
800watt PSU
Nvidia 680LT sli MOBO
320Gb sata HD
3 80mm Cooling fans
1 120mm side case cooling fan.


Cpu runs at 38c on idle and the about 44c ish during gaming.

Any advice welcome

Thank you in advance. :beer:
 
Reset all overclocks back to stock and see how it is then.

When you say it halts, what exactly does it do?

Any CPU overclock should be done in the BIOS, GPU overclocks are fine with software such as nTune but use something like GPU-Z to monitor the temps.

You can also download Intel Burn Test, set it to maximum and run it while using Coretemp or Realtemp to watch the CPU temps under stress.

Download Furmark and run the burn-in test and watch the GPU temps, this will stress it out to the max and produce lots of heat.

For the CPU you're looking at 70c maximum, and the GPU 100c maximum.

I'll explain more tomorrow, I'm on my phone now!
 
Andy_Mk3 said:
Reset all overclocks back to stock and see how it is then.

When you say it halts, what exactly does it do?

Any CPU overclock should be done in the BIOS, GPU overclocks are fine with software such as nTune but use something like GPU-Z to monitor the temps.

You can also download Intel Burn Test, set it to maximum and run it while using Coretemp or Realtemp to watch the CPU temps under stress.

Download Furmark and run the burn-in test and watch the GPU temps, this will stress it out to the max and produce lots of heat.

For the CPU you're looking at 70c maximum, and the GPU 100c maximum.

I'll explain more tomorrow, I'm on my phone now!
Click to expand...

I have just reset all the overclocks and i can only assume that with it being a nvidia board that the Ntune alters the Bios settings withing the program as it does have the option to alter the memory timings etc in the program but not 100% sure on that

And as for it halting, what i mean is the whole system crashes, i have no mouse or keyboard functions so cannot access task manager etc, but i can leave the machine Crashed for 10 mins and i still dont get the BSOD But the whole system is frozen, only way is to hard reboot the Machine.

And for those programs, Is there any site you can reccommend that you have used in the past or is it simply a case of google lol.

KinG^Lee said:
What reason did you set the ram to 667mhz for? ram doesn't effect the cpu speed in anyway so there is no reason to link them. iv always run ram at the default speed.
Click to expand...

The Ram was auto set at that in bios when i first setup the machine a few years ago. Was linked to the CPU in the bios option so i asked at the computer shop where i brought all the bits off and he said it was normal for it to be like that with a FSB processor of 1066Mhz, but i did change it to unlinked and selected the 800Mhz after a few weeks as a trial and it seamed to be faster at processing high demand items etc, but for some reason the other month it re linked itself, but i was due to re install windows again so decided to leave it set at that for the time being but i did changed it back once the problem of the game/system crashing occured once i had re installed windows as a trial to see if the system crashed again but it hasnt yet, but i will be having a game again tonight to see if its ok lol.

Thank you so much for your comments and help.

Also just another little question, how have you guys set up your cooling fans, now i have the top case fan and the side case fan extracting hot air and the 2 rear ones blowing in cool air, is this the correct set up? I cannot put any fans in the front of the Case so pretty limited to what i can do.
 
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the screen freezes, and no sound and no controls etc, Just like looking at a silent picture.
 
PC games in this day and age use not a lot of processing oomph, it's mostly done on the graphics card. OC that a bit using the drivers or nTune and see what goes on.

As has been said, leave RAM running at its default values, it was in PC days of old that timings and speeds made all the difference!

You don't want 2 pushing in and 1 pulling out, you want them all pulling out. It'll draw cool air in from the front anyway by way of physics. With the fans the way you have them, it'll be cooling the top corner of your case and that's about it!

Don't worry about CPU temps too much either. I had one not long ago (Was sent to me by mistake so I didn't care) that pushed 100 degrees under pressure and didn't miss a beat.
 
RazerSauber said:
PC games in this day and age use not a lot of processing oomph, it's mostly done on the graphics card. OC that a bit using the drivers or nTune and see what goes on.
Click to expand...

Actually that's not true in a few modern games, I find I'm being bottlenecked by the CPU in games like GTA IV, some games are very CPU heavy.

RazerSauber said:
You don't want 2 pushing in and 1 pulling out, you want them all pulling out. It'll draw cool air in from the front anyway by way of physics. With the fans the way you have them, it'll be cooling the top corner of your case and that's about it!
Click to expand...

Not true, you ideally want a good balance of both intake and exhaust fans, it's all about having a good airflow. Most computer fans don't have enough static pressure to create the airflow required having exhaust fans alone.

RazerSauber said:
Don't worry about CPU temps too much either. I had one not long ago (Was sent to me by mistake so I didn't care) that pushed 100 degrees under pressure and didn't miss a beat.
Click to expand...

CPU temps are something to worry about, having temps that high can dramatically reduce the life of the chip and also overheating is very often what causes crashes and problems. The cooler the better for everything.
 
Source games use a good amount of CPU power but very little else. Sitting at full whack in the middle of Battlefield 3 beta keeps me around 20-35% of my CPU, which isn't a lot?

Having all exhaust fans with none at the front is better than cooling the top half of the case and leaving the rest to sit in the heat. The air will be pulled in through from other places and cool more of the components. No good having a 20 degree processor if the rest of the board is at 50 degrees, especially that toasty Northbridge!

His temps are not to be worried about I meant, my mistake. I've seen the later Q6600's on G0 stepping get over 110 and not crash. While that may reduce the longevity of the chip, new components are that cheap nowadays and Intel boards don't require a re-install anymore so the cost isn't that great. Standard clocks and standard coolers on his computer up there will power through any game he really wishes to play. (Note: This guy has an nVidia board, not an Intel board and I'm fairly sure that means a re-install would be required for a newer chip)
 
Thanks for you help guys, it seams to have sorted it by changing it back to 800mhz instead of default of 667 linked so must be the ram that it didn't like slower lol. Now on the hunt for a cheap GPU think i shall go for a 560ti if one comes up at a good price :).
 
Its all trial and error... there are that many different configs that it would be impossible to get 100% compatibility on everything... I did have some 1066mhz RAM but for unknown reasons my setup doesnt like it one bit so have to run the ram at 800mhz :( My motherboard wont run on anything older than Vista (found that out the hard way after many many MANY blue screens of death!).
 
Anyway, I've got another topic for this thread...

X-fire, SLI or just a decent single card? whats peoples preference?

Mines crossfire but to be honest didnt really see as much gain in performance as I'd have hoped by using 2 cards as oppose to just the one... Did notice I had to upgrade my PSU somewhat at the time though lol.
 
Dual-GPU's is best for multi-monitor or eye-finity set-ups really. You're better off with one decent card, less problems, less heat and less power consumption. Dual-GPUs is always going to be best for brute power though :P
 
Only reason I went for it is that when I started my first job (building pcs and technical sales for a computer re-seller) it was new tech and really thought it was a good idea. I havent had any issues with the set up, work together well but havent seen enough increase in performance to justify the cost when I could have bought a decent card for the price I paid on the 2. Power wise I'm running 850watt as it killed my 500 one after a while (struggled to boot up and eventually just stopped all together, although I know that the 600 wasnt really enough anyway).

I'm due a upgrade anyway :) dont actually use this one to its full though (internet car porn its main use) lol
 
Tbh i have only used single cards and i would like an sli system but i just cannot justify spending the amount of money on 2 of the same cards, for eg, if you had a 560ti at 200 quid a piece then you could buy a 580 for that price which would be more advanced and more powerful in my book. But i can see why they are about for the best high graphical games etc, but i think you would have to have 2 of the best to make it worth while in the long run, if that makes sense
 
I'd personally opt for single cards. Buying 2 cards is all well and good but the extra requirements in price for components and electricity to power them makes it a bit too expensive for my liking. I run a single GTX470 and with a massive overclock can play practically any game you really want to throw at it with max details. Plus, in 6 months an SLi or X-fire set up will get superseded by another single GPU anyway so it's kind of double the waste. For a handful of 30" 2560x1600 screens, multiple cards may be the answer, or multi-GPU cards. For the rest, stick with a single card. 60fps and above is unnoticeable on screens since they can only put out 60 pictures per second (Or whatever Hz your monitor is).
 
i've just ordered some new pc components. Though there will most likely be a blu ray burner in there somewhere in the near future. This is what I have so far

MSI 990FXA-GD65 AMD 990FX
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition 125W 3.40GHz C3 (Socket AM3)
4GB Corsair XMS3 (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
500GB Seagate Barracuda Sata III
Coolermaster CM690 Dominator case and GX750w PSU
and reusing my Asus Nvidia GTS450 Direct CU GFX card
 
Seams like you have brought a great pc there mate how much did that cost if you dont mind me asking and does it come with os system too
 
This cost 386 quid, gotta build it myself,comes with no o.s but got windows 7 64 bit to go on it
 
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