New Computer, recent AMD Convert.

  • Thread starter Pako
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What does the wife think of all of this?

Oh, and I have the same itch you do, I went ahead and bought a gig stick... :indiff:
 
@skip0110,
That's cool. I was just wondering what works for other people. It really works fine with the stock cooler also, not completely sure it's a heat assure as it could be a shortage of voltage as well. I will probably just leave it alone, unless I get an another itch to surpass 10,000 points on 3DMark06. ;)

@Event,
Ummm....well......ahhhhh......yeah, actually all she really sees is a black and silver box on the floor. Other than that, really doesn't say much about it. She scrapbooks, I play with computers. :) So you went and got another stick of ram, eh? What did you end up getting?
 
Well after running this setup for a couple of weeks I think I am experiencing some power deficiencies in my Power Supply. Although I am running a Antec Neo 550w PSU, it seems as though this is not enough considering the Dual x1900xt's, the 2gb XMS Corsair ram, and the Dual Core 4800+. Random shutdowns and inconsistent boots can all be attributed to the PSU. I am now looking at the PC Power and Cooling 850w or the 1KW PSU. I really need to figure this out and have too much vested now to just give up... :eek:

Anyhow, I will keep you guys updated as to the progress of the latest in this build.

~Peace
 
Egad, you're considering a 1 Kilowatt power supply?! I can't blame you though, considering you're running not one but two videocards!

I saw a 1 KW PSU (same exact model) at Frozencpu a month or so ago... it was somewhere in the range of $500ish, I think (Overpriced, most likely, as is everything there). Too rich for my blood...

Good luck with solving your power issue!
 
WOW man. You're really draining the juice now. What's going to happen with your next bleeding edge setup? I can only imagine you'll be drawing 1.5-2kw there. Run the 2 pc's side by side, possibly 24/7... and sooner or later, you'll have an FBI drug bust because someone thought you had a grow op in your home!

How do you handle the fan noise man? Especially when those radeons start screaming. It's torture for me if I set my single video card any higher than 40%....
 
@Matrixhasu77,
Thanks, I'll be needing all the luck I can get!

@emad,
LOL, that's funny....no grow lights here though! The noise really isn't too bad. The P180 Antec case does a really good job of insulating the noise. I've had noisier setups in the past for sure!
 
Pako
The P180 Antec case does a really good job of insulating the noise. I've had noisier setups in the past for sure!
Click to expand...
Swap out all the fans with 120mm (ideally nexus for everything including cpu) and get the Arctic Cooling fan for the radeons. With a speed controller, you won't even notice the pc is on at idle unless you have one of those annoying 7000+rpm northbridge fans. Those can be swapped with pasive heatsinks 👍

Do that and they'll have to do some major digging to find the cause of power drain - they wont hear it XD

Oh, and be careful with the power loads. One of the guys at school had to get an industrial grade power setup for his home from all the systems he has in his basement... but he also has a few full blown rack based servers
 
Actually all three case fans are 120mm, not sure on the mfg but they came with the case. The CPU fan is a noisy little bugger. I'll check out the nexus brand for sure! Right now all the case fans are manually set for High, Medium, or Low. Set at low you can't even hear them...., at High they sound like a plane getting ready to take off. A controller would be sweet for the application and I wanted to do something different with the CPU can anyways! I'm still not sure if I want to drop $450 on a PSU but I've come this far....UGH. I'll probably get it ordered today....
 
Well, just was never really happy with my CRT. The images were always just a bit blurry to me, although being CRT had great contrast. The desk sits in a corner so the Footprint of a 19" CRT really wasn't a concern however I decided to upgrade. I was getting some horrible horizontal waves when I moved the mouse around. Apparently, others running crossfire have also experienced this and the only fix is to use the DVI output to a DVI monitor. The local shop I get stuff from let me borrow a Vewsonic VP2030b 20.1" LCD that's rated at 1600x1200 60hz at a 8ms response time and 1000:1 brightness. This monitor is very impressive and it took care of my annoying lines. The images are much more crisp and the colors just jump out at you. The 1600x1200 is also a huge plus for gaming as well as the 8ms response time. There is a Samsuck at Best Buy with a 4ms response time for about the same price, but the view sonic seems to have a better display. It also supports 270 deg swivel as well as a 90 deg rotation on the screen (which I doubt I will ever use), vertical sliding adjustment and a 4 port usb hub built into the bass of the screen.

Here are some quick specs:
Type: 20.1" TFT MVA
Pixel Pitch: 0.255 mm
Optimum Resolution: 1600x1200
Color: True 8-bit (16.7 million colors)
Image Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Response Time: 8ms (grey-to-grey), 16ms (off-on-off)
Connectors: VGA, DVI-I, 4xUSB
 
Pako
Well, just was never really happy with my CRT. The images were always just a bit blurry to me, although being CRT had great contrast. The desk sits in a corner so the Footprint of a 19" CRT really wasn't a concern however I decided to upgrade. I was getting some horrible horizontal waves when I moved the mouse around. Apparently, others running crossfire have also experienced this and the only fix is to use the DVI output to a DVI monitor. The local shop I get stuff from let me borrow a Vewsonic VP2030b 20.1" LCD that's rated at 1600x1200 60hz at a 8ms response time and 1000:1 brightness. This monitor is very impressive and it took care of my annoying lines. The images are much more crisp and the colors just jump out at you. The 1600x1200 is also a huge plus for gaming as well as the 8ms response time. There is a Samsuck at Best Buy with a 4ms response time for about the same price, but the view sonic seems to have a better display. It also supports 270 deg swivel as well as a 90 deg rotation on the screen (which I doubt I will ever use), vertical sliding adjustment and a 4 port usb hub built into the bass of the screen.

Here are some quick specs:
Type: 20.1" TFT MVA
Pixel Pitch: 0.255 mm
Optimum Resolution: 1600x1200
Color: True 8-bit (16.7 million colors)
Image Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Response Time: 8ms (grey-to-grey), 16ms (off-on-off)
Connectors: VGA, DVI-I, 4xUSB
Click to expand...

So the 16ms response time is good enough? I've been very interested in the whole response time issue, but I've heard a lot of conflicting reports.
 
As of yet, I haven't noticed any ghosting, flickering or "trails". The 8ms on the grey to grey must have something to do with this. I was always told to get under 10ms response time. This is the first monitor I have seen listed for different response times for "grey to grey" and "off to on to off", but coming from a CRT to a LCD, I have ONLY seen an improvement to the quality of picture in every way....and that was coming from a Trinitron flat screen.

Not sure if that helps you or not.
 
Pako
As of yet, I haven't noticed any ghosting, flickering or "trails". The 8ms on the grey to grey must have something to do with this. I was always told to get under 10ms response time. This is the first monitor I have seen listed for different response times for "grey to grey" and "off to on to off", but coming from a CRT to a LCD, I have ONLY seen an improvement to the quality of picture in every way....and that was coming from a Trinitron flat screen.

Not sure if that helps you or not.
Click to expand...


I don't totally know how to interpret the response times. I get the impression that "off to on to off" is what used to be the standard, and that now companies are starting to list "grey to grey" so that they can associate a shorter response time for their monitor.

I really have no freaking clue what's going on with the response times. But it's good to hear that 16ms is cutting the mustard for you.
 
danoff
I don't totally know how to interpret the response times. I get the impression that "off to on to off" is what used to be the standard, and that now companies are starting to list "grey to grey" so that they can associate a shorter response time for their monitor.

I really have no freaking clue what's going on with the response times. But it's good to hear that 16ms is cutting the mustard for you.
Click to expand...
Most companies release grey to grey response times which don't really tell you much of anything other than the fact that if you have all grey on screen and decide to transition from grey to the same shade of grey, you get the 8ms response advertised on pako's monitor. It really doesn't a great deal of info on actual response time. That can go as high as double the grey to grey. That's also the reason people reccomend under 10ms - if the monitor is twice 10ms for red to blue to green or whatever, then that'll give you as high as 20ms for off-on-off.

The downside to fast monitors is they suck for color. With the tech where it is now, there's a direct correlation between speed and image quality. The fast ones are definately improving, but at the moment, there's no way I'd consider anything faster than 4ms since I occasionally do some heavy graphics work and I want the best colors possible.

If it says 8ms and if it's from someone like Hyundai, Samsung, Viewsonic, etc, it should be fairly good. Just be sure the contrast ratio and brightness are as high as you can afford
 
emad
If it says 8ms and if it's from someone like Hyundai, Samsung, Viewsonic, etc, it should be fairly good. Just be sure the contrast ratio and brightness are as high as you can afford
Click to expand...

Is that 8ms grey-to-grey or 8ms off-on-off?
 
danoff
Is that 8ms grey-to-grey or 8ms off-on-off?
Click to expand...
Whatever they rate it as (typically the fastest number they have available). It'll most likely be rated grey to grey. If you want the 'real' performance figures, the folks at tomshardware.com have those listed in their monitor reviews... but that'll only add to the confusion. If it says 8ms on the specs sheet and the monitor is from a reputable make, it'll be made well enough not to give you any ghosting for games and movies. I have noticed a bit of a motion trail if I drag a window or my mouse across the screen real fast but I never took note of it until all this response time conversation
 
emad
Whatever they rate it as (typically the fastest number they have available). It'll most likely be rated grey to grey. If you want the 'real' performance figures, the folks at tomshardware.com have those listed in their monitor reviews... but that'll only add to the confusion
Click to expand...

Yea, been there done that. It very much adds to the confusion. I think I'm just going to have to see a game or DVD on the monitor I buy and decide whether or not it's good enough.
 
At the end of the day, it comes down to what "looks" best in real world applications, not just what looks good on paper. Unfortuneatly it's hard to get all the LCD's you'd like to check out all lined up hooked up with the content you would be mostly scrutinizing like movies and games. There's a reason why most stores have still image slide shows with the brightness cracked all the way up on all the monitors.

Here's a good article:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3118_7-6358806.html

Like they said, a standard is being defined and implemented which is great for the consumer.
 
Ever since I installed my second video card I have been having annoying issues on a cold boots. When I press the power button all the fans startup, drives spin up, then it sits; it doesn't even POST. After I let it sit for 30 seconds or so, I hit the reset button twice and it boots and POST's just fine. Once it boots up, I can restart and cold boot with no problems....once it's off all night and try to start it up in the morning I have the non-POST issue again. Combing the net, no one really has an answer. I have tested my PSU and even tried a different one. Asus has this to say about the problem:

There are a couple of reason that your system may not be sending a signal to your monitor or giving you any post beeps. The first thing to try is to insure that we are not having something as simple as a grounding/emi interference problem. Start by taking the motherboard out of the case you have it in, set it back up on the cardboard box that it came in straight to the card board(do not use the antistatic foam, plastic, or an antistatic mat as these ca! n keep your system from posting) if you do not have the box then use a phone book, newspaper or some other completely non-conductive material. Connect up to the motherboard just the bare minimums needed to post your system up the cpu(w/heatsink and fan), video card(connected to monitor), memory, power supply and powered speakers if your board has our vocal post reporter. Power the system up outside the case, if you are now getting video and post then we need to take some extra steps before mounting the board back into your case to prevent it from not posting again, the easiest remedy for this is to get some standard black electrical tape and make a cross over the brass or metal standoffs you are mounting the board into, this will accomplish 2 things, it will insure against a metal to metal contact and it will lift the board up away from the case insuring that no solder points are sitting to close to the case generating an emi field.
If out of the case you are still get! ting no post/no video then we need to try and force a post/vocal post error, remove your cpu from the socket and power the system up if you then get post/vocal post errors such as no cpu installed then we will need to have the cpu tested to insure that it is functioning properly, go thru each of the main components that we had left connected to the board to verify they are working. Another reason your board may not be posting is if your board came with a bios on it that will not support the cpu you have installed, please go to the link provided below and check to see if your board required a bios update to work with your cpu:

http://www.asus.com/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx.

Power can also be a factor when you are having a no post/no video situation as each power supply manufacturer differs in the way they rate their wattages you can have huge difference in the actual amount of power the power supply can push out. When choosing a power supply the best method would be to check the side of the power supply under DC output a! nd verify what each of the voltage rails can distribute. We recommend that the +3.3 voltage rail which powers your cpu and your video card can supply at least 28 amps, the +5 voltage rail which powers up all of the IC chips on your motherboard be able to supply at least 35 amps, the +12 voltage rail which powers all drives and fans be able to supply at least 18-20 amps and the +5VSB which will be the determining factor for bringing your system out of standby mode be able to supply at least 2 amps.
You may also want to try clearing your CMOS settings using the CLRTC(CLR_RTC) jumper or solder points and removing the battery this will set the bios back to factory defaults and may resolve a bios conflict that can cause the problem you are having. To do this first locate the CMOS battery and the CLRTC jumper/solder points in your user manual on the page with the drawn motherboard layout this is usually in the first section of your manual, next unplug your power supply cord f! rom the back of the computer, pop the battery out and move the jumper cap or short the solder points for fifteen seconds after doing this then reverse the procedure.
After trying all of these steps and verifying all other components as working then please contact our RMA dept. at 510-739-3777 option # 3.Please do not respond to this email if you still need assistance please contact our tech support office at 502-995-0883 and give the technician who picks up this case number.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried this yet, but will see. A grounding issue seems unlikely as it does eventually boot. Another user on one of the forums I found stated that maybe the processor or capacitors are too cool after sitting all night. The colder the capacitors, the more resistance there is.... Seems probable but I haven't tried warming up my computer with a hair dryer yet to see if this is the case. This really shouldn't be an issue. Lastly there are some issues with the video cards. Any card by itself and the problem goes away.

UGH, very difficult. Will report back with any solutions I have found.
 
Hoping to see what they had to say about the VP2030b, but it's not listed there.
 
I should have thrown in that the report was from June '05. Your monitor probably wasn't around then, I'm guessing.
 
Pako
Ever since I installed my second video card I have been having annoying issues on a cold boots. When I press the power button all the fans startup, drives spin up, then it sits; it doesn't even POST. After I let it sit for 30 seconds or so, I hit the reset button twice and it boots and POST's just fine. Once it boots up, I can restart and cold boot with no problems....once it's off all night and try to start it up in the morning I have the non-POST issue again. Combing the net, no one really has an answer. I have tested my PSU and even tried a different one. Asus has this to say about the problem:



I haven't tried this yet, but will see. A grounding issue seems unlikely as it does eventually boot. Another user on one of the forums I found stated that maybe the processor or capacitors are too cool after sitting all night. The colder the capacitors, the more resistance there is.... Seems probable but I haven't tried warming up my computer with a hair dryer yet to see if this is the case. This really shouldn't be an issue. Lastly there are some issues with the video cards. Any card by itself and the problem goes away.

UGH, very difficult. Will report back with any solutions I have found.
Click to expand...

I'm almost tempted to say that the second videocard is causing the PSU to draw more power than it can provide at cold boot. It probably isn't the problem though. I had something similar happen with my current system when I added a second harddrive. My system wouldn't boot due to the order in which each device was connected to my PSU.

I'm not sure, but try breaking it down to the most essential devices that you need to boot and add a device after each successful boot.
 
So, Pako ..

How are you liking the case? I'm looking at upgrading next month and your case just so happens to be my case of choice. How did you fix the cabling issues, both length and routing? Any other concerns about the space issues or anything you can think of? Any advice?

I'm also considering going SLI with dual 7900GTKOs but I'm not sure if Antec's SP500 will be enough to push all that or if I should bump it up to a 550 or a 600.

As of today, the rest of my specs are probably going to look like this:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ X2
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) DDR
ASUS A8N32-SLI
eVGA 7900GTKO (x2?)
Antec SP500

Well .. according to this PSU Calculator the 500 is enough to run dual 7900GTs in SLI, so I think I'm good on that.
 
As far as the case, there are some really nice things I like but the length of cabling is the down fall for sure. All the cable lengths were fine and routing wasn't an issue except for the 12v P4 plug. To address this issue, I simply cut, crimped, heat shrinked, and covered with wire netting to address this issue. The mod was simple, clean, and it let me route the wire around the MOBO but more importantly, around the graphic cards. Other than that, I really like this case. As far as wattage, well I would check into any 'KNOWN' issues with that board and PSU incompatibilities. It was suggest for this particular board to try a Tangan PSU...., not sure if that would fix my issue or not. So far I am content with having to hit the reset a couple of times to get it going from a long cold sleep. If you have any other questions, I would be more than happy to try and answer them.
 
VTGT07
Well .. according to this PSU Calculator the 500 is enough to run dual 7900GTs in SLI, so I think I'm good on that.
Click to expand...
Make sure your supply can put out at least 25A on 12V, 30A would probably be better. Cheap power supplies often have the right wattage but don't deliver enough flow at a high volatage. (That was the downfall of my first $20 420W supply. I stepped up to much more expensive supply, $140, but it had sufficient 12V amperage.)
 
So how can something be nVidia SLI certified if it doesn't put out enough amperage on the +12V?
 
SLI has nothing to do with the power requirement. I don't even use SLI. I think it is the processor that needs the power.

I suppose if it is SLI certified, it is okay, I just thought I'd gove you a heads up.
 

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