[PC] Ask The Experts Thread

[ALPHA17]

^^ No business can be fully ethical undertaking, otherwise it is a charitable organization.

 

And Amen to the latter point on Linux, do you think you can use WINE to make it run games?

Edited October 14, 2012 by ALPHA17

[Ph3N0M]

^^ No business can be fully ethical undertaking, otherwise it is a charitable organization.

 

And Amen to the latter point on Linux, do you think you can use WINE to make it run games?

I never tried retail games because of lack of proper hardware(I guess system requirements for games in WINE are generally much higher). But from what I know not all games work properly(some work great too). For example, I was looking for WINE compatibility of Hitman games, and all of them have some major audio issues. I don't have any PC games right now(have Arkham Asylum and Orange Box at home). Will get some older games during the Puja holidays/vacation, and try them on WINE.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Ph3N0M

[rahul]

AUDIOPHILES ASSEMBLE!

 

Looking to buy a pair of decent headsets to play CS:GO. Any suggestions? I was thinking of getting the Astro A40 2013 edition but after reading up people are saying there are better options for cheaper prices. Please advice. Would the Mixamp 2013 be a good purchase? Thinking of getting just that and using a decent headphone/earphone.

 

Budget: $200 (headphones + amp)

[Masthan]

Hi Guys, I am Planing to go for a good Multimedia and gaming rig. i have gone through so many videos (thanks to YouTube) and reviews on the net for understanding which one is good. But i almost forgot that i am part of the great FORUM (IVG) . For all the Experts out there in IVG below is my scenario and my preference please provide your suggestion and changes to make it better on both cost and performance.

 

Need:

 

I want my PC to support 1080P res 2D and 3D movies with 5.1/7.1 audio (DTH/DOLBY) on 40" screen, and Games of-course with good graphic settings.

 

current Setup:

 

i have 5.1 Yamaha theater (spent 50k on it) Which i am planing to connect using HDMI if possible or using S/PDIF Optical and 5.1 creative Speaker which connects with normal 6 x Audio jack(s). and 40" LCD at present at planing to buy 27" 3D monitor.

 

note1: will not run both 40" and 27" 3D at same time any one at a time.

note2: Can i connect HDMI from GPU to Home theater and get both video and audio 5.1 or should i go GPU for Video only and use motherboard audio options and any Audio card?

 

What i chose:

 

Asus M5A99X-EVO 32GB DDR3 AMD Motherboard - 11825 (Reason for choosing this for 2 GPU SLI/Crossfire for future)

AMD FX-Series FX 6100 6-Core 3.3 - 3.9 Ghz Processor - 7745

G.skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz - 3k

Nzxt Phantom Cabinet - 7845 ( HAF 912A is other option suggest me which one is good)

Cooler Master Extreme II 625W - 4125

Asus GeForce GTX560 Ti 1GB DDR5 Nvdia PCI E Graphic Cards - 16k

Razer Gaming mouse and keyboard - 3.5k

Corsair Hydro Series H70 CPU Cooler - 5k (Yes planing to overclock the system)

WD Black 1TB - 5k

 

Total is around 59K (Prices refereed from Online shop i am sure local shops give better deal)

 

PS: i have been asking questions to myself Why AMD Why not Intel seriously i dont have any reason except Price and six let me know if Any intel does some better job.

 

Note: Biggest Worry Ausus GTX 560 ti 1GB is 16k and Radeon Sapphire and HIS 7850 2GB is 15-16 k Only Why and which one is good?

 

Your Reply and suggestions are really very much Appreciated..

Edited October 20, 2012 by Masthan

[ALPHA17]

Hi Guys, I am Planing to go for a good Multimedia and gaming rig. i have gone through so many videos (thanks to YouTube) and reviews on the net for understanding which one is good. But i almost forgot that i am part of the great FORUM (IVG) . For all the Experts out there in IVG below is my scenario and my preference please provide your suggestion and changes to make it better on both cost and performance.

 

Need:

 

I want my PC to support 1080P res 2D and 3D movies with 5.1/7.1 audio (DTH/DOLBY) on 40" screen, and Games of-course with good graphic settings.

 

current Setup:

 

i have 5.1 Yamaha theater (spent 50k on it) Which i am planing to connect using HDMI if possible or using S/PDIF Optical and 5.1 creative Speaker which connects with normal 6 x Audio jack(s). and 40" LCD at present at planing to buy 27" 3D monitor.

 

note1: will not run both 40" and 27" 3D at same time any one at a time.

note2: Can i connect HDMI from GPU to Home theater and get both video and audio 5.1 or should i go GPU for Video only and use motherboard audio options and any Audio card?

 

What i chose:

 

Asus M5A99X-EVO 32GB DDR3 AMD Motherboard - 11825 (Reason for choosing this for 2 GPU SLI/Crossfire for future)

AMD FX-Series FX 6100 6-Core 3.3 - 3.9 Ghz Processor - 7745

G.skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz - 3k

Nzxt Phantom Cabinet - 7845 ( HAF 912A is other option suggest me which one is good)

Cooler Master Extreme II 625W - 4125

Asus GeForce GTX560 Ti 1GB DDR5 Nvdia PCI E Graphic Cards - 16k

Razer Gaming mouse and keyboard - 3.5k

Corsair Hydro Series H70 CPU Cooler - 5k (Yes planing to overclock the system)

 

For now let over-clocking go, it is a waste of money in your curtailed budget, what you need is an Intel Ivy-Bridge build with Kepler graphics --

 

Intel Core i5 3550 ~12500/- AMD FX-6100 review / AMD FX-6100 review and analysis

Six-core FX-6100 is similar in speed to mainstream Phenom II X6 processors, and in comparison to competition, it falls between top Core i3 and junior Core i5 CPUs. Besides, in most general-purpose applications, including games, its performance is closer to that of dual-core Core i3.

 

FX CPUs are also hardly appealing for the new systems: Intel’s Core i5 and Core i3 processors can offer better combination of price and performance in a wide range of tasks with only a few exceptions such as video transcoding in x264 codec and selected 3D rendering applications.

 

So, we can’t recommend getting involved with the new FX CPUs from AMD at least until they revise their pricing. And even though there are claims that desktop Bulldozer processors are selling pretty well, we can’t imagine who could really be investing their hard-earned cash into these products.

ASUS P8H77-V ~9500/-

G.Skill RIPJAWS / SNIPER 4GB x2 1600MHz ~3200/-

Corsair Carbide 400R ~5500/- (better than both the HAF 912 Advanced and Phantom in my opinion)

Corsair TX v2650W ~5600/- OR Cooler Master Silent Power M600W ~6200/- (avoid Cooler Master eXtreme series SMPS)

GIGABYTE GTX660 OC 2GB ~14900/- OR Sapphire HD7850 2GB ~15500/- (both cards completely chew up the GTX560Ti) GTX660 vs. GTX560Ti / GTX660 vs. AMD HD7850 2GB.

LOGITECH G400 optical gaming mouse ~1600/-

LOGITECH G105 ~2500/-

 

Hope this helps, Cheerio!

Edited October 20, 2012 by ALPHA17

[Masthan]

For now let over-clocking go, it is a waste of money in your curtailed budget, what you need is an Intel Ivy-Bridge build with Kepler graphics --

 

Intel Core i5 3550 ~12500/- AMD FX-6100 review / AMD FX-6100 review and analysis

 

ASUS P8H77-V ~9500/-

G.Skill RIPJAWS / SNIPER 4GB x2 1600MHz ~3200/-

Corsair Carbide 400R ~5500/- (better than both the HAF 912 Advanced and Phantom in my opinion)

Corsair TX v2650W ~5600/- OR Cooler Master Silent Power M600W ~6200/- (avoid Cooler Master eXtreme series SMPS)

GIGABYTE GTX660 OC 2GB ~14900/- OR Sapphire HD7850 2GB ~15500/- (both cards completely chew up the GTX560Ti) GTX660 vs. GTX560Ti / GTX660 vs. AMD HD7850 2GB.

LOGITECH G400 optical gaming mouse ~1600/-

LOGITECH G105 ~2500/-

 

Hope this helps, Cheerio!

 

Thanks for the suggestion. i do see the difference between AMD and intel and GPU's looks like i have changed my mind. but when it comes to Mobo P8H77 doesn't have SLI and no Dolby or DTS option in it which makes me go for P8Z77-V(12k) and good thing is it comes with inbuilt wifi or go for any sound card..? What's your thoughts

[ALPHA17]

Thanks for the suggestion. i do see the difference between AMD and intel and GPU's looks like i have changed my mind. but when it comes to Mobo P8H77 doesn't have SLI and no Dolby or DTS option in it which makes me go for P8Z77-V(12k) and good thing is it comes with inbuilt wifi or go for any sound card..? What's your thoughts

 

Why are you so intent on SLi?

 

Even if you want to do it, you will need to over-clock and that means another ~7000/- increment in the budget.

 

The ASUS motherboard you have mentioned costs closer to ~15000/-; where are you getting it priced for ~12000/-?

[Masthan]

Why are you so intent on SLi?

 

Even if you want to do it, you will need to over-clock and that means another ~7000/- increment in the budget.

 

The ASUS motherboard you have mentioned costs closer to ~15000/-; where are you getting it priced for ~12000/-?

 

Hey ALPHA17, I am not much into PC's so i have started studying about them so your help is much appreciated. Abt SLI i just heard it gives more/better performance(and i am not planing that for now) But What i actually intend to ask was about the Audio options DTS/Dolby from the motherboard chipset. ASUS P8H77-V doesnot have DTS option were P8Z77 - V has it. And abut the price.. i randomly checked on the net dont remember which site but again when i checked on flip-kart/eBay the price is as you said.

 

Now Please let me know what is good for the audio. ASUS P8H77-V with Audio card (or) P8Z77 - V ? as i said my main usage is Hi-def/Bluray and 3D Movie with 5.1 DTS/Dolby Sound out.

 

You Time is much appreciated Bro.

[ALPHA17]

Hey ALPHA17, I am not much into PC's so i have started studying about them so your help is much appreciated. Abt SLI i just heard it gives more/better performance(and i am not planing that for now) But What i actually intend to ask was about the Audio options DTS/Dolby from the motherboard chipset. ASUS P8H77-V doesnot have DTS option were P8Z77 - V has it. And abut the price.. i randomly checked on the net dont remember which site but again when i checked on flip-kart/eBay the price is as you said.

 

If you are serious about the audio, I recommend that you go for the a good sound-card on the lines of the --

ASUS Xonar DX ~4500/- OR better ASUS Xonar DX review / ASUS Xonar DX review II

 

Another word of advice on SLi, if you do not plan to do it now OR in the immediate future (say 3 months later) I recommend not to go for it; buy a better graphics card from the next generation release instead of trying to SLi / CrossFire an older card as it will only increase your performance so-much and will increase the power draw of your system. Basically the returns will not be as good as the investment you make.

 

Hope this helps, Cheerio!

[chimera201]

^what same post in another thread

I agree with alpha, I don't recommend SLI or Crossfire unless u are a rich man or a crazy person.

When the time comes when u need more performance it will be time to buy a new pc or replace ur GPU

[Big Boss]

Nothing can be said without PC specs. It can be graphics card, it can be PSU or it can be RAM. Even motherboard can be culprit. Since you are able to boot up and play randomly, I am suspecting RAM and PSU the most.

Post complete PC Specs.

[sathyabhat]

Could be a PSU or GPU issue. Does your system have an IGP? Try switching over to that and see if it persists. If you keep getting BSOD run WhoCrashed and post the log here, may be that'll reveal something. But it looks like a hardware issue to me though.

 

Also run Memtest86+, see if it shows anything

[El Tigre Chino]

Faced a similar issue with my rig. I think it was the CMOS battery causing it it in my case.

[Big Boss]

lol yeah, just reset the CMOS battery first. I have seen such issues caused by CMOS.

[ALPHA17]

Facing a very strange problem with my PC. Need help from the experts.

 

My PC was working fine till yesterday. Today it just kept restarting before even reaching the Windows load screen. And it doesn't just restart immediately. First the screen goes off (monitor loses signal) and then it restarts a few secs later.

 

Then at times it would proceed to the screen where it would ask whether to load windows normally or in safe mode. The moment I selected an option, it would restart.

 

Then there are times when Windows would load and then it would restart. Once it stayed on long enough so I decided to play a video file. It restarted mid-way through a TV episode.

 

After that it again restarted a few times. It's loaded now and I'm playing that TV episode again. Should restart any second now.

 

I figured it might be a PSU issue, but it isn't. I have a brand new extra PSU and I have switched to that right now and the PC still restarts.

 

Any thoughts? Could it be a graphics card issue?

 

First check the memory (RAM) for any issues with MemTest 86+; this will either clear the RAM of any guilt OR shall show up a few 'errors'.

 

If the RAM is cleared okay, boot using an Open Source Live Disc preferably Ubuntu / Puppy Linux. See if the computer runs fine on same for extended periods. Also while you are in an Open OS 'Live session' check your HDD status using a S.M.A.R.T. detection software like --> HD Sentinel, Crystal Disk Info.

 

If using an SSD as boot drive which brand and which version, is it on the latest firmware. How old is it?

 

Not a major issue but does your system have any electrolytic capacitors, if yes then check if any of them are bulging OR have burst, this can be an issue --> Capacitor plague.

 

This is what a burst capacitor looks like --

 

Also whilst looking for the aforementioned burst-capacitors, remove your RAM from the DIMM's clean them with isopropyl alcohol OR cleaning spirits OR some alcohol based solution (like vodka, after-shave) and reseat them.

 

If you have an iGP Sire, do check output from there as well. If the iGP can run the system stably then the graphics card has failed on you.

 

CMOS battery I am not so ready to buy the theory because once that is drained the CPU-clock keeps getting reset, never had a restart issue with that out of action.

 

Hope this is helpful, Cheerio!

[El Tigre Chino]

Does it look anything like this?

 

 

 

May be a graphics card issue, that is what my 9800 looked like with a blown cap. If you have onboard graphics try removing your GPU and running the PC.

[ALPHA17]

Dont know if this will help, but when it restarts. there is a momentary vertical red band across the screen like static which leads me to believe that its a GPU issue. Again, I dont know much about this stuff

 

Will try Memtest but running an Open source OS is a little outside my xperience level

 

Graphics card is looking the likely culprit now. Which brand, type and edition? How old is it?

 

Also does your system have an iGP -- integrated Graphics Processor, try to hook up that and run the system. If you are not sure look at the rear I / O panel of your motherboard, it will have an assortment of connectors (most USB / audio out) but if it has video outputs like VGA / DVI and HDMI then you can hook up the monitor to those and see if the red bands still come up on boot OR whether system crashes OR not.

 

About Open Source OS, it is not rocket science Sire, it is easy. I will put it in steps so that it does not become over-complicated --

• Borrow OR Steal OR download an Open Source distribution (abbreviated distro), if not aware where to download this stuff, here are the links for Puppy Linux / Ubuntu ISO's.
  
• Burn the fresh ISO onto a DVD / CD OR USB drive.
  
• Start your PC. And enter the BIOS (through appropriate prompt -- F12 / DEL)
  
• Go to the boot-priority settings and make boot through USB device / disc media higher priority than the hard-drive and finally reboot after inserting the disc / thumb drive.
  
• The OS will boot automatically and will ask you what do you wish to do -- Install said OS, Run a 'live session' of said OS. Choose the latter.
  
• Now run in this live mode for a few hours and see if the system crashes. Again.

Hope this helps, Cheerio!

[Blueelvis_RoXXX]

Can someone tell me how to work Memtest? I don't see any EXE files to run. Just some bootable ISOs, a bin file and some for USB sticks and floppies

Memtest only works while the Windows has not booted yet, so you will need to burn the bootable ISO on some blank disc and then boot that first before hard disk. It should pop up a menu and you could start the test

 

make sure you leave it on for atleast a overnight.

[ALPHA17]

Can someone tell me how to work Memtest? I don't see any EXE files to run. Just some bootable ISOs, a bin file and some for USB sticks and floppies

 

Burn the ISO onto a disc, pop it into the optical drive and restart PC alternately use the a thumb drive with the ISO and associated files on it.

 

No need to mess with anything in the BIOS either, after POST the ISO will kick in and MemTest will be initialized. Run it for at-least ~7 passes. Performance scales with multi-core processors. 7 -->10 passes is more than enough in my opinion, overnight not required.

 

Do you have multiple RAM modules of varying size OR a uniform size?

 

Also, if Memtest throws up errors, then you will need to rerun it with individual module(s) in DIMM.

 

Hope this helps, Cheerio!

Edited October 26, 2012 by ALPHA17

[spindoctor]

sounds like a gpu issue to me, especially since you mention red bands.

 

if you get into windows, download gpu-z and run that (no need to install) - http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/. monitor the gpu temps and fan speed and see if that might be the issue. remember to enable logging to a file for when you crash.

 

otherwise it could be your ram. you could run memtests for 10 hours or you could just simply start removing ram sticks 1 by 1 and then checking to see stability of your pc. as in, remove 1, run the pc and see if it's stable. if not, replace the first one and remove a second one and repeat. try combinations of ram sticks and hopefully it should help.

 

if you think it might be a software problem, when you manage to boot into windows open the event viewer - http://windows.micro...en-Event-Viewer

 

once it's open, on the left pane there should be a view for administrative events. click that, let it load and scroll through the list to see if you have any errors listed there that are causing the system crash.

 

on the whole though, i still think it's a gpu issue. try borrowing someone's old gpu or something and run your pc with that. i think that will give you the best chance of getting it running stable.

Edited October 26, 2012 by spindoctor