Phalanx108

Waiting game, i guess.

Dual Chip setups or SLI/Crossfire are not always faster by default. Unless the program you are trying to run has specific support they can end up being slower than a single, higher end card.

If I could recommend a nice board for a good price, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-130-693 or for a little more, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-130-692. Intel socket 1150, and rock solid performance. I am more partial to the MSI (M/X)Power series of boards however, but the gaming ones are still really nice.

I got a pretty wrecked spine back in my early days. Busted vertebrae from T11 to L4. Still have to wear a spinal brace at times to help cope, it's stuck with me.

At the moment, I'd say the Titan isn't worth the investment. That's coming from someone with 2. They are great cards, sure, but the Titan Ultra is on the books, so you don't want to get one just so see the all new one in stores a week later :thumbsup:

I am quite interested in benching the new cards. Just a waiting game really.

If you want to be really pedantic about it, the resolution change influences FPS with older cards, but it shouldn't tank that much for sure.

Imma let you finish, but glossy screens are basically just matte screens with a glass screen protector over them. The difference you are experiencing in quality is most likely down to placebo.

Here is, unfortunately, a bit of a problem. Your PSU is weak, you'd probably need to upgrade it to run a better card. Then, once you've done that and upgraded your card, there's a big chance that the CPU will bottleneck it. The X3's were never anything special. But if you were looking at a new CPU after that, you'd likely need a new motherboard as well... Long story short, minimum would very likely require a better PSU :|

I've never had an overheated CPU cause that static sound however. Generally (if it's set to do so), the computer should just shut off. :| Then there's the whole If it were just an overheat then the issue wouldn't just go back to smooth operations after a simple restart, you'd need to let it cool back to normal range obviously. However, you are definitely correct about the small change aspect though. It shouldn't theoretically jack up the voltage for a small change, but that doesn't make it impossible... I'd need to see the computer to make a suitable diagnosis. Another thing: 60o is being a bit conservative. If it gets to 60 and stables out there, then it's perfectly fine.

Up the voltage a little, then try again. Don't crank it up to like 30v though, just do it a little at a time until it's stable at 3.5GHz.

The current GPU will suffice for now, don't stress out over the upgrade. Just get it when you can comfortably afford it. I've never heard of the Zalman GNPX7 cooler, though. Looked through my store's stock to check it out in person and we don't have any here either, so I can't help you there,

I can't fault it. It's a pretty good setup for the price you've got there. I wouldn't change anything.

If you want to splash out a little to keep it up to pace, but not as far as to get a new CPU, then I would suggest the Hyper 212+. Great cooler with solid performance at all RPM's. With a Hyper 212+ and a good thermal paste like Arctic MX-4 for example, I'd suggest about 3.9-4GHz on 1.33-1.35 V range. If you want to push the limits a little more, 4+GHz at 1.4xx V range would be pretty obtainable, but while it may be stable don't expect it to last. The lifetime of the CPU will dive down after 1.4V, at least the Phenom x4. With stock cooling... hm, probably stick with 3.5, but you could maybe go with up to 3.7GHz, on the 1.33-1.35 V range, which should suit fine. However, that boils more down to what your general ambient and case temperatures are. Naturally enough, you don't want to OC very far, if at all with stock cooling if your ambient temperature is about 30C. Let me know how you go.

Here's a run-through on how to rollback your drivers, relying on you not uninstalling the previous version. ->Go to Start, Control Panel ->Click "System" ->In the left pane, click Device Manager ->Expand "Display Adapters" ->Right click your graphics card, go to Properties ->Select the Driver Tab ->Click on Rollback Driver. After that, just do a restart and let me know how it goes. I can run you through a driver reinstall if you need.

A couple things you could try: You didn't mention anything about an update/rollback of your drivers, so you could try that. Also, if the issue is only prevalent in firefox, go to Help - Troubleshooting Information, then click Reset Firefox in the top right corner. A warning about resetting: it will keep your bookmarks, history etc, but will revert themes and addons back to default. However, it does fix a lot of problems that can arise with an old installation of firefox.

I wouldn't risk my GPU trying to do something it wasn't designed for, be careful doing any major benchmarks with it.

You've got an old mechanical IBM? I wish! Would happily buy it off you :P My boss runs an old Model M which I would gladly swap out my K90 for, the Model M is a beastly board to use.

Dead Space series. Played all 3 in 1.5 days, without sleeping. Wasn't fun crashing out after the credits of 3 finished.

I run one of these with only the OS on it on my desktop. (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_1370&products_id=22032) Rarely ever need to go into the BIOS, but when I do need to, I have to use the "Boot to Bios" button on the motherboard -.-

When it comes to graphics cards, I've floated around between Nvidia and AMD for some time, but I think (without being an overly supportive fan) that I'll stick with Nvidia from now on. Because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH6XayaLTw8 Why did they think resorting to such a childish and immature advert was such a good idea? It's beyond a joke bad, let alone stupid advertising.

Taking this conversation down to the personal level: Sad days are upon CC and myself. His old workhorse Commodore (1996 VS Series II Wagon), has died. Travelling a total of 428,540KM before the engine developed a horrible knock, she was truly an example of how reliable the old Commodores were. Only major mechanical fault was one of the "coil packs" that control cylinders 3-6 failed, causing a heavy misfire issue. Easy to fix. Often driven hard and fast, while being very much looked after mechanically, the old V6 started developing a severe knock on startup and at about 3,500RPM. When getting inspected by professionals, it turned out that at least one big end bearing was completely shot, and such was the source of the knocking. A shame, but we decided to retire the car after noticing some quite obvious dings and scrapes on the bodywork, the paint cancer starting to appear on the bonnet, and the fact that all up repairs would be the equivalent of a newer car. The Ecotec Engine isn't really easy to come by at a good cost due to all the idiots thrashing them, and so wreckers start charging more for them etc. Anyway, time for a new workhorse to replace the old. Sad days indeed, as many good times and long road trips were had in the old girl. http://i.imgur.com/buApeFk.jpg <- Odometer reading

Steam is DRM in every sense of the word! just because it has other stuff on it that adds value to it doesnt change the fact that it is DRM.. All of this. Seriously, all the people that shoot down every form of DRM while praising Steam for all it's glory.... Dude, you're praising a form of DRM. Freebies != non DRM