New computer (backbone) build. Opinions? - by SubJeff
Brian The Dog on 15/9/2010 at 22:01
I think so, Windows needs to interrogate the hardware at startup to see what the various settings are so it can interface properly, so all devices will be working early on in the boot-up. Of course, the BIOS may do a lot of this for Windows, but that just pushes things back a stage - Windows will still ask the BIOS for all the settings.
Things like IRQ/DMA etc may be invisible to users these days, but the system archtecture is still present, it just is all handled behind the scenes by either the BIOS or Windows. All that automatic configuring needs device interrogation.
Glad you've got it working :)
Disturbation on 20/9/2010 at 11:37
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
It was the psu. Had a 580W which definitely wasn't sufficient and it's all ok with the new 750W. When I had a cpu use meter I always remember there being a huge spike just as Windows started. Does the psu need to give out an extra kick just at that point?
Your old PSU was just broken, 580W was most definitely sufficient both for your old and new systems, and going as high as 750W is unnecessary unless you're going to opt for a high power SLI combo and/or overclocking. Even the most powerful stock-clock single GPU systems peak just short of 400W, though you obviously want a margin, so at least a 500W PSU is to be recommended for most normal gaming systems.
Also, what brands are your old and new PSU:s? If there's a single piece of your computer where the manufacturer really matters, it's PSU:s. A bad PSU can reduce the lifetime of your computer parts, and is more liable to break down, possibly taking other parts with it.
As for memory, OCZ, Corsair and Kingston are all reputable brands.
SubJeff on 20/9/2010 at 17:30
Power calculators said I need at least 550w and since I may use the 8800 as a physics card I reckoned I should have a good margin.
lost_soul on 20/9/2010 at 20:25
I've also been looking at new hardware, though I'm still happy with this Asus g50vt laptop. I found a Phenom x6 1055 T with 4 gigs of ram and a 650 watt PSU for $500, but it isn't so good in the gaming benchmarks. Even a quad AMD 965 gets more FPS and is cheaper! I saw a gtx460 for $189 on pricewatch.
Renzatic on 22/9/2010 at 20:26
Yup, if you're intending on using your comp most to play games, the Phenom II 965 is the much better option. Those extra cores won't net you any advantages whatsoever. Plus the 965 is able to keep up with everything but the two top end i7 chips in game performance for practically a quarter of the price. It'd be the chip to go for if you want a solid performing, not too terribly expensive machine.
