Is it a whole new machine?

trubster

trubster

trubster

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25 Mar 2014
Posts
83
Hi All,

I built my own machine a while back and it WAS really good, that was until I tried to play GTA 5 on it - lol

I was looking at my options to upgrade the graphics card (Its going to a 42" TV) and it appears the PCI-E2 is obsolete, so it's a new board, which is a new CPU and possibly new memory.... or is it?

I have posted my specs down below and would appreciate any recommendations ie. what can be salvaged etc.

Also, if it is new mobo, cpu etc. then I will be looking at something that will handle 1080p at 60fps, maybe 4k if it is worth getting it to "Future proof"

I am wanting to build a good gaming machine, ATM it's fine, gets 7.1 windows experience score but the graphics is really bad. ATM it crashes on a 3dmark test and sometimes it fails to boot (1 beep followed by 6) - I suspect the GPU is nackered.

Thanks in advance.

Operating System System Model
Windows 7 Professional (x64) Service Pack 1 (build 7601)
Install Language: English (United States)
System Locale: English (United Kingdom)
Installed: 08/02/2015 19:38:05
Boot Mode: BIOS (Secure Boot not supported) Enclosure Type: Desktop
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
2.80 gigahertz Intel Core i7 860
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache
8192 kilobyte tertiary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (4 total)
Hyper-threaded (8 total) Board: ASRock P55 Pro/USB3
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. P1.50 01/18/2011
Drives Memory Modules c,d
1370.18 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
1085.90 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

HL-DT-ST BDDVDRW GBC-H20L ATA Device [Optical drive]
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-222BB ATA Device [Optical drive]

OCZ-AGILITY3 [Hard drive] (120.03 GB) -- drive 0, s/n OCZ-4M7YMUI5O9WCXWHD, rev 2.22, SMART Status: Healthy
WDC WD10EADS-65L5B1 [Hard drive] (1000.20 GB) -- drive 2, s/n WD-WCAU48867045, rev 01.01A01, SMART Status: Healthy
WDC WD2500BEVT-22A23T0 [Hard drive] (250.06 GB) -- drive 1, s/n WD-WX81A3004546, rev 01.01A01, SMART Status: Healthy 16376 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM0' has 4096 MB (serial number SerNum00)
Slot 'DIMM1' has 4096 MB (serial number SerNum01)
Slot 'DIMM2' has 4096 MB (serial number SerNum02)
Slot 'DIMM3' has 4096 MB (serial number SerNum03)
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0) * 119.93 GB 21.05 GB free
d: (NTFS on drive 1) 250.06 GB 216.47 GB free
f: (NTFS on drive 2) 685.63 GB 620.63 GB free
i: (NTFS on drive 2) 314.57 GB 227.76 GB free

* Operating System is installed on c:
Network Drives
None discovered
Users (mouse over user name for details) Printers
local user accounts last logon
Trubster 13/04/2015 21:49:19 (admin)
postgres 13/04/2015 21:49:09
local system accounts
Administrator 21/11/2010 03:47:20 (admin)
Guest 08/04/2015 12:53:04
HomeGroupUser$ never

DISABLED Marks a disabled account; LOCKED OUT Marks a locked account

CutePDF Writer on CPW2:
Lexmark X364dn on USB001
Microsoft Shared Fax Driver on SHRFAX:
Microsoft XPS Document Writer on XPSPort:
Send to Microsoft OneNote 15 Driver on nul:
Controllers Display
ATA Channel 0 [Controller] (3x)
ATA Channel 1 [Controller] (3x)
Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 3B26
Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 3B20
Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series [Display adapter]
SAMSUNG [Monitor] (40.2"vis, November 2010)
Bus Adapters Multimedia
Fresco Logic xHCI (USB3) Controller FL1000 Series
Fresco Logic xHCI (USB3) Controller FL1100 Series (2x)
Fresco Logic xHCI (USB3) Root Hub (3x)
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller (2x) AMD High Definition Audio Device
High Definition Audio Device
Virus Protection [Back to Top] Group Policies
AVG Internet Security 2015
None discovered
Communications Other Devices
Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
↑ Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
primary Auto IP Address: 192.168.1.9 / 24
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Dhcp Server: 192.168.1.1
Physical Address: 00:25:22:65:39:2C
Connection Speed: 1 Gbps
↓ TAP-Windows Adapter V9
Status: Cable unplugged
Dhcp Server: none responded
Physical Address: 00:FF:34:3D:BB:68
Connection Speed: 10 Mbps
Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
↑ VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter for VMnet1
IP Address: 192.168.49.1 / 24
Physical Address: 00:50:56:C0:00:01
Connection Speed: 100 Mbps
↑ VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter for VMnet8
IP Address: 192.168.32.1 / 24
Physical Address: 00:50:56:C0:00:08
Connection Speed: 100 Mbps

Networking Dns Server: 192.168.1.1
HID-compliant consumer control device
HID-compliant device (6x)
USB Input Device (5x)
USB Input Device (Logitech Download Assistant)
Lexmark X264/X363/X364
HID Keyboard Device
HID-compliant mouse
Smart card filter driver
Microsoft Usbccid Smartcard Reader (WUDF)
Fresco Logic xHCI (USB3) Hub (2x)
Generic USB Hub (2x)
USB Composite Device (2x)
USB Printing Support
USB Root Hub (2x)
Generic volume shadow copy
Xbox 360 Controller for Windows
USB Storage Use in past 30 Days (mouse over last used for details) Hosted Virtual Machines (mouse over name for details)
Last Used
Mass Storage Device, s/n 125C20100726 03/04/2015 22:23:56*
* Possibly used again before the reboot following this time.

Name Last Used
Windows 7 x64 13/04/2015 02:05:33
 
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PCI-E gen 2 is still OK as cards are backwards compatible and for a single graphics card you'll be fine with that. The 860 is a decent CPU also - have you overclocked it? Do you know what the CPU cooler is?

Your current 6800 graphics card is the most likely limitation and should be easily remedied (do you know what make/model your PSU is?)
 
From what I recall, PCI-E 3 cards should be fully backwards compatible with PCI-E 2 boards. It was PCI-E 2 on some PCI-E 1 boards that didn't work.

That spec isn't bad, so you could just buy a new graphics card. If the PSU is the original, it may be worth changing it as well.
 
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Update the boards BIOS if there's a newer one.

Check your case for space so it can fit a long card in it.

What PSU do you have? ever tried overclocking the CPU?
 
Thanks for the responses.

The PSU was nothing special, 550w IIRC.

The "Long card" is not a problem, and the mobo has 2 x pcie2 slots in

cooling: 1 case fan, 1 intel cpu fan + heatsink then the PSU Fan

Overclocking, never ever done it although the mobo is fully customizable for OC

Bios - up to date

Budget... hmmm, not too sure on that,if it is just a GPU/psu/cooling then I would be looking around £300, if its more then I would spread it over a few weeks
 
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Just checked on speedfan, looks like the PSU needs beefing up too, the 12V is reading 11.77V - thats when idle, so possibly the strain 3DMark puts on the machine "Could" cause it to power down unexpectedly.

When idle in windows - From speedfan

3Vsb: 3.46V
Vbat: 3.98V
Vcore 0.90V
+12V: 11.77V
AVcc: 3.34V
3Vcc: 3.36V
VIN1: 0.09V
VIN2: 1.71V
Vin3: 0.10
GPU Vddc: 1.15V

System: 35C
CPU 45C
AUX: 128C (Rogue reading?)
SMIOVT4 35C
SMIOVT5: 35C
SMIOVT6: 35C
HD0: 30C
HD2: 26C
HD1 28C
Click to expand...
 
 
Cheers for that, so any bigger than 650 is a waste then? I will be looking out for a silent one (Silent idle) but at least I know its not going to be one of the stupidly expensive ones.

I am also looking at liquid cooling (in the future) - So would 650 handle that too?

Not as bad as I expected.

I did see a 970 advertised on PCW

MSI 4 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 OC PCIe Graphics Card with Grand Theft Auto V - £274.99

Not sure if this is any different (apart from branding)... which would you guys go for?
 
For a single 970 50W is all you need, 750W if you want SLI (if your board supports it).

I would go for MSI gaming, ASUS strix, Gigabyte G1 or KFA2.
 
Thanks for all the replies, after a good night at the casino I had money burning a hole in my pocket.

Just ordered these,

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (04G-P4-2974-KR) £299.99
Corsair Builder Series CX 750W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020061-UK) £79.99
Cooler Master Nepton 240M AIO Cooling Solution £79.99
Noctua NF-P12-PWM 120mm Silent Case Fan - PWM Pin £19.99
Akasa AK-FN062 Apache Black Super Silent 140mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM £14.99
Total : £504.50

GX-263-EA_60.jpg
CA-118-CS_60.jpg
HS-065-CM_60.jpg


Hopefully all goes well, then I can start Overclocking and using my PC for the purposes they were made for :D Gaming.
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
For a single 970 50W is all you need, 750W if you want SLI (if your board supports it).

I would go for MSI gaming, ASUS strix, Gigabyte G1 or KFA2.
Click to expand...


970 only needs 50W, that's amazing :P.

@OP

Build looks good, bet you can't wait to build it!
 
Tommyzz said:
970 only needs 50W, that's amazing :P.

@OP

Build looks good, bet you can't wait to build it!
Click to expand...

Nope, Can't wait, I was a bit worried on the review with the CPU Cooler (Currently running stock intel cooler) but I am guessing I need to take my time installing it.

I knew what he meant about the Watts, but I went for 750 to be "Future Proof"

I will be looking at a new Mobo, CPU, and ram when the time comes, but at least its a big step in the right direction :D
 
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