Hi, I'm needing a bit of advice

[MetA]

I'm kindof new to overclocking, and I've used 3DMark2001. I got a score of 918, and I'm betting thats not a good thing :P

Could I have some advice on setting 3DMark2001 to get the most accurate rating for my computer?

If this thread is out of place, I'll take my question to another place here if anyone comments about it.

[Steven4563]

can u list system specs ?

yes that score is low i get 18.1K as u can see in my sig :)

[Onlypro]

Welcome to Forums.

What type of system do you have? What type of video card?

If you are using integrated graphics that scores sounds right.

[Overklokking.no]

hmmm.... that sounds very low but tell us what kind of card you have.

[MetA]

I bought a sony vaio packaged pc about 3 years ago and have added some stuff to it since then. It's spec's are:

Windows XP, Pentium 4, 1.8Ghz Processor, 512 SDRam, 100Mhz Front Side Bus, 8kb L1 cache, 256kb L2 cache, "NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro" 32mb Video Card, 17Inch Moniter, an 80gb Western Digital Internal Hard Drive, a 80gb SeaGate Internal Hard Drive, and an 120Gb Maxtor External Hard drive. If I've missed anything important please say so.

[Steven4563]

its the TNT2 limiting your score

sound about right for a TNT2 tho :)

[MetA]

I want on getting a top of the line video card to overclock that's in the $200 - $300 range, was thinking about a Radeon 9800XT, but wanted to get some seasoned peoples opinions beforehand. How would that card sound, or one thats a equal alternative?

[Onlypro]

I have the same card. sub 1000 is bang on! I get about 850.

You can find a geforce 4 440mx for about $40-50 which would give you 3-5.5k on that system.

[Supertrucker]

you need to find out if your motherboatd has an agp slot, if it does, you can upgrade to a newer 9700/9800 assuming your psu is up to it, but alot of prebuilt comps dont have agp slots, and do have underpowered psu's.

[MetA]

I have an agp slot on my motherboard. what does psu mean?

[harryinny3]

To run the cards of today you need Atleast 300 watt power supply. You have to see what your sticker says on it. Also If you can give the model number of your Puter that would help to see if the PSU is a standard Layput.(screw pattern) OEM's just started a year or 2 ago Putting in standard power supplys That you can upgrade And be able to buy it anywhere, Not only from them.


Harry

[Supertrucker]

psu=power supply unit. while a rating will give a general indicator, it is by no means the true potential of a psu, a good 350watt suppy will outdo and outlast many generic 500+watt supplies. the only way to tell if your psu is up to the task is to buy a new card and see if your system is still stable, if it becomes unsatble and reboots you will probably need a new supply. if that happens, then a budget 350watt fortron/sparkle power supply from newegg is a good route, or for more money and a more recognized name you can go with an antec true power series of 430watts or more.

[MetA]

whats a few good brands of fans i should look into buying?

[Mr.Radar]

Originally posted by MetA
whats a few good brands of fans i should look into buying?

Panasonic Panaflos if you need high airflow but want low dBAs, Thermaltake Smartfan II or 2s if you can take a little more noise, Generics if you just want the cheapest price, Tornado (I think these are Vanted branded) if you absolutely need the best airflow and don't care at all about noise (these things are LOUD).

[Falcon-K]

Originally posted by MetA
I want on getting a top of the line video card to overclock that's in the $200 - $300 range, was thinking about a Radeon 9800XT, but wanted to get some seasoned peoples opinions beforehand. How would that card sound, or one thats a equal alternative?


for around 200$ you could get a 9700 pro which isnt exactly top of the line anymore, over a year and a half old but still remains fairly close to the 9800 pro, the xt to me seems a little over priced, its not a significant increase over the 9800 pro but is almost 200$ more. Get a 9700 Pro and you will be happy as can be.

[MetA]

Question #1:

I saw a few ATI Radeon 9800XT's on ebay that were sold for between 100-109$, I'm new to buying from ebay, so is that a real deal or someone trying to scam?

Question #2:
I plan on building a pc that I can continually upgrade as needed for years to come, I havent found very many full tower's on a few web sites that I know of, that have a big enough window on the side panel. I don't want to get cheap items since it could hurt my performance in the long run. What brand of full tower / mid tower is most preferable?

[harryinny3]

#1 Theres something wrong with the card if its $100. Dont believe everything you see.

#2 Antec cases are great Alot of room and they have a big window with pull out door. Goto newegg.com and look around. They have tons of beautiful cases.



Harry

[MetA]

I'm thinking about getting:
http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/aquarius/a1681.htm
But I want to watercool my hard drives as well. Do you think:
http://store.yahoo.com/directron/hdkit.html
Would be compatible with that Thermaltake watercooling system?

[harryinny3]

solution. It will work with an Antec case. It looks great on top of the case. Also If youd like, Tt makes towers that in color will match your water cooler. They are a few dollars more, But they are nice.

Since your Getting water cooling, See if you can buy the case without the fans, This will bring down the price, Both cases ive mentioned usually have atleast 7 fans, The Tt has 11 somewhwere, LOL. My friends did.

The HD cooler should work. Im not useing water cooling, so cant say It definately will. But it looks like it will.

BTW, That watercooling system your looking at is the same one i want. Im Gelouse man. Buy me one? LOL.

Harry

[MetA]

Just a few cases I liked when I was browsing the lists:

http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=11-144-017-01.JPG/11-144-017-09.JPG/11-144-017-10.JPG/11-144-017-08.JPG/11-144-017-07.JPG/11-144-017-04.JPG/11-144-017-05.JPG/11-144-017-02.JPG/11-144-017-06.JPG/11-144-017-03.JPG

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-134&catalog=7&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

The first one isnt by antec but had 5 cdrom bay's instead of 4, But I doubt I'll need 5, what's your opinion?

EDIT: Along with the first question, what do you think of these addon's?

http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=13-999-215-02.JPG/13-999-215-03.JPG

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-999-216&depa=1

They probably wont be needed since I'm going for watercooling, But they are something good to look at if someone prefer's fans over watercooling.

[harryinny3]

First case is nice, My buddy has one almost like it, But his is a couple steps up with lighted X on it.

Second case is like mine, But my window is wider. Where the strap is on the right side of window, Mine is window instead of metal.

Both are very good choices.

As for the Monitors, I have One almost like the second. They are nice.



Harry

[MetA]

Where did you get your case from? I want to see if I could replace the current cases window if I am unable to find the case with the window I want.

[harryinny3]

I got mine at compusa. Grrrr. But its exactly like the antec, and the antec door will fit. Also the front Bazel sp? Is replaceable with an antec replacement or upgrade.

The case was only $75 where as the antec was $100.


Harry

[MetA]

I was thinking about the aluminum cases and the normal plastic cases, do you think it makes a difference? I've asked around and got mixed reviews

[harryinny3]

But a metal, or aluminum case will disapate heat a bit better.


Harry

[MetA]

This is offsubject but, I just found a prog called Bandwidth controller manager, and I bet theres alot of people who have little brother's who turned on downloads and went to sleep while the bigger brother is up at night trying to work, this program is total sweetness :P http://www.Bandwidthcontroller.com (I think)

Getting back on subject, How much do you think I could overclock a 1.8 ghz processor and a 32mb video card, giving that the best watercooling is in place? I don't think I'll know without testing first. :P

[harryinny3]

What kind of proggy, and what Vid card we talking about?


Harry

[MetA]

Bandwidth controller, it can control how much bandwidth is sent and recieved from any computer on your network. My video card is a 32mb RIVA TNT2 video card