View Full Version : Crashing Problem...
... Okay this is starting to drive me insane now!!
Our media poota downstairs is being a pain in the bum. Every so often it decides it wants to crash. It seems to be a regular thingy which happens when:
1. I open "too many" files in PS3 (not so regular until recently)
2. I look at FB photos and flick through them
3. Watching any videos (I would say only on youtube but then, I don't really watch videos anywhere else)
Normally it just reboots, sometimes though it will freeze and you will have to restart it.
All drives are only half full and defragged nicely. I canny see why there'd be a virus on the poota but am just grabbing AVG again to check it, but in all honesty it's been like this since we've built it (always had problems with videos... it's SUPER bothering me it's happening with pics now and my work).
Any ideas before I throw it out the window?
Thanks in advance :)
Davey_Pitch
02-06-2009, 10:21
Have you tried upgraded all your drivers? Microsoft updates? If you're just grabbing AVG, did you not have an anti-virus program on there previously?
Check the event log. Sometimes it gives a clue on what happened and what driver/component coughed. Do you use XP or Vista? The instructions on how to view and read the log differ between them IIRC.
Ermmm with regards to anti virus stuff.. I was convinced we had something on here but I canny find anything :/
With the little help from Desmo I'm just downloading new graphic card drivers... though apparently the previous drivers are relatively new (and this has been happening since we've had the darn thing).
Not checked log (not sure how!).... am on XP :)
If the graphics driver update doesn't fix it, the event log can be viewed by
Right clicking My Computer > Click Manage.
On the left, in the System Tools tree, expand Event Viewer. Big crashes like this should be marked in the 'System' log. Look for a red X type entry at the time of the crashes. If you find one that matches, paste the log info and we'll see if we can decipher it.
Davey_Pitch
02-06-2009, 10:50
Event log....
Start -> Settings-> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer
You should seen entries in the Application section with a red cross that indicate an error of some kind. Match the time of the entry with the time of your system crashes and see if anything looks obvious. You can always copy and paste the entry here if you like :)
Edit: Far too slow :p
Run > eventvwr.msc tbh :p Or more typically compmgmt.msc
[edit]Sorry, geeky and unhelpful :o
Instant Reboot = BSOD but set to auto recover most likely, it might be helpful if you set that back so you can see the BSODs.
Personally, with behaviour like that i'd be swapping around sticks of RAM and running Memtest86+. Sounds like a possible dodgy stick of RAM that's gradually dying even more.
If it is blue screening, send me the crash dumps from C:\Windows\Minidump and I'll take a peek for you :) There'll either be an obvious culprit or it'll be general hardware problem - memory/power supply kind of oddness.
Well I installed the driver and at the end it said it couldn't do something with the display driver and that the possible solution for that would be to reinstall the display driver (que?!)
Restarted poota though as it told me to and checked the drivers - they were updated. Had a browse of photos... no problem... opened up a video on youtube... no problem... opened up a load of files in CS3... no problem. Closed them all down and thought "Woo hoo!" and tried opening up another youtube vid and within a second it froze and I needed to restart it :(
Booo!
The events log... well... I'll screen shot for you :)
Linky to Screenshot... (http://pheebeh.googlepages.com/Screenshoterrors.jpg)
So the Error before it crashed was:
The SSPORT service failed to start due to the following error:
The system cannot find the file specified.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
but prior to that there was a warning:
Your computer was not able to renew its address from the network (from the DHCP Server) for the Network Card with network address 0030BDF74C1C. The following error occurred:
The operation was canceled by the user. . Your computer will continue to try and obtain an address on its own from the network address (DHCP) server.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Looking through the events log there isn't normally a warning there - just a red error thingy so not sure what happened there!
Thank you for your help people! :D
*edit* No BSOD's here though :) Just random crashing/freezing!
*edit* No BSOD's here though :) Just random crashing/freezing!
You obviously missed a bit of what I said, XP can be set so that on a BSOD it automatically reboots instantly, so in the case it may be a remote machine etc. it doesn't require some poor sod to drive 20 miles at 4am to reboot it.
Go to Start -> Control Panel -> System
Go to Advanced
Under the Startup and Recovery section, click Settings...
Under System Failure un-check "Automatically restart" if it is ticked.
If it's already unchecked then you aren't getting BSODs, if it is ticked you might be getting them but not seeing them.
The Wireless driver could be an issue (my D-Link drivers have been terrible, used to cause regular crashes due to certain network activity) so it may be worth seeing if there are updated versions of those about.
Ooh see I read it but then forgot whilst I was posting back ;D
Should I set up the BSOD gumph then and then make my poota crash again!? Seems easy enough to do :p
How'd I check my wireless drivers are updated?
If it has been crashing, there will be files in C:\Windows\Minidump. If there are, send them to me, and I might be able to tell you what's happening :)
Well the BSOD thing you can do that, or as said just before that, look for the Minidumps as they'll be there anyway if the BSODs are happening. I suppose they'd be more useful if you sent those to Daz anyway, so you may as well do that.
As for wireless drivers, it'll be case of knowing what the card is, finding the latest ones on the website and comparing the numbers to what you can find on your PC.
I'd go with sending any minidumps to Daz if they are there first, as he may be able to gain more insight from them.
If there are no BSODs/minidumps it might be possible it's just overheating but usually that only causes lock ups, not reboots.
If it has been crashing, there will be files in C:\Windows\Minidump. If there are, send them to me, and I might be able to tell you what's happening :)
Unless of course it's set to not save minidumps.
Pheebles, check the following. Right click on My Computer, choose properties. Go to advanced, then click settings under 'startup and recovery.' Under system failure set 'write debugging information' to 'Small memory dump' then note the location of the dump file, it's probably something like %systemroot%\Minidump. Press OK a few times to exit.
You should now get somethign saved into c:\windows\minidump which we can analyse.
Oooh okie!
Just made it crash again and it froze and there was no BSOD! Boo!
What email should I ping across the minidump to Daz? I can see two there but ones dated back to December last year!!
It is by default though - never known anyone turn it off :)
[edit] If they're silly old then they wont be relevant, but you can send them to me anyway (msn address <-- over there)
Oh wait... the minidumps I have in there... both are ancient. Ones like I said in December 2008 and the other is from March... I can still send them over though?
Boo to my silly poota!
Oooh okie!
Just made it crash again and it froze and there was no BSOD! Boo!
What email should I ping across the minidump to Daz? I can see two there but ones dated back to December last year!!
If the machine is set to automatically restart (it's a tickbox on the same place where you set the minidump options) then you most likely won't see the BSOD as it'll restart.
It's not on auto restart... I unticked that box :)
Ahhh rubbish. It's now crashing when I type my emails.
(When I say crashes, as in it freezes and the screen goes fuzzy... I have to restart it)...
Bum. Bum bum bum bum.
Any ideas from the warnings/screenshots people?
*thinks she's gonna back up her poota before it happens again*
LeperousDust
02-06-2009, 12:19
Sounds more like a heat issue then if there aren't any BSOD's...
Yeah, heat or power. If it's been working for a while I'd say heat simply because it's pretty warm at the moment!
Indeed, random lock ups would point to heat or power most commonly, though i've not known of either to cause actual reboots.
Screen going 'fuzzy' suggests to me that the graphics card might be getting hot - when was the last time you gave the insides a clean? :p
Might be worth installing a temperature monitor like Speedfan if you can, see what sort of temperatures things are sitting at (along with telling us what the system is)
Hmmm I dunno when we last checked it's innards. I haven't... I'm not allowed to touch pootas to dismantle et al. I end up proper breaking them!
lol I'm really not the person to be sorting this as I am uber clueless! I just don't want to dump it all on Picky as I know he hates sorting out this stupid computer.
Thing is... if it is heat... then why does it tend to only happen when looking at videos/piccies in the past? It was "crashing" throughout the winter too when it was flipping freeeeeeeeeezing! I just... I don't think I can believe it's all to do with the heat...
Bum.
I think I'm going to have to ask Picky to look at it as I really canny use it when it crashes like... every 20mins.
Well if a heatsink is sat funny or a fan seized up etc. then the ambient temperature would be largely irrelevant. Install Speedfan and see what it says.
Okie poke... it's up and running... what kind of stuff do I need to be looking for?!
Well it should just say on the main tab when it opens (assuming it hasn't changed) a list of temperatures on the right hand side somewhere.
CPU, SYS etc. Might as well list everything it's showing.
It can also be set to log temperatures so you could possibly see if temperature spikes are occurring before lock ups.
Okie pokie..
GPU: 0C (?)
System: 37C
CPU: 41C
AUX: 41C
HD0: 35C
Temp1: 40C
Core: 37C
Every so often the CPU flits upwards a bit to 42C... same with AUX.
If I make it crash again will I be able to look back at logs then?
*runs off to make it crash*
Those all seem absolutely fine, so unless it's spiking for some reason it would seem unlikely to be CPU overheating. GPU is another matter and would need a different application to monitor its temperature. The only thing that makes me suspect GPU is the fact you said the screen went 'fuzzy'.
Sometimes the screen freezes and other times it just... mashes up everything on the screen and kind of blurs it.
Are there any proggies out there I can find to check my "GPU"?
The only one I can think of is RivaTuner but you would have the ability to break things with that as it's far more than just a monitoring application.
Screen corruption can often be caused by an overheating GPU (graphics card) or corrupt/damaged graphics memory (usually physically separate from system memory but may not be, depending on the spec of the machine).
*doesn't think it's a good idea she plays with something she could potentially then entirely break the poota with*
Thank you for your help so far peoples :) I think I will try and plod on with work and wait til Picky gets back to have a looky for me.
If it continues to crash I think I will just go do something constructive in the house otherwise I will end up jumping on it until the case breaks and then finding some big enormous high heels to march about on the innards with ;D
Did the graphics card driver update do anything?
If not it looks like a dying GPU or PSU I'm afraid.
Nup. It's got worse if anything ;D
I hope it's like... just requiring a kick up the bum :D I don't know how costly these things are to mend!
Thank you everymabody so far :) You've all been awesome :D
Depends what's wrong with as to whether you needed a new one or new bits and how much they'd be. If it came to the worst the whole thing could be replaced for £250-£300 I expect. You won't have to do that though, I suspect something like a broken graphics cards may turn out to be the culprit (£40-£60)
*gleeeeeep* Lets hope not £250 - £300!
I've been on it for 20mins and no crashing! Woo woo!
*quietly finishes off VAT gumph before it dies again*
Admiral Huddy
02-06-2009, 16:45
Want me to pop my screwdriver in to your socket :p
LeperousDust
02-06-2009, 17:00
What graphics card is it? Use GPU-z to find out properly, there were a whole host of dodgy Nvidia graphics cards that could very well cause this problem (or BSOD's depends hwo they break). Its to do with the layers of PCB splitting from the copper tracing and solder. Ironically a short time in the over can fix it, and its what i'll be doing with my laptop when it all flares up. Its a very similar problem to the xbox fault...
Hi all.
THis is a real pain in the arse. The last few systems I've built seem to have this random restart problem. When we had vista on this computer it happened A LOT but not so often with XP, so we've stuck with xp for the past year or so...
At that time I ran memtest et al. and nothing came up. I've always considered GPU is to blame as it tends to crash with video decoding and stuff. Vid card in an onboard card on the ABIT NF-M2 nView mobo.
I've reseated the CPU once before incase it was heat. TBH I'm utterly stumped and this keeps happening when I build computers :( :(
Psymonkee
02-06-2009, 17:41
Not possibly a mobo/RAM compatibility issue ala ASUS/OCZ per chance?
Is there any RAM hat has know issues with Abit?
What brand/type of PSU do you use for your builds?
A wide range icraig. This one is one that came with the Antec case...
I dont suppose anyone has a spare PCIe gfx card that we could try out?
Antec PSUs are usually OK. The one in my Antec Verso case is a bit noisy at times, but that's just the fan causing trouble (I do like breaking fans :/)
Sadly, I don't have a spare PCI-e card, but hopefully someone will. That'd be my guess too.
PS - If the graphics card has an on-board power connector, then I hope you plugged a power cable in there. Common mistake - though usually PCs don't even boot if you do that.
He's using the onboard. Has the motherboard's chipset drivers etc all been installed?
Oops, didn't spot that. Good idea with the chipset drivers.
OooOOooh. Techy stuff! I think Pickys miffed off I've started bugging him about it again ;D He says he's tried most stuff and is pretty mooed off with it... he's gonna try and take a look at it this weekend, though I'm sure he'll post again before hand :)
Thanking you again for helping us :D
I'll see if I have a spare PCIe card knocking about at work. If I have I'll give it to Tink and Thursday for hand delivery :)
update - just pulled computer out of its cubby hole and opened it up. A little dust in the vents etc but I've seen worse on a working amachine. Gonna run it like this for a while and see if crashing persists, if not, I'll assume it overheating. If it does, I'll try a different PSU. If still no joy, I'll try and source a gfx card.. after that, I guess I'll repeat the checks I did when I built it... i.e memtest, drivers, bios etc.
****ing machines
[/John Connor]
Tis driving me nuts now. Those of you who may have me on MSN will frequently see me on and offline throughout the day due to it crashing.
Don't know what you guys think of this, but when I go here: http://www.exe-coll.ac.uk/College/Prospectus.aspx and then click on the top prospectus of the page, the poota freezes every time. It's guaranteed.
:(
Do you think it's because of the graphics? Maybe it's something to do with opening flash/Java/shockwave with it freezing in facebook gallery and youtube (and photoshop?).
Should we get a new graphics card mebbe?
Psymonkee
10-06-2009, 22:38
Problem still exists after a format/re-install as well?
(just tried searching and nothing mentioned....)
NokkonWud
10-06-2009, 22:52
Have you disabled all processes on boot up that you can and removed all unneccessary hardware?
I used to get system lockups when my sound card was on its way out before, which was one I wouldn't have guessed.
OK. I've swapped PSUs, GFX, turned off the VFD panel on the case, unplugged wireless card and gone to ethernet, and its still crashing/freezing/locking up.
Things I haven't tried (and not sure If I can)...
* swapping memory (its DDR 2 in the one that crashes, and my other computer just uses DDR - so I need to check if its compatible)
* Motherboard
* CPU
* HDD
I guess it could be a software issue with something... :/
I'm gonna let memtest run for an hour or so and see if it picks up anything... but to be honest, I'm all out of ideas now.... and have NO IDEA where to turn :(
Memory is quite often the culprit.
I think I've got some DDR2 knocking about the office, I'll take a look.
I've found 2 x 1Gb DDR2 PC2-5300, fully buffered. One of them is still sealed, think I bought them for a server and ended up using 4Gb DIMMs instead.
Want me to chuck it in the post?
well memtest doesnt appear to show errors... If u still think its worth a go, id love for u to pop them in... The post.
Memtest can occasionally give false results. You could try a full scan with mpmemory but you'll be waiting a few days for it to complete.
The RAM is sitting here gathering dust so I'll shove it on the post and it should be with you tomorrow.
I'd go with RAM too. After that, I'd go with the motherboard next.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for RAM being the thing... tho tbh I'm not that hopeful!!
Could try running some sort of Linux Live disc in the meantime? If that runs solid as a rock it might indicate the issue is with windows/a driver/dodgy software?
The plot thickens... two DDR2 chips but notch in different locations (ergo, I cant test the memory, despite Paul's immense helpfulness!)
http://roger.picton.googlepages.com/ddr2ish.jpg
I assumed all DDR2s were the same.. nowhere on the web seems to suggest otherwise...
Mobo manual says "Supports Dual CHannel DDR2 800 Un-buffered ECC/Non-ECC Memory" (240 pins)
I've found 2 x 1Gb DDR2 PC2-5300, fully buffered.
^^ That'll be why. Buffered and Non-buffered are different, buffered won't work in a 'home' PC.
In addition to bandwidth and capacity variants, modules can
3. Be fully buffered modules, which are designated by F or FB and do not have the same notch position as other classes. Fully buffered modules cannot be used with motherboards that are made for registered modules, and the different notch position physically prevents their insertion.
aha! Thank you divine wikipedia!
Ooh, you learn something new every day!
OH MY GAWD! Briggy just popped over with some sticks of RAM, and no crashing as of yet, despite hitting all the sites that usually crash the computer :D :D Will obviously leave it go for a day or so and see if its absolutly fixed.. then in the market for some new memory! :D
*keeps fingers crossed*
Re-sult, and kudos for the donation. :)
If you want a quick(ish) answer as to how stable it is, try this (after checking with Briggy that he's OK with you running stress tests :)):
Download Prime95 (http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=103)
Unzip all the files.
Run Prime95.exe
Click 'Just stress testing'.
Select the 'Custom' option and set 'Min FFT size' to 4096. Click OK.
Let it run for an hour or two. If it's still going, you can quit it. You must use the 'Exit' option for this (closing the window just puts it in the tray).
Warning: I'd recommend good cooling for this. It will do exactly what it says - stress testing.
If it makes it through that, you're probably good. :)
Cheers Mark.
Wheres a good place to get memory, and what brand should I get? Geil? ebuyer and dabs don't seem to stock it?
I always buy memory from Crucial (http://www.crucial.com/uk/).
GeIL is OK but nothing special. I've used OCZ, Corsair, and Crucial over recent years - none of which have caused me any grief. With prices the way they are the difference between top and bottom end isn't much.
I always buy memory from Crucial (http://www.crucial.com/uk/).
Just bought my laptop memory from them :)
http://www.dabs.com/products/ocz-technology-2x2gb-240dimm-pc2-6400-gold-4KZM.html
crucial seems expensive? is 4 gig overkill?
whilst here - may also upgrade from the onboard gfx... but need something pretty quiet for a media computer... any suggestions?? I'm surprised to see some geforce 9 cards for less than £40... which seem tempting...
I get whoever I can find cheapest out of Corsair, GeIL or Crucial most of the time, with a slight preference to Corsair. I tend to avoid OCZ as i've seen too many funny niggly compatibility problems with recent systems.
may also upgrade from the onboard gfx... but need something pretty quiet for a media computer... any suggestions?? I'm surprised to see some geforce 9 cards for less than £40... which seem tempting...
You want quiet? You got it...
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductID=894897
It's very far from top of the line, but I'm sure it'll drive a media PC no problem at all, and you can't get quieter than passive (though it's a good idea to ensure your system cooling is up to the job).
as much as I used to love ATI, with an nvidea motherboard.. I kinda l;ike the idea of nvidea.. is that silly / daft?
Briggykins
24-07-2009, 23:17
Stress test away btw - if it can't cope with it I don't want it anyway :)
I have 4x1Gb sticks of GeIL Ultra DDR2 800 here if you want it? few beer tokens? Dunno what it is worth tbh!
You want quiet? You got it...
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductID=894897
It's very far from top of the line, but I'm sure it'll drive a media PC no problem at all, and you can't get quieter than passive (though it's a good idea to ensure your system cooling is up to the job).
actually.. I dunno if I can find a comparable Nvidia...
this one
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168749 but its not passively cooled..
same for this one http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149112/
but neither really match up for the price... should I go ATi? or have I opened a can of worms? ;)
An ATI card with Nvidia is no issue, I used to do it with the NForce 4 motherboards and an ATI X1900XTX. Given what you will be using the machine for, I would just go passive, either brand is not going to make a difference really.
What case do you have? For passive cooled stuff you will need some airflow around the case.
An ATI card with Nvidia is no issue, I used to do it with the NForce 4 motherboards and an ATI X1900XTX. Given what you will be using the machine for, I would just go passive, either brand is not going to make a difference really.
What case do you have? For passive cooled stuff you will need some airflow around the case.
We have got an antec fusion case, although admittedly at the moment its in a cubby hole. The Air flow seems alright however, with two big fans running at lowest speed.
Snap! My media PC is also in an Antec Fusion case. I've been very impressed with them - keeping a fully-loaded Q6600 in the 50-55c range. Only problem I had was that one of the Antec TriCool fans in the side of mine died (I replaced both with Noctua fans). There is a vent in the top of the case lined up with the graphics card slot which should help with air flow there.
Cubby hole could be a problem though - they tend to trap hot air unfortunately. I've got mine on an open glass TV stand so it gets plenty of air.
When looking for cards, considering the usage (you use this for media dont you, or have i imagined that?), look at which ones have the best AV features. For example a quick look at that 4550 mentioned some stuff about HD/BluRay playback, whereas i'm not sure how the 9400/9500GT compares in that department.
That's where I would focus my comparisons as power wise, nothing in that price range is going to set the world on fire anyway.
they all seem to outspec my 7800 gtx upstairs ;P
They might have bigger numbers but they're all massively massively slower than a 7800GTX.
Trouble is, the numbers you need to compare GPUs are not the numbers they advertise with. Ultimately the speeds in MHz they advertise are only comparable between cards using the same chip.
Your 7800GTX (assuming 512mb) for example has a 54.4GB max bandwidth with a 256bit bus, with a pixel fillrate of 8,800MP/s, texture fillrate of 13,200MT/s and a vertex fillrate of 1,100MV/s
9400GT for example has... 12.8GB bandwith with a 128bit bus, with pixel fillrate of 2,200MP/s and texture fillrate of 4,400MT/s
They might have bigger numbers but they're all massively massively slower than a 7800GTX.
now I'm confused... I'm thinking it will still be a BIG BIG step up from the geforce 6xxx onboard gfx I'm currently using anyway yes?
It would be nice to be able to play games well on it too... hmm.
It will be a step up from the onboard because that'll be a GeForce 6100 or 6200 or something.
It won't be even near the performance of your 7800GTX though for example unless you increase budget slightly. That said, it would depend what games you wanted to play really.
well I think noise becomes an issue with higher spec cards doesnt it.
I dont need a high powered gaming machine.. I mean, pheebs does intensive design work and the onboard manages that, so just a little extra beef so the odd casual game could be played would be nice.. I think Mark's recommendation should be ok... dont need super high settings on any games I do play.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4650_OC/6.html
That might help you pick out a card from the 9400GT/9500GT/HD4550/HD4650
right
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512Mb-Sapphire-HD4670-Ultimate-PCI-E-VGA-Card
That's a 4670, £20 more than a 4650.
How is the rest of the PC made up? You won't notice the fan on something like a 4650 if you have a few others in the PC anyway. I wouldn't get too hung up on getting a passively cooled card unless the rest of the PC is pretty much silent.
That's a good card though, will do you well.
Let me go pop the lid on my Fusion case. I'm a bit concerned about clearances with the heatsink on that one.
And fair point about having a fan on the card. I've got the fans ramped up on mine at the moment but by far the loudest fan I have is the one I cable tied on to the hard drive cage to help with airflow there (a fan you wont have as it's a custom mod).
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB-Gigabyte-HD4670-PCI-E-20%28x16%29-2000MHz-GDDR3-GPU-750MHz-320-Cores-D-Sub-DL-DVI-I-HDMI
That would be a good alternative if Mark doesn't reckon that heatsink will fit.
I'm back, and I was right to be concerned. It's hard to judge precisely but I suspect that big heatsink will get in the way of putting the lid back on the case.
I've checked sizes and it seems like it'll go. SO I've ordered it :p
edit. Ah.
It's going to be a very close call, but I hope you're right. Good luck. :)
PS - Close enough that you might be able to use the lid as a heatsink. ;D
If it doesn't fit you can always send it back under DSR or something. Or be manly and cut a hole in the case ;)
4670 comes with UVD2.2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Video_Decoder#UVD_2) as well.
If it does fit, I might even consider it. It's probably no upgrade from my 3850 but I'll be needing another card when I do my next build and I could put the 3850 in that and go passive in the media PC.
tee hee. just [phoned up and cancelled it :) silly me!!
It wont Mark http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16742317
so may go for this http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512Mb-Sapphire-HD-4670-DDR3 same one, but without silent cooling. THo I've heard the 4670s a lot fo the time dont have a fan throttle - so run at 100% all the time?
Shame, so I was right. Glad you got it cancelled. I would have waited before getting one but didn't expect it to be that far out.
Seems that there's no fan control in ATI's control centre for those cards. Don't know about running at 100% though.
gah ffs now I'm looking at 4770 cards and £70 expense.
<rams head into floor>
4770 is an exceptionally good value card, performs on a par with a 4850 almost.
Very quick cards the 4770s.
Always a card that confused me as it was released cheaper than the 4830 and performs faster and was much cheaper than the 4850, though the 4850 can be had around £80 now.
Don't do that. We've already got enough injured people on BD. :p
Best advice is to figure out what you need and get that. Now you just have to tell me to do the same. ;D
Bear in mind with bigger cards that you don't have many available slots in those cases due to using mATX motherboards. In other words, don't block off future expansion options without thinking it through first. :)
4770 should be single slot cooling.
edit - actually, no, i was thinking of something else.
They're all double slot.
RIght. I know now what I want:
Sapphire 4670 DDR4
this seems VERY rare as most are ddr3, but the ddr4 has better cooling from what I see. I've been hunting but cant seem to find anywhere with it in stock :(
From what I can tell it's a discontinued model, which is why you're having trouble. Best bet would be to try and hunt down a second hand one. Good luck.
Matblack
25-07-2009, 19:16
Don't get hung up on it you probably don't need the power of even the cheapest card available and most passive ones with work fine with a reasonable air flow, I have an old 8600 GTS passive here in my media box and the cellar isn't the coolest of places, its never skipped a beat and played Guild Wars fine, its not like you want to run the latest games maxed out, that what a 360 is for :D
MB
Ahh you're right Mr black. Gone for the cheaper option of the 4670 (albeit with a fan) if its obscenely noisy, I'll look into a 3rd party option. At least this way I will have a bit more confidence in the computer...
Thanks all - hopefully this concludes the computer woes of Pheckers.
Does that mean memory testing has been successful? If so, wohoo. :)
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