Originally by Powerslide
LET'S MAKE THIS WORK PEOPLE!

Okay, now as anyone could see there are HUNDREDS of tech threads floating around in CD - ranging from questions about graphics hardware, to questions about pricier graphics hardware and other tech such as monitors, hard drives and Processors to announcement threads of new technology and more. (I accede - I'm not being very eloquent here)

Any questions you have, tech news or ANYTHING related to buying/selling/information/announcements of new hardware should go here.

For example, if you come to the forums to ask "What is the better graphics hardware" or "What sort of RAM should I put in my PC?" then it should go here - I'm a little hazy, I know - but please keep all those graphics card and tech questions to one thread! Please!
So here's the summary, all:

• Announcements and queries on new or unreleased tech
  
• Benchmarks and results of hardware/discussion
  
• Questions on what sort of hardware you need/want for your machine
  
• Questions about existing tech and/or function
  
• Pricing and recommendations

Should be kept to THIS THREAD.

This has been A-okayed by CCNA for all who were wondering - it's up to you to stop filling CD with the same topics again and again that ask what the most powerful card in existence is so you can (not) buy it.

If you feel you have a question or can answer one - please feel free to do so.


Thanks all.
Adding more links shortly, thank you for your patience.

(Threads 1-85 have been all pruned, may they rest in peace)

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1079401-the-community-tech-thread-%2386/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1084024-the-community-tech-thread-no-87/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1090141-the-community-tech-thread-no-88/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1094900-the-community-tech-thread-no-89/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1102258-the-community-tech-thread-no-90/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1108118-the-community-tech-thread-no-91/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1112884-the-community-tech-thread-no-92/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1118559-the-community-tech-thread-no-93/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1145193-the-community-tech-thread-no-94/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1153130-the-community-tech-thread-no-95/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1160717-the-community-tech-thread-no-96/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1167952-the-community-tech-thread-no-97/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1176772-the-community-tech-thread-no-98/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1180239-the-community-tech-thread-no-99/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1188969-the-community-tech-thread-no-100/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1199194-the-community-tech-thread-no-101/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1207079-the-community-tech-thread-no-102/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1217232-the-community-tech-thread-no-103/

Do I also have to put a big glowing neon sign to this in my signature? THERE ARE TOO MANY TECH THREADS - THIS IS NOT A FORUM FOR YOUR TECH WOES!

But we will gladly help you anyway.

Honour list:
Nottheking
Lord Athanar (SUPER-PINK!)
Insaneturbo13
Anothercanadian
Tig Ol' Bitties (Moderator)
Dogsbody
CCNA (Moderator)
Níeh?ggr
wolfpup
Wierd
Softnerd
wingus
DEFRON
Qwaxalot
iGuess


Oh and PLEASE, if you want us to "Build" you a PC, please indicate the following:
1.) your budget in your country's currency
2.) what country you reside if not listed in your avatar area
3.) pre-assembled PC? ...or can you build your own?
4.) what is needed other than the PC tower? Monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, Windows OS disc? All these can jack up the price.
5.) product preferences, preferred seller, and intended aim

but please, no "I want teh superererest Peecee evar1!!!!11!1", because really, only Bill Gates has that much moolah.


And, speaking of building your own PC, two sets of good how-to videos from Newegg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok&feature=related

Thanks to SpankyTheElf for finding these additional ones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CStOC0hET8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3buj5cIh2Bs&feature=related



Other useful links

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/983941-a-freeware-guide/page__p__14225246__fromsearch__1#entry14225246
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2
http://www.overclock.net/graphics-cards-general/502403-graphics-card-ranking-5th-time-last.html
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/articles.php?articleid=132
http://www.memtest86.com/
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/
http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm
http://www.irfanview.com/
http://www.knoppix.org/
http://www.jonnyguru.com/
http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/183810-faq-recommended-power-supplies.html
http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/715889-psu-articles.html#post9110838
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/
http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/
http://tftcentral.co.uk/
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark06/
http://www.fraps.com/
http://trinityhome.org/Home/index.php?wpid=1&front_id=12

From previous thread....






Good I asked. Most people here are in the US and newegg gets posted a lot, but they won't ship to you. What part of Aus? Check out your local Umart for components:
http://umart.com.au/

Case: http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=139&bid=2&sid=74349...or whatever case
CPU: http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=13&bid=2&sid=71642
MOBO: http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&bid=2&id2=106&sid=73935
RAM: http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=153&bid=2&sid=74661
GPU: http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=82&bid=2&sid=68113
PSU: http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=140&bid=7&sid=65242
HDD: http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=129&bid=7&sid=40795
DVD: http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=20&bid=2&sid=70276

About $850 AUD right there.

If you plan to overclock the 2500K, need a better CPU Cooler. The http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=54&bid=2&sid=52900 is a solid and inexpensive choice





I'm not much of a fan of Crossfire or SLI due to higher power requirements, more heat, games/drivers compatibilty, and the space claim taking up slots. Yes, the Radeon 6990 is bascailly two 6970's in Crossfire. Two Radeon 6970's can be had cheaper than the overpriced 6990.

However, I'd rather much suggest you something like a GTX 580 instead...most powerful single GPU card in the market right now that'll run anything. No need for uber PSU, no extra heat-build-up, less driver/game issues, and most of your other slots are free. Or wait for the next lineup of cards likely starting with AMD's 7xxx series...probably hear more about it near end of the year

Thanks so much for your help, you truly hold a wealth of knowledge!
Not to drag this on anymore and become a pest but how do you see that rig running Battlefield 3? and how will performance be running Skyrim on a 1080p monitor?
thanks for your assistance

EDIT: Would it be worth holding out for the new GPU's to be released and then purchase the Sapphire Radeon 6870 so it's price will have dropped?

Hmm. I'd been looking at Crossfire for my build because 1) it seemed like Everyone's Doing It? / The Way It's Done, and 2) being able to add a second board when the first started feeling weak seemed like an efficient way to keep up with graphics requirements.

Do you think it's a better idea to just go with a single decent card, then replace it in 1-2 years? (That would also probably let me get a higher quality, but no crossfire, mobo, for a similar price. Which seems attractive - the ~20% "omg it svcks!" 1-star ratings on the lower-end Asus crossfire mobos at Newegg keep making me nervous. :unsure: )

I'm about to buy the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_sp=ProductSpotlight-_-22-152-185-_-08252011#SnetMark_120 since it just had a $15 price-drop, and I'm wondering, is paying an extra $6 for an extended warranty worth it? I usually stay away from extended warranties since they tend to be gimmicks, but I've heard tons of stories about failing hard drives.

My experience with hds usually shows they would either be doa or die out of warranty

I am looking to get a new computer soon, could someone give me a rough estimate on how much it would cost to get a computer that can run skyrim?

Depends on how you want to run it.

Do you want to just simply run it, not caring about all the PC graphics or are you planning on maxed graphics?

I am in a real crisis here my friend is getting a better computer than me
he is getting ani7 processer 3.3ghz
and a geforce 560
I have a phenom 2 3.2ghz processor
and a geforce 460gtx 1.8gb
so would another 460gtx gonna be better than a 560
but what am I gonna do about the processor, he is also overclocking his but I dont think my power supply is good enough it is only about 500w