bravotsx

basically i get good performance *SOMETIMES* with the ULI SATA RAID drivers. I'm running the 2 seagates in a raid 0 off the ULI m1575. I downloaded the 2.20 driver package off their website and installed the ATI chipset drivers. I also installed the AMD dual core optimizer. Basically, it seems like disk performance is great in some areas and terrible in others. I know the spikes and dips are normal in HD tach, but notice how sometimes the performance is pretty much 0. I experience stops in games pretty often, where it seems like the computer crashed, but it's just reading from the disks...it is infuriating to say the least... Also, every time I start up the computer, windows loads maybe 1/3 of the time. For the other times, windows stops and says some file is missing or what not. This is a fresh install (and good media) so I don't understand what's going on. Anyone shed light on this? I did change the SATA settings from the BIOS from PATA Emulation to AHCI. What else do I need to install to get this working properly?

if you take a picture of a crt monitor, you should be able to see the actual lines being drawn (or at least a subsection of lines). i'll post a pic a bit later if people want to see it. also, you can notice crt flicker when you just wave your hand with your fingers spread open. if you mess with the refresh rate, you will actually see that the spacing between your fingers increases or decreases as you mess with the refresh rate. (really only noticable with like 60hz and 85hz+ (no sense comaring like 72hz and 75hz)

i'd recommend the NZXT Zero. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16811146029 space for 6x 120mm fans, which includes dual 120mm's lined up in the back for a dual 120mm RAD... plus it has very subtle lighting effects and is a trasnlucent smoke color in places.

AGP voltage has little to do w/ core and memory voltage as those are regulated by the card itself. it's possible that increasing the AGP voltage that signaling becomes clearer and it might help in an overclock.

the decision is yours as to keep it or not...if you want to wait, go for it...but realize that there's also the possibility you'll get a chip that's weaker than your current one. as for the memory always being at 1:1, i know that you won't be getting optimal performance...faster memory = more memory bandwidth. as long as you're not sacrificing memory timings or command rate you'll end up faster. (looser timings and command rate can be compensated for by clocking significantly higher but it's more trouble)

it seems strong enough. you can use a dmm to measure the rails just to make sure.

3dmark2001 is only horribly cpu limited when using a relatively powerful GPU and a cpu that can't allow the CPU to run at its full potential. when we're talking about low-end parts and scores below 10K, i don't think the cpu limitations pose a real problem. example: P4 s423 Willamette 1.4GHz w/ 9600 Pro ~ 11K in 3dmark01 A64 s939 Newcastle 3400+ w/ 9600 Pro ~ 16K in 3dmark01 A64 s939 Opteron 165 w/ 9600 Pro ~ 16K in 3dmark01 What's happening? the P4 willamette is a big bottleneck so it makes sense that 3dmark scores went up with a better CPU. but the shift from the 3400+ to the dual core opteron 165 didn't change the score..which tells us the GPU is limiting performance. now back to the 6200LE. i'm confident that a 3000+ venice, even at stock, is more than sufficient to allow a 6200LE to run at its full potential. hardware secrets used a 3.4GHz P4 which is faster than my stock 3000+ but they also got similar scores..the cpu is only a factor when there's more headroom left in the GPU and the CPU is limiting performance.

The point of this post is so that people don't make the same mistake I did when comparing low-end graphics cards. I purchased a chaintech 6200LE card w/ 128mb RAM onboard and a 64-bit memory bus thinking that the only differences between this and the original 6200 is lower core/memory speeds and the crippled memory bus. I was also expecting it to perform better than 6200 TurboCache variants as it had a true 128mb onboard. BUT, as it turns out, the 6200LE is not only clocked slower and has a 64-bit memory bus, the number of pixel pipelines and shader units have also been cut in half, from 4 down to 2. This makes the 6200LE more or less equivalent to the onboard geforce 6100/6150 graphics and half as fast as the normal 6200. The difference between the 6600 and the 6600LE is similar; the 6600LE has half the number of pipes and shaders found on the regular 6600. It hasn't always been the case, however, that LE cards have slower clocks + crippled memory bus + half the pipes. For example, the BFG 5700LE OC retains the original 128-bit memory bus, but has a radically reduced core speed (425 down to 275) and much slower memory (400MHz DDR compared to 500MHz DDR on the vanilla and 900MHZ DDR on the Ultra). Also, there is a Leadtek variant of the 6200 TurboCache with only a 32-bit memory bus but it is not an LE version. Interestingly, that 6200 variant w/ a 32-bit bus and all the pipes is a bit slower than the LE with a 64-bit bus and half the pipes. So things to pay attention to when you're buying an LE (in order of importance) 1) Does it have the same number of pipes/shaders? 2) How wide of a memory bus does it have? (32-bit is the Exception...if it has a 32-bit bus, don't bother) 3) What's the core/memory speed? Performance Chart of Various 6200's (no LE's though) and other low end cards http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/258/5 If the pipeline count is the same, and cooling is adequate, LE cards can be a good bang for the buck as the core should easily overclock to at least stock speeds. (My 5700LE went from the stock 275 up to 450 with ease) Even if you overclock the crap out of a core that's missing half the pipes, as someone else put it, it's like peeing in the ocean...there's no difference. Here's my overclocking results on my chaintech w/ 2 missing pipes. 3dMark2001se 350/400 ~ 6700 3Dmarks 450/500 ~ 7411 3Dmarks http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=9053077 a 6200TC w/ all 4 pipes can score ~ 11000+ System: A64 3000+ Venice (stock) + DFI Infinity Nf4X mobo + 1gb Geil PC4000 I'll post screenies if people want. Hope this helps!

depending on if the hinges are removable, you could also contact the manufacturer for parts.

wow. it was a really spectacular deal on woot at the time too.

4 rma's this month? in my computing career i've done a TOTAL of 4 rma's...1 1.6ghz duron, 1 seagate HD, 1 WD HD, 1 x1900GT. i think you're doing something wrong... my nf4x was having a problem of not booting up with a pcie 16x card in the slot, but it booted fine with a PCI graphics card. anyway, for you, this is the way to test: 1) use a minimal system: only CPU, 1 RAM, Graphics, PS2 Keyboard don't bother connecting floppy or HDD or CD ROM or anything else when i say 1 RAM, don't use dual channel...just 1 stick of RAM be sure to connect the PC Speaker so you can hear if it beeps or not 2) power it up. if it works, great. add parts slowly, like maybe attach the CDrom and try to run memtest or something like that. If it doesn't work, start by resetting the cmos. then start swapping parts. try a different stick of RAM, a different graphics card, maybe even PCI graphics. then try a different CPU. if that doesn't work...well you've narrowed it down to either the PSU or the board itself.

that speed looks about right.

my friend has one if these and it's pretty sweet. LIAN LI PC-V1000BPlus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16811112058 also this case seems to be very promising..space for 6 120mm fans!! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16811146029 look at pix here: http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/case-modifi...-nzxt-zero.html this might even be able to take a dual 120mm rad INTERNALLY w/o mods.

(hey dave didn't know you were a mod here..i'm from eocf too) i think that a single rail psu would be better for you, considering you've got the 805, which is a power monster. From what i've heard, in multi-rail psu's, the power is split something like this: 2x 12v - mobo + cpu - peripherals 3x 12v - mobo + cpu - pcie1 + some peripherals - pcie2 + some more peripherals given that, it seems you could really use a big single rail psu. i agree w/ dave's guide on the pc power n cooling silencer 610 and it's got 49A on the 12v and it's very affordable at under $160. there's also the turbocool 510 w/ a 5 year warranty, but it also costs more. -- edit: seeing your choices, i'd say the 520w powerstream would be an excellent bet. --- OT: dave, know anything about the antec 550w neo HE?

thanks glipse, but that's not what i'm looking for. the infinity nf4x does not have the 4-led diagnostic system. the only thing i see blinking is the Power LED. there is no audible beep tone either, like if i try to start up the computer without RAM installed or a graphics card. fabe: i'll try holding down control while booting. do i need to use a PS2 keyboard for that kind of thing, or is a USB also good? as a note, i haven't overclocked the graphics card yet when this happened...i was only tweaking my system memory speeds.