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dogboy73

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It's time to upgrade :E

If HL2 still doesn't run on my new set-up I'm going to cry :x

MSI K8N mobo socket 939 1GB FSB
AMD Winchester 3000 64-bit

I'm adding that to my current spec & maybe 1GB of fast RAM after Xmas.

Other current parts;
6800LE
Audigy Platinum
512MB DDRAM PC2100
80GB IDE HD
380W Antec PSU
No gaurantee's that's going to sort it but needs must as the devil drives. I must play HL2. I simply must :cheers:
Cost so far of upgrading in preparation for HL2;
Radeon 9800Pro 128 MB £250 (Bought last year 1 week before original release date. Blew up 6 months later due to faulty fan!)
NVIDIA 6800LE £154
MSI K8N mobo £90
AMD 3000 64-bit £105

Projected cost;
1GB 400mhz PC3200 DDRAM £100 (aprox)
80GB SATA HD £80 (aprox)

Total = £779 ........... AND I STILL CAN'T ****ING PLAY!! (Not true ......... Hopefully :upstare: )
 
The specs on your system look just fine to play HL2, the only thing I would change myself would be to up the PSU to around 460 watts. Might be teaching you how to suck eggs but when you buy the DDRAM don't buy a cheap brand unless you happen to see on the net a special deal for branded ram.

You state that you can not play HL2 can you give a bit more detail, for example are you playing on or off line are you able to get the title screen up etc.
 
i got 550watts psu !! i had overheating psu 400watts with 2.6 pentium 2 hard drives 9800xt 256mb, tv card 2 dvd drives
 
freeman2 said:
The specs on your system look just fine to play HL2, the only thing I would change myself would be to up the PSU to around 460 watts. Might be teaching you how to suck eggs but when you buy the DDRAM don't buy a cheap brand unless you happen to see on the net a special deal for branded ram.
Click to expand...
The system looks find before or after the upgrade?

I spoke to someone @ Oveclockers who said my PSU would be fine when I told them it was a decent Antec supply. I was concerned about it myself. Had extremely mixed feedback on the PSU range that's okay to use. I'll see how it goes & upgrade as need be.

I found some RAM of Overclockers than on a special this week only;
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_This_Week_Only_25.html
GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit


You state that you can not play HL2 can you give a bit more detail, for example are you playing on or off line are you able to get the title screen up etc.
Click to expand...
I've fall foul to the stutter/crash bug. I'm hoping that chucking more power at it will resolve the issue but I'd say it's 50/50 seing as how many people are suffering the same problem. My game crashes even when I'm running with the -dxlevel 70 command in launch options. CS was running very well ........... For a short while. Now that crashes as well. I think there's a bottle neck in my system that just can't hack it once things get busy.

I put it down to piss poor coding of the Source engine since I was running Doom3 with everything set to at least medium not 1 month ago. I've no doubt the Source engine contains serious flaws but given the range of specs people have & are still experiencing problems, or not as the case may be, I'm guessing it's the way individual configurations handle data. I'm hoping I get lucky with my new one :sleep:
 
i agree with freeman2 380watts is a bit low. my 400watts with my system was pushing it . the heat coming out the 400watts psu was like a small heater. the heat from the 400watts psu was pushing up the motherboard and cpu temperatures to dangerous limits
 
TEDR said:
i agree with freeman2 380watts is a bit low. my 400watts with my system was pushing it . the heat coming out the 400watts psu was like a small heater. the heat from the 400watts psu was pushing up the motherboard and cpu temperatures to dangerous limits
Click to expand...
I was worried about it myself. I'm a bit more re-assured after reading 'Phemo's' comments on the Overclockers forum. I'll post asking for my advice.
 
maybe like it be ok if its good model like you say. my 400watts was £20 and i bought 550watts for £28 and its good now
 
TEDR said:
maybe like it be ok if its good model like you say. my 400watts was £20 and i bought 550watts for £28 and its good now
Click to expand...
The opinion seems to be that if it is a good solid PSU then it will be fine. When I tell most people it's an Antec they say it will be fine. Maybe not so if I had multiple Hard drives & lots of other things hooked up (Like extra case fans & those silly lights that people install inside their PC's!! :cheese:).
 
yeah i heard its more to do with the power of the individual voltages on the psu like the 12v, 3.3v and 5v its the amps on each of these 3 that matter
 
Good luck with your new system. :thumbs:

A big NVidia likes power, so a PSU over 400w is a good thing.
 
doomed - uk said:
Good luck with your new system. :thumbs:

A big NVidia likes power, so a PSU over 400w is a good thing.
Click to expand...
Cheers. I hope it sorts my problem out.

Big NVIDIA? I only have a 128MB 6800LE.
 
Hi dogboy73 don't worry to much about your psu at this stage, the antec psu is a good make and should be stable. I used an Antec psu when I put a P3 1Ghz system together never gave me any trouble at all, that was a 300 watt model.
Most systems now are power hungry so my thoughts on you putting a higher power psu in your computer was just as a precaution.

If you do go for a higher power one you should think about spending £50 upwards, while it is tempting to buy a cheap one the problem with them is the voltages. A 5% variation on the voltage outputs is acceptable on a cheap psu that figure can be 10-15%, not very good for the rest of the computer.

As for your problems with running HL2 have a look through the threads as people have had the same problems and you should find some good advice. There is also a thread on how to play in offline mode which will help you.

You made a good choice buying the extra fast ram you should find your computer will run better for it.
 
dogboy73 said:
Which was what?
Click to expand...

The Ultra.

To those of you ready to camp out in front of your store to get your hands on one of these cards - be warned! The first barrier on your way to graphics ecstasy is the power requirement calling for a PSU with at least 480Watts. In effect, its not so much the power rating that may prove problematic - it may turn out harder to find a power supply with enough ATX power cables for use with the graphics card! Of course, true enthusiasts won't be deterred, and case modders will welcome the new challenge.

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040414/geforce_6800-48.html
 
Changes made. Stutter gone but the game still crashes in exactly the same way as before. I've been lead to believe on other forums that it's an issue with my Gainward 6800LE. I need to try a few things to see if the problem remains. It's now a process of elimination ................. And then Valve will release a patch that sorts everything :cheers:
 
As it is the graphic settings in HL2 mostly defaulted to max which is a good sign :E Somone on another forum has suggested underclocking my 6800LE using something called 'Powerstrip'. They reckon that this will make my card more stable. Anyone used this or know anything about it?
 
How does the game crash? is it only the game or is it your entire computer? if your entire computer freezes, or you get graphical errors then it's our card, otherwise it's not.
 
MaxiKana said:
How does the game crash? is it only the game or is it your entire computer? if your entire computer freezes, or you get graphical errors then it's our card, otherwise it's not.
Click to expand...
Yeah it's the entire computer! It basically hard locks so I can't even reset & the monitor switches off. I e-mailed Yahn @ Valve about this who replied earlier today (They work on Sundays?) saying it sounds like your card is still locking up. this would make sense as the problem is exactly the same as it was with my old set-up that had the same gfx card in it (Gainward 6800LE). Right, So I need to try this 'Powerstrip' tool to underclock the card.
 
Okay, I underclocked the 6800LE's memory clock speed from 700MHZ to 500MHZ using coolbits2. For the first time in God knows how many attempts I managed to get past the first meeting with Barney! So far so good. However ............ I noticed more stuttering when I got to the part with the Combine guard ordering you to put the can in the trash! DOH! I thought I'd gotten rid of all stuttering Oh well, It's no where near as bad as it was on my old system ........... so far! Sorry, But it's hard to be optimistic where HL2 is concerned after all the problems.
 
Got as far as 'Route Kanal'. no crashes thus far. Fingers crossed .............
 
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