c0nt3nd3r

I was looking @ the following parts: Graphics - HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported IceQ4 Turbo Video Card - Retail PSU - OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail or OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail Case - COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

I'm not sure what PSU brand or size is currently in my pc and from my signature I do not see where it says anything about my psu.

Thanks puntoMX for eliminating my worries of more troubles. I've been looking at video cards, but so undecided as what to go with as far as a combination of a case, psu and video card. The main complication for me is deciding which video card and then of course a decent/good psu to handle my system coupled with whatever video card without issue. I don't have a set number as far as a budget other than to say I am on a budget/limited funds. I've been looking at psu's, and modular is a more expensive route it seems, but also offers better cooling with less restriction caused by so many cables dangling over other components. As stated in previous posts I'm also wondering if I should wait on the dx11 cards built on the same 40nm process as the 4770 due to the fact the 4770 is a great bang for the buck and runs much cooler. Most posts as far as a graphics upgrade has pointed me towards a 4890 to take advantage of my cpu. With all that said any recommendations on what my triple (case, psu, graphics) purchase should be?

Sunday night I shut my pc down for the night as to alleviate some of the heat and Monday morning when I went to turn it on it wouldn't and just gave the three beeps as described. It wouldn't turn on all day yesterday (Monday) and this morning after a whole day of being off it came back on when I tried this morning. This has me concerned if it's more than maybe a graphics card issue. I am getting power so I don't think it's a bad PSU also lately when in-game my monitor turns off like it has fallen asleep after inactivity and won't come back on without a restart of the pc. This has me thinking it is just the graphics. Any ideas what this could be or just more evidence that the graphics card needs replacing?

Will the new dx11 cards based on the 40nm process continue to run cooler like the current ATI Radeon HD 4770? If so, I many just wait 'til they come out to grab a new card rather than purchase a current generation card and only become last generation within a few months.

This is after moving the case to the top of my desk. Could this be a sign my fans are not working as the temps are right back up to where they were before as shown in the initial ss?

This is after moving the case to the top of my desk.

Not sure about the first problem but if you buy a new GPU and it still happens then that eliminates one thing that is stuffing up and you will not have to change to lower resolutions too! Using a memory testing program like Memtest86+ you can see if its bad RAM. As for heat just use a program like Real Temp to see if the CPU is overheating and something like GPU-Z to see if your GPU is overheating. My PC case is inside a cubby hole like area as my desk has a cupboard like area to put my case in underneath the desk. This is probably limiting airflow even though there space on each side of the case. Can the Memtest program be run using a program like MagicDisc or does it have to be burned to a cd?

Lag has been happening for a while with my current setup however, recently, whenever I have to restart my pc it beeps 3 times with the 3rd beep being longer than the first two and I have to leave the PC off for a bit. So, I am wondering if something is overheating, but the local PC repair guy told me it could be bad ram or gpu also. Also, before going in-game if I lower my desktop resolution which I just started doing recently I find it helps somewhat with lag and overall gameplay.

By lag I mean that when I am in an intense battle with lots of action - bullets flying, gernades exploding, smoke, flash, etc, I experience lag to where gameplay slows down or when online same result. My internet connection is cable 15/2 so I don't feel my connection is the problem.

I'm not into OCing.

Will a Corsair 750W PSU fit in my case? I looked at that particular PSU as to be future-proof if I do more upgrading.

I've asked the same ? on another forum also to get as much info as possible and they are suggesting upgrading my graphics, psu and case as a new ATI 4000/nVidia GTX series will require a larger psu and more case space while keeping my current motherboard and ram. I stated on the other forum that I've watched youtube videos where people are showing off their 4770 running usually with 4gigs of ram usually DDR3 and on an AMD x3/4 and the framerates/gameplay seem real smooth and nice. How would my setup compare with the addition of such a graphics change as compared to an AMD x3/4 and 3-4gigs of DDR3?

I am wondering whether upgrading my current PC is worth it for gaming as gaming with the current system specs suck as far as my graphics is concerned. I lag during gameplay. I was considering upgrading the following parts: Motherboard Ram Graphics ... or would keeping the current CPU, limiting my ability to upgrade the Ram to only DDR2 800 and adding an ATI 4000 series graphics card would defeat my purpose or waste my time and money versus getting a new AMD Dragon system consisting of AMD CPU and Graphics card along with the ability to add DDR3 Ram?

Is KeePass more secure than RoboForm?

I've been using Roboform as it seems such a great tool for remembering all my accounts, however, it's not FREE and I thought I read some where that it doesn't keep my information as secure as does KeePass. I've downloaded KeePass Password Safe v2.05 Alpha, however, I can't seem to get it to fill any information for me. Please advise me as to what I need to do in order for it to work. I have the following added to the notes section: {TITLE}*Gmail*{USERNAME}{TAB}{PASSWORD}{ENTER} * If incorrect please advise. The nice thing with Roboform is that you don't really have to do anything it just saves the information I type when registering a new account, but with KeePass it doesn't seem to do that. A small price to pay if it keeps my information secure.

I've been reading about Virtual Box as it seems real simple to use compared to some and lightweight. Did you recommend VirtualPC because you are familiar with it? Are each VM for different types of testing? With my initial question I just want to install a VM and test another OS. Is downloading and installing a VM such as VirtualPC going to interfere with my current OS anymore than any other piece of software would? Once the VM is installed do I just run the .iso for which ever OS I choose from a Menu or do I drag n drop the .iso file? You mentioned Linux distribution like Slackware, Redhat, Fedora, SuSE, but not KDE. Am I not able to run KDE? The reason I ask is because I seen screenshots of KDE and it looked interesting as I don't know what the others look like?

I like to try out new software. Recently I've been reading a little more about Virtual Machines (eg Virtual Box) and alternate OSes (eg KDE 4.1). I currently use Windows Vista Home Premium w/SP1 and was wondering about trying the above mentioned VM and OS, but was wondering what I might need to know before trying either? Do I just download and install a VM then run the VM and from within the VM install an OS and run it as if I was using Windows Vista? I'm just wondering is there a lot of jumping through hoops to get this up and running to test out and try or is it straight forward to a certain degree?

How do I set up various mailto links for Gmail, Hotmail, Orgoo, Zenbe, etc, just to name a few in Firefox 3?

Okay with the 4850 is my mid-tower going to be an issue as far as space is concerned? My PC Specs - I don't know if anything from this page may be of any assistance in telling you a little more about my current pc.

It wasn't so much that I was trying to be cheap towards the PSU, but rather get a good while being cheap PSU. I've taken all your advice and am leaning towards the CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail, however, to stay withing my $200 budget I am leaning towards the SAPPHIRE 100225L Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail Single slot solution, Vista x64 driver support unless you can recommend a better card and still stay within my budget?

How about the PSU? Do I need to upgrade?

I am wanting to upgrade the Graphics Card (8400GS) and Power Supply (275w) in my HP Pavillion and trying to stay at/around, hopefully under the $200 mark before/after any rebates. I looked at the following 2 Graphics Cards and PSU to stay at/around my $200 budget: SAPPHIRE 100225L Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - $144.99 ($124.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) OR SAPPHIRE 100242L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - $174.99 ($154.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 500W ATX Power Supply 115/ 230 V UL, CSA, TUV, CE - Retail - $39.99 ($24.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate) Does GDDR3/4 make much of a difference? I have a Q6600, 3GB 667 ram, 2x320GB HDDs, DVD burner, 24" monitor, Media Card reader, built in sound and wireless. Will the above listed PSU be enough to power my pc with the addition of one of the above listed Graphics Cards? Based on the Graphics Cards listed above are they a good match to my cpu and ram as playing games on my current system is limited by my Graphics Card and not my system? I do not overclock.

I primarily use Firefox, but on occasion I use IE. Backing up bookmarks in Firefox is done with Foxmarks, however in IE such an extension isn't available that backs up and keeps my bookmarks organized just how the way I have them showing in my Firefox toolbar, unless I export them and import them to IE. I've been trying a few Social bookmarking programs such as Diigo, Del.ic.ious, Simpy just to name a few, but the problem is only Simpy and Diigo offers a sidebar to view and select bookmarks in a similar way to the Bookmark toolbar. Delicious does this in Firefox but not in IE as far as the sidebar. Any suggestions as to which is better, integrates into both browsers?

I've decided to go with a 9600, but not sure whether to get the 512mb or 1gb version with windows vista because I thought I read somewhere that the OS uses video memory while gaming? I currently have a 235 watt psu I think and was wondering if I need to upgrade to a larger psu?