puntoMX

Cable could be a problem, but I think it's the drive it self that is un able to read from the disc and locking/slowing down the system. Replacing is cheap any way (I presume it's ATA and this is why it slows down the system).

Well, to add, it's a group of youngsters that don't have the brains to be polite plus they are some what too active (must be the coke and the coffee ).

No it does not.

Upgrading your CPU, RAM and motherboard you better leave for a year more, the Q6600 has enough power to run the games smooth, however, if you like to OC that system a bit than get only a new motherboard and that case. Now, for upgrading what you already have just get the HD4770 and a PSU, no need change the case as it has enough room in it to place even a larger card than the HD4770. To get a bit more working space you can also take out the "media drive bay" that is placed in front of your case by taking out the screws or pop-rivets that are holding the carrier. Zenskas already pushed you in the right direction, and forget about a new CPU and DDR3, you will be throwing away a perfect CPU and 3GB of RAM .

The HX520 would do the trick, but if it's 20€ more for the HX620 I would say it's tempting. Max load on every 12V line of both models is the same; 18A, but the combined load is 480W for the HX520 and 600W for the HX620, so there is the biggest difference. Other than that, the HX620 comes with some extra SATA cables and can deliver a bit more juice at the 5V line so that could could get in handy when you stuff your system with harddisks .

Normally there will be no data loss but I in the PM you send me that your NTLDR is missing files... that's strange. Do you use a RAID setup? Intel has been changing files since the first post and the problem I have is that I don't use any XP install any more (currently on Windows 7) and I hoped that someone else would have taken over the fire to carry it on. MDGx and ilko_t made it's easier to install so it would have been better to use what they provided first as it´s more automated and works on different ICH as well. Yes it works also on a ICH9R, just don't use PCIVEN_8086&DEV_2923 but PCIVEN_8086&DEV_2922... I personally don't know the drive bay but reviews show it's a good product so I would presume you are save there. The "save to remove icon" will not power down your device so electrical there is no problem, but if caching is enabled for data you could end up by loosing data when not using the "save to remove icon".

My fault, I see you have the "v2" so yes, 504 is the latest version.It should work fine on BIOS defaults, so if you checked your RAM with memTEST or something and you updated to the latest drivers, I would blame indeed a faulty CPU... But like I said, the change is small.

If you are talking about crossfire, than I would pick the UD5P without thinking, plus you would do better by taking some 600W PSU rather than the 450W you picked now. I only use one external optical drive and I must say that it's enough; it's only used to install an OS or some apps. A SATA optical drive will not get you any problems but why spoil a SATA port for it . About the memory; 10-15€ over the 59€... pick the 1600MHz I would say. Yes, I'm verry pleased with Gigabyte, so are my customers. Most motherboards come now with 3 year warranty in America but in Europe that would be 2 years I think.

I would consider a Spanish layout. Personally I like it better than the Latin version. The only thing you would be missing is the German "ß" and the "æ œ". By the way, buy MS Office 2007 and the spell check will help you out too. If you are chatting you have a problem indeed .

About what OS are we talking about? And did you download the latest chipset and video drivers?

Don't forget that portables overhead way faster than desktops plus have more design faults (yes, I'm pointing to HP here! ), plus you can change parts easier.

It's hard to say what is better between those motherboards. The FX based one support better over clocking and has the second PCI-E 16x electronically at 16x while the X has a 16x electronically at 8x. The FX also has the second NIC and 2 extra SATA ports. By the way, for an optical unit I would just use a PATA one so you keep one SATA free for the future drives you are going to place. RAID 0/1 is good enough of that chipset. And, the triple core for sure .

If it's any thing under Version 1003, you need the update. I would update to the latest version first any way on any "newer" motherboard.

I would blame the BIOS over anything else. Try to set the Vcore to 1.3v just to see if the CPU isn't getting enough juice. Also, about what motherboard are we talking about here? Did you check for a BIOS update and its release notes? I've seen none defective CPUs lately so the change that the CPU is defective is… I would say… 1 in 10.000 or so, but that's not out of the box.

Remember that I use a FSB of 334MHz. When I set all on stock and with the fan off, CPU at full speed my CPU cooler gets too hot to touch but the motherboard components stay cool, well, about 15oC warmer but still...

For the motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128380 And stick a video card on it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814140094 If you go with a new OS, and you don't have old 16 bit apps, go with Vista, any Vista 64 bit...

Well, that's strange indeed as my motherboard coolers stay at room temperature, but then, I use a CPU cooler that blows on top of the other components too... I can't even get my fingers warm from it... It must be the high FSB, although it will lower the CPU temperatures...

It sets the voltages a bit above the specs but that's for CPU voltage termination and chipset, nothing to worry about. By the way, can you post a picture of the buildup set?

That's a cool way to get even,

I know what TheWalrus problem is, any space under the video card has been taken up, so TheWalrus needs more PCI-E 1x sloths above the video card, plus he likes something new .

PCI-E 2.0 still won't give you much advantage and most devices will run almost the same at 8x PCI-E 1.1. I don't see what you have against Realtek besides slow downloads from there horrible site. I have the EP45-UD3P board and it's perfect in almost every way, you are right about the sound chip of Realtek, it sounds a bit cold but with some settings it's still not bad. Mind you that I just use simple computer speakers (and headphones), but soon I will go with some good self build speakers (Scanspeak / vifa) and a good amp, probably Onkio) when I move to my new home. The Intel NIC is PCI-E by the way?

Hello Walrus, You will still have the same "problem" with the new motherboard as you are having with your current mother board, just take am close look: left (up): EP35-DS4 // right (down): EP45-UD3P The only good thing is the double onboard NIC... Why do you use an extra soundcard by the way?

8MB?

The nVidia 9xxx are mostly renamed to a 2xx series by now so when you buy a mostly lower clocked 9600 or 9800 you will have an "outdated" video card for the latest games. To add, nVidia keeps messing up their drivers so if you like a stable system without hassle I would leave nVidia where it is for the moment and move on. So, what will be good then? Well, that's hard to say, I can't tell what is sold over there where you live but go with an ATI HD4770 or HD4850, those are mostly well priced and give great stable performance. When you pick one, make sure they don't use the stock ATI cooler and that your PSU can pull enough to run those cards (so, we have a question there for you, what PSU are you going to use with it?). ASUS, Sapphire and MSI have in general the non stock ATI coolers so take a look at them first. There is another model of ATI, the HD4830 but that one is slower than the HD4770 and a bit more in price, it's also being replaced by the HD4770 so don't border with that one. By the way, upgrade your memory too, else you will still have laggy gaming .

Ow come on, they can't address over 64MB, when using DVI/HDMI, of the shared memory for just the GUI? Well, again it's better to move on to ATI. I don't have anything against nVidia, but they REALY do their best to make blunders like this...