New PC questions

[Dheann]

It seems I have more questions and lots of doubts and I'm starting think that is a bad thing.


First off I chosen most of my parts but now I'm picking a new soundcard and I'm not happy. It seems almost everywhere I turn I see the words "great audio, bad for gaming" and that is a problem because although I like music this system is really more for gaming.

At first I wanted the creative x-fi but then I heard all the terrible stories about the crackling and poping in games, esp in high end systems and so I decided not to. Any ideas?


The second question of the day is a matter of updating my new motherboards BIOS. Now I understand the process and am confident i can do it however the BIOS needs to be updated in order for my motherboard (a8n-sli, bios 10.01) to recognise my Videocard (geforce 7900) and my CPU (AMD 3800+). So i was wondering now before hand if i will be able to get to the bios and update it with those installed or will my system not start because my the BIOS version doesn't reconise my CPU?

THis as you can imagine would be a rather large problem for me so I'm hoping you could put my mind at rest?

[Cougar109]

X-fi is a great card for me, I have no problems what so ever. Maybe those people have bad cards. Every piece you buy could be bad, it's not common but it happens.

You're system should recognise them, though I'm not 100% sure someone esle will get you a better answer.

[Kareeser]

Dheann, are you an audiophile?

I find that on-board sound satisfies my every desire anyway. For example, my Intel motherboard supports 8-channel speakers right out of the box! You don't exactly need a sound card if your motherboard has on-board sound, and most do. I suggest you try the on-board sound, and if you don't like it, then buy a sound card.

[Cougar109]

Originally Posted by Kareeser Dheann, are you an audiophile? I find that on-board sound satisfies my every desire anyway. For example, my Intel motherboard supports 8-channel speakers right out of the box! You don't exactly need a sound card if your motherboard has on-board sound, and most do. I suggest you try the on-board sound, and if you don't like it, then buy a sound card.

Theres people like me who do a ton of sound editing and mixing which basically requires a high end sound card, if you do that and I mean you put alot of time and effort then you buy a sound card.

For just gaming on board works great and like he said, there no need to buy it unless you can't stand the sound of on board.

[Dheann]

hmmmm ok I'll give it a try, could save some money (Woohoo!) THis wbite hole thing is starting to quite heavily into my funds, hopwfully it will be worth it.

And, even if it's true, don't say stuff like you might get faulty parts... I don't need to be more anxcoius about this than I already am, lol.

Thanks though.

More questions now...

1) cooling? stock heatsink be alright for a little over clocking? and are round IDE cables really worth the extra money for better airflow?

[Alaron]

Originally Posted by Dheann 1) cooling? stock heatsink be alright for a little over clocking? and are round IDE cables really worth the extra money for better airflow?

The stock heatsink can handle a little overclocking depending on the cpu and case temperature you have now. If the temps are low and the case has good airflow, you can probably bump it up a bit. If they are already high, I would work on better cooling before overclocking.

Round IDE cables are really only necessary for looks if you had a case with a window. With some work, regular flat IDE cables can be folded out of the way for good airflow. I would work on them before buying new ones.

[Dheann]

Ok i'll stick with what I have for now. Apparently the CPU does some nice over clocking I'll just take it slow and watch the temp.

Don't suppose we can go back to my bios problem for a bit? Does anyone else have a say on whether the system will boot enough to update the BIOS if the parts arn't supported on the older version of the BIOS?

[flanzig1]

Generally a system will boot without an up to date BIOS. You run in to problem if you add parts like video cards that just came out and the mother board is older. I say try skipping up dating the BIOS, get the BIOS version and go to the mother board makers web site and see if any new updated versions will pertain to parts that you are using, if not, leave it alone.

[Dheann]

right that makes sense... now this is probably going to sound beyond dumb so I would appreciate you keeping your laughter to a minimum but is the BIOS Revision the same as the Motherbord revision? And aside from booting up how can I tell what the BIOS version is?

[Dheann]

2 things... first off *cough*bump*cough*

second besides the the question above, if I wanted to get another videocard (so I could go sli) providing it was the same kind would it matter who produced it? Ie. I have a evga 7900 GT CO so do I need another evga or could I get say a BFG of the same kind?


Again, stop laughing :P

[flanzig1]

Question about the BIOS version: The first screen that shows at boot up is the BIOS screen. It will show the name of the BIOS maker: Award,Phoenix,AMI,ETC. And right below it should be something like: ver 12.34
SLI question: I believe if the cards have the same GPU and same amount of ram, they can be SLIfied.

[glc]

I wouldn't worry about the IDE cables - you should be using SATA hard drives these days on a new build anyway. Use the stock IDE ribbon for the optical drives and just fold and tuck it neatly.

[Dheann]

hmmmm perhaps and my next one will be but:

250Gb Ultra ATA = Free Gift Vs. 250Gb Sata = $100-$150 (cheapest I can find).

You see my logic? I'll figure something out will all these cables. I'm sure with a little work I can make it look neat.

Now more questions!!! A friend of mine reported frying 3 motherboards because he reversed the usb connection (from the fron of his case to the motherboard). Is that possible? If so how does one know if it's backward or reversed or whatever?

[glc]

You have to watch carefully which connector goes on which pin.