Vista Ultimate OEM

XP does it by looking at the internal serial number of the hardware, and I can't see a BIOS update changing anything like that - I doubt it even can (I'd imagine it's hard-locked from the factory). I expect Vista will do the same as XP.

As for the 965s and the quads, nah. It's just overclocking headroom, and to be honest, of all the posts I've seen I think it just comes down to steppings and dates.

For instance, when C2D hit the scene, the only motherboards available were the ones from the preceding socket 775 boards for the P4s. A quickly released BIOS update and you had a C2D working in it. Now, the people to jump on the C2D bandwagon on launch day are those who want the latest and greatest, so they grab one of the high-end chips (one of the 4mb jobs, E6600 or upwards). Obviously they have a board not designed for the C2D, more adapted to accommodate it.

When the newer boards came out (the Intel Bad Axe (975) and various 965 boards) they were designed from the ground upwards to work with C2D. This is when the slower adopters came along, most getting the 2mb chips (E6300 and E6400).

I think the gap between these 2 periods is what's caused the supposed and rumoured favouring of chips and chipsets. In my own experience, I've got nothing to suggest that if I bumped my E6600 down to a lower multi (that of the E6300) that I wouldn't reach a similar maximum FSB than if I'd actually popped a E6300 in. There's a lot of variables (as I said, different steppings will overclock better than others), and that, coupled with maturing BIOSes just leads me to believe it's a misconception brought on by the early adopters and their faster chips.

Hmm, I've made the mistake before, so this time I'll be hanging back and waiting on user opinion, but great as my P5B Deluxe is, I think it might just be getting sold...

Check out this 'Hexus.bean': [www.hexus.net]

I particularly like these bits:

"Well, it's designed to support system bus speeds up to 2280MHz (that's right), along with memory clocks of up to 1300MHz."

"It's got power, reset and clear CMOS buttons on the PCB too..."

Now THAT'S a motherboard...

I'll wait on the Hexus review itself (they have the guts to call Alienware on shocking PR tactics, then publish the emails anyway, so they're pretty unbiased in terms of reviews) and then gauge user opinion on it. If it's basically a P5B Deluxe on steriods, then that motherboard will be getting bought. Simple as.

Moving back to RAM, does EPP RAM make that much difference? All I've read on the subject is the nForce board supports it, and so does Corsair RAM. That's literally all I know.

P.S. That looks like one hell of a mobo!

No idea. I'm going off Corsair for enthusiast setups. I does provide a boost, but if you system can take the boost, why not just boost it up permanently?

It's got gimmick written all over it. If it clocked the RAM down (like speedstep (which works fine with GPL for me, unlike Cool 'n' Quiet) for lower power consumption and temps and things, then I could see an advantage to it.

Hmmm looks like that motherboard will be a good investment then May as well stick with that one!


PSN/Xbox 360 ID - Ianwoollam

Dunno if y'all have heard about this but did you know you can get a Limited Edition Signature version of Vista Ultimate? There are 20,000 copies it seems and only for the US market. Fancy a Bill Gates signed box?

[forums.overclockers.co.uk]

Only if it comes with a Bill Gates signed cheque. :D

gav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Only if it comes with a Bill Gates signed cheque.
> :D

A blank one of course?

Some rather hostile comments in the OcUK forums... they're not shipping Vista OEM on the 12th (today) as promised... they stated it had moved back to the 19th... and now it's the 30th (official release day).

People are not happy - understandably - apparently MS forbid stores to charge on pre-orders too, which OcUK are doing...

Oh dear...

gav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some rather hostile comments in the OcUK forums...
> they're not shipping Vista OEM on the 12th (today)
> as promised... they stated it had moved back to
> the 19th... and now it's the 30th (official
> release day).
>
> People are not happy - understandably - apparently
> MS forbid stores to charge on pre-orders too,
> which OcUK are doing...
>
> Oh dear...

LOL. Glad I didn't pre-order then. I'll have a look later after my exam.

gav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some rather hostile comments in the OcUK forums...
> they're not shipping Vista OEM on the 12th (today)
> as promised... they stated it had moved back to
> the 19th... and now it's the 30th (official
> release day).
>
> People are not happy - understandably - apparently
> MS forbid stores to charge on pre-orders too,
> which OcUK are doing...
>
> Oh dear...

I wasn't best pleased when I saw my money taken out of my account instantly for a pre-order instead of waiting for dispatch date....

But! If I remember correctly, it's illegal for a supplier to take the money out of the consumers account and not dispatch the product after 2 weeks... I wonder what Trading Standards number is again


PSN/Xbox 360 ID - Ianwoollam



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2007 02:38PM by Ianwoollam.

My MS e-Academy university's making Vista Business Edition available. I'll download it just so I have a copy, but how does that compare to, say, Vista Home Premium? I know it misses a couple of things like Windows DVD Player and Movie Maker HD, but that's all I can see on Wikipedia...

---

Everyone knows that million-to-one chances happen 9 times out of 10; indeed, it's a common requirement in fairy tales. If the human didn't have to overcome huge odds, what would be the point? Terry Pratchett - The Science Of Discworld

GPGSL S5 Race driver for IED.

That's pretty much it - you're missing some entertainment bits (the main application being the rather excellent Media Center). WMP will still be on it, and it'll still play games as well as home.

In short: nothing some 3rd party applications couldn't correct.

gav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's pretty much it - you're missing some
> entertainment bits (the main application being the
> rather excellent Media Center). WMP will still be
> on it, and it'll still play games as well as
> home.
>
> In short: nothing some 3rd party applications
> couldn't correct.

Sorry, but couldn't help laughing at that. I've never got on with that, and always used other apps instead of it. If I miss it (and I doubt I will), I can copy it I believe from my XP MCE laptop. But ta anyway.

---

Everyone knows that million-to-one chances happen 9 times out of 10; indeed, it's a common requirement in fairy tales. If the human didn't have to overcome huge odds, what would be the point? Terry Pratchett - The Science Of Discworld

GPGSL S5 Race driver for IED.

If you watch TV it is excellent

If you just use it for DVDs or music then it's a bit of a long way around I guess - never used it for either to be honest. It's real use is digital TV, and for that it just rocks - simple as. :D

MediaPortal is more configurable, and is great as such, but it's very, very unstable. Apparently MythTV is very good for Linux too... wouldn't know though - never used Linux for home use.

Hello guys,

Just been reading the thread, lots of stuff in here, blimey. Well I was going to create another thread to request opinions on this but I hope Ian doesn't mind if I post this here instead (Not trying to completely hijack your thread!).
Well a few days ago my main pc decided it wouldn't boot, as soon as POST had completed the screen stayed black, and the h access light constantly kept flashing. Had a look inside and everything seemed in order, it was working fine before and I hadn't added any new hardware( well id been messing with the creative x fi drivers but that's not the problem I'm sure, as its not even getting to load the drivers). Unplugged the hd and connected my old one to see if it would boot. It wouldn't the hard drive was clicking ever few seconds, giving the impression that the disk is completely stuffed (I know its partly broken anyway) and the read head kept resetting, well that's what it sounded like.

So got the meter out to check the psu, and its completely died (Im severely hoping it didn't take my newish wd hd out with all the data ) so I've decided that It is definitely time for a new pc, just gotta earn the money now!

Basically I want to build a good gaming system which has lots of upgrade potential, here were my initial plans.

[www.tarantulaevents.co.uk]

Ignore the tacky filename, had it based on an old spreadsheet which I pdf'ed .

The thing is I really don't know what to go for. I'm an amd person up till now, and love the look of the new x2's, but with the Intel dcd's out I don't know how they match up. The cheapest dcd processor I could see was about £140, think it was the 3300. I think Intel is the sensible decision atm but don't know what motherboards to consider.
I would preferable like an asus for the overclocking features and their last s939 deluxe boards were very highly rated. If I was going to go with an amd dual core, the only sensible way to go for the future is socket am2 right? This is not bad, but means ill have to get new ram too (probably not a bad idea, although I got a gig of corsair xms ddr in august). I'm definitely going to want to go with a nv graphics card, the highest I can really go is that 7950 at the moment, although I don't know how long it will be until the 8800 series comes down in price, ideally i want a dx10 card. Ill be looking into getting a sata II hard drive to be my primary hd and ill use my current wd ide one as a second drive, so there has to be an Ide bus that will allow me to use my old hard drive (I think its common practice still isnt it to have an ide bus on the newer boards.) Ill probably need 2 though, as I have a cd writer and a dvd drive to connect too.

If I did go with a dcd, would I need ddr or ddr2 memory preferably ? The only thing that's putting me off the Intel processors atm is the price, but they are supposed to be much better.

I'm not a serious overclocker, a gamer mostly. Do a bit of video editing (nothing major). But Id like the headroom to be able to do some overclocking in the future. Id also like to have the possibly of an using sli in the future maybe, so an sli motherboard is a must.

I'm hoping to buy the os that this threads title contains .

If I want to go with an asus motherboard what would be the best option manufacturer wise with regard to processors, and considering the answer to this question, what type of ram would be best?

Please feel free to suggest any improvements to the current spec in the pdf, I really don't want to go much higher if atall than the total price in there, although I realise ill need a cpu cooler which I haven't accounted for yet.

Also I cant seem to find an sata cables on scan (maybe im just looking in the wrong place) What other cables would i also need?

A new case is a must, as this cheap rubbish one (with a el-cheapo psu is pants, as we all know they are) The cooling of my current case is diabolical too. I don't want to spend any more than necessary on a case, so the akasa one should do me fine.

I've got a Sound Blaster x-fi which I would also fit to the new system.

Well make what you can out of that question wise, I'm just a bit unsure of what the best choices are at the moment, and I know some of you guys are much better that this than me!

Again, sorry Ian for hijacking your thread, I really didn't see the point of creating a new thread for another tech ramble!

Thanks,

Regards,

Wills.

__________________________



Help keep our forums tidy.

Use the search function...

Get a C2D mate - AMD are, while still good value, blown out of the water by even the cheapest C2D (the 6300). It won't need DDR2 RAM (there's an ASRock motherboard which supports both DDR and DDR2) but DDR would really suck the performance out of the thing.

nV are supposed to be releasing a cheaper 8800GTS (with half the RAM of the current one), though it's not gonna be on the shelves for a little while yet - it would certainly be the mid-range choice to go for when it does arrive though. Currently I'd get an ATi 1950Pro personally (the failure rate of the nV 79xx series is alarming at the very best).

As for cheap cases, apparently the Jeantech Phong II is awesome value - I don't have one, but every opinion I've seen raves about it. [www.custompc.co.uk]

And ditch that PSU - it's not bad, but theirs better value out there. If you can stretch I can highly recommend the Corsair HX: [www.scan.co.uk], which is simply awesome (think of it as a Seasonic+ (and Seasonic are 2nd best)). If you can't stretch then even the 430W Seasonic would be plenty enough for that system [www.scan.co.uk] (though currently out of stock in my example).

Heh the treads changed subject so many times anyway, wouldn't worry about it

My 7900GTO is still working fine since day 1! Um Gav the 8800GTS has been out for a while now, I was considering getting one myself, not a bad price at £200, but decided to hang on with the old 7900GTO till the new ATi R600's come out...


PSN/Xbox 360 ID - Ianwoollam

"Heh the treads changed subject so many times anyway, wouldn't worry about it "


Yes Ian, about twice a race usually

Edit visit the original link for an updates pdf, the price is going up thats bad, Ill probably settle for a better value psu like gav suggested, I was just concerned if it would have enough power, especially if it might be used in an sli setup.


Thanks for the feedback guys ammending list .

Thanks,

Regards,

Wills.

__________________________



Help keep our forums tidy.

Use the search function...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2007 11:43PM by Willb.

Ive now gone with the seasonic psu, and a 7900 instead of a 7950 which has brought the brice down a bit which is good. Its now a c2d system. Has anyone got any ideas where I can read some reviews about the motherboard currently listed in my pdf, cant find that board listen on asus site anymore

Thanks,

Wills.

__________________________



Help keep our forums tidy.

Use the search function...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2007 02:22AM by Willb.