EDIT: Deciding on new PC

[Hatta]

This sounds like just a failing hard disk. Any reason you think you need to replace the whole PC, or are you just looking for an excuse?

If I were you, I'd get a live DVD with memtest86 and prime9/mprime on it. (StressLinux looks like a good choice. Boot the live DVD, this will take your hard disk out of the equation. Run memtest86 first, then mprime. If both those pass, it's almost certainly just your hard disk. Check smartmontools (also on stresslinux) and see what it reports. If there are SMART errors, replace the hard disk. If there aren't any, just reinstall the OS and see how that goes.

If either memtest86 or mprime fail, it could be any of your RAM, CPU, motherboard, or PSU. Try RAM modules one at a time to try and find a faulty one. If you've swapped out all the RAM and you're still getting errors, check the PSU. Run 'sensors' at the command line (maybe StressLinux has a GUI for this, I haven't used it specifically) before and during mprime. See if there's a voltage drop under load. Make sure the 12v, 3.3v, and 5v aren't more than 10% off. You can also open up your case and measure the voltages with a multimeter (again before and during mprime). That's probably more accurate anyway.

Otherwise there's probably something wrong with your motherboard. CPUs are very rarely defective. If you get this far without nailing down the problem, it probably is worth replacing the whole computer. Just don't be silly and replace hardware without confirming that it's not a software problem by using a live DVD first.

[irixith]

This sounds like just a failing hard disk. Any reason you think you need to replace the whole PC, or are you just looking for an excuse?

The problem has already been identified as a failing hard drive, I think at this point we're just looking for excuses to move into something newer and shinier.

[Xeogred]

Yo, think I got most of the stuff picked out and ready to go. I'm on the fence over the GPU though. I could get the Radeon HD 7870 which sounds fantastic and affordable, for $100 more though I could grab the 7950. What do you guys think? Is the jump worth it, will this easily play everything out there pretty much maxed? (thus should be good for awhile I'd imagine). That's what it sounds like from some reviews.

The XFX looks good but some complain about the fan being too loud, lol. Wonder if that'd bother me at all, since I usually have a fan on in my room or some humidifier blowing anyways and I like that kind of noise in the background.

Leaning towards the 7950. I'm not going to OC or do anything like that, but yeah.

[isiolia]

Can't say I've ever wished I bought a lesser video card.

'course, I've never dropped $1k on one or anything either.


If it fits your budget, I'd go with the 7950.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Yo, think I got most of the stuff picked out and ready to go. I'm on the fence over the GPU though. I could get the Radeon HD 7870 which sounds fantastic and affordable, for $100 more though I could grab the 7950. What do you guys think? Is the jump worth it, will this easily play everything out there pretty much maxed? (thus should be good for awhile I'd imagine). That's what it sounds like from some reviews.

The XFX looks good but some complain about the fan being too loud, lol. Wonder if that'd bother me at all, since I usually have a fan on in my room or some humidifier blowing anyways and I like that kind of noise in the background.

Leaning towards the 7950. I'm not going to OC or do anything like that, but yeah.

I use a 7950 and, at least from the 6850 that I previously had, it was totally worth it. It will definitely play almost everything maxed out at 60+ fps.

[Xeogred]

I am reborn, it lives!


I went with the HIS 7950, got codes for Bioshock Infinite, Crysis 3, and Far Cry Blood Dragon when it hits. Those'll be some great benchmarks.

Cabling was the scariest part as suspected, but was pretty simple after awhile with the manual on the side. Everything went smoothly first attempt, that definitely felt awesome. Although of course, I forgot to plug in the power cord at first haha... then also forgot a minute later it's a normal PSU with the power switch that I had to flip on the back. From there it was smooth sailing. The fan cabling confused me the most, but got a hang of it after a bit.

Only thing I'm not sure about, did I need to plug in both those PCI-E cables to the card, or was that intended for having two cards setup? Well... I plugged in both and it's running great, so maybe it's not hurting either way lol.

I think from here after a paycheck or two I'll double the ram, then add some more fans. Is that tricky? There's 3 easy spots I can throw some new ones in, and one on the side but I'm not sure about that one, I wonder if it'll hit some cables or the graphics card since it was already kind of a tight fit putting the side panel back on. But getting 3 more would put me at 5 fans all around which I think would be pretty solid? From there I just want to throw in a SSD eventually. Any complications transferring/reinstalling the OS to that? I went for the OEM Win7 builder and hope I don't regret that... already wish I bought the full thing so I could have upgraded my laptop, but oh well.

Case size comparison, lol:


Also here's the nasty picture I mentioned earlier, so yeah maybe that poor thing had it coming:


It'll be fun to mess with this now though. Maybe I can salvage some stuff, SATA cables, etc?

But yeah, that felt awesome.

[isiolia]

Only thing I'm not sure about, did I need to plug in both those PCI-E cables to the card, or was that intended for having two cards setup? Well... I plugged in both and it's running great, so maybe it's not hurting either way lol.

Most of the mid/high tier cards require two PCIe power cables, so yeah, you needed both.

I think from here after a paycheck or two I'll double the ram, then add some more fans. Is that tricky? There's 3 easy spots I can throw some new ones in, and one on the side but I'm not sure about that one, I wonder if it'll hit some cables or the graphics card since it was already kind of a tight fit putting the side panel back on. But getting 3 more would put me at 5 fans all around which I think would be pretty solid?

Adding fans is not usually difficult. You've only really got a couple considerations, outside of picking which ones to buy. Where to put them/which direction they should push air, and how to plug them in.

With consideration for the latter, worst case, you can usually daisy chain Molex plugs. I like to use the motherboard headers when I can. A further option is a fan controller - some cases have them built in, or you can buy one.

There are three different plugs on the end you can look for.

The first, again, is a simple Molex connector - the basic four pin power connector that you've got coming off your power supply (though they'll only use two pins). The kind that IDE HDDs and stuff have on them. These are fine, and functional, though they can result in messy cabling, and any software you might have to monitor fans likely will have no way to know about them.
Speed control for these is limited to switches on the fans themselves, or possibly a fan controller.

The second is the small 3-pin connector. Most motherboards have around three fan headers that you can plug these into, and some fan controllers will also use this style. The third pin is for sensing RPM, so your motherboard can know that there's a fan there, and that it's spinning.
In addition to fan switches/fan controller, some motherboards may have the ability to do speed control on these by reducing voltage.

The third is the small 4-pin connector, which is likely what your CPU fan has. The fourth pin is dedicated to speed control. AFAIK, a 4-pin fan needs a 4-pin header, though you can plug a 3-pin fan into a 4-pin header and it should work too.
Again, much more common that non-CPU fan headers will just be three pins for consumer level boards, but if you have four pin headers, that's what they do.

That said, if your case is cooling well enough without more fans, you don't necessarily need them. Potential source of noise and all.

From there I just want to throw in a SSD eventually. Any complications transferring/reinstalling the OS to that? I went for the OEM Win7 builder and hope I don't regret that... already wish I bought the full thing so I could have upgraded my laptop, but oh well.

You should be able to use drive cloning software to move your existing install - an SSD kit may include something for it, or Clonezilla is free. You can also reinstall from scratch if you want.
There's no real downside to going with the OEM license if you'll be sticking with the same motherboard for a while. The full version would still only activate on one set of hardware at a time, so you couldn't use it for both your new build and your laptop...and realistically, you could buy another OEM license for your laptop and still probably come out cheaper than buying a full retail copy to start with.

It'll be fun to mess with this now though. Maybe I can salvage some stuff, SATA cables, etc?

Possibly, but if the machine "could" work I'd leave it intact. Personally, I'm not inclined to have 80% of a computer sitting around, not usable because it's missing drives or something.

[Xeogred]

Yeah the CPU fan was 4-pins, and the two case fans were 3, though one fit into a 4 slot header. What confused me most was connecting the two case fans to each other, I guess if I get more fans, that's how I'd connect them or something? Break that connection up and combine them? Though there's no more slots on the motherboard I think. That kind of confused me.

I'm on a third story apartment and the best place I could find for it I'm not sure if is perfect, on a wood panel on the ground a few inches away from my desk, next to my TV/console shelving on the other side. But maybe it's fine.

A random thing I wonder/worry about with the fresh settings and all, is sleep mode bad for a multitude of externals? Always really cautious and on edge about that stuff, I wonder if having the externals spin like that off and on is bad in the long run. Previously I just had my other PC put up a screensaver but didn't bother with any power saving sleep stuff, so my external HDD's were just always running unless I shut down completely off and on.

Also I take it the smaller power/drive connectors are for SSD's?

[Hobie-wan]

If you can, put the computer a few inches off the ground. The closer to the floor it is, the more it will suck up dust, no matter how clean you keep the place.

[Xeogred]

Hmm yeah, I guess I have another wood panel I could use... that'd still only be like an inch or two though lol. Space isn't the issue where it is but I have no idea what to put it on, so I'll have to come up with something.