Need quick opinion..

[drf408]

I recently posted about trying to get more out of my current Q6600 system, to which I got replies to. So I am weighing my options and happend up on a system in craigslist about a year and a half old -

HP Pavilion Elite e9280t
Core-i7-920 (B) (2.66GHz /1366 MHz) 1 MB L2 + 8 MB shared L3 (130W)
9 GB (4 x 2 GB, 1 x 1 GB) DDR3 PC3-10600 (message as PC3-8500)
1.5 TB 7200 rpm SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec)
25" HP Monitor
Adobe Lightroom 2.3, Photoshop CS4, and Bridge
Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers

Set up and being used now, I callled the ad and was told I can come by and test it out. Owner is buying high end lap-top..

The monitor is also an upgrade over what I have currently. I have a 24" dell that is quite dull in picture quality.

Asking price is 500.00, I am going to go take a look at it after work today.

If I bought it i would swap the 550true watt PSU and GTX550 I have now and be done with it. What do you think?

 

[ragenalien]

The memory amount concerns me, 9GB is an odd number to find in a pc, when you have triple channel memory you generally want to use all six spaces, otherwise there can be performance issues. Other than that its a decent setup considering the included monitor. I would ask him to do a stress test on the system for your to make sure everything works right.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

You currently have a computer? Why don't you spend the $500 and upgrade it? You can get a lot for $500
You can get a 2500 K, Gigabyte GA-Z68XP MoBo, and 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR31600 for $414.97 from Newegg.

Hehe, I just printed that out for myself last night.

 

[drf408]

The 9GB oddly is an option HP provides when customizing them. I have a gateway that i just upgraded the PSU and GPU. This HP got great reviews saying that they used good parts and is supposedly fast, part of it laziness, I used to love building a pc now I find it a chore. Plus bang for the buck with the monitor. However I guess I could find a combo (case and assembled) with the parts you listed too.

 

[drf408]

Oh and @Ragenalien - what would you suggest for a stress test?

 

[drf408]

Didn't do it, hit frys and price matched some stuff and got a new Asus MB, i5-2600 CPU, 1tb 7200 hd and a case. I can always buy the monitor when ready and although that would push the cost higher than what the guy was selling, i have good parts and they are new. Plus this is the newest generation cpu and apparently performs as well as that older gen i7...more than enough for me. Will assemble tomorrow.

 

[ragenalien]

Good idea, building your own computer gives you a lot more control over the final product. That CPU is pretty good, for games it definitely does perform the same, anything other than video encoding as well will be the same. Oh and Prime95 is a good free program for CPU testing.

 

[drf408]

Thanks Rage! At this point however, I'm not sure it was a good idea. Way more hassle. Everything it together and running however it just freezes, all temps are good. My PSU is a coolmaster 550W which from all resources I've found is supposed to be more than enough. I am coming from a q6600 which ran the same videocard i have now for a few weeks without a hitch. I had a gtx260 OC'd with my q6600 with this psu. I'm about ready to tear it apart and return all parts

 

[drf408]

Oh and it ran all night long however it's mostly in games it will completely freeze up..

 

[megadelayed]

The memory amount concerns me, 9GB is an odd number to find in a pc, when you have triple channel memory you generally want to use all six spaces, otherwise there can be performance issues. Other than that its a decent setup considering the included monitor. I would ask him to do a stress test on the system for your to make sure everything works right.

9gb isnt a weird no. in a 1366 build as you can get 3x2gb and 3x1gb but this is really weird having 2x4gb and 1x1gb as it would probably run in asymmetric dual channel which only 3gb of that would have the extra speed and yes this is actually a good build for that price

 

[ragenalien]

Post a complete list of the parts you have (Absolutely everything from your case to what brand of memory) and links to where we can view them. We of the forums are always willing to help.

 

[drf408]

Thank you

Intel i5-2500k cpu
Asus P8P67 mb
elite 430 Coolermaster case
coolermaster extreme power plus 700W PSU
Barracuda 1tb sata HD
unknown cd drive
EVGA GTX560 nvidia card
8 gb ddr3 4gb x 2 cas9 low pro vengeance heat spreader

I downloaded something called speedfan, and it did show multiple cpu cores + vc heating up (flame graphic) at one point 80c for cpu but then much lower in game and VC went up. However it all feels much cooler than old rig which was - Gateway 6600 3gb ddr2 same VC and 550w coolermaster psu, no issues excepted dated performance. Felt like it ran much hotter was incredibly stable and reliable.

 

[drf408]

I ran prime95 as suggested with speedfan and of course it ended up freezing, everything looked cool except "AUX" which showed 60C and had the flame graphic.. Frustrating..

 

[ragenalien]

Hrm you have a K series CPU huh, you aren't OC it are you?

 

[drf408]

nope, i updated all drivers, new nvidia, motherboard. This videocard rocked in my last righ which i may set back up just for the sake of double checking the vc. The old rig threw off way more heat and was a q6600 but i never had one hitch, I could leave a game on all day without issue. there was one bios update i had missed, which i just did, tried again, fired up a game in 1600x1000 mode...played about 3 minutes..sudden system freeze again

My friend put together the same system except he went i7 and gtx470 but same MB, no issues so far at all for him.

 

[drf408]

I'm going to try my old vc (gtx260) to eliminate the possibility that my vc has gone defective. Then I will just try swapping the cpu out, if still and issue get a whole new mb too.

 

[megadelayed]

Thank you

Intel i5-2500k cpu
Asus P8P67 mb
elite 430 Coolermaster case
coolermaster extreme power plus 700W PSU
Barracuda 1tb sata HD
unknown cd drive
EVGA GTX560 nvidia card
8 gb ddr3 4gb x 2 cas9 low pro vengeance heat spreader

I downloaded something called speedfan, and it did show multiple cpu cores + vc heating up (flame graphic) at one point 80c for cpu but then much lower in game and VC went up. However it all feels much cooler than old rig which was - Gateway 6600 3gb ddr2 same VC and 550w coolermaster psu, no issues excepted dated performance. Felt like it ran much hotter was incredibly stable and reliable.

does you case have good airflow or does it have case fans as the hot air the components are producing might not be able to get out of the case

 

[drf408]

It has decent airflow, definitely better than before. My old case a more compact gateway case that used to generate much more heat. I also have the side panel off. I am going to try a few more things tonight and if no success and I determine the vc is fine (it should be) then I'll start with replacing the parts, its only a 10 min drive away where i bought my stuff (Fry's).

 

[drf408]

And from what I read it seems to be more likely cpu/mem/mb than vc since the vc never really got too hot and usually artifacts and other perf issues would appear first. This is a sudden complete freeze, even when the vc is in optimal temp ranges. Just want it to be done, seems like it is going to be a great setup when i figure it out..

 

[drf408]

Oh and I meant to mention that it will freeze same way as it does in a game when I run prime95. So I'm leaning towards it being cpu...

 

[drf408]

Thank you all for the replies. I fixed it I am an idiot!! I just built my friend an I3 system almost identical to mine in parts minus cpu and he has a gtx460. He put the memory in and I checked what he did, and i realized he did it wrong, he put it in slot 1and2, i thought to myself..hmm..it's been a while, soo.. I did that in my system! Its running Prime95 now, has been for an hour + however cores do hit 80 at the highest so i may replace the stock fan..