Rate My Computer

[Reginthorn]

Sorry if this is a common thread topic, but I would like to hear feedback on my rig. I built it with gaming in mind.... Can it run games like Metro 2033 (DX11) and Crysis 2 (DX11) in 1080p? (or do I need to Crossfire?) My monitor is sadly only 1366x 768 and doesn't look good when hooked to my computer via HDMI.

CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 (not K, don't plan on overclocking)
Mother Board: MSI P67A-G43 (B3)
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 6970
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX (750 watts)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX (7200RPM 500GB)
Disk Drive: LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-Ray Reader
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1

 

[Uther39]

Your PC is absolutely fine for running all game at max detail @1080p, so the only thing you need to do is go out and buy a decent 1080p monitor, i swear by Dell ultrasharp monitors.

Dell UltraSharp U2410 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor
But the above may be to expensive for you, but the ones below are also good.
Dell Professional P2411H 24" Widescreen LED Monitor

 

[Ubrales]

Excellent components choices!

I agree with Uther39's recommendation of a Dell Ultra sharp. An alternative would be Dell's 2208WFP wide screen monitor from Dell's Outlet (re-furbished) store. I have one in use for over 2 years. Still going strong and I clearly notice the difference (good difference) between it and my other monitors.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/popupproductdetail.aspx?sku=320-6106&

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=222806&c=us&cs=22&l=en&MODEL_DESC=ALL&s=dfh
(Seventh one down the line - Ultra sharp)

 

[Reginthorn]

Sadly I can barely run the Witcher 2 on solid framerates. (uber settings of course)

 

[Uther39]

Sadly I can barely run the Witcher 2 on solid framerates. (uber settings of course)

If that is the case then there is something wrong with your system, is your CPU thermal throttling maybe due to a badly installed cpu cooler?

 

[Reginthorn]

I would doubt that. The default fan is hooked up. Haven't had any problems with my build.... besides audio cutting out for a few seconds once in awhile. (I think due to old speakers though)

 

[Ubrales]

Check CPU temps - that will tell the story.

 

[Uther39]

Well if you cant run witcher 2 at uber settings with your hardware at a measly resolution of 1366x 768, then trust me something somewhere is seriously wrong.

 

[Reginthorn]

What CPU temperatures are normal? The core temperatures are around 34C.

 

[Uther39]

Run HW monitor

http://download.cnet.com/HWMonitor/3000-2094_4-10793486.html

Screen shot the results and post it here.

 

[Uther39]

Also you need to tell us what your ambient room temperature is, and what PC case your using.

 

[Reginthorn]

Sorry for the long delay. How do I post the results? (Can't print the screen image) My case is a COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 and the ambient room temperature is 72F.

 

[Uther39]

Ok just copy and paste them all onto here.

 

[Reginthorn]

Here we go!

 

[Uther39]

Ok well the idle temps look ok, now you need to do the same whilst running prime95 small fft test and again post the results here, it would also be good to see the GPU temps.

 

[Reginthorn]

GPU temps and CPU stress temps

 

[Uther39]

OK an average temp of 70c whilst quite high is not critical for this CPU, what i would now be interested to see is your CPU clock speed both under stress and when idle, you can use CPUz for this and again post the results here,
http://download.cnet.com/CPU-Z/3000-2086_4-10050423.html

 

[Reginthorn]

CPUz doesn't tell me the temperature. However while running the Witcher 2, I checked CPU usage and it was giving me a reading of 1%. (That can't be right) FRAPS was giving me frame rates as low as 24 to as high as 60.

 

[Uther39]

Its not the Temp im interested in with CPUz, its the CPUs clockrate as in MHZ, and CPUz will tell us this i need to know what it is at both idle and load, i think maybe you MB BIOS is not handling intels speed step technology very well, or maybe even overiding it and preventing it from reaching it full rated 3.4ghz clock rate.

 

[lee3821]

I have a similar system...a little longer in the tooth, but pretty comparable, and I can run the witcher 2 on the second highest setting at 60fps at 5760x1080, but when I step up to the highest, it goes to like 5. I would assume that at about 1/6 the screen size and with a better processor and motherboard, you would be able to run it extremely well at comparable settings...

 

[Reginthorn]

@lee3821 You really can't get a better processor though right? (Besides the Extreme i7 or 2600k)

@Uther39 So what settings should I pay attention to in the BIOS? (Will post CPUz results later tonight)

 

[HEXiT]

not a bad build. only gripes is the ripjaw ram, the liteon dvd and the WD500
i would have went for lower cas ram there is some C7 1600 ram out there for a similar price. lite-on drives i have had have always broke long b4 there warenty was up. i prefer pioneer drives. and the wd 500 is easily beaten by a 1tb SP,F3. again at the same price.

 

[Reginthorn]

Good thing I will rarely use the disk drive, but I do deeply regret getting the 500GB HDD. (This is my first custom computer)

 

[Uther39]

I swear by samsung optical drives and hard drives, I love the 1tb f3, for that matter I always buy samsung tvs too.

 

[Reginthorn]

Very strange the core speeds remain the same for idle and in game. idle in Crysis