Best Core 2 Series Desktops-Results and Specs

[sunburst79]

I am having PC issues on my Protools machine although it is unrelated to Protools. I have the ASUS EN7200GS 256MB video card and a ViewSonic LCD monitor. One day I booted up the machine and the screen was just white. I cycle power on the monitor and I can see that the PC has booted up correctly but just for a second as the screen quickly fades to white again. I can reboot the PC a couple times and eventually the monitor functions correctly and things seem fine until next start up.

Ideas?

PS I replaced the monitor connector. Man it was hard to do but it is a new one on there now.

See my other post...Also since our boards have 2 PCIe video card slots why not drop the card in the other slot and see if it makes a difference.

Other things to try that may help narrow the problem down would be to see if it will boot into safe mode. if the display is fine in safe mode It would tend to point to a driver issue.

[sunburst79]

Ok I got my pc built late last night and ran a dverb test
Here are my results:
240 Dverbs on a Q6600 - ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35, CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 , MSI NX8600GT-T2D256EZ GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 , Seagate ST3300631AS-RK 300GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 , Digi 002 Rack, PTLE 7.31

I am still waiting on my Audio drive WESTERN DIGITAL WD7500AAKS 750GB SATA 7200 RPM 16MB Hard Drive Bulk which has the intelliseek function as well as my digi approved card.I will post my expericence with that when I get it. So in my limited testing the onboard fire wire showed no problems and the video seems fime. The performance is awesome. To go from 23 dverbs on my old P4 to 240 is over a 1000% increase. Total cost on my new pc somewhere around 1400 with 100 dollars in rebates. I have optimized the Bios settings based on the info in this forum, but have not done the Hot fix for multi core processors. Sunburst, do you recommend doing that for the quad? -- thanks again for your help!!!!!

It's not going to hurt anything to do the Hot fix so I would say do it. I could use some verification the onboard FW is working so don't be in too much of a hurry to drop that card in. Were you doing the Dverb test to the internal system drive? I dont see any other drives listed. I glad you had a pretty painless build Did you use the BIOS setup guide and did it help? was it understandable? Anything you think I should add?

Like any one thats come up from a P4 the Quad should make you smile

[mykhal c]

[QUOTE]

Final result:
233 Dverbs(2.0) 24 48 1024 On a Q6600 - Asus P5K-e, 2GB of Corsair DDR2 667, Nforce 8500GT 256Mb, 2 74GB WD Raptor HDD, 1 500Gb WD HDD, Firewire 410, 7.4

Not really at the top end for this kind a configuration, but satisfying.
IMHO this machine can be pushed over 300 with 'some' overclocking.
I will be happy to test this on another machine, to be assembled by the beginning of next year...

hey MM and wakebrdr549, thanks for postin' your specs and results. i'll get both of you cats to the list

[wakebrdr549]

It's not going to hurt anything to do the Hot fix so I would say do it. I could use some verification the onboard FW is working so don't be in too much of a hurry to drop that card in. Were you doing the Dverb test to the internal system drive? I dont see any other drives listed. I glad you had a pretty painless build Did you use the BIOS setup guide and did it help? was it understandable? Anything you think I should add?

Like any one thats come up from a P4 the Quad should make you smile

I did record it to my system drive, so I am assuming that when my audio drive comes in I should get a slight boost in perfomance. I will monitor the FW and see if anything wierd happens. Do you know of any test I can do to prove that it is ok? The BIOS settings were clear and easy to set up. There was one setting in your setup list that was not in my bios. I am not by my pc right now, but I can find out which one that is and post it. I may have a slightly different bios version.

[sunburst79]

I did record it to my system drive, so I am assuming that when my audio drive comes in I should get a slight boost in perfomance. I will monitor the FW and see if anything wierd happens. Do you know of any test I can do to prove that it is ok? The BIOS settings were clear and easy to set up. There was one setting in your setup list that was not in my bios. I am not by my pc right now, but I can find out which one that is and post it. I may have a slightly different bios version.

Interesting point about seeing a DVerb increase with a dedicated drive. I assume that if you weren't getting disc errors that It may not make a difference....theoreticaly the Dverb test is totally processor dependent yet in the course of this thread we have found there is a Significant performance difference between FW devices and USB devices. This is actually VERY interesting as the actual interface is acting solely as a dongle and the only audio passing through it is the output. No one has ever answered why this is and I have wondered if it was a chipset anomaly, a USB protocol limitation or some "software weighting" by the manufacturer rerunning the Dverb test with the system drive to verify the previous results and then doing a fresh Dverb test from the new drive may prove enlightening.

As far as the fire wire testing goes just use it and see what happens. You will definitely know if its not working because of the error messages.

Glad to hear the BIOS settings helped and if you let me know your BIOS version and the difference I will see about editing the instruction list. My current BIOS is 404.

[mykhal c]

status report

ok...the quad became the apt pc for a week or so due to the PSU failin' in that one. so it's back up and runnin' now and the quad has at least made it into the studio but with my studio bein' 5 floors below my apt, the wi-fi does not connect with my network. so in an effort to save cash i could...
a) grab my linksys card outta my P4 (p4 will become my backup pc now)
b) buy a 2nd linksys card
c) or try a cheaper antenna option HAWKING HAI15SC Hi-Gain 15dBi Corner Antenna - Retail

so i was wonderin' if anyone has tried this antenna??? it's cheaper than a card but not as cheap as usin' the existin' card

oh yeah, i'm usin' the ASUS P5K DELUXE Wi-FI mobo. lemme know what you cats think or what your experience with the antenna has been. thanks...

[sunburst79]

My money says use the existing card from the P4. Its paid for and you know it works

While not 5 floors down I added a amplified D-link antenna a year or so ago to mine and it helped a lot. This was my previous P4 system. Using the amplified antenna with the P5K's onboard Wifi has been excellent here.

The Hawking and other antenna options usually work quite well. You might see if your local retailer has a "no questions asked" return policy and try a aftermarket antenna before clogging up a PCI slot

Your situation is a bit extreme....Have you thought of hanging the router of a rope and lowering it to the third floor or so?

Or something like this?

Happy Holidays!

[mykhal c]

My money says use the existing card from the P4. Its paid for and you know it works

While not 5 floors down I added a amplified D-link antenna a year or so ago to mine and it helped a lot. This was my previous P4 system. Using the amplified antenna with the P5K's onboard Wifi has been excellent here.

The Hawking and other antenna options usually work quite well. You might see if your local retailer has a "no questions asked" return policy and try a aftermarket antenna before clogging up a PCI slot

Your situation is a bit extreme....Have you thought of hanging the router of a rope and lowering it to the third floor or so?

Or something like this?

Happy Holidays!

you my friend are a nut!!!!! that was a classic!! after a day of nothin' but frustration, now at 1AM, that totally made my day.

well, and of course you were right. i put the card in the quad and after bein' tooooooo lazy to go back and forth 5 floors to troubleshoot, my successful connection took alot longer than it should have. i was just too lazy to go reset the router and of course i had connectivity issues when first puttin' it in the quad!!! but it's all good now!!! 108 mbps 5 floors away!!! now i need a new desktop 'cause the P4 is kinda slooooooooowwwwww!!

i have to admit i'm dreadin' all the music software installs!! gonna take freakin' forever!!! i've got all upgrades so i have to install previous versions first before the upgrades will install!!! ok i'll stop b$tchin'!!!

well downloadin' QT now and will install PTLE 7.4 and WAVES DIAMOND tomorrow!!

give ya a call tomorrow sunburst!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!

[sunburst79]

I'm not sure I've ever heard a P4 refered to as slow..... but think of the money you will save on your electric bill by using it as a space heater

[mykhal c]

I'm not sure I've ever heard a P4 refered to as slow..... but think of the money you will save on your electric bill by using it as a space heater

ok i'm brain dead and tired of searchin' how and where do EQ III and Dynamics III show up in the RTAS plugin list??? cannot find it for *****!!!

but i do have 7.4 cs2 installed and rockin'!!!! man, quad power is sweeeeeeeeettttt!!! still got a lotta SW to install but should be runnin' some DVERB tests this week. i think this day is done tho!!!