Component Upgrading

[blueonblack]

I honestly don't know on the dual monitors, as I only use one, but I think that's more an issue with your video card and its associated software than the OS.

I've never bought a full retail version of an OS myself, always the OEM. That's me, though. I never saw enough advantage in paying the extra money.

[Stone]

UltraMon – the software I use for my dual monitors does appear to be compatable with Windows 7, and my Graphics card can definitely do tit ^.^ This is all talk for the future though, I'm more interested in upgrading my components than my OS at this time, and 4GB should be more than enough for me.

I do however, have more questions XD. 4GB is that max for XP, but I have read that having over 3GB installed when setting up the components could be bad? I'd like that to be cleared up – should I install my new components with all 4GB installed, or just put in once card at 2GB?

As mentioned, I'm pretty much set on the CoolIT Eco. In the review here there is a picture shown with what appears to be thermal compound – does that mean I could skip purchasing Artic Silver 5 or something similar? It's even mentioned that the thermal compound is prei-nstalled; the compound is arguably the part I'm most worried about, so does this mean I can skip applying the compound completely?

And, actually installing a heat sink, I imagine it's relatively simple? Do I need to put on some sort of backblate on the MBB; or does the heat sink somehow “click” into place? I know – noob questions, but I like to be well informed.

And again, thanks for all the help BoB ^.^ It's greatly appreciated.

[blueonblack]

Your 32-bit XP will work just fine with 4GB. It will only recognize 3.25-3.5 GB but the extra won't hurt a thing.

The ECO (and most modern high-end cooling solutions) does come with "thermal goo" in place. That's the gray square on the cooling base in the pictures in the review. So on the *first* installation attempt (successful or otherwise), yes you can skip the thermal compound. I'd buy some anyway if you don't have any around. If something goes wrong with the first attempt you'll need it.

Installation - The H50 was considerably easier to install and has given me better performance than the ECO, but neither of them is really hard. A backing plate is required for both, but I found the spring-loaded screws on the ECO a lot more difficult to deal with than the H50's turn-and-lock method. They should have been 1/4" longer. The H50 also allows more flexibility in installation as far as hose routing, since it can be installed in any number of positions in a full 360-degree circle. That can be important in a smaller case, as these lines (on both of them) are pretty stiff.

If it sounds like I didn't like the ECO, that's not the case. It is a very good cooler, and I'm sure you can install and use it just fine. They are both very effective and very quiet. I just wanted to point out all the factors to consider before you bought one.

Oh, and if you want to get rid of a little more of that money you have lying around, Corsair now has an upgraded version, the H70.

Edit: If you're using the pics of the installation in the review as any sort of guide, be aware that case is HUGE.

[x88x]

I know there are a lot of people who have had different experiences than me on this front, but I have never had a problem with a program not being compatible with 7 64-bit. I don't use many old programs though, so I guess take that with a grain of salt. It is entirely possible that you might run into problems with PS7 though, considering that it's 8 years old now.. FWIW, I would not recommend using the 'XP Mode' included in the Pro and Ultimate versions of 7. It's really just an XP VM running in the latest version of Microsoft Virtual PC, which in my experience and in the experience of everyone I've talked to, is horribly inferior in terms of performance and usability when compared to other free virtualization options such as VirtualBox. If you feel like spending a bit of time messing around with it, you could always install 7 64-bit without a license key (for the 30-day 'trial mode'), and try the programs you're worried about.

Multiple monitors, if anything, work better in 7 than in XP. I'm personally running 4 monitors on two different video cards and have never run into a problem.

In fact, apparently 7 plays happy with having drivers for both AMD and nVidia GPUs installed at the same time, so on at least one front of the multi-monitor issue it is quite superior to XP. And UltraMon works just fine with 7. I used it for a while, but ended up switching back to DisplayFusion instead of buyinf UltraMon when the trial was up because I found I didn't really use any of the features except for the wallpaper.

For the HDD, yes, it will definitely be worth the trouble to transfer your OS to the new 1TB. If you want something that will outperform any standard desktop HDD (except for random seeks on the Velociraptor) without having to deal with the complications that SSDs introduce, the Seagate Momentus XT is a hybrid drive that provides amazing performance for a platter-based drive, and isn't horribly expensive either.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...hybrid&x=0&y=0

For the thermal paste, personally I would recommend removing the stuff that comes on whatever heatsink/waterblock/etc you get, and replacing it with AS5. That's really all dependent on how much bother those extra few C are worth to you though.

I will second BoB's recommendation on getting the OEM version of Windows. The only reason to get the retail is for the additional support options...which imo are useless. Additionally, if you're a student (or still have access to a student email address), you might be able to get it here for $50USD. IDK if it's available in Canada though...

[SXRguyinMA]

if you use 7 you don't need ultramon the redular Catalyst Control Center from ATi or whatever the green guys use will do it by itself and let you configure it however you want. I used ultramon with XP, but no use for another peice of software now

[Stone]

Trouble arises - typing on my iPod, sorry for any typing mistakes.

I bought the m4a78t-e, amd phenom x4 965 and Corsair xms3 as blueonblack suggested. Tomight I installed it all without problems, until I tried turning on my computer at least. Upon turning it on I see a new motherboard screen, then I get to choose to start Windows XP, or Windows Recovery console (thats nomal) it then goes to the screen where I choose to start Windows normally, in safe mode, or last known good configuation. Last knownnormal will go to the Windows loasong screen, but after a moment Bsod flashes really quickly, and the computer restarts itself

I only have the one drive with Windows plugged in, I've swapped out the ram in a couple differnt slots but nothing changes I'm sure it's not my gfx card or hdd as both were working fine in my old setup. I can get into the Bios, and that also says the drive is fine. I'm too inexperienced with bios to know if the problem resides in there :/

So basically, my question is, whats wrong? The little bit of searching I've done suggests ram, but I've akready tesyed those, unless both my sticks are doa?

Tomorrow after work I plan on putting my old parts back in too see if that works, but I want some of your expert opinions on what I've dome wrong here :/

Thanks a bunch.

[diluzio91]

odd question. but what is your powersupply wattage? you might be asking for more than it can pump out. also make sure that the heatsink is properly mounted on the processor, as an improperly mounted heatsink can cause you to overheat before you can boot. try resetting the bios by removing the button cell battery on your motherboard for a few seconds. You could also pop your old processor into the motherboard and make sure the bios is up to date, but as it begins to load XP it dosnt sound like a bios issu.

[x88x]

What diluzio said, check the PSU rating and try resetting the BIOS and reseating the CPU HS/F. Also, try starting Windows in Safe Mode, see what happens. If it works fine in Safe Mode we know it's a software problem, probably driver related. If none of those work, burn a memtest86 disc and test your RAM.

[slaveofconvention]

Have you done a clean install of Windows or are you just plugging the old drive into the new components?

[Stone]

I'm plugging an old harddrive into new components - motherboard, cpu and ram are all that I'm replacing.

I've got a 700W Cooler Master PSU in it, thats SLI certified. I reallyhope thats not the problem, since I've already had a PSU die on me in the past -.-

As for setting the heatsink - two problems. I don't have any thermal paste at all, forgot to purchase it When putting the heatsink on I did mess up a liitle by hitting the cpu and scuffing up what was on the heatsink already but; in thr Bios I can see the CPU temperature at about 25-29 degrees celcius (cooler even than the motherboard itself) and after rebooting itself once or twice, it shows the samp temps. Could the CPU really be overheating, then going back to such a low temp so quickly?

And some hopefully good news - the system does appear to boot into safe mode; at least to the point where I can select what user to login to on XP. From there none of my usb moce will work, but I think thats because I'm in safe mode? Does this mean I simply have to put my old hardware in, download and install the drivers for the new hardware, then switch it again? I was inder the impression drivers could be installed after :/

As of now I haven't taken the battery out to reset the bios, sincr I haven't changed any settings anyway - would resetting a default board really help? Lol

Once again thanks for all the help, +rep once I get on a real computer. Heres to hoping this is a simple software problem ^.^