Computer "Upgrading"

[xRyokenx]

It's usually idling, unless I really feel like surfing the web and/or BSing with friends.

[DaveW]

In that case, you might as well turn it off, for the sakes of the environment if nothing else.

You'd all probably be surprised if you met me by just how much of an eco-warrior i actually am.

-Dave

[xRyokenx]

I'll probably end up setting it to hibernate after an hour, especially since "standby" is just annoying and doesn't really do anything whatsoever.

[simon275]

Yes dual screens are excellent. They cut time down working on assignments you have the internet open in one screen and word in the other.

So the 6800XT will be fine for dual screens in windows. I am running a 6800gt and can play WoW across two screens. One screen will run off the DVI and one of the D-Sub

I run two 19" lcd monitors

The best way to set up dual monitors is to use the NVIDIA drives which will detect both screens and let you span the image across them horizontally.

The clever part is the drivers trick windows into thinking that you just have a single very large screen plugged in so it ups the rez to 2560 x1024 and has the taskbar across the whole bottom of the screen.

Don't use the options in the display section of the display properties menu use the drivers

I hope this helps.

Also If you have any problems or want me to walk you through it just PM me.

With water cooling system I poked around online a bit. A good air cooled system will do the same or better than that system. You can put an aftermarket fan and heatsink on the graphics card. Like one of these it will do a better job than that watercooling unit. And plus this is $20.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186132

With water cooling you have to go all the way and spend like $300 to see cooling that beats aircooling.

[Ronyx]

dual monitors are good for assignments yes, but if you're looking for gaming. i can tell you first hand that it's not worth it. better off getting a 4:3 aspect 20" LCD then dual monitors.

[Cevinzol]

dual monitors are good for assignments yes, but if you're looking for gaming. i can tell you first hand that it's not worth it. better off getting a 4:3 aspect 20" LCD then dual monitors.

I guess I ahve to disagree here. having a game on a full screen and still be able to open a webpage, check e-mail, etc. is a really nice. Also some games really rock on multiple monitors (ala Crimson Sky's: Project NightHawk, flight sims for one are fantastic with 3 montiors. I wish I had room for 2 monitors.

[xRyokenx]

My onboard video card, once I upgraded the drivers, decided that I had two monitors, even though I had one... the software looks pretty user-friendly. If I had room and the cash I'd get a couple brand new monitors... I might just get a new monitor this next Christmas, or as a graduation gift. Are widescreens any good? I was thinking about getting one of those...

About the cooling, for the video card I decided to get the aftermarket heatsink when I order that awesome 512mb card for $145, and for my pc, if it doesn't condense all to hell, I might use my current heatsink considering that it has copper tubing in it, and looks as though I can use it for that, if not... I'll just use the water block that it comes with. If you need the link for my current heatsink, I think it's on one of the previous pages.

[xRyokenx]

Any advice on how to overclock? I'd also like to know what the safe temp range is for when a CPU is on full load, and what temps it runs best at, as in the greatest efficiency...

[xRyokenx]

Can somebody give me advice on overclocking? I'd rather not melt my CPU and fry my motherboard by making stupid mistakes due to lack of knowledge. Also, what's the limit on CPU temps? I'd like it to run at the best temp it can whilst overclocked... I'm thinking of just getting a more efficient fan for my heatsink and maybe filling the copper tubes with some coolant of some sort...

[ajmilton]

my advice on overclocking is http://www.google.com
the limit on cpu temps is variable. depends on the cpu.