Graphics & Rendering Issue

[rivimey]

I have just openned the computer case and cleared the dust around the fans and graphics card. There was plenty of cack build up around the graphics card but I have cleared all of this.

...

I assume that it must be the card rather than the buildup of dust (which admittedly there was quite a bit of).

I would say there's a fair chance you've overheated the gpu at some time and now it is essentially dead - at least for some types of operation.

Borrow a new/known good one and test with that, or splash the cash on a new card. Leave the rest of the PC alone until you've tested and either shown whether or not it is at fault.

Regards
Ruth

[RCH37401]

Thanks for the information, guys. Ruth - below I have given a link to a card I am looking to buy which I can use to test it if it works.

I have looked on the Overclockers website, and I am looking to buy a nVidia GTX 560 (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productli ... subid=1341). I am not sure on what each variation of the GTX 560 means. Would the top one (here: ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... ubcat=1341 ) ) be the one to go for?

I am also looking at 2x 4GB RAM memory too, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... =MY-094-KS .

If I purchase these two items, will I be able to run them with my current processor (Pentium (R) Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60 GHz) for a couple of months until I can afford to replace that too? As long as they can all operate together without issue then I am happy, as I will update to a more powerful processor at another time.

Many thanks again for the help.

[gptech]

The 560 is a very good card, either with 336, 384 or 448 cores.
http://vr-zone.com/articles/which-gtx-5 ... 12260.html might help you work out what's what.

The RAM you've looked at might not be compatible with your motherboard, you'll need to determine what that is and work from there.

If I purchase these two items, will I be able to run them with my current processor (Pentium (R) Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60 GHz) for a couple of months until I can afford to replace that too? As long as they can all operate together without issue then I am happy, as I will update to a more powerful processor at another time.

Back to motherboard again, whilst the graphics card will probably work I believe you'll find you can't go much further CPU wise; you'd be better off working out which CPU platform you want to end up at and see if there's any commonality in the components you're wanting to upgrade now.

[rivimey]

gptech is right, in that you may find that the new ram isn't suitable for an upgraded motherboard mandated by a nerw cpu.

If you don't mind that and you have checked compatibility between the current cpu/motherboard and the proposed memory, then go ahead, but as I said earlier I advise just changing the gfx card first. The 560 is good enough for the new system and should work in the current one fine (assuming you have PCIe x16 gfx slot - which I expect you do).

Ruth

[RCH37401]

Hi GP/Ruth

Thanks again, I am just slightly daunted by the variations and what is compatible and what isn't!

I will try and purchase the GTX 560 over the next few days, ensuring it works with nothing else changed on the machine.

After making sure that works, what will I have to change next? Will I need to change the motherboard or just the RAM and CPU (and processor at a later date)?

Sorry for the amount of questions, I am just worried about getting something which isn't compatible etc.

Thanks again

[gptech]

After making sure that works, what will I have to change next? Will I need to change the motherboard or just the RAM and CPU (and processor at a later date)?

Depends on what CPU you want to upgrade to. For example, if you set your heart on an i7-2600 (socket 1155) it won't fit your motherboard (most probably socket 775) and newer DDR3 RAM modules are unlikely to fit either.

I feel that deciding on what CPU and motherboard you want to end up with should be your starting point, I'd advocate swapping those first but as you seem to be in dire need of a new graphics card first that's not exactly practical.

As with any upgrade cost is a big factor, the 'standard' 560 (336 cores) comes in around £140 with the Ti (384 cores) being £40 or so dearer. Add another £40 to get into Ti (448 cores) territory.

Performance wise, the Ti seems to come in about 10-15% more powerful than the standard 560 in benchmarks, but whether this level of improvement would be attainable, or even noticed in RW is unknown.

Size DOES matter, it'd be silly to buy a card you can't physically fit in your machine but as you have a 9800 already I expect a 560 series will fit but it'd be prudent to check specs and get measuring before placing an order. Make sure your PSU is up to the job, nVidia recommend at least a 450W unit, with two 6 pin supplementary power feeds.

[peterfhayes]

Richard
gptech and Ruth make some excellent points.
Another thing to check is if your mobo is an ATX or a microATX - the latter being smaller and it will be more difficult to fit the 560 which as I recall is slightly longer than the 9800. Also check where your RAM slots are located as a longer/larger card may not fit in with the RAM inplace - so have a look at your current card and see what clearance it has and remember the 560 occupies a 2 slot space on the mobo so again check if you have the room. You could upgrade the cpu to an E8600 or higher or even an LGA775 Q6xxx quad but the best performance increase would be to upgrade to SB. I can confirm that the 560 works in a LGA775 mobo - space willing.
Regards
PeterH

[rivimey]

Richard

My advice:

1. check that an nVidia 560 gfx card will fit in your PC's case. Normally it's the total length and the width that matter - esp. one slot or two.

2. Work out which specific model of 560 to go for. More cores is good, and the 560 Ti is considered a good card overall, but there are several varieties of it made by different manufacturers. Generally the things that change (for a specific gpu chip == the "560") are the total RAM fitted, the software bundle, and the cooler. Ignore the bundle: it's mostly marketing fluff. More RAM on the card is good but given a low budget don't sacrifice the better gpu (more cores) for more ram. Get over 512MB though.

3. Having established a specific card, order it and fit it. Switch on, Install the driver, and then update it... both nVidia and AMD/ATI regularly update the driver and it's usually best to keep up to date.

4. You now have a usable system again, I hope. Check out Steam/RW and see what happens. Hopefully the problems are fixed.

5. In the future:
I would aim, long term, to upgrade the PC's CPU to a Sandy Bridge (current) or Ivy Bridge (upcoming v.soon) CPU. Both these are the names of a family of chips, Ivy Bridge being more recent and better. Sandy Bridge (SB) is much quicker than your current CPU for the same GHz and the i5 and i7 varieties of it have more cores as well (though currently RW doesn't use them properly). Which chip to chose will depend on (a) your budget and (b) what is available. Expect to pay over £150 for any of them though. Which CPU you chose will dictate, to some degree, which motherboard you can have, because the CPU socket varies.

These days, motherboard choice is less critical than it was, so it's mostly what features do you want - e.g. one or two ethernet ports, two or 4 6Gbps SATA ports... Check out the reviews and don't get bogged down in performance differences of 2% or less - you really won't notice. Pay attention to ease of use of the BIOS and whether it has what features you need. One thing you can do if unsure is consider the choices of complete system manufacturers: mesh/pcspecialist/dell/gateway/whoever. They generally chose reliabilty over other concerns, and may well get special deals on some components, but at least you know the combinations work.

Keep an eye out, over a bit of time, for which stockists have the components: special offers and deals sometimes make a significant dent in a budget! And of course while doing this save the pennies up!

Finally, I should mention that a decent power supply is essential and that maximising total watts is a bad selection method. Look at power efficiency (ignore anything under 85%) and then aim for 400W (small 1-2 disk drives, 1 gfx card) to 650W (several disk drives and/or 2+ gfx cards).

Overall, view this as a 2-3 month project, rather than a jam today affair.

Hope this is useful,
Ruth

[firetrap1]

Not to throw in a tangent, but those screenshots look remarkably like the issue that was present back in the days of Railsimulator. The problem would be present when one would minimise the game and then open it into fullscreen afterward.

chris