First Quad-Core Gaming PC, got some questions!

[haydox]

Firstly, my new PC has a Q6600 (will OC to 3ghz soon), 4GM DDR2 800mhz RAM, twin Radeon 3870s (only one currently...overclockers didnt send the bridge cables!) and an Asus P5E mobo.

Firstly, i notice that when i go into Properties of my computer, it only says i have 3.25Gb of RAM, any idea why?

Also, when i was installing the CPU, i noticed one of the pins wasnt in the same uniform formation as the rest, it appeared twisted by about 60 degrees, so with the tip of a thin knife i 're-set' it. This appears to be working fine, XP is installed ok, the mobo drivers are on, ati ccc is running and i can easily tell its a lot faster than my old system. Surely i would have noticed any problems this would have caused by now, so i am to presume its working fine?

And finally, whenever a message comes up saying "Are you sure you want to do..." with a "yes or no" answer, the stupid system speaker beeps at me, whilst this doesnt happen that often its already annoying me! It happened for example when it asked if i was sure i wanted to uninstall Steam which ATI CCC put on for some reason! Any way of stopping it?

Thanks

 

[Dark Comet]

If you want to see the full 4 GIG you will need a to install 64bit XP. I'm sure someone else will explain more to you. I'm not 100% sure why but I think it is something to do with the way a 32bit o/s handles memory.

 

[haydox]

Ok, thanks.

Got a few more questions now too!

As well as the twisted socket pin (which seems to be fixed and have no ill-effects as ive had no errors), the annoying system speaker in the tower which goes 'meep' constantly whenever a confirm box comes up (ANNOYING), i have also been noticing that as soon as it boots up symantec antivirus and this weird orange plane shaped symbol are there (Asus AI Gear 3) but it hangs for about 20 seconds before Windows Live Messenger (still MSN to me!) and the ATi CCC loads.

Edit: Just thought of 2 more questions to go alongside the socket pin, beeping and hang on startup!

My new computer takes around 1 minute to start up fully with only the bare minimum of drivers installed (mobo, graphics, antivirus and msn). Is this normal for a quad core with 4gb of RAM and a SATAII 7200rpm HD?

Also, for some reason the sound drivers included with the mobo didnt install properly so the SupremeFX II sound card the P5E mobo came with is currently unrecognised. Any idea where i can get the drivers for it?

Any suggestions on these five problems and ill love you forever!

 

[hassa]

You need a 64 bit OS (Vista or XP) AND a motherboard that allows memory to be remapped above the 4GB limit (which is the maximum addressable for 32 bit - 2^32 = 4GB)
As for the beeping - do you have any sound scheme setup - e.g. critical stop playing a wave file???

 

[beurling]

Get Vista 64bit and disable user permissions so you don't get those annoying "are you SURE????" messages.

Average quad startup (so i've heard) is anywhere from 15-60seconds. Varies with each system of course... and harddrive is definately a factor. If you're not happy with your current speed, try to find out what is holding you back.

 

[yay]

some programs use the internal speaker, (especially antivirus) so unplugging/ disabling will stop it as far as drivers go, if you are gonna install 64bit windows you should probably wait till then.

 

[gabriel_doru]

The beeps are there because you do not have the drivers for the sound card installed and because in the sound theme there is a sound event assigned to "critical stop" or "information message" or smth like that.
Install all the missing drivers (see them in the Device Manager for example)

 

[systemlord]

Anti-virus software is the reason why your computer is slower than without it, my system loads Windows in 26 seconds and I use virus scanners every week so I don't have anti-virus programs eating up my CPU and memory usage. Also whats are your memory voltages and timings set at? We need the brand and spec's for your RAM and other hardware so we may better help you.

 

[grieve]

Firstly, i notice that when i go into Properties of my computer, it only says i have 3.25Gb of RAM, any idea why?

DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE

LOL !

 

[haydox]

Well, my RAM is the Overclockers 800Mhz DDR2 RAM, 4x1Gb sticks.

Ok, ive got the sound card working, and im pretty certain now that the dodgy pin is fine after my 'repair' as a problem will certainly have arisen by now if there was one.

All i have now is the hang on start up and the RAM (which i never knew about and which MrsBytch certainly lived up to their name on). I may get either Vista or a 64-bit version of XP.

I also think i may know what the 'hang' is, my brother has an Asus mobo too and he has narrowed it down to the network drivers causing the hang. This is probably the case on mine as if i load IE during it, it doesnt do anything. Anyone got any idea on how to solve this? Its my one remaining problem!

Thanks again

 

[Dark Comet]

Make sure you check the advantages and disadvantages before installing 64bit.

 

[systemlord]

Make sure you check the advantages and disadvantages before installing 64bit.

Yes this is true, the most problems you will have is finding NVidia, Creative and third party driver support will be lacking for a 64bit OS. Companies like NVidia focus on the masses which most users use, 32bit Operating Systems like Vista Home Premium and Windows XP. Theres little support for 64bit OS's.

 

[PlasticSashimi]

64 bit still kinda sux....

in addition to what systemlord points out...networking issues and printer issues are very common.

Not to mention that most apps just aren't coded for 64 bit optimizations....still years away in my opinion before 64 bit is anything but a pain in the a**.......unless you're using a Mac Pro with After Effects or Motion or a limited number of other pro apps

 

[maverick9611]

Yes this is true, the most problems you will have is finding NVidia, Creative and third party driver support will be lacking for a 64bit OS. Companies like NVidia focus on the masses which most users use, 32bit Operating Systems like Vista Home Premium and Windows XP. Theres little support for 64bit OS's.

Actually, if you pay attention to the forums on Nvidia's website, most of the issues with Vista drivers are 32bit. I have had 64bit Vista since the beta's and haven't had a problem since the drivers release. My only suggestion for Nvidia is do not install nTune, its a waste of time and hassle. This is on an 8800GTS 640mb.

I also use a Creative X-Fi Platinum sound card and havent had any issues there. You may run into and issue or two if you have an older model, but if you are spending the money on a Quad Core and everything else then an entry level X-Fi shouldnt hurt your budget too much. You can often find them on sale at Circuit City or Best Buy.

I do agree with the printer issues though, I had to replace my printer when I moved my primary computer to Vista. It was almost 5 years old though and didnt really expect HP to have a driver. If you have a printer made in the last two years then you shouldnt have a problem finding a driver, but that all depends on the manufacturer.

You will have to go 64bit if you want to use all 4gigs of ram, so I suggest buying a copy of Vista, have them send you a 64bit disc, and see how it works out. If you have issues then you can always install 32bit untl they are solved. You can always look up drivers now and check the manufacturers forums to see if anybody has issues.

 

[systemlord]

Not everyone will have trouble with Vista, but the average consumer doesn't know how to optimize Vista to make it run like XP. Also people are comfortable with Windows XP because they have been using it for years like my brother, I will be building him a new computer next month and when I asked him if he might be interested in Windows Vista he said, "why should I have to learn how to use a new OS when XP does everything that I need it to do. Heres another example why Vista isn't truely ready for the masses until SP1.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/244901-32-lost-hard-drive-space-vista-defrag#t1739327

 

[rallyimprezive]

Im getting tired about this nonsense about 64bit drivers. WAKE UP.

Sure it was a problem over a year ago, and XP 64 bit drivers suck, but the Vista x64 support is fine! My old Audigy 2 ZX works fine, and my nvidia graphics card and nforce chipset work great.

I have had zero driver issues.

 

[haydox]

Ok, so there is still debate over 64-bit or 32 and whether it is worth the extra 750Mb of RAM.

I will consider 64 bit XP or vista, but at the minute this weird hanging upon start up is my main problem. Its not a big one, but its still a bit annoying knowing that it could be loading so much faster! I even tried disabling the virus scanner, and it still hung. Leaving me to conclude that it was either the network drivers (same problem as my brother) or the Streamlined XP disk i used which already had SP2 on.

 

[systemlord]

Im getting tired about this nonsense about 64bit drivers. WAKE UP.

Sure it was a problem over a year ago, and XP 64 bit drivers suck, but the Vista x64 support is fine! My old Audigy 2 ZX works fine, and my nvidia graphics card and nforce chipset work great.

I have had zero driver issues.

"The facts are that Windows based OS's get more support for the 32bit versions." Games are almost exclusive to 32bit OS's except for Crysis's 64bit support. Hell you can't even OC using RivaTuner on Vista yet, this is my point. I understand that there are benifits to having a 64bit OS for other apps that do take advantage of it.


Look at the OP, he is clearly building a hardcore gaming machine, the last time I checked there aren't many games that use 64bit OS's. The only reason he might want to go 64bit is he might be using apps that do use it.