help with an upgrade

hello all, i am new here and was actually considering upgrading my computer. i currently have a md phenom 9600 with an msi k9a2 platinum mobo i was thinking either getting an 8850be or 9950be or maybe even switching to a core 2 duo e8400 with an asus mobo i would like to know any opinions or suggestions

thanks in advance

What you need more than a new platform is pair of 4870 ATi video cards to go with that Phenom 9600. Turn off the TLB patch with AMD's own software and there is no reason why you won't be able to pull around 12000 3D mark 06 score with a single card, even more if you X-fire. Why waste money on a new platform that won't do much better anyway. On that board you should really be able to pull some numbers, if you can't, send it to me and I'll gladly demonstrate. I recently built a system around the 8400 with SLi 8800GT's and that got around 14000. I think your system should be able to do quite a bit better.

Good hunting and good luck!

What size monitor do you have? Also what GPU? I'd make the most of the x-fire myself and get a larger monitor. The 4870's are a bargain and worth considering unless you have a 4850, in which case I'd just buy another 4850.

i just run 3d mark06 the first time it crashed on me i got an nv4_disp error and the second time it completed i got a score of 10650 sm2.0 = 4355 sm3.0 -4553 and cpu 3416 is this ok i have a feeling there is something wrong with my computer

i tried almost everything fix i could find for the nvlddmkm error the only thing that seemed to work was lowering the memory from 800 to 677
also i would like to know is this normal or is there something wrong with my computer like i thought

windows xp s2 windows vistahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista s1
10650 8913
sm 2.0 = 4355 3298
sm 3.0 = 4553 4104
cpu = 3416 2951

current set up case = antec 900
mobo = K9a2 platinum (bios 1.5)
cpu = amd phenom 9600
gpu = nvidia 8800gt (driver 175.19)
kingston 800mhz 2x2 gig (cpuzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU-Z says 5-5-5-16-21)
2 hhd i 76 gig seagate the other 250 gig seagate
psu thermaltake toughpower 650 or 600 watts
like i said all suggestion and comments are welcomes and i will change anything which is believe to be a problem just keep in mind its a gaming computer only when you give your suggestions

thanks again

mmm sorry i am a bit new with his vertigon i looked throu the bios and couldnt find any setting for pci bus

Have a look in you manual stav. Look for something like this:

Adjust PCIE Frequency [Auto]

That might be set at auto by default or 100. Don't leave it on auto as generally the auto setting will overvolt your PCI bus leading to the " nvlddmkm " problem. Your mainboard has a DOT control feature:

D.O.T. Control
This item allows users to select either/both of CPU and PCIE to be controlled under D.
O.T. The D.O.T. (Dynamic Overclocking Technology) is an automatic overclocking
function, included in the MSITM’s newly developed Dual CoreCellTM Technology. It is
designed to detect the load balance of CPU and PCIE while running programs, and to
adjust the best frequency automatically. When the motherboard detects system is
running programs, it will speed up automatically to make the program run smoothly
and faster. When the system is temporarily suspending or staying in the low load
balance, it will restore the default settings instead. Usually the Dynamic Overclocking
Technology will be powered only when users' PC need to run huge amount of data
like 3D games or the video process, and the CPU and PCIE frequency need to be
boosted up to enhance the overall performance.

So you either set it to fixed data rate or you can overvolt the PCI bus by a little bit at a time until things become stable. The same thing probably happened when you dropped memory frequency because I have seen these boards running very fast memory.

These settings are generally tinkered with by overclockers. I suggest if your keeping this board and going with 2x4870's to get your bios flashed and set by someone who knows what their doing. People will tell you it's easy but someone with your experience shouldn't attempt it. The whole thing should cost about $50-$80 and well worth having a machine that's rock solid 100% never fail.

LOL I am still trying to crash my own computer but it won't which makes life stable but boring.