Looking for upgrades for my current PC

[Oldswole]

I built my computer last year with some help from you guys and I'm having issues with certain games/processes that my computer should not have. Ventrillo for example freezes the entire computer whenever making any changes to it. Games like the new AVP or Empire total war locks up heavily if any steam window opens or whenever the game is starting/ending. When I run speedtest.net my speed is around 8 gb down and .40 upload when my Roomates with laptops or 3 year old desktops are around 28 download and 1.4 upload. We are all plugged in direct. Also when I play COD MW2 I can't always hear stuff my roomates can. They have much cheaper systems yet can hear people chatting sometimes when I can't.

My system specs:

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit edition ( I just bought windows 7 professional, but have not installed it yet. Waiting on any tips/help before doing so.)

Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme edition (stock this is not OCed at all)
-3.20 GHz
-Family 6 model 26 level 4
-Frequency 3200 Mhz
-Count 8
Cache:
lvl 1: 128 kb
lvl 2: 1,024 kb
lvl 3: 8,192 kb

Driver Version: 6.0.6001.18000

Motherboard: Dell Inc. 0P270J

Bios: Dell Inc. 1.0.5 XPS 730x

Memory: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 1600 (PC3 12800) The mobo only had 3 slots for ram. (stock not oced)

Video Card : Nvidia Gefore GTX 280 I have 2 (SLI) (stock not oced)
-Driver Version : 8.17.11.9621

After Market Cooler for Processor : Coolermaster V8 180w cooling

Power Supply: Corsair 1000hx (1000 watt)

Case: Cooler master HAF 932 (Black)

Monitor: Acer P241W

Speakers: Logitech X-540 70 Watts 5.1 speakers
Uses Realtek High Definition Audio v6.6

Hard Drives: Intel ICH10R Sata AHCI Controller ( i did not set this up but the c driver where my OS is 75 gb. My D drive is 150 GB, the E drive is 390 Gb and F drive is 465.7 gb) The guy said he had the D and E drive striped or something like that.
(2) WDC WD800HLFS-75G6U0
ST3500641AS -465.7 GB
ST3500630AS -465.7 GB the size

Optical Drive: TSSTcorp DVD+RW TS-H653B SCSI Cdrom Device

Bus Host Controller? (No clue what this is)
-Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller

Network Adapter : Broadcom Netlink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet

Mouse/Keyboard : g15 keyboard/ razer 3500 dpi deathadder mouse

I appreciate any and all help or tips. I know this is alot of information, but anything would help. Thank you guys in advance.

 

[jack_attack]

I'd run a Memtest to start with. Not sure what could be causing you to not hear things, but for the freezing during ventrillo and after games could be a failing stick. Never hurts to let it run overnight.

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

OMG, he bought the $1K CPU.

Also try and test the network card somehow. (maybe copy paste stuff between computers and see how fast it's going) This will show you if you just have a defective ethernet port. Might wanna try a different cable too.

And of course it could always be a software problem that would get fixed if you did a clean install. If you got a retail version there is literally no downside to going ahead and using it. (and not too much of an annoyance if it's an OEM)

 

[Oldswole]

I used to work for Dell actually, so that is why most of the parts were purchased there. I have tried 3 different cat 5 cables and had the same result. I have also tried moving the router closer to my computer with no change. When I install windows 7 it only offers the clean install, so I will update you once I do that. Is it simple to run a raid setup with just the windows 7 upgrade disc?

 

[jack_attack]

Are you sure it's a joke zip? A quick google shows that board is in the new Alienware systems, you never really know what people will do.

 

[duk3]

It's hard to find upgrades on a 1k cpu

 

[Oldswole]

The cpu itself seems fine but I feel like I'm bottlenecking at points. Just installed windows 7 and seems to run a bit smoother. Ventrillo problem went away but i still have the slower internet/ games that run in open gl mode lag like crazy whenever doing the simplest alt tab or anything really. Not sure if this is a hardware issue or software related.

 

[Oldswole]

You have no bottlenecks. The only negatives I see is the lack of a sound card.

Are your room mates connected to the internet when you running your speed test?

I can't see how they could be 4 times faster than you, makes no sense.

We are all connected but we have done it direct connect/switching the cables/switched the ports the ethernet cables were plugged into and still same outcome. My speedtest.net download is 9.8 down .84 upoload usually around that area. One roomate with the cheapest laptop between the 3 has 29.0 down / 1.3 up and the last mid pc has around 26.0 down .60 upload. Do you think I should buy an after market ethernet adapter maybe the mobo caps it?

All of my other problems except the ventrillo lag/sound issues with cod have been fixed with my upgrade to Windows 7. I might have had something corrupted on the OS, but it's noticeably much faster now.

I have to check if I have room on my mother board for a sound card. The v8 cooler is pretty huge and the 2 280 gtxs take up alot of space. I think the sound issue might be my speakers sucking or onboard audio not sure. Logitech X-530 5.1 speakers. They seem decent but maybe they are not up to par.

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

You don't need a dedicated sound card. Trying a PCI-E ethernet card is always an option; yours could be faulty or something.