NEED HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gnc4eva2007]

Hey guys, I am new to this so any or all help would be greatly appreciated. I just built a new pc just for rendering videos here and there. But now I would love to start gaming on it as well. These are the specs:
CPU: AMD FX-4100
Mobo: Asus M5A78L-M LX Plus
Case: Rosewill Blade ATX w/ a 500W PSU
GPU: Gigabyte AMD Radeon 6850
Storage: (1) Seagate Barracude 500GB Hard Drive and (1) Western Digital Green 2TB Hard Drive
Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) GSkill Ripjaws DDR3 1600
Has 3 120mm Fans and an AOC PCI Slot Case Cooler
Was wondering if there is any Video Card that I could put in that would make my gaming experience really good. If I have to change out or put in. Hope you guys can help with my issue. Thanks

 

[xtreme5]

hd 6850, is good card but your cpu is not good so try to change it.

 

[unksol]

honestly... no. The 6850 isn't exactly a slouch. But the FX-4100 is a pig.

What games, what resolution, and what settings? Your CPU is going to jury you with most games no matter what though...

 

[gnc4eva2007]

So what you guys are telling me is that the FX-4100 is not a great card. Man, was I told wrong. So what do you guys recommend

 

[gnc4eva2007]

I have tried to play MW3 and it just turns my screen blue with a bunch of words and numbers and the same goes with Portal 2. I play Alan Wake with ease and Mafia 2, so I dont understand.

 

[mubin]

Old Phenom II x4 is much greater than your cpu. Intel 3rd gen i5 cpu is best for gaming now.

 

[unksol]

So what you guys are telling me is that the FX-4100 is not a great card. Man, was I told wrong. So what do you guys recommend

I don't know who told you that, but the AMD FX series aka bulldozer was a major let down. The phenom II's were faster. And core I3s are as good or better for gaming. I have always built and preferred AMD so not an Intel fanboy saying this. its very unfortunate...

But again. We need to know what games, what Res, and what settings you want to play at. And if you have a current performance problem. You should have a decent low-mid level system now. a lot of games should be okay on medium/high

Crossfire 6850s may be an option depending on PSU and motherboard. I wouldnt waste money in the CPU will the next Gen (piledriver) comes out the end of this year. unless you want to scrap the board and go Intel.

You could overclock the FX4100. I am running a 6950 and overclocked Phenom II and perfectly happy.

 

[gnc4eva2007]

I would love to play on High settings doesnt have to be ultra just high would make me happy. Now crossfire is out of the question for the simple fact that my Mobo only has room for one GPU from my understanding. I could overclock the CPU but of course that would require and better cpu fan or even a cooling system, Right? I have a 500W PSu as well. I like AMD for the fact that is a lot cheaper than Intel. Again, thanks for all your help.

 

[unksol]

I have tried to play MW3 and it just turns my screen blue with a bunch of words and numbers and the same goes with Portal 2. I play Alan Wake with ease and Mafia 2, so I dont understand.

OK. this is an actual crash. Your system should be able to play those just fine. So you either have a faulty piece of hardware or some sort of driver/software issue. So its not that your system can't handle these or that you need to upgrade. there is an actual problem happening. If it was a slow system you get slow performance not a crash.

What is the error message? is everything updated?

Some things you can check for hardware issues:

Run prime 95 and a temperature monitor to see if your CPU is overheating.

Run memtest 86+ to check for memory errors.

Run GPUZ and log the temps while playing to see if the gpu overheats

 

[gnc4eva2007]

Did the GPU-Z while playing Dirt 3 and the temp is steady at a 50 degree Celcius

 

[unksol]

50 is no problem. 90-100 is around the crash point point for most GPUs. wondering what it is in the games that crash, but MW3 is a pretty light game.

Any chance you can get the error code from the bluescreen? or check the event viewer for info on the crashes

 

[gnc4eva2007]

sorry kind of a noob at all this but how do I check the event viewer. The only games so far it happens is MW3 and POrtal 21 so far. I play Metro 2033 like nothing

 

[unksol]

what you are seeing is know as the blue screen of death (BSOD). you can get the error off it bit it should be in the event log.

here's some info on the event log
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/What-information-appears-in-event-logs-Event-Viewer

system event and application event errors are what you should really look for

 

[swifty_morgan]

get the log. see what's on it.......... can't believe the processor and video card get bashed so badly....not high end but.... should be able to play DX9 game easily ( mw3 )......

 

[gnc4eva2007]

most of all is saying service control manager in the system panel

 

[swifty_morgan]

kinda vague.......... been to windows update lately ? all motherboard drivers were installed from giddy-up ? no errors on ram ? if you have the HD sound ( hdmi ) installed......... uninstall from device manager. could be causing conflicts if you're using the sound plug in the back of your motherboard. don't let windows re-install it on boot up.

it will be "AMD High Definition Audio Device" in the device manager......... just right click and uninstall.


and if you have windows automatic updates enabled shut it off so it won't install it while you're unaware.

 

[unksol]

have to majorly disagree... automatic updates should be left on for most users. I don't but most users should and drivers are never automatically installed so its not an issue

 

[swifty_morgan]

that's not a good idea to leave them on. it constantly runs in the background making machine run like it shouldn't. it will install unneeded and out out of date software.( like if he uninstalls the driver noted above ) don't say it doesn't try to install outdated software because I have some of that waiting for me to make a mistake.