# How powerful is my rig?



## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

I was just interested in finding out where my rig stands in general compared to other pcs of the class. I would like to know if my rig is a low medium or high end rig and how it would fair gaming although i seem to be able to play games on fairly high setting at reasonable framerates. Would just appreciate an expert unbiased opinion.

Asus m3a H/hdmi Motherboard. pci-e16 2.0 
Amd x64x2 5000+ 2.8ghz
4gb Ocz Reaper ddr2 1066mhz (only 3.2gb available due to operating system)
Saphire Hd4870 512mb ddr5 overclocked to 790/1100 dx10.1
Maxtor diamondmax 500gb Harddrive
Maxtor diamondmax 160gb harddrive (main)
Samsung Sata dvd muti-recorder
Standard 850w dual fan psu 
6x usb2
3x firewire
Windows vista ultimate 32bit
3 system fans 
Coolermaster Elite case
Coolermate system monitor.
Acer p183w 19" monitor 2ms  (1440x900 resolution)
10mb virgin media Broadband connection.


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

I would say its a medium gamig rig. On the scale that low is like a good mainstream PC, and high is an enthusiast PC.

Just a tip, might be worth you installing the 64-bit version of Vista, would give you a performance boost for free! You are crippling your RAM only having a 32-bit OS


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## PuMA (Sep 24, 2008)

Id say switch to intel and u have closer to high end rig


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## Darknova (Sep 24, 2008)

That thing will blitz most games you throw at it, don't bother switching to Intel, too much money for not enough gain when it comes to gaming.

Although, I personally would suggest going to Vista x64, you can use your full 4Gb, and I find it to be more stable


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## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> I would say its a medium gamig rig. On the scale that low is like a good mainstream PC, and high is an enthusiast PC.
> 
> Just a tip, might be worth you installing the 64-bit version of Vista, would give you a performance boost for free! You are crippling your RAM only having a 32-bit OS



I was told i would struggle running games with 64 bit.


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## Darknova (Sep 24, 2008)

bezzy3004 said:


> I was told i would struggle running games with 64 bit.



Pfft, maybe when XP x64 first came out. 64-bit (in my experience) performs better in everything than 32-bit does.

There are far too many people that hold on to information that is years old and call it fact.


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## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

Darknova said:


> That thing will blitz most games you throw at it, don't bother switching to Intel, too much money for not enough gain when it comes to gaming.
> 
> Although, I personally would suggest going to Vista x64, you can use your full 4Gb, and I find it to be more stable



Thanks for that dark i know you talk a lot of sense as you replied to my previous post a few months ago. I was informed games would not run on 64bit.


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## Darknova (Sep 24, 2008)

bezzy3004 said:


> Thanks for that dark i know you talk a lot of sense as you replied to my previous post a few months ago. I was informed games would not run on 64bit.



Vista (and XP) x64 have something called the SYSWow64 emulator, this allows 64-bit Windows to run all 32-bit programs, not only that but it's completely invisible, there is no setting up and no performance decrease, as I said in my previous post, I've seen performance increases by using 64-bit Windows, and I've used both XP and Vista.

Now I wouldn't say your rig was a high-end rig, but for gaming it is more than powerful enough. That 4870 is a beast (I should know, and mines not overclocked) and your CPU isn't as bad as people say (not for gaming anyway). I'd be happy if I had your rig.


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## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

Darknova said:


> Vista (and XP) x64 have something called the SYSWow64 emulator, this allows 64-bit Windows to run all 32-bit programs, not only that but it's completely invisible, there is no setting up and no performance decrease, as I said in my previous post, I've seen performance increases by using 64-bit Windows, and I've used both XP and Vista.
> 
> Now I wouldn't say your rig was a high-end rig, but for gaming it is more than powerful enough. That 4870 is a beast (I should know, and mines not overclocked) and your CPU isn't as bad as people say (not for gaming anyway). I'd be happy if I had your rig.



Thanks for that dark i will save up for 64bit. Why you not maxed your 4870 just turn the sliders up to full the card will acept the setting without trouble or is it other parts of your rig that stop you from doing so?


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## Darknova (Sep 24, 2008)

bezzy3004 said:


> Thanks for that dark i will save up for 64bit. Why you not maxed your 4870 just turn the sliders up to full the card will acept the setting without trouble or is it other parts of your rig that stop you from doing so?



Can't get my drivers sorted out, I'm swapping them out so much there'd be no point.

And IIRC, you can use Vista x64 already, your CD-key will work with an x64 version. You should either have x64 already on your install disc, or you can order one from Microsoft for a small fee.


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## Triprift (Sep 24, 2008)

All my games run fine under Vista ultimate 64 bit


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## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

Darknova said:


> Can't get my drivers sorted out, I'm swapping them out so much there'd be no point.
> 
> And IIRC, you can use Vista x64 already, your CD-key will work with an x64 version. You should either have x64 already on your install disc, or you can order one from Microsoft for a small fee.



I bought the 32bit version i think it says 32bit on the disc surely i would have to go out and buy the 64bit version?


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## Darknova (Sep 24, 2008)

bezzy3004 said:


> I bought the 32bit version i think it says 32bit on the disc surely i would have to go out and buy the 64bit version?



Nope, I'm pretty sure you can use the 64-bit version as well. I know my key allows me to use either, but it came directly from a Microsoft rep, not retail, but I'm sure I've seen people report being able to use both. PM Wile E, ask him, I think he has.


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

Only probs some peoples have with 64-bit, is drivers. And its not true all progs work on Vista x64. All apps 32-bit apps that dont require a driver will work in x64 . For example, anti-virus, internet secuirty etc, need to be 64-bit compatible cus they include Filter drivers. Atitool here on TPU initially did not work until W1zz sorted out a 64bit driver.

I have really enjoyed using 64-bit Vista, its incredibly stable. And I have never had a BSOD which was caused by Vista.

I downloaded the Vista x64 SP1 disc as a torrent. Not illegal as I used my Genuine Vista key which I had paid for.


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## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

ok thanks dark i look into that thanks for the advise. Have a nice day.


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## Triprift (Sep 24, 2008)

The only proggy i had probs with was Itunes needed to dl a driver to get that werking properly other than that everything run sweet as.


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## BarbaricSoul (Sep 24, 2008)

so your saying my vista disk has 64 bit vista on it? The disk has printed on it "This disk contains 32-bit siftware only" . I have a vista home premium upgrade disk(I do know it does full installs of vista as I have XP pro which is not upgradable to vista and have to do a full reformat/install when I decide to put vista on my machine. Already done it acouple times.)


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## Mussels (Sep 24, 2008)

medium-high, or lower range of high.

you're really, REALLY being crippled with a 32 bit OS.


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## Darknova (Sep 24, 2008)

BarbaricSoul said:


> so your saying my vista disk has 64 bit vista on it? The disk has printed on it "This disk contains 32-bit siftware only" . I have a vista home premium upgrade disk(I do know it does full installs of vista as I have XP pro which is not upgradable to vista and have to do a full reformat/install when I decide to put vista on my machine. Already done it acouple times.)



No, I believe only Vista Ultimate has them both on the disc, but in the box should be something about ordering a 64-bit disc.

@alexp999

That's true, but by now pretty much everything should have 64-bit support, and if it doesn't it's not worth using.


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

BarbaricSoul said:


> so your saying my vista disk has 64 bit vista on it? The disk has printed on it "This disk contains 32-bit siftware only" . I have a vista home premium upgrade disk(I do know it does full installs of vista as I have XP pro which is not upgradable to vista and have to do a full reformat/install when I decide to put vista on my machine. Already done it acouple times.)



What you pay for when you buy Vista, no matter what edition is the product key. Just do what I did, google Vista x64 SP1 Integrated. Burn and use exactly the same as your 32bit disc. MS only sends 64-bit discs to retail boxed owners.


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## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

Mussels said:


> medium-high, or lower range of high.
> 
> you're really, REALLY being crippled with a 32 bit OS.



In what specific way.?


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## BarbaricSoul (Sep 24, 2008)

> No, I believe only Vista Ultimate has them both on the disc, but in the box should be something about ordering a 64-bit disc.



well shit, I was starting to get excited this morning.


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## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

Darknova said:


> No, I believe only Vista Ultimate has them both on the disc, but in the box should be something about ordering a 64-bit disc.
> 
> @alexp999
> 
> That's true, but by now pretty much everything should have 64-bit support, and if it doesn't it's not worth using.



No my disc says 32bit software only aswell.


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## Mussels (Sep 24, 2008)

32 bit OS has 4GB address space.

you have 4GB of ram, 512MB of video card, + whatever your page file is set to. you'll either suffer performance problems or crashes, due to that.
\


edit: as said, just get a copy of x64 from anywhere - i dont beleive its illegal to download a slipstreamed copy, since you own it legit/own the product key.


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## BarbaricSoul (Sep 24, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> What you pay for when you buy Vista, no matter what edition is the product key. Just do what I did, google Vista x64 SP1 Integrated. Burn and use exactly the same as your 32bit disc. MS only sends 64-bit discs to retail boxed owners.




ok, I'll give it a whirl


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

Darknova said:


> No, I believe only Vista Ultimate has them both on the disc, but in the box should be something about ordering a 64-bit disc.
> 
> @alexp999
> 
> That's true, but by now pretty much everything should have 64-bit support, and if it doesn't it's not worth using.



Every Vista Disc is exactly the same. Afaik, Ultimate retail ships with two discs, one 32 bit and one 64 bit. You can use a disc from a Home basic box to install Ultimate. Its just the key that determines what gets installed

The only things I had trouble with, with Vista x64 was a scanner and the free IS from my ISP. But I bought an all-in-one printer/scanner fro £15 after MIR and bought KIS, lol!


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## bezzy3004 (Sep 24, 2008)

I bought vista Ultimate retail and only got 1 disc 32 bit?


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

bezzy3004 said:


> I bought vista Ultimate retail and only got 1 disc 32 bit?



Okay, I take that back then, lol.

But if you bought Vista Ultimate Retail, you can order a 64-bit disc for just the price of shipping,

brb with a link,


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

Here you go:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/64-bit.aspx

But according to that page you should have a 64bit disc in the box,


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## blaznee (Sep 24, 2008)

Stay with your 32bit system.. Yes, you can only see 3gb of your memory, but running 64bit on your 4gb will demand more memory, and thus negate the extra .5-1gb you gain completely...

So don't spend any money on a 64bit Vista at least.. 

Otherwise it's a nice rig that'll keep you playing most games at decent res for another year or so.. 

I'd say medium end/lower high-end..


P.S. In my Home Premium Retail there were nice instructions on how to get the 64bit disc.. I ordered it online for just the shipping costs.. If you only bought an OEM version, you're screwed though..


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

blaznee said:


> Stay with your 32bit system.. Yes, you can only see 3gb of your memory, but running 64bit on your 4gb will demand more memory, and thus negate the extra .5-1gb you gain completely...
> 
> So don't spend any money on a 64bit Vista at least..
> 
> ...



That isnt true at all. The reason Vista x64 appears to use more memory is cus Superfetch has more memory to cache stuff in.

Vista x64 will definetly give you a boost. And 64 bit enabled games and apps will also see a boost. Games like Crysis get a boost from 4gb of ram and a 64bit OS.

And I bought OEM Vista 32-bit and I'm not screwed...


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## Darknova (Sep 24, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> That isnt true at all. The reason Vista x64 appears to use more memory is cus Superfetch has more memory to cache stuff in.
> 
> Vista x64 will definetly give you a boost. And 64 bit enabled games and apps will also see a boost. Games like Crysis get a boost from 4gb of ram and a 64bit OS.



Exactly, x64 just allows Windows to address more than 4Gb in total, not that it matters anyway because no single program can use more than 2Gb anyway, but that in no way means x64 "demands" more RAM, and the performance increase you get is definately worth it.


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## Mussels (Sep 24, 2008)

blaznee said:


> Stay with your 32bit system.. Yes, you can only see 3gb of your memory, but running 64bit on your 4gb will demand more memory, and thus negate the extra .5-1gb you gain completely...



completely wrong. x64 uses maybe 50MB more ram, and a 4GB limit of address space is going to hurt a lot more than you think it will.


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## blaznee (Sep 24, 2008)

I know Tomshardware is not what it was in the old days.. But this should still clear up some common misconceptions:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Vista,review-30272.html


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## Mussels (Sep 24, 2008)

hah, home premium has a 16GB limit. i knew ultimate was a good idea 

good link.

in that article they mention that 'going 64 bit isnt worth it to use 4GB, as its immediately used again by the OS'
Thats only SYSTEM ram thats mentioned. that doesnt take into account games, or other applications that would simply crash if they hit the memory wall (which does happen a lot)


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## ZenZimZaliben (Sep 24, 2008)

Vista uses far more then just 50Mbs of extra Pagefile...more like 120Mbs. I have easily seen a fresh install of vista using 430mbs for a pagefile. You can optimize it to use less of course. BUt you will not get it down the the 150 - 200Mbs that Windows Xp/64 uses.

Unless you are willing to Upgrade to more then 4Gbs there is not going to be a benefit in using Vista. However XP 64 will benefit you more as it uses a much smaller pagefile and most of  the 4Gbs of memory will actually be used for games and applications.

This is a endless debate...There is no reason to go with vista unless you have over 4Gbs of ram. And are just dying to play all 3 games that use DirectX10. (ok there may be 5)...

Your AMD B.E. should be able to OC to around 3.4Ghz, but 3 Ghz for sure, just up the multi to 15x and add a little voltage provided you have decent cooling.


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## Mussels (Sep 24, 2008)

lol vista has more improvements than just 64 bit and more ram, but we wont go there in this thread.


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## niko084 (Sep 24, 2008)

Darknova said:


> That thing will blitz most games you throw at it, don't bother switching to Intel, too much money for not enough gain when it comes to gaming.
> 
> Although, I personally would suggest going to Vista x64, you can use your full 4Gb, and I find it to be more stable



No doubt your in a solid place right now, overcook it and make her really fly, Vista x64 would be a grand idea.


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## Mussels (Sep 24, 2008)

niko084 said:


> overcook it and make her really fly, Vista x64 would be a grand idea.



i dont see how cooking it is going to help.


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## Darknova (Sep 24, 2008)

blaznee said:


> I know Tomshardware is not what it was in the old days.. But this should still clear up some common misconceptions:
> http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Vista,review-30272.html



I think it's possible that you are missing something as well. Yes, Vista does take up more RAM, because it stores a hell of a lot more in RAM than XP ever did to provide snappier response when loading up programs, but what you don't seem to understand is that the moment the RAM is used Vista dumps it and releases it to the program that needs it.

Just because Task Manager says it's using more RAM doesn't necessarily mean it's using it less efficiently.


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## rampage (Sep 24, 2008)

you have a decent medium range rig, and yes you should go 64 bit, you can use the code that come with your 32bit install cd (i know it works because i have done it plenty of times) just download a copy of a 64 bit cd and use the 32 bit code (im 95% sure it is not illegal to do so as you already own a legit cd key)

as it has been pointed out 100 times the main difference between 32 bit and 64 bit is the systems abylity to use more then then 3>3.5 gig of ram, yes vista 64 will "use more ram" thats because it is suposed to it caches all the stuff it needs to, to give you quicker/smoother operating system, oh and yes you will need to format and reinstall to install the 64 bit OS (unless you dual boot)


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## niko084 (Sep 24, 2008)

Mussels said:


> i dont see how cooking it is going to help.



Ok.... I thought I was going to be funny considering the temps those AMD's run at...

Overclock it!


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## gerrynicol (Sep 24, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> Here you go:
> 
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/64-bit.aspx
> 
> But according to that page you should have a 64bit disc in the box,



Didn't work, just tried it, came up with the following. Damn had my hopes up there lol


!
We're sorry, the following error(s) have occurred:
No Offer Found


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

gerrynicol said:


> Didn't work, just tried it, came up with the following. Damn had my hopes up there lol
> 
> 
> !
> ...



Thats because Vista Ultimate Retail comes with the 64-bit disc, says so on that page.


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## J-Man (Sep 24, 2008)

bezzy3004 said:


> I was just interested in finding out where my rig stands in general compared to other pcs of the class. I would like to know if my rig is a low medium or high end rig and how it would fair gaming although i seem to be able to play games on fairly high setting at reasonable framerates. Would just appreciate an expert unbiased opinion.
> 
> Asus m3a H/hdmi Motherboard. pci-e16 2.0
> Amd x64x2 5000+ 2.8ghz
> ...


 I'd say if you had a faster AMD processer like for an example a 6400 BE then I'd class your system as a high end. Good RAM, GPU and everything else.


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## gerrynicol (Sep 24, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> Thats because Vista Ultimate Retail comes with the 64-bit disc, says so on that page.



Doh! lol never even read it, just rushed headlong into it, I got the oem 32bit


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

gerrynicol said:


> Doh! lol never even read it, just rushed headlong into it, I got the oem 32bit



You'll have to download it then. Do what I did.

Google: Vista x64 SP1 integrated

Not illegal cus you have already paid for Vista, in the form of your key.


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## gerrynicol (Sep 24, 2008)

alexp999 said:


> You'll have to download it then. Do what I did.
> 
> Google: Vista x64 SP1 integrated
> 
> Not illegal cus you have already paid for Vista, in the form of your key.



Need to register at most sites, how big is the download anyway, some (illeagal) sites are stating 4GB+


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## alexp999 (Sep 24, 2008)

gerrynicol said:


> Need to register at most sites, how big is the download anyway, some (illeagal) sites are stating 4GB+



Its about 4GB yeah. Dont forget its one DVD.


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## grunt_408 (Sep 24, 2008)

Even with my system running only 2 GB atm (a pair returned for warranty) I prefer the 64bit side of things with vista seems to be faster....
O.K Some drivers can be a pain to get but with a little searching on old mate google its all good.


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