rootsrat Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Hi guys. I have recently purchased Windows 8.1 and after installing it I realised that my motherboard is not compatible with it (confirmed by ASUS tech support). It has also came to my attention that my RAM may not be compatible with my mobo! I admit this is my mistake, as I did not check the qualified vendors list when I purchased the memory. My system specs are as follows: CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BEMobo: ASUS M4A79XTD EVORAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600 MHzGFX: 2GB ASUS GeForce GTX660 DirectCUII TOP These are the main components, if you need any more info please let me know. Now, moving on to my problem. I am experiencing really bad performance in Windows 8.1 sometimes when copying files or browsing certain folders on my external USB HDD. When I play audio files or listen to online radio, the music sometimes stop and programs crash. I suspect this is due to mobo not being compatible (and hence the lack proper chipset drivers for Windows 8.1). I plan to buy a new mobo, but I am not sure what to go and how to do it. That's where I need your help and suggestions. I was thinking of couple of different scenarios: 1) Buy new AM3 mobo that will be compatible with both Windows 8.1 and my RAM 2) Buy new AM3 mobo that will be compatible with Windows 8.1 and buy new RAM (I read in a few places that Corsair Vengeance doesn't like AMD CPUs and respective mobos) 3) Buy new Intel CPU and new mobo and sell my AMD CPU I am out of the loop when it comes to the latest/recent technologies plus I've never had Intel CPU before (sic! AMD boy since the 90s!) so I haven't got the clue what to look for. I would like to ask for your opinion of which option should I go for - 1, 2 or 3 and also some suggestions when it comes to products themselves. I can do research for AMD related stuff, but Intel... I wouldn't even know where to start. Obviously I would like to keep the cost to minimum and I will also sell whatever equipment I'd be replacing. So thanks in advance to all you hardware wizards out there, I'm counting on your expertise! If you need any more info from me please let me know! ::EDIT:: Let's say that my budget is around £250 (it's actually less than that, but I'll get some money back from selling my current components). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopuss Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I would suggest getting rid of the AMD stuff and rebuild the PC on Intel platform. It has significantly better bang:buck ratio, and I haven't read about any illogical incompatibilies unless really obscure hardware combinations were used. It's not even much more expensive (if at all!) than AMD stuff.You can get decent H(Z)87-based board and Core i5 CPU for reasonable money. Of course, the question is whether the problem isn't caused by Win 8.1. Honestly, I wouldn't use it, but that's pointless suggestion as you probably already bought it :P But internet is full of people crying about all kinds of problems it causes... Did you have the same problems under W7? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsrat Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 Thanks for your suggestions. I was leaning more towards replacing AMD with Intel to be honest. No, I didn't have the same problems under W7, however the mobo chipset drivers were compatible with that OS. My thinking is that the mobo is a bottleneck for the data traffic (USB soecifically) and that's what's slowing things down while copying/browsing files on an external drive. Strange behaviour, must say I'm puzzled, as I've never seen that before. Other than that my system works perfectly fine. All the other performance is a tad better than W7 I'd say and I already got used to the start screen replacing start menu. I searched the web for answers, and yeah, there were lots of people complaining about different stuff, but couldn't find anyone with the same problem as mine, so the only conclusion that comes to mind that it must be something specific to my rig. And the only thing that I know 100% is not compatible with W8.1 is my mobo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopuss Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Wait, what? Drivers incompatible with W7? That doesn't make any sense :O_o: Unless it was and old version or... Well that doesn't matter now I guess.But really, Intel feels like much more robust platform, and especially if one reads various IT forums. That's not to say AMD is bad, but just... It looks like there are many more small annoyances or possible incompatibilities than with Intel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsrat Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 No no, the driver were COMPATIBLE with W7. They are NOT COMPATIBLE with W8.1. What do you think of this choice? ::EDIT:: Edited the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopuss Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I'm not very familiar with ASUS products, but for gaming purposes, I think the board perfectly fine. All of the basic features are there, and being pretty modern line of products, there shouldn't be any upgrade limitations, so... yep, I'd say go for it, if you really think you want to go the Intel way.The CPU is perfectly fine as well. The most expensive variant hardly brings any significant performance gains, unless you plan to overclock, which I assume you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsrat Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 Sorry Octopuss, I've changed the Mobo to a different one: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z87g45gaming Selected wrong one before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopuss Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 It honestly doesn't matter, the basic, most imporant features are there anyway :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsrat Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 I went with Intel Core i5-4590 CPU and MSI Z87-G45 Gaming mobo after all. Total cost £260 with next day delivery. I am planning to sell my current mobo, CPU and also the sound card (as the one on the new mobo should be nice!), so that should get me over a £100 back I'm hoping. If that will be the case, then I'd made quite a nice deal I think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopuss Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Oh, speaking of soundcards, the integrated chips on modern boards are quite nice (most people say) indeed, and unless you have dog ears, you won't tell a difference from discrete cards anyway. It's usually much better to invest in good speakers. Edited June 16, 2014 by Octopuss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aiyen Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Well any audiophile will always find some sort of error unless you run with gold coated cabels and have an external setup worth some peoples mortage... So for audio I never really pay much attention.. it is such a niche area that you only throw money at it when everything else is already super perfect anyways. Or if you got loads of spare cash. As for the components then not bad, not super epic but in there between. Will most likely be able to last a few years assuming the next generation of GPU´s can be plugged into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simondererste Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) I think the best and cheapest suggestion is, to stay with win 7. there is no point in using win 8 as a pc OS. Your stuff looks good to me. I upgraded from a gts 8800(can you find it :P ) and an intel core 2duo e6600 ~1/2-1year ago to my actual stuff. If you really want new stuff, see mine ;) ok i think you can get a better gpu than me. I think it is now the ti edition from mine. Maybe mine or the ti is still too expensive(mine defenetly was!) so go with a cheaper one.CPU: i5 should be enough if you don't want to render videos or something special. You don't need to go with the k version(you can oc those).GPU: ~780 ti(too expensive?!)mobo: ~60-100€ they are mostly the same. don't go with any gamer edition(they are too expensive). i looked for durability, because i want to use mine for longer than 2 years.i'm no expert but i did some research for my setup.Thumb rule: don't buy the most expensive one!don't believe me anything but i think i'm not too wrong ;) oh and soundcards: NOT needed only if you have really good speakers(above 200€) and you have good ears. The onboard sound is pretty good for ~90% of people.watch out for loud things!!! if your pc sound like a jet it's the worst! get a nice case and get a CPU COOLER!(best invested money) + SSD + a silent graka! Edited June 16, 2014 by Simondererste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazer11 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Oh... so you already bought it? Well talk about jumping the gun I could have saved you a bit of dough. Also with Haswell you'll definitely need some kind of aftermarket cooling unless you like loud since they run almost as hot as some of the older AMDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simondererste Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 (edited) Brocken 2 ftw ^^ Attention! Your pc case need to be big enough for the cpu cooler you choose!EKL Alpenföhn Brocken 2or Thermalright HR-02 Machoboth ~36€i think those two are enough. most better ones are much more expensive(and not worth it?) (Stock cooler s**K) another source of noise is the power supply. Choose a quality one with NOT too much power, or it will work with less efficiency. Edited June 17, 2014 by Simondererste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopuss Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Honestly, everything runs hot as hell with stock cooler :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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