Hey yo, new video card?

[jdeegz]

hey guys, last night i finally clicked 'confirm order' on a 3870.
I know i know, its not one of the newer cards, but it will get me through college (hopefully 2 years) and I don't have enough dough to get a 4850 (i only put out $130 for this card).

So i got a 2 slot 3870 produced by HIS and i was wondering, why are the video cards manufactured upside down? I figured it was because if you use the first pci-e x16 slot on your mobo, it will line up correctly with the slots on the tower, but still, even the stickers on the outside ports are upside down?

Also, i was wondering if it is worth my time figuring out how to throw on some thermal paste? i think they run idle at ~50c, which is about 30c degrees higher than anything else my computer runs at but its no big deal right?

Do any of you know the reason behind newegg not selling the Zalman clip on mics anymore? I am looking for one for my HD435's so if any of you have one you wanna sell let me know.

Thanks for your time, and i Hope to hear from all of you!
-Jim

P.S. ...which way is TF2? =D see you on the fields in a week!

[Teck]

Zalman High-End Microphone Attachment

[jdeegz]

thanks mate,

after just looking around and gawking at the 4850 benchmarks, i noticed a graph with a 3870 on it aswell.. it is sad to see the 4850 doing almost 2x better... oy.. probably should just got one eh?

[Fish111]

lol @ clip on mic link from TECK

jdeeg, yeah the 4850s are beasts for the price range, but you got a good deal on the 3870 and its a pretty fast card. I got mine for 142 after mail in rebate from asus.

Was yours 130 no strings attached, or after rebate?

[Dopefish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdeegz

hey guys, last night i finally clicked 'confirm order' on a 3870.
I know i know, its not one of the newer cards, but it will get me through college (hopefully 2 years) and I don't have enough dough to get a 4850 (i only put out $130 for this card).

I would have seriously saved up another $70 and got a 4850. For the extra $70, you get an amazing card.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdeegz

So i got a 2 slot 3870 produced by HIS and i was wondering, why are the video cards manufactured upside down? I figured it was because if you use the first pci-e x16 slot on your mobo, it will line up correctly with the slots on the tower, but still, even the stickers on the outside ports are upside down?

PCI cards were made upside down because ISA cards were right-side up. This allowed more room for the cards to go together.

Another benefit is that dust won't sit and build up on the important components.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdeegz

Also, i was wondering if it is worth my time figuring out how to throw on some thermal paste? i think they run idle at ~50c, which is about 30c degrees higher than anything else my computer runs at but its no big deal right?

Thermal paste helps a lot if put on properly. Remove the old silicon paste using rubbing alcohol. Do the same for the heatsink. The paste is not meant to be a bridge between the heatsink and processor; it's meant to fill in the uneven surfaces to allow more contact for heat dissipation. The way I apply this is simply get a piece of scotch tape and put the sticky side against your finger. Put a very tiny dab of thermal paste on the processor. Use the smooth, non-sticky part of the tape to spread the paste around evenly. From here, I test fit the heatsink on the CPU so it will leave a mark where it makes contact with the processor. Then I remove it and apply a tiny dab to the heatsink in that area and repeat the process. Once that is done, just put the heatsink on and you're ready to go. It is important to remember not to touch the paste with your bare skin. The oils in your skin will actually ruin the properties of the paste and make it less effective.

[jdeegz]

thanks guys, yeah, would you think a 4850 would be severely bottle necked by my current get up? (see sig) perhaps i can return it and just splurt some more money on the card.

thermal paste - thanks for showing me how you put it on, i was just thinking, is the heatsink similar to the CPU's because i remember how I put past onto that one. I just assumed they were different.

[jdeegz]

meh, canceled my order, ill sport a 4850. a bit more future safe + more performance for only 70 bucks.. deal!

[jdeegz]

correction 45 buck (including MIR)

sooo nassstttyyyyyyy!!!!
i am PUMPED

[Dopefish]

Good stuff.

[Tulkas]

nice call Dope