Crim's Computer Thread

[CrimsonNuker]

Build is finished, everything is fine MINUS the shit fans Corsair provided for the H100. I had their SP120s on the radiator; so I decided to use the stock H100 fans as case fans. BAD IDEA, these fans are loud as fuck, I can hear them all the way from my other room, if you think graphics cards turning into jet engines were loud, wait until you hear these fans. I unplugged those 2 fans for now and it makes a BIG difference in noise level.

I currently have my H100 fans at the lowest setting + under-volting cables, and 3 front intake fans (stock C70 fans) at half speed, and it's pretty damn quiet.
The instructions Corsair provided for the H100 were sloppy, they tell you to use the wrong screws for a 1155 socket (or maybe it was just my board) but yeah, I had to take the pump off my cpu after the thermal paste had made contact; switch the screws; and put back on the pump. My CPU is idling at stock speeds at around 30~ degrees (my 8120 idled at <20 with a 120mm rad); which is kinda disappointing, but I'm not sure if it's cause I took off the pump and put it back on, or if it's like this normally. I spent about an hour managing my cables though, things look pretty mint from the front and back this time
My GPU spins the fans backwards for 30 seconds when my computer boots up; so it sounds like a jet engine taking off, but it's coo

Pics coming tomorrow, promise

[Crowley]

Ivy Bridge tends to run pretty hot. My cores idle at around 30 degrees (but then again it's the middle of summer here, ambient temperature is around 25)

[CrimsonNuker]

Ivy Bridge tends to run pretty hot. My cores idle at around 30 degrees (but then again it's the middle of summer here, ambient temperature is around 25)

Seems normal then. Folks over at overclockers.net are reporting idle @ 27-30 with stock speeds, but maybe they're running push/pull at full speed (i'm only running pull at 1/4 speed).

The audio chip on the MSI Z77A-GD65 is amazing.

Oh yeah, my speakers doeeeeeeeeeeeeee
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151328293253209

[CrimsonNuker]

Congratz, could you test your fps in gw2 when you get it and post it here?

Double post.

I have too much shit to update for GW2, but I can run Skyrim on ultra high settings with 60 frames constantly, same goes for Borderlands 2 (with PhysX at High).
I just ran the benchmark tool for Hitman Absolution (runs everything high) got a min of 40 frames and a max of 65.

[CrimsonNuker]

Triple post:


Edit:
Played BF3 w/ max settings, ran at over 60 frames, gpu never broke 60 degrees.

[CrimsonNuker]

Quadra post.
I guess I can start calling these projects now
More deets coming later

[*BlackFox]

Holy crap! CrimsonNuker
Maybe... take it easy with this "projects" a little bit? xD

[Azilius]

I have that fan box (i don't have the fan..different story)

apparently it's loud as f

[Crowley]

ASRock motherboard hahahaha

[CrimsonNuker]

I have that fan box (i don't have the fan..different story)

apparently it's loud as f

Yeahh, I always pay attention to the air flow/decibel. The fan I got is 140MM 17DB, the smaller the fan, the louder . I used the stock heat sink for the CPU, it's louder than every single fan on the case.

ASRock motherboard hahahaha

Hey man, $50 mobo, don't hate.

Edit: So about the computer...
I'm building it for my girlfriend for her birthday, total came up to around $600 not including mail-in rebates. The only parts over $100 were the GPU and CPU, but even still, they we're like $110 each.

Processor: AMD FX-6100 Six-Core 3.3Ghz
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) 1600mhz CL9
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3
Graphics Card: MSI HD Radeon 7770 1GB 1Ghz
Power Supply: Corsair CX430 Watt 80+ Bronze
Case: Zalman Z9 Plus MID-ATX

[penfold1992]

what os are you going to use?

[CrimsonNuker]

what os are you going to use?

Windows 7 of course.

[Ryoko]

Storage?

Just curious.

[CrimsonNuker]

1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 32MB Cache

My gf isn't going to notice the speed difference with a SSD anyways

[Ryoko]

Tell you what though, its awfully nice having the computer boot in 5 seconds, load everything at the bat of an eyelash and make no noise whatsoever.

Now, overcoming all the problems, compatibility and reliability issues with various SSDS.... another story. Currently my hell. =/

But when it works, dear lord.

[CrimsonNuker]

Tell you what though, its awfully nice having the computer boot in 5 seconds, load everything at the bat of an eyelash and make no noise whatsoever.

Now, overcoming all the problems, compatibility and reliability issues with various SSDS.... another story. Currently my hell. =/

But when it works, dear lord.

This is true.
I didn't notice until now, the these ASRock 970 Extreme3 boards are TERRIBLE. They boot normally (and probably in under 10 seconds with an SSD) when the board is stock, but once you install the audio/lan drivers, the board spends about 15 seconds on the ASRock logo screen before the Windows logo even shows up; so for my first build, an SSD made no difference.

Also, when purchasing an SSD, don't be stupid and buy a 60GB SSD like I did, it's WAY too small, and you'll run into a bunch of problems later on. For instance, if you have an SSD and a regular mechanical drive, by default, Winrar will actually extract everything into your C Drive (your boot drive; which would probably be your SSD) and then move it (as in just like drag-and-drop) to your mechanical drive. So when you have a 60GB SSD with extremely limited space, and you're extracting a huge file, you won't even be able to extract it.
I ran into this problem last week; so I had to edit the registry to make it so my User/AppData/Local/Temp folder is actually in my mechanical drive and not my SSD, but the problem with that is insecurity because the Temp folder actually houses some Windows files on it, and if it's not in the same drive as your OS is, it will pose some security risk.

[Gaigemasta]

no doubt. I just got another Vertex 4. RAID 0 on two 128gb drivers. I get read speeds at around 1 gb/s (byte)....it's real nice.

just don't get SSDs with the Sandforce controller and you should be good (basically anything 2012+)

[CrimsonNuker]

no doubt. I just got another Vertex 4. RAID 0 on two 128gb drivers. I get read speeds at around 1 gb/s (byte)....it's real nice.

just don't get SSDs with the Sandforce controller and you should be good (basically anything 2012+)

I'd do RAID0, but at the expense of half my storage capacity, I'm not sure the trade off is worth it.

[Azilius]

no doubt. I just got another Vertex 4. RAID 0 on two 128gb drivers. I get read speeds at around 1 gb/s (byte)....it's real nice.

just don't get SSDs with the Sandforce controller and you should be good (basically anything 2012+)

I'd do RAID0, but at the expense of half my storage capacity, I'm not sure the trade off is worth it.

RAID0 doesn't take away half of your storage capacity (unless I'm interpreting you wrong).

RAID 0 is when you split the data over two or more drives effectively doubling (but not actually) disk speeds. RAID 1 is where you mirror to get a constant backup.

[CrimsonNuker]

From what I've read about raid 0 and raid 1, raid 0 doubles the speed, but halves the capacity/security, and raid 1 doubles the security, but halves the speed.

Edit: I am probably wrong LOL

[Azilius]

From what I've read about raid 0 and raid 1, raid 0 doubles the speed, but halves the capacity/security, and raid 1 doubles the security, but halves the speed.

Edit: I am probably wrong LOL

Double speed yes, half the security is..sort of correct.

The downside is since half your data is one drive A and half on drive B, if either A or B fail/break then you lose all the data. Essentially this means the chances that you lose all your data is double. However "double" is still a low chance, but some people don't like it.

[CrimsonNuker]

From what I've read about raid 0 and raid 1, raid 0 doubles the speed, but halves the capacity/security, and raid 1 doubles the security, but halves the speed.

Edit: I am probably wrong LOL

Double speed yes, half the security is..sort of correct.

The downside is since half your data is one drive A and half on drive B, if either A or B fail/break then you lose all the data. Essentially this means the chances that you lose all your data is double. However "double" is still a low chance, but some people don't like it.

This.



I have no idea where I thought I heard about halving the capacity, I could swear Linus mentioned it

[Gaigemasta]

doubles speed and size, and half the security. RAID 0 is the most basic RAID

[Ryoko]

No doubt 60 would be torture. Unless your intent is to have the system only on the SSD which is somewhat defeative of the purpose. My games are many gigs; part of having the SSD is reducing load times and increasing their performance. Is nice being able to run WoW and D3 simultaneously with no performance issues.

I got the 120 and I'm cramped. Been archiving fraps, backups and larger things on the old mechanical. 180 woulda been better but it was a gift

First one had issues within 1 week; constant shut downs, not showing up in bios randomly. RMA'd that one, we'll see how this one holds up. Basically have to keep my old drive in fear this one will fail.

I'm using a gigabyte B75M-DV3 ; its around 60-70 bucks and its pretty solid so far. Nice budget board for sure.

Nothing "cool" looking over here. I need better fans though; mine are old and dying. Couple are missing fins. Was looking at these -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EverCool-120mm- ... 3a78756654

Hard to find decent CFM without tons of noise pollution

maybe these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermaltake-AF0 ... 3a739a0785

[CrimsonNuker]

For air cooling or water cooling?
I currently have 3 Cougar 120MM Hydros in my case, and they're extremely quiet for the amount of CFM they produce. I run them at 1000RPM they're pretty silent.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=69265&vpn ... omoid=1449

On my radiator, I have Corsair SP120 Performance editions, and they're as loud as jet engines, my fan controller says they're running at 2300RPM, but my water cooling head says it's at the minimum :\

For fans for cooling radiators or heat spreaders, I would love to have Scythe Gentle Typhoons; everyone raves about how quiet they are (<20dba) for the amount of static pressure and cfm they produce.

[Gaigemasta]

This is why I got a mesh case with big fans. Quiet and effective cooling.

[Juicy]

This is why I got a mesh case with big fans. Quiet and effective cooling.

The Cooler Master HAF series is good for that. I personally have the HAF XM and with 4 200mm fans running, it's fairly quiet with just a light hum.

[Ryoko]

I went with 2 of these; front / back can't be seen anyway
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835226042

And one blue one for the side cover.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835226043

Naw I don't bother with water cooling. Theres no way my computer could generate enough heat to justify it. Modern CPUS are worlds cooler than the original duo/quad core chips.

I have a 100g aquarium sitting a few feet from the computer; at one time I entertained machining out a water block for it and running water through it with one of the 350g/hr pumps, using the aquarium itself as the radiator LOL

Spose all thats left with my rig is a video card. But since everything runs smoothly on fair settings, prolly be a while before I bother

[Juicy]

Spose all thats left with my rig is a video card. But since everything runs smoothly on fair settings, prolly be a while before I bother

I'm the same way. Currently running a GTS 450, wouldn't mind upgrading to be able to play crysis 3 in the near future.

[Gaigemasta]

so e-penis competition on ssd scores?

mine are lower because I'm on an AMD chipset atm, tested on the newer intel ones and I score much higher

Spoiler!