The (new) Official PC building thread!

@greensman.

i kinda read that also. about the tracers.but they are still cool looking..lol can ya get those led's for any kinda mem???lmao

to be honest i think im gonna stick with the DDR2800 (PC6400)

 

Abuzar1,

He can get away with any PSU he wants, but Fertilizer is Fertilizer! LOL!! Need I say more. I know I keep stressing this, but there is a huge difference between Cheap and inexpensive. Power supplies like PowMax, CoolMax and Dynapower are "CHEAP" junk! There are hundreds just like it that are just as bad!

I originally had a PowMax 480 watt PSU that blew out a MB and an Optical drive, both thankfully under warranty (3 days left on the optical drive! LOL!!) As I recall, Sam's cheap PS actually fused the memory sticks to the slots!

I use an "Inexpensive" Thermaltake!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153028
This was a replacement for the original design that went up in smoke. It's turned out to be an excellent PSU. The Rev. 2.0 turned out to be everything the Rev. 1.0 was not!

You want a good choice for your friend, this is it! Forget about those $29 power supplies as chances are good they will wind up costing more in what they damage on your computer. It's not a matter of luck, it's a matter of time!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I thought this was a decent enough PSU. His PC isn't THAT demanding.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052

 

Russ I didn't include that P/S because it doesn't have a PCI-e connector. I'm sure you could use an adapter but it seems the other Thermaltake p/S is basically the same model with ONE PCI-e connecter for less money in the long run.

.....gm

 

Russ: Not quite, but it essentially made them burst their siliconny goodness everywhere!
Didn't you also have a fire in an AOpen unit?

 

GM,

The rev. 2.0 does have the six pin PCI-e connector, and the one I use is a much better PS! The one you thought basically the same is a Pure-Power and it's not very good. Looks and model numbers can be deceiving! LOL!!

Sammorris,
It was my ex-landlord that had his computer go up in flames. I just happened to be there when it happened! I saw it just as flames and sparks shot out of the PS, catching the drapes on fire! LOL!!

abuzar1,

It's not a question of demanding! Thermaltake Pure-Power's are cheap and not very good! It may look like mine, but it's quality isn't even close! If you look at the weight difference, it should give you an idea that they aren't the same inside!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Russ I wish that e-tailers would update there pics (all of them). lol.

pic of box Thermaltake W0093RU 500W (be sure to look on the box... PCI-Express in indicated.......

^^^^^^^ I hope that worked!!

.....gm

 

Well ATI supports it on their official list. He says he can only afford that one. I think it will work. Hopefully I'm right.

 

I am building a new computer, part by part, as I can buy them. I need to know which memory would be best for proper timing. So far I have: a8n32-sli deluxe, dualcore AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Manchester 2.0GHz, NVIDIA Geforce XFX 6600 512 MB PCIe-SLI, PSU-Hiper 580 watt. I want one 1 gig stick so that later I can get 3 more of the same you suggest. Also can you suggest a hard drive, optical drive, and a case. I use a computer to 'backup' dvd's and music.

 

What's your total budget for the whole computer?

 

greensman,

I wish the manufacturers had to provide honest specs to the e-tailers! On a more interesting note, the weight difference between the PurePower (3.70Lbs) and the TR2 shown on Thermaltake's website (4.41Lbs) is not quite 3/4Lb (.71Lbs)! The catch to all of that is what they show on their site is the old TR2! The Rev. 2.0 at 4.96Lbs is more than 1/2 Lb heavier which means there's more than 1 1/4Lb difference between mine and the PurePower! makes you wonder what they left out? LOL!! Physically, they are both the same size with similar specs!

The original had some idiot scheme for cooling that had a sheet of clear lexan plastic covering about 1/3 of the cooling fan. Made for a lot of noise, poor cooling and 2 case vents that allowed hot air to escape into the computer case. Sam had a higher wattage of the same design and as I recall, he complained about the noise. I was sitting at the computer one day and I heard a funny noise, and when I looked up a puff of brownish smoke came out of the back of the computer and the computer just stopped! I got an RMA from Newegg and boxed it up in the original box and shipped it back. I wanted a different PS, but they promised I would be very happy with the Rev. 2.0. They were right!

When the replacement came, I was delighted to see that it was the promised Rev. 2.0, and not the same piece of junk I bought originally. The first thing I couldn't help but notice was how much heavier it was than the original. Like I said, it makes you wonder what they didn't put in the W0100RU PurePower that's in the W0093RU. 1 1/4Lbs is a lot of weight difference for 2 power supplies exactly the same size with similar specs!

What did I get for my troubles? A much quieter, cooler running, PSU that has so much better voltage stability. And no more hot air vented into the computer! Between it and the voltage regulation on my DS3R my CPU voltage drops between 2/100 and 4/100 of a volt at full load. Regardless of the load all my voltages remain nominal! The original would drop the 12v to as low as 11.27v under load! The W0093RU is a very good PSU for the money! The W0100RU, Sucks!

Bye the bye, I just pulled my case cover and it does have a six pin PCI-e connector! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Hey kinda off topic but it figures that a 3850(what I have) is only 6% slower than a 3870 when it's at 730/880. I'm running mine at 730/920. Pretty good for a card that's almost 70 dollars cheaper no?

 

Theone: Let's be honest, it doesn't take much for me to complain about a lot of noise! That's why it was so surprising to find that the 3870's stock cooler was perfectly fine at idle, even for me! The Sapphire single slot one was a big disappointment though, even you'd find it noisy.
The Lexan guard in the Toughpower isn't a direct cause of noise, the fan remains at minimum speed now I've dropped the heat in my case, the fan is intrinsically noisy for me, that's sleeve bearings for you! I'm all for Sleeve bearing case fans, but in a PSU right beside red hot regulators, I'm not sure it's a good idea. After all, Seasonic, renowned for their silent PSUs switched from using the same brand Sleeve bearing fans (Yate Loon) to ball bearing fans made by Adda! (The ones used in Corsair's VX and HX units, possibly the TX too, I haven't checked).
The kicker? The Corsair HX and VX units use the same cooling system apart from the VX has a quarter-cover (rather than half cover like in the Thermaltakes) lexan guard. The HX units up the fan speed at 400W. The VX? 250! lol if you ever needed proof that they're naff, there it is! Question is, why did Corsair feel it prudent to do that?

@Abuzar: Very good, without question. At the resolutions I run at though, 512MB is a must, and in the Uk the 512MB 3850 and 3870 are barely £10 apart.

 

sammorris,

I have to say that listening to the fan on the X800GTO spooling up was annoying as hell! It had this annoying whine every time it kicked in! The fan on the 7600GT runs flat out all the time because of the overclock and makes far less noise doing it.

I couldn't believe the difference in noise between the original TR-2 PS and the replacement TR-2 Rev. 2.0. The noise level of the original was overwhelming once it warmed up, and my case temps were 2-3C higher thanks to it dumping hot air into the computer from the side vent in the PS case. The replacement Newegg sent me has turned out to be a very good, decent quality PSU. What amazes me the most is the weight difference between the W0093RU compared to the W0100RU PurePower. Over 1.25Lbs! I mean their specs are similar, and it would be hard to tell them apart sitting next to each other on a table until you picked them up. Like I said before, I wonder what they left out to get the lower weight. The leads are the same, so it's got to be inside the PS itself! I guess the classic rule applies, as you can't judge a book by it's cover! LOL!!

I have a quick question for you! What do you know about PCI-e bus frequencies? I figure there has to be a reason the there is so much leeway in the adjustment in the setup when set to manual. I know you know far more about video cards than I do, so I figured I would ask you!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I have to come clean here, I've never adjusted it, nobody's ever mentioned there being a significant performance benefit from doing so, so I never really looked into it I'm afraid!

 

sammorris,

Thanks for the reply anyway. I haven't been able to find anybody that can answer that one. I've sent an e-mail to XFX and I'll see what they say about it. It just makes sense to me that if you raise the bus frequency for everything else and it improves performance, then why not the PCI-e 16x slot too! I just don't want to go in there mucking about until I have a better idea of what will happen if I do! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

It wont help your performance, you might mess it up if you screw around with it.

The GA-P965-DS3 used to have a problem where overclocks went unstable unless you set the PCI-E bus to 105 mhz, but that's all I've heard of changing it.

 

Yo sam, just set up my room. Was able to get overdrive working with stock frequency and core at 860.

 

Haha good stuff, what did you change?

 

in regards to PCIe buss frequency, upping the frequency a bit will help with stability when OC'ing your GPU. I personally wouldn't go any higher than 115 mhz though.