The (new) Official PC building thread!

I use FastStone Capture on my AMD system but I think it's NOT free now. hmmmmmm... I got it over a year ago and it's works pretty well. If I'm not mistaken I d/l ScreenHunter 5 for the newer computers and it works nicely plus it's FREE for sure.

I got some of this to try as well. AC MX-2 We'll see if it's better than AS5, it seems that most of the upper/better quality stuff is about the same but I like the NON-conductivity of this product. I've used the Zalman ZM-ST1 and AS5 of course, which both do an excellent job but for the little that I paid for the MX-2 it's worth a try.

...gm

 

I'm gonna try the TR chill factor that comes with the TRUE when I get my new one (wednesday).

 

Ive been reading good stuff about MX-2 (even read thats whats on the AC 7 Pro, but not certain) - some places have ranked it better than AS5 and some have ranked it worse (typical really).

 

Mort81..THANKS
Hey guys, gals, what about this
Would this be the same Firmware used for the Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A
http://www.x-drivers.com/catalog/bios_fi...190a/index.html
I want to flash my Sony to a LITE-ON, but not B4 I've got the original Firmware JIC I screw up. I don't want to end up with a dead drv.

 

hey guys, i've decided to get a new graphics card, im more of a radeon then nividia fan but as usual price can sway me in any direction lol

my budget is around $120 (i can push a little bit up if needed), and i might be interested in oc'ing it (yaaa baaby!)

i have a ASUS P5K Deluxe AiLifestyle Series if it helps anyone with the product suggestion!

now heres the kicker! i want to be able to pump out 1080i with it!!
would i be able to find an hd card for that cheap or am i dreaming sweet dreams!


-tripplite

 

rick did you go to the link that I gave you via PM? One of the utilities that I provide will SAVE your existing eeprom (f/w) so if you do something "screwy" it'll be recoverable in theory.

hth.....

....gm

 

Probably best off going for a 3850 - newegg have a couple in your price range - but then saying that my 2600xt can do 1080i (is quoted as having the hardware to process 1080p, but my TV cant do that), but I run 1280x720 over VGA as my TV doesnt seem to like taking a PC source over HDMI very well.

 

Deadrum,
i came across a quirk in the bios of one of the first DS3R I had. If you just hit the enter key to save without hitting the y first, even though the y was in the little box, it wouldn't save. Also to make the overclocking options active you can only do the CTRL/F1 from the main screen of the set up. It will still do it's little flicker in any other screen, but it won't save the changes. Try manually hitting the y before you save.

sammorris,

My Freezer 64 I just bought came with the MX-2 pre-applied, while cincyrob's AF7-Pro came with the MX-1. The MX-1 is much darker than the MX-2. The MX-2 is almost white! The eMachine idles about 1-2 degrees above ambient with it. 3-4 above degrees with the AS5.

The Ceramique in my tests does the same as the AS5, but there's no metal in it. And before you say that's impossible because the thermal conductivity is better with Silver, and that's true! But the particle density of the ceramique is higher as the particles are smaller so you get better heat transfer because it puts more individual particles in contact with the cooler! There's not a nickels worth of difference between them, temperature wise. I don't recommend Ceramique for AMDs because of the tiny pins on the CPU. Removing the cooler after using Ceramique often pulls the CPU right out of the locked socket. on an Intel you can usually rotate the cooler farther than on an AMD because there's no frame. All you have to do to get it off an Intel is twist the cooler and pull gently up. Comes right off. Be careful if you get a cooler with MX-2 pre-applied as it looks dry, but is slicker than snake snot! LOL!! The MX-2 is the clear winner! I'm also testing under pretty warm conditions. 29-30C ambient! It's 85F here today and the computer is in the front room with no AC. The eMachine never gets over 50-51C no matter what you do with it. Encoding temps, Orthos, OCCT! Nothing gets it over 50-51C! Cools very well!

cincyrob,

Good deal! I've done that before too! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Zoso: He used the fan off his old Thermaltake Big Typhoon, just a normal relatively high speed 120mm fan. He actually also removed his rear case fan and attached it to the underside of his T.R.U.E. so it was blowing upwards through the cooler into the 200mm one. A uniqe approach but it seemed to work pretty well.
Theone: Interesting result. I'll remember that for next time I put some compound on my CPU.
Tripplite: Perhaps an HD2600XT?

 

A 9600GT only costs about 115 and I believe it outperforms the 3850.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134038

 

sammorris,

The difference isn't a lot, but it's still cooler with the MX-2 and unlike the AS5, the room temp doesn't seem to be as important. Usually once you get above 29-30C ambient, the temps go up at an alarming rate. It doesn't seem to do that with the MX-2! Like I said this is the first Mini Tower I've ever seen with great ventilation, all under control of the bios! It's 29C in here right now and the CPU is idling at 30C! When encoding or running Orthos you can feel the warm air coming out of the back of the computer, but the internal temps remain low and there's no hot spots anywhere on the case!

I have a question for you. I have 2 WD 120GB Sata drives and 2 Seagate 160s. I tested all 4 in the computer and the Seagates run at 35-36C after hours of use while the WDs run 49-50C after about 15-20 minutes. any ideas? Same computer, just different drives???

Best Regards,
Russ

 

lol I read that as "interesting insult".

Hey if I have had the AS5 for about 2 years does it start performing bad?

 

Yuck, ECS Abuzar? There's a reason why that card is monumentally cheaper than the other 9600GTs... It's an ECS.
Go for this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150277
Theone: Did you test all four at once? It may be that the hotter drives aren't near a cooling fan whereas the others are. Bear in mind also that if the WD drives are old and the Seagate drives are newer then the WD will probably have more platters and so get hotter.

 

abuzar1,

Name please! Don't know if you are commenting on my post or "Joe Blow's"! LOL!!
What exactly do you mean "interesting insult"?

The AS5 will separate over time. I just put a little bit on a mixing pad or Post-It and mix it with a toothpick. Seems to work as I'm still using the freebie AS5 that Arctic Silver sent me! It gets all funny looking, but seems to mix all right.

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I figure anyone who uses Arctic silver and hence a third party cooler will probably change their hardware within 3 years anyway...

 

Would somebody give me opinion on this particular Vid card. Now its not for gaming. Its just for Video..Its only 27.00bucks that includes shipping. I,m just looking for a cheap reliable Vid card
SAPPHIRE 100587 Radeon X600PRO 128MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102406

 

The X600 Pro is obviously a very slow card, but the 10 and 11 series radeons are usually pretty reliable.

 

this would probably be better
XFX GeForce 8600 GT XXX Video Card - 256MB DDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card... this is 70 bucks

 

Not quite 27 bucks though is it? Since he doesn't game there's no need for a powerful card. The X600 Pro is a good find, and a good choice.

 

thanks for the info Sam. I have a good 120mm fan on the side so it shoud work out fine. may have to turn it up to high