The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

Yours looks better, imo. Could never stand CM's custom paint jobs.

 

Agreed Sammy... plus the fact that he did the custom work himself.. more PRIDE if you ask me.

 

Well, since this is the build Thread, I'm in the home stretch! LOL!! I ordered the Phenom II 955BE/C3, the 68 CFM, 1200 RPM Scythe and the memory for a laptop laptop I'm repairing, today. My current Athlon2 x4 630 Quad is going in Oxi, and the 955BE will replace it. I also have a 700W PSU coming for mine, as well! Did I say I was having Fun! :0)

Keep on Clockin,
Russ

 

Rock on Russ! Good luck with the 955!

 

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it Jeff, I'm very much looking forward to it! I had planned this route since I first built it, but I didn't think it would be quite this soon! :0)!

Clock on,
Russ

 

I may be RMA'ing either a V-raptor or a MOBO here soon. Depends on how a fresh install of windows goes. The curious lag I've been experiencing remains. I thought the PSU upgrade fixed it. That was a premature assumption. I sure hope the Mobo is fine. I don't like the thought that that could be it. I shudder...

 

Seven hundred watts?

 

Sam,
I bought it from Oman7. I couldn't pass on it for the price, as it's a much higher rated PSU than the Cooler Master, with more bells and whistles, and it won't ever be very stressed. :0) Why? Is it a bad idea?

Best Regards,
Russ

 

If second hand, makes a little more sense, but I don't see why your existing PSU would be insufficient. It would only be silly if you bought it new.

 

You B@$T@RD!!! It would be mine if you ever slept!! ROFLMAO!!!! Good luck with it and I hope you get it together soon. I'm still waiting on putting mine together when I have a little more time. Been busy with family and kiddy sports lately!!! Guess that's a good thing tho... family and all.

 

Sam,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
I figured at 80% efficiency, it would be better than my Cooler Master. The only thing I noticed in looking over the design is a lack of surge protection on the mains, something I will easily do something about in short order. I was surprised it lacked such a simple thing like that! Good buy though!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

GM,
Contrary to popular belief, I am not a vampire! LOL!! The man said PM him, so I did. He gave me a price that was less than my present 500w Cooler Master cost, and I said yes! He did PM me today and double checked to see if I still wanted it, mentioning that you were interested in it too, so he did have you in mind. It's overkill in many ways for me, but it has all the goodies and won't be very stressed, so it should run cool and quiet as well! Can't wait to put the 955BE/C3 in mine, and have some fun!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

To be honest, I would probably rate your old CM unit better than that OCZ. OCZ have made some good units but the GameXStream is not one of them. As you say, there is no surge protection, poor on a PSU with as high an MSRP as that, the quality of the electronics is average at best, they do not meet the wattage rating on the label, let alone exceed it, and most of them do not have fan controllers, the fan always runs at full speed, which will likely wind you up!

 

I never stressed that unit. In fact, it ran cooler than the 550W corsair. It never even felt warm to the touch. And my Hard drives never acted like they were starving for power! The 550W Corsair increased Cpu temp by 2C, being right next to the Cpu. The PSU radiates more heat than the OCZ. I think the OCZ was also quieter But at least with the 550W, there is less cable to manage.

As long as the PSU is not taxed beyond a sensible threshold, it should run just fine for quite some time

 

The OCZ PSUs run cool at low load because the fan speed is usually forced to a high level. Also, most modern PSUs send some of their heat into the case. Not a practice I agree with, but it will explain an increase in CPU temperature (in addition to quieter PSUs with slower fans not exhausting as much case air).

 

Forced to high level eh? Well...if thats true, its fan is quite nice. Because it wasn't very audible. The cpu fan is what I generally hear at all times. As well as the xigmatek 140mm exhaust fan.

 

I would have thought the 1000rpm Xigmatek 140mm would be pretty quiet, but if you can hear it over the 1900rpm in the Tuniq then obviously not :S
(For reference, the typical maximum speed of PSU fans is 1800rpm or less for a 120mm fan. I think the OCZ's speed was 1500 or below, which meant under heavy stress it got quite hot)

 

Pretty sure the OCZ hovered around 1200rpms. I didn't tax it much. Especially in the secondary. The Tuniq fan is resting at a comfortable 1500Rpms. Somewhat audible. I used to allow it to run at ~1700. I have found that 1500 is fine for day to day. The only High load that the 965 has experienced is Prime 95. I don't do BD encodes on the primary. At least not yet I may eventually use Megui, or nero 10. Fact of the matter is, I could probably go even lower Rpms, and be quieter, and still be comfortable at 42-44C idle. And when I play games, simply reach in the back, and crank the Rpms back up

Its not that I hear the xigmatek, I here the air it moves LOL! The sucker moves an insane amount of air

 

Ah yes, the back vent of the HAF isn't very smooth, you do hear a fair amount of turbulence.