The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition

For the record I LOVED District 9 and thought it was actually under-hyped for how good it was. To me at least, it's jampacked with REAL substance. Avatar not so much, more like a redeux of Pocahontas. Ofc if you want to get exacting my favorite movie of all time is a little known animated featured called Porco Rosso or "The Crimson Pig." It's about a cursed Italian World War 1 pilot facing the ghosts of his past. Very good movie.

Also, to keep it OT I still have my Q6600 and it still holds 3.7Ghz problem-free

 

Both of my brothers machines are dual cores. While they keep up with the times, I do notice sometimes, that they are considerably slower than my quads Any build I do, I recommend Quads. That way they are semi future proof. Dual cores days may be numbered. And I say this with a great deal of respect toward the Athlon 5200's that my brother employs.
I may just sell the 965 to my brother. I do have to pay off the 1996 Ford explorer I bought from him...

Eek! That's right. I only have 1 quad now :S

 

wow, many years ago I saw the first ~10 minutes of that movie but never knew what it was; going to have to see if I can find it now.

 

Netflix has it...

 

Blockbuster also has it.

 

Sam,

Rick taught me how to do torrents about a year and a half ago. The majority of the first 9 months was spent on experimenting with different software, and experimenting using them with all the various settings. Quality HD 16:9 1080p converted to a DVD 5, is not a problem. My original Avatar, 1080p runs 141 minutes, and looks fabulous! Not quite as good as BD, but far superior to watching a commercial DVD! The Extended version at 178 minutes looks like crap!

Please don't argue with me about the way I do certain things, because all I can say is it all works perfectly, and gives me much better video quality than the commercial DVD. The single most important thing is to uncompress the video! Believe me, it makes a huge difference in picture quality, with the final DVD 5!

I start with the download, usually 1080p and a file size about 4GB, if it's available. I prefer files that are MP4, TS, or Avi, and I try to stay away from R5s and MKVs, as I often get sound issues with them. The first thing I do is process the file with the proper Muxer. Then I rip the files with ConvertX 4 to a DVD9, uncompressing the files. ConvertX 4 can process HD content extremely well. This transcode's a high definition source, to loss-less DVD 9 compliancy. I run the resulting files through DVDRB/CCE 2 pass, and the results are generally spectacular! If they aren't, I plan on burning the ConvertX files to DL, as they are usually under 8.2GB.

Perfect, no! But light years better than DVD quality, and look awesome on the new monitor. I continue to use the same software, because it works and works well. I spent many hundreds of hours learning all of this, and I can generally start with the downloaded files, and have a burnable file in under an hour!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I'm thinking about purchasing a new PSU. My 3.3v has been fading from a high of 3.297v when I first got it all the way down to 3.216v, and occasionally I have to completely power it down with the PSU switch to get the computer running. Anyone care to comment on this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-033111-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17341022-L0E

I can get it for a total cost of $44.67, between the $10 Promo Code and the $20 MIR. It's modular and 80% certified, with Active PFC. It has two 25A +12v rails. Should work pretty good with my 6 Core!

Russ

 

As long as you dont re-wire your case every week you should be fine. While lurking on OCZ forums for SSD info i read complaints of the modular connectors not being of high quality. Stable PSU, If you are going to set it and forget it you should be fine. I dont have 1st hand knowledge though so i nominate you guinea pig!
Anyway, i didnt think and old fart like you would like the light show LOL! I tease because i prefer blue...

 

Deadrum33,

If you use an anti corrosive paste, like they use in connecting automobile wiring harnesses, the connections should last a lifetime! It prevents air and moisture from causing corrosion, which causes a high resistance connection, and heat.


Thanks,
Russ

 

I agree about the paste, but if i recall correctly the issues weren't with the harness but the female end not being set in it or crimped in place properly and the male pins pushing them away instead of mating.

 

Deadrum33,

I spoke to OCZ about that today, and some of the flat tabs that lock the female connector in place were not spread far enough, and would push back into the socket. They say that the problem has already been corrected! I'll check mine before I install it, and I have a special tool that will fix the problem if any of them are that way.

Russ

 

Personally OCZ is not a recommended brand. Would have said get a 380W Antec Earthwatts

 

Go for one of these. The reviews speak for themselves:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

 

Sam,

I'm not a very big Antec fan, plus I plan to upgrade my video card to a GTX460 SE, which I can now get for $139, so 380w is not going to cover it! That, and I need 2 6 pin plugs for the GTX460, and the Antec 380w only comes with 1. I'll probably get the OCZ 550.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591

I also plan to rebuild the GameStream 700 and keep it as a spare.

Thanks,
Russ

 

I don't really understand why you'd get the GTX460SE. It's very slow, and overpriced, and it uses an enormous amount of power compared to its competitors. If you want to stick with a geforce get a GTX550Ti, they're similarly powerful, and much more efficient.

I would actually go as far as saying the 380W Antec earthwatts is a better unit than the 550W OCZ, even including its power abilities. The 380W Earthwatts I have is a stellar unit.

Also, ftr, a 380W PSU would easily handle the power hog that is the GTX460SE. Even with an overclocked quad core, you could actually run an overclocked proper GTX460 1GB off a 380W unit. Would I recommend it? No, but it would definitely work. 380W is more power than most people realise.

 

The OCZ's 120mm will actually be louder than the 80mm in the Antec, because OCZ are well known for very poor fan speed control, whereas the antec earthwatts units, certainly the older ones, controlled them well. I share your concern over 80mm units, but in this case, the Antec is the better unit in every way. Take the unit apart and there's nothing old-fashioned underneath.

 

Sam,

It's funny, the GTX550Ti was my first choice. I thought that the GTX560SE would be the better card at only $10 more, but I stand corrected, so the GTX550Ti is what I'll go for!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

I don't know that much about video cards, and quite frankly I've been more lucky than smart in my video card choices over the last 5 years or more. It only cost me $88 for my last two video cards combined. The MSI 9500GT lost the video anomaly with the change of monitor, and the XFX HD4670 turned out to be a great card for the Bucks!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=hd_4670_1gb_ddr3-_-14-150-449-_-Product

As far as the Antec 380w goes, I don't like the old fashioned design, and the noise of an 80mm fan in my heat environment, is out of the question. I would much prefer the slower turning quieter 135mm fan on the OCZ. I also like the semi-modular design a lot better, and some dielectric paste will solve any possible issue of plug failure, by eliminating oxidation. I really don't want to go below 500w anyway. I like the idea of having 2 12v 25A rails rather than 1 15A and 1 17A, and it easily handles a 500W plus load, while maintaining nominal voltages (+ or - 1%).

Eventually my 1090T will be our HDTV because the present 27" CRT set is slowly dying. We like this monitor, as it fits the space and isn't so large that you have to be too far back from it. It's got an LED backlight, and run's far cooler and consumes less power than a CFL screen. At only 13.33 Lbs, it's much lighter too!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236103

Add an HD TV tuner, and we are in business!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Well...so much for my Push pull configuration on my cool it radiator. I was blowing out the machine, and Blocked the fan blades with a metallic item. Apparently there was enough space/momentum to spin the blades fast enough to snap one off. My scythe 1200Rpm just bit it hard. I loved that fan Gonna have to get another now.

And my new Sata/eSATA/IDE card isn't working. Yet! I reversed the pins on the card, since apparently default is for internal. So logically, reversing them would enable both eSATA ports. So far windows 7 does not recognize my Sata Dock. Gonna have to do some digging.

 

Yeah totally loving my dual fan setup. Cooling has never been so redundant and worry free