Went a little crazy when I saw Micro Center had 3770ks for $240. I ended up getting a new mobo too. Asus Sabertooth z77. Pretty happy to be able to get my 3770k up to 4.7GHZ. Running a few hours in Prime 95 and so far no problems. Temps are in the 73~80 range. Seems decent enough. Does vcore @ 1.275 sound safe for this particular cpu?
Well, I might have messed up. I was installing the H60's radiator and I saw the Covering over the H60's thermal paste had come off and was slightly hit by other computer parts. Now, with this picture, does it warrant me going and buy new paste and applying it before giving this a shot, or do you think it is ok and should go for the install?
If the paste isn't solid, it's more than fine. Remember the point of thermal paste is to fill in tiny, tiny, tiny imperfections between the heatsink and the CPU. When you do thermal paste manually, you put a near pea size bead in the center and allow gravity and heat to spread it. Thermal paste isn't paint.
If the paste isn't solid, it's more than fine. Remember the point of thermal paste is to fill in tiny, tiny, tiny imperfections between the heatsink and the CPU. When you do thermal paste manually, you put a near pea size bead in the center and allow gravity and heat to spread it. Thermal paste isn't paint.
Great thanks. Thought I was ok, just wanted to a sanity check.
Last Question of the night:
How do I attach a 120mm fan to this mesh metal thing? The holes won't line up near the top of the case since I have the DVD-ROM in there, covering a few key holes. I might be able to get 3 of the 4 screws in or do some creative work with antivibration clips. Or do I just say screw it and get a 230mm Spectre Pro to fill the gap that actually fits those holes? If you think I should get the 230mm, should I get Spectre Pro or Spectre Pro PWMs?
Went a little crazy when I saw Micro Center had 3770ks for $240. I ended up getting a new mobo too. Asus Sabertooth z77. Pretty happy to be able to get my 3770k up to 4.7GHZ. Running a few hours in Prime 95 and so far no problems. Temps are in the 73~80 range. Seems decent enough. Does vcore @ 1.275 sound safe for this particular cpu?
Doh. I will probably drop it by .1 and get the vcore down some more.
When you say 24/7 load do you mean disabling all the power saver settings and just letting it run at peak speed all day long? I don't usually do that. I know lots of people advice against it but I always leave them on. No point in wasting power. I've never had any stability problems once I get the right clock and vcore combo.
My mock up for accessories section. Comments would be appreciated! I would like to add more into the paragraphs in each section to explain what to look for and the differences between various products but was focused on getting all the images first.
mkenyon should write all the content and I'll format >_>
Headsets
If a good mic isn't as important, check out Headphone GAF. The headphones there will always be better quality than the ones listed here (for the price).
Plantronics .Audio 655 - $35 . . . .
Fatal1ty - $40-50 . . . . . .
CM STORM Sonuz - $70
ROCCAT Kave - $110 . . . . . . . . .
ASUS Vulcan - $120 . . .
Sennheiser PC-350/360 - $150/$225 - Best microphone, worth it for that alone.
Microphones
Stand alone microphones so you can use your own headphones.
Zalman Clip on Mic - $9 - Works for a budget
Logitech USB Mic - $15 (eBay) - Much clearer, but picks up a lot if you aren't talking
ModMic - $35 Preorder - TBD
Keyboards
MX Brown = Quiet tactile, MX Blue = loud tactile, MX Black = stiff linear, MX Red = soft linear. Get Thermaltake/Razer if you need a numpad.
Rosewill RIKB - $10 . . . .
Logitech K200 - $25 . . . . . .
Razer Arctosa - $44
ROCCAT Arvo - $40-55 . .
Logitech K750 - $60-70 . . . .
CM Storm - Quickfire Rapid - $80
Thermaltake Meka -$80 . . .
Razer Blackwidow - $80 . .
Filco Majestouch 2 Tenkeyless - $140
Noppoo Choc - $100 . . . . .
Happy Hacking Pro - $344
Mice
Xornet is the best buy in mice below $60. Spawn for claw, Kova for palm, Kana for smallish hand palm. RAW is the best mouse. Normal sensei the best mouse with more.
Great thanks. Thought I was ok, just wanted to a sanity check.
Last Question of the night:
How do I attach a 120mm fan to this mesh metal thing? The holes won't line up near the top of the case since I have the DVD-ROM in there, covering a few key holes. I might be able to get 3 of the 4 screws in or do some creative work with antivibration clips. Or do I just say screw it and get a 230mm Spectre Pro to fill the gap that actually fits those holes? If you think I should get the 230mm, should I get Spectre Pro or Spectre Pro PWMs?
So i just read from my twin frozr ii, i need a minimum 500w PSU, that's what it says on the box at least. i have a 450W PSU and was wondering if it's really going to be that big a problem if i use it for about a week or so?
what card is it? Ill guess a 5xx nvidia or 6xxx AMD if its a TF2 cooler.
even before knowing the card you'll more than likely be fine, the manufacturers always over estimate how much power you need to play it safe. As long as you e a good quality 450w you'll be fine.
I don't know what sparked it (maybe the visit to PCworld.co.uk and seeing what I could get for the same sort of money), but I've achieved a state of clarity regarding how much to spend. I will definitely go for a 7950, but is the Gigabyte a good shout? The IceQ 7950 BOOST is on sale for £230.
nitrogen (ln2), dry ice and other extreme solutions need to be constantly filled (as they evaporate), and will eventually freeze up the components so much (despite all insulation) that they're completely unsuitable for anything but short extreme overclocking/benchmarking sessions
the only daily usable cooling that goes below ambient is Phase-Change (like a refrigerator) or TEC plates, and even then it's usually a pain to insulate and very costly in terms of energy usage...
just start out with regular watercooling, that has more than enough cooling capacity, doesn't need insulation, is very silent and doesn't use extreme amounts of energy
Great thanks. Thought I was ok, just wanted to a sanity check.
Last Question of the night:
How do I attach a 120mm fan to this mesh metal thing? The holes won't line up near the top of the case since I have the DVD-ROM in there, covering a few key holes. I might be able to get 3 of the 4 screws in or do some creative work with antivibration clips. Or do I just say screw it and get a 230mm Spectre Pro to fill the gap that actually fits those holes? If you think I should get the 230mm, should I get Spectre Pro or Spectre Pro PWMs?
I have the same case and the only way I see of putting 2X120 fans is to remove the dvd drive bracket (I don't use a dvd drive) but I haven't done it yet.
I have the same case and the only way I see of putting 2X120 fans is to remove the dvd drive bracket (I don't use a dvd drive) but I haven't done it yet.
Ya, only way I saw that too. I just bought a spectre pro 230mm instead, which doesn't require the drive removal. This is probably for the best since I was concerned about a lack of airflow.
Hello, i have the exact same case and a H60, ive put the radiator on the back of the case and two intake fans on the front. The h60 is the old one, so the only way that the cables didnt get all bended was to put the radiator on the rear. Works pretty well that way.
Btw, this case have a fantastic airflow design (removed the extra HDDBAY and the DVD drive bay), it has so much room to do cable managment, when looking from outside one may think will be a clusterfuck but no, even with a 7970 and a non modular ATX powersupply (TX650) it gets plenty of space to the air flow between the front and the rear where the air goes out (almost like a straight tunnel). For 70$ this case was a bargain!.
Hello, i have the exact same case and a H60, ive put the radiator on the back of the case and two intake fans on the front. The h60 is the old one, so the only way that the cables didnt get all bended was to put the radiator on the rear. Works pretty well that way.
Btw, this case have a fantastic airflow design (removed the extra HDDBAY and the DVD drive bay), it has so much room to do cable managment, when looking from outside one may think will be a clusterfuck but no, even with a 7970 and a non modular ATX powersupply (TX650) it gets plenty of space to the air flow between the front and the rear where the air goes out (almost like a straight tunnel). For 70$ this case was a bargain!.
I agree about the case. The mITX guide in the first post suggesting this case was extremely useful. My build is basically the high end version from the guide. The only real decision I made was the gigabyte 7970. Originally I was going to go with the 660ti but the board convinced me otherwise.
I can't wait to finish the build process on Saturday to try this out. I will post pictures of my prodigy after everything explodes.
This summer 'The Beast' will turn two years old. For the most part its been consistent over this time. Only changes was going from the FT02 to the 500r, and flirting with a 690 for a few months l. And I guess adding a 2560x1600 monitor. Would like to do a refresh on it in the summer to keep it in top form.
My mock up for accessories section. Comments would be appreciated! I would like to add more into the paragraphs in each section to explain what to look for and the differences between various products but was focused on getting all the images first.
Looks really really nice, but we are going to replace a few things in there. Seems impossible to find a decent headset below $100. I think below the $100 mark, the only realistic option is the Steelseries Siberia v2. Everything else is just garbage. I think using a link to headphone GAF would make the most sense there.
I agree about the case. The mITX guide in the first post suggesting this case was extremely useful. My build is basically the high end version from the guide. The only real decision I made was the gigabyte 7970. Originally I was going to go with the 660ti but the board convinced me otherwise.
I can't wait to finish the build process on Saturday to try this out. I will post pictures of my prodigy after everything explodes.
Hello, i have the exact same case and a H60, ive put the radiator on the back of the case and two intake fans on the front. The h60 is the old one, so the only way that the cables didnt get all bended was to put the radiator on the rear. Works pretty well that way.
Btw, this case have a fantastic airflow design (removed the extra HDDBAY and the DVD drive bay), it has so much room to do cable managment, when looking from outside one may think will be a clusterfuck but no, even with a 7970 and a non modular ATX powersupply (TX650) it gets plenty of space to the air flow between the front and the rear where the air goes out (almost like a straight tunnel). For 70$ this case was a bargain!.
Still seems high. Fans? I'd also consider a remount. With the megahalems and a single Swiftech Helix, I was getting 72.5 average core temp at 4.6/1.20V.
Yes. The Samsungs can be clocked to 2100MHz pretty reliably. Plus they are very very low profile, and actually shorter than the clips on the end of the sockets.
Looks really really nice, but we are going to replace a few things in there. Seems impossible to find a decent headset below $100. I think below the $100 mark, the only realistic option is the Steelseries Siberia v2. Everything else is just garbage. I think using a link to headphone GAF would make the most sense there.
Any idea on how good the sound/mic quality is for the Steelseries Siberia v2?
Im thisclose to buying the Sennheiser PC350 or 360 but I love the little retractable mic on the Steelseries. Sennheiser doesnt have anything like that....
Any idea on how good the sound/mic quality is for the Steelseries Siberia v2?
Im thisclose to buying the Sennheiser PC350 or 360 but I love the little retractable mic on the Steelseries. Sennheiser doesnt have anything like that....
Well, the Sennheiser sets are full on audiophile quality cans with THE BEST MIC. I can't stress how amazing the mic is on those. No one on my team uses anything else just because of the mic. If clear communication is important, there really isn't any other choice out there. Even in-game voice chat in Dota 2 sounds like the person is in the room with you.
If it isn't too much of a strain on the budget, it can't be beat.
Well, the Sennheiser sets are full on audiophile quality cans with THE BEST MIC. I can't stress how amazing the mic is on those. No one on my team uses anything else just because of the mic. If clear communication is important, there really isn't any other choice out there. Even in-game voice chat in Dota 2 sounds like the person is in the room with you.
If it isn't too much of a strain on the budget, it can't be beat.
This is pretty much what Ive been hearing. Everytime I headset shop, the Sennheisers come up at the top of my list.
They sound like they make good headphones too even when not using the mic.
Is the mic sturdy enough...like if I were to point it upward when not in use, its not going to fall down when I shake my head?
No way, sturdy as all getout. It's not a 'gaming headset' in terms of quality that one would normally associate with that phrase. I'd call it professional grade.
No way, sturdy as all getout. It's not a 'gaming headset' in terms of quality that one would normally associate with that phrase. I'd call it professional grade.
This is pretty much what Ive been hearing. Everytime I headset shop, the Sennheisers come up at the top of my list.
They sound like they make good headphones too even when not using the mic.
Is the mic sturdy enough...like if I were to point it upward when not in use, its not going to fall down when I shake my head?
That reminds me I need to pick up a replacement for whenever my G5 finally dies. I'm going to miss it.
Unfortunately most of the ones (if not all) I've seen online have been the ugly crackly purple ones. I have one of the older models that's coloured to look like it was in a bomb blast.
But maybe there's a newer model worth picking up if I can't get a G5 cheap...and at this point, they're pretty uncommon and expensive.
I ended up getting a good deal on a wireless combo so it's nice to have keyboard and mouse hooked up through one mini usb device. I use rechargeable batteries so that's not a problem.
Are the mice more comfortable? My mouse is ok. However, I'm sure my keyboard leaves room for improvement. Are gaming keyboards more comfortable? Bigger keys or something?
There's one wireless keyboard listed. Wireless mice are pretty much all bad, unless a bit of latency is fine with you. The G700 is supposedly the best out there, but even then it's still really bad compared to even cheap wired mice.
That reminds me I need to pick up a replacement for whenever my G5 finally dies. I'm going to miss it.
Unfortunately most of the ones (if not all) I've seen online have been the ugly crackly purple ones. I have one of the older models that's coloured to look like it was in a bomb blast.
But maybe there's a newer model worth picking up if I can't get a G5 cheap...and at this point, they're pretty uncommon and expensive.
Get yourself the Sensei Raw. Or the Xornet/Spawn if you claw grip.
NoRéN;46017766 said:
I ended up getting a good deal on a wireless combo so it's nice to have keyboard and mouse hooked up through one mini usb device. I use rechargeable batteries so that's not a problem.
Are the mice more comfortable? My mouse is ok. However, I'm sure my keyboard leaves room for improvement. Are gaming keyboards more comfortable? Bigger keys or something?
Most of the gaming keyboards listed in there are mechanical keyboards. They offer full NKRO through PS/2, which means every key that is depressed is then registered. There's a ton of times where key presses are either screwed up or flat out ignored on most USB keyboards, most people think it was their own error, but it isn't. In addition, the key is registered on a signal interrupt basis rather than a polling basis. Think of it this way: a USB keyboard is basically constantly being asked if a key is being depressed. It takes time for that to be answered and then put into the system.
The mice use better and more accurate sensors. Some, like the Sensei, can have the X, Y, and Z axes can all be independently configured to tailor the mouse exactly to how you play.
I'm using a Fractal Arc Midi case with all the factory fans. Would I likely notice quieter fan performance if I replace the 140mm fans (at least the front one) with an after market Cooler Master 1000 RPM or something else?
Just had a new laptop delivered and I'd like to see what it can do but I've purchased Arkham City and there's no way the 19GB download will finish tonight :/ Can anyone recommend a demo in the 2-4GB region of a fairly modern game that I could download to test it out?
Most of the gaming keyboards listed in there are mechanical keyboards. They offer full NKRO through PS/2, which means every key that is depressed is then registered. There's a ton of times where key presses are either screwed up or flat out ignored on most USB keyboards, most people think it was their own error, but it isn't. In addition, the key is registered on a signal interrupt basis rather than a polling basis. Think of it this way: a USB keyboard is basically constantly being asked if a key is being depressed. It takes time for that to be answered and then put into the system.
The mice use better and more accurate sensors. Some, like the Sensei, can have the X, Y, and Z axes can all be independently configured to tailor the mouse exactly to how you play.
Great information. Thank you. Looks like I will be investing in a good keyboard/mouse. Already eyeing the CM Storm Spawn.
One last question, how do these mice hook up? I ask because my motherboard seems to only have one PS/2 connection. I have the ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM from the Standard Build.
I'm using a Fractal Arc Midi case with all the factory fans. Would I likely notice quieter fan performance if I replace the 140mm fans (at least the front one) with an after market Cooler Master 1000 RPM or something else?
Nope. The stock fans are fairly quiet. To get a solid set of fans to replace them, you'd need to look at ~$10-15/fan replacements. Cougar Vortex 1200 and Arctic Cooling F12s are both around $10/fan, will push more air, and run more quietly.
Just had a new laptop delivered and I'd like to see what it can do but I've purchased Arkham City and there's no way the 19GB download will finish tonight :/ Can anyone recommend a demo in the 2-4GB region of a fairly modern game that I could download to test it out?
Just about done setting up my girlfriend's computer. One last thing I noticed; I was in the BIOS and realized my SSD is in IDE rather than AHCI. I'm not going to be using more than one SSD, but I'll be popping in a HDD for mass storage later on. Am I going to see any major issues leaving it as IDE instead of AHCI, short- or long-term? If yes, how do I go about changing this setting? I know I can manually adjust it through the BIOS, but I get a bad feeling that it may cause major issues since Windows 8 is already on there... basically, I'm worried it cause some problem where the system would no longer boot properly.
mkenyon, i finally got the Define R4 the other day . Really neat and my GPU temps went down considerably. Idling at ~27c and the upper 50's when playing FIFA; which before got to the higher 70's.
I was surprised how bigger it is compared to my old antic case.
Just about done setting up my girlfriend's computer. One last thing I noticed; I was in the BIOS and realized my SSD is in IDE rather than AHCI. I'm not going to be using more than one SSD, but I'll be popping in a HDD for mass storage later on. Am I going to see any major issues leaving it as IDE instead of AHCI, short- or long-term? If yes, how do I go about changing this setting? I know I can manually adjust it through the BIOS, but I get a bad feeling that it may cause major issues since Windows 8 is already on there... basically, I'm worried it cause some problem where the system would no longer boot properly.
I have read that TRIM will work in IDE, but that second guide is simple enough I might as well do it, so thank you! It's the last tweak needed for this build, I'm excited to finish it up tonight!
I'm not sure if this topic is the right place to ask, but how do you guys update Nvidia drivers? Is clean install necessary with programs like driver sweeper or can I just install the new ones, it uninstalls old drivers before anyway right?