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The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 08:50 |
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Any recommendations on video cards or am I better off to sit tight and watch prices? BF3 really calls for more video power than I can supply, but it's not by much. I am content to sit on these cards for another year if that's what it takes but I've been at relatively the same video power for a few years now...
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388 |
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Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 09:27 |
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That's a great deal I thought about buying one but LiteOn doesn't support their drives well these days and I wouldn't want to get stuck with a crap drive again as I did recently with them. However that is cheap so it might be worth the gamble. The better Blu-ray drives tend to be LG and Pioneer, both can burn media at two to three or even four times the media manufactures rated speeds reliably. I have had both drives but have had better luck with the LG's than the Pioneer BD-206 I have now, I still like my 206 but there was some crappy media it didn't do a good job on that the LG did.
Burners can be tricky to rate like Sam said as the firmware and timings are so key to the media you are using, so some might have better luck than others based on their media of choice.
I use to buy LiteOn mostly but since dealing with their customer service or lack there of it on a drive that should have performed well with the media I was using I have given up with LiteOn for future drives.
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Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 11:47 |
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Originally posted by Estuansis:
Hey guys I'm not up to date on burners but I figured it's high time for an upgrade so I can enjoy my small collection of Blu-Rays without the PS3(amazing machine for some stuff) and also for the inevitable occurrence of PC games on Blu Ray.
Is this any good? Newegg sent me a promo code for it for $10 off and it's currently the cheapest one available. Anything on an optical drive I should be wary of or are they pretty much black and white as far as quality? I'm not looking for thousands of flawless burns, in fact my current DVD-RW has seen zero use this year so far.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106369
Also in the process of attempting to sell my 6850s. It's about time I got a 2GB+ video card. Maybe one now and one later, possibly one very expensive one. Am looking at a few different models, but am sort of split on what presents best bang for buck. Everything seems relatively expensive this generation vs my 6850s for $200 each on release and my 4870s for $300 each on release(bought both sets literally less than a month after release). A 7970 is about $550. Damn that is a lot.
Also, if I don't get something higher performance than a single 6970, I might as well stay with these cards.
I bought one of those about 3 months ago, I should have returned it but other things got the best of me, it came with cyberlink software, if I'm not mistaken you need these kind of softwares to be able to view or use your blurays, and don't forget I am not up to speed as most of you guys on this subject, I wanted to jump on the bandwagon with this bluray stuff since the price was cheap on this model and give it a go, even ordered a couple of bluray movies.
Well whatever reason before I could even get into burning anything, bluray anyway, I could not even view it, neither bluray movie I tried to watch would not play using that cyberlink software, it drove me crazy for days trying to figure it out, even e-mailed cyberlinks support, what a joke that was, it plays regular dvd's great, it burns regular dvd great, but when it comes to do anything with bluray movies forget it, and yes I have tried about 5 brand new bluray movies niether worked, by the time I had time to mess with a return it was to late, and don't forget, it could also be I was doing something wrong, either way still can'r figure it out.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. April 2012 @ 14:51
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 12:27 |
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You need third party software to play blurays. Cyberlink PowerDVD is only included for use with DVDs, as far as I know. Lots of complaints about such software not being included with the drive, but that's why you should do the research before you buy one! Plenty of free software will play blurays.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 12:29 |
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Lite-on used to be really good. Now I'm not so sure. Their quality control seems to be slipping. At least my BD-Rom seems to be O-K. I don't rip with it much, but I do scan burned media. Seems to do ok at that.
Like steve, I would recommend LG. I however would not recommend LTH media. They seem to be hit or miss. Well, perhaps not that bad, but they're not great either. I would worry about longevity with LTH media.
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 12:38 |
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I never thought Liteon stuff was that great tbh, it always seemed a bit cheap, and I know a long time back they used to have a few issues. I've stuck with LG for the last few years without any incidents. I usually stick with Verbatim for media as you can find it in physical stores and it's fairly decent. However, never buy Verbatim CD-Rs, as you stand the highest chance of coasters with Verbatim compared with any other brand, including the budget no-names.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 12:47 |
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I had a VERY good lite-on drive once. LH-20A1H. I currently still have the Sata counterpart. LH-20A1S. It's also pretty good. They seem to read discs that are wayyy less than perfect. My Optiarc 7200S is about as good a reader. Definitely excellent burners! Can't wait for the comparable BD drive. The LG drives seem really good though(minus LTH media). I wouldn't say all verbatim is good. Never tried their CD's. But DVD's with the right Dyes are almost as good as Taiyo Yuden media. But Verbatim is currently using a cheaper dye one should watch out for!
Now, to find some things that are valuable to sell! Must have that 1090t LOL!!!
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 14:56 |
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Sammy said something about plenty of free bluray softwares out there? I did try to look for frebbies and could not find any, cause cyber powerdvd for blurays sure as hell doesn't work.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. April 2012 @ 15:40
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 15:14 |
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MPCHC will read a bluray folder. I prefer TMT3 or TMT5(Not free) though :p
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. April 2012 @ 15:15
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 15:30 |
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AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
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sytyguy
Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 15:37 |
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 15:41 |
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Same here, I don't find codec packs necessary with MPCHC any more.
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Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 15:42 |
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 15:42 |
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K-Lite has a way of mucking up certain installs/programs. FFdshow and Haali are all I ever need :p
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
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9. April 2012 @ 15:44 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
You need third party software to play blurays. Cyberlink PowerDVD is only included for use with DVDs, as far as I know. Lots of complaints about such software not being included with the drive, but that's why you should do the research before you buy one! Plenty of free software will play blurays.
Sam,
I use PowerDVD 12. It plays everything and has the best rendering engine I've ever seen. You can't tell 1080i from 1080p. They look identical in quality. Lower resolutions like 720p are scaled to the screen, by the aspect ratio, be it at 16x9 or 16x10. Even at 16x10, you lose about an inch of width, but the picture scales so perfectly that it looks stunning and clear. However it does it, it seems to give the best possible resolution, and it seems to do it automatically. I bought it on sale for $35.49, last week. I saved about $25.
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 15:44 |
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There is a bunch of free programs that can play BD movies and DVDFab even has a free version to rip movies, at least I think it will do Blu-ray too in the free version. VLC is one of the many players that can play just about anything but again there are more.
LiteOn drives used to be some of the better drives even though you could get them cheap and they could rip certain formats that other drives had problems with i.e., old Sony burners. I use to swear by LiteOnIt but about the time they stopped providing a easy to find firmware site is the time they started to go down hill. That is about the time the tray eject started to be a problem too.
I mostly use TMT too as my movie player of choice but I like VLC because I can take snap shots of a movie with it where TMT does not allow that anymore.
If I didn't just buy the Sky Caddie SGX GPS for $247 shipped, I would have taken a chance on the LiteOn Blu-ray Jeff is considering since at that price you probably can't go wrong, probably, but it is a gamble of course.
I won't install any Cyberlink crap on my PC's since I learned my lesson with them years ago.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 15:46 |
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Russ, what do you mean you lose an inch of width? You shouldn't lose anything :S
On a 16:10 monitor, you simply see more black on top and bottom.
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. April 2012 @ 15:46
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 15:51 |
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Originally posted by theonejrs:
Originally posted by sammorris:
You need third party software to play blurays. Cyberlink PowerDVD is only included for use with DVDs, as far as I know. Lots of complaints about such software not being included with the drive, but that's why you should do the research before you buy one! Plenty of free software will play blurays.
Sam,
I use PowerDVD 12. It plays everything and has the best rendering engine I've ever seen. You can't tell 1080i from 1080p. They look identical in quality. Lower resolutions like 720p are scaled to the screen, by the aspect ratio, be it at 16x9 or 16x10. Even at 16x10, you lose about an inch of width, but the picture scales so perfectly that it looks stunning and clear. However it does it, it seems to give the best possible resolution, and it seems to do it automatically. I bought it on sale for $35.49, last week. I saved about $25.
Russ
If that is the case, then it's a low quality source. It's a technical impossibility for 1080i to offer the same image quality as 1080p, because half the detail simply isn't there. You can get good de-interlacing but it will never provide quite the same picture as a proper 1080p rip. Usually this is good enough, because the sorts of content that are 1080i native are from TV source rather than from blurays, and thus start out as compressed content to begin with.
Nothing is lost by using a 16:10 display, the picture is not stretched to fit unless you set it to be. You would only lose out if you tried to play something 16:10 on a 16:9 display, but since no video formats are that aspect ratio, it's a non-issue.
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Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 15:51 |
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I agree about that Cyberlink crap, I still think it's somekind of software or player problem with this liteon, like I said, anything to do with regular cd's or dvd's everything works perfect reading and writing, just will not load up anything bluray, is it the software, or the optical drive itself, do not know and can't figure it out, so my bluray experiance went south.
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sytyguy
Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 15:59 |
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Originally posted by FredBun:
I have VLC, I have Gom and several other frebbies, none wotk with bluray.
VLC works fine for me for Bly-Ray. It is also one of my favorites that I use.
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Senior Member
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9. April 2012 @ 16:01 |
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Originally posted by FredBun:
Originally posted by sytyguy:
Also, VLC, heck even Windows Media Player will play Blu-Ray. My favorite is Media Player Classic, although I don't use any Codecs with it.
I have VLC, I have Gom and several other frebbies, none wotk with bluray.
Yes they do.
Originally posted by omegaman7:
Russ, what do you mean you lose an inch of width? You shouldn't lose anything :S
On a 16:10 monitor, you simply see more black on top and bottom.
He should lose height not width. 16x9 vs. 16x10... width is the same.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. April 2012 @ 16:04
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 16:01 |
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I'm planning on getting a bluray drive in the next few months, so we'll see then :)
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 16:02 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
I'm planning on getting a bluray drive in the next few months, so we'll see then :)
Ahh, I thought you didn't like optical drives :p
I've got three of um! LOL! One's going south though :(
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. April 2012 @ 16:03
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 16:04 |
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I don't dislike optical drives, I just see no reason to have any more than two (for on-the-fly copying). My current supermulti is scarcely used, but being able to burn blurays that will play in PS3s will be handy.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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9. April 2012 @ 16:17 |
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Yah, I've dropped back quite a bit myself. I don't see the need for more than 2 DVD drives, and the three BD drives. One BD drive is new, the other LG is questionable now, and the Lite-on is my scanner. I don't burn DVD's in them. It's a waste of potential if you ask me :p So as you see, I do have legitimate reasons LOL!
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
