The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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3. November 2010 @ 15:04 |
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Wow red. So Green technology is definitely recommended for you guys ;) Or perhaps running your equipment off of 220V ;)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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6. November 2010 @ 15:52 |
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Well...so much for the late MSI board in my HTPC. The Northbridge is going haywire now. Sometimes it'll run for hours, and other times it won't make it more than a minute. Pretty weird. I've even had it freeze on the Countdown screen:
I've eliminated the reset switch from the equation. It's not a problem. The Ram has been tested more than one way. It passes. The processor...obviously that's pretty unlikely. It's never seen overclocking, and frankly, processors generally don't know how to fail :p
Though it does happen...
It really is a shame the board can't overclock too. If I could over-volt the NB/Chip, I might actually stabilize it. At least til it ultimately fails ;) Ahh well. I'm currently looking at a replacement board. Such a shame that AM3+ boards aren't being released yet. But the one I'm looking at will probably support 6 core phenom, so that'll have to do.
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 6. November 2010 @ 15:52
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Moderator
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6. November 2010 @ 15:57 |
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Try running off a linux live cd for a while, to elimate Windows being the culprit maybe...
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules ***
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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6. November 2010 @ 16:00 |
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I don't think so. See, it doesn't freeze at 0 seconds, it froze at 11sec last night. BEFORE the hard drive would have received the signal to boot ;)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
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6. November 2010 @ 16:18 |
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Dunno, it's always worth a try. Though it's probably a rogue BIOS setting. From overclocking maybe ?. I don't bother with such things, my old and trusty Q6600 runs Seti@Home/Milkyway@home the whole time it's powered up, no resources found wanting so need for any overclocking here.
Come to think of it my main works linux box (i have a few now), which is a C2D E2180, runs Seti@Home/Milkyway@home 24/7, the machine has an uptime of 101 days now, it has excellent (and silent) cooling. It's a Dell Vostro 200, nice little machines.
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules ***
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 6. November 2010 @ 16:23
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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6. November 2010 @ 16:22 |
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That board doesn't overclock at all. I believe sam is correct. Faulty Nvidia chipset. Which is apparently typical...
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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6. November 2010 @ 17:01 |
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Very typical :P
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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7. November 2010 @ 01:09 |
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To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
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AfterDawn Addict
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7. November 2010 @ 01:16 |
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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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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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7. November 2010 @ 12:58 |
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That's the board I decided on russ. It all around looks great. The onboard graphics are probably better than the HTPC's current Geforce 210 too...
Why does the UK and most of that continent start/end daylight savings differently than say the U.S.? I believe you guys switched a week ago. And in march you started 2 weeks after us. Kind of strange LOL!
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7. November 2010 @ 13:06
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Moderator
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7. November 2010 @ 13:15 |
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Originally posted by omegaman7: Why does the UK and most of that continent start/end daylight savings differently than say the U.S.? I believe you guys switched a week ago. And in march you started 2 weeks after us. Kind of strange LOL!
Hehe, what's to say the US doesn't change DST differently to us :).
Luckily in linux time changes are a doddle, and clock changes 'just happen' as we use 'NTP' to control changes. However me monitoring various remote branches in foreign timezones presents a slight problem, though using the TZ command i found a way to basically cater for any changes in timezones anywhere, automatically (i have a script that runs in UK's office hours, that monitors whether remote branches lose connectivity to us, and catering for all the various convoluted and staggered timezone changes was a tad tricky, 'til i figured out i could manipulate the output of TZ such that the script stops monitoring branches once they're out of office hours their time). How happy am i :).
Anyways, i'm going great guns at filling the various 2TB drives here, still need a few more, am still very pleased with the WD20EARS drives. At some point in the coming months i think i'll be needing to swap out the 500GB boot drive and replace with a 2TB. I know that kind of thing is frowned upon, though i don't see any problems personally, and more importantly i don't take much heed of others re the size of boot drives, it's just a.n.other disc to me, no different from any data drives.
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules ***
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7. November 2010 @ 13:17
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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7. November 2010 @ 13:21 |
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Originally posted by creaky: Hehe, what's to say the US doesn't change DST differently to us :).
LOL! Sorry to come across that way. You're absolutely correct. Perhaps it simply has something to do with the axis of the earth. Iceland for instance does not observe DST ;)
My WD20EARS is still performing well. I just did its first defragmentation the other day. Can't wait to buy some more 2Tb drives. I've only used over one quarter of the first drive :D
I used a WD1001FALS drive for boot. It performed extremely well. It blew the 5000AAKB drive out of the water ;)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7. November 2010 @ 13:22
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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7. November 2010 @ 14:34 |
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5400rpm drives are really slow as boot drives, trust me. If you're going to buy something that big for your OS, unless you're willing to sacrifice speed you'll want the 2TB Caviar Black, and they're pretty pricey.
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7. November 2010 @ 14:44 |
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Yeah, i don't mind paying a bit more for a boot drive. The Black isn't too steep actually, it's £112 exc VAT at Misco at the moment. I'll continue replacing the other 500GB drives for now, it'll be a few months before i'm in a position to need to swap out the boot drive anyways, i have enough spare space across all other drives to juggle data around 'til then (plus i'll have a few more 2TB drives in by then which eases the juggling until the final data moves are needed). I can just use a WD20EARS for an external backup of the boot drive, or i suppose i can just use a few of the spare 500GB drives to back that up, the data on there will be fairly static anyways which means juggling a few 500GB drives isn't too inconvenient, or more than likely i'll just be done with it and plump for a WD20EARS as they're so cheap.
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules ***
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7. November 2010 @ 14:47
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ddp
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7. November 2010 @ 15:45 |
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omega, blame bush 2 for the later time change as "supposedly" it was to save oil. right & another pink cow flew by. some of our provinces or parts of don't do the change at all.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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7. November 2010 @ 15:49 |
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Well £112 + VAT as opposed to £59+VAT like the Green drives, it is practically double :P
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7. November 2010 @ 15:56 |
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Indeed, but i don't pay VAT or shipping, plus it's still cheaper than the most expensive hard drive i ever bought, a cavernous 8GB drive i paid £120 for (and drove for hours to get!) back in the mid 90's :o
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules ***
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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7. November 2010 @ 16:09 |
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I think I'll stick with the green drives for now. I haven't had the problems that other reviewers have had. Either I got lucky, or most of those reviewers don't know what they're doing. Mine has been running for nearly 2 months straight, with zero issues. And at half the price, it's a no brainer.
Looks like the WD2001FASS is getting almost equally negative reviews. I find this rather curious. I suppose the WD1001FALS was questionable at the start though too...
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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7. November 2010 @ 16:35 |
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Haha, 8GB would probably have been late 90s. The 13GB in my PC we bought new in 1999 was about as big as they got.
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. November 2010 @ 04:29 |
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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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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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10. November 2010 @ 05:42 |
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If he can get it for the reduced price, it's at least worth a look. But for overall performance and longevity, 2 cheaper ATi cards in Crossfire can achieve similar performance for the same price or cheaper. Of course the GTX580 does have the single GPU performance guarantee.
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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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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10. November 2010 @ 11:44 |
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Russ: Tell him to wait. The GTX580 is a decent card for the money, but in two weeks' time, the AMD alternative to it is released, and it will very likely be better, both in performance and value.
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. November 2010 @ 20:15 |
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Estuansis & sammorris,
Thanks for the feedback. He's not much of an Ati/AMD graphics card fan, so I think he will buy it now, while he can save the 10%. At least that's what he said. He said that liked the fact that they had been tested in a 50C room for 100 hours, without any failures, and that weighed heavily in his decision!
Thanks again guys,
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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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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10. November 2010 @ 20:25 |
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50C? That's some scorching desert like conditions LOL!
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question!
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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10. November 2010 @ 20:32 |
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Russ: Sadly there are too many people like that. His loss I suppose.
The irony is geforce GPUs are far less reliable long-term than AMD GPUs.
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