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The (new) Official PC building thread!
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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1. February 2008 @ 20:04 |
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Greg: told you you'd like it, and I agree with you about the graphics being almost if not as good.
Abuzar: I use the same Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, and a very similar mouse.
Speakers are somewhat different though!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Digital...r/dp/B0006HBCL8
First PC:
P3 450, MSI microATX board, 128MB SDRAM SIMM PC133, 13GB Seagate Medalist HDD, 17" CRT @ 1280x1024,60Hz,16-bit colour.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. February 2008 @ 20:09
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e_jones
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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1. February 2008 @ 20:12 |
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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1. February 2008 @ 20:16 |
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AfterDawn Addict
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1. February 2008 @ 21:18 |
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sammorris,
Quote:
That hard drive is fine, I've had good success with WD Caviar SE drives.
If you had known what I recommended to e_jones you might not say that!
I recommended the Seagate 320 with a 16 MB cache! LOL!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140
It's very fast and very quiet. Just put one in the D-940! Oh, and the price just dropped $5! I've been using the AS series drives with the Perpendicular recording technology and they are the quietest drives I've ever seen and not heard! LOL!! I can't hear mine with the side cover off unless I get right up to about 3-4 inches away from the drive. You can't even hear it spin!
The WD is a good drive, but it's my opinion that the Seagate is the better of the two! I've also had good success with just about every WD drive I've ever had, even the old noisy ones, but I would pay a few dollars more for the 16 MB cache!
Best Regards,
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
 This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. February 2008 @ 21:59
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AfterDawn Addict
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1. February 2008 @ 21:51 |
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Russ I have 3 of those Seagates. You're right they are quiet and fast!! Me likey.....lol
e_jones,
Of the 3 that you linked too the XCLIO is the most interesting but I have my doubts about those 250mm fans. ;) btw I like the 2 sam linked too but you have to be happy with what you choose. When choosing a case for YOUR needs try to get what completely encompasses your criteria. You said cooling is your main concern so YOU should choose a case that allows enough fans and vents to provide that. ;) good luck with your case hunt. ;)
As for DVDRW drives you can select many out there that Lite-On makes. MOST are good but sometimes companies do make mistakes. ;)
Here's a few "Lite-Ons" to look at.... linky
btw I can help you "flash" any of these to a few different models, just ask if you get one. ;)
Oh and another thing.... Tiger Direct doesn't always have the best prices and neither does the EGG but I like the EGG for the item descriptions and item availability most of the time. :D
...gm
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e_jones
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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2. February 2008 @ 03:11 |
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I noticed some are using a dvd rom in addition to a dvd burner is there an advantage to this combination. I mainly use a computer to "backup" dvd movies. Also can I burn two different dvd's on the fly at the same time with different applications without harming my equipment?
so of these three which is better?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcom...&page=2&bop=And
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. February 2008 @ 04:56 |
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e_jones,
I personally like the Sony/NEC/Optiarcs! I use them in all my customer builds, and all 3 computers in my house have them. They way the Sony part all came about is NEC had and exclusive with Optiarc to build their drives. Sony wanted Optiarc to build their DVD Burners, but couldn't, so they cut a deal with Nec and Optiarc, financed the expansion of Optiarc's production facilities, so Sony/NEC/Optiarc was born! They're relatively inexpensive, and the quality has been excellent on every one I've bought, and I've bought a bunch of them this past year!
I used to use mostly Lite-On before I discovered the NECs. They're pretty good drives, but fit and finish varies a lot from unit to unit, and they make more noise than the NECs. I particularly don't like their tray action as it's no where as smooth or as quiet as the NECs opening and closing! I haven't had any of the 15 or so that I've sold go bad though! The Philips are pretty good drives but I haven't come across very many of them. The worst drive I've seen yet in a name brand, was a Pioneer DVR-115DBK. I just installed one for a friend about a week ago that he had bought at a good price. It was extremely noisy, and vibrated very badly while installing XP-Pro. It may have just been a bad drive, but if I had bought it, it would have been returned!
You asked about why the DVD Rom as well as the burner. I watch a lot of DVDs on my computer as I have a nice widescreen monitor and a killer sound system, along with HD Audio. It's nice when burning DVDs as I can put the original in the Rom, the blank in the burner, launch RipIt4Me and forget it until the "Jetson's Doorbell" goes off and it's finished. besides, I can't see wearing out my DVD burner using it as a player. besides, they're inexpensive enough and I almost never get read errors with my Asus unless the disk I'm copying is really bad! That says a lot right there. It also seems to read troublesome disks where other's won't. I've only had 1 failure out of about 27-28 DVD burners and about 23 DVD Roms in the last year, and that was my own DVD Burner. My PS went South and took the burner with it! LOL!! Newegg replaced it with 3 days left on the warranty! I do get lucky, once in a while! LOL!!
Best Regards,
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
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. February 2008 @ 04:57
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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2. February 2008 @ 06:47 |
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Russ: My bad, didn't spot the 8MB Cache. I've been using 16MB Cache WD Drives for quite a long time now, I mistakenly thought they all had it!
Greensman: The Xclio case is dump, it wouldn't cool anywhere near as well as Russ' Coolermaster case, let alone something like an Antec 900.
e-jones: I've never had any issues with a standalone DVD-ROM drive, ever, so I'd recommend pretty much anything in that dept, my LG 48x16 drive has been good.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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2. February 2008 @ 06:53 |
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I have a Lite-On drive and it was a big mistake. This thing is LOUD!
If I run all my fans at full speed they are not even CLOSE to the sound this god-awful DVD drive makes. This thing sounds like a 60mm fanat something around 10,000 RPM, only this drive is a lot louder!
This is what I got:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106070
EDIT: Bunch of Communist athiests at newegg. Won't even let me write god in a review because it's deemed "inappropriate"
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. February 2008 @ 06:57
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. February 2008 @ 07:24 |
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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
4 product reviews
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2. February 2008 @ 07:24 |
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Lol in the same way hitler and stalin are filtered in the chat lobby for C&C games?
Russ: Nice, if they're cheap in the UK I may pick up one or two after I've sold one of my 3870s... Now my fileserver finally has gigabit networking and I've run out of storage space, some high speed HDDs are needed!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. February 2008 @ 07:25
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Senior Member
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2. February 2008 @ 07:27 |
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e_jones, theo hit the nail right on the head, I have always found a great advantage in having both a rom and a writer for all reasons theo stated, if you burn a lot its much more convient to place your disc in the rom and the read will carry over to the burner for writing without creating extra steps, also why use your writer as a reader, use it just for writing, less wear and tear.
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. February 2008 @ 09:18 |
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boozer,
Go here and d/l the latest f/w for the 20A1S. ;) Should be labeled "EOHT III", see if that helps anything. :D
e_jones,
You can use 2 different applications and burn 2 dvd's at the same time but I don't recommend it. I'm from the old school and still feel that you should leave your puter alone while it's doing it's thing. ;) BUT I've used Nero to burn with multiple drives before (from 2 to 4 at a time) and it works pretty darn good I must say. Of course all the same image and if you use that application the drives find a "compatible" speed and they ALL use that speed. :D
ON to your other question. I would choose the Philips... BECAUSE of 2 reasons.... it's the least expensive and you can "flash" it to a Lite-On LH-20A1P or DH-20A4P and back and forth again. lol. It's fun but be aware if you make a mistake you could LOOSE your drive, BUT for $28 delivered it wouldn't be a BIG loss. ;O
ON the SONY's.... they are Lite-On's!!!! NOT true Optiarc/NEC drives...... well the link you provided (btw you linked to 6 drives) One is a DH-20A3P and the other is a DH-20A3H (lightscribe tech).... You can flash them as well. I have one of the Sony AD-7190's and flashed it to a DH-20A3P and it does ok but the f/w isn't to maturation yet. They are close BUT NOT perfect yet. ;)
hth.......
.....gm
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. February 2008 @ 09:49 |
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greensman,
Quote:
ON the SONY's.... they are Lite-On's!!!! NOT true Optiarc/NEC drives..
That's kind of misleading! There are sonys with the Sony Brand name, but the Sony/NEC/Optiarcs are true Optiarcs! Sony is also going true Optiarcs for everything after their LiteOn contract runs out! That's why they financed Optiarcs expansion! Sony even wanted to buy out NEC's contract, but NEC was smarter than that! LOL!!
The LiteOns I was getting a year and a half or more ago, were far better than the last three I bought. That's what made me start to look for another brand. First I tried LG, and they weren't bad, but turned out to not be too durable! Somewhat cheaply made too! As far as the Philips drives go, you would think that they would be the best drives available, given the fact that they were the ones, along with Magnavox that invented them in the first place! Their Laser Disc Technology goes all the way back to the early 80s!
I'll stick with what's been very successful for me this past year or so, the Optiarcs for the burners and the Asus fo the DVD Rom drives. I don't really like the looseness of the tray mechanism on the Asus, but they track far better than anything else I've ever used. I've managed to save a couple of DVDs and CDs that wouldn't play on anything else, making an ISO of them and then burning a new disk from the ISO.
Best Regards,
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
2 product reviews
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2. February 2008 @ 09:53 |
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Then again you would think Atari would be winning the console wars, but it's not. People need to move forward, some companies can't keep up.
GM, thanks I'll try that. I don't think it will solve the sound problem though. BTW I got a big list of files, which one do I run?
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. February 2008 @ 09:54
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. February 2008 @ 10:01 |
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so has anyone/is anyone bought/or is planning to buy, the 3870x2?
or are ppl waiting got the 9800gx2?
MGR (Micro Gaming Rig) .|. Intel Q6600 @ 3.45GHz .|. Asus P35 P5K-E/WiFi .|. 4GB 1066MHz Geil Black Dragon RAM .|. Samsung F60 SSD .|. Corsair H50-1 Cooler .|. Sapphire 4870 512MB .|. Lian Li PC-A70B .|. Be Queit P7 Dark Power Pro 850W PSU .|. 24" 1920x1200 DGM (MVA Panel) .|. 24" 1920x1080 Dell (TN Panel) .|. |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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2. February 2008 @ 10:03 |
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Well for me the 3870X2 is far too expensive. I may have bought two 3870s but I intended to sell one of them, and to be honest I've not been entirely satisfied by either, so I may sell both and buy an HIS version.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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2. February 2008 @ 10:04 |
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Not a lot of people on here are willing to spend 450+ dollars on GFX card. I dunno, maybe you should try some hardcore video gaming forums for feedback?
Did you see the 3870X2 with the four display ports? That would be kick ass.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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2. February 2008 @ 10:30 |
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Hmm. I think I'm selling the Powercolor HD3870. The Sapphire card barely overclocks at all before giving serious rendering errors, but it does run stable (even if it hurts my ears). The powercolor on the other hand whilst having a much better cooler, keeps getting stuck in 2D mode and misrendering menu screens - a shame, since it overclocks brilliantly. Since the Sapphire card's the one with the retail warranty though, that's the one I'll be using methinks.
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2. February 2008 @ 13:07 |
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e_jones,
Ive burned two different DVD about seven times now... no real advantage in it, out of the seven times one where decoded allready and went smooth- the rest slowed my machine down, even w/ the a dual CPU one DVD got more attention. I used CloneDVD2 and 1clickDVDpro5
Win. 7/Case- Thermaltake Armor11 bays "full case"-with side fan panel... removed stock fans replaced with SCYTHE 92mm 2ea. and SCYTHE/s-flex sff21f 120mm 2ea./ sunbeam 4 fan controller/Processor-Intel Core2Duo E6850 3.0 w/ Zalman CNPS7700-CU cooler/motherboard-Asus P5N32-E SLI p680I/PSU-Cooler Master RS 850 watt real power pro sli/Sound Card-Creative Sound Blaster X-FI FATAL1ty/Cables-Thermaltake Rounded IDE ATA & ATA2/Memory- 4 Gig Corsair XMS 800 MH/HDD-1ea. WD 300GB 10K VelociRaptor Sata-1ea.WD 320GB 7200rpm Sata/Drives- 2ea. Benq 1655 [Rev.BCDB]2ea.LG GH24NS70[rev.GN00]/52in1 card reader&Writer&USB/ Video cards- 1ea. EVGA Gforce Nvida GTX 550Ti /Monitors- 2ea. ACER AL2017 LCD 20 in. ea/Printer-
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. February 2008 @ 13:48 |
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Originally posted by abuzar1:
GM, thanks I'll try that. I don't think it will solve the sound problem though. BTW I got a big list of files, which one do I run?
"fbl-eos-eoht" <<< try that one first. ;)
Quote:
Originally posted by greensman:
ON the SONY's.... they are Lite-On's!!!! NOT true Optiarc/NEC drives..
greensman,
That's kind of misleading! There are sonys with the Sony Brand name, but the Sony/NEC/Optiarcs are true Optiarcs! Sony is also going true Optiarcs for everything after their LiteOn contract runs out! That's why they financed Optiarcs expansion! Sony even wanted to buy out NEC's contract, but NEC was smarter than that! LOL!!
I'm a little vague on what you're saying Russ. ;) Maybe I should add that the DVDRW drives that e_jones linked for questions.... the Sony's there are Lite-On's..... anyway.... Check this pic out.... linky It says Sony NEC Optiarc Model No. AD-7190A and this is a confirmed Lite-On product. I don't mean to argue at all but the facts are as stated. ;)
Hope I made some sense there. :D
....gm
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e_jones
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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2. February 2008 @ 13:51 |
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herrick, when you say no real advantage in it do you mean I would produce the two different disks faster if I did them one at a time? As oppose to twenty minutes for both?
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Senior Member
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2. February 2008 @ 13:52 |
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0 greensman,
Now I want to rip my drive out and check it... ah,ah,
Win. 7/Case- Thermaltake Armor11 bays "full case"-with side fan panel... removed stock fans replaced with SCYTHE 92mm 2ea. and SCYTHE/s-flex sff21f 120mm 2ea./ sunbeam 4 fan controller/Processor-Intel Core2Duo E6850 3.0 w/ Zalman CNPS7700-CU cooler/motherboard-Asus P5N32-E SLI p680I/PSU-Cooler Master RS 850 watt real power pro sli/Sound Card-Creative Sound Blaster X-FI FATAL1ty/Cables-Thermaltake Rounded IDE ATA & ATA2/Memory- 4 Gig Corsair XMS 800 MH/HDD-1ea. WD 300GB 10K VelociRaptor Sata-1ea.WD 320GB 7200rpm Sata/Drives- 2ea. Benq 1655 [Rev.BCDB]2ea.LG GH24NS70[rev.GN00]/52in1 card reader&Writer&USB/ Video cards- 1ea. EVGA Gforce Nvida GTX 550Ti /Monitors- 2ea. ACER AL2017 LCD 20 in. ea/Printer-
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Senior Member
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2. February 2008 @ 14:06 |
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Quote:
herrick, when you say no real advantage in it do you mean I would produce the two different disks faster if I did them one at a time? As oppose to twenty minutes for both?
Hmmm... OK let me try and lay this out...you can never count on a 20 min. process do to the fact not all DVD files are laid out the same. I mean I have had to compress a 1.5 hr. DVD to a 4.7 [and still had artifacts in moveie] disk and turned around and did 3.0 [king kong] to a 4.7 and be flawless...dont figure...anyways like I stated one out of seven [the two were all ready decoded] I did in about 15 min. the others one would finish in a good time and the other would lag- so in short I did not save time...
I multitask and doing two at a time and still do my thing really slowed my machine down, granted my machine is not the fastest around and is considered average.
by doing one at a time over all has been more profitable to me and multitasking and producing a good quality DVD.
My average time reading and writing is 14-17 min. when I use all four drives with the same movie it is flawless and no slow down speed and plus it sounds really cool...ah,ah, I just a big kid
0 ya... please forgive me of my type 0s...I splite my screens and doing as always a bunch of stuff at once... it will get worse when I add two more screens
Win. 7/Case- Thermaltake Armor11 bays "full case"-with side fan panel... removed stock fans replaced with SCYTHE 92mm 2ea. and SCYTHE/s-flex sff21f 120mm 2ea./ sunbeam 4 fan controller/Processor-Intel Core2Duo E6850 3.0 w/ Zalman CNPS7700-CU cooler/motherboard-Asus P5N32-E SLI p680I/PSU-Cooler Master RS 850 watt real power pro sli/Sound Card-Creative Sound Blaster X-FI FATAL1ty/Cables-Thermaltake Rounded IDE ATA & ATA2/Memory- 4 Gig Corsair XMS 800 MH/HDD-1ea. WD 300GB 10K VelociRaptor Sata-1ea.WD 320GB 7200rpm Sata/Drives- 2ea. Benq 1655 [Rev.BCDB]2ea.LG GH24NS70[rev.GN00]/52in1 card reader&Writer&USB/ Video cards- 1ea. EVGA Gforce Nvida GTX 550Ti /Monitors- 2ea. ACER AL2017 LCD 20 in. ea/Printer-
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. February 2008 @ 14:42
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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2. February 2008 @ 14:09 |
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well i have 2 lite-on's 16x and a 18x and i dont think either is loud. the 16x i dont hear it at all. the 18x it has a little hum to it when in the transcodeing part, but nothing that i would call loud. my cpu fan is louder than the drives.and thats not to loud either.
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