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The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition
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Any Flaming Results in a Temp Ban or Worse. Your Choice!!!
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AfterDawn Addict
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17. October 2009 @ 19:13 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
The EarthWatts 380W units aren't just better from a technical standpoint, they are from all standpoints. The rear fan is hardly poor quality, it's an Adda ball bearing fan of the same design as the 120mm versions that go in Corsair PSUs. Unlike many ball bearing fans I have owned, after well over a year of use, mostly 24 hour continuous, it is in perfect working order, something I'm not sure I've had from any ball bearing fan. My August Antec Tricools are already starting to get a bit dodgy.
The front vent, rear 80mm fan design is no more vulnerable to dust than any PSU design really, it all depends on how vulnerable the case itself is to dust. Since my Lexa Blackline is filtered, it's almost immaculate in the case, let alone the PSU. 120mm fan units are still preferable, but the 80mm Earthwatts is hands down the best 80mm fan PSU I know of, and due to this, bests most of the cheap 120mm fan PSUs.
Sam,
Again, I'm sorry to disagree, but that has not been my findings. Perhaps with filters like you use, it may be better. It also may be a local thing given the levels of dust around here, which is more like silt than dust. As far as noise, the fan is much louder than the 120mm fan in my CM! As you know I work on Medical equipment, and they discovered years ago that sucking air over the components is a much dirtier process than blowing air directly on the components. The force of the air blowing directly on the components leaves less dirt and dust on them, so they run cooler. You do not get the same force sucking air over them. Most configurations use both an intake and exhaust fans, mainly to cut down on build-up closer to the air outlet vents where the airflow is weakest. With computers if you smoke, it makes the situation even worse.
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
15 product reviews
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17. October 2009 @ 19:39 |
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Haha guilty here. I'm a smoker and I have a constant battle with dust. Dust filters in front of all 3 cases help but they still need to get blasted out with the air compressor every few months. Not to mention cleaning the filters about once a week. My PCs stay pretty clean usually.
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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17. October 2009 @ 19:42 |
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I think perhaps with regard to dust you should be a little more leniant Russ. Too many products get slammed for underperforming in your dusty climate when even though quite large quantities of dust build up here, it does not have any real negative impact on PC components.
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AfterDawn Addict
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17. October 2009 @ 19:49 |
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Originally posted by Estuansis:
Haha guilty here. I'm a smoker and I have a constant battle with dust. Dust filters in front of all 3 cases help but they still need to get blasted out with the air compressor every few months. Not to mention cleaning the filters about once a week. My PCs stay pretty clean usually.
Estuansis,
Generally Video cards suffer the most from smoking because of the higher temps video cards put out. I had to completely remove the heatsink from my 7600GT and soak it in warm soapy dishwater. Removing the fan was the difficult part. You still have to scrape some of the goo out of the heatsink, and soak it some more. I'm sure you could use some kind of solvent, but a little patience, a toothbrush and it's not that difficult. Cards with curved air passages, while offering more surface area will completely clog up and cut the airflow quite a bit. It gets like tar! LOL!!
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
4 product reviews
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17. October 2009 @ 19:51 |
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There is somewhat lower tolerance for graphics cards as while there is even more of a temperature gap between normal operating temperature and maximum for a graphics card (most cards run at 70-85ºC and will not become unstable until around 110ºC) percentage wise it's little different from a CPU, and there are finer tolerances in cooling capacity before thermal runaway occurs. I have never had to clean a GPU cooler.
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ddp
Moderator
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17. October 2009 @ 19:57 |
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i have a few times because of smoking or just plain dust bunny buildup.
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17. October 2009 @ 20:38 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
I think perhaps with regard to dust you should be a little more leniant Russ. Too many products get slammed for underperforming in your dusty climate when even though quite large quantities of dust build up here, it does not have any real negative impact on PC components.
Sam,
The thing with the dust, is it's almost always very dry here so the dust just blows around, and from contact with things it just gets finer and finer. It actually makes the particles so tiny they get into everything. That's why I say it's like silt, it's just so fine. The only time we get relief from it is the rare times we get a good rain. I am surrounded on 3 sides by mountains, so it's like living in a dust bowl. If you go about 10 miles from here, it sometimes feels like you are out in the Serengeti! Some days it's hard to see very far. It drives people who wear contacts totally crazy. When it's windy, it's not a gentle breeze, but rather 50-60 mph and higher winds. We just had a bunch of major wildfires in the area recently, which really whips up the winds. When the Santa Ana winds come every year, that's what happens. Last year we were minutes from evacuating before the winds shifted and the firefighters finally got it under control. The flames got to within about 150 yards of the house. Even the freeway caught fire as the fire raced down the divider. You can well imagine the dust and soot combining, and the mess it all makes.
You are right, I should be a little more lenient but some products do work better than others in these conditions! I wouldn't go so far as to say that I slam anything, but if I have problems, I report them. If i find something that works for me, I report that too! The first thing I do every day is dust off the keyboard. If you don't, you will wear the letters right off of the keys! By the end of the day it has a fine layer of dust on it again. When Russell first moved in here, the house had been empty for about 6 months and there was about 6 inches of dust everywhere. He had to force the front door open. I'm happy to say that the way I have my case airflow set up, I only have to clean the computer inside every 6 months, and there's not a lot to clean. It's not uncommon to find an inch of dust in the bottom of some of the computers I work on. It's just a very tough environment here. It's been that way for hundreds of years, and not likely to change anytime soon. I imagine Oman7 has somewhat the same conditions where he lives too!
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
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17. October 2009 @ 20:43 |
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Thermal runaway is awesome... Or not, depending on which way you look at it :) Reminds me of that physics experiment where you demonstrate its effects on a pencil :P
PSP, all the way from 1.00 to 5.50 GEN D2 - DS Lite w/ M3DS Real (M3 Sakura v1.34)
PS3 3.01 - iPod Touch 2G 16GB Jailbroken - Xbox 360 60GB - PC, Q6600, 3GB DDR2, GTX260 (216) 896MB |
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17. October 2009 @ 22:21 |
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LOL! It does get pretty dusty here. Semi-arid terrain. Very similar to Desert conditions. INCREDIBLY dusty unfortunately for computers LOL! As well as my car ROFL! My dash is pretty bad for instance. If I don't blow off my cases, they'll accumulate a 1/16" of dust in what seems like no time. I looked at my CM HAF932 about a month after having it and my jaw dropped. It looked like a dirt gray color in half of its vented areas! I feel pretty bad for it. Im rather depressed about its living conditions LOL! It'll get the royal treatment once I get into a new place ;)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
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Red_Maw
Senior Member
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17. October 2009 @ 23:04 |
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Visible dust builds up on my system in only a couple days, and speaking of dust my case is long overdue for cleaning....
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bigwill68
Suspended permanently
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18. October 2009 @ 00:22 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
Will: I'm not calling CM a liar, but the context of your statement is wrong. Max output capacity is 840W. Draw that for an instance and you'll probably get away with it. Any more than that and it's an overload and the PSU will shut down, same goes for any unit, including the best brands.
CM has done nothing wrong here, you just think I mean that because you misinterpreted their specifications. It's for reasons like this I don't take an 'innocent until proven otherwise' attitude with PC hardware, because it leads to confusions like this.
Ok Sam My bad..I thought you was saying it could'en reach the point in wattages capacity every psu has a limit and safty features the confusions is mine but...I still Rank Cooler Master 1 of Best with the new models coming out you can'y knock this unit for what it's worth...
Originally posted by Russ Wrote::
Sam,
I understand what you are saying and I agree. I will give Cooler Master points for putting the maximum combined power on the label of the unit, which is a lot more than some of the sleazier companies do. Although they call it a 500w unit, they clearly note on the label that combined power shall not exceed 431.5 watts.
Best Regards,
Russ
Russ I see what you mean in the picture there but sense they
came out with the new units it does'nt state that on the side
of mine(unit shall not exceed)like the pic you have there or am..I looking at it wrong? LOL
Done out of Here!
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18. October 2009 @ 01:07 |
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Quote:
Russ I see what you mean in the picture there but sense they
came out with the new units it does'nt state that on the side
of mine(unit shall not exceed)like the pic you have there or am..I looking at it wrong? LOL
Will,
I have no idea. When I got my RC-534 Centurian case, I bought it with the 460w PSU. I was expecting the older design with an 80mm rear fan, but was surprised when I actually got the newer type with the 120mm fan. I sold it and bought the 500w version to replace it, and it's written on the label. I've never really looked or paid any attention to the label since! 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
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. October 2009 @ 10:17 |
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The HAF isn't terrible for filtration as the mesh on the side panel is reasonable, and the front is filtered, though there are far better cases for dust. The main area where dust settles is on top of the PSU as there is little airflow down there (the PSU fan is facing downwards). Everywhere else is kept free from dust by brute force airflow.
Will: As far as I can see it Coolermaster represent a 'midrange' sort of company. Those who want absolute guaranteed performance, reliability, silence etc. go for the top brands like Corsair, Seasonic and Zalman. However, Coolermaster's newer units (the one you and Russ discussing is not in this list) are very good units by comparison. There are units from companies like Enermax, Tagan, PCP&C and Antec with much higher price tags that are no better in the slightest. Coolermaster units really rely on people buying overstated PSUs for the task - fine since the majority of users do this - Almost all the people in this thread have PCs that use less than 200W of power at full load and most of them have 450W+ PSUs fitted.
An perfect example of what separates a solid PSU from a budget one is the stickers you've snapshot. With the "500W" unit, the 12V rail forms only 72% of the maximum output, and the total power rating is not as high as what the PSU is rated for.
With the 700W unit, the 12V rail takes up a more reasonable 85%, and the sum of the rails is over the maximum output by more than 10% (though only just). 90% is a common figure for the 12V rail of any PSU that even Corsair's cheapest units take up, since Corsair's cheap units still come under the 'solid' rating. With multi-rail PSUs it's not uncommon to find the sum of the 12V rails alone is over the maximum rated output.
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Member
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18. October 2009 @ 11:37 |
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I'm pleasantly surprised by Ubuntu. EVERYTHING WORKS :D
Although I've just locked myself onto the live CD for the next 1:10 by moving 277GB slightly to the left with GParted.
I've never really tried Ubuntu before I've tried other linuxses and been impressed but given up when basic things have failed me/broken themselves. But Ubuntu at least seems to be doing everything right. It managed to sort out my cheap ass Bluetooth and Wi-fi right out of the box, It's smooth (even live) and even comes packaged with the single best game EVER! Multi-player Snake FTW!
Edit: Scare over 7 told me it was broken and to reboot and pop the disc in. I did and it told me it had fixed itself without actually appearing to do anything =\
I could put something funny here but I cant be arsed. Now GO AWAY! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. October 2009 @ 14:29
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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18. October 2009 @ 15:31 |
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Well I may be very happy soon. Apparently Epson finally got on the Windows 7 bandwagon. They released windows 7 twain drivers for both of my printers :D
Such a shame they didn't consolidate all software components into one large extractor. Much like the Epson software cd that comes with the printer...
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. October 2009 @ 15:47
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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18. October 2009 @ 16:00 |
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Quote:
Estuansis,
Generally Video cards suffer the most from smoking because of the higher temps video cards put out. I had to completely remove the heatsink from my 7600GT and soak it in warm soapy dishwater. Removing the fan was the difficult part. You still have to scrape some of the goo out of the heatsink, and soak it some more. I'm sure you could use some kind of solvent, but a little patience, a toothbrush and it's not that difficult. Cards with curved air passages, while offering more surface area will completely clog up and cut the airflow quite a bit. It gets like tar! LOL!!
Actually all of my video cards run comparatively cool vs a stock configuration. AS Ceramique on everything and I do pull the cards out and blast them good with the air compressor. I hold the fans still though because I don't want to ruin the bearings :P I keep my stuff pretty meticulously clean. I use disinfectant wipes to clean my mice and keyboards and I have a special cloth and anti static solution for my monitors. All this maybe every other week or so. I do eat at my computer too :P
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
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. October 2009 @ 16:01
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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18. October 2009 @ 16:12 |
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I thought it was bad to use an air compressor on electronic equipment due to CO2...
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
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18. October 2009 @ 16:24 |
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I keep my pc's pretty clean also, I remember back when those canisters I use to buy were pretty damn expensive and only last like a minute or two, I always read how bad it can be to use compressors, after one canister I bought lasted like one minute I said screw this, I'm gonna give my compressor a shot, I keep the nossle like two feet away, cleans way better than any canister I ever used, never had a problem, maybe I've been lucky who know's.
That was four years ago and never looked back.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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18. October 2009 @ 16:33 |
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Whats a good cheap compressor cost?
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. October 2009 @ 17:18 |
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Originally posted by keith1993:
I'm pleasantly surprised by Ubuntu. EVERYTHING WORKS :D
Although I've just locked myself onto the live CD for the next 1:10 by moving 277GB slightly to the left with GParted.
I've never really tried Ubuntu before I've tried other linuxses and been impressed but given up when basic things have failed me/broken themselves. But Ubuntu at least seems to be doing everything right. It managed to sort out my cheap ass Bluetooth and Wi-fi right out of the box, It's smooth (even live) and even comes packaged with the single best game EVER! Multi-player Snake FTW!
Edit: Scare over 7 told me it was broken and to reboot and pop the disc in. I did and it told me it had fixed itself without actually appearing to do anything =\
Now you try playing any other game on it!
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Red_Maw
Senior Member
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18. October 2009 @ 22:46 |
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Originally posted by sammorris:
Originally posted by keith1993:
I'm pleasantly surprised by Ubuntu. EVERYTHING WORKS :D
Although I've just locked myself onto the live CD for the next 1:10 by moving 277GB slightly to the left with GParted.
I've never really tried Ubuntu before I've tried other linuxses and been impressed but given up when basic things have failed me/broken themselves. But Ubuntu at least seems to be doing everything right. It managed to sort out my cheap ass Bluetooth and Wi-fi right out of the box, It's smooth (even live) and even comes packaged with the single best game EVER! Multi-player Snake FTW!
Edit: Scare over 7 told me it was broken and to reboot and pop the disc in. I did and it told me it had fixed itself without actually appearing to do anything =\
Now you try playing any other game on it!
lol, there's a few games not really worth playing X)
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Senior Member
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19. October 2009 @ 01:03 |
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omeg_you can get small ones from around one to two hundred, I also have a buddy that bought a small vacuum kit he got from a local Oreck vacumm store, it's a small kit that comes in a box with all kinds of small attachments, it works great with Orecks mini vac, you can connect it to it's intake or outake, he let me use it once and I was really impressed, it even states it's use for electronic and pc cleaning, it cost's around 30 bucks, besides it's great cleaning ability when you hook up the outake the air is dry and don't have to worry about moisture.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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19. October 2009 @ 03:04 |
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Always boils down to the money doesn't it LOL! Thanks for the info fred. Sure wish I had the money to shell out for multiple things that I want! And the second jobs not gonna pan out. Sucks to be me...
Such a shame that 99% of the money making schemes we see online are complete BS. Guess im gonna have to dig deeper...
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19. October 2009 @ 22:45 |
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Well air compressors compress just that, air. Nothing harmful in them. You do need to be careful of moisture though because compressors can get condensation in the tank after a while. The one I use is hooked to a separate regulator as my dad uses it to paint vehicles because it removes moisture from the air. This ensures the paint applies properly. As an added bonus I don't have to buy much canned air if at all and I can clean my PCs outside instead of blowing dust around the room :P
Canned air works good too but it only really has a minute or two of good blowing power and even then it just isn't that powerful. I can spend 5-10 minutes to thoroughly blast out ONE of my PCs. And when I say thorough that means full detailing on every card and sink plus removing the front panel and cleaning the drive bays. THEN, after everything is put back together, I plug in in outside, pop open the disk tray and give it a quick blast as well.
This reminds me of last time I did it. I hadn't gotten the PSU for a few months and when I finally did it blew out a big cloud of dust. I quietly reminded myself never to forget that again. I wonder if I've ever had any problems possibly related to an overheating PSU XD
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
7 product reviews
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20. October 2009 @ 01:54 |
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Yah...those darn PSU's are dust magnets! I should probably get after mine here pretty quick! ;)
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