The Official Budget-Conscious Dream Machine!
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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13. June 2008 @ 12:15 |
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I was going to say, a solo 80mm rear fan today is very poor - it's not as if there isn't room for it...
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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13. June 2008 @ 12:21 |
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Yeah and the Extreme version is only like 55 after rebates.
Also,I finally used that Xigamatek cooler, and I have to say, installation is a BITCH. I cut myself numerous times, and in the end I had to take the motherboard out. It cooled very well, but I don't think it was fully touching the CPU as the pins kept on popping out. If I had a bolt through kit for it I believe it would have performed better.
The temps were around 60C LOAD for an hour or so at 3.6Ghz and 1.517v.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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13. June 2008 @ 12:24 |
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Hmm - that's disappointing. To be fair though, find me a tower cooler that's a breeze to install and I'll be all over it. The Ultra-120 is relatively easy to install as a cooler, but getting the fan on with those clips is disappointingly fiddly, and as I've found, losing the fan clips is easily done - no spares are provided. Consequently my CPu fan is now tied on...
The cable that's used as string is in fact the cable that connects the PWM potentiometer to a Silverstone FM121...
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. June 2008 @ 12:27
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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16. June 2008 @ 18:27 |
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No. The fan is not 80mm. That is the older version of the case. The one in the newegg pictures and the one I received both have 120mm exhaust. And this is the blue one. Take a look:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156063
Quote: I thought you were going to get a 8800GTS G92? Did you get the Palit 8800GT instead?
I did get the 8800GTS, but I got the Evga 8800GT for my friend. Remember, I was buying parts for 2 different systems.
EDIT: Gonna be a while before I feel up to assembling my own rig. A bad case of poison ivy has dashed my spirits :(
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 16. June 2008 @ 18:36
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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16. June 2008 @ 22:32 |
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Poison ivy? I don't quite follow.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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16. June 2008 @ 22:59 |
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You get a rash when you get in contact with poison ivy. I'm guessing that's what happened.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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16. June 2008 @ 23:03 |
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Ah, he meant literally. I'm aware it's nasty stuff, I wasn't sure if it was metaphorical poison ivy or real... :P
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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17. June 2008 @ 11:45 |
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Eh, the doctor gave me steroids. I'm ok for now... kinda itchy and swollen. It's on both arms, my left hand, left leg, stomach, and other... areas >.>
Anyhoo, I'm looking at the case now. I think I might remove the vga bar, but that interferes with the look of the case. Should I just keep the exhaust fan there for the sake of airflow?
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
2 product reviews
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18. June 2008 @ 01:10 |
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Really? I thought the VGA bar made the case look cooler. You could see inside, but not enough. The perfect balance.
I don't think airflow will be affected much.
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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18. June 2008 @ 13:57 |
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I also think the vga bar makes the case look cool. I might leave it there and remove the fan. Oh well. We'll see what happens when I start transferring parts. It's gonna be a while though. Poison ivy is a very messy rash to have >.<
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
2 product reviews
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19. June 2008 @ 10:02 |
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Yeah, that sucks man. Let us know when you get better.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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19. June 2008 @ 11:18 |
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Yes, you have my well wishes Estuansis...
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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24. June 2008 @ 00:31 |
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Well, I finally have all my parts in the case. The side panel has a kind of fiber-optic effect going on with my cold cathode. Looks very cool :P
I wish I had a camera to show you guys my wire management. I actually took some time with it now that I'm in a smaller case. I routed most of my extra cables and the hooks ups for my lighting behind the mobo tray. It looks really clean inside. I'm happy with it :)
The OCZ StealthXstream is working just fine right now. It's almost dead silent with all the other fans in my case turned off, so very near the Corsair 550VX in noise level. Powering these components:
2 x 120mm fans
2 x 80mm fans
2 x 320GB SATA HDDs
Lite-On DVD-RW
8800GTS G92 512MB
E6750 @ 3.4GHz
AC Freezer 7 Pro
GA-P35-DS3L
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music
12" Blue Cold Cathode.
I'm using the fan on the VGA bar as intake to create airflow for my PCI slots. Seems to be doing okay right now. I don't want to get rid of the bar but the fan doesn't seem to serve much purpose for me. I'm taking out the fan and the blue clip thing. I'm thinking some sort of LED display for the empty spot.
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
2 product reviews
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24. June 2008 @ 01:05 |
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Did you get a sound activated cathode? I want to do a hardware mod in my Xbox 360 and one of those in there.
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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24. June 2008 @ 18:21 |
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No. It apparently has the capability to be sound sensitive, but mine isn't. It's just a cheap Logisys CC light. Cost $7 so I'm not worried. It works fine and is very bright.
I also picked up a copy of Rainbow Six Vegas. The console-to-pc port seems to be fine. The controls are smooth and intuitive. My only complaint is the performance. ~40 FPS at 1920 x 1200. Plays very smoothly, so a minor annoyance at best.
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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24. June 2008 @ 18:32 |
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Think about what graphics card you have, now how old the game is, and how it looks. I am disgusted with how the original Vegas runs, and so should you be.
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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24. June 2008 @ 21:27 |
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Yeah, it really doesn't run the best. I get about the same performance in Crysis or DiRT. I don't really care much, though. I can run it maxed at native resolution :)
EDIT:
I also like the single player campaign a lot. Not much on story, but enough action and arcadey-ness to make it enjoyable just the same.
Performance-wise, it's a terrible port. I'm lucky I have a PC that can handle it. Framerates stay silky about 90% of the time. But it's still a great game. I personally think the graphics look awesome. Easily a 4 out of 5 IMO.
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 24. June 2008 @ 22:55
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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25. June 2008 @ 05:15 |
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For modern games I'd give the graphics 7/10 and performance 2/10 - for Crysis I'd give the graphics 8/10 and the performance 3/10. Contrastingly I would give Half Life 2 Episode two and Call of Duty 4 both 10/10 for graphics and 9/10 and 8/10 respectively for performance. More games like those please.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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25. June 2008 @ 09:29 |
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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25. June 2008 @ 09:35 |
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disappointing really, 50% more expensive and only 20% faster. Suppose you're paying extra for a cooler that actually works...
It's nice to see the performance of 4870s in crossfire, but the reason why the 4850s are so good is that in CF they're still cheaper than the GTX280, even similarly priced to the 280 - the 4870s are nowhere near as good value. When the performance needed really matters, where two 4850s won't do, two 4870s won't do either, and it's almost the same for a single card. Going with 4870s, especially in crossfire, is more for 3dmark bragging rights than for useful gains, especially in Crysis, which is doubly disappointing but not unexpected.
Still, a pair of either 4800 series cards liquidises a GTX280 in several cases - I know what I'm going to buy!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 25. June 2008 @ 09:37
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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25. June 2008 @ 09:38 |
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Yeah but think of it this way, it will be quite easy to overclock the 4850 to 4870 speeds especially when versions with better coolers and GDDR5 come about.
You know I think I may build myself a computer again lol. Maybe when I get out of this road trip and the GDDR5 cards come out.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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25. June 2008 @ 09:41 |
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It's just such a shame the idle power consumption of the 4850 is so dreadfully poor, it uses as much power at idle as most cards do under full load - I would have thought AMD would have sorted out their energy efficiency by now.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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25. June 2008 @ 09:43 |
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Still way batter than the new Nvidia cards. I think if you wait a bit they might maybe release a fix for it? Or is the idle power consumption always going to be the same?
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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25. June 2008 @ 09:47 |
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well no, the GTX280 uses over ten watts less than the HD4850 at idle. As for a fix, I don't know, because I hate powerplay, so technically I suppose I don't want them to make it any better.
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AfterDawn Addict
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25. June 2008 @ 09:57 |
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i dunno, im sure the extra memory bandwidth of the 4870 will flourish in very high res, esp with 1GB.
and now the memory in the 4870x2 will be shared, a FULL 1GB can be used for that aswell, where as 512 4870s crossfired only use 512 mb memory
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) .|.
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