What Have You Done Today - (Computer Version)

[Sureboss]

Probably resolve it with something like DD-WRT, but I don't want to spend money on something new if I break it!

 

[G.T]

Took the plunge and flashed my Sapphire 5850 - now unlocked! So much more stable than the AMD GPU/ MSI Afterburner combo I was using before - can adjust everything in MSI Afterburner now and doesn't blue screen anymore.

 

[chepu]

Jezus, that are some serious speeds. I've honestly never clocked my PC.
Running an micro ATX MSI X58M with I7 860 processor, 6GB RAM and after a MSI 4890 cyclone, I went to the new ATI 5770. Use it primarily to render video's and do editting, but I'm also doing quite a lot of gaming on it. Bought a new CPU cooler for it yesterday Syntech Mugen. My 220mm top fan keeps things nice and cool.

For today i've cleaned out the dust once again, played some Civ5, and upgraded my Firefox. On the Mac i've started work on a school project, did a Lightroom update, did the App Store update, browsed trough some Panda videos on YT, being active on some forums, wrote a article, send some emails, did edit and sorted out some photo's and made a back-up of all my pictures.

hmmm...i7 860 with an X58 Motherboard?

As far as I know, because I have one, the 860 uses a 1156 Chipset, not an X58.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

As far as I know, because I have one, the 860 uses a 1156 Chipset, not an X58.

Yes indeed

 

[Crash]

I updated my computer and cleaned it of dust inside the case.

I had completely forgotten that I had two hard drives disconnected, so I plugged one of them back in. I have no idea what is on either of them, but I can't plug both in at the same time since all my SATA slots on the motherboard are filled.

 

[GT3mich]

These are going to be popular for Sandy bridge folks. You could use one too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...158207&cm_re=sata_card-_-15-158-207-_-Product

 

[RACECAR]

Just got Sony Vegas Once I learn it well enough, I'll finally graduate from Windows Movie Maker and start putting together some awesome videos.

 

[G.T]

Replaced the stock thermal paste that came with my 212 Hyper Cooler with some Arctic Cooling MX-3. Seems to have dropped my i7 temps from 85-86C max to about 81-82C under Linx/Prime95 stress testing. Still pretty high but I just bought a second fan to attach to the heatsink, so if it stays below 80C I'll be happy.

 

[Submerged]

85 degrees?! Wow, that's insanely hot. You've been overclocking it crazy, like over 4Ghz or something, G.T?

 

[G.T]

3.8Ghz... Yeah it's too hot. The highest recommended by intel is apparently 73C, but obviously it can run upwards to 90C fine, but not safely for long periods probably.

But that's only under extreme stress though, so if I manage to get it down to under 80C then it should stay around 70-75C if it ever hits 100% load on normal applications. Theoretically.... Then I shall be happy.

Wanted to hit 4ghz but this cooler and my ambient temperature isn't allowing it. Hit 87C after 1 minute, so I just stopped it.

 

[Casio]

Got one of these for the HTPC.

 

[livemusic]

Noice! 👍

I've just installed a new HDD in my PC. It's replacing a Seagate hard drive I had that stopped working after six months of use. That was in 2009 but since it had a five year warranty and me being the lazy ass I am I've only sent it to Seagate now. The original hard drive had a 32MB buffer and they sent me a 16MB buffer one but I'll leave it at that. At least I have a backup drive now.

Also, I'm waiting for Acer to return my monitor which stopped working last week. Luckily it's still covered by warranty so I'm not spending any money with that, but using a 14" CRT monitor until I get it back isn't much fun.

 

[Skython]

Took about 5 steps back ran towards it and booted it extremely hard, that'll teach it for freezing and making me get off my butt to reset it. Lucky it still works. My foot I mean.

Note to self: Put on steel cap boots when you want to kick computer

 

[Casio]

Having a day off, got bored, configured and ordered a Mini-ITX Sandy Bridge HTPC/Gaming PC, to replace my ailing current one.

Leave days always ends up quite expensive for me...



Western Digital Green 2TB WD20EARS
Silverstone SG07B-W with 600W PSU
Corsair CMSO4GX3M1A1333C9 4GB PC-10600 SODIMM
Samsung SE-S084F Slim External USB DVD Writer (Cheaper than an Internal Slim Drive...go figure)
Intel Core i5 2500
ASUS P8H67-I Deluxe Mini ITX Motherboard B3

I've built a lot of machines in my time, but never m-ITX, so it should be pretty interesting.

-----

Now the next thing I've got to stop myself buying is this.

Dell u3011. Massive sale at the moment, down to $1196 from $1899. Hmmm.

 

[Sharky.]

2500 or 2500k?

Brad, you don't need to spend 1200$ on a monitor.

 

[Casio]

2500 or 2500k?

Brad, you don't need to spend 1200$ on a monitor.

K, sorry. I haven't ordered a graphics card for it, as for the next month or so I'm just going to use intergrated graphics, then when Witcher 2 comes out, I'll probably get a GTX580 for my main rig and my GTX470 will go into the ITX machine. (Though I've actually got a 9800GT kicking around somewhere I might throw in for ***** and giggles).

You're probably right. But it's still an awesome deal. Unfortunately I've been using a 27" 2560 x 1440 at work now for the past few weeks and now my 24" seems lame...I know if I settle on a u2711 that I'll be thinking about that 30" the whole time...

 

[Casio]

Arrived. Built. Dominated.

Quick-build post.

Arrived this morning 10am. Quick photoshoot and onto work.

m-ITX Motherboard. It's tiny. 17cmx17cm. *Notice the built in Bluetooth Module which caused me hassles later on.*

I've never done an m-ITX build before but it sure was interesting. Everything has to be installed in a specific order or it just will be a nightmare. It is also paramount to plan where your cabling is going to go before installing parts. I didn't have a whole lot of room for cable management (No behind motherboard recesses in here...), of course the most important thing is making sure the top 18cm fan has no obstructions down to the CPU cooler.

Installing the motherbard was a bit of a pain as there is no space either side of it for installation. That bluetooth module I mentioned above, may only be 2-3mm out, but I meant I had to take the PSU cage off and basically disemsble the entire case for it to have enough room to slide in, and even then it just made it.

After all cable tied and made to look nice. As you can see. Can't hide the spare cables anywhere. Perhaps I will get a full modular PSU later on if I can find one that fits...we'll see.

Unfortunately you can still see the mess when the cover is on, but since I'm installing a new graphics card soon hopefully that will block some of it..

Done! It looks bigger in that picture, but in reality it's not much bigger than a shoebox.

 

[Robin]

That's a sweet build there Casio 👍 love the Silverstone case. Is it quite silent?

Looks all nice and compact whereas I've got this hulking full sized case taking up half my desk

 

[Casio]

The loudest thing is definitely the stock Intel cooler. While inaudible if you're playing media, you can just hear some air noise at idle. I'm looking for an aftermarket now, deciding between active or passive, and also one that will fit.

And yeah, its about 1/4 the size of my full tower...

 

[nick09]

I did better with a smaller case two weeks ago.

The Sythe Big Shuriken is a little noisy(28dba) but it does a great job to keep my Core 2 Duo and the onboard GeForce 9300 graphics cool. Though the installation was a pain with how little space is between the heatsink and the mounting pins.

 

[Robin]

The loudest thing is definitely the stock Intel cooler. While inaudible if you're playing media, you can just hear some air noise at idle. I'm looking for an aftermarket now, deciding between active or passive, and also one that will fit.

And yeah, its about 1/4 the size of my full tower...

I recon you should be able to go passive for the CPU, as long as you have some sort of exhaust fan. From the pictures it looks like you have a reasonable amount of height to fit something in.

nick09, did you hammer the top case vent outwards?

 

[nick09]

Yeah, it's called denting using another metal piece. Quite fun and it made the case stronger than before. I do know for sure that denting the case was a better idea than cutting it open.

 

[Casio]

The Sythe Big Shuriken is a little noisy(28dba) but it does a great job to keep my Core 2 Duo and the onboard GeForce 9300 graphics cool. Though the installation was a pain with how little space is between the heatsink and the mounting pins.

I was actually looking at that but I think it might be too big.

As you can see in that picture, the gap between the CPU mounting hole and PCI-E Slot is not much at all. So I basically need a CPU cooler that doesn't extend past the CPU mounting holes, which seems to be rare in horizontal heat sinks. Or go a vertical one, and lose some of the efficiency of my top intake fan.

 

[nick09]

You should look at this cooler when it comes out. It will be about the same size as the Intel cooler except 28mm tall. Though it is understandable that coolers are hard to find for these mini-ITX boards. A year ago I had a hard time finding heatsinks for my motherboard. Though there is some more out there now too.

 

[Casio]

You should look at this cooler when it comes out. It will be about the same size as the Intel cooler except 28mm tall. Though it is understandable that coolers are hard to find for these mini-ITX boards. A year ago I had a hard time finding heatsinks for my motherboard. Though there is some more out there now too.

That looks pretty decent actually. Who knows when it'll reach down here though.

Silverstone actually make a passive for their HTPCs, but I'm not sure of the fitment.

EDIT:

Or perhaps I could try running this without a fan....

 

[nick09]

Even the position of the heatpipes against the GPU would not work. So I don't think it's an option. If your case has a 120mm fan mount nearby I think a water cooling solution is possible. This and this might work.

EDIT: What heatsink is in that last image?

 

[boshuter]

My new cooler works great........ unfortunately, it eats up about $50 worth of LN2 per day

 

[Casio]

Even the position of the heatpipes against the GPU would not work. So I don't think it's an option. If your case has a 120mm fan mount nearby I think a water cooling solution is possible. This and this might work.

EDIT: What heatsink is in that last image?

CoolerMaster Vortex Plus Low Profile CPU Cooler

There is not a 120mm fan as such, but there is a window which I could rig one into, the thought did cross my mind...

Of course though, to open the case that panel comes off, which could make it tricky...

It's actually not even that loud, I think I'm being picky...

 

[Casio]

My new cooler works great........ unfortunately, it eats up about $50 worth of LN2 per day

Now that's awesome....but is it silent?

 

[boshuter]

Sure it's silent..... only thing making noise is the PSU fan and fan blowing on the memory...... and the bubbling of the LN2