For the past few days I have been sitting patiently waiting for someone to post something new and exciting. But nothing!
So, I will try to get the ball rolling although it may not be that stimulating. But here goes anyway.
I just installed a new case! No big deal you say. But I think it was! It was a Thermaltake VA8000 Armor Case just introduced about a month ago. What excited me about the case was the number and size of the fans. Too good to be true I thought. But after I installed it, it was much more than I hoped. Why do I think it fits the criteria for this thread is because to me, it represents a good alternative to water cooling. Since install, my cpu temps have dropped 8C and I had a Lian Li aluminum case before.
So from a hardware standpoint, to me, this case is new generation. It is BTX compatible (whatever that means and hopefully someone will jump in here).
You can get details here:
http://www.bigbruin.com/reviews05/tt...dex.php?file=1
I have been holding off posting while doing some testing.(rather trying to find time to test)
I love that case BG, Very nice. I also recently got a thermaltake case and I am very impressed with the cooling. It has the same fans yours has. I got the Tsunami though.
I also got the OCZ 520 PSU. All I can say about that thing isThis PSU is just one heavy duty piece of equipment. As soon as you pull it from the box it impresses you. I went from an Enermax 350 which served me very well and this thing makes it look like a toy!
BUT, Most recently I just got a Sapphire X800XL AGP card. Again, this thing makes my 9800 look like a toy. Thats in weight, size and performance.
At stock speed with same settings I got a 15% increase in average fps using the Kamikaze track. (41 to almost 48fps) So, I start tinkering. I overclock the card to 410/520. No difference with same settings! I guess I am CPU limited now. Grrrrrr!
So, I turn the aniso up to 8x (previously zero with 9800). I only loose 2 fps. WOW! Then I go from 1152x864 to 1280x960 and I loose only one more fps. Very nice!
I am very happy with this card so far. I have not had a lot of time to tweak in game settings though. I am still experimenting. Kind of just enjoying it right now and hoping the patch comes soon. Then I will start some real tweaking.
If anyone cares, I broke 5k on 3Dmark05 by overclocking to 430/540 HERE is the URL. By comparison it is number one score for like card/CPU and all drivers.
I would really like to thank Hunter82 and Joe at Magnum_PC for steering me in the right directions and offer this community good prices for quality parts. The best thing is that it keeps it in the community.
I will keep everyone posted on any tweaks and tips I come up with.
Hmmm, I might have to get me one of those OCZ PSUs. I'm thinking my 300Wer is about ready for the family PC, as I'll be installing more power hungry components soon.
One thing I know little about is CPU H/S fans. I need a quiet, yet powerful one. For now, let's say a Socket A one.
My current one is an OCZ Goliath II with no speed control and wakes up the freakin' neighbors, not to mention that I think all the white noise is making me even more crazy in the head.
Toss me a few model suggestions to look up, if you please. Thanks.
BTW Coastie, if that's a 9800PRO or better you're talking about having just replaced and it needs a good home, I'd certainly be willing to take it off your hands. Could save me a few bucks to add to my upcoming component purchases.![]()
You won't be sorry getting the OCZ PSU slick. Magnum-pc has a really good price on it too!Originally posted by SlickStick:
Hmmm, I might have to get me one of those OCZ PSUs. I'm thinking my 300Wer is about ready for the family PC, as I'll be installing more power hungry components soon.
One thing I know little about is CPU H/S fans. I need a quiet, yet powerful one. For now, let's say a Socket A one.
My current one is an OCZ Goliath II with no speed control and wakes up the freakin' neighbors, not to mention that I think all the white noise is making me even more crazy in the head.
Toss me a few model suggestions to look up, if you please. Thanks.
BTW Coastie, if that's a 9800PRO or better you're talking about having just replaced and it needs a good home, I'd certainly be willing to take it off your hands. Could save me a few bucks to add to my upcoming component purchases.![]()
The 9800 is a non-pro. I slightly modded the cooler on it to get a tighter fit by replacing the cheesy spring loaded snaps with real screws. I am holding on to it for a bit. I have a few ideas bouncing around my head for a possible second rig to use as a server in the future. I have acquired a good surplus of parts over the years!
As far as the heatsink goes. I am a bit out of the loop on those myself. If you are going to go with the 64 rig, I hear the stock one does pretty descent if you wont be OC'ing much. Maybe someone else will come along with more info on possible selections.
You won't be sorry getting the OCZ PSU slick. Magnum-pc has a really good price on it too!Originally posted by PF_Coastie:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SlickStick:
Hmmm, I might have to get me one of those OCZ PSUs. I'm thinking my 300Wer is about ready for the family PC, as I'll be installing more power hungry components soon.
One thing I know little about is CPU H/S fans. I need a quiet, yet powerful one. For now, let's say a Socket A one.
My current one is an OCZ Goliath II with no speed control and wakes up the freakin' neighbors, not to mention that I think all the white noise is making me even more crazy in the head.
Toss me a few model suggestions to look up, if you please. Thanks.
BTW Coastie, if that's a 9800PRO or better you're talking about having just replaced and it needs a good home, I'd certainly be willing to take it off your hands. Could save me a few bucks to add to my upcoming component purchases.![]()
The 9800 is a non-pro. I slightly modded the cooler on it to get a tighter fit by replacing the cheesy spring loaded snaps with real screws. I am holding on to it for a bit. I have a few ideas bouncing around my head for a possible second rig to use as a server in the future. I have acquired a good surplus of parts over the years!
As far as the heatsink goes. I am a bit out of the loop on those myself. If you are going to go with the 64 rig, I hear the stock one does pretty descent if you wont be OC'ing much. Maybe someone else will come along with more info on possible selections. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Copy, thanks. Regardless of what I upgrade to, my current stuff will be going into the family PC when I upgrade and I have to replace the Socket A H/S fan. It's just sooooo loud.
Since I understand cfm and dBA levels, I guess I go about choosing one with the lowest dBA and highest cfm.
Man, I love shopping for PC parts. Now, I understand why my wife likes shopping so much, lol.![]()
New subject... What do the experts think about the choice between a SLI mobo with two 6800 Ultras(256Mb each) versus using just a single new 512Mb graphics cards, soon to be released???
Also, does anyone know if the new(yet to be released) dual-core AMD cpu's will be 'backward' compatible with a AMD64FX55 (939pin) cpu/mobo?
Third...is the free Beta/Demo microsoft Windows64 OS the same as their "Longhorn" OS which is not to be finalized until late 2006?? If building a brand new Rig, would it be of any value to try out the Windows64 beta as the OS???