The computer and electronics super geek thread

[Hiriyu]

Chewie, sent PM.

...And on the same subject, how about a round of everybody's favorite computer-geek game, "Rate my prospective PC build"? My current E8400 rig (overclocked 24/7 at 3.6ghz) is starting to show its age, and it's about time for my tri- or quad-annual new rig build. I currently run Eyefinity in 5670x1080 via an HD5870 1GB, and do some heavy PC gaming and productivity tasks. I already have monitors, a Corsair TX750 PSU, a Coolermaster Centurion V, and optical drives which will be re-used for the new build. New parts will be sourced from the 'egg. My emphasis for this is to upgrade as economically as possible, without compromising unnecessarily... basically a machine I'll be happy with for the next 3-4 years, barring my regular mid-term video upgrades.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M4A1600C9B

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100311-2SR Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Whattya think?

[Duke Togo]

I don't think you could use that much RAM if you tried. Can't beat that 2500K, though.

[akt_m]

If you want to be as economically as possible, then i would suggest you to buy less ram too.

[azrael]

Honestly, 16 GB of RAM is a bit much. Even at my worst, I'll probably never break 5 of my 12GB.

Also, for the price of that SSD, you could probably get a Raptor or a higher capacity HD for the price. I know SSDs are quite popular and people love the fast access, but if you want to be economical, a SSD probably isn't something I would consider.

[Hiriyu]

I don't think you could use that much RAM if you tried. Can't beat that 2500K, though.

If you want to be as economically as possible, then i would suggest you to buy less ram too.

Honestly, 16 GB of RAM is a bit much. Even at my worst, I'll probably never break 5 of my 12GB.

Also, for the price of that SSD, you could probably get a Raptor or a higher capacity HD for the price. I know SSDs are quite popular and people love the fast access, but if you want to be economical, a SSD probably isn't something I would consider.

Thanks for the constructive criticism folks, it's appreciated

My rationale for the large amount of RAM is mostly due to my past system building experiences. I had always gone a bit smaller in RAM capacity (say, 25-50% board/chipset capacity), but always with fairly high-quality specialty dimms for overclocking... Invariably, the latest and greatest specialty dimms have short retail shelf lives, and it becomes very difficult and expensive to match them later down the road, if I need to add more. I've been bouncing off the ceiling of my current 4GB RAM lately, and decided that massive overcompensation was finally due. Besides, what with dicounts/specials factored in, the additional 8GB over what I had been previously considering added only about $30 difference to the system total (the Newegg combo I selected actually reduced the unit price by $45.00!). That's my rationalization, anyway, and I'm sticking with it

Az, I had decided on an SSD long before I started picking hardware for this build. I intend to use it strictly as an OS drive. I usually don't store huge amounts of data on any one drive in my main desktop/gaming system anyway (I've got a couple of TB available on my home network already, and have only used about 300GB of 750GB on my current system over the past 4 years). I'm hoping the OS speed boost will be worthwhile. This'll be my first time playing with an SSD, so even if it sucks, I can chalk it up to education.

I went ahead and placed my order earlier today, with a couple of small changes to my previous parts list. I went with a little faster 1TB HDD, a slightly less expensive HD6970 model, and a slightly less expensive model of RAM (different only by heat-spreader design). My order as it stands:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9

GPU: PowerColor AX6970 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I should receive my parts Tuesday/Wednesday. I'll update when it's running.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Would it hurt anything if I mounted a HDD upside down (label toward the ground)?

[azrael]

Would it hurt anything if I mounted a HDD upside down (label toward the ground)?

No.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Ok. Was just wondering b/c of PSU cables were stumping me.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Any alternatives to MS office?

Word and outlook mainly interest me. $200+ isn't worth 1-2 programs.

Are virtual Files worth it?

I do know of a way to get it for less than $20 though.

Edited September 5, 2011 by BeyondTheGrave

[azrael]

Any alternatives to MS office?

Word and outlook mainly interest me. $200+ isn't worth 1-2 programs.

Are virtual Files worth it?

OpenOffice or the fork project from OpenOffice, LibreOffice would be my choices for an Office alternative. If you want to bypass this and go cloud, Google Docs is your best choice.

The only thing missing is an Outlook alternative in both suites. Unless you absolutely need Exchange support, Thunderbird or Apple's Mail client should be more than enough. But if Exchange support is a must...Evolution is the only decent non-MS Windows client around (WARNING: The Windows-version of this is still beta as this was originally designed for Linux/UNIX as is being ported to other platforms). If this is for a Mac, Apple Mail will support Exchange, but only up to Exchange 2007, not Exchange 2010, as of this posting. Evolution will only support pre-Exchange 2007 setups. Thunderbird has an Exchange 2007-specific plugin but I won't put too much faith in it as it may not work for later versions of Thunderbird or Exchange.

If Exchange support is a must, I'd bite the bullet and get MS Office.

[Beltane70]

I have six gigs of ram in my computer and I don't think I've ever seen it go beyond being half used.

[BeyondTheGrave]

OpenOffice or the fork project from OpenOffice, LibreOffice would be my choices for an Office alternative. If you want to bypass this and go cloud, Google Docs is your best choice.

The only thing missing is an Outlook alternative in both suites. Unless you absolutely need Exchange support, Thunderbird or Apple's Mail client should be more than enough. But if Exchange support is a must...Evolution is the only decent non-MS Windows client around (WARNING: The Windows-version of this is still beta as this was originally designed for Linux/UNIX as is being ported to other platforms). If this is for a Mac, Apple Mail will support Exchange, but only up to Exchange 2007, not Exchange 2010, as of this posting. Evolution will only support pre-Exchange 2007 setups. Thunderbird has an Exchange 2007-specific plugin but I won't put too much faith in it as it may not work for later versions of Thunderbird or Exchange.

If Exchange support is a must, I'd bite the bullet and get MS Office.

Downloaded thunderbird so far so good. now to start moving/closing email accounts.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Looking for a good codec pack to play .mkv files. Any recommendations?

[David Hingtgen]

CCCP. Install it, and it alone.

[lechuck]

CCCP is good, but I dropped it after the thumbnailing support for matroska files vanished in their latest version.

Now I just use VLC Player for my media.

[anime52k8]

Now I just use VLC Player for my media.

This is what I do too.

[mikeszekely]

I used CCCP back in the days of Windows XP. Since going to Windows 7, I use VLC and VLC alone for all video files and any audio I don't want automatically dumped into my iTunes library.

[BeyondTheGrave]

So is VLC player better?

[azrael]

So is VLC player better?

Depends on your tastes. I use SMPlayer/MPlayer (95%) and MPC-HC (5%). I tried VLC but found parts overly complicated in the options. I would try them all and see which ones fit your needs.

[mikeszekely]

So is VLC player better?

It was. I'm not saying that better ones haven't come along (I think Lifehacker picked a different one during one of their "best X application for Y OS" articles, even), but it's definitely in the top five. At one time, though, it really was the best choice if you wanted a single player for multiple formats. I started using it then, I got used to it, and so I use it to this day. It's pretty spartan, with a lot of tweakable options buried in menus, but it's very lightweight and plays everything I throw at it without the need to download any codec packs.

I guess in some ways it's like Firefox. Firefox was the best, but now all my friends keep saying I should use Chrome. But Firefox does everything I want, and I'm used to it, so I keep on using it.

[baronv]

Anyone recommend a free fax service (none of the 30-day free trial stuff) to receive faxes? I used to use K7 before they shut down.

[anime52k8]

Question; what are normal operating temperatures for a notebook computer? I've still been having the random reboot problem and I'm even more certain that it's hardware and not software. the core temp is 45C~50C at idle, and peaks at about 60C after long periods of light use. (i.e. web browsing/watching video's etc.) When I check immediately after a reboot it's never higher than 62C~63C.

[azrael]

Question; what are normal operating temperatures for a notebook computer? I've still been having the random reboot problem and I'm even more certain that it's hardware and not software. the core temp is 45C~50C at idle, and peaks at about 60C after long periods of light use. (i.e. web browsing/watching video's etc.) When I check immediately after a reboot it's never higher than 62C~63C.

Depends on the laptop. Usually 30C~50C. But running at 60C seems rather high for light usage.

Possibilities (ordered by likelihood):

1) thermal paste needs to be reapplied.

2) temp sensor is defective.

3) other part is generating too much heat within the system

4) defective CPU

[BeyondTheGrave]

What would cause an N network to lose signal strength that would require a repeater?

Router is linksys e4200

[mikeszekely]

Anyone else trying the Windows 8 Developer Preview? Right now I can't decide if I'm just irritated because it's different, or if I genuinely hate it.

[azrael]

What would cause an N network to lose signal strength that would require a repeater?

Router is linksys e4200

Interference? Another device is causing problems (like an 'Net phone)? Encryption causing problems between the NIC and router? Faulty router?

Anyone else trying the Windows 8 Developer Preview? Right now I can't decide if I'm just irritated because it's different, or if I genuinely hate it.

Haven't had a chance to jump on that. I'll probably load it on a VM to try it.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Interference? Another device is causing problems (like an 'Net phone)? Encryption causing problems between the NIC and router? Faulty router?

There is a microwave three rooms away but that shouldn't b a problem. Not running it 24/7.

Note: not my network but a friends.

He did disable the g network abilites for a stupid reason. On top of that when he was on XBL he connected and disconnected a few times.

[azrael]

There is a microwave three rooms away but that shouldn't b a problem. Not running it 24/7.

Note: not my network but a friends.

He did disable the g network abilites for a stupid reason. On top of that when he was on XBL he connected and disconnected a few times.

Try enabling the G-side. Although, the N-wireless should be backwards compatible. The G-setting may have been turned off to get better performance over compatibility. Double check the encryption to be sure that's not causing any problems.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Try enabling the G-side. Although, the N-wireless should be backwards compatible. The G-setting may have been turned off to get better performance over compatibility. Double check the encryption to be sure that's not causing any problems.

Actually talked to a another friend who recommended the same thing. Also said to check the xbox website. Where i discovered : "Add an Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter (Xbox 360 S console). If your wireless router is not near the console, an Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter might improve the signal strength. When you connect a wireless networking adapter to an Xbox 360 S console, the console will automatically use the wireless adapter instead of the internal Wi-Fi. "

So to solve his problem he bought a repeater.

I don't think that fully solved the problem.

He did mention that he turned G off to gain signal stability. But my friend who deals with this stuff frequently said the one way to gain strength is through a firmware update. And to get his signal strength checked out by the isp.

Edited September 15, 2011 by BeyondTheGrave

[BeyondTheGrave]

I have an MX3200 wireless keyboard that had the receiver and mouse stolen . Anyway its like 10 usd for a receiver from logitech but from what I understand the mx600 mouse works uses the same adapter. would it be worth it to track down a mx600 or just get the receiver form logitech.

[Lynx7725]

Well, just a quick update. I got my Mac Mini Server. It's... strange. Odd. Not quite what I expect.

Still getting it to be operational. I wasn't quite as well prepared as I hoped for it. :/

[Hiriyu]

Quick update for me too

I've got my new system from the last page up and running, and it's truly killer. I received my parts just before I left town on vacation for a couple of weeks, and jumped into the build on my return. This thing just smokes everything I've thrown at it so far (Crysis included)in 1080p, though I haven't put it through its paces in Eyefinity triple-head mode yet due to lack of time.

With regard to the debate on my choice of the massive overkill 16GB RAM setup, I've seen a max usage of 38% thus far in triple-head 1080p extended desktop with multiple applications open (Win 7 x64). So, right around 6.5GB usage, more or less. This actually bodes well for me, because I know that it will see heavier future use than I've put it through thus far, and I can't expect Windows applications to be getting any slimmer anytime soon. I'm stoked with the headroom available, coming from my previous 4GB system. An extra $30 well spent, near as I can tell.

I ended up using the 64GB SSD I had ordered as a cache drive for the 1TB HDD using Intel's new Z68 RST driver, instead of dedicating it as an OS-only drive. This setup caches regularly used files to the SSD, and gives general disk performance gains on the order of +75% compared to a standard HDD-only setup. The overall performance benefit is somewhat contextual depending on what is being run - regularly used files get cached and can run up to 10x faster than from an HDD, while seldom-used files run strictly off the HDD at normal speeds. It seems a nice medium between management of a small capacity SSD vs. the known performance of an HDD only system, since there is no user management/input required once set up. I did have some teething problems getting it set up though (I can elaborate if anybody wants me to).

Next up is triple-head game testing, and then overclocking

[azrael]

I have an MX3200 wireless keyboard that had the receiver and mouse stolen . Anyway its like 10 usd for a receiver from logitech but from what I understand the mx600 mouse works uses the same adapter. would it be worth it to track down a mx600 or just get the receiver form logitech.

I'd probably go with the $10 receiver. The other solution might just be to get a new keyboard/mouse. One with their Unified Receiver. Then you can pair or unpair devices as they come.

[BeyondTheGrave]

I'd probably go with the $10 receiver. The other solution might just be to get a new keyboard/mouse. One with their Unified Receiver. Then you can pair or unpair devices as they come.

Idk if the unified reciver would work with it tho. Logitech's site didn't offer that up as a solution.

Looking for a good mid range light gaming laptop. Reason? Sometimes I don't want to turn the desktop on.

Been looking at the Asus N55SF , Asus K73SV and Sager NP8130.

Edited September 26, 2011 by BeyondTheGrave

[azrael]

Idk if the unified reciver would work with it tho. Logitech's site didn't offer that up as a solution.

That would be for a NEW keyboard/mouse, not as a replacement. Your current KB/mouse uses a dedicated receiver so the Unified Receiver will not work for it.

Looking for a good mid range light gaming laptop. Reason? Sometimes I don't want to turn the desktop on.

Been looking at the Asus N55SF , Asus K73SV and Sager NP8130.

I consider a 17" as a minimum for a desktop replacement so, personally, I'd scratch off the Asus K73SV.

Are there any customizations to the Sager NP8130 you wanted to make?