Hardware Discussion Thread

Osmosae

Not my own board so all i've read has been in passing, but as far as i remember the z77 has higher potential memory speeds (2800+), and usb3 and sata3 native rather than added by manufacturer. They also have VirtuMVP, which is supposed to be able to take unused cycles from your cpu and use it for video performance, ive only that in use in benchmarks though typically with the 680 or 7870, so not sure if it'll be any good or not in the real world

EDIT: Sorry no idea about the specifics of the boards your posting, i'd imagine more sli, maybe more sata, more usb 3, and other than not not very much :P

I dont think it'd be worth upgrading a z68 to a z77

Ryan451

Hi guys. I think my PSU blew. I was browsing Amazon and my computer just went. Ive tried rebooting and the PSU flashes on for a brief second before cutting out. I have a spare PSU that Im going to hook up now and check what the PSU took with it.

Any hints on how to tell what is broken when i get the spare PSU hooked up?

Tar.Aldarion

I'd say hook it up and see if there is anything at all wrong first! I suppose hooking up the bare essentials and adding pieces would be the way to go forward.

N64

Ryan451 wrote: »

Hi guys. I think my PSU blew. I was browsing Amazon and my computer just went. Ive tried rebooting and the PSU flashes on for a brief second before cutting out. I have a spare PSU that Im going to hook up now and check what the PSU took with it.

Any hints on how to tell what is broken when i get the spare PSU hooked up?

Have you tried shorting the PSU and seeing does the PSU start?

http://www.overclock.net/t/96712/how-to-jump-start-a-power-supply-psu-test-a-power-supply-and-components

Ryan451

Okay, so i plugged the spare PSU in and the same thing, nothing. I then plugged my PSU which i believed to be broken into a spare mobo and cpu and it launched and ran smoothly for a minute into the BIOS. I then plugged the PSU back into my current mobo and cpu. It launched for a brief second and then cut out again and i got a very strong smell of burning so turned it off immediately. I think the mobo may be fecked?

Ryan451

I've come to the conclusion that my motherboard is bricked. On one of the chips there looks to be a burn mark and there is also a strong smell of burn around that area. Looks like I'm going to have to RMA it and test my CPU when it get backs.

Eboggles

Radeon 7900 series price drops seem to be starting, the first time I've seen a 7950 at £299.99. The 7970 has dropped to about £50 pounds lower that a GTX 680 on OCUK.

Serephucus

Next up: NVIDIA price cuts.

Gotta love competition. :P

ShadowHearth

True, price war, and I got on too late on it now ah well, it will be cheaper to get second 680!

ShadowHearth

well 7970 is 425eu on scan.co.uk, fecking took them long enough.... :rolleyes:

now nvidia will take 2-3 months and go: omg have you seen that ?! ATI droped prices... hmmm... what should we do? * 2 months later* PRICE DROP!

..Brian..

Dudes, looking into modular PSUs, want a nice 650w that's not going to break the bank.

Is it just me or does this PSU seem to have less connections than it should? And less plugs to connect other cables in on the PSU itself? Do you have to buy other power cables separately?

Serephucus

It's got no 12V rail, by the looks of things. It's only got SATA and molex connections. Weird.

What's the system? Are you sure you need 650W, etc.? You're probably looking around €70 for a decent one, or about €85 for an 80+ Gold model.

..Brian..

Item|Price
LiteOn iHAS122-18 schwarz SATA|€16.68
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€33.60
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€188.78
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€74.75
XFX RADEON HD 6870 925M 1GB DDR5, 2 x MINI-DP, 2 x DVI, 1 x HDMI|€151.87
LogiLink USB 2.0 all-in-one Card Reader, für 3,5" Einbauchschacht|€6.32
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 650W|€73.98
ASRock Z77 Extreme4, Sockel 1155, ATX|€123.41
CM Storm Enforcer - black, ohne Netzteil|€78.53
Antec Kühler H2O 620|€47.66
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€814.57

This is the build so far. Want to stick in a 650w to leave the option of crossfiring another 6870 open or indeed a high end card later on down the line

ShadowHearth

Won't 550w do cf 6870. I am prety sure you will end up higher end card, then cf anyway. Even most powerfull gpu works fine with 500w psu.

Serephucus

Right so. Well, cheapest reliable:

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=24479&agid=1629

Better, 80+ Gold model:

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=38006&agid=1629

Crazy-good, I-want-this-PSU model:

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=57650&agid=1628

..Brian..

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Won't 550w do cf 6870. I am prety sure you will end up higher end card, then cf anyway. Even most powerfull gpu works fine with 500w psu.

You reckon 550w will cut it? If so even better.

Serephucus

Yeah, just had a look myself and it looks like 550W would be fine. Go for the 500/550W models of the above so.

..Brian..

Sweet, can we find a decent modular 550w for around €80 ish so? HWVS don't seem to have "modular" in the title and I don't know what to look for in the description!

Skylinehead

None of those are modular as far as I know :pac:

Serephucus

How's this?

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=41093&agid=1628

Edit: I'm an idiot, never mind. Let me have a look and see what I can come up with. My suspicion is you'll need a little more than €80 to get Crossfire support, and modularity, but we'll see...

Edit edit: Not so!

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=50968&agid=1629

..Brian..

Cool must read some reviews, nice find

Tea_Bag

my CPU OC is being heavily limited by temps while gaming at the moment, so I need to upgrade my cooler. ID love to get a nh D14 but part of the problem is the 6990 throws 95*C air into the case, so I think I need something that'll draw air from the outside. the H80 is an obvious move but I cant stand the fans on them. for less than a tenner more, I could get a H100, which I hope will run cooler and quieter. what's the cheapest fans that'll be quiet and a good replacement for the stock ones though?

also, how much more would it cost to do a CPU only WC loop with a 240mm rad?

Serephucus

This is a complete build for a CPU only loop. Not sure if the numbers for the fittings or anything are right, or if it's the absolute best value, but it's ballpark at least.

Item|Price
Alphacool DC-LT 12v Ceramic Pump|£16.99
Alphacool DC-LT Pump Top : Plexi|£13.99
Alphacool Reservoir for DC-LT Pump Top : Plexi|£13.60
XSPC RS Series 240mm Dual Radiator : RS240|£38.99
6 x 1/4" Thread High Flow Barb Fitting for 1/2" (13mm) ID Tubing : Black|£9.58
6 x Zinc Plated Worm Drive Hose Clip for 3/4" (19mm) Outer Diameter Tubing : Jubilee|£2.95
Thermochill 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) Flex Tubing : Clear|£2.99
XSPC Rasa CPU Waterblock Intel 1366, 1156, 1155, 775 : RASA Black|£44.99
Shipping|£9.47
Total|£ 153.49

(Thank you fluffy!!)

Tea_Bag

thanks you're a scholar.

let's say I had another €50 to throw at that loop, what would you upgrade?

Serephucus

What are you looking for out of it? Future upgrades? Better performance, lower noise, etc. ?

Tea_Bag

good point. future proof and performance would be a great option. noise isn't much of an issue cause I don't hear anything over the 6990 anyway a 360mm rad that's skinny will fit into my case with a few mods, and hopefully it'll be enough to cool my next GPU upgrade, which will likely be next gen unless the gtx690 or 780 blows me away. hopefully they'll be low enough power to be in a 360mm GPU + CPU loop.

Serephucus

You can do GPU+CPU on a 360, but it's going to be fairly noisy, especially if it's a skinny rad. What case have you got again?

Tea_Bag

graphite 600T.

it'll be a damn lot quieter than a 6990 spinning up I can assure you. I'm interested in next gen stuff cause the 6990 is too power and heat hungry, and at my resolution its very near its limit. I need a single card that's going to be 20% faster than a 6990 while using less power

Serephucus

Ah, right. Well, you can fit a 200mm rad in the front of that case, once you pull out the HDD cage, from what I remember. Dunno if that's an option for you. You could also splash out with something like a Phobya 1080. That can pretty much be used passively, but it would put you over budget.

http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/Phobya-Xtreme-200mm-Radiator-pid-11843.html

That's the 200mm rad, and it's about €40 more than the 240. Having said that, you could always get a thicker 240 rad for your CPU now, then add a 200mm rad for your GPU later on.

Tea_Bag

yea I've thought a lot about the phobya 1080 but I want to keep the loop internal. anyone want to lend me a dremmel?