Hardware Discussion Thread

N64

Monotype wrote: »

That's a fantastic fan that comes with the X6. Very quiet. Mind you, mine is only cooling an X3.
AMD's fans are all a little different. I have a Sempron, X3, X4 and X6 fan... I think I took a photo of them...


The sempron is a fairly sorry sized fan. I'm not a huge fan of their fans but I still think they do a better job than Intel with them. The first time I installed an AMD model fan, it took a lot of effort and I wasn't sure it was right. Afterwards, it wasn't so bad. I think you need to install more to be truly angry at a heatsink. :pac:
Pardon all the puns!

yeah, I found last time I installed the very same cooler on my previous motherboard, it was incredibly easy to install. No idea why it took so much effort to get the clips in on both sides this time around though :pac:

Monotype

deejer wrote: »

Analysis on the current SSD price decrease with Intel dragging their feet of course.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/23149

Interesting read. The Crucial M4 seems to be better relative value there. Hopefully, they'll reduce prices a bit further to keep up with the Samsung over here.
Intel's being far too greedy. I wonder if their drives this generation have got return rates as low as the last generation, given that the 530 and 330 are both Sandforce. I also didn't know that OCZ had a Marvell drive.

All these drives must be flying off the shelves with the interest floating around at the moment.

N64

Hi guys, just intalling drivers now on my new motherboard. there seems to be a bit of a bug with the UEFI bios though. When I boot with my USB wifi adapter inserted, the post takes longer than it does without it installed (about 30 seconds, when its out, it posts near instantaneously)

Would you guys recommend updating the UEFI on the board? Do the risks of bios flashing still apply to UEFI flashing?

Also, the difference the new thermal compound makes is amazing. Even with the processors energy saving turned on, the temps are roughly 10C cooler

Monotype

Sounds like it's trying to boot from the USB.

Check the boot order and put your hard drive first.

Disable any booting from other sources if your hard drive is already first.

N64

I disabled all boot options (minus the hard drive) and the problem still persists. I flashed the UEFI but nothing changed. Its not the biggest of issues tbh

54kroc

N64 wrote: »

I disabled all boot options (minus the hard drive) and the problem still persists. I flashed the UEFI but nothing changed. Its not the biggest of issues tbh

Is there any chance your PC might be trying to boot from the network?
Silly suggestion but have you tried a different USB port?
It mightn't be the biggest issue but it is an annoying problem.

ZeroThreat

Not sure which thread/section to put this under, but I'm wondering where is the best place to go looking for a decent computer desk.

Bear in mind the tower would be mid-sized (corsair carbide 500R), and the monitor 27".
Preferable colour would be black.

N64

54kroc wrote: »

Is there any chance your PC might be trying to boot from the network?
Silly suggestion but have you tried a different USB port?
It mightn't be the biggest issue but it is an annoying problem.

I turned off legacy USB support in the UEFI, and that has done the trick (it skips the post screen entirely for some reason now) although its not optimal since I would have to reset the jumper to gain access to the settings unless I had a PS2 keyboard.

All other boot devices are turned off including boot on lan.

Tea_Bag

plug the thing into the USB3 port. it shouldn't initialize until you nearly hit windows so should do the trick.

N64

Tea_Bag wrote: »

plug the thing into the USB3 port. it shouldn't initialize until you nearly hit windows so should do the trick.

You are a genius it boots just fine now with the wifi dongle plugged in

SickBoy

Eboggles wrote: »

7970 Ghz edition reviews up.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_GHz_Edition/

It's on most other review sites as well. Doesn't look great, despite it being arguably the fastest single-GPU solution at the moment. Temps, noise and acoustics have taken a real hit.

Edit: Temps and noise are actually largely down to the poor stock cooler, but the point on power consumption still stands.

I agree and it's a bit of a stretch from AMD to claim the fastest single GPU crown when they're basically running an overclocked 7970 against a stock 680. I'd like to see how it compares to a factory overclocked 680 like the ASUS GTX 680 Direct CU II which has been out quiet some time now.

Still though, it's nice to see Nvidia is not having it all it's own way. Can only be good for the end user.

RUCKING FETARD

Write speeds for phase-change memory reach record limits



How To Prevent CPU & GPU Temperature From Hindering System Performance

thewheel2.0

Hey lads, doing a build soon and a bit lost on CPU coolers. Whats the difference between: Thermalright HR-02 Macho vs. Scythe Mugen 3 vs. ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 13.
I've seen all three recommended.

Also I'm going to be doing a build first, surviving off integrated graphics and getting a graphics card later when I can afford it. Hopefully the mid range market gets some competition. So Im thinking of going for the i5-3570K, should I be worried about the increasing temperatures and will they release an updated version with better thermal paste. Or will I just settle for the 2500K?

EDIT: Sorry for length. Is there much difference in airflow in the BitFenix Merc Alpha vs. Beta. Surely more fans is a good thing. Which would you choose?

freeze4real

Hi all,

my PC is driving me mad again, I change my IDE cables from my HD to my dvd drive.

After doing this the PC wouldn't boot as it couldn't detect the hard disk, it was the jumper setting which was affecting it.

Upon resetting the jumper I noticed that it takes ages to boot, and while booting it goes to some black screen flashes then boots again.

This can take up to a minute.

Any ideas how to fix it ?


I did some research and a clean install was recommended.:mad:

Monotype

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

Hey lads, doing a build soon and a bit lost on CPU coolers. Whats the difference between: Thermalright HR-02 Macho vs. Scythe Mugen 3 vs. ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 13.
I've seen all three recommended.

Also I'm going to be doing a build first, surviving off integrated graphics and getting a graphics card later when I can afford it. Hopefully the mid range market gets some competition. So Im thinking of going for the i5-3570K, should I be worried about the increasing temperatures and will they release an updated version with better thermal paste. Or will I just settle for the 2500K?

EDIT: Sorry for length. Is there much difference in airflow in the BitFenix Merc Alpha vs. Beta. Surely more fans is a good thing. Which would you choose?

Don't know if they'll release and updated version but I wouldn't be overly concerned about the 3570K's temperature. It's a bit annoying that it's hotter and adversely affects overclocking as a result but overall, it's not something to be worried about.

Macho > Mugen > Freezer Pro 13
In terms of cooling and difficulty of installation. They're all pretty effective at their job so even the Freezer should give you some decent overclocking.

I'd go with the Beta myself. You don't need that many fans. Having extra holes in your case is usually not a good idea; it can interrupt the aiflow within. Also the extra holes are an invitation for something to fall/spill in or even dust to go in, if it's not actively being push out with a fan.

freeze4real wrote: »

Hi all,

my PC is driving me mad again, I change my IDE cables from my HD to my dvd drive.

After doing this the PC wouldn't boot as it couldn't detect the hard disk, it was the jumper setting which was affecting it.

Upon resetting the jumper I noticed that it takes ages to boot, and while booting it goes to some black screen flashes then boots again.

This can take up to a minute.

Any ideas how to fix it ?


I did some research and a clean install was recommended.:mad:

Try cable select if you've done Slave/Master or if you've done cable select, try Slave/Master.

freeze4real

Monotype wrote: »

Try cable select if you've done Slave/Master or if you've done cable select, try Slave/Master.

I don't get you. How do I do the above ?

Now I see what you mean, so I should just switch the jumpers arround ?

Monotype

Not all cables support cable select, so you'd need to check your own. This selects slave or master depending on which part it's connected to.

The alternative is to set jumpers. You should have your HDD jumper as master and your DVD drive as slave.

I hate PATA cables, thank goodness for SATA.

freeze4real

Monotype wrote: »

Not all cables support cable select, so you'd need to check your own. This selects slave or master depending on which part it's connected to.

The alternative is to set jumpers. You should have your HDD jumper as master and your DVD drive as slave.

I hate PATA cables, thank goodness for SATA.

I am confused my cable only connects my disk drive to the motherboard, then there's also the jumper which I use as I have no cables that connect to the jumper.

At the moment I dont have any cables connected to my DVD drive, I was trying to do this that's when the problem occurred.

Monotype

OK, set the disk drive as "master" on the jumper so. If the drive is connected with the middle connector on the cable, try connecting with the one on the end.

Also, check the BIOS - make sure you have the right booting sequence. It may be trying to boot from somewhere else first.

freeze4real

Monotype wrote: »

OK, set the disk drive as "master" on the jumper so. If the drive is connected with the middle connector on the cable, try connecting with the one on the end.

Also, check the BIOS - make sure you have the right booting sequence. It may be trying to boot from somewhere else first.

Just did this and it works.

ED E

Hey, quicky question, think here is the best place for it.

Can I adapt a PCI-X slot to PCI-E x16 or does it only allow for X4/X1?

Monotype

PCI-X isn't compatible with PCI-E.

Are you sure it's actually PCI-X? I haven't come across all that many boards that have them.

ED E

Monotype wrote: »

PCI-X isn't compatible with PCI-E.

Are you sure it's actually PCI-X? I haven't come across all that many boards that have them.

Will have to double check when I get home as I'm using a model number from memory, but I'm 90% sure it is. It wouldnt be a typical board

N64

Kind of disappointed in the default performance of the stock 7850 results. I had a 6950 for a while (which developed a fault) so I decided to return it back to the merchant and get a 7850. From the bechmarks on anandtech and the like, the 7850 is supposed to perform better but the results I am getting are the opposite

Even though I have been building computers for a couple of years now, I have never ventured into the world of overclocking, so I want to try now. I raised the clock of the card to 900mhz and kept the memory the same. Temps seem to be good (29C idle, 56C max with fan speed at 24%). What should I raise my memory to?

Oh and does overclocking only increase the performance when the card utilization is over 99-98%?

ZeroThreat

Is this what is known as a 'semi-modular psu' ?

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/600+-+700+Watts/24460/Super-Flower+Atlas+Design+680W.article

Is it far easier to install one of these over non-modular if building your own pc?

Monotype

Nah, that's more modular. The semi ones have only about 2 or 3 modular cables just to cut back a few.
I wouldn't go for that series of PSU though. Quality should be first above modularity.

deconduo

Monotype wrote: »

Nah, that's more modular. The semi ones have only about 2 or 3 modular cables just to cut back a few.
I wouldn't go for that series of PSU though. Quality should be first above modularity.

Yup. This would be a much better option for the same price:

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/600+-+700+Watts/38006/Super-Flower+SF650P14XE+Golden+Green+Pro+80plus+gold.article

keithb93

can anyone point me in the direction of a cable that can connect my laptop hardrive to a new computer to save me getting another windows. Preferably on hardwareversand as im buying off them tomorrow. Thanks

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

youll have to install windows again anyway unless by some freak chance your new computer has the exact same hardware as your laptop

keithb93

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

youll have to install windows again anyway unless by some freak chance your new computer has the exact same hardware as your laptop

Oh right ok nevermind.