Posts by gentlemaker82

I didn't care for this one. Colin Farrell's performance felt off and he just wasn't right for the role. The plot was lackluster and the rating seems way too high... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1438176/

Benjamin King2 said:Xigmatek makes solid coolers, they've just been hitting the US market relatively recently—maybe the last year or two. Here's a review of the Gaia: http://www.frostytech.com/articlevie...articleID=2595

Yeah, the Katana is easier to install since it doesn't require a backplate, but installing a backplate isn't exactly rocket science if your case has the standard access hole so you don't have to pull the whole motherboard out. You probably have one unless you're running some bottom-tier case. Besides, the Gaia is a better cooler than the Katana and uses a larger, quieter fan...

Thanks, read the review. Seems like a decent cooler and I'd probably grab it. I haven't dealt much with mounting though; I haven't even popped off the case shroud yet to check for that access hole.
The case I'm using is this:http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/prod...roduct_id=2710. Looking at the pictures, it doesn't look like there's a hole, but I'll check tonight.
If I actually have to strip the motherboard out, then forget Xigmatek. I'll just go with the Katana... better to have a slightly inferior cooler than to mess something up...

crimsonstag84 said:Grab the Cooler Master Hyper TX3; it’s cheaper and arguably better... The Katana might be slightly quieter, but if you're looking at budget coolers, check out the TX3, Zalman CNPS5X, Xigmatek Gaia, or Loki... just pick whichever one is cheapest. 🙂

Unless I'm missing something, none of these fit my needs. I need something for LGA 1366. Only the Xigmatek Gaia seems compatible, but I'd much rather go with the Scythe Katana 3. Honestly, I've never heard of Xigmatek, and apparently, the Katana is pretty straightforward to install...🤷

Benjamin King2 said:1. Games are moving toward multi-core support. It wasn't always like this, but things are changing fast—for instance, the Frostbite engine used in Windows Vista era titles can leverage up to 16 cores. You don't necessarily need to overclock if you're happy with current speeds, but pushing past 3.0 GHz usually yields a noticeable performance bump.

2. You’ll fry the processor if you push the voltage too high. Just increasing the clock speed won't kill it; the worst that happens is the system fails to boot because the chip isn't getting enough juice. The two are tightly linked. Just tweak the BIOS settings incrementally. There is no magic setting that works for every single CPU.

Thanks. I'll spend some more time messing with it. One more thing—would this cooler be sufficient if I push my clock up to 3.4-3.6 GHz? It looks like a decent deal, and I'm currently just running a stock cooler
http://www.amazon.com/example-cooler-link

I spent some time going through the overclocking guide, and honestly, someone clearly put a lot of work into this. Kudos. It’ll be a huge help for anyone jumping into this without much background knowledge, though as a complete novice myself, it all still feels pretty complicated and risky.

I have two questions:

1. Is there actually any point in overclocking an Intel Core i7-920 with 8M Cache at 2.66 GHz just for gaming?
Basically, I’ve heard that games only utilize a single core, which would mean my 2.66 GHz wouldn't be enough and I'd end up bottlenecking my GPU...🤷

2. Has anyone on this forum actually heard of someone frying their CPU or motherboard while overclocking? What kind of risk are we looking at if you don't go overboard—say, bumping it from 2.66 to 3.66 GHz?

Patrick Garcia4 said:What processor are you running?

Intel Core i7-920, 8M Cache, 2.66 GHz

If I wanted to try and overclock this CPU—assuming I swap out the cooler first, obviously—is just bumping up the clock speed in the BIOS enough, or am I looking at a whole list of other tweaks?

processor:http://ark.intel.com/products/37147/...s-Intel-QPI%29

motherboard:http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...t_1366/P6T_SE/

It’s buried somewhere in this test, so you might be better off just grabbing the cheaper one

Ryan Hayes82 said:you could also just grab two Radeon 6850 cards. they'd fit pretty well in that build

Not sure about that. Running two cards might push my power supply past its limit...

Maybe a dumb question, but can I pair two different ATI cards together? That’s really the only way this makes sense for me...

stormywolf39 said:You could probably flip yours for about $233....my suggestion would be an nvidia gtx 560ti or an ATI 6950 for somewhere around 1600-$567. If you're willing to shell out a bit more, look at a gtx 570 or a 6970 for 2200+

The gtx 560ti or ATI 6950 sounds reasonable since I'd only be adding $333 and still have some cash left over. Are there any major differences between those two models? Also, which manufacturer should I go with? I noticed there are tons of different versions of the same cards and the prices vary quite a bit

I need some advice regarding my GPU. Right now, I'm running a SAPPHIRE HD 4890 1GB DDR5 PCIE (New Edition)
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta...n=&lid=1&leg=0
I also have a 22-inch monitor capped at 1680x1050, which I plan to swap out for a new 24-inch Full HD 1920x1080 setup. Since I'm moving to a larger screen and higher resolution, people are telling me I'll need a new graphics card because my current one won't cut it for titles like Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3 - call of Duty since it lacks DX11 support.
If that's actually the case, I want to know what my current card is worth after about two years of use. Also, what should I pick up to ensure smooth gameplay without stuttering? It doesn't matter if it's ATI or Nvidia, as long as it stays within the $667 range and has an HDMI port, since I use this PC as a media player for my TV.
The rest of my build consists of an I7-920, an Asus P6T SE, 6GB of DDR3, and a 550W Scythe power supply.

Looking for some expert input here...

Bad movie. Honestly, I have no idea how it managed to scrape a 6.4 on IMDb. It’s incredibly overrated...

Really solid movie, but I still prefer the original

A decent little flick to watch with friends while grabbing some beers or whatever else...

How can you say it's not there? I already tracked down the movie; just need to wait a few more days for the subtitles to drop

Bond in Kansas City makes decent cakes at fair prices; we ordered from them and everyone was happy

wiredmarlin5 said:http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/762

Thanks. Very thorough test...👍

Does anyone have any info on this power supply? It's a 550W Scythe Kamariki 4, model KMRK4-550A, ATX2 v2.3, with a 100mm fan, priced at $203

Dimensions:
150 × 160 × 86 mm / 5.91 × 6.3 × 3.39 in (W×D×H)

Cooling:
Scythe Kaze Jyu 100 mm Fan
- max. 1,500 rpm (550 W)

Noise Level:
8.4 – 23.0 dBA (550 W)

Cable Lengths:
45 – 55 cm Mesh-Type cables

Connectors:
550 W, 650 W Version: 1 x ATX Main, 1 x EPS 12V, 1 x PCI-Express, 2 Floppy, 6 x Drives (4-pin Molex), 8 x Serial ATA, 3 x Fan

Efficiency:
84% Efficiency at 20/50/100% system load (80PLUS.org)

Mainly looking for details on build quality and any actual user experiences, good or bad...