Personal computing discussed

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by Majiir Paktu
Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:20 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Bought a DSX. The sound is great. The drivers are maddening!
Replies: 7
Views: 4771

Re: Bought a DSX. The sound is great. The drivers are madden

JohnC wrote:
I mostly use it for 2.1 sound, though...


Most DSX owners are the same, it seems. That's not exactly a glowing recommendation. :wink:
by Majiir Paktu
Tue Feb 19, 2013 7:23 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Bought a DSX. The sound is great. The drivers are maddening!
Replies: 7
Views: 4771

Bought a DSX. The sound is great. The drivers are maddening!

Hi folks, My DSX just arrived, and I'm really mixed about its performance and wondered if you had any advice. I thought it was a little risky because my speakers are merely good , not phenomenal. (I have a Z-5300 5.1 system.) I took the gamble and bought the card, and the sound is great—but I can on...
by Majiir Paktu
Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:59 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: What's My Options Here...
Replies: 17
Views: 3542

Re: What's My Options Here...

Run it up the wall, across the ceiling and down the other side?
by Majiir Paktu
Sun Aug 19, 2012 12:07 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Bringing life to some old parts
Replies: 11
Views: 3527

Re: Bringing life to some old parts

Noise and power consumption are certainly big issues, but I don't want to spend more than $225 or so on a GPU. Those requirements limit you to Radeon HD7770 or HD7850. If your budget grew to $300, the GeForce GTX660Ti would be the way to go. NVidia still hasn't released a mid-range GPU using curren...
by Majiir Paktu
Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:23 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Bringing life to some old parts
Replies: 11
Views: 3527

Re: Bringing life to some old parts

A GTX 550 Ti or Radeon HD 7770 would be great replacements for the 8800GT. Thanks. I took a look at TR's reviews, and it looks like the 7770 is strictly superior (and newer). Is there a more fitting match (or maybe higher-end) in the GeForce camp? Noise and power consumption are certainly big issue...
by Majiir Paktu
Sat Aug 18, 2012 5:40 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Bringing life to some old parts
Replies: 11
Views: 3527

Re: Bringing life to some old parts

8800GT is pretty old tech; you should be able to get something newer/quieter with similar (or better) performance without breaking the bank. Any specific recommendations? Active PFC does nothing to help with power sags/dips; for that you need a UPS. If active PFC is the deciding factor when it come...
by Majiir Paktu
Sat Aug 18, 2012 4:07 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Bringing life to some old parts
Replies: 11
Views: 3527

Bringing life to some old parts

Hey Gerbils, I recently upgraded my computer's CPU, MB and RAM, and now I'd like to use my old parts in a build for my mother. She has a nice 42" LED-LCD 1080p TV and a 5.1 home theater system. (We've got a nice receiver for that.) The computer will mainly be for streaming video, but also web b...
by Majiir Paktu
Sun May 27, 2012 6:24 pm
Forum: Processors
Topic: Ivy Bridge performance figures
Replies: 23
Views: 6474

Re: Ivy Bridge performance figures

UberGerbil wrote:
Why they don't have a top-of-the-line-with-all-the-boxes-checked model, I have no idea. Seems like it would sell.


They do. It's called SBE. Presumably, IBE will also have both VT-d and an unlocked multiplier.
by Majiir Paktu
Tue Apr 24, 2012 7:34 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Upgrading from a Q6600
Replies: 10
Views: 4111

Re: Upgrading from a Q6600

Thanks for the comments. Why not keep your 8800GT for awhile till the Kepler variants start trickling down? Even if you don't plan on going Nvidia, that should drive prices down some. I'm mad at AMD for awful driver support lately, more so than Nvidia. GeForce GTX680 is awesome. If you cannot find o...
by Majiir Paktu
Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:53 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Upgrading from a Q6600
Replies: 10
Views: 4111

Upgrading from a Q6600

Hi folks, I'm looking for some advice on an upgrade. Here's what I'm currently running: ⋅ CPU: Intel Q6600 ⋅ Mobo: nForce 680i ⋅ RAM: 4GB DDR2-800 ⋅ GPU: 8800 GT 512MB ⋅ HDD: 1TB WD Black, 250GB WD 2500YS ⋅ Case: NZXT Zero ⋅ PSU: ...
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Jan 26, 2011 7:13 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Enter our MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti giveaway here
Replies: 1004
Views: 72065

Re: Enter our MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti giveaway here

Will it blend?
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:51 am
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: HDMI, Surround Sound, S/PDIF? Help!
Replies: 5
Views: 2507

Re: HDMI, Surround Sound, S/PDIF? Help!

Any good reason for not considering ATI graphics cards as well as Nvidia? They currently have a pretty significant advantage in power efficiency which would translate into lower temperatures and less noise for your system. You're right that the latest Fermi-based Nvidia cards now pass audio over HD...
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Jun 02, 2010 1:30 am
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: HDMI, Surround Sound, S/PDIF? Help!
Replies: 5
Views: 2507

HDMI, Surround Sound, S/PDIF? Help!

I suppose I easily get myself whipped up into crazy obsessions like this, but here goes. I'm considering a few computer upgrades and I want to make sure they fit into what I already own. Specifically, I'm looking at a new (Nvidia) video card, an HDTV, and an Xbox 360. My system is about 2.5 years ol...
by Majiir Paktu
Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:59 pm
Forum: Developer's Den
Topic: XML over SQL? (With PHP, XSL, XHTML, and a dash of Apache?)
Replies: 3
Views: 1535

XML over SQL? (With PHP, XSL, XHTML, and a dash of Apache?)

So I got this crazy idea. I'm writing a simple blog site, and I want to be able to use a single data source, which my scripts (PHP) then use to generate XHTML pages, RSS feeds, e-mail formatted messages, et cetera. Now, I started to write it using PHP+MySQL, but I started running into problems; for ...
by Majiir Paktu
Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:42 pm
Forum: Announcements
Topic: Joining the Religion & Politics Forum
Replies: 421
Views: 424522

Re: Joining the Religion & Politics Forum

Hmm, count me in please. Politics is completely demolishing good science and replacing it with... well, I'll leave that for the R&P forum itself I guess. :roll:
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:38 pm
Forum: Storage
Topic: Importance of TLER in motherboard RAID?
Replies: 5
Views: 2026

Re: Importance of TLER in motherboard RAID?

Yes... because disabling TLER is letting the drives perform error-correction themselves, rather than handing things over to the controller. That's what TLER does-- limits the drive's time for error recovery, thus letting the controller handle it.
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:10 pm
Forum: Storage
Topic: Importance of TLER in motherboard RAID?
Replies: 5
Views: 2026

Re: Importance of TLER in motherboard RAID?

TLER is Time-Limited Error Recovery. Without it, a drive will attempt error recovery on its own, and often this results in the RAID controller declaring the drive as dead prematurely. So, TLER is enabled to 'limit' the drive to a certain timeout (WD defaults it at 8 seconds) after which error recove...
by Majiir Paktu
Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:05 pm
Forum: Storage
Topic: Importance of TLER in motherboard RAID?
Replies: 5
Views: 2026

Importance of TLER in motherboard RAID?

If using a motherboard RAID (probably going with the 680i and Nvidia's 'MediaShield' software RAID) is TLER needed? Will the motherboard drive controller actually handle errors itself, or is it best to keep TLER disabled and let the drives do their job?
by Majiir Paktu
Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:54 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Music Authoring Software?
Replies: 2
Views: 1416

Music Authoring Software?

I am looking for some, well, music authoring software. Like Garageband, but not made by Apple, because I want to punch Apple's face in for spawning a generation of incompetent sheep users that... well yes, anyway. Not Garageband, but something similar. My system is somewhat slanted towards 3d/video ...
by Majiir Paktu
Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:44 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: I Need A Rocket Launcher... Really...
Replies: 13
Views: 1363

I Need A Rocket Launcher... Really...

So I have seen USB rocket launchers and whatnot that shoot nerf darts. They look cool, and being a computer enthusiast, that means I want one. Again, being a computer enthusiast, wanting one means I need one. So, I need a rocket launcher. Anybody had them? Is there a great deal of variety? (Any that...
by Majiir Paktu
Thu Apr 10, 2008 2:25 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: If I Could, I'd Build This Case
Replies: 23
Views: 1882

Re: If I Could, I'd Build This Case

Why, you ask? Because cooling your computer components to sub-ambient temperatures allows them to run at greatly increased speeds; however, traditional phase-change cooling requires you to lather your motherboard and CPU in foam and goo, and refrigerated submersion cooling turns your computer into a...
by Majiir Paktu
Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:55 am
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: If I Could, I'd Build This Case
Replies: 23
Views: 1882

Re: If I Could, I'd Build This Case

scare wrote:
You guys know the next step: a spoiler for the case. The added downforce should make it perform better.


Damn, well while we're at it, let's add some frickin' laser beams!
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:23 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: First attempt at a build. =)
Replies: 45
Views: 3309

Re: First attempt at a build. =)

The interface is not terribly important, but PCI-Express is preferable at this point because fewer devices use it and straight up PCI (non-Express) is being phased out. Nvidia releases software allowing you to easily overclock your GPU in realtime from the operating system. You can do this even with...
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:17 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: If I Could, I'd Build This Case
Replies: 23
Views: 1882

If I Could, I'd Build This Case

...more like, if I had $30,000 to blow on an ATX case. ⋅ Internal compartment houses motherboard, power supply, hard drives, all expansion cards and whatnot. ⋅ All cooling of internal devices is air cooling. ⋅ Fans inside the case circulate air through a radiator which ...
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:57 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: First attempt at a build. =)
Replies: 45
Views: 3309

Re: First attempt at a build. =)

Instead of the $135 X-Fi, why not go for a Xonar DX ? Well, I just read a bunch of the reviews (ones I didn't read before lol) and it seems that the Creative card has a ton of problems with it... But there's also a lot of positive reviews.. And even some on other cards about people liking the X-Fi ...
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 09, 2008 7:24 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: My Very First Build
Replies: 19
Views: 2030

Re: My Very First Build

The 780i is an Nvidia motherboard for Intel CPUs. Intel also makes chipsets for their own CPUs, however they do not support SLI, if you're planning on doing that.
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:47 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: My Very First Build
Replies: 19
Views: 2030

Re: My Very First Build

Don't go for a 780i; either get a 790i, or go with the 680i, if you really want an nForce motherboard for an Intel CPU. The 780i is junk.
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:46 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: First attempt at a build. =)
Replies: 45
Views: 3309

Re: First attempt at a build. =)

Saber Cherry wrote:
1.8v DDR2 800 does not need heat spreaders. They are there for marketing.


Ahh, right, of course. I'm running RAM at 2.2v, hence why I actually worry about it.
by Majiir Paktu
Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:08 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: First attempt at a build. =)
Replies: 45
Views: 3309

Re: First attempt at a build. =)

Instead of the $135 X-Fi, why not go for a Xonar DX ? I'm not sure I trust the heat spreaders on those G.SKILL sticks; I'd go for something from Patriot or OCZ myself. Then again, maybe I'm just spewing. Video card? Sure, 8800 GTS 512 will work well. I have that same DVD burner and it's nice. Althou...
by Majiir Paktu
Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:28 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Page File on Seperate RAID 0?
Replies: 5
Views: 1415

Re: Page File on Seperate RAID 0?

Is it completely useless to use these extra hard drives for the page file, rather than my only other drive, which also has all of my system and documents on it? I'm not "running out" of RAM, I'm just looking for ways to boost my performance. My RAM is nice and speedy, and I've got a good b...

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