Personal computing discussed

Search found 15 matches

by ineffable
Thu Jun 12, 2014 11:49 am
Forum: Overclocking, Tweaking, & Cooling
Topic: Hyper 212 EVO and alternatives
Replies: 16
Views: 12329

Re: Hyper 212 EVO and alternatives

One thing I forgot to mention -- I'm not really interested in minimizing noise at load. My CPU is rarely stressed, and during the brief times when it is, I can tolerate elevated noise levels. I'm looking for very quiet operation while doing ordinary office tasks (word processing, email, etc.). I'm a...
by ineffable
Thu Jun 12, 2014 10:49 am
Forum: Overclocking, Tweaking, & Cooling
Topic: Hyper 212 EVO and alternatives
Replies: 16
Views: 12329

Hyper 212 EVO and alternatives

I'm interested in replacing my stock Haswell CPU cooler with something quieter. After going over reviews, I see that the 212 EVO is fairly quiet, but certainly not the quietest of the aftermarket coolers. However, most of the quieter coolers are significantly more expensive, or they are generally le...
by ineffable
Sun May 18, 2014 6:49 pm
Forum: Cases and Power Supplies
Topic: PSU Cooling
Replies: 9
Views: 4407

Re: PSU Cooling

PSUs have fans because there was once a time when the only fans moving air out of the case WERE the PSU fans. If that's the case, then is there any good reason for modern PSUs to have fans? Maybe very high-power (~1000 W) ones need them, but it seems that for more reasonable PSUs, the fans are vest...
by ineffable
Sun May 18, 2014 5:08 pm
Forum: Cases and Power Supplies
Topic: PSU Cooling
Replies: 9
Views: 4407

PSU Cooling

I've been wondering recently about why PSUs have fans. Some PSUs (like the one here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151122 ) don't, and they're only marginally more efficient than the ones that do. At 50% of the maximum power draw, a platinum PSU is only 7% more efficient t...
by ineffable
Wed May 14, 2014 6:05 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: New Build Opinion ... on a budget.
Replies: 26
Views: 4998

Re: New Build Opinion ... on a budget.

I believe that Voldenuit gave you some decent suggestions. I would recommend this Crucial memory instead of the Kingston RAM that he linked. JAE, I've seen you recommend that Crucial memory elsewhere. Is there any particular reason why you like that kit? It's low-profile (which might matter if the ...
by ineffable
Wed May 14, 2014 8:52 am
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: New Build Opinion ... on a budget.
Replies: 26
Views: 4998

Re: New Build Opinion ... on a budget.

It sounds like you're saying the fan speed problem is limited to the ACX (dual fan) version, then? Most of the EVGA 750 series are single fan, and pretty quiet. (Or at least a lot quieter than the card I replaced with one. I didn't check into the minimum fan speed values.) Yes, I was commenting on ...
by ineffable
Wed May 14, 2014 7:43 am
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: New Build Opinion ... on a budget.
Replies: 26
Views: 4998

Re: New Build Opinion ... on a budget.

There's a problem with the EVGA 750 Ti. Its fan cannot be set lower than 42%, which is quite loud in my experience. EVGA put out a BIOS update to mitigate this problem, but it doesn't help much. I ended up RMA'ing mine and getting an MSI Twin Frozr R9 270, which is essentially silent in a case. If y...
by ineffable
Sat May 10, 2014 1:27 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: alternatives to Beats headphones
Replies: 25
Views: 5950

Re: alternatives to Beats headphones

Has anyone heard of Grado? I just found these and these and I did find a later model of those Audio Technica headphones here . Any more ideas will be appreciated. Also, I am avoiding in-ear buds because I find them uncomfortable. One thing you might want to consider is sound signature. Grado makes ...
by ineffable
Sat May 10, 2014 9:13 am
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: alternatives to Beats headphones
Replies: 25
Views: 5950

Re: alternatives to Beats headphones

Active noise cancellation is generally considered undesirable, because it produces some white noise which sort of 'colors' the music you're listening to. Passive noise cancellation (isolation) will result in less artificial 'coloration' of the sound. The headphones that DancinJack linked to are very...
by ineffable
Tue Apr 22, 2014 9:25 am
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Mid-Range Gaming Build
Replies: 18
Views: 3235

Re: Mid-Range Gaming Build

Several people are still recommending 2 DIMMS. I suppose there could be four reasons for this: 1. They have not read the article I linked to. I couldn't fault them; it's a long article 2. There is a flaw in the testing methodology or in the analysis in the article 3. The analysis presented in the ar...
by ineffable
Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:08 am
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Mid-Range Gaming Build
Replies: 18
Views: 3235

Re: Mid-Range Gaming Build

I don't think the single DIMM is a huge problem. See these benchmarks:

http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1349- ... le-channel

Unless you're doing CFD, or you're really concerned about getting approximately 6% more performance out of your RAM, one DIMM should be fine.
by ineffable
Thu Apr 10, 2014 9:22 pm
Forum: Gaming
Topic: Minimum Titanfall Requirements
Replies: 4
Views: 1331

Minimum Titanfall Requirements

A friend of mine has an old computer and is interested in playing Titanfall. I looked it up, and his computer does meet the minimum requirements, but just barely. His components are as follows: i3 2120 (3.3 GHz) hd 6670 (1 GB) 6 GB RAM Will he be able to play Titanfall, at 720p, with reasonable smoo...
by ineffable
Thu Apr 10, 2014 1:47 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Quietest R9 270
Replies: 10
Views: 4873

Re: Quietest R9 270

I did, in the end, get the MSI Twin Frozr. It's very quiet, compared to minimal background noise and other components. So overall, no complaints.

LilPinkMonster -- I appreciate it, but I'm not looking to get a new keyboard just now. If I were, though, that would be a compelling combo.
by ineffable
Tue Apr 01, 2014 9:30 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Quietest R9 270
Replies: 10
Views: 4873

Re: Quietest R9 270

Thanks for the help. I'll probably go with MSI. It's unfortunate that there aren't better ways of comparing various sites' measurements, but it does seem that the MSI version is generally pretty quiet (relatively, at least).
by ineffable
Mon Mar 31, 2014 7:05 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Quietest R9 270
Replies: 10
Views: 4873

Quietest R9 270

It's time to replace my GPU, and I've decided on an R9 270. I have no interest in mining; it will only be used for gaming. The room in which I have my computer has a very low noise floor, and consequently, I'm looking for a very quiet cooler. Price is, however, a minor factor (for example, I would n...
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