Machineeto

PC Games Dead Space & Mirror's Edge problems

2013-08-29T02:02:00.000+08:00

If you're like me and just got your Origin Humble Bundle and started playing, you might come into a few hitches as some of the games are from 4 to 5 years back.

Dead Space 1

1. Mouse Lag/Input Lag - The Fix, disable Vsync ingame.

Well, the problem with disabling vsync is your system generating higher fps...way too high for the game, like mine with a 7970. This results in you getting stuck at an invisible door early in the game after the elevator.

2. Invisible door fix - Use a tool like MSI Afterburner and use the FPS Limiter. Set it according to your maximum screen refresh rate, either 60 or 120. ~~Or whatever suits you, I for no reason whatsoever set my fps at 90.~~ Apparently, the game was running at 689fps!!! loll.

Give me 2000 frames per second yeah!

Other note.

3. Screen Tearing - Might want to use D3doverider or msi afterburner instead of using FPS limiter to force driver vsync as it doesn't work in AMD ccc. This will lock the fps at 60, or according to your maximum refresh rate.

Mirror's Edge

1. Very Very low FPS/unplayable - Disable physx ingame if you're on a Radeon card.

You will notice this problem at the stage where Faith meets Kate at Robert Pope's office. The running part of course.

Have fun.

Galaxy S2 Kies stuck at "Preparing firmware update components"

2012-06-29T16:46:00.000+08:00

Yes yes yes, well its related to the machine because I was using the desktop to upgrade the Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 to ICS.

I was stuck at this screen for quite some time. It gets stuck at "Preparing firmware update components". Looking up at forums with people having the same issue. The fix apparently, is not to use your USB 3G dongle with Kies for updating firmware. So I switched to WiFi and update progressed as expected.

The USB 3G dongle I used was a Novatel MC950D.

All is well.

A cheap gaming mouse for 10 dollars

2012-06-08T01:00:00.000+08:00

My Gigabyte GM-M6980 ceased to function due to a "fall". Having to go back to a Logitech K200 mouse for gaming proved difficult. While waiting for the warranty exchange, I thought of getting a temporary gaming mouse.

It was either the newly launched Sensonic Orthros 2 for 17 dollars, non laser and switchable DPI of 800/1200/1600/2400. Another option was a Gigabyte laser mouse GM-M6880 version 1 for around the same price. But it only had two switchable DPI, 800/1600.

I ruled out the gigabyte as with my existing gigabyte mouse it had the same form which wasn't really comfortable for my hand in long hours. The Orthros 2 had a nice form which would be comfortable for my hands. But it was non laser.

Eventually I chose the cheapest one I could get, yes I'm a cheapskate. The G-Shark GS-M570G laser gaming mouse because it was 10 dollars! ( 9.50 dollars to be exact ) and laser with switchable DPI too. But primarily because it was cheap. Warranty is only for 3 months though.....

Let's see, feature wise.

Pros

3 Switchable DPI 800/1600/2400 ( Switch button )
6 Keys ( including 2 side keys and the scroll wheel pushes right.)
Switch life 3million ( but what would you expect for 10 )
Non-slip rubber coating for the click buttons
Nice Ergonomics
Ambidextrous, not really you would lose the side keys if your a leftie.
Solid enough build ( Surprised me )

Cons

Default Usb polling rate of 125hz ( slightly noticing it from using a 1000hz rate mouse )
Could have been a bit more heavier ( still weighty though than your average mouse )

( Left to Right: Decent looking box, opened and the insides ( hmm ). )

Big box eh? The only thing inside is the mouse, yes only the mouse. Drivers used were default windows mouse. After a week of use, it has been very good for my hands. No more pain because of the ergonomics although sometimes it does feel a little bit small.

Usb polling rate is windows default 125hz. Your going to need Hidusbf mod to be able to adjust it. There is a slight noticeable difference, but negligible I believe. It's just that being use to using a 1000hz polling rate with the Gigabyte m6980 mouse you tend to notice small changes.

And here are pictures of the mouse.


Non Slip Rubber

Teflon Padding

The name, yeah I know.

Nope, the yellow DPI isn't glowing it's just painted, the camera flash brought out the yellowness.

Simple & nothing flashy. Get's the job done

Side by side to my Logitech K200

*Update 14th June 2012
So I've been using it for about 2 weeks or so. Checking windows update there was a driver update for the mouse. The win 7 devices also says its a Laserstream device. Guess what, it's using an Avago Laser sensor. Well I guess almost all mouses use Avago sensors be it Laser or Optical.

*Update 11th September 2013
You might want to get the Sensonic Orthros 2 because it has a 1000hz usb polling rate. The g-shark had a default polling rate of 125hz which was laggy.

The choice of between lasers and optical sensors is a non issue for me anymore.

This is a nice list of what sensors are being used by some mouse. Made by some forum people.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AosJbEwEG9GpdEpBMGc1ZXo0S3BLQm1YQ09jeVZ6bEE&w=100&h=650

PC Monitoring Utilities

2012-04-16T00:39:00.000+08:00

A list of tools that I have been using ever since setting up the new PC. A large majority of the tools are for monitoring hardware status such as temperatures, voltages and miscellaneous information.

Tools such as the Asus AI Suite 2 and Asus Smartdoctor came with the motherboard ( Asus P8P67-pro ) and GPU ( Asus EAH 6870 Direct cu2 ). The manufacturer tools comes with more advanced controlling features such overclocking of hardware, power consumption profiles, fan profile setup and hardware monitoring.

CPUID HWMonitor ( Hardware Temps, Info)
Open Hardware Monitor ( Hardware Temps, Info)
CPUID CPU-Z ( CPU Info )
GPU-Z ( GPU Info, Sensor Reading )

CrystalDiskInfo ( Disk Information )
HDTune ( Disk Info, Bench, Diag )
Speccy ( Hardware Specifications )

Asus AI Suite 2 ( Asus Motherboard Tool )
Asus Smartdoctor ( Asus GPU Tool )

Asus Gamer OSD problems with Fallout 3 & Metro 2033

2012-04-09T18:03:00.001+08:00

Doesn't it just annoy you, finish installing a game and all you get is crashes :). Ever since I've started playing Metro 2033 I've started having problems with starting games. The result is usually a crash to desktop ( CTD ). I have managed to solve the problem with Metro 2033, the culprit being Asus Gamer OSD. Exiting Asus Gamer OSD only doesn't work. You would have to disable it in display properties, in advanced settings as well.

So I have Fallout 3 GOTY retail and installed it, been a while since I played it. Last I played Fallout 3 was on ps3. Installation was fine. Starting a new game crashed it, again the culprit was Asus Gamer OSD. This time though disabling it wasn't enough. You need to uninstall Asus Gamer OSD altogether. The presence of Asus SmartDoctor wasn't a problem. Good to go now!

Asus Gamer OSD is a utility that comes with Asus Graphics Card. Mine being Asus EAH 6870 1gb Direct CU. The utility enables you to record videos and take screenshots of your gaming session. Similar to fraps. But mostly it has been causing problems of games crashing to desktop. Much better to use alternative video recording tools. Just a note that I'm using Win 7 Premium 64bit.

*Update 14th June 2012
Just a note I'd like to make that when I had problems with Metro 2033 and Asus Gamerosd. Metro 2033 would only run in Directx 9 mode. So perhaps the problem is Asus GamerOSD has problems with Directx 10 and 11.

New Heatsink CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo

2012-03-30T20:34:00.000+08:00

Since the power supply failure of my Corsair AX850, I've decided to fit in a new Heat sink for the cpu since I was going to fit in a new replacement psu. Not that the current stock heat-sink for the i5-2500k was any bad at all, it was actually quite decent.

During the initial part of picking components for the whole setup, I was actually contemplating of getting the Xigmatek Dark Knight Cooler. I decided not to get it at first because of not really needing it at that particular moment. Regretfully, 5 months later the Xigmatek was already bought by someone else and there was no stock available.

I was considering between the Xigmatek Dark Knight and Cooler Master Hyper 212+. Unfortunately no one seems to be selling the 212+ in my area. So in the end I was left to choose ( again ) from what was available during the time. It was the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo.

Size & Clearance

One of my primary concerns about this particular cooler was the size. I wasn't really sure whether it would fit in my casing, a Cooler Master Elite 310. X) Obviously it's really not the best of casings when it comes to airflow and space inside.

Comparing the size of the 212 Evo and the stock i5 stock cooler I would certainly say the Evo's size is humongous. Fitment wise with the side panel closed, the Evo's clearance is just millimeters from the side panel. Obviously with that I lost one of two side panel slots for mounting side fans, not that I have any fans setup on the sides anyway. RAM clearance is also about the same, by millimeters. Fortunately for me, I decided to get the Corsair Vengeance LP ( Low profile ) RAM sticks early on. So RAM clearance wasn't an issue.

Side panel Clearance - OK
RAM slot Clearance - OK

Temperature differences

Well the temperature differences made by the aftermarket cooler for me is very satisfying. The temperature when the CPU is under load is very very good. Below are some temperature range for comparisons of before and after the new cooler was installed.

Stock Cooler - Idle 38c - 42c Under load 75c - 82c *prime95 runs reached 82c
Hyper 212 Evo - Idle 30c - 34c Under load 56c - 60c *prime95 runs never went past 62c

*note the ambient temperature was around 23c. The A/C was on :) .

There you have it, the difference in before and after temperatures for me is quite good. I was quite surprised but was also expectant there were going to be differences, as the casing's airflow isn't really the best. I only have 2 case fans inside, one for intake and another for exhaust.

So yeah, for the price of about 45usd it was Okay....well good anyway.

Cheap Gaming Headset: Somic E-95 WCG 2009 5.1

2012-03-06T17:00:00.000+08:00

Nice box

I was always looking for a 5.1 headset the past few months. While I was getting a replacement power supply for my system, I went browsing for a headset too.

After shortlisting a few headsets, it really just came down to what was available at the local shops.

Was thinking of roccats or saitek headsets. Razer's? The price on these headsets were very high.

So browsing around at the shops I came across a lot of china brand headsets. One brand in particular was Somic. As usual, some brand research and model research to make informed decisions. :)

There doesn't seem to be a lot of reviews of Somic products online. You might find some youtube videos and sparse written reviews but that's about it.

Well I ended up buying this particular model of Somic headset. The E-95 WCG 2009 5.1 version for around 45 dollars (USD).

This video is an unboxing of the 2010 model. This was among the first music I heard thru the headset and the impression was awesome,  especially the bass.

In Metro 2033, the part in the tunnels with Khan and the glowing floating thing coming, the sound and vibration makes the hair at the back of my neck stand, outstanding!!

The driver on the cd doesn't work properly, you need to download working drivers from Somic website.

E-95 driver 8th august 2012 (latest)

There is also a driver from windows update, version.2150.

Inside, the headset uses a C-media cm106 chip-set.

Other features include.

8 units speakers
Vibration
Mic on/off switch with individual volume control for center, rear, sub-woofer, front and main.
Voice changer

This chip set is used in other branded headsets like turtlebeach and Tritton Audio Xtreme (121usd), of course at a higher price. The headset only comes with a 3 month warranty, which kind of sucks.

Microphone didn't work with BF3. Only switching to 2speakers or 4speakers than the mic would work but not in 5.1. After a while of digging around the net, it was a simple fix by just switching to a different usb port. Tried a usb 3.0 port and voila the mic works at 5.1 settings. Usb bandwidth issues?

Product page at Somic site

Pros

Good sound

Good Bass

Remote Volume control

Comfy cloth?

Clear microphone

Nice vibration

Price (Almost half the price of branded headsets.)

Cons

Its a bit tight on the head ( gets a while to get use to although adjustable.)

Short Warranty

Drivers off the cd are buggy/crash.(Download from website)
The manual is in Chinese only.
No Mic noise cancellation

Comfy

Adjustable

Can be folded, if u need to carry it

A plastic bag?

Cant read the manual

My old vmoda bass freq

Blue Led on volume control

Cmedia configuration utility

Corsair AX850 dead after 5 months

2012-03-03T18:58:00.050+08:00

The professional......yeah

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." by Lord Acton
Well we are not really talking about that sort of power and corruption here it's really just for thought. So yeah, thats it. My Corsair AX850 power supply has died after only 5 months. Lasted only 5 months, I bought it on the the 3rd of October 2011 and it has died on the 1st of March 2012. Not what you would expect from a "premium" part that cost me Usd260. This is the most expensive component in the whole system, and for it to fail is a disappointment. They say it's just a luck of the draw. *Vent released*

Since the first week of running the new machine, the psu has made a buzzing noise. I believe they call it "capacitor whine" from the forum posts I have read online. It is fairly intermittent, haven't found anything specific to trigger it. A search on any search engines with the keyword "AX850 buzz" will yield enough results.

Updates are at the end of the blog. ( This article updated 13th June 2012. )

Looks nice eh...well it did

Of course, I have no idea what caused the psu to die. One of the odd things is that the power cable of the psu is still fine and wokring. The AX850 has now been sent to back to shop where they will send it back to the distributor for repair or replacement. I am wondering how long this is going to take, as the tech at the service center said the distributor is very slow in responding. The tech even mentioned a case where it took half a year for a fix/replacement. :o That was not what I wanted to hear. Oh and for reference my AX850 is on revision A1W with starting serial number of R10. The tech also mentions that if the returned psu comes with a new serial number then it means it's a replacement otherwise if it still has the same serial number then it was just repaired.

So for the time being I got a replacement PSU that is a Xigmatek NRP-PC602. Albeit forking out some money for it. Bleh. It's a 600w power supply with non modular cabling. Pretty much a step down but costing me around a Usd100. So far it has been running fine, it seems decent.

*Update 10th March 2012

Seems the Xigmatek is struggling a bit when I my hd 6870 gpu is under load. There are frequent slowdowns in gaming. The xigmatek does come with a 52A 12v rail. Which is 30A and 22A, but the combination is only stated as 42A. My Asus HD6870 Directcu 2 is the overclocked version and states that it requires 40A.

And on another note, the Xigmatek psu also made a buzz sound after 4 days. For a brief period, then it went away. Seems like I need an AVR.

*Update 12th March 2012
Apparently the hdd slowdowns is caused by win 7 loading wrong drivers and my sata 3 hdd running in sata 1 or 2 mode. Not good, ~~see my next post.~~

*Update 5th May 2012

The shop called. I can collect my power supply. So how long was it then to get it fixed? 2 months. This is in Asia by the way. Return times would be faster in North America or Europe perhaps. Down here for Corsair it's just sad.

Well, back to the psu collection. As usual, "Hello, I've come to collect my AX850 psu." . The technician replied, "Here it is, just sign here." Hmm, confused. "Are you sure? This is a sealed box, new?" Techncian, "Yes, they just send you a whole new unit if it's unrepairable."

I collected a new unit, new sealed, new serial numbers AX850. Nice.

The old unit's serial is R1012B. Revision : A1W Manufactured : 11021873 (2011/week 2)
The new unit's serial is R1201B ( 1st 5 chars ) Revision : A1W ( still ). Manufactured: 120703341 (2012/week 7).

I've only installed it on the 26th of May, as I just bought a new casing and haven't had time to transfer the whole thing over. It's a CM 690 2 Advanced Usb 3.0 case, we'll talk about this later.

So, installed the new AX850 on 26th of May. Ah, so glad to have my expensive component being used again, while playing BF3. Around 6hours of usage later, the Buzzzzzzzz!!! Bzzzzztttt Bzzzzzttttt Bzzzzzzzzzzzttttttttttttttttttt. Ugh! Only temporary maybe 5 or 10 minutes. But it's a reminder of something not good. I'm hoping not! Up to until now (the 13th of June ) I still get occasional Buzz, randomly.

So, what do I have now? Mixed feelings honestly.

Corsair I thank you for replacing it with a whole new unit. But the issues with AX850 is horrid. The replacement psu, a Xigmatek 600w at 1 third the price of the AX850 brought me less headaches.

If I could, I would gladly exchange my AX850 with any other model of psu from Corsair. As the AX850 is just plagued. Corsair!!! I want a psu SWAP!!!! I don't want the AX850 anymore!!

Fake Kingston 32gb Flash Drive

2012-02-10T21:01:00.125+08:00

Fake it is.

The world these days. You never really now what you are going to get. So here I was, very happy from a computer fair having got myself a 32gb flash drive for Usd30 dollars. I haven't really used it much. Filled it up with some files here and there. But I never did copy any files back from it.

We've all heard about fake flash drives being sold online these days. Well "lucky me!". I guess these they are pretty much being sold offline too and everywhere. As you can see on the picture of the packaging it does not specify the capacity size on the packaging.

This model is supposed to be the DataTraveler 101 32GB.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke

Fake serial numbers.

Having nothing to do, I decided to just mess around and check the serial number at the back of the packaging to verify it at Kingston's website. Lo and behold the reply I got was a shocker. I thought I must have entered a wrong digit for the serial number. After trying for a second time the reply I got was still the same. "The device was not manufactured by Kingston" uh-oh, this isn't going to be good.

Amongst the first things that I noticed were wrong was when I plugged in the flash drive. The device is identified as "Sales Udisk 2.0".

A real Kingston flash drive would be identified as the model number specified on the flash drive and packaging. It should state "Kingston DT101" in the device manager. The screenshot below shows the device identified.

It didn't say Kingston.

Another method of testing the true capacity of the flash drive is by using a software called H2testw 1.4 ( The link is via Google Translate since the website is originally in German ). It will write data to the size u specify and afterwards verifies the data integrity. Errors would start showing up on verification of data, usually after an amount of data is processed because of fake data size. This is when you know the true capacity of the flash drive. Unfortunately I only took a screenshot of a pretest window, not the results. I forgot, brilliant.

H2testw

A simpler method is just by copying large amounts of data to the flash drive. And afterwards while attempting to copy back the data from the flash drive you might encounter errors because the data is corrupted.

Here is a source of identifying fake flash drives. Also there are comparisons of fake and genuine flash drives as well as examples of identifying genuine flash drives.

Flashchiptutor's Flash Drive Facts Guide

Remember if its too cheap, it most probably is too good to be true. Fortunately for me I successfully got my money back from the shop after pointing out that it is a counterfeit flash drive. If you go down this route, remember to always keep your receipts and email of verification from manufacturer.

The New Machine Part 4 (Final) The Cost

2011-10-17T16:17:00.004+08:00

Now we come down to the cost of the whole build. Here is the amount I spent to get the build done. The prices are from the local shop. A few discounts here and there.

As a comparison and just to frustrate myself. The prices on say a website like www.newegg.com . In bold and red. Prices are as off October for simplifications purpose, because prices change everyday.

My Local Shop vs Newegg.com

Walk-in vs Online

Photo from Chodhound

The list. Local Newegg.com Difference

Intel i5 2500k SandyBridge processor usd 218 usd 219.99 -1.99

Asus P8P67 Pro B3 Rev 3.0 mainboard usd 207 usd 179.99 +27.01

(The link is a rev 3.1)

Asus Radeon EAH6870 Direct CU 1GB usd 240 usd 189.99 +50.01

Corsair Vengeance LP 2 x 4GB 1600mhz 1.5v usd 105 usd 59.99 +45.01
(Ram)

Corsair AX850 80 Plus Gold psu usd 281 usd 199.99 + usd5.99(s) + 75.02

Coolermaster CM 310 Elite RC-310 usd 38 usd 39.99 + 2.99 (s) -4.98

WD Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB

7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s          usd 37    usd 109.99 + 7.28 (s)      -80.27

Samsung 22x Dvd-rw SH-222AB                 usd 21    usd 19.99 + 1.99   (s)      -0.98

Win 7 Professional 64bit Oem         usd 134    usd 139.99                       -5.99

Samsung 19inch LED S19A300N                     usd 106    usd 124.99 + 9.99 (s)    -28.98

( I couldn't find this item on newegg.com, so the price is from thenerds.net. )

Logitech MK200 usd 14 usd 24.99 + 1.99 (s) -12.98

* Note s=postage and shipping price.

** Difference column, minus being i payed less.

All in for a total of, USD1404 USD 1340.12 +63.88

So there you go, I paid USD 63.88 more compared to newegg.com . Where I paid less were the Samsung Led and the Western Digital Hard Drive. The WD Hard drive cost me USD 80 lesser than on newegg.com :O .

Where I paid more were, the Asus motherboard, the Asus Graphics Card, the Corsair ram and most notably the Corsair PSU at a huge USD 75 difference.

Where there was very little difference, was the i5-2500k processor and Samsung 22x Dvd burner.

Sorry about the formatting, the editor doesn't have a function for tables.

Battlefield : Bad company 2 problems

2011-10-15T17:05:00.024+08:00

So after setting up almost everything, I'd thought I'd take a spin at a game. So I tried out BFBC2. Really good performance. Playing the single player campaign, everything was fine. Until the game would just start freezing. Temps were good. Must be a bug. Yes it was, checking the net and forums it seems that everybody well almost everybody had this problem. It made the game unplayable. It would freeze randomly, at one point almost 4 to 5 times in 20minutes! Very very frustrating.

Some suggested to disable the onboard Realtek Audio. It worked, but playing a game with no sound is ridiculous. Changing the Directx mode to version 9 from Auto in the config file worked for a temporary solution. So when the patch came out a 2.6GB ( oh how ridiculous that is ) I thought it would actually fix things out when I switched it back to Directx Auto. Nope. Still had the problem.

The problem was, I was still using the old drivers from the CD that came the HD 6870. So, got the new drivers off the Asus website, Version 8.84.9. And it fixed the problem.

All good now.

LED No signal detected

2011-10-05T21:39:00.012+08:00

Now the system posted, there were no red led's on the motherboard. I have tried everything disconnecting the power cables. Removing the cmos battery and resetting the jumper.

It's a Samsung S19A300N 18.5 inch LED. For hours and nothing, all I get on the screen is No Signal Detected. "Digital" hmmm, but I'm not running a digital connection, I'm connected to the VGA port at the back of the LED and using a vga to dvi adapter on the card. I am running ANALOG.

So went looking for a dvi cable somewhere in my boxes. Tadaa, there is display. So what was causing the problem then?

I remember during initial configuration of the LED display, I manually set the input signal as Analog. Hey, I'd prefer something than it being set on auto. Not here.

Changed this setting to AUTO, so whenever you turn it on it will look for signals on both inputs. Whichever is present. Setting it on Analog/VGA manually, you will run into this problem of the LED looking for a digital signal when there is none connected. Samsung Samsung.

Installing Win 7 and the System Reserved Partition

2011-10-03T01:00:00.001+08:00

Ah, it has been awhile since I've installed any Operating System be it Windows, Linux, BSD or Solaris :) .

Nothings change much I guess, or so I thought. Popped in the Win 7 DVD and yes things have changed a lot. The setup was too easy and too simple, lol just a few clicks and it started installing. Huh, copying files already. Nice.

I just didn't like the partitioning part. The 100mb system reserved partition, reserved what? Nah nah nah I'm not having that. So after scourging the net, I found the method to remove it. Restarted installation and went to console then used diskpart, walla all done.

Steps shown on the link, Removing Win7 System Reserved Partition during Installation .

Basically I set up, 80GB for Win7+Programs and the remainder as data partition. Done.

The New Machine Part 3, Justifications.

2011-10-02T22:00:00.005+08:00

Why oh why and why.

Justifications, don't you just love the word. Reasons, explanations and causes. Why I chose the parts, the reasons behind it. The decision making and planning. The mistakes and oversight and constraints.

The reasons, I needed a new computer, a refreshed and up to date system. The old machine had no more upgrade path in terms of available parts and cost wise. So it was acceptable that a new machine be built. The design and decision making were based on a criteria I have accustomed with. Not fanboyism.

Cost
Ability/Technology
Practicability
Scalability i.e. Future proofing, upgrade path

It works out as CAPS, nah just made that up. Sounds nice eh? There's also another criteria or is it. When it comes to selection, there is the issue of availability. You can't buy something when it's not available domestically.

Cost. I went for a balance of price and feature set. Not to cheap, so as not to lose out on reliability and longevity. Not to expensive, so as not to burn a hole in your wallet or burn your wallet altogether.

Ability/Technology. It needed to be current or new, more inclined to new but revised and stable. For example the motherboard i selected. We'll touch on that later on.

Practicability. Something practical of course, there's just no point getting something your not going to use. It must serve a purpose. It must not be over used or under used.

Scalability. Basically future proofing. Having an upgrade path is vital for the longevity of the machine so as not to be stuck on a dead end technology. Culdesac.

Now that we have gone thru my criteria. Let's take an in depth analysis, by parts.

The Processor

An Intel Core i5-2500K Processor (6M Cache, 3.30GHz Turbo 3.7GHz)

Sandybridge. Only bested by the i7's in it's series but not as expensive compared to them. A quad core because programs are headed to multithreading, the K denoting an unlocked multiplier processor. We will be able to overclock it, to increase performance for future programs. Of course, voiding the warranty when oc'd.

The Motherboard

Asus P8P67 Pro B3 Rev 3.0 Asus site

I chose Asus because of feature wise, warranty and a level of reliability. You can never go wrong with an established brand. The P67 chip set, basically for the unlocked multiplier overclocking ability. All in all the features on this motherboard are brilliant. But, minus the inability to use the i5 built in display chip. Which was okay since I would be using a dedicated GPU. Or so I thought.

In all honesty, I must say I made a mistake perhaps. I had the choice of either P67 or Z68. After a while of retrospect, I think I should've went for the Z68, since they were priced almost similar. Differences being Z68 was newer, had SSD smart response technology and ablility to use the built in display of the Sandybridge processors. At least you can switch to the built in display and giving the GPU some rest. And of course have some fail over ability. Basically it was an impulse decision, unwise.

The Graphics Card

Asus Radeon EAH6870 Direct CU 1GB DDR5 Asus site

Yup, the brand. Now the chip set, well that's another thing. I've never used an ATI dedicated GPU chip before. I started out with a S3 Virge 3D :) , then a 3dfx Voodoo 2 and to last card an Nvidia Geforce 2. Pci and AGP interface's. ATI's weren't in the same of tier of the other products that I used during that time, but of course, how time's have changed.

I chose ATI because of features such as temperatures, power consumption, eyefinity, crossfire (scalability) (yes nvidia has sli) and ultimately price. Yes, we all know since the beginning of time the issues with ATI drivers. But there has been improvement.

My first choice was the Radeon HD 5870 but then the HD 6000 series came out. I assumed, yes that's right assumed that the HD 6870 was at the same level of the HD 5870. Oh what a big mistake, wrong buy or was it? Had I known that the HD 6970 was the successor, I would have selected that. A huge oversight. But of course it cost more.

In the end after using it in games such as BFBC2 and COD: Black ops in maximum settings, performance wise I found it to be above acceptable. Lower power consumption, lower temperatures, lower price and performance was not compromised. So I'll live with it, since the HD 7000 series release is near.

Asus has two versions of the HD 6870. This particular version has Direct CU custom cooling and factory overclocked. Priced the same with the reference design. And because of branding, you pay a premium of 30 dollars more compared to a stock Sapphire HD 6870. I have yet to see any temperatures benefits honestly with the Direct CU fitting. Idling at 45c was not what I expected, but that is because of another reason. Reason being casing AIRFLOW. Load temperatures hover around 75c to 82c, which is okayyy.

The RAM

Corsair Vengeance LP 2 x 4GB 1600mhz 1.5v Ram Corsair Site

8GB will give you a lot of headroom, a lot. The price of ram's these days are cheap compared to years before that it just does not make any sense not to get more than 4GB. And with Windows now available in 64bit, you are now able to use more than 4GB. Which is a limitation of 32bit operating systems. Nowadays you can get a 2GB stick, kingston valuerams for 14dollars. I remember buying 512mb rams for 50dollars in the past!

No point in filling up your ram slots with 4x2GB's. Cause when it's time to upgrade in the future you would have to take out a pair of the 2GB. Leave some slots empty.

I went for the brand, corsair. The limited lifetime warranty. The low profile heatsinks. The price. I didn't want anymore exploding ram sticks, phobia kicking in.

The Power Supply

Corsair AX850 80 Plus Gold psu (Originally a CM GX650 psu, upgraded :) ) Corsair Site

The processor is the brain. The power supply is the heart. Without the heart pumping the blood, the brain is useless or your just dead. Without a stable heart the body as a whole is weakened.

Same goes for computers. Get a good power supply, an adequate wattage supply, with some headroom. Going cheap on the power supply is the worst thing you can do with a system filled with pricey components. Compromising on quality for price will in the long run bite you back, hard. Previous experiences have thought me, exploding rams, burnt slot, problems with the motherboard's cmos you name it. Phobia of exploding psu's.

Initial reason for selection was the Graphics card, required a 500watt psu minimum. The other's being brand, modular cabling, stability and reliability of components inside the psu. I intially had the Coolermaster GX650watt psu, but after a doublethink. I changed to the AX850 which cost almost three times more. Scalability for crossfire setup and cpu upgrade. Reliability for the system as a whole.

The Casing

Coolermaster CM 310 Elite RC-310 CM Site

Weren't really looking for a fancy smancy gigantic case. That would be the last thing on my mind. Something simple and serves a purpose would do just fine for me. At 45 dollars, the CM 310 Elite was just fine for me. A bit of a snug fit though.

It's when the system is running then you see why you need a adequately sized casing. Airflow. The Asus Radeon EAH 6870 just barely made it in the casing, just a few millimeters gap to the HDD cage.

I decided to put a 120mm front intake fan ( since it only came with a rear exhaust ), and it barely made any difference or any at all. The only device getting good temperatures is the HDD which sits right behind the front intake. Basically the front intake fan has too many things blocking it to have any larger effect. Placing another 80mm lower side exhaust fan resulted in nothing. Basically another ill decision. I would be looking for a new case after this, and am considering a CM 690 II Basic or Advance.

The Disk Drive

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

At first, I thought of getting a 1TB or 2TB drive. But I'm not going to have a lot of data on the drive in the system. All of my data will be on a NAS or a minimum of external drives. The 500GB is just for Operating Systems and installed programs.

I actually am more inclined to using seagates. But no a lot of the shops domestically are selling seagates, so my choices were confined to literally WD drives. My initial choice was a 1TB WD Caviar Black just the same specifications as the Caviar Blue I opted, difference being the Caviar Black had 32MB cache and double the capacity. Sata 6.0Gb's on the drive fitted on the motherboards 6gb port, so that clicked in just nice. For 38 dollars, compared to 80 dollars for the 1TB. It was good enough for me, because eventually down the line I'd be getting an SSD when their price to size ratio is more economically justifiable.

The Optical Drive

Samsung 24x Dvd-rw

Nothing in particular, just went for the cheapest drive I could get or needed. Because all my older dvd-rw's were ide/pata devices, I couldn't use any of them on a sata only connector motherboard. At least the Asus P8P67 LE mb had 1 ide port but eventually I went for the Pro version.

The Operating System

Win 7 Professional 64bit

One of the reasons I chose Pro over Home Premium, was the shop had no discs for the Home Premium version. It was 30 dollars cheaper, it was enough. But the Pro came with a discs, hrmm. Other being it had XP-mode ( basically you can download from MS and run win xp on virtual pc in win 7 not requiring an XP license ). Unlike the Win7 versions below Pro. 64bit any version for fully utilizing the hardware capability and no 4gb ram limit.

And of course, we have Linux :) too....all the merrier now.

The Monitor

Samsung 19inch LED S19A300N Samsung Site

More of a, had to buy than needed to buy. At 110 dollars, with only a 1366x768 resolution it was nothing special. Comes with a VGA port and a DVI port. It's only 18.5 inch display. The package only included a VGA cable, what a bummer. Luckily the Asus EAH 6870 came with dvi to vga adapters as well as dvi to hdmi adapters.

Check my other post regarding problems with "No signal detected".

The New Machine Part 2 Old vs New

2011-10-02T20:00:00.003+08:00

My old machine was an Athlon XP system. Yes I know it's old ( around 2002/3 ), but it's still alive and kicking. Excluding blown power supply, one burnt ram slot and because of the blown psu incident the cmos can never save it settings anymore ( Need to get a new plcc bios chip ) .

Just some brief specs below.

Athlon XP 2300 processor

MSI K7T266 Pro 2 RU (KT266A chipset with raid.)

Geforce 2

SB Live 5.1

500w psu

Win XP pro

17 inch CRT

And etc etc, old huh?

And now the new system.

Intel i5 2500k SandyBridge processor

Asus P8P67 Pro B3 Rev 3.0 mainboard Asus site

Asus Radeon EAH6870 Direct CU 1GB DDR5 Asus site

Corsair Vengeance LP 2 x 4GB 1600mhz 1.5v Ram Corsair Site

Corsair AX850 80 Plus Gold psu (Originally a CM GX650 psu, upgraded :) ) Corsair Site

Coolermaster CM 310 Elite RC-310 CM Site

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

Samsung 24x Dvd-rw

Win 7 Professional 64bit

Samsung 19inch LED S19A300N Samsung Site

Freebies, a mini wifi 802.11n usb adapter included with the motherboard and a Apacer 4gb flash drive.

Nice huh. It'll do.

The New Machine.

2011-10-02T18:00:00.003+08:00

The Machine

Hi, welcome to my blog. So after years of not upgrading from my old pc, I've decided to finally assemble a new pc this year. And here's my diary I guess. Or perhaps a long term review.