INFO: Building/Buying a Desktop (PC or Mac) - Page 156

Kuriin · 11-16-2009, 08:27 PM

Yeah, on a cold boot in the morning on my desktop, at 4.2GHz and using Diamond thermal grease, my lows are at 25c and then raise up to about 33-36c idle. 45c full load (playing games).

Aegdaien · 11-16-2009, 08:58 PM

::shrug:: That's what the shitty ASUS tool tells me. Any better temp programs out there?

Edit: Okay just downloaded Real Temp. Just exited Dragon Age and my current temps are 26-27C. I'll see what it looks like when I boot up in the morning.

Aegdaien · 11-17-2009, 06:19 AM

Ok just checked the temps after I woke up. 15 minutes after waking the computer from sleep my idling temps are averaging 22-23C. As Silence said this is with the processor stepping back (1.2ghz right now) so I'm sure once I open an app that will bring it back to 3.2ghz the temps gonna go up a bunch.

Edit: Yep, popped open Hulu desktop and it stepped my processor back up to normal speeds. Temps averaging about 32C now.

Eomer · 11-17-2009, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silence

Yes, you are correct. I looked at that 21 temp and thought...wait a sec...same temp as the room! Temps are 30-33.

That makes a lot more sense. Even at 30-33, that's pretty impressive. Whether that's the speed stepping and power conserving features of the i5 or the performance of the HSF, or a combination of the two.

brekk · 11-17-2009, 11:42 AM

Flash 10.1 pre-release is out. It allows GPU accelerated Flash. It's amazing.

Silence · 11-17-2009, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eomer

That makes a lot more sense. Even at 30-33, that's pretty impressive. Whether that's the speed stepping and power conserving features of the i5 or the performance of the HSF, or a combination of the two.

All of it...and a decent chassis. I picked the Cooler Master Storm Scout and it's excellent, though a bit on the smallish side even though it has a lot more room than anything else I've owned. Zero quibbles and it is very quiet when not gaming...and during gaming I can't hear it over the speakers.

I'll be 100% happy with the PC once I replace the WD Black 1TB Coffee Grinder with something quiet.

Picasso · 11-19-2009, 08:58 AM

I was thinking about getting a WD black, what are you getting to replace it?

Silence · 11-19-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Picasso

I was thinking about getting a WD black, what are you getting to replace it?

Two Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB. Faster and a lot quieter. The WD Black is fast for a mechanical drive, just WAY too loud.

Leadsalad · 11-19-2009, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brekk

Flash 10.1 pre-release is out. It allows GPU accelerated Flash. It's amazing.

According to the article on Anand, this isn't quite working yet for my ATi card. But I'll be excited when it's all ironed out.

Kuriin · 11-20-2009, 08:11 AM

Anyone get the Z-Drive yet? I might add it to my wishlist for XMas and would love to be able to use SSDs for not just OS, but for applications as well.

The SLC ones are EXPENSIVE!! 256GB = 5k and the 5xxGB is 10k. Jesus.

Ronne · 11-20-2009, 05:08 PM

Anyone got a recommendation for a desktop video card in the 200-250$ range or so? I've kind of been leaning towards going ATI this time around because Eyefinity sounds awesome, but which series should I be looking at? Is the 4800 series still their top of the pile, or does the 5700 and such offer comparable performance? I guess what I'm really looking for is the equivalent of what the 9800GT was for the 9000 series of Nvidia cards way back when; not super high end, but still decent performance for the price.

All that aside, is there a website similar to notebookcheck.net for desktop hardware? I'm assuming there has to be, but I just haven't stumbled across any that look relatively credible.

Leadsalad · 11-20-2009, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronne

Anyone got a recommendation for a desktop video card in the 200-250$ range or so? I've kind of been leaning towards going ATI this time around because Eyefinity sounds awesome, but which series should I be looking at? Is the 4800 series still their top of the pile, or does the 5700 and such offer comparable performance? I guess what I'm really looking for is the equivalent of what the 9800GT was for the 9000 series of Nvidia cards way back when; not super high end, but still decent performance for the price.

4890 is their DX10.1(not sure about the .1) top of the line card but does not have Eyefinity.

5750 and 5770 have Eyefinity and DX11 but are below the 4890 in performance.

5850 and 5870 are nearly 2x the performance of the 4890 and Eyfinity with DX11. However, their yields are awful and they aren't really getting cards out fast enough so good luck finding one. They are faster than all of nVidia's offering, and even Fermi hasn't shown its head so they'll be top of the pile for awhile.

5970 is 2x 5870s like the 4870x2 and also going to be impossible to find.

I'd recommend either trying to find a 5850 when it becomes available at non-gouge prices in a month or so, maybe more. MSRP was like $260 on the cards, everybody is out and street prices are north of $300 on the cards.

5770 if you really want Eyefinity or DX11 support right now, but they're slower than $160 4890 cards. DX11 at the moment just became available and nothing really uses it. Nor would I want a slow card like the 5770 trying to run all of the DX11 shaders and things when it can't even keep up in DX10 with a year+ old card.

Additionally, for Eyefinity you'll need 3 identical resolution monitors and either an active display port converter or a native display port monitor like some of the Dells.

Quote:

All that aside, is there a website similar to notebookcheck.net for desktop hardware? I'm assuming there has to be, but I just haven't stumbled across any that look relatively credible.

[H]ard|OCP - HardOCP Computer Hardware Reviews and News AnandTech: your source for hardware analysis and news bit-tech.net | The UK's leading source for Hardware and Games reviews

Ronne · 11-20-2009, 08:20 PM

Maybe I'm confused about Eyefinity. I know the main feature is to split one screen (ie, game) across 3 or more monitors, but I also thought it allowed you to just use multiple monitors from one video card? So like an extended desktop across 3 monitors without needing a 2nd video card like I did in my old setup, due solely to the lack of available display ports to plug them in. Would I still need 3 identical monitors to simply run an extended desktop? I'm not really ever planning on trying to run MW2 or anything on 3 displays at once, I'm mostly just interested in the productivity end of a multiple monitor setup (use one at work, and it's driving me insane not having it at home now).

I like the price on the 4890 cards a lot, but I'm not too keen on buying what looks like a last generation card. I'll likely wind up waiting for a 5850 to become available, as I need another paycheck or two to roll in anyway before I can assemble anything.

Thanks mate.

Kuriin · 11-20-2009, 10:15 PM

I only have 2 ports in my 5870. So, you'll probably have to buy something that allows for a third (not sure what).

Cybsled · 11-21-2009, 06:00 PM

Ok re: vid cards, if given the choice of a single Radeon 5870 or dual Nvidia GTX 260, which would be the better bet?

11-16-2009, 08:27 PM	#2326 (permalink)
Kuriin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South San Francisco, CA Posts: 3,333	Yeah, on a cold boot in the morning on my desktop, at 4.2GHz and using Diamond thermal grease, my lows are at 25c and then raise up to about 33-36c idle. 45c full load (playing games). __________________ Live like you'll die tomorrow, Dream like you'll live forever

11-17-2009, 06:19 AM	#2328 (permalink)
Aegdaien Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 1,423 -21 Internets	Ok just checked the temps after I woke up. 15 minutes after waking the computer from sleep my idling temps are averaging 22-23C. As Silence said this is with the processor stepping back (1.2ghz right now) so I'm sure once I open an app that will bring it back to 3.2ghz the temps gonna go up a bunch. Edit: Yep, popped open Hulu desktop and it stepped my processor back up to normal speeds. Temps averaging about 32C now. Last edited by Aegdaien; 11-17-2009 at 06:25 AM..

11-17-2009, 11:42 AM	#2330 (permalink)
brekk Unregistered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The CT Posts: 7,196 +27 Internets	Flash 10.1 pre-release is out. It allows GPU accelerated Flash. It's amazing. __________________

11-19-2009, 08:58 AM	#2332 (permalink)
Picasso Awarded "Best Poster of 10" in FoHSS Award Show Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,478 -48 Internets	I was thinking about getting a WD black, what are you getting to replace it? __________________ Hello, my name is Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso.

11-20-2009, 08:11 AM	#2335 (permalink)
Kuriin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South San Francisco, CA Posts: 3,333	Anyone get the Z-Drive yet? I might add it to my wishlist for XMas and would love to be able to use SSDs for not just OS, but for applications as well. The SLC ones are EXPENSIVE!! 256GB = 5k and the 5xxGB is 10k. Jesus. __________________ Live like you'll die tomorrow, Dream like you'll live forever

11-20-2009, 05:08 PM	#2336 (permalink)
Ronne King for a night Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Harvard IL Posts: 5,125 +12 Internets	Anyone got a recommendation for a desktop video card in the 200-250$ range or so? I've kind of been leaning towards going ATI this time around because Eyefinity sounds awesome, but which series should I be looking at? Is the 4800 series still their top of the pile, or does the 5700 and such offer comparable performance? I guess what I'm really looking for is the equivalent of what the 9800GT was for the 9000 series of Nvidia cards way back when; not super high end, but still decent performance for the price. All that aside, is there a website similar to notebookcheck.net for desktop hardware? I'm assuming there has to be, but I just haven't stumbled across any that look relatively credible. __________________ Put your gamertag here too.

11-20-2009, 08:20 PM	#2338 (permalink)
Ronne King for a night Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Harvard IL Posts: 5,125 +12 Internets	Maybe I'm confused about Eyefinity. I know the main feature is to split one screen (ie, game) across 3 or more monitors, but I also thought it allowed you to just use multiple monitors from one video card? So like an extended desktop across 3 monitors without needing a 2nd video card like I did in my old setup, due solely to the lack of available display ports to plug them in. Would I still need 3 identical monitors to simply run an extended desktop? I'm not really ever planning on trying to run MW2 or anything on 3 displays at once, I'm mostly just interested in the productivity end of a multiple monitor setup (use one at work, and it's driving me insane not having it at home now). I like the price on the 4890 cards a lot, but I'm not too keen on buying what looks like a last generation card. I'll likely wind up waiting for a 5850 to become available, as I need another paycheck or two to roll in anyway before I can assemble anything. Thanks mate. __________________ Put your gamertag here too. Last edited by Ronne; 11-20-2009 at 08:23 PM..

11-20-2009, 10:15 PM	#2339 (permalink)
Kuriin Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South San Francisco, CA Posts: 3,333	I only have 2 ports in my 5870. So, you'll probably have to buy something that allows for a third (not sure what). __________________ Live like you'll die tomorrow, Dream like you'll live forever

11-21-2009, 06:00 PM	#2340 (permalink)
Cybsled Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 10,498 +50 Internets	Ok re: vid cards, if given the choice of a single Radeon 5870 or dual Nvidia GTX 260, which would be the better bet? __________________ Training the citizens of Norrath from 1999-2003!

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