Hardware pr0n...w00t!

[Snee]

Very nice setup, but the wraping on the memory did the picture no justice.
OK, you lost me.
On one of the first pages, before you'd built it/put the sticks in? :unsure:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/HWPorn.jpg

[clocker]

Geez, that was over 3 months ago.
The only parts from that pic that are still in use are the CPU and a gig of RAM.

Almost a longevity record for Sprocket, actually.

[Storm]

Geez, that was over 3 months ago.
The only parts from that pic that are still in use are the CPU and a gig of RAM.

Almost a longevity record for Sprocket, actually.


wow, ebay must really like you then, all the selling and reselling you're doing :P

[ApacNTS]

*stares....starts to laugh* yeah im still envious :-p

[clocker]

Hmmm....

I just discovered that since RAIDing the drives my Plextor DVD-RW will no longer burn a disk.
Reads fine, but freezes the PC when trying to write.

This is somewhat disturbing.

I'm wondering if the problem stems from having all my drives running through the nVidia northbridge.

I could break my array and rebuild it on the SI3114 chip which would leave just the Plextor and the Seagate on the northbridge.

Might be worth a try as I have no other ideas ATM.

[lynx]

You could get a PATA drive, I here the NEC one's are rather good. :rolleyes:

[Snee]

Hmmm....

I just discovered that since RAIDing the drives my Plextor DVD-RW will no longer burn a disk.
Reads fine, but freezes the PC when trying to write.

This is somewhat disturbing.

I'm wondering if the problem stems from having all my drives running through the nVidia northbridge.

I could break my array and rebuild it on the SI3114 chip which would leave just the Plextor and the Seagate on the northbridge.

Might be worth a try as I have no other ideas ATM.
For what it's worth, I think that'll do it :unsure: If not, you could try adding a controller card, and put the raid array on that.

The Plextor's a sata drive, right? EDit: d'oh, of course it is:rolleyes:

[clocker]

Sorry to say, that did not solve the problem.
RMA City for the Plextor, I'm afraid.

The array on SI3114 is horribly worse than the nVidia setup.
When I get home from work I'll get a screenie to show...I was amazed at the degradation in speed.

I may have stumbled into a install sequence that really speeds up boot times, I'm going to try it again and see if the results are repeatable.
Right now I get no progress bar at startup at all, two of the three boxes from the first group start to peek out and it hits the desktop.

That's kinda nice, really.

Edit:
Here is the RAID array on the SI 3114 chip.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/sil3114.jpg
Almost beautiful in a pathetic sort of way....

[clocker]

*up from the grave*

Picking up the challenge from a member of another forum, Sprocket will be morphing back to air cooling beginning this weekend.
In the interest of continuity the Silverstone case will be retained*, but just about all the mods pertaining to the H2O install will have to be reversed/changed.

The CPU HSF will be a Thermaltake Big Typhoon...yeah, yeah, I know, but it's been getting great reviews and seems worth a look.
Worse comes to worse, I still have several other options to employ for the chip cooling.

Haven't yet decided on the GPU solution.
I haven't been particularly thrilled with the performance of the DangerDen NV-68 block, but I only have the Zalman VF-700cu on hand ATM to replace it with.
I wasn't too impressed with it when I first tried it, so another fix must be found.
Seriously looking at a (slightly) modified Thermalright SP-97 socketA sink as the candidate this go-round.

The northbridge will be changed also...not sure to what as yet.

The origin of this change is the stated opinion that air cooling cannot compete with water in performance or quietness.
I'm pretty sure that with identical hardware and settings I can not only better my watercooling performance, but approach (prolly not surpass tho) the same noise levels...after all, even with a totally watercooled rig, I still have six 120mm fans running.

Oh boy.

*This may not be possible, but I'm going to try.
Alternatively, I may move back into a Stacker or (more likely) just cobble into one of the Gateway server cases I have sitting around.

[Snee]

What about one of those NV silencers from Arctic Cooling for you graphics? Some say they work very well.

Or you could try Zalman's 80D-HP, combined with one of those thin 80mm (OP1?) fans they make.

:unsure:

[clocker]

What about one of those NV silencers from Arctic Cooling for you graphics? Some say they work very well.

If I buy a new unit for the card it will be a Stasis Thermal RS (http://www.stasisthermal.com/sess/utn;jsessionid=1542eb5e130f321/shopdata/index.shopscript) , but I have several do-it-yourself/cobble-it-on solutions to try first.

I know that Arctic Cooling had issues with proper seating with the first version of the NV-5, and their rev.2 cure (fat thermal tape for the RAM) doesn't appeal.

I did acquire the Thermaltake Big Typhoon CPU HSF (why is TT so enamored with orange fans? Makes me cringe...) and a new PSU, the Seasonic S12 r.2 600w, currently the darling of SPCR.
I can already tell I'll miss the modularity of the NeoPower (lots of long twisted cables to deal with) and the 24-pin ATX cable looks distressingly short ( not sure it will even work in my BTX style case), but I hope it will solve my low +12v readings (typically @11.7v) from the Antec.

If the ATX cable won't stretch to the header on the motherboard, I'm not sure what I'll do.
Retaining the BTX layout is crucial IMO...the orientation of the vid card is necessary to make any of my proposed heatpipe cooling solutions work (not to mention the far more favorable position of the SATA ports), but a quick visual check confirms that the Seasonic ain't gonna work in my current case without an extender (UGH!).
The Gateway server cases are standard ATX layout, but that can be changed I suppose.
The CM Stacker, with it's option to mount the PSU either high or low, would solve the problem, but spending another $150 just to prove a point seems excessive even to me.

Which means I'll probably do it.:pinch:

[clocker]

The CM Stacker, with it's option to mount the PSU either high or low, would solve the problem, but spending another $150 just to prove a point seems excessive even to me.

Which means I'll probably do it.:pinch:
How's this for pathetic....I'm quoting myself...

I must be psychic.
Our new Stackers came in and naturally, I bought one.
Oddly, when put side by side I much preferred the silver over the black, so now Sprocket is in her second silver behemoth.

CM has made a few revisions since my first one.
Minor, but irritating.

Now, when you convert to BTX it is really supposed to be BTX and not just a flipped over ATX.
In order to retain the correct back panel layout for my pseudo installation a bit of trimming/filing was required to get the mobo tray to sit properly.
Not a real big deal, but I didn't have to do that on my first case.

They also seem to have a quality control problem with the threaded inserts used for the board standoffs...they weren't tapped all the way thru and I had to run a threading tool through them to get the standoffs to go in.
Of the ten standoffs I use I needed to repair five of them.
Not very good for a premium priced case.

The instuctions for case assembly are among the very worst I have ever seen.
For a unit with as many weird features as the Stacker has you'd think the instuctions would be very detailed, but they're not.

It took me three tries to get the floppy mounted correctly and boy, did I feel stupid.

But all of that is behind me now.
All that is left is to drain the waterloop and swap out the motherboard and HDDs.
And figure out how to cool the video card.
I may just bring home a crap PCI card from work so I can be up and running while I figure out a course of action...don't want to rush into this.

I've already had a pretty decent offer for the Silverstone case with all the watercooling stuff in it and may just kiss it goodbye.
If I decide to watercool again I'll just try all new hardware.

Ultimately, I think I've made a good decision.
The Stacker is perfectly suited for either good air or water cooling with little ( and hopefully, no) modification, but , having already had one Stacker already, the thrill of new hardware is missing this time around.

Sigh.

[Snee]

Clocker, have you ever tried drivers like these people (http://www.tweaksrus.com/) people have?

Trying their version of NVidia's beta 80.40 drivers, and while they actually dropped my 3d mark 05 score 30-50 points, the graphics look slightly nicer and my games have a better flow to them.

Some people claim they've boosted performance 20% or something, but I'm doubtful about that, but be that as it may they still may be worth trying if you haven't (and if you dare).

The ones I use have coolbits integrated too.

[clocker]

Clocker, have you ever tried drivers like these people (http://www.tweaksrus.com/) people have?


Hmmm....link is wonky, I think.
I see a parent directory and one other file, but "don't have permission" to access either.

I feel soooo unworthy.

[Snee]

Yeah, it seems the server is down, can't reach their forums either.

Was working yesterday, tho'.


At any rate, when it's working it might be worth looking into.

[Snee]

WRT TweaksRUs:

AoA (http://files.aoaforums.com/) hosts some of their files, but you need to be registered, in case you really really want to have a look ASAP.

Otherwise they should be back soon:

We were having too many server problems and that was the last straw... So we purchased a dedicated server from a different webhost and are currently setting everything up. If all goes well the site should be fully operational within 24 hours.
I realise you might not be interested, but JUST IN CASE.

[clocker]

Oh, I am always interested in performance tweaks, thank you.

Later today, after a bout of hardware hacking, I shall be installing Windows Vista Beta 1.
I *ahem* acquired it yesterday and installed it on a test machine...it's basically a reskinned XP at this point...few, if any, of the new features are present/functional.
So why install it?
NO, I repeat, NO activation nags or apparent time limit.

A fully (seemingly) functional XP Pro that looks just like my black skinned version, SP2 (ugh) included...with no nags.

We'll see how it goes.

[clocker]

Later today, after a bout of hardware hacking, I shall be installing Windows Vista Beta 1....
We'll see how it goes.
Poorly, as it happens.
Unable to get Windows to recognize any SATA drivers at all.

Sigh.

But...
Sprocket is finally air cooled .
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/sprocketdry.jpg
CPU is cooled by a Thermaltake Big Typhoon.
GPU has an Aerocool DeepImpact 102 and eight copper ram sinks.

Results:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/stressair.jpg

More tweaking and results to follow.

[rnichilo]

o.O saixy