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  1. fffblackmage

    How often do you guys replace/upgrade your PSU?

    How often do you replace/upgrade your PSU and why? I'm wondering if most people just stick with their old PSU until they die. Or maybe it gets replaced after every x number of years.
  2. fffblackmage

    Should I upgrade my CPU or GPU?

    I was planning on upgrading to Haswell once it came out, but now I'm reconsidering after getting three monitors for Eyefinity a couple months ago. While I would like to upgrade my CPU, I don't think it'll get me much improvement in gaming as upgrading the GPU would, especially after reading this...
  3. fffblackmage

    Any Korean 27" WQHD monitor with DisplayPort?

    Well, there's one, and it's the Nixeus Vue that was reviewed not too long ago. However, rather than $430 at the time of the review, it's currently $500 at Comp-U-Plus. Are there any other alternatives?
  4. fffblackmage

    AMD Eyefinity or Nvidia Surround

    Be sure to list your graphics card(s) and monitors! I'm thinking of doing a triple-monitor Eyefinity set-up. I kinda forgot about Nvidia's Surround until after I just bought a 7870. Oh well. Either way, I don't think I'll have a complete triple-monitor set-up until Haswell comes out and I go...
  5. fffblackmage

    Bang for the buck at ~$200

    My apologies if this has already been discussed to death, but after a quick look at the first couple pages in this subforum, I didn't really find an answer. I'm looking into possibly buying a 7850/7870 or 660. I am not looking for which one is better. I'd have my answer already if that was...
  6. fffblackmage

    Did I just brick my mobo?

    So I've been having this issue with my AsRock E350M1 since I got it last year. When I put the system to sleep, it won't wake most of the time. I would have to unplug the power for a few seconds and plug it back in to get it to boot. According to some people in this thread here, a BIOS fixed...
  7. fffblackmage

    How about some recommendations for $100-150 case?

    I'm considering buying a new case as an upgrade over my current Antec 900. I'm not planning to buy anything right away, but I just want to see what my options might be. I like my 900 quite a bit, but well, I'm just a glutton for nice cases - like buying myself an Antec P183 for a NAS box when I...
  8. fffblackmage

    Re-seating ram fixes memory issues? Or maybe it's the solar flares.

    So, I had a BSOD yesterday. WhoCrashed indicated that it might be a memory issue, so I ran Memtest 86+. Well, errors started showing up pretty quickly. I have been using those infamous Ballistix ram that needed 2.2V for quite a long time (though only at 1.8V, 99.9% of the time), so maybe it's...
  9. fffblackmage

    Problems with using HDMI D:

    I was thinking this probably belongs to A/V & Home Theater, but this subforum just gets much more traffic. I'm getting stuttering, ghosting, and input lag issues when I am using my HTPC, hooked up to the TV using HDMI. The TV is a Dynex 120Hz 1080p 55" LCD TV (model DX-55L150A11). The issues...
  10. fffblackmage

    What happens when a fan doesn't start spinning?

    If I decided to undervolt a case fan for quieter operation, and the voltage isn't high enough for the fan to start spinning, will that cause any damage to the fan? Or PSU?
  11. fffblackmage

    Thermalright HR-02 MACHO $51 shipped

    Linky: http://nansgaminggear.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/2563118 From what I've heard, this appears to be a high-end cooler with a $40 budget cooler price. With $11 shipping, it looks like it'll come out to $51 before tax. Still, it's a pretty slick deal considering how much the HR-02...
  12. fffblackmage

    Huzzah! My new Zacate HTPC!

    My new Zacate build came about primarily because I got a really nice deal on the ISK300 case from Amazon a short while back. I wish the rig was dead silent, but that tiny cpu fan is still much quieter than what I would have expected. With the smart fan controls enabled for the cpu fan, it's...
  13. fffblackmage

    FreeBSD 8.2 installed on a USB flash drive doesn't boot every time

    Hopefully, FreeBSD is close enough to *nix. So I installed FreeBSD 8.2 AMD64 onto an 8GB USB flash drive. I pretty much followed sub.mesa's guide. After installing and rebooting the computer, it tells me this during the boot process: Root mount waiting for: usbus5 usbus2 Root mount waiting...
  14. fffblackmage

    How do I enable AHCI mode on a RAID controller?

    I recently bought a couple Rosewill RC-211 2-port SATA RAID controllers. It uses the Silicon Image chip Sil3132. I'm using it in my NAS running FreeBSD 8.2. I was able to simply install the PCIe card into my NAS and connect a couple HDDs to the PCIe card. FreeBSD immediately recognized the card...
  15. fffblackmage

    Anyone ever blow their mobo's VRMs?

    I came across these articles at overclock.net today: Why VRMs are a big issue & why to choose a "better" motherboard for high-TDP CPUs A clarification of phases - decent explanation on how VRMs work AMD Motherboard VRM information and reference list So now I'm wondering if anyone...
  16. fffblackmage

    Can't change or modify a file from a remote Windows machine

    A *nix newb here. So I have a FreeBSD NAS/server thingy for bittorrenting and media storage. The bittorrent client (QBittorrent, which I have set up to run on bootup via crontab as root) saved my downloaded files and whatnot in a directory shared over the network, which is all good, but if I...
  17. fffblackmage

    HDD duty cycle, WD's "AV" HDDs for 24/7 apps

    I didn't get much of a reply in the memory/storage subforum, so I thought I'd try asking here instead: Most consumer HDDs are made for normal use. Basically, the computer is turned on during the day, and turned off at night. So the typical duty cycle of the HDD is only a few to several hours in...
  18. fffblackmage

    HDD duty cycle

    Most consumer HDDs are made for normal use. Basically, the computer is turned on during the day, and turned off at night. So the typical duty cycle of the HDD is only a few to several hours in a given day. I only just recently noticed that WD makes a series of HDDs for 24/7 use (these). My...
  19. fffblackmage

    Unusual memtest86+ error

    Here's the specs of the machine: Unlocked Sempron 145 Asus M4A785TD-M EVO 4x2GB Avexir DDR3-1333, 1.5V, 9-9-9-24 Antec Neo Eco 400C I tried testing all 4 at the same time, I got one error in test 8 at address location 00155746AA4 - 5463.2MB. Err-bit: 0000 0800. So then, to see which stick was...
  20. fffblackmage

    Filename too long issue...

    I was moving some files over to my new Samsung F4 2TB formatted as NTFS with GPT instead of the usual MBR. A few files could not be copied over due to an error stating the filenames were too long. I thought it is the file system that limits the length of the filename, not GPT or MBR. What's...
  21. fffblackmage

    My HD Tune benchmark results don't seem right...

    So I recently bought a Samsung F4 2TB (HD204UI). I ran HD Tune and this is what I got. Something doesn't seem quite right with those numerous dips. I've seen this before in a review, I think... but I don't remember what the problem might be.
  22. fffblackmage

    Home server build

    1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing. Home server running Opensolaris or *BSD with ZFS and maybe RAIDZ. 2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread No specific budget is set, but cheaper is...
  23. fffblackmage

    Home server case

    I'm planning on a home server build in the near future. I've yet to decide how many HDDs will be in the build, but more space, the better, I guess. Ideally, I would like air filters, so I've been looking at the Antec 300 and P183 so far. The P183 is definitely more expensive, but I really like...
  24. fffblackmage

    ECC or no ECC for home server?

    I'm considering building a home server for various media and perhaps for backup purposes as well. If I do build one, I'm pretty certain I'll be using ZFS, though I have yet to determine which OS. My question is: Should I do a server type build running ECC memory? I'm wondering what kind of...
  25. fffblackmage

    Lossy compression artifacts on the desktop (Win7)

    I did a quick search in the forums and I didn't see anything on this. I also googled it, but couldn't find an actual fix, merely a workaround. So I have several vectorized wallpapers (PNG format), but I noticed ugly artifacts everywhere when used as the desktop background image. The...
  26. fffblackmage

    Any good recommendations for 5.1 computer speakers?

    Hopefully I'm in the right place. This sub-forum seems more geared towards home theater stuff, but it seems like the closest to what I'm looking for. So I'm looking for a new set of speakers for my computer. I'm in no hurry though. It seems like the Logitech Z-5500 has been pretty popular...
  27. fffblackmage

    Does Hard disk drives + heat = death?

    I was just wondering what other people's opinion on hard disk drives and heat are. Most people seem to generally accept the idea that HDDs die faster if they run hotter. I should probably note that I believe temperatures outside normal operating temps. are unsafe. Therefore, it should be given...
  28. fffblackmage

    alternative image viewing program

    I'm getting tired of using Windows Photo Viewer. I actually miss Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. I need something lightweight, can view gifs, and doesn't make images look like crap when zoomed in. Does such a program exist? Will I wait for replies, I shall wiki for some alternatives...
  29. fffblackmage

    E6320 => Q6600 or E8400? Or...

    At least in The Saboteur, I'm noticing my cpu limiting framerates. I know this is the case since I notice a huge improvement setting the cpu freq. at 3.0GHz over 2.33GHz. Even then, I think there's room for improvement, except my E6320 won't clock any higher due to the mobo. I'm also considering...
  30. fffblackmage

    What do you do with your old video cards?

    I have several old video cards lying around and so I started wondering what everyone else does with their old video cards. The three cards I have lying around are a friend's GeForce 4 Ti4600 8x, a X1950 Pro and X1950XT 256MB. By the time I upgraded from the X1950s this past summer, it didn't...
  31. fffblackmage

    blank screen when opening some games

    I first noticed this problem when trying Lost Planet and RE5 in DX10 mode. I would open the game, and all I got was a blank screen and it'll just stay like that. That wasn't a big deal, since I used DX9 mode and that continues to work fine. I tried Crysis a month ago when I had just reformatted...
  32. fffblackmage

    Win7, stuck with dimmed desktop

    So, I recently reformatted my computer with Win7RC. So far, it has been a somewhat positive and negative transition. Love the look and the "dockbar" hybrid thing, but I like having the system tray icons, so I have them set to always appear. That also forces notifications to always show, which...
  33. fffblackmage

    Sapphire Vapor-X and Toxic

    vapor-x 4870 toxic 4870 and it seems like some non-reference 4890s are finally coming out: vapor-x 4890 toxic 4890 I'm not too interested in the factory overclocks, since I'm pretty sure I can figure how to overclock them myself. However, I am interested in what the difference...
  34. fffblackmage

    laptop cd/dvd drives suck

    My Inspiron 1520 is my second laptop. The first was a Compaq Presario (900MHz Duron, really old). In both cases, the cd/dvd drive are the first to stop working. Actually, that's the only thing wrong with both laptops. I was trying to install Win 7 RC on my 1520 when it refused to boot from...
  35. fffblackmage

    4830 512MB xfire or 4850x2 1GB or 4870 1GB or 4890 or...

    I'm not sure if I'll actually be buying anything in the end, but I'm considering my options. I currently have a 4830 512MB. All estimated costs I calc'ed are after shipping and tax, parenthesis includes rebate. 4830 512MB in xfire + ep45-ud3p mobo, ~$240 (~$200 AR) I was considering...
  36. fffblackmage

    is CCC required for xfire?

    I tried looking up how to set up xfire, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of useful info about it (a lot seem outdated). I did find decent instructions, but it mentions checking "enable crossfire" in CCC. I'm wondering if crossfire can be done with just the drivers installed, and not CCC.
  37. fffblackmage

    Core and mem freq keeps jumping around

    I use ATT v1.6.9.1386. I had the monitoring window open and noticed the core and vram frequency jump from my 400c/400m underclock to 675/971.88. It keeps jumping back and forth as I web surf and stuff. For example, as i type, it stays at 400/400, but once i start dragging this post window...
  38. fffblackmage

    w00t! got my hd4830 to 800MHz!

    weeeeee, got my MSI HD4830 to 809MHz furmark stable, with the gddr3 at 1168MHz. Yes, yes, everyone's probably a bit more interested in seeing the HD4770 OCed instead. >_> Temps reached about 70C for the gpu and close to 80c for other stuff. I had to volt mod my HD4830 from 1.2V to 1.32V. No...
  39. fffblackmage

    Antec neopowerHE 500W, enough for HD4890?

    Like the title says, is the Antec neopowerHE 500W psu enough for a HD4890? I'm guessing it should be just about enough. But I'm also wondering how would you connect the two pci-e power connectors onto the psu. The psu is modular and a pic near the bottom of this article will better...
  40. fffblackmage

    My newb weight training workout plan

    Alright, so after about 18 months of doing nothing but sitting around, I've decided to get back into weight training. Back then, I was working out at a gym, but now, I'm just using dumbbells I have at home only. Which would explain why I don't know what exercises to do for some muscle groups...