[n0n44m]

Since my computer case is starting to show it's age, I decided to skip my little project of treating the interior with acoustic foam and get a new 'out-of-the-box-silent' case. The Fractal Design Define XL seems to be one of the, if not the best of 'em. I really dig the minimalistic monolithic design. Can you guys think of a reason why not to get it? The price is not an issue. In the process of moving the components to the new case I would also like to get rid of my current PSU, the Corsair TX2 750W. Apparently it's a highly recommended power supply, which is why I bought it in the first place. The fan is silent enough, however the unit emits a high piched noise that's really getting on my nerves. From what I read it's somewhat of a common 'problem' with this particular unit. I can get the Define XL case with the Fractal Design Newton R2 800W PSU for a decent price. From what I can gather it's pretty much tailored to my needs: silent, modular (which the TX2 isn't), and a good if not spectacular performer. Should I go for it or would you guys recommend something else in the 'silent PSU' category? My specs: i7 2600K, 570 GTX, 4GB DDR3, system SSD + data HDD. All stock, no OC now or in the future. Thanks!

got one standing right here waiting for me to move my watercooling stuff in it, my cousin has a watercooled XL as well. So I can't tell you how well the isolation works just yet, but my cousin says it's awesome

It looks nice, has pretty much all features you want in a modern case, and has plenty of space.

Only cons I can think of are the weight (due to the isolation, although I don't really care), and maybe the quality control issues --> apparently Fractal has some issues with quality control on the XL line, I read some complaints about it and sure enough, the roof on mine is missing a rivet so it's not sitting flush with the front. Not that I care because I'm tearing it off anyway for some mods, but just be sure to check it well if you receive one that's all ;)

As for silent PSU ... fan wise any Corsair AX (or HX) and Seasonic should be great as long as you don't stress them too hard. As for the electrical noise I don't have any experience with it. My HX650 doesn't do it and I hope no other PSU I'll buy in the future will because it would drive me nuts ;)

Also if you're after total silence think about aftermarket cooling for your GTX570 ; no case can silence the stock coolers on video cards these days, and the XL does have quite some ventilation area in the back through which high pitched sound can escape

[Zabojnik]

got one standing right here waiting for me to move my watercooling stuff in it, my cousin has a watercooled XL as well. So I can't tell you how well the isolation works just yet, but my cousin says it's awesome It looks nice, has pretty much all features you want in a modern case, and has plenty of space. Only cons I can think of are the weight (due to the isolation, although I don't really care), and maybe the quality control issues --> apparently Fractal has some issues with quality control on the XL line, I read some complaints about it and sure enough, the roof on mine is missing a rivet so it's not sitting flush with the front. Not that I care because I'm tearing it off anyway for some mods, but just be sure to check it well if you receive one that's all ;) As for silent PSU ... fan wise any Corsair AX (or HX) and Seasonic should be great as long as you don't stress them too hard. As for the electrical noise I don't have any experience with it. My HX650 doesn't do it and I hope no other PSU I'll buy in the future will because it would drive me nuts ;) Also if you're after total silence think about aftermarket cooling for your GTX570 ; no case can silence the stock coolers on video cards these days, and the XL does have quite some ventilation area in the back through which high pitched sound can escape

Thanks, n0n44m! I guess weight could be a problem with the Ikea desk attachment I'm using with my current case, which is pretty big and heavy itself. But that's easily remedied. Did not know about the lacking quality control, I'll make sure to mention it to the vendor and make him double check the case.

Yeah, the electrical noise the TX2 is making is really driving me crazy, although the main culprit is actually the room in my new apartment, which has insane amounts of echo. Once I treat it properly - rags, acoustic panels, bass traps, the works - the problem should be reduced to a minimum. Still, it's an annoying sound. So I guess any of the popular brands / models will do, since they all seem to be making about 20-23dB of noise at low consumption (about 400W). Btw, is a 800W or even 750W overkill for my system?

The PNY (I think) 570GTX is virtually silent @ idle / desktop use (40% default fan speed), which is really the only situation where I care about not hearing the PC. I'm OK with noise when gaming, so I don't think an aftermarket cooling system is needed. I guess I could flash the BIOS and lower the fan speed to 20% or something, but that would be pretty, uh, pointless at this point.

[n0n44m]

Yeah, the electrical noise the TX2 is making is really driving me crazy, although the main culprit is actually the room in my new apartment, which has insane amounts of echo. Once I treat it properly - rags, acoustic panels, bass traps, the works - the problem should be reduced to a minimum. Still, it's an annoying sound. So I guess any of the popular brands / models will do, since they all seem to be making about 20-23dB of noise at low consumption (about 400W). Btw, is a 800W or even 750W overkill for my system?

A quality 550W is already enough for such a system ;) I run a similar system except with a GTX480 overvolted, and everything overclocked, and I can't even hear my HX650 during Battlefield 3 or anything (when I turn off the sound and all other fans). Only when I run Prime95+Furmark at the same time the HX650 fan becomes quite noticeable, but that's no wonder as it gets stressed to the limit then :)

I mentioned the AX series or Seasonics because those even turn off the fan completely on low loads ...

but as for the electrical noise, that seems to be hit and miss ... as far as I know, it's vibrations from small components that cause the noise, and I have read on some forums that at least Corsair fixes it by just putting hot glue over those components. Luckily the Corsair repair center for Europe is in The Netherlands, so that would be a quick fix for me ;)

[Zabojnik]

A quality 550W is already enough for such a system ;) I run a similar system except with a GTX480 overvolted, and everything overclocked, and I can't even hear my HX650 during Battlefield 3 or anything (when I turn off the sound and all other fans). Only when I run Prime95+Furmark at the same time the HX650 fan becomes quite noticeable, but that's no wonder as it gets stressed to the limit then :) I mentioned the AX series or Seasonics because those even turn off the fan completely on low loads ...

Should I be worried about cable lenght with the above mentioned modular PSUs? Probably not, but I'm asking because the Define XL is pretty huge, the power supply sits at the bottom and the cables are routed neatly through the back / side of the case. The Newton R2 PSU from Fractal Design has longer cables for this very reason.

[chaosblade]

My 650W Seasonic cable barely reached the 8 pin by the CPU in my 500r, doubt it would be long enough in a Define XL.

As a whole the cables were shorter than the ones from my Corsair 550W (VX?). As far as I know long cables are standard across the board for Corsair's PSUs, so you might look into those over Seasonics for that reason. Pretty sure their good PSUs are made by Seasonic anyway.

[Maleficence]

Hey guys I currently have a GTX460, 4GB RAM, and an Intel core 2 duo E6550 slightly overclocked to about 2.3GHz.

Am I right in assuming my CPU is my bottleneck? I want to upgrade, probably to a quad core as the recommended spec, but I'm not sure what to. It's a LGA775 socket btw.

I only want to spend enough to be able to run Skyrim decently. ATM I sometimes get very good framerates around 30fps outside but most of the time it's shit, which makes me think my CPU s overburdened, as if it was my GPU it would always be shit.

So which LGA775 CPU should I upgrade to to be able to run the game decently?

Edit - How does this sound to y'all?

[n0n44m]

Should I be worried about cable lenght with the above mentioned modular PSUs? Probably not, but I'm asking because the Define XL is pretty huge, the power supply sits at the bottom and the cables are routed neatly through the back / side of the case. The Newton R2 PSU from Fractal Design has longer cables for this very reason.

pretty much all PSUs require you to get an extra 8-pin CPU extension cable as that one is on the top left of the motherboard usually, and the only cable management holes are on the right side of the motherboard

you can route it via the mid-panel hatch and then right across your motherboard of course but that is ugly ;) if the Newton R2 is designed with this case in mind it should be OK

all other cables should be OK I guess

[Wolf Akela]

Seasonics have short cables. :( I got the 520w M12ii.

Couldn't even run all my cables behind the motherboard plate for my NZXT Lexa S since it wasn't long enough. Doesn't help that the holes for the plate are so tight.

[Zabojnik]

pretty much all PSUs require you to get an extra 8-pin CPU extension cable as that one is on the top left of the motherboard usually, and the only cable management holes are on the right side of the motherboard you can route it via the mid-panel hatch and then right across your motherboard of course but that is ugly ;) if the Newton R2 is designed with this case in mind it should be OK all other cables should be OK I guess

It is indeed designed with the Define XL in mind, as can be seen here. I'm thinking about getting the 650W version as opposed to the 800W. Aside from the fact that it should be more than enough for my PC (i7 2600K, 570 GTX, all stock), it's also the only one I can find where I live.

Hopefully the transplantation will succeed. :)

[brotkasten]

Hey guys I currently have a GTX460, 4GB RAM, and an Intel core 2 duo E6550 slightly overclocked to about 2.3GHz. Am I right in assuming my CPU is my bottleneck? I want to upgrade, probably to a quad core as the recommended spec, but I'm not sure what to. It's a LGA775 socket btw. I only want to spend enough to be able to run Skyrim decently. ATM I sometimes get very good framerates around 30fps outside but most of the time it's shit, which makes me think my CPU s overburdened, as if it was my GPU it would always be shit. So which LGA775 CPU should I upgrade to to be able to run the game decently? Edit - How does this sound to y'all?

I don't think you should spend any money on a S775 system. You should rather try to overclock your CPU to over 3 GHz. I think Skyrim has only two threads anyway, so it wouldn't take advantage from the two additional cores. It needs raw horsepower.

[fushi]

A good friend of mine is looking for a display that meets the following conditions:

- can be used for gaming
- can also be used for photo editing and other design things
- is around 22-24" in size
- costs no more than 300 euros (I'm guessing this would be a bit lower than 400 USD)

Any ideas or links to a good guide?

[Corky]

A good friend of mine is looking for a display that meets the following conditions: - can be used for gaming - can also be used for photo editing and other design things - is around 22-24" in size - costs no more than 300 euros (I'm guessing this would be a bit lower than 400 USD) Any ideas or links to a good guide?

Dell u2311 fits perfectly.

[fushi]

Dell u2311 fits perfectly.

Did some browsing and this one seems to fit the bill also:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2412m.htm

Hot dang are decent monitors cheap these days. I am happy with my HP LP2475W, but damn did I shell out some money for it back then. The above Dell model goes for only 235 euro. And the one you mentioned seems to cost only 172 euros. Damn.

[Hazaro]

Also because your euro dollars are worth infinity freedom dollars.
Dell IPS panels are nice, you won't be disappointed.

*That is a new e-IPS which is like IPS, but worse in some way, but cheaper. I'd check for the differences.

[fushi]

Also because your euro dollars are worth infinity freedom dollars. Dell IPS panels are nice, you won't be disappointed. *That is a new e-IPS which is like IPS, but worse in some way, but cheaper. I'd check for the differences.

Thanks for the tip. Did some reading and there are some drawbacks when compared to H-IPS (viewing angles suffer a bit), but they're mostly minor. And e-IPS is still infinitely better than TN.

She'll go with the Dell U2412M.

(I have no clue what you meant by that first sentence, given the current economic climate :v)

[pirata]

Hey, PC-GAF. I've been wanting to get my PC hooked up to my TV through an HDMI cable. However, the HDMI port in the back of my PC (which uses a ASRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard) is too small for a normal HDMI cable to fit into. Would one of these work?

[mkenyon]

Hey, PC-GAF. I've been wanting to get my PC hooked up to my TV through an HDMI cable. However, the HDMI port in the back of my PC (which uses a ASRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard) is too small for a normal HDMI cable to fit into. Would one of these work?

If it is a mini HDMI port, then yes. There's a micro HDMI plug as well (not necessarily on your mobo, just that one exists in the world).

[pirata]

If it is a mini HDMI port, then yes. There's a micro HDMI plug as well (not necessarily on your mobo, just that one exists in the world).

I know, that's why I'm kind of hesitant. Actually, the port that I assume is HDMI isn't labeled, and HDMI isn't listed as a feature on the online description of the mobo. But it's in the exact same shape as an HDMI port, only smaller, and is sitting beside two DVI ports. And honestly, why would there be a motherboard with two DVI ports but no HDMI ports? That would be just silly.

EDIT: I'm just going to assume that it's a mini-HDMI port. Hopefully I'm right. My PC should just start outputting in HDMI automatically once it's plugged up to the TV, right?

EDIT2: For some reason, Amazon applied a "promotion" that completely negated the cost of the cable, so apparently I'm getting it for free. I have no idea what that's about, but I'm not about to look a cable horse in the mouth. Thank you, Amazon!

[mkenyon]

Could always RTFM for your motherboard, I'm sure it lists the specification in there.

[pirata]

Could always RTFM for your motherboard, I'm sure it lists the specification in there.

The manuals and stuff for my PC are in my room on campus (currently home for Christmas).

[·feist·]

The manuals and stuff for my PC are in my room on campus (currently home for Christmas).

Search online for the motherboard, or any other PC component you have, and you'll normally find the manual on the manufacturer's site.

[vilmer_]

Ugh. I was in the middle of playing Star Wars when suddenly the game froze up and I had to do a hard boot to reset. Upon getting to the windows login screen, all the colors are all messed up with pinks and blues and super huge icons. Tried resetting again and was getting the same thing. I tried opening up EVGA precision and it didn't recognize a gpu. I put in another card and it worked straight away. A 3 week old gtx 570, dead :( This sucks, good thing I had a backup...

[celcius]

Question for Corsair AX psu owners: It's normal for the psu to make a single click when you turn the machine on/off, right?

[mkenyon]

Question for Corsair AX psu owners: It's normal for the psu to make a single click when you turn the machine on/off, right?

Yup.

Ugh. I was in the middle of playing Star Wars when suddenly the game froze up and I had to do a hard boot to reset. Upon getting to the windows login screen, all the colors are all messed up with pinks and blues and super huge icons. Tried resetting again and was getting the same thing. I tried opening up EVGA precision and it didn't recognize a gpu. I put in another card and it worked straight away. A 3 week old gtx 570, dead :( This sucks, good thing I had a backup...

Sucks indeed, been there. GL with the RMA. EVGA is a standout business when it comes to customer satisfaction.

[celcius]

Yup.

Thanks, I'm relieved to hear that. Would you happen to know why? It doesn't bother me, I've just never owned a psu that did it before.

[mkenyon]

No idea really. I don't want to take a guess either, I'm a failure when it comes to electrical engineering.

[Ultrabum]

I watch a lot of streamed video, like 2 hours a day. Will this ruin a ssd if i buy one and make it my main drive for os?

[n0n44m]

No idea really. I don't want to take a guess either, I'm a failure when it comes to electrical engineering.

loud clicks usually come from a relay, though I don't know why there is one in a PSU :p

I watch a lot of streamed video, like 2 hours a day. Will this ruin a ssd if i buy one and make it my main drive for os?

even at 1080p I don't think it's even close to the maximum amount of writes you can do per day. My Intel 80 Postville only used up 5% of the possible writes after 2 years (if I can trust the Intel SSD Toolbox) and I downloaded and streamed plenty of stuff on that drive...

[Ultrabum]

Good to hear, I guess the next question is to raid 2 or just get 1 big ssd?

[celcius]

One more question, when you put your ear right next to an AX psu (while turned on & idle), is it supposed to be completely silent or is it normal to hear something (faint)?

[RS4-]

One more question, when you put your ear right next to an AX psu (while turned on & idle), is it supposed to be completely silent or is it normal to hear something?

Its normal; it'll spin when it reaches a certain load.

[Scuba Steve]

I can get this monitor for ~$110-120 at Best Buy, it'll be a second monitor to use with a Samsung monitor I already have, it is worth the money? I don't want anything but a 24" monitor so is there anything I should know before buying? Seems like a decent price considering most 21-22" monitors seem to be more expensive


http://usa.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/VE249H/

[BoobPhysics101]

I can get this monitor for ~$110-120 at Best Buy, it'll be a second monitor to use with a Samsung monitor I already have, it is worth the money? I don't want anything but a 24" monitor so is there anything I should know before buying? Seems like a decent price considering most 21-22" monitors seem to be more expensive http://usa.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/VE249H/

That's a pretty decent price, yeah. Those Asus monitors are top notch for gaming especially.

[Scuba Steve]

That's a pretty decent price, yeah. Those Asus monitors are top notch for gaming especially.

Super sweet, it's a discontinued model so I may be able to get it for around $99 with an employee discount

[BoobPhysics101]

Super sweet, it's a discontinued model so I may be able to get it for around $99 with an employee discount

Then I'd say it's a must-buy. For that much, buy two and triple-screen that shit. :D

[mkenyon]

580 Classified Hydro Copper back in stock at Newegg.


Dear Hardware Gods,

Fuck you. Seriously.

Sincerely,
M. Kenyon

Must wait for 7970 specs!

[Hazaro]

One more question, when you put your ear right next to an AX psu (while turned on & idle), is it supposed to be completely silent or is it normal to hear something (faint)?

The Seasonic X750 comes with a piece of paper that said the fan doesn't spin until a certain load. The Corsair AX line doesn't?

[celcius]

^^Not the fan, but a very faint buzz if I put my ear right next to the psu if its turned on. Not audible during normal usage, but I guess it's normal?

[Kryptonic]

ugh, the MSI 580 Lightning Extreme 3GB arrived DOA from tigerdirect.com. Did an RMA and now they are backordered. Trying to cancel my order and get money back. Thinking about picking up an EVGA 580 classified 3GB instead as it seems to be in stock more often than the MSI or maybe I'll just wait and see how the 79xx's turn out, but I think I'd rather stick with Nvidia.

Think the 79xx will be much better than the aftermarket 580's w/ 3GB? I'm gaming on a 27" @ 2560x1440 res now and my 2 460's 1GB in SLI aren't really cutting it.

[Hazaro]

Just some electric noise, should be normal.

ugh, the MSI 580 Lightning Extreme 3GB arrived DOA from tigerdirect.com. Did an RMA and now they are backordered. Trying to cancel my order and get money back. Thinking about picking up an EVGA 580 classified 3GB instead as it seems to be in stock more often than the MSI or maybe I'll just wait and see how the 79xx's turn out, but I think I'd rather stick with Nvidia. Think the 79xx will be much better than the aftermarket 580's w/ 3GB? I'm gaming on a 27" @ 2560x1440 res now and my 2 460's 1GB in SLI aren't really cutting it.

Estimates are at a 30-50% increase.

Keep hounding Tigerdirect everyday or you might be waiting a long time.

[Instro]

So yeah my 8800gt is basically dead. Anything I can get on the cheap with about the same performance to replace it with? Just need something to hold the computer over until I rebuild sometime next year.

[Red Blaster]

Tech support question.

I've been pretty irritated with the damn "display driver has stopped working but has been recovered" problem with the 280 series of nvidia drivers but my games have been relatively unaffected by it until now. I'm getting crazy artifacting in Super Meat Boy of all games:



For comparison's sake, BF3 on ultra runs perfectly without any hitches at all. Any ideas on what the problem might be? Card is a GTX 570 Twin Frozr III, don't think it's a hardware issue; temps are fine.

[EatChildren]

I'm thinking of buying a new PC monitor. At the moment I'm using a BenQ G2220HD. It's nice, but something with better contrast/DCR and 24" would be ideal. Specs for my G2220HD are;

Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast: 1000:1
DCR: 40,000:1
Response Time: 5ms
Size: 22"

So I guess the question is; any suggestions? Should I go LED over LCD, and 120hz over 60hz?

[rossonero]

I'm thinking of buying a new PC monitor. At the moment I'm using a BenQ G2220HD. It's nice, but something with better contrast/DCR and 24" would be ideal. Specs for my G2220HD are; Brightness: 300 cd/m2 Contrast: 1000:1 DCR: 40,000:1 Response Time: 5ms Size: 22" So I guess the question is; any suggestions? Should I go LED over LCD, and 120hz over 60hz?

I don't know what DCR is, but my brother has an Eizo Foris 23" VA monitor and it's awesome. Response time is 7 ms, but it's no problem at all to play on it and both me and my brother are pretty sensitive to all kinds of lag. The picture though is one of the best I've seen. Brightness is 300cd/m2, contrast is 3000:1.

Anyway guys I need your help. I got a Force GT SSD, thinking I had an Intel SATA3 controller, but unfortunately I have a Marvel 9128 one. As you can guess it's causing me a lot of trouble, with BSODs pretty frequently.

Now I know that my options are to use the Intel SATA2 controller or buy another motherboard. Do you have any that you could recommend me for the 1156 chipset? Would love to get it as cheap as possible, I could probably sell my Gigabyte UD3 for €50 so there is that.

[kpeezy]

lol, is benq for real?

[longdi]

lol, is benq for real?

many new games butchered the 16:10 ratio, sc2 is worst offender!

[kpeezy]

My point is that I can still run 16x9 resolutions and just maintain aspect ratio.

edit with a real question: I have a 512MB 4870 GPU right now and I'm ready to upgrade immediately. I was looking at the GTX560 or possibly the GTX570. I don't prefer ATI or Nvidia so are there better options? Anything new about to pop?

[Sarcasm]

Is there any software that analyzes your HD and tells you whats taking up what space and whatnot?

[chaosblade]

Is there any software that analyzes your HD and tells you whats taking up what space and whatnot?

windirstat

[Sarcasm]

windirstat

Thanks.