Search found 1436 matches

by frostedflakes
Sat Dec 24, 2011 4:34 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: AMD or Intel
Replies: 3
Views: 2417

Re: AMD or Intel

I'm assuming you can't find an i5-2500K for a reasonable price in South Africa? For US buyers it offers great bang for the buck (especially if you OC it, they can hit 4.5GHz+ with ease on a cheap tower heatsink), but prices may be higher where you live. The i5-760 and X6 1055T seem to be fairly even...
by frostedflakes
Thu Oct 20, 2011 3:10 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: AMD FX-8150 8-Core Bulldozer Processor
Replies: 26
Views: 20466

Re: AMD FX-8150 8-Core Bulldozer Processor

The idea is to allocate threads to cores in the order 0, 2, 4, 6, 1, 3, 5, 7. That way when you're running four threads or less, each thread has exclusive access to all the resources in a module (such as the front-end and L2) instead of having to share them. Turbo frequency is something the schedule...
by frostedflakes
Wed Oct 19, 2011 5:16 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: AMD FX-8150 8-Core Bulldozer Processor
Replies: 26
Views: 20466

Re: AMD FX-8150 8-Core Bulldozer Processor

D'oh! Yeah meant 2012. :lol:
by frostedflakes
Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:18 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: AMD FX-8150 8-Core Bulldozer Processor
Replies: 26
Views: 20466

Re: AMD FX-8150 8-Core Bulldozer Processor

Considering the poor performance per watt compared to SB, I wasn't even sure if AMD had bothered sending you guys an FX-8150 to review. :P Thanks for the review, nice to see SPCR's take on BD. I have hope that AMD can still salvage BD. Future steppings (the earliest is due out in Q1 2011 from what I...
by frostedflakes
Fri Oct 07, 2011 11:02 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: I give you the ANTEC SOLO II
Replies: 177
Views: 235218

Re: I give you the ANTEC SOLO II

+1 I don't understand why that unwillingness to SOLO II. In my opinion, it has the best design for a 7-slot ATX case. It has no wasted space. It's beautifully small. It's perfect for Seasonic and Kingwin fanless PSUs. It allows using anyone video card. It allows positive pressure, it brings an exce...
by frostedflakes
Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:10 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: A fanless home file server
Replies: 15
Views: 17077

Re: A fanless home file server

That's awesome, great job on the enclosure. :)
by frostedflakes
Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:14 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: TDP of new FX/Bulldozer CPU's
Replies: 8
Views: 5116

Re: TDP of new FX/Bulldozer CPU's

The flagship model (that will probably go head-to-head with the 95W i7-2600K) is still 125W, though. Not really that impressive IMO, although AMD's next-gen CPUs seem to be more competitive with Intel in power consumption than Phenom II was. I've read that AMD has improved power gating a ton with bo...
by frostedflakes
Sun May 22, 2011 1:17 am
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: FS: Lian Li PC-A05NB w/140mm top panel, Noctua fans, more
Replies: 1
Views: 2993

FS: Lian Li PC-A05NB w/140mm top panel, Noctua fans, more

Upgrading to a Silverstone FT02, so looking to get rid of my old case and accessories. Here's what's available. Lian Li PC-A05NB - About a year or so old but in excellent condition, no major dents or scratches or anything like that. Not even any fingerprints, I tried to handle it with towels and stu...
by frostedflakes
Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:42 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Llano Outperforms Sandy Bridge
Replies: 6
Views: 4425

Re: Llano Outperforms Sandy Bridge

Not terribly surprising. I'm sure most are expecting Llano to have a more capable GPU, but on the CPU side it will probably be far less capable than Sandy Bridge. The A8-3510MX especially appears to be a beast, according to Wikipedia it will have 480 SPs. Should be quite capable for mainstream gamin...
by frostedflakes
Wed Apr 20, 2011 1:01 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Miraculous energy-efficiency of AMD Brazos platform "a myth"
Replies: 16
Views: 10605

Re: Miraculous energy-efficiency of AMD Brazos platform "a m

Intel is definitely still ahead of AMD in power efficiency and performance per watt. What helps a lot with this is their aggressive schedule for die shrinks, for a long time they've been like 12-18 months ahead of AMD in this area, which obviously really puts AMD at a disadvantage. Next-gen Brazos o...
by frostedflakes
Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:19 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: SSD Endurance - My Personal Surprise
Replies: 35
Views: 19100

Re: SSD Endurance - My Personal Surprise

Indilinx controllers have pretty lackluster write amplification, so especially with the smaller Vertex models (30GB and 60GB) it's not too hard to burn through the flash write cycles in a relatively short period of time. IIRC Indilinx write amplification is ~10, in that area. Intel and Marvell contr...
by frostedflakes
Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:06 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus E35M1-M Pro: AMD Fusion Motherboard
Replies: 84
Views: 57981

Re: Asus E35M1-M Pro: AMD Fusion Motherboard

Dual-link DVI probably requires more logic on the APU, more pins and traces, etc. Extra cost and complexity that AMD might not feel is worth it for integrated solutions at this time. Might also be a way for them to segment their market. For example, if you want to be able to do power-user stuff like...
by frostedflakes
Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:47 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus E35M1-M Pro: AMD Fusion Motherboard
Replies: 84
Views: 57981

Re: Asus E35M1-M Pro: AMD Fusion Motherboard

Isn't 1920x1200 the typical limit for integrated solutions? Higher resolutions like 2560x1600 require dual-link DVI, which is usually only available on discrete cards. I recollect going higher with VGA. I thought we were talking about digital outputs here. Looking at the manual, 2560x1600@60 seems ...
by frostedflakes
Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:09 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus E35M1-M Pro: AMD Fusion Motherboard
Replies: 84
Views: 57981

Re: Asus E35M1-M Pro: AMD Fusion Motherboard

Isn't 1920x1200 the typical limit for integrated solutions? Higher resolutions like 2560x1600 require dual-link DVI, which is usually only available on discrete cards.

One exception might be DisplayPort, which I think I've seen on some motherboards with integrated video and supports >1920x1200.
by frostedflakes
Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:19 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: USB3 at front of Antec P183?
Replies: 22
Views: 16980

Re: USB3 at front of Antec P183?

The farkturds at antec completely cheap out on the p183v3 front panel. Disappointed. Yeah, they should've known 5 years ago what the USB3 specs will be and make connectors for that! But seriously, they should just get a new revision, that's all. Eh p183v3 has an incomptent implimentation of usb 3 -...
by frostedflakes
Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:15 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3 AMD Fusion Review
Replies: 10
Views: 15288

Re: Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3 AMD Fusion Review

With respect to undervolting, keep in mind that these parts are manufactured using TSMC's 40nm bulk silicon process, not one of AMD's SOI processes. So I don't know if you can really compare voltages to other AMD processors, 1.6GHz @ 1.2V may be perfectly normal for this process. Although I agree th...
by frostedflakes
Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:24 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: AMD Fusion E350 Mini-ITX motherboards
Replies: 52
Views: 36694

Re: AMD Fusion E350 Mini-ITX motherboards

I have an X120e with E-350 on the way, I'm excited. Reviews suggest performance is very respectable. It obviously won't bench as well as mid-range or high-end CPUs, but reviews make it sound like it feels as fast as more powerful CPUs for web browsing and basic stuff like that, it's not like lower e...
by frostedflakes
Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:04 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: AMD Fusion E350 Mini-ITX motherboards
Replies: 52
Views: 36694

Re: AMD Fusion E350 Mini-ITX motherboards

The passive ASUS board is on NewEgg now. $175 + ship. :)
by frostedflakes
Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:45 am
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: Where to find the Fractal Design Define R2 in the US
Replies: 8
Views: 5811

Re: Where to find the Fractal Design Define R2 in the US

Currently unavailable, but the cases appear to be listed on NewEgg's site now. :)
by frostedflakes
Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:49 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Improving airflow in Lian Li PC-A05
Replies: 37
Views: 31894

Re: Improving airflow in Lian Li PC-A05

The BS-03 seems to help a bit, but the top panel with exhaust fan will definitely provide the most benefit. NewEgg's price is pretty reasonable, I think it was like $28 shipped last time they sold it, something like that. The problem is that they only get it in stock like once or twice a year, it's ...
by frostedflakes
Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:01 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Improving airflow in Lian Li PC-A05
Replies: 37
Views: 31894

Re: Improving airflow in Lian Li PC-A05

The problem is that the case by default doesn't have any airflow in the PCI slot area, so unless you have a card that exhausts air out the back, the GPU is going to cook no matter how good the heatsink on it performs. You're right that it isn't ideal from a noise standpoint, but the top panel with 1...
by frostedflakes
Fri Jan 28, 2011 4:27 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 560 comments
Replies: 12
Views: 30045

Re: MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 560 comments

It's the same on my 5770 with Twin Frozr II, fan profile on these cards is a lot more aggressive than it needs to be. But you have to keep in mind these are designed more for overclockers than quiet PC users. Although they are excellent for quiet PCs after a bit of tweaking.
by frostedflakes
Tue Jan 11, 2011 12:43 am
Forum: Deals, Vendors and Classifieds
Topic: FS: Unused Thermalright T-Rad2 GTX with 2x92mm Noctua fans
Replies: 0
Views: 1735

FS: Unused Thermalright T-Rad2 GTX with 2x92mm Noctua fans

Was going to install this on a 5850 I bought, but turns out it didn't fit, some caps near the back of the card interfered with the heatpipes. Bummer. Both this and the 5850 were kind of impulse purchases, I really don't think I game enough to justify that kind of power, so I'm sticking with my 5770 ...
by frostedflakes
Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:35 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Fractal Design Define Mini
Replies: 63
Views: 63177

Re: Fractal Design Define Mini

To be fair, PC-A05N is pretty small for an ATX case and doesn't have nearly as many 3.5" slots and fan mounts. Define Mini is probably meant to compete with products like the P180 Mini, which offer relatively small size without sacrificing airflow, hard drive slots, etc.
by frostedflakes
Thu Dec 30, 2010 11:33 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Fractal Design Define Mini
Replies: 63
Views: 63177

Re: Fractal Design Define Mini

Good stuff. The extra expansion card slot is brilliant, allows you to install something like a fan controller or USB bracket without sacrificing a PCI slot. I'd like to see more cases incorporate something like this.
by frostedflakes
Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:49 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: G Skill ECO & SSDs -- Any thoughts/impressions?
Replies: 13
Views: 5166

Re: G Skill ECO & SSDs -- Any thoughts/impressions?

NewEgg reviews pretty poor indicator of reliability IMO. So which could be, with a grain of salt (and as far as you know), any meaningful yet practical indicator for SSD dependability? NewEgg and manufacturer RMA rates. Of course since we don't have access to this information, NewEgg reviews are pr...
by frostedflakes
Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:05 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: G Skill ECO & SSDs -- Any thoughts/impressions?
Replies: 13
Views: 5166

Re: G Skill ECO & SSDs -- Any thoughts/impressions?

You may give a worthy look at the "SSD Reliability" thread in the Silent Storage section: they seem suffering of a failure rate up to 26% (Corsair: or ~15% as a mean average, while Intel goes for 2% and Crucial around 4%): so, yes, they perform very well, but maybe performance isn't all about an SS...
by frostedflakes
Sun Oct 31, 2010 9:46 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: HDD Reliability - Best Buys? Musts to Avoid?
Replies: 14
Views: 8380

Re:

It's pretty much always a crap shoot. Newegg reviews don't represent a useful statistic; plenty of people with working drives don't bother to write a review, while the angry people with a single DOA drive certainly speak there piece. Every brand has good and bad batches. Every brand has had problem...
by frostedflakes
Sun Oct 17, 2010 11:27 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: WD Caviar Black 2TB & VelociRaptor 600GB
Replies: 17
Views: 12496

Re:

[quote="Modo"][quote="~El~Jefe~"] I wish SPCR would drop the mention constantly as they are a complete ripoff. YEah sure a 60gb is cheap, but buying 2 hd's isnt cheap.[/quote] An 80 GB Intel SSD (OS, games, work data) plus a 500 GB 2.5" hard disk (movies, music) will set you back about as much as a ...