Search found 1995 matches

by Das_Saunamies
Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:39 am
Forum: User Reviews
Topic: WD10EZEX, Western Digital Blue 1 TB 7200 RPM
Replies: 1
Views: 26842

WD10EZEX, Western Digital Blue 1 TB 7200 RPM

I received a WDC WD10EZEX-21WN4A0 by mistake, so I thought to make the most of it and post a brief review. Pros: - It works. :roll: Cons: - Constant resonance, running hum . :evil: - Faint head chatter , like an old Maxtor or Seagate Barracuda (new NAS 'cudas have aggressive heads, too). - Easily co...
by Das_Saunamies
Mon Nov 07, 2016 8:52 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?
Replies: 61
Views: 82048

Re: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?

I think this has gone so off-topic it needs its own topic.
by Das_Saunamies
Mon Nov 07, 2016 6:39 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?
Replies: 61
Views: 82048

Re: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?

I'd say stop worrying and have backups. Leave firmware tweaking to hobby rigs, and you'll save trouble and grief. Backups you should keep in any case, as data without copies is less than a second away from total annihilation. Then, if the drive really does fail too soon, it will be within warranty (...
by Das_Saunamies
Fri Nov 04, 2016 3:36 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?
Replies: 61
Views: 82048

Re: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?

It is a sad state of affairs indeed when manufacturers see speed as a better sales argument than silence for HDDs. In the age of the SSD it should be the other way around - your only advantage would be to make a quiet drive, because it will always lose out to an SSD in pure performance. I don't know...
by Das_Saunamies
Thu Nov 03, 2016 1:00 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?
Replies: 61
Views: 82048

Re: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?

If Quiet Drive is not available, https://www.endpcnoise.com/hard-drive-enclosures lists just about every kit I know of. I also checked out http://www.hardwareluxx.de/index.php/artikel/hardware/storage/11971-round-up-sieben-aktuelle-hdd-gehaeuse-im-test.html , and they point to the Grow Up Japan Smar...
by Das_Saunamies
Thu Nov 03, 2016 7:29 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?
Replies: 61
Views: 82048

Re: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?

Meeting expectations is difficult, and so is interpreting marketing. Can hardly blame someone for having high hopes (and standards! ). :wink: Please do report back any experiences in User Reviews! The community could definitely use help in the absence of primary reviews. The first Reds no doubt got ...
by Das_Saunamies
Thu Nov 03, 2016 1:50 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?
Replies: 61
Views: 82048

Re: WD Green vs. WD Red for quietness?

Even if that constant activity without apparent reason is QNAP OS fault, I am still disappointed by these drives as as being advertised as NAS optimized one would think they should've take into account that people will use them in their rooms sometimes... I'm not so sure about this one. WD Greens w...
by Das_Saunamies
Mon Mar 07, 2016 7:26 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Does TIM expire?
Replies: 13
Views: 9546

Re: Does TIM expire?

I don't know what this talk about "not competitive" is, Luca, but then again I haven't used any modern Arctic Silver stuff. I made a brief round up a while ago (look for kryonaut in the forum), Arctic Silver products didn't go that well (comparatively). Ah, gotcha, I'll be sure to take a look. The ...
by Das_Saunamies
Fri Mar 04, 2016 4:04 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Does TIM expire?
Replies: 13
Views: 9546

Re: Does TIM expire?

Still trucking with the original Arctic Silver tube I bought in... 2004? Earlier? Just on principle, to see how long it can go. So far the consistency and efficiency have been much the same, year in year out, kept it sealed in a bag in cool storage (+16 °C maybe?). I have not had to use it in a year...
by Das_Saunamies
Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:30 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Do 144hz monitors make any noise?
Replies: 8
Views: 9284

Re: Do 144hz monitors make any noise?

The higher Hz will certainly make a difference in responsiveness, if the game has animations and assets to match (and your rig can drive it fast enough; you don't need superhuman reflexes and senses to spy the difference). A friend was really pleased with his new 120 Hz monitor, as he had not been a...
by Das_Saunamies
Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:25 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Do 144hz monitors make any noise?
Replies: 8
Views: 9284

Re: Do 144hz monitors make any noise?

No monitor should make any sort of noise if built correctly, so no. It's been a long time since I came across a whining monitor, actually, 60, 120 or 144 Hz.
by Das_Saunamies
Fri Feb 19, 2016 1:39 pm
Forum: User Reviews
Topic: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5
Replies: 9
Views: 18912

Re: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5

Further information on RPM and duty cycles : under default STRIX profiles the card can spin the fan(s) as low as 230 RPM for sustained periods (20 seconds) at a time before cut-out. The recorded duty cycle rate was 23% . I cannot select a rate this low manually, the limit is 31% in GPU Tweak II. The...
by Das_Saunamies
Thu Feb 18, 2016 12:35 pm
Forum: User Reviews
Topic: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5
Replies: 9
Views: 18912

Re: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5

I tried the Adaptive v-sync option Nvidia provides from its proprietary Control Panel, and I have to say it reduced the "drunk" effect in XCOM 2 noticeably. It seemed to work much the same as turning off the game's own v-sync setting, I've tested both settings for several hours now. I can't say how ...
by Das_Saunamies
Thu Feb 18, 2016 11:00 am
Forum: User Reviews
Topic: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5
Replies: 9
Views: 18912

Re: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5

Per same, Steve. XCOM 2 plays like it's "drunk" with v-sync on because most of the time it keeps dipping due to the as-yet unoptimised code. PS. If you meant in general, then probably not a lot - the hardcore FPS gamers swear by high framerates even on a lower-Hz monitor, and I don't doubt the advan...
by Das_Saunamies
Thu Feb 18, 2016 4:38 am
Forum: User Reviews
Topic: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5
Replies: 9
Views: 18912

Re: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5

Nice tweaking! I'll keep that in mind come summer, but I am reluctant to tweak my rig these days, as I mostly use the workstation for work. I can't afford to go fiddling in the middle of a tight deadline, so I highly appreciate drop-in and standard solutions. :wink:
by Das_Saunamies
Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:23 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: GTX 960 review compilation thread
Replies: 65
Views: 44016

Re: GTX 960 review compilation thread

Here are my First Impressions of the Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=69059.
by Das_Saunamies
Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:21 am
Forum: User Reviews
Topic: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5
Replies: 9
Views: 18912

Re: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5

The downside of having v-sync on is performance loss and a player/monitor disconnect. The long and short of it is that if your FPS dips even a little below the monitor's refresh rate, the card can't output its partial frames (v-sync demands full frames to avoid tearing) so frame buffers clog and th...
by Das_Saunamies
Wed Feb 17, 2016 1:37 pm
Forum: User Reviews
Topic: First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5
Replies: 9
Views: 18912

First Impressions: Asus STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5

The 650 Ti is dead, long live the 960! XCOM 2 was the game that finally did in my MSI 650 Ti. I could play to an extent ( a slow, jerky extent ), and could have waited for Firaxis to fix the engine, but it just wasn't right. I went back and forth between Asus and MSI for an hour until I let fewer o...
by Das_Saunamies
Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:53 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: GTX 950 review compilation thread
Replies: 17
Views: 19221

Re: GTX 950 review compilation thread

Thanks for the impressions xen. Sounds like a faithful update to my card; it has way too high minimum RPM and a mediocre acoustic/sound profile. Tolerable at best, but hey - it was 50 EUR less than the competition at the time. Enough to buy a third-party cooler, if I had found one I truly liked.
by Das_Saunamies
Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:34 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Our Lapped CPU Heatsink Test Platform
Replies: 37
Views: 34321

Re: Our Lapped CPU Heatsink Test Platform

As I was commenting on the device, what I meant is that the instrument and the figure it is showing are consistent, not the object being measured. :wink:
by Das_Saunamies
Wed Nov 04, 2015 1:32 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Our Lapped CPU Heatsink Test Platform
Replies: 37
Views: 34321

Re: Our Lapped CPU Heatsink Test Platform

Well... them's some numbers alright. The video does not explain itself, so laymen like myself are left wondering if it's alright to move the object by hand and what and how the device is measuring. It seems consistent enough with itself in different areas of the base.
by Das_Saunamies
Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:03 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Reeven Okeanos Dual Fan CPU Heatsink
Replies: 1
Views: 6522

Re: Reeven Okeanos Dual Fan CPU Heatsink

Wow, good show! Not that I'll ever get or recommend a dual-fan cooler, but Reeven might not be just another mediocre cheapo with flashy looks. :mrgreen: [strike]This cooler looks like a fan swap candidate - is the third set of clips for 140 mm or 120 mm fans?[/strike] Thanks for the review as always...
by Das_Saunamies
Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:00 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition
Replies: 58
Views: 73428

Re: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition

I'm no Nvidia fanboy (been back at their ol' game of cheats and lies), but recently they've been the ones providing the builds I make with tangible benefits, not potential ones. Maybe on the theory side Mantle was/is better than my perception of it, but it never became a factor in any purchasing dec...
by Das_Saunamies
Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:23 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition
Replies: 58
Views: 73428

Re: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition

Mantle was a stunt like so many mfg-specific technologies are, but DirectX is not. That's why it's good they included results for both Intel and AMD CPUs and Nvidia and AMD GPUs. There is potential, according to what testing tools are available, but how much of it will be realised or can actually af...
by Das_Saunamies
Sun Sep 13, 2015 11:07 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition
Replies: 58
Views: 73428

Re: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition

Thanks for the list, Steve, food for thought. I only ever see DX12 mentioned in conjunction with GPUs. Seeing your list, I went and dug up articles about DX12's CPU benefits, and apparently they can be quite hefty: There are immense boosts to draw call throughput from start to finish on every proces...
by Das_Saunamies
Sat Sep 12, 2015 10:29 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition
Replies: 58
Views: 73428

Re: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition

Do mind that HEAT is a component in the efficiency equation. I don't want a 100+ W card - I would feel it, even if I can't hear it. :wink: I think I need to refine my wording, as Silence isn't the be-all and end-all goal for me anymore. Comfort (acoustic AND thermal)? And yeah, that is the problem w...
by Das_Saunamies
Sat Sep 12, 2015 7:56 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition
Replies: 58
Views: 73428

Re: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition

Since Pascal is a valid 960 option, it's not that far off topic! :mrgreen: To be frank, I would almost wait for the next-gen value and mainstream cards to hit as well, if you're not in a hurry. The 970 and 980 are superb, but I just can't get excited about the 950 or the 960 compared to the ol' 750 ...
by Das_Saunamies
Fri Sep 11, 2015 10:45 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition
Replies: 58
Views: 73428

Re: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition

TPU test the PEG connectors, the slot, and peaks as well with a $2,000 bench multimeter. Tom's is not alone in this testing. Tom's PCI-E 12 V Total consumption is in line with TPU results, http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_960_STRIX_OC/27.html; 140+ W Maximum with 130 W Peaks. Tom's, howev...
by Das_Saunamies
Wed Aug 26, 2015 10:22 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition
Replies: 58
Views: 73428

Re: Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix OC Edition

I would second the 970 for resolutions above 1080p, that is definitely prime 970/980 territory, even if they can get toasty. Nowhere near as toasty as the R9 290 though. PS. For reference, the latest TPU relative performance summary for 1440p: http://tpucdn.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_950_Gaming/images/perf...
by Das_Saunamies
Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:06 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: GTX 950 review compilation thread
Replies: 17
Views: 19221

Re: GTX 950 review compilation thread

Those MSI load figures are just lovely. It's a shame they won't overclock their cards more with such cooling power on hand, but then again they always position themselves at the low end of the cost curve.