Search found 33 matches

by Blacktree
Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:29 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: Post your "Ghetto mods" and other quick/cheap tips
Replies: 13
Views: 8947

For wire/cable management, I like to use garbage bag ties (aka twisty ties). They're simple and easy to use, and are cheap. You get a bunch of them for free every time you buy garbage bags. :P I also like to use duct tape to silence rattles. If two pieces are rattling against each other, apply layer...
by Blacktree
Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:45 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: What is your favorite MP3 encoder?
Replies: 21
Views: 8709

LAME + EAC (Exact Audio Copy) is considered to be the "dynamic duo" of MP3 encoding. I use this combo, and am very happy with it.
by Blacktree
Fri May 23, 2008 9:30 am
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Michigan/Florida Delegates
Replies: 14
Views: 6342

I knew this was going to happen. The Dumb-o-crats thought they were punishing us when they boycotted the Florida and Michigan primaries. But in fact, they punished themselves.

"I'm going to punish you by not letting you vote for me... duuuhhh..."
by Blacktree
Wed May 21, 2008 1:59 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: My P182,Q66,9600GT,HX520 adventure... need tips.
Replies: 26
Views: 13603

My solution for the GPU noise problem was to buy a 9600GT with an AC Accelero already installed (made by ECS, and sold at Newegg). But I guess it's a little late for that. Still, you should consider installing an Accelero or a similar fanless heatpipe unit on your video card.
by Blacktree
Tue May 06, 2008 9:52 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: What are you listening to right now?
Replies: 4309
Views: 2475581

Bon Jovi -- Livin' on a Prayer

I grew up in the 80s, so I listen to a lot of "hair band" stuff. 8)
by Blacktree
Wed Apr 30, 2008 8:28 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: How long is your e-penis???
Replies: 22
Views: 12029

I guess mine is slightly above average. Specs below:

CASE: Lian Li PC-A16B (modified)
MOBO: Asus M2N-E
CPU: Athlon X2 5400 @ 3.2GHz w/ Ninja Plus heatsink
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800MHz
VIDEO: Geforce 9600GT w/ Evercool fanless heatpipe
HDD: WD 160GB SATA
MONITOR: 32" LCD TV
by Blacktree
Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:06 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Hypermiling: A new hobby for gas savers & environmentali
Replies: 95
Views: 43214

All these MPG figures are nice and everything, but how many gallons of fuel do you use in a week? My car's fuel efficiency isn't anything to brag about. But I still only use about 3-4 gallons of fuel per week. My daily commute is only 7 miles total.

I guess you could call that "hypomiling". :P
by Blacktree
Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:24 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Where are you & how did you get your forum name?
Replies: 37
Views: 17291

Quake 2 was the game that got me started in the FPS genre... and PC gaming in general. 8)
by Blacktree
Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:32 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Serious Sam: Peak of the FPS?
Replies: 19
Views: 9717

Serious Sam 2 was disapointment as it didn't had co-op mode. other than that, it was pretty ok shoot out. Lot's of laughs but quite regular shoot out. There were mass' but somehow it just didn't felt like first Sam. Lot's of machine based sequences and nervous breaking labyrinth run against the tim...
by Blacktree
Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:16 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Where are you & how did you get your forum name?
Replies: 37
Views: 17291

Back in 1997, I decided to try out this newfangled thing called "the internet". I got an AOL account, and shortly afterward was stalked online by a mentally imbalanced female. So I decided to change my username to shake her off. Right about the same time, I got hooked on this new game called Quake 2...
by Blacktree
Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:47 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

I just realized that I haven't posted any exterior photos of the computer. So here's one with the computer in its natural habitat.

Image

Unfortunately, I have to replace the transmission in my car. So I won't be able to play with the computer yet.
by Blacktree
Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:25 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

I still have the Accelero, but plan to keep it. When I sell the 9600GT, I will re-install the Accelero. That way, I can keep my Evercool heatpipe unit. And the new owner of the 9600GT will have the original cooling unit. I've owned the Evercool heatpipe unit for about 3 years. This 9600GT is the 4th...
by Blacktree
Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:47 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

NEW UPGRADES

I finished the first round of upgrades for this computer. The memory capacity was increased to 4GB. The Athlon X2 3800 was replaced with a 5400 (overclocked to 3.2GHz). And the geforce 7900GS was replaced with a 9600GT. I also upgraded to WinXP x64 edition, so I could use all of the RAM. http://www....
by Blacktree
Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:07 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Using CDROM drive as stand alone CD Player...
Replies: 7
Views: 5120

I've seen old cdroms with seek/play buttons on them, IIRC they can work standalone. I remember those days. Although none of the CD-ROM drives I owned had the full set of buttons. Usually, it was just the eject/load button and a play/pause button. Sometimes it would have a skip button. Any CD-ROM dr...
by Blacktree
Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:33 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Looking for sound deadening panels
Replies: 30
Views: 23177

I've been modding computers to reduce noise for almost 10 years. During that time, I've tried several methods to see which is most effective. That experience has taught me this: Foam rubber, as used in computer cases, is only thick enough to effectively absorb the higher-pitch noise. If you have low...
by Blacktree
Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:32 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Fast system drive, Raptor quiet enough?
Replies: 5
Views: 3656

I wouldn't consider the WD Raptor as a quiet drive. The spindle noise is audible (a low hum), and the seek noise is harsh. I had two 74GB Raptors in a RAID0 array, and the seek noise reminded me of a coffee grinder. I eventually grew tired of it, and replaced them with a WD Caviar 160GB drive. The i...
by Blacktree
Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:15 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Share your experience(s) using Flash memory as system drive
Replies: 16
Views: 7982

I've been considering CF for my personal computer, which is used for games, multimedia, etc. Since my motherboard has 6 SATA ports and supports RAID, I was thinking of 3 or 4 CF cards in RAID0 or RAID5 (to boost performance). Has anyone done such a thing?
by Blacktree
Mon Aug 06, 2007 8:55 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Skyscraper Photo PC
Replies: 28
Views: 17296

slipperyskip wrote:
Blacktree wrote:Hey Slipperyskip, that's pretty cool. Can you show us a photo of the backside?
Yes.....you could also see how I built it on my website. ; )

http://slipperyskip.com/hammond/058.jpg
Image
by Blacktree
Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:30 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Skyscraper Photo PC
Replies: 28
Views: 17296

Hey Slipperyskip, that's pretty cool. Can you show us a photo of the backside?
by Blacktree
Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:43 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

I didn't even pay attention to the RPM rating for the Enermax Marathon fan. However, the Asus Probe utility on my computer shows it running in the 915-920 RPM range. MORE STRESS TESTING! :twisted: I was previously using the Windows Video Properties window to keep track of GPU temperature. Unfortunat...
by Blacktree
Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:05 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

Thanks to everyone for the compliments. To Ryboto: Yes, I did. I noticed that the Scythe fan made a slight ticking noise when the speed was reduced using Asus Q-Fan. And I didn't want to run it at full speed (not quiet enough). So I replaced it with an Enermax Marathon fan, which is nice and quiet a...
by Blacktree
Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:37 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

Don't worry. The computer isn't going to eat you. :wink: Last night, I played a few hours of Half-Life 2. I had Speedfan and the video properties running in the background to monitor temperature. Click on the links below to see images. CHART #1 For some reason, when Speedfan is recording HDD tempera...
by Blacktree
Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:20 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

I decided to use an unconventional method to eliminate the vibration in the side panels. Instead of adding mass, I instead decided to strengthen them. The material of choice is wood, specifically 1/4" (6mm) hardwood plywood. I attached it to the side panels using Liquid Nails. And I painted it with ...
by Blacktree
Sun Jul 22, 2007 10:29 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

Hey, no problem. :) Today, I dealt with those super-bright power / HDD LEDs. This next photo should give you an idea how insanely bright they are. You're looking at the light shining through the side of the front bezel. http://www.tweaktech.com/complab/lian_li/pc-a16b_12.jpg My solution was to repla...
by Blacktree
Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:22 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

You're right about the hard drives. With the PC-A16, you will need quiet hard drives. Otherwise, the HDD noise will be right in your face. And while the rubber grommets in the PC-A16 seem to be pretty effective, they still allow a small amount of seek noise to transfer to the case frame. The compute...
by Blacktree
Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:11 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

Nope! I tested both optical drives today. They don't create as much vibration as I had feared.
by Blacktree
Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:06 am
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

Now the case has no rattles. However, the side panels are made of thin aluminum (maybe 1mm?). If I tap on them just right, they resonate like a drum. I may have to install some mass-loading material. I haven't put any discs into the optical drives yet. So I'm unsure of the noise/vibration from them....
by Blacktree
Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:36 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)
Replies: 26
Views: 28694

The Lian Li PC-A16B Gets Hacked (dialup users beware)

Last week, a new Lian Li PC-A16B arrived on my doorstep. I bought this case to replace the mnpctech SC135 case that I've had for about 3 years. My object (naturally) is to make the computer as unobtrusive as possible, but within reason. I don't want the case to look like a hack job. So I have to mak...
by Blacktree
Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:00 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Building your own fan controller.
Replies: 34
Views: 128502

I have a couple articles on my website regarding fan control. Maybe someone will find them useful? Fan Jitsu Thermostatic Fan Controller Just as I was about to delve into the wonderful world of PWM, mobo mfgrs started putting PWM fan control onboard. I haven't built a fan controller since. :oops:
by Blacktree
Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:27 pm
Forum: General Gallery
Topic: What [] I [have] done with my Lian Li (project in progress)
Replies: 46
Views: 41543

VERY NICE! I'm impressed! :D