I have spent the last several hours doing a lot of reading and I'm looking at the 3800+ X2. The price is around $370+ or so but since they are just being released I think it will drop a little in the next few weeks. The official launch date is 8/1 even though they are available now. I like the idea ...

I have the Belkin with a 1000VA rating. It's dead quiet (mine is on the floor in a carpeted home office) and quick to shift power with our windy monsoon season. I've heard it click over a couple of times. I have had assorted APCs in the past and found them noiser. I also like the Belkin monitoring s...

Thanks for all of the replies guys. Slightly differing views are a good thing I suppose. More food for thought. I like the idea of more cache, I have read that doesn't matter, but I never could figure out why AMD always used half of what Intel does. I guess the thinking was that it didn't matter and...

Mar. wrote:Why not go for the San Diego 3700+?

Why the San Diego over the Venice?

(I have a lot of reading to do).

Whether or not one of those AMD CPUs will feel faster is somewhat up to how you use it. If you are doing gaming then any of those CPUs is significantly faster than your Pentium. Actually, for most demanding tasks any Venice will be significantly faster than your P4. However, for normal web browsing...

amplemind wrote:3000+ hands down.

I'd rather get something higher than the 3000+.

Then you aren't looking for the "sweet spot".

Point taken.

No, my overclocking days are over. Want cool and quiet.

I'm moving from an Intel 2.6C (800 FSB) and I'm wondering if the 3200+ is going to be a lot faster.

Thanks btw.

What I am referring to is also known as the sweet spot. For instance, the fastest prcessor is alsways going to be a premium price. Back in the old days, it used to mean buying a CPU that was a notch lower than the fastest one. Now, there is a much bigger variety. I'd rather get something higher than...

I am currently running an Intel and want to run cooler and quieter. Have been out of the AMD loop for a few years and it's rather confusing.

From what I have read, I should get a Venice core. What is the best bag for the buck speed wise?

Thanks in advance!

For those who have this board, does the heatpipe sit too close to the CPU? Any heat issues? How well does it keep everything cool?

I'm looking into the Abit AN8-Ultra version and can't quite judge it based on pictures.

Tephras wrote:The included connector is not made specifically for the VF-700, it's a general purpose multi-connector (ZM-MC1) also sold separately, that's why there is a total of 4 wires.

Thanks so much for clearing that up.

Tephras wrote:The included connector is not made specifically for the VF-700, it's a general purpose multi-connector (ZM-MC1) also sold separately, that's why there is a total of 4 wires.

Thanks so much for clearing that up.

If you cut the wires you will need to seal the ends with electrical tape or heatshrink. Otherwise it could short out when coming into contact with something. Yeah I wouldn't just leave it. I kind of figured that goes without saying. :wink: I don't think I'll be cutting the wires just yet as I may n...

Let me live up to some gender stereotyping here... I couldn't care less what it's called, but if it looks pretty, I'll be going for it :D . Great to see another female in here, but RachelG how could you? :lol: Vista is really lacking IMO. Running XP Pro since it launched. Very stable and I like not...

Any reason why Zalman included 4 wires? Two are 12v and two 5v. I am running it at 5. My mobo is an older Abit IC7-Max 3 and I'd rather not run anything off the fan headers. Am I being paranoid? The fan headers do not report regardless. What I would like is just a 3 pin to 5v to molex. Am I safe to ...

I'll take pics in a few days again as I removed the CD reader and the floppy drive and ran the cables different so I could install the bottom fan. It turned out nicer IMO. The HD's are much happier with the fan set to low. Medium had a slight whine to it. Started off at 29C for the drives and up to ...

I dont think this is such a bad idea. There have been lots of post on the p180 lately. I propose, to make a form that contains the "item" of the month or for however long the new item is hot. I think it would be handy to have it all in one spot. I have found P180 threads scattered all over in the v...

And IIRC the raptor isnt a native sata drive :wink: Wich explains the molex connector, i have a raptor too. very nice drive imo :) A drive isnt any slower because its not native sata. You are right. I had a pair of Seagate Barracuda's and they were the first native SATA drives. I now have a Seagate...

I'll give that a try. Yes, I didn't overtighten the others either, I pretty much just hand tightened the screws holding in the drives. I agree, a slight gap is not an issue. In my other Antec case, the fans clip in and there were gaps. EDIT: I loosened the fan screws some and so far, no rattling. :D

Thanks Mike. What kind of foam do you recommend? Here at work we have black egg crate type foam that various PC components arrive in. I also have some hard donut type rubber grommets, but I don't think fan screws will work with them. Good suggestions btw, I'll work on it this weekend.

Well, my back fan is rattling. I have tapped on it inside and out. It's making me nuts. Hope it's not going to be a PITA to fix. I don't know if re-mounting it wil help or not. Also tried different speeds. the noise seems to be the grill vibrating b/c if I give it a solid tap, it stops for a few min...

Thanks for your feedback and pics. Nice job. I don't care so much about how it looks, I need more air flow. Your pics gave me some ideas. I'm going to pull my CD reader, floppy and flip my drives and try, try, try to get that bottom fan in there. My hard drives aren't happy. However, tonight I am g...

All I can add to what has been said is that the case and position of the PSU does a good job of quieting everything. It was noticable. It wasn't earth shattering, but it helps.

Thanks for your feedback and pics. Nice job. I don't care so much about how it looks, I need more air flow. Your pics gave me some ideas. I'm going to pull my CD reader, floppy and flip my drives and try, try, try to get that bottom fan in there. My hard drives aren't happy. However, tonight I am go...

I'll have to check it out this weekend when I have more time. Thanks for the heads up.

Did you tape up the vents around the power supply? Your hard drive will thank you if you force the intake air for the SmartPower to come from the front of the case rather than from the back, especially because the fan speed on the Smart power is so low initially. What vents? There are none on the P...

It reached. Wasn't tight. I routed it along the side with the ATX connector. I just posted a link to some pics. I really need to clean up the lower section.
Only high bandwidth users: http://heh.pl/&Ft

Pictures didn't turn out very well darn it. And as I look at the pics of the cabling, that doesn't look good either. :cry: I'll have to look at other's pics and try again in a few weeks. My hard drives are reporting 41C. Isn't that a tad too warm?? Ambient 79.5. I'm lowering the thermostat and when ...

Oh ok, a whole new system. How exciting! You'll have to post back when you get it all up and running.

Sounds like you got the 500W version, I think that's the only one with modular cables. I didn't realize it had a different ATX length. Incidentally, when we report cable length in a review, we usually report the usable length, from the wall of the PSU to the point where they enter the plug. Plug le...