Thanks for the info on the MSI card. It seems supplies of 7850s have totally run out in Finland around the 660s release, but this info was good enough to go on to order the R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC. And late congrats on a neat build! You will not be disappointed with the MSI R7850. I was shocked at...

Whiskey Myers - Ballad of a Southern Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj7Zft8aiRc

Very nice, clean setup. I thought about building an HTPC with the Antec Isk-110 and your example has inspired me. Great work!

Has there been any reviews concerning any dampening foam? Specifically, the SilverStone SF01?

http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-21-In ... ALHJJNXR3V

Can you use FanXpert 2 on, say, a P8Z77-M? What I mean is, is it just a question of the right software or are you stuck with FanXpert+ on that mb? I tried Fan Xpert 2 on the P8Z77-M Pro for a few days, but reverted back to Fan Xpert+ because I didn't like the results. My case fans use 3-pin connect...

http://www.guru3d.com/article/his-radeon-hd-7850-iceqx-turbox-review/8 Twin Frozr and HIS Radeon HD 7850 IceqX Interesting results...pre-7850 HIS cards (6950, for example) sound like jet engines when they get going. I probably come off as an MSI fan boy at this point because I have an MSI 7850, but...

Like MikeC said, you may want to replace the stock Intel cooler. I run mine at 20% until the temp exceeds 60-degrees and it can still be heard over my case fans (40%) and GPU fans (dual @ 30%). CA_Steve also made a great suggestion. There are some very good 7850s out there that are very quiet and ke...

Can you use FanXpert 2 on, say, a P8Z77-M? What I mean is, is it just a question of the right software or are you stuck with FanXpert+ on that mb? I tried Fan Xpert 2 on the P8Z77-M Pro for a few days, but reverted back to Fan Xpert+ because I didn't like the results. My case fans use 3-pin connect...

I gotta agree with Pappnaas regarding this test. I was recently in the market for a smaller PSU for my dad's computer and the case imposed PSU size limitations. The testing was fine and a nice read, but after reading them, I'd be forced to go to each manufacturer's website to figure out which PSU I ...

I think CA_Steve is plagiarizing my thoughts :). Also, I'd like to reiterate what CA_Steve said about the cooling on the cards. I've dealt with the 550 TI and 7850 cards and must say that Nvidia's cooling / sound is behind that of AMD's. In the end, it depends on what you want from the card...just g...

No luck with DriveSpeed (or any other software) because they cannot recognize my optical drive for some reason. The software knows something is there, but nothing more. I was able to cut the sound in half by getting some thin rubber grommets between the screw heads and the case. I was pleasantly sur...

The benchmarks seem very similar to the NH-L12 and Big Shuriken; It looks nice enough. I would be wary of comparing benchmarks from one site to those of another though. Also, I would be a bit wary of the coolermaster 15 mm fan. 44 mm high, plus a 25mm fan, plus 25mm of breathing space for the fan =...

Anyone know much about the Cooler Master GeminII M4? I saw a review over at HiTechLegion, but I haven't seen much more. The system is roughly the same size as the Big Shuriken. The benchmarks seem very similar to the NH-L12 and Big Shuriken; however, I've only seen one test / review and it didn't in...

Thanks for the GPU info. The MSI card is on my short list for when I eventually upgrade. You could probably get away with a light OC with the stock cooler, as long as you don't overvolt. Past that, either of the two coolers listed would work well. One's $35, the other's $70. :) What other 7850s are...

Congrats on your build. How do you like the MSI R7850? What kind of temps are you seeing at idle/gaming load? Thanks for the congrats! I'm definitely having fun with it. MSI cards have always treated me well and this one is probably one of my favorites. MSI Afterburner is great software to complime...

I finally got around to taking pictures of my newest PC when I was measuring some dimensions. The PC is a few weeks old and hooked up in my living room to a 40" LCD at full HD resolution (1080p). I had to open my case to check some measurements for my next addition, a new cooler, so figured I'd get ...

What do you need the video card for? Intermediate gaming? HTPC? Plan on overclocking? Once you let us know what you're looking to do with the new video card, we'll be able to provide better recommendations. With that said, I'll go ahead and throw out that AMD Radeon cards tend to run quieter and coo...

Does the Big Shuriken cover any memory slots on the ASUS P8Z77-M Pro?

Does anyone have any experience with these fans? I need to replace one of the stock fans in my Silverstone GD05 and came across these while browsing the interwebz. Since I need a 120mm case fan, I was looking at the CF-V12HP (http://www.cougar-world.com/products/fans/vortex_pwm.html). The specificat...

You might not need an upgrade after all but see these tests: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Small_HSF_2012/ In my opinion the "VRM Temperature" is more important to the "CPU temperature" for your CPU. Looking at the numbers, you can see which heatsinks are better than others at cooling the motherboa...

Thanks for the advice on the thermal paste. I just booted up the computer and was very relieved by the idle temp. The idle temp is now a steady 27-degrees...a drop of 7-degrees. I plan on doing some gaming tonight, so I'll turn on the AI Suite sensors to get an idea of how the temp changes throughou...

Thanks for the responses! HFat, I checked the stock cooler and found that one of the pins was not turned, so that corner was very easy to lift. Once I reinserted and twisted, the cooler felt much stiffer. I booted to the BIOS and the idle temps were roughly the same (34-35 degrees). You mentioned th...

Fan Xpert / Xpert+ have limited control over fans utilizing a 3-pin connector. The newer Fan Xpert II supports 3-pin connectors and works with most ASUS motherboards, even though it isn't officially supported. I tried out Fan Xpert II on my ASUS P8Z77-M Pro and it worked without issues; however, I p...

Thanks for the insight MikeC. When I was running the stress test I was using AI Suite II to monitor all the sensors and temps. The average temp during the stress testing was 86-degrees. The max temps were only seen for approximately 2-3 seconds. Also, I had the video card fans turned off in order to...

Last night I ran some stress test with Intel Burn Test and recorded the temperatures and fan speeds. My setup is a standard clocked i5-3570K w/ Asus P8Z77-M Pro. A stock CPU cooler with 3 Silverstone 120mm case fans. For the CPU specifically, I got the following numbers (in Celsius): No-to-Little Lo...

I just spoke with ASUS and found out Fan Xpert+ has limited control over fans using 3-pin connectors. It was meant only for 4-pin PWM connectors. The newest version of Fan Xpert, Fan Xpert II, supports 3-pin and 4-pin PWM connectors. I'd give the newest version a shot if you plan on using AI Suite.

Download and try MSI Afterburner . The program works fine with any AMD cards, you just get a few more options with MSI cards. The software allows you to control fan speeds, voltage, etc. with the software. If you don't want to use, it will at least provide you the ability to see what speed percentag...

Thank you very much for those photos. I have the following question: Is the lowest speed for chassis fans 60% or does that only apply to your particular fan? From what I can tell, it has to do with the motherboard and Fan Xpert+. I've seen fan speeds around 30% w/ Fan Xpert 2, but it isn't official...

As promised, some screen shots can be seen on my Photobucket page (link directly to album): http://s1092.photobucket.com/albums/i403/Booger_Mac/Computer/ The screens are somewhat large, so if you need me to send them to you directly, I can. Hope these work for you. And if you have any questions, fee...

Here's a few: http://rog.asus.com/78012012/overclocki ... fan-xpert/

I also use Fan Xpert+ as part of Asus AISuite II with the P8Z77-M Pro motherboard. I'll get some screen shots next time I boot her up.