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Sargies Tower upgrade
Current configuration:
Case Nzxt Lexa-S Gaming Tower Case - Black w/ Blue Light
Processor [== Quad Core ==] AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P -- AMD 770 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, PCI-E MB
Memory 8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1333 Memory Module
Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 – 1GB - Single Card
Power Supply 1000 Watt -- Extreme Power Supply - [Gaming Series] Quad SLI + Active PFC
Processor Cooling iBUYPOWER AMD Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit
Master Hard Drive 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s]
2nd Hard Drive 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s]
Optical Drive 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Blue
Sound Card 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit
Flash Media Reader/Writer 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Blue
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion Internal USB Expansion System
Been having heat issues with the cpu for a while now and the graphics card is starting to show its teeth. Going to upgrade the internals a bit
Upgrades Inbound:
Corsair H100I
M5A99X EVO R2.0
AMD FX‑8350
2 x 8gig stick ddr3 1600 Crucial low profile (installed)
GeForce Titan Graphics Card
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Go get 'em Sarge! :D Oooohh...I see a little water cooling is in your future. Nice. :)
Pretty nice case for a mid tower. I am partial to the giant towers just because I like working inside a huge enclosure that way there seems like enough room for everything and I don't scrape my hands up in the process, but for a more compact unit, that thing seems like it's got all you'd need and looks good to boot!
Best of luck with the new build and O/Cing that FX CPU. If you can O/C it high enough, you will get some decent performance I think. ;)
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DrPop
Go get 'em Sarge! :D Oooohh...I see a little water cooling is in your future. Nice. :)
Pretty nice case for a mid tower. I am partial to the giant towers just because I like working inside a huge enclosure that way there seems like enough room for everything and I don't scrape my hands up in the process, but for a more compact unit, that thing seems like it's got all you'd need and looks good to boot!
Best of luck with the new build and O/Cing that FX CPU. If you can O/C it high enough, you will get some decent performance I think. ;)
Only issue I'm running into is replacing the I/O ports on the front door. I broke the headphone/mic jacks and I'm in the process of getting the info for replacing the board they are on.
The I purchased this tower in its current config back in '09 and unfortunately at that time I just didn't know enough to make informed purchases at that time. I think the water cooling was inadequate for the amount of power that I was putting through the processor and the fans that I started in the case with were just too under powered to get the job done. I've upgraded the fans already and I'm just waiting on the rest of the parts to do the rest of the work.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Yeeeeeha! Congrats on the new hardware. :-bd
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarge104
8gig stick ddr3 1600 CL11 (Kingston/Crucial, can't make up my mind)
Noooooooo! CL11 is too high :p These Crucial modules would be optimal. CL8. Much faster.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
John P. Myers
Noooooooo! CL11 is too high :p
These Crucial modules would be optimal. CL8. Much faster.
Thanks for the info, I was wondering if there would be a bottle neck with such a high latency on the ram. Will look into getting something with a lower latency. My next question would be would it be more efficient to have two 8gig chips or do the four 2 gig chips at the same speed. I'm pretty sure nothing the computer would be doing would be able to take advantage of anything over 16gigs but I'm pretty sure the board supports up to 32gigs if it comes to it.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sarge104
Thanks for the info, I was wondering if there would be a bottle neck with such a high latency on the ram. Will look into getting something with a lower latency. My next question would be would it be more efficient to have two 8gig chips or do the four 2 gig chips at the same speed. I'm pretty sure nothing the computer would be doing would be able to take advantage of anything over 16gigs but I'm pretty sure the board supports up to 32gigs if it comes to it.
Since the FX-8350 supports 2 memory channels, 2 x 8GB is more efficient and more stable when overclocked. Also makes the CPU more stable when highly overclocked. Also, fewer modules = less power usage.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
John P. Myers
Since the FX-8350 supports 2 memory channels, 2 x 8GB is more efficient and more stable when overclocked. Also makes the CPU more stable when highly overclocked. Also, fewer modules = less power usage.
Appreciate the info, I must've been going through a brain fart when I wrote out the 4x2gig...meant 4x4gig to achieve the 16 gig output.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Sarge,
Have you actually placed your order yet?
Although it would a sizable increase in outlay of cash, the following would have better long term value.
Instead of the air cooled Titan go with EVGA's Hydro Cooper Titan (Link)
And add the Swiftech H220 cooler I mentioned before. That combination would help extend the life of the CPU and GPU. And the H220 is much less expensive then piecing together a liquid cooling solution from any of the manufacturers out there including Swiftech.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fire$torm
Sarge,
Have you actually placed your order yet?
Although it would a sizable increase in outlay of cash, the following would have better long term value.
Instead of the air cooled Titan go with EVGA's Hydro Cooper Titan (
Link)
And add the Swiftech H220 cooler I mentioned before. That combination would help extend the life of the CPU and GPU. And the H220 is much less expensive then piecing together a liquid cooling solution from any of the manufacturers out there including Swiftech.
We were of the same mind, I'm looking into getting both but the issue is becoming availability and shipping. Right now I'm having trouble even getting access to that Swiftech cooler but I've not given up hope and I'm dealing with my local computer supply for info if they can get me that evga titan card.
From what I'm reading with the Titan though the watercooling will be marginal help with overclocking since it is primarly a voltage issue with trying to supply that beast with enough juice.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sarge104
We were of the same mind, I'm looking into getting both but the issue is becoming availability and shipping. Right now I'm having trouble even getting access to that Swiftech cooler but I've not given up hope and I'm dealing with my local computer supply for info if they can get me that evga titan card.
From what I'm reading with the Titan though the watercooling will be marginal help with overclocking since it is primarly a voltage issue with trying to supply that beast with enough juice.
Roger that Sarge.
Btw, I can make you a similar offer I've made to other teammates (As in ZERO middleman charges!!!). The MicroCenter store near me has the Swiftech H220 in stock atm. If your connection cannot acquire it, I'd be happy to pick one up for you. MC's price is $139.99 + 6% Sale tax. Shipping weight is under 6 lbs so USPS fees including insurance from my house to Billings MT (Just picked largest city) would be $19.98. If this is a reasonable solution for you then PM me at your earliest convenience. Just realize there is no guarantee the unit will stay in stock for any length of time.
I did check my MC store for the Hydro Copper Titan but no go. I did discover however that EVGA does sell the Titan waterblock separately and is in stock on their website for $149.99 $169.99 + shipping. I also found a review of some of the aftermarket waterblocks for any EVGA Titan (I presume the aircooled & Hydro Copper versions use the same circuit board layout). The review is a work in progress. Summarized blog (Here) - Full review (Here)
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fire$torm
Roger that Sarge.
Btw, I can make you a similar offer I've made to other teammates (As in ZERO middleman charges!!!). The MicroCenter store near me has the Swiftech H220 in stock atm. If your connection cannot acquire it, I'd be happy to pick one up for you. MC's price is $139.99 + 6% Sale tax. Shipping weight is under 6 lbs so USPS fees including insurance from my house to Billings MT (Just picked largest city) would be $19.98. If this is a reasonable solution for you then PM me at your earliest convenience. Just realize there is no guarantee the unit will stay in stock for any length of time.
I did check my MC store for the Hydro Copper Titan but no go. I did discover however that EVGA does sell the Titan waterblock separately and is in stock on their website for
$149.99 $169.99 + shipping. I also found a review of some of the aftermarket waterblocks for any EVGA Titan (I presume the aircooled & Hydro Copper versions use the same circuit board layout). The review is a work in progress. Summarized blog (
Here) - Full review (
Here)
Just got off the phone with the LCS and I'm almost to the order point with everything. Currently sitting pretty with motherboard, chip, water cooler (they did have the H220 :)), making sure the ram and card are available now. I'm going to have to stay with the fan cooled card for a bit but I believe with my case cooling it should be sufficient till the cards warranty runs out and I can break it open and put a water casing on it....So close, getting the gitters!
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Great. Glad it's all working out well enough. Enjoy the new hardware! \m/
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
When i bought my 2 EVGA GTX 590 Hydro Coppers a couple years ago, i bought them directly from EVGA's site. There were no shipping charges or sales tax added onto their displayed price for me. Playing the game where you wake up every morning at 8AM CST to check if they finally have them in stock and are no longer on "Auto-Notify" becomes fun. And i can't even begin to describe the rush you get when filling in your billing/shipping info knowing that if you're not faster than someone else, it'll be sold out again before you finish typing :D Good times.
Anyway, it can be a hassle, but it saved me over $200 in the end.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
This Crucial CL8 RAM i linked to previously is now on sale :D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...20148655-L020A $70 normally. With Promo Code EMCXPVR73 it's only $48. And it's only 1.35v.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Yo JPM,
IIRC when I got my refurb. X58 FTW3 from their site, they did charge for shipping. But maybe that's just for refurbished items.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
John P. Myers
Here was the question that I posed to my LCS, with the voltage being 1.35 vrs 1.5 will there be any impact on communication between the ram and the cpu? I know with the lower voltage that will help with heat and allow something else to use the power but I'm just leery on going with ram with a lower voltage.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sarge104
Here was the question that I posed to my LCS, with the voltage being 1.35 vrs 1.5 will there be any impact on communication between the ram and the cpu? I know with the lower voltage that will help with heat and allow something else to use the power but I'm just leery on going with ram with a lower voltage.
Nope, no issues at all. Mem controller is designed to handle a narrow range of voltages in accordance with DDR3 standards which RAM makers must abide by. So your all good there Sarge.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model BLT8G3D1608ET3LX0
2 Sticks on the way! :D Thanks for the info JPM!
Getting the rest of the stuff settled before I order the rest but it should be within next week :D
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
http://www.microcenter.com/product/4...PU_Cooler_with
The Swiftech H220 CAN be shipped from MicroCenter ;)
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
John P. Myers
Duh, I was thinking it was an instore special... Okay then nm my offer :P
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Recieved the memory yesterday and installed in my current mother board. I know the mother board supports 1600 Ram but its trying to read it as 1333 and locks up when I force it to read it as such. Stress tested it at 1333 using memtest last night to 133% without any faults. Going to go into the bios and force the 1600 read again and do manual timings to see if the errors clear.
*Update* Updated timings and dispit a slow start up the computer is looking a bit more responsive when loading programs and such. After going through the memory settings I'm a tad confused on a few of them, will post a screenshot of my bios page and see if some of the questions can be answered. It looks like the mother board does not support the lower voltage of the ram which is interesting but the 1.5v it is providing should not be a hinderence...Will test once again and post the results soon.
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1 Attachment(s)
Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Attachment 1434
Current settings, changed Cas# Latency to 8, ras to cas to 8, row recharge to 8 and minimum ras active time to 24.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Most motherboards do require you to go into BIOS and and set RAM to 1600 MHz even though it claims to support that speed normally, so don't be discouraged by that. Looks like you got it working :) Your board not supporting low voltage isn't a problem either. 1.5v is actually the standard DDR3 spec anyway so no harm would be done to your RAM. Too bad your board won't allow you to use less electricity though :/
Just because i like to tinker, i'd change the following:
TwTr Command Delay from 6 to 5
Write Recovery Time from 12 to 10
Precharge Time from 6 to 5
Row Cycle Time from 40 to 33
Ras to Ras Delay from 5 to 4
If those settings work, great. Then i would change Command Timing to 1T. If not, no big deal. I'm glad your system already feels more snappy and responsive :)
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
John P. Myers
Most motherboards do require you to go into BIOS and and set RAM to 1600 MHz even though it claims to support that speed normally, so don't be discouraged by that. Looks like you got it working :) Your board not supporting low voltage isn't a problem either. 1.5v is actually the standard DDR3 spec anyway so no harm would be done to your RAM. Too bad your board won't allow you to use less electricity though :/
Just because i like to tinker, i'd change the following:
TwTr Command Delay from 6 to 5
Write Recovery Time from 12 to 10
Precharge Time from 6 to 5
Row Cycle Time from 40 to 33
Ras to Ras Delay from 5 to 4
If those settings work, great. Then i would change Command Timing to 1T. If not, no big deal. I'm glad your system already feels more snappy and responsive :)
When I started to do the memory tests the computer BSOD'ed put the timings back on auto to see if that corrected it and it did. Going to start with baby steps and see what the hang up is. Currently still going at 1600 on the ram but just testing with the auto settings for a bit to see if it crashes again.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Does your motherboard have a setting for using the XMP Profile built in to the RAM? If so, try setting it on that instead of manual.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Unfortunately I'm unable to use the ram to its full potential with my current mother board :(. There is something preventing me from using it to its full 1600 CLB and I've clocked it back down to 1333 to maintain stability. Will do some stress testing again to see if any further crashes occur.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Your motherboard's BIOS doesn't have a selection to enable XMP? Weird...but then i'm not used to AMD boards. Were you getting another board in your build plans?
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
John P. Myers
Your motherboard's BIOS doesn't have a selection to enable XMP? Weird...but then i'm not used to AMD boards. Were you getting another board in your build plans?
Newer AMD boards have XMP support - at least my ASUS Crosshair Formula (Socket AM3+) did. That board he is using is a bit dated - it's a Gigabyte so good quality probably, but it's got the 700 series chipset in it. Anything with a 900 series chipset will have XMP support. I'm sure it's a chipset issue, because when that board came out, I'll bet you couldn't even buy 1600 RAM. Or if you could, it would have been quite expensive. ;)
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DrPop
Newer AMD boards have XMP support - at least my ASUS Crosshair Formula (Socket AM3+) did. That board he is using is a bit dated - it's a Gigabyte so good quality probably, but it's got the 700 series chipset in it. Anything with a 900 series chipset will have XMP support. I'm sure it's a chipset issue, because when that board came out, I'll bet you couldn't even buy 1600 RAM. Or if you could, it would have been quite expensive. ;)
Not quite accurate there Bro. Trinity has an MSI 790FX-GD70 MB & AMD Phenom-II X6 1090T. It's running G.Skill with XMP-1600 profile. Me thinks XMP had just been accepted into the market around the time the 7xx series chipset was developed, so AMD probably reserved XMP for the Mid/High End as a marketing ploy to boost sales of higher price point boards.
Btw Jed, you should remember this hardware as it used to be yours....! :P
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
I stand corrected and do remember the hardware - but I will agree the 790FX was top of the line chipset, so it was probably the only one that got the XMP settings like you say. If Sarge's board doesn't have it, then it probably means the 770 chipset didn't get that feature, right? AMD held it back for the top end most likely...
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
unfortunately the ram currently isn't being used to its full extent and a new motherboard is in the pipes...first post has all the info :D
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Swiftech is unable to sell the H220 in the USA due to legal reasons. I'm looking at the Corsair Hydro Series as a possible alternative unless someone has a better suggestion?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181035
The one I'm looking at.
Currently ordering the rest of the parts today! Excited to say the least!
Ordered:
M5A99X EVO R2.0
AMD FX‑8350
GeForce Titan Graphics Card
Build date 07/30/13!!
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Kavic - TweakTown
Shame on AseTek. They should focus on improving their products instead of going after Switech.
I agree
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Ordered the H110 today, build date still set for 30JUL13. Pictures after the build completes :D
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Called last Friday to make sure the parts were in and was told they were still being shipped with a few that already arrived. Stopped by on Monday and was told the mother board was not even ordered yet, despite paying for it in advance two weeks before. Needless to say I was pissed and stopped by on the 30th to express my displeasure to the owner of the store. Mother board was ordered yesterday and should arrive in two days. Still pissed though.
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sarge104
Called last Friday to make sure the parts were in and was told they were still being shipped with a few that already arrived. Stopped by on Monday and was told the mother board was not even ordered yet, despite paying for it in advance two weeks before. Needless to say I was pissed and stopped by on the 30th to express my displeasure to the owner of the store. Mother board was ordered yesterday and should arrive in two days. Still pissed though.
Sorry to hear of the hassles Sarge. I would guess that the concept of an automated inventory control system has completely eluded the stores proprietor. Sad considering that they sell PC tech.....
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Sorry to hear of the bum luck Sarge. But you can still get it in time to help out on the SETI WOW Challenge! What's your Zodiac sign? You use it to sign up. ;)
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Re: Sargies Tower upgrade
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DrPop
Sorry to hear of the bum luck Sarge. But you can still get it in time to help out on the SETI WOW Challenge! What's your Zodiac sign? You use it to sign up. ;)
Just got the call that the motherboard was in today, of course they cannot help me build today and said it would be mid week next week...So, looking up install directions and seeing if I'm missing any tools and will grab the items today if I think I can do it :D