The Member's Systems Discussion Thread

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Finally got me screen installed..but I need to use two fingers to make it work -_- one anywhere on the screen and one on the thing i wanna click. I keep factory resting but it isnt remove encryption! This is what causes the problem some say, so how do i do that?
 

Lutfij

Titan
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Stickg1,
Judging by the (3) pics, those builds look like the chassis was recycled though the first one looks like its brand new. I think that most people tend to hold onto cases and they think a chassis is just a steel box to tie everything together and they think adding a fan or two will overcome any thermal issues that they are facing. I won't go down the "adding internal storage and other components topic" for now but that issue will eventually need to be addressed when time will pass on.

I've lost all interest towards top mounted PSU cases(as well) unless there are a few within my clientele who own very dated systems that need to work off them for a short period. That's one other thing worth addressing that you've picked up on, cablemanagement, where every budget case out there has no space between the mobo tray and the side panel behind it. Any and/or all cables need to go over and around components for those situations which doesn't make for a pretty picture nor thermals. Squishing cables between mobo and mobo tray just adds undue pressure on the PCB.

Which leads me to the next point, the N200 is a stellar case addressing alot more than the issue's I've stated aside from the front USB ports but with a case that small and good looking you're not going to have it rest next to your leg but up top on a counter.

PCBuilder,
one of your rig looks like it has mismatched rams with the CX430.
 

Pcbuilder123

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So, starting off with the specs of his machine they go as following:

xfx r9 280x
xfx ts 550 bronze non-modular
pny optima 240gb ssd
asus h97m-plus
i5 4460
8gb crucial ballistix 1600mhz
rosewill line-m

Also, there are no cables behind the mobo tray, all the extra are tied up and put in the optical bay. The n200 was 49.99 when we were buying this on amazon, but now 39.99 so I regret that I did not remember buying that, but I guess its too late. About the cx430 build, I took the motherboard/ram/cpu/cooler and storage out of that and put it in my current rig and put in 8gb of patriot IEM xmp limited edition. Somehow, the 1st two (yellow and green ones) are 4gb sticks at 1333mhz PC3 10666 and the gskill at PC3 12800 which are also two 4gb sticks. The 1st time I booted I got a bluescreen, but it restarted and no issues for literally months. Also, the top mounted power supply kind of acts as a heat removal system, as all of the extra comes to it, no?
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Then that would mean you're heating your power supply in turn - according to physics per se.

The advent of bottom mounted power supplies, silverstone's vertically mounted PCIe cards and top vented cases are all testament that heat travels up and is the culprit when performance comes into play. Mind you, if you're not looking for performance, longevity takes a hit when you keep a component running at a high temp. That is why you should also read the products MTBF and its rated operating temp as most manufacturers hide that bit of info.

Mismatched rams are a big no no - even if they work fine for months.
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Lets rewind a bit :)

are all 4 of your rams from the same brand, same timings and frequencies as though they were in a quad channel kit?

The way I read your post, the build with 4 slots populated are all from the same maker and the CX430 build are the two slots populated from the same manufacturer (since one has a heat spreader on it and the other doesn't)?

To break it into simpler terms, mismatched ram kits are like mismatched sized shoes. They will cause some major foot cramps(if smaller than necessary) or make you look silly(if they are oversized).
 

Pcbuilder123

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Haha, not at all. So this is how it happened. When I got the cx430 build, it was my original build and only had the single yellow stick of ram with the heat spreader. My friend later got a new pc, so he sold me another 4gb of ram from his old pc for only $20, and that went it. After I sold the cx430 rig, I salvaged the cpu/ram/mobo/storage/cooler from it and put in an old core 2 duo with 6gb of ddr2. Now, today, this is my config of ram

2x4gb patriot xmp 1600mhz pc3-12800
1x4gb pny optima 4gb 1333mhz pc3-10800
1x4gb OEM, cyberpower pc 1333mhz pcc3-10800

9TcASqv.jpg

 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
AH, hear ya loud and clear! So that's the tally upto 16GB DDR3 ram in your specs...good but the sad part of the story si that they are all internally mismatched in timings and frequency although your BIOS sees them as 4x4GB sticks of ram. In essence your kit is running at 1333MHZ and the timings might also be on auto to a relaxed setting. You're going to encounter a BSOD the moment you go into 1600MHz and tightening the timings.

If I were you, I'd keep the Patriot kit as they are mathced and are spec'd at 1600MHz while you sell off the other two sticks. If you have money then I'd say sell everything and pick upa quad channel kit with tight timings - preferably the maximum frequency your mobo can support and with my limited AMD chipset/mobo knowledge I'll say 1866/2133MHz is the max.

A CL of 9 and lower would be a must have if you're going with 1600MHz kits or below 10 if 1866MHz and 10 on 2133MHz.

Though this is assuming that money grows on trees :D if you're cash strapped, sell off the 1333MHz sticks and keep runing the 1600MHz kit. You could then proceed to push it to 1866MHz with relaxed timings(initially) and the heat spreaders shall do their part.

FYI, did you know that Joshua Sniffen designed the heat spreaders for those Patriot rams(not specifically the IEM edition kit)?

* are you interested in getting some etching work on your side panel? :)
 

Pcbuilder123

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About the etching work, these side panels scratch SO EASY, I am actually afraid of wiping them with a microfiber. I RMA'd the side panel for scratching twice, and got it replaced both times, so this my 3rd one, luckily NZXT repalced it every time, no quesitons asked. I fear the residue from the ethcing mide damage the material they used for the window, so that would have to be a maybe. About the ram, I could trade it for 2x8gb hyper x white, would look a lot better with my color scheme or 2x8gb of some other patriot ram but it is white. I would just have to trade a friend, he likes having lots of spare parts haha. Also, the reason that I'm not afraid of the loose timing or low clock speed, is the max my mobo supports is 1333 I believe :p
 

Pcbuilder123

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Oh, and to clean the side panel, I simply never touch the window or let anything touch it and dust it off with canned air when it gets a little dusty. When it is removed, It stays propped up between a shelf so it doesn't pick up any dust.
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Bummer, limited knowledge strikes again! :)

Yeah the maximum frequency your ram will go to is 1333MHz :( perhaps loosen/tighten the timings so you can get the best performance out of that kit - I had the fortune of owning an OCZ Platinum Edition kit in 1333MHz and its CL was 7 - tightest there was. 7-7-7-20

You could probably contact Bill @ MNPCtech and see what he says about making a side panel for you case...?
 
I actually am running mismatched RAM as well. A 2x4gb set of Gskill, and a 2x2gb set of Crucial value (no heatsinks). They didn't want to run at 1600cl9 (XMP for the Gskill set), but I got them to work perfectly well at 1333 CL8. I know it's not ideal to have mis-matched RAM, but something just wouldn't let me not use what I had sitting around. I don't do anything RAM intensive, so 1333 CL8 is plenty fast for me. I know I don't REALLY need 12gb RAM, but I like to jerry rig things until they work and this was a fun experiment.
 

Pcbuilder123

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Alright, I'll message him, etching seems really cool. Also, from what I've seen, the difference between 800mhz ddr3 (downclocked) and 2600something ish ram even in editing applications and in games was in the margin of error. Also, I don't really like messing with this mobo's bios, its the old nostalgic blue and white bios, haha wish it was a uefi. Speaking of motherboards, would an 8320e or an upgrade to intel i5/maybe xeon e3 1230v3 be a better option?
 
Depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. I used to have a Ga-78lmt-s2p rev.5 and I really liked the old school BIOS. It was easy to navigate and gave you control over EVERYTHING. Alas, that board died a valiant death.
 

Lutfij

Titan
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Linus' video reviews are erm...bland. If you think blue and white bios' aren't hip you should see the level of control you had on them which were a stepping stone to the UEFI BIOS' you see today.

If 70's Mustang's(or historic cars) were a lump of steel and plastic they shouldn't be restored but in reality they were what helped shape some ,if not all, of the automobiles we see today ;) In fact F1 cars were very responsible for alot of death's and now the F1 car's cockpit is one of the safest place to be if you get into an accident. In essence, try and see what we've worked with and maybe pick up a thing or two about eye strain :D

Since you brought up the question,
depends on what you're trying to upgrade to and how you're going to use it. Unless you are doing anything more intensive than what you already do then there's no point in dropping more money. Saving the money for a rainy day would be a better option ;)
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
I grew up with them and had a fun time reading them while on the bus going to school as one of my friends had a subscription in which he owned pretty much every comic by Marvel and DC out there. This was way back in 90's so I grew up with one version of all the super hero movies you folks see today but closely relate-able. Tony Stark fighting the mandarin wasn't what Guy Pierce portrayed...it was much like Ben Kingsley's character.

I just started Infinite Crisis and am going through the tutorials. Thought someone might be on level 50+ already :D
 

Pcbuilder123

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I'm really digging daylight savings, love the bright evenings, help with walkin' the doge lol. Anyways, I read into the steamboxes quite a bit, and for the most part they seem like a disappointment to me. If I really wanted a titan z, I would build, and 1.1 grand for an i3 and 8gb ram and a 750ti doesn't sound like a very good deal to me.