[Whitebread]

Went from a 500mhz PIII to the overclocked Opteron 165 I have now. I'm going to be keeping this computer AT LEAST until I finish my undergrad degree. I've got three years until that happens. Then we'll see whats out there.

 

[wanderman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Possédé /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the reply box window sitting whilst I looked over reviews of the components and wrote my response, and it looks like the 680i Motherboard is a better option in my case. Anyway, it's getting late and I'm beginning to become bored of all this reading reviews (Been doing so for the last 4-5 hours). Possédé

if you really want sli then go 680i/650i, but the p35 mobos are better in nearly every way. From my experience when sli solutions are a reasonable price there exists a single graphics solution that is better.

 

[skyline889]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're not going to see a lot of benefit with the extra cores in Photoshop. With Photoshop, it's all about the RAM.

Not exactly true. In my experience, while RAM is important, once you have about 2-3 gigs, which is pretty standard these days, you're pretty much set. For me, I think processor speed is would be much more important. I'm running CS3 Extended and shoot only in NEF format; even just with images shot with the 6.1 mp resolution of my D50 (Not the 10.1+ of the D80/D200/D2Xs), the single core 3.6 I have in one of my computers often bogs down to around 90% usage while my ram stays at about 40% usage. Often times it becomes so bad that CS3 comes close to freezing if I'm running other programs at the same time so I think the addition of a dual core or quad core processor would really help me to alleviate these problems. IDK maybe I'm wrong but this is what I have gathered so far from my observations and research. If extra RAM would be more effective though, I'd be much happier since it would be much cheaper. What do you guys think would help more?

 

[luckybaer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adanac061 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm waiting for AMD Barcelona Quad core in september. Should be interesting.

A friend of a friend who has a friend that works at Intel says that Intel's product development pipeline and process will ensure that I will never have to consider AMD as an option for a processor again. lol!

Whatever. I'll go with whichever processor is best at what I want it to do - currently, those are Intel processors, and if it remains taht way in the future, I'll buy Intel with no regrets.

 

[luckybaer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowPhreak /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think some of you guys are full of chit. I have an Enermax Infiniti 720 and Corsair HX520. Corsair's are just re-branded Seasonic's with a few different parts, but they're good units. I'd recommend them. The Enermax is also doing a great job in a max o/c'ed E6600/HD2900XT rig. Some clowns gripe about burning up PSU's, but don't have brains enough to know that they have to keep them cool over time and feed them a decent AC supply. Also, there is a big difference between a mfg's top line PSU's and their budget models. There are many other factors. DUH. So you can't simply say, "I owned a Brand ___ PSU and it blew up. Don't buy them they're junk." The Infiniti 720 is an excellent PSU, but I'm not sure how it differs internally from the Infiniti 650. They may be much different from each other than just the rated power output. Do your research. I do know the I-720 has very good parts, a good design, runs cool, is as clean and stable as anything on the market, and has lots of actually useful features. I highly recommend it if you need more power than the Corsair's can provide. As far as [H]OCP, check out this review they gave the I-720: http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?...hlbnRodXNpYXN0 What, me worry?

I use Antec and OCZ for my PSUs. They work well, and I'd never put cheap junk in a box I built. It has got to be rock solid stuff!

 

[LowPhreak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luckybaer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I use Antec and OCZ for my PSUs. They work well, and I'd never put cheap junk in a box I built. It has got to be rock solid stuff!

Coincidentally, I had a new Antec TP Trio 550 several weeks ago that was apparently out of spec, because the voltages on the 12V and 5v rails were low by more than 3%, so I replaced it with the Corsair HX520. From all of the tests I've run and the abuse I've put them through thus far, both the HX520 and the Enermax Infiniti 720 have been stellar PSU's. Of course the long run is the real test.

That doesn't mean "all Antec's are crap", but my particular unit evidently escaped their QC dept.

Many PSU's like OCZ and Corsair are actually re-branded designs from other OEM mfg's. Look at the UL ID number on the unit, and run that number on the Underwriter's Laboratories website. You might be surprised by who made the PSU.

 

[Scottyyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowPhreak /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think some of you guys are full of chit. I have an Enermax Infiniti 720 and Corsair HX520. Corsair's are just re-branded Seasonic's with a few different parts, but they're good units. I'd recommend them. The Enermax is also doing a great job in a max o/c'ed E6600/HD2900XT rig. Some clowns gripe about burning up PSU's, but don't have brains enough to know that they have to keep them cool over time and feed them a decent AC supply. Also, there is a big difference between a mfg's top line PSU's and their budget models. There are many other factors. DUH. So you can't simply say, "I owned a Brand ___ PSU and it blew up. Don't buy them they're junk." The Infiniti 720 is an excellent PSU, but I'm not sure how it differs internally from the Infiniti 650. They may be much different from each other than just the rated power output. Do your research. I do know the I-720 has very good parts, a good design, runs cool, is as clean and stable as anything on the market, and has lots of actually useful features. I highly recommend it if you need more power than the Corsair's can provide. As far as [H]OCP, check out this review they gave the I-720: http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?...hlbnRodXNpYXN0 What, me worry?

The reason most would recommend the Corsair isn't because we're full of "chit", it's because Enermax have a known higher failure rate.

See: http://www.behardware.com/news/8550/...lure-rate.html

Oh, and the fact that the Corsair's are just rebranded Seasonic's is a good thing...

 

[Whitebread]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luckybaer /img/forum/go_quote.gif A friend of a friend who has a friend that works at Intel says that Intel's product development pipeline and process will ensure that I will never have to consider AMD as an option for a processor again. lol! Whatever. I'll go with whichever processor is best at what I want it to do - currently, those are Intel processors, and if it remains taht way in the future, I'll buy Intel with no regrets.

Thats all well and good, but creating a monopoly in the consumer processor market will only hurt us. Look what competition did to Intels R&D devision. They woke up, and started kicking AMDs ass after a few years on the back burner. I really hope AMD can remain competitive so Intel doesn't end up controlling a huge portion of the market. Seeing AMD disappear kinda like VIA did isn't a good thing whatsoever.

 

[AuroraProject]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderman /img/forum/go_quote.gif edit: picture from a review of the p35 gigabyte mobo I bought. 505fsb ftw

Only running it at 3.5?? Air cooled?

4ghz ftw: http://www.pbase.com/digifan/image/7...3/original.jpg

 

[wanderman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuroraProject /img/forum/go_quote.gif Only running it at 3.5?? Air cooled? 4ghz ftw: http://www.pbase.com/digifan/image/7...3/original.jpg

that was to illustrate FSB speed. The multiplier is at 7 he is benchmarking the motherboard not the chip.

4 GHZ with 15x multiplier a 266fsb in not that impressive. All he is doing is suiciding the chip. Now think if the multiplier was 15... 15*505 = 7.6 ghz ftw...

That is why I said 505fsb ftw.

edit: as I though it was just a suicide run, it is not even stable.

 

[AuroraProject]

nevermind, I'm not even going to bother.

 

[Possede]

Looks like I'll be going with the Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 PSU then, it's got a lot of support from around here (And it's cheaper... Yay!). Thanks for recommending it people.

 

[LowPhreak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottyyy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The reason most would recommend the Corsair isn't because we're full of "chit", it's because Enermax have a known higher failure rate.

I guess you can't read or comprehend very well.

My criticism wasn't directed at those who recommend Corsair's, it was for one thing directed at those who make blanket statements about any mfg based on one bad experience with a mfg's product, which may or may not bear much resemblance to a given mfg's other products.

To be fair, if you go over to Corsair's PSU forums you'll see they've had their share of complaints from customers as to overheating, non-functioning units, strange buzzing noises, and other issues.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottyyy See: http://www.behardware.com/news/8550/...lure-rate.html

I'd say a few things about that link:

1. It doesn't tell who or what is this: "the failure rate of power supplies recorded by a major French e-commerce." Is it an online vendor? Retail or wholesale/OEM? With what/how did they determined what a PSU "failure" was? How do we know some weren't customer abuse, incorrect installation, shipping damage, etc? This is too vague a statement for me to put much creedence in.

2. The article is all over the place as far as specifically which PSU's allegedly failed and why. Exactly how many of each PSU brand, line, or model allegedly "failed"? What was the nature of the failure? What was the rated power output and price range?

They mention 3 models of Antec SmartPower's and 1 of their Neo's, but not their other models like TruePower or budget; no Fortron's, 1 ThermalTake, 0 Tagan's, 1 Enermax, 1 Hiper, and 2 Seasonic's. Obviously all of these makers have many other models.

For example it states, "Enermax' rates oscillate from 1.8 to 5.1% (Liberty EL620AWT)." So what does that mean - if you took the Liberty 620 out would Enermax's alleged overall "failure rate" be closer to or lower than the 1.8% figure - and therefore "acceptable"? Should we assume that the Liberty 620 is overall a problematic design and one that should be avoided, or perhaps Enermax may have inadvertently specced a part or parts for it that has proven to be problematic with the design? Did Enermax perhaps get an unreliable or out-of-spec batch of parts for those Liberty models? Does this alleged "problem" extend to other Liberty models, or other Enermax models?

Et cetera and so on.

3. It must be remembered that some of the mfg's listed - like ThermalTake, Hiper, Tagan - have re-branded designs as I mentioned earlier, and it's possible that others have at least a few models that are not their own. Thus there is no reliable way from this article to determine which designs of the sample lot are "bad" and which are not.

I could go on with other points but you get the gist. Or do you?

The article is unscientific and unreliable, no better than the anecdotals we're getting here or on any other forum. Throwing up a few percentages without qualifying them does not give legitimacy to their claims.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottyyy Oh, and the fact that the Corsair's are just rebranded Seasonic's is a good thing...

Oh, and I never said Corsair's being re-branded Seasonic's was a bad thing, did I? I simply stated that as a fact, and BTW - the Corsair's are not exactly Seasonic's since there are a few parts changes inside that Corsair must have deemed expedient for their own reasons.

Again, if you'd read correctly what I said, you'd know that I recommended the Corsair HX520.

Duh.

 

[AuroraProject]

Computer threads here always get so heated.

 

[LowPhreak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuroraProject /img/forum/go_quote.gif Computer threads here always get so heated.

I wonder why that is? Maybe b/c there are too many here that think they know something about electronics, but actually don't know their asses from their elbows and instead, rely on reading 2-cent internet "reviews" for all of their decisions?