Zer0kevin Wrote:sounds like a good comp to me o and im new hiya lol

Thanks and welcome to the forums!

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:Try ATi's AVIVO (hardware accelerated H.264 decoding).  I haven't tried it yet, but I think I read that it's just a DirectShow filter.  Basically video card does the decoding, offloaded from your CPU, and supported on all RadeonHD 2xxx series or later cards (integrated graphics should still do it).

Ok, I'll try it sometime.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:Your heat issue sounds like my old AthlonX2 - fan goes at like 6000+RPM under load, and I had to keep the case open to allow extra airflow.  Can you lower the core clock on your CPU? (my AthlonX2 couldn't) - you could do a downclock that way.

I can easily do a downclock by reducing the multiplier or something, but the thing is... I don't really want to underclock.

What goes on in an overclocker's mind... My $150 cpu > your $200 cpu. And underclocking would be the other way around. That's like not really cool.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:My custom cooler does work well, though it's pretty much $55 for a big chunk of metal (and some thermal grease).  Can do a stable 2.4 » 3GHz overclock without any noticeable (or significant) temp changes under load.  Probably could easily go further, but can't be stuffed (2.4GHz runs well enough)

I don't think it's anything to do with the CPU being too hot. My issue with the fan is just that it goes loud. My cpu is only rated at 95W, and isn't that much of a heat generating beast.

According to this, cpu isn't that hot at all. That's with x264 running @ about 75% cpu, and case open. I don't really know what these 3 temperature values in the middle are, but they seem pretty hot. CPU only ever hits about 45 doing Prime95 (a stress test. extremely intensive on both processor and RAM), but the bottom 2 of the 3 unknown values goes well into the 60's.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:Generally system instability is caused by the voltages not being high enough, if the mobo isn't cutting the power from overheating.  Memory timings are also a source of instability.  Obviously, more voltage = more heat energy to dissipate, so you'll need to watch that (generally, you should aim to keep the CPU under 70C under load).

What do you think is cause of the whole system not being able to turn on after crashing, unless if I reset the power? Sounds like something to do with mobo or power supply rather than CPU or memory.

I'll probably go and get myself a new case + psu sometime. Because it would also allow me to setup my old system again, which is currently lacking just that.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:Otherwise, a pretty good value build, though I do like my Core 2 Q6600.

You should be able to overclock decently with that. Phenoms are supposedly pretty bad at overclocking, much worse that the c2d and c2q chips.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:If you could have waited, would've got a Phenom II when the prices come down - apparently AMD improved heat issues a lot with the Phenom II (also due to the die shrink as well).  You could still upgrade, but really not worth it...

Thought about that. Or rather, I thought about the Phenom 2 pushing down the prices of the regular phenoms. Getting a phenom 2 on launch would probably net you some ugly premium.

The problem was that I won't be at Melbourne any more. And prices in Canberra are like 30% worse. So I just decided to buy rather than wait.

(This post was last modified: 11/01/2009 01:49 AM by Assassinator.)