Arcmanov's rig evolves...

[Spazosaurus]

Look good. Any pics of the completed closed system?

[TriniXaeno]

benchmarks or it didn't happen

[Saxito Pau]

Very nice build.

I have to start on my Mini PC build myself. A "Hackintosh" project. But a Silverstone Sugo SG-05 will be  the case of choice for me.

[Arcmanov]

Oh,  that 'Sugo' case is rather spiffy.
I have only 2 personal gripes with it:
1. The fact that I can't use a standard ATX PSU
2. The slimline ODD bay.

...and I guess it's probably quite a bit more expensive too, ent?

The Cooler Master just happened to tick all the right boxes...the most important ones being the very things that make that Sugo undesirable to me...the drive bays and the PSU issue.

How easy would it be to get a replacement PSU for that Sugo though?




SwiftKeyFlowed from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with Tapatalk 2

[Saxito Pau]

The Case and PSU combo is a hot US$120

You can certainly get SFX PSUs on Amazon:

I just hope when I get my case the PSU never blows, because of the PRICE!

Is the size and design that win me over the Cooler Master,(almost same size as a typical Shuttle XPC - and consider that a Shuttle barebones of Case, PSU, mobo and Cooler is at least US$200  - US$400+)  plus the  Cooler Master cooling performance is apparently not rated as good as other ITX cases.

[Spazosaurus]

Yall take ur htpc's seriously. $150tt super power branded supertech case and I move on with my life.

[Arcmanov]

Yall take ur htpc's seriously. $150tt super power branded supertech case and I move on with my life.

LOL...and then have to always see this big, ugly case whenever I watch my TV.  No thanks.

@ Sax...that 'cooling problem' was easily remedied by replacing the anemic stock fan with an Excalibur.   




SwiftKeyFlowed from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with Tapatalk 2

[TriniXaeno]

lol

Im with awesome. Case won't get much love (nor $$) from me.

but at the same time, I can appreciate the value of a svelt system for the living room.

Hence the interest in this puppy.

The Sapphire VS-8

An entire PC, smaller than a graphics card? Now THAT I can spend some $$ on.

About $399. No assembly required.

[Arcmanov]

I considered that too, but my focus was on building something with easily replaceable/upgradeable parts.

Still...that little Sapphire is rather sexy.

[Arcmanov]

Fellow enthusiasts...check this app out if you haven't already...




For system monitoring and sensor logging, it seems to surpass RealTemp, and AIDA 64...two of my mainstays for the past few years.
Found it while reading a CPU cooling article on Guru3D.

It's updated almost daily, so pretty much any hardware config can be properly scanned and monitored.

[Arcmanov]

Nothing new...just some benchies, using Nvidia's latest 320.18 driver...

3DMark Vantage: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4711607

3DMark11: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6735693

3DMark Fire Strike: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/501330


Didn't bother with the other 3DMark tests. The only one that matters to me is Fire Strike.
New Fire Strike leaderboard perhaps? (you'll have to buy it though)

[TriniXaeno]

Nice.

lol @ nothing new. Yeah boy, upgrade fever has cooled to the temperature of a dogs nose amongst GATTers.

Sign of the times.

I'll probably only spring for a 5ghz processor when they get around the $299 mark. Just because it has been long overdue. Moore's law be damned.

[Arcmanov]

...but them new GTX 770s callin meh name though, albeit very softly. 

[Arcmanov]

New addition to my growing trove of gaming audio hardware...

The Sharkoon Xtatic Pro

   







Sound quality is crisp, clear, and the bass is satisfyingly solid and punchy...something I can't say about the Turtle Beach PX5.
Also doesn't distort at higher volumes, but it gets so terrifyingly loud, that it would be hazardous to listen to it at that volume.
The fit is nice and snug...covers your entire ear, and the earcup is made of a soft, 'velvety' material...not leatherette like traditional cups.

The real deal-sealer for me with this headset is of course the 5.1 speaker setup.  No aural trickery here.  4 speakers in each earcup.
Also, the chat function is provided separately by the USB hookup, so game sound can be adjusted independent of chat sound.  The SCU can also
provide pass-through for optical AND analog, so you can connect an external speaker system to it as well.

In a nice design touch, the 'Pro' on the sides light up green, although it does nothing for the sound quality. 


Gave it a nice 'sorting out' in Battlefield 3.
DEFINITELY a step up in audio quality from the PX5, which will now be relegated to console duty.

Not for 'audiophiles' by any means, but it gets the job done...and it's multi-platform.

It's not as pricey as the PX5, but it sounds WAY better.


Arcmanov Approved. 

[Arcmanov]

Evolution...







Stock: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4725825    OC: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4727514

Stock: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6727195  OC: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6736019

Stock: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/776185       OC: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/785900

[Spazosaurus]

The cooler on them cards incredibly sexy. Love it. They musbe running real cool ent?

[Arcmanov]

Idle temps are 40 and 41 degrees C.  Haven't took note of the load temps as yet.

Just a degree or two higher than the 660 TIs.

[Philosophical45]

OH GEED!!!!!!

[Arcmanov]

Evolution...








Stock: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4725825    OC: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4727514

Stock: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6727195  OC: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6736019

Stock: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/776185       OC: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/785900

OC scores added.

Considering EVGA already bumped up the clocks, I could only squeeze about 3-5% more out of em.  Not worth the extra Watts in power usage.

[Arcmanov]

Finally got my new G700s yesterday...and promptly 'christened' it with a BF3/Metro sweat. 

Definite improvement over the G700, which has been inexplicably, for want of a better phrase, been F@#KING UP,
with random right-clicks for a good few months now.  Imagine the nightmare when that happens during hectic BF3 shootouts.

The G700s' sides are more textured.  Thankfully, the left/right buttons (and the top) aren't.  What you see there is matte, and featureless.
Same wondrous teflon feet as the 700, so there are no glide issues whatsoever.

The software is a step up too, from the 'plain' old SetPoint, and now recognises (and interfaces with) all Logitech hardware you have connected to your system...



One highly overlooked 'feature' that I discovered quite by accident, which carries over from the G700, is that you can ditch the wireless function
entirely (take out the battery even), and use the mouse in wired mode, as the charging cable can also act as a connectivity/data cable.


In short...if you like the G700...you're gonna LOVE the G700s.