Computer Building 101 - THE PARTS, part 4

And we're back...
I really didn't think I'd get to this today. But my fans need me. And I'm willing to oblige.


Today we will take a brief look at case fans, add on cards, card readers, keyboards and mice, and monitors.
THIS IS COMPUTER BUILDING 101 - THE PARTS, PART 4. let's get this over with...

CASE FANS

Case fans come a in few sizes and thicknesses. They are square so one measurement denotes the the square part and another the width. The common sizes are 80mm, 92mm, and 120mm. There are others as well, but for cases, theses are the norm. Widths go all over the place, but I think 38mm is the most common. Really you only need to concern yourself with the size. Most cases allow for a rear fan, while others allow for a front as well, and the sides. It all really depends on the case.

There are two different connectors at the moment with one of them kinda morphing into two. The typical 4 pin component connector, the same one you plug into IDE CDROMs and IDE Hard Drives, and the 3 pin small connector (which now has a 4 pin derivative). The 4 Pin component connector usually has a male and female end, acting a coupler. So you can plug the power into it and then it into a device, such as a CDROM. The 3/4 pin mini is plugged into the motherboard (motherboards are notorious for only have 1 or 2 sockets for fans) or a fan controller. The advantage to having it plugged into the motherboard is that software and hardware can control the speed of the fans, finding a balance between noise and cool. Some fan controllers do this as well. When looking for fans, check the reviews and the RPMs. The higher the RPM, the more airflow but louder the fan. The lower the RPM the quieter the fan but less airflow. It's up to you to decide. Getting a fan controller can make this decision much easier.

ADD-ON CARDS

So, you need Firewire or a RAID card, or TV Tuner. They got those, for a price of course. But what you need to be aware of is the following:

Do you have enough physical space to put a card in the case. Yeah, you probably won't have any issues with this, but still. There are some high end cases that are, what we call, low profile or half height. This means that the case will only support low profile or half height cards. And some of these cards are long. You see the new ATI 5950's? Almost as long as my forearm, hand included (maybe no fingers). No joke.

Do you have enough PCI or PCI-E slots for your add on card. Something to think about.

Will your OS (Windows, Linux, etc) support this 3rd party, made in Vietnam, sudo illegal, cable breaker TV tuner? Eh, most likely it will. But some things are made for Windows and others for Mac. This is most likely a non-issue.

CARD READERS

Couple of things here. Make sure they support the cards you want to use them with. The popular ones at the moment are: SD/SDHC, Compact Flash, Memory Stick. Check the reviews and find one that meets these requirements and that people have had luck with. They are pretty inexpensive.

You can get ones that are external or internal (they mount where the floppy would go... but floppy's are dead)

KEYBOARDS AND MICE

Keyboards and mice are a personal choice. But you need to be aware of the connections. There are PS2 and USB for wired. Bluetooth and RF are the two wireless technologies at the moment. Unless Bluetooth is built into the motherboard (usually not) you will need a Bluetooth dongle (looks like a USB drive) and that may or may not come with the device. RF usually comes with the receiver and uses the PS2 or USB connections. The PS2 connector is on it's way out, but there are some that still use it. A lot of motherboards are now starting to ditch them, either putting one connector on (usually for the keyboard) or removing them all together to make way for more USB ports.

MONITORS

Again, monitors are a personal preference thing. What size do you want? Wide screen or full screen? DVI, VGA, HDMI, display port; how are you connecting this thing with your computer?

The first two I leave up to your discretion. I suggest hitting up Best Buy or Office Depot and checking things out yourself. Check the sizes and orientation. Pricing on monitors is pretty competitive online and retail so if you find locally in your price range, go for it.

Most monitors come with at least a VGA and a DVI. Many come with both of those and HDMI and/or display port. Display port is relatively new, but you are buying a new computer and if you are getting a video card it may have this. Really there are only differences between VGA and the rest. VGA is analog and DVI/HDMI/Display Port are all digital. Advantages to HDMI include passing audio and video in the same cable as long as you monitor supports this. I think Display Port offers the same. Essentially VGA and DVI are in the same boat as HDMI and Display Port take over as the primary connectors for display and audio. Just make sure that you video card or motherboard video connection is the same as one on the monitor and you'll be fine. FYI, if you need cables, but them at MONOPRICE.COM. Do not buy cables at Best Buy, WalMart, etc. Get them at MONOPRICE.COM and then compare prices and laugh at that best buy employee that is warning you, if you don't buy their $100, 6' long HDMI cable, the quality will suck. No sir, you suck.

The rest, well, check out the colors and brightness in person. You know what you want. Get what looks good. But check prices and decide if the value if there.

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Computer Building 101 - THE PARTS, part 3

Finally, I got around to posting this. Sorry about the wait. I'd like to say I've been busy and all that; and to some extent that is true. But really, I'm just not into posting every single day. BUT HERE WE ARE. Let's get this on!

Optical Drives, Video Cards, and Cases
THIS IS COMPUTER BUILDING 101 - THE PARTS, PART 3. VAMOS!

Optical Drives

I will just cut to the case. There are only three types of drives you need to worry about: DVD Burners (they burn and read cd's and dvd's), Blu-Ray drives (the ones that read cd's, dvd's, and blu ray discs), and Blu-Ray burners (burn everything, cd's, dvd's, and blu-ray). Any other drive that doesn't preform the previous are not worth your time and money. It is up to you what you want to get. DVD Burners run from $30-$60, Blu-Ray drives run from $75-$150, and the mother of them all, Blu-Ray burners run around $180-$200. The thing to keep in mind is that you need software to play DVD's and Blu-Ray discs. Windows Vista and 7 come with DVD support now, so you can watch DVD's without 3rd party software, but not so with Blu-Ray. If you plan on watching that Blu-Ray disc, you will need to purchase the latest software from PowerDVD or WinDVD, making sure that the version you get supports Blu-Ray media. If you are running XP, you need 3rd party software for DVD's as well as Blu-Ray. *hint: VLC player will play DVD's and it is free. The only other thing you need to pay attention to, when buying optical drives, it A) how many you want (one is usually enough, but having 2 can facilitate, um, "backing up" those "home movies" you have.) and B) chooding between IDE or SATA connections. IDE is going the way of the dinosaur and SATA is superior in about every way. So make sure you are getting a SATA drive and you will live happier. Just keep in mind how many SATA ports you have on your motherboard and how many SATA Hard Drives you will have as well. Don't want to order all this awesome stuff only to find out that you ran out of SATA ports.

Video Cards

There are basically 2 camps with video cards. nVidia and ATI/AMD. Intel makes an onboard solution (built into the motherboard) but if you are interested in gaming you will want to go with a dedicated solution. You can pick from a wide variety, but if you are even remotely serious, you will want to spend at least $100 on a decent video card.
There are many 3rd party manufacturers, but only 2 chip manufacturers. Both have a numbering scheme that is simple and complicated. I will attempt to explain this.

From the ATI/AMD camp, you have 3K, 4K, and not 5K numbering schemes. Each number represent the generation. 5K is the latest generation of cards while 3K represents cards of 2 generations past. From there, the low numbers represent the low end, performance-wise, while higher number represent better performance.

x100-x250: IGP or integrated in the motherboard
x300-x550: Low end Dedicated card
x600-x770: Mid range
x800-x950: High range

Now, they don't usually (ok, never) name a card 3499. It's usually increments of 50 with some exceptions. But card usually follow the numbering scheme thusly: the first number is the generation, ie 4 in 4650, and the last three denote the performance, ie the 650 in 4650. The last three are really important. A 3650 is more powerful than a 4200. See that? Remember the first digit denotes the generation, not how awesome you it's going to be when you are mowing down raiders in fallout and the action doesn't slow to a slide show. The last three numbers will tell you that. A 4850 will out perform a 3850... usually. When the last three numbers tie or are almost the same, relying on reviews and common sense denote that the newest generation should outperform the latest generation when it comes to apples to apples comparisons.

nVidia is pretty similar. The first number denotes the generation and the following numbers denote performance. However, since the 9k series, they have dropped the 4 digit scheme for a 3 digit scheme.

There is no current IGP from this generation... at least from what I am aware of.
210-220: Low Range
240-260: Mid Range
280-295: High Range

for the older 8k and 9k generations:

x100-x200 IGP
x300-x400 Low Range
x500-x700 Mid Range
x800-x900 High Range

These are all generalities, meant to give you an idea. You will need to do a little more research if you are new to this, but it will become clear after a little fact finding. Be sure to check the reviews and see if there are others in you situation or if the mentions specific programs you use, and their experience with the current product.

I need to mention that video cards fit into different slots. PCI, AGP, and PCI-E. PCI fit in any old 32 bit PCI slot. Nowadays, they are hardly used (usually only on motherboard that lack an AGP or PCI-E slot) and shouldn't be considered. AGP, the successor the the PCI card, is on it's way out, if not already dead and should not be considered. PCI-E or PCI Express x16, is the current standard. There are two versions of this slot (v1 and v2.0) and both are usually compatible with the other.

Video cards range in price, from $30 to $300 or more. The more you pay, the better performance, for the most part. Obviously that is being grossly general, but relying on the information here and reviews found in other places, can help you immensely.

I'll discuss this in three groups:

Group A: You do not plan on gaming but you motherboard does not have onboard video. You can easily spend around $50 on a quality, low end card.

Group B: You want to game but don't have the cash to buy that $250 card. Go Mid range and lower some of the in game settings to reflect a smoother game experience at the cost of detail.

Group C: I GAME. THE VIDEO CARD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS RIG. THE VISUAL ASPECT MUST REFLECT REAL LIFE AS FAR AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. I WILL SPEND AS MUCH MONEY AS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THIS. Yes, high end is probably the only option.

Frankly, high end is getting more and more plausible. You can buy a video card from $150 to $200 and it will last for a while, providing you with liquid smooth visuals and great game play. But remember who you are and what you will do. You can save some cash here if you are aware of you needs.

Cases

You can spend $20 - $400 on the case. Up to you. Obviously, if you spend $20 on a case, expect cheap, flimsy and mediocre. Frankly, this works for a lot of people. Sometimes, a case will come with a PSU as well, but these shouldn't be trusted unless reviews reflect otherwise. On the whole you can get a decent case for around $30-$60. The things to look for include:

Size: is an ATX board going in there or a MATX. Most cases that support ATX will support a MATX but not the other way around. MATX cases are usually shorter, given that MATX motherboards are short.

Space: Will that case you want also support the 2 Optical drives and 4 hard drives you plan to install? If not, you best look for one that does. Also, be aware that just because it will support the 4 hard drives and the ATX motherboard, doesn't mean that is will fit that 14" high end video card you plan on getting as well. The higher end video cards are notoriously long and sometimes cover SATA ports on the motherboards as well as go beyond the length of the motherboard into HD cage territory necessitating a new case or case surgery.

Look: looks aren't everything, but do you really want this shiny, over the top case, with blazing LED lights illuminating your room when you are trying to sleep? Take that into consideration. Some like it, others don't; but both sometimes don't realize the fact until it's too late.

Brand: There are many manufacturers. Quality, high end cases include Lian Li, Silverstone, while others span the range: Antec, Coolermaster, Thermaltake, Aprevia and yet more span the low end- mid range: Rosewill, HEC, Foxconn. I have used cases from the 3 low end brands and have been pleasantly surprised.

Whew, lot's of material. Thursday I will finish off the parts section with a look at case fans, add on cards, card readers, keyboards and mice, and monitors. Until then, thanks for reading.

Late

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Computer Building 101 - THE PARTS, part 2

Today we continue our plunge into the world of computer parts. In part 1 we introduced the CPU (processor) and the MB (motherboard). In part 2, we will look at three components: RAM (random access memory), the PSU (power supply), and HD's (hard drives).

THIS IS COMPUTER BUILDING 101 - THE PARTS, PART 2. TALLYHO!


RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY. MEMORY. THIS IS MEMORY. RAM.

Many people confuse this with hard drives. The two components store information but that's about it. RAM is used by the processor to temporarily store information. Once it no longer needs the information or you turn off the computer, the information stored in RAM it is gone. The key difference between RAM and Hard drives is that th CPU can write info to RAM much faster than to a hard drive. So enough history... which is probably lacking and wrong, let get on with what to look for in RAM. First there are different types. Right now, in any system you plan on purchasing, there really are only two DDR2 and DDR3. One is older and one is newer. Thankfully pricing is relatively the same for both. What kind you need depends on your motherboard. If it supports DDR2, get DDR2. Pretty simple on the surface. Some motherboards support both, but usually limit the number of slots available (2 slots for each). So once you decide what type you need, there is also the speed to consider. DDR2 standard is 800 (or PC 6400) an DDR3 is 1600 (or PC 12800). There are other speeds available but those are the most popular and will be most compatible. Next up, how much? Do I get 4 Sticks that are 1 GB each, or 2 that are 2 GB each... how about 4 that are 2 GB each; YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH. Well, you actually can. Operating System come in two flavors at the moment: 32 bit (or x86) and 64 bit (or x64). 32 Bit operating systems can only address up to 4GB of ram, no more. 64 bit, in theory, can support 16 exabytes of ram. Thats 17.2 billion gigabytes. So if you think you need more that 4 GB (and let's face it, you are building you own machine, and RAM is cheap, your are going to STACK IT) make sure to install a 64-bit version of you favorite operating system (OS [windows, linux, etc]). You also are limited to how many RAM slots are available on you motherboard. This number usually ranges from 2, 4, and now 6.

So now you've decided what type of RAM, what speed, and quantities. What brand? There are lot of name brands and not so name brands. Known quality brands are: Corsair, Kingston, Crucuial, among others. I myself go by pricing and the reviews found on NewEgg.com, due to the many no-name manufacturers out there and their actually dependable products. I've purchased from the three manufacturers before and also the following: A-Data, Mushkin, AllComponents, Super Talent, Wintech, PQI, and others. Basically follow the reviews and if they are mostly positive, you can usually purchase with confidence.

THE POWER SUPPLY, PSU.

As the name entails, the power supply gets power from your wall/power strip to the motherboard and the various components in your system. Now, there are ATX and MicroATX power supplies, so how do you know which one to use. "Well professor, if you have a MicroATX motherboard you need a MicroATX PSU, right?" Nope. "Uh, well... I know, If you get a MicroATX case!" Not necessarily, but that's as close as you are going to get. The only reason you would need a MicroATX , or any other power supply what physically differs from the normal ATX spec, is the physical restraints of the case. In most cases, you use the ATX PSU. But you need to pay attention when buying a case that it does not need a "special" size PSU.

Were going to assume that you went the sensible route and picked up a decent, basic case that supports the ATX spec.

First you need to find a PSU that will supply enough power to run and not faint. A nice 500 watt PSU will handle most systems just fine with power to spare. The only time you need to look into something beefier is when you are dealing with high end video card(s) that require MOAR POWER! Otherwise, a nice 400~500 watt PSU will do you just fine. The next step is to look into the connectors you will need. SATA power connectors are different than the older 4 pin variety. You need to inventory your components. For example: you have a motherboard that uses the standard 24 Main Power Plug, a additional 8 pin plug close to the CPU socket, you decided to buy a nicer video card and "surprise" it needs it's own 6 pin PCI-E plug and you bought a nice SATA DVD Burner, and big 1 Terabyte SATA Hard Drive, and you also want to add in an old IDE Hard drive that you took from your old system. Well, if you have all this stuff, you need a PSU that has a 24 pin main connector, a 8 pin 12V connector, a 6 pin PCI-E(X?) connector, 2 STATA power connector, a 1 4-pin peripheral connector. You will see the decription 20+4 when looking for the main connector info or 4/8 when looking for the 12v/Auxillary connector. They just mean that they can be used for either configuration (there are some 12V connections that just need the older 4 pin and the same with the main connector (20 instead of 24)).

So now you have decided on the size, capacity, and the amount of connectors. Now, what brand to go with? I say this, you don't necesarily want to go cheap with you PSU. It has the power to run you dream machine or turn it into a bunch of useless parts. I have had luck with the HEC/Compucase brand. They sell cheap PSU's but they perform well and it is reflected in the reviews. The cheaper yet dependable brands include, FSB, Corsair, Thermaltake, Rosewill, HiPro, among others. These manufacturers also sell high end. Again, read the reviews and choose accordingly. I would have to recommend spending around $50 to get a reliable PSU. But I leave that up to you.

HARD DRIVES ARE NOT MEMORY. HARD DRIVE, STORE ALL YOUR STUFF.

RAM = Memory, HARD DRIVE = Storage. There. Now that's outta the way let's move on. The first decision to make is how big? Hard drives start at around $35 for an 80G. And within a few bucks of that price they double in size. Pretty cool huh? So it make sense to get at least a 500G hard drive. Many people buy a smaller driver, say a 120GB or 160GB drive for the Operating System and the programs and then another drive to store all the pictures, videos, music, documents, etc. But most just purchase one big one and deal. I've sauntered between the two camps and out of laziness, sit in the middle but closer to the ONE DRIVE TO RULE THEM ALL, camp. If i need another drive I just get an external.

So, now you've decided on a size, you just need to decide on a manufacturer. "But what about the difference between IDE and SATA" Seriously? Get a SATA drive. "But, but" No. SATA. There is no reason to buy an IDE drive. They are slow and a fast approaching extinction. There's not even a price difference... oh yeah there is... they are now getting more expensive.

"What about speeds?" 7200 RPM... anything else? "Buffer size?" Um,... bigger the better?

I defer to my non-existent expertise in the field of Hard Drive anatomy. Most hard drives spin at 7200 RPM. You want faster, say 10K RPM? They are out there, but cost a lot more money. As far as the buffers and such, you could do some research or be like me a just focus on price, capacity, and dependability (based on reviews).

Now, onto companies who make hard drives. There are a number of makers but I will only name 3 here: Western Digital, Seagate, and Hitachi. Between those three you should be able to find a suitable hard drive.

Yes, I guess I could include Samsung as well.

Coming up next in part 3: Optical Drives, Video Cards, and Cases. W00T!

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Computer Building 101 - THE PARTS, part 1

So, you have always wanted to build a computer and for some reason you found yourself perusing IAMTHESECRETNINJA.COM. Well here it is, your one stop shop on what you need to buy to build your own custom computer and how to put it together.

THIS IS COMPUTER BUILDING 101 - THE PARTS, PART 1.

So why should you build your own machine? Well, that's an easy question, because you think it might be a learning experience, it might be fun, you control what goes into the box and what is installed on the hard drive, etc, etc. It might even be cheaper, but, honestly, OEM's are building machines on the cheap nowadays. What it comes down to is that you feel you will get better value for your buck by building you own machine and it just feels right.

Because that's how we roll here.

OK, first off you need to find and purchase the parts necessary to build your awesomebox. I mostly purchase my parts from NewEgg.com, but there are other online retailers out there.

There are many decisions that you, the consumer, need to make when picking out the parts for a computer, or even picking up a machine from Best Buy or Wall Mart: what do I need this computer to do? Gaming? Video editing? Web surfing/email? Writing papers? Watching movies? Frankly, even the cheapest, lowest end systems rolling out of Dell, HP, Gateway, etc, will get the job done when it comes to anything other than Gaming and Video editing... and maybe watching those HD movies that just happened to be in you Downloads folder. You don't need to spend a fortune to get the result you want. Even if you don't game or edit HD video but "might" in the future, we can make sure it will be able to or allow for an upgrade in the future.

You typically need the following: Motherboard, Processor, RAM, Hard Drive, Power Supply, Video Card, Optical Drive, and a Case.

THE ALMIGHTY CPU, PROCESSOR, CHIP, ETC ETC.

When deciding to build a machine, pick your processor first. There are two manufacturers that matter at the moment:

&

AMD and Intel. AT THE MOMENT, AMD is less expensive and Intel is more powerful, however, for most users (surfing the web, listening to music, email, writing letters, etc) the only thing that matters is the price and AMD fits the bill, and is powerful enough to rock you like a hurricane. Yes, I do prefer AMD, but Intel is good as well, just too expensive for my tastes. You do get better performance, on a whole, going with Intel; but for me it doesn't justify the cost. Many swear by them and that's cool, I stand by AMD.

So you've chosen which brand and you are looking at pricing and performance. When you find a chip that works, you need to look at some of the specs. Nowadays, multiple core processors are the standard. You should buy, at the very least, a dual core processor. There are dual, triple, and quad core processors available so take that in account when purchasing. Basically, a core represents a processor. Having a dual-core is like having two processors in your machine. Literally, it is not, but it acts like it and it improves performance. The more cores, the more things you can do at any given time. A lot of new software take these cores into account an leverage the power to improve performance. In the case of video games, it has allowed developers to push the envelope with visuals and game play mechanics (of course the GPU [video card] plays a bigger role, but you need a good CPU [processor] as well).

You also need to pay attention to what socket you can plug the processor into and what RAM is supports. AMD, for example has 3 popular sockets at the moment, AM2, AM2+, and AM3. Thankfully, AMD has made it possible to drop an AM3 chip (the newest socket) into an AM2 or AM2+ socket. But AM3 motherboard will not support AM2 or AM2+ chips, unless it specifically says it will (mostly due to the type of RAM the motherboard supports). Intel is more straight about it, you buy a LGA775 chip, it goes into a LGA775 Board, and so on. It's really not a bad deal either way. But it's something you need to be aware of so that you don't pick a chip and a motherboard and when the time comes to assemble, you aren't running into issues with functionality or physical fit.

THE MOTHER OF ALL BOARDS.... THE MOTHERBOARD

The Motherboard is pretty much what the name entails. You need a lot of parts to build a computer, but all of it plugs into the motherboard. There at two main sizes:

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ATX and MicroATX.

The ATX form allows for more PCI slots (the vertical bars on the left side of the board) and this in turn allows for more expandability. The physical size matters if you end up getting a case that only supports MicroATX as an ATX board will be too wide to fit. The mounting hole configuration allows basic compatibility when installing the board in a case, so as long as the board will physically fit, the mounting hardware will align so you can mount your board.

Your motherboard selection heavily depends on what processor you will use. Also what your needs are. Most, if not all, consumer class motherboards have network and sound chips built in. Many (mainly MicroATX boards) have onboard (built in) video as well. All these features built into the motherboard make it a much easier affair to build your own system. The only downside to this is that typically these components are not as powerful as dedicated add-on card, but for most users, it is more than adequate. Another consideration is the number of optical drives and hard drives you want to have. Most users can get by with one of each. But those that need dual DVD burners and 3 or 4 hard drives need to take that into consideration when buying a motherboard. The number of SATA and IDE connections limit the number of these devices unless you buy an add on card to expand. But for the most part you, the user will have enough connectors to build your machine.

Stay tuned for part 2 of "BUYING FROM OEM's IS FOR SISSYS, WE ROLL CUSTOM"

hopefully tomorrow.

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Artic Silver 5 (AS5) gives results.

I'm babysitting for Johanna and Tom this week and so Spencer and I have been logging some hours defending American interests in Battlefield 2. It's an older game (a couple of years) but still awesome. Anyway, Spencer's computer consists of a P4 1.8GHZ (pre LGA775), 1G of DDR Ram, a decent Asus Motherboard and the crowning glory, a nice 6600gt video card. The system performs pretty well given it's age. But it was lagging a bit overall, but especially playing BF2**note**-when spencer plays BF2 he says that it runs fine even after long sessions 1-2 hours. we are using a mod to enhance things and the computer starts to slow down after a bit (1/2~1hr. in). So yesterday, after getting my things together i planned on benching the temps and then replace the thermal paste on the CPU and GPU in an effort to cool the system and hopefully get some results. So i took temps before, at idle and at load.

BEFORE
IDLE: CPU:40C , SYSTEM: 30C, GPU: 60C
LOAD: CPU:60C, SYSTEM: N/A, GPU: N/A

really not too bad considering the how old the tech is and how dusty the inside of this case was.

I didn't load up anything to stress the video card because, flankly, i was running out of time. so the GPU and the SYSTEM temps did not change.

after that was done, i pulled the Video Card and removed the heatsinks. I cleaned both with rubbing alcohol and then applied a small amount of AS5 thermal paste to the die's. That done i reaffixed them to the card and set it aside. Next up, i removed the cpu from it's socket. i started to clean the heatsink when i noticed that a thin piece of metal looking almost like it peeled from the CPU was stuck to it. so i peeled it off (think Aluminum Foil only thicker) and then i got some 220grit sand paper and gently sanded the heatsink down. the only reason for doind this was to get the old thermal compound off. it was so old and i think more of a putty than paste, that it was hard to remove. i did the same to the cpu after repeated cleanings with Alcohol yielded the same results. both cleaned i stuck the processor back in it socket, applied some AS5 and slapped the Heatsink back on. I must also mention, that i aired out the case with a compressor and man that was a lot of dust.

after booting back up these are the results, temp wise:

AFTER
IDLE: CPU:30C, SYSTEM: 30C, GPU: 51C
LOAD: CPU:50C, SYSTEM: N/A, GPU: 58C

I got these rather un-scientifically but the load temps were taken after an hour of BF2 (the GPU) and an all night session of Prime95 (CPU). I can honestly say, i am astonished. I have heard of AS5 helping things out, thermally, but never thought that it would help this much. I'm very happy that i kept some notes this time around to verify temps.

The facts: cleaning the dust from your computer case will cool down the computer. reapplying the thermal paste (if it is old or done incorrectly in the first place) can also help with keeping a computer running cool. using AS5 may do it even better ...yeah who am i kidding, it will.

The results: the computer seems to boot a bit quicker and it ran BF2 pretty good for a bit. we had some issues about an hour in, but now we'll tackle that problem from the software side (reinstall the game, drivers, directX update).

Until next time.

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