tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39171805044552035642023-10-22T11:37:33.502-07:00Whit's BlogA wealth of random information. The General Knowledge Epicenter!WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-38869179341701006452011-08-28T15:44:00.001-07:002011-08-29T17:56:54.745-07:00Hard drive choices<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Hard Drives</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Choosing your hard drive; </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What differentiates one hard drive from another? if we take a couple of screen shots from a computer store, I will explain the varying factors that should help you make the correct </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gbmpb0f-Jw0/TlrFI7-7tJI/AAAAAAAAAIw/LoekXE_8R1A/s1600/HD1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="81" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gbmpb0f-Jw0/TlrFI7-7tJI/AAAAAAAAAIw/LoekXE_8R1A/s640/HD1.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">capacity: 500GB - This is simply your capacity (the amount of data you can store), so the more the merrier right ?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">16MB Cache - The cache is a seperate memory chip on the controller board of the hard drive. Hard drives (the magnetic type) are by their nature quite slow<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>when you consider the speed at which SATA <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>controllers can handle - 600MB/s (6G<u>b</u>/s). You would be lucky to get 150MB/s with a regular magnetic hard drive - this is where the solid state hard drives come in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">which we will cover later. </i>If the hard drive had to feed the processor data on the fly it would be a terrible experience. So basically - more cache means more performance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">SATA III (6Gb/s) - as mentioned above - not to be mistaken with GB/s 6 Giga <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>bits</u></b> per second! I did chuckle when I was speaking to a friend and they referred to it as 6 Giga Bytes per second - that really would be some epic data rates. To be honest you would have to run a number of these drives in a RAID 0 configuration to capitalise on the 6Gb/s bandwidth capacity. If you are unsure of RAID then Google it. I am not going to explain how to set up a RAID in a beginners guide.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">7200RPM - The speed at which the disk spins. The faster the disk spins, the less time that the armature has to wait for the data to come back around after a full revolution presuming that it just missed the data as it span round. - The higher the RPM - the better the data rates, however you will find that with faster RPM drives, more gains are to be had when reading smaller files.<br />
you will be able to get 10kRPM hard drives on the SATA interface (Western Digital's Velociraptor's). Anything above that, you start looking at the SCSI drives intended for $erver$.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Well that about covers the 'standard' hard drives. At the time of writing this blog, solid state hard drives are relatively new technology <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in this form </i>in the tech market. <br />
A solid state drive is basically like RAM. Silicon chips on a board which store data. This is a much faster form of accessing and storing data however at this moment in time, there are still teething problems such as people losing all their data. Not only are there serious problems covering a whole array of drives (currently the finger is pointing at the SandForce controller chip). Hopefully for those who have spent some serious cash on these drives, there will be a simple work around such as a firmware update. Having said all that, the fact that you can pick up a hard drive for around £30 for 500GB - I personally will wait until all the problems have been ironed out before joining on the SSD bandwagon. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
There are yet another type of drive known as hybrid drives, as you would expect by the name, are an amalgamation of the aforementioned disk types - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">magnetic and solid state</i>.<br />
These drives combine the relatively cheap storage option of the magnetic disk and also add some high speed SSD into the works, which in turn offers a reasonably priced high speed option. Once again though, I would personally not touch this type of storage option due to its new place in the market, as with any new technology there are usually teething problems which need sorting, however what you choose is entirely up to you, just make sure that you do some research beforehand to find all the pros and cons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You also need to be aware that SATA and IDE are two different types of hard drives - molex power + IDE cable as opposed to SATA data cable and SATA power. <i>SATA being the only sensible choice for a new build.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Speaking simplisticly, the IDE will have an IDE cable (looks like a flat cable, quite wide however very thin; the SATA uses a very narrow and thin cable. Other than just looking much tidier in the case, the SATA hard drives come with higher speed drives, more data bandwidth - basically just a step in the right direction with new technology. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Unless your motherboard does not support SATA (which it should do) I would steer clear from IDE drives. - You will also need to make sure that your power supply comes with SATA power plugs.</span></div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-53403895511680142432011-08-16T04:22:00.000-07:002011-08-16T18:30:19.958-07:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Processors</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Intel vs AMD</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ihu9HCAaDg/TjMV_vv-D4I/AAAAAAAAAIM/d5g7DW23chw/s1600/intel+vs+amd.jpg"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"> </span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ihu9HCAaDg/TjMV_vv-D4I/AAAAAAAAAIM/d5g7DW23chw/s1600/intel+vs+amd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ihu9HCAaDg/TjMV_vv-D4I/AAAAAAAAAIM/d5g7DW23chw/s200/intel+vs+amd.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Start by choosing which processor that you want:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Both Intel and AMD make quality processors, both of which are completely capable for gaming spec PC's and upwards. There are a number of different factors that you have to be aware of.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Performance.<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">At the time of writing this guide, Intel have without a doubt the best processors. Their 1155 socket </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">type also known as Sandybridge are incredible processors, they are divided into 3 groups. The i3, i5 and i7. The i3 are aimed at light processing power (value range), the i5 are performance processors, coping very well in all areas of processing, especially gaming. And finally the i7, this range is. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">AMD's current processors are the Phenom ii, which are also very good, however do not stand up nearly as well against the Intel. They range from dual core to hex core (6) which are much better suited to multi tasking, or applications which utilise multi core processors, which in my opinion will be a lot more common in the following years with the release of AMD's new processor due to be launched known by its codename "Bulldozer" is shaping up to be a great competitor. The Bulldozer sports 8 physical cores!! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">AMD processors for as long as I can recall have had a lower heat threshold than intel, this is fine if you are just using them at stock speeds however, when it comes to overclocking it leaves you with less room to play with on the temperature front. I am expecting the same with this new processor type however I would love to be proven wrong - If the processor has a higher roof on the temperature limits, then I will be very excited to see how far the overclocking potential can be pushed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I do not really want to get too deep into different processor types, as by the time you read this, there may well be brand new processor types out and this whole area of the article will be outdated.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">A term that you will hear a lot when discussing PC's is "Bang for Buck" - simply put, how much performance you get for your money. Would you spend an extra £100 on a processor for a 5% increase in performance? This brings me on to my next point....</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Cost</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">AMD and Intel processors come in a range of prices - generally the most expensive are the Intel i7 range. They are the fastest processors, great for those who require a fast PC to do number crunching, encoding, graphical design etc, or just for those who can afford the price tag and simply want a computer that does everything, but just that bit faster than the rest.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Socket Types</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Processors are divided into sub groups - socket types. For instance, the latest Intel processors are using the LGA1155 socket type and the latest AMD socket type is the AM3+.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Each processor has to be paired up with a motherboard sporting the same socket type as the processor, this is just something to bear in mind when choosing your computer components.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Motherboard</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Once again, when chosing a mother board there area few factors to bear in mind,</div><div class="MsoNormal">1) Cost</div><div class="MsoNormal">2) Performance</div><div class="MsoNormal">3) Brand</div><div class="MsoNormal">4) Socket type</div><div class="MsoNormal">5) Usage</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">You can pick up a motherboard on the (intel) 1155 socket type for as little as £60, whereas you can pick up a motherboard on the (AMD) AM3 socket type from £35. Not only are the motherboards cheaper on this socket type, but the processors can also be picked up at a great price (from under £30)!</div><div class="MsoNormal">As you might expect, the faster the processor / motherboard, the higher the price tag, although a recent article I read which was comparing different motherboards in the same 1155 range found that the difference in performance was negligible from board to board!</div><div class="MsoNormal">When choosing a motherboard, brand names are usually down to personal preference, I personally prefer the ASUS brands of motherboard as I have never had a problem with them. I do suggest that you stick to the well known brands such as ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE as they are all well manufactured.</div><div class="MsoNormal">When choosing a motherboard, in the description it will let you know what type of RAM is supported, here is an example (just part of the list):</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HtQJRDLoBOI/TkpSUUOfa2I/AAAAAAAAAIs/6pWKvTMRU5A/s1600/ram.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HtQJRDLoBOI/TkpSUUOfa2I/AAAAAAAAAIs/6pWKvTMRU5A/s640/ram.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">It is always best to refer to this list (found on the manufacturers website) before purchasing any memory modules for your new PC to ensure a perfect match.</div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-39244202097652559392011-07-29T13:26:00.000-07:002011-07-29T13:26:46.353-07:00Building your own PC <i>Please do not be offended, I am not trying to teach you to "suck eggs" rather explaining things in such a way so that everybody can understand! </i><br />
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When I began writing this thread regarding building your own PC, I didn't think it would take me long at all. I started writing and keep finding myself having to elaborate on different areas, it's amazing what things that you know that you just take for granted. With this in mind, I will be posting this entire article in a number of posts, that way you will be able to digest the information in easy to manage sections (and give me more time to complete the write up).<br />
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With all that being said, lets start off with the basics.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Building your own PC very easy, once you have built one you will never forget how to do it and your skills will continually get better.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Firstly you need to know exactly what components are required, the list is purely skimming over the necessary components and not going in depth into different types and speeds etc, this will be covered later on in the guide.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Motherboard.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">The motherboard is the main circuit board in your computer. All of the components that you use all connect either directly or indirectly to this.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Processor.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">This is the brain of the computer, all the information that is being processed goes through this.<br />
Processor speed is measured in GHz (Giga Hertz) - another important factor when choosing a CPU is cache - we will go into more detail later in this guide.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NyV4ppf0E8k/TiBlzHNC5YI/AAAAAAAAADY/ognjsxnqtZ8/s1600/er_photo_139672_52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NyV4ppf0E8k/TiBlzHNC5YI/AAAAAAAAADY/ognjsxnqtZ8/s320/er_photo_139672_52.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Random Access Memory (RAM)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Your RAM is where data is cached for fast access by the processor. When playing games<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or using other applications, the bulk of the data is stored on your RAM to enable much faster access - resulting in good PC performance.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Memory is measured in Gigabytes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>The noticeable difference between these sticks of ram is that the top ones come with a metal shrouding, designed to dissipate the heat (Heat sink or Heat Spreader). Beneath the metal shroud, you will find that the memory modules themselves look pretty much identical.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2l51oTO9JoE/TjMOiUsXaHI/AAAAAAAAAHs/N1j2T-3LzxI/s1600/ram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2l51oTO9JoE/TjMOiUsXaHI/AAAAAAAAAHs/N1j2T-3LzxI/s320/ram.jpg" width="320" /></a><b> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Graphics card. </b><b>(optional) </b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Every computer needs a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) however I said optional, as many motherboards have them built into them. Even some processors are being launched by AMD with built in GPU however we will not expand on this as this is simply a beginners guide.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_fVRFikItsc/TjMQ8GaQvyI/AAAAAAAAAH0/QZNcsdkQPSc/s1600/GPUs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_fVRFikItsc/TjMQ8GaQvyI/AAAAAAAAAH0/QZNcsdkQPSc/s400/GPUs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(optional) Sound Card.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Once again, many motherboards come with these built in however with separate bought sound cards, depending on the model the quality is usually but not always far superior.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjII6anVf_g/TjMRgKvQEHI/AAAAAAAAAH4/yISr-4iwwZo/s1600/APU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjII6anVf_g/TjMRgKvQEHI/AAAAAAAAAH4/yISr-4iwwZo/s320/APU.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Power Supply.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">The power supply unit is what converts your 230V AC into a DC power source usable by the computer circuitry. These are rated in Watts - we will cover this in more detail later on in the guide.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GEIXeNIj8zg/TjMSExB_RrI/AAAAAAAAAH8/74fIlA6fyfU/s1600/PSU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GEIXeNIj8zg/TjMSExB_RrI/AAAAAAAAAH8/74fIlA6fyfU/s320/PSU.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hard Drive.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">This is where all of your data is stored, from letters, games, programs even down to the operating system it's self. The units that these are measured in are Gigabytes, and even Terabytes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gzDTQVm9A1A/TjMSmAg9YhI/AAAAAAAAAIA/y1t9WsvnLp0/s1600/hard+drive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gzDTQVm9A1A/TjMSmAg9YhI/AAAAAAAAAIA/y1t9WsvnLp0/s320/hard+drive.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DVD / CD / BD Drive</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Another essential item for your computer, this will enable you to install programs, listen to music, watch DVD / BD movies (depending on the drive) etc..</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1cRYWumlLjY/TjMTPFFpfSI/AAAAAAAAAIE/4mhEF44AWY8/s1600/dvd+drive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1cRYWumlLjY/TjMTPFFpfSI/AAAAAAAAAIE/4mhEF44AWY8/s320/dvd+drive.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Computer Case.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">This will house all of the above components. They come in a range of different shapes and sizes, choosing one is all about personal preference and cost.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The above list is the items that are needed to make a working PC. The only other essentials that you would require are: Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, And obviously an operating system.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now that you know the basics that are required, we will now go a little more in depth into the items themselves and the choices that you will have to make when choosing your components.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</style> <![endif]--></div><div class="MsoNormal">There are now a few factors that will help your decision making, firstly and foremost is cost! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cost</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">How much can you afford to put into your new computer?<br />
The fact is, that you can build a computer as cheaply or as expensive as you want - If you gave me £10,000 I could build you a PC and spend every penny, and if you gave me £200 I could also build you a completely different computer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Usage.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">What will the computer be used for?<br />
If you are very much into computer gaming, then your computer requirements would be totally different from those to somebody looking for a computer to browse the Internet, read emails and constantly play spider solitaire, and moan at their son for playing Bad Company 2 when he should be doing more with his life... whoops where was I going with that (Hey mum).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Quality </b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Just like cars, computers come with brands of components synonymous with quality and others renowned for bad quality, so chose your parts wisely and you should end up with a nice reliable piece of kit!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Stay tuned for the next installment - Which components to choose and why</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-47882988969357165432011-07-24T02:52:00.000-07:002011-07-24T02:52:39.756-07:00Next blogOkay guys and girls, i'm giving you a choice as to what my next blog should be about.<br />
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1) How to build your own PC<br />
2) How to install water cooling<br />
3) See how far I can push an i5 2500k with a cheap (£20) cooler.<br />
4) Something else (I want your input and ideas) So leave ideas in comments.<br />
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Cheers peepsWhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-17192616880237623332011-07-18T23:28:00.000-07:002011-07-20T04:20:18.990-07:00Windows 7 "God Mode"So I take it that most of us here migrated either from vista or windows XP.<br />
Wasn't it a bit of a nightmare finding all the settings again after learning the whereabouts from XP.<br />
Well, a neat little trick you can try to enable "god mode" on your windows 7 / Vista machine is as follows.<br />
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Create a new folder on your desktop.<br />
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Now rename it:<br />
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbzGVVTJnXI/Tia4j6WCOvI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Uk-2AmOzzDw/s1600/folder.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbzGVVTJnXI/Tia4j6WCOvI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Uk-2AmOzzDw/s1600/folder.png" /></a><br />
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Voila! All your settings, tweaks and system adjustments in one easy managable place.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OwJarBYTm1E/Tia4n7iFSII/AAAAAAAAAHY/DBfb-8ZuHZA/s1600/godmode+folderview.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OwJarBYTm1E/Tia4n7iFSII/AAAAAAAAAHY/DBfb-8ZuHZA/s320/godmode+folderview.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-73268910187626856042011-07-16T21:31:00.000-07:002011-07-19T02:53:28.265-07:00MSI ATI HD6970 Overclocking Guide and ReviewSince upgrading from my GTX460 Hawk (fantastic card) - I decided to switch to the red camp and get myself a 6970. After being totally impressed by the MSI GTX 460, I decided to go with MSI again, and so far I have not been disappointed.<br />
Only since buying this card have I heard about the MSI R6970 Lightning and definitely regret not doing my homework!<br />
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Out of the box, the 6970 performs pretty well but, as many of you out there can empathise, I do enjoy pushing the boundaries pf my hardware to get the best performance possible!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WxeIWYTJUWI/TiGTeE6BOiI/AAAAAAAAADk/UynZg6Gx_LE/s1600/1393232-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WxeIWYTJUWI/TiGTeE6BOiI/AAAAAAAAADk/UynZg6Gx_LE/s400/1393232-a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b><u>Standard MSI HD6970 Specs:</u><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Manufacturing Process</span></b>: 40 nm<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Cores</b>:</span> 1536<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Clock</span></b>: 880Mhz<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory</span></b>: 2GB<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory Bit Rate</span></b>: 256 Bit<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory Type</span></b>: GDDR5<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory Clock</span></b>: 1375MHz<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Cooling</span></b>: Fan<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Interface</span></b>: PCI-E 2.1 (x16)<br />
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<b><i> </i><u>Test Rig:</u></b><br />
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<b style="color: #3d85c6;">Motherboard</b> : ASUS P8P67<br />
<b style="color: #3d85c6;">CPU</b> : Intel i7 2600k - running at 4600Mhz<br />
<b style="color: #3d85c6;">Hard Drive</b>: 2xWD Velociraptor SATAII RAID0 (Striped) <br />
<b style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory</b>: Corsair Vengeance (Blue) - 1866Mhz 9-10-9-27 @ 1.5v<br />
<b style="color: #3d85c6;">OS</b>: Windows 7 x64 Pro (SP1)<br />
<b style="color: #3d85c6;">Driver version</b>: 7.14.10.0841 Catalyst 11.6<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">DirectX Version</span></b>: DX11 <br />
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<u><b>Programs Used:</b></u><br />
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Overclocking utility</span></b>: MSI Afterburner<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Stability / Benchmarking</span></b> :3D Mark 11<br />
Eunigine Heaven<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Monitoring Software</span></b>: GPUZ - Monitors all GPU settings, including GPU clock speed, Memory clock speed, voltages etc... MSI Afterburner OSD - This will display the FPS and core temperatures of the card during the tests, so that in the event of a drastically high temperature, the test can be aborted to avoid damage to the card.<br />
FRAPS - A games benchmarking program and FPS monitor.<br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Games to test stability and additional benchmark</span></b>: Battlefield Bad Company II + Dirt 3<br />
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<u><b>Observations</b></u><br />
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The card does look nice, they have payed a lot of attention to detail, there is parallel red piping that runs the length of the card on the top which looks nice when looking through the case window.<br />
The card has a totally covered PCB which I like as it protects all of the circuitry from clumsy installations.<br />
The fan! When idle the card is relatively quiet however when the fan is pushed to 100% it sounds like a jet engine is cranking up in your case - personally I play with a headset on, and can barely hear it over the game sounds but for those of you using speakers, this may be a defining factor when choosing a graphics card. Also I have noticed that when in games, using standard fan speed setting (and overclocked settings) the card can heat up to the point of failure however I believe this to be a driver issue and not specifically card related.<br />
The card supports eyefinity (see my other blog about this) which is definitely a tick in positives!<br />
The card is very long so requires a large case to fit it into!<br />
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<u><b>Custom Fan Configuration</b></u><br />
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Afterburner provides a custom fan configuration with it's software to enable you to keep your GPU cool under above average stress.<br />
Load up afterburner, and click settings, click on the fan tab and check the box "enable user defined software automatic fan control"<br />
You will now see a chart. The horizontal readings relate to temperature, and the vertical readings are your fan speeds.<br />
By clicking on the line, you can create a new anchor point and move it to the appropriate place. In this picture you can see how I have set my fan speeds up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G94d-71MRiU/TiGz3QSfsQI/AAAAAAAAAEA/v01HMy5JXUg/s1600/Custom+Fan.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G94d-71MRiU/TiGz3QSfsQI/AAAAAAAAAEA/v01HMy5JXUg/s1600/Custom+Fan.PNG" /></a></div><br />
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<u><b>Overclocking</b></u><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Disclaimer: Overclocking has its risks, and if you are not confident in tinkering with any settings that I am going to explain, then I urge you not to do so as you could end up ruining your components. The second that you overclock your GPU, your warranty will be null and void! I will not held responsible for any damages or losses incurred!</span></b><br />
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<i><b>How to unlock MSI AfterBurner to enable "unofficial overclocking" levels:</b></i><br />
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<u><b>Before:</b></u><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BLEhhltvFrI/TiJk4guiuXI/AAAAAAAAAEs/A-HMNl0WSlg/s1600/Before.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BLEhhltvFrI/TiJk4guiuXI/AAAAAAAAAEs/A-HMNl0WSlg/s320/Before.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><u><b>After:</b></u><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S15Xp5OY8x8/TiJk83l1JPI/AAAAAAAAAEw/YPjoyaWRC9Q/s1600/After.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S15Xp5OY8x8/TiJk83l1JPI/AAAAAAAAAEw/YPjoyaWRC9Q/s320/After.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Navigate to your afterburner install folder (usually in program files / program files x86). Find the MSIAfterburner.cfg file and open it up in notepad.<br />
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Firstly find the following value:<br />
UnofficialOverclockingEULA =<br />
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after the = sign, copy and paste the following.<br />
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I confirm that I am aware of unofficial overclocking limitations and fully understand that MSI will not provide me any support on it<br />
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remembering to leave a space after the =<br />
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Now find the following value:<br />
UnofficialOverclockingMode = 0<br />
Simply change the 0 to a 1<br />
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Now run MSI Afterburner and you should have a greater range to play with!<br />
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This particular card, in comparison to my previous GTX460 does not overclock as well, however I did have fun pushing it to its limits and will now outline the following sequence of tests that I did to establish these boundaries and how to verify the GPU's stability.<br />
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<u><b>Overclocking and Stability Testing Method</b></u><br />
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As you can see in the image of afterburner above, there are 3 settings that we can change that will affect performance:<br />
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The Core Voltage (mV) - This increases the amount of voltage that is pushed into your GPU core, the more voltage = more heat but also increases the frequency that the processor will be able to reach.<br />
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Core Clock (Mhz) - Increases the frequency that the GPU runs at, increasing performance and heat.<br />
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Memory Clock (Mhz) - Increases the frequency that the graphics card's memory runs at, increasing the heat to the memory modules, and increasing performance.<br />
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It is best to test one of these at a time to see exactly where the limits are for that particular setting, however I decided to push the settings to the original (locked) maximums to see how it performed with the intention of using this as a starting block.<br />
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After the initial overclock, I would increase the GPUGPU frequency in it's overclocked state, the memory frequency will now be increased in small stages, again until 3DMark 11 failed to complete a single pass. <br />
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I only used a single pass of 3DMark11 at this early stage, as I know it to be good stress testing software. This is not proving stability at this point, simply showing me that 3DMark11 would run (which is a good indicator). To prove stability later on in the testing phase, I will be running a number of different testing programs and also couple of games (listed above).<br />
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<u><b>GPU Frequency Overclocking</b></u> <br />
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In this section, we will, as stated above me raising the GPU Core Clock setting by small increasments in order to find where the GPU's limits are.<br />
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<u><b>TEST 1</b></u><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Settings</span>:<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Core Clock</span>: <span style="color: red;">950MHz</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory Clock</span>: 1450<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Voltage</span>: 1300<br />
<u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Result</span></u>: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">PASS</span></b> 6088 3DMarks<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f4INP-sY2AI/TiGpzxE5mgI/AAAAAAAAADo/TPFnQjKawo8/s1600/max+locked+settings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f4INP-sY2AI/TiGpzxE5mgI/AAAAAAAAADo/TPFnQjKawo8/s320/max+locked+settings.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Pleased with the result, already with above averages for my particular set up according to the chart, I decided to push the Core Clock up gradually to see exactly how much the graphics card could take.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><u><b>TEST 2</b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;">Settings:</div><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Clock</span>: <span style="color: red;">965MHz</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory Clock</span>: 1450MHz<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Voltage</span>: 1300mV<br />
<u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Result</span></u>: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">PASS</span></b> 6141 3DMarks<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5bO4XSMCwuo/TiGxrP1ph8I/AAAAAAAAAD8/k7BVHfJEXhw/s1600/next1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5bO4XSMCwuo/TiGxrP1ph8I/AAAAAAAAAD8/k7BVHfJEXhw/s320/next1.PNG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Very promising results so far, an increase of 53 3DMarks!<br />
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<u><b>TEST 3</b></u><br />
Settings<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Clock</span>: <span style="color: red;">975MHz</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory clock</span>: 1450MHz<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">GPU Voltag</span>e: 1300mV<br />
<u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Result</span></u>: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">PASS</span></b> - 6181 3DMarks<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t98Gq3LR-uE/TiGwsxdKzPI/AAAAAAAAAD4/7uuCbG-dAHg/s1600/next.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t98Gq3LR-uE/TiGwsxdKzPI/AAAAAAAAAD4/7uuCbG-dAHg/s320/next.PNG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Another healthy increase of 40 3DMarks this time round!<br />
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<u><b>TEST 4</b></u><br />
Settings:<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Clock</span>: <span style="color: red;">980MHz</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory clock</span>: 1450MHz<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">GPU Voltage</span>: 1300mV<br />
<u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Result</span></u>: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">PASS</span></b> - 6214 3DMarks<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vzVmsZd2YQ/TiG2e56ViFI/AAAAAAAAAEI/rHrhSiPJtkY/s1600/6214.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vzVmsZd2YQ/TiG2e56ViFI/AAAAAAAAAEI/rHrhSiPJtkY/s320/6214.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YxM1NUU8GRs/TiG1m1U79RI/AAAAAAAAAEE/0gXDGbHcs2Q/s1600/next2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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Still going strong! and now pushing into the 62xx range, very promising indeed, all this with still only 1450Mhz memory clock. As you can see in the chart, this system is pushing well above average compared to similar systems.<br />
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<b><u>TEST 5</u></b><br />
Settings:<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Clock</span>: <span style="color: red;">985MHz</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory clock</span>: 1450MHz<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">GPU Voltage</span>: 1300mV<br />
<u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Result</span></u>: <b style="color: #cc0000;">FAIL</b><br />
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Well to be honest, I was expecting this around now, considering the above average scores already. I can conclude at this moment in time that the maximum GPU Core Clock is around the 980Mhz mark (on this specific card), you may have better or worse luck with yours, every card is different!<br />
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I will now leave the GPU frequency at 980Mhz along with the GPU Voltage at 1300mV (1.3V) and start pushing the memory frequency up from 1450Mhz!<br />
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<u><b>Memory Frequency Overclocking</b></u><br />
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</b></u>In this section, we will, as stated above me raising the GPU Memory Clock setting by small increasments in order to find where the GPU's limits are in relation to the current Core Clock settings.<br />
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<u><b> TEST 6</b></u><br />
Settings:<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Clock</span>: 980 mhz<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory Clock</span>: <span style="color: red;">1455MHz</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">GPU Voltage</span>: 1300mV<br />
<u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Result</span></u>: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">PASS</span></b> 6258 3DMarks !!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nGSwgnfEqdY/TiG526C4o5I/AAAAAAAAAEM/5j3uAIXxYec/s1600/winning.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nGSwgnfEqdY/TiG526C4o5I/AAAAAAAAAEM/5j3uAIXxYec/s320/winning.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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In the words of Charlie Sheen "<span style="color: red;">WINNING</span>"!<br />
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<u><b>TEST 7</b></u><br />
Settings:<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Core Clock</span>: 980 MHz<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Memory Clock</span>: <span style="color: red;">1460MHZ</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">GPU Voltage</span>: 1300mV<br />
<u><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Result</span></u>: <b><span style="color: #990000;">FAIL</span></b><br />
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Well it looks like we may have hit our limit ladies and gentlemen!<br />
Without the inclusion of a voltage tweak for the memory, I conclude that this is about as far as the memory can be pushed which is slightly disappointing although not really that surprising.<br />
The Lightning version of the MSI 6970 does include the "triple over volt" feature (as did my GTX460) which would be great to play about with but not to worry. <br />
I will now revert back to the "winning" settings (Test 6) and run a few more tests to ensure that we have a stable overclock.<br />
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<u><b>Stability Testing </b></u><br />
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<b>Best 3DMark 11 - <span style="color: #bf9000;">6258 3DMarks</span></b> best of 3<br />
<b>Best Unigene Heaven - <span style="color: #bf9000;">Score of 1164 </span></b><span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="color: black;">best of 3</span></span><b><span style="color: #bf9000;"><br />
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I will not go into as much detail with the following benchmarks, as it follows the exact same procedure as above. I will say though that during the series of stability test that followed the above set of tests, I found the card to become slightly unstable and freezing on occasion, lowering the clock speed to 975MHz seemed to suit the card more so than the higher setting of 980.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2-6Y-cBM1Ws/TiJi0MVFNKI/AAAAAAAAAEk/597ChhnLMxI/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2-6Y-cBM1Ws/TiJi0MVFNKI/AAAAAAAAAEk/597ChhnLMxI/s400/Capture.PNG" width="375" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w96DOINycI4/TiH9btofbII/AAAAAAAAAEY/AWFwI6BjHaA/s1600/unigene+settings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<u><b>Battlefield Bad Company 2:</b></u><br />
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In game graphics settings:<br />
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Resolution : 1920x1080 <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xM29BDE4VRQ/TiIKsIpJiNI/AAAAAAAAAEc/-x_lmA5lfY4/s1600/BFBC2+Settings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xM29BDE4VRQ/TiIKsIpJiNI/AAAAAAAAAEc/-x_lmA5lfY4/s320/BFBC2+Settings.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<u><b>Frames per Second: </b></u><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Minimum</span> : 83 FPS<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Maximum</span>: 125 FPS<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Average</span>: 93.458 FPS<br />
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<b><u>Dirt 3:</u></b><br />
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in game graphics settings:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XVgLmTcSn2A/TiINH_fSRQI/AAAAAAAAAEg/sf0u1sf4sZE/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XVgLmTcSn2A/TiINH_fSRQI/AAAAAAAAAEg/sf0u1sf4sZE/s1600/Capture.PNG" /></a></div><br />
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<u><b>Frames per Second:</b></u><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Minimum</span>: 90 FPS<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Maximum</span>: 111 FPS<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Average</span>: 98.608 FPS<br />
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Please note, in the above screenshot, the refresh rate setting only matters when VSYNC is active. VSYNC matches the refresh rate of your visuals with that of your monitor - this reduces the tearing effect that you see in games on occasion when VSYNC is disabled.<br />
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For those of you scratching your head at this, the best way I can describe tearing is:<br />
If you can imagine that the image displayed on your screen has one or more horizontal lines drawn diagonally from left to right (varying angles) across the screen. When the picture is moving on your display, it appears that both above and below that line, the images either side slightly shift out of alignment very quickly, and then allign back, going back and forth. It is not a continual visual effect, it is only a problem when the refresh rates of the monitor and the display adapter are at conflicting rates.<br />
Take a look at the image below for a better idea.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ifko5Gn3tJc/TiJkIOrFNPI/AAAAAAAAAEo/GQhee5uyOSk/s1600/tearing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ifko5Gn3tJc/TiJkIOrFNPI/AAAAAAAAAEo/GQhee5uyOSk/s400/tearing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Both of the above games were benchmarked using FRAPS. I ran a random level in each game for a period of 3 minutes, running around switching views and generally playing the game. This is the typical in-game performance that you will be experiencing with an overclock of this amount. <br />
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<u><b>Fine Tuning the Voltage</b></u><br />
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After finding your optimal settings for your card, I suggest that you stard decreasing the GPU voltage until you reach the point of failure, and then just raise it until you alleviate any issues. 1.3V or 1300mV is a safe voltage for this graphics card although you must be aware that running any component above the recommended settings for any period of time will affect the longevity, hence why it is important to find the "perfect" overclocked settings.<br />
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I did not do the above step on this occasion due to time constraints however I definitely will do in the near future<br />
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<u><b>Temperature & Noise solutions:</b></u><br />
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<i>(Thanks to <span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;">Sacred Bob <span style="color: black;">for informing me that I had left this out of the review).</span></span></i><br />
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<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">There are a number of options available to you if you are finding the stock cooler on the GPU either too ineffective or far too noisy.</span></span><br />
<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">If you are not adventurous enough or lack the confidence to dismantle your card then your options are somewhat limited, otherwise there are a couple of avenues that you could go down.</span></span><br />
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<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">i Water Cooling</span></span><br />
<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">ii Aftermarket Coolers</span></span><br />
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<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">No matter which you decide to go for (if any) if you remember to treat the card with respect and try to hold the PCB around the edges when all the circuitry is exposed you reduce the risks of damaging your card.</span></span><br />
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<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">i) Water Cooling - If you do not already have a water cooling set up in your case, then the initial outlay far exceeds the benefits for you, as not only would you have to buy the water block, which would set you back around £70.00, you would also need the rest of the kit including, water pump, radiator, reservoir, tubing etc which would set you back a tidy sum.</span></span><br />
<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">More information on watercooling can be found here:</span></span><br />
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<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">http://www.spodesabode.com/archive/content/article/watercool</span></span><br />
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<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">ii) Aftermarket Coolers - There are a number to choose from, none of which I have had first had experience with, so unfortunately I can not advise on the best option to choose from, however there are a couple that caught my eye.</span></span><br />
<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">Firstly the Shaman by Thermalright. Toms Hardware have done a write up on this :</span></span><br />
<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/aftermarket-vga-cooling-shaman,2797-2.html</span></span><br />
<span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">And also the </span></span><span class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span style="color: black;">Accelero Xtreme Plus II</span></span>, which has good reports of low noise and good gains in temperature management which is sold for around the £50.00 mark.<br />
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If you already own the MSI HD6970 and are looking for means of cooling / quieting it, then the above choices are going to be helpful to you, however if you are looking to buy this particular card and then adapt it afterwards, I would advise you to look at the MSI 6970 Lightning as it not only comes equipped with the Twin Frozr III - which is a fantastic cooler, it also comes out the box with the triple over voltage capability !<br />
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At the time of writing this blog, you can pick up the MSI HD6970 for around £250, and the MSI HD6970 Lightning for around £330.00. I know what I would do if I had the choice.<br />
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<u><b>Conclusion:</b></u><br />
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<u><b> </b></u><br />
<u><b> </b></u><br />
The MSI ATI HD6970 is a powerful card from stock speeds alone, and when you start to push the boundaries, you can achieve pretty good results.<br />
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I will be lowering my GPU speeds for day to day use however, now that I know where the limits are I have eliminated the need to experiment, and I can now just change any settings and just into any game with relative confidence that graphics card will perform well under stress. Of course, things don't always work that way with PC's and when running components at the edge of their ability, you do occasionally get "hiccups".<br />
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Would I recommend this card to you?<br />
I have two answers to this question really, yes and no.<br />
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If you are the kind of person who will buy a graphics card and run it at stock speeds and not that interested in overclocking then this card should suit you well, however the fact that you are reading this blog suggests otherwise.<br />
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The required fan speeds to keep this card under full load at overclocked speeds is truly shocking - I will be looking at water cooling (setup guide to follow) soon however whether I keep this card or put it on eBay and pay the extra for the lightning is another question entirely and almost a certainty!<br />
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Thank you for reading this article, once again I hope you have learned something and found it interesting.<br />
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If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave them in the comments below and I will very much appreciate the feed back and will reply as soon as possible.WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-61523896230896901232011-07-15T09:14:00.000-07:002011-07-19T03:50:20.168-07:00Manually Overclocking the new Sandybridge<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NyV4ppf0E8k/TiBlzHNC5YI/AAAAAAAAADY/ognjsxnqtZ8/s1600/er_photo_139672_52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NyV4ppf0E8k/TiBlzHNC5YI/AAAAAAAAADY/ognjsxnqtZ8/s320/er_photo_139672_52.jpg" width="320" /></a>Over the past week I have been forced to buy a new gaming rig as my dog managed to urinate though the side panel of my case, straight onto the motherboard, memory, graphics card and power supply unit, leaving me completely without both a gaming machine and any web browsing capabilities; which in my book is like having one of your appendages removed.<br />
So I found myself facing a decision... </div><div class="MsoNormal">i) Replace the bits that had been ruined for similar / identical parts, or </div><div class="MsoNormal">ii) To upgrade from the 1366 socket type completely. Well seeing as I am writing this blog, I am sure that you have already guessed what I decided to do!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well after some deliberation I decided that it would be best to upgrade to the latest chipset from Intel rather than pump my money into a [soon to be] obsolete socket type. I aquired:</div><div class="MsoNormal"> ASUS P8P67 Deluxe, </div><div class="MsoNormal">8GB DDR3 1866 9-10-9-27 Corsair Vengance (blue), </div><div class="MsoNormal">and the intel i7 2600K processor.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hXFu1AfY9dw/TiVddwyDqYI/AAAAAAAAAG0/BXDzPCc0HzQ/s1600/P8P67_DLX_3D_x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hXFu1AfY9dw/TiVddwyDqYI/AAAAAAAAAG0/BXDzPCc0HzQ/s320/P8P67_DLX_3D_x.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Agreed, the performance increase is not as noticeable as if I were to upgrade from the LGA775 socket type for example but none the less there are still great gains to be had when you wake the chip up out of its factory settings and start pushing the boundaries with overclocking!</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have always enjoyed overclocking, my memory, GPU, Processor and totally love seeing how far I can push my system and what gains are attainable. On a side note, my previous graphics card (MSI GTX 460 HAWK) Was the best card I have ever owned - the overclocking potential was phenomenal.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color: red;">Disclaimer: Overclocking has its risks, and if you are not confident in tinkering with any settings that I am going to explain, then I urge you not to do so as you could end up ruining your components. The second that you overclock your processor, your warranty will be null and void! I will not held responsible for any damages or losses incurred!</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color: red;"><br />
</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal">This guide is aimed at the beginner, as I will try to explain as best as I can </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Okay first off you will need a few applications, both to monitor your components and to test their stability with their new settings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f497d;">CoreTemp</span> - this application will tell you the temperature on each core of your processor.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iG4Dj-ZISYo/TiVdlQTG3_I/AAAAAAAAAG4/QTbvdumeqDI/s1600/coretemp.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iG4Dj-ZISYo/TiVdlQTG3_I/AAAAAAAAAG4/QTbvdumeqDI/s320/coretemp.PNG" width="302" /></a></div><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f497d;">CPUZ</span> - This tool shows you every detail about your processor and the clock speeds that are set.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t-ypUWclyjQ/TiVdpTTsl6I/AAAAAAAAAG8/x1UNR_uSEyc/s1600/CPUZ.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t-ypUWclyjQ/TiVdpTTsl6I/AAAAAAAAAG8/x1UNR_uSEyc/s320/CPUZ.PNG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f497d;">Prime95</span> - This is a stress test program that utilises 100% of your processor usage to establish how stable your overclock is.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-te3shXD54SQ/TiVdvs7bKLI/AAAAAAAAAHA/mnj10G5xdz0/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-te3shXD54SQ/TiVdvs7bKLI/AAAAAAAAAHA/mnj10G5xdz0/s320/Capture.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f497d;">OCCT</span> - Again this is another stress test program like prime95 but I have found that on occasions, this program will find a weakness in the overclock where prime95 runs smoothly all night!</div><div class="MsoNormal">I will try to keep this as simple as possible so that everyone can follow it easily.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-np6TNZqGpv8/TiVdzwMV1QI/AAAAAAAAAHE/3CagMRaHAlE/s1600/OCCT.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-np6TNZqGpv8/TiVdzwMV1QI/AAAAAAAAAHE/3CagMRaHAlE/s320/OCCT.PNG" width="274" /></a></div><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #f79646;">Voltages:</span><br />
(VCC)when overclocking your processor, to enable it to perform faster you may be required to increase the voltage to the processor - This also depends on how much you overclock by. You may find that you can increase the speed of the processor by a moderate amount without having to touch the voltage. I will go more into the maximum safe voltages in a moment.<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal">What voltages can you expect to set the VCC to when overclocking?</div><div class="MsoNormal">Here is a guide, and I say guide as every CPU is different; some may require more and others may run perfectly on a lower voltage!</div><div class="MsoNormal">4.0-4.3GHz 1.300v-1.325v<br />
4.3-4.5GHz 1.325v-1.375v<br />
4.5-4.8GHz 1.375v-1.450v</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #f79646;">Frequency:</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uyCy1opg6Zc/TiVhJ5ADr_I/AAAAAAAAAHI/libLRo8wTzY/s1600/biios.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uyCy1opg6Zc/TiVhJ5ADr_I/AAAAAAAAAHI/libLRo8wTzY/s320/biios.jpg" width="299" /></a>(BCLK)This is the frequency that the processor runs at, unlike overclocking with other processors where you would be expected to change the frequency and multiplier; With the Sandybridge I urge you not to change this from the default 100.0 unless you know what you are doing, as it affects a number of different settings which can bring about not only instability but possible damage to other hardware. Being at a set 100 makes overclocking pretty simple, if the multiplier is at 45 for example and the BCLK is at 100 then that would equal a total clock speed of (100x45) 4500Mhz or 4.5Ghz. This clock speed is easily attainable with air cooling and as I'm sure you will agree is a great deal more performance than the stock speed of 3.4Ghz.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #f79646;">Multiplier:</span><br />
This is multiplied by the BCLK to give you your total clock speed. This is the main setting that we will be tinkering about with to get the most out of the processor.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #f79646;">Temperature:</span><br />
A very important factor where overclocking is concerned is the temperature! The more voltage that you put into your chip, the hotter it is going to get under load. You need to keep an eye on the temperatures to enable a safe overclock!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red;">Ideally you do not want your temperatures raising above 72C as this will likely reduce the longevity of your processor and could possibly cause damage.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #f79646;">Air Flow:</span><br />
It is important that you have adequate air flow in your case to expel the hotter than usual air produced during the stress testing phase. for more information on case air flow, please do some googling on cable management and case fan configuration.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WDgKUsGfhCY/TiBmjqAtx2I/AAAAAAAAADc/unYrNFjiUlc/s1600/dsc00001ks8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WDgKUsGfhCY/TiBmjqAtx2I/AAAAAAAAADc/unYrNFjiUlc/s320/dsc00001ks8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #f79646;">CPU Cooling:</span><br />
I recommend that you upgrade your CPU cooler to a more efficient type than the stock cooler provided by intel. Don't get me wrong, the cooler that the retail version comes with is adequate for stock speeds, however when overclocking you will find that this becomes your limiting factor as far as temperatures are concerned. A great cooler that I can personally recommend is the Megahalems Rev B using a push/pull configuration with 2 x 120mm fans. However for the more extravagant of you, water cooling is always an option.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5OkQ53fR28M/TiBmsXyyZuI/AAAAAAAAADg/H4RFoHE9O6A/s1600/prolimatech_megab_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5OkQ53fR28M/TiBmsXyyZuI/AAAAAAAAADg/H4RFoHE9O6A/s320/prolimatech_megab_6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #f79646;">Thermal Paste:<br />
</span>Please follow this link if you need any information about thermal paste : http://www.techpowerup.com/printarticle.php?id=134</div><div class="MsoNormal">Okay, this guide is really geared around my motherboard (the P8P67) However many of the settings may be similar to those that I am outlining in this guide. If you are at all unsure then please check your motherboard manual for more information on the settings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #f79646;">How much will you be able to overclock by?</span><br />
1. Approximately 50% of CPUs can go up to 4.4~4.5 GHz<br />
2. Approximately 40% of CPUs can go up to 4.6~4.7 GHz<br />
3. Approximately 10% of CPUs can go up to 4.8~5 GHz (50+ multipliers are about 2% of this group)<br />
The above was a statement by ASUS regarding overclocking on the P67 chipset.<br />
Every processor is different. You could have 2 identical processors with the same batch numbers and one may be able to clock easily to 4.8-5.0 and the other may struggle to get past 4.5, it is simply the luck of the draw!</div><div class="MsoNormal">I do not advise in attempting a 4.7Ghz+ overclock on air cooling as I do not believe that the temperatures will be viable, but it is entirely up to you what you do with your system and you may find that your processor runs cooler!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Right then, let's get to it!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Firstly uninstall the EPU software (if you installed it in the first place). This software over and underclocks your system and lowers / raises voltages for a small overclock or underclock to save power.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #c00000;">BIOS Settings:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f497d;">C1E and EIST</span> = enabled</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> The 3 settings below can be changed to increase the overclocking range above what we are trying to achieve, so just leave them as Auto for this tutorial.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f497d;">Duty Control</span> = Auto<br />
<span style="color: #1f497d;">Phase Control</span> = Auto<br />
<span style="color: #1f497d;">VRM Frequency</span> = Auto</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Also</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f497d;">Speedstep</span> = Disabled.<br />
<span style="color: #1f497d;">LLC or Load Line Calibration</span> = Auto.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Asus reccomend setting LLC to HIGH, however this may increase your temperatures and push a little too much voltage through your processor than you want, normally leaving this on Auto will be fine unless you experience terrible stability with the outlined voltages.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Downclock your memory frequency to 1333Mhz if you have faster modules installed - This will ensure that you are testing the stability of your processor and not your memory.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am not going to go into detail for these settings, as this is not meant to be an advanced guide. If you wish to know more about these settings, then google it!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you wish just to get a gain out of your processor without pushing it to its limits, then choose a clock speed that you are happy with and set the multiplier accordingly. Next set the VCC to the lower end of the voltage guideline, save and reboot your computer.</div><div class="MsoNormal">recap:<br />
4.0-4.3GHz 1.300v-1.325v<br />
4.3-4.5GHz 1.325v-1.375v<br />
4.5-4.8GHz 1.375v-1.450v</div><div class="MsoNormal">If your computer fails to boot into windows (BSOD), then go to the next paragraph below otherwise go to the "System stability" heading. <br />
<br />
<u><span style="color: red;">BSOD</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal">If your processor does not have the required voltage it needs to boot, then the chances are that you will receive a BSOD with the error code (x000000124).</div><div class="MsoNormal">If this is the case, then do not worry it is simply a case of upping the voltage. Upping the voltage by 0.025V should remedy this (you may wish to raise it by a smaller amount). </div><div class="MsoNormal">If your computer fails to boot after a BSOD then you may need to clear the cmos (on the P6970 there is a pin hole on the rear panel with "cmos" written above it). Just press this in and hold for 1-2 seconds then reboot. Please note that when you clear the cmos, your motherboard will lose its saved settings and you will need to manually reconfigure them again. Just remember what voltage you set it at previously and increase as necessary.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color: red;">System Stability</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal">Okay, so you booted up into windows without a problem... good!<br />
Load up CoreTemp or HWMonitor and make sure that your ambient temperatures are acceptable. If with a mediocre overclock you are experiencing high temperatures at idle, then this could be an issue with your CPU cooler not being seated properly or the thermal paste not being applied correctly. It may also be an issue with your air flow in your case. If at this point you are seeing temperatures above 50C then I suggest that you forget about overclocking until you remedy this problem.</div><div class="MsoNormal">If all is good with your temperatures, you need to run CPUZ to check that the settings you put into the BIOS are correct and that the CPU is overclocked as desired.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Okay now for the stress testing.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Leave CoreTemp or HWMonitor running so that you can monitor the temperature whilst running the stress test. I recommend HWMonitor just to keep an eye on the VCC to ensure it does not stray above safe limits.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Load up Prime95 and select the top choice (Small FFTs). Number of threads to run should match the number of threads on your processor - for i7 2600k (with hyper threading enabled) should be set to 8.<br />
Press OK and the workers will start, you will notice in any CPU monitoring gadget or task manager under performance that every thread on your processor will be running at 100%.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Keep a diligent eye on your temperatures at this stage for the next 20 minutes or so and this will give you a good indication of your max temps. As Prime95 continues to run different algorithms, you will find that your temperature will deviate. You ideally do not want to see your temperatures going over 70C at this stage, as it may push up to 75-80 later on in the test which is outside of your desired temperature range.</div><div class="MsoNormal">If your Prime95 runs without a hitch for a few hours without your temperatures going over your threshold then I would say it was safe to leave it running over night. This will prove a stable overclock!</div><div class="MsoNormal">If your system fails during the stress test with a BSOD then refer to the "BSOD" heading above.<br />
If your computer fails with an instant shut down then this points to different issues that will need investigating further (usually PSU from my experience) however it could be a magnitude of other issues (like dogs urinating in your case) lol. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Experiment with your settings, try to lower your voltage on the VCC to the point where stability becomes a slight issue, then crank it back up just a little to ensure that you are not pushing too much voltage through the CPU than is required. Likewise if you are still having issues with stability regardless, then try altering the other bios settings (although refer to another more detailed guide for this to ensure you understand exactly what the settings should be).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After this reasonably short and relativley easy to follow write up, I hope that you<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>are now more clued up with the basics of overclocking with Sandybridge on this particular motherboard, however the settings between different motherboard models are pretty much the same.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-12525018221482455192011-07-13T10:49:00.000-07:002011-07-18T12:55:31.629-07:003 Monitors - Using eyefinityHey guys and girls, I have been really busy lately with other things so the blog has unfortunately taken a back seat in recent days, I am hoping to find more time to remedy this.<br />
<br />
Anyways, lets get back to it!<br />
<br />
Right, for those of you that don't know what eyefinity is (or 3d surround in the case of nvidia) I will give you a brief description followed by some advice.<br />
<br />
"Supporting multiple independent display outputs simultaneously, AMD Eyefinity technology delivers innovative graphics display capabilities enabling massive desktop workspaces and ultra-immersive visual environments for the ultimate panoramic computing experience." .... amd.com<br />
<br />
So first of all, if you are considering going with eyefinity, this is a little "heads-up" to hopefully save you some time / effort / money (if you didn't do your homework like me).<br />
First of all, the eyefinity setup must use one of the displayport outputs on the graphics cards (don't ask me why) and then any other 2 connections on the card.<br />
<br />
<u>Choosing your displays</u><br />
<br />
When choosing your displays you have to bear in bind a couple of things,<br />
1 Price.<br />
2 Space.<br />
3 The width of the bezels.<br />
4 Adapters.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SQPT2B0Be10/Th3Rm9XJzMI/AAAAAAAAACw/MIcDCdHxKgI/s1600/280px-DisplayPort-rid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SQPT2B0Be10/Th3Rm9XJzMI/AAAAAAAAACw/MIcDCdHxKgI/s1600/280px-DisplayPort-rid.jpg" /></a></div>1. Monitors with the displayport socket built in, from what I found have tended to be more expensive than those without. Please note that this is not the mini displayport found on macs, it is the bigger brother. It is slightly bigger than an HDMI plug however as you can see, only 1 of the corners is rounded.<br />
The Displayport is infact a superior form of display lead however it has not seemed to have become an industry standard (as yet).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
2. Having 3 monitors on your desktop will take up alot of room, as I found out after ordering mine. I had to go out and get a new desk the same day as the side monitors were only half on. So measure the space avaliable to you, and either get monitors that will fit in the space you have available or get a bigger desk :P<br />
<br />
3. The width of the bezels! This is an important factor when it comes to eyefinity. When you have your monitors side-by-side the width of the bezels are doubled which can be somewhat unsightly. I bought 3 x Iiyama ProLite B2409HDS which has to be said are outstanding monitors; however not only the width of the bezels but the thickness of the lcd unit its self is a bit of a pain (I will explain how my monitors are set up to make this a little more clear).<br />
My center monitor sits forward and each side monitor's bezels sit behind the bezels of the center monitor (to lessen the non viewable area) however as said above, due to the thickness of the panels the side screens look alot more pushed back than I would have liked.<br />
My friend bought 3 LG monitors which I have to say look stunning. Very thin screens and a nice clear, sharp image were a much better choice than mine.<br />
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0042D5DGC/ref=oss_product<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GvxEoO8X_lE/Th3W41xiy6I/AAAAAAAAAC0/4mlA204zgUw/s1600/31id-5ZP-UL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GvxEoO8X_lE/Th3W41xiy6I/AAAAAAAAAC0/4mlA204zgUw/s1600/31id-5ZP-UL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>4. If you are using DVI cables with your monitors and you do not have a displayport on any of the monitors then you will need an ACTIVE displayport to DVI adapter. For some reason (and I'm sure they have a good reason), ATI graphics cards can only run 2 monitors via any other means than a displayport such as DVI or HDMI. The active dongle does some of the work for the GPU and seems to give the monitor some kind of "power on" signal which in turn enables it in the operating system. Without the ACTIVE displayport adapter, you will only be able to use a maximum of 2 monitors.<br />
<br />
<br />
Right now that all 3 monitors are up and running, you need to set up the operating system to see the monitors, not as 3 seperate displays but rather just a high resolution which spans over all of them.<br />
With 3 1920x1080 monitors, the resolution you should be looking for is 5760 x 1080, however including the bezel compensation, it may be higher than this.<br />
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For more information on the setting up of eyefinity, you can watch the following youtube video.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/RZAkCoaq384?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Thanks for reading, I hope this has helped some of you and maybe saved you some time and effort. Happy gaming!<br />
<br />
And just a quick example of some gameplay that I have found also:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/o7Q5xdSmOHE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-15061977779531035142011-05-09T04:04:00.000-07:002011-05-09T04:04:26.976-07:002 things to do with an old CRT monitorCRT Monitors... bulky old things that take up space in the spare room and generally sit there for years fulfilling no other purpose than a dust gathering device.<br />
I was just clearing out my spare room today and there was "old faithful" sat there for years, so I got thinking.... After a quick search on google I found 2 pretty cool uses for old CRT housings.<br />
<br />
1) The CRT fish tank.<br />
Oh yes.. how cool would this look on your desk next to your computer.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rRjAEIybNiE/TcfJcHROETI/AAAAAAAAACA/srjTj08ZqlA/s1600/crt+fish+tank.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rRjAEIybNiE/TcfJcHROETI/AAAAAAAAACA/srjTj08ZqlA/s400/crt+fish+tank.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
2) The CRT pet hutch (Can't tell whether it's a hamster or a small rabbit :P)<br />
Well, no where near as cool as the fish tank, but still a good use of something with no real other purpous.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0flLr1quFlI/TcfKICL3vCI/AAAAAAAAACE/L1dzcfeU1pk/s1600/crt+hutch.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0flLr1quFlI/TcfKICL3vCI/AAAAAAAAACE/L1dzcfeU1pk/s400/crt+hutch.PNG" width="400" /> </a> </div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-16282712780113335522011-05-01T17:41:00.000-07:002011-05-01T18:05:33.341-07:00Ant vs SpiderIf you haven't seen this video then you must watch this.<br />
<br />
Who do you think would win??<br />
<br />
By the way, watch it until the very end :)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/aTEIMDb5qfg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-31920625193119037202011-04-27T11:00:00.000-07:002011-04-27T14:29:45.041-07:00Sounds in spaceBeing a vacuum, it is fact that sound waves can not travel through it.<br />
A sound wave is simply a wavelength which according to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, we have evolved through the millennia to pick up with our ears. Light also being a wavelength we learned to distinguish with our eyes. The same is said for heat, by the sense of touch. All of the fore-said are simply different forms of radiation.<br />
<br />
Now, just because we can not "hear" anything in space this does not mean that there is simply nothing radiating through it's vastness. In fact each planet radiates electromagnetism, which NASA has captured with different probes (The Voyagers) put into space. The electro magnetic radiation has been down tuned (well more just changed the wavelength into an audible source) so that we humans can "hear what they all sound like".<br />
<br />
The following youtube videos are of these "sounds" :-<br />
<br />
My Personal favourite is Jupiter, which I will post first really atmospheric "space music".<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Jupiter:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/e3fqE01YYWs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Uranus:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/80Ngl2RY8sA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Io (Moon of Jupiter):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xF82dER6ifU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mercury:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/894Aejo-R0U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Saturn:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/9C6lymtHG60?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-88855645642086173922011-04-27T02:09:00.000-07:002011-04-27T02:22:01.549-07:00No Risk No Fun !<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Right guys, I know a lot of you will say "these are old" and "seen them before" Although these are for the benefit of those of you that haven't.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Some awesome music combined with crazy awesome videos.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Enjoy !</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dhnObDgscr8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/GZ1c46LDPQc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/bw1-z8etLp0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-27378655194363808352011-04-24T20:58:00.000-07:002011-04-24T20:59:35.684-07:005 amazing coffee factsDon't you just love that first sip of coffee in the morning, half asleep and not quite ready to face the world just yet. It's amazing how much better it makes me feel in the morning, almost makes me feel human after a night of over indulgence in the local pub. I never realized just how good coffee was for you until today:<br />
<br />
I was just browsing the internet looking for a new coffee perculator as mine has seen better days when I came across some interesting facts that I thought I would share with you all.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xWU23DMTkWs/TbTxjv_u7KI/AAAAAAAAAB8/4PtMUyQUsVo/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xWU23DMTkWs/TbTxjv_u7KI/AAAAAAAAAB8/4PtMUyQUsVo/s1600/images.jpg" /></a><b>1. It protects your heart:</b> Moderate coffee drinkers (1 to 3 cups/day) have lower rates of stroke than noncoffee drinkers, an effect linked to coffee’s antioxidants. Coffee has more antioxidants per serving than blueberries, making it the biggest source of antioxidants in American diets. All those antioxidants may help suppress the damaging effect of inflammation on arteries. Immediately after drinking it, coffee raises your blood pressure and heart rate, but over the long term, it actually may lower blood pressure as coffee’s antioxidants activate nitric oxide, widening blood vessels.<br />
<br />
<b>2. It diverts diabetes</b>: Those antioxidants (chlorogenic acid and quinides, specifically) play another role: boosting your cells’ sensitivity to insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar. In fact, people who drink 4 or more cups of coffee each day may have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to some studies. Other studies have shown that caffeine can blunt the insulin-sensitivity boost, so if you do drink several cups a day, try mixing in decaf occasionally.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Your liver loves it</b>: OK, so the research here is limited, but it looks like the more coffee people drink, the lower their incidence of cirrhosis and other liver diseases. One analysis of nine studies found that every 2-cup increase in daily coffee intake reduced liver cancer risk by 43 percent. Again, it’s those antioxidants—chlorogenic and caffeic acids—and caffeine that might prevent liver inflammation and inhibit cancer cells.<br />
<br />
<b>4. It boosts your brain power</b>: Drinking between 1 and 5 cups a day (admittedly a big range) may help reduce risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as Parkinson’s disease, studies suggest. Those antioxidants may ward off brain cell damage and help the neurotransmitters involved in cognitive function to work better.<br />
<br />
<b>5. It helps your headaches</b>: And not just the withdrawal headaches caused by skipping your daily dose of caffeine! Studies show that 200 milligrams of caffeine—about the amount in 16 ounces of brewed coffee—provides relief from headaches, including migraines. Exactly how caffeine relieves headaches isn’t clear. But scientists do know that caffeine boosts the activity of brain cells, causing surrounding blood vessels to constrict. One theory is that this constriction helps to relieve the pressure that causes the pain, says Robert Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology and director of the Headache Clinic at the University of Vermont Medical School.<br />
<br />
Thank you to Kerri-Ann Jennings for the information<br />
Original source: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/5-health-reasons-to-not-quit-coffee-2460820WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-39115199624274989062011-04-22T20:18:00.000-07:002011-04-22T20:19:55.141-07:00Getting away in a few weeksShort of much else to share with you in the way of technology or entertainment, I thought I would let you know what I have been planning for the past couple of weeks.<br />
<br />
When work becomes a bore and the daily grind just starts to get you down, there is nothing better to sort out your own thoughts than getting away from it all!<br />
<br />
When I was a young teenager, me and a group of friends would occasionally take a walk, tents in hand and school bags full of food to the local woodland. We would venture in until we found a suitable clearing, set up camp, gather wood and build a nice fire, and settle down for the night.<br />
A fair few years on, I had almost forgotten how much I actually enjoyed getting out into the fresh air and just being happy with the world.<br />
After a dance with nostalgia, I remembered just how much fun we had when we were younger, what an adventure everything seemed to be. We were the first expedition party, exploring new lands, civilizations and even new species of animals. Living off the land for a whole weekend until we had to return back to reality and home ready for school the next day.<br />
<br />
Within the next few weeks (if all goes to plan), me and a good friend have decided to take a fortnight out from daily life and "take a walk on the wild side." A relatively short distance from here lies a national park which is going to be perfect. I know Max (my Rottweiler) is going to have one hell of a time. 1000 square miles of moorland/woodland with many streams flowing throughout, I can almost picture it now.<br />
<br />
Anyway, ramble over (no pun intended) -But that's the plan ! I will be taking a digital camera/smart phone and attempt to do a daily update, but this isn't going to be for a few more weeks yet but I will be sure to at least try to keep this blog updated.WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-59570049240117565412011-04-22T15:07:00.000-07:002011-04-22T15:07:43.840-07:00Cheap PC Games <----The following is a short list of discounted computer games - Easter weekend deals ! Thanks to TechSpot for the info<br />
<br />
Metro2033 $9.99 on steam 50% discount<br />
<i>However!</i><br />
Metro2033 is only $4.99 on GamersGate.com 75% discount<br />
<br />
At the EA Store, they are offering 33% off all RPG's such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age<br />
<br />
Resident Evil 5 is only $14.99 at Games for Windows -50% discount<br />
<br />
There is a more comprehensive list here:<br />
<br />
http://www.techspot.com/news/43445-weekend-game-deals-metro-2033-for-499.htmlWhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-55544923687529152912011-04-22T07:59:00.000-07:002011-04-22T07:59:26.689-07:00The coolest watch I have seen<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--GDmdbLwtEc/TbGW5qqZCyI/AAAAAAAAAB4/dpaZvXff5mE/s1600/_MG_1177-D_small-1000x1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--GDmdbLwtEc/TbGW5qqZCyI/AAAAAAAAAB4/dpaZvXff5mE/s200/_MG_1177-D_small-1000x1000.jpg" width="200" /></a>If you are in the market for a top-of-the-range time piece, and want something that bit different from the run of the mill watches, then feast your eyes on this!<br />
<br />
This watch, made by Devon Works is truly an amazing piece of work and I could only wish to own something as extravagant as this with the price tag around the £10,000 range.<br />
<br />
You can check out the rest of the detailed images and specs on their website - Kudos for the originality !WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-88225051280389061052011-04-22T04:54:00.000-07:002011-04-22T04:54:58.175-07:00Battlefield 3I can barely wait now for the release of Battlefield 3.<br />
<br />
This game is shaping up to be the most exciting release of 2011 the graphics are superb (DX11) and unlike most games released in the past few years, this will not be a simple console port. Aparantly the game is being designed for the PC initially and then they are going to figure out how to get it to work well on the consoles.<br />
<br />
Here is the 12 minute trailer - if you have been undecided until now, just take a look.<br />
<br />
Still - the think that I am looking forward to is the dog fights in the modern jets.<br />
<br />
See you on the battlefield!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2zw8SmsovJc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-50057763262995400052011-04-21T14:10:00.000-07:002011-04-21T19:23:57.526-07:00Some new photos from the ISSSimply stunning images taken from the international space station.<br />
<br />
Take a look:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/HIqXg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="HIqXg Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/HIqXg.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/djP0S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="djP0S Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/djP0S.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/uXrGq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="uXrGq Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/uXrGq.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/PTFzY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="PTFzY Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="315" src="http://i.imgur.com/PTFzY.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/5diMP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="5diMP Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="266" src="http://i.imgur.com/5diMP.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/x4gZX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="x4gZX Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/x4gZX.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/evESO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="evESO Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/evESO.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/nRyht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="nRyht Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/nRyht.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/M2A81.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="M2A81 Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/M2A81.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/kTKQQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="kTKQQ Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="264" src="http://i.imgur.com/kTKQQ.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/eV1S2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="eV1S2 Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="266" src="http://i.imgur.com/eV1S2.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/veRHj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="veRHj Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="266" src="http://i.imgur.com/veRHj.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/KX42t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="KX42t Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/KX42t.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/6E6F5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="6E6F5 Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/6E6F5.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/MvZpk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="MvZpk Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/MvZpk.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/wvDve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="wvDve Beautiful Planet Oh I so want to go to the ISS!" border="0" height="265" src="http://i.imgur.com/wvDve.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
This was only a few, the rest can be seen here : <a href="http://triggerpit.com/2011/04/21/beautiful-planet-oh-i-so-want-to-go-to-the-iss/">http://triggerpit.com/2011/04/21/beautiful-planet-oh-i-so-want-to-go-to-the-iss/</a>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-75129735299311898432011-04-21T13:23:00.000-07:002011-04-21T13:23:30.865-07:00Apple Iphone Users being spied onGot an iphone?<br />
Running iOS4 ?<br />
If you answered yes to both of the above questions, then I think that it's only right that you are aware of the following.<br />
<br />
Ever since you upgraded to iOS4, your iphone has been storing detailed information of your whereabouts, (latitude and longitude along with timestamps) and saving this to a little hidden file called "consolidated.db".<br />
The good news, <i>if you can call it that</i>, is that the data does not seem to leave your phone.<br />
Apple is still yet to comment on this issue, however it appears that it has been implemented internationally.WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917180504455203564.post-71957810302360215152011-04-21T12:23:00.000-07:002011-04-21T19:47:59.617-07:00Samsung Galaxy S II arriving soon to the UK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.techspot.com/fileshost/newspics3/2011/samsung_galaxy_s_ii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://static.techspot.com/fileshost/newspics3/2011/samsung_galaxy_s_ii.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The above said Galaxy S II (aka <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">GT-I9100) is set to arrive to the shores of the UK by May 1st 2011, however </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Phones4U are offering the above mentioned model as early as April the 27th.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It looks rather similar to other samsung mobile phones however, it packs a lot more technology under it's elegant casing.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The all new Live Panel brings together, the web, social networking and app content to the customizable home screen. As you can see on the picture to the left, it looks pretty good.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The price tag is expected to be at £499 which places this phone at the same price that you can currently pick up an iphone 4 16gb model.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I guess we will have to wait and see how the Galaxy S II is recieved when it hits the shelves. I will be writing a hands on review at a later date. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"></span></span></div>WhitUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534888465050900423noreply@blogger.com4