cmcquisition seems to have a good idea on what works with Pro Tools,I don't think I'd go with onboard video mainly because it draws off system RAM,usually right when you need the RAM most. You can go with a basic,passive dual monitor Radeon or GeForce,probably won't cost much. For what it's worth, ...

AMD processors perform far better than Intel, when it comes to Pro Tools. There are quite a few threads in the DUC (Digidesign User Conference) on the subject. They tested how many channels they could record and now many plugins they could use simultaneously. AMD beat Intel every time. AMD processor...

I've been using a recommending Samsung hard drives, coupled with a firewire enclosure for the students at the film school, where I work, for a few years. We have had ZERO failures and ZERO problems with Final Cut Pro and these drives. On the other hand, we have had numerous failures of retail firewi...

* Scythe Ninja CPU Cooler with Nexus modded or the P150 stock fan (tri cool) What needs to be modded on the Nexus fan for this cooler? I think putting a fan on the Ninja is overkill. I used to have a 3200+ with a Ninja heatsink and no fan but the case exhaust fan. I now have a 3800+ X2, which is ev...

I've used the P180 and P150. In my opinion, the only good reason to get the P180 is if you need more hard drives than the P150 can support. The P180 is more difficult to setup, but gives more options for cooling. The P150 is easier to setup, has less options for cooling, but the options it has are v...

Just to throw in my two cents... I bought the P150 with that PSU. I didn't really need the PSU because I already had a nice Seasonic, but I really wanted the case. My impressions? The PSU sucks. I have had significant problems with it with three different motherboards. On an Asus A8N-SLI and Asus A8...

Hey guys! This is my first post, i had hoped this would be a happy post, however this isn't the case. I just purchased the antec p180 after reading this fabulous review. I recieved the case from my ups man about an hour ago, i got it out of the box and put it on my work table. Man was the case free...

I'm using the Ninja and a Nexus 120mm exhaust fan hooked to the CPU fan header. It works great and Asus Q-Fan keeps everything cool and quiet for my X2-3800+.

I ordered this case, too. I read that there were some incompatibilites with this power supply and the Asus A8N-SLI (not sure which versions.) I can CONFIRM that it has problems with my A8N-SLI Premium. After a while, it simply shuts down the computer. It seems to be related to overall system load or...

I have an A8N-SLI (not premium or deluxe). I have a Zalman northbridge heatsink on it and the Zalman ZF-700 heatsink on my 6800GT. It all fits fine and works great! I run the ZF-700 at 4.25V and it still cools the video card and northbridge with periperal airflow. I also have the Scythe Ninja heats...

Thanks, that's interesting. Did you put you card into the upper slot, or the lower one? Is the SS-430W able to power my system with 2 graphic cards? I didn't undersatnd the positioning of your nexus fan: is it on the heatsink or is it on the case at the back near the heatsink. pictures would be gre...

I have an A8N-SLI (not premium or deluxe). I have a Zalman northbridge heatsink on it and the Zalman ZF-700 heatsink on my 6800GT. It all fits fine and works great! I run the ZF-700 at 4.25V and it still cools the video card and northbridge with periperal airflow. I also have the Scythe Ninja heatsi...

That looks like a good setup. I've got a similar case (LX-6A19), the same CPU, same PSU, an Asus A8N-SLI, 6800GT (with Zalman ZF-700 heatsink), and Ninja heatsink. The heatsink is fairly time consuming to get on, but once it is on, it cools GREAT! I have a single Nexus 120mm fan at the exhaust, hook...

I had the Arctic Cooling and was NOT happy with the noise level or performance. I got the Zalman ZF700 and it is much quieter and higher performance. Definite thumbs up for Zalman, from me.

Currently, I have my WD drive suspended using elastic cord in one of my 5.25" bays. 2 problems with it: - Although it's greatly gotten rid of vibration noise, I can still hear it a lil bit since it's so near to the front top of the case. But this is not too bad. - The bigger cause for concern is th...

I've got the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 (the one for the 6800GT) and I cannot get it quiet. I can run it as low as 6V and still get adequate cooling, but I can plainly hear it over all the other system components. This was rather dissapointing, since my old ATI Silencer was extremely quiet on my ...

jamesm wrote:

cmcquistion wrote:My Silencer NV 5 is not as smooth at any voltage and it is noticeable at any voltage, unfortunately.

Do you have the rev. 1 or rev. 2?

I'm not sure, but I just bought it a few weeks ago. Is there some indication on the cooler, itself? I've already thrown away the packaging.

It would have to be pretty comprehensive to cover all of the various Arctic Cooling Silencer models... Aren't they all broadly similar with identical fans installed on them? As far as silence goes I think the fan design and motor noise would be the most important things to measure. Now if they have...

I've got the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 (the one for the 6800GT) and I cannot get it quiet. I can run it as low as 6V and still get adequate cooling, but I can plainly hear it over all the other system components. This was rather dissapointing, since my old ATI Silencer was extremely quiet on my o...

In the article, it said that decoupling the fans from the system using grommets seemed to help noise. I was wondering what the best grommets are to use. I know there are EAR grommets and I have read TONS of articles on these, but I'm trying to find some simple yet cheap solutions that I can order h...

I think the SLK3000B is a pretty darn good case, if you ditch the hard drive rack and install an elastic suspension rig to hold your hard drives. In my experience, the hard drive rack in the 3000B is it's achilles heel, especially with high-vibration hard drives (like the awful new Seagate I recentl...

The very top-end PNY cards are phenomenal, but they're also over $1200 each. Other than that, for graphics workstations the FireGL cards are great for the money. I feel it necessary to point out that the originator of this thread is asking for video cards for PHOTOSHOP. Photoshop does not do any 3D...

Great review, as always. I've got a suggestion, for the future, however. To test VGA temps, try using rthdribl (Real-Time High Dynamic Range Image-Based Lighting). This is a great little utility that stresses the video card and warms it up as much as most games, probably. The nice thing is that it r...

Would lapping the vf700alcu would improve temps, or just be a waste of time? I don't have a VF700, yet, but I've had quite a few Zalman's 7000's. Considering the base finish I've seen of their heatsinks, I don't think you could do better by lapping it. Most GPU's aren't incredibly flat, any way, so...

You don't need a Quadro for Photoshop CS. (Quadro's are for heavy-lifting OpenGL work, like 3D design software. This is NOT what Photoshop requires.) You DO need a lot of system memory (1 GB or more, is best) and any video card with 128 MB will probably suffice. I'm partial to Nvidia cards, myself, ...

i see so if i wanted to record say a tv programe onto my pc it would be alot more cpu intensive if i used a vivo card and less cpu intensive if i used a pvr card. This is correct. Cards like ATI All-In-Wonder cards are software-encoders. They use your CPU to do most of the work. Cards like the Haup...

Generally, VIVO is just S-Video or composite video in. This is fine for recording from a camcorder or VCR, but not for television. PVR cards generally have a coaxial cable input and a built-in tuner, so you have hook up your cable, change channels, watch and record TV. Most of the hardware-encoding ...

I loved my silencer on my old 9800 Pro... but I had to kill the NV5 on my 6800GT after a while, it was easily the loudest thing in my system, even at 5 volts. The fan just appeared to be really, really bad. I am running a vf700-Cu now. I am not totally happy with it, but it's clearly better. If I r...

Check out the link in my sig. There is an easier way to do that and it won't involve burning anything:)

The 7K80, according to Newegg is SATA II, as opposed to SATA 150, as the 7K250 is. This means that the interface speed is 300 MB/s and not 150 MB/s. In real-world performance, this makes little difference because sustained throughput never comes close to 100 MB/s even, but newer motherboards will ha...