Search found 376 matches

by whispercat
Wed Dec 20, 2023 1:29 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Article: Best uninterruptible power supply 2023 ?
Replies: 3
Views: 8685

Re: Article: Best uninterruptible power supply 2023 ?

Thanks. I've been doing more research since I posted my comment. It seems most of the UPS models out there are still using lead acid batteries. This may account for why so many people are reporting strong chemical smells. It might also mostly pertain to older models. The pure sine wave only seems to...
by whispercat
Sun Dec 17, 2023 10:54 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Article: Best uninterruptible power supply 2023 ?
Replies: 3
Views: 8685

Article: Best uninterruptible power supply 2023 ?

This article recommends the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD. https://silentpcreview.com/psu/guide/best-uninterrupted-power-supply-ups/ However, reading through the reviews on Amazon, there are numerous complaints about the strong toxic plastic smell of this model. This model is also over 13 years old now. I...
by whispercat
Sun Feb 05, 2023 10:11 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: My build plan
Replies: 4
Views: 9214

Re: My build plan

Storage :) How much do you need? What's your game plan for it? How are you going to do backups? Chances are you can get away with just an M.2 PCIe SSD for everything but archival storage and an 'only spinning during backup' SATA HDD for the latter. I haven't seen any reviews for the motherboard by ...
by whispercat
Sat Feb 04, 2023 8:18 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: My build plan
Replies: 4
Views: 9214

My build plan

I'm currently running on fumes with a 14 year-old desktop. I planned to upgrade several times but either didn't have the money (laid off twice during that time) or didn't like the processor choices). I did come close one year when Haswell came out. I think this is the year I finally do it. I have th...
by whispercat
Mon Jan 23, 2023 6:40 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Seasonic FOCUS vs PRIME?
Replies: 3
Views: 14183

Re: Seasonic FOCUS vs PRIME?

Platinum. Specifically 750-px.

If the PRIME has tighter voltage regulation, would this mean it could handle transient spikes better?
by whispercat
Sun Jan 22, 2023 12:36 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Seasonic FOCUS vs PRIME?
Replies: 3
Views: 14183

Seasonic FOCUS vs PRIME?

Does anyone know what exactly is the difference between the FOCUS and PRIME PSUs by Seasonic? Would the PRIME units have better capacitors, etc?

Also, is Corsair on par with Seasonic in terms of quality, or a little less?
by whispercat
Sat Jan 21, 2023 12:04 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Thermalright Frost Spirit 140
Replies: 18
Views: 38346

Re: Thermalright Frost Spirit 140

Abula, did you ever get and test the Thermalright Peerless Assassin?
by whispercat
Tue Jan 17, 2023 7:43 pm
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: New solid state cooling technology
Replies: 1
Views: 6095

New solid state cooling technology

Interesting new concept in cooling design: a solid state, fanless, silent, cooling drive, from a Silicon Valley startup called Frore Systems. It can only cool 28W of heat so far, but it seems like it might have potential.

https://youtu.be/YGxTnGEAx3E
by whispercat
Tue Jan 10, 2023 10:19 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New AMD Zen 4 launch
Replies: 18
Views: 57738

Re: New AMD Zen 4 launch

This was really interesting, and confirmed my suspicions. https://youtu.be/VtVowYykviM The 7900 with PBO turns out to be essentially the same thing as the stock 7900x, in terms of performance, thermals, and power draw.. An exception is Adobe Premier, where the 7900x still performs a bit better than ...
by whispercat
Mon Jan 09, 2023 7:09 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New AMD Zen 4 launch
Replies: 18
Views: 57738

Re: New AMD Zen 4 launch

Thanks. Yeah, I just skimmed some early reviews. It will be interesting to see whether it would be worth getting a non X and boosting it a little, versus getting an X and stepping it down a little with eco-mode. The non-X might be better value.
by whispercat
Tue Dec 27, 2022 2:48 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Any Nividia RTX 3000 series cards with more than 8 GB VRAM?
Replies: 5
Views: 16199

Re: Any Nividia RTX 3000 series cards with more than 8 GB VRAM?

Thanks. The TPU review is for the Ti version. I tend to prefer 2 fans, but maybe with 3 fans at lower RPM it might be quieter, not sure. That's definitely the price point I'm looking for ($500 - $600 CDN). I'm still deciding whether to get a 3060 Ti or a 3060 with more memory. Or wait to see what th...
by whispercat
Mon Dec 26, 2022 11:30 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Any Nividia RTX 3000 series cards with more than 8 GB VRAM?
Replies: 5
Views: 16199

Re: Any Nividia RTX 3000 series cards with more than 8 GB VRAM?

Thanks, I had only been looking at 3060 and 3070 cards so far. 3080 cards still seem pretty expensive.
by whispercat
Sat Dec 24, 2022 10:53 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Any Nividia RTX 3000 series cards with more than 8 GB VRAM?
Replies: 5
Views: 16199

Any Nividia RTX 3000 series cards with more than 8 GB VRAM?

Just curious, as I haven't come across any.
by whispercat
Fri Dec 23, 2022 10:48 am
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: Phanteks T30-120, a new King is rising
Replies: 11
Views: 14428

Re: Phanteks T30-120, a new King is rising

Absolutely ridiculous pricing. $50 for a fan? Not worth it.

Would rather go with Noctua, Arctic, or e-loops.
by whispercat
Mon Dec 12, 2022 6:10 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Fractal North - beauty, eh?
Replies: 2
Views: 7123

Fractal North - beauty, eh?

Fractal has just released a new boutique line of stylish cases. Fractal seems to be pitching it to gamers for some reason, but I think they look more right at home in an office / living room environment. The cases come in different colors and finishes, with tempered glass and mesh options. https://w...
by whispercat
Wed Nov 30, 2022 1:18 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New AMD Zen 4 launch
Replies: 18
Views: 57738

Re: New AMD Zen 4 launch

Yep. I looked at the 5900X pricing, and granted there were tight supplies last year, but it appears there was a price dip for the Nov/Dec time frame, then it went back up until March, then dove. So, short term, the 7900X pricing is maybe as good as it gets. My 6 mo rule is more of a: - buy at launc...
by whispercat
Wed Nov 30, 2022 6:10 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New AMD Zen 4 launch
Replies: 18
Views: 57738

Re: New AMD Zen 4 launch

I assume any issues with motherboards are also going to be firmware issues (BIOS updates, drivers, etc.). If I'm going to wait for motherboard issues to settle out, I can also wait for any CPU issues to do the same.. But yeah, you never know where the pricing is going to go. If Ryzen releases more Z...
by whispercat
Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:05 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New AMD Zen 4 launch
Replies: 18
Views: 57738

Re: New AMD Zen 4 launch

...sort of. New CPU releases generally come out with a new motherboard chipset. So, if you are waiting for the mobo firmware to settle out, you are by default waiting for any initial BIOS/driver issues associated with the CPU to settle out. These days, AMD and Intel are doing staggered releases, br...
by whispercat
Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:13 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New AMD Zen 4 launch
Replies: 18
Views: 57738

Re: New AMD Zen 4 launch

Steve, I remember you saying that one should wait at least 6 months before buying a motherboard on a new platform in order to allow time for mobo manufacturers to work out most of the initial bugs.

Just wondering if this would apply to CPUs as well?

Thanks.
by whispercat
Sun Nov 27, 2022 12:41 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: MSI RTX 3060 ti Gaming X LHR (two fan)
Replies: 2
Views: 6688

MSI RTX 3060 ti Gaming X LHR (two fan)

I haven't seen any technical reviews for this: https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/GeForce-RTX-3060-Ti-GAMING-X-8G-LHR Was just wondering if you think this would be quieter and cooler than the Founders Edition (which was surprisingly pretty cool and quiet) ? https://www.techpowerup.com/review/nvidia-g...
by whispercat
Thu Nov 24, 2022 12:27 pm
Forum: Fans and Control
Topic: New BeQuiet Silent Wings Pro 4 fan
Replies: 0
Views: 23445

New BeQuiet Silent Wings Pro 4 fan

The next gen Silent Wings Pro fan is now out. Initial reviews indicate a performance leap over Silent Wings 3, but not quite up the level of Phanteks T-30 or Noctua NF- A12x25 Silent Wings Pro 4 website: https://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/3705 Reviews: https://www.hwcooling.net/en/silent-wings-pro-...
by whispercat
Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:32 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New AMD Zen 4 launch
Replies: 18
Views: 57738

Re: New AMD Zen 4 launch

After doing some research, I found out that in Zen 3 there were two CCDs on the higher end 5900x and 5950x CPUs, and now also in Zen 4 with the 7900x and the 7950x. When the heat load is spread out over two CCDs, apparently temps don't get quite as hot. When there is only one CCD, temps are higher, ...
by whispercat
Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:35 pm
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: New AMD Zen 4 launch
Replies: 18
Views: 57738

New AMD Zen 4 launch

I have a couple of questions about thermals and performance comparing Zen 3 and 4. In Zen 3, the 8-core 5800x ran hotter than the other Ryzen 7's and even Ryzen 9's. This was apparently because of the CCD, for technical reasons I don't quite understand. So, at the time, when I was contemplating gett...
by whispercat
Mon Jul 11, 2022 12:58 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: New Fractal Pop series cases
Replies: 1
Views: 4543

New Fractal Pop series cases

New 2022 Pop series cases from Fractal. https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/pop/pop-silent/black-tg-clear/ The Pop series includes the Pop Silent and Pop Air (i.e. air flow). They come in a standard ATX mid tower, as well as full tower and mini size. https://youtu.be/fs6gHAKw70s Tom's Hard...
by whispercat
Sun Jan 09, 2022 11:09 pm
Forum: Quiet Prebuilt, SFF and Barebones Systems
Topic: New Corsair One i300
Replies: 0
Views: 28923

New Corsair One i300

Jay didn't talk about the noise at all, so we'll have to wait for other reviews. It might be possible to swap in better fans. Anyway, I thought this was interesting: https://youtu.be/I1R8G1Kopx0 A bit too pricey for my blood. May be worth it to others here. It's available with a couple of Ryzen 9 CP...
by whispercat
Tue Jan 04, 2022 12:15 pm
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Interesting open frame case
Replies: 1
Views: 3990

Interesting open frame case

AZZA Cast 808M Mid-Tower case with folding panels.

https://www.newegg.com/p/287-0024-00002 ... -_-Product

https://youtu.be/M-RMV5pFrNc

Amazing open access for building in. But no dust filers and the price would seem to be deal breakers.
by whispercat
Mon Dec 20, 2021 3:03 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Fractal Define Torrent
Replies: 14
Views: 15931

Re: Fractal Define Torrent

It's not clear what fan speed that GPU torture test is done at.
by whispercat
Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:52 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Fractal Define Torrent
Replies: 14
Views: 15931

Re: Fractal Define Torrent

Fractal has fixed the fan hub problem. They've sent out a replacement kits to all customers. I've been slowly accumulating parts for another build. I bought a Phanteks P600s case last year. It has a front door. But looking at this Fractal Torrent case is making me reconsider a solid front. Thermals ...
by whispercat
Sat Feb 27, 2021 1:02 am
Forum: CPU Cooling
Topic: Have Liquid Coolers Become as Quiet as Air Coolers?
Replies: 3
Views: 5175

Have Liquid Coolers Become as Quiet as Air Coolers?

Just saw the new CPU cooler test round up on Tech Buyer Guru:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHw4_jiJQO8

Apparently the Arctic Liquid Freezer II beat the high end Noctuas and Fuma for temp and noise.
by whispercat
Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:51 am
Forum: Cases and Damping
Topic: Seasonic Enters the Case Market: Introducing the Synchro Q704
Replies: 0
Views: 27001

Seasonic Enters the Case Market: Introducing the Synchro Q704

Seasonic's first case is dedicated to its revised 'Connect' PSU. https://seasonic.com/syncro/ Kit Guru review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zDiIZM4Amk Pros: - Nidec fans - Improved cable management - Good airflow - Quality construction Cons: - No sound damping material - Somewhat noisy with stoc...