Search found 1360 matches

by Devonavar
Wed May 02, 2018 8:30 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: WD Green Power - a new quiet 3.5" hdd standard
Replies: 76
Views: 141397

Re: WD Green Power - a new quiet 3.5" hdd standard

Holy thread necromancy, batman! But, since I'm the OP, I can do that :wink: I thought this drive was great when I originally reviewed it just over ten years ago. It was the quietest drive we had ever reviewed, the lowest power drive we had ever reviewed, and on par with the largest drive we had ever...
by Devonavar
Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:45 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: Silent micro-switches for Logitech and other mice.
Replies: 12
Views: 47086

Re: Silent micro-switches for Logitech and other mice.

Does anyone have experience with the Logitech M220 or M330, as recommended by QuietMark?

Aside from being in the market for new silent mice (all my old QuietMouse samples have broken), I'd also like to know how well Quiet Mark's recommendation stands up to SPCR's standards.
by Devonavar
Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:40 pm
Forum: The Silent Front
Topic: In Pursuit of Silence
Replies: 3
Views: 25747

In Pursuit of Silence

Hello SPCR! I'm logging in for the first time in years just to share a movie I saw last night. Patrick Shen's documentary In Pursuit of Silence is excellent. It's a look at the philosophical nature of silence — the same goal we are all pursuing at SPCR. When I joined SPCR 12 years ago, it was at the...
by Devonavar
Sat Nov 15, 2014 8:46 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Graphics Card Coil Whine; An Investigation.
Replies: 20
Views: 25312

Re: Graphics Card Coil Whine; An Investigation.

My experience with the Strixes I have(had), is that the buzzing is less perceivable from that position, as if the air turbulence of the fans smooths out that buzzing. However, listen from the back of the card, and be ready to pull your hair out... crackling and buzzing galore. I also did not see me...
by Devonavar
Sat Nov 15, 2014 8:35 pm
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Graphics Card Coil Whine; An Investigation.
Replies: 20
Views: 25312

Re: Graphics Card Coil Whine; An Investigation.

It's been years since I bought a graphics card, so I must be a bit out of date, but a question comes to mind: Is this coil whine really so bad that it is audible above any fan and game noise? That's pretty bad, especially given that the issue only seems to show up under heavy load. Sorry for the n00...
by Devonavar
Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:27 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: NoFan CR-95C Copper Fanless CPU Cooler
Replies: 44
Views: 59156

Re: NoFan CR-95C Copper Fanless CPU Cooler

#2: Ambient temperature in a case is likely to be 15-20° higher than in the test environment. A 62° rise from 20° ambient is tolerable. A 62° rise inside a 35° case will probably trigger a shutdown. #3: I would really have liked to see an in-case test ... what effect *does* in-case airflow have? I'...
by Devonavar
Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:29 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Why couldn't POWERPC keep up with intel?
Replies: 41
Views: 43304

Re: Why couldn't POWERPC keep up with intel?

Huh, I always wondered why the mouse lagged so much on MacOS. Thanks for the details. As far as speed ... nobody has mentioned fab processes yet, but I think Intel's mastery of fab has at least as much to do with their dominance as their architecture. Can anyone contribute more to that? It seems lik...
by Devonavar
Wed Jun 26, 2013 6:28 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: NoFan CR-95C Copper Fanless CPU Cooler
Replies: 44
Views: 59156

Re: NoFan CR-95C Copper Fanless CPU Cooler

Very interesting. I'm impressed with how far fanless solutions have come. However, I'm skeptical of a few things... #1: 15 minutes doesn't seem like long enough to verify the thermal stability of a fanless heatsink. I wonder if it would be as stable running overnight (say, running an overnight rende...
by Devonavar
Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:37 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: 2002-2012: A Decade of SPCR (EDIT: now 12 years)
Replies: 61
Views: 99004

Re: 2002-2012: A Decade of SPCR

Congratulations SPCR! 10 years is significant — a recognition of a positive contribution to the internet. I was proud to be a regular part of SPCR for about three years. I wrote over 100 articles, and wrote the bulk of the content on the site while I was active. SPCR wasn't just a job for me, though...
by Devonavar
Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:32 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Western Digital Livewire Powerline Networking Kit
Replies: 24
Views: 19657

Re: Western Digital Livewire Powerline Networking Kit

Thanks. I was wondering whether there was anything like that built into the grid, and now I know.
by Devonavar
Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:15 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Western Digital Livewire Powerline Networking Kit
Replies: 24
Views: 19657

Re: Western Digital Livewire Powerline Networking Kit

Yes, I suppose given the existing level of pollution, it's amazing the system works at all.
by Devonavar
Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:40 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Western Digital Livewire Powerline Networking Kit
Replies: 24
Views: 19657

Re: Western Digital Livewire Powerline Networking Kit

I'd be curious to know how other devices are affected on the power grid, and how far the signal goes in the electrical mains. High frequency noise in the mains must have an effect on other devices - perhaps power factor would suffer? Would HF noise in the mains show up as ripple or impaired voltage ...
by Devonavar
Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:47 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: OCZ RevoDrive 120GB PCI Express SSD
Replies: 6
Views: 5409

Re: OCZ RevoDrive 120GB PCI Express SSD

So, if I understand this correctly, there is much less performance benefit when transferring compressed files? In other words, editing video is unlikely to see much benefit? Nearly all HD editing (even high end) uses somewhat lossy codecs, so I would expect that there is little space for more compre...
by Devonavar
Tue Feb 08, 2011 4:12 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Soundscience Rockus 3D | 2.1 by Antec
Replies: 29
Views: 27101

Re: Soundscience Rockus 3D | 2.1 by Antec

Question: Is all the emphasis on frequency response worthwhile? Certainly, frequency response is one of the most significant variables for audio quality (and one of the easiest to measure), but, thanks to modern software EQs built into almost every audio program, it's also one of the easiest to fix....
by Devonavar
Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:09 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Why Ad Blocking is devastating to the sites you love
Replies: 142
Views: 176524

I'm a bit on the fence here. I largely agree with the Techdirt rebuttal, and I use an adblocker myself. But, I've also written reviews for SPCR, and I know first hand the labour that goes into them. For a little while, I treated it as a full time job. I think one of the big points that needs reitera...
by Devonavar
Wed Nov 25, 2009 12:20 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Antec NSK1480: The Fusion gets Smaller
Replies: 17
Views: 14955

Spare Tire wrote:Is the shuriken sucking directly on a closed cover? How much clearance is there?
There's about half an inch of clearance, and it's not directly on a closed cover; there's a vent on the top panel that is close enough to provide a source of fresh air.
by Devonavar
Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:22 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Enermax Eco80+ PSU
Replies: 11
Views: 9998

I'm still curious about the forking cables - I was looking for a pic of that but failed to find one in the review. There's a closeup, but no "octopus" pic. I'll keep your request in mind for the future though. I think we stopped using them because they ended up being so small ... I guess we figured...
by Devonavar
Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:28 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Low Power Monitors from Samsung and Lenovo
Replies: 27
Views: 24718

Did you take them in JPEG? In consumer cameras that limits dynamic range of image seriously below sensor's capability. Yes I did ... the camera I used isn't capable of shooting in RAW. Like I said, the method I used was experimental, and far from perfect. However, the color casts *did* correspond t...
by Devonavar
Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:14 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Low Power Monitors from Samsung and Lenovo
Replies: 27
Views: 24718

Nice idea to test color reproduction. However the color corrected images have too high contrast. On the Samsung the overall effect is worse than default. Probably not too important as people using these monitors are unlikely to correct color unless it's done automatically by the OS installing a pro...
by Devonavar
Wed Jun 24, 2009 9:55 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Silverstone Fortress FT01
Replies: 48
Views: 38711

ajkalan wrote:The bottom two charts on page 6 are both the same.
Editing artefact. Fixed to put the proper chart back in...
by Devonavar
Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:41 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Anyone have experience with RegVac?
Replies: 7
Views: 3927

Hmm ... not exactly the ringing endorsement I was hoping for. Why do I want to run one? Because the computer has slowed down but is virus / malware free, and I'm looking for something more convenient than a reinstall.
by Devonavar
Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:39 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Anyone have experience with RegVac?
Replies: 7
Views: 3927

Anyone have experience with RegVac?

I'm thinking a registry cleaner might be a good idea for the family computer my parents use. Anyone know of a good one? I've found RegVac, but the only info that comes up on Google is either listings in software repositories, or PR "top ten" reviews. Does anyone have first-hand experience with this ...
by Devonavar
Tue Mar 03, 2009 11:33 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe: Asus HTPC sound card does Everything
Replies: 68
Views: 65713

You're incorrect about the 96 khz claim. I should have been more specific. I generally agree with all your comments (thanks for linking to that AES study btw). What I've seen has suggested that *some* engineers can hear differences under *some* circumstances. In a mastering situation, I think that ...
by Devonavar
Sun Feb 22, 2009 1:49 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe: Asus HTPC sound card does Everything
Replies: 68
Views: 65713

That's the ridiculous. Subjectivity has nothing to do with it, either a certain human being can perceive a difference or they cannot Subjective means specific to one particular subject (i.e. one listener), as opposed to something which is true for all subjects. Whether there is a definite fact abou...